"There are six of my young men's scalps at your girdles, and their places are empty. War Eagle has spoken."
"Very well, chief," Pearson said. "Ef nothing but sculps will content you, to fighting it must come; but I warn you that your tribe'll lose a good many more afore they get ours."
So saying, without another word, they separated, each party making their way back to their friends.
"What on earth can he have proposed such terms as those for?" Harold asked, when Pearson had related what had taken place between him and the chief. "He must have known we should not accept them."
"I expect," Pearson said, "he wanted to see who we were and to judge what sort of spirit we had. It may be, too, that there was a party among the tribe who had no stomachs for the job of attacking this place, and so he was obliged to make a show of offering terms to please 'em; but he never meant as they should be accepted. No, I take it they'll wait a few days to see what hunger'll do. They must be pretty sure that we've not a very large supply of food."
CHAPTER XVI.
THE GREAT STORM.
"Let us overhaul our packages," Harold said, "and see what provisions we have left. It would be as well to know how we stand."
It was found that they had a sufficient supply of flour to last, with care, for a fortnight. The meal was nearly exhausted; of tea they had an abundance; the sugar was nearly out, and they had three bottles of spirits.
"Could we not make the flour last more than the fourteen days by putting ourselves on half rations?" Harold asked.