s, his eyes shining with fever, his foot festering
and in a state of indescribable filth and his whole condition one of
unspeakable wretchedness. Cameron found his gorge rise at the sight of
the gangrenous ankle.

"This is a horrid business, Mandy," he exclaimed. "This is not for you.
Let us send for the doctor. That foot will surely have to come off.
Don't mess with it. Let us have the doctor."

But his wife, from the moment of her first sight of the wounded foot,
forgot all but her mission of help.

"We must have a clean tent, Allan," she said, "and plenty of hot water.
Get the hot water first."

Cameron turned to the Chief and said, "Hot water, quick!"

"Huh--good," replied the Chief, and in a few moments returned with a
small pail of luke-warm water.

"Oh," cried Mandy, "it must be hot and we must have lots of it."

"Hot," cried Cameron to the Chief. "Big pail--hot--hot."

"Huh," grunted the Chief a second time with growing intelligence, and
in an incredibly short space returned with water sufficiently hot and in
sufficient quantity.

All unconscious of the admiring eyes that followed the swift and skilled
movements of her capable hands, Mandy worked over the festering and
fevered wound till, cleansed, soothed, wrapped in a cooling lotion, the
limb rested easily upon a sling of birch bark and skins suggested and
prepared by the Chief. Then for the first time the boy made a sound.

"Huh," he grunted feebly. "Doctor--no good. Squaw--heap good. Me two
foot--live--one foot--" he held up one finger--"die." His eyes were
shining with something other than the fever that drove the blood racing
through his veins. As a dog's eyes follow every movement of his master
so the lad's eyes, eloquent with adoring gratitude, followed his nurse
as she moved about the wigwam.

"Now we must get that clean tent, Allan."

"All right," said her husband. "It will be no easy job, but we shall do
our best. Here, Chief," he cried, "get some of your young men to pitch
another tent in a clean place."

The Chief, eager though he was to assist, hesitated.

"No young men," he said. "Get squaw," and departed abruptly.

"No young men, eh?" said Cameron to his wife. "Where are they, then? I
notice there are no bucks around."

And so while the squaws were pitching a tent in a spot somewhat removed
from the encampment, Cameron poked about among the tents and wigwams of
which the Indian encampment consisted, but found for the most part