Page 58 of The Spirit of the Wolf
He must have seen them, for he asked, “Do you cry?”
“Of course I am crying. I am disheartened.”
“And is this the only reason you cry?”
She bit her lip, refusing to say more.
He groaned and rolled to the side of her, though he kept one arm and one leg thrown over her. With some reluctance he said, “You have made your point.”
“Oh? Really? And what point is that?”
He sighed. “I will do it.”
“What? What will you do?”
“I will take you to the trading post instead of going on to the forest.”
Instantly, she went still. “I don’t believe you.”
He shrugged. “You don’t have to.”
She hesitated, then, “You will?”
He nodded, but she could barely see the gesture. “However, we will not be able to take the pony, for our safety will rely completely on my ability to move across the prairie undetected. So I might be able to do this, you will have to learn a little about the prairie itself, for you must become a scout.”
She eagerly bobbed her head.
“And if I do this, if I teach you how to scout, I must have your promise that you will use every bit of your power to learn these skills—and quickly.”
“I will,” she said at once. “I promise.”
“And there is one more thing.”
“Oh?” Cautious, she raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“You must swear to me that you will obey me, no matter what I say, and at once. For if there be trouble, I will not have the leisure to explain myself. Do you agree?”
She hesitated. “Whatever you say?”
He breathed out heavily, as though she did much to frustrate him. “If there is trouble.”
“Oh, very well then. I agree.”
“It is well. I will make a camp here so I can fashion a few weapons from stone and begin your instruction in how to become the spirit of the wolf.”
She stared at him, simply stared at this man’s uncommon handsomeness. “Spirit of the wolf?”
“Hau. In an Indian village, this is what we call our scouts.”
“I see,” she said, and then she did the unexpected. Without a single word, she threw her arms around Grey Coyote and whispered, “Thank you.”
Chapter
Twelve
“To be a scout,” he instructed, “you must become accustomed to the wilderness. You must begin to think of it as your home, and you must feel as comfortable here as you would in your England.”
She nodded.
