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XX.   White Warrior, Piegan 198 XXI.   The Camp Moves 211 XXII.   Running Buffalo 224 XXIII.   The Wounding of Fox Eye 237 XXIV.   A Mystery of the Prairie 252 XXV.   The Relic of a Fight 265 XXVI.   Close Quarters with a Bear 273 XXVII.   Baptiste Lajeunesse 286 XXVIII.   The Lost Gold 293

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Jack Among the Indians.

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CHAPTER I. BACK TO THE RANCH.

The train rushed down the hill, with a long shrieking whistle, and then began to go more and more slowly. Thomas had brushed Jack off and thanked him for the coin that he put in his hand, and with the bag in one hand and the stool in the other now went out onto the platform and down the steps, Jack closely following. The train had almost stopped, and Jack bent forward over the porter's head to try to see the platform and to learn who was there to meet him. Suddenly he caught sight of three horses grazing not far from the station, and he shouted, "Oh, there's Pawnee! Look, Thomas! that's my riding-horse; that brown with the saddle on."

"That's yours, is it, Master Jack? He's a good one; I can see that from here. Are you going to ride out to the ranch?"

"I don't know," said Jack, "but we must be, I guess." And then, as he jumped down off the step and saw Hugh walking toward him, he shouted, "Hello, Hugh! I'm glad you've come for me. Isn't this bully? Good-bye, Thomas." And, taking his bag, he started running to meet Hugh.

"Well," said the old man, as he gave him a cordial hand clasp, "I am sure glad to see you, son. You got here all right, and on time. Didn't have no accidents, I expect?"

"No," said Jack, "I'm all right. Isn't it great to be here again. I don't know when I've been so glad before. I've been thinking about this time ever since I left here last fall."

"Well," said Hugh, "we're all right glad to have you come back again. I don't expect you've got any baggage except this, and there ain't nothing to wait for; we might go over and put the bag on the pack-horse, and start. I've been here ever since last night, and I've had enough of this town."

"We're going to ride then, are we? That's better fun than going in the wagon. I thought when I saw Pawnee that maybe that was the way you'd fixed it."

"Yes," said Hugh, "I expect you ain't done much riding since you left here, and we've got a long way to go, and I thought maybe it would be a good thing to begin breaking you in to the saddle right off. How does it suit you?"

"Splendid," said Jack. "We can make better time on horseback than we could in the wagon, and I'm mighty anxious to get to the ranch and see everybody again. How's the elk?"

"He's all right; fat, and just about half shed off; he looks kind o' ragged, but before long, when his old coat's gone, he'll be smooth as silk and pretty as a picture."

"That's good, and how are the ducks?"

"They're all right, too," said Hugh, "barring a couple that got killed only a few days ago. I don't rightly know what 'twas that killed 'em, but I reckon 'twas a bob-cat. I seen the tracks of one in the brush the last snow we had, and a few days afterward one of your ducks disappeared one day while they was out down to the brook, and two days afterward the old black tom-cat was gone, and two or three days afterward another duck. I never did see anything of the ducks, but I found the bones of the old tom-cat up in the brush a little while afterward, and there was a lot of fur in his claws, and it was bob-cat hair. Since that second duck got taken I haven't let them birds out except when I was there to watch 'em, and keep my eye on 'em all the time."

"I'm sorry those ducks got killed," said Jack, "I was in hopes they'd breed this year, and we'd have a lot of young ones."

"Well, maybe they will, but they've got to be watched, or else they've got to have some sort of a pen built for 'em, because you see, they can't fly, and it's mighty easy for anything to catch 'em."

By this time they were close to the horses, and Jack ran up to Pawnee and began to talk to him and pat him. The horse put his ears forward and arched his neck over Jack's shoulder, rubbing his head against him, as if he really knew who it was and was glad to see the boy back again. Meantime, Hugh was gathering up the ropes, and coiling them and putting them on the saddles. He bridled his own horse, and Jack did the same for Pawnee, both throwing down the reins; then the cinches of the pack saddle were tightened, and the bag quickly lashed in place.

"You better put your gun in your scabbard, son, and put some cartridges in your pocket; might be such a thing as you'd see something you'd want to shoot." Jack did so, and then they mounted and started off at a good lope over the prairie. Jack's heart was swelling with delight as he felt the cool wind on his face, and smelt again the odour of the sage, and saw the familiar birds rising from the ground and flying ahead, and alighting again in the road before them.

"I saw quite a lot of antelope from the train as we came along this morning, Hugh," he said. "I suppose there are plenty of 'em out at the ranch."

"Oh, yes, there's plenty of antelope. That bunch that used to live over in the pasture have just come back, and will be there all summer, I expect."

"Have you killed much game this winter?" said Jack.

"Well, no," was the reply, "not what you'd call much. We've had fresh meat right along, elk and blacktail and antelope. Early in the winter, just before we had that big storm, I went over to