And so Jennie started on her way homeward, for she had several miles to go.
Arriving there she told her father all, and he, too, said that the secret must be kept—the Indians must never know the truth.
When the dawn came the saddle and bridle left on the dead horse were found upon the piazza, showing that the Red Hatchet had brought them there under cover of the darkness, and that day Jennie rode with her father to the scene, and the dead horse alone was a silent witness of the tragedy enacted there.
The bodies of the Sioux braves seemed to have been spirited away, as no trace of a trail could be found.
It was a couple of months before Red Hatchet again appeared at the Bernard home, and he looked as though he had been seriously ill.
But he said nothing of the past, though from that day each month brought him to the home of the Bernards, and the young girl could not but know that he was her most devoted lover, and into her heart stole a great dread of coming evil.
CHAPTER IX.
No one knew better than did Lieutenant Carey just what was expected of him by the general, and he was fully aware of all the dangers attending the performance of his duties.