round and polished limbs,
the haughty fling of tall head-dresses, and the lightness of the small
and beautifully modelled feet drumming upon the ground; but most of all
she was moved by the aloofness of expression on the faces of many of the
dancers. For the most part they seemed to dream--to revisit the
past--especially the old men. Their lips were sad, their eyes
pensive--singularly so--and mentally the girl said: "I must paint my
next portrait of this quality--an old man dreaming of the olden time. I
wonder if they really were happy in those days--happier than our
civilization can make them?" and thoughts came to her which shook her
confidence in the city and the mart. For the first time in her life she
doubted the sanctity of the steam-engine and the ore-crusher.

As they took their seats from time to time the older men smoked their
long pipes; only the young men rolled their cigarettes. To them the past
was a child's recollection, not the irrevocable dream of age. They were
the links between the old and the new.

As the time came to go, Curtis rose and addressed his people in signs.
"We are glad to be here," he said. "All my friends are pleased. My heart
is joyous when you dance. I do not forbid it. Sometimes Washington tells
me to do something, and I must obey. They say you must not dance the
war-dance any more, and so I must forbid it. This dance was pleasant--it
is not bad. My heart is made warm to be with you. I am visiting all my
people, and I must go to-morrow. Do not quarrel with the white man. Be
patient, and Washington will do you good."

Each promise was greeted by the old men with cries of: "Ay! Ay!" and the
drummers thumped the drums most furiously in applause. And so the agent
said, "Good-night," and withdrew.

XVIII

ELSIE'S ANCIENT LOVE AFFAIR

As they walked back to their camp Jennie took her brother's arm:

"What is it, George?"

"I must return to the agency."

"That means we must all go?"

"I suppose so. The settlers seemed determined to make trouble. They have
had another row with Gray Man's band, and shots have been fired.
Fortunately no one was hurt. We must leave here early. Say nothing to
any of our guests till we are safely on the way home."

Elsie, walking with Lawson, was very pensive. "I begin to understand why
Captain Curtis is made Indian agent. He understands these people,
sympathizes with them."

"No one better, and if the department can retain him six years he