“Did I say that?” Tihi hoped she was hiding her emotions well enough. “Should you decide she should be your wife, I will stand by you as I have always stood by you in all that you have done. But it would be a shame, would it not, to have the Nansusequa way be lost to the world?”
“Yes, it would.”
Tihikanima smiled sweetly. Now she must feed the fire of doubt she had planted so it became a raging bonfire. “Think about it, my son. We are the last of our kind. I keep saying that because it is important for you to fully understand. After we are gone, the Nansusequa will be no more.” She paused and gently squeezed his arm. “Unless you and your sisters carry on the beliefs and customs of our people. On your shoulders rests whether the Nansusequa die out or are reborn.”
“Reborn?” Dega repeated.
“Your children, my son, and Tenikawaku’s and Mikikawaku’s, are our future. They will in turn have children of their own, and their children after them. Hopefully, large families. If each of you has five children and each of them has five children and so on, in a hundred summers there will be a hundred Nansusequa where now there are only five.”
“I had not thought of that, either.”
“Do you see how important it is? In your hands rests the rebuilding of our people. In your hands is the future of all that we are.”
Dega gazed off toward the lake, and a troubled look came over him. “In our hands,” he said softly.
Tihi pressed her argument. “They
“Yes.”
Tihi patted his shoulder. “Good. I was worried that perhaps you did not, which is why I brought all this up.”
“Have you talked to my sisters about it?”
“I have talked to Teni. She is of the age where she might take a husband if she finds one who suits her. Miki is young yet. I will wait until she is a little older.”
“You have given me much to think about.”
Tihi decided to give him more. “Think of how different we are from the whites. We believe in living in harmony with all that is. The whites believe they must control all that is and bend it to their will. We believe in That Which Is In All Things and respect the right of all living things to the gift of life the Manitoa has bestowed. To us, our fellow creatures are our brothers and sisters. The deer in the woods. The elk in the thick brush. The birds in the trees. To the whites they are nothing but animals. Beasts, they call them, and slaughter them for furs and for food. Is this not true?”
Dega said reluctantly, “With most whites it is.”
“I ask you. Does Evelyn King believe in the Manitoa as we do?”
“No.”
“Does she regard the deer and the elk as her brothers and sisters, or does she regard them as animals?”
“To her they are animals,” Dega said, with an odd rasping to his voice.
“Does she give thanks each day to That Which Is In All Things for the breath of life in her, or does she take that breath for granted?”
Dega sadly stared at the ground.
“I have spoken enough for now.” Tihi stood and caressed his head. “Ponder my words and you will agree. You must take for your wife a woman who will live the Nansusequa way. No other will do. Do you agree?”
Barely audible, Dega said, “Yes, Mother.”
“Good. I am sorry if this has upset you.”
“No. You did right.”
“Thank you.” Tihi smiled and walked off. When she was out of his hearing she declared, “So much for Evelyn King.”
Tihikanima laughed.
Chapter Nine
The bright afternoon sun bathed the deep blue of King Lake.
Evelyn slowed her horse from a trot to a walk as she neared the east end. She was always so eager to see Degamawaku that she yearned to rush into his arms. But that would be unseemly. So she walked Buttercup up to the Great Lodge in the shade of the tall trees and dismounted. No one was about. She walked toward the opening and stopped short when Dega’s father emerged. “Hello, Wakumassee,” she said.
Waku was dressed all in green. He had a broad chest and a high forehead and always carried himself straight and tall. Smiling warmly, he clasped her hand. “Evelyn King.” His English was thickly accented. He was trying hard to learn the language and doing the best of all of them, Dega included. “My heart very happy to see you.”
“I came to talk to Dega.”
“He not here,” Waku told her. “He went walk a while ago and not back yet.”
“Oh.” Evelyn tried to hide her disappointment. “Do you know which way he went?”
“I not notice. Sorry.” Waku gestured at the Great Lodge. “Want come in? We have tea your mother give us.”
“No, thank you.” Evelyn was only interested in seeing Dega. She scanned the woods and spied a figure approaching. “There’s Tihikanima. Maybe she knows where he is.”
Tihikanima came out of the trees. On seeing Evelyn she spread her arms wide and smiled and embraced her.
“How do you do?” Evelyn said politely. The mother was always friendly to her, but for some reason Evelyn never felt entirely comfortable around her.
Tihikanima spoke to Wakumassee and he translated.
“My wife say she much happy to see you. She say you like daughter to her. Always welcome.”
“Thank her for me,” Evelyn requested, “and please ask her if she has seen Dega.”
Waku translated, then said, “My wife say she not see our son. She say him maybe not back until dark.”
“Oh.” This time Evelyn let her disappointment show. “I was hoping to talk to him. I want to ask him to go on a picnic with me tomorrow.”
“What is picnic?” Waku asked.
“We would take food in a basket and go for a ride,” Evelyn explained. “Find a good spot and eat it.” She refrained from mentioning that secretly she hoped to keep him out overnight.
“That sound nice.” Again Waku translated for the benefit of his wife. “Tihi say we tell Dega when him come back.”
“Thank her for me.” It struck Evelyn that the mother hardly ever spoke English or even tried to, and she wondered why that was. She turned and climbed on Buttercup. “My ma wanted me to remind you that your family is invited to Sunday supper.”
“We be there,” Waku assured her. “Thank mother.”
“I will.” Evelyn rode to the south along the shore. She was glum. Putting off the picnic another day or two really made no difference except that she’d had her heart set on doing it the next day. She gave her Hawken an angry shake.
Ahead, several does were drinking. They raised their heads and pricked their ears, then bounded off with their tails erect.
A large snake slithered in among a cluster of rocks. Evelyn only caught a glimpse and couldn’t tell what kind it was. To be safe, she reined wide to avoid it. They’d had problems with rattlesnakes recently and she’d fought shy of snakes ever since. She was near the edge of the woods and instinctively raised her rifle when a shadow moved.
“How you be, Evelyn?”
