ng at him, open and bright.

"I do not as a rule believe in miracles," Elysee said, smiling at
Auguste, "but it's certainly a miracle that you could charge a man
pointing a pistol at your chest and come out with nothing but a bump on
your head."

"It's a bad enough bump, Grandpapa," said Auguste, dragging over the
chair he had sat in last night and pulling it close to the side of the
bed. "I wish I could stay and doctor you."

"Our local midwife says I too will heal," said Elysee. "I can move all
my arms and legs without extreme pain. I think the worst injury was to
my hip." He touched his right side gently. "I bruised it when I fell.
There's swelling there, but I can move my leg. The hip is not broken."
He closed his eyes, and Auguste knew that the old man was feeling a
sharper pain in his heart than in his bones. "You must not think of
staying here. I am afraid Raoul is perfectly capable of murdering you."

_One son dead, the other an enemy. And now I must leave him. How much
more can he stand?_

Nicole was sitting beside Elysee's bed, just as she had been last night
when Auguste arrived. He wondered whether she had slept.

Nicole smiled at him. "I sent the children down to play by the river.
Having two injured adults to care for has been very restful for me."

Elysee sat up a little straighter, Nicole quickly plumping the pillows
behind him, and turned a sharp, blue-eyed stare at Auguste.

"Nicole and Frank told me about your plan to go back to the Sauk. I can
understand why you would wish to do so, but that is not the only choice
open to you. You might consider going where people are much more
civilized than they are around here--back East, where you were educated.
Emilie and Charles would be happy, I am sure, to take you in again for a
time. And I could help you. I have money banked with Irving and Sons on
Wall Street. You could continue your education and follow the medical
profession in New York."

Wishing he did not have to refuse the old man, Auguste said, "Grandpapa,
I must go to the only other people I love in the world as much as I love
you and Aunt Nicole."

Elysee uttered a little sigh. "I understand. Loyalty pulls you back to
your mother's people. It is a family trait. I suppose your father must
have told you about the mystery around the origin of our family name."

"Yes, Grandpapa." Wanting him to know his French forebears, Pierre had
spent hours with Auguste recounting their names and deeds.