e he is, ready to speak for himself, and back inside his promised
half hour."

Tayoga parted the bushes without noise, and sat down between them
behind the big rocks. He offered no explanation, but seemed very
content with himself.

"Well, Tayoga," said Willet, "did you go down the side of the
mountain?"

"As far as I wished."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I have been engaged in a very pleasant task, Great Bear."

"What pleasure can you find in scaling a steep and rocky slope?"

"I have been drinking, Great Bear, drinking the fresh, pure water of
the mountains, and it was wonderfully cool and good to my dry throat."

The two gazed at him in astonishment, and he laughed low, but with
deep enjoyment.

"I took one drink, two drinks, three drinks," he said, "and when the
time comes I shall take more. The fountain also awaits the lips of the
Great Bear and of Dagaeoga."

"Tell it all," said Robert.

"When I looked down the steep side a long time I thought I caught a
gleam as of falling water in the bushes. It was only twenty or thirty
yards below us, and, when I descended to it, I found a little fountain
bursting from a crevice in the rock. It was but a thread, making
a tiny pool a few inches across, before it dropped away among the
bushes, but it is very cool, very clear, and there is always plenty of
it for many men."

"Is the descent hard?" asked Willet.

"Not for one who is strong and cautious. There are thick vines and
bushes to which to hold, and remember that the splendid water is at
the end of the journey."

"Then, Robert, you go," said the hunter, "and mind, too, that you get
back soon, because my throat is parching. I'd like to have one deep
drink before the warriors attack."

Robert followed Tayoga, and, obeying his instructions, was soon at the
fountain, where he drank once, twice, thrice, and then once more
of the finest water he could recall. Then, deeply grateful for the
Onondaga's observation, he climbed back, and the hunter took his turn.

"It was certainly good, Tayoga," he said, when he was back in
position. "Some men don't think much of water, but none of us can live
without it. You've saved our lives."

"Perhaps, O Great Bear," responded the Onondaga, "but if the bushes
below continue to shake as they are doing we shall have to save them
again. Ah!"

The exclamation, long drawn but low, was followed by the leap of his
rifle to the shoulder, and the pressing of his finger on the