uch for himself, as
for Kiopo, that his passions were fully roused. He did not doubt that
his father and mother would devise some means to protect him from any
serious harm, as soon as they realized the threatened danger. But if
Kiopo were the cause of that danger, his instinct warned him that
neither of them would hesitate a moment to sacrifice the wolf. In all
the vast world, he knew that the only friend Kiopo could rely on was
himself.

When he got back to the tepee, he saw with alarm that Kiopo was not
there. His mother scolded him for staying out so late. His father,
already under his buffalo robe, muttered drowsily of a beating in the
morning. Dusty Star had his own ideas connected with the morning. His
brain was thick with the dust of a great plan. His mother's angry words
were like fireflies that darted but did not sting.

Dusty Star went immediately to bed. His mother, having eased her mind,
did likewise. Blue Wings and the father were already fast asleep. Very
soon the only person still awake in the tepee was Dusty Star himself.

And the night deepened. Out there, in the awful hush of the prairies,
you could almost hear the deepening of it from the roots of the camass
flowers right up to the very roots of the stars!

In the camp itself only one sound was audible--the low persistent
throbbing of a drum.

As the boy listened, the beating of his heart became another drumming;
for his instinct told him that it was the medicine-making that would
surely send Kiopo to his death.

It was impossible to stay longer in bed. Out there, in the night, things
were happening. The evil thing that Sitting-Always had planned, was
hatching. When it was fully hatched, Kiopo would be doomed. Dusty Star
felt there was not any time to lose. If Kiopo did not return
immediately, he might not come back till the dawn. And if he delayed
till then, it might be too late to warn him. His enemies might wait for
him in ambush and kill him as he returned.

Dusty Star made up his mind. If Kiopo did not come back to him, he must
go out to find Kiopo; there was no other way.

He got up softly, took his bow and arrows, and a strip of pemmican that
was handy, and passed stealthily out of the tepee.

The night was starlight. Dusty Star saw the world in a vast glimmer. It
was the twilight of the stars. He paused a moment, embracing the camp in
one swift, sweeping glance that missed out nothing that was important to
be seen. All was one deep