We fished in the river till it grew quite dark, and had just put supper on the fire, when Tiger and Owl took their rifles, and, after telling us to keep a bright look-out for the Blackfeet, went up the river, and soon disappeared. I ordered Königstein to mount guard at the end of the small wood in which we had camped, at the spot where it joined the Platte, and promised to relieve him in an hour. We thus changed sentries until about eleven o'clock, when I relieved John. It was not very dark, although the moon was not shining, and sitting on the ground I could not only see across the Platte, but distinguish objects in the grass for some distance. Trusty lay by my side, with his head resting on his crossed paws; suddenly, however, he raised his nose, and I heard his low growl, which I stopped by a wave of my hand. He kept his nose turned obstinately up stream, in which direction I also kept my eyes fixed on the grass. I felt with the hand I had laid on Trusty that his attention was growing greater, for he began trembling all over, which he did when he was forced to master his growing excitement. Still I could not distinguish anything that appeared to me strange. The grass in front of me was not tall, and there were but few patches of scrub. All at once I fancied that a bush, about fifty yards from me, had moved, but it might be imagination, as I had been gazing at it so intently. A profound silence brooded over the landscape, which was only interrupted by the continuous monotonous rustling of the river. In our camp no voice was audible, and the bright fire, which had lit up the surrounding trees and bushes, had burned down, and only indicated its position by a glimmering light. When I took my post half an hour previously Owl and Tiger had not returned, and since then I had not heard them arrive. The air was very damp and cold, and the grass around me felt quite wet. I now fancied I could be certain that the bush had moved: I rose a little and looked at it more sharply; it moved again, and a dark object, in the shape of a large stone, slowly rose out of the grass. Now I could entertain no doubt it was a living creature: but what could it be? That was a matter of indifference to me, so long as it was not either Tiger or Owl, and they would not approach our camp so cautiously and suspiciously. It could be none but a Blackfoot. I rose on one knee, cautiously lifted my rifle, and aimed as well as I could for the darkness, at the object whose indistinct outline now covered nearly the whole bush.