that the clothes would not be harmed, he did not take them off, except
the extra stockings, nor change so as to wear his own outside. Thus he
again presented the tricolor aspect that had paralyzed the natives he
had met. It now occurred to him to make a little experiment, a sort of
trial canter, of his new profession, upon the Indians in the next
valley. He was not far now from his own village of the Elcuanams, and
might as well be getting into training. He would avoid surprising any
stragglers at the next village, and would get into touch with the head
men, explaining that he was the long-lost son of Kla-quitch, who had
escaped after all these years from the Mission, and had come back,
learned in all the knowledge of the white men and armed further with
this most wonderful appliance of magic, to take his place as hereditary
medicine-man of his tribe. He should see by that means what sort of
impression he would be likely to make on his own people. Nominally they
were Christians; but they were hardly ever visited by the priest, and he
knew that the bulk of them were still much as in his father's day, and
still placed reliance on the fetishes of the shamans.

Accordingly he made his approaches to the Ballena village with caution.
It was about noon when he came near, and he could see, as he
reconnoitered, that a group of men were talking together in the open
space about which the houses were irregularly placed. That was
excellent. He crept cautiously near, having some trouble to keep the
umbrella out of sight till the psychological moment: and then, holding
it high overhead with one hand and the slippers and extra garments in
the other, in token of amity, he uttered the orthodox Indian greeting
which answers to our "How d' ye do?" and advanced upon them.

They looked up all together: there was a yell that wakened echoes that
had slept for many a year; and in a twinkling the plaza (so to call it)