I may have been somewhat careless, for I had no conception of any serious peril until after I had crossed the stream, and it certainly startled me to hear a voice at my very elbow,--a strange voice, beautifully soft and low.
"You have the movement of an Indian; yet I think you are white.

What seek you here ?" I turned quickly and faced the speaker, my rifle flung forward ready for action.

The light was poor enough there amid the shadows, yet the single glimpse I had told me instantly I faced the mysterious woman of the Indian camp.

For a moment I made no response, held speechless by surprise; and she questioned again, almost imperatively.
"I asked, why are you here ?" "I am one, by the grace of God, spared from the massacre," I answered blindly.

"But you ?--I saw you within the Indian camp only last night.
Surely you are not a savage ?" "That I know not.