He dispatched an emissary, to whom he gave secret orders to entice his wife into the forest, under pretence that he bore tidings from her lord, when he should slay her, and immediately return to the camp, bringing with him a lock of her hair as a pledge that his errand had been accomplished.
The round orb of the setting sun was just visible above the waves of the yellow Mississippi. Nito-me-ma stood in the door of her tent, weeping and dejected, pressing to her bosom her new-born child, and sometimes, according to the faith which she had imbibed, appealing to the protection of the Virgin, sobbing out in short ejaculations, "O sweet Mary, holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me!" Thus engaged in devotion, her eyes were uplifted to heaven; but when again they were cast downward, a strange form stood before her. So stealthily had he glided through the thickets, that his presence was like that of a spirit. For a moment he stood erect in silence, as if spell-bound by her charms.
The expression of maternal love added a new grace to the pale face of the poor child of sorrow, and her bright yet tender eyes were brimming over with tears. Her hair, as if unloosed on purpose to be rifled for the sacrificial token, fell upon her glossy shoulders and almost touched the ground, and, like a mute and unoffending victim, ready for the altar, she stood as if to wait the mandate of the avenging priest.
The stranger stretched his naked arm, and pointed with his finger to the sun. "See!" he said, in a low voice like a whisper, "he is departing; the day is almost dead. The winds cease to move the tree-leaves; the waves cease to murmur. But it is not dark; it is not silent: Go with me to the deepest thicket at a distance from the curling smoke of tents. Over the mountains I have come, through the rivers. A message sent so far for one beloved is not for common ears. Fear not, Gentle Dove!"
Trembling and agitated, still pressing her babe to her breast and praying as she went, she followed his footsteps, which were rapid, so that she could scarce keep pace with them, with her burden in her arms. It was nearly dark when, arriving at a most secluded spot, her guide suddenly turned, and without the delay of a moment, as if he
