Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-02-13
By Zane Grey
Drawing by Allen True

The Indian held out brown sinewy hand for the
money, and threw it with fiery impetuosity. into
Jones face The hard silver bruised and cut, blood
flowed from his lip; yet he moved not muscle, and
kept his COOL quiet gaze, shading slightly to con-
tempt level with the dark, hot glance of his adver-
sary.
The flingng of the silver was an expression of
young chiefs undignifed passion toward prisoner
who had become prisoner without effort or risk OF
glory in insult to him. Jones caught his advantage
and became more immovabe of feature, imper-
turbable stone. The chieftains vsage, which had
momentarily changed with animal ferocity, smoothed
out under the influence of will that became ruler
of warriors and grew coldly nscrutable and austere
a SUDDEN sharp yell from his lips brought his
band running and eapng to him. Cultural
grunts and low deep savage utterances attested to
the significance of the CALL A circle formed round
the chieftan and hunter circle of SCARED warriors
growing oninously quiet They knew the pris-
oner and hated him, not much because his hand
had ever been against them for the fact that he
was the great buffalo killer. More than any other
paleface he had made meat scarce at their camp
fires. Their meaning eyes roved from chieftain to
captive spelling sentence of fire. of iron, and torture
and death.
The Apache took from one of his braves a long
black bow as tall as himself and long black arrow
barbed and feathered. Leaning toward the prisoner,
he bent on him look intense, deadly, mas
terfu in its purpose that it seemed to read his soul
nWhite hunter lie,n o, want swap pony-hunt
buffalo-no smell smoked"
The hunter maintained silence and kept
swerving gaze the cheftain. That was all he
He summoned all his indomitable courage and called
up flash all the hazardous incidents of his life to
steel himself to meet the primal instinct and might
of this chief this wolf of the plains.
white lie!'' repeated the Apache.
With slow and deliberate motion, never lowering
his level basilisk glance, he fitted the to the
bow and slowly stretching his arms, discharged the
black dart at the foot of the hunter.
Jones felt the arrow Craze him and heard the light
thud it sank into the soft ground. He twitched
inwardly and shuddered gripping icy numbness
crept up from where the arrow had touched him to
his breast; nevertheless he made outward mani
festation no tremor of limb, flick of eyelash no
change in the mien with which he had chosen to face
his foe
Buffalo tones lie!''
That was the burden OF the Indians doubt. He
could not believe any white would dare to come
to him. before all his braves, and ask to trade ponies
His crafty intelligence told him it could not be true
And every beat of his pulse throbbed to make the
hunter show it. Selecting another arrow, he set the
feathered notch against the rawhide cord and bent
the bow. Twang! The sharp point bit into the
leather of the hunters boot and buried itself and
half the the ground.
How tenacious the Apaches gaze! How falcon
eyed to detect the slightest sign of weakening! How
purposeu of the grim, cold thing that hung in the
balance! His eyeds narrowed till they were mere
Sits black blaze; the veins over his temples
sweled Still, great as was his fury he held himself
in command and his movements as slow as the
torture he promised Again he reached for arrow,
notched it, drew it. paused while he again called the
white man liar then shot it. knifeblade could not
have been placed between the foot and the arrow.
Again and again slow cruel deliberaton, bent bow,
and silent suspense! He shot twelve into the
ground pennng the hunters foot in little circle OF
feathered shafts.
WITH that the Apache paused to contemplate
w his victim. Suddenly, with nconceivabe actlv-
ity compared to his former deberation, he shot an
arrow straight through the hunters foot pinning it
to the earth.
sting like the touch of redhot bar burned up
tones leg and seemed to scorch his whole body.
Heap lie!" cried the chieftain in voice of thun-
der.
He leaned far forward, with straining scrutiny,