n the belief that the
band had divided and to determine whether the chief was still with them,
he said:

"Heraka, we're climbing the mountains. I know it by the wind among the
leaves and the cool air."

"Wayaka is learning to see even though his eyes are shut," said the
voice of the chief on his right.

"And a part of your force has left us. I count the hoofbeats, and
they're not as many as they were before."

"You are right, the mind of Wayaka grows. Some day--if you live--you
will know enough to be a warrior."

Will pondered these words and their bearing on his fate, and, being able
to make nothing of them, he abandoned the subjective for the objective,
seeking again with the four unsuppressed senses to observe the country
through which they were passing.

The next night was much like the one that had gone before. They did not
stop until after twilight, and the darkness was heavier than usual. The
camp was made in a forest, and the wind, now quite chill, rustled among
the trees. Although the bandage was removed, Will could not see far in
the darkness, but he was confident that high mountains were straight
ahead.

A small brook furnished water for men and ponies, and the Indians built
a big fire. They were now but eight in number. Inmutanka removed the
last bandage from Will's head, which could now take care of itself, and
as the Sioux permitted him to share on equal terms with themselves, he
ate with a great appetite. Heraka regarded him intently.

"Do you know where you are, Wayaka?" he asked.

"No," replied Will, carelessly, "I don't. Neither am I disturbed about
it. You say that I shall never see my own people, but that is more than
you or I or anyone else can possibly know."

A flicker of admiration appeared in the eyes of Heraka, but his voice
was even and cold as he said:

"It is well that you have a light heart, because to-morrow will be as
to-day to you, and the next day will be the same, and the next and many
more."

The Sioux chief spoke the truth. They rode on for days, Will blindfolded
in the day, his eyes free at night. He thought of himself as the Man in
the Deerskin Mask, but much of the apprehension that must overtake the
boldest at such a moment began to disappear, being replaced by an
intense curiosity, all the greater because everything was shut from his
eyes save in the dusk.

But he knew they were in high mountains, because the cold was great, and
now and then he felt flurries of