dren and carry them away,
Fold them again in your body ..."

When she had finished the song, she spoke to the dead.

"You are innocent of wrongdoing," she said. "You have no debt to pay, no
promise to keep. You have kept faith and walked with honor the path that
led to these graves. Do not linger here in hope of avenging yourselves
on those who killed you. Great happiness awaits you in the West. The Owl
spirit will show you how to set your feet on the Trail of Souls. Go now,
begin your journey."

After she had spoken, the people broke willow wands from trees growing
by the water and set them upright on the mounds of earth. Redbird took
the piece of red blanket and tied it to the end of the wand over
Floating Lily's grave.

_Your path on this earth was a short one, my daughter. But the earth is
not a good place for our people just now. And many, many of your Sauk
brothers and sisters will journey with you on the Trail of Souls. Go now
into the West, and your father and brother and I will one day follow
after, and we will all be together again._

As she stepped back from the grave she remembered how, two days ago, far
to the north, she had seen this grave in her mind and had fainted. With
a sinking heart she understood how terrible were the shaman's gifts she
had longed for all her life.

The long knives had sat silently beside the trail, letting their horses
graze while the people buried their dead. They did not seem worried that
anyone might try to escape. After all, where could a Sauk go in this
country? Once they might have walked freely anywhere this side of the
Great River. Now all who lived in this land hated them.

Redbird could not tell whether the long knives were ashamed that they
let these people in their care be killed. Maybe they were pleased, maybe
it did not matter to them. When the people came out of the woods, the
long knives stood up, silent and expressionless, and mounted their
horses again for the journey south.

Wolf Paw walked beside Redbird and Eagle Feather. Redbird missed the
familiar weight of the baby on her back, and started to weep again. Her
breasts, filling with milk that would not be sucked, began to ache.

After they had walked a long time in silence, Wolf Paw said, "I failed
you, Redbird. You asked me to protect your children. I sent my own wives
and my children to their deaths, and now I did not save your daughter. I
am not a man."

The pale eyes had not killed Wolf Paw,