"But if your brothers cannot come?" said Matthews.
Lame Foot answered. "The white chief will send us to Standing Rock Agency. From there, braves will go out to hunt—and arrows fly silently. There are some of two tips. These bite like the rattlesnake——"
Matthews rubbed his chin. He knew that what Lounsbury had told him in the colonel's library was true. All legal and moral claims to the valuable town site across the river were gone. He could secure the Bend now only by underhand means. And here were those who would do what he dared not.
"They make a cunning wound," continued Lame Foot, "and no one finds the arrow."
Colonel Cummings was growing impatient. "Interpret, interpret," he ordered.
"They think it's all up with 'em if I don't go," said Matthews. He looked down thoughtfully. The trip would be a comparatively short one, and offered good reward. Whatever happened, if the Indians kept their word with him, he would have both the pay and the land.
"Will they tell me where the camp is?" asked the Colonel.
Matthews met his eye. "Ye-e-e-s," he answered. "If I go." He addressed the warriors: "If your promise is a promise——"
An old chief caught his arm. "We are not liars," he said.