WINNETOU's hour of mourning was past. Before, and during the burial of the father and sister who were so dear to him he gave himself up to the pain of their loss but that over he was no longer the son and brother, but the leader of his warriors, the avenger of their murder, and turned all his attention to the expected coming of the Kiowas. He was ready with a plan, and as soon as the last stone was placed over his dead he bade the Apaches bring the horses from the valley up the mountain.

"Why does my brother give this order?" I asked. "The way is so hard that it will be a great effort to bring the horses up here."

"I know," he replied "but it must be done, because I mean to entrap the Kiowas. They have protected the murderer, and must all die -- all!"

His face looked so stern and resolute as he said this that I knew if his plan succeeded the Kiowas were lost. I was inclined to milder counsels; they were our enemies, of course, but they were not guilty of the death of Intschu-Tschuna and Nscho-Tschi. Dared I oppose him? I might draw down his anger on myself, but it was a favorable opportunity for such a plea because we were alone, and no one would be the wiser if he gave me an angry answer, while if one of the Indians was by to hear it I should have to resent it. So I gently gave

my opinion on the matter, and to my surprise it had not the effect I dreaded. He looked at me with great gloomy eyes, but said quietly: "I might have looked for this from my brother; he does not consider it a weakness to spare an enemy."

"I do not mean that; there can be no question of sparing them. I have been thinking how to capture them. But they are not guilty of the crime committed here, and it would be unjust to punish them for it."

"They have harbored the murderer, and are coming here to capture us. Is not that reason enough that they should die?"

"No; not for me at least. It grieves me to see that my brother Winnetou falls into the same mistake that all the red men make."

" What mistake does Old Shatterhand mean?"

"That the Indians destroy one another, instead of uniting against the common foe. Let me be frank with you. Who do you think is stronger and wiser, the red man or the white man?"

"The pale-face. I say this because it is true. They have more knowledge and skill than we, and surpass us in every way."

"That is so. We do surpass the Indian, but you are not an ordinary Indian. The Great Spirit has given you gifts rarely found among the pale-faces, and therefore I would not have you think and act like an ordinary red man. How often is the war hatchet dug up between the tribes! Your eyes are keener than these warriors' eyes; you must see it is suicide for the red men to turn on one another. Intschu-Tschuna and Nscho-Tschi were murdered, not by a red man, but by a white, and because he fled to the Kiowas, and urged

them to come here and capture you, you would shoot them down like dogs. They are your red brothers; consider that."

I talked in this strain to him for some time, and at last Winnetou gave me his hand, saying: "Old Shatterhand is a sincere friend of all red men. He is right when he speaks of suicide. I will do as he wishes; I will take the Kiowas prisoners, but I will spare them, and be satisfied to keep Santer in my hands."

"I thank you. My brother Winnetou has a heart open to all that is good. Perhaps he will be as merciful in another regard."

" What does my brother Old Shatterhand mean?"

"You would have sworn vengeance on all the white race, and I begged you to wait till after the burial. May I ask what you have decided upon?"

He dropped his eyes to the ground for a while, then looking me full in the face, pointed to the temporary hut where the dead had lain, and said: "I struggled with myself all night long there beside my dead. I had thought of a tremendous revenge. I would call together all the tribes of the red nation, and lead them against the pale-faces. I was in a combat, but in this combat against myself I was victorious."

" Then you have abandoned this plan?"

"Yes. I have asked three persons whom I loved, two dead and one living, what I should do. They bade me give up my plan, and I will do as they bid me."

I looked the question I did not ask, and he added: "My brother does not know of whom I speak? Kleki-Petrah, my white teacher who died for me, Nscho-Tschi, and you are the ones I mean whom I questioned in thought, and they all gave me the same answer."

"I am thankful that my brother Winnetou came to this decision. First of all it is right, and then such an attack on the whites could have ended only in misfortune for you."

"I know. The white men are so many that they would have sent new forces against us every day, while we could not renew our warriors. I thought of all this during the night as I sat by my dead, and gave up my plan, deciding to be satisfied with wreaking my vengeance on the murderer, and his friends. But now my brother, Old Shatterhand, has spoken against this, and my vengeance shall only be in punishing Santer."

"These words make me proud of the friendship that unites us. I will not forget what you have done. And now we are both sure that the Kiowas are coming but we know not when, and even if we did it will be hard to overcome a force so much larger than ours."

"They will come today," Winnetou said as positively as if he saw them advancing. "And as to the rest, we will get them in a place where they cannot defend themselves."

" That was my own idea, but is there such a place?"

"Yes, there is a rocky ravine near by; I will trap my enemies there. The Kiowas have sent Sam Hawkins to their village; they will not bring him here, and those who took him back have summoned the warriors from the village to attack us. This has delayed them; they have not yet reached the foot of the mountain, but they will surely be here today."

"How do you know they are not yet in the valley?"

Winnetou pointed to the top of the next mountain; it was crowned with woods, out of which rose one very tall tree. It was the highest point of these hills, and

any one who had good eyes and sat in that tree could overlook the entire surrounding country.

"My brother does not know," said Winnetou, "that I sent a brave there who will see the Kiowas coming, for he has the eye of a hawk. As soon as they come he will warn me. They will be here today, for they will not dare delay longer, if they wish to take us."

"They did not intend coming to Nugget Mountain, but meant to capture us on our way home."

"And they might have succeeded had you not heard their plans, but now I know them I will draw the Kiowas after me by going in the opposite direction from our pueblo."

" If they only follow you!"

"They will. In any case they must send a spy to discover where we are. That is why I had the horses brought here. There are thirty-six beasts, and though the ground is rocky, they must see their trail, and follow us. We will go from here into the ravine which is to be their trap. We shall not go deep into it, for the spy will only follow us far enough to make sure we are really there, and then he will go back to tell his chief we are not gone southward, but northward. Does my brother agree to this?"

"Yes; it will force them to alter their plans, and we can wait, certain that they will come after us here."

"They will; I am sure of it. Santer will be in my hands today."

At this moment the horses were brought up, mine, and Sam's long-eared Nancy, the mule, among the rest. We could not mount, for the way was too rough to ride, so we each took a bridle, and led the horses up the difficult pass. Winnetou went ahead, leading us northward till

we came to an open plain where we could mount, and we rode toward the side of another mountain which rose before us like a high, perpendicular wall. It was cleft by a small ravine to which Winnetou pointed, saying: "That is the trap of which I spoke." The word trap suited well the narrow opening into which we now passed. If the Kiowas were so foolish as to follow us here, and we were stationed at the only exit of the ravine, it would be utter madness for them to think of making any resistance.

The path did not run straight, but turned from left to right, and we were a good quarter of an hour reaching the exit. There we dismounted and had scarcely done so before we saw coming toward us the Apache who had been watching for the Kiowas from the high tree.

"They are coming," he said." I wanted to count them, but could not, because they rode single file, and were too far away."

"Did they turn toward the valley?" asked Winnetou.

"No; they went straight to the place where they camped the other night. A single brave came out from them on foot, and I saw him go toward the valley."

"That is the spy. We have just time to bait our trap. My brother Shatterhand may take Stone and Parker, and twelve of my braves, and go around the mountain to the left. When he reaches a very strong, tall birch tree let him turn into the woods. When he has done this my brother will soon find himself in the extension of that valley from which we ascended to Nugget Mountain. Going on through the valley he will come to the place where we left our horses; the rest of the

way he knows. He must not go into the valley, but must stay hidden on its side in the woods. He will observe the enemies' spies, but will not oppose them. Then he will see the enemy coming, and let them enter the ravine."

"So that is your plan?" I said. "You stay here to keep the exit to the ravine, and I go around to wait for the Kiowas, then follow them secretly till they are in the trap?"

"Yes, that is my plan, and if my brother is cautious it will succeed. But hasten; the afternoon is almost over, and the Kiowas will do what they have to do today."

The sun had almost finished its course; the evening would be on us in little more than an hour. I started at once with the companions Winnetou had appointed me, on foot, of course. We reached the birch tree in a short quarter of an hour, and turned into the woods. We found each landmark as Winnetou had described it, and reached the place where we were to halt. The Apaches were perfectly silent; Stone and Parker spoke together softly at first, but soon their whispering ceased. A breeze played over the tree tops with that monotonous rustle, which is not a rustle, but an uninterrupted, deep and slow sigh, so easily distinguished from all other rustling. And with that I heard another sound. I listened more keenly; something moved. What was it? An animal would not have ventured so near us. A reptile? No, not that. I turned over quickly on the other side where I could see better under the trees, and could just distinguish a dark object slipping away between them. I sprang toward it. It looked like a dark shadow before me. I made a grab

for it, and got a piece of cloth in my hand. "Get out," cried a startled voice, and the cloth was torn from me, the shadow was no more to be seen. My comrades sprang up, asking what had happened." Be still, be still," I said, and listened. Nothing was to be heard. It was a man who had been spying on us, probably Santer from the English exclamation. I ground my teeth as I thought the villain had been so near.

"Sit down, and wait till I come back," I said to my followers, and rushed through the woods. I could see no one, but I would go to the edge of the valley where the man must come out to get back to the Kiowas, and seize him. This was a beautiful plan, but it could not be carried out, for as I followed the bend of the valley I saw men and horses before me, and had to turn back hastily under the trees, for I had come out right on the Kiowa camp. Evidently Santer had ridden ahead of the Indians to see if it was safe for them to approach, and as he had not returned they had sent the Indian spy to discover why. The Kiowas would not fall into our hands to-night, or the next day either if Santer had been clever enough to discover our plans. What was to be done? Should I wait at my post to see if the Kiowas fell into our trap? Should I go to Winnetou and tell him of my discovery? Or should I try to spy on the Kiowas in my turn? The latter course was very dangerous, but it would be of incalculable value to us to learn their plans. I risked much, everything, in trying it, but I decided to venture. They burned no fire, and that fact served me as well as them. Under the trees there was a high rock, overgrown with moss, and surrounded by ferns; perhaps I could hide behind it. Lying flat on the ground I wriggled in that direction.

It had grown so dark that it was not necessary to seek cover; I could be discovered only if one of the Indians came that way, and stumbled over me, and luckily this did not happen. The Indians talked together in low tones, yet I could hear every word, only unfortunately I did not understand their dialect.

I may have lain behind the rock ten minutes when I heard the sentinel challenge, and the answer I longed for came: "It is I -- Santer."

The chief called him over to himself, and he sat down where I could almost touch him.

"My white brother has been much longer than we agreed; he must have had an important reason for this," said the chief.

"More important than you imagine," answered Santer. I could follow the conversation now, for with Santer the Indians spoke the jargon used with the whites.

"Let my white brother tell me what he has seen and heard."

Santer obeyed this request. I listened eagerly while he repeated to the Kiowas all the conversation between Winnetou and me beside the graves, including the smallest details of our plans. The cunning beast had been near us then, had spied upon us step by step till he knew our very thoughts. As he ended he told the Indians that I, with two white men and something over ten Apaches, was above in the woods guarding the entrance to the ravine. "I lay so close behind Old Shatterhand that I could almost touch him," he concluded. "Wouldn't he be furious if he knew it?" He was right. My hands were cut by my nails as I clenched them, longing to throttle him, and not daring to move.

Truly this man was as cunning and bold as he was wicked. Poor Sam was right when he said the devil must love him well. If I could have only held him when I had him by the coat! If I had, the whole history of Winnetou's life would have been changed, and he might have been here now. So man's fate hangs on a brief moment, on a trivial action, but we do not know what is best, and the great Ruler of the universe, without whose consent no little leaf grows green, or fades, watches over His children.

There was one consolation for me; only one. I was now spying on Santer as he had spied on us, and the end was not yet. If I listened eagerly before, I now strained my ears as the question came up as to the best move for the Kiowas to make under the circumstances. The Indians wished to go back toward their village, feeling sure that Winnetou would follow to free Sam Hawkins, and capture Santer. This was against the wishes of that precious rascal, who was not inclined to take any such risks as lurked in this change of plan, although the Kiowas so far outnumbered us. He insisted that I and my companions must first be attacked and captured, and then Winnetou and his Apaches marched on, and surprised. He felt sure that he could successfully lead the Kiowas on me first, and then on Winnetou in the dark. Though he was more than willing that I should be shot at once, he wanted of all things to capture Winnetou alive, since he alone could tell the hiding-place of the treasure in the mountain, a secret he purposed extracting from the young Apache by torture. The leader of the Kiowa band opposed this counsel at first, but by strong arguments, and appeal to the probable displeasure of his chief if he let slip a chance to attack

us when our force was divided and weakened, Santer brought him to his way of thinking.

I only waited to hear that this would be done at once, and slipped away into the woods, for it was high time I was off. As soon as I was far enough back to risk it, I rose and ran as fast as I could by the starlight glimmering through the trees, back to my comrades.

"Who comes here?" cried Dick Stone. "Is that you, Jack?"

" Yes."

"How long you were. Who was hidden there? An Indian, I suppose."

" No; Santer!"

"Santer! Good heavens! And we didn't catch him!"

"We've no time to talk; we must get out of here as quick as we can. The Kiowas are coming to capture us."

" Are you joking?"

"No. I've been listening to them. We're to be caught right away, and Winnetou in the morning. They know our plan. Hurry up; we've got to warn Winnetou. Hurry, I say."

We went in the darkness through the pathless forest. Our eyes had to be in our fingers, for the sense of touch, and not sight had to guide us. At last we reached Winnetou's camping place. He had stationed sentinels even on the side whence we came, which was not likely to be approached. The sentinel challenged us in a loud voice, and I answered as loudly. He recognized my voice, and sprang up, while Winnetou asked wonderingly: "My brother comes? What has happened? We have waited in vain for the Kiowas."

"They are coming in the morning, not by the ravine, but up the side of the mountain to capture you."

"Ugh! This could only be if they knew our plan."

"They do know it."

"Impossible!"

"Indeed they do. Santer was over there by the graves, and heard all you said to me when we were alone."

I could not see his face, but the profound silence in which he received this piece of news showed how amazed and angry he was. Then he seated himself, and made a place for me beside him, while the Apaches crowded around not to lose a word of my story.

"If you know this you must have spied on him, as he did on us," said Winnetou, trying to find some consolation.

"Certainly."

"Then we are quits. Tell us all that has happened."

My story was interrupted by an occasional "Ugh!" of surprise from the Apaches, but Winnetou was silent till I had finished, then he said: "My brother acted precisely as I would have done were I in his place. What does he advise us now?"

"We must capture Santer, and free Sam Hawkins."

"Yes. Our way from here lies toward the Kiowa village, but it need not be the same road the Kiowas take."

"Does my brother know where Tangua, the Kiowa chief's village lies?"

"As well as I know where my own pueblo is. It is in the Salt Fork of the Red River."

"In a southerly direction from here then?"

"Yes"

"Then let us go northwesterly from here, and come down on them from the opposite direction."

' That is precisely what I would do. My brother's thoughts are as mine. It is as my father Intschu-Tschuna said when we drank one another's blood in the bond of brotherhood. 'Life dwells in the blood. The souls of these two young warriors shall be united into a single soul. Old Shatterhand's thoughts shall be the thoughts of Winnetou, and what Winnetou wills that shall be Old Shatterhand's will.' Thus did he speak. His eye looked into our hearts, and read our future. It will rejoice him in the Happy Hunting Grounds, and increase his bliss to see his words fulfilled. How!"

He was silent, and all who were around him respected the tribute he was paying to the memory of his good father.