CHAPTER XVIII
THE RITE OF THE HIDDEN CHILDREN
My Indians and I stood watching our riflemen as they swung to the eastand trotted out of sight among the trees. Then, at a curt nod from me,the Indians lengthened their line, extending it westward along theheight of land, and so spreading out that they entirely commanded theonly outlet to the swamp below, by encircling both the trail and theheadwaters of the evil-looking little stream.
Through the unbroken thatch of matted foliage overhead no faintest rayof sunlight filtered--not even where the stream coiled its slimy wayamong the tamaracks and spruces. But south of us, along the ascendingtrail by which we had come, the westering sun glowed red across a ledgeof rock, from which the hill fell sheer away, plunging into profoundgreen depths, where unseen waters flowed southward to the Susquehanna.
Around the massive elbow of this ledge, our back-trail, ascending intoview, curved under shouldering boulders. Blueberry scrub, alreadyturning gold and crimson, grew sparsely on the crag--cover enough forany watcher of the trail. And thither I crept and stretched me out flatin the bushes, where I could see the trail we had lately traversed, andlook along it far to our rear as clearly as one sees through a dim andpillared corridor.
West of me, a purplish ridge ran north, the sun shining low through apine-clad notch. Southwest of me, little blue peaks pricked theprimrose sky; south-east lay endless forests, their green alreadyveiled in an ashy blue bloom. Far down, under me, wound the narrowback-trail through the gulf below.
Presently, beside me came creeping the lithe Mohican, and lay downprone, smooth and golden, and shining like a sleek panther in the sun.
"Is all well guarded, brother?" I whispered.
"Not even a wood-mouse could creep from the swamp unless our warriorssee it."
"And when dark comes?"
"Our ears must be our eyes, Loskiel.... But neither the Cat-People northe Andastes will venture out of that morass, save only by the trail.And we shall have two watchers on it through the night."
"There is no other outlet?"
"None, except by the ridge Boyd travels. He blocks that pass with histwenty men."
"Then we should have their egress blocked, except only in the north?"
"Yes--unless they learn of this by magic," muttered the Mohican.
It was utterly useless for me to decry or ridicule his superstitions;and there was but one way to combat them.
"If witchcraft there truly be in Catharines-town," said I, "it is badmagic, and therefore weak; and can avail nothing against truepriesthood. What could the degraded acolytes of this Red Priest doagainst a consecrated Sagamore of the Lenape--against an ensign of theEnchanted Clan? Else why do you wear your crest--or the great GhostBear there rearing upon your breast?"
"It is true," he murmured uneasily. "What spell can Amochol lay uponus? What magic can he make to escape us? For the trail fromCatharines-town is stopped by a Siwanois Sagamore and a Mohicanwarrior! It is closed by an Oneida Sachem who stand watching. When theGhost Bear and the Were-Wolf watch, then the whole forest watches withthem--Loup, Blue Wolf, and Bear. Where, then, can the Forest Cats slinkout? Where can the filthy Carcajou escape?"
"Mayaro has spoken. It is a holy barrier that locks and bolts this doorof secret evils. Under Tharon shall this trap remain inviolate till thelast sorcerer be taken in it, the last demon be dead!"
* "Yo-ya-ne-re!" he said, deliberately employing the Caniengaexpression with a fierce scorn that, for a moment, made his noblefeatures terrible. Then he spat as though to wash from his mouth thetaste of the hated language that had soiled it, even when used incontempt and derision; and he said in the suave tongue of his ownpeople: "Pray to your white God, Holder of Heaven, Master of Life andDeath, that into our hands be delivered these scoffers who mock at Himand at Tharon--these Cat-murderers of little children, these pollutorsof the Three Fires. And in the morning I shall arise and look into therising sun, and ask the same of the far god who made of me a Mohican, aSiwanois, and a Sagamore. Let these things be done, brother, ere ourhatchets redden in the flames of Catharines-town. For," he added,naively, "it is well that God should know what we are about, lest Hemisunderstand our purpose."
[* "It is well!"]
I assented gravely.
The sun hung level, now, sending its blinding light straight into oureyes; and for precaution's sake we edged away under the blue shadows ofthe shrubbery, in case some far prowler note the light spots where ourfaces showed against the wall of green behind us.
"How far from Catharines-town," I asked, "lies the Vale Yndaia, ofwhich our little Lois has spoken?"
"It is the next valley to the westward. A pass runs through and alittle brook. Pleasant it is, Loskiel, with grassy glades and half ahundred little springs which we call 'Eyes of the Inland Seas.'"
"You know," I said, "that in this valley all the hopes of Lois deContrecoeur are centred."
"I know, Loskiel," he answered gravely.
"Do you believe her mother lives there still?"
"How shall I know, brother? If it were with these depraved andperverted Senecas as it is with other nations, the mother of a HiddenChild had lived there unmolested. Her lodge would have remained hersanctuary; her person had been respected; her Hidden One undisturbeddown to this very hour. But see how the accursed Senecas have dealtwith her, so that to save her child from Amochol she sent it far beyondthe borders of the Long House itself! What shame upon the Iroquois thatthe Senecas have defiled their purest law! May Leshi seize them all! Sohow, then, shall I know whether this white captive mother lives in theVale Yndaia still--or if she lives at all? Or if they have not made ofher a priestess--a sorceress--perhaps The Dreaming Prophetess of theOnon-hou-aroria!--by reason of her throat being white!"
"What!" I exclaimed, startled.
"Did not the Erie boast a Prophetess to confound us all?"
"I did not comprehend."
"Did he not squat, squalling at us from his cave, deriding every secretplan we entertained, and boasting that the Senecas had now a prophetesswho could reveal to them everything their white enemies wereplotting--because her own throat was white?"
I looked at him in silent horror.
"Hai-ee!" he said grimly. "If she still lives at all it is because shedreams for Amochol. And this, Loskiel, has long remained my opinion.Else they had slain her on their altars long ago--strangled her as soonas ever she sent her child beyond their reach. For what she did brokesanctuary. According to the code of the Long House, the child belongedto the nation in which the mother was a captive. And by the mother'sact this child was dedicated to a stainless marriage with some otherchild who also had been hidden. But the Red Sorcerer has perverted thisancient law; and when he would have taken the child to sacrifice it,then did the mother break the law of sanctuary and send her child away,knowing, perhaps, that the punishment for this is death.
"So you ask me whether or not she still lives. And I say to you that Ido not know; only I judge by the boasting of that vile Erie Cat thatshe has bought her life of them by dreaming for their Red Priest. Andif she has done this thing, and has deceived them until this day, thenit is very plain to me that they believe her to be a witch. For it istrue, Loskiel, that those who dream wield heavy influences among allIndians--and among the Iroquois in particular. Yet, with all this, Idoubt not that, if she truly be alive, her life hangs by a singlethread, ever menaced by the bloody knife of Amochol."
"I can not understand," said I, "why she sent out no appeal during herlong captivity. Before this war broke, had her messengers to Lois goneto Sir William Johnson, or to Guy Johnson, with word that the Senecasheld in their country a white woman captive, she had been releasedwithin a fortnight, I warrant you!"
"Loskiel, had that appeal gone out, and a belt been sent toCatharines-town from Johnstown or Guy Park, the Senecas would havekilled her instantly and endured the consequences--even though Amhersthimself was thundering on their Western Gate."
"Are you sure, Mayaro?"
&n
bsp; "Certain, Loskiel. She could not have lived a single moment after theSenecas learned that she had sent out word of her captivity. That istheir law, which even Amochol could not break."
"It was a mercy that our little Lois appealed not to His Excellency, sothat the word ran through Canada by flag to Haldimand."
"She might have done this," said the Sagamore quietly. "She asked me atPoundridge how this might be accomplished. But when I made it clear toher that it meant her mother's death, she said no more about it."
"But pushed on blindly by herself," I exclaimed, "braving the sombreNorthland forests with her little ragged feet--half naked, hungry,friendless, and alone, facing each terror calmly, possessed only of hersingle purpose! O Sagamore of a warrior clan that makes a history ofbrave deeds done, can you read in the records of your most ancientwampum a braver history than this?"
He said: "Let what this maid has done be written in the archives of thewhite men, where are gathered the records of brave but unwise deeds. Soshall those who come after you know how to praise and where to pity ourlittle rosy pigeon of the forest. No rash young warrior of my ownpeople, bound to the stake itself can boast of greater bravery thanthis. And you, blood-brother to a Siwanois, shall witness what I say."
After a silence I said: "They must have passed Wyoming already. At thishour our little Lois may be secure under the guns of Easton. Do you notthink so, Mayaro?"
As he made no answer, I glanced around at him and found him staringfixedly at the trail below us.
"What do you see on our back-trail?" I whispered.
"A man, Loskiel--if it be not a deer."
A moment and I also saw something moving far below us among the trees.As yet it was only a mere spot in the dim light of the trail, slowlyascending the height of land. Nearer, nearer it came, until at lengthwe could see that it was a man. But no rifle slanted across hisshoulder.
"He must be one of our own people," I said, puzzled. "Somebody sends usa messenger. Is he white or Indian?"
"White," said the Sagamore briefly, his eyes still riveted on theapproaching figure, which now I could see was clothed in deerskin shirtand leggins.
"He carries neither pack nor rifle; only a knife and pouch. He is awood-running fool!" I said, disgusted. "Why do they send us such aforest-running battman, when they have Oneidas at headquarters, andCoureurs-de-Bois to spare who understand their business?"
"I make nothing of him," murmured the Mohican, his eyes fairlyglittering with excitement and perplexity.
"Is he, perhaps, some fugitive from Butler's rangers?" I whispered,utterly at a loss to account for such a silly spectacle. "The pitifulidiot! Did you ever gaze upon the like, Mayaro--unless he be someFrench mission priest. Otherwise, yonder walks the greatest of God'sfools!"
"Then he is easily taken," muttered Mayaro. "Fix thy flint, Loskiel,and prime. Here is a business I do not understand."
Once the man halted and looked up at our ledge of rock, where the lastsun rays still lingered, then lightly continued the ascent. And I,turning to the Mohican for some possible explanation of this amazingsight, ere we crept out to closer ambush, found Mayaro staring throughthe trees with a glassy and singular expression which changed swiftlyto astonishment, and then to utter blankness.
"Etho!" he exclaimed, bluntly, springing to his feet behind the nearertrees, regardless whether or not the stranger saw him. "Go forward now,Loskiel. This is a fool's business--and badly begun. Now, let a whiteman's wisdom finish it."
I, too, had risen in surprise, stepping backward also, in order thatthe trees might screen me. And at the same moment the stranger roundedthe jutting shoulder of our crag, and came suddenly face to face withme in midtrail.
"Euan!"
So astounded was I that my rifle fell clattering from my nerveless handas she sprang forward and caught my shoulders with both her hands. AndI saw her grey eyes filling and her lips quivering with words she couldnot utter.
"Lois!" I repeated, as though stupefied. "Lois!"
"Oh, Euan! Euan! I thought I would never, never come up with you!" shewhimpered. "I left the batteau where it touched at Towanda Creek, andhid in the woods and dressed me in the Oneida dress you gave me. Then,by the first batt-man who passed, I sent a message to Lana saying thatI was going back to--to join you. Are you displeased?"
Her trembling hands clasped my shoulders tighter, and her face drewcloser, so that her sweet, excited breath fell on my cheek.
"Listen!" she stammered. "I desire to tell you everything! I will tellyou all, Euan! I ran back along the trail, meeting the boat-guard,batt-men, and the sick horses all along the way to Tioga, where theytook me over on a raft of logs.... I paid them three hard shillings.Then Colonel Shreve heard of what I had been about, and sent a soldierafter me, but I avoided the fort, Euan, and went boldly up through thedeserted camps until I came to where the army had crossed. Someteamsters mending transport wagons gave me bread and meat enough tofill my pouch; and one of them, a kindly giant, took me over theChemung dry shod, I clinging to his broad back like a very cat--and allo' them a-laughing fit to burst!... Are you displeased, dear lad?...Then, just at night, I came up with the rear-guard, where they weresearching for strayed cattle; and I stowed myself away in a broken-downwagon, full of powder--quietly, like a mouse, no one dreaming that Iwas not the slender youth I looked. So none molested me where I layamid the powder casks and sacking."
She smiled wistfully, and stood caressing my arms with her eager littlehands, as though to calm the wrath to come.
"I heard your regiment's pretty conch-horn in the morning," she said,"and slipped out of my wagon and edged forward amid all that swearing,sweating confusion, noticed not at all by anybody, save when a red-headJersey sergeant bawled at me to man a rope and haul at the mired cannonwith the others. But I was deaf just then, Euan, and got free o' themwith nothing worse than a sound cursing from the sergeant; and awayacross the creek I legged it, where I hid in the bush until the firingbegan and the horrid shouting on the ridge. Then it was that, badlyscared, I crept through the Indian grass like a hunted hare, and sawLieutenant Boyd there, and his men, halted across the trail. And verysoon our cannon began, and then it was that I saw you and your Indiansfiling out to the right. So I followed you. Oh, Euan, are you veryangry? Because, dear lad, I have had so lonely a trail, what withkeeping clear of your party so that you might not catch me and send meback, and what with losing you after you had left the main, troddentrail! Save for the marks you left on trees, I had been utterlylost--and must have perished, no doubt----" She looked at me withmelting eyes.
"Think on that, Euan, ere you grow too angry and are cruel with me."
"Cruel? Lois, you have been more heartless than I ever----"
"There! I knew it! Your anger is about to burst its dreadful bounds----"
"Child! What is there to say or do now? What is there left for me, saveto offer you what scant protection I may--good God!--and take youforward with us in the morning? This is a cruel, unmerited perplexityyou have caused me, Lois. What unkind inspiration prompted you to dothis rash, mad, foolish thing! How could you so conduct? What can youhope to accomplish in all this wicked and bloody business that nowconfronts us? How can I do my duty--how perform it to the letter--withyou beside me--with my very heart chilling to water at thought of yourperil----"
"Hush, dearest lad," she whispered, tightening her fingers on mysleeve. "All in the world I care for lies in this place where we nowstand--or near it. Have I not told you that I must go toCatharines-town? How could I remain behind when every tie I have in allthe world was tugging at my heart to draw me hither? You ask me what Ican do--what I can hope to accomplish. God knows--but my mother and mylover are here--and how could I stay away if there was a humble chancethat I might do some little thing to aid her--to aid you, Euan?
"Why do you scowl at me? Try me, Test me. I am tough as an Indianyouth, strong and straight and supple--and as tireless. See--I am notwearied with the trail! I am not afraid. I can do what you do. If youfast I
can fast, too; when you go thirsty I can endure it also; and youmay not even hope to out-travel me, Euan, for I am innured tosleeplessness, to hunger, to fatigue, by two years'vagabondage--hardened of limb and firm of body, self-taught inself-denial, in quiet endurance, in stealth, and patience. Oh, Euan!Make me your comrade, as you would take a younger brother, to schoolhim in the hardy ways of life you know so well! I will be no burden toyou; I will serve you humbly and faithfully; prove docile, obedient,and grateful to the end. And if the end comes in the guise ofdeath--Euan--Euan! Why may I not share that also with you? For theworld's joy dies when you die, and my body might as well die with it!"
So eager and earnest her argument, so tightly she clung to my arms, sopleading and sweet her ardent face, upturned, with the tears scarcelydry under her lashes, that I found nought to answer her, and could onlylook into her eyes--deep, deep into those grey-blue wells oftruth--troubled to silence by her present plight and mine.
I could not take her back now, and also keep my tryst with Boyd atCatharines-town. I could not leave her here by this trail, evenguarded--had I the guards to spare--for soon in our wake would comethundering the maddened debris of the Chemung battle, pell-mell,headlong through the forests, desperate, with terror leading and furylashing at their heels.
I laid my hands heavily upon her firm, young shoulders, and strove tothink the while I studied her; but the enchantment of her confused mymind, and I saw only the crisp and clustering curls, and clear, youngeyes looking into mine, and the lips scarce parted, hanging breathlesson my words.
"O boy-girl comrade!" I said in a low, unsteady voice. "Little boy-girlborn to do endless mischief in this wide and wind-swept forest world ofmen! What am I to say to you, who have your will of everyone beneaththe sun? Who am I to halt the Starry Dancers, or bar your wayward trailwhen Tharon himself has hidden you, and the Little People carry to you'winged moccasins for flying feet as light and swift!' For truly Ibegin to think it has been long since woven in the silvery and eternalwampum--belt after belt, string twisted around string--that you shallgo to Catharines-town unscathed.
"Where she was born returns the rosy Forest Pigeon to her native treefor mating. White-Throat--White-Throat--your course is flown! For thisis Amochol's frontier; and by tomorrow night we enterCatharines-town--thou and I, little Lois--two Hidden Children--onehidden by the Western Gate, one by the Eastern Gate's dark threshold,'hidden in the husks.'...How shall it be with us now, O little rosyspirit of the home-wood? My Indians will ask. What shall I say to themconcerning you?"
"All laws break of themselves before us twain, who, having been hidden,are prepared for mating--where we will--and when.... And if the longflight be truly ended--and the home forests guard our secret--and ifTharon be God also--and His stars the altar lights--and his river-mistmy veil----" She faltered, and her clear gaze became confused. "Whyshould your Indians question you?" she asked.
The last ray of the sun reddened the forest, lingered, faded, and wentout in ashes. I said:
"God and Tharon are one. Priest and Sagamore, clergyman and Sachem,minister, ensign, Roya-neh--red men or white, all are consecratedbefore the Master of Life. If in these Indians' eyes you are still toremain sacred, then must you promise yourself to me, little Lois. Andlet the Sagamore perform the rite at once."
"Betroth myself, Euan?"
"Yes, under the Rite of the Hidden Children. Will you do this--so thatmy Indians can lay your hands upon their hearts? Else they may turnfrom you now--perhaps prove hostile."
"I had desired to have you take me from my mother's arms."
"And so I will, in marriage--if she be alive to give you."
"Then--what is this we do?"
"It is our White Bridal."
"Summon the Sagamore," she said faintly.
And so it was done there, I prompting her with her responses, and themysterious rite witnessed by the priesthood of two nations--Sachem andSagamore, Iroquois and Algonquin, with the tall lodge-poles of thepines confirming it, and the pale ghost-flowers on the moss fulfillingit, and the stars coming one by one to nail our lodge door with silvernails, and the night winds, enchanted, chanting the Karenna of theUncut Corn.
And now the final and most sacred symbol of betrothal was at hand; andthe Oneida Sachem drew away, and the Yellow Moth and the Night Hawkstood aside, with heads quietly averted, leaving the Sagamore alonebefore us. For only a Sagamore of the Enchanted Clan might stand aswitness to the mystery, where now the awful, viewless form of Tharonwas supposed to stand, white winged and plumed, and robed like theEight Thunders in snowy white.
"Listen, Loskiel," he said, "my younger brother, blood-brother to aSiwanois. Listen, also, O Rosy-Throated Pigeon of the Woods--home fromthe unseen flight to mate at last!"
He plucked four ghost-flowers, and cast the pale blossoms one by one tothe four great winds.
"O untainted winds that blow the Indian corn," he said, "winds of thewilderness, winds of the sounding skies--clean and pure as ye are, notone of you has blown the green and silken blankets loose from these,our Hidden Children, nestling unseen, untouched, unstained, closecradled in a green embrace. Nor wind, nor rain, nor hail, not thefierce heat of many summers have revealed these Hidden Ones, strippedthem of the folded verdure that conceals them still, each wrappedwithin the green leaves of the corn.
"Continue to listen, winds of the sounding skies. Let the EightWhite-plumed Thunders listen. An ensign of the Magic Clan bears witnessunder Tharon. A Sagamore veils his face. Let Tharon hear these childrenwhen they speak. Let Tamenund listen!"
Standing straight and tall there in the starlight, he drew his blanketacross his eyes. The Oneidas and the Stockbridge did the same.
Slowly, timidly, in compliance with my whispered bidding, the slender,trembling hands of Lois unlaced my throat-points to the shoulder,baring my chest. Then she said aloud, but in a voice scarce audible, Iprompting every word:
"It is true! Under the folded leaves a Hidden Youth is sleeping. I bidhim sleep awhile. I promise to disturb no leaf. This is the WhiteBridal. I close what I have scarcely parted. I bid him sleep thisnight. When--when----"
I whispered, prompting her, and she found her voice, continuing:
"When at his lodge door they shall come softly and lay shadows to barit, a moon to seal it, and many stars to nail it fast, then, in thedark within, I shall hear the painted quiver rattle as he puts it off;and the antlers fall clashing to the ground. Only the green and tendercloak of innocence shall endure--a little while--then, falling, enfoldus twain embraced where only one had slept before. A promised bride hasspoken."
She bowed her head, took my hands in hers, laid them lightly on herheart; then straightened up, with a long-drawn, quivering breath, andstood, eyes closed, as I unlaced her throat-points, parting thefawn-skin cape till the soft thrums lay on her snowy shoulders.
"It is true," I whispered. "Under the folded leaves a Hidden Maid liessleeping. I bid her sleep awhile; I bid her dream in innocence throughthis White Bridal night. I promise to disturb no leaf that sheathesher. I now refold and close again what I have scarcely touched andopened. I bid her sleep.
"When on my lodge door they nail the Oneida stars, and seal my doorwith the moon of Tharon, and lay long shadows there to bar it; then I,within the darkness there, shall hear the tender rustle of her clinginghusks, parting to cradle two where one alone had slept since she wasborn."
Gently I drew the points, closing the cape around her slender throat,knotted the laces, smoothed out the thrums, took her small hands andlaid them on my breast.
One by one the stately Indians came to make their homage, bending theirwar-crests proudly and placing her hands upon their painted breasts.Then they went away in silence, each to his proper post, no doubt. Yet,to be certain, I desired to make my rounds, and bade Lois await methere. But I had not proceeded three paces when lo! Of a sudden she wasat my side, laughing her soft defiance at me in the darkness.
"No orders do I take save what I give myself," she said. "Which is
nomutiny, Euan, and no insubordination either, seeing that you and I areone--or are like to be when the brigade chaplain passes--if the Toriesmeddle not with his honest scalp! Come! Honest Euan, shall we make ourrounds together? Or must I go alone?"
And she linked her arm in mine and put one foot forward, looking up atme with all the light mischief of the very boy she seemed in her softrifle-dress and leggins, and the bright hair crisply curling 'round hermoleskin cap.
"Have a care of the trees, then, little minx," I said.
"Pooh! Can you not see in the dark?"
"Can you?"
"Surely. When you and I went to the Spring Waiontha, I needed not yourlantern light to guide me."
"I see not well by night," I admitted.
"You do see well by night--through my two eyes! Are we not one? Howoften must I repeat it that you and I are one! One! One! OLoskiel--stealer of hearts, if you could only know how often on myknees I am before you--how truly I adore, how humbly, scarcely daringto believe my heart that tells me such a tale of magic andenchantment--after these barren, loveless years. Mark! Yonder standsthe Grey-Feather! Is that his post?"
"Wonder-eyes, I see him not! Wait--aye, you are right. And he is at hispost. Pass to the left, little minx."
And so we made the rounds, finding every Indian except the Sagamore athis post. He lay asleep. And after we had returned to our southernledge of rock, and I had spread my blanket for her and laid my pack topillow her, I picked up my rifle and rose from my knees.
"And you?" she asked.
"I stand guard across the trail below."
"Why? When all except the Siwanois are watching! The Night Hawk isthere. Stretch yourself here beside me and try to sleep. Your watchwill come too soon to suit you, or me either, for that matter."
"Do you mean to go on guard with me?"
"Do you dream that I shall let you stand your guard alone, young sir?"
"This is folly, Lois--"
"Euan, you vex me. Lie beside me. Here is sufficient blanket room andpillow. And if you do not sleep presently and let me sleep too, ourwits will all be sadly addled when they summon us."
So I stretched myself out beside her and looked up, open eyed, intodarkness.
"Sleep well," she whispered, smothering a little laugh.
"Sleep safely, Lois."
"That is why I desired you--so I might sleep safely, knowing myselfsafe when you are, too. And you are safe only when you are at my side.Do you follow my philosophy?"
I said presently: "This is our White Bridal, Lois. The ceremonycompletes itself by dawn."
"Save that the Sagamore is but a heathen priest, truly I feel myselfalready wedded to you, so solemn was our pretty rite.... Dare you kissme, Euan? You never have. Christians betrothed may kiss each otheronce, I think."
"Not such as we--if the rite means anything to us."
"Why?"
"Not on the White Bridal night--if we regard this rite as sacred."
"I feel its sacredness. That is why I thought no sin if you should kissme--on such a night."
She sat up in her blanket; and I sat up, too.
* "Tekasenthos," she said.
[* "I am weeping."]
* "Chetena, you are laughing!"
[* "Mouse."]
* "Neah. Tekasenthos!" she insisted.
[* "No, I am weeping."]
"Why?"
"You do not love me," she remarked, kicking off one ankle moccasin.
* "Kenonwea-sasita-ha-wiyo, chetenaha!" I said, laughing.
[* "I love your beautiful foot, little mouse."]
* "Akasita? Katontats. But is that all of me you love?"
[* "My foot? I consent."]
"The other one also."
"The other one also."
* "Neah-wenh-a, O Loskiel. I shall presently slay you and go to sleep."
[* "I thank you."]
There fell a silence, then:
"Do you not know in your heart how it is with me?" I said unsteadily.
She lay down, facing me.
"In my heart I know, beloved above all men! But I am like a child withyou--desiring to please, ardent, confused, unaccustomed. And everythingyou say delights me--and all you do--or refrain from doing--thrills mewith content.... It was so true and sweet of you to leave my lipsuntouched. I adore you for it--but then I had adored you if you hadkissed me, also. Always, your decision pleasures me."
After a long while I spoke cautiously. She lay asleep, her lips scarceparted; but in her sleep she seemed to hear my voice, for one arm stoleout in the dark and closed around my neck.
And so we lay until the dark forms gliding from the forest summoned meto mount my guard, and Lois awoke with a little sigh, sat upright, thensprang to her feet to face the coming dawn alone with me.