I feared the Indians, too, for they told me they were unsafe in this
country. All night long I tried to find a valley running east, but the
moonlight deceived me, and I must have come farther away every hour.
When day came I tied Paladin to a tree and slept a little, and then I
rode on to find a hill which would show me the lie of the land. But it
was very hot, and I was very weary. And then you came, and those
dreadful wild men. And--and----" She broke down and wept piteously.

I comforted her as best I could, telling her that her troubles were
over now, and that I should look after her. "You might have met with us
in the woods last night," I said, "so you see you were not far from
friends." But the truth was that her troubles were only beginning, and
I was wretchedly anxious. My impulse was to try to get her back to the
Rappahannock; but, on putting this to Shalah, he shook his head.

"It is too late," he said. "If you seek certain death, go towards the
Rappahannock. She must come with us to the mountains. The only safety
is in the hill-tops."

This seemed a mad saying. To be safe from Indians we were to go into
the heart of Indian country. But Shalah expounded it. The tribes, he
said, dwelt only in the lower glens of the range, and never ventured to
the summits, believing them to be holy land where a great _manitou_
dwelt. The Cherokees especially shunned the peaks. If we could find a
way clear to the top we might stay there in some security, till we
learned the issue of the war, and could get word to our friends.
"Moreover," he said, "we have yet to penetrate the secret of the hills.
That was the object of our quest, brother."

Shalah was right, and I had forgotten all about it. I could not suffer