As the champions advanced toward each other, the Sioux was too precipitate, and by the impulse of the charge was carried rather beyond Do-ran-to, who, being more cool and deliberate, gave him, as he passed, a blow on the back of the neck with his war-club that perfectly stunned him and brought him to the ground.  Do-ran-to then sprang upon him and despatched him by a single thrust of his knife.  The relatives of the unfortunate Sioux raised a loud lament, and, with that piteous kind of howling peculiar to savages, bore him away.  Do-ran-to was now regarded as a young brave, and was greatly advanced in the general esteem of the village.  He must now be an adopted son, and no longer a woman, but go to war, and hunt the buffalo, the elk, and the antelope.

The father of Ni-ar-gua, however, must in this matter be excepted.  In the general excitement in behalf of the lucky captive he lagged behind, and was reserved and sullen.  Having conceived a dislike for him, he was not inclined to confer upon him the honours he had so fairly won.  And then it would not do to appear delighted with the valour of the young Pawnee.  Ni-ar-gua was his favourite child, and she must be the wife of some distinguished personage.  But the chief was doomed, as many a father is, to be outwitted by his daughter in matters of this kind.  At a time when he was absent, holding a council with a neighbouring tribe of the Sioux upon great national affairs, Do-ran-to picked out two of the chief’s best horses on which to escape with the girl to his own tribe.  Ni-ar-gua was ready.  When the village was sunk in a profound sleep, she met him in a sequestered spot, bringing a supply of provisions for their intended trip.  In a moment they were in their saddles and away!

They were not less than three “sleeps” from his own people, and would be followed by some of the Tetons as long as there was any hope of overtaking them.  By morning, however, there would be such a wide space between them and their pursuers as to make their escape entirely practicable, if no mishap befell them on the way.  They had good horses, good hearts, a good country to travel over, and above all a good cause, and why not good luck?

They travelled night and day, never stopping any longer than was absolutely necessary to rest their horses.  After his story was told, the captain tried to prevail upon the young couple to remain with the company until morning, and enjoy that rest and refreshment which he and the girl so much needed; but the gallant young savage said that they had not slept since they had set out on their flight, nor did they even dare to think of closing their eyes before they should reach the village of the Pawnees.  He knew that he would be pursued as long as there was any hope of overtaking him; and he also knew what his doom would be if he again fell into the hands of the Sioux.  Having remained, therefore, in the camp scarcely an hour, the two fugitive lovers were again on the wing, flying over the green prairie, guided by the light of a full and beautiful moon, and animated and sustained by the purity of their motives and the hope of soon reaching a place of safety and protection.