given. With a wild scream the Chicasaw
bounded forward and dealt the stroke; but, by a dexterous sleight, the
huntress received it on the _serape_, and the blade glanced harmlessly
aside. We hurried onward to get between them; but at that moment a
third combatant became mingled in the fray, and the safety of Marian was
secured.

It was not the hand of man that had rescued her; but an ally whom,
perhaps, she deemed more faithful. It was the dog Wolf! The impetus
which the Indian had given to the thrust, and its consequent failure,
had carried her past her intended victim. She was turning with the
design of renewing the attack, when the dog rushed upon the ground.
With a savage growl the animal sprang forward; and, vaulting high into
the air, launched himself on the breast of the Chicasaw--at the same
instant seizing her by the throat! In this position he clung--holding
on by his terrible teeth, and aided by his paws, with which he kept
constantly clawing the bosom of the Indian! It was a painful spectacle;
and now that Marian was safe, Wingrove and I ran on with the intention
of releasing the woman from the grasp of the dog. Before we could get
near, both victim and avenger disappeared from our sight! The Indian in
her wild terror had been retreating backward. In this way she had
reached the bank; and, having lost her footing, had fallen back downward
upon the water! As we arrived upon the edge, neither woman nor dog was
visible. Both had sunk to the bottom! Almost on the instant they
re-appeared on the surface, the dog uppermost; and we saw that his teeth
were still fastened upon the throat of his human victim! Half-a-dozen
men leaped into the water; and, after a struggle, the savage animal was
dragged from his hold. It was too late. The sharp incisors had done
their dread work; and, as the body of the wretched woman was raised over
the bank, those who lifted it perceived that the last breath had gone
out of it. The limbs were supple, and the pulse no longer beat.
Su-wa-nee had ceased to live!

CHAPTER EIGHTY SEVEN.

SUSPICIOUS APPEARANCES.

The Indians came crowding around the corpse--both warriors and women.
Their exclamations betokened no sympathy. Even the squaws looked on
with unpitying aspect--though the victim was of their own race and sex.
They knew she had been allied with their enemies; and had been witnesses
of her savage assault upon _Maranee_, though ignorant of its motive.
Some o