"Speak, my child," she said.
"One of the great warriors of the tribe has just entered the village," the young woman continued; "Spider left the chief two days ago."
"Ah!" the old lady said, carelessly, seeing that Sunbeam stopped; "and where is the chief at this moment?"
"Spider says that Unicorn is in the mountains, with his warriors; he has seen Koutonepi."
"He has seen my son?" Madame Guillois exclaimed.
"He has seen him," Sunbeam repeated; "the hunter is pursuing Red Cedar with his friends."
"And—he is not wounded?" she asked anxiously.
The young Indian pouted her lips.
"Red Cedar is a dog and cowardly old woman," she said; "his arm is not strong enough, or his eye sure enough to wound the great pale hunter. Koutonepi is a terrible warrior, he despises the barkings of the coyote."
Madame Guillois had lived long enough among the Indians to understand their figurative expressions; she gratefully pressed the young squaw's hand.