ce of his own beast, and he was about to rush up the
little bank, which confined the current, with all the longings of strong
affection, when Asinus himself galloped into view, at no great distance,
urged to the unnatural gait by the impatient and brutal Weucha, who
bestrode him.

The eyes of the Teton, and those of the fugitives met. The former raised
a long, loud, and piercing yell, in which the notes of exultation
were fearfully blended with those of warning. The signal served for a
finishing blow to the discussion on the merits of the bark, the Doctor
stepping as promptly to the side of the old man, as if a mental mist had
been miraculously removed from his eyes. In another instant the steed of
the young Pawnee was struggling with the torrent.

The utmost strength of the horse was needed to urge the fugitives,
beyond the flight of arrows that came sailing through the air, at the
next moment. The cry of Weucha had brought fifty of his comrades to
the shore, but fortunately among them all, there was not one of a rank
sufficient to entitle him to the privilege of bearing a fusee. One half
the stream, however, was not passed, before the form of Mahtoree himself
was seen on its bank, and an ineffectual discharge of firearms announced
the rage and disappointment of the chief. More than once the trapper had
raised his rifle, as if about to try its power on his enemies, but he as
often lowered it, without firing. The eyes of the Pawnee warrior glared
like those of the cougar, at the sight of so many of the hostile tribe,
and he answered the impotent effort of their chief, by tossing a hand
into the air in contempt, and raising the war-cry of his nation. The
challenge was too taunting to be endured. The Tetons dashed into the
stream in a body, and the river became dotted with the dark forms of
beasts and riders.

There was now a fearful struggle for the friendly bank. As the Dahcotahs
advanced with beasts, which had not, like that of the Pawnee, expended
their strength in former efforts, and as they moved unincumbered by any
thing but their riders, the speed of the pursuers greatly outstripped
that of the fugitives. The trapper, who clearly comprehended the whole
danger of their situation, calmly turned his eyes from the Tetons to his
young Indian associate, in order to examine whether the resolution of
the latter began to falter, as the former lessened the distance between
them. Instead of betraying fear, however, or any