Objection. The honorable defense
attorney isn't asking questions. He's making a speech defaming the
witness."

Cooper nodded. "Sustained." He turned to the jury and said, "The jury
will forget about everything they just heard the defense attorney say."

Auguste shook his head. How could any man forget something he had just
so clearly heard? In all his years of living among the pale eyes, he had
never attended a trial. Now, on trial for his own life, he saw that the
ways of the pale eyes were even stranger than he had ever realized.

The next prosecution witness was Armand Perrault.

At the sight of Armand, Auguste broke out in a cold sweat of fury. This
man, Frank had said, was the one who snatched Floating Lily from
Redbird's arms. Walking up to the witness chair, Armand avoided
Auguste's eyes. Always before he had shot Auguste looks of hatred. Today
he was showing his guilt.

Aching knots spread through all Auguste's muscles. Were he alone with
Armand, he would hurl himself at him and try to kill him, barehanded.
But in this crowded courtroom he was helpless. His hands tightened on
the links of his chain till they hurt.

He felt a firm grip on his forearm; Ford, sitting beside him, letting
him know that he sensed his pain.

Led by Bennett's questions, Armand repeated Raoul's claim that the three
peace messengers were actually the vanguard of a Sauk attack.

"Why do they keep harping on this?" Auguste asked Ford in a whisper.

"Makes you out a murderer," Ford said out of the side of his mouth, "if
you tried to lead the white militiamen into a trap at Old Man's Creek."

When it was Ford's turn to question Armand he said, "You pulled the
trigger on one of Black Hawk's peace messengers, didn't you?"

"Yes," said Armand, his teeth gleaming in his brown beard. "And I did
not miss."

"And you killed an Indian baby on the road going through town about
three weeks ago, didn't you?"

"I don't remember."

Ford raised his hands toward the beamed ceiling. "Come now, Mr.
Perrault. A hundred or more people saw you drag that child from its
mother's arms."

"These were the same Indians who came here and murdered my wife,
Monsieur Legiste."

"That baby probably wasn't even born when your wife was murdered, Mr.
Perrault."

_If I ever get free I'll kill you, Perrault. By the White Bear spirit I
swear it._

A chill came over Auguste at his own thought. He recalled Owl Carver's
warning against trying to turn the pow