"Has the pale chief anything to add to what he has told me?"
"Nothing," answered the partisan.
"It is well; it is my turn now to impose conditions."
"That is quite true, chief; I listen to you."
"My brother, the white chief, knows the customs of the Pampa, does he not?"
"I know them; my life has been almost wholly passed in the desert."
"Does he know the ceremony of the compact of vengeance in use in the tribe of the Guaycurus?"
"I have heard speak of it, without, however, having ever practised it on my own account; I know that it is a kind of brotherhood of arms which binds two men to each other by a tie stronger than the nearest relationship."
"Yes, that is it; does my brother consent to this ceremony being performed by us?"
"I consent to it with all my heart, chief," answered the partisan without hesitation, "because my intentions are pure, no thought of treachery is in my heart, and I have for my brother great friendship."