PKESENT1MENTS OF EVIL. 125 



ness that danger was not far distant, I could not sleep. 

 First I tried one side and then the other, but without 

 effect. As it was not cold the fire had gradually de- 

 cayed till only a few embers remained, making the sur- 

 rounding darkness more intense. While I was hesi- 

 tating whether the rebuilding of the fire or a fresh pipe 

 would induce sleep, uneasiness seemed to have taken 

 possession of my animals. The mule was as watchful 

 as a dog, and as I knew he would not leave his friend, 

 I invariably left him untied. Several times he uttered 

 that short quick snort so peculiar to the species, and 

 always indicative of alarm ; while the mare kept moving 

 as far as her lariat rope would permit her. It might 

 be anything, from a deer to an Indian ; so, as my arms 

 were at hand, I quietly laid hold of them, and crawled 

 out of my lair, taking special caution that no momentary 

 flicker from the fire should disclose my movements, and 

 by a short detour got beside the nags, and soon had the 

 soft, silky muzzle of Becky in the palm of my hand. 



The greatest disaster a man can suffer in such a 

 situation is the loss of either his ammunition or of his 

 horses. If there were any hostile red-skins in the 

 neighbourhood, by the step I had taken a stampede of 

 my animals was now impossible. A few of the longest 

 hours I thus sat, my presence reassuring the beasts, and 

 when day broke, so still had all -become, that I doubt 

 not I should have been asleep, only that the hour pre- 

 ceding day is well known to be invariably the time 

 selected by Indians to carry out their machinations. 

 In the morning, quietly moving about camp, as if pur- 

 suing unsuspiciously my usual avocations, I particu- 

 larly examined the locality, when, among the remain- 

 ing scattered patches of snow, the easily- distinguished 



