The Indian continued.
"Unicorn sought a mode of coming to his brother's assistance; he was wandering along the riverbank when the fog supplied him with the means he so greatly desired; he placed Sunbeam in a canoe, ordered her to come, and she came with joy, laughing at the Apache dogs, whose mole eyes could not perceive her, when she passed in front of them."
"Yes, it must be so," Valentine said, "but why did not the chief come himself with his warriors, instead of sending you?"
"Unicorn is a sachem," the squaw answered, "he is wise and prudent as he is brave. The warriors had remained in the village; the chief was alone with Sunbeam."
"May heaven grant that your words be sincere, and that we may not have cause to repent having placed confidence in you," Don Pablo said.
"Sunbeam is a Comanche woman," the Indian replied haughtily; "her heart is red, and her tongue is not forked."
"I answer for her," Doña Clara said, impetuously; "she would not deceive us."
"I believe it," Valentine said; "but, at any rate, we shall see. There is some honour among the redskins; besides, we shall be prudent. Now, I presume that, like myself, you are all anxious to quit this island? My advice is, that we should at once take advantage of the canoe this young woman has brought us."
"It is true, then," Doña Clara said joyfully, as she sprang up.
"Yes," Valentine answered, "a magnificent canoe, in which we shall be perfectly at our ease; and, better still, it is capitally found in food and ammunition. Still, I think we should not do wrong by taking advantage of the fog to escape, without giving the Indians a chance of seeing us."