"I have sworn to restore your daughter to you, my friend," Valentine continued, "with the help of heaven. I shall keep my oath, but I am about to undertake a gigantic task: hence I ask of you all the most perfect obedience. Your ignorance of the desert might, under certain circumstances, cause us serious injury, and make us lose in a few minutes the fruit of lengthened researches: hence I ask of your friendship that you will let yourselves be entirely guided by my experience."
"My friend," Don Miguel replied, with an accent full of majesty, "whatever you may order, we will do; for you alone can successfully carry out the difficult enterprise in which we are engaged."
"Good! I thank you for the obedience you promise me, my friend: without it, it would be impossible to succeed. Now leave me to arrange with the Indian chiefs."
Valentine rose, made a sign to Curumilla and Eagle-wing, and the three sat down a short distance off. Valentine passed his calumet to the Araucano, who took a few whiffs and then handed it to Eagle-wing, and he, after smoking also, returned it to the hunter.
"My brothers know why I have convened them in council," Valentine said presently.
The two chiefs bowed in reply.
"Very good," he continued; "now what is the advice of my brother? Let the Sachem of the Coras speak first. He is a wise chief, whose counsels can only be good for us."
"Why does Koutonepi ask the advice of his red brothers?" he said. "Koutonepi is a great warrior: he has the eye of the eagle, the scent of the dog, the courage of the lion, and the prudence of the serpent. No one can discover better than him a trail lost in the sand: what Koutonepi does is well done: his brothers will follow him."
"Thanks, chief," Valentine continued; "but in what direction should we proceed?"
"Red Cedar is the friend of Stanapat: after his defeat the scalp hunter will have sought a refuge with his friend."