rom his eyes that was not
a drunken one, and he knew that I suspected him. After that, it was a
contest of skill and will between us. He was waiting his opportunity,
and so was I.

"You think I've a quick ear, don't you? You see what my temperament is;
all sense, all consciousness. My hearing was cultivated, too, by
listening for Indians. Well, by and by, I detected a very stealthy
movement outside the fort, and then a faint chirrup, such as a young
squirrel might make. In an instant the drunken man sprang up; and I
covered him with my rifle, cocked. He saw the movement and drew his
pistol, but not before I had ordered him to throw down his arms, _or_
DIE."

It is impossible to convey, by types, an idea of Ela's manner or tone as
he pronounced these last words. They sounded from the bottom of his
chest, and conveyed in the utterance a distinct notion that death was
what was meant. Hearing him repeat the command, it was easy to believe
that the miscreant dared not do more than hesitate in his obedience.
After a moment's silence--which was the climax to his rendering of the
scene--he continued:

"I haven't told you, yet, how the man looked. He was a tall, swarthy,
black-bearded fellow, who might have been handsome once, but who had
lost the look which distinguishes men in sympathy with their kind; so
that then he resembled some cruel beast, in the shape of a man, yet
whose disguise fitted him badly. His eyes burned like rubies, out of the
gloomy caverns under his shaggy eyebrows. His lips were drawn apart, so
that his teeth glistened. The man's whole expression, as he stood there,
glaring at me, was Hate and Murder.

"My eye never winked, while he hesitated. He saw that, and it made him
quail. With my finger on the trigger, I kept my rifle leveled, while he
threw down his arms--pistols and knife--with a horrible oath. With the
knife in his hand, he made a movement, as if he would rush on me; but
changed his purpose in time to stop my fire. His cursing was awful; the
foam flew from his mouth. He demanded to be let out of the fort; accused
me of bad intentions toward him, and denounced me for a robber and
murderer. To all his ravings I had but one answer: To be quiet, to obey
me, and he might live; dare to disobey me, and he should die.

"I directed him to sit down on the opposite side of the fire--not to
move from that one spot--not to make a doubtful motion. And then I told
him I knew what he was, and what he had me