“This is a good chance to do our weekly washing,” said George, as they began disrobing; “it’s time we attended to that.” It was the practice of the boys and Deerfoot to look after that indispensable work at regular intervals, for they had not the excuse of the lack of opportunity, since rarely were they out of sight of water. So the brothers brought their underclothing from the pack of Zigzag and laid it on the bank to don when their swim was over. Then they cleansed that which they had taken off, as well as they could without the help of soap. I am afraid they hurried through with the task, for in a very brief time they were frolicking in the icy water and enjoying themselves as nobody in the world can enjoy himself unless he is a rugged youngster, overflowing with health and animal spirits. They dived and swam; they splashed and tried to duck each other; their happy laughter rang out, and it seemed to them as if they could do nothing finer than spend the remainder of the day in the pool. If the first contact with the icy element gave them a shock, it also imparted an electric thrill which tingled from the crown of the head to the end of the toes, and made them shout and cry out in the wanton ecstasy of enjoyment. But in due time they felt they had had enough and the moment had come to don their clothing again, leaving that which had been washed spread out and drying in the sunlight. They reluctantly emerged from the pool and gingerly picked their way over the pebbles. Victor was a few paces in advance. His brother was in the act of leaving the water when Victor uttered an exclamation: “Great Cæsar, George! Somebody has stolen our clothes!” ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER XX OLD FRIENDS. “IT can’t be,” gasped the mystified George; “you’re mistaken.” “Come and see for yourself; where did you leave your clothes?” “Over there on top of that boulder,” replied George, coming forward and staring at the object named. “Well, do you see them _now_?” “Maybe the wind blew them off,” weakly suggested the other, although he knew such a thing was impossible, for there had not been a breath of air stirring for hours. The two made careful search. Not a stitch of their garments was to be seen. “And the thieves have taken those we spread out to dry. Aren’t we in a pretty fix? We’ll have to travel naked until we can kill a bear or two and rob them of their hides.” “Who was the thief?” was the superfluous query of George, staring here and there in quest of the wretch who had done this “low down” thing. “You don’t suppose it was Mul-tal-la?” “No; how could it be? What would he want of our clothes? We saw him go down the trail; I don’t believe he is within a mile of us.” “Maybe Black Elk and his warriors have been following and waiting for a chance of this kind.” Victor shook his head. The thought was preposterous.