"They started,even though it was getting dark.Long they travelled without stopping --over plains and mountains--through great forests and across rivers,until they came to a cave in the rough rocks on the side of a mighty mountain.
"'In there,'said the Coyote,'you will find OLD-man and he can tell you what you want to know.'
"The Unlucky-one stood before the black hole in the rocks for a long time,because he was afraid;but when he turned to speak to the Coyote he found himself to be alone.The Coyote had gone about his own business--had silently slipped away in the night.
"Slowly and carefully the young-man be-gan to creep into the cave,feeling his way in the darkness.His heart was beating like a tom-tom at a dance.Finally he saw a fire away back in the cave.
"The shadows danced about the stone sides of the cave as men say the ghosts do;and they frightened him.But looking,he saw a man sitting on the far side of the fire.The man's hair was like the snow and very long.
His face was wrinkled with the seams left by many years of life and he was naked in the firelight that played about him.
"Slowly the young-man stood upon his feet and began to walk toward the fire with great fear in his heart.When he had reached the place where the firelight fell upon him,the OLD-man looked up and said:
"'How,young-man,I am OLD-man.Why did you come here?What is it you want?'
"Then the Unlucky-one told OLD-man just what he had told the old woman and the white Beaver and the Coyote,and showed the stick the Beaver had given him,to prove it.
"'Smoke,'said OLD-man,and passed the pipe to his visitor.After they had smoked OLD-man said:
"'I will tell you what to do.On the top of this great mountain there live many ghost-people and their chief is a great Owl.This Owl is the only one who knows how you can change your luck,and he will tell you if you are not afraid.Take this arrow and go among those people,without fear.Show them you are unarmed as soon as they see you.Now go!'
"Out into the night went the Unlucky-one and on up the mountain.The way was rough and the wind blew from the north,chilling his limbs and stinging his face,but on he went toward the mountain-top,where the storm-clouds sleep and the winter always stays.
Drifts of snow were piled all about,and the wind gathered it up and hurled it at the young-man as though it were angry at him.The clouds waked and gathered around him,****** the night darker and the world lonelier than before,but on the very top of the mountain he stopped and tried to look through the clouds.Then he heard strange singing all about him;but for a long time there was no singer in sight.Finally the clouds parted and he saw a great circle of ghost-people with large and ugly heads.They were seated on the icy ground and on the drifts of snow and on the rocks,singing a warlike song that made the heart of the young-man stand still,in dread.In the centre of the circle there sat a mighty Owl--their chief.Ho!--when the ghost-people saw the Unlucky-one they rushed at him with many lances and would have killed him but the Owl-chief cried,'Stop!'
"The young-man folded his arms and said:
'I am unarmed--come and see how a Black-foot dies.I am not afraid of you.'
"'Ho!'said the Owl-chief,'we kill no un-armed man.Sit down,my son,and tell me what you want.Why do you come here?
You must be in trouble.You must smoke with me.'
"The Unlucky-one told the Owl-chief just what he had told the old woman and the Beaver and the Coyote and OLD-man,and showed the stick that the white Beaver had given him and the arrow that OLD-man had given to him to prove it.
"'Good,'said the Owl-chief,'I can help you,but first you must help yourself.Take this bow.It is a medicine-bow;then you will have a bow that will not break and an arrow that is good and straight.Now go down this mountain until you come to a river.It will be dark when you reach this river,but you will know the way.There will be a great cottonwood-tree on the bank of the stream where you first come to the water.At this tree,you must turn down the stream and keep on travelling without rest,until you hear a splashing in the water near you.When you hear the splashing,you must shoot this arrow at the sound.Shoot quickly,for if you do not you can never have any good luck.If you do as I have told you the splasher will be killed and you must then take his hide and wear it always.The skin that the splasher wears will make you a lucky man.It will make anybody lucky and you may tell your people that it is so.
"'Now go,for it is nearly day and we must sleep.'
"The young-man took his bow and arrow and the stick the white Beaver had given him and started on his journey.All the day he travelled,and far into the night.At last he came to a river and on the bank he saw the great cottonwood-tree,just as the ghost Owl had told him.At the tree the young-man turned down the stream and in the dark easily found his way along the bank.Very soon he heard a great splashing in the water near him,and--zipp--he let the arrow go at the sound--then all was still again.He stood and looked and listened,but for a long time could see nothing--hear nothing.
"Then the moon came out from under a cloud and just where her light struck the river,he saw some animal floating--dead.
With the magic stick the young-man walked out on the water,seized the animal by the legs and drew it ashore.It was an Otter,and the young-man took his hide,right there.
"A Wolf waited in the brush for the body of the Otter,and the young-man gave it to him willingly,because he remembered the meat the Wolf had given the Coyote.As soon as the young-man had skinned the Otter he threw the hide over his shoulder and started for his own country with a light heart,but at the first good place he made a camp,and slept.That night he dreamed and all was well with him.
"After days of travel he found his tribe again,and told what had happened.He be-came a great hunter and a great chief among us.He married the most beautiful woman in the tribe and was good to her always.They had many children,and we remember his name as one that was great in war.That is all--Ho!"
