The Opelousas courier., 1900-09-29
DY GEOFFREY RANDOLPH,

the cold water he wanted, ana Wltn
| the stoicism of his people, calmly
| awaited the last agony.
Doctor Felix brought forth the nee
| essary drugs from his scanty supply
and gave the Indian a heroic dose
enough to kill or cur a couple Of ordi-
nary men. The patient believed that
the medicine Of the white man was
capable of miraculous cures, and h
would have swallowed it unhesitating-
ly had he known it was the oil of
vitriol or the spirits Of anthony.
Macarthur and Hurd were fearful
for q time that their professional
brother had displayed too much en-
thusiasm, and that the medicine
would only hurry and finish the work
Of the fever. They assured him, how
ever, that they would keep the mat
ter quiet, 90 that it might not be used
against him should he ever put up
a sign and seek to establish himself
in the Yellowstone region.
But DR.. Felix understood what he
was doing, and though the poor In
dian was sick nigh unto death, all
through the night, a decided and IA
vorable change came at daylight,
when he broke into a free p~erspiration
and fell into a sound, refreshing slum-
Der.
Such strong organizations rally
quickly. and it was about the middle
of the forenoon when the savage rose
to the sitting position, and sat for a
moment loking intently at the doctor,
who smilingly returned his gaze.
Now. If 1 understood his tongue,
or he mine," said the physician, ''or
we could unite on Spanish or German,
1 would like to question him a little"
Just then the savage seemed to get
his bearings, and with one bound he
landed ON his feet, emitting a terrific
shout, and darted away, vanishing on
the instant in the wood.
That's a e dodge to get rid of
paying his fee," said Macarthur. HE
ought to be ashamed of himself"
Not at ALL" the doctor fastened to
reply. "He has left his rife behind
him, and that will certainly pay me
we'll"
Such was the fact, indeed, for the
weapon was a fine one, and by COM
mon consent it was taken possession
of by the physician, who had been
the means of working such a radical
cure in the sick warrior.
The incident was regarded as an
amusing one, as it certainly was, but
the three hunters thought no more
about it. They avoided all reference
to the thorough reconnaissance" they
had made of the place, for they could
call to mind nothing of which to feel
proud.
The location, however, was SO pleas
ant that they stayed two weeks instead
Of one, spending the. time in fishing,
hunting, or lolling about, reading the
few books they had brought with
them, smoking their pipes, or doing
hours away.
On the day preceding the one fixed
to start back to civilization, they had
not seen a hostile Indian, and were
congratulating themselves ON the ex-
tremely good fortune that had attend
I'd them from the first. It was yet not
lark, but a cool breeze was stealing
from the distant mountains, rem
lering the warmth of the fire very
agreeable. They had eaten their sup
1er OF nsh and were Io1ling about the
ire in languid attitudes, smoking and
The three friends felt like congrat-
each other on the good for
une that had attended them ever since
hey entered the Yellowstone region.
ut is due entirely to the knowledge
md are W. have shown" remarked
Dr.. Felix, airly. You know I have
insisted on our using woodcraft at all
"You are undoubtedly right assent
d Hurd, with scarcely less loftiness.
Many folks talk as though it is a
wonderful thing to outWit the red men,
orgetting that the race is an inferior
ne by nature, and all we Caucasfans
ave to do is to s our brains"
This was said with q positiveness
vhich showed that the speaker felt
misgivings as to his own supply of
hat article.
Il agree with you," conceded Nc
Arthur, "for it is by brains we have
cen saved, where others have failed
nd gone down."
The doctor, rs the head Of this
lutual admiration society, deemed it
roper to add: /.
Il have heard SO much about the
Anglers Of the Yellowstone region and
bout the necessity of having g guide!
Viiy, we each and all would be COM
etent to guide any expedition through
country. no matter how dangerous.
don't believe the most stealthy In
could get with gunshot of our
imp without every n of us detect
IL his approach- :.
The physician paused in rounding up ,
Is period. for just then he saw in the .
.oom behind the camp fire a bent
reach out and gently coniscate
rifle. leaning against a tree.
Macarthur, quietly smoking, was s
waiting the conclusion of the doe /
observation. TO add something n I
" same line. when he became ewara 4
ut tho clnlnp Of huslses immediately
syouds mud upon which be wgs ab. |
my casing, partly sheltaFsd several Z