he moon. It will be up in less than an hour, and we mean to take a
long ramble to-night."

"The Pawnee chief loves to walk by the moon, too; he will go with the
Pale-faces."

"Good!" ejaculated Joe. "Come along, then."

The party immediately set forward, although the savage was a little
taken by surprise at the indifferent way in which Joe received his
proposal to accompany them. He walked on to the edge of the prairie,
however, and then stopped.

"The Pale-faces must go alone," said he; "Mahtawa will return to his
tent."

Joe replied to this intimation by seizing him suddenly by the throat
and choking back the yell that would otherwise have brought the Pawnee
warriors rushing to the scene of action in hundreds. Mahtawa's hand
was on the handle of his scalping-knife in a moment, but before he
could draw it his arms were glued to his sides by the bear-like
embrace of Henri, while Dick tied a handkerchief quickly yet firmly
round his mouth. The whole thing was accomplished in two minutes.
After taking his knife and tomahawk away, they loosened their gripe
and escorted him swiftly over the prairie.

Mahtawa was perfectly submissive after the first convulsive struggle
was over. He knew that the men who walked on each side of him grasping
his arms were more than his match singly, so he wisely made no
resistance.

Hurrying him to a clump of small trees on the plain which was so far
distant from the village that a yell could not be heard, they removed
the bandage from Mahtawa's mouth.

"_Must_ he be kill?" inquired Henri, in a tone of commiseration.

"Not at all," answered Joe; "we'll tie him to a tree and leave him
here."

"Then he vill be starve to deat'. Oh, dat is more horrobell!"

"He must take his chance o' that. I've no doubt his friends'll find
him in a day or two, an' he's game to last for a week or more. But
you'll have to run to the willow bluff, Dick, and bring a bit of line
to tie him. We can't spare it well; but there's no help."

"But there _is_ help," retorted Dick. "Just order the villain to climb
into that tree."

"Why so, lad?"

"Don't ask questions, but do what I bid ye."

The hunter smiled for a moment as he turned to the Indian, and ordered
him to climb up a small tree near to which he stood. Mahtawa looked
surprised, but there was no alternative. Joe's authoritative tone
brooked no delay, so he sprang into the tree like a monkey.

"Crusoe," said Dick, "_watch him!_"

The dog sat q