“If you hope for light from Those Above,” the medicine-man warned the delegate from Tzitz, “you must not name in their presence the powers of darkness.”  To the tapop he said,—­

“Do your duty, but do it as it ought to be done!”

Kauaitshe reeled back to his place, where he sat down in sullen silence.  It happened to him as it always does to any one who loses his temper at the wrong time and in the wrong place; after the flurry is over, they find that they have wasted all their energies, and remain henceforth incapable of any effort.  The delegate of the Water people was hors du combat for the remainder of the evening.

The incident had made an impression on the assembly.  Nearly everybody shared more or less in the excitement.  Now that quiet was restored, apparent calmness seemed to prevail in their minds again.  The men stared as motionless as before; but their faces were dark, and many an eye displayed a spark of passionate fire.  Topanashka had not moved during the quarrel, and Tyope hid his face in his hands as before.

Hoshkanyi’s voice still trembled as he called upon the representative of Tanyi hanutsh.  The latter replied,—­

“There is more land yet at the Tyuonyi; let Shyuamo increase their ground from some waste tract.”

“There is no room for it,” growled the Koshare Naua.

“I say there is,” defiantly retorted the other.

The delegate of the Prairie-wolf people was not only of the same opinion as his predecessor, he even mentioned a tract of waste land that lay east of the cultivated plots, from which Shyuamo might take what they needed.  The speaker of Tzina hanutsh, however, was of an adverse opinion.  He remarked that it was always better for a smaller clan to divide their ground with a more powerful one, as in that case larger crops would be raised.  As matters stood, he added, only a portion of the land belonging to the Water people was tilled.  This the member from Huashpa denied, and reminded him that the Hishtanyi Chayan had suggested that the whole matter should be settled by the two clans privately.  Both the Cuirana Naua and Tyame, the delegate of the Eagle clan, could not refrain from expressing their approval in an audible manner by the customary “[=A]-[=a],” and the Shikama Chayan slightly nodded assent.

It was already late, but nobody thought of the hour.  On such occasions the Indian can sit up whole nights without ever thinking of rest.  Not only was everybody interested, but the excitement, although barely visible on the surface, was rapidly growing; and personal ill-feeling and spite cropped out more and more.

Tyame having expressed himself in favour of the opinion of the delegate from Huashpa hanutsh, the tapop could not refrain from going out of the ordinary routine in order to slight him, and to give the floor to the member from Hiits Hanyi.  This flattered the popular delegate, and he accordingly spoke so strongly in favour of the claim presented by Shyuamo that at the close of his speech several voices at once grunted assent.  Both parties were growing decidedly bitter.