er, I believed that I could get along quite well
without him; and therefore resolved to send him back--first to the
Indian camp to tell of our safety and intentions, and then to the fort
with an explanatory letter to Lumley, who, I knew full well, would be
filled with great anxiety on my account, as well as with uncertainty as
to how he should act, destitute as he was of the slightest clue to my
fate or my whereabouts.

"And you, my friend," I said, "what will your movements be?"

"Big Otter will go and help you to obey the commands of Weeum," he
replied. "There is no wife, no child, waiting for him to return. He
must be a father to Waboose. Muxbee will _be_ her brother. The trail
to Colorado is long. Big Otter has been there. He has been a solitary
wanderer all his life, and knows the wilderness well. He has crossed
the great mountains where the snow lies deep even in summer. He can be
a guide, and knows many of the mountain tribes as well as the tribes of
the prairie--Waugh!"

"Well, my friend," said I, grasping the Indian's strong hand, "I need
not tell you that your decision gives me joy, and I shall be only too
glad to travel with you in the capacity of a son; for, you know, if you
are to be a father to Waboose, and I am to be her brother, that makes
you my father--don't you see?"

The grave Indian smiled faintly at this touch of pleasantry, and then
rose.

"We have nothing to eat," he said, as we returned to the place where we
had slept, "and we cannot hunt in the night. Is your bag empty?"

"No," said I, glancing at the contents of my wallet, "there is enough of
biscuit and pemmican to give us a light meal."

"That will do," he returned; "we need rest more than food just now."

This was indeed true; for, notwithstanding that I had slept so soundly
during that day, I still felt a strong disinclination to rouse myself to
action, and an intense desire to lie down again. These feelings being
shared by my companions, it was resolved to spend the night where we
were, but we took good care to kindle no fire to betray us a second
time. We roused Eve and Salamander to take some food, after which we
all lay down, and, ere long, were again sound asleep.

This double allowance of rest had the most beneficial effect upon our
frames. We did not awake till an early hour the following morning, and
felt so much refreshed as to be ready and anxious to set off on our
journey, without the delay of breakfasting.