Nahnya ordered him to return. "They not come long time yet, maybe not till to-morrow. Anyway, you can't fire a gun. Get your sleep!"
"There's no use talking about it," Ralph said stubbornly.
Nahnya shrugged and went on. Kitty was likewise on the watch. She followed a little way after Ralph. Nahnya frowned, but said nothing.
Nahnya took up her post on the rocks above the entrance to the cave. She told Ralph coldly that she had decided to make her stand here. He approved it; her enemies must issue one by one into the daylight below. She had armed St. Jean Bateese and Charley with rifles, she said, and the two boys had their bows and arrows. They were all coming directly with blankets, food, and ammunition sufficient for a siege if required.
"She had raised and pointed the gun, but held her fire"
They prepared for a long wait. Ralph sat down in the grass a little removed from Nahnya, and bowed his head on his knees. By and by he fell over like an inanimate object and slept as he lay. Farther away sat Kitty, like an humble dependent. She nursed her knees and stared over the valley with tear-stained, lack-lustre eyes.
Ralph was awakened by a sharp exclamation from Nahnya. She had raised and pointed the gun, but held her fire. Kitty knelt in the grass with her hands pressed over her ears, terrified in prospect by the expected shot. Ralph ran to the edge of the rocks and looked over. Philippe Boisvert had just issued out of the cave. He held his empty hands over his head, and came climbing up the rocks in that attitude.
Arrived within a dozen yards, the half-breed began to speak eagerly in Cree. His eyes burned on Nahnya strangely. At the sound of his voice surprise broke through the mask of her face.