hat was of slight service.

"Assiniboine? Assiniboine?" asked Deerfoot, with a marked rising
inflection. Another shake of the head might indicate a denial of such
tribal relation, or what was more likely, a failure to comprehend the
question. Deerfoot repeated the word "Nez Perce," and was replied to as
before.

The first bit of information that the Shawanoe could gather for a time
was that the Indian of abbreviated stature came from the north. That
was clearly established, as was the direction which he was following,
but nothing was brought to light as to the nature of his errand in the
south.

The thought had been in the mind of our friend from the first that this
misshapen red man had seen the party of Assiniboines who held
Whirlwind. How was the question to be asked?

Deerfoot stepped to a tree resembling the water maple that grew a few
feet to the right of them. Its diameter was a foot or more. With his
hunting knife he cut out a square some six inches in diameter and
carefully peeled it off, the other attentively watching him all the
time.

Deerfoot now proceeded to trace on the filmy inner side of the bark
with the point of his knife the outlines of a horse with unusually long
tail and mane. This done, he depicted a warrior sitting on him with no
saddle except a blanket and without bridle. When the crude but
symmetrical picture was finished, he handed the piece of bark to the
other. The dwarf studied it a minute or two with close interest,
Deerfoot meanwhile watching his countenance.

Suddenly the homely visage lit up. The stranger recognized the figure
of the beautiful stallion. He had seen him!

With a thrill of hope the Shawanoe pointed north, his gesture clearly
meaning that he wished to know whether it was there the animal had been
met. The stranger shook his head. Deerfoot was disappointed, fearing
his meaning had not been understood. It seemed to him that the
Assiniboine horsemen must be journeying in that direction, and the
negative motion of the other's head might indicate that he did not
catch the drift of the question.

Deerfoot now pointed toward the rising sun, only to be answered by
another shake of his head. He next indicated the northeast. The dwarf
nodded vigorously several times. Then he gazed steadily into the
handsome face and began circling one of his hands rapidly around his
head, pointing to his moccasins and then to the sky. These peculiar
gestures were repeated a number of time