As he lowered his rifle, his eye, although
greatly dimmed and weakened by age, ran over the confused collection
of objects, that lay embedded amid the party-coloured foliage of the
thicket, until it succeeded in catching a glimpse of the brown
covering of the stem of a small tree. With this object in view, he
raised the piece to a level and fired. The bullet had no sooner glided
from the barrel than a tremor seized the hands of the trapper, which,
had it occurred a moment sooner, would have utterly disqualified him
for so hazardous an experiment. A frightful silence succeeded the
report, during which he expected to hear the shrieks of the females,
and then, as the smoke whirled away in the wind, he caught a view of
the fluttering bark, and felt assured that all his former skill was
not entirely departed from him. Dropping the piece to the earth, he
turned again to his companion with an air of the utmost composure, and
demanded--
"Is my brother satisfied?"
"Mahtoree is a chief of the Dahcotahs," returned the cunning Teton,
laying his hand on his chest, in acknowledgment of the other's
sincerity.
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