In place of the formula which the warrior recites when he is on the track of an enemy, Topanashka selected another one, spoken upon entering dangerous ground where enemies may be lurking.  It seemed to him that the latter was better adapted to the occasion, since he was unarmed and therefore unable to fight in case of necessity.  He still carried with him the same fetich, a rude alabaster figure of the panther, which we saw dangling from his necklace on the day he went to visit the tapop.  But the necklace he had left at home this time, and he carried the amulet in a leather satchel concealed under his wrap.  He took out the wallet and removed the fetich from it.  To the back of the figure was fastened a small arrow-head, on the sides a turquoise and a few shells were tied with strings of yucca fibre.

The old man squatted on the ground, took from the same satchel a pinch of sacred meal, and scattered it to the six regions.  Then he whispered,—­

“[=A]-[=a].  Nashtio, Shiuana, Kopishtai!  Make me precious this day, even if the land be full of enemies.  Let not my life be threatened by them.  Protect me from them.  Let none of the Moshome go across this line,” he drew a line in the sand with the arrow-point, “give me protection from them!  Mokatsh, Tyame, Shiuana, shield my heart from the enemy.”

While pronouncing the latter words he drew three more lines, breathed on the fetich, placed it in the satchel again, and rose.  He felt strengthened, for he had performed his duty toward the Shiuana, had satisfied Those Above.

“Kuawk, kuawk, kuawk!” The crow soared back over his head.  The ugly, ill-voiced bird!  Topanashka’s eyelids twitched angrily; he was amazed.

He resumed his walk, or rather his cautious, gliding gait, his head bent forward, all his faculties strained to see, to hear, and to detect.  Frequently he would stop, hide himself, and listen.  All was quiet around him, for even the crows kept silent or were heard in the distance only.

The glare of the sunlight was less vivid, the afternoon was on the wane.  The late hour was not alone the cause of the diminution of light; the sun was shrouded by heavy masses of clouds.  With the waning daylight it grew cooler, a faint breeze being wafted over from the Rio Grande.

The old man rightly supposed that he was approaching the trail again and would soon strike it.  The canon near which he had surprised Shotaye and her ally lay some distance in his rear and to the right, for the old trail crosses it at its upper end, and the canon bends to the north.  Topanashka intended to reach this upper terminus.  He expected in case other Tehuas should be about, that they would be hidden in that vicinity.  He wanted to strike the path first, and survey it, if from a distance only, then keep on again in a line parallel to its course until it crossed the ravine.  Afterward he would go back to the Tyuonyi, if possible, with the sandal as corroborative evidence.