“Why is that?”
“The wise men say the arrows will not go straight.”
Blakely, who heard this conversation, said: “I know just what he means by that. I got an inkling of that on one occasion. I put it in this way: They are mighty distrustful, and as a result are compelled to keep an eye on each other. This prevents them from shooting accurately, or with care.”
This incident of the two tribes moving side by side conveyed another meaning, also, to Muro, for he continued, after Blakely concluded:
“The ones over there,” pointing to the left, “are Illyas, I know.”
This was determined, as he afterwards expressed it, because they are always suspicious, and were never known to mingle with the other tribes.
“But what are they doing in this section of the country?”
“That I do not understand. Maybe to recover captives, or something of that kind.”
The two bands approached without any expectation of meeting the whites. That was evident. In any event it would have been impossible for the wagon to get away, because the country was too open to shield them. They had only to hope that by some fortune they would not be revealed.
The wagon had been put in position, as stated, in the open, so that such a party, coming within a quarter of a mile, would be likely to catch sight of it. The hope of being undiscovered was very faint.