down if zoo say dat to hims face," replied
the child confidently.

This seemed so palpable a truth that the Indian nodded several times,
and grinned fiendishly.

"Do Christians swear, an' drink, and fight, and get angry till the blood
makes the face blue, and strike with the fist?" asked Petawanaquat.

"Oh, no--_never_," replied Tony, adopting that shocked tone and look
which Elsie was in the habit of using when anything wicked was
propounded to her; "dey's always dood, like Josuf an' Abel an' Sam'l,
an' Cain, an' David, an' Saul--"

Tony stopped short, with an indistinct idea that he was mixing pattern
characters.

"Ho!" muttered the savage, with a gleam of triumph in his eyes,
"Petawanaquat has got his _heart_."

"Eh, zoo got 'im by heart a'ready? Took me long, long time to git 'em
by heart," said Tony, with a look of admiration, which was sadly marred
by the paint. "Me's not got 'em all off yet. But you's clever, an'--
an'--big."

The Indian's smile became a sad one, and his look was again perplexed,
as he rose and returned to the camp, followed by his adopted son. It
was obvious that no light was to be thrown on his religious
difficulties, whatever they were, by Tonyquat.

After leaving the lakelet on the plains, the Indian travelled for
several days with his friends; and then parting from them, went towards
the west, to rejoin his family. This point of divergence the pursuers
had missed, and when they overtook the Indian band, they found, to their
intense regret, that the kidnapper had escaped them.

"We will hold on with the redskins," said Ian Macdonald, while sitting
in council with his companions after this discovery. "The chief tells
me that buffaloes have been reported in a spot which lies in the
direction we must follow to recover the trail. This advantage we now
possess, however: we know where Petawanaquat is going--thanks to his
so-called friends here, who don't seem to care much about him--and as he
believes he has distanced all pursuers, he will now journey slower than
before. Besides, we must help to kill a buffalo or two, our meat being
nearly done. What say you, Vic?"

"I say what you say, of course, though I'd rather set off ahead of the
band, and push on as fast as we can."

"Vich means dat youth bees impetoous toujours," said Rollin.

In pursuance of this plan they journeyed with the Indians for three
days, when an event occurred which modified their plans considerably.
Thi