ieftain meant to say. He quickly
recovered from the shock, for possibly, it may be said, he was becoming
accustomed to such rough treatment and could stand it better than at
first.

In the course of a minute or two Tall Bear staggered uncertainly to his
feet, and looking up in the faces of the horsemen who were on every side
of him, was compelled to admit that he was their prisoner.

So it proved that the last essay of the chieftain who was on a little
scout for himself was the greatest failure of them all, and in the end
it was fortunate that such was the fact; for when the strong arm of the
authorities was laid upon the raiders the chief had no trouble in
proving that he had inflicted no serious harm to the settlers. True, he
had destroyed some property, and tried hard to do greater damage; but,
as I have said, he failed utterly.

CHAPTER TWELVE

CONCLUSION

But for his solicitude for Dot Clarendon, Red Feather never would have
made the error he did, when waiting on the southern bank of the Upper
Crossing for the return of the pony which was to carry them across to
the waiting Melville on the other side.

The weather was still crisp and chilly, and, when he found himself
alone, he began carefully gathering the blanket around the precious
form, so, as to keep away all cold from her body. No mother could have
handled her more gently. His left arm remained immovable, while his
right fingered about her. He was quick to discover that she was in a
sound slumber--a pleasant proof of the success of the grim warrior in
the _role_ of a soothing friend to the imperilled little one.

Softly raising a corner of the blanket, he looked down in the sweet
face, which, though seen dimly, was as the face of an angel. Pure and
holy emotions were stirred in that dark heart as never before that
evening. He had parted his lips to utter something in his own language,
when he was sharply reminded of his remissness by the clamp of horse's
feet. Quickly replacing the blanket, he looked behind him, and saw
outlined against the glare of the burning buildings the figures of six
or eight horsemen, so close that it was useless for him to think of
hiding or getting away.

Red Feather made no attempt to do either; for, like most of his people,
he had a strong sense of dignity, which would have been disturbed by
such action. His chief regret was that the horsemen had come upon him so
suddenly that his action with the blanket must have