“Baptiste,” said the young man, “you have more experience in these matters than I have; speak first.” The guide did not reply immediately; he bent his eyes upon the ground, and his fingers rested on the head of the massive hatchet from whence he derived his Indian name. When he spoke, it was with slow but decisive enunciation. “War–Eagle has spoken truly, the Crows will return in greater numbers; they will seek revenge for the death of their chief; they are brave, but their arms are bad—we are few, but our weapons can do service. My counsel is, that we choose a strong camp and await their coming; we will then handle them so that they shall not desire to interrupt us again; or perhaps they may offer to make a treaty upon our own terms.” “The words of Grande–Hâche are wise,” rejoined the chief; “he does not waste his breath in blowing against the wind. What says my brother Netis?” “He says,” replied Reginald, with his characteristic impetuosity, “that the counsel of Grande–Hâche may be good for our own safety, but it will not bring us nearer to Mahéga. Netis would follow the Osage trail in spite of all the Crows between the Platte and the Mountains.” “My brother speaks like a warrior without fear,” said the chief in reply; “yet we cannot follow the trail of the Washashee while fighting by day and by night with the Upsaroka. War–Eagle will join the counsel of Grande–Hâche to that of Netis. Let us choose a strong camp, bring in plenty of meat, and prepare to receive the Upsaroka. I will steal away alone in the night. I will follow the trail of Mahéga, and return to tell my brother what I have seen. It is enough, I have spoken.” Both the guide and Reginald approved the chief’s decision; and although our hero would rather have accompanied him on the trail, he felt that he would impede the progress of his Indian brother, whose fleetness of foot was so much greater than his own; he therefore acquiesced with cheerfulness, and they set forward to select a camp that should unite the advantages of a defensible position to those of a plentiful supply of water. For several hours War–Eagle pursued the Osage trail without halting, but his keen eye roved occasionally from side to side in search of a spot favourable for encampment, while Reginald and Baptiste brought up the rear of the party; the former mounted on Nekimi, prepared to gallop forward to the front and give the alarm, in case of the re–appearance of the marauding Crows. About an hour before sunset they reached a valley watered by a small stream, the taste of which proved refreshing, and free from the salt with which that region abounds; near the centre of the valley was a thick copse of alder and willow, covering a space of fifty or sixty yards square. On forcing his way through the outer bushes, War–Eagle found an open plot of fine level turf, entirely surrounded by the copse which sheltered it from view on all sides.