oung gentleman; you may as well come down."

The Indian did not speak, and his frightful smile gradually relaxed
until his mouth assumed its normal width. Then, holding the captured
rifle in one hand, he began descending, Jack Carleton remained astride
of the upper limb, watching the warrior, who went down with the
nimbleness of a monkey. Viewed from above, the sight was odd. He seemed
to see nothing but a mass of dangling hair and an indefinite number of
arms and legs which were sawing back and forth, and moving up and down,
while the body to which they were attached, remained stationary. The
illusion, however, was dispelled, when the Indian made a slight leap and
landed on the ground.

Immediately he turned, and standing close to the trunk (the better to
see among the limbs), fixed his eyes on Jack Carleton, and solemnly
beckoned with his arm for him to descend.

"My gracious!" thought the latter, "I don't believe there's any help for
it. Ah, if Deerfoot only knew!"

It occurred to the youth that possibly the Shawanoe could be reached by
signal. He hastily drew aside the leaves and looked toward the spot
where he saw him but a short time before. But the scene had changed.
Deerfoot was gone, and the Pawnees were swarming back to camp, a number
listening with rapt attention to the monumental yarns which Lone Bear
and Red Wolf were pouring into the ears of their credulous listeners,
whose experience having been what it was, prepared them to believe
almost any thing.

"No help from _there_," concluded the youth with a sigh, as he let the
leaves come together and shut out his view of the other shore; "I wonder
what this warrior will do with me; I suppose he will run me over to the
rest, and they'll even up matters by taking their vengeance on
_me_--helloa! there's no need of _that_!"

Looking downward, Jack saw that his captor was no longer beckoning for
him to descend. Like the old farmer, who, finding there was no virtue in
grass, resorted to stones, the Indian had substituted the gun, and held
it pointed at the youngster, who was slow in moving from his lofty
perch.

There was no call to fire; the youth grasped the situation at once and
began lowering himself with great promptness. While doing so, he
occasionally took a peep between his feet, and each time saw the warrior
standing erect and following his movements with the gun, as a hunter
does when aiming at a gyrating bird.

"I hope I'm giving satisfaction,"