They were riding along the trail side by side now, and as he made no response to her last remark, she continued, in her frank way:
"I am glad to meet you, Lieutenant Carey, glad that you are the hero of whom I have heard so much, for now I can be more honest with you."
"I wish you would be, and as an incentive I will say that but for the fact that I did not wish to discharge a weapon in this vicinity, I would have killed the Red Hatchet, not captured him."
"And why, sir?"
"I reconnoitered over the ridge and saw him with you, so could only believe you were his captive."
"His captive?"
"So I supposed, for I did not think that it was possible to be otherwise, and I went to get my rifle from my saddle-horn when I saw, upon my return, that you had parted, and he was coming toward where I stood. Seeing that I could use my lasso, I did so."
"And I heard his cry when taken, saw that a soldier had him, and returned to tell you that he was not a foe."
"And yet you implied a while since that you had told a falsehood?"
"I said that I had, and I did."