Dean Rutherford, Dr. Joe, and I talked about the letter or letters since Dr. Joe had also received one from Los Alamos. I told them that I’d had it and that I would teach the classes for the rest of the year like I said I would. But, after that, I didn’t know. And, Dr. Joe wasn’t sure that he was going to have his background check done either.

Later that day a long talk with Amy and a sangria got me to see the light. What made me happy, other than being with Amy? It was doing research and teaching. But, I needed questions answered. So I set up a meeting with Dr. Millman, one of the Assistant Directors at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

So, on Friday, I’d met with Dr. Millman and a Ms. Blackington who would be doing my background check if I authorized it. We had a nice talk. And in the end, I agreed to allow them to do the background check on me.

That little piece of paper that was in my letter was Dr. Millman telling me to look for someone with the last name of Peshlakai in regards to information about me being given out. Was Chief Peshlakai, even though he’s in prison, making trouble, or was it someone else with that last name? Amy and I are getting together with some people at the resort on Saturday.

(Authors note: For those of you that don’t remember Chief Peshlakai, he’s the one that took over as the chief of the Big Medicine People Clan after Chief Todachine passed away. Peshlakai had then been charged with stuffing the ballot box so he could be Clan Chief, and there was also an issue of missing funds. So, he faced both Tribal and Federal charges. And, after being found guilty on both charges, he is currently in prison. And on top of that, he tried to steal the credit for the Chief Todachine Scholarship from Ajie and me. )

So on Saturday morning, after a quick breakfast, we were heading north to the resort. As we were pulling into the resort, Amy reminded me that we had to be back early on Sunday as she was working in the ER from three to eleven.

Then as we pulled up to my aunt and uncle’s house, we saw Naainish’s new pickup, a car with Arizona plates which I knew was my Uncle Gaagii and Aunt Ginny’s car, and another car with Arizona plates that I didn’t recognize.

I said, “I didn’t expect everyone to be here this early.”

“I know.”, Ajie said. “I guess when they heard Peshlakai’s name it got their attention.”

“I guess.”

We parked, got our things out of the car, and walked into the house. And, we found seven people sitting around the kitchen table, so Ajie and I said, “Yá'át'ééh t'áá ájíltso. Nizhonigó íiná aadóó hozhónahasdlíí.” - (Hello everyone. It is good, and all is harmony around us.)

We received a “Yá’át’ééh abiní, Kai dóó Ajie.” - (Good morning, Kai and Ajie.) from almost everyone.

Then I said, “We’re going to put our things in our room, and we’ll be right back.”

Ajie and I took everything to our room, as I set our suitcase down, Ajie asked, “Have you ever seen that man sitting at the table before?”

“I’m not sure.”, I replied. “But, I figure that we’ll find out soon enough who he is.”

We were quickly back in the kitchen and sitting at the table. We knew six of the seven people sitting at the table. So, the only introduction was when Chief Kinlicheeny said, “Kai and Ajie, I’d like you to meet Atsa Clah, he is the Navajo Nation’s War Chief and that makes him the Nation’s Attorney General. Atsa Clah, this is Kai Nez and Ajie Nez.”

We exchanged greetings. Then Chief Kinlicheeny said, “Atsa and I were talking about your problem, and he wanted to be here to see if there is any legal recourse that you might have. He’s well aware of who Peshlakai is, and I’ve filled him in on your problems with him. I’ve also told him a little about your issues with the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

“He is also aware of who you are, and I would like you to tell him the details of what’s gone on.”

“I wasn’t planning on doing this so early today.”, I said. “But, I guess it will be good to get it over with. This thing with Los Alamos has been a real problem, not only for me, but for Ajie, for my faculty advisor, Dr. Oshie, and for the university. … ” And, I went on to give them the details of what had gone on with Los Alamos. And what I’d decided to do. Then I touched on what Peshlakai had done.

Finally, I pulled the note that Dr. Millman had given me about Peshlakai out of my purse, unfolded it, and set it on the table. And, I said, “Someone in the upper management of Los Alamos gave me this. And, it points to someone named Peshlakai. Now, is it Chief Peshlakai himself or is it someone else with the last name of Peshlakai?”

Chief Clah looked at me, and said, “Miss Nez, you have been through hell. But, it sounds like you gave as good as you got. And, I’d say that there are some legal things that we could do for the inappropriate things that Los Alamos has done.”

“Chief Clah, I want to try and hold off on doing anything that might hurt the relationship between the university and the laboratory. The Dean of my college is very unhappy with the way I was treated. And, knowing my Dean, the university president is now well aware of it. And, who knows where it’s gone from there. The president and the governor are friends.

“I feel that it isn’t the people that I work directly with at Los Alamos, but their security people who may have been given some inappropriate information on me.

“And as I told you, just the other day I was upfront with one of their security people about my background so that a background check could be completed. And, before anything goes any further, I want to see what happens with this.

“I’m more concerned with the Peshlakai thing. Did he, even being in prison, have anything to do with it? Or, did someone that he’s related to have something to do with it. Ajie had a problem with her New Mexico nursing license because of a relative of his.

“So, what I’d like to find out is how the information about me got leaked to the security people at Los Alamos.

“And, before I forget. Everyone here, except Chief Clah, may be contacted by the people from Los Alamos. I’ve agreed to allow them to do a background check on me. And, I’d like you to be completely honest with them in your answers.”

“Miss Nez.”, Chief Clah said. “If you decide that you need legal representation, I’d be more than happy to represent you.”

“Thank you, Chief.”, I said. “First of all, it’s just Kai. And, we already have a lawyer, but if this gets too sticky, we might call on you.”

“Kai it will be.”, Chief Clah said. “Can I ask who your lawyer is?”

“Yes, it’s Mary Harman in Albuquerque.”

“Yes, I know of her. She’s a good choice.”

“We thought so too. She helped me with a problem with the Board of Regents at the university.”

As Chief Clah nodded and got a little smile, he said, “I heard about that.”

I looked at Chief Kinlicheeny, and said, “Chief, what didn’t you tell him?”

“Sorry, Kai.”, Chief Kinlicheeny said. “But, I thought being the Nation’s legal counsel that he should know.”

“Chief, what am I going to do with you?”

“Kai.”, Chief Clah said. “Chief Kinlicheeny was thinking of the best way to help you and felt that I needed to know as much about you as possible.”

“I understand that, Chief. It’s just that I try to be a private person, and it’s becoming almost impossible.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll call it an attorney-client privilege.”

“Thank you. What’s your retainer fee?”

“Let's just call it pro bono.”

“Thank you. But, it’s not necessary.”

“For what you and Ajie have done for the children of the Nation. It’s necessary.”

“Thank you again.”

During this whole thing I’d been watching my Uncle Gaagii out of the corner of my eye, and I could see the wheels turning. Finally, I looked at him, and said, “Uncle Gaagii, don’t do anything illegal.”

“Now Kai would I do that?”, Uncle Gaagii said. “I’m just trying to figure out how to ferret out who did this. Peshlakai isn’t that common of a name. And, I have some ideas.”

“Like?”

“I’d better keep that to myself right now.”

I just gave him a look and shook my head. He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.

“Kai.”, my Aunt Ginny said. “You and your Uncle Gaagii are so much alike.”

“Thanks, Aunt Ginny.”, I said sarcastically.

“You two just like to keep things to yourself.”

“Who’s ready for lunch.”, my Uncle Paul said. “I have the small meeting room at the restaurant reserved, they have a lunch buffet today, and it’s on me.”

“Uncle Paul.”, I said. “Let me pay for it.”

“No, it’s my treat.”

“Split it with you.”

“Okay, Kai. We’ll split it.”

During lunch, we talked some more, except my Uncle Gaagii was quiet. And, that bothered me. Finally, Uncle Gaagii said to my Uncle Paul, “Paul, after lunch can I borrow the phone in the office at the house.”

“You have some ideas, Gaagii?”, Uncle Paul asked.

“Yes, and I want to get started on them.”

“The phone’s all yours.”

As we were leaving the restaurant, I cornered Chief Kinlicheeny, and asked, “Chief, I hear that you had a talk with Dr. Millman of the Los Alamos National Laboratory about me. What did you tell him?”

“Kai.”, Chief Kinlicheeny said. “We have an excellent relationship with the Los Alamos Laboratory. He wanted to know a little about two spirit people. So, I told him how important they are to the Nation, and how well respected they are.

“Then he asked me about you. I asked him why there was an interest in you, and he told me. So, I told him as much as I could about you without revealing who you truly are.

“I also told them what I knew of you at the university.”

“Thank you, Chief. I was worried you had told them about me.”

“Kai, I know that you are a private person. And, I try to respect that.”

“I’ve finally revealed my identity to them. I felt it was the best thing to do in dealing with them. And, they surprised me as to how well they took it.”

“Kai, I get the feeling from them that they really want you to do work for them.”

“I have that feeling too, Chief. But, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Kai, first I haven’t seen you since then, and also he’d asked me not to say anything to you.”

“Okay. I understand.”

Then we hurried to catch up with the others and did that in the hotel lobby. And just as we did, Chief Clah had spotted the silver display that’s in the lobby. As he walked over to it, he said, “I’ll be along in a few minutes.”

Everyone else continued walking to the house, except Ajie and me. And, we walked over to the display with Chief Clah. As we walked up to the display case, I asked, “Do you like silver, Chief Clah?”

“Yes, Kai. I collect old Navajo silver.”

“Oh. A good thing to collect.”

“Yes, it is. Do you know anything about the silversmith that did this work?”

“Oh, maybe a little. He's my great-great-grandfather.”

The chief looked at me, and asked, “This collection wouldn’t be yours. Would it?”

“Yes. Ajies and mine.”

“What was your grandfather’s name?”

“Kilchii Nez.”

“I’ve heard of him. Do you have any more of his work?”

“Oh. A bit more. The earrings that Ajie’s wearing are his work. Also, the choker that she’s wearing has some of his work.”

He looked at the earrings, and said, “Very nice. A very nice mix of silver and gold.”

“And, the Concho belt, bracelet, and the two rings that I’m wearing are his.”

“Where did you find all of these tools and things that are in the case.”

I told him the story of finding the choker that Ajie was wearing at a native dance competition, and then going back to the same vendor and finding the wooden box. And, the vendor telling us that they had purchased the box at an estate sale and it was for sale, so we bought that too. Then I told him about taking the box to Mr. Yazzie, and him looking at all the tools in the box. Then I told him about finding the hidden compartment, and about a few of the things that were in it. He was surprised.

Then I said, “There was something else in the hidden compartment.”

“What was that?”, Chief Clah asked.

“It was Kilchii Nez’s maker’s marking tool.”

“Really!?”

“Yes.”

“That was a wonderful find.”

“Yes. But, there was another find that has us puzzled.”

“What’s that?”

“The choker that Ajie is wearing has two makers marks on it. One is Kilchii’s mark. The other one no one knows who it belongs to. And, Kilchii’s mark was hand engraved. So, we figure that the other mark belongs to whoever was training Kilchii. And, so far no one has been able to tell us who the maker's mark belongs to.

“We’ve even shown it to two local silversmiths, Sike Yazzie, who is Naainish’s uncle. And, to Ahiga Biakeddy, who’s my Uncle Paul’s cousin. And, Ahiga had a question about it published in one of the collector's magazines.”

“I know Sike and have heard of Ahiga. Can I see the choker?”

As Ajie took the choker off, I said, “Of course. Ski Yazzie has been a wealth of information for us. And, Ahiga has a book with a lot of maker’s marks in it.”

Ajie then handed the choker to Chief Clah. He carefully looked at the choker, and said, “Yes, this is a very nice piece of work. And, I see the two different maker’s marks. One made with a tool and one done by hand.”

He studied it a little longer, then said, “I’ve seen this one maker’s mark before. The one made with the tool. Not in a magazine, but on a piece of silver. Do you know what magazine it was published in?”

“No.”

“Can we find out?”

“I can call the shop and see if Ahiga is there.”

“Would you?”

“Sure.”

As Chief Clah handed the choker back to Ajie, I said, “We have something to show you when we get back to the house.”

Chief Clah then said, “After seeing this silver, and knowing what I know about you. That could be interesting.”

We headed to the house, and as we walked in Uncle Gaagii was nowhere to be seen. He was probably in the office on the phone.

My Aunt Ruth asked, “So, did the chief see anything of interest in the display case?”

“Yes.”, I replied. “He thinks that he may have seen that maker’s mark that we haven’t been able to figure out. And, we need to call Uncle Paul’s cousin Ahiga, and talk to him.”

“Oh. I wish we could solve this. Honey, go ahead and use the house phone.”

“Do you have an Albuquerque phone book?”

“Yes, in the hall closet.”

I went and retrieved the telephone book, looked up the number to Ahiga’s shop, and called it. Ahiga answered, and I explained what we were doing. Then Ahiga and the chief talked for a few minutes.

When they hung up, Chief Clah said, “I have a copy of the magazine that the question was in. I’m going to check a few things, and I’ll let you know what I find. Can I have your phone number?”

“Of course.”, I said.

The chief took out a notepad and pencil, and I wrote our phone number on it.

As I handed the pencil and notepad back to the chief, he said, “I have to ask. I know that I don’t have any of Kilchii Nez’s work, and from what I’ve seen he was a master silversmith. Would you be willing to sell me a piece of his work.”

I looked at Ajie, then back at the chief, and said, “Chief, we, as his family, are trying to collect everything of his that we can find.”

“I understand.”

“But, if we would run across a piece of his work that was similar to one that we already have, I would be willing to sell it to you.”

“Thank you.”

“You are a Navajo, and you are a collector. That tells me that you would see the artistry in the piece and appreciate it.”

“Yes, I would appreciate it. And, I promise you that I’d never sell the piece.”

“I appreciate that very much.”

Naainish had been quiet all day but had paid close attention to everything that had gone on. Naainish stood, and said, “Hágoónee' t'áá ájíltso.” - (See you later all people [everyone].)

We all said, “Hágoónee', Naainish.”

After Naainish had left, I said, “I wish he’d stayed a little longer. I wanted to talk to him.”

“He’ll be around.”, Aunt Ruth said. “He’ll probably spend the night in the remote hogan, and we may see him for dinner.”

“Why does he sleep there instead of in here where it’s warm?”, Ajie asked.

“It’s who he is.”, Uncle Paul said. “He enjoys being out in nature, and if it were warmer, he’d probably sleep under the stars. I do keep a good supply of wood out there just for him.”

I went and retrieved the camera bag from the floor safe. When I came back into the kitchen, I set the bag on the table and opened it. As I did, I said, “Chief Clah, as we said we have a number of pieces of Grandpa Nez’s silver, and what we’re not wearing is in here.”

He just stared, as I started setting the silver pieces on the table and unwrapping them. And I explained, “We feel better having the silver with us, and use the camera bag as a carrying case, plus when we travel, we can take it into places without causing any questions about what we have.”

As Chief Clah carefully looked at each piece, he would nod, some times he'd smile, some times he’d say, “Very nice.” And, when he finished looking at all of the pieces, he said, “These are all excellent pieces of work. And, you have a wonderful collection of his work. And, I can now see why your Uncle Paul’s cousin called him an old master. He was an old master.”

Then I took one last thing out of the camera case, set it on the table, and unwrapped it. Chief Clah asked, “Is that what I think it is?”

“It’s Kilchii Nez’s maker’s marking tool.”

“That is something that you rarely see from the old time silversmiths. And, I’m happy that you showed it to me.”

“Mr. Yazzie was surprised that we’d found it. But, also happy that we did.”

As I was putting the silver back in the case, Uncle Gaagii joined us, and as he did, he said, “Well that’s taken care of.”

“You didn’t put a contract out on Peshlakai. Did you?”, I asked Uncle Gaagii.

“I wish it was that easy. But, I’ve got feelers out, and I’ll probably know something in the next forty-eight hours.”

“That’s good.”, Chief Kinlicheeny said. “Chief Clah and I had better get going. We have a dinner meeting, and we’ll just make it. Kai let me know what happens.”

“I will Chief. And, Chief Clah, please let me know what you find out about that maker’s mark. We’d love to solve the mystery.”

“Kai, as soon as I know something.”, Chief Clah said. “You’ll know something.”

We all said, hágoónee' - (see you later) to them. And they left.

That left just Ajie, my aunts and uncles, and me. And, I said, “This has been an interesting day so far.”

“Yes, it has.”, my Uncle Paul said. “Kai, those people from Los Alamos put you through the wringer, but it looks like you may come out ahead of the game.”

“I would be happy if it ended in a tie.”

I looked at Ajie, and before I could say anything, she said, “You want to go soak in one of the pools. Don’t you, honey?”

“You know I do.”, I replied. “I need to relax.”

Ajie and I spent almost an hour quietly soaking in one of the thermal pools, followed by a quick run to the bathhouse and a shower. As we walked back through the hotel, we stopped at the display case where the silver is and looked at it.

As we were looking at it, Ajie said, “What are you thinking about, Kai?”

“Oh, nothing.”, I replied.

“Yes, you are. You’re thinking of Chief Clah and that one Concho?”

“Yeah. We do have others just like it.”

“Yes. It’s a duplicate of the ones that are in the one Concho belt. And, you’re thinking of selling it to him.”

“Maybe. But, I’m not sure.”

“He’s a real collector and would treasure it.”

“I know. I’m just not sure.”

“Not sure if you want to give up one of grandfather’s pieces?”

“Yeah. It would take something special even to get me to think about it seriously.”

We finished our walk to the house and found my two aunts sitting in the kitchen. I asked, “Where’s Uncle Paul and Uncle Gaagii?”

“They went to look at the bridge.”, Aunt Ruth said.

“Are the two engineers planning a replacement.”, I said sarcastically.

“I hope your Uncle Paul hires someone.”

“I hope that they don’t over-engineer it and keep it rustic. Telephone poles and planks.”

“Me too, honey. By the way, your Aunt Ginny and Uncle Gaagii are spending the night.”

“Great. And, I think we’re going to hike the cliff trail.”

“You are crazy, Kai.”, my Aunt Ginny said. “It’s cold out there.”

“Don’t worry Aunt Ginny.”, Ajie said. “We have good clothes for winter hiking.”

Ajie and I changed into winter hiking clothes and headed up the cliff trail. When we got to the top, there were four other people there. They saw us, walked over, and one of the men asked, “Are you, locals?”

“If you mean do we know this area, yes.”, I said. “Can we help you?”

“Yes, we saw some animals, and we couldn’t tell if they were coyotes or wolves.”

“Show me where you saw them.”

They led us over to where we could see down towards the desert to the west of the cliff. And they pointed out an area around some rocks.

I asked, “How many of them were there and were they together?

The man said, “There were eight of them, they were walking in a line, and they were big.”

“Those were probably wolves.”, I said. “Wolves are pack animals, and travel and hunt together, where coyotes hunt in ones and twos.”

“They won’t hurt us will they?”, a woman asked.

“No.”, Ajie said. “Wolves will usually stay away from people.”

Just then we heard a howl off in the distance, and it was answered by another one a little closer. And Ajie and I said together, “Wolves.”

“And, if they’re around you won’t see coyotes.”, I added.

“Thank you, girls.”, the other woman said. “You’ve been very helpful.”

“You’re welcome.”, I said. “It’s unusual to see guests up here this time of year.”

“We’re on a ski vacation, and staying here. We love the thermal pools. And, we also like to hike in the winter. Sometimes you see things that you don’t see in the summer.”

“Yes you can, but we miss the summer sunsets and love watching the thunderstorms build to the west.”

“I bet they can be beautiful.”

“Yes, they can. But, you don’t want to be up here when a thunderstorm is close.”, Ajie said. “A man died up here a while back when he stayed too long to get a picture.”

“Oh, the poor dear.”, the woman said.

One of the men then asked, “Is there any interesting places up here?”

“Joseph’s Mine can be interesting if you're up for about a four-mile round trip hike, and were dressed for winter hiking.”, I said. “Which you are. You even have hiking staffs.”

“I think we can handle four miles.”

As I pointed to a set of trail markers, I said, “Okay. It’s an out and back trail. Right over there three trails run together. Follow them, the Tewa Trail will branch off to the right, and then a short distance later the Rincon Trail will branch off to the left. Those are both loop trails and will take you back to the resort. Stay on the Joseph's Mine Trail, and it will take you to the mica mines. But, don’t go beyond the mines. The trail is unmarked and may disappear.”

Then I pointed in another direction, and said, “Over there is the P’osi Pueblo ruins on the P’osi Loop Trail, and that’s only a mile and a half loop.”

The two couples talked, the men wanted to go to the mica mines, and the women wanted to go to the P’osi Pueblo ruins. So, the men headed to the mines, and the women headed for the ruins. And Ajie and I decided to go with the women to the ruins.

As the four of us walked, we talked about various things. We told them about our aunt and uncle running the resort, and that we visited from Albuquerque regularly. Then they asked what we did, and Ajie explained that we were both working on graduate degrees, teaching, and working. The woman was curious about what degrees we were working, and they were surprised when we told them what we were doing. One of the women had been a nurse, but children got in the way of her career.

Then she asked Ajie where she’d gone to school, and when Ajie said Ohio State, it turned into old home week. The woman had also gone to Ohio State. And they talked about how things have changed. And, when I said that she’d graduated Summa Cum Laude, the woman was surprised. And, Ajie gave me a look that could kill.

We stopped at the Pueblo ruins and talked about them for a couple of minutes. Then we finished the hike back to the resort. We said so long to the women and headed back to the house. We then helped Aunt Ruth and Aunt Ginny with dinner. Yes, frybread tacos, with cinnamon crisps and fruit salad for dessert. Naainish missed out on a great meal.

After we’d cleaned up the dinner dishes, the six of us settled in front of the fireplace and just relaxed. After about an hour of mindless chit chat, the phone rang.

Uncle Paul got up and answered it. The first thing we heard after Uncle Paul had said hello was, “Call the fire department, then find me four of the guys for a search party, and we’ll be right there.”

As he hung up the phone, Aunt Ruth asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Two guys went hiking hours ago, and they’re not back.”, Uncle Paul responded.

“Damn.”, I said. “I’ll bet it was the two guys we talked to.”

“What about the two guys?”

“There were two couples up on the cliff when Ajie and I got up there, and they wanted to know if there were any good places to hike to. And we told them about the mica mines and the ruins. Ajie and I hiked with the two women to the ruins and then back here, and the two guys went towards the mines.”

“How were they dressed?”

“They were dressed for winter hiking.”

“That's good. Kai and Amy get your winter hiking stuff on. Did you bring guns with you?”

“Yeah the pistols, but why?”

“For signaling. You know three shots for help.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot.”

“Gaagii, grab your coat and come with me. Kids, we’ll meet you in the hotel lobby.”

Ajie and I went and got the guns out of the floor safe, and changed into our winter hiking gear. Ajie then grabbed her little case out of our suitcase, and we headed for the hotel. When we got to the lobby, along with our two uncles, there were four guys from the resort’s staff and the two women that we’d met on the cliff. They saw us, and the one that was a nurse, said, “You girls can’t go out there in the dark.”

“Why not.”, Ajie said. “We know the trails, and I’m an ER nurse. What could be better.”

“Please be careful.”

“We will.”

Then Uncle Paul said, “Kai and Ajie, I want you two to head for the mine. You’re younger and faster. The rest of us will work on either side of that trail.” Then as he handed us flashlights, he said, “You’ll need these.”

“Uncle Paul.”, Ajie asked. “Do you have a first aid kit?”

“Yes.”, Uncle Paul said. He ran into the hotel office, opened the bottom drawer of a file cabinet, and pulled out what looked like an old khaki military bag, and gave it to Ajie. Ajie looked at it with a questioning look.

And, Uncle Paul said, “It’s got a bunch of things in it. I’m not sure what.”

“Well.”, Ajie said. “I guess it’s better than nothing. And, we’ll work on this later.”

Then as Ajie put her little case in the bag, Uncle Paul asked, “What’s that?”

“It can take a long time to get to a hospital from here, so I always bring a few things with me when we come up. It’s got a stethoscope, BP cuff, and a few other things in it.”

Then Uncle Paul, asked the two women, “What are their first names?”

The one woman said, “Tom and Jerry.”

I think everyone there looked at her, and she said, “I know. I know. But, that’s their names.”

Uncle Paul then said to the room clerk, “When the fire department gets here have them drive up to the cliff on the back road and wait for us there.

“Okay, everyone lets find these two guys. Remember three shots when you find them.”

The eight of us headed up the trail, Ajie and I did it as fast as we could and did beat everyone else to the top, then Ajie and I headed towards the mine. It’s almost two miles from the top of the cliff.

We didn’t run but walked quickly, and every once in a while we shout, “Tom! Jerry!”

We made it to the mine and looked around, and no one was there. Of course, we were still yelling, “Tom! Jerry!”

We searched around the mine for a while, and then we heard a shot. We stopped and listened. Then we heard a second shot, and we both agreed on a direction that it had come from. Then there was a third shot, and Ajie and I headed towards the direction that we figured the shots came from.

We had to carefully pick our way towards where we thought the shots had come from. Then we saw a flashlight. And we headed towards that. When we got to where they were, two of the resort’s staff were with Tom and Jerry.

When we walked up, Ajie went into her take charge nurse mode. She walked up to one of the two men, and asked, “What’s your name?”

He responded with, “I’m Jerry Hillbish.”

“Jerry, my name is Ajie, and I’m an emergency room nurse. What happened?”

“After we’d gone to the mines, we decided to come over here for the view. Tom slipped, fell, and broke his leg. I came over to help him, and I slipped, fell, and I think I broke my right arm. And, I didn’t want to leave Tom.

“Please go and take a look at Tom. He’s in worse shape than I am.”

“Does anything else hurt?”

“No.”

“Good. Sit here and support your right arm with your left, like you’ve been doing. I’m going to check on your friend.”

Ajie then turned to the two guys from the resort’s staff and said, “You two go to where the fire department is and bring them back here. Also tell them that we have two patients, one with a broken arm and one with a broken leg. And, we’re going to need one stretcher and a helicopter for transport.”

“Yes, miss.”, one of the staff guys said, and the two guys headed back towards the top of the cliff.

Ajie yelled after them, “And, be careful. We don’t need you getting hurt.”

“Yes, miss. We’ll be careful.”, they replied

Then looking at me, Ajie said, “Kai, let's go and check on Tom.”

Just then our uncles and the other two men walked up. And, Uncle Paul asked, “Ajie, what happened.”

Ajie pointed at Jerry, and said, “Ask Jerry and stay with him. And call me if he get worse. I’ve got to check on Tom. And, I did send the other two guys for the fire department.”

“I know. We saw them.”

Ajie and I walked over to where Tom was, and you could tell that his lower left leg was broken just by the position it was in and some blood on his pants. Ajie, said, “Tom, my name is Ajie, and I’m an emergency room nurse. Do you hurt anywhere else besides your leg?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“You didn’t hit your head did you?”

“No.”

“Okay. Tom, I’m going to have to cut your pants off so that I can get to the wound on your leg and get that taken care of.”

“Okay.”, Tom said. “I’m a doctor, an MD, so I know what you have to do. And, when I saw the blood on my leg, I applied pressure to stop the bleeding.”

“Relax, Dr. Tom. We’ll take care of you, and then we’ll get you out of here and to the hospital.”

“How bad is Jerry’s arm?”

“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t look as bad as your leg.”

Ajie turned and looked at the other members of the search party, and asked, “Does anyone have a sharp knife?”

Uncle Gaagii said, “I do, Ajie.”

“Can I have it.”

Uncle Gaagii walked over to her, took a knife out of a sheath on his belt, opened it, and handed it to Ajie. Ajie looked at Uncle Gaagii, and said, “Nice knife, Uncle Gaagii.”

“It’s a Buck knife. It pays to be prepared.”, Uncle Gaagii said.

I watched as Ajie carefully slit the leg of Tom’s pants. When she folded the cloth back, you couldn’t see the ends of the broken bone but could see where they’d come through the skin. She looked at Tom, and said, “Well, Dr, Tom. It looks like you have a nice tib-fib fracture. And, it’s open, but the ends have gone back in.”

Then looking at me, Ajie said, “Kai, see if there are any bandages in that case.”

I opened the case, started looking through it, and showing things to Ajie. Every so often she’d take something from me. Finally, Ajie said, “I think I have everything I need. Now see if you can find something to use as a splint.”

“My hiking staff is right over there.” Dr. Tom said as he pointed. “And, Jerry also has one.”

I went and got the one hiking staff, and then went and asked Jerry for his. When I got back to Ajie and Tom, Ajie had done a great job of bandaging Tom’s leg.

I heard Dr. Tom ask Ajie, “Young lady, what hospital do you work at?”

“The university hospital in Albuquerque.”

“You see a lot of fractures there don’t you?”

“Yes, and skiers are the worst.”

I helped Ajie splint Dr. Tom’s leg, and then she did an excellent job of checking for any other injuries. She even had him slip off his coat for a minute so she could check his blood pressure. And, she was happy with what she saw.

Then she had me sit with Dr. Tom, while she went and gave Jerry a proper exam.

Dr. Tom asked me, “Where did she earn her nursing degree?”

“Ohio State.”, I replied.

“And, she came out here?”

“They offered her a full ride scholarship to work on a graduate degree, teach as a grad assistant, and work in the ER.”

“She must have had some good grades for them to offer her a full ride scholarship.”

“She did. Ohio State even tried to get her to stay there.”

“All ERs need good people. And, watching her work, she’s good. All business.”

“Yes, she is all business in situations like this.”

Just then we heard the engine nose of some kind of vehicle, and then I heard Uncle Paul say, “The fire department’s here.”

Ajie, with the firefighters that were carrying the stretcher, walked back to where we were. As they set the stretcher down, she said, “This is the one that gets the helicopter ride. And if there’s room for the other one, he should go with them too. And, they’re going to Albuquerque. This leg is going to need surgery.”

The firefighters quickly bundled up Dr. Tom and started carrying him towards the trail. Ajie had splinted Jerry’s arm and had made a sling out of something, and she and Uncle Paul helped him walk to the trail. Uncle Gaagii and I cleaned up the mess that we’d made taking care of the two guys, and then the rest of us hiked out.

We reached the trail just as the fire department’s four-wheel drive vehicle was turning around, Ajie rode out in the four-wheeler with her two patients. And, the rest of us hiked out. We’d started back down the trail from the mine to the cliff top, and we’d been on the trail for about ten minutes when we saw the helicopter come in and land at the resort. Then as we started hiking back down to the resort, and we saw the helicopter take off and head south.

As we walked into the hotel, Ajie, our two aunts, and the two wives were there. My Uncle Paul thanked the four guys from the resort’s staff for their help, and then my uncles, and I walked over to the five women. The woman who was a nurse said, “I want to thank you for all of your help with our husbands.”

“Think nothing of it.”, my Uncle Paul said. “We do this a few times a year. So, we know what we’re doing. But, we’d prefer that people stay on the trails.”

Then looking at Ajie and me, the woman said, “And, you two girls are angels.” And, we got hugs.

“Like my uncle said.”, Ajie replied. “Think nothing of it.”

Uncle Paul wrote down the directions to Albuquerque and the hospital for the two ladies, and they left. Then Uncle Paul said, “Those two guys are lucky. They had someone that knew where they went and told us when they weren’t back.”

“Now, Uncle Paul.”, Ajie said. “We need to talk about this so-called first aid kit.”

“Ajie.”, Uncle Paul said. “Make me a list of what should be in there, and I’ll make sure that it’s in there.”

“I’ll do that first thing in the morning.”

“Ajie.”, Uncle Gaagii said. “I watched you work up there, and you are all business and seem to know your job.”

“Uncle Gaagii, work in a large hospital’s busy ER for a while, and you'll quickly learn what needs to be done. And, it becomes second nature.”

A short time later as Ajie and I were getting ready for bed, Ajie said, “I saw you take Chief Kinlicheeny aside after lunch. What was that about?”

“He and Dr. Höllmann had talked about me, and I had to find out how much the Chief had told Höllmann about me.”

“And?”

“He just told him what a two spirit person was and what they meant to the Nation. Then he told them as much about me as he could without revealing Tom.”

“Good. I thought that the Chief was a friend,”

“Yes, he is.”