Nacaytzusle was a successful hunter; he was very nimble, quick, and exceedingly persevering, in everything he undertook.  But he was also a natural lounger and idler, whenever he was not busy with preparations for the hunt or repairing his own scanty clothing.  Work in the fields he avoided.  He even showed marked contempt for the people of the Rito, because the men performed toil which he regarded as degrading.  Keeping aloof from the men’s society to a certain extent, he was more attracted by the women.  It was especially Mitsha Koitza, Tyope’s good-looking daughter, who attracted him; and he began to pay attentions to her in a manner in keeping with his wild temperament.  Tyope, strange to say, was pleased to notice this.  He would have been happy to have given his child to the savage, but he had no right to interfere in the matter of marriage, for this belonged to the girl’s own clan to arrange.  The clan was that of the Eagle, and Topanashka was its most influential member, its leading spirit.  Mitsha avoided the Navajo; and when Nacaytzusle attempted to press his suit, the girl repelled his addresses in a manner that showed her aversion to him beyond any possible question.

Had Mitsha been less positive in her behaviour, it is quite likely that the character of the young captive might have changed,—­that he might have softened little by little, entering into the path traced by the customs of sedentary Indians.  As it was, his hatred to them increased, and with it the desire to recover his independence by returning to his kindred.

About a year before, then, Nacaytzusle disappeared from the Tyuonyi.  Shortly afterward Tyope was suddenly accosted by him while hunting on the mesa, and a secret intercourse began, which led to the negotiations of which we have just heard the main purport.  These negotiations were now broken, and in a manner that made a return to the Rito rather dangerous.  The very qualities which had fascinated Tyope—­the wariness, agility, and persistency of the Navajo, his physical strength, and above all his supposed natural faculties for magic, coupled with his thorough knowledge of the country—­caused Tyope to ponder upon his means of escape.

The blow which he dealt the savage was sufficient to teach him that a hand-to-hand encounter would not result favourably to him.  At the same time this slight injury could not fail to exasperate the Navajo, and Tyope knew that the savage would lie in wait for him at some point which he had to pass on his return.  For the present, Nacaytzusle was very likely concealed in the vicinity, in the same manner and for the same reasons as the Pueblo Indian himself; but he was sure to leave his hiding-place and make some movement toward preparing either an ambush or a sudden surprise.  Tyope remained motionless for a while.  He glanced across the space where the fire had been burning; but every spark was gone, and it was too dark to discern anything.  He finally rose to his knees slowly