“Ah! I see it.” Grace sprang forward, followed by General Gordon, and, with her pocket lamp, examined the object that had so mysteriously fallen among them.
“An arrow!” exclaimed the general. “Probably a spent arrow from the Indian camp.”
“The Indian camp is too far away for that, sir,” replied Grace.
“Broken, isn’t it, Mrs. Gray?” questioned the officer, stooping over to pluck the missile from the ground.
“Wait!” warned the Overton girl. She examined the arrow as it stood doubled over at the break, which was about midway of the shaft, then withdrew the point and carried the whole to the campfire for further examination.
CHAPTER XXI
A NIGHT OF THRILLS
AFTER a careful scrutiny of the arrow, Grace glanced up at the general, who was regarding her inquiringly.
“What do you find?” he asked.
“That the arrow has been weakened in the middle by a cut with a knife. It appears to have been the intention of the person who shot it, that it should break on striking the ground. You can see that the cut is a fresh one, probably made only a little while ago.”