He was hideous to behold; his denuded skull, his face, over which streams of black blood continued flowing, contracted by pain and terror; his whole body agitated by convulsive movements, inspired horror and disgust.
"Pity! pity!" he murmured.
The captain surveyed him with a bitter smile on his lips, and with his arms crossed upon his chest.
But the exhausted nerves of the hunter could sustain him no longer; his clenched fingers relaxed their hold of the post he had seized with the energy of despair.
"Hangman! be for ever accursed!" he cried, with an accent of frantic rage.
And he fell.
"A good journey to you!" said the captain, sneeringly.
An immense clamour arose from the gates of the fort.
The captain rushed to the assistance of his people.
The Comanches had gained possession of the barricades.