elf on the back of "Bonito" she
looked wistfully at the sky and surrounding peaks. "Me make 'em Yamanatz
tepee sun here," pointing halfway down the horizon to the west.

Jack signified his expectations by remarking, rather dubiously, "Me
mebbe so get to Troublesome heap dark."

Following the direction of Chiquita's finger as she pointed to the high
divide where the previous day they had battled long in the deep snow,
Jack felt some misgivings as to the Indian girl being able to ride the
big drift down. But the confidence she enjoyed in her own ability to
stand hardship and the additional reliance she placed in the
thoroughbred Ute pony was summed up in her one decisive comment, uttered
almost imperiously, at least scornfully:

"Bonito take Chiquita through deep snow like big fish go through foaming
water. Wind all gone up there now."

Jack threw himself into his saddle and reined up beside the future
medicine queen of the White River Utes. She drew from her bosom a beaded
buckskin bag, from which she took a pair of beaver's jaws, the short
teeth bound with otter and a long strip of mountain-lion fur bound
firmly around a braid of her own hair. She handed them to Jack, saying
in a low, almost beseeching tone: "Will the white man Jack bring em back
Chiquita's medicine teeth when the beaver cuts the trees?"

It was a great sacrifice to part with the "medicine," to which all
Indians pin their faith. Otter and mountain-lion fur especially is woven
into the long straight braids of both buck and squaw to drive away evil
spirits, and Chiquita evidently had been to a good deal of trouble to
obtain the prescription from the head medicine man for her own use. The
beaver teeth were symbolic of the time when Chiquita expected Jack to
keep faith with her. His reply was made while the palms of both hands
were stretched toward her, the fingers pointing up.

"Jack will come," then pressing his knees against the sides of his pony,
he leaned over and, after a quick hand grasp, bid adios to the smiling
daughter of Yamanatz.

An hour later he had reached the end of his first "look." Scanning the
side of the high divide he could see "Bonito" lunging forward into the
deep drifts skirting the top of the divide. Presently the pony stopped
and turned broadside toward him. Looking intently he saw Chiquita wave a
farewell response by means of a small silk flag handkerchief which he
had given her upon the first visit to Rock Creek. Signaling