eafening boom and a red
flash and a big cloud of white smoke.

_Someday he may wish he had not wasted that powder._

As White Bear and Redbird sat silently, braves all around them were up
and shrieking, waving rifles and tomahawks, thrusting out arms and legs
in the movements of a war dance. Owl Carver and some of the chiefs
slapped the palms of their hands against the taut, painted deerskin of
their drumheads.

A few other men did not join the shouts of approval, among them the
round-faced He Who Moves Alertly.

White Bear sat with his fists clenched in his lap, wondering whether
anyone would notice that the youngest of the three shamans among them
was not shouting for war. He felt Redbird's hand grip his arm tightly,
helping him to feel stronger.

Only to Redbird had White Bear told all of his vision. She shared his
fear that if the British Band followed Black Hawk to war they would be
destroyed, and she had insisted on sitting with him at the council fire.
White Bear knew it was not the custom for a wife to sit with her husband
at a council, but she had argued and pleaded until he had given in and
brought her with him.

Her presence beside him both comforted him and made him uneasy. Owl
Carver, when he came to the fire, had stared at his daughter, frowned
and looked away. Wolf Paw had eyed them and smiled scornfully.

As the tumult inspired by the Winnebago Prophet quieted down, He Who
Moves Alertly looked around the circle of chiefs and braves, his eyes
pausing at anyone who had not joined the outcry for war. His gaze met
White Bear's for an instant, and he nodded almost imperceptibly. White
Bear had an eerie feeling that He Who Moves Alertly knew what was in his
mind.

The chief who favored the long knives stood up.

A sullen muttering spread through the men around the council fire. Most
of those who agreed with He Who Moves Alertly had stayed away from this
council. White Bear felt admiration for anyone who could look so
confident, standing before a crowd in which so many were against him.

"War is loud, and peace is quiet," He Who Moves Alertly began. "But
peace keeps us alive. The real way to defeat the long knives is to stay
alive."

His voice was deep and pleasant, and he smiled as if every man there
were his friend.

"When is it right for a brave to go to war? When he must avenge himself
on those who have done wrong to him. Black Hawk says we should fight
the pale eyes because they have stolen