Standing Bird was
becoming uneasy about the progress of this Challenge. At the present stage of events, one of the adversaries should be ready to concede, but there was no sign of weakening on the part of either. Here were two proud and stubborn young people, neither willing to relinquish a principle.
Aiee
, it was a worrisome thing.
Eagle Woman had bested her challenger in the past three contests, but the next was to be of Long Walker's choosingâand he was angry now. He was practically shouting at the girl.
“You think it is amusing to do the things warriors do, as a game. I tell you, Eagle Woman, it is not that way. As a warrior, you must prepare for hand combat. Can you do that?” Without waiting for an answer, he hurried on. “The next contest will answer. We will wrestle.”
There was a hoot of derision from somewhere in the rear, and Walker jerked his head around sharply. He was met by silence. There was none in the crowd who dared openly to criticize so able a man as Long Walker. It would be a matter of quiet chuckles and obscene jokes in private.
“It is good,” announced Standing Bird, feeling full well that it was not. “You will use no knives or other weapons. You will fight until one is held helpless.”
The horses were led away, and an area of smooth, level ground was chosen, swiftly ringed by the crowd. Betting was slow. There were few who believed that the slim girl would be skilled enough to prevail against the strength of Long Walker.
The contestants circled, warily looking for an opening. There were several feints and quick withdrawals, neither combatant attaining a grasp. The onlookers began to cry for action.
Long Walker, seeing an opportunity, rushed forward to grapple, but the girl was quick. She pivoted, seized an outstretched arm, and used the momentum of the young man's rush to effect the ancient hip throw. Walker landed heavily flat on his back, stunned and out of breath.
Eagle Woman circled, waiting, while the crowd howled with laughter. She was attempting, at all costs, to avoid the grappling that would depend on sheer strength. Her only chance was to use skill and finesse.
Long Walker rose slowly, burning with anger, and rushed again. Once more the girl avoided him, this time by skipping nimbly aside.
By the third rush Walker's mood had steadied, and he was thinking more sensibly. He feinted, then grasped, and the two grappled to roll on the ground.
It seemed only a heartbeat's time to Eagle Woman until she found herself pinned on her back. Her opponent held both her wrists firmly, and she felt his weight on her outstretched body. Both were breathing heavily. Her vision was blurred, and she heard only dimly the shouts of the crowd. In her left ear she could feel the hot panting breath of Long Walker. She stopped struggling for a moment.
Here was a new and exciting sensation, something foreign to her experience. The pressure of Walker's muscular chest, flattening her breasts against her ribs, was not completely unpleasant. She was acutely aware of the weight of
his body on her hips and thighs.
Aiee
, she felt, rather than thought, why not give it up? She longed to simply relax and wished to think more about this new sensation which had startled her.
The next moment Eagle Woman was furious with herselfâfurious, ashamed, and embarrassed that she should even have such thoughts before a crowd of gawking spectators.
She sank her teeth into Long Walker's neck near the shoulder and kneed him in the groin. As Walker grunted in pain and surprise, she took advantage of his loosened grip to pull her arms loose. They rolled over and over, the girl biting, kicking, gouging, scratching, ultimately pulling free to spring to her feet. The crowd shouted with delight.
Eagle Woman had no delusions. There would appear to be no way she could pinion the stronger warrior to win this contest. Eventually Long Walker would break free.
He was rising, now, to hands and knees, breathing heavily, hurting. Blood trickled from his neck and from scratches on his face. The girl circled, panting and exhausted, fighting the impulse to run to him and minister to his injuries. Long Walker rose to his feet, swaying, teeth clenched against the pain in his belly, to make another rush.
This time Eagle Woman was unable to evade his grasp. He seized a wrist, whirled her around to grasp her hair, and they tumbled again into the dust.
The girl fought ineffectively as her strength ebbed, and he pushed her, face down, against the ground. He sat astride her and held her tightly until her struggles ceased.
Somehow there was little triumph in the face of Long Walker as he rose. Eagle Woman rolled over and sat up, spitting dirt and grass from her mouth. She was completely exhausted and would gladly have concluded the entire Challenge then and there except that it was now impossible.
Because, she recalled wearily, she was still ahead. She could not concede while she was winning, even if she wished. The contests must go on. How long would it be until Long Walker conceded her right to warrior status? Or,
she thought gloomily, until she was beaten badly enough to be able to concede with dignity? She looked for Long Walker to see if he appeared ready to give up.
The young man had gone down to the stream's edge, followed by some of his supporters and young admirers. He was on his knees in the shallows, pouring water over his head and shoulders.
“Eagle Woman,” called Standing Bird, “the next choice is yours. What shall it be?”
The girl had been looking at the stream, longing to immerse her tired, hot, dirty, and sore body in its cooling waters. Without even looking around she answered immediately. “Swimming!”
The People straggled
upstream, the distance of a long bow shot, to the swimming place. By tradition the tribe loved water when it was available. Swimming, for skill as well as enjoyment, was a major activity of the Rabbit Society. Whenever possible the People camped near a stream usable for swimming.
The streams that meander across the rolling prairie twist and turn to form loops and arcs and deep, clear pools beneath rocky ledges. It was to one of these favorite swimming places that the group now moved.
Standing Bird sent two youngsters splashing across the stream to a ledge a stone's throw from where they stood. They placed two willow sticks, as thick as one's finger and a hand's span in length, on the flat stone shelf. The competitors would race to retrieve a stick and return it to the hand of Standing Bird.
Eagle Woman, now breathing more easily, was gaining in confidence. As a child she had been easily the best swimmer in the Rabbit Society. It was said that the girl could swim
like an otter. Many times during their early years she had defeated Long Walker.
Bobcat placed his hand affectionately on his sister's arm. “This contest is yours, Eagle Woman. You are like a fish in the water. Show them!”
Heavy betting had resumed, for the People knew quite well that this was an area of skill for Eagle Woman. Larger bets were made now on the total outcome of the Challenge. The girl was still ahead in the contests, and this was conceded by most to be her best opportunity.
She glanced over at Long Walker. He had discarded his hunting shirt, and she could plainly see the injury she had inflicted on his neck. Her fury had cooled now, and she felt a sympathy for her friend and a slight regret for having hurt him.
Aiee
, how had they become involved in this stupid contest? She would be so happy when it was over and they could return to a normal relationship. If, indeed, that could ever be.
Eagle Woman was almost preoccupied with her thoughts when Standing Bird dropped the stone to signal the start. She managed to gather her muscles and spring forward to strike the water at the same moment as Long Walker.
Quickly she began to outdistance him, sliding through the water with smooth efficiency. She reached the ledge, grasped one of the sticks, and turned. She thrust the twig between her teeth and pushed away from the rock shelf.
Eagle Woman had hardly started her next stroke before she collided forcibly with the rapidly approaching Long Walker. Half stunned, she floundered for a moment, then surfaced, disoriented. At arm's length Walker was just picking up his willow twig from the rock ledge.
The girl resumed her swim for a moment before she realized that her mouth was empty. The willow cutting was gone. She must have lost it when she collided with Walker and choked. Frantically she stopped, treading water while she searched for the stick.
By the time she located the object, floating gently with
the current, Long Walker had completed his turn and was churning toward the other shore. Eagle Woman quickly retrieved her stick and resumed the race, but she knew she had lost. All the way to the starting point the girl swam with the splashing thrust of her opponent's feet kicking water to foam ahead of her.
She could think only one thoughtâthat she had lost this contest, the one of her own choice. Now the contestants were even again. It was distressing to realize that the past two days of exhausting, frustrating conflict had led exactly nowhere. The situation was exactly as it had been when she first attempted to join the Elk-dog Society.
Even worse, she realized, as she dragged herself from the water, it was now Walker's choice for the next contest. Unless, of course, he chose to discontinue the Challenge. But he would not do that, of course. He had now won the last two contests.
People were crowding around the winner, shouting congratulations and collecting bets from disgruntled losers. Eagle Woman staggered up the bank and stood, dripping water in puddles around her bare feet.
Standing Bird was beckoning to the two principals. They stumbled forward, facing each other in tired frustration. They were battered, sore, almost staggering. Their eyes met. Walker's left eye was partially swollen shut, corresponding to the dull ache in Eagle Woman's elbow. The collision in the water had been a forceful thing. The girl's lip was bruised, apparently from the force which had torn the willow twig from her teeth. She tasted the slight salty flavor of blood in her mouth.
More important to her was the stubborn expression on Long Walker's face. It said once again that he would never give up in his effort to prevent her attaining warrior status. Why must he be so?
The Elk-dog chieftain was speaking now, and Eagle Woman attempted to gather her wandering thoughts.
“âand I will not allow you to continue until you kill each other!”
He paused to frown at a ripple of laughter from the crowd, then continued, as quiet resumed. “There will be only one more contest, and I will choose that. Then, whoever wins, it is over. Do you both understand this?”
The two young people nodded, too exhausted to question.
“Go, now,” Standing Bird continued. “Tonight you must rest. The contest will be tomorrow.”
He turned away, then paused for a moment as one of the onlookers called a question. The warrior turned with dignity and smiled a thin smile.
“What will the contest be?” he repeated. “A race! On foot, at a distance I shall choose.”
Once again he turned and strode purposefully toward his lodge. Behind him the two young people stared dully at each other, neither ready to speak.
Around them excited talk was erupting, arguments beginning, wagers being placed. Eagle Woman and Long Walker turned wordlessly and shuffled toward their respective dwellings.
Bobcat fell into step beside his sister, chortling delightedly.
“Aiee,
Eagle Woman, this is good! Running has always been one of your best efforts. You can defeat Long Walker!”
Numbly, the girl nodded halfhearted agreement.
Standing Bird stood
before the two contestants and the excited gathering of the People to mark the course for the race. Practically everyone in the Elk-dog band was assembled for the event. Wagering was good-natured and heavy.
Many of the members of the band thought the entire Challenge quite amusing, so there was much laughter and merriment. Also there was the excitement of this, the deciding race.
“Now, you understand,” Standing Bird was saying to the two before him, “this is the final contest. There will be no more Challenge!”
Both nodded. The two young people had avoided contact, not even looking at each other this morning. Several among the band had noticed that both seemed only too anxious to finish the contest, to have it done. There were many who felt similarly, especially those who had no great love for wagering. It was all quite well to have a pleasant, amusing diversion such as this, but it was occupying the entire
time and energies of the band. It was time to move on to other things.
Eagle Woman had startled many by appearing this morning in a dress. There was a murmur of apprehension on the part of her supporters, who felt that she might be ready to concede the race. Or was this a means to try to shame Long Walker? There was much quiet discussion as to her reasons.
Actually there was no deep mystery, no symbolism. It was a matter of practicality. Eagle Woman had worn men's garments for the past two days. The unfamiliar feel of the breechclout and leggings had begun to chafe her inner thighs and her groin. In planning for a running race, probably a long one, she felt she must dress as comfortably as possible. If she continued to wear the leggings, her skin would surely be rubbed raw and bleeding by the race's end.
In addition, Eagle Woman felt that she could run better in a skirt. She could lift it high to allow her long legs room to stretch, to lengthen her stride, and to cover more ground. She had done so many times during her childhood years. This would free her of the hampering constriction of leggings around thighs and hips.
As a precaution against the skirt itself becoming a problem, she had chosen her shortest dress. It was an old garment, well worn, one which allowed the fringe to fall above the knee. Then, as an extra precaution, she had taken a knife and slit the skirt up each side. There would be no danger of the garment restricting her stride.
Eagle Woman had spent some time with her uncle, the medicine man, on the previous evening. Owl had always given good advice and comfort to the girl as she grew up. On this occasion he had little to offer. She had asked his advice regarding whether she should continue the contest. Owl knew that no other person had any clue that her resolve was weakening.
“You must do as you choose, Daughter. Only thisâif you continue, you must do your best. It is no loss of pride to lose, unless you have done less than your finest try.”
Eagle Woman had slipped back to her father's lodge, to rest and to try to prepare for the race. She had not actually considered abandoning her goal. It was only that in her exhaustion at the end of the gruelling second day she had begun to doubt herself a little. A bit of reassurance from Owl had been all that was needed. She was now ready.
Standing Bird raised his hand for silence, and the confusion quieted. Solemnly he pointed to a flat-topped hill on the horizon.
“You will run to that hill and return,” he stated. “There are warriors there already. They have placed markers on a flat stone there. You will pick up one of the markers and return it here.”
The forms of a handful of mounted warriors could now be seen against the sky on the hilltop, barely distinguishable in the distance.
Quickly Eagle Woman evaluated the situation. The most obvious route lay straight ahead, following the gully which meandered toward the hill. There would be one small stream to cross, some timber in the canyon, and perhaps a steep rocky shelf to climb, halfway there. It was not a truly difficult run.
To her right, however, slightly to the west of the valley, the land opened upon a high, flat plain. It would be level and fairly smooth, reaching along the canyon's rim almost to the foot of the hill that was the goal. This route would require, at first, that she climb a rather steep ridge to arrive at the level plain. She must also circle in a long arc to the west, following the canyon's curving rim. That would make a longer distance but might save time by avoiding the rougher going in the ravine.
Her decision was made by the time Standing Bird dropped the stone and called the signal to go. Long Walker, as she had expected, sprinted down the slope to follow the floor of the canyon. Eagle Woman turned to the right and began to jog toward the upland.
The first hundred paces were easy; then the broken rock of the hillside confronted her. She had been to this ridge
many times. It was a quiet place to be alone, to think. She knew of a game trail, skirting along the rim as it ascended, and it was to this path that she slanted her course.
Even so, by the time she reached the top she was panting heavily. She caught a glimpse of Long Walker, running among the trees along the creek far below. He was well ahead of her, and she tried to reassure herself that she had accomplished a major part of the climb that Walker had yet before him.
Eagle Woman sprinted along the game trail which skirted the canyon's rim. How fortunate, the girl thought momentarily, that the trail was here. If she had had to study the terrain and plan the easiest route, much time would have been lost. As things were in the world, the trail had been there for many generations. Passing bands of deer, antelope, and elk had instinctively sought out the easiest course, and the hoofprints of their generations had permanently marked the path.
The trail wavered only slightly, dividing in places and being joined by other paths, but basically it skirted the rim-rock. The going was good, and the girl could tell that she was gaining on Long Walker far below.
There was one place that brought some delay. A shallow spur canyon lay in her path. Trusting the instincts of long-departed deer, she followed the path straight toward the obstacle. The trail dipped among jumbled boulders, and she slowed to jump from rock to rock. She saw the reason for this slight deviation of the trail. There was a clear, sparkling spring among the rocks.
She would have welcomed a sip of the cool water but did not pause. She only moistened her drying lips with her tongue as she bounded up the other side of the gully and into the open again. Below her Long Walker was still in the lead, but he was now approaching an area of rough, broken rock and a forbidding outcrop which would slow him considerably. She smiled inwardly, trying to ignore the fact that her legs were beginning to ache.
Knifelike pains stabbed at her muscles with every motion.
The girl knew this would pass and that she must keep running. Her breath came in ragged gasps. She felt that she had been running forever, unable to stop, though she knew the entire race would be less than half a sun's journey. That thought spurred her on, as she tried to ignore the pain in her chest and legs and the roaring in her ears.
Now she adjusted her course slightly to the left, swinging the arc toward the flat-topped hill. It was looming closer, and she could see the individual figures of mounted warriors on the hilltop.
She threw a quick glance to her left, where Long Walker now laboriously clambered over broken rim-rock to ascend the slope. Their paths would meet some distance ahead to begin the last ascent together. But, with a thrill, Eagle Woman realized that she was now ahead. Her strategy had been correct. She would start the last assault on the hill before Walker. Even more important was that he would be exhausted from fighting his way across the broken rock when he began the last slope.
Her heart leaped in triumph, and she filled her lungs with the fresh air of the prairie. Almost, now, the pain in her muscles had become bearable. She looked ahead, slowing to pace herself for the last steep climb. The warriors at the top were yelling and cheering, motioning her onward.
The last few steps to the flat summit seemed to take all the strength her tired legs could muster. The warriors pointed to a large flat stone, and the tired girl stumbled in that direction.
“There is your marker, Eagle Woman. Hurry!”
The speaker was her kinsman, Long Elk. Eagle Woman grasped one of the objects displayed on the flat rock. It was a small, smooth stone, polished by many summers of rolling in the stream. It was of a size to hold in one's palm, and it was comforting to squeeze it there as she turned to start the second half of the race.
With some amusement she noticed that there was a short strip of buckskin tied tightly around the stone and that it had been decorated with red and yellow paint. Standing
Bird was taking no chances. None could accuse anyone of deceit, and none could question whether this was the proper stone or whether one had been substituted.
She was starting down the hill when she met Long Walker. He was breathing heavily, and his face was ashen. He did not look up as they passed but continued to labor forward.
Eagle Woman felt sorry. She longed to stop, to sit down together and talk, but she was not deceived. Walker would never give up. He would gain on her on the descent and might even be able to catch up.
But she thought not. From the time that she met and passed the exhausted Walker, Eagle Woman began to allow herself to admit a little confidence. By the time she approached the rocky cleft with the spring, she risked a look backward.
Long Walker had indeed gained somewhat, but she saw no way, short of accident, that he could catch her now. She even paused a moment to take a handful of water from the clear pool before she bounded ahead.
The horsemen were overtaking her now, shouting and waving as they rode alongside. Through the aching in her chest, the burning lungs, and the sharp pains in her muscles, she began to feel the triumph of victory.
She had won.