ht; aren't you?"

"You were so wise," I praised; and I felt sorry for her cracked lips. It
is astonishing with what swiftness, even upon the dry desert, amid the dry
air, under the dry burning sun, thirst quickens into a consuming fire
scorching from within outward to the skin.

We lapsed into that remarkable patience, playing the game with the Sioux
and steadily viewing each other; and she asked, casually:

"Where will you shoot me, Frank?"

This bared the secret heart of me.

"No! No!" I begged. "Don't speak of that. It will be bad enough at the
best. How can I? I don't know how I can do it!"

"You will, though," she soothed. "I'd rather have it from you. You must be
brave, for yourself and for me; and kind, and quick. I think it should be
through the temple. That's sure. But you won't wait to look, will you?
You'll spare yourself that?"

This made me groan, craven, and wipe my hand across my forehead to brush
away the frenzy. The fingers came free, damp with cold sticky sweat--a
prodigy of a parchment skin which puzzled me.

We had not exchanged a caress, save by voice; had not again touched each
other. Sometimes I glanced at the Sioux, but not for long; I dreaded to
lose sight of her by so much as a moment. The Sioux remained virtually as
from the beginning of their vigil. They sat secure, drank, probably ate,
with time their ally: sat judicial and persistent, as though depending
upon the progress of a slow fuse, or upon the workings of poison, which
indeed was the case.

Thirst and heat tortured unceasingly. The sun had passed the zenith--this
sun of a culminating summer throughout which he had thrived regal and
lustful. It seemed ignoble of him that he now should stoop to torment only
us, and one of us a small woman. There was all his boundless domain for
him.

But stoop he did, burning nearer and nearer. She broke with sudden passion
of hoarse appeal.

"Why do we wait? Why not now?"

"We ought to wait," I stammered, miserable and pitying.

"Yes," she whispered, submissive, "I suppose we ought. One always does.
But I am so tired. I think," she said, "that I will let my hair down. I
shall go with my hair down. I have a right to, at the last."

Whereupon she fell to loosening her hair and braiding it with hurried
fingers.

Then after a time I said:

"We'll not be much longer, dear."

"I hope not," said she, panting, her lips stiff, her eyes bright and
feverish. "They'll rush us at sundown; mayb