He rode with me a little way, but I noticed he didn’t reload that ancient rifle and hand it back to me. I couldn’t fault him for that. I didn’t want to touch it again, either.

The rain stopped before sunset. Blue Mountain Woman rode with us, exchanging sharp words with her son. My head started to ache. Would this awful day never end? Hawk snapped back at her, then dig his heels into his horse’s flank and left us behind. I assumed she had berated him for giving me that musket in the first place.

She rode knee to knee with me, as if to protect me. I sensed that she wasn’t about to let me out of her sight again, at least as long as there were Crows around, circling the pony herd like wolves. There was no need for her to fear that I would attempt anything so foolhardy again; I had no dead wish. “I am all right, Blue Mountain Woman,” I assured her. “You can look after Meopwits.”

“I watch you,” she insisted, taking my hands in hers. “Like my own.”

Poor lady, but she had Meopwits and me to worry about. Her father rode with his head down, crying off and on. Cry cry. He had cut off his hair, too. Because his hair was already thin with old age, he looked plucked.

The Crow scouts made another attempt to capture the herd before dark, seeming to rise out of the ground. They rode in a wide circle to the west of the herd, flapping blankets again and yipping. They killed a young warrior and raced away with a few more horses before they were beaten back.

The People were tiring. Even I could see it. We were all glad when the sun went down. My teeth chattered and my stomach hurt so much that I wanted to cry. I think I could have eaten anything. I had a sharp longing for chicken smothered in mushroom gravy, topped off with a big serving of mashed potatoes with a glob of butter melting in the middle of it. Why quibble? I would have settled for a bowl of cold oatmeal.

I was about ready to yank off my remaining bootlace and suck on it when Hawk rode by and handed his mother two rabbits. Their fur was blood-soaked and cold with death and rain, but we weren’t picky. Blue Mountain skinned one of the rabbits. I watched her, then worked over the other one under her direction. It wasn’t even a good first attempt, to my view, but I could identify all the parts and my fingers were still attached to my hand. Looked like progress to me.