The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1931-03-26

Tiaoga, for Shindas had told him
that Tiaogas father had been
killed by white man and his son
by an English Mohawk. 4
Whatever their fate was to be
this day would bring it. He was
sure Toinette could not keep up
the pace much longer, and he
strengthened himself for the mo-
ment when the Seneca chief would
find himself compelled to give
decision. That Tiaoga had claimed
her for his daughter gave him
hope, but if in her fraility Toi-
nette was condemned to die, he
was determined that she should
not die alone.
1t was not long afterward that
the warriors observed Tiaoga
limping slightly. This sign of
physical difficulty increased in his
walk until, furious because of his
weakness, he drove his Ratchet
headdeep into a tree and paused
to bind piece of buckskin tightly
about the ankle he had Wrenched.
Progress was slower after this. II
continued to slacken as the after
noon waned, until the hand of
spiritual guidance seemed to be
working for Toinette. 1t was use
less to attempt a cOncealment of
her condition. Her strength was
gone. Her body was racked as
If 1t had been beaten. Another
mile and she would have sunk to
the ground, glad to have an end
to her torture. But fate, and
Tiaoga's hurt, interviewed to save
her. They came at last to a hard
wood plain in which was a pigeon
roOst.
Tiaoga spoke to Shindas.
I'VE have been a long time with
out meat, Broken Feather. In q
few hours there will be plenty
here. We will feast and then
sleep and will not travel again
until morning."
Then Shindas knew the truth,
but his countenance did not
change.
He soon had a chance to speak
to Jeems.
.For the first time | have dis
covered my uncle to be a great
liar" he said. His ankle is as
sound as mine. 1t is for the little
fawn he has pretended a hurt and
stops here for meat. She is safe.
He will not kill her."
When Jeems translated this TOT
nette bowed her head and cried
softly. Tiaoga saw her. Crumpled
on the ground with Jeems' arm
around her, she looked like Silver
Heels, with her long black braid
falling over her shoulder. No one
was conscious of the strain at his
heart as he came toward her.
Warriors, wide-eyed, saw that he
did not limp, and in his attitude
was a tigerish defiance of what
they might think. He paused be-
fore the girl and dropped his
beaverskin blanket at her feet.
Toinette looked up through tears
and smiled again as a strange
softness stole over the savage
face. He gazed at her steadily,
as if he were seeing a spirit, and
said:
1.-THE soul of Sol Van Makwun
has come to abide in your
Sol Van Makwun was Silver
Heels.
Tiaoga turned away, and his
warriors knew that his decision
had been made. There would be
no haste after this in the direc.
ton of Hidden Town.
On a couch made of the beaver
skin and armsful of balsam
boughs which Jeems had carried
from the creek bottom, Toinette
rested while the Indians prepared
for the evening feast. She
smoothed and rebraided her hair
as she watched them, and al
though. every bone In her body
seemed to have an ache of its
own, she felt a sensation of COM
plete relaxation stealing over her
for the first time since the tragedy
at Tonteur manor. The mental
ease which came to soften her en-
vtronment embraced her in such
stealihy way that she was uncon
scious of the moment when her
eyes closed in complete surrender
to the exhaustion which was
claiming her.
Jeems returned from one of the
fires bearing a stick on which a
dozen of the cooked pigeons were
spitted. He did not awaken Toi-
nette, but after he had finished his
meal, he broiled another dozen of
the pigeons until they were as
brown as chestnuts and stored
them away with roasted lily
root and few artichokes.
For two hours the cooking con-
tinued, and when it was finished,
with the nights kill ready for
future use, Tiaoga's warriors
wrapped themselves in their blan-
kets and lay down to sleep. The
camp was soon in silence, and for
long time Jeems sat meditating
upon the changes which had come
into his life within the space of
two days and nights. That every
thing was gone and that he and
Toinette were the only ones left
of those who had SO recently made
up their world seemed a monstrous
exaggeration of fact. Toinette.
sleeping quietly, forced the truth
upon him, and from the racking
viSiC ms of his thoughts he rnrned