Her face flushed, yet she answered in a quiet way:
"The news was brought by a Sioux Indian, sir."
"Ah!" and with this exclamation various thoughts flashed like lightning through the mind of the officer.
Vouched for by a white maiden, lovely in face and form, and declared not to have been at the attempt at rescue of Sitting Bull, in contradiction to his own eye-sight, even, Kit Carey felt compelled to yield.
Yet the sad thought came upon him that this lovely young pale face girl loved the Indian chief.
What could he believe otherwise, for now the belief at first that she was a captive, had changed to the almost certain knowledge that he had come upon a lover's tryst, if one was white, the other red.
Pocahontas had saved the life of Captain Smith, and then married a white man, and a number of such marriages had occurred away back in the earlier history of our country.
Here was as handsome an Indian as he had ever seen, one who spoke like an orator, and seemed born to command, and the romantic girl had fallen in love with him, Kit Carey decided.
It was a bad thing for the girl, but good for her people, for such a chief must have power over his braves, and would hold them in check.
So, turning to the maiden, Kit Carey said: