and that I alone escaped. Then he said something
that made me decide not to kill him for a time.

"He told me he had learned that this man here--his name is Rand,
yes?--that the man Rand was a bank thief who had run away from North
America, and that a reward would be paid for him. He said your real
reason for coming here was that you were detectives trying to earn the
reward. That is false, is it not, senores?"

"We're no detectives. Rand's no thief."

"Ah, so I thought. But Schwandorf often tells truth to conceal his lies,
so that it is sometimes hard to know which is true and which untrue. He
went on to say he had warned you not to come into this Indian country,
and he was sorry you had been killed--the snake--but since you were dead
we might get the money for ourselves. If we succeeded in catching the
man Rand and taking him out alive I should get half the reward, or five
hundred dollars.

"I saw plainly what his plan was. I might be useful to him in catching
Rand if Rand was out in the bush, for I have traveled this country alone
more than once and am a far better bushman than the German. But whether
I got Rand or not, I never should live to demand my part of the money. I
know too much about Schwandorf--things which I shall not tell now. So
when the right time should come, Jose would meet with a fatal accident,
such as a bullet in the back, or a knife in the throat while sleeping.
But I did not let him know I saw this. I pretended to fall in with his
plan like the fool he thought me to be.

"It was not Rand alone that brought him here. You have brought back
Mayoruna women from the Red Bone country, so you know the Red Bones are
women stealers. And they steal for Schwandorf. You may believe me or
not, senores, but I did not know this until the German told me. Oh yes,
I knew he dealt in women, but of the Red Bone part of his business I was
ignorant. As soon as I learned it I saw how I could put the illustrious
Senor Schwandorf out of action, as you say, and at the same time try to
save you.

"I sharpened my knife to a razor edge, deserted the German when we
reached the right place, shaved with my knife, painted myself with the
red and black plant dyes, and came overland to this place, thinking you
would be here if still alive. But you had traveled faster than I
expected and had gone into the Red Bone country, so my chance to save
you seemed to have passed. I could only try to tell this chief the Red
Bones were