Wild Desire

“Only what he might deserve,” Runner said. “And how else should I care about him? He has chosen to walk the opposite path of the Navaho. They are my people now. He would not be riding like a madman today, half-clothed, had he not been caught in one mischief or another. Do you truly believe that it had nothing to do with the Navaho?”

“I would hope that he would be smarter than that,” Stephanie said, inhaling a nervous breath. “He knows how strongly your father feels about his interference.”

Runner nodded, then sank his moccasined heels into the flanks of his stallion and rode ahead of Stephanie. “Come,” he said, gesturing with a hand. “I have places to take you.”

Stephanie only halfheartedly nudged the horse’s sides with her knees. She was discovering that loving a man of different ideals and customs was not all that simple. Each turn brought new complications.

Seething with hate, Adam arrived at his private car. After securing his horse, he bathed, then lit a cigar and began pacing. He had to find a way to make Sage pay.

“Why can’t he see that I didn’t even have to ask for approval?” Adam said, frustrated. “I don’t need it. It was just out of politeness that I offered to sit in council with him.”

He yanked the cigar from between his lips and stamped it out in an ashtray. He went to the liquor cabinet and grabbed a bottle of whiskey from it. His eyes narrowed, he sauntered to his desk and sat down on a plush leather chair, uncorking the bottle. He took a long swallow, then set the bottle on the desk.

“I’m going to make him pay,” he whispered darkly to himself.

Taking several sheets of paper from a drawer, he stacked them neatly on the desk and stared down at the blank pages as he drank more whiskey.

Then, dipping a pen in ink, he began writing plans—plans that would end Sage’s reign as a leader and, hopefully, his life.

Runner led Stephanie down a slope of bald rocks into a valley surrounded by moderately high cliffs. Here and there clumps of scrub oak were clustered along a running stream. Lofty mountains rose in the distance.

Deep, beautiful canyons lay on each side of Stephanie. It was easy to forget everything evil and ugly in the world. She was in awe of Arizona all over again, the Pueblo Colorado Wash winding down below and grandeur surrounding her. As the slope steepened, she held her knees more tightly against her steed and clung to the reins.

Runner led her to a place of beautiful rock outcroppings, from where she could see for miles upon miles of what appeared to her to be a mystical, sacred land.

Runner dismounted. He went to Stephanie and lifted her from the saddle.

“You will allow me to photograph here?” Stephanie said, wonder in her voice. She looked guardedly around her and shivered. “It seems as though there is something here, as though we are not alone. As though there is an invisible force watching us.”

“We are never alone,” Runner said. He turned and surveyed the grandeur of the land himself. “The earth is the Great Mother. The sun is the Father of life. The moon is Grandmother. The stars are celestial souls that shine to guide earthly wayfarers, to inspire and protect mankind. That is why you feel a presence. These things that I have just

described to you are with us, always.”

“If what you say is true, then this is not, in itself, a sacred place,” Stephanie said, gazing up at him. “If it were, that would mean that everywhere we travel could be called sacred.”

“I do see everything in this land as sacred,” Runner said. He went to her mule and untied her photography equipment. “But some is more sacred than others.” He turned sullen eyes to Stephanie. “Remember well, my sweet one, that nothing is as sacred as the People.”

“That is why you will not allow me to photograph them?” Stephanie said. She removed her camera from the pack mule. She flinched somewhat when she saw the anger the sight of her camera brought into Runner’s eyes. “That is so,” Runner said, quickly looking away from her camera. “And I will confess to you that I am traveling with you not only because I wish to be with you, but also to keep you away from my people.”

This came as no surprise to Stephanie. She busied herself with preparing a plate and loading her camera, then put it aside and set up her tripod.

When she turned to get the camera, she saw Runner holding it carefully in his hands, with curiosity in his eyes. He was intrigued.

“Isn’t it fascinating?” she said, relaxing and moving to his side. She clasped her hands together behind her. “I am using the glass plate type of camera today. This sort conveys an impression of the real grandeur and the magnitude of mountain scenery that smaller views cannot possibly impart.”

“Before I knew you I had heard about cameras,” Runner said, turning it over again to look into the lens. “But I had not seen one until I met you.”

Runner cast his eyes upward, checking the angle of the sun. “If I am to return you to your railroad car before dark, you had best get started now,” he said.

He handed her the camera that he had been studying, after she replaced the other one in the saddlebag.

Stephanie nodded. She gave him an excited, warm smile, then turned from him and placed her camera on the tripod. She soon became lost to everything but the pleasure of taking the photographs.

Runner stood away from her. A slow smile formed on his lips as he watched her. He was seeing the child in her as she took one photograph after another. There was such an innocence about her as she would momentarily turn around and laugh softly toward him, then again get lost in her love of photography.

Runner sat down and leaned his back against a rock, entertained by the sight of this woman that he wanted for a wife. His only regret was that they could not have met under different circumstances. Although their love was sincere for one another, would she be willing to give up her dreams to become part of Runner’s life? Could she choose a life with him, over a career that made her so happy?

This was the first time that he had allowed himself to go so far as to consider marrying her. He was not sure when, or if, he could ever voice this aloud to her. He feared hearing her answer. If he had to lose her, after having waited a lifetime for her, he wondered what choices he might have to face. Would he follow her back to the white world, just to be with her? Or were his loyalties to the Navaho too fierce?