the sweet singer and her little ones await the return of the hands
that feed and protect them."

Hendrick, pausing, looked round and received some nods of approval at
this point.

"The winter is long, however," he continued, "and when the snow is deep
over all the land we can put on our snow-shoes and revisit Bearpaw; or,
better still, Bearpaw and his warriors may come to Crooked Lake, when
the sweet singer and her daughter will give them hearty welcome, supply
them with more food than they can consume, and cause their ears and
hearts to thrill with music."

Hendrick paused again, and decided marks of approval greeted his last
words.

"But, my friends and kinsmen," he resumed, "when winter draws to a
close, the palefaces will go to the coast to see how it fares with their
comrades, and to try whether it is not possible for them to make a big
canoe in which to cross the great Salt Lake, for some of them have wives
and mothers, sisters, fathers, and other relations whom they love, in
the mighty land that lies far away where the sun rises--the land of my
own fathers, about which I have often talked to you. If they cannot
make a big enough canoe, they will wait and hope till another great
canoe, like the one they lost, comes to this island--as come it surely
will, bringing many palefaces to settle in the land."

"When they come they shall be welcome," said Bearpaw, as Hendrick sat
down, "and we will hunt for them till they learn to hunt for themselves;
we will teach them how to capture the big fish with the red flesh, and
show them how to track the deer through the wilderness--waugh! But will
our guests not stay with us till the hard frosts set in?"

"No; we must leave before the deep snow falls," said Hendrick. "Much of
that which fell lately has melted away; so we will start for Crooked
Lake without further delay."

The Indian chief bowed his head in acquiescence with this decision, and
the very next day Paul and the captain and Oliver, with their rescued
comrades and Strongbow, set out for Hendrick's home, which they reached
not long after, to find that all was well, that the old Indian servant
had kept the family fully supplied with fish, flesh, and fowl; that no
one had visited the islet since they left, that the sweet singers were
in good voice; and that the family baby was as bright as ever, as great
an anxiety to its mother, and as terrible a torment to its idolising
nurse!

Among others who took up the