He turned and took my hand.
“You will walk with me, dear one; you are not afraid?”
“Not of the peril of coming battle,” I answered. 379 “I––I think I hardly realize what that all means; but the risk you run. Rene! If––if you win, you will be a prisoner condemned to death.”
He laughed, and bent low, so I felt his lips brush my cheek.
“You do not understand, dear girl. A moment and I will explain––once we are beyond the stream. Now I must see that all move together.”
CHAPTER XXXIV
WE WAIT IN AMBUSH
We advanced through the woods down a slight incline, the Indians moving like so many phantoms. Not a branch rattled as they glided silently forward, not a leaf rustled beneath the soft tread of moccasined feet. De Artigny led me by the hand, aiding me to move quietly over the uneven ground, but made no effort to speak. Beside us, not unlike a shadow, strode the chief Sequitah, his stern face uplifted, shadowed by long black hair, a rifle gripped in his sinewy arms. We crossed the little river, De Artigny bearing me easily in his grasp, and, on the opposite shore, waited for the others to follow. They came, a long line of dark, shadowy forms, wading cautiously through the shallow water, and ranged themselves just below the bank, many still standing in the stream. What light there was flickered over naked bodies, and revealed savage eyes gleaming from out masses of black hair.