e considered it wiser to throw himself upon
the hospitality of the strangers; "for," thought he, "they can but kill
me, an' if I remain here I'm like to die at any rate."

So Dick mounted his wild horse, grasped his rifle in his right hand,
and, followed by Crusoe, galloped full tilt down the valley to meet
them.

He had heard enough of the customs of savage tribes, and had also of
late experienced enough, to convince him that when a man found himself
in the midst of an overwhelming force, his best policy was to assume an
air of confident courage. He therefore approached them at his utmost
speed.

The effect upon the advancing band was electrical; and little wonder,
for the young hunter's appearance was very striking. His horse, from
having rested a good deal of late, was full of spirit; its neck was
arched, its nostrils expanded, and its mane and tail, never having been
checked in their growth, flew wildly around him in voluminous curls.
Dick's own hair, not having been clipped for many months, appeared
scarcely less wild as they thundered down the rocky pass at what
appeared a break-neck gallop. Add to this the grandeur of the scene out
of which they sprang, and the gigantic dog that bounded by his side, and
you will not be surprised to hear that the Indian warriors clustered
together, and prepared to receive this bold horseman as if he, in his
own proper person, were a complete squadron of cavalry. It is probable,
also, that they fully expected the tribe of which Dick was the chief to
be at his heels.

As he drew near the excitement among the strangers seemed very great,
and, from the peculiarity of the various cries that reached him, he knew
that there were women and children in the band--a fact which, in such a
place and at such a season, was so unnatural, that it surprised him very
much. He noted also that, though the men in front were Indians, their
dresses were those of trappers and hunters, and he almost leaped out of
his saddle when he observed that "_Pale-faces_" were among them. But he
had barely time to note these facts when he was up with the band.
According to Indian custom, he did not check his speed till he was
within four or five yards of the advance-guard, who stood in a line
before him, quite still, and with their rifles lying loosely in their
left palms; then he reined his steed almost on _its_ haunches.

One of the Indians advanced and spoke a few words in a language which
was quite uni