“The idee of this chap was to take him round the country showing him off as a phenomenon, but I see’d that he thought it was such a big spec’ that he wanted to have the whole job in his own hands—so I told him to take him and go.
“He promised to send me half his profits, but I knowed that if he got away with the b’ar I’d never see either of ’em ag’in.
“But, I reckon he didn’t get fur away, fur the next day the Speckled Beauty come back lookin’ fur me and Little Rifle. He had the seat of the Yankee’s trowsers in his mouth, and so I made up my mind that they’d had a falling out. I left the fort that day, but I l’arned that the Yankee come in the next day to get a new seat to his breeches, and left for Fr’isco, swearin’ thar wa’n’t any chance for an honest man to make a living in these parts. Since that time, Speckled Beauty has been trampin’ the woods as he pleases, but he seems to have got weaned away. I s’pose ’cause he’s come arter us so often, without findin’ me or Little Pet at home.”
CHAPTER VI.
WHAT THE TELESCOPE REVEALED.
All this was very entertaining, especially when “Speckled Beauty,” the hero of the tale, was before the listener, prancing and cavorting, as though he appreciated the compliments of the old mountaineer, but Harry could not forget the fact that their errand was to discover Little Rifle, of whose fate as yet they had not gained the slightest inkling.
“But, Uncle Ruff, what of her? Have you no good news to tell me?”
He sobered on the instant the question was asked, and shook his head.
“I’m afeard not. You see I had an idee that Maquesa was at the head of this party, and, as soon as I got in good range of ’em, I laid down and watched. I counted ’em over a half-dozen times, and found thar war just eight. But the old codger wasn’t among ’em. To make sarten, I waited in the bushes till they all got aboard and shoved off, thinkin’ p’raps Maquesa was somewhar out of sight; but he warn’t, and then I started to hunt you up, and found you and Speckled Beauty, waltzin’ ’round the camp-ground.”
“Suppose you had seen the Blackfoot chief,” inquired Harry, “suppose you had discovered that he was at the head of this little party, what clew would that have given you? What would such a fact have told you about Little Rifle?”
“I had an idee that if I seen him, I’d see the gal too. If them varmints hadn’t looked so mighty ugly, I’d gone in among ’em, and axed about the health of Maquesa, and l’arned whether he’d been seen in these parts lately, but it didn’t look as though thar war much show fur me. Still I believe that that varmint is at the bottom of this business, and the fust thing I’m going to l’arn is whether he’s been seen in this neighborhood. If he has he’s the roo-ter we’re going fur.”