ink, the sugar, the onionseed, some books, and a few of the articles of
clothing he expected, but the umbrella and part of the clothes were
numbered with the missing; and though the clothes were not only valuable
but much needed, somehow it was the umbrella that made the head and
front of the crime in the Father's mind. Calling the Indians together
after vespers, he announced the theft, denounced the thief, and
pronounced his severest displeasure, with punishments proportionate,
against any who should fail to do all in his or her power toward the
apprehension of that ungrateful sinner, Pio.

Let us see what had become of the rascal from the time when he
disappeared. He had really dropped behind to rest, as Jose had supposed;
but while resting, the desire had come to him to look again at that
strange thing in his package. What could it be? He had seen the sergeant
take it out of the box, along, thin object; then he put his hand
somewhere on it, and pushed, and, wonderful! it had changed in an
instant into a huge flower! Such a flower! Yellow like a sunflower, nay,
like a thousand sunflowers, or the sun itself. Then he had done
something again, and all at once it was as it had been at first. Talk
about magic! All the things his father, old Kla-quitch, the medicine-man,
used to do were nothing to this. He simply must have another look at it,
and now was his chance, while Jose, who might tell the Padre, could not
see. He slipped the cords from the bundle and took out the thing of
mystery. A long stick, with some yellow cloth rolled round one end: but
how to turn it into the other wonderful thing? He could not resist
trying, and he felt about the stick, pushing this way and that, as he
had seen the soldier do, and it began to open. He pushed again--it was
done; behold the magic sunflower, beautiful, wonderful! And turning it
round and round he feasted his eyes on it, the most astonishing thing he
had ever seen; yes, and done, for he, Pio, knew how to make the Big