then and there.

"There's been too much mercy shown the Pawnees," probably thought
Hay-uta, as he ran forward to tear the scalp from the head of his
vanquished foe. Reaching the inanimate body, he caught the long hair,
whipped out his knife, and was pressing the crown with the point, when
he uttered an exclamation, dropped the horsehair-like locks, shoved his
knife back in place, and ran from the spot.

That which upset Hay-uta's balance for the moment, was the sudden
recollection that he was a _Christian_ Indian instead of a heathen. One
of the cardinal truths which Deerfoot had impressed on him, was that he
should use no unnecessary cruelty toward his enemies; that he should
refrain from the barbarous practice of taking the scalp of a fallen foe.

The Sauk halted a few minutes until he could reload his gun, for, like
all frontiersmen, he appreciated the need of having a loaded weapon
always at command. Then he resumed his flight toward the point where he
had left his young pale-face friend. This carried him so close to the
canoe that he saw it in the act of moving from the shore, and recognized
the figure of Jack within it. Suspecting what it meant, he hurried
thither, and was observed by the lad at the moment he dipped the paddle
in the current. He reversed the movement, and immediately after, the
Sauk stepped within and took the second paddle.

The youth laid his down, saying: "You understand this business better
than I, and I won't mix things by trying to paddle in one direction
while you work in another."

In turning over to Hay-uta the charge of the canoe. Jack did the wisest
thing he could do, and he pleased his companion, on whom, it may be
said, for the time the welfare of both rested.

CHAPTER XXII.

A CLEW AT LAST.

No good reason could be thought of why Jack and the Sauk should remain
in the canoe. In fact, they would have shown more prudence had they
remained where they were when the Pawnees disembarked and walked out of
sight in the woods; or, if they felt the need of changing their
quarters, they ought to have gone as far as they could from their foes,
instead of following them and inviting more peril.

The training of the American Indian makes him treacherous, subtle and
full of resources. The desire to "get ahead" of, or to outwit a rival is
natural to us all, and is one of the most characteristic traits of the
red men. It was that prompting, more than any thing else, which led
Hay-