They walked onward with wolf willows on both sides of them. “We were untouched, as well, at the village, yet there were many trees beyond that were felled by the energy of the quakes,” he said. “Also some of the banks of the river were disturbed. Otherwise, all is well.”
They walked in silence now as the songbirds in the trees serenaded them, and both relished this moment of peace.
When they reached Talking Bird’s tepee, he stopped and turned to Wolf Hawk. “You were good to come,” he said thickly. “But your Shaman grandfather is alright. You need not stay when you have more important things to do.”
“Ho, I do,” Wolf Hawk said gravely.
He looked over his shoulder, in the direction that the trappers had disappeared.
In his mind’s eye he again saw the hunting amulet that the one man wore.
Wolf Hawk would soon remove the amulet from around the trapper’s neck.
He would take it to Little Bull’s mother. She would then have a part of her son with her again.
“Those two men that you saw with me?” Wolf Hawk said, again gazing at his grandfather. “They are guilty of having set the traps that killed our two young braves. I am giving them false hope by allowing them to go on their way. But soon they will know that my kindness was only a ploy. I will soon have vengeance against them.”
Talking Bird smiled. He reached a wrinkled hand to Wolf Hawk’s bare shoulder and rested it there as he spoke. “I know who they are,” he said, nodding. “In my wisdom I knew they were in the water near our people’s homes again. I purposely c
aused the earthquakes to disrupt the white men’s plans, and to put terror into their hearts. I made certain that what I did with my powers did not bring harm to our people.
“Go now, my grandson,” Talking Bird then said, lowering his hand away from Wolf Hawk and dropping it slowly to his own side. “Follow through with your plan. You will find the men at the abandoned fort. That is where you can complete your vengeance. My role is over.”
Wolf Hawk embraced Talking Bird again, then as Talking Bird proudly watched, Wolf Hawk transformed himself into the hawk, and with his huge outspreading wings, flew up and through the wolf willows.
When Wolf Hawk reached the sky in his hawk form, he soared onward, his bold, wide eyes ever watching down below, until he saw the beached boat at the riverbank close to the fort. He dove downward, his wings causing a huge shadow below him.
When he reached the ground, he landed and once again became a man. His jaw tight with determination, his heart pounding at the thought of finally making these two men pay for their misjudgments in life, he ran toward the entrance of the fort.
He stopped momentarily and smiled when he heard sudden loud wails of despair. He knew what had caused them. The trappers had just discovered that the pelts were gone.
He ran to the cabin where his warriors had discovered the hidden furs.
When he stepped inside the door, the trappers turned pale at the sight of him. They had left him on the island, yet there had been no sign of a canoe. They must be wondering how Wolf Hawk had gotten there from his village.
Surely it had not taken long for them to guess why Wolf Hawk had not needed a canoe. Both men had no doubt seen Wolf Hawk change from a huge, powerful hawk to a wolf, and then soon after, to a man.
Ho, he could see in their wide, frightened eyes that they were wondering what other mystical powers Wolf Hawk might have. They both held rifles, but were obviously too afraid to use them.
Wolf Hawk stepped up to them. With each of his hands he grabbed the rifles from the men.
“Please don’t harm us,” both men said in unison.
“Please have mercy,” Clint begged, his voice filled with a whining that sent disgust through Wolf Hawk. To him, a man who whined like an unhappy puppy was not a man at all.
“Let us go,” Jeb cried, tears filling his eyes. “We promise never to come back. We just want to go away from this place and forget we were ever here. It’s a…crazy…place, filled with mystery and things I don’t want even to believe I saw.”
Wolf Hawk did not respond verbally to what either of them said. Instead he took one rifle at a time and removed the ammunition, tossing the firearms over his shoulder.
“You must come with me now,” Wolf Hawk then said, beckoning to them with an outstretched hand.
“Why?” Jeb gasped, unable to control the trembling of his entire body. “What do you want with us?”
“Do you truly need to ask?” Wolf Hawk said bitterly. “You must know what you are guilty of, or else why did you flee? You should never have returned, yet it was willed by my grandfather that you would.”
“Your…grandfather…?” Clint asked, his eyes widening.
“My Shaman grandfather knows all things,” Wolf Hawk said, slowly smiling. “He willed you to return to Winnebago land. When he knew you had arrived, he spoke and the river was filled with rage, the same rage I felt that day when I found my people’s two young braves dead in your claws of death.”