lderness, as it was softly borne through
the miles of intervening space, told the whole story to Deerfoot the
Shawanoe; it solved the mystery; it made clear that which was hidden; he
no longer saw through a glass darkly; the history of Otto Relstaub was
as plain as if it had fallen from his own lips.

I repeat that it will seem incredible to the reader that such a thing
could be true, but I shall soon make plain how it all came about.

The sound of the gun was from a point due south. Deerfoot having fixed
it clearly in his mind, said something in a low voice to the Sauk, who
had turned his head and was looking as if he expected some summons.
Then, rising to his feet, he addressed Jack:

"The night will soon come; we must make haste."

"Ain't you going to search the ground for Otto's trail?" asked Jack, who
had hoped that the powerful eyes of Deerfoot would reveal to him that
which was hidden from the Sauk.

"There is no trail here," replied the Shawanoe, glancing at the ground,
and walking away with a stride which seemed reckless, when it is
remembered that the Pawnees were not far off. In fact, the course of the
three took them close to the war party who were so clamorous for their
scalps; but the task of flanking a company of hostiles was not difficult
to Deerfoot. He let his friends know when the situation was delicate,
and each used the utmost circumspection; but the young leader deviated
so far to one side that he soon placed them in the rear.

Nearly half the day remained, and there was time to cover a great deal
of ground. Deerfoot did not break into that loping trot which he could
maintain from sunrise to sunset, but his strides were so long and rapid
that Jack was on the point more than once of being forced into a run.

The Shawanoe so shaped his course that he passed the tree near which he
had placed the rifle, tomahawk, and knife of Lone Bear. A glance showed
him they were still there, and he smiled in his shadowy way, but held
his peace. He did not tell his friends the story, knowing the
panic-stricken Pawnee would not reclaim his weapons until the hour
fixed--sunset.

Jack Carleton was well aware, from the manner of Deerfoot, that he was
carrying out some theory of his own, though the boy failed to connect it
with that far-away report of a rifle. He was far from suspecting the
surprising truth. Nothing would have pleased him more than to have had
the Shawanoe explain what line of policy he had adopt