Her hands were wet with blood. She looked down at the tiny crumpled
face, blood running out of the baby mouth. No movement. Arms and legs
limp. No sound. No breath.

Her mind went blank. A mantle of blackness covered her eyes.

When she came awake, Yellow Hair was sitting beside her, holding her in
her arms and sobbing. The fat pale eyes woman was standing over both of
them, tears streaking her face. She was holding a red blanket in her
hands, offering it to Redbird.

At the sight of the strange white face Redbird screamed and shrank away,
pressing the baby in her arms to her breast. She pulled away from Yellow
Hair, who sat on the ground and buried her face in her hands.

The fat woman put the blanket on the ground and stumbled away from
Redbird. She got a short distance and began to throw up, coughing and
sobbing. The sandy-haired man went to her and held her.

Redbird watched the anguish of Yellow Hair and the fat woman numbly. She
hurt too much to have any feeling for anyone else. She understood that
the woman had given her the blanket to wrap Floating Lily. She hitched
herself over to the blanket and picked it up and wrapped it around the
bloody bundle without looking at it.

The bright red of the blanket, she thought, would keep Floating Lily
warm.

From some distance away the anguished cries of other people reached
Redbird's ears. Others must have been hurt by the pale eyes villagers.

Yellow Hair, still crying so hard she was unable to speak, moved beside
Redbird and put her hand on the blanket.

The crowd that had attacked the Sauk were gathered in a field beside the
trail. The ten long knives on horseback had formed a line and had pushed
them back. Too late.

The fat woman seemed to have forgotten Redbird. She staggered away from
the Sauk, screaming at the people in the field. It was impossible for
Redbird to understand her words, but her voice was full of rage. Some of
the people answered back, but in sullen voices Redbird could hardly
hear.

Redbird could not stand up. She felt no strength at all in her trembling
legs.

"Eagle Feather!" she cried. She called her son again and again.

He came and stood before her. "Is Floating Lily dead? Did they kill
her?"

"Yes," said Redbird.

Eagle Feather began to cry. "Why did they kill my little sister?"

Redbird felt a touch on her shoulder. Wolf Paw's hand. His forehead was
gashed and blood was running down into one eye that was swollen and
shut.