"No, silly petite; he is also making believe. How well the two rascals act their part. See the one playing dead. Well, we shall wait long enough to see his imposture exposed. He is sinking fast in the quagmire. His head is almost under now." She had scarce ceased, when the redskin gave a convulsive start, resembling a dying spasm, and got once more safely above the hungry swamp.
"He will continue to have the spasms right along," Julie whispered, "while we stay here."
"Yes; but for the sake of the two wounded ones—I believe mine is badly hurt—we shall ride away. But we must keep watch to-night, Julie. I believe these two men will follow; and if they find us sleeping, they will brain us." Then, turning to the tangle of struggling horses and Indians, she said in a stern voice—
"Some of you may only pretend that you have been wounded, and purpose following us. But we shall keep strict watch, and woe unto any one of you that we catch in pistol range again. We now leave you." With these words the two sanguinary girls turned their horses, and briskly rode away.
"What idiots they must have been to follow without fire-arms," Julie said.
"Had we been armed only with hatchets, how different the case would have been, enfant naif. You, child, may have considered this shedding of blood unnecessary, and therefore cruel."
Oh, no; Julie did not think it so. La maitresse knew better than she did.
"But there was only the choice between taking the method adopted, and openly meeting the four Indians on terra firma, when probably all the savages would have been killed; or, in the hurried shooting, we might have missed the mark, and been cloven or speared."
"Where shall my mistress camp to-night?"
"I know an extensive bluff, and we could penetrate it far enough to be tolerably safe from the braves."