"No find."
"You mean you could not find one?"
"He doesn"t know what he means," sneered Ned. "He"s had too much pipe of peace."
"Go take care of that pony," commanded the Professor sternly. "Rub him down well. After you have done so, return and get your breakfast.
There"s not much for you."
"He"ll have to wash his own dishes," announced Ned. "No washing dishes for a lazy Indian. No, not for me."
"Yes, he will have to do that," agreed the Professor. "Come back here, Eagle-eye."
The boys did not know at the moment what the Professor had in mind.
"Two of our ponies got away last night, Eagle-eye."
The Indian nodded, but without exhibiting any surprise.
"Did you know it?"
"Me know."
"How?" demanded the Professor, with unfeigned surprise.
"Me see um tracks. Me see um ropes there."
"Well, you have got some sense after all,"" retorted the Professor.
"How do you suppose they got away?"
"No get away."
"What"s that? What do you mean?" asked Ned sharply.
"No get away."
"I guess the pipe of peace has gone to his head," declared Ned disgustedly. "Now you say they didn"t get away. If not, they must be over there now. How do you explain that?"
"No there."
"Of course they"re not. Then they got away."
"No get away. Steal um," announced the Indian calmly.
His announcement was like an electric shock to them.
"Stolen? Stolen? Is that what you mean?" shouted Professor Zepplin.
"Yes."
"Oh, preposterous! Stolen? And with all of us sleeping within a rod or so of them? Impossible."
"Eagle-eye say stole," insisted the guide.
"How do you know?"
"See um tracks, then not see um tracks."
"Well, what do you infer from that--what does that mean?"
The Indian went through a series of pantomimic gestures to indicate that the feet of the missing ponies had been bound with cloths so that their hoofs would leave no imprint.
"Come Eagle-eye," he commanded, striding off toward the bedding-down place.
They followed and gathered around him as he picked up the ends of the tether ropes.
"Break um? No, cut um."
"You mean the ropes have been cut?"
"Uh-huh," he grunted in gutteral tones.
There was silence for a moment.
"He isn"t such a wooden Indian as he"d have us believe after all,"
grinned Ned.
"Can"t you trail them?" asked Stacy.
The Shawnee shook his head.
"Why not?"
"No leave trail. Smart man."
"Yes, there is no doubt of that," agreed the Professor. "Have you any idea who did this thing, Eagle-eye?"
The Shawnee shrugged his shoulders as indicating that he did not know.
"Probably it was the same fellow whom you found fooling about the camp the other night," suggested Walter.
"Just what I was thinking," added Ned.
"Yes, no doubt he is the man. But what we are going to do, I don"t know. It occurs to me that I might send some one on to Mr. Munson, superintendent of the Red Star Mine, to whom I have a letter, asking him to send us on a couple of extra ponies."
"Does he know who we are?" asked Walter Perkins.
"Yes, he knows your father. Mr. Munson is expecting us, and is to entertain us when we reach the place."