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Deerfoot had secured a reply from the Shawanoe for whom he was hunting, and thus learned his precise whereabouts. He instantly began stealing his way toward him. The usage among this remarkable tribe of Indians required him to repeat the peculiar cry after hearing it, and the party of the second should respond similarly.
His own delay was meant to be as much in his interest as in that of the boys. If it should prove that the Sauk needed the help of Deerfoot, the latter wished to be free to give it, and that could not be done so long as the care of the boys was on his hands. When they were out of the way, nothing could interfere with the marvelous woodcraft of the young Shawanoe.
The young Shawanoe having learned all that was to be learned about his young friends, now reached his hand in the breast of his hunting shirt and drew out a small, closely-printed Bible, from between the leaves of which he took a piece of paper that had been folded several times.
Slowly and surely the leaven worked, and when the time drew near for the departure of the visitors it is probable that the number of converts was doubled, with the promise of further increase. Deerfoot and the boys made the parting as "informal" as possible. All through the winter the Shawanoe had impressed upon the Blackfeet that this separation in the nature of things would be brief.
So the Shawanoe hastened back, and dropped a short distance down stream in his canoe, having obtained his paddle, to an eddy where it took but a few minutes for him to coax a half dozen fish from the cool, clear depths, and these were just browning to a turn when the boys opened their eyes. Fred and Terry looked in each other's faces and laughed. They knew what an absurd failure they had made.
Just then Jack, who was slightly in advance of his friend, caught sight of a bundle similar that which the Shawanoe found several hours before. Hurrying forward, it was seen to be the blanket of Jack Carleton, which, like the other, had come displaced and fallen from the back of the wandering horse.
Having closed the door behind him, he still hesitated to advance until assured he was welcome. Although Mrs. Carleton had never seen him before, she was certain of his identity, and, rising from her seat, she asked: "Are you Deerfoot the Shawanoe?" He smiled and inclined his head. "You are the friend of my boy, and of Otto, the son of Mr. Relstaub.
Most of the Shawanoe chiefs were opposed to him, and even complained to the agent at fort Wayne, that his conduct was creating difficulties among the Indians. We have met with no evidence that Tecumseh favored the destruction of the Delawares, whose unhappy fate has been detailed.
Be that as it may, the meeting was friendly, though Deerfoot did not offer his hand in greeting, for he thought it unlikely that the other would have understood the meaning of the salutation. He addressed the stranger in the Blackfoot tongue, only to receive a shake of the head in reply. The dwarf did not understand a syllable. In response, he used a language that was "all Greek" to the Shawanoe.
These were cleaned, spitted, and broiled over the coals raked from the camp-fire. The Shawanoe had traveled with the Kentuckian long enough to gauge his appetite accurately, and thus it came about that when Jack Carleton ceased eating, he had all that he wished, and in reply to the question of Deerfoot, said he was ready to go through the day without any thing more.
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