?" demanded Hippy.

A man stepped out from the shadow of the trees and stood confronting the
peering Overlanders.

"It's Lo, the poor Indian!" cried Hippy. "Hello, Lo!"

"So it is," agreed Tom. "How did you get here ahead of us?"

"Come 'cross," answered the man, indicating with a gesture that he bad
taken a short cut through the woods, though how he knew where they were
going, unless he had heard their discussion at the point where they took
the right-hand road, the Overlanders could not imagine.

"You say this is 'no good' as a camping place. What is the matter with
it?" demanded Tom Gray, regarding the Indian suspiciously.

"No water. You come, me show."

"Let him lead the way," suggested Elfreda.

"Yes. Give the poor red man a chance," urged Hippy.

The Indian, without asking further permission to lead them, turned and
trotted along ahead at a typical Indian lope, and at a rate of speed
that necessitated putting the ponies at a jog-trot in order to keep him
in view. The Indian proceeded on for fully half a mile, then, turning
sharply to the left, led them on until he reached the bank of a stream,
to which he pointed as indicating their camping place.

The site was hidden from the road by which they had arrived by trees and
a bluff, thus protecting the party from discovery by persons passing
along the road, which they readily understood the Indian had purposely
planned.

"Fine! Fine!" glowed Tom.

"We are much obliged to you, and thank you," added Anne.

"What is your name?" asked Elfreda as the girls began to dismount.

"Willy Horse."

"Ho, ho, ho!" exclaimed Hippy Wingate. "That's a horse of another color.
Ladies and gentlemen, permit me to introduce to you Chief Willy Horse,
and believe me he is some horse to stand the punishment those
lumberjacks gave him and still be able to talk horse sense."

The Overlanders acknowledged the introduction laughingly, and shook
hands with the Indian, at the same time giving him their names.

"Where you go?" demanded the red man, addressing Tom Gray.

"To the Pineries in the north."

"Good! What do?"

"Cruise them, Willy. Do you know what that is?"

The Indian nodded.

"Good! What you do?" he questioned, turning to Lieutenant Wingate.

"Oh, most any old thing, Willy old hoss," answered Hippy jovially. "It
is mostly other persons who do the doing, in my case. They do me
instead."

"Good! You Big Friend--big medicine. You help Willy Horse. Willy not
f