a light portion of the bark which he had evidently aimed for.
This was the signal for applause and clapping of hands.

[Illustration: _Fig. 12. Poising the Spear._]

Harry ran for the spear and returned it to Chief, and all ranged up
alongside to witness his performances. The boys secured spears, also,
and made the attempt to throw them, but they fell far short. When Harry
attempted to make the trial, Chief seized it, and took his hand, and
showed how to hold it to make an effective throw.

The trick consisted in grasping the stem tightly between the thumb and
edge of the palm, with the little finger below the stem. The boys
watched the proceedings with interest, but could not understand why that
method of doing it was most effective.

The Professor came to the rescue. "The throwing of the javelin, the
proper term for all weapons of this character, was an interesting thing
from the earliest times. The lighter weapons are thrown by grasping
them between the thumb and the two first fingers; but the heavy ones
like this need a firmer grasp, and on account of their weight are not so
easily kept in a horizontal position when in the act of impelling it
forwardly. When, however, the spear is grasped in the manner shown you,
the little finger, and the next finger to it, both act to guide the
stem, and by practice they can be thrown with great accuracy."

This javelin-throwing match was the means of bringing the Chief and the
boys nearer together than anything else that had transpired, and it
began to make them take an interest in him, which was not the case
theretofore. What really affected Chief more than anything else was the
confidence imposed in him some days after, when Harry gave him one of
the bolos. It was almost touching to see the joy he expressed. The
Professor thought it would be a stroke of policy to have the present
come from the boys.

Although he was still limping and unable to move around with any
celerity he was out using the bolo at every opportunity. Here was an
opportunity, as the Professor explained, to show how intelligent
direction would not only be serviceable to the Chief himself, but that
its possession would turn its use into channels that would be of value
to him.

The gift made him particularly grateful, and so several days afterwards
Harry and Tom, by a concerted arrangement, took the yaks, and the truck
which had been previously made to haul in the flagpole, and, motioning
to Chief, set