Because he heard us talking English he insisted on regarding us as English spies.
"Hark! they betray themselves," we heard him mutter thickly to one of his wounded countrymen in the next compartment.

"They are damned Englishers." "Nein! Nein! All Americans," we heard the other say.
"Well, if they are Americans, why don't they talk the American language then ?" he demanded.

Hearing this, I was sorry I had neglected in my youth to learn Choctaw.
Still dubious of us, he came now and stood in the aisle, rocking slightly on his bolster legs and eying us glassily.

Eventually a thought pierced the fog of his understanding.

He hauled his saber out of its scabbard and invited us to run our fingers along the edge and see how keen and sharp it was.