signs to his wife to bring fire. Then he smoked in silence for some
time until the sun went down, and a thick darkness closed over the
valley.

At length he got up, and said to his wife, 'If they ask for the Raven,
say that he has just gone out; nothing more. He will not return till
daybreak; and remember,' and he laid his hand upon her arm to impress
the caution, 'whatever noise the Mouse hears in the night, she is not to
leave the hut till the Raven comes back to her.'

The girl bowed her head with an Indian woman's unquestioning obedience;
and then, drawing aside the skin which served as a door, and listening
attentively to hear if any one were near, the Raven went out silently
into the darkness.

CHAPTER XVII.

RESCUED.

In spite of their utmost efforts, Mr. Hardy's party had made slower
progress than they had anticipated. Many of the horses had broken down
under fatigue; and as they had no spare horses to replace them, as the
Indians had in like case done from those they had driven off from Mr.
Mercer, they were forced to travel far more slowly than at first. They
gained upon the Indians, however, as they could tell by the position of
the camping-ground for the night.

At three o'clock on the afternoon of the last day they passed the place
their enemy had left that morning; but although they kept on until long
after sunset, many of them having led their horses all day, they were
still more than thirty miles away from the mountains among which they
knew that the Indian village was situated.

None of the Guachos had ever been there, but they knew its situation and
general features by report. There had been no difficulty in following
the trail since they had struck it. The broad line of trodden ground,
and the frequent carcases of sheep, sufficiently told the tale.

That was a night of terrible anxiety to all. They knew that already
Ethel was in the Indian village, and they thought with a sickening dread
of what might happen the next day. Nothing, however, could be done. Many
of the party were already exhausted by their long day's walk under a
burning sun. It was altogether impossible to reach the village that
night.

Before lying down for the night, Mr. Hardy asked all the party to join
in a prayer for the preservation of his daughter during the following
day; and it was a strange and impressing sight to see the group of
sunburnt, travel-worn men standing uncovered while their leader offered
up a