their eyes through the gloom to catch sight of the stranger.
“There he is,” whispered Hammond, as the dim outlines of a horse was discovered through the darkness.
The horseman had reined his horse down to a walk, and was advancing quite cautiously. He continued onward until within a dozen feet of the two men, when he reined up.
“Who comes there?” asked Hammond.
“A friend.”
“What do you seek?”
“You are in great danger, and I have come to warn you of it.”
“Good heavens!” exclaimed Beers, in an undertone; “that is a woman!”
Hammond had noticed the wondrously soft and musical voice, and he now walked forward, so as to stand beside the horse. The dim light showed that Beers spoke the truth; it was a woman seated upon the horse.
“May I ask your name?”
There was a moment’s hesitation, and then the female answered:
“I am Lamora; and I speak the truth.”
“We do not doubt it,” responded the amazed Hammond. “What is it you have to say?”
“A thousand Blackfeet warriors are coming down on this grove, two or three hours before sunrise, and if you remain, there will not be one who will escape alive.”
“What shall we do?”
“Make ready as soon as possible and start westward. Let there not be a moment’s delay, and you will be saved.”
“But they can follow us to-morrow, (if not to-night,) and attack us by daylight.”
“They can, but they will not,” replied Lamora, with the greatest earnestness. “This is a great war-party on their way southward to fight the Cheyennes. They are to meet a long ways off to-morrow; the Blackfeet have given themselves just enough time to massacre you and your friends, if you remain in this grove, as they expect you will; but if they come here and do not find you, they will have no time to follow up your wagons, and thus, you see, if you improve your time, you will be saved.”
“Beers,” said Hammond, turning to the man beside him, “rouse the men and have this thing done without a moment’s lost time, while I make a few more inquiries of our unknown friend.”
Beers darted away, and almost immediately was detected the rapid moving to and fro, and the bustle of getting ready to start.
“Your orders are being obeyed,” said Hammond, addressing the lady, who still sat her horse beside him.
“It is well that they are,” she replied, with a sigh of relief; “the Blackfeet know that you are encamped here, and they have no reason to think you will not be here when they are ready to strike.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“Over that ridge of hills, several miles to the northward. They have been riding, throwing the tomahawk, and making every preparation for the great battle which is to come off to-morrow between them and the Cheyennes.”
“This, then, is only a diversion?”
“That is it; they naturally think that, as they find you in their way, they may as well indulge in a little preliminary practice.”
“We were fearing an attack, as we knew that there were a large number of Indians in our vicinity, and we heard the sound of your horse’s feet long before we heard you. Being thus warned and prepared, could we not have made a successful defense, with the shelter of these trees, which you probably know are very numerous about us?”
“No,” was the instant answer of Lamora; “if there were no more than a hundred Blackfeet, you might repel them; but a thousand would overwhelm you. There are sounds of preparation upon the part of your friends.”
“Yes; we shall soon be on the move.”
“Keep straight to the westward; there is now enough light to prevent your going astray, and you will find, when daylight comes, that Heaven has brought you out of all danger. Farewell!”
Ere Hammond could interpose, or even thank her, the horse had wheeled about and was off on a gallop. Almost instantly, he vanished in the darkness, and the rattle of his hoofs grew fainter and fainter, until they, too, died out in the distance.
“Lamora,” repeated the young man. “I surely have heard that name pronounced by other lips than hers.
“Who is she? Where did she come from?
“She was sent by heaven, most assuredly.”
While conversing with the girl, Hammond had approached her horse as near as possible, and had managed to gain a distinct view of her face. There is something in the dim, misty moonlight which softens the asperities even of the repulsive countenance, but he was certain that the most beautiful creature upon which he had ever looked was conversing with him. Her half-civilized dress, and her wealth of flowing black hair, partly assisted in her enchanting appearance; but the face itself was one of unsurpassed loveliness.
The peculiar circumstances under which they encountered gave Hammond an equally peculiar interest in her, and a pang of disappointment went through his heart when he found that he was standing alone, and that she had left him so abruptly.
But he had important matters in hand for the time, and he gave his whole thought to them.
Every one was working with the energy of people who were convinced that their lives depended upon the result. The teams were harnessed, the wagons loaded up, and at the end of half an hour the whole train moved out of the grove, toward the west.
Before starting, men had ridden out on the prairie in every direction, and returned with the announcement that nothing could be heard of the Blackfeet, and all pressed forward with the greatest vigor and determination.
With the passing of the immediate danger, the thoughts of the strange woman who had befriended them returned to Fred Hammond. He felt a powerful interest in her, and, as he was riding beside the guide of the company, he turned to him rather abruptly, and asked:
“Have you ever heard of Lamora?”
“Heard of her?” repeated the latter, in surprise; “wasn’t I telling you all about her the other day?”
“So you were; I was sure I had heard her name before, but I could not recollect from whom. Who is she?”
“She is a white girl, living with a tribe of Indians, somewhere up north of us, and she has done many such things as this for the white people crossing the plains. I have heard of her for years as doing the same thing.”
“What kind of a looking person is she?”
“Just the handsomest creature that ever lived! Wait till you get a good look at her.”
Hammond was not long in finding that their guide knew very little more
