ittle
church, next to the cottage where he and Nancy lived, gleamed in the
moonlight.

Beside him in the dark Nancy whispered fiercely, "I don't _want_ you to
go."

Sadly he said, "I know." He took her hand and squeezed it. Perhaps it
was a mistake to do that, but he could not stop himself.

"Come away from the house," she said.

Now he could see the wagon Marchette had come in, the horse tied to a
fence post beside the Hales' garden on the south side of the house. The
horse shifted from foot to foot and burbled its breath out through its
lips.

Holding tight to his hand, Nancy led him around to the rear of the
house, beyond which rows of corn stood, their tassels silvery in the
moonlight.

"You and your father grow all this corn?" Auguste asked.

"It's our land, but a neighbor does the work. He sells it in Victor and
we share the proceeds." She led him into the corn, brushing past the
crackling leaves. The concealment of the leaves and stalks made him feel
closer to her than ever. He wanted to reach out to her.

But the corn evoked another feeling, as well.

_She can't know it, but this field reminds me of the corn bottoms around
Saukenuk. It makes me want to go back all the more._

When there were leafy stalks all around them, hiding them from the
house, she turned to him again and said, "Please, Auguste, I don't want
you to go away for good." Her eyes were bright in the moonlight.

Her nearness was thrilling. He wanted to forget the worries that made
him hesitate, and take her in his arms.

"You don't want me to stay here and risk getting killed," he said.

"You could go to Vandalia," she said. "Tell Governor Reynolds what
happened. If he can't do anything for you himself, maybe he can help you
find a lawyer who will fight Raoul for you in the courts."

How innocent she was, he thought bitterly. "It was Governor Reynolds who
called out the militia to drive my people from Saukenuk. It's just as
Raoul said, he would be the last man to want to help an Indian fight for
land with a white man."

"Your father sent you to school in the East because he wanted a
different future for you than just spending your life hunting and living
in a wigwam. You'll be throwing all that away."

He felt a flash of anger at her. She did not understand the Sauk way of
life at all. She was just repeating what her father had said.

He remembered the way Nancy's eyes had shone each time they met on the
prairie last summer.