pleasure.

Owl Carver's eyes were watery and his cheeks were sunken. His arms and
legs were thin as spear shafts. The trek up the Rock River had not been
good for him. White Bear and Sun Woman had taken over most of the work
of caring for the wounded and sick, though Owl Carver did as much as he
could.

"You are a Great Shaman, as I predicted you would be," Owl Carver said.
"You foretold exactly what would happen if Black Hawk led the British
Band across the Great River. But I am sad that your greatness must be
proved by the suffering of our people."

White Bear felt his chest expand and a warmth spread through his limbs
at these words of his teacher.

"I may need your help yet," he said. "The people do not like me
protecting this pale eyes woman."

Owl Carver nodded. "But they respect you. And they will respect you more
when you show them you have magical powers."

"I have no magical powers."

"You do. It was not I who put the mark of the Bear on your chest."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the White Bear is your spirit self. And he can act in this
world. The mark of his claws is the mark of his favor."

As White Bear let this sink in, Wolf Paw approached with a stumbling
walk. Running Deer and Burning Pine followed him.

Out of their wickiup Redbird brought a blanket, White Bear's Sauk
medicine bag and his black bag of surgical instruments.

"Sit in the wickiup with the pale eyes woman," White Bear told Redbird.
"She is very frightened."

"I am frightened too," said Redbird as she left him.

White Bear bit his lip. The tone of her voice said, _Who is this woman?_

As White Bear set out the markers for the seven directions, positioning
four stones around Wolf Paw, he said, "This will hurt very much and Wolf
Paw must not move."

Keeping in place the two stones and the bear's claw White Bear laid on
Wolf Paw's chest would force the brave to lie still.

"You cannot hurt me," said Wolf Paw, just as if he were a captive and
White Bear was about to torture him.

White Bear turned to the people standing around them.

"All of you join hands and ask Earthmaker to heal Wolf Paw's wound."

Running Deer's face, which had been hard with anger, now melted into
tears. Burning Pine looked hopefully at White Bear.

White Bear gestured to Iron Knife to lift Wolf Paw's shoulder slightly.
Carefully, gently, he untied and unwrapped the blood-soaked blue rag
torn from Nancy's dress. Recent bleeding had softened