Hugh Pendexter

“ I sniffed and detected smoke, a thin reek of burning grass. I wet my finger and tested the faint breeze. It still held from the south. Creeping to the edge of the plain I could make out moving shapes as the Indians rode up and down the front of the timber. But there were no fires burning on this side, and a blaze lighted on the north would sweep away from us.
Returning to Miss Dearness, I reassured her.
"Then there is only one other explanation," she said. "Flat Mouth has set the grass afire on the north side of us,"
"It will burn to the Turtle, perhaps to the Park." ”

“ All but half a dozen of the horsemen began to pivot on the left end of their line and, almost before I could understand what they were up to, this huge segment was galloping madly along, parallel to the woods and away from us.
"When night comes we shall ride very swift or very soft," mumbled Flat Mouth, resuming the task of gathering arrows.
In short, the Sioux were perfectly willing we should break from cover and ride south, and left the six men to keep watch on us. But if we attempted to ride north we must pass through the bulk of their band. ”

“ Only a black night would reduce the advantage of mere numbers.
Flat Mouth came up to us, turned on his heel and retired into the timber. I endeavoured to engage him in conversation but he would not talk. The girl said his silence meant he had lost hope, that he believed the enemy would receive reinforcements before night. I insisted he was still angry because I had not shot at the Sioux while she slept on my shoulder. Then we sat side by side, trying to conceal from each other our anxiety, as we watched the sun and kept an eye on the few Indians. ”

“ Meet them away from your fort and your rum and you will find they're very much savages."
A horseman suddenly darted toward us, his bow drawn, seeking to learn if we were keeping watch. I covered his bobbing figure as best I could and held my fire until he should come within decent range. Just as I began to hope, he pulled his pony about and scuttled back to his mates.
"Who are you? Where were you born?" I asked, lowering my gun.
"English—England," she murmured, her gaze wandering far beyond the wild horizon.
"And I'm an American. Flat Mouth thinks your hair is medicine." ”

“ From the plain on the north came the sound of much singing. From the south the Indians were racing their horses impudently near the woods and yelling derisively. I gave the girl the bridles to hold while I recharged my gun. ”

“ Flat Mouth hurried diagonally across the timber and emerged on the lower edge near the river. Drawing me down beside him, he pointed to the east bank and grunted—
"Sioux!"
"I heard their signal," I informed him.
"They came down the river on the other side. When it gets very dark they will bring their horses over. They heard your gun and they don't want to try it just now."
"When they cross we can not break through," I said.
"We will all be killed if we stay in the woods. You must stop them from crossing their horses for a little while. The Sioux on this side feel sure of a coup. ”

“ She gestured for me to sit beside her on the robes, and I took the opportunity to say:
"You should have started back east the minute you heard your father was dead."
"I told him I would stay till someone came to take his place."
"But it's no place for a white woman," I protested. "It's bad enough for a man to be cast away among these savages." ”

“ I declared. "You may paint the marks of death and the feet of horses on your body and on your tent to show you killed a man while riding hard."
The chief toned down his vanity on meeting the girl's clear gaze and confessed:
"Eshkebugecoshe is a mighty warrior, but the white woman's medicine helped him. It made the Sioux blind till I could creep very close."
"Couldn't we get across the river? I can swim," eagerly spoke up Miss Dearness.
Flat Mouth said it would be foolish to cross before dark, but he suggested that I reconnoitre the river while he watched the Indians. ”

“ She can call and send away a voice. She can send her eyes far up the river and over the plain. Look! Tell me what that means!"
He was pointing to the south and at first I could make out nothing. Then I spied it, a thin stream of blue smoke. The girl promptly said in Chippewa:
"The Sioux know help is coming. They will not attack until their friends come. That will be some time before morning. Soon the others will send up a smoke."
The meaning of the smoke was very obvious. Not a half-breed hunter, not a man at any post in our department who could not have read it. ”

“ The companies know liquor is bad for the trade. If it weren't for competition they wouldn't use it. It isn't sound business. You must depend entirely upon the Indians to get furs into the posts. The richest fur country in the world would be worthless unless you had Indians to work it. Then where is the sense in killing off your workmen with rum? Every drinking match means so many wounded and usually one or more dead. ”

“ Then in English to me: "It's reasonable to believe they belong to the same party and split up in two equal bands. So long as he believes in my manito, so much the braver will he be."
The chief began talking to himself in a guttural and almost audible voice and fell to fingering his bow nervously. His emotion was occasioned by the sight of the six warriors out in front. They were beyond arrow range, and only by luck could a ball score any damage.
They began running back and forth, and we saw they were heaping up dry grass. ”

“ They will not fight till their friends join them. Stay here till it gets too dark to shoot. I will take Medicine Hair and the horses to the end of the timber. When they attack on both sides we must ride after the sun. ”