“I will pray for his recovery,” said Mary, bowing down at the foot of the bed.

“Dod—­I mean—­Joe, it’s most daylight,” said Sneak, rising up and rubbing his eyes.

“Well, what if it is? what are you waking me up for?” replied Joe, turning over on his rude pallet.

“Why, I’m going home.”

“Well, clear out them.”

“But you’ll have to get up and shut the gate after me"’

“Plague take it all, I believe you’re just trying to spoil my nap!” said Joe, much vexed.

“No I ain’t, Joe; I’m in earnest, indeed I am,” continued Sneak; “bekaise I hain’t been inside of my house, now, for three or four days, and who knows but the dod—­mean the—­Indians have been there and stole all my muskrat skins?”

“If they have, then there’s no use in looking for them now.”

“If they have, dod—­I mean, burn me if I don’t foller em to the other end of creation but I’ll have ’em back agin.  But I ain’t much afeard that they saw my house—­they might rub agin it without knowing it was a house.”

“That’s a pretty tale,” said Joe, now thoroughly awakened, and staring incredulously in his companion’s face.

“It’s a fact.”

“Whereabouts is your house?”

“Why, it’s in the second valley we crossed when we went after the wolves on the island.”

“Then your skins are gone,” said Joe, “for the Indians have been in that valley.”

“I know they was there well enough,” said Sneak; “but didn’t I say they couldn’t find the house, even if they was to scratch their backs agin it?”

“What kind of a house is it?”

“’Spose you come along and see,” said Sneak, groping about in the dim twilight for his cap, and the gun Glenn bad given him.

“I should like to see it, just out of curiosity,” replied Joe.

[Illustration:  “I will pray for his recovery,” said Mary, bowing down at the foot of the bed.—­P. 186]

“Then go along with Sneak,” said Glenn, who approached the fire to prepare some medicine; “it is necessary that every thing should be quiet and still here.”

“If you’ll help me to feed and water the horses.  Sneak, I’ll go home with you,” said Joe.  Sneak readily agreed to the proposition, and by the time it was quite light, and yet before the sun rose, the labour was accomplished, and they set out together for the designated valley.  Their course was somewhat different from that pursued when in quest of the wolves, for Sneak’s habitation was about midway between the river and the prairie, and they diverged in a westerly direction.  But their progress was slow During the night there had been a change in the atmosphere, and a constant breeze from the south had in a great measure softened the snow-crust, so that our pedestrians frequently broke through.

“This is not the most agreeable walking I ever saw,” said Joe, breaking through and tumbling down on his face.