ew their camp
there during the cold weather, but autumn, as they intended, was at hand
before they reached it. They were yet a long distance north and west of
their valley when they were threatened by a danger with which they had
not reckoned. A local tribe claimed that the band was infringing upon
their hunting grounds and began war with a treacherous attack upon a
hunting party.

The war was not long but the few hundreds who took part in it shared all
the passions and fierce emotions of two great nations in conflict. Henry
was in the thick of it, first alike in attack and defense, superior to
the Indians themselves in wiles and cunning. Several of the hostile
tribe fell at his hand, although he could not take a scalp, the remnants
of his early training forbidding it. But once or twice he was ashamed of
the weakness. The hostile party was triumphantly beaten off with great
loss to itself and Henry and his friends pursued their journey leisurely
and triumphantly. Now besides being a great hunter he was a great
warrior too.

CHAPTER XIII

THE CALL OF DUTY

They arrived at their valley and prepared for the second winter there,
returning to the place for several reasons, chief among them being the
right of prescription, to which the other tribes yielded tacit consent.
The Indian recks little of the future, but in his reversion to primitive
type Henry had taken with him much of the acquired and modern knowledge
of education. He looked ahead, and, under his constant suggestion,
advice and pressure they stored so much food for the winter that there
was no chance of another famine, whatever might happen to the game.

Before they went into winter quarters Henry clearly perceived one
thing--he was first in the little tribe; even Black Cloud, the chief,
willingly took second place to him. He was first alike in strength and
wisdom and it was patent to all. He was now, although only a boy in
years, nearly at his full height, almost a head above an ordinary
warrior, with wonderfully keen eyes, set wide apart, and a square
projecting chin, so firm that it seemed to be carved of brown marble.
His shoulders were of great breadth, but his lean figure had all the
graceful strength and ease of some wild animal native to the forest. He
was scrupulous in his attire, and wore only the finest skins and furs
that the village could furnish.

Henry felt the deference of the tribe and it pleased him. He glided
naturally into the p