unlike himself he was as he carved for them some juicy slices from the
fine young gobbler he had cooked. Yet he listened with interest to Ree's
account of their trip, John often breaking in with such jolly comment as:
"You should have heard those Indians talk! Why they beat a quilting bee
for gabbling, except that they didn't all talk at once."

"But they are real orators," added Ree quite soberly. "I've heard that an
Indian has three ambitions--to be a mighty hunter, a great warrior and a
grand orator; and there are some splendid speakers among the Delawares."

"The's some red-handed, bloody murderers among 'em, too, I kin tell ye,"
Tom Fish growled. "I got no rest whilst ye was gone, a thinkin' of it."

"Has anything happened, Tom?" asked Ree, struck by his friends grave
manner.

"Cheer up, Thomas, cheer up!" cried John. "You've been about as cheerful
company as a box of indigo ever since you saw that--that hideous thing at
Big Buffalo's belt."

"Well, it's a wonder the' didn't nothing happen, an' somethin's goin' to
happen, I know," the hunter replied to Ree's question, ignoring John's
bantering, as he often did. "That Buffalo varmint means harm. I've been
thinkin' it all over an' the' ain't no two ways about it. If I ain't a
sight mistaken, I seen him peekin' down from the hill back there, not a
half hour ago--either him or some dirty Mingo; I didn't exactly see him,
but I heard some one, an' I'd a' peppered away at him if you kittens
hadn' 'a been gone an' me not knowin' just where ye might be. So I've
been thinkin' it all over, an' mighty sorry I am I ever piloted ye into
this hostyle kentry. The's only one thing to do, an' that's to take what
stuff ye kin an' get back to Pittsburg fast as yer legs kin take ye. Now
as fer me, I kin take care of myself, but I'll see ye part way anyhow,
an' I'd go clear back with ye if I didn't have somethin' very important
to 'tend to."

Ree could not help but smile at Tom's drooping spirits, though the
discouraging talk made it necessary for him to appear really more
cheerful than he felt, as he realized that Big Buffalo really seemed
anxious to cause trouble. But he shook his head at John, as he saw the
latter about to scold Tom for bringing them into this part of the
wilderness only to advise them to leave it; for his chum's face showed
that he was not pleased with Tom's manner.

"There is just one thing to be done," Ree exclaimed.

"An' that's get right back--" Tom Fi