“It was a dirty trick, freeze me if it wasn’t; but you can allers find a white man to do a mean trick, when you can’t a copperskin; that you may set down as a p’inted fact, Teddy.”

“I belaves ye, Mister Tim.  An Indian is a poor mean thing at the bist, an’ their squaws—­kah! they are the dirtiest beasts that iver jabbered human lingo; an’ their babies, I raaly belaves, is caught with a hook an’ line in the muddy creeks where the catfish breed; but, fur all that, I don’t think they could have been equal to this piece of wickedness.  May the divil git howld of his soul.  Blazes, but won’t there be a big squeal in purgatory when the divil gits howld of him!” And Teddy seemed to contemplate the imaginary scene in Hades with a sense of intense satisfaction.

“But it’s powerful strange you could never git on the trail.  I don’t boast of my own powers, but I’ll lay if I’d been in the neighborhood, I’d ’ve found it and stuck to it like a bloodhound, till I’d ’ve throttled that thievin’ wretch.”

“The Sioux spent the bitter part of the day in the s’arch, an’ meself an’ siveral other savages has been looking iver since, and none of us have got so much as a scint of his shoe, bad luck to him.”

“But, Teddy, what made him do it?” asked the trapper, turning his keen, searching eyes full upon him.

“There’s where I can’t answer yees.”

“There be some men, I allow, so infarnal mean they’ll do a mean thing just ’cause they like to do it, and it might be he’s one of them.”

“It’s meself that belaves he howlds some spite agin Mister Harvey for something done in years agone, and has taken this means of revinging himself upon the good man, as I am sure niver did one of his fellow-creatures any harm.”

“It may be there’s been ill-blood a long time atween ’em, but the missionary couldn’t a done nothin’ to give the rapscallion cause to run off with his wife, ’less he’d run off with this hunter’s old woman before, and the hunter was paying him for it.”

“Git out wid yer nonsense!” said Teddy, impatiently.  “It couldn’t been a great deal, or if it was, it couldn’t been done purposely, for I’ve growed up wid Mister Harvey, and knowed him ever since he was knee high to a duck, and he was always a boy that did more praying than fighting.  The idea of his harming anyone, is pre-pos-te-trous. After the haythen had fired at us, the good man actilly made me promise not to do the wretch hurt if the chance was given me; and a mighty foolish thing, for all it was Master Harvey who towld me, fur I’ve had a chance or two at the spalpaan since.  Oh blissed Virgin, why didn’t I cut his wizzen for him whin I could have done it—­that is, if I could!”

“And you’ve been huntin’ ’im these three or four months be you?”

“The same, yer honor, huntin’ constantly, niver losing a day rain or shine, wid Indians an’ widout ’em, cold, hungry and tired, but not a day of rist.”