"And you shall have reason. Not far from here is the home of the rattlesnakes. Burning Cloud knows it well. If she will not be my wife I will throw her into their midst and none will ever know of her fate. Thousands of forked tongues will be darted at her—thousands of poisoned fangs be buried in her flesh—thousands of slimy bodies crawl over and around her while still living!"
"I would rather die even thus than become your wife," she cried as she sprung upon him, as suddenly and fiercely as does the mountain-cat upon the one who would rob her of her young.
Taken entirely by surprise the Indian received a severe wound in his shoulder before he could defend himself, and then, his anger at white heat, he grappled with the squaw and endeavored to master her. It was some time however before he could disarm her, gain possession of her hands and hold them. Then they stood face to face, she completely powerless to either injure or escape.
"Now," he asked, triumphantly, "will she promise to become his wife?"
"Never!"
"Then by the Manitou he will give her to the serpents!"
She shuddered at such a terrible fate and made the most desperate efforts to escape. And he found it most difficult to drag her along. But he succeeded in doing so, inch by inch and foot by foot until at last they stood above the terrible den.
"For the last time," he asked, "will you be my wife?"
What should she answer? She could distinctly hear the clashing of countless rattles—could smell the foul odors—could see the flashing of myriads of lidless eyes—the vibrating of the forked tongues that played like lambent lightning. For all the darkness around she could see the scaly folds of the numberless savage reptiles, that, disturbed by their footsteps, wormed in a living mass like boiling waves breaking upon some rocky beach. Horrible—the like of which earth holds not, and what could she do to avert such a fate?
Renounce the scout—perjure her very soul and become the wife of the one she not only detested but who would even thus dastardly seek to make her his own? The bare thought nerved her to even greater strength, and the battle became fierce indeed.