rse
until it fluttered slowly to the ground.

It may be said that the danger which threatened Deerfoot was "in the
air," if it be conceivable that there is anything in the expression. He
was as certain of it as he was of his own existence, and yet he stood
motionless, displaying an incredible confidence in his ability to
discover the nature of the peril before it could take effective shape.

Had he leaped lightly behind a tree, he might have placed himself on the
side which would have left him exposed to the stealthy shot; had he
dropped to the ground and crept to one side of the moss-covered boulder,
the same fatal mistake was likely to be made. Therefore he stood as
rigid as iron, until he could learn the direction from which he was
threatened.

A rustling no louder than that made by the oscillation of a falling leaf
came from a point some distance ahead and on his right. So soft indeed
was the sound that it cannot be explained how the human ear could be
trained to the point of hearing it.

But it was that for which Deerfoot the Shawanoe was waiting, and it gave
him the knowledge he sought.

CHAPTER XX.

SAUK AND SHAWANOE.

At the instant the almost inaudible rustling struck the ear of Deerfoot
the Shawanoe, he caught sight of a rifle barrel as it was thrust among
the undergrowth and aimed at him. It was the faintest possible sound,
caused by the pushing aside of the leaves which he heard, and which he
was expecting for a full minute to hear. The lightning-like glance cast
toward the point showed him the dark barrel, and the ferocious gleam of
the face of an Indian, crouching on one knee just beyond.

The warrior who aimed the weapon meant to send the bullet through the
chest of the youth, whose approach, stealthy as it was, he had detected.
The distance was so slight that the briefest possible time was required
to make his aim certain; but while in the very act of doing so, the
sinewy youth vanished like a puff of vapor.

The savage was dumfounded, for nothing of the kind had ever occurred, so
far as his experience went, and it was unexplainable to him. He had used
the proverbial caution of his people, and he knew from the expectant
position of the youth that his suspicions were excited, but he could not
comprehend by what means he had passed so suddenly from sight. The red
man was in the very act of pressing the trigger when he discovered he
was not aiming at any target.

If the Indian tongue co