be hard."

"I heard you talking to them. You were ordering them to leave me alone,
and they did. Tell them to let me go. Auguste, I'll go mad. I'm so
frightened!"

She clutched at his arm. He could feel her fear pouring into his arm up
to his heart. He put his hand on top of hers and held it firmly. He
wanted to take her in his arms to comfort her, but Redbird's eyes were
on him, and she would not understand. So he just patted Nancy's hand and
released it.

He told Redbird what he had been saying to Nancy.

"Does she not see that the braves would kill you if you tried to set her
free?" Redbird asked.

"She is too frightened to see anything," he said, and turned back to
Nancy.

"The only man who can free you is Black Hawk. I'll try to convince him
that he should, but he is away with a war party now."

"Killing more innocent men and women and children?" Her teeth and eyes
gleamed in the faint light within the wickiup.

Her words left a hollow ache in his chest, but he went on speaking
doggedly.

"When he comes back, I'll go to him. Meanwhile, ask your God to help you
be brave."

She let go of his arm abruptly. "What do you know about my God, with
your paint and your feathers and your magic wand?"

Her words hurt, and he was about to answer angrily, but he told himself
she was half mad with terror and grief.

"Because I have these things I can help you," he said gently. "But I
want so much to know what happened at Victor. Can you bear to tell me?"

She took his arm again. "I'd just gotten dressed to go out and feed the
animals--when I saw the Indians riding toward our house. So many of
them! I knew right away. I ran into the house and woke Father. By the
time they got to the house he was standing in the doorway. He never even
got his rifle loaded, Auguste. Before he could move there was an arrow
in his chest."

White Bear knew that Reverend Hale had never liked him; but he was
Nancy's father, and to see her father killed--how that must hurt her!

"He was a good man," he said. "He never did harm to our people. It is
wrong that he died."

Nancy went on, sobbing softly. "I must have fainted. I remember a ride,
I was thrown over the back of a horse, then we were at Victoire.
Auguste, they--they just overran Victoire."

"Did anyone get away?"

"I think the people at Victoire must have seen our church and the farms
burning, so they had some warning. I couldn't see much. I was left tied
on the horse while