he hostile village next day and demanded Nesis.

"Two girls to defy a whole tribe of redskins!"--the thought could be
read in the jurymen's startled eyes.

The twelve men hung out of the box, listening with parted lips. All
that had gone before in this startling trial was nothing to Colina's
story.

When Colina came to her meeting with Nesis her brave port was shaken.
Her voice began to tremble. She could not bring herself to name the
dreadful thing. The judge, perceiving a stoppage in her story,
interrupted her.

"Miss Gaviller, if the girl could understand you, why did she answer by
signs?"

Colina lowered her head. Those near saw her struggling to control a
shaken breast, saw two tears steal down her pale cheeks.

"Do you wish to be excused?" asked the judge solicitously.

She shook her head. "One moment," she was understood to whisper.

An attendant handed up a glass of water.

She finally managed to produce her voice again. "She could not speak,"
she said very low.

"Why?" asked the judge. One would have said the whole room breathed
the question.

"They--had mutilated her," whispered Colina. "Her--her tongue--was cut
off."

A single low sound of horror was forced from the crowd. The prisoner
half rose with a choking cry and collapsed with his head in his arms on
the table.

Denholm, as pale as a sheet, flung an arm around his shoulders. Every
man connected with the case stared before him as if he beheld the
horror with his physical eyes. Colina's self-control escaped her
entirely.

She covered her face with her hands and wept like any girl.

CHAPTER XLI.

FROM DUMB LIPS.

The judge proposed an adjournment. The witness, the prisoner, the
prisoner's counsel were all against it. It was decided to continue. A
breath of relief escaped the spectators. Another day they might not be
able to secure seats in the court-room.

Colina described how they gave their pursuers the slip and gained the
prairie.

"We decided to make for the nearest point on the Spirit River," she
went on, "and headed southeast. After we had ridden for two hours we
came to a slough of fresh water, and camped for the rest of the night
to let the horses feed and rest. Nesis and I could not sleep. We
talked until morning.

"I asked her questions, and she would answer yes or no, or let me know
by signs when I was on the wrong track. She was wonderfully clever in
making up signs.

"As she made signs to