ld attend to them, do you think we together have any
thing to fear?"

"Of course not, if it's only thim three, but we have seen so many of the
spalpeens that they won't be loikely to foind much trouble in scarin' up
a few hundred more and makin' it uncomfortable for us."

"Well," replied Fred, with a sigh, "I am so relieved and thankful to
know how well we got through it all, that I am hopeful we shall have no
great trouble during the rest of the way. We ought to be able to reach
the camp by to-morrow night if we don't have any interruption."

The young friends surely had good reason to feel grateful for their
deliverance from the perils of the morning, and with hopeful hearts they
walked along the margin of the wood until they came to the point where
the trail turned to the left. Over this they started at a brisk pace,
Fred slightly in advance of his companion, for the path was not broad
enough for them to walk any other way with freedom.

"Terry," said the elder, "do you think it possible that the three
Winnebagos with whom I had the trouble could be the three that we met
last night, when we were about to cross the stream?"

"Niver," was the emphatic reply; "how could they have got around so far
in front? It was a good many miles the ither way that we saw the same!"

"I have thought of that, but, you know, we spent several hours in sleep,
during which they might have turned back."

"But where could they have got their horses?"

"They may have had them within easy reach?"

"It couldn't be."

"I guess you are right; we hadn't a very good view of them last night,
though the moon shone on them when they were wading the stream and I had
a fancy that one of them looked like the fellow I hit when I fired."

"All a fancy," insisted Terry.

"Well, there's no use of guessing, for any way it must be only a guess;
but where do you suppose Deerfoot is?"

"I've been thinkin' of the fellow and it saams to me that it's time he
showed up."

"I wonder whether he could have passed us in the night."

"That couldn't be, for he meant to stay near the camp-fire where we lift
him till he found out what the spalpeens were goin' to do, and he
couldn't have got that chance till mornin'."

"Unless they made a start last night."

"Which the same they didn't do."

The boys were more in want of water than food, and fortunately they had
not gone far when they struck another stream, narrow enough for them to
leap across, and whi