Later that same day a posse of three Sheriff’s deputies, Uncle Paul, and me surprised this Dr. Kilmer, aka Mr. Black, and arrested him. We celebrated with cinnamon crisps and fruit salad.

The next day we went to the gathering. My aunt, uncle, Jackie, and Charlie all loved the headdresses that Mrs. Cyl’s mother had made. Dibe was there, and she conned us into being part of the grand entrance. We talked with Mrs. Cyl, her mother, and her daughter.

Later as we were having lunch, a young man questioned our wearing the Eagle feathers. We had a discussion which had started getting a little ugly, then Dibe had shown up, and introduced the young man to us as her boyfriend, Ata’halne or Hal. And, once he found out who I was, his tone changed. As did mine after I found out that he was ‘special’ to Dibe.

I told everyone the story of the Eagles, from Ohio to here in New Mexico. Hal was amazed by my story and finally realized that we, Ajie and me, were supposed to have the feathers.

As we were finishing our talk, I heard a male voice behind me say, “Yá’át’ééh, Ata’halne. I see that you’ve met Kai Nez.”

Hal replied, “Yá’át’ééh, Uncle Bidzii. Yes, we’ve just had an interesting talk.”

I knew that voice, the voice of Uncle Bidzii. I turned to look at this Uncle Bidzii, and I was surprised to see not only Chief Kinlicheeny but Tribal Governor Cochiti of the Taos Pueblo.

I said, “Yá’át’ééh, Naat'áanii Kinlicheeny dóó Naat'áanii Cochiti.” - (It is good, Chief Kinlicheeny and Governor Cochiti.)

They both returned a “Yá’át’ééh, t'áá ájíltso.” - (It is good, everyone.)

I heard Ajie whisper to Charlie and Jackie telling them what was said.

Governor Cochiti said, “Charlie and Jackie, it’s nice seeing you again. Are you enjoying the gathering.”

“Yes, Governor, we are.”, Charlie replied. “It’s been fascinating seeing everything that’s here and also seeing the dancers.”

“Is Quah Ah here?”, I asked.

“Yes.”, the Governor said. “The last time I saw her, she was talking to Naainish Yazzie.”

“The Governor and I need to be going. You six enjoy yourselves.”, Chief Kinlicheeny said.

As the Chief and Governor walked away, they said, “Hágoónee'. - (see you later.)”

And, the four of us that spoke Navajo returned a hágoónee'.

Then I looked at Hal, and said, “So, Chief Kinlicheeny’s your uncle?”

“Yes.”, Hal said. “On my mother’s side. And I try to keep it quiet.”

Then I looked at Charlie, and said, “You feel like looking around some more and then watching some dancing?”

“Sure.”, Charlie said. “As long as I can sit down when I need to.”

“No problem.”

Ajie asked Dibe, “When are you two dancing?”

“In about an hour.”, Dibe replied.

“We’ll see you then.”

“You’d better.”

We said hágoónee' to each other, then Ajie, Jackie, Charlie, and I started walking the halls looking at what the vendors had to offer. Then we found Mr. Yazzie.

He saw us walk in the classroom door, smiled, and said, “There’s my two favorite customers and their friends.”

We heard a “Yá’át’ééh, Mr. Yazzie.” out of Jackie.”

Ajie looked at her, and said, “Picking up a bit of the language?”

“Hanging around you two, I can’t help it.”

“I have something for you.”, Mr. Yazzie said.”

“For me?”, Jackie asked.

“Sorry young lady, no. It’s for Kai and Ajie.”

“I knew that.”

“Let me get them.”

Mr. Yazzie went to a briefcase, opened it, and took out two long, narrow boxes. He brought them over to the table that he was using as a counter, opened the boxes, and said, “I had a friend that deals in old coins look at the two gold dollars, and they were minted in 1850, they’re in good condition, and are worth about fifty-five dollars each.”

We looked at the necklaces that Mr. Yazzie had made, and Ajie said, “Mr. Yazzie, the way you mounted those coins makes them worth a million dollars. Our mothers will love these.”

“Only the best for my two favorite customers.”

He had made a fancy octagon shaped bezel out of silver to hold the coins and then attached a delicate gold chain with a clasp to two sides of the bezel.

I asked the sixty-four thousand dollar question, “What do we owe you?”

Mr. Yazzie smiled, and said, “Twenty dollars.”

“Each?”

“Total.”

“Mr. Yazzie! You and I both know that the work you put into them is worth more than that. Not to mention the silver and gold that you put into them.”

He wrote up a receipt, handed it to me, and said, “All I want from you is twenty dollars.”

I took the two boxes and the receipt from Mr. Yazzie, and as I handed them to Ajie, I winked. Then I opened my purse and took a bill out of my wallet. As I gave the bill to Mr. Yazzie, I said, “Sorry, Mr. Yazzie it’s the smallest that I have.”

Mr. Yazzie took the bill, and said, “A fifty!”

“Sorry.”

“I’ll get your change.”

As Mr. Yazzie turned to walk to the back of his stall, I whispered to Ajie, Jackie, and Charlie, “Let's go.”

“What about your change?”, Jackie asked.

“Don’t worry. He’ll pay me back. Get going.”

The four of us quickly left the classroom, and as we did, I heard Mr. Yazzie yell, “Kai Nez, you come back here and get your change.”

I stuck my head back in the classroom and said, “We’ll see you later, Mr. Yazzie.”

He was shaking his fist at me.

As we walked down the hall towards the gym, Jackie asked, “Why did you do that?”

“Mr. Yazzie has a habit of not charging us enough for the work he’s done for us.”, Ajie said. “We’ve paid him more than he’s wanted before. And, he usually gets back at us in some way.”

“I like to pay him what I feel his wonderful work is worth.”, I added. “He’s a wonderful silversmith. I put his work on a level with my grandfather’s work. But, I’ll never tell him that.”

“You are something else.”, Jackie said.

We walked into the gym just in time to watch the little kids dancing, and it was fun to see. We found some seats and settled in to watch. Charlie couldn’t get over the regalia that the dancers were wearing. Then he said, “I’ve seen some very nice regalia, but nothing to match what Dibe was wearing.”

“Realize that Dibe is one of the top Navajo dancers. She has won many awards. But she dances for the fun of it. The competition is secondary.”

“Do you think that’s why she’s so good?”, Jackie asked. “Because she dances for fun.”

“I do.”

Just then they announced the fancy shawl dance. And I knew Dibe would be dancing, so I said, “I think that this is my favorite dance.”

As the drums and singing started, about twenty-five women, teenagers, and younger girls danced out onto the gym floor. This dance is one of the ones that is done in mass. Dee’s shawl and the rest of her regalia was beautiful. Like the first time that we’d watched her dance the fancy shawl dance her regalia was all white. But this regalia was fancier. There were more frills and beading. And, just like the first time, I was amazed by the twirling, the kicks, and the quick steps. It was beautiful.

When they finished, there was a lot of applause. And Jackie said, “You were right about Dibe. She is one terrific dancer.”

Just then I spotted Naainish and Quah Ah, and I waved at them. They saw us and walked over to us. When they got to us, Quah Ah said, “It’s wonderful to see all of you again.”

“It’s nice to see you again too, Quah Ah.”, Charlie said.

“Are you enjoying the gathering?”

“Oh yes. It’s been a lot of fun. The vendors, the dancing, and the food.”, Jackie replied.

“I’m glad. The Governor and the committee worked hard on it for months.”

“It shows.”

Just then another group of dancers started, and we invited Naainish and Quah Ah to sit with us. As we were watching the dancers two uniformed Taos police officers walked over to us, and one of them asked me, “Are you, Kai Nez?”

“Ah. … Yes, I’m Kai Nez.”, I replied. “Is there something wrong?”

“Miss, you’ll have to come with us.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Miss, please come with us, and we’ll explain.”

I looked over at Ajie, and she looked at me with a puzzled and shocked look.

Quah Ah, asked, “Officer what did she do?”

“I’m sorry, Miss.”, one of the officers said. “But, we can’t tell you that.”

I stood up, and the officers started escorting me out of the gym stands, and of course, everyone was watching me. The officers led me out of the gym and into the hall. I knew that at least Ajie, Jackie, and Charlie were following us. We walked down the hall, which led away from the door to outside. Strange.

We finally turned into one of the classrooms. It was the classroom where Mr. Yazzie was. He was standing behind his table, grinning at us.

As we walked up to him, one of the officers asked, “Is this the culprit, Mr. Yazzie.”

“Yes, officer, she is.”, Mr. Yazzie said. “You can leave her with me.”

I glared at Mr. Yazzie. Mr. Yazzie was still grinning as he said, “Kai, when will you learn to stop doing things like that to me.”

I heard laughing from behind me. I turned and looked, and Ajie, the police officers, and everyone else, including Naainish and Quah Ah was laughing. Then I said, “Mr. Yazzie, you made me look bad in front of everyone that was in the gym.”

“I know. Now, will you take your change?”

“I’ll take ten. That will make it twenty dollars for each necklace..”

“No, you’ll take thirty.”

“No. Your work is worth much more than even the fifty that I gave you.”

“And, your friendship is worth much more than that.”

“And, so is your friendship. But, you also need to make a living.”

“I make a good living, Kai. I get along fine.”

“Give me twenty. That will make if fifteen for each necklace, and I’ll feel better.”

“Okay, Kai. Twenty.”

As Mr. Yazzie handed me twenty dollars, he said, “Kai, you shouldn’t mess with people who are friends with most of the police officers in town.”

“I see that. But, you’d better watch your back.”

“You wouldn’t hurt an old man. Would you?”

“Hurt you? Never. But, pay you back for this. You bet I will.”

I hugged him, and said, “Hágoónee', – (see you later) Mr. Yazzie.”

“Hágoónee', Kai. I know I will see you and Ajie again soon.”

“You will, Mr. Yazzie. You will.”

As we walked out of the classroom, Charlie said, “I could use something to drink.”

So, we headed to the cafeteria. We included Naainish and Quah Ah. After we got our drinks, we sat at a big table. As we enjoyed our drinks, Jackie said, “I was worried when those policemen took you, Kai.”

“I was confused too.”, I replied. “Until we went into the classroom where Mr. Yazzie was. We pull this sort of thing on each other every once in a while.”

I then asked, “Naainish, Quah Ah told me that you both think that my male spirit is older than my female one. Is it?”

“Kai, I feel that it is.”, Naainish said.

“Why?”

“It just is. When did you first feel your feminine spirit?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe back when I was about twelve or thirteen.”

“It may have taken your female spirit the first twelve or thirteen years of your life to find you.”

“Why so long?”

“It’s just one of those things that we will never know. The Great Spirit moves in strange ways.”

“Yes, Kai.”, Quah Ah said. “Some two spirit people don’t know that they’re a two spirit person until they are the age you were. Most will realize it earlier and some later.”

“When did you know that you were a two spirit person, Quah Ah?”

“I think I’ve always known.”

“So have I.”, Naainish added.

I sat there quietly for a minute. Then asked, “Naainish, why were we given two more Bald Eagle feathers?”

“You were?”, Naainish asked.

“Yes, the two flight feathers that Ajie and I have in our headdresses. You didn’t know?”

“No, I didn’t. When did this happen?”

“About two weeks ago. Ajie and I were walking along the Rio Grande, we saw the Eagles, and they dropped two more feathers.”

“Again the Great Spirit. We know that you are close to those Eagles, you are their protector, and they are yours. Maybe it’s the Eagle’s way of showing you how important you are to each other.”

“We’ve never given them anything.”, I said.

“You may have given them more than you know.”, Naainish said. “You’ve been their friends for a long time. You show your love for them just by being there. You have also shown that you will protect them. And, they will protect you.”

“Kai.”, Quah Ah said. “The relationship you and Ajie have with the Great Spirit is through the Eagles. Your closeness to each other is amazing. It’s something to be cherished. And, to be shown by displaying the feathers they have given you, either like you’re doing today, or in your home.”

“You know, Naainish and Quah Ah, in a way this scares me. But, in another way it makes me feel good. When we’re with the Eagles, I’m at peace.”

“That’s as it should be, Kai.”, Naainish said.

“Kai.”, Quah Ah said. “I’m not a Navajo, but I feel that you and Ajie should visit the sacred mountain known to you as Tsoodzil.”

“As well as the others.”, Naainish added. “But they all require hiking to reach, and two require mountain climbing skills to reach the peak. But, all four are visible from points accessible with a four-wheel drive vehicle. And, Tsoodzil is an easy three or four-mile hike to the peak from the trailhead.”

“It sounds like you’ve been there, Naainish?”, Ajie said.

“I have. Tsoodzil is an easy hike, the trail has switchbacks, and the mountain peak is at about eleven thousand feet.”

“Might be interesting.”

“It will be, but I’d wait until spring.”

Naainish and Quah Ah left us, and Charlie asked, “What’s this Tsoodzil?”

“The Anglo name for Tsoodzil is Mount Taylor. And it’s one of the four mountain peaks that are sacred to the Navajo people. The four colors in our headdresses represent the four mountains.”

“That’s interesting.”, Jackie said. “I’m enjoying learning things about the Navajo people.”

“Want to go and watch some more dancing?”

“Sure.”, Jackie replied. Then looking at Charlie, she asked, “Want to watch some more dancing, honey?”

“To be honest.”, Charlie said. “I’m tired.”

“Want to go back to the resort?”, I asked.

“Yes and no. I do, but I don’t want to mess up your fun.”

“Don’t worry about us. We’ve done a lot today. And Ajie and I have seen everyone that we wanted to, and watched some great dancing, and had a great frybread taco. So, why don’t we head back to the resort.”

As we walked towards the doors to the high school, I whispered to Ajie, “Is Charlie going to be alright?”

“I think so.”, Ajie whispered back. “I’ll check him when we get back. He may just need some rest.”

“So, we may have done too much today?”

“Maybe a little. But, Charlie's young and in good shape.”

Back at the car, Ajie and I took off our headdresses, put them in the case, and put that in the trunk of the car. The four of us got in the car and headed for the resort. It wasn’t long until Charlie’s head was resting on Jackie’s shoulder, and he was asleep.

Charlie slept all the way to the resort, and Jackie had to wake him up when we got there. As he woke up, Charlie said, “Guys, I’m sorry that I fell asleep.”

“Charlie.”, Ajie said. “Don’t be sorry. You’ve had a rough time, your body is still recovering, and we may have done too much today. You need to go in, curl up on the couch, and go to sleep if you want to, or even go to your bedroom and nap. That way we won’t disturbe you.”

“I may do that.”

“No, honey.”, Jackie said. “I think you should do it.”

“Promise that you’ll wake me for dinner.”

“I promise.”

“Okay, I think I’ll go to our bedroom.”

“Good.”, Ajie said. “But, I want to check you first just to be sure nothing's going on.”

“If you must.”, Charlie said.

“I must.”

When we walked into the house, my aunt was in the kitchen. She looked at us and said, “Hi kids. Your back early.”

“Yeah.”, Charlie said. “I got tired, and ruined the day.”

“Charlie!”, I said. “You didn’t ruin the day. We had fun. We saw a lot of things.”

“Yeah. Like you getting arrested.”, Jackie said.

“What!”, my Aunt Ruth said. “Arrested?”

I had to tell my aunt the story of what Mr. Yazzie did to me. And, she had a good laugh.

Charlie then said he was going to go and take a nap. Ajie told him to hold on a minute. She ran back to our room and came back with a small bag. The first thing she did was look at the incision site, and she proclaimed that it was looking very good. Then she took out a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff, and took Charlie's blood pressure, and said that it was good. Then she took his temperature and said it was normal.

Jackie said, “It looks like you came prepared.”

“Knowing how far we are from a hospital, I figured that it wouldn't hurt to have some things on hand. So, I’ve brought these with me every time we’ve come up here for the past few months.”

“I didn’t know that.”, I said.

Ajie just smiled. And, Charlie went and took a nap. The rest of us changed out of our fancy clothes and just relaxed.

Later the four of us girls started putting together dinner. Am I a girl? Once we started cooking the food, Charlie wandered out of the bedroom, and asked, “What smells so good?”

“Hi, sleepy head.”, Jackie said. “Feel better?”

“Uh huh. And hungry.”

“He’s feeling better.”

As we were eating we told my aunt and uncle about what we did, and what Mr. Yazzie did to me got a big laugh out of my Uncle Paul, and he said, “Remember Mr. Yazzie has been around three times longer than you have, and he knows all the tricks.”

“I’m learning that, Uncle Paul.”, I replied.

Then my Uncle Paul said, “You kids don’t have to get up early tomorrow to see us off. We have to leave here at five-thirty to make our flight.”

I looked at Charlie, and I could see the light come on, he looked at Jackie, and said, “I thought that we were going to take them to the airport with Kai and Ajie?”

“Change of plan, honey.”, Jackie said.

“I don’t think it’s a change of plan. Is it?”

“Ah. … No, not really.”

Looking at Ajie and me, Charlie said, “You three planned this all along. Didn’t you?”

“Charlie, we felt that this would be a good place for you to relax.”, Ajie said. “Besides the thermal pools have healing powers.”

“I should be mad at you three, but I’m not. Just being here has me feeling better. But, isn’t it too cold for the pools?”

“No, Charlie. We have skiers stay here in the winter, and after a day of skiing they love to soak in the pools.”, Aunt Ruth said.

“But, we didn’t bring bathing suits. Did we?”

“Yes, we did.”, Jackie said.

“But, we’ll have to take it easy.”, Ajie said. “We’ll have to be sure that your incision has healed. And, it looked good when I saw it earlier. If it isn’t, you can sit on the edge with your feet in the water.”

“Oh yeah. My feet will cook, and my head will freeze.”

“No, they won’t.”, Uncle Paul said. “When you're sitting on the edge of the pools it’s warm there. And, I’d suggest the Iron Pool. It’s the warmest right now. And they're open until ten tonight.”

“And, I’ll guarantee that you’ll have one of the best nights sleep that you’ve ever had.”, Aunt Ruth added.

We agreed that we’d go to the Iron Spring at nine tonight. And we did. I suggested that Charlie sit on the edge of the pool while the rest of us soaked, and he did that for a little while. Then as he slowly slipped into the pool, his only comment was, ‘it feels so good.’

And, my aunt was right. I know I didn’t hear anything when my aunt and uncle left at five-thirty. The first thing I knew was when I rolled over, looked at the clock and it was eight o’clock. Ajie was still asleep, so I worked my way out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

When I came out of the bathroom, Ajie was looking at me from under the covers, and she asked, “What time is it?”

“A little after eight.”

We finally wandered out into the main part of the house, and Jackie and Charlie weren’t far behind us. And, Charlie said, “Kai, your aunt was right. I think that was the best sleep I’ve had in years. And I feel rested.”

We spent Friday, Saturday, and the first half of Sunday doing very little. We’d go and soak in one thermal pool or another twice a day. And, one of those soaks was just before bed. We’d then relax in front of the fireplace in the living room, listening to music, reading, talking, or just looking at the fire. Or, take a short walk. I had taken the eight books for the new spring class with me to the resort and been able to skim through seven of them. Most of them I went through quickly, and a couple of them took a closer look.

As we ate lunch on Sunday, I said, “Be sure and dress warm and wear boots. I want to stop at some place special on the way home.”

“Where, Kai?”, Jackie asked.

“It’s a surprise. And, there’s a short walk involved.”

Ajie looked at me with her adorable smile. And, I knew she knew where we were going to stop.

After we’d finished lunch and straightened up the house, which included replenishing the firewood for the fireplace, we started for Albuquerque. After we’d been on the road for about an hour, I took a side road and headed for the Jemez Canyon Reservoir. If you remember, it’s where the Bald Eagle’s nest is.

It wasn’t long until we drove past a sign that said, ‘Entering the Santa Ana Pueblo Indian Reservation.’ Then it wasn’t much longer until we were pulling into the parking area for the overlook trail.

As we pulled in, there were two vehicles in the parking lot. One was the pickup truck that belonged to Iz, who is the whole Santa Ana Pueblo’s Parks Department. The other pickup truck had ‘U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’ on the side.

I said, “I wonder what’s going on?”

“Why?”, Charlie asked.

“It’s rare to see anyone here. Let alone two pickups. And one of them is from the Fish and Wildlife Service.”

“Who does the other one belong to?”

“Iz, who is the Pueblo’s Parks Department.”

I parked the car. We got out, and I retrieved the camera case from the trunk. Then the four of us started walking down the trail towards where the gate was. About halfway to the gate, we saw two people walk out of the gate and close it. One was Iz, and the other was a woman.

As we walked up to each other, Iz said, “Well hello you two.”

“Hi, Iz.”, I said. “What’s up.”

“This is Miss Rankin a naturalist from the Fish and Wildlife Service, and they’d heard about a pair of Bald Eagles in the area. She stopped in to see me, and I brought her here.”

Then Iz said, “Miss Rankin, this is Kai Nez and her cousin Amy Young. Kai is a member of the Navajo Nation.”

Then I said, “Miss Rankin. Iz. These are our friends from the university, Jackie and Charlie.

“So, Iz did you find the Eagles.”

“No.,” Iz said. “We waited out of sight for about fifteen minutes, and they didn’t show.”

“That’s a shame.”

I had a good feeling about Miss Rankin, so I said, “Want to go back with us, and see if they show up?”

“With six of us there, they won’t show.”, Miss Rankin said.

“Miss Rankin.”, Iz said. “I thought so too. But, they only time I’ve seen the Eagles in their nest is when Kai and Amy are here.”

“Iz.”, I asked. “Did you tell her about the Eagles and us?”

“A little.”, Iz replied. “I didn’t go into details.”

“Are you the girls in the story that Iz told me?”, Miss Rankin asked.

“Yes.”, I replied. “A true story.”

“It’s hard to believe something like that.”

“We have a park ranger friend from Albuquerque who thought the same thing.”

“Who is that?”

“Lieutenant Zimmerman.”

“You know Zimm?”

“If that’s what he’s called. Yes.”

“And he believes the story of you and the Eagles?”

“Yes. He didn’t believe it until one evening when he and another ranger were with the four of us along the Rio Grande, and the Eagles showed up. That evening Lieutenant Zimmerman learned something else about me. And it’s I’ll protect the Eagles. Someone shot at the Eagles, luckily missed them, and I chased she shooters down.”

“That was you!?”

“Yes. Now, if you’d like to go back with us to where the Eagle’s nest is, I’ll bet that they’ll show up.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I know that you won’t believe this, but I’ve had some Navajo elders tell me that we, Amy and I, are the protectors of these Eagles and that they are our protectors.

“I also know that the Eagles will show up if Amy and I are there and the people with us aren’t there to try and hurt them. I know Amy and I would never hurt them. The same with Jackie and Charlie. And also with Iz.

“And, I feel that you have no intention of hurting them. I feel that you are here to check on the Eagles well being.”

Am I going to explain to Miss Rankin how I know this? No. Well, at least not now.

Then I asked, “So, Miss Rankin, would you like to accompany us?”

“Yes, Miss Nez, I’d love to.”

I started walking towards the gate. And when I reached it, I looked at Miss Rankin, and said, “The one thing that I ask of you, is not to tell anyone where they are. It could endanger them.”

“If I see them, I’ll just put in my report that they were reported to be in the area of the Jemez Canyon Reservoir.”

“No.”, I said. “That’s too much information.”

“How about if I say that they were in the Santa Ana Pueblo Indian Reservation.”

I looked at Iz. He had a look of concern on his face. So I said, “How about if we just say that they were spotted along the Rio Grande north of Albuquerque?”

“You are protective of them.”, Miss Rankin said. “Aren’t you?”

“Yes, they are.”, Iz said. “And so am I. I don’t know of another pair of Bald Eagles in the area.”

“There aren’t. At least that Fish and Wildlife is aware of. And, the only reason that we know of this pair is the article in the Albuquerque Park’s newsletter. And that was vague.”

“It was vague because we asked them to keep it that way.”, I said.

“I’d like to keep the existence of this pair as vague as we can.”, Iz said. “The area of the Jemez Canyon Reservoir isn’t visited by outsiders very much, and the Pueblo would like to keep it that way.”

Miss Rankin, looked at me, then looked at Iz. Then she said, “I feel your concern for these birds. And, I won’t reveal their location.”

“Thank you.”, I said.

I then opened the gate, and said, “Follow me.”

I led everyone down the trail towards the nest. When we got there, I pointed out the nest to Jackie and Charlie. Then we stood there for a few minutes and nothing. I was a little worried that they wouldn’t show up. I shouldn’t have been concerned, because from behind us, one of the Eagles flew in and landed on the nest, turned, and looked at us. Then a short time later the other Eagle showed up carrying a fish.

The six of us stood there looking up at the Eagles. Miss Rankin whispered, “They are beautiful.”

“Yes.”, I whispered. “When we’ve seen them along the Rio Grande we’ve never been this close.”

“And, they look to be very healthy.”

Miss Rankin took out a pair of binoculars and took a close look at the Eagles, then she said, “I don’t see bands on either of them. So we’d have no idea where they came from.”

We stood there another few minutes, then Amy whispered, “Kai, look at the base of the tree. There’s something there.”

I looked, and sure enough, there was another feather there. I walked over, picked it up, and brought it back to the group. As I walked up, I said, “It’s a feather from one of their wings, a flight feather.”

“It’s like the other one that we found here.”, Iz said.

“And, like the other one, I’d like you also to have this one.”, I said as I handed Iz the feather.

Iz accepted the feather, but said, “Kai, You need to keep this one.”

“Iz, we have six. We received two flight feathers a couple of weeks ago.”

“But, were they from these Eagles.”

“Yes, like with the tail feathers that we have, we saw them fall from the Eagles and grabbed them before they could hit the ground. And, I feel that you should have this one too, as you served in both World War II and Korea.”

“Kai, thank you very much.”

“My pleasure, Iz. Just remember to display it.”

“Don’t worry. I will.”

A short time later the two Eagles took off, circled overhead, and flew away.

As we walked back to the parking lot, Miss Rankin said, “Miss Nez, I’m glad that I walked back to the nest with you. And I can’t believe it. It was like the Eagles came to their nest to see you.”

“They did.”, I said. “We even think we saw one of their offspring when we were back in Ohio a few weeks ago. We were at the lake in the park, where we first saw the pair of Eagles, and an immature Eagle flew in and sat with us for a little while.”

“So, you think that the two Eagles here are the two you saw in Ohio?”

“We’re not sure. But, feel that it’s a possibility. Though we also know that we’ll probably never know for sure since these Eagles don’t have bands.”

“I’m glad that I’ve met you.”

“And, It’s been a pleasure meeting you Miss Rankin.”

As I put the camera bag in the trunk, Iz said, “You didn’t take any pictures.”

“It’s not camera equipment, Iz.”, I said. “We were at the gathering in Taos last week. And, we took along somethings that are precious to us, and we keep them in the bag to keep them safe.”

Then I took the case with the two headdresses in them out of the trunk, opened it, and said, “I thought that you might like to see these. The feathers are from the two Eagles.”

Miss Rankin said, “Those headdresses are very pretty, and the feathers are in prime condition. But, aren’t you afraid to wear them?”

“No, Miss Rankin.”, Iz said. “It shows their special connection to the Great Spirit through the Eagles. The Eagles are the messengers of the Great Spirit.”

“I see.”

“And we display them in our home to show our relationship to the Eagles.”

“That’s very interesting, Miss Nez.”

We said so long to Iz and Miss Rankin and started the final leg of our journey to Albuquerque.

As we drove, Charlie said, “Kai?”

“Yeah, Charlie.”, I said.

“I just love the way you talk to people. You don’t talk down to them. But, you tell them how you feel about things. And, it seems that they just come around to your way of thinking.”

“Kai has always been that way.”, Ajie said. “She has a way with people. I think it’s what makes her a good teacher.”

“I can see that.”, Jackie said.”

As we pulled into the driveway at our apartments, Charlie said, “I want to thank you guys, all three of you, for this weekend. I’ve even started to feel normal.”

“Charlie.”, Ajie said. “We all felt that it’s something you needed. Besides we knew that Uncle Paul wanted to talk to you.”

“Those job offers helped too. Now, we don’t have to worry about this summer.”

“I’m glad. And we can have fun at the barbecues every weekend.”

“So, you drive up every weekend for the barbecues?”

“We wouldn’t miss them. And we usually spent Friday and Saturday nights at the house.”

We helped Jackie carry their suitcases into their apartment, and then we said goodnight to them. We then unloaded our things from the car and made dinner.

After we’d eaten, I was finally able to skim through the eighth book. When I finished, I thought, ‘I sure hope that the ninth book is going to be better than the first eight.’

As we were getting ready for bed, Amy said, “I wish we were still at the thermal pools.”

“Why?”, I asked.

“I’ve never slept as good as I did after our evening soaks.”

“I know what you mean.”

That night the King was gone from the castle, so the Prince spent the night in the Queen’s bedchamber.

Monday it was back to the routine. Amy had her two class to teach, and I had my two. So, I walked Amy to her first class, and I stopped by the bookstore to see if the ninth had come in yet. But, no such luck.

After I’d taught my classes and attended my one graduate level class, I stopped at Dr. Joe’s office. I was going to tell him about our long weekend at the resort, but as I sat down in front of his desk, Dr. Joe said, “Are you busy tomorrow at one?”

“No.”, I replied. “Why?”

“The Dean wants to meet with us.”

“Oh. Why?”

“Dr. Fontheim and someone else from Los Alamos what to meet with us.”

“Did he say about what?”

“No. I don’t think that he knows.”

“Maybe they have another research project for us?”