o separate them. Amidst the group of Indians, whose lances and
hatchets fell indiscriminately upon horses, mules and men, the chief was
recognisable by his vast height, the painting of his face and his great
strength.

It was the second time that he had faced the whites since the
commencement of the campaign, and his name was known to them.

"Here, Diaz," cried Baraja, "here is the _Spotted Cat_!"

At the name of Diaz, which had already reached him, the Indian chief
looked round for him who bore it, with eyes which seemed to dart flames,
and raised his lance to strike Diaz, when a blow from Oroche's knife
wounded his horse. The Indian thrown to the ground, let fall his lance.
Diaz seized it, and while the chief raised himself on one knee and
endeavoured to draw his sword, the lance which he had dropped, pierced
his naked breast, and came out between his shoulders. Although mortally
wounded, the Indian uttered no cry, his eyes never lost their haughty
menace, and his face expressed only rage.

"The Spotted Cat dies not so easily," said he, and with a vigorous hand
he seized the wood of the lance still held by Diaz. A fierce struggle
ensued, but at every effort of the Indian to draw Diaz towards him, and
envelop him in a last deadly clasp, the murdering, lance pierced farther
and farther. Soon his strength failed, and violently torn from his body
the bloody weapon remained in the hands of Diaz. The Indian fell back,
gave one glance of defiance, and then lay motionless upon the earth.

Their chief fallen, the others soon shared the same fate, while their
companions vainly tried to force the line a second time. Victims of
their temerity, the Indians, without asking for a mercy which they never
showed, fell like their chief facing the enemy, and surrounded by the
corpses of those who had preceded them in their journey to the land of
spirits.

Of all the savages in the camp but one remained. He looked round him
for a minute with eyes fierce as those of the hunted tiger; then,
instead of seeking to hide his presence, he uttered anew his war-cry,
but it was confounded with those from without--and profiting by a moment
of confusion, during which the adventurers, attacked from without, left
the breach almost clear--he caused his horse to leap over, and found
himself once more among his own people.

Pedro Diaz alone saw him, and regretted his prey, but the implacable
enemy of the Indians never indulged in sterile re