"See the lifting of the paddles!" exclaims
Winona.
" Like the leaping of a trout upon the
water!" suggests Miniyata.
"I hope they will not discover us, yet I would
like to know who they are," remarks the other,
innocently.
The birch canoe approaches swiftly, with two
young men plying the light cedar paddles.
The girls now settle down to their needle-
work, quite as if they had never laughed or
danced or woven garlands, bending over their
embroidery in perfect silence. Surely they would
not wish to attract attention, for the two sturdy
young warriors have already landed.
They pick up the canoe and lay it well up on
the bank, out of sight. Then one procures a
strong pole. They lift a buck deer from the
canoe--not a mark upon it, save for the bullet
wound; the deer looks as if it were sleeping!
They tie the hind legs together and the fore
legs also and carry it between them on the pole.
Quickly and cleverly they do all this; and
now they start forward and come unexpectedly
upon the maidens' retreat! They pause for an
instant in mute apology, but the girls smile their
forgiveness, and the youths hurry on toward the
village.
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