Discerning his purpose, the girl cried quickly:
"Hold, sir! you would only dash into a peril your daring could never save you from, while it would be useless to pursue Red Hatchet with the start he has."
"I believe you are right in that," he answered, thoughtfully.
"Come, lieutenant, you were to be my escort home," said the young girl.
"It does not appear that you need an escort, Miss Bernard, from any fear of danger, as the Sioux chief is your friend."
She flushed at his words, for she recognized their significance in an instant, and, almost eagerly, said:
"Do not spring at conclusions, sir; but come with me, for I have something to explain, while I may tell you that which may be of service to you, as an officer of the army. Is your command within call, may I ask, and is it sufficiently large to keep at bay a force of a hundred or more redskins?"
Kit Carey was about to answer that he had no command, or one that he could call upon, when he thought how strange was the manner of the girl, and her question as to its numbers, while she had shown such eagerness for the escape of the Sioux chief.
Could her love for the Indian have made her a renegade to her own people, he wondered.
"Love will cause one to do strange things," he muttered to himself, and in reply to her question he responded: