“Behold the way in which your chief is treated! He comes among you, bound like a dog!”
“He suffers the disgrace of a traitor!” exclaimed Mahaska, “and the lips of the tribe shall pronounce upon him a traitor’s doom.”
The savages pressed about him in great confusion at the strange sight, and the words which the two had spoken.
“Gi-en-gwa-tah demands instant judgment!” cried the chief.
“The chiefs gave Mahaska command of the expedition,” said the woman, turning to the old men. “She has fulfilled their wishes. She is weary and will commune with her spirits; she asks that they may not meet in council till nightfall.”
The wily creature, it was apparent to her husband, desired to employ the interval in winning the principal warriors entirely to her cause.
“Let the council sit now!” exclaimed Gi-en-gwa-tah; “the chief is not to be kept bound at the bidding of a squaw.”
His violent words excited the interest and astonishment of the greater portion of those present. Their favorite chief and husband of their queen a prisoner and a traitor!
Old Upepah advanced, after a moment’s hesitation.
“I demand the council shall convene at once, for by delay to consult her dreams, this bad woman means to pour poison into your ears. I demand the council-fire to be lit now.”