. Very soon they joined the
curious crowd who were examining the contents of the canoe, now placed
on the land to await the coming of a steamer that was freighting with
cotton above. One of the young ladies seemed much interested and made
many inquiries. A bow and quiver was given into her hand. The latter
was fashioned from the skin of a Mexican tiger, and was filled with
arrows. One of these was bloody, and its history was asked of the youth
she had met in the store. It was the blood of a Pawnee chief who, by
this arrow, had been slain in battle, and was the gift to the youth
from the daughter of the fallen chief, together with the bow and quiver
of the Indian who had slain her father, and who was in turn killed by a
chief of her tribe.

How beautiful she was to this wanderer of the wilderness! Months upon
months had passed away, and he had only looked upon the blank and
unmeaning features of the desert savage woman. With these his heart had
no sympathy. Like the panther of their plains they were swift of foot,
symmetrical in form, wild, untamed and untamable, fierce and unfeeling;
and were not formed by nature for sympathy or social union with the
higher organizations of civilized man. His dream of romance was being
realized. The vacuum in his heart was filling. How in contrast were his
feelings and appearance! Clad as a savage, his skin was covered with
the fabric of an Indian woman, closely fitting, with moccasins on his
feet, and a gray wolf-skin cap upon his head--his long, black hair with
the luxuriant growth of two years curling over his shoulders, and his
beard, like the wing of night fluttering in the breeze, waving down
from his chin to his breast in ringlets, glossy and beautiful. He was
lithe as a savage, and seemed to be one. In his heart were kindling
soft emotions, and memories of maidens he had known--now far, far
away--came crowding upon that heart. Before him stood the embodiment of
beauty and grace, attired with costly and beautiful fabrics which
flowed about her person like the white vapor upon the breezes of
spring. Elegance was in her every attitude, and grace in every
movement. Her features and her eyes beamed with a curious wish to learn
the story of the strange wild being before her. Their two hearts were
in sympathy; but to each other it was a secret. How strangely they had
met! How strangely they were feeling! How soon they were to part!
"Where is he from? Where is he going?" asked her eyes;