RED HATCHET'S REFUSAL.

The poor girl had hope with such a friend near as was Kit Carey, and then came the knowledge of all the danger he was in, what would follow discovery of who he was, and her dread for him was even greater than for herself, and it seemed that in spite of her nerve and his dauntless courage despair would creep into her breast.

There had been a fight with the soldiers up near the Pine Ridge Agency, and some dead and wounded warriors had been brought into the retreat, throwing the camps into a tumult of excitement.

Then came an attack of the Sioux upon a wagon-train passing near their lines, and, though they had felt sure of victory, a party of cavalry had come to the rescue, saved the Government stores and the lives of the defenders of the wagons, and beaten off the Sioux.

That Not-Afraid-of-Death had killed his man the chief knew, and the similarity in the name caused them to rejoice that Lieutenant Carey, the white captain, had been killed, though they regretted that his scalp had not been secured by the redskins, who, from a distance, had seen the killing, yet dared not venture out to secure the trophy.

Who in turn had killed Not-Afraid-of-Death was a mystery which no one could solve, though the scouts reported that it was one of the officer's Indian soldiers lying in ambush.

That the cavalry had made a dash in and recovered the body of the lieutenant, was also deeply regretted by the hostiles.

In the midst of all the tumult, following into camp had come a horseman, who was known to be a pale-face in disguise.

He made no secret of the fact, gave a name which the Indians recognized as that of a friend, and asked to see Red Hatchet.

That chief was called out of the council to speak with the stranger, and regarded him with evident suspicion as he approached him.

"Red Hatchet, I am here to take back with me my sister, for I am White Hawk."

The Red Hatchet knew him now by the name the Indians had given him, for it was Herbert Bernard.

"The Snow Flower is safe with her Indian friends, and will remain. She is in the keeping of the medicine chief," was the response of the Red Hatchet.

"No, she must return with me to her home, for my father, Eagle-that-Kills, has sent me for the Snow Flower."

"The Snow Flower is in the medicine tepee, and when she leaves there it will be as the adopted daughter of the Sioux. She cannot go with the White Hawk," was the rejoinder of the Red Hatchet.

Herbert Bernard crushed an oath between his teeth, and had he not counted the result would have sprang upon the Indian chief then and there.

But instead he said:

"Is the Red Hatchet no longer the friend of the Eagle-that-Kills, and of the White Hawk, that he acts like a foe and steals from them the Snow Flower whom they love so dearly?"

"The Red Hatchet did not steal the Snow Flower, for the White Hawk told him to bring her here, and she came without force, for she loves the Sioux, and her heart is given to Red Hatchet!"

The right hand of Herbert Bernard dropped upon a revolver, but he wisely did not draw it.

He was wholly in the power of the Red Hatchet, and he felt anxious at his position even among those who were his friends, for toward the Bernards the Sioux had certainly shown no enmity.

"Will the Red Hatchet let the White Hawk see the Snow Flower?" he asked.

"No, for the Snow Flower is in the medicine tepee, and no one can see her."

"The Red Hatchet is a traitor to his friend," was the reply of the young settler, as he turned on his heel and walked away, the chief uttering no word, or remonstrance.

As he had come, so he left the camp of the hostiles, mounted his waiting horse, and returned by night to his home without seeing an Indian scout or soldier, and if seen by any one, he was not disturbed.

It was just dawn when he reached his home, and having washed off his paint and resumed his civilized garb, he sought his father.

The latter seemed to feel that he had been unsuccessful, for he asserted, rather than asked:

"You came back alone?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"The Red Hatchet would not give her up."

"You saw him?"

"I did, and he refused."

"You saw Jennie?"

"No, for she was in the medicine lodge."

"Ah! that looks bad; but it shows that the Red Hatchet intends she shall not be given up, but made a daughter of the tribe."

"So he said."

"Well, did you find out that the red fools intend to fight?"

"I was so disappointed that I asked nothing, returning at once."

"Well, that affair at Wounded Knee has infuriated the soldiers. Sitting Bull, their head, has gone, they have had a fight at the agency, attacked a train and were beaten off, and they killed that fellow Carey——"

"Ha! is Kit Carey dead?" cried Herbert Bernard, eagerly.

"Yes, he ventured too near their lines, a courier told me, and was killed."

"I am glad of that."

"Yes, it puts him out of your way as a rival; but possession is nine points of the law, and Red Hatchet has Jennie in his power, and the fool believes that the redskins will whip the soldiers."

"All of them do, and their medicine men tell them that the ghost shirts will render them bullet-proof."

"Fools! poor deluded fools! But I must get the girl, and, perhaps, I can persuade the chief to bury the hatchet—yes, it would be better so, for Miles knows what he is about and has got them hemmed in completely, and if the soldiers attack they will remember Custer and his men, and show no mercy—yes, and avenge Kit Carey, too, for he was the most popular officer in the army," said Vance Bernard, believing that it was Kit Carey who had been killed, as did the Sioux themselves, and also many in the army.

"Well, can you rescue Jennie?" impatiently asked the young man.

"Yes, and I will go to-night and do so," was the confident response of the settler.