ast! The
painted face was that of a savage, but the voice was the voice of Tony!

The old man shut his mouth and opened his arms. Tony sprang into them
with a wild cheer that ended in a burst of joyful tears!

The way in which that boy hugged his sire and painted his face all over
by rubbing his own against it was a sight worth seeing.

It had been a concerted plan between Tony and Victor that the latter was
to keep a little in the background while the former should advance and
perplex his father a little before making himself known, but Tony had
over-estimated his powers of restraint. His heart was too large for so
trifling a part. He acted up to the promptings of nature, as we have
seen, and absolutely howled with joy.

"Don't choke him, Tony," remonstrated Victor; "mind, you are stronger
than you used to be."

"Ha! Choke me?" gasped Mr Ravenshaw; "try it, my boy; just try it!"

Tony did try it. But we must not prolong this scene. It is enough to
say that when Tony had had his face washed and stood forth his old self
in all respects--except that he looked two or three sizes larger, more
sunburnt, and more manly--his father quietly betook himself to his tent,
and remained there for a time in solitude.

Thereafter he came out, and assuming a free-and-easy, off-hand look of
composure, which was clearly hypocritical, ordered tea. This was soon
got ready, and the joyful party seated themselves round the camp-fire,
which now sent its ruddy blaze and towering column of sparks into the
darkening sky.

Victor was not long in running over the chief outlines of their long
chase, and also explained the motives of the red man--as far as he
understood them--in bringing Tony back.

"Well, Vic," said Mr Ravenshaw, with a puzzled look, "it's a strange
way of taking his revenge of me. But after all, when I look at him
there, sucking away at his calumet with that pleased, grave face, I
can't help thinkin' that you and I, Christians though we call ourselves,
have something to learn from the savage. I've been mistaken, Vic, in my
opinion of Petawanaquat. Anyhow, his notion of revenge is better than
mine. It must be pleasanter to him now to have made us all so happy
than if he had kept Tony altogether, or put a bullet through _me_. It's
a clever dodge, too, for the rascal has laid me under an obligation
which I can never repay--made me his debtor for life, in fact. It's
perplexing, Vic; very much so, but satisfactor