That is no longer possible. Don Jose has gone
under--was rubbed out more than three months ago, and by these very
Rapahoes! That is why your fair _conpaisana_ is now with the Utahs.
The old trapper left her to his namesake Oaquara--under whose protection
she has been ever since."

"He has been true to his trust? He _has_ protected her?" Under the
influence of singular emotions did these questions escape me.

"_Seguramente, amigo_!" replied the Mexican, with an ingenuousness
calculated to allay my unpleasant fancies, "the Utah chief is a noble
fellow--_un hombre de bien_--besides, he would have done anything for
his old friend--whose death greatly grieved him. That is just why you
see him here in such haste. It was not to avenge your wrongs that they
danced their war-measure--but the death of Don Jose. All the same to
you, however: since your _companeros_ are likely to have the advantage
of it. As for the Americana," continued he, before I had time to make
rejoinder, "_Virgen santissima_! such a maiden was never seen in these
parts. Such a shot! Not a marksman in the mountains could match with
her, except Don Jose himself, who taught her; and as for hunting--_la
linda cazadora_! she can steal upon the game like a couguar. Ah! she
can protect herself. She _has_ done so. But for her spirit and rifle,
the Red-Hand would have ruined her."

"But how? you have not told me--"

"True, _cavallero_! I have yet to answer number three. _Bueno_! As I
said, it was near the Big Timbers, where she got into the hands of the
Arapahoes. There was only a small band of the robbers, with Red-Hand at
their head. He wanted to play the brute with her. She kept him off
with her rifle, and a big dog you have seen. Red-Hand became angry, and
had her strapped to a tree--where the monsters threatened to shoot their
arrows into her body. Whether they intended to kill her, or only to
terrify the poor girl, is not known; but if the former was their design,
they were hindered from putting it into execution. Just at that moment,
Don Jose came upon the ground with a party of trappers from the
rendezvous on Cuerno Verde. They were strong enough to beat off the
red-skinned ravishers and save the Americana. That is how she was taken
from the Rapahoes."

"A brave deed! But how did she chance to be there? Since Bent's Port
was abandoned, there is no white settlement near the Big Timbers."

"Ah! _senor_! that is the strangest part