Reluctantly Billie quitted that beautiful spring. He even turned to look back at it several times, and went on to remark: “That crazy Injun ought to have been shot, to do such a thing. Why didn’t he pick out an ordinary spring, and put his loco weed in the same?” “Oh! well, perhaps that story is only one of the Indian legends we read about, and it’s really something else that makes the water coming from that spring bad, so that people who drink it feel sick right away. I’ve got an idea myself that it must pass through some sort of copper deposit that poisons the water. Because if this thing happened years and years ago, as the reds say, how could the poison still keep on working?” “Well, now, that doesn’t stand to reason, does it?” remarked Billie. “And I reckon you’re right when you say it, Donald. But let me tell you I never was more disappointed in my life. But I didn’t notice any bones lying around there, or graves either.” “What makes you say that?” demanded Adrian. “Why, if the water is really poisoned, lots of fellows must have drank of it, time in and time out, not knowing how dangerous it was; and if they fell down and kicked the bucket, wouldn’t we see their bones scattered around, just as the wolves and coyotes had left ’em?” “Oh! it doesn’t kill you outright, they say; just sickens you, until you feel like you’d be glad to die to end it all,” Donald assured him. “I’ve heard people talk that way about being seasick,” Billie observed; and then he seemed to fall into a musing spell, as though the recent strange event had, as was only natural, made a serious impression on his mind. It was only half an hour later that the ponies again manifested an unusual eagerness to get on. Donald called the attention of Billie to the fact. “You notice that there isn’t the least sign of water, so far as we can see for ourselves, Billie; and yet they scent it plain enough. Doesn’t that prove what I said about their being smarter than any human being?” Billie admitted that it did; for he was very frank, and ready to own up to anything, after he had been convinced of his error. “P’raps we might let the ponies try first this time,” he suggested, cautiously. “If they tackle it right off the reel, then it ought to be safe for us to drink, eh, fellows?” “Not a bad idea at all, Billie, and does you credit,” said Adrian; “sort of taking advantage of their sagacity, you might call it, I reckon.” “Only don’t let ’em muddy things for us,” admonished the fat boy. “Somebody else will have to lend me a hand with Bray here, because I just can’t hold him in when he takes a notion to do something.” “That’s easily managed,” laughed Donald, coming up on the other side, so that he could lean over, and grip the rope that served as a bridle for the pack mule.