aoul's anger at the Potawatomi found a new target in this bony
volunteer. The heat of the whiskey raced through his bloodstream.

There was one simple way to show this upstart who was master here, and
at the same time have his way with the redskins.

Raoul drew his pistol and hefted it in his hand.

The tall captain eyed Raoul warily and said nothing.

Raoul said, "I'm going to give this Potawatomi one more chance to tell
me now where Black Hawk went, and if he disobeys me again I'm going to
shoot him dead."

He stood before Little Foot and pointed the pistol at his head.

In Potawatomi he said, "Tell me what Black Hawk plans to do. Is he lying
in ambush farther up the trail? Does he have a secret camp for his
squaws and papooses? Tell me, or I will shoot you." Swinging the muzzle
of the pistol to the man in the blue turban beside Little Foot, he said,
"And then I will ask this man, and if he does not tell me, I will kill
him too."

The bony young man said, "With all due respect to your rank and
experience, sir, I must say that what you propose to do is wrong."

Raoul's rage threatened to boil over. Tension jerked his right arm. So
as not to risk wasting a shot, he took his finger off the trigger.

In a mild but somehow penetrating voice the Sangamon man said, "I'll
tell you why this is wrong, sir, if you'll allow me."

The man's politeness was infuriating. Raoul turned to him, letting the
pistol fall to his side.

"Go on, Captain. Preach to me."

"If you had a white prisoner at your mercy, you would not shoot him
because he refused to betray his comrades. You would think it honorable
in him to answer your questions with silence. But this red man is a
human being with the same God-given right to his life that you and I
have."

Raoul realized all at once that the lean captain's backwoods manner of
speaking had fallen away like an unneeded cloak. He sounded like a
lawyer or a minister.

"I was a prisoner of the Potawatomi for two years. I can tell you from
experience they're not human at all."

How angry Pierre had been when Raoul had said Indians were animals. But
it was true.

"They treated you badly? Made a slave of you?"

"Damned right."

The young captain looked calmly at Raoul. "If to hold slaves and treat
them badly marks a man as less than human, then you must so brand every
wealthy white man in the Southern states."

A few of the men standing around laughed. "That Abe! Got an answer for
e