"White Bear, they might send people looking for us. They might catch us together like this." Anxiously she started to pull her clothing together. He sat up beside her and put his hand over hers. "I do not think anyone is coming." He sounded so sure that she thought he must be speaking as a shaman. "They know I will come back to the village," he added. "They saw me smoke the calumet. And in a few days I will leave with Star Arrow." He said it with such finality that the sun seemed to go out. "And so there is time," he said, "If you want ..." and guided her hand to touch him. To her joy she felt him strong in his readiness to be within her again. This time, she was sure, it would not hurt. She would know the full delight that Sun Woman had told her of. The afternoon sunlight slanting through the budding branches was warm again, bathing her and making her feel joyful and free. Their flowing together lasted longer this time, and gave her all the happiness she had hoped for. And it came to her, as they lay peacefully side by side afterward, that this might have happened someday, but it would not have happened today if Star Arrow had not come to claim his son. 7 Raoul's Mark On the morning of the fourth day of their journey north from Saukenuk along the Great River, when the sun was halfway up the sky, White Bear and Star Arrow emerged from a forest into a prairie. To their right were gentle hills covered with new green buffalo grass and prairie flowers of every color. To their left the hills stood taller, then dropped suddenly to the Great River. White Bear saw a large boat with great white wings above it to carry it along. Star Arrow brought his tall black stallion to a sudden halt and climbed down, gesturing to White Bear to dismount from his brown and white pony. "Look at this stone," Star Arrow said, pointing to a large gray rock that stood upright on the edge of a bluff overlooking the river. White Bear saw carving on the rock and, remembering Pere Isaac's lessons, recognized it as the pale eyes' letter M. "M for de Marion," said Star Arrow. "We are now on land belonging to the de Marion family. You see no fences here because we could not cut enough wood to fence off all our land. There is so much of it." He reached out and rested his hand on White Bear's shoulder, his fingers squeezing through the buckskin shirt. "But before we come to the place where I live, and where you will live, we must speak of names. Among the pale eyes I am called Pierre de Marion. My full name is Pierre Louis Auguste de Marion." He made White Bear say "Pierre de Marion" after him. "According to our custom you should call me Father," Star Arrow said, saying the word in English. White Bear already knew it. "Now I will tell you what your name will be among the pale eyes." White Bear pulled free of Star Arrow's hand and took a step backward.