Such an art must be of great service; and how useful it would be to
the warrior on his path, to be accompanied by one who could thus
command the vigilance of the bees.
"You find enemy all same as friend?" demanded Peter, letting out the
thought that was uppermost, in the question.
"To be sure. It makes no difference with a bee; he can find an enemy
as easily as he can find a friend.'
"No whiskey-spring dis time?" put in Crowsfeather, a little
inopportunely, and with a distrust painted in his swarthy face that
le Bourdon did not like.
"Pottawattamie, you do not understand medicine-men. OUGHT I to have
shown your young men where whiskey was to be had for nothing? Ask
yourself that question. Did you wish to see your young men wallowing
like hogs in such a spring? What would the great medicine-priest of
the pale-faces, who is out yonder, have said to THAT?"
This was a coup de maitre on the part of the bee-hunter. Until that
moment, the affair of the whiskey-spring had weighed heavily in the
balance against him; but now, it was suddenly changed over in the
scales, and told as strongly in his favor. Even a savage can
understand the morality which teaches men to preserve their reason,
and not to lower themselves to the level of brutes, by swallowing
"fire-water"; and Crowsfeather suddenly saw a motive for regarding
our hero with the eyes of favor, instead of those of distrust and
dislike.
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