"You will stay here in the valley, dear Addie, till we come back," he said. "We will steal away quietly, and not wake that sleeping stranger if it can be helped, for he might, in his terror, fire his gun, or in some way give an alarm. Should he wake, hearing firing over there, keep him quiet with persuasion or your revolver until we return, and then if he is obstreperous, I will quiet him." "Let me go with you, Bill," she said. "I am not afraid." "It must not be, dear Addie, There is no need of your being exposed _there,_ and it is well to have _him_ watched here. Our main certainty of complete success is in a surprise. The least alarm may prevent it." "I will remain then," she said. "And you need not fear for any alarm from him--for I know I can keep him quiet should he wake. I have a keen persuader here, if I have to use it." And she touched a poniard in her belt, which also contained two good revolvers. "An outlaw's bride," she added, smiling, "must be prepared to take care of herself." The Indians now began silently to form their march, as they saw their white leader mount, and the young Texan also get his horse. The Black Hawk seemed uneasy that his master was not at hand, and the Texan was obliged to tie him by the side of the horse ridden by Addie Neidic before he would be quiet. "It is strange that Mr. Pond does not wake with all this noise," said the Texan, as he rode off with Persimmon Bill. "But as I told you, he is the soundest sleeper I ever traveled with." The Indians now filed away out of the valley as silently as they entered it, for, knowing the close vicinity of the other camp, they were aware how necessary it was to be cautious. And now Addie Neidic stood alone, while the morning star rose higher and higher, gazing at what she supposed was the sleeping man on the knoll. The moon had got so far around that she could see his hat, the rifle against the tree, and the outlines of his form, as she believed. "I will move up and secure his rifle," she thought, after the band had been gone some time. "He might wake; and in his first alarm use it foolishly." So she moved with a noiseless step within reach of the gun, and the next moment it was in her possession. Then she looked down, to see if he showed signs of waking. To her surprise, she saw no motions of a breathing form under the blanket. A closer look told her that if a form had been beneath the blanket, or a head under that hat, it was gone. And, feeling with her hand under the blanket, she, found it cold; no warm living form had been there for hours. "He has been alarmed, seen us, and crept away--perhaps is hiding in terror in the brush," she muttered.