His lodge was spread deep with the pelts of wolves and bears and
foxes. He was a great man--and all owing to the virtue of the magic
moccasins. But he did not always remember that. He was full of
pride. The second brother grew sleek, and slow of wit. Cooked food
and fresh water were always at his side, so he was content to sit
still. But the youngest of the brothers was neither famous nor lazy.
He was a brave fighter, but he led no war parties. He was a good
hunter and worked hard for his living. He could find no magic in the
red arrow, though he had put it to many tests. It shot no straighter
and flew no farther than the other shafts in his quiver. But he
always kept it near him, ready for whatever might happen, for his
faith in its virtue was strong.
"One day in early autumn the young man with the red arrow left the
village of his people. Something had spoken to him in his sleep, and
had told him that a great adventure awaited him in a far country. So
he journeyed northward and westward, by whatever trails came most
readily to his feet. Game was plenty, so he did not want for food.
On the evening of the third day of his journey he came to the edge of
a great barren. It spread before him, treeless from horizon to
horizon. But a little voice in his brain told him that his way led
straight on.
"After he had traveled over that great barren for more than two days
he saw a line of blue hills far to the north. While he was still
many miles distant from them he caught sight of something running
swiftly toward him. As it drew near him he saw, greatly to his
wonder, that it was a young woman. Her eyes were bright with terror,
and she ran unsteadily over the rough ground. When she saw the young
man she swerved in her course and ran to him, crying out that a
terrible wizard followed her in the form of a great bear. The youth
set an arrow to the string of his bow; and, as he waited for the bear
to appear, the girl told him that he who hunted her was the most
powerful of all the evil wizards, and that he could take upon himself
at pleasure the form of any bird or animal.
[Illustration: Suddenly the great bear appeared, galloping heavily]
"Suddenly the great bear appeared, galloping heavily but swiftly.
Its small eyes burned with ferocity. Its narrow, scarlet tongue hung
from its jaws. As the youth drew his bow he noticed that the red
arrow was the one he had chanced to draw from his belt. He loosed it
straight at the shoulder of the advancing beast. It flashed from the
string and vanished. The bear advanced. The young brave trembled,
and the girl cried out in dismay. But in a second the red arrow fell
at its master's feet, and across its haft hung the moccasins of the
wind. In a flash the young man understood. He tore his own
moccasins from his feet and replaced them with the magic pair. Then
he returned the red arrow to his quiver and caught the girl in his
arms. She felt no heavier than a young fox, so great was the magic
of the moccasins.
"'Have no fear,' he said, and sprang away. Under his speeding feet
the earth swam back and melted behind them, and the gray, brown,
blue, and red of its tinted surface mixed like colored waters. For a
thousand miles the wizard followed, now with the stride of a moose,
now with the wings of an eagle; but he was left so far behind in the
first half-second that he lost both scent and sight of them before
the magic moccasins had made a dozen strides. So you may believe
that at the end of his thousand miles he was very far on the wrong
trail. When the young man paused to take breath he found that floors
and heaps of ice stretched away on all sides. The air was bitterly
cold. Overhead the dome of heaven was alive with the magnificent,
drifting radiance of the Northern Lights. The girl lay weakly
against his arm, for the speed of their flight had held her breath in
her nostrils. Presently she opened her eyes and looked about her
fearfully.
"'How came we to this place?' she asked.
"'By the magic of the moccasins of the wind,' he told her, pointing
down at the gaily beaded shoes on his feet.
"She trembled and hid her face. 'It was like death,' she said.
"Then the youth understood that to endure the tremendous flight of
the moccasins one must also be possessed of their strength. For
hours they wandered about in search of shelter and food. In
unhurried motion the young man's feet experienced none of the magic.
He was thankful for that. At last the girl sank on the ice, faint
for want of food and drink. Then the man bethought him of the red
arrow, and, fitting it to his bow, fired it at a distance.
"'Its virtue is so great,' he thought, 'that it may bring a fowl or a
fish to me, to keep this woman from death.' In a second the arrow
was at his feet, and midway on the red shaft hung the wallet of
plenty. Thankfully they ate and drank, and hearts and bodies
recovered strength.
"Many moons later the possessor of the red arrow, accompanied by the
beautiful young woman, approached the lodges of his own people. At
his belt, securely wrapped in water-tight skins, he carried the
moccasins of the wind and the wallet of plenty. He was an honest
man, and wished to return them to the rightful owners uninjured. A
mile from the village they met the second brother--the man who had
chosen the wallet of plenty from among the three gifts. Upon his
shoulders he carried a great stick of maple-wood. In appearance he
had changed surprisingly since the other's departure. The muscles
stood out on his lean arms and legs, and his eyes were merry; whereas
of old his limbs had been heavy with fat and his eyes dull.
"'Why do you carry that great log?' asked the wanderer, after they
had exchanged brotherly greetings.
"'To split and store away, for the making of paddles and arrow-shafts
in the stormy days of winter,' replied the other.
"The wanderer handed him the wallet of plenty--but, upon opening it,
they found that it was empty.
"''Tis better so,' remarked the maker of paddles, as he hoisted the
stick of maple back to his shoulders.
"At the outskirts of the village, in a modest wigwam, the young
couple found the eldest of the three brothers, the man who had chosen
the moccasins of the wind. He was lying on a couch of skins, and his
children played about the door. His greeting was modest and kindly.
But he could not rise from his couch to welcome them.
"'In my pride,' he said, 'I forgot that my prowess in the chase and
the battle was all of the magic moccasins. I thought myself the very
equal of Gluskap. But the moccasins flew away from me, and in the
next hunt I was stricken to the earth by a wounded moose--for I was
no stronger than the youngest warrior and no swifter than the oldest
chief.'
"The new-comer produced the moccasins of the wind from the bag at his
side, and gave them into the hands of the fallen chieftain. At that
moment a tall stranger entered the wigwam and took the moccasins from
his hands. Then, turning to the other, he took the red arrow from
the quiver. Already the wallet of plenty hung at his belt of blue
wampum.
"'The three gifts were equal in the sight of Gluskap,' he said, 'but
you see how you have driven their magic to the desires of your own
hearts. Only the red arrow worked to its full power, and in doing so
it has doubled its magic. Now Gluskap has need of it, and takes it
back as a gift from this young man.' He turned, and glided from the
lodge."
"Who was it?" asked Flying Plover.
"I don't know; but perhaps it was Gluskap himself," replied the old
woman.
"Do you know any more stories about the red arrow?" asked the boy.
"Perhaps I do," said the old woman. "But I'll not tell you any more
to-night."
THE END
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