Free Enchanted Ecstasy by Constance O'Banyon

the colonel viewed it. "Sleep, I need sleep," he said, to no one in particular.
     
    When Maleaha left Mangas's teepee she found her Aunt Kosha waiting for her. It had been three years since Maleaha had seen her aunt, and she was glad to see that she had not changed. Kosha had no children of her own. In her youth she had borne one daughter who had died the same day.
    Maleaha knew her Aunt Kosha loved her. She had spent many happy days with her as a child. There was happiness reflected on Kosha's face as she enfolded her dead sister's daughter in her arms and led her to her own dwelling.
    That night many friends of her childhood came to her aunt's teepee and they talked long into the night. It was good to be with her mother's people, she thought, and she felt the love and respect they communicated to her. After all, her aunt told her, she was a princess of the Jojoba, and the people had also loved her mother a great deal.
    It was almost dawn when Maleaha fell asleep. It seemed she had only closed her eyes when her aunt shook tier gently. "You must eat, Maleaha, you have a long journey ahead of you, and you do not want to get a late start."
    Maleaha was having her breakfast with her aunt and uncle when Lamas entered the teepee to inform her that Mangas wished to speak to her before she left. Kissing her aunt and uncle good-bye and promising to visit them again soon, she made her way to Mangas's dwelling.
    Mangas was waiting for her, and he led her inside.
    "I wanted to wish you a safe journey, Little Flower, and to tell you to be on the lookout for the Arapaho. I would not want anything to happen to you."
    "I will be quite safe; you need not be concerned for me.
    "Come, I shall walk you to your horse. Lamas will not be going with you at this time, so stay close beside Salador. He is sworn to protect you with his life."
    They were outside the teepee now, and the sun was just coming up over the distant mountains.
    "Why does Lamas stay behind, Mangas?"
    "I wish to send a spy into the Arapaho country. He is familiar with the land and he also speaks their language. Do not worry, he will return to you in a very short time."
    Maleaha nodded. "I will say good-bye then, Mangas. I hope you can settle the problem of the Arapaho."
    He touched her cheek softly, "It is not good-bye, Little Flower. We shall meet again soon."
    Maleaha was not aware that Major Kanen Benedict watched her as he prepared to mount his horse. He had seen her coming out of Mangas's teepee, and it was not hard for him to draw the conclusion that she had spent the night with the chief of the Jojoba. He did not miss the loving way Mangas touched her face. Mounting his horse, he stared straight ahead. His eyes blazed angrily, thinking what a little slut she was.
    Maleaha walked gracefully across the camp and mounted her horse. Noticing the major's foul mood, she did not wish him a good morning as she had intended to.
    Mangas raised his hand in a silent salute, and she raised her hand to him. She looked about for her aunt and saw her standing beside her husband, so she raised her hand to them as well.
    Angrily spinning his horse around, Kane nudged it in the flanks and rode away, leaving Maleaha and Salador to follow.

 
     
    5
     
    All morning they rode in silence, and late in the afternoon Kane pulled up his horse. He had not eaten since the day before at breakfast, and he felt almost weak with hunger.
    Maleaha offered him some of the corncakes her aunt had given her, but he refused, deciding he would eat a can of beans he had brought along instead. Maleaha wondered why he was behaving so strangely, but he did not choose to enlighten her, and she would not ask.
    They rode until almost sundown before Kane halted and announced they would camp beside a stream. Maleaha dismounted, unsaddled her horse and led him to the stream to drink. By the time she returned she saw that the major had opened his can of beans and they were warming over the campfire he had built. Salador