She had scarcely dropped the curtain of the wigwam behind her ere Juanita had snatched the powder from its hiding-place and poured it into the stew, trembling and turning pale as she did it; for oh, how much depended upon the success of the measure!
And it was an anxious moment to both herself and Rupert when Light-of-the-Morning first tasted of the medicated dish. She paused, tasted again, and remarked that it was not quite so good as usual, had a slightly bitter taste; Juanita must have been careless and let it scorch; but to their great relief she went on to make a hearty meal of it, not seeming to notice that neither of them touched it.
There was a good deal left, and Rupert surreptitiously carried it off to Crouching Wildcat, who received the attention with satisfaction, and devoured the food with great gusto, apparently never noticing the unusual taste of which the squaw had complained.
Although but little past sunset, the village was already quiet, scarcely any one, old or young, to be seen moving; for as a rule they kept early hours there.
Juanita had purposely delayed the evening meal in Thunder-Cloud's wigwam, rather to the displeasure of its mistress, whose appetite had grown very keen while waiting; a good thing for the success of the young people's plans, for she ate very heartily, and almost immediately threw herself down on her couch of skins and fell into a deep sleep.
It was thus Rupert found her on bringing back the vessel in which he had carried Crouching Wildcat his portion.
Juanita sat beside the couch, gazing upon the sleeper with bated breath, her hands folded in her lap, her whole frame trembling with excitement.
As Rupert pushed aside the curtain and entered, she looked up at him, and laid her finger upon her lips.