ation and misgiving, Jack rose on his elbow and then
carefully assumed the sitting position. Every vestige of dizziness had
fled, and his head was as clear as a bell. He was sensible, too, of a
faint and increasing desire for food; but he was equally conscious that
he was very weak, and it must be days before he could recover his normal
strength.

After sitting for a few minutes, he threw the bison skin from him, and
rose to his feet. Having held the prone position so long, he felt
decidedly queer when he stood erect once more. But he walked back and
forth, and knew within himself that the crisis of his illness had passed
and he was convalescent.

Of course it was Jack's vigorous constitution and the recuperating power
of nature which, under Heaven, brought him round. The medicine man had
no more to do with his recovery than have many of our modern medicine
men, who, sit beside the gasping patient, feel his pulse, look at his
tongue and experiment with the credulous dupe.

Jack Carleton possessed enough sense to appreciate his condition. Very
little sickness had he ever known in life, but there had been plenty of
it around him, and his mother was one of those nurses, whose knowledge
far exceeded that of the ordinary physician, and whose presence in the
sick room is of itself a balm and blessing.

The boy knew, therefore, from what he had learned from her, that the
time had come when he must be extremely careful what he ate and how he
conducted himself. Moving over to the unattractive table, he found some
scraps of meat left. They were partly cooked, but likely as good for him
as anything could have been. He ate considerable, chewing it finely, and
finding his appetite satisfied much sooner than he anticipated.

But that for which Jack longed above everything else was a plunge in the
cool water. His underclothing sorely needed changing, and he would have
been absolutely happy could he have been in the hands of his tidy mother
if only for a brief while.

However, there was no help for him, and he could only wait and hope for
better things. After he had resumed his seat on the bison skins, a
project took shape in his mind, which was certainly a wise and prudent
one, with promises of good results. Knowing he was recovering rapidly,
he resolved to keep the fact from his captors. While still gaining
strength and vigor, he would feign weakness and illness, on the watch
for a chance that was sure to come sooner or later,