第16章

"Dear lady," he said, "for such as you brave men would gladly give their lives.""Give their lives!" cried Mandy."I would much rather they would save them.But," she added, her voice taking a practical tone, "sit down and let us talk.Now what's the work and what's the plan?"The men glanced at each other in silent admiration of this woman who, without moan or murmur, could surrender her heart's dearest treasure for her country's good.This was a spirit of their own type.

They sat down before the fire and discussed the business before them.But as they discussed ever and again Mandy would find her mind wandering back over the past happy days.Ever and again a word would recall her, but only for a brief moment and soon she was far away again.

A phrase of the Inspector, however, arrested and held her.

"He's really a fine looking Indian, in short a kind of aristocrat among the Indians," he was saying.

"An aristocrat?" she exclaimed, remembering her own word about the Indian Chief they had met that very evening."Why, that is like our Chief, Allan.""By Jove! You're right!" exclaimed her husband."What's your man like, again? Describe him, Inspector."The Inspector described him in detail.

"The very man we saw to-night!" cried Mandy, and gave her description of the "Big Chief."When she had finished the Inspector sat looking into the fire.

"Among the Piegans, too," he mused."That fits in.There was a big powwow the other day in the Sun Dance Canyon.The Piegans' is the nearest reserve, and a lot of them were there.The Superintendent says he is somewhere along the Sun Dance.""Inspector," said Allan, with sudden determination, "we will drop in on the Piegans to-morrow morning by sun-up."Mandy started.This pace was more rapid than she had expected, but, having made the sacrifice, there was with her no word of recall.

The Inspector pondered the suggestion.

"Well," he said, "it would do no harm to reconnoiter at any rate.

But we can't afford to make any false move, and we can't afford to fail.""Fail!" said Cameron quietly."We won't fail.We'll get him."And the lines in his face reminded his wife of how he looked that night three years before when he cowed the great bully Perkins into submission at her father's door.

Long they sat and planned.As the Inspector said, there must be no failure; hence the plan must provide for every possible contingency.

By far the keenest of the three in mental activity was Mandy.By a curious psychological process the Indian Chief, who an hour before had awakened in her admiration and a certain romantic interest, had in a single moment become an object of loathing, almost of hatred.

That he should be in this land planning for her people, for innocent and defenseless women and children, the horrors of massacre filled her with a fierce anger.But a deeper analysis would doubtless have revealed a personal element in her anger and loathing.The Indian had become the enemy for whose capture and for whose destruction her husband was now enlisted.Deep down in her quiet, strong, self-controlled nature there burned a passion in which mingled the primitive animal instincts of the female, mate for mate, and mother for offspring.Already her mind had leaped forward to the moment when this cunning, powerful plotter would be at death-grips with her husband and she not there to help.With intensity of purpose and relentlessness of determination she focused the powers of her forceful and practical mind upon the problem engaging their thought.

With mind whetted to its keenest she listened to the men as they made and unmade their plans.In ordinary circumstances the procedure of arrest would have been extremely simple.The Inspector and Cameron would have ridden into the Piegan camp, and, demanding their man, would have quietly and without even a show of violence carried him off.It would have been like things they had each of them done single-handed within the past year.

"When once we make a start, you see, Mrs.Cameron, we never turn back.We could not afford to," said the Inspector.There was no suspicion of boasting in the Inspector's voice.He was simply enunciating the traditional code of the Police."And if we should hesitate with this man or fail to land him every Indian in these territories would have it within a week and our prestige would receive a shock.We dare not exhibit any sign of nerves.On the other hand we dare not make any movement in force.In short, anything unusual must be avoided.""I quite see," replied Mandy with keen appreciation of the delicacy of the situation.

"So that I fancy the simpler the plan the better.Cameron will ride into the Piegan camp inquiring about his cattle, as, fortunately for the present situation, he has cause enough to in quite an ordinary way.I drop in on my regular patrol looking up a cattle-thief in quite the ordinary way.Seeing this strange chief, I arrest him on suspicion.Cameron backs me up.The thing is done.Luckily Trotting Wolf, who is the Head Chief now of the Piegans, has a fairly thorough respect for the Police, and unless things have gone much farther in his band than I think he will not resist.He is, after all, rather harmless.""I don't like your plan at all, Inspector," said Mandy promptly.

"The moment you suggest arrest that moment the younger men will be up.They are just back from a big brave-making powwow, you say.