once get the captives, his wife and daughter, down among the
houses, there would be a possibility, in the event of a fight, of
carrying them off. The queen, too, might thus be rescued as well. It
was the alternative suggested by despair.

In a hurried whisper he communicated this to those of his comrades
nearest him, in order to insure their prudence and patience.

As soon as the proposal was made, the Navajoes rose from their seats,
and clustered together in a corner of the room to deliberate. They
spoke in low tones. We could not, of course, understand what was said;
but from the expression of their faces, and their gesticulations, we
could tell that they seemed disposed to accept it. They knew that the
queen had not recognised Seguin as her father. They had watched her
closely as she rode down the opposite side of the barranca; in fact,
conversed by signals with her, before we could interfere to prevent it.
No doubt she had informed them of what happened at the canon with
Dacoma's warriors, and the probability of their approach. They had
little fear, then, that she would remember her mother. Her long
absence, her age when made captive, her after-life, and the more than
kind treatment she had received at their hands, had long since blotted
out every recollection of her childhood and its associations. The
subtle savages well knew this; and at length, after a discussion which
lasted for nearly an hour, they resumed their seats, and signified their
assent to the proposal.

Two men, one from each party, were now sent for the three captives, and
we sat waiting their arrival.

In a short time they were led in.

I find a difficulty in describing the scene that followed. The meeting
of Seguin with his wife and daughter; my own short embrace and hurried
kiss; the sobs and swooning of my betrothed; the mother's recognition of
her long-lost child; the anguish that ensued as her yearning heart made
its appeals in vain; the half-indignant, half-pitying looks of the
hunters; the triumphant gestures and ejaculations of the Indians: all
formed points in a picture that lives with painful vividness in my
memory, though I am not sufficiently master of the author's art to paint
it.

In a few minutes the captives were led out of the house, guarded by two
men, while the rest of us remained to complete the negotiation.

CHAPTER FORTY SIX.

A CONFLICT WITH CLOSED DOORS.

The occurrence did not improve the temper of e