"How is it," mused the young man, "that I have hoped to become a leader among my people? My father is not a chief, and none of my ancestors were distinguished in war. I know well that, if I desire to be great, I must deny myself the pleasure of woman's company until I have made my reputation. I must not boast nor exhibit myself on my first success. The spirits do not visit the common haunts of men! All these rules I have thus far kept, and I must not now yield to temptation. . . . Man has much to weaken his ambition after he is married. A young man may seek oppor- tunities to prove his worth, but to a married man the opportunity must come to try him. He acts only when compelled to act. . . . Ah, I must flee from the woman!. . . . Besides, if she should like someone else better, I should be humiliated. . . . I must go upon a long war-path. I shall forget her. . . ."At this point his revery was interrupted by the joyous laughter of two young women. The melodious sing-song laughter of the Sioux maiden stirred the very soul of the young war- rior.
All his philosophy deserted him, and he stood hesitating, looking about him as if for a chance of escape. A man who had never before felt the magnetic influence of woman in her simplicity and childlike purity, he be- came for the moment incapable of speech or action.
Meanwhile the two girls were wholly uncon- scious of any disturbing presence in the forest. They were telling each other the signals that each had received in the dance. Taluta's com- panion had stopped at the first raspberry bushes, while she herself passed on to the next thicket.Whenshe emerged from the pines into an opening, she suddenly beheld Antelope, in his full-dress suit of courtship.Instantly she dropped her eyes.
Luckily the customs of courtship among the Sioux allow the covering of one's head with the blanket. In this attitude, the young man made a signal to Taluta with trembling fingers.
The wild red man's wooing was natural and straightforward; there was no circumspection, no maneuvering for time or advantage. Hot words of love burst forth from the young warrior's lips, with heavy breathing behind the folds of the robe with which he sought to shield his embarrassment.
"For once the spirits are guiding my for- tunes! It may seem strange to you, when we meet thus by accident, that I should speak im- mediately of my love for you; but we live in a world where one must speak when the oppor- tunity offers. I have thought much of you since I saw you at the maidens' feast. . . . Is Taluta willing to become the wife of Tatoka? The moccasins of her making will cause his feet to be swift in pursuit of the game, and on the trail of the enemy. . . . I beg of you, maiden, let our meeting be known only to the birds of the air, while you consider my pro- posal!"All this while the maiden stood demurely at his side, playing with the lariat of her pony in her brown, fine hands. Her doeskin gown with profuse fringes hung gracefully as the drooping long leaves of the willow, and her two heavy braids of black hair, mingled with strings of deers' hoofs and wampum, fell upon her bosom. There was a faint glow under- neath her brown skin, and her black eyes were calm and soft, yet full of native fire.
"You will not press for an answer now," she gently replied, without looking at him. "I expected to see no one here, and your words have taken me by surprise. . . . I grant your last request. The birds alone can indulge in gossip about our meeting,--unless my cousin, who is in the next ravine, should see us to- gether!" She sprang lightly upon the back of her pony, and disappeared among the scat- tered pines.
Between the first lovers' meeting and the sec- ond was a period of one moon. This was wholly the fault of Antelope, who had been a prey to indecision and painful thoughts. Half re- gretting his impulsivedeclaration, and hoping to forget his pangs in the chances of travel and war, he had finally enlisted in the number of those who were to go with the war-leader Crowhead into the Ute country. As was the custom of the Sioux warriors upon the eve of departure, the young men consulted their spirit- ual advisers, and were frequently in the purify- ing vapor-bath, and fasting in prayer.
The last evening had come, and Antelope was on the way to the top of the hill behind the camp for a night of prayer. Suddenly in the half-light he came full upon Taluta, lead- ing her pony down the narrow trail. She had never looked more beautiful to the youth than at that moment.
"Ho," he greeted her.She simply smiled shyly. "It is long since we met," he ventured.
"I have concluded that you do not care to hear my reply," retorted the girl.
"I have nothing to say in my defense, but I hope that you will be generous. I have suf- fered much. . . . You will understand why I stand far from you," he added gently. "I have been preparing myself to go upon the war- path. We start at daylight for the Ute coun- try. Every day for ten days I have been in the vapor-bath, and ten nights fasting."As Taluta well knew, a young warrior under these circumstances dared not approach a wo- man, not even his own wife.
"I still urge you to be my wife. Are you ready to give me your answer?" continued An- telope.
"My answer was sent to you by your grand- mother this very day," she replied softly.
"Ah, tell me, tell me, . . ." pressed the youth eagerly. "All is well.Fear nothing," murmured the maiden.
