ot, that that Indian was roaming through the woods on
this side of the river, without a gun?"

The Shawanoe shook his head to signify he did not know: it was, to say
the least, a curious incident.

"I thought possibly he was a stranger to the war party across the river;
he acted as though he was afraid they would see him."

"He is a Pawnee," observed Deerfoot, who had gained a view of him, "and
is one of their best warriors."

"Why, then, should he act as he did? You must have some explanation even
though you can't be sure."

"He was a passionate warrior; he may not have been right _there_," said
Deerfoot, touching his finger to his forehead; "perhaps he was so evil
the Great Spirit placed darkness where there was light."

"But when an Indian is unfortunate enough to be unbalanced in mind, the
others become more kind to him than before; he would have no need to be
afraid of them."

The Shawanoe reminded Jack that the stranger might hold the rest of his
people in mortal fear, without having cause for doing so.

The Kentuckian was inclined to accept this explanation, and he told how
curiously the other had acted from the beginning, and especially into
what a reverie he sank while sitting near the fire.

But when Jack Carleton had convinced himself on this point, Deerfoot
chose to express doubt. To him it seemed more probable that the Indian
had had a quarrel with his tribe, or had committed some offense for
which he was proscribed. It was not unlikely that one feature of his
punishment was that he should go forth into the wilderness without
firearms. When he sat by the camp-fire, he was doubtless meditating over
the wrongs he had suffered, and when his passion flamed out, he sprang
to his feet to kill the youth who had done him no wrong.

"I know one thing," said Jack, compressing his lips and shaking his
head, "I wouldn't have stood still and allowed him to work his pleasure
with his knife; I almost wish you had let him come on."

The Shawanoe gravely dissented.

"My brother is brave, but he could not prevail against the fierce
Pawnee; he might have saved his own life, but his wounds would have
hurt; _now_ he has no wounds."

"May be you're right, Deerfoot; you know more about the woods in one
minute than I'll ever know in a lifetime; so I'll drop the subject."

Jack asked his friend about the experience of himself and Hay-uta on the
other side the stream, and Deerfoot gave a summary of what had befallen