Willett's approaches, was actually coiled for the spring. The
tiny fangs would have fastened in a flash on that slender, unprotected
ankle, and the rest could only be conjectured.

And so, it was in no judicial mood that Willett began his questioning.
Accustomed as he was to the hang-dog, dissolute specimens of degenerate
red men he had seen in the Columbia country and the lava beds, he
hardly knew what to make of 'Tonio, this ascetic of the mountains,
clear eyed, trained to a fineness almost unhuman, all wire and sinew,
an Indian withal who looked him straight and fearless in the eye, and
held himself as proudly as ever did chieftain of the Aztecs or the
Sioux. Summoned from the camp fire to this unsought council, finding
himself confronted by strangers, missing his own friend and commander,
and instinctively scenting accusation, 'Tonio stood and faced his
judges without so much as a tremor.

For a moment Willett sat and studied him. "Siwashes" of Puget's Sound,
Klickatats of the Columbia, and scowling, beetle-browed Modocs of upper
Nevada he had often met, and their shifting eyes dropped before the
keen gaze of the dominant soldier, but this son of the Sierras never so
much as suffered the twitch of a muscle, the droop of an eyelash. In
the language of the "greaser" cargador, whose border vernacular had
suffered through long contact with that of the gringo, "'Tonio didn't
scare worth a damn, even when the lieutenant tried bulldozing," but
that may merely have been the expression of civilian jealousy of
military methods. Being in the pay and under the protection of the
United States, 'Tonio could be called on for explanation at any time,
only--there were two ways of calling.

"Tell him," said Willett, "the chief-of-chiefs believes the Apache
Mohaves are hiding in the Mogollon,--many of them--bucks, squaws and
children, and he was sent to find them and to bring them to the
reservation. Why did he fail?"

Munoz, as nearly as he could, put the question, but none too
confidently.

"Because my people were driven beyond sound of 'Tonio's voice," was the
calm reply, the eyes for the officer, the words for the man, and Munoz
again translated.

"How so? Was not word sent them by Arahawa?"

"Arahawa said the white brother would come with food and presents to
lead them home. What they saw was guns and scouts and soldiers.
Therefore, they were afraid and fled. Soldiers with guns catch no
Mohaves who fear. Therefore was it