From his early reading
came visions of Hercules and Theseus, of Perseus and Bellerophon. But he
did not put himself with such champions. He was merely serving a
primitive little village, carried by its primitive state farther back
than that world in which the more or less legendary Greek heroes lived.

But it was pleasant, wonderfully pleasant, to hear the chant. This was
his world and to know, for a time at least, that he was first among the
people, was very grateful to young ears. Listening a while he rose,
dressed, warmed his food, and ate it with the appetite of a young lion.

CHAPTER XIV

THE DREADFUL NIGHT

When Will came out of the lodge he witnessed such a scene as one might
have looked upon ten thousand years ago. The cold was bitter, but there
were many fires. Vast icicles hung from the slopes of the mountains,
glittering in the sun like gigantic spears. The trees were sheathed in
ice, and, when the wind shook the boughs, pieces fell like silver mail.
It was an icy world, narrow and enclosed, but it was a cheerful world
just the same.

The squaws were pounding the bear meat, much as the white housewife
would pound a steak, but with more vigor. Grizzly or any other kind of
big bear was exceedingly tough, even after treatment, but, in the last
resort, the Indians would eat it, and, despite their great stores of
ordinary food, Xingudan feared they would not last through the long and
bitter winter now promised.

The huge skins which had all the quality of fur were welcome. Will
believed the bears were not grizzlies, and later, when he heard of the
mighty Alaskan bears, he was sure of it. Great portions of the animals
could not be used, and, as Xingudan knew that the odor would draw the
fierce carnivora at night, he ordered it all carried to a point far up
the valley and dumped there. Then the night was filled with howlings as
the big wolves came down again and fought and ate.

Will listened with many a shudder as, heavily clothed and armed, he
helped to keep the guard about the village and the corral, and, as he
listened, he reverted by another great stage back into the primitive. He
was with his friends, those who had fought beside him, those who cared
for him, and those who looked upon him as a leader. For the present, at
least, he was content. His hours were full of useful labor, of
excitement, and of rewards. He knew that another of the great bearskins
would be placed in the lodge that belonge