er his eyes
as a murmur of what might be agreement came from the group. More than
one of them must have understood enough English to translate for the
others. Travis wondered about that. Had these men and women who had
outwardly reverted to the life of their nomad ancestors once been well
educated in the modern sense, educated enough to learn the basic
language of the nation their rulers had set up as their principal enemy?

"So you ride the land south of the mountains?" the shaman continued.

"That is true."

"Then why did you come hither?"

Travis shrugged. "Why does anyone ride or travel into new lands? There
is a desire to see what may lie beyond----"

"Or to scout before the march of warriors!" Menlik snapped. "There is no
peace between your rulers and mine. Do you ride now to take the herds
and pastures of the Horde--or to try to do so?"

Travis turned his head deliberately from side to side, allowing them all
to witness his slow and openly contemptuous appraisal of their camp.

"_This_ is your Horde, Shaman? Fifteen warriors? Much has changed since
the days of Temujin, has it not?"

"What do you know of Temujin--you, who are a man of no ancestors, out of
the West?"

"What do I know of Temujin? That he was a leader of warriors and became
Genghis Khan, the great lord of the East. But the Apaches had their
warlords also, rider of barren lands. And I am of those who raided over
two nations when Victorio and Cochise scattered their enemies as a man
scatters a handful of dust in the wind."

"You talk bold, Apache...." There was a hint of threat in that.

"I speak as any warrior, Shaman. Or are you so used to talking with
spirits instead of men that you do not realize that?"

He might have been alienating the shaman by such a sharp reply, but
Travis thought he judged the temper of these people. To face them boldly
was the only way to impress them. They would not treat with an inferior,
and he was already at a disadvantage coming on foot, without any backing
in force, into a territory held by horsemen who were suspicious and
jealous of their recently acquired freedom. His only chance was to
establish himself as an equal and then try to convince them that Apache
and Tatar-Mongol had a common cause against the Reds who controlled the
settlement on the northern plains.

Menlik's right hand went to his sash-girdle and plucked out a carved
stick which he waved between them, muttering phrases Travis could not
u