"That need not trouble you. I take it on myself to warn the hunter when the time arrives." "Good," the Indian muttered, and they continued to advance. Blue-fox, though he placed confidence in his companion, only advanced, however, with extreme caution and prudence, examining the shrubs, and even the smallest tufts of grass, as if assuring himself that they concealed no enemy. But, with the exception of the man they perceived before them, the place seemed plunged in profound solitude; all was calm and motionless; no unusual sound troubled the silence. "Let us stop here," said Fray Antonio, "it would be imprudent for us to advance further without announcing ourselves, although the hunter has probably recognized us already; for, as you perceive, Chief, he has not made the slightest move." "That is true, but it is as well to be cautious," the other replied. They stopped at about twenty yards from the covert, where Fray Antonio placed his hands funnel-wise on either side his mouth, and shouted at the full extent of his lungs-- "Hilloh! Tranquil, is that you?" "Who calls me?" the latter immediately answered. "I--Fray Antonio. I am accompanied by the person you are expecting." "Advance without fear," Tranquil replied. "Those who seek me without any intention of treachery have nothing to fear from me." The monk turned to the Apache Chief. "What shall we do?" he asked him. "Go on," the latter replied, laconically. The distance which separated them from the hunter was soon covered; and the Mexican becoming an impromptu master of the ceremonies, presented the two men to each other. The Sachem took a searching glance around him. "I do not see the young Pale girl," he said. "Did you wish to speak to her or to me?" the Canadian answered, drily. "I am ready to listen to you. What have you to say to me?" The Indian frowned; his suspicions were returning; he gave a menacing glance at the monk, who, obeying the advice given him, had insensibly withdrawn a few steps, and was preparing to be an apparently calm witness of the coming scene. Still, after an internal conflict of some seconds, the Sachem succeeded in mastering the wrath that agitated him, and assumed an affable and confiding countenance. "I only wished to speak to my brother," he replied, in an insinuating voice; "Blue-fox has for many moons desired to see again the face of a friend." "If it were really as the Chief says," the hunter continued, "nothing could have been more easy. Many days have succeeded one to the other; many years have been swallowed up in the immense gulf of the past, since the period when, young and full of faith, I called Blue-fox my friend. At that period he had a Pawnee heart; but now that he has plucked it from his bosom, to exchange it for an Apache heart, I know him no longer."