The Indian Ring by Don Bendell Page A

forward, cut the remaining pieces of flesh with a sharp knife, and placed them in the ceremonial fire.

7
    THE VISION
    At first there was blackness, but then somewhere in that darkness Joshua Strongheart could hear the sounds of the drums and the chants of the singers. He could see a purple mountain range in the distance and a small dot in the cloudless sky flew toward him. It took a long time to get near him but it kept getting larger, and he saw it was a bald eagle. As it flew closer, he saw a human face on the eagle, and it was his beloved Annabelle Ebert. She had never looked more radiant or beautiful than now. She was in human form wearing a shiny gold dress, and she was mounted atop Gabe, his red-and-white overo paint, which had also been killed by We Wiyake.
    Belle rode right up to him and smiled the whole time. So did Joshua.
    He spoke first, saying, “I love you, Belle. I always will, I can never love another. I am so sorry I got you killed.”
    Then he felt tears spilling down his cheeks but they started turning to ice. He realized he was back above timberline in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, where he had gone to meditate and grieve.
    Strongheart started saying, “I’m so sorry,” over and over.
    Belle spoke very sharply and emphatically, “Joshua! Hush up right now. You did not get me killed. Blood Feather did.”
    Joshua cried, “I am leaving the Pinkerton Agency. My job got you killed.”
    Belle started laughing, and he got irritated. Why was she laughing?
    Belle said, “You silly man. Do you suppose I would have fallen in love with you if you were working as a desk clerk at the St. Cloud Hotel, or running a freight line out of Pueblo?”
    â€œWhat?” Joshua replied. “Is this a dream? It seems so real.”
    Belle said, “It is a dream, my love, but I am real. I am not there now, but I am real, Joshua.”
    He cried tears of relief and saw that her skin was unblemished, and she had no wounds anywhere, like she did the last time he saw her.
    Gabe whinnied as if to let him know he was real, too. Suddenly, Gabe was gone, and they were in her café in Canon City sitting at their private table in the kitchen.
    Belle came closer and smiled warmly.
    She said, “Joshua Strongheart, I fell in love with a gentle kind man, who is a mighty warrior, too. My first husband was a cavalry officer. I never would have married a hotel desk clerk. If you were not a Pinkerton agent, you would be a sheriff, or frontier scout, or Sioux war chief. You can love again, and you must be good at your job, for that is what made me love you, too. You are a hero and cannot help that.”
    She started to back away, and he wanted her to stay, but now she was back on Gabe.
    He said, “Wait.”
    Belle smiled and said, “There was never anything to forgive, Joshua. You must live and smile and be my hero.”
    He heard the beat of the drums and felt warmth on his face. She was gone just like that, and he realized he was dreaming. He tried very hard to bring Belle back but his body wanted to make his eyes open. He looked up at the blue sky and realized the sun was positioning itself to decide where to drop down and find a hiding place behind the distant mountains to the west. There was activity all around him, and he saw the medicine man from his father’s circle sitting cross-legged smiling at him as well as Yellow Horse, his father’s friend.
    Joshua sat up and his chest ached. He looked down at dried blood all over his chest.
    The medicine man puffed thoughtfully on his pipe, stating, “You had a vision.”
    It was not a question but a statement of fact.
    Strongheart said, “Yes, I did. A strong one.”
    The medicine man said, “Sitting Bull had a vision, too, and wants us to eat with him when the sun goes into its lodge and smoke. He will speak.”
    The meat in Sitting Bull’s teepee was steak from a pronghorn antelope and it was