that the
Sioux would interfere at once, and he would only bring upon himself some
greater pain.

Will felt that a warrior was riding on either side of him and presently
he was aware also that the one on the right had moved up more swiftly,
giving way to somebody else. A sort of mental telepathy told him that
the first warrior had been replaced by a stronger and more dominant one.
Instinct said that it was Heraka, and he was not mistaken. The chief
rode on in silence for at least ten minutes and then he asked:

"Which way do you ride, Wayaka (captive)? Is it north, or south, or is
it east or west?"

"I don't know," confessed Will. "I tried to keep the sense of direction,
but we twisted and turned so much I've lost it."

"I knew that it would be so. Wayaka will ride many hundreds of miles, he
knows not whither. And whether he is to die soon or late he will see his
own people again never more. If he ever looks upon a white face again it
will be the face of one who is a friend of the Sioux and not of his own
race, or the face of a captive like himself."

[Illustration: "If he ever looks upon a white face again it will be the
face of one who is a friend of the Sioux."]

Will shuddered. The threat coming from a man like Heraka, who spoke in a
tone at once charged with malice and power, was full of evil portent.
Had an ordinary Indian threatened him thus he might not have been
affected so deeply, but with the decree of Heraka he seemed to vanish
completely from the face of the earth, or, at least, from his world and
all those that knew him. His will, however, was still strong. He felt
instinctively that Heraka was looking at him, and he would show no sign
of flinching or of weakness. He straightened himself up on the pony,
threw back his shoulders and replied defiantly:

"I have a star that protects me, Heraka. Nearly every man has a star,
but mine is a most powerful one, and it will save me. Even now, though I
cannot see and I do not know whether it is daylight or twilight, I know
that my star, invisible though it may be in the heavens, is watching
over me."

He spoke purposely in the lofty and somewhat allegorical style, used
sometimes by the higher class of Indians, and he could not see its
effect. But Heraka, strong though his mind was, felt a touch of
superstitious awe, and looking up at the heavens, all blue though they
were, almost believed that he saw in them a star looking down at Wayaka,
the prisoner.

"