in your eyes?
Apatawa, the Indian you--" Chloe shuddered as he paused, and he
hastened on--"The Indian who attempted to shoot MacNair, was originally
one of MacNair's own Indians--one of the few who dared to desert him.
And, for the wrongs he had suffered, he had sworn to kill MacNair."

"But, knowing that, why did LeFroy send him to the cottage?"

"That," answered Lapierre gravely, "is something I do not know. I must
first question LeFroy, and if I find that he thus treacherously
endangered the life of a wounded man, even though that man was MacNair,
who is his enemy, and likewise my enemy, I will teach him a lesson he
will not soon forget."

Chloe heaved a sigh of relief. "I am glad," she breathed softly, "that
you feel that way."

"Could you doubt it?" asked the man.

Chloe hesitated. "Yes," she answered, "I _did_ doubt it. How could I
help but doubt, when he warned me what would happen, and it all came
about as he said? I--I could not help but believe him. And now, one
thing more. Can you tell me why MacNair's Indians are willing to fight
to the death to save him from harm? If the things you tell me are
true, and I know that they are true, because during the summer I have
questioned many of MacNair's Indians, and they all tell the same story;
why do they fight for him?"

Lapierre considered. "That is one of those things," he answered, "that
men cannot explain. It is because of his hold upon them. Great
generals have had it--this power to sway men--to command them to
certain death, even though those men cursed the very ground their
commanders stood upon. MacNair is a powerful personality. In all the
North there is not his equal. I cannot explain it. It is a
psychological problem none can explain. For, although his Indians hate
him, they make no attempt to free themselves from his yoke, and they
will fight to the death in defense of him."

"It is hard to believe," answered Chloe, "hard to understand. And yet,
I think I do understand. He said of my grandfather, as he looked into
the eyes of his portrait on the wall: 'He was a fighter. He won to
victory over the bodies of his enemies.' That is MacNair's idea of
greatness."

Lapierre nodded, and when he looked into the face of the girl he noted
that her eyes flashed with purpose.

"Tell me," she continued almost sharply, "you are not afraid of
MacNair?"

For just an instant Lapierre hesitated. "No!" he answered. "I am not
afraid."