ds,
and he sees the beads around the neck of his boy, will he not be
pleased and feel kindly toward us, who gave him the little present?"

Mul-tal-la was thoughtful for a minute before replying.

"The war chief is a man of strange moods. It may make no difference in
his feelings toward my brothers, but Mul-tal-la does not think he will
_hate_ them for what they have done."

CHAPTER XIII.

SUMMONED TO COURT.

At the end of a week George and Victor Shelton had become full-fledged
Blackfoot citizens. Several causes united to bring about this pleasant
state of affairs. In the first place, the boys used tact and good
sense. If the attention they drew to themselves became annoying at
times they did not allow their new friends to see it. They played with
the dusky youths, and were not sorry to find plenty no older than they
who could outrun and outjump them. It was too cold to go in swimming,
but one day when George and Victor were crossing the stream in front of
the village with three other lads, one of whom was their young friend
Smiler, heir apparent to the Blackfoot throne, the overloaded canoe
suddenly sank below its gunwales, and all had to swim through the icy
waters to shore. Every one of the three arrived first, and Smiler beat
them all, though in this instance I cannot help suspecting that the two
young Blackfeet favored the prince, but they beat the brothers fairly.

When the weather was good there were sometimes as many as fifty lads
playing on the common or cleared space at the rear of the village. They
indulged in a species of foot-ball, like the modern game, which was
marked by the roughest kind of play. In violence it sometimes
approached our own foot-ball, and blows were often given and received
in the fierce rushing.

On a certain forenoon, in a particularly exciting contest, one of the
players landed a blow on the side of Victor's head, which sent him
sprawling to earth. His quick temper flashed into a flame, and he
leaped up with doubled fists and made for the offender, who coolly
awaited him. A warning cry from George recalled his brother to his
senses, and, instead of attacking his assailant, he laughingly plunged
into the melee, which went on as merrily as before.

When five Indian youths invited their guests to go on a hunt the boys
took their rifles, but their hosts carried only bows and arrows. On the
return of the tired party at nightfall they brought the choice portions
of three an