he trunk from base to summit, and the
disturbance was more marked than before.

"There must be some animal down there--"

Jack Carleton grasped a limb above him, leaned far over and peered among
the branches below, but his examination was not finished when he saw the
hand of an Indian warrior reach around the trunk, at a point half way
between the top and the base, and grasp the rifle which the young
Kentuckian had skewered between several supports. The stock caught
slightly, and, while disengaging it, the savage brought his head into
view.

He wore no scalp-lock, as was the fashion among many tribes, but the
long, coarse hair dangled about his shoulders, and yellow, crimson and
blue paint were mixed in that on his crown. There were no feathers,
however, such as Deerfoot was fond of displaying, and the body was
covered with a thin shirt of deerskin above the waist.

The Indian must have glanced aloft from the ground and taken in the
situation at once. He had climbed with great care, and, when he stopped,
was slightly below the point were rested the rifle of the youth. Had the
latter taken the alarm, when he felt the first jar, he could have
scrambled down and secured his gun ahead of the Indian. It would have
been a stirring race between them, but as I have shown, the first
knowledge of the truth came to Jack when he descried the extended arm
and saw the coppery fingers in the very act of closing about his
property.

Inasmuch as the dusky thief was forced to reach upward to seize the
weapon, his face was lifted enough for the lad to gain a partial view of
his countenance. It was similar to many he had seen among the Sauks and
elsewhere. The forehead was broad at the base and narrow at the top
(which was close to the forehead) and very retreating. The protuberant
temples, small eyes, heavy nose, wide mouth and retreating chin--the
whole smeared with daubs of paint, such as soiled the horsehair-like
covering of his head, rendered the features the most repulsive on which
the lad had ever looked. He certainly had never beheld a more unwelcome
visitor.

Having secured the property of the lad, the warrior now threw his head
further back, and looked directly up at him. The face, ugly as it was,
appeared the worse because of the grin that split it in twain and
displayed the white teeth which gleamed like those of a ravenous beast.
The expression and action said as plainly as could the words themselves:

"It's no use, y