The camp was silent. The boys’ eyes bounced between Violet and Mei, as though they were handling a great hive of bees, and all were waiting to see who got stung first. After a few tense moments, Mei let out a deep sigh; the kind that signaled her surrender. “You got a point,” she said, eyes troubled.
A wave of relief washed over Violet. “Thank you,” she breathed. “I know y’all like to help people, but it could be real trouble for us if it goes badly.”
Mei nodded in agreement.
“Tell you what.” Mei took a sip of her bitter coffee. “There’s a river along our way that splits off into Apache territory. We take him that far, and then we part ways. Does that sound better?”
Violet nodded. “Much,” she said.
And so their day began. The Apache understood that he was to come with, and kept polite
