Mountain Moonlight - By Jane Toombs Page 0,15

niche in the rock wall. Two rugged-looking crags loomed above them.

"Let's get the tent up," he said.

With Vala lending a hand, they soon had her tent ready, plus an extension fastened on and the gear stored inside. As the first rain drops fell, Bram rechecked the horses' tethers and then eased into the tent with her and Davis.

"How come you picked this place?" Davis asked.

"We're not in a hurry, so why not stay dry instead of wet?" he said. "Best to get off the trail anyway. If this turns into a gully washer, water comes pouring down the rocks like a river. Doesn't do to get swept away."

Lightning flashed and a close crack of thunder startled Vala.

"Just like Mokesh said." Davis spoke excitedly. "The thunder spirit really does live here."

Vala had never been afraid of thunderstorms. But she felt they were a lot more vulnerable in this tent than she'd ever been in a house.

"Close!" she cried as a brilliant shaft of lightning heralded a reverberating boom. Rain thrummed on the tent. Close also applied to their quarters. The extension held most of the gear, including saddles, leaving the three of them crowded into the main tent, which was really intended for sleeping. At the moment, the sleeping bags were unrolled on top of the ground cloth for them to sit on.

"You know what Mokesh would say?" Davis asked. Without waiting for an answer he went on. "Bad weather's the time to tell stories 'cause the snakes aren't out so they can't hear."

"What have the snakes got to do with it?" Vala asked.

"If the weather's good they might be hiding close by and hear," Bram said. "There are some stories the snakes don't want people to tell."

She looked at him, astonished.

Davis took the information in stride. "Yeah, you got that right, according to what Mokesh said. So who's gonna go first?"

"How about you, partner?" Bram said, pleasing Vala who could see Davis was bursting to tell one.

"It's a story I heard from Mokesh," Davis began.

"Some things about it I don't understand real well, but it's a story about how an old Ndee medicine man named Wandering Shadow found the pouch lost by the Great Spirit."

He went on to tell about Wandering Shadow getting lost in a blizzard and discovering a shining warrior lying in the snow. "He built a fire and gave this warrior all his water and all his food, but then the warrior left him and disappeared into the blizzard."

"Wandering Shadow decided it was his time to die--" Davis paused. "Mokesh knew when it was his time to die, do you think maybe all the Ndee do?"

"At one time, I believe they did," Bram said. "Now, though--" His words trailed off and he shrugged.

Again he'd surprised Vala with what he seemed to know about the Apache--oops, Ndee.

"Anyway," Davis went on, "instead of dying, Wandering Shadow found this shining lost pouch and knew he had to return it to Spirit Mountain. After he did that, he got one wish--a big wish, a thunder wish. On account of 'cause he was a wise old man, he wished his people wouldn't ever have to be cold or go hungry again. So do you know what he got for them?"

Vala shook her head.

Bram said, "I do, but this is your story to tell, not mine."

"The gift of the Great Spirit to the Ndee was the buffalo," Davis told them.

"I liked that story," Vala said.

Bram nodded. "That's what I mean about treasure. The buffalo were a greater treasure to Wandering Shadow's people than gold or jewels."

"Yeah, I guess they were," Davis agreed. "But they wouldn't be to me. I'd rather have gold any day." He looked at Vala. "Now it's your turn, Mom."

"I don't know any legends," Vala said. "And I've never been any good at making up stories."

"You could tell about when you were a little girl and lived in Arizona," Davis said. "You hardly ever talk about that."

"Sounds good to me," Bram chimed in.

Vala thought a moment. "Okay, I can come up with something about that time. Davis's story mentioned a thunder wish, mine'll be about rain."

"That leaves me lightning," Bram said.

"You can have lightning, there's only rain in mine."

She paused, wondering how to begin. If it were only Davis and her there'd be no problem, but Bram would be listening, too. "Once upon a time," she finally began, "there was a little girl who wanted to dress up like a princess for a Halloween party her friend down the street