Part 23 (1/2)
At this moment Don Pablo and the other hunters rejoined Valentine, and learned with delight what had happened; the sight of the canoe restored them all their energy. Shaw remained on guard, while Valentine, accompanied by the others, and Sunbeam, returned to Dona Clara, whom anxiety had aroused.
”Here is a new friend I present to you,” the hunter said, pointing to the young Indian, who stood timidly behind him.
”Oh! I know her,” Dona Clara replied, as she embraced the girl, who was quite confused by these caresses.
”But tell me, Sunbeam,” Valentine said, after the expiration of a moment, ”how comes it that you arrived here?”
The Indian girl smiled haughtily.
”Unicorn is a great warrior,” she answered; ”he has the glance of the eagle, he knows all that happens in the prairie; he saw the danger his brother, the great paleface hunter, ran, and his heart trembled with sadness.”
”Yes,” Valentine said, ”the chief loves me.”
The Indian continued.
”Unicorn sought a mode of coming to his brother's a.s.sistance; he was wandering along the riverbank when the fog supplied him with the means he so greatly desired; he placed Sunbeam in a canoe, ordered her to come, and she came with joy, laughing at the Apache dogs, whose mole eyes could not perceive her, when she pa.s.sed in front of them.”
”Yes, it must be so,” Valentine said, ”but why did not the chief come himself with his warriors, instead of sending you?”
”Unicorn is a sachem,” the squaw answered, ”he is wise and prudent as he is brave. The warriors had remained in the village; the chief was alone with Sunbeam.”
”May heaven grant that your words be sincere, and that we may not have cause to repent having placed confidence in you,” Don Pablo said.
”Sunbeam is a Comanche woman,” the Indian replied haughtily; ”her heart is red, and her tongue is not forked.”
”I answer for her,” Dona Clara said, impetuously; ”she would not deceive us.”
”I believe it,” Valentine said; ”but, at any rate, we shall see. There is some honour among the redskins; besides, we shall be prudent. Now, I presume that, like myself, you are all anxious to quit this island? My advice is, that we should at once take advantage of the canoe this young woman has brought us.”
”It is true, then,” Dona Clara said joyfully, as she sprang up.
”Yes,” Valentine answered, ”a magnificent canoe, in which we shall be perfectly at our ease; and, better still, it is capitally found in food and ammunition. Still, I think we should not do wrong by taking advantage of the fog to escape, without giving the Indians a chance of seeing us.”
”Be it so,” Don Pablo said; ”but once on firm ground, what road shall we follow, as we have no horses? Come, Sunbeam, can you give us any advice on that head?”
”Listen,” the young squaw said; ”the Apaches are preparing for a great expedition. They have called under arms all their brethren; and more than three thousand warriors are traversing the prairie in every direction at this moment. Their war parties hold all the paths. Two nations alone would not respond to the invitation of the Apaches: they are the Comanches and the Navajos. The villages of my tribe are not far off, and I can try to lead you to them.”
”Very good,” Don Pablo answered. ”From what you tell us, the riverbanks are guarded. Going up the Gila in a canoe is impossible, because within two hours we should be inevitably scalped. I am therefore of opinion that we should proceed by the shortest road to the nearest Comanche or Navajo village. But, to do that, we require horses, for we must let no gra.s.s grow under our feet.”
”Only one road is open,” Sunbeam said, firmly.
”Which?” Don Pablo asked.
”The one that crosses the Apache camp.”
”Hum!” Valentine muttered, ”That seems to me very dangerous. We are only seven, and two of them are women.”
”That is true,” Eagle-wing remarked, who had hitherto been silent; ”but it is, at the same time, the road which offers the best chances of success.”
”Let us hear your plan, then,” Valentine asked.