My sister calmly writes that message down. Then she hands Agili the paper. She turns to look at me, an impish grin on her face, and then runs off to stand by the same distant tree where she was before. And when my father comes back, he takes the paper and stands next to Black Fox, whose arms are defiantly crossed.

“I will read what is written,” he says. The gentle smile on his face becomes a little broader. “Even though I do not agree with it.” Then he reads the message my sister wrote.

“‘I, Black Fox, speak these words. We are not children who can be fooled by Sequoyah’s tricks. His foolish marks cannot carry my words. If they do, then I, Black Fox, will eat the paper they are written upon.’”

Black Fox has uncrossed his arms and the look on his face has changed to one of amazement.

“You do not have to eat this paper, my friend,” Sequoyah says. “Just tell me what you think now.”

Black Fox turns to the crowd.

“Those are my words,” Black Fox says. “I was wrong.”

Some of people in the crowd are smiling now.

“It is true,” I hear Equgugu’s father say. “Sequoyah has found a way for the leaves to talk Tsalagi.”

Not everyone is in agreement. I still hear a few cold voices of doubt in the crowd.

“All that has been proved,” someone mutters, “is that both Sequoyah and his daughter are witches.”

But before anything else can be said, Agili has placed himself in front of us and is raising his hands again for silence.

“My friends,” he says, “now you have seen and heard this. Some of you are convinced—as I am. But I know that some of you are still uncertain. You may see, as I see, the power of being able to read and write our own language.

“So I have an idea. Let us test Sequoyah’s talking leaves further. Let us send word to our other towns and ask them to send us a few young men eager to learn. Let Sequoyah teach them how to use the talking leaves and then in every town have a public test until all of our people are of one mind. Shall we do this? I ask, SHALL WE DO THIS?”

“Uu!” Black Fox says. “Yes.”

“Yes,” says Yugi’s mother from within the crowd.

Another says yes and then another. Uu! Uu! Yes! Yes! It washes through the crowd like a wind growing strength, like a wave moving the surface of wide water. Even those who still doubt can no longer be heard as the crowd begins to chant their agreement.

Yes, yes, let us do this.