Black Hawk gestured toward the beef. "Share my food."

White Bear picked up a strip of meat, still hot. Saliva seemed to flood
his mouth. He chewed ferociously, closing his eyes for an instant in
pleasure. Black Hawk smiled slightly, while Flying Cloud, paying no
attention to White Bear, gnawed on a rib.

After a time during which White Bear could think of nothing but the hot,
juicy meat, Black Hawk called him back to his reason for coming here.

"I am told you have a pale eyes woman prisoner."

"I came to speak to you about her," White Bear said, and silently asked
his spirit self to help him persuade Black Hawk to let her go.

He told Black Hawk how he had convinced the people not to kill her.

"You did well," said Black Hawk. "We must make the long knives respect
us, not just fear us. Warriors should not torture and kill prisoners.
The great Shooting Star would never let his men torture prisoners."

White Bear felt a glow of pleasure at Black Hawk's approval. He felt
more hopeful that Black Hawk might listen to him. He decided to plunge
ahead with his request.

"If we give this woman back to the pale eyes, maybe they will talk peace
with us."

The Winnebago Prophet stopped eating long enough to say, "Better to keep
her. If the long knives attack us we can threaten to kill her."

Aware that Flying Cloud's argument made a kind of brutal sense, White
Bear felt a sinking in his chest.

Black Hawk pursed his wide mouth thoughtfully. "The Prophet speaks
wisely. It is foolish to give the woman to the long knives as a gift. We
should hold her until we are ready to trade her for something." He
turned his sombre gaze on White Bear. "You must keep her. You must not
let her escape."

White Bear now had to go back to tell Nancy that the Sauk would not let
her go. The thought of her terror and misery made him sick with sorrow
for her.

And afraid for her too. Every day that the Sauk suffered hunger and
illness, every time more men were killed, the women would want all the
more to hurt the one pale eyes who was in their power. And the men would
hunger to take pleasure with her fair-haired beauty. He could not guard
her at every moment. How, then, could he keep her safe?

They sat in silence again. The Winnebago Prophet looked pleased with
himself. Black Hawk was grim, probably brooding over how badly the war
was progressing.

Desperate to protect Nancy, White Bear could think of only one way.

He said, "I want