Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1916-12-05


Hardy caught a glimpse of gingham
skirt, and glanced quickly up at the
face of the girl. He was met by the
frightened gaze of Oinna Redbear.
OH" she murmured. SIT is bad !!
You oughtn't to've come here, sir.
They don't like you. Mr.. Van said he
was going to tell you"
A grunt of disapproval from Ti-owa-
konza cut short the hurried statement.
After a dignified silence the chief
spoke to the girl. She clasped her
hands and interpreted in an anxious
murmur:
He says l must be only the tongue
between you and him. He says, why
did you lie? Why have you not gone
away, as you said you would?"
Hardy turned and looked direct into
the naughty face of the chief. Tell
him l did not lie. / did not say l
would go away. l wished to stay and
prove myself the friend of the tribe.
Your brother told the lie to keep the
chiefs from destroying the tribe by
attacking me-"
Oinna's Interpretation brought gut
tural EXPLANATIONS from the surround
ing bucks. Hardy was equally I'M
moved by their ferocious glances and
the contemptuous rejoinder of Ti-owa-
konza
Does the chief of the Longknives
think to destroy a tribe single-hand-
edo"
mo. nor do wish others to destroy
the tribe" answered Hardy. Il do not
wish the Longknives to come and make
war on the tribe. Yet that is what
they will do if / am harmed"
Again Oinna interpreted in her flute
like tones. This time the chief consid-
cred before speaking Oinna's gold
tinted skin turned sallow gray.
"He-he says he will fight if you do
not promise to go away!" she gasped.
Hardy smiled. "Have no fear, DIN
na.. He is too great a chief to kill a
guest in his camp. Tell him l came
to the reservation to be a friend to the
tribe. Though | am a chief of the
Longknives. my heart is good toward
his people. 1t would be foolish of
him to kill or drive away the friend
of his people"
This time Ti-owa-konZa gave the in
truder an open stare of contempt. The
surrounding bucks glared more fero-
ciously than ever.
HE says you are fork-tongued,' ~
Oinna translated the reply. ''He says,
if you are a friend, why did you say
at the council that you would punish
all the tribe for the killing of Nogen?''
''That is a mistake. 1 did not say
would punish the tribe"
Oinna interpreted the answer and
the grim old chiefs rejoinder: "The
Longknife's mouth was big at the
agency. Here he is alone in my camp
and his mouth is small"
81 talk as talked at the agency
What Ti-owa-konZa claims 1 said about
furnishing the tribe is not the truth
There must nave been a mistake in
the Interpretation, or the chiefs did
not hear Alright. 1 had only peace and
friendship in my heart. l said that
did not blame the killing of Mr.. NOgen
| on the tribe"
This statement failed to break
Thunderbolt's mask of stolidity
| though some of the other Indians
| slightly relaxed their menacing atti-
| tude. Hardy took off his hat to show
| the red scar above his temple, and
| spoke again:
81 do not blame the killing of Mr.
| Nogen on the tribe; nor do l blame
the tribe for the wrongdoing of the
| bad-hearted Indian who shot me in
the head five days ago. The same
man, or another man with a bad heart
tried to shoot me, after shutdown to-
| day, as came up the trail over on the
other side of the broken-topped noun
| TAIN
Oinna's Interpretation was met by q
| cultural ugh ~ of surprise even from
the chief. He asked shrewdly: IF the
Longknife does not lie, is he not afraid
to be in my camp? 1t is the nearest
to the trail"
Hardy smiled and held out his oper
palm to the chief. Il trust Ti-owa-
konza and his people. There is only
one bad Indian, and even he may come
to feel good in his heart toward me
when he learns that am the friend OF
the tribe"
Still the old chiefs face remained
| inscrutably immobile. He pondered
and at last made another sharp query
THE Longknife claims that he is 3
friend. Why, then, did he say at the
council that he will do the way Nogen