After him came the turn of another, then another, and so on; not one hesitated, not one displayed weakness,—all fell smiling, and thanking Loyal Heart for the death they owed to him.
The spectators were awestruck by this terrible execution; but, fascinated by the frightful spectacle,—drunk, so to say, with the odour of blood, they stood with haggard eyes and heaving breasts, without having the power to turn away their looks.
There soon remained but one pirate. This man contemplated for a moment the heap of bodies which lay before him; then, drawing the dagger from the breast of him who had preceded him, he said with a smile,—
"A fellow is lucky to die in such good company; but where the devil do we go to after death? Bah! what a fool I am! I shall soon know!"
And with a gesture quick as thought he stabbed himself.
He fell instantly quite dead.
This frightful slaughter did not last more than a quarter of an hour.[1]
Not one of the pirates had struck twice; all were killed by the first blow.
"The dagger is mine!" said Eagle Head, drawing it smoking from the still palpitating body of the last bandit. "It is a good weapon for a warrior;" and he placed it coolly in his belt, after having wiped it upon the grass.
The bodies of the pirates were scalped, and borne out of the camp.