ither party, particularly
that of the hunters. The Indians were triumphant, but not a whit the
less inclined to obstinacy and exaction. They now returned to their
former offer. For those of our captives that were woman-grown they
would exchange one for one, and for their chief Dacoma they offered to
give two; for the rest they insisted on receiving two for one.

By this arrangement, we could ransom only about twelve of the Mexican
women; but finding them determined, Seguin at length assented to these
terms, provided they would allow us the privilege of choosing the twelve
to be exchanged.

To our surprise and indignation this was refused!

We no longer doubted what was to be the winding up of the negotiation.
The air was filled with the electricity of anger. Hate kindled hate,
and vengeance was burning in every eye.

The Indians scowled on us, glancing malignantly out of their oblique
eyes. There was triumph, too, in their looks, for, they believed
themselves far stronger than we.

On the other side sat the hunters quivering under a double indignation.
I say double. I can hardly explain what I mean. They had never before
been so braved by Indians. They had, all their lives, been accustomed,
partly out of bravado and partly from actual experience, to consider the
red men their inferiors in subtilty and courage; and to be thus bearded
by them, filled the hunters, as I have said, with a double indignation.
It was like the bitter anger which the superior feels towards his
resisting inferior, the lord to his rebellious serf, the master to his
lashed slave who has turned and struck him. It was thus the hunters
felt.

I glanced along their line. I never saw faces with such expressions as
I saw there and then. Their lips were white, and drawn tightly over
their teeth; their cheeks were set and colourless; and their eyes,
protruding forward, seemed glued in their sockets. There was no motion
to be detected in the features of any, save the twitching of angry
muscles. Their right hands were buried in the bosoms of their half-open
shirts, each, I knew, grasping a weapon; and they appeared not to sit,
but to crouch forward, like panthers quivering upon the spring.

There was a long interval of silence on both sides.

It was broken by a cry from without--the scream of the war-eagle!

We should not have noticed this, knowing that these birds were common in
the Mimbres, and one might have flown over the ravine; b