Unfortunately, our caps and gowns showed up, so we’d have to go to graduation on Sunday. And Dr. Joe and Mary now have a new member of their family, his Ojibwa name is Makwa, which means Bear, but they’re going to call him Mark.

Amy ordered a bed for the hogan, and of course, we had to try it out.

We also met with Iz, from the Santa Ana Pueblo, his wife, two people from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and surprisingly Lieutenant Zimmerman of the Albuquerque Park’s Department. I was happy that Zimm was there but unhappy that the guy from Fish and Wildlife had invited him. We were meeting to see the Eagles and Eaglets. All three Eaglets are now able to fly. It was amazing to see all five Eagles flying together.

Then after practice for graduation, we went over to Dr. Joe and Mary’s house for dinner and to see the baby. And we met Mary’s mother, Mrs. Two-Rivers, who’d flown in to help with the baby.

As Dr. Joe and I were cooking the steaks for dinner, we talked about the project. And we came to the conclusion that what we were building was a bug detector. And, it was building not researching. Anyone could build the detector from what we’d been given. But we figured that the people that wanted this detector wanted it kept as secret as possible, so it was given to us to build instead of one of the other research facilities. And it will be a quick build.

We also visited Dr. Joe’s house bearing gifts for the baby. We’d brought a christening blanket and also a trust fund that we’d set up.

Sunday was graduation at the university, and we had to be there at nine. Both Amy and I, to be comfortable, wore long skirts, fancy blouses, and moccasins. We went light on the jewelry, we both wore the matching silver feather earrings, a bracelet or two, and a couple of rings each. I wasn’t sure about wearing a choker, but I finally put on the one that both of my grandfathers had made. Amy elected not to wear one. We both had our hair in a single braid with nothing fancy. And we took the simple braided leather headbands for later.

As I put on one of the Concho belts, Amy looked at me and said, “Yes, these skirts and blouses call for a belt.”

Amy picked one of the other Concho belts and put it on.

Just before nine, we were on campus and where we were to meet with our respective colleges. As I walked up to the group of professors and instructors from the Engineering College, the Dean saw me, and said, “Miss Nez, it’s good to see you here. But why the Native look?”

“To show my Native heritage.”, I replied.

The Dean smiled as he nodded yes. I put on my cap and gown, but I didn’t pull the zipper all the way up on my gown. I wanted to show off the choker. I also made sure that my tassel was on the left. Then I put on my Cum Laude honor cords, and one of the professors, with his fancy hood, asked, “What are your cords for? I’ve never seen any like them before.”

“They’re for my Cum Laude from Ohio State.”, I replied.

“Oh. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome, young lady. That’s quite an accomplishment. I’m surprised to see you with the engineering college’s faculty. May I ask in what your field of study is?”

“Electrical Engineering.”

“Oh. You’re the girl that I’ve heard about?”

“Could be, sir.”

Just then, they lined us up for the processional, and when the music started, we marched into the arena. And almost three hours later, we left the arena to recessional music.

As soon as I could, the cap and gown came off, and the headband went on. I saw Dr. Lingham, the president of the university, and he saw me. He walked over and said, “Miss Nez, I’m happy to see you here.”

“Thank you, Dr. Lingham. I guess it’s something that I need to do as a member of the faculty.”

“Yes, it is. And maybe next year, I’ll be presenting your doctoral.”

“It’s possible.”

With a smile, Dr. Lingham said, “I hope it happens.”

A little later, when I was back with Amy, she asked, “I saw you speaking with Dr. Lingham. What was that all about?”

“He was just telling me that he hopes that he can present my doctoral to me next year.”, I replied.

“That would be fun.”

“It would be fun if you were getting yours at the same time.”

To change the subject, Ajie said, “I’m hungry.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“The drive-in.”

As we walk out of the arena, we saw them. There must have been one or two hundred students carrying signs that were protesting the war. They were fairly peaceful, but there were a number of policemen near them. Someone was playing the song “Eve of Destruction” very loudly. And we could hear them chanting things like, stop the war and get out of Vietnam.

Ajie and I stopped and watched them for a minute, and I whispered, “I feel like joining them.”

“I know sweetheart.”, Ajie replied. “So do I.”

Then it took us the better part of three-quarters of an hour just to get out of the parking lot that we were in. And just as we were driving off campus, I said, “We should have parked over at Charlie and Jackie’s apartment.”

“We’ll have to remember that next year.”, Amy replied.

We drove over to our favorite drive-in, and they were busy, but we found a parking spot. And I turned on the headlights. Shortly we saw our favorite carhop running towards us. As he ran up to the car, he tossed a card onto the windshield, and said, “You two are really dressed up. What can I get you?”

“We were at graduation.”, I replied. Then I gave him our order. He ran off to the building to place our order, and Amy said, “He sure wasn’t chatty.”

“Probably too busy.”

While we waited, we listened to the university’s radio station, and they were playing some beautiful native flute music. After our food was delivered, and we were eating, I said, “Let’s go see if Cousin Ahiga is open.”

“Why?”, Amy asked.

“I’ve been thinking about something.”

“What’s that.”

“Do you remember when he told us that he’d heard from a guy that has a piece of silver with Grandfather Tse Nez’s maker’s mark on it?”

“Of course.”

“I wonder if that guy would be willing to sell it.”

“Interesting thought.”

After we’d finished eating, I turned on the headlights, and our favorite carhop came running over. As I was paying him, he said, “Did you hear about the antiwar protest at the university?”

“We saw it.”, I said. “It looked peaceful.”

“Rumors are that it might not be tonight.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) is having their graduation ball, and I hear that the protesters are going to try to get into it.”

“I’m glad I’m not going to be on campus tonight.”

“Me too.”

We left the drive-in and headed over to Old Town and Cousin Ahiga’s shop. As we walked into the shop, Cousin Ahiga, his partner Yas, and Yas’s wife were there. I said, “Yá’át’ééh, t'áá ájíltso. - (It is good, everyone.)”

They looked at us, and Cousin Ahiga said, “Yá’át’ééh, Kai dóó Ajie. What brings you here?”

“We’re wondering about something.”

“What’s that?”

“Remember when we were searching for the owner of the maker’s mark that turned out to belong to my Grandfather Tse Nez?”

“Of course.”

“Do you remember telling me that you heard from someone that has a piece of silver that has that mark on it?”

“Yes, I do. Why?”

“Do you think that he might be willing to sell it?”

“I don’t know. Do you want to buy it?”

“For the right price, yes. Can we find out if he’ll sell it.”

“I don’t know him, but I could write to him. He’s a Navajo that lives in Colorado.”

“Where in Colorado?”

“Let me find his letter.”

Cousin Ahiga went into the back room and came back with a folder of papers and started looking through them. He finally pulled out a letter, looked at it, and said, “Canon City.”

“Where’s that?”

“Just west of Pueblo. It’s about a five-hour drive from here.”

“If the price is right, I might be willing to drive up there to get it.”

“First, let me check with some people I know up that way to see what this guy is like.”

“Does he say what the piece is?”

Ahiga looked at the letter, and said, “He says it’s a squash blossom necklace.” 

“Does he know who the maker’s mark belongs to?”

“No, I never did get the article finished for the magazine.”

“That may be a good thing.”

“I’ll write to him and let you know when I hear anything.”

“Tell him that you were talking with another collector about the maker’s mark and that he had a piece of silver with that mark on it came up. And that collector was wondering if he would part with it.”

“Okay, I’ll tell him that.”

“I appreciate it, Ahiga. And I’ll pay you for your time and trouble.”

“No need, Kai.”

“Yes, it’s only fair. You earn your living with silver jewelry.”

“Okay.”

We shook hands and said hágoónee' - (see you later) to each other and headed to the house. As we drove, Ajie said, “You don’t think that Cousin Ahiga will try to outfox us on this like he tried to do with the bracelet that Chief Clah had for us. Do you?”

“He’d better not.”, I replied.

Monday was the first day of finals week. I gave two exams and took one. My other grad class didn’t have a final exam. Your grade was based on class participation. So, after I finished at the university, I headed home and went to work grading exams.

Amy was working in the ER from eight to four. When she was home and had changed, we went to Old Town for dinner and then spent the rest of the evening relaxing on the couch in the courtyard.

Tuesday, I didn’t have any exams to give or take, so it was into the office at eight and to work on the project. Dr. Joe wasn’t there, but there was a note from him on the cover on the project write up. All it said was “Kai, If you haven’t seen it yet. Look at the last few pages of the write-up. Don’t do anything until we talk. I should be there by eleven. Dr. Joe”

I turned to the last few pages of the write-up, and there was a schematic of the circuit and a layout of the two-sided printed circuit board for the circuit. I thought out loud, “What the hell.”

Then I sat back in my chair and thought, ‘With all the interruptions, I hadn’t gotten to the last part of the project binder, and here’s a schematic and circuit board layout. They just want us to build this damn thing. There’s no research here.

‘They did say that they gave it to us to keep this as quiet as possible. It looks like they had someone design this, then gave it to someone else to design the board, then to us to build and test the unit.

‘It’s not research, but it’s what they trust us to do.’

So, instead of sitting here and doing nothing until Dr. Joe gets here, I found the technical information on the one integrated circuit and started rereading it. And the more I read, the more intrigued I became. Then I looked at the schematic and how this integrated circuit fits into it. Hmm. This is what we thought it was. A scanner, a scanner to pick up transmissions know as frequency-hopping spread spectrum transmissions — a very sophisticated scanner.

Frequency-hopping spread spectrum transmissions is the repeated switching of frequencies in a random pattern while it’s transmitting and that the receiver copies. This helps to prevent the interception of the transmission.

I remembered reading that an actress, I think it was Hedy Lamarr, had invented this spread spectrum transmission thing during World War II.

After I’d been reading the write up on this unique integrated circuit for a while, I dug out the schematic that they’d provided and started looking at how this integrated circuit fits into it. This was interesting. And getting more interesting by the minute.

Suddenly the door to the office opened, my head snapped towards the door as Dr. Joe walked in. I had been so engrossed in the schematic that I hadn’t heard the key in the door. As soon as I realized it was Dr. Joe, I went back to looking at the schematic. Dr. Joe started to say, “Good mor … “

I held my finger up to stop him interrupting my train of thought. After a minute or so, I said, “Sorry. Good morning Dr. Joe.”

“You must have found something interesting?”, Dr. Joe said.

“I think I may have.”

As Dr. Joe walked over to look at what I was looking at, he said, “What?”

“After reading up on that special integrated circuit and then studying the schematic that they provided, I don’t think this will work the way they think it will.”

“How so?”

“They’re not handling the output of that integrated circuit the way it should be handled, and by doing that they’re not going to get what they want.”

“What should we do?”

“I’m not sure. Do we build it the way that they designed it, and show them it won’t work. Or do we correct the problem, then tell them. Or do we tell them and ask them if they want us to correct it?”

“How much of a problem do you think it will be to correct?”, Dr. Joe asked.

“Changing one of the integrated circuits that’s on the output of that special integrated circuit, and a couple of minor components.”, I replied. “And that should correct the problem.”

“Do we have to redo the board?”

“Maybe not. I’m going to have to look at the integrated circuit that I want to use in place of the one that they have there, and see what socket is needed. Plus, I want to redraw that part of the schematic.”

“I’m betting that you want to tell them what you’ve found and then fix it.”

“No. bet.”

“Do you want me to call Los Alamos?”

“Yes.”

Dr. Joe walked over to his desk, found a business card, picked up the receiver of his phone, and dialed ‘9’ for an outside line. Then he dialed the phone number for the Los Alamos National Laboratory. And I listened as he asked for Dr. Fontheim. Then once he reached him, I listened to the conversation. And as Dr. Joe hung up the phone, he said, “They be here in an hour and a half.”

“They’re coming here?”, I asked.

“Yes, Dr. Fontheim was very concerned when I explained what you’d told me, so he wants to talk with both of us and see what you’re talking about.”

“Okay. You said, ‘They.’ So, who else is coming?”

“Dr. Höllmann. I guess he has the final responsibility for this project.”

“Good. Want to go to lunch?”

“Sure. The faculty dining room?”

“No.”, I said. “I want a good hamburger.”

“I assume that you want to go to the drive-in?”, Dr. Joe replied.

“Yes, and you can drive.”

“I’d better tell the Dean what’s going on.”, Dr. Joe said.

Dr. Joe called the Dean’s office, and I listened as he told the Dean what was going on. When Dr. Joe hung up, I asked, “What was that comment about the queen of integral circuits about?”

“Well, you are, aren’t you?”

I just glared at Dr. Joe.

Then he said, “Well, you are.”

“Let’s go.”, I said, as I got up, put the documentation in the file cabinet and locked it. Then as we walked out of the office, I said, “Don’t forget to set the alarm and lock the door, Lord Chamberlain.”

We were back in the office about an hour later, I took all the documentation and spread it out on the work table. And then, Dr. Joe and I waited for the people from Los Alamos to show up.

About forty-five minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and I said, “My Lord Chamberlain, would you please see who is knocking on the throne room door.”

As Dr. Joe got up, he just shook his head and said, “I’ve created a monster.”. He walked over, unlocked, and opened the door. The Dean, Dr. Fontheim, and Dr. Höllmann walked in. As Dr. Joe closed and locked the door, Dr. Höllmann said, “So, Miss Nez, we hear that you may have found a problem with the project.”

“Yes, sir.”, I said. “I think so.”

“So, show us.”

I spent some time explaining what I’d found and when I finished, Dr. Höllmann looked at Dr. Fontheim and asked, “Well, Dr. Fontheim, you’re the electrical engineer, what do you think?”

“I think Miss Nez is correct.”, Dr. Fontheim said. “I can see the problem.”

“I know that no one at Los Alamos designed this.”, I said. “And it’s possible that whoever did it didn’t understand the special integrated circuit and the outputs from it well enough. And rather than redraw the schematic, I’ll modify it.”

“Miss Nez.”, Dr. Höllmann said. “How much time is this going to add to the project?”

“Maybe a day. Maybe less if the new integrated circuit uses the same socket as the old one. And I think it will. And I’ll draw up the modification before I go home today.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“So, do you want us to fix it before we build it?”, I asked.

“Of course, Miss Nez.”, Dr. Höllmann said.

Then Dr. Fontheim asked, “Miss Nez, how did you know that we at Los Alamos didn’t design the circuit?”

“In reading the documentation on the project, I kept seeing the initials ‘S.Y.’ and they’re also on the schematic.”

“S.Y., Miss Nez?”

“Yes, and I know what they refer to.”

“What’s that?”, the Dean asked.

I looked at the Dean as I said, “Sir, I don’t think I can tell you that. Everywhere that they were mentioned was marked secret.”

“I’d like to know that too, Miss Nez.”, Dr. Höllmann said. “And I think that Dean Rutherford can hear it.”

“Sir, are you sure?”, I asked.

“Yes, Miss Nez.”

“Okay, sir. They’re used to indicate the Diplomatic Security Service of the State Department.”

Our two friends from Los Alamos looked at each other, then Dr. Fontheim asked, “Miss Nez, how did you know that?”

“I read a lot, sir.”, I replied.

“No one figured that anyone would pick up on that.”

I didn’t say anything. But, I thought, ‘I also know what the project is.’

“Miss Nez.”, Dr. Höllmann said. “I want to thank you for finding that problem with the project. It probably saved us some problems later on.”

Again, I didn’t say anything.

But the Dean did, “This is why we like to have her around.”

“I’d still like to steal her away from you.”, Dr. Höllmann said.

I just looked at Dr. Höllmann and shook my head no.

“Miss Nez, it was worth a try.”

I just smiled.

After the Dean and the two doctors from Los Alamos had left, Dr. Joe looked at me and said, “So that’s what the S.Y. means?”

“Yep.”, I replied.

“You still have that look that says that you know something but aren’t go to tell.”

“I do?”

“Yes, you do. Are you going to tell?”

“Maybe.”

“Come on tell your Lord Chamberlain.”, Dr. Joe said.

“We were right when we figured out that this is a bug sniffer.”, I replied.

“Yeah. So?”

“This thing is smarter than your average bug sniffer. It does use frequency-hopping spread spectrum transmission detection, but then it learns the pattern that the transmitter uses.”

“And what do you do with that information?”

“Oh, you could program a higher strength transmitter to that pattern and jamb the receiver. Or feed the receiver incorrect information.”

I went to work drawing the modification to the schematic, and it only took me half an hour. Then I checked to see if our lab had the parts that I needed, and they did. So, I brought the new parts back to the office and put everything away. Then as I was leaving for the day, I said, “Dr. Joe, I’ve got two exams to give tomorrow, and I want to get them graded so that I can turn them in on Thursday. So you probably won’t see me tomorrow.”

“That’s okay, Kai.”, Dr. Joe said. “I’ll see you on Thursday.”

“Oh. If you get a chance, tomorrow take the drawing of the printed circuit board to the guy that makes them and get him started on it. And don’t forget to bloc out the S.Y. on it.”

“Will do. Hágoónee', Kai. - (See you later, Kai.)”

“Hágoónee', Dr. Joe. Give little Mark a hug for me.”

“Will do.”

When I was home, I told Amy about Dr. Joe calling me the queen of integrated circuits and me calling him my Lord Chamberlain. And she got a laugh out of it.

Wednesday was almost a duplicate of Monday, I had two exams to give, but none to take. Amy also had two exams to give.

When I was back home after giving my last exam, Amy was already sitting at the dining room table grading her exams. I went and changed out of my teaching clothes, hopefully for the last time until the fall quarter. Then I joined Amy at the kitchen table, and we graded exams together. We only took a break for a quick supper, then went back at it until we were both finished grading our exams and had our grade reports filled out. That way, we could turn them in tomorrow.

After we’d finished, we cuddled together on the couch and watched the stars. Then I told her about the two doctors from Los Alamos visiting us and why. Then I added, “They offered me a job again.”

“And you said no.”, Amy said. “Didn’t you?”

“Of course, I did.”

“Well, at least if you get tired of the university, you know where you could find a job. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

“It’s not.”

Thursday, Amy was going to stop and see if Charlie and Jackie needed any help before my Uncle Paul and the guys from the resort showed up to move them to the resort for the summer. I was taking both of our grade reports to the registrar's office and then going to the office.

When I was at the office, I pulled everything out of the file cabinet and started taking stock of what we had and what we’d need to build the printed circuit board. We had all the integrated circuits and their sockets, the Nixie tubes and their sockets, and a few other special things. I made a list of what we’d need from the stock room and took it to the clerk at the stock room. And I told him that we wouldn’t need these things until early next week.

Then I walked over to where Charlie and Jackie’s apartment is, and I got there just as the truck from the resort was pulling out. Amy, Charlie, and Jackie were standing outside. And as I walked up, Amy said, “Leave it to Kai to get here after all the work's done.”

“Oh, thanks.”, I replied. “Just for that, I won’t buy lunch.”

“Not fair.”, Charlie said.

“Oh. I’ll buy yours and Jackie's. Just not Amy’s.”

“You’re a brat.”, Amy said.

“Come on, you three. Let’s grab a burger.” 

Later as we were dropping Charlie and Jackie off back at the apartment, I said, “Charlie, do you remember how to get to the resort?”

“With the number of times we’ve been there with you, yes.”, Charlie replied.

“Good, and we’ll see you on Friday night for the barbecue.”

“Are you staying the weekend?”, Jackie asked.

“No, not this weekend.”, Amy replied. “Our parents will be here, and it’ll depend on how tired they are after their flight. Plus, I know we need to pick up their motor home on Saturday. So, we may leave right after the barbecue. But we’ll be here for the rest of them.”

After we left Charlie and Jackie, I took Amy to her car, and then I went to the office. As I walked in, the Dean and Dr. Joe were there. And I said, “Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon, Miss Nez.”, The Dean said. “I just stopped in to see how the project is going.”

“So, how is it going?”, I asked with a smile.

“From what Dr. Oshie has told me, it’s going very well.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Kai, you should have your printed circuit board on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.”, Dr. Joe said.

“That’s good. I ordered all the incidental parts this morning, and I’ll have those late Monday. So, I guess we can start building on Tuesday.”

“I also told Dr. Oshie that I heard from Dr. Höllmann this morning. He told me that they were surprised but happy that you found the problem with that circuit.”

“That’s good to hear.”

After the Dean left, I looked at Dr. Joe and asked, “What else did he say?”

“Nothing.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Nothing?”

“Yeah. What else would he say?”

“I don’t know. But something else was said.”

“Well, he did say that the reason that they brought this project to us was two-fold.”

“Two-fold?”

“They knew that we could build it and keep it quiet. Plus, they wanted to be sure that it worked. And they knew that if there was a problem in the design that you had a better chance of finding it then anyone else.”

“And?”

“There was nothing more.”

“And?”

“Well, there was talk about a Research Associate position.”

“For who?”

“For you.”

“What!”

“Yeah. They want to keep you around.”

“I guess. But at the beginning of the year, I was nothing but a Grad Assistant, then Part-Time Faculty, then they added the Research Fellowship, then the Full-Time Faculty position. And I only have a bachelor’s degree. It’s too much too quick.”

“Kai, realize that you are one hell of a researcher. You’ve impressed everyone that’s had contact with you. You’ve straightened out problems that no one else has seen. You’re important to this university.”

“But will it break up the team?”

“No. They also see that you and I work well together. This would put us on more of an even footing. And I feel that it’s well deserved. I’ve watched you work, and you have, along with being a Nádleeh -(two spirit person), a Great Spirit given talent to do research. And I wish that I had half the talent that you do.

“The Research Associate position isn’t official yet. It has to be approved.”

“Board of Regents again?”

“Yes, and I guess President Lingham is going with Dean Rutherford.”

“When?”

“Next Wednesday.”

I bit my upper lip and shook my head.

“Go talk to Amy.”, Dr. Joe said.

“Don’t you dare call her.”, I said.

“I won’t.”

“Promise.”

“I promise.”

“You know I won’t be here tomorrow?”

“Yes, your parents are coming.”

“And I don’t know what time I’ll be here on Monday. It’ll depend on what time our parents get on the road.”

“Don’t worry about it. If you don’t make it until Tuesday, it’ll be fine. The printed circuit board probably won’t be ready until Tuesday.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Go home and relax until your parents get here.”

I looked at him and said, “Not with Amy. Even though the house is spotless, we’ll be cleaning it again.”

“Wants everything perfect. Doesn’t she?”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

Half an hour later, I was pulling into the garage at the house. And I just sat there for a minute before I went in. As I walked in, Amy was in the kitchen, so I walked over there and sat at the breakfast bar. Amy gave me a puzzled look and asked, “What’s bothering you?”

“Something the Dean and Dr. Joe are up to.”, I replied.

As she walked over to the breakfast bar, Amy asked, “What are they up to now?”

“How about a Research Associate position?’

“Who? You?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s wonderful!”

“Is it?”

“Sure, it is. Why isn’t it?”

“This has all happened too quick. A year ago, I’d just received my bachelor's, then I was a Grad Assistant here, and now they want me to be a Research Associate.”

“But that’s wonderful. Isn’t it?”

“But that’s such a prestigious position.”

“Sweetheart, look back at all that you have done here. And doing that, you’ve impressed people and deservedly so. From what you did in correcting things that that instructor did when we first got here. To what you’re doing now. The people from Los Alamos want you, and so do others. The university is just rewarding you for what you’ve done and what they hope you will continue to do.”

“I’ve got to think about this.”

“Want to go to the sacred place?”

“I’d love to. But with our parents here, it would be hard.”

“I know. Maybe use our hogan?”

“Maybe. But I feel that the fire pit in the courtyard would be better.”

“So, do it.”

I looked at Amy, smiled, and said, “Ayóó' áníínísh'ní, Ajie.”

Amy returned the smile, and said, “Ayóó’ aníínísh’ní aldó’, Kai. - (I love you too, Kai.)”

I got up from the breakfast bar and walked out onto the courtyard. Since I had finished teaching for the quarter, I was already dressed in a long skirt, fancy blouse, and moccasins. And I had my hair done in a ponytail.

I laid a fire in the fire pit and lit it.

Then I went back into the house and to the entrance hall. I took down the Wolf Prayer wall hanging and carried it out to the courtyard. I spread it out by the fire so that it was on the west side of the fire. I sat down on it, facing the fire.

I looked into the fire. And a chant came to me, and I started chanting it. I felt the spirits of the fire. After I finished the chant, I sat there for a short time, then got up.

I picked up the Wolf Prayer rug, took it back into the entranceway, and rehung it. Then I went and found Amy. She was working in one of the bedrooms. I looked at her and said, “Let’s go for a hike.”

“Are you sure. There’s too much to do here.”

“Yes, let’s get changed.”

We changed into our hiking gear, got everything together, and headed for the east slope of the Quest. We drove to our favorite trail, the Armijo Trail. This is the one with the picnic areas along the trail. When we were there, we got the guns out of the trunk and set them up. Then I also got the backpack out of the trunk.

Both Amy and I strapped on our pistols. Then we put on our cowboy hats, and I slipped on the backpack, we shouldered our rifles, grabbed our hiking staffs, and walked over to the trail log. We looked it over, and there was no mention of bears, and the trail appeared to be in good shape. We signed in that we were hiking the Armijo Trail in a clockwise direction.

Then we hit the trail, I was leading, and Amy, as she does when we hike in this area, was singing. We didn’t want to surprise any of the Mountain People (bears). We hiked up the trail and went past the first picnic areas. The picnic areas are well marked and a short distance off the trail, and about a mile apart.

We hiked towards the second picnic area, and when we arrived at the trail to it, I took the trail. When we arrived at the picnic table, I looked at Amy, she looked at me, smiled, and said, “Kind sir, what do you have in mind?”

“My dear lady.”, I said. “I wish to ravish you.”

“But out here under this blue sky?”

“Yes, my lady, what a better place. Out communing with Mother Nature.”

I watched as Amy, with a sly smile, unslung her rifle, unbuckled her pants, and … 

A while later, we were back on the trail and were finishing our hike. When we were back at the parking area, we signed the trail log saying that we were back and how we’d found the trail. Then it was a stop for dinner, and since we were dressed in hiking clothes, we elected for the drive-in.

As we sat there eating, Amy asked, “So, what did the spirits tell you?”

“They told me nothing, but I felt that they were happy with what’s going on.”

“So will you accept it if they offer it to you?”

“I think. … It’s that it’s so much in a short time. I don’t feel that I deserve it. But, I see that others think that I do. And I respect those other people. So, I guess I should.”

“Yes, you should.”

“We’ll just see if the Board of Regents sees it that way.”

When we were back home, it was dark. So I checked the refrigerator and found a pitcher of sangria and took it out. Amy said, “I made that while you were meditating. I figured that you might want some.”

“Great minds.”, I said.

I poured us each a nice glass of sangria, then we went out, sat on the couch, and watched the stars.

We sat and watched the stars until bedtime.