n Indian hates to admit that he has been in any manner
outwitted by a white man.

"You tell a good story, Dirty Nose." Pawnee Brown turned to Yellow Elk.
"Yellow, how did you run across that girl?"

"Yellow Elk no tell his secrets," came the answer. "Pawnee Brown fool to
ask. Pawnee Brown think him heap sly, like fox, but him sly only like
cow!" This produced another laugh, for the Indians from the Indian
Territory are not as stolid as were their forefathers, and thoroughly
enjoy their own rude manner of joking.

Presently Yellow Elk turned to his companions and spoke to them in an
undertone. A moment later he sped away, but whether in pursuit of Nellie
Winthrop or not, Pawnee Brown could not tell.

The Indian chief was gone fully an hour, and came back looking unusually
grave.

Pawnee Brown had tried in vain to get Spotted Nose and the other Indian
to talk--to tell him why they had left the reservation. Not one would
speak further than to tell him to keep quiet.

On returning, Yellow Elk at once set to work to rig up an upright pole
from the floor to the ceiling of the cave, using a heavy tree branch for
the purpose. The upright was placed close to where the smoke from the
fire found a vent through several large cracks in the ceiling, and the
boomer watched these proceedings with much alarm.

The Indians were erecting a fire-stake, such as they had used in the
wild west when some victim was to be roasted alive!

"Heavens! can that be meant for me?" was the question he asked himself.

The stake planted and fastened firmly, Yellow Elk heaped some fresh, dry
brush around its bottom and then came up to Pawnee Brown.

"Pawnee Brown see the fire-stake?" he asked, his savage eyes gleaming
like two stars.

"I do, Yellow. Who is it for?"

"Why does Pawnee Brown ask? Does he not deserve death?"

"I suppose I do--according to your notion."

"Pawnee Brown shall burn--he shall burn slowly," went on Yellow Elk,
meaning that he would make the great scout's torture last as long as
possible.

"Your training on the reservation hasn't civilized you much, Yellow, if
that's the way you feel about it."

"I hate white man--all of them," grumbled the Indian chief. "They take
all my land away and put me in a little yard to live. I would kill all
white man if could," and he grated his teeth.

A moment later Yellow Elk nodded to the other Indians and all leaped
forward and bound Pawnee Brown fast to the fire-stake. This done