to be mistaken. I was glad to see those yellowish tufts. They told
that the wearer still lived--as was also made manifest by the fact of
his being bound. A dead body would not have merited such particular
treatment.

It was the third figure of this group that most strongly claimed my
attention. I saw that it was not that of a warrior; though quite as
tall as many upon the plain. But the contour of the form was
different--as also the fashion of the garments that draped it. It was
the figure of a woman! Had I not been guided in my conjectures--by a
certain foreknowledge--by the allusions that had occurred in the
speeches of Red-Hand--I should never have dreamt of identifying that
form. Forewarned by these, the apparition was not unexpected. The
woman was Su-wa-nee! She was standing erect by the prostrate form of
the young hunter--her head slightly bent, and her face turned towards
him. An occasional motion of her arm showed that she was speaking to
him. The gesture seemed to indicate a threat! Was it possible that in
that dread hour she was reviling him? I was at too great a distance,
either to hear her words, or note the expression upon her face. Only by
the dumb show of her gesticulations, could I tell that a scene was
passing between them.

A glance around the plain enabled me to note some other changes that had
recently taken place. The horses of the Indians were now picketed upon
the grass, and browsing peacefully--as if the clangour of strife had
never sounded in their ears. I could see my own Arab a little apart,
with Wingrove's horse and the mules--all in the charge of a horse-guard,
who stood sentry near them. The waggon was still by the base of the
mound. The cedars along its sides were yet unburnt! I thought that the
flames had consumed them, but no. The object of their fires had been to
blind us with their smoke--thus to drive us from our position, and
facilitate our capture.

I was not permitted to make these observations without interruption.
The savage--who had stood by me had a duty to perform; and during all
this time he was busied in its performance. A singular and inexplicable
operation it at first appeared to me. His initiatory act was to blacken
my body from the waist upward, including my face, throat, and arms. The
substance used appeared to be a paste of charcoal, which he rubbed
rudely over my skin. A circle upon my breast--that traced out by the
blade of the chief--wa