miserable neck!"
97 Swift Deer took her hand. "You're young," he comforted, "you'll have
more."
98 "No, I won't," the woman sighed. "I took a fever after I had that
one, and got all sore inside. Now, I don't burn anymore."
99 They finished his bath and went to his room, so the others could
have their turn. As the woman helped him dress, she kept her head
bowed. "Did you go to the surgeon?" she asked.
100 "You DO know our customs!" remarked Swift Deer. "Yes, I did!"
101 "Then it doesn't matter to you," the woman continued, "if a woman
can bear or not."
102 "It is not a necessity," answered Swift Deer.
103 The woman took his hands and looked into his face. "When you go
home," she pleaded, "will you take me with you?"
104 "You just saw me a few hours ago!" protested Swift Deer. "You do
not even know me! Why, in The Name of The Lords,would you want to offer
yourself to me?"
105 "You are a very brave man," the woman continued, "and you must care
for your people very much to risk your life on such a mission. And
don't tell me you're dying and it doesn't matter. You want to live as
much as any man. If you have that great a love for your people, I know that you will
come to love me if I fulfill my duties to you and it does not matter to
you that I am no longer a woman."
106 Swift Deer took her in his arms. "Listen to me," he said, "having
children is not all there is to being a woman. It is only a part of it. You are far more a woman than many I have ever
met! Do not offer yourself to a man because of what you lack.