The
Doctor was of course absent, and the outcry was no more than the wild
yells, which were raised in the first burst of savage disappointment.
But the authority of Mahtoree was prompt to aid the ingenuity of the
trapper, in suppressing these dangerous sounds. When order was
restored, and the former was made acquainted with the reason why his
young men had betrayed so strong a mark of indiscretion, the old man,
who had taken a post at his elbow, saw, with alarm, the gleam of keen
distrust that flashed in his swarthy visage.
"Where is your conjuror?" demanded the chief, turning suddenly to the
trapper, as if he meant to make him responsible for the re-appearance
of Obed.
"Can I tell my brother the number of the stars? The ways of a great
medicine are not like the ways of other men."
"Listen to me, grey-head, and count my words," continued the other,
bending on his rude saddle-bow, like some chevalier of a more
civilised race, and speaking in the haughty tones of absolute power;
"the Dahcotahs have not chosen a woman for their chief; when Mahtoree
feels the power of a great medicine, he will tremble; until then he
will look with his own eyes, without borrowing sight from a Pale-face.
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