"
"You have never told me that secret."
"But I will. Always I have intended to do so."
"When you are ready. But go on."
"Then he told me that if I would tell him the secret he would marry me
himself." The Indian girl flushed. "You know, sister, that it is a great
thing for an Indian girl to marry a white man."
"But you are already the wife of Running Bear," said Stella, who was
puzzled.
"That is the Indian marriage, and soon broken. But when I told him I
didn't want to marry him, he got very angry. I told him I was going to
stay with you, and he said that if I did I would be killed with all the
rest of you; that it was coming, and that Mr. Strong had many enemies
who were stronger than all of you."
"Did he hint when this was going to take place?"
"Yes, when we get to the Far North."
"Did he say anything else?"
"He told me that if I didn't go with him to-night he would kill me when
I slept."
"We shall see about that," said Stella spiritedly. "But why is all this
fuss being made about you and your secret? It must be something very
important."
"Yes, to the white man, but not to the Indian."
"Then why did Running Bear shoot you because you would not tell him?"
"He wanted to sell the secret to a white man for whisky."
"Who is the white man? Do you know?"
"Yes.
Pages:
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321