The Pawnees were up early. They went about their chores quietly. The children gathered wood and the women got a fire going. Red Fox and Hawk Takes Wing were preparing to ride out in search of buffalo.
“One more kill and we will head back to our village,” Red Fox mentioned. “Our pack animals cannot carry much more meat.”
“I wish you success in your hunt,” Nate said sincerely, and offered his hand in the white fashion.
Red Fox stared at it, then smiled and shook. “I am proud to call Grizzly Killer my friend.”
“Perhaps one day our two families can get together again.”
“I would like that.”
Nate was almost sorry to ride off. He would have enjoyed more of Red Fox’s company. But he was eager to reach the valley he now called home and make sure his son, Zach, and his best friend, Shakespeare McNair, hadn’t gotten into any trouble in his absence. McNair knew better, as old as he was. But Zach was young and rash, and often as not got into hot water without half trying.
Strung out single file, they pushed on. They had been under way only a short while when Nate, who was in the lead, was joined by someone else.
“They sure were nice Injuns,” Emala Worth said.
“You sound surprised.”
“I don’t mind admittin’ I am. I mean, your wife is as sweet a woman as ever I met, and I adore her. But I never figured on liking other Injuns as much as I like that there Red Fox.”
“You’re learning.”
“I am? What, exactly?”
“That it doesn’t matter what color skin a person has. People are people. There are good ones and bad ones of every color. The thing is to savvy enough to tell the difference.”
“You’re awful smart for a man who lives up in the Rocky Mountains,” Emala said.
Nate chuckled. “Anyone who likes the wilderness must be stupid?”
“No, no, I didn’t mean that at all. You’re sure not. You speak as well as Master Justin and Master Frederick ever did. Must come from you bein’ a reader and all.”
“I suppose that has something to do with it.”
“Your wife is awful smart, too. She knows more languages than I have fingers. And she says your son and your girl are the same as the two of you.”
“Nate realized she was trying to make a point. “What are you trying to tell me, Emala?”
“Just this: I don’t want to impose. But I’ve been thinkin’ and I’ve got a favor to ask.”
“You want us to watch Randa and Chickory so you and your husband can go off by yourselves this evening?”
Emala blinked, then snorted, then burst into hearty laughter. “Oh, Mr. King. You are a dreadful tease. Samuel and me haven’t fooled around since we went on the run, and I don’t know as I will again until I have a roof over my head.”
“Then what’s the favor?”
“I’d like to ask if you and your missus would mind teachin’ my girl and my boy learnin’.”
“How much schooling have they had?”
“None.”
Nate nearly drew rein. “None whatsoever?”
“We were slaves, Mr. King. The folks who owned us didn’t allow for no schoolin’. All they cared about was that we tended their cotton fields and did the other work they made us do.” Emala sighed. “I can read, thanks to my ma. She taught me her own self. I tried to teach mine, but they didn’t take to it like I did.”
“And your husband?”
“Samuel can’t read or write a lick. I offered to teach him to read, but he couldn’t be bothered. Said it wouldn’t do him no good.”
“Learning to read opens up whole new worlds,” Nate said. He was thinking of the works of Irving and Cooper and the poetry of Byron that he had on his bookshelf in his cabin.
“Our owners didn’t want us openin’ new worlds. They wanted us to be content with what we had.”
Nate tried to imagine what it must have been like to be lorded over by others, to have no say in one’s own life, to be treated as property instead of as people. “I feel sorry for you, Emala.”
“Goodness. I’m grateful you care, but I don’t want your pity. I doubt Samuel does, either.”
“You’ve lived a hard life.”
“So? Except for the rich, who doesn’t? I’m not complain’, mind you. I won’t shed tears over who I am or where I was born. I had no say in that and it does no good to whine over things that are.”
“I agree.”
“But now I can do as I please, and it pleases me to try to better my children. What do you say? Will you do it?”
“I’m not sure exactly what you want us to teach.”
“Readin’ and writin’. Randa can read a little, but she’s never read an entire book in her life. As for Chickory, he takes after his father. Which is too bad. The last thing this world needs is two Samuel Worths.”
“You’re awful hard on him.”
“Oh, please. He’s a grown man. He can take it. Besides, ask any woman and she will tell you that men are like bulls. They’re ornery and stubborn and have to be led around by the nose or they get into all sorts of trouble.”
“Oh, Emala…”
“What? As God is my witness, I’m speakin’ the truth. But what do you say? Will you help us? Can you teach my kids to talk as good as your wife and read like you do?”
“Wait. You think my wife talks better than I do?”
“Oh, Lord, yes. Winona is a wonderment. She is as red as I am black, yet she speaks white better than both of us.”
Nate wasn’t being told anything he didn’t already know. “I sure married a smart lady.”
“That you did. Me, I married a man with more stubborn between his ears than brains.”
“Oh, Emala…”
“Why do you keep sayin’ that? If I speak my mind, it’s because I have a lot of mind to speak and I’m not shy about speakin’ it.”
“I’m going to like having you for a neighbor.”
“Really?”
“Just remember, if Samuel and you ever need us to watch your kids for a night so you two can be frisky, let us know.”
“Oh, Mr. King…”
Red Fox was pleased. He and Hawk Takes Wing found a small herd of buffalo early in the day and brought one down, and now they were headed back to their camp on the Platte River to get their wives. Pawnee men did the hunting; the women did the skinning and the butchering. That was how it had always been for as long as any Pawnee could remember.
The sun shone bright in a pale blue sky. Around them, the grass was stirred by a welcome breeze.
Red Fox loved the prairie. The unending green, the splashes of flower color, the many kinds of animals, were a spectacle of which he never tired. The mountains, with their thick forests and deep canyons, were nice, but he loved the prairie more.
On this particular morning, Hawk Takes Wing was in fine spirits, too. “Once the women have cut and dried the meat we can return to our village.”
Red Fox grunted. He was looking forward to that. As much as he loved to hunt, he loved his people more. It gave him great satisfaction to fill their bellies.
Unexpectedly, Hawk Takes Wing asked, “What did you think of Grizzly Killer?”
“If more whites were like him, I would respect whites more.”
“Do you think he has killed as many of the great bears as they say he has? I heard he has killed fifty, but that cannot be.”
“I asked him. He said he does not remember the exact number. For a white man he is humble.”
“That surprised me. Many whites strut around like elk in rut. Even when they are rabbits.”
Red Fox chuckled. “I can see why the Shoshones adopted him. I hope I see him again.”