"And on the third day he heard behind him the thunder of many hard hoofs upon the hard plain; the occasional whinnying that he had learned to love so well! And then, an old female leading them, the elk-dogs came close up beside him, and he caught and mounted one of them, and rode on. How happy he was! He realized what this would mean for himself and for the people. These elk-dogs would rapidly increase in number; there would soon be enough of them for all the people, and then they would ride instead of walk, and their lodges and all their belongings would be carried by the animals. 'And now I can do something for those who have been so good to me,' he said to himself, and rode on, singing the new songs that he had learned. "It was late in the afternoon on the day that he approached the camp. All the men had returned from the hunt; every one was outside the lodges, resting in the warm sunshine. The first to discover him gave a shout of surprise and alarm. All the people sprang up and stood gazing at the strange sight. They asked one another what the strange big black animals could be? And was it really a man sitting astride one of them? "'It is some fierce god bringing his fierce animals to destroy us,' shouted Spotted Bear, the very man who had so contemptuously used Long Arrow, who had not had the courage to follow the boy-snipe into the water. Again he cried out: 'Surely it is an evil one coming to destroy us.' And he fled, and all the people fled with him and took to the brush. "Long Arrow rode into camp and dismounted at Heavy Runner's lodge, and all the elk-dogs came up and crowded around him and the one of them that he had been riding. 'Heavy Runner! Heavy Runner!' he shouted. 'Be not afraid! I am only your son, come back to you!' "Heavy Runner heard the well-known voice and was no longer afraid. He came hurrying from the brush, all the people following him, and they all crowded around Long Arrow and his strange animals. Said the youth then: 'Only father and mother that I ever knew, I have brought to you, excepting one female and one male, all these strange and useful animals. As you see, they can be ridden; you will no longer have to walk. Also, they will carry for you everything that is yours. I am glad that I can give them to you, both of you who have been so good to me.' "'How generous of you!' Heavy Runner cried. But his wife could say nothing: she embraced Long Arrow and wept. "'Where did you get the strange black ones?' a chief asked. "'I will tell you all about it this evening; I am cautioned not to talk about the gods in the daytime,' Long Arrow answered. And after picketing the animal he had ridden on good grass, and driving the others out from camp, he went into the lodge and rested. [Illustration: GOING-TO-THE-SUN CHALET, UPPER ST. MARY'S LAKE]