Winnetou

“ No brave ever admits a mistake, and a chief can do so least of all. Intschu-Tschuna knows that he did wrong, but he cannot ask your forgiveness. Therefore he bade me speak of it to you. Winnetou acts for his father.”
“That was not at all necessary, and in any case we are quits, for I insulted you.”
“Never.”
“Yes. Isn’t a blow of the fist an insult?”
“That was in combat, where it cannot count as an insult. My brother is noble and generous; we will not forget it in him.”
“Let us speak of other things, dear Winnetou. I am to become an Apache; how will it be with my comrades?” ”

“ I must stay with the Apaches.”
Winnetou shook his head, and answered decidedly: “You will go home, for we have no room for the thief of our horses and the murderer of our braves. We have not avenged ourselves with blood, but have accepted ransom in beasts and goods; more you cannot expect. No Kiowa belongs in our pueblo.” ”

“ However much you may admire Winnetou, you’d have to love him in eternity, for, being ignorant of your devotion to him, he’d send you there in short order. Now the Kiowas will come here with their two hundred braves—”
“I’ll warn Winnetou,” I interrupted.
“Heaven forbid!” cried Sam. “That would only ruin us, for the Apaches would put an end to us and the Kiowas together. No, they must actually be face to face with death; and if then we secretly free them, as we will, they’ll be grateful, and forego all revenge on us. At most they’ll only demand Rattler of us, and I would not object to that. ”

“ Yet as I heard these last words my eyelids lifted, and I saw him standing before me clad in a light linen garment and unarmed.
“He has opened his eyes again,” cried Sam, and Winnetou bent over me, looking long and steadily into my eyes.
At last he said: “Can you speak?” I shook my head.
“Have you any pain?” I made the same reply.
“Be honest with me! When a man comes back from death he surely must speak the truth. Did you four men really want to free us?” ”

“ I was quiet as usual, but Tangua poured out a stream of abuse upon me, till Winnetou, who stood on one side between us, said: “Let the Kiowa chief be silent and pay attention. I will count three, and then he may shoot; he who shoots before the time shall have my bullet in his head.”
Of course all the Indians were watching us with intense interest. They had divided into two files, to right and left of us, so that a broad path ran between them, at the end of which we stood. The deepest stillness reigned. “The chief of the Kiowas may begin,” said Winnetou. ”

“ He stretched out his hand to me, and replied: “You are right; you are free, and the other pale-faces also, except the man called Rattler. You have confidence in me; would I could have confidence in you!”
“You will yet trust me as much as I trust you; wait only a little while. Now come to your father.”
“Yes, come; when Old Shatterhand strikes death may follow, even when he does not intend it.”
We went over to the chief. Winnetou examined him, and then said: “He lives, and will come to himself later with an aching head. I must not stay here, but I will send some men over to him. ”

“ I was liberated, and moved my arm to test its powers. Then I said: “It is a great honor for me to contest with the chief of the Apaches, but it is not an honor for him.”
“Why not?”
“Because I am no adversary for him. I have bathed, of course, but I would not dare cross such a broad, deep river as that is.”
“I am sorry to hear it; Winnetou and I are the best swimmers of the tribe, and it is no victory for us to conquer a poor swimmer.”
“And you are armed, while I am not; I go, then, to my death, and my comrades must also die. When will you strike me with the tomahawk?” ”

“ Here Sam reined up, saying: “Now we’ve gone far enough; we’ll rest awhile. Winnetou rode all night to this point; do you see that the trail goes on from here in single file? That means that they rode this way to cover the fact that one has gone on alone, for greater speed, leaving the other to follow with the body. The one in advance is probably the chief, and Winnetou has taken charge of his murdered teacher. This will enable Intschu-Tschuna to summon his braves quickly, and we may expect their return very soon, perhaps before the five days are up which you need for your work.” ”

“ I said. “Rather should I thank Him for the love and kindness I find so far from home, and among a strange people.”
“They are your people now,” said Nscho-Tschi quickly.
“And we are all happy and blest in one another,” said Winnetou. “All grateful for the happy ending of a story begun in sorrow and wrath. Come, my brother; let us go to the dwelling of our father Intschu-Tschuna. A new life has begun for us all to-day.”
And so we walked together to the great pueblo, silent and peaceful, though saddened by the solemn ceremony and parting from one the three Indians had loved so well. ”

“ No man has ever had it between his lips, and we beg you to accept it for your own, and remember us when you smoke it.”
“Your goodness is great,” I said. “I feel ashamed that I can make no gift in return.”
“You have already given us so much that we cannot thank you for it; the lives of Intschu-Tschuna and Winnetou were in your hands, and you spared them, and to-day again you might have killed the chief and you did not do so. Therefore our hearts turn to you, and if you will you shall be our brother.” ”

“ Then I crawled behind Intschu-Tschuna, whose fastenings I examined as I had Winnetou’s, and found him bound exactly as his son had been, and he remained equally unmoved when he felt my hand. Again I cut the lower thongs first; then I succeeded in distracting the guard’s attention as before, and freed the chief’s hands. He was as considerate as his son, and made no movement. It occurred to me that it would be better not to let the thongs lie on the ground, for if the Kiowas found them cut they might suspect us. ”

“ I looked into the gourd, and shrank back shocked, for the head of a skeleton seemed to look up at me.
“What a miracle that I am alive!” I cried.
“So Winnetou says. You have even borne the long ride here. The Great Spirit has given you an extraordinarily strong body, for few others thus wounded could have endured a journey of five days.”
“Five days! Where are we?”
“In our pueblo, at Rio Pecos.”
“And are the Kiowas here, too?”
“Yes. They really ought to die; any other tribe would torture them, but the good Kleki-Petrah taught us to be merciful, so they are to pay a ransom and go home.” ”

“ Intschu-Tschuna is a renowned warrior, and I have loved Winnetou from the first moment that I saw him. It would not only be a great honor but a great joy to be the brother of such men; I only wish that my comrades could share it.”
“If they will, they shall be treated as if they had been born Apaches.”
“We thank you for this. So you carved the head of this pipe yourself? How skilful your hands are!”
She blushed over this praise, and said: “I know that the women and daughters of the pale-faces are far more skilful than we. ”

“ It is like the feeling that comes to one when the autumn leaves are falling. How shall my tree of life shed its leaves? Gently and after they are sere, or shall it be cut down before its natural time has come?” He gazed in silence down the valley, where I saw Intschu-Tschuna and Winnetou returning. They were mounted now, and leading Kleki-Petrah’s horse.
We rose to go to the camp, which we reached as the Indians came up. Rattler leaned against the wagon, his face on fire, for in the short time that had passed he had drunk as much as he possibly could, and was a horrible sight. ”

“ Rattler laughed insultingly, and said: “So young a fellow, and committed such deeds? I say committed purposely, for every one knows they are only deeds of robbery and cruelty. The red men steal from every one.”
This was an outrageous insult, but the Indians acted as though they had not heard it. Stooping down over the bear, Kleki-Petrah admired it, calling Winnetou’s attention to its size and strength. “It was killed by a knife and not a bullet,” he said as he rose. ”

“ It is a custom among many savage and half-civilized people, and usually consists of the mingling of the blood of the two making the compact, which is drunk by both, and in consequence they become more closely united, more truly brothers, than if they had been born of the same parents.
Winnetou and I were to drink each other’s blood. We placed ourselves on each side of the coffin, and Intschu-Tschuna pricked first his son’s wrist, holding it over the cup which Nscho-Tschi had brought. A tiny drop of blood fell into it, and the chief set it aside. ”

“ I felt that I must punish this Indian, not merely for justice’ sake and the effect on the Apaches, but for the benefit of those white men whom he might meet in the future.
“My brother Old Shatterhand is right,” said Winnetou. “If you do not keep your promise you will be a coward, and should be expelled from your tribe. ”

“ My blood shall be your blood, and your blood shall be my blood; I will drink yours, and you shall drink mine. Intschu-Tschuna, the greatest chief of the Apaches, my father, will consent to this?”
Intschu-Tschuna gave us each a hand, and said in a tone that evidently came from his heart: “I consent. You shall be not merely brothers, but a single man with two bodies. How!”
Having said this the chief left us, and Winnetou and I went away together, and sat down by the bank of the broad Rio Pecos, now reddening in the setting sun. ”

“ Intschu-Tschuna went back with Winnetou to the circle of braves, and we sat down where we were.
“I never dreamed that the chief would listen to you,” said Sam Hawkins. “You must stand well with him.”
“That is not the only reason; it is the influence of Kleki-Petrah, powerful though he is dead. These Indians have absorbed more real, interior Christianity than you suspect.”
We looked over towards the cart wherein the doomed man lay, and saw a long box-like object, on which a man was bound. ”

“ I raised the tomahawk, and called to him: “Halt, Intschu-Tschuna! You deceived yourself in Old Shatterhand. Do you want your own weapon buried in your skull?”
He paused, and cried: “Dog! How did you escape me in the water? The wicked spirit has helped you.”
“Don’t you believe that. If any spirit has defended me, it is the good Manitou.”
As I spoke I saw a secret determination light his eyes as he watched me, and I said warningly: “You mean to surprise and attack me; I see it. Don’t do it, for it would be your death. I will do you no harm, for I really care for you and Winnetou ”

“ How can we testify if we are to be whipped for speaking one word more than you want to hear? Intschu-Tschuna is an unjust judge; he puts the questions so that our answers must prove us guilty, allowing us to give no other, and when we would speak the truth which would deliver us, prevents us with abuse. We don’t care for such justice. We’d rather you began the torture. You won’t hear a sigh from us.”
“Uff! uff!” I heard a woman’s voice cry, and knew it was Winnetou’s sister.
“Uff! uff!” cried many Apaches round her, for courage is what Indians most respect, and they praise it even in an enemy. ”

“ I won’t be robbed of my rights by a greenhorn.”
Then Winnetou bent down, touched the bloody wound, and asked me in good English: “Who stabbed the beast?”
“I did,” I replied.
“Why did not my young white brother shoot him?”
“Because I had no gun with me.”
“Yet here are guns.”
“They are not mine; they were thrown away by these men when they climbed the trees shrieking with terror.”
“Ugh! the low cowards and dogs, to fly like tissue-paper! A man should make resistance, for if he has courage he may conquer the strongest brute. My young white brother has such courage.” ”

“ You are to be given the power and rank of a chief of the Apaches. We believed you would stay with us always, even as Kleki-Petrah stayed to the day of his death.”
“My circumstances are very different from his.”
“You are to become Winnetou’s brother, according to Kleki-Petrah’s will, yet you would forsake him. Is that right?”
“Yes; for brothers cannot be constantly together when they have different duties to fulfil. I must go back to those who love me at home, and to whom I owe so much, and see them as well as my other brother here.” ”

“ Is this Rattler worth such a sacrifice?”
“Certainly not.”
“My brother sees that I speak frankly to him. I know the thoughts and feelings in his heart, but my braves would never grasp them. A man who appealed to gratitude would be contemptible to them. Shall Old Shatterhand, who can become the greatest and most renowned warrior of the Apaches, be driven away from us to-day because our braves despise him?”
It was hard for me to answer; my heart bade me press my request, my common-sense forbade it. Winnetou understood the struggle within me, and said: “I will speak to Intschu-Tschuna, my father. ”

“ You are called Old Shatterhand, and are a strong warrior. Be strong when they torture you. Nscho-Tschi is sore distressed by your death, but she will rejoice if you show no signs of pain and lock your groans in your own breast. Give me this happiness, and die like a hero.”
With this prayer she went away, and I watched her through the open door. Then I threw myself on the bed and waited, long, anxious hours, till mid-day. At last I heard the tramp of many feet, and Winnetou entered, followed by five Apaches. ”