As a rule the American Indian is not partial to cigarette smoking, that being a that he is willing to leave to his more brother; but the Comanche in front of Avon Burnet, and so near him, left no doubt of his purpose.  
As the tiny flame burned more brightly, he shaded it with his hands and the twisted roll of tobacco, like one who knew how liable the blaze was to be blown out by the wind that among the mesquite bushes. He was such an expert at the business, however, that he met with no difficulty.
 
The glow of the flame shone between the fingers, where they slightly touched each other, giving them a , while the point of the nose, the eyes, and the 70front of the face were revealed almost as distinctly as was the of the whom Dinah discovered in the act of firing the roof of the cabin.
 
This Comanche was more ill-favored than the other and was in middle life. There was something in his appearance which gave the youth the suspicion that he was the chief or leader of the band of raiders, though there could be no certainty on that point.
 
Nothing would have been easier than for Avon, from where he stood, to shoot down the and appropriate his horse for himself. There was an instant when he such a step, but though many a veteran of the frontier would have seized the chance with eagerness, he shrank from such a deliberate taking of human life.
 
The youth had already shown his pluck and readiness to use his weapon when necessary, but he could not himself in an act like the one named.
 
But he did not mean to stand idle when there was a call for instant and decisive action.
 
71
While the Comanche used his two hands in manipulating his match and cigarette, his rifle leaned against the limbs of one of the largest mesquite bushes, where he could snatch it up without stirring a foot.
 
It was not to be supposed that he had dismounted for the purpose of his cigarette, for he could have done that on the back of his mustang, as well as when on the ground. He must have that he was nigh enough to the other to light his tobacco before joining them on foot.
 
The youth was sure the steed before him was a fine one, for it is rare to see one of those people without an excellent horse, and he resolved to capture it.
 
At the instant the match was at its best, and the point of the cigarette was glowing red, Avon stepped toward the motionless steed, passing along the side which was furthest from his master. The beast saw him on the instant, and gave a slight whinny and .
 
His master sharply, while the cigarette was between his teeth. Not suspecting 72the cause of his alarm, he supposed it was and gave it no attention. But when his animal, with a loud snort, wheeled and started off on a , the Indian threw down his match, called out angrily, and, grasping his gun, sprang forward to him.
 
It will be remembered that the darkness was more in the mesquite bush than on the open prairie, and, although he caught a glimpse of the vanishing mustang, he saw nothing of the figure on his back, for the reason that, when the nimble youth , he threw himself forward on his neck.
 
The Indian must have been astonished by the action of his animal, but he probably concluded he would not wander far, and would be within reach in the morning when needed. So he refrained from attempting anything like pursuit, which would have been foolish under the circumstances.
 
It was a clever exploit on the part of Avon Burnet, and he could not repress a feeling of over the success. Boldness, dash, and peculiarly favoring circumstances had taken him through the Comanche lines, 73when a repeti............