140 THRILLING ADVENTURES. 



was the first to complain. "If this lasts till sundown," he 

 said, " some of them would ' be rubbed out ;' that meat had 

 to be raised any how ; and for his part, he knew where to look 

 for a feed, if no game was seen before they put out of camp 

 on the morrow ; and meat was meat any how they might 

 fix it." 



No answer was made to this, though his companions well 

 understood him ; their natures as yet revolted against the 

 last expedient. As for the three squaws, all of them young 

 girls, they followed behind their captors without a word of 

 complaint, and with the stoical indifference to pain and suf- 

 fering which alike characterizes the haughty Delaware of 

 the north, and the miserable, stunted Digger of the deserts 

 of the Far West. On the morning of the fifth day, the party 

 were seated round a small fire of pinon, hardly able to rise 

 and commence their journey, the squaws squatting over one 

 at a little distance, when Forey commenced again to suggest 

 that, if nothing offered, they must either take the alternative 

 of starving to death, for they could not hope to last another 

 day, or have recourse to the revolting extremity of sacrific- 

 ing one of the party to save the lives of all. To this, how- 

 ever, there was a murmur of dissent, and it was finally re- 

 solved that all should sally out and hunt ; for a deer track 

 had been discovered near the camp, which, although it was 

 not a fresh one, proved that there must be game in the 

 vicinity. Weak and exhausted as they were, they took their 

 rifles and started for the neighboring uplands, each taking a 

 different direction. 



It was nearly sunset when La Bonte returned to the camp, 

 where he already espied one of his companions engaged in 

 cooking something over the fire. Hurrying to the spot, over- 

 joyed with the anticipations of a feast, he observed that the 

 squaws were gone ; but, at the same time thought it was not 

 improbable they had escaped during their absence. Approach- 

 ing the fire, he observed Forey broiling some meat on the 



