d to a different tribe from those in camp. Only a
few minutes passed when he caught the glimpse of another warrior on the
left, crouching along in the same manner as the other. Then followed the
softest possible hiss, such as is made by the disturbed serpent, and, at
that moment, the truth of the whole matter suddenly broke upon Ned
Chadmund.

The strange Indians were quietly preparing their supper, unaware of the
fact that, while they were thus employed, a party of Apaches, their
deadly enemies, were closing in upon them. Thus, it was, too, that,
without the knowledge of either side, the lad was directly between them,
where it would seem impossible that he should escape being involved in
the conflict that was rapidly drawing to a head.

There was no hope of withdrawing, for the slightest movement would be
sure to make known his position, and he could only wait, therefore, the
issue of the encounter with an intensity of interest which it is
impossible to imagine. What could be more painfully interesting, for
instance, than to watch the movements of the strange Indians as they
engaged themselves in preparing their supper, conversing with each other
in their grunting fashion, and to note their unconsciousness that a
circle of death was slowly but surely closing in around them; to know,
which they did not suspect, that the most deadly kind of encounter was
close at hand? The endangered party certainly showed a lack of
precaution which belongs to their people in the most ordinary cases when
they went into camp in this fashion, and left the way open for such a
deadly and fatal assault to be made upon them. It must have been that
while engaged in the chase during the day they had made their
observations, and satisfied themselves that none of their enemies were
in dangerous proximity.

The odor of the cooking meat crept through the bushes to the nostrils of
the hungry lad, who was almost maddened into charging upon the party
himself in quest of some of the brown, crisp, roasting meat; but he
restrained himself, in the hope that the issue of the unpleasantness
would furnish him an opportunity to procure something for the inner man.

An Indian upon the warpath is as patient as the Esquimau who watches for
a dozen hours beside the airhole, waiting for the seal to come to the
surface. According to all human reasoning, there was no earthly
necessity for any delay upon the part of the attacking Apaches, and yet,
for full an hour