Bill Dugan_War Chiefs 04 by Quanah Parker

will speak on her behalf.”
    “But I don’t …”
    “You think she is pretty. I know that. I see you making sick calf eyes at her at the dances. After each hunt you give her so much buffalo meat that no one else has to give her anything. When she makes moccasins, she gives you the best pair. When she goes down to the river to bathe, sometimes you sneak into the willows and watch.”
    “How did you know … I never … but, I am not ready to be married. There is …”
    “There is nothing left for you to accomplish that you cannot accomplish with a wife. And if you have a family, I think maybe you will even live longer. As a friend, that is something that is important to me. You know how the hot-blooded young men are. They are so busy trying to impress one another that they don’t stop to think. They think war is a game.”
    “It
is
a game.”
    “No. Nothing which leads to death is a game. Life is too important for that. You are a great warrior. Everyone knows that. There is nothing left for you to prove. I think maybe it is time that you paid more attention to how long you live and less to how close you can come to dying.”
    “I don’t know. I …” He stopped again and tilted his head, looking at his friend out of the corner of his eye. “She is pretty, isn’t she? She is a good woman. But she is a little older than … “
    “Not so old. Only twenty-two or twenty-three winters. Younger than you are. It would be a good match. You know that, and so does everyone else in the village.”
    “Do you think that she knows it, too?”
    “Yes, I think she knows it. But if it will make you feel better, I will ask her.”
    “You can’t just come right out and ask her something like that.”
    “Why not?”
    “What if she says no?”
    “Will that hurt your pride so much? Besides, who will know? Only you and me and Black Feather. I will tell no one, and neither will she. So, if anyone learns about it, it will be because you pull a long face and mope around. But I don’t think she will say no.”
    “Maybe you could … “
    “What?”
    “What about the marriage gifts? She has nothing. How will it look?”
    “I will take care of that. Since I will speak forher, I will take that responsibility. It is the custom, and you know that. You are just looking for excuses. The great Black Snake, who eats Apache for his morning meal then cuts the heart out of a Pawnee for his evening meal is afraid of a woman, a white woman at that. Now
that
I will not keep to myself, and you will have no one to blame. “
    “Sometimes,” Black Snake said, laughing in spite of himself, “I wish I were chief, so I could make you do things that make your skin hot and the women laugh at you behind your back.”
    “No, my friend, you would not really want to be chief. Not if you knew the things I have to worry about. Arranging a marriage for a friend is an easy thing. But it might be the only easy thing.”
    Suddenly, both men were aware of the jubilant chaos around them, and the press of women and children on all sides. Nocona knew that meant that the thing was settled and that they were free to think about other things.
    “I will ask her about keeping the boy right now. I will speak about the other thing later.”
    “When?” Black Snake sounded eager, in spite of himself.
    “Tonight. Unless you want me to do it now.”
    “No!” The answer came so quickly, Black Snake was embarrassed. Nocona smiled, but didn’t make the obvious observation that his friend was more terrified of the woman than of any foe.
    “Come with me,” Nocona said.
    Black Snake shook his head. “No, I think it …”
    “He is your captive. You should be there when I talk to her.”
    “You won’t mention the other thing?”
    Nocona smiled. “No. I won’t mention the other thing. I promise.”
    He glanced down then, as if aware for the first time that he held a small white hand in his own. He saw the girl looking up at him, her face apprehensive but