Woman nodded silently.

Redbird paddled over the snow with her head down, watching the long
shadow she cast under the full moon on the sparkling white surface.
Ahead, the leeward sides of the wickiups were rows of snowdrifts, all
the same size. When she looked over her shoulder, their windward sides
were like black holes in the snow. She could see her family's wickiup,
but Owl Carver was no longer standing outside watching. She lifted her
round wickerwork snowshoes high with each step. Even though she could
walk over the snow, she would be exhausted, she realized, long before
she pushed her way to the sacred cave.

Dogs barked. Fear made the back of her neck tingle, and she stood
motionless. They might be Wolf Paw's dogs. But they did not come after
her.

She heard no sounds of voices, or of people moving. She felt safe enough
to keep walking.

But a feeling grew on her that someone was following her. She stopped
again and listened and looked around. The wickiups were silent under
their glistening blue-white hummocks. Being able to sense when she was
being watched was one of the gifts she, like her father, possessed. But
her eyes and ears did not confirm what her inner sense told her. She
decided fear was confusing her, and she walked on.

She left the camp behind. On her right was gently rolling, snow-covered
prairie. On her left were the woods that grew along the Ioway River. She
saw the shadows of the horses among the trees, heard them snort and
stamp their feet. Beside the woods ran the long trail leading to the
bluff where the sacred cave overlooked the river. This close to the
trees, she hoped, the snow would not be so deep.

A shadow appeared on the snow beside her. A bolt of terror stabbed her.

A powerful hand seized her arm. She felt paralyzed, like a rabbit about
to be torn apart by a wildcat. She did not try to pull away. She could
feel that the grip on her arm was too strong.

She turned slowly.

The moon was behind the man who held her, shadowing his face, but she
could make out the glitter of piercing eyes, a stern mouth with strong
lips under his brown fur turban.

"Where are you going?" Wolf Paw's fingers hurt her arm.

No words came to her. Frantically, she tried to think of some excuse for
walking out so late on a night like this. He could have her killed, she
thought, and terror made her feel like sinking into the snow.

But then she remembered some of the lore Sun Woman had taught her