“And if you do not bring Jacob back?” Emmy asked hesitantly.
“Then Ksi Amawaal failed in the negotiations, or he is not among the captives.” Jojo looked down, then back up at Emmy.
“Or Jacob is dead.”
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
The words struck Emmy in the gut and her heart at the same time. She recovered her composure and jutted her chin forward to contain a desperate urge to weep.
Then, with a bravado, she said, “And if he is there and Ksi Amawaal fails in his negotiations. Then what?”
The intensity of her stare must have given her away, for Jojo shook his head.
“Following them would be very dangerous, Mrs. Evers. They will be looking for us anyway, and we could fall right into their hands.”
Their gazes locked, hers determined and his beseeching.
Finally, Jojo sighed and then nodded. “If he is there, I will do my best to win him back for you.”
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
On the next morning, it began to rain hard, so many people stayed inside their shelters and long houses. That continued most of the day, and by mid-afternoon, many were drunk on Marté’s liquor.
Shortly before dark, Anah, heralded by Klixuatan and leading the tethered gifts of two adolescent slaves, presented himself as “Taxcilsi’ Na,” a Kwakiutl tyee, to the Tsimshian chieftain.
Ksi Amawaal’s younger brother received them and waived the entourage into the long house.
Anah seemed stunned by the wealth displayed—beautiful furs and sculptures, delicately stitched wall hangings, abundant food, and many beautiful metal hammerings.
A few minutes later, Ksi Amawaal, bedecked in a multicolored and feathered ceremonial gown, entered from a side portal accompanied by five other tyees from Tsimshian and Bella Coola clans, all of whom were also beautifully dressed.
By comparison, the Northerners had only their tattoos and shell labrets with simple clothing designed for rapid travel.
Ksi Amawaal bade them all to sit facing each other on long ornately carved and sanded cedar plank benches. In the murkiness of the smoke-filled room, Anah and Ksi Amawaal measured each other. Neither blinked. Then Klixuatan stepped forward and addressed Ksi Amawaal in the Tsimshian dialect.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
Jojo, who had entered with Ksi Amawaal’s group but kept to the rear of the contingent, studied Anah’s entourage intently. The shaman’s pronunciation and accent were so bad that it made Jojo smile at his clumsiness. It almost made him forget, for a moment, that the old man, like everyone in his group, was a brutal killer.
“Mighty Ksi Sityaawt Amawaal, I speak for my leader Taxcilsi’ Na, in giving you praise for being a powerful tyee. He gives you these strong young women as a tribute to you and your family and your daughter who is joining you with the Bella Coola.”
As Jojo watched, it was apparent that Anah did not understand everything his shaman was saying, but Ksi Amawaal did.
He bowed to Anah, and Anah bowed slightly back. Klixuatan went on.
“We are here to trade, with your blessing, with other tyees or Tsimshian and Bella Coola who might have need,” Klixuatan indicated the slaves, “for what we bring.”
Ksi Amawaal nodded, then looked toward the door. Klixuatan turned to one of the younger men in the Northerners’ company who stepped outside and then reentered with eight tethered captives. Jacob was the last to be led in the door.
Jojo recognized him immediately and saw that Ksi Amawaal did as well.
The negotiation proceeded just as Jojo had predicted to Emmy. For all eight of the captives, Ksi Amawaal first offered a variety of gifts, including the items that Emmy and Jojo had ferried up the river.
Klixuatan, without conferring with Anah, immediately rejected that offer.
Then Ksi Amawaal conferred with his younger brother and two of the Tsimshian tyees. He turned back to Anah and offered the equivalent of two hundred U.S. gold dollars for all the captives.
That caused Klixuatan to pause and confer with Anah, who held back even then, rejecting the offer.
Ksi Amawaal feigned disappointment but again consulted with his tyees.
Ksi Amawaal turned to Klixuatan and held up four fingers, doubling the offer.
Anah looked over his slaves and shook his head again.
On cue, Ksi Amawaal turned one more time to his conferees, then, after a brief discussion, back to Klixuatan. He pointed to Jacob and held up four fingers.
Jojo held his breath during the long pause that ensued. He recognized that when Anah and Klixuatan saw this offer, they knew immediately that Ksi Amawaal had perceived the value of Jacob.
Jojo expected more haggling, but instead the Northerners shook their heads, stood up, and walked out of the negotiation, taking their captives with them.
Jojo had not anticipated this reaction. Did Anah and Klixuatan believe Jacob had some special magic? Unfortunately, Ksi Amawaal’s bargaining had confirmed their fears. Perhaps they believed selling Jacob would confer to someone else a power they did not yet understand but needed to harness.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
Anah made his way back to his encampment, apoplectic at the encounter. Screaming loudly to Klixuatan, he instructed the shaman to bind Jacob again and then attempt to sell the remaining captives for as much gold as he could get from whomever was willing in the entire encampment.
They would depart when the shaman had traded enough to purchase the weapons and cannons Anah needed for the coming raiding season.
As Anah watched Klixuatan fumble with Jacob’s ropes, he began bellowing at the sky.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
And it was in this state of distraught agitation that René Marté and Eben Cull found Anah.
Marté had held back on approaching the Northerners, anticipating that if he could not succeed in bringing Emmy and Sarah to them before the negotiation, he would be better served by tracking Emmy afterward and returning with three captives instead of two.
Unfortunately for Marté, he did not understand the relationship between Anah and Jacob and thus had not expected the negotiation to fail. When Marté told Anah he had travelled with Jojo and Emmy and knew they were the negotiators behind Ksi Amawaal’s ploy, Anah became
