"He shook his head. 'No, Lahoma, he die; he leave my daughter to die and this hand do to him what he do to her.'
"I never felt so helpless, so horribly weak and useless! There I was, only a few yards away, and the man was my stepfather; and his enemy was our friend. And not far away stood the man's big house filled with guests—among them strong men who could have overpowered dozens of Indians. But what could I do?
"Then I had a thought. 'Let him live, Red Feather,' I said, 'but strip him of all his ill-gotten property. Turn him loose in the world without a penny; it'll be punishment enough. You can't bring back your daughter by killing him; but you can make him give up all he has in return for stealing the money from your tribe.'
"I don't know why I thought of that, and I don't know why it made instant appeal to Red Feather's mind. I saw at once that he was going to consent. All he said was, 'Talk to him—' But I knew what he meant.
"So I crossed the room and looked down at the man. 'Mr. Gledware,' I said, 'are you willing to give up all your possessions in order to save your life?'
"'Oh, yes,' he gasped. 'A thousand times, yes! God bless you, Lahoma!'
"'You will deed all your property away from you? And surrender all that you own, money, bonds, stocks and so forth?'
"'My God, yes, yes!' he wailed. 'Save me—only save me, Lahoma!'
"I looked at Red Feather. 'Shall he make it all over to you?'
"Red Feather shook his head. 'Me not want his money. Let him give all to Red Flower, the daughter him not see since he stole our money and desert his wife.'