See; they have lighted the fire
around the whole bottom at the same moment, and we are as completely
hemmed in by the devils as an island by its waters."
"Let us mount and ride," cried Middleton; "is life not worth a
struggle?"
"Whither would ye go? Is a Teton horse a salamander that he can walk
amid fiery flames unhurt, or do you think the Lord will show his might
in your behalf, as in the days of old, and carry you harmless through
such a furnace as you may see glowing beneath yonder red sky? There
are Siouxes, too, hemming the fire with their arrows and knives on
every side of us, or I am no judge of their murderous deviltries."
"We will ride into the centre of the whole tribe," returned the youth
fiercely, "and put their manhood to the test."
"Ay, it's well in words, but what would it prove in deeds? Here is a
dealer in bees, who can teach you wisdom in a matter like this."
"Now for that matter, old trapper," said Paul, stretching his athletic
form like a mastiff conscious of his strength, "I am on the side of
the captain, and am clearly for a race against the fire, though it
line me into a Teton wigwam.
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