lanket with him, so it was
expected that he would share the couch of his friends.

While the three were busying themselves in this manner, Fred Linden was
disturbed by a suspicion that had been growing from the moment Deerfoot
expressed dissatisfaction with the spot selected for their camp. This
suspicion was that the young Indian had a fear of something to which, as
yet, he had made no reference.

I have already shown that it was not generally considered a dangerous
business in which the hunters of Ozark engaged. The rough, outdoor life
sometimes brought with it hardships, and occasionally sufferings, but
chief among the dangers was not that from Indians. It was known that
now and then the red men fired spiteful shots at the invaders of their
hunting grounds (as was the case with Michael Clark, the father of
Terence), but in this section of the west that particular peril was
deemed less than that which threatened from wild beasts. There was no
instance of the hunters having been molested on their way to and from
the trapping regions: why then this special caution of Deerfoot?

Fred Linden, while turning these thoughts over in his mind, gave but the
one answer--_the Winnebago_. He was an intruder in that part of
Louisiana, and he had shown by his acts how ready he was to shed the
blood of innocent white persons. It was not a supposition merely that
this fierce warrior had companions. The keen eyes of Deerfoot had
discovered the proofs that there were a half dozen, at least, with him,
and from whom he separated for a short time while he entered into the
"side speculation" with Brindle and her bell; so it will be seen that
Fred Linden was not only right in his suspicion that the Wolf had to do
with the unrest of Deerfoot, but that the latter possessed good cause
for his misgiving.

The Winnebagos, having drifted so far away from their own hunting
grounds into this part of the world, were either going further from
home, or were on their way back. Had the Wolf behaved himself, the band
would have gone and come without the knowledge of any of the pioneers,
unless there was a chance meeting in the wood, when it is not likely
that any harm would have resulted.

But one of the Winnebagos was struck in the face by a white boy, while a
young Indian, a friend of the latter, having "got the drop" on the Wolf,
had taken his gun from him. In other words, the crime of assault and
robbery had been committed.

Would the rest of t