At length, even at that snail's rate of progress, I gained the protection of the tepees upon the other side of the camp, and skulked in among them.

The lodge just before me, blackened by paint and weather, must be the one I sought.

I rested close within its shadow, striving to assure myself there was no possibility of mistake.

As my eyes lifted, I could trace in dim outline the totem of the chief faintly sketched on the taut skin: it was the same I had noted on the brawny breast of Little Sauk.
Never did I move with greater woodland skill, for I felt that all depended upon my remaining undiscovered; a single false move now would defeat all hope.

Who might be within, concealed by that black covering, was a mystery to be solved only by extremest caution.
Inch by inch I worked the skin covering of the tepee entrance up from the ground, screwing my eye to the aperture in an effort to penetrate the shrouded interior.