I had my pistol ready, and there
was the chance of escape--the faint chance--if we drove our horses on;
but there was also the danger of being fired at from behind! So we sat
still on our horses, and I asked them how they dared attack white ladies.
I asked them if they had never thought what vengeance the governor would
take. They did not understand my words, but they grasped the meaning,
and one of them, the leader, who understood English, was inclined to have
reason. As it was, we stopped what might have been our murder by saying
it would be wiser to hold us as hostages, and that we were Americans.
That man was killed--by you. A shot from your pistol brought him down as
he rushed forward to enter the ruins. But he took care of us as we went
forward, and when I shot one of his followers for laying his hand upon me
in the saddle--he caught me by the leg under my skirt--he would allow no
retaliation. I knew boldness was the safe part to play.
"But in the end we were bound with ropes as you found us, while they
waited for more of their people to come, those, no doubt, you found
ambushed on the hill.
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