Page 94 of Red Hawk's Woman

“Partly.”

“Is it also why you have wanted to marry me? Please say no.”

“Saa. Of course it is not. Some time in our near future, I am going to buy you a white man’s mirror that you never have to question me on this again.”

She seemed to ignore what he’d said. “However, it would fit, wouldn’t it? If you knew I was committed to finding these things, then it would be in your interest to make sure I would give them to you.”

He shrugged. “Perhaps it might seem to be so. But it is not true. You know that I have loved you since the first time I saw you. Besides, I have been seeking what you seek. It has never been my intention to take these things from you, only to free my people.”

“Yes,” she argued, “but then perhaps to free your people, you will need to take them from me. Have you thought of this possibility?”

“Saa. I do not believe stealing these from you is a part of my vision. The Creator would not make it so.”

“Maybe not, and my worry is unfounded. But I should tell you that my father has instructed me to keep all four of the artifacts together. He has told me I must give them to no one but the Lost Clan.”

“And so you will,” he said. “Through me.”

“But how do I know that’s true? The Lost Clan should consist of many people, not just one. I love you, I want to believe you and do what’s right for you, but someone is trying to steal these artifacts from me, for purposes of their own.”

“Do you think I do this?”

“No, but… My father told me when the time comes, I will know what to do. It may be that I cannot give them to you. I…simply don’t know.”

“Aa, I understand. We will have to wait, then, and see what happens when we finally locate the missing two pieces. Perhaps we will better understand what is needed then.”

“Perhaps. I can only hope it is. And, Red Hawk?”

“Aa?”

“If it’s only you and I who are to dig for these things, as the sea dog has instructed, when will we be able to do this without the others knowing? If I am gone for lengthy times each day, others will get suspicious. They might follow me. Must we work at night?”

“Perhaps. Or we might work in the early hours of the morning, when there is at least a little light. Perhaps sometime during the day tomorrow, you can sneak some of your digging equipment to our pool, and I will take these tools to this site. But remember, the others must not know what we do. You do grasp that whatever a vision says we must do; it must be done?”

She shrugged. “I do. It seems only right anyway. But why must a person do as the vision instructs?”

“To my people, a vision is the voice of the Creator speaking through a man’s protector. To fail to do as asked is to go against His wishes. It is rare that a man would abuse this. Now you are an unusual woman, because women are seldom given visions. You do realize that you, too, have had a vision? One that we share?”

“What has happened here tonight is what’s called a vision?”

“Aa,” he said. “’Tis so.” Leaning forward, for he still held her within his arms, her back toward him, he first rubbed his cheek against hers, then planted a kiss on the side of her face. “’Tis so.”

Chapter

Twenty-Two

And so it began. To bed early, up in the wee hours of the day, long before the sun was due to rise. Each morning Effie and Red Hawk would meet by their pool. Each morning, by the light of a thousand stars, they swam to the cavern, there to dig. It took them no less than a week to uncover an area that was approximately seven feet by seven feet square.

But there was no trace of the artifacts to be found. They had discovered a few bones, and of course dirt and sand. But this was all.

“Are you certain this is where we’re supposed to be digging?” she had asked one night.

“I am confident of it.”

“But there is nothing here.”

“They are hidden,” he said. “If it were easy, they would have been found many seasons ago.”

She could find no reason to argue with him on the point, so they continued. In many ways, Effie felt as though she were living a double life. One was that of the staid and proper site director, the other that of unannounced wife and digger.