''But that's how the Dreamer's going to say it's to be done," Dancing Fox decided. "No more raiding."
"He will?" Four Teeth started, looking up from the coals.
She nodded. "He will. And if he doesn't—outside of the circle of us—who'll know?"
They shifted, throwing uneasy glances her way. Four Teeth straightened, about to speak. He stopped, closing his mouth, looking away.
"That's taking"—Singing Wolf winced—"a lot of . . •."
"Necessary precautions," Dancing Fox insisted. "That is,
if Wolf Dreamer doesn't come to his senses from the Dreaming and do it himself."
"This could be dangerous," Four Teeth whispered. "We all saw what happened to Crow Caller. We saw.''
The silence grew heavy again.
They won't take the lead. It's the obvious answer. We've got to use the Power of Wolf Dreamer's name. If we don't, the cohesion of the People will leak away and we II be broken again. Can't they see? It's now or never! Someone has to begin to undo what Raven Hunter created. The young men have to be stopped—now!
Dancing Fox steeled herself, choosing her words carefully. "I won't usurp Wolf Dreamer's responsibilities. I'm not interested in leading the People. But we don't know how long Wolf Dreamer's going to be locked in the Dream. We don't know if he'll ever come out of it. In the meantime, someone has to see to the People. This time it can't be Raven Hunter making his own way. It can't be the elders alone who do it. We all have to agree. Otherwise the People end up split apart like old caribou bone left in the sun. We can't have everyone following separate paths. We're not strong enough to do that with the Others closing—and nowhere to run. Are we agreed?" Dancing Fox looked ardently from face to face.
One by one, they nodded.
"And how do you see us doing this, woman?" Four Teeth asked, a labored quality to his voice. His old shoulders slumped in resignation.
Dancing Fox frowned. "Singing Wolf and Eagle Cries would be the best choices to direct the warriors. Together, they can lead the young men in a new direction."
"But Eagle Cries worships Raven Hunter! He's—"
"He's respected by all the young men. We must join both sides of the People now or lose some forever.''
"Agreed." Singing Wolf sighed. "I'll talk to him. Oh, for ' the days when I could be a surly callous complainer. I owe Broken Branch for this."
"For the days when we were all young . . . with no cares," Dancing Fox added softly. She turned to Four Teeth. "Grandfather, we need the elders to calm the People, remind them that food will be scarce until we're through the ice. We all look up to you and Buffalo Back and the others. You've
got to reassure the People, inspire them. Remind them we are all one. Bolster their courage."
Four Teeth bobbed his shriveled head. "We can do that. For once, I'm pleased to hear a young woman talk with so much sense. Sense—among the young—seems to have blown away with Wind Woman's breath."
"I'll give some thought to preparing for the ice." She began cataloging resources. "We'll need to gather all the berries we can for winter food. We need to strip out the willows and dwarf birch. With game this scarce, there won't be much fat rendered. For light in the hole, maybe we can get by with willow roots dried in the sun. They burn fast, and they're heavy and awkward to carry and hard to keep lit. . But they'll be light.
"In the meantime, we'll make a collection of all the fat we can find and store it someplace where the permafrost will keep it and the mice can't get it. What there is should be saved for emergency food—or in case the willows burn out under the ice. The children can organize drives, see if we can't trap mice and ground squirrels and dry them. All these -young boys and girls can drive the shallows of the Big River for char and grayling."
"Starvation food," Singing Wolf said sourly. At Dancing Fox's hard look, he clarified. "But I gave up being proud a long time ago."
Four Teeth chuckled under his breath. "You really think the Others would walk into that hole?" he asked as he shook his head. "It just . . . well, you'd have to be crazy to walk into something like that. Crazy! People shouldn't be underground. You know, what if someone should die in there? How would their souls find the way to the Blessed Star People? They'd be stuck in the dark forever."
Dancing Fox shivered. "You don't know how frightening it really is. Wait until you walk through there."
Four Teeth coughed and spat into the fire, lips pursed sourly. "I've been a lot of places, seen a lot of things. I can't say I look forward to walking under the ice. This new land had better be all you say."