t
with endless twists.

Except for two narrow breaks where it entered and issued forth, the
hills pressed all around, steep, grassy hills, fantastically knobbed
and hollowed.

The floor of the valley was about a third of a mile long and half as
wide. It was flat and covered with a growth of blue-joint grass as
high as a man's knee.

The whole place was like a large clean, green bowl flecked here and
there with patches of bright crimson where the wild rose scrub grew in
the hollows.

Ambrose, casting his eyes over the green panorama, was astonished to
see at intervals around the sky-line little groups of men busily at
work. They appeared to be digging; he could not be sure. One does not
readily associate Indians with spades. His guards pointed out the
workers to one another, jabbering excitedly in the uncouth Kakisa.

They rode on through the upper entrance of the valley and plunged into
forest again. Another mile, and they came abruptly on the Indian
village hidden in a glade just big enough to contain it.

It had grown; there were many more teepees in sight than Ambrose had
counted before. They faced each other in two long double rows with a
narrow green between. Down the middle of the green ran the stream,
here no bigger than a man might step across.

Ambrose was unceremoniously thrust into one of the first teepees and,
bound hand and foot, left to his own devices. He managed to drag
himself to the door, where he could at least see something of what was
going on. He looked eagerly for a sight of Nesis, or, failing her, one
of the girls who had accompanied her on the berry-picking expedition,
and who might be induced to give him some honest information about her.
He was not rewarded.

All who entered the village from the east passed by him. Watusk and
the rest of the people from the river arrived in an hour.

Here among safe numbers of their own people they recovered from their
alarm. Ambrose suspected their present confidence to be as little
founded on reason as their previous terror. Watusk, strutting like a
turkey-cock in his military finery, issued endless orders.

At intervals the workers from the hills straggled into camp. Ambrose
saw that they had been using their paddles as spades. A general and
significant cleaning of rifles took place before the teepees.

At dusk two more men rode in, probably outposts Watusk had left at the
river. One held up his two bands, opening out and closin