erry, in some
excitement, pointing his finger toward the camp, and with no thought of
the uselessness of such an act.
The others knew that he referred to the Wolf, who had caused them so
much trouble, but they had already seen him. He was standing at one end
of the group, with folded arms, while he scowled, and the firelight
fell upon his features with such directness that the scowl could be
plainly seen. He appeared to be looking at the two warriors busy with
the fire, though more than likely his gaze fell indifferently upon them
and the rest, all of whom were in his field of vision.
The tomahawk showed in his girdle, but of course he was without any
other weapon, and Terry could not avoid a smile when he noted it and he
had to say something despite the displeasure of Deerfoot.
"Do ye observe his left eye and the end of his nose where one of me
blows landed? What could be foiner than the swell that ye see there? He
will naad to use no black paint for siveral days, as me grandfather--"
At this point Deerfoot deliberately placed his hand over the mouth of
the speaker, abruptly ending what he proposed to say.
Now, nothing could be clearer than that if the Winnebago party were in
such plain view of the three youths, the latter in turn were liable to
be discovered by them. They were standing beyond the circle of
firelight, where the darkness screened them from sight, and, if one of
the red men should look in that direction, he could not have seen them;
but there was the probability that any moment one of the warriors might
start out to reconnoiter their surroundings, in which event, discovery
was almost certain. Besides, the exuberant spirits of Terry Clark taught
Deerfoot that it was unwise to trust him in such a delicate position.
Altogether, the time spent in watching the Winnebagos was barely ten
minutes. During that period, some of those reclining on the leaves got
up, walked about and sat down again; others kept their feet, and one
stepped to where the two were busy with a steak of some kind that they
were broiling over the coals, as though his hunger was making him
impatient.
But the Wolf never stirred a muscle, and Terry afterward insisted that
he did not wink his eyes, so motionless was he. The same scowl added
hideousness to the painted face, and it was easy to understand that his
meditations were of any thing but a pleasant nature.
Turning his back upon the camp, Deerfoot motioned for them to go b
|