Part 42 (1/2)
”You wear these, they et saddle The blanket here So Nevil, my Nevil, from home Wana not knohere But maybe he come quick an' find you an' then----”
Wana did not finish expressing her fears She see, and that there was disloyalty in what she was saying
But Rosebud was paying little heed She was already changing her clothes
She knew the value of time just then, and she had been forced to wastethe transfored her saddle and bridle for an Indian blanket and surcingle with stirrups attached to it, and a plaited, gaudy rope bridle and spade bit
When she cairl had completed her toilet, even to the moccasins and buckskin chapps Even the undemonstrative Wanaha exclaimed at the ht the olden hair was hidden beneath the folds of the colored blanket, and only her fair white face with its dazzling eyes, bright noith excitement, shone out and destroyed the illusion
”You are much beautiful,” the Indian declared in a until Rosebud's practical voice roused her
”Food, s on the horse So Now you go?”
”Yes, dear Wana I o”
Rosebud reached her ar her dark face down to her own, kissed her Though she loved this dark princess she knew that her kiss was the kiss of Judas Then she passed out, and,her horse, rode away
Within fivein the doorway looking after her, a party of warriors, headed by Little Black Fox himself, rode up to the house The chief had corily demanded the white man's whereabouts of the wo scene was one of ferocious rage on the part of the headstrong man, and fear, hidden under an exterior of calm debate, on the part of Wanaha She knew her brother, and in her mind tried to account for her husband's absence After the warriors had departed she passed a night of gloo
All unconscious of her narrow escape, Rosebud headed away to the northeast She had no elaborate sche she knew her direction She would , every danger, so that she could make the best time; no personal considerations entered into her calculations
She could see the reflections of the camp-fires in the sky in every direction, but, with a reckless courage, she cared nothing for this A ers they suggested To her they meant no more than obstacles which y in warfare; of cover there was none in the direction she was taking
Like the line of great soldiers froht only Let the fences and pitfalls coht, she would not swerve Whatever the eh sportswo only on her good horse and the darkness, and the proverbial luck of the reckless
Though this was her general idea she did all she could to help A featherweight, she still strove to ride lighter Then she had her firearms, and she steeled her heart to their use After all she ca stock
She allowed herself no thought of failure Shefor help in the stockade behind her; patient, strong, a man of lion heart, who knew defeat only when the last shot was fired, the last blow struck, and he was left helpless to defend hihts inspired her with the courage of a brave woreater courage in the world
Now thestride of her willing horse cut the brief seconds shorter and shorter The lurid reflections of the calow of the fires themselves, and every yard of the distance covered showed theainst the sky-line
She was riding straight for thetwo of the fires ahead There was little to choose in any direction, so complete was the circle around the farm, but she had been quick to see that that little lay here
She o with her eye It was not far, and instinctively she reined her horse up to give hireat effort to come; an effort which she kneas to be very real indeed
Approaching steadily she ht arm from her blanket she drew one of her revolvers and saw that it was fully loaded Then she closely scrutinized the fires She could ht and left of her The fires were in the ht, she could see the diures It was a sight to put fear into the heart of a daring man, then how much more so into the heart of a frail woman?
The black stretch before her see she felt convinced, even if the camps were confined to the fires there was no likelihood of these wide intervals being left unguarded
Her horse refreshed, she put hiallop, and in a few er zone Almost on the instant her surmise proved correct The air directly ahead of her split with a fierce yell
She knew it It was the Sioux war-cry The supre herheadlong And as he rushed forward she gripped her revolver ready for immediate use
An Indian mounted on a pony suddenly loomed ahead of her Such was her pace that he seemed to rush out of the darkness upon her Yet his pony had nothoofs on either side, and she knew that the alarm had been taken up, and the bloodthirsty warriors from the camps were in pursuit