t which is to be found only
amongst the sons of the soil, and, even then, rarely outside the few who
have been associated with Indians all their lives.

It was soon after sunrise on Monday morning that Seth found himself in the
neighborhood of the principal Indian camp of the Rosebuds. Yet none had
seen him come. He was hidden in the midst of a wide, undergrown bluff.
Directly in front of him, but with at least four hundred yards of
uninterrupted view intervening, was the house of Little Black Fox.

Seth was not usually a hard rider--he was far too good a horseman--but
when necessity demanded it he knew how to get the last ounce out of his
horse. He had left the farm on Saturday morning, and at midnight had
roused the postmaster of Beacon Crossing from his bed. Then, at the hotel
of Louis Roiheim, he had obtained a fresh horse, and, by daylight on
Monday morning, after traveling the distance through nothing but mazy
woodland, had reached the locality of Little Black Fox's abode. Thus he
had covered something like one hundred and seventy miles in less than
forty-eight hours. Nor had he finished his work yet.

Now he lay on the ground in the shadow of the close, heavy-foliaged brush,
watching with alert, untiring eyes. Something of the Indian seemed to have
grown into the nature of this uncultured product of the prairie world. He
had smothered the only chance of betrayal by blindfolding his horse, now
left in the well-trained charge of the dog, General. For himself he gave
no sign. Not a leaf moved, nor a twig stirred where he lay. If he shifted
his position it must have been done in the manner of the Indians
themselves, for no sound resulted. He knew that a hundred pairs of eyes
would infallibly detect his presence at the least clumsy disturbance of
the bush. For the Indian is like the bear in his native woods. He may be
intent in another direction, but the disturbance of the leaves, however
slight, in an opposite direction, will at once attract his attention.

The squaws were astir at daylight. Now, as the sun rose, it became
apparent that there were many preparations going forward in the chief's
quarters. There was a gathering of ponies in a corral hard by. Also the
long "trailers," already packed with tepee-poles and great bundles of
skins and blankets, were leaning against the walls of the corral.

To Seth's practised eyes these things denoted an early departure; and, by
the number of ponies and the extent of the