The Indian spoke those last three words with fiendish deliberation and sinister meaning that was unmistakable.
Hugh Edwards understood.
“You are a devil.”
“No, I am Natachee the Indian—you are a white man.”
“You would save me from prison so that you might feast your damned revengeful spirit on my suffering.”
“It is a help for you to understand exactly my purpose,” returned the Indian.
“What if I refused to go with you?”
“You will not refuse.”
“Why?”
“If you go with me you take your only possible chance for the future. You might, you know, find the gold. If you do not go, I shall send you back to prison.”