She nodded vigorously again and began to explain her presence there on the Yellowstone. Soon the story poured out of her. When she and her younger sister left their father’s cabin to dig up wild turnips, they were accosted by two white men on horseback. She recognized the two men as evil men who came to the reservation to sell whiskey to the young men of her village. “One of them asked me if I wanted to go with him,” she said. “When I said no, he tried to grab me, but my sister and I ran. He ran me down on his horse and knocked me to the ground. Then he tied me up. The man who took me asked his friend if he wanted my sister and he said ‘No, she is too young.’ They didn’t tie her up, and I was afraid they were going to shoot her, so I told her to run to tell our father what had happened to me. The man who held me tried to grab her, but she was too quick, and she ran into the forest. The other man was still on his horse, but he didn’t try to run her down. He shot at her, instead, but he missed her. Morning Sky can run very fast, and the man’s horse would not hold still, so he missed when he shot at her again.”

“So, she got away,” Hawk said, and Winter Flower nodded. “But you got away, too. It looks like you were in the river.”

“Yes, they drank much whiskey and got sleepy. They didn’t tie me very good, so I got away while they slept. They have been looking for me since this morning, and I think if they find me, they will kill me. The one called Luke said that he would kill me if I tried to run away. So, I slipped out of their camp and crossed the river, hoping they would not follow me. But they must have seen footprints where I went into the river because I heard them on the other side behind me. So, I crossed back to this side and found a place to hide.”