White Wind Read Online Free Page B

twinkling of stars through the smoke hole. Shifting on his mat of thick warm furs, he tried in vain to banish the anger and resentment in his heart.
    It ate at him, always there just below the surface, rising occasionally like tonight. And again, he’d had to calm it, bury it, for the sake of his people.
    He reminded himself that as future chief, he was expected to fulfill many duties. Some would require personal sacrifice.
    He recalled the words his father had spoken after the councils from both tribes had agreed that the joining of the two families was the only way to bring peace.
    “I fear for the future of our people, my son. The numbers of whites coming to this land rise each year. There are many who say they will take our land and force us out or destroy us. Already the white man is pushing us farther into the hills.
    “They take from the land. They kill the buffalo, take the furs and leave life-sustaining flesh to rot. The whites do not give to Maka, the earth, in return. Our people must stay strong. We must band together if we are to survive. We must unite as one to keep what is ours to pass to our children and to their children, as it was passed down by our fathers, given into their care by Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit.”
    Golden Eagle once again acknowledged his father’s great wisdom. There was no other way for the much-needed peace between his tribe and the Hunkpapa tribe, both belonging to the Teton branch of the great Sioux Nation.
    Time was against his people. Wild-Flower had been nine winters and he sixteen when the marriage arrangements had been finalized. Five long winters had passed.
    Golden Eagle closed his eyes. What had to be done would be done. Time and hope had run out.
     
    Eyes of the bluest sky, hair as pale as the moon overhead came unbidden to his mind. Sitting, he reached for his medicine pouch. With deft ringers he untied the leather thong and held a lock of pale hair. Fingering the silky softness, he wondered what hadbecome of the young white girl he’d saved from the bite of death while wandering the land.
    The summer he’d been sent away to search his soul had taken him to a meadow where warm gentle breezes had sowed.
    Council members from both tribes had agreed on the joining. All but him. According to their ways, all members had to be in agreement. Peace between their tribes had fallen on his rebellious shoulders.
    The beauty and serenity had drawn his troubled soul, and it was there that he’d found peace and come to terms with what must be done for the survival of his people.
    He’d just turned his horse into the concealing shadows of the woods, ready to return to his people, when he’d heard laughter.
    With a flurry of movement and wild laughter, a horse and rider had burst into the meadow as one. Alert, bow and arrow at ready, he had dismounted and watched the white girl.
    Fascinated, he’d watched as she yanked off her hat and tossed it in the air with a wild whoop of joy. Released from confinement, an abundance of long, silky strands of hair had fallen to swing below small narrow shoulders.
    Golden Eagle still remembered his fascination with the pale sun-yellow hair. Hair that shimmered and sparkled with a life of its own in the sunlight as the young girl twirled in circles on the grassy ground. She’d laughed with such carefree abandon that he hadn’t been able to stop the indulgent smile at her uninhibited display of joy.
    He’d judged her to be around twelve winters, just on the verge of entering womanhood, but still a child in her ways.
    Recently, his thoughts had turned to the white girl. She would be a woman now. Was she married? Did she have a brood of little ones? No! He would stop this pointless torture. It did not matter. It would not make any difference to his future.
    Putting his treasured lock away, he lay down. As he drifted off, he relived the horror he’d felt when her pony had reared in fright, throwing the child to the ground. He again saw the coiled