“‘Let us talk,’ said Red Feather, at last.
“He spoke in his own tongue, which I shall interpret freely for you. McLeod put his pen aside and faced about.
“‘What have we to talk about?’ he asked. ‘The trading is done. You have your supplies. There is no business between us.’ 121
“‘We have the white man to talk about,’ said Red Feather. ‘He has killed a child of our tribe, and you have given him refuge here. He has killed the son of Buffalo Horn with the evil eye. He must be put to death.’
“‘I know this man,’ said McLeod. ‘He has not the evil eye. He has killed no man, and he shall not be given up.’
“‘His life is forfeit to the tribe.’
“‘His life is in my keeping. I have said that he shall not lose it. Am I the man to break my word?’
“‘You have kept your word between us,’ said Red Feather. ‘You are not the man to break your word.’
“‘What business, then, lies between us? Our talk is done.’
“The guard at the gate interrupted. ‘There is a man knocking at the gate,’ he said.