ion the arrow!"

And, stepping forward, he drew the shaft from the body of the Pane, and
held it aloft.

The moment the eyes of the warriors fell upon its barbed head, an
exclamation of astonishment passed from their lips. The head was of
_iron_! No Waco ever used such a weapon as that!

All eyes were instantly turned on Carlos the cibolero, with looks of
inquiry and admiration. All felt that it must be from his bow had sped
that deadly shaft; and they were the more convinced of this because some
who had noticed the third Pane pierced with a rifle bullet, had just
declared the fact to the crowd.

Yes, it must be so. The pale-face was the avenger of their chief!

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

Carlos, who by this time had become aware of the nature of their
inquiries, now stepped forward, and, in modest phrase, detailed through
the interpreter how the chief had fallen, and what part he himself had
borne in the conflict.

A loud murmur of applause broke from the circle of warriors, and the
more excited of the young men rushed forward and grasped the cibolero's
hand, uttering as they did so expressions of gratitude. Most of the
warriors already knew that to him they were indebted for their safety.
It was the report of his rifle, fired in the night, that had put them on
their guard, and prevented the Panes from surprising their encampment,
else the day's history might have been _very_ different. In fact, the
Panes, through this very signal having been heard, had been themselves
surprised, and that was the true secret of their disaster and sanguinary
retreat.

When, in addition to this service, it was seen how the cibolero had
fought on their side, killing several of their foes, the hearts of the
Wacoes were filled with gratitude; but now that it became known that the
pale-faced warrior was the avenger of their beloved chief, their
gratitude swelled into enthusiasm, and for some minutes their loud
expressions of it alone could be heard.

When the excitement had to some extent subsided, the warrior who seemed
to be recognised as the orator of the tribe, and who was regarded with
great deference, again stood forth to speak. This time his speech was
directed to Carlos alone.

"White warrior!" he said. "I have spoken with the braves of our nation.
They all feel that they owe you deep gratitude, which words cannot
repay. The purport of our recent deliberations has been explained to
you. Upon this ground we vowed t