168 WAITING IN THE WILDERNESS 



Then came a footfall on his right, promptly 

 followed by a shuffling noise close behind him. 

 He stiffened. 



The multiplicity of sounds led him to believe 

 that a number of Indians were surrounding him. 

 Preparing to spring up in an attempt to break 

 through the line, he was surprised by the snort 

 of an elk. Relieved, he rose up, and a startled 

 herd of elk thudded away in the darkness. 



By sunup Crandall had separated himself 

 from the Blackfoot country by so many miles 

 that he felt safe to travel across the prairie by 

 daylight. On he went, but he was ceaselessly 

 vigilant. Much of the time he moved through 

 a country so level and open that objects could 

 be seen for miles. From time to time his eyes 

 swept round the entire horizon; from the cover 

 of hollows he surveyed the ridges and slopes 

 ahead; he crawled across hilltops to avoid prom- 

 inence on the skyline; and from the heights 

 examined descending slopes before exposing 

 himself upon them. 



Every hour was exciting. During the morn- 

 ing upon a summit ahead he detected a slight 

 movement that suggested a crawling, scouting 

 Indian. Instantly he dropped into the grass. 

 Presently a coyote came out on the skyline and 

 revealed the identity of the uncertain. 



A little after mid-day some objects rose on the 



