Free Daughter of the Eagle by Don Coldsmith

your marker, Eagle Woman. Hurry!”
    The speaker was her kinsman, Long Elk. Eagle Woman grasped one of the objects displayed on the flat rock. It was a small, smooth stone, polished by many summers of rolling in the stream. It was of a size to hold in one’s palm, and it was comforting to squeeze it there as she turned to start the second half of the race.
    With some amusement she noticed that there was a short strip of buckskin tied tightly around the stone and that it had been decorated with red and yellow paint. Standing
Bird was taking no chances. None could accuse anyone of deceit, and none could question whether this was the proper stone or whether one had been substituted.
    She was starting down the hill when she met Long Walker. He was breathing heavily, and his face was ashen. He did not look up as they passed but continued to labor forward.
    Eagle Woman felt sorry. She longed to stop, to sit down together and talk, but she was not deceived. Walker would never give up. He would gain on her on the descent and might even be able to catch up.
    But she thought not. From the time that she met and passed the exhausted Walker, Eagle Woman began to allow herself to admit a little confidence. By the time she approached the rocky cleft with the spring, she risked a look backward.
    Long Walker had indeed gained somewhat, but she saw no way, short of accident, that he could catch her now. She even paused a moment to take a handful of water from the clear pool before she bounded ahead.
    The horsemen were overtaking her now, shouting and waving as they rode alongside. Through the aching in her chest, the burning lungs, and the sharp pains in her muscles, she began to feel the triumph of victory.
    She had won.

14
    Long Walker was only too aware that he was beaten. He realized that he had chosen the wrong route when he saw Eagle Woman on the slope ahead of him. When she passed him on her way back down, Walker despaired, but he still hoped to catch her.
    If only, he had thought for a moment, they could sit and talk. Perhaps he could make her understand that all his efforts were for her own good. The pursuits that the girl was proposing to enter were too dangerous. He wanted to shelter and protect her.
    Walker would have been astonished if he had known how close to his own fantasies were those of the girl. He imagined the two of them in their own lodge, Eagle Woman sometimes with him on a hunt, but above all, together. They had never yet finished talking. There were always things to discuss, to enjoy, to share together.
    But in the past few suns he had seen this possibility slipping away. Long Walker could imagine in his mind’s eye the two of them together, even if the girl attained warrior status. Only he was certain that Eagle Woman would not accept it.
    So, he had reasoned, he must stop her, and the Challenge had been his last resort. He had not been happy at its progress. Eagle Woman’s skills were even greater than he realized. Walker resented the attitude of the onlookers, the wagers, the ribald jokes. And now it had come to the last contest, and it would be over.
    He knew he was beaten by the time Eagle Woman stopped for a sip of water at the spring. He had elected to follow her course and had in fact gained considerably on her by the time they approached the camp. Horsemen rode alongside both runners, people yelled, dogs barked. Walker had managed to draw nearer, near enough for a respectable contest, but he knew that it was not good enough. There would be a certain amount of good-natured ridicule. That was not his primary concern. The depressing thought which weighed him down as he labored toward the finish was that he had failed in his effort to protect and shelter his friend, Eagle Woman. Worse still, she would always hate him for the attempt.
    The girl ahead of him sprinted across the finish line, skirt flying and long legs flashing. Walker put forth his best effort and pounded across to hand his marker to