d the trapper to abandon the camp under penalty
of death if he remained, and she reasoned that the trapper went alone
because he had been ashamed to tell Jack the truth. Consequently Jack
would be the next to go, and as she already knew that Colorow had openly
declared his intention of driving the young paleface away, she
determined to watch that cunning Ute every day and give him no
opportunity for any hostile movement against Jack.

The gray dawn of the day referred to in her impassioned warning found
Chiquita swiftly and silently making her way toward the Rock Creek
cabin, where she took up a position commanding a view of the camp and
the trails leading to it.

The first rays of the sun were just tipping the snow on the high
mountain peaks when Jack came from the cabin and proceeded to get his
breakfast over the camp fire. As Chiquita watched him she was tempted
many times to make her presence known, for the savory viands made her
"heap hungry," but at last Jack started up the gulch on his rounds to
the traps. Chiquita knew that Colorow would put in an early appearance,
expecting to find Jack at the cabin, so she waited patiently. It was not
long before she heard the plaintive call of a camp bird mewing for
something to eat, and she mimicked it, saying to herself, "camp bird and
Colorow all same." She carefully screened herself in the willows and saw
Colorow suddenly dart from one big tree to another, then creep to a big
rock, wait a moment and glide along until he was close to the cabin. He
waited some time, evidently reading by the signs of the smoldering fire
that the object of his visit had made an early start. Seeing this, he
boldly walked out and picked up the coffee pot. As it was empty he threw
it spitefully down into the ashes and looked for a piece of bread. Being
disappointed in this also he made a big fuss of brandishing his knife,
executing a few steps as though he had discovered an enemy and in
pantomime had slain and scalped him. During this time he kept up a
continual jargon of curses and imprecations.

Finally he drew back the blanket which constituted the "door" of the
cabin and peered in. Satisfied with his observations, he carefully
scanned the trail leading up the gulch, and seeing the fresh made
tracks, set out rapidly after Jack.

Chiquita followed, darting along from one side of the trail to the other
or diverging obliquely across portions of the territory which she knew
Jack had to traver