to tell
them something as he looked eagerly at them, but all he could make them,
or the men at the ranch, understand, was that he wanted to see a
"papoose" who was larger than Russ.

"Maybe he wants a boy to go along with him and help him 'cause he's
lame," suggested Laddie.

"No, it isn't that," said Uncle Fred, who, with Daddy Bunker, had come
back from the spring. "He's worrying about something, but I can't make
out what it is. Maybe some of the other cowboys can talk his language.
We'll wait until they come in."

Hank Nelson, the cowboy who "doctored" the others, came riding in, and
he agreed to look at the Indian's lame foot. Hank said it was badly
cut, and he put some salve and a clean bandage on it, for which Red
Feather seemed very grateful.

"No can walk good," he said, when his foot was wrapped up. "I go sleep
out there!" and he pointed to the tall grass of the plain.

"Oh, no, I guess we can fix you up a place to sleep," said Uncle Fred
kindly. "There are some bunks in the barn where the extra cowboys used
to sleep. You can stay there until your foot gets well, and Bill Johnson
can give you something to eat now and then."

"Oh, I'll feed him all right," said the cook. "He seems like a good
Indian. I wish I knew what he meant by that 'papoose' he's always
talking about."

But Red Feather could not tell, though he tried hard, and none of the
cowboys spoke his kind of language. So he went to sleep in the barn, on
a pile of clean straw, and seemed very thankful to all who had helped
him.

"Did you find out anything about the queer spring?" asked Mrs. Bunker of
her husband and Uncle Fred that night, when the children had gone to
bed.

"No, nothing. We dug up back of the rocks, but found nothing that would
show where the water runs away to."

"And did you hear of any more of your cattle being taken away?" asked
Captain Roy, who had been visiting his son at the nearest army post.
This son was also Captain Robert Roy, for he was named Robert for his
father, and was now a captain in the regular army. Captain Roy, the
father, had just come back.

"Yes, a few were driven off, as almost always happens when the spring
goes dry," said the ranchman in answer to Captain Roy's question. "It is
a puzzle--beats Laddie's riddles all to pieces."

"I suppose he'll be getting up some new ones about the Indian
to-morrow," said Captain Roy.

"If the Indian doesn't run off in the night with one of the ponies,"
said