Page:The Pima Indians.pdf/240

] after her. On the way he saw two attractive girls approaching him. Turning aside, he lay down beside the trail and began to sing a pleasing song just after the girls had passed him. Surprised at hearing a voice behind them, they looked back to see whence it came, but could find no one. They saw nothing except a dead body that was well advanced with decay. When they started on they heard the singing again, but when they renewed the search they could find no living person. The younger said, "It must be this decaying corpse that is singing."

"Let us go," said the elder; but the younger refused, saying, "I am going to take that dead body, for I can see it winking." So she took it to her home and left it while she went to gather grass seed. Soon the younger girl wanted to return to the house.

"You want to go back to that putrid corpse," said the elder; "you crazy thing!"

"Well, I am going; and if you are going to stay here, stay as long as you like." So the younger woman got ready to go home, but the other also got ready and accompanied her. When they reached the house the younger went in and found a handsome young man, to whom she went without a word. The elder girl called her several times, asking her to come and help cook some food. At last the elder girl came and discovered the young man, and she also came to him. But the younger said, "You scolded me for bringing him here; now you may go out and leave him to me."

Finally the young man said, "Go out, both of you, and cook something for me to eat; I am hungry." So they both went to do as he wished. The next day the husband of the two young women came home, and was very angry at finding the young man there.

"Put up one of your wives," said he, "and we will have a game."

The young man said, "I have nothing to wager." But the husband replied, "Put up one of your wives." Then the young man said, "You must put up your shirt." And it was the turn of the husband to reply, "I have no shirt."

"Yes, you have."

"No, this is my skin," he answered, scratching his breast until the blood came.

"It is not your skin; it is your shirt. If you do not believe me, I will take it off you and then I shall win the wager from you." "I agree," said the other. So the young man took the husband of the women up by the hands and shook him, and he dropped dead out of his skin.

At this time the young man's mother came, and they took the two young women with them to their home. Soon he went to play ki$n$ts