"Come on, then," said the brother; so, stealing softly down the
hillside, the boys cast their offerings on the pile in front of the hut
and ran away, taking a roundabout path home, that they might not meet
the medicine man returning.

"We must hurry to get in the jacal before father," said Nopal, suddenly.
"I didn't think of that. Run, Payuchi, run faster." But they were in
time after all, and were stretched out on their mats some minutes before
their father and Sholoc came in.

Macana's first duty in the morning was to attend to the baby, whose
wide-open black eyes gave the only sign that it was awake. She
unfastened it from the basket and unwrapped it, rubbing the little body
over with its morning bath of grease until the firm skin shone as if
varnished. When it had nursed and was comfortable, she put the little
one back in its cradle basket, which she leaned up against the side of
the hut, where the little prisoner might see all that was going on.

Instead of the usual breakfast of acorn meal mush, the children had a
plentiful meal of fish which their mother had saved from the feast of
the night before.

"I didn't think any one could catch so many fish as uncle brought last
night," said Cleeta, as she helped herself to a piece of yellowtail.

"Yes, they do, though," said Payuchi. "Last night, after supper, uncle
told the men some fine stories. I think he has been in places which none
of our people have ever seen.

"He told us that once he journeyed many moons toward the land of snow