"I could do more for my people by staying in the white world. Not as Jackson's Judas goat, but as master of Victoire."
Davis took a step backward, astonished. "Master of Victoire! Have you lost your senses, man? We barely got you out of Smith County alive."
"Will you take me back there instead of to the Sauk in Ioway?"
Davis shook his head. "I'm not authorized to do that."
"Am I still a prisoner?"
"You're a guest of Uncle Sam. But that doesn't mean I can spend Uncle Sam's money taking you anywhere you want to go." Davis frowned in thought. "But I could turn you loose in Galena instead of taking you all the way over to Ioway. That wouldn't make any difference, monetarily. Not that I'm ready to go along with this, but could you manage to make it to Victor from there?"
"I'll write to my grandfather and ask him to send a horse to Galena for me."
"If your grandfather has any sense he'll tell you to get the hell across the Mississippi to the Sauk reservation."
"My grandfather has a power of sense. But he also loves me and will want to see me again."
"If you show your face in Victor you'll be swinging from a tree limb before the sun sets."