The girl broke in impetuously.
"What talk is this of treachery and slaying? Wiki said only 'all things are as Massi wills.' Is it likely Massi wills your deaths when you fought in defense of the sacred turkeys?"
Wiki smiled his shadowy, enigmatical smile.
"Stay here and risk the Awataba, if you choose," he offered.
I don't know what I should have answered, but Tawannears plucked my sleeve and diverted my attention.
"Ask the chief whence came the maiden, brother," he urged.
I balked, inclined to doubt the wisdom of such personal questions.
"Ask!" he insisted. "Tawannears has a reason."
Wiki, himself, was attracted by the Seneca's earnest mien, and inquired the subject of his remark. I answered reluctantly, but Wiki evinced no displeasure.
"Say to your red brother," he answered courteously, "that the maiden is Kachina, the Sacred Dancer, who herds the sacred turkeys of Massi's shrine. She came to me once with a message from Massi, when I fasted in the desert seeking for knowledge of what was to come."