He wasn’t sure of the best way to respond to her theory. Young Indian boys, as a ritual of coming of age, went out in the wilderness alone with no food or water to fast for days seeking the source of their medicine. But what might be normal for boys was not the custom for girls. He had to admit she had created a good story, and he supposed there was no harm in letting her believe in it. He had made up different stories about the reason he wore the feather in his hatband, but the truth of it was he just happened to find a stray hawk feather now and again. And when he did, he would swap the one in his hat for it, if it was in better shape, and it was simply because his name was Hawk. He was reluctant to tell her that, because her eyes were literally shining as she looked into his eyes, waiting for him to tell her she was right, and he had been sent to her by the spirit of the hawk. She continued to look to him as if waiting for him to confirm her belief, and he didn’t have the heart to tell her he wasn’t sent to the banks of the Yellowstone by anyone, bird or man. He just liked that particular spot to camp in. He thought for a minute before he responded to her story.

“How old are you, Winter Flower?”

“I have fourteen summers,” she answered, “but my mother says I am very wise for my age.”

“Well, I can believe that with no trouble a-tall.” He could not help thinking about another young girl close to her age, whose memory he kept in a safe place in the depths of his mind. “No one of us can hope to learn the secrets of this life we’re given. They are too many for a man or a woman to understand. But once in a while, we may be given just a little glimpse of a secret. I think that’s what happened to you yesterday. I think somebody thinks you’ve got too much more to do in your life to be stopped by the likes of those two. And I’m glad that somebody sent me to help you. I think it would be good if we swapped feathers. You take mine and I’ll wear your feather in my hat. Whaddaya think?” That seemed to please her very much, so that’s what they did. Judging by the expression on her face, he could imagine that she was convinced that the hawk was truly her guardian. He took her feather and placed it in his hatband. “I don’t know,” he said, “that feather might be prettier than the one I had.” He gave her a smile, put his hat on, and said, “Whaddaya say we take you back home now?”

* * *