rder than was common. But it must
be remembered that he had Love with him, and where Love is there can be
no cowardice, no surrender.

Long-Hair once again pushed him and said

"Ugh, run!"

Beverley made a direct dash for the narrow lane between the braced and
watchful lines. Every warrior lifted his club; every copper face
gleamed stolidly, a mask behind which burned a strangely atrocious
spirit. The two savages standing at the end nearest Beverley struck at
him the instant he reached than, but they taken quite by surprise when
he checked himself between them and, leaping this way and that, swung
out two powerful blows, left and right, stretching one of them flat and
sending the other reeling and staggering half a dozen paces backward
with the blood streaming from his nose.

This done, Beverley turned to run away, but his breath was already
short and his strength rapidly going.

Long-Hair, who was at his heels, leaped before him when he had gone but
a few steps and once more flourished the tomahawk. To struggle was
useless, save to insist upon being brained outright, which just then
had no part in Beverley's considerations. Long-Hair kicked his victim
heavily, uttering laconic curses meanwhile, and led him back again to
the starting-point.

A genuine sense of humor seems almost entirely lacking in the mind of
the American Indian. He smiles at things not in the least amusing to us
and when he laughs, which is very seldom, the cause of his merriment
usually lies in something repellantly cruel and inhuman. When Beverley
struck his two assailants, hurting them so that one lay half stunned,
while the other spun away from his fist with a smashed nose, all the
rest of the Indians grunted and laughed raucously in high delight. They
shook their clubs, danced, pointed at their discomfited fellows and
twisted their painted faces into knotted wrinkles, their eyes twinkling
with devilish expression of glee quite indescribable.

"Ugh, damn, run!" said Long-Half, this time adding a hard kick to the
elbow-shove he gave Beverley.

The young man, who had borne all he could, now turned upon him
furiously and struck straight from the shoulder, setting the whole
weight of his body into the blow. Long-Hair stepped out of the way and
quick as a flash brought the flat side of his tomahawk with great force
against Beverley's head. This gave the amusement a sudden and
disappointing end, for the prisoner fell limp and senseless to the