smoke the pipe of peace. Are my words good?"

Despite their proverbial control of muscle, these Indians could not
conceal their astonishment at hearing so much of their affairs thus
laid bare; so they said that the Pale-face chief was wise, that he
must be a great medicine man, and that what he said was all true
except about the white men. They had never seen any Pale-faces, and
knew nothing whatever about those he spoke of.

This was a terrible piece of news to poor Dick, and at first his heart
fairly sank within him, but by degrees he came to be more hopeful. He
concluded that if these men told lies in regard to one thing, they
would do it in regard to another, and perhaps they might have some
strong reason for denying any knowledge of Joe and Henri.

The Indians now packed up the buffalo robes on which they had slept,
and the mouthful of provisions they had taken with them.

"I don't believe a word of what they say about your friends," said
Cameron to Dick in a low tone while the Indians were thus engaged.
"Depend upon it they hope to hide them till they can send to the
settlements and get a ransom, or till they get an opportunity of
torturing them to death before their women and children when they get
back to their own village. But we'll balk them, my friend, do not
fear."

The Indians were soon ready to start, for they were cumbered with
marvellously little camp equipage. In less than half-an-hour after
their discovery they were running like deer ahead of the cavalcade in
the direction of the Peigan camp.

CHAPTER XIX.

_Adventures with the Peigans_--_Crusoe does good service as a
discoverer_--_The savages outwitted_--_The rescue_.

A run of twenty miles brought the travellers to a rugged defile in
the mountains, from which they had a view of a beautiful valley of
considerable extent. During the last two days a steady thaw had been
rapidly melting away the snow, so that it appeared only here and
there in the landscape in dazzling patches. At the distance of about
half-a-mile from where they halted to breathe the horses before
commencing the descent into this vale, several thin wreaths of smoke
were seen rising above the trees.

"Is that your camp?" inquired Cameron, riding up to the Indian
runners, who stood in a group in front, looking as fresh after their
twenty miles' run as though they had only had a short walk.

To this they answered in the affirmative, adding that there were about
two hun