! Jim brought the wrong bottle!"

In another second three more forms lay stretched out on the sward, and
the forest rang with sounds of mirth.

VII

That night the wind switched and blew cold from the north, and so
strong that the camp-fire roared like a furnace. "More snow" was the
verdict of all of us, and in view of this, I invited the Navajo to
share my tent.

"Sleepie-me," I said to him.

"Me savvy," he replied and forthwith proceeded to make his bed with
me.

Much to my surprise all my comrades raised protestations, which
struck me as being singularly selfish considering they would not be
inconvenienced in any way.

"Why not?" I asked. "It's a cold night. There'll be frost if not
snow."

"Shore you'll get 'em," said Jim.

"There never was an Indian that didn't have 'em," added Jones.

"What?" I questioned.

They made mysterious signs that rather augmented my ignorance as to
what I might get from the Indian, but in no wise changed my mind. When
I went to bed I had to crawl over Navvy. Moze lay at my feet as usual
and he growled so deep that I could not but think he, too, resented
the addition to my small tent.

"Mista Gay!" came in the Indian's low voice.

"Well Navvy?" I asked.

"Sleepie--sleepie?"

"Yes, Navvy, sleepy and tired. Are you?"

"Me savvy--mucha sleepie--mucha--no bueno."

I did not wonder at his feeling sleepy, tired and bad. He did not
awaken me in the morning, for when my eyes unclosed the tent was light
and he had gone. I found my companions up and doing.

We had breakfast and got into our saddles by the time the sun, a red
ball low down among the pines, began to brighten and turn to gold. No
snow had fallen but a thick frost encrusted the ground. The hounds,
wearing cloth moccasins, which plainly they detested, trotted in
front. Don showed no effects of his great run down the sliding slope
after the red lioness; it was one of his remarkable qualities that he
recuperated so quickly. Ranger was a little stiff, and Sounder favored
his injured foot. The others were as usual.

Jones led down the big hollow to which he kept after we had passed the
edge of the pines; then marking a herd of deer ahead, he turned his
horse up the bank.

We breasted the ridge and jogged toward the cedar forest, which we
entered without having seen the hounds show interest in anything.
Under the cedars in the soft yellow dust we crossed lion tracks, many
of them, but too old to carry a scent. E