between his lips.

CHAPTER IX.

AT FAULT.

As a rule the American Indian is not partial to cigarette smoking, that
being a vice that he is willing to leave to his more civilized brother;
but the Comanche in front of Avon Burnet, and so near him, left no doubt
of his purpose.

As the tiny flame burned more brightly, he shaded it with his hands and
puffed the twisted roll of tobacco, like one who knew how liable the
blaze was to be blown out by the wind that rustled among the mesquite
bushes. He was such an expert at the business, however, that he met with
no difficulty.

The glow of the flame shone between the fingers, where they slightly
touched each other, giving them a crimson hue, while the point of the
nose, the eyes, and the front of the face were revealed almost as
distinctly as was the countenance of the warrior whom Dinah discovered
in the act of firing the roof of the cabin.

This Comanche was more ill-favored than the other and was in middle
life. There was something in his appearance which gave the youth the
suspicion that he was the chief or leader of the band of raiders, though
there could be no certainty on that point.

Nothing would have been easier than for Avon, from where he stood, to
shoot down the savage and appropriate his horse for himself. There was
an instant when he meditated such a step, but though many a veteran of
the frontier would have seized the chance with eagerness, he shrank from
such a deliberate taking of human life.

The youth had already shown his pluck and readiness to use his weapon
when necessary, but he could not justify himself in an act like the one
named.

But he did not mean to stand idle when there was a call for instant and
decisive action.

While the Comanche used his two hands in manipulating his match and
cigarette, his rifle leaned against the limbs of one of the largest
mesquite bushes, where he could snatch it up without stirring a foot.

It was not to be supposed that he had dismounted for the purpose of
kindling his cigarette, for he could have done that on the back of his
mustang, as well as when on the ground. He must have decided that he was
nigh enough to the other warriors to light his tobacco before joining
them on foot.

The youth was sure the steed before him was a fine one, for it is rare
to see one of those people without an excellent horse, and he resolved
to capture it.

At the instant the match was at its best, and the point