. It had undoubtedly
been removed from the spot where it had lain; and was now nowhere to be
seen! It was scarcely probable that the wolves had eaten it, for the
Indians had been all night upon the ground; and their camp-fires were
near. True, the _coyotes_ would have cared little for that; but surely
the brutes could not have carried the body clear away? The bones, at
least, would have remained? There were none--not a trace either of body
or bones! We passed around the butte, and made search on the other
side. There was no dead body there--no remains of one. Ha--the river!
It swept past within fifty yards of the mound. It would account for the
disappearance of the corpse. Had the Indians thrown it into the water?
We walked towards the stream, half mechanically. We had little
expectation of finding the remains of the unfortunate man. The current
rushed rapidly on: the body would have been taken along with it?

"Maybe it mout hev lodged somewheres?" suggested Sure-shot. "Ef we shed
find it, capting, I'd like to put a sod over him, for old times' sake.
Shell we try down the stream?"

We followed the bank downward. A little below grew willows, forming a
selvedge to the river's edge. Their culms curved over, till the long
quivering leaves dipped into the water. Here and there were thickets of
them extending back into the plain. Only by passing through these could
the bank of the river be reached. We entered among the willows,
Wingrove going in the advance.

I saw him stoop suddenly, as if to examine the ground. An exclamation
escaped him, and the words:

"Someb'dy's crawled through hyar, or been dragged through--one o' the
two ways."

"No!" added he, after a moment, "he's not been dragged; he's been
creepin' on his hands an' knees. Look thar! the track o' a knee, as
clar as daylight; an', by the tarnal! it's been covered wi' broad-cloth.
No Injun kud a made that mark!"

We all bent over to examine the sign. Sure enough, it was the track of
a man's knee; and the plastic mud exhibited on its surface a print of
fretted lines, which must have been made by coarse threadbare cloth!

"By Gosh!" exclaimed Sure-shot, "that eer's the infantry overall--the
givernment cloth to a sartingty. Petrick's been abeout heer. Lordy,
tain't possyble he's still living?"

"Shure-shat! Shure-shat! Mother ov Moses! is it yerself I hear?"

The voice reached us in a hoarse whisper. It appeared to rise out of
the ea