ow was entirely alone. It was impossible to
make a guess as to the tribe to which he belonged, though Deerfoot
suspected, without any particular reason, that he was an Assiniboine.
As to how he came to be by himself, and traveling southward, no theory
could be formed by the astute Shawanoe.

The latter lowered his glass, and, standing in full view, watched the
hunchback as he drew near with his crab-like, wabbling gait. Although
the Shawanoe was a much more conspicuous object on the landscape, it
was evident the other did not discover him until he was almost within a
hundred yards. No better proof could have been asked that the stranger
was afflicted with poor eyesight.

Suddenly he descried the form on the rocks and stopped short. He was
startled. Then he began hurriedly drawing an arrow from the bundle hung
behind his shoulder. It was a curious coincidence, which caught
Deerfoot's notice, that the dwarf was left-handed like himself. The
latter laid his gun at his feet and raised both hands above his head, a
sign of friendship. The stranger paused in his warlike preparations,
but seemed in doubt whether to launch a missile or to accept the sign
of comity. Deerfoot picked up his weapon, held his other hand over his
head, and began carefully descending the elevation. He kept a close
watch on the other, for he half expected he would let fly with his
arrow, and it would have been unpleasant, to say the least, to act as a
target, even at a considerable distance. The dwarf stood motionless,
closely watching the Shawanoe as he came toward him, evidently doubting
and hesitating, but Deerfoot kept up his signs of goodwill, which the
other could not fail to understand.

It is not unreasonable to believe that the personality of Deerfoot had
much to do with removing the misgivings of the stranger, for the
smiling face of the Shawanoe as he drew near would have impressed
anyone, though Deerfoot himself would never have admitted anything of
the kind. Be that as it may, the meeting was friendly, though Deerfoot
did not offer his hand in greeting, for he thought it unlikely that the
other would have understood the meaning of the salutation.

He addressed the stranger in the Blackfoot tongue, only to receive a
shake of the head in reply. The dwarf did not understand a syllable. In
response, he used a language that was "all Greek" to the Shawanoe.
There was no common ground, except that of signs, upon which the two
could meet, and t