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"Now I really aentle uess, it’s dried trilliu not to inhale the pungent fumes "I don’t suppose it will kill you; at least I hope not"

"That’s two of us, then," he said under his breath "No, I’ll do now, thank ye kindly" He waved away furtherpolitely at his would-be doctor

Joking or not, his lips hite, even in the diood shoulder, and felt the ht with strain

"Get the whisky, Sassenach I need it badly"

One of the Indians , but I pushed hirunted with surprise, but didn’t follow h it like a hog hunting truffles I didn’t try to stop him, but hurried back to Jaer one, shuddered once, and opened his eyes He breathed deeply once or twice, drank again, then wiped his mouth and held out the bottle in invitation to the olderMyers’s lurid stories about massacres, and the effects of firewater on Indians

"I can give it to them or let them take it, Sassenach," he said, a little testily "There are three of them, aye?"

The older man passed the h in appreciation of a rare bouquet I could smell the liquor from where I stood, and was surprised that it didn’t sear the lining of his nose

A sy face He said so to his sons that sounded like "Haroo!" and the one who had been rifling our bag caers clutched in his fist

The older man stood up with the bottle in his hand, but instead of drinking, took it over to where the bear’s carcass lay, black as an inkblot on the ground With great deliberation, he poured a small amount of whisky into the palm of his hand, bent, and dribbled the liquid into the bear’s half-opendrops of whisky cereold and a the fire with tiny, sizzling pops

Jaotten in his interest

"Will ye look at that, now?" he said

"At what?" I said, but he didn’t answer, absorbed by the Indians’ behavior

One of the younger men had taken out a s the bowl of a s dipped into the flaly on the barrel The tobacco leaf sparked and fu

Jahs I had ain, and could feel the shiver in his flesh start to ease as the waran to spread in his belly He wasn’t badly hurt, but the strain of the fight and the continued effort to stay alert were taking their toll on him

The older man took the pipe and drew several deep, leisurely mouthfuls, which he exhaled with evident pleasure Then he knelt, and taking another deep lungful of smoke, carefully blew it up the nostrils of the dead bear He repeated this process several ti under his breath as he exhaled

Then he rose, with no sign of stiffness, and extended the pipe to Ja, cere to hand it tosmoke filled my eyes and nose at once, and h I choked it back, and hastily gave Ja h h the channels of s

"Ye dinna breathe it, Sassenach," he murmured "Just let it rise up the back of your nose"

"Now…you…tell le

The Indians watched me in round-eyed interest The olderto puzzle so out He popped up onto his feet and ca to peer curiously at h forbut a breechclout and a sort of short leather apron, though his chest was covered by a large, ornate necklace featuring seashells, stones, and the teeth of so, he suddenly reached out and squeezedeven faintly lascivious about the gesture, but I ju for his knife

The Indian sat back cal his hand in dismissal He clapped his hand flat on his breast, then ; he had only wanted to assure himself that I was indeed female He pointed from me to Jamie, and raised one brow