Something moved against the dark wall ahead of him. He stopped stark still. A man stepped out of the shadows, staggering a little. Willie brushed past, smelling whisky; then he whirled in surprise at hearing himself addressed in the Yakima tongue.
"It is Silverknife, the grandson of my mother's brother."
Willie peered closely at the dark face. He, too, spoke in Yakima, stuttering not nearly so badly as he did in English.
"It is Red Iron of the Kilickitats. He sees better in the darkness than I, even when he is drunk."
Muckamuck Charlie touched Willie's badge admiringly. "It seems you have become a tyee among the white men. But then you have their blood."
"What are you doing here?" Willie asked.
"I am to be given chikamin for watching a man...."
Willie listened tensely while Charlie explained about being hired by Tesno, their pursuit of Palma, and his coming alone to Tunneltown. Charlie had taken it upon himself to examine the hoofs of all the horses in the livery barn, and he had found the animal whose shoe marks he had been following for three days. So Palma was here, and Charlie had been watching the street for him. He had discovered a place where an Indian could buy whisky, so he had been able to keep his stomach warm while he watched.
"Did you ask the man at the livery about the horse?" Willie said.
"It was not brought in by Palma but by a tyee of the town who lives in the big house with two doors. The one called Sam Lester. You got whisky?"