And she wanted him to do that. She felt no shame or fear, only happiness. She let him do whatever he wanted. She helped him. She moved her hands also, to touch more of him. Her hand found the oak branch that he had been holding just before she sat down with him. She put the branch aside and let her fingers feel the hardness pushing against his loincloth; he was ready to come into her in the way that Sun Woman had explained. She could still stop him if she wanted to. She knew him and trusted that he would not do anything she did not want. But she wanted this. She wanted his hand to go on skillfully preparing the way for him. She wanted this golden glow inside her to fill her more and more. This was happiness, and she was climbing toward a greater and greater happiness. She felt him move, and all at once her hand was not on his loincloth, but on his hot flesh. She wanted to open herself up to the part of him she held so tightly. Then he was upon her, and she felt a sudden stabbing pain. She cried out. Almost at once his cry of pleasure followed on hers and his hips thrust forward violently and she felt him filling her. He let out a long sigh and relaxed, lying on top of her, resting all of his weight on her. I am like the Turtle holding up the earth, she thought. There had been mounting pleasure until her moment of pain. Now there was an ache and a faint memory of the good feelings. She wanted more pleasure. Sun Woman had told her it would hurt only the first time. And that from then on it would be better and better. Slowly he withdrew from her and they lay on their sides looking at each other. His eyes were huge right before her face. "For a moment," he said softly, "I felt as I did when I walked on the bridge of stars." She thought of asking him whether it made him so happy that he would stay with her now instead of going to the country of the pale eyes with his father. But she knew what his answer would be, and that his saying it would only hurt him and her. She said, "It was Sun Woman, your mother, who told me about this--about what men and women do together." He laughed. "It was also she who told me." His face reddened. "I feel as if my mother were here watching us." It was Redbird's turn to laugh. "What would she see that she did not know about already?" He shook his head. "I would not want anybody to see us doing that." "The spirits watch us." "That is not the same. They watch everything, so it is not special to them." "Is it special to you?" she asked. "Oh, yes. Something has passed between us. I have given a part of myself to you. And I have a part of you too. Now, even if I must leave you, we will still be with each other." She did not want to hear him speak of leaving. She wanted to stay here with him in this grove of ancient trees forever. When she had spoken to him of going off and being alone together, this was what she imagined it would be like. But then a dark thought crossed her mind.