that a
few wolves, still hiding in the valley, came out at night to devour the
bodies of their dead comrades.

Will, lying between the furs in the strong lodge, would hear sometimes
the sound of these faint growls, but they troubled him not at all. He
would draw the buffalo robes more closely about him, as the child in the
farmhouse pulls up the covers when he hears the patter of rain on the
roof, and feels an immense sense of comfort. The compulsion of the life
he was leading was fast sending him back to the primitive. He would have
read had there been anything to read, but, despite the limited world of
the valley in which he now lived, his daily activities were very great.

There was the pony herd, of which he was the chief guardian. Food must
be found for it, though the hardy animals could and did do a great deal
for themselves under the most adverse conditions. They ate twigs, they
dug under the snow with their sharp hoofs for grass that yet lived in
sheltered nooks, and Will and the Indians, by persistent seeking, were
able to add to their supplies. They also had to break the ice on the
river that they might drink, and, under the severe and continuous cold,
the ice was now a foot thick.

Will also helped with the fishing through holes in the ice, and acquired
all the Indian skill. The fish formed a most welcome addition to their
diet of dried meat and the occasional bread made from Indian corn. He
helped, too, with the continual strengthening of the lodges, because all
the old Indians foresaw the fiercest winter in a generation.

As Will reverted farther and farther into the primitive he retained a
virtue which is the product of civilization. He was respectful and
helpful to the very old and weak. The percentage of such in the village
was much larger than usual, as nearly all the warriors had gone to the
war. He invariably took food to the weazened old squaws and the decrepit
old men, who presented him with another suit of beautifully decorated
deerskin, and a coat of the softest and finest buffalo robe that he had
ever seen.

"Waditaka big favorite," said Inmutanka when Will showed him the buffalo
overcoat. "By and by all old squaws marry him."

"What?" exclaimed Will in horror.

"Of course," said Inmutanka, grinning slyly. "He make old squaws many
presents. Leave venison, buffalo meat, bear meat at doors of their
lodges. They marry him in the spring."

But Will caught the twinkle in Inmutanka's eyes.