before leaving the body."

"The Great Spirit has rewarded you for sacrificing the necklace of
panther claws," said Raven Wing in an awe-struck voice.

"He has indeed," agreed Hawk Eye. After a moment's silence Hawk Eye
said, "Help me remove the pelt."

Without further words both boys set to work. It was no mean job they had
undertaken. They found it necessary to cut down two strong young
saplings with which to turn over the immense body. At length they were
able to tear the hide clear of the carcass.

As Raven Wing bound it up in a neat, tight roll, he remarked, "I see you
have already taken the choice cuts."

"They are in my canoe," answered Hawk Eye, wiping his blood-stained
hands on the bear's head.

"We have another pelt to trade," chuckled Raven Wing, shouldering the
package. "We had better start at once for the river. The sun is low."

"Yes," answered Hawk Eye. "I do not like the idea of leaving our canoes
for so long a time. Let us make haste."

[Illustration: {River.}]

CHAPTER IX

THE RAPIDS

"Give me the pack," said Raven Wing, after some little distance. Hawk
Eye placed it on the younger boy's shoulder and took the gun which he
had been carrying. Examining it to satisfy himself that it was loaded,
he dropped the barrel into the curve of his left arm. From the brow of
the gentle sloping hill they could see the river bordered by trees
through a narrow valley.

Great rocks of granite and limestone cropped out everywhere upon the
treeless prairie and were turned a pinkish hue in the glow of the
setting sun. As the sun sank lower in the west the boulders took on many
fanciful shapes.

"Not so long ago buffaloes roamed this prairie," remarked Hawk Eye. "Now
they graze further toward the land of the setting sun."

"We will have plenty of fresh meat for our evening meal," said Raven
Wing.

"Yes, we have more than enough with the prairie hens you shot and the
bear meat," chuckled Hawk Eye.

"You also killed a rabbit," added Raven Wing.

On arriving at the beach where their canoes lay, Hawk Eye unrolled the
bear hide and spread it very carefully from one bow to another.

"At sunrise," he said, "I will scrape it clean with my knife. I think it
will dry in the sun as we paddle and make a good pelt."

Raven Wing collected an armful of dry wood and started a fire. Before
long both hungry boys were enjoying a hearty meal of prairie hen and
rabbit meat. After a drink at the spring nearby, the