once again we return to silver lake; but here we do not find affairs as we left them. true, roy and nelly are still there, the hut is as snug as it used to be, and the scenery as beautiful, but provisions have begun to fail, and an expression of real anxiety clouds the usually cheerful countenance of roy, while reflected anxiety sits on the sweet little face of nell. the winter is far advanced, and the prospect of resuming the journey home is farther off than ever.
one morning roy entered the hut with a slow step and a sad countenance.
“nell,” said he, throwing down a small fish which he had just caught, “things look very bad now; seems to me that we’ll starve here. since we broke the long line i’ve only caught little things like that; there’s no rabbits in the snares—i looked at every one this mornin’—and, as for deer, they seem to have said good-bye for the winter. i thought of goin’ out with the gun this forenoon, but i think it a’nt o’ no use, for i was out all yesterday without seeing a feather or a hoof-print.”
the tone in which roy said this, and the manner in which he flung himself down on the ground beside the fire, alarmed his sister greatly, so that she scarcely knew what to say.
“don’t know what’s to be done at all,” continued roy somewhat peevishly.
this was so unlike himself that the little girl felt a strong tendency to burst into tears, but she restrained herself. after a short silence, she said somewhat timidly—
“don’t you think we might try to pray?”
“what’s the use,” said roy quickly; “i’m sure i’ve prayed often and often, and so have you, but nothin’s come of it.”
it was quite evident that roy was in a state of rebellion. this was the first time nelly had suggested united prayer to her brother; she did it timidly, and the rebuff caused her to shrink within herself.
roy’s quick eye observed the shrinking; he repented instantly, and, drawing nelly to him, laid her head on his breast.
“forgive me, nell, i shouldn’t have said it; for, after all, we’ve had everything given to us here that we have needed up to this time. come, i will pray with you.”
they both got upon their knees at once, but, strive as he might, not a word would cross roy’s lips for several minutes. nelly raised her head and looked at him.
“god help us!” he ejaculated.
“for jesus’ sake,” murmured nelly.
they both said “amen” to these words, and these were all their prayers.
roy’s rebellion of heart was gone now, but his feelings were not yet calmed. he leaped up, and, raising his sister, kissed her almost violently.
“now, lass, we have prayed, and i do believe that god will answer us; so i’ll take my gun and snow-shoes, an’ off to the woods to look for a deer. see that you have a roarin’ fire ready to roast him three hours hence.”
nelly smiled through her tears and said she would, while roy slipped his feet through the lines of his snow-shoes, threw his powder-horn and bullet-pouch over his shoulder, seized his gun, and sallied forth with a light step.
when he was gone, nelly began actively to prepare for the fulfilment of her promise. she took up the axe which roy had left behind him, and went into the forest behind the hut to cut firewood. she was very expert at this laborious work. her blows were indeed light, for her little arms, although strong for their size, were not strong for such labour; but she knew exactly where to hit and how to hit. every stroke fell on the right spot, with the axe at the right angle, so that a chip or two flew off every time. she panted a good deal, and grew uncommonly warm, but she liked the work; her face glowed and her eyes sparkled, and it was evident that she was not exhausted by it. in little more than an hour she had cut enough of dry wood to make a fire that would have roasted an entire sheep. then she carried it to the hut, after which she sat down to rest a little.
while resting, she gathered carefully together all the scraps of food in the hut, and found that there was still enough for two good meals; so she ate a small piece of dried fish, and began to wish that roy would return. suddenly she was startled by a loud fluttering noise close to the hut, and went out to see what it could be.
it might be supposed that a little girl in such solitary and unprotected circumstances would have felt alarmed, and thought of wolves or bears; but nelly was too well accustomed to the dangers and risks of the backwoods to be much troubled with mere fancies. she was well aware that wolves and bears, as a rule, shun the presence of human beings, and the noise which she had heard was not of a very alarming character.
the first sight that greeted her was a large bird of the grouse species, sitting on a tree not three yards from the hut. she almost felt that by springing forward she could seize it with her hands, and her first impulse was to throw the axe at it; but, checking herself, she went noiselessly back into the hut, and quickly reissued with the bow and a couple of arrows.
fitting an arrow to the string, she whispered to herself, “oh, how i do hope i won’t miss it!” and took a careful aim. anxiety, however, made her hand unsteady, for, the next moment, the arrow was quivering in the stem of the tree at least three inches below the bird.
a look of deep disappointment was mingled with an expression of determination as she pursed her little mouth and fitted the second arrow to the string. this time she did not take so careful an aim, but let fly at once, and her shaft entered the bird’s throat and brought it to the ground. with a cry of delight she sprang upon her prize, and bore it in triumph into the hut, where she speedily plucked it. then she split it open, and went down to the lake and washed it quite clean and spread it out flat. her next proceeding was to cut a short stick, about two feet in length, which she pointed at both ends, making one point thinner than the other. this thin point she thrust through the bird, and stuck it up before the fire to roast, placing a small dish, made of birch bark, below it to catch the dripping.
“i hope he won’t come back till it’s ready,” she muttered, as the skin of the bird began to brown and frizzle, while a delicious odour began to fill the hut.
just as the thought was uttered, a footstep was heard outside, the covering of the doorway was raised, a tall figure stooped to enter, and the next instant a gaunt and half-naked savage stood before her.
nelly uttered a faint cry of terror, but she was so paralysed that she could make no effort to escape, even had escape been possible.
the appearance of the indian was indeed calculated to strike terror to a stouter heart than that of poor nelly; for besides being partially clad in torn garments, his eyes were sunken and bloodshot, and his whole person was more or less smeared with blood.
as the poor child gazed at this apparition in horror, the indian said, “ho!” by way of salutation, and stepping forward, took her hand gently and shook it after the manner of the white man. a gleam of intelligence and surprise at once removed the look of fear from nelly’s face.
“wapaw!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
“ho!” replied the indian, with a nod and a smile, as he laid aside his gun and snowshoes, and squatted himself down before the fire.
there was not much to be gathered from “ho!” but the nod and smile proved to nelly that the intruder was indeed none other than her old friend wapaw.
her alarm being now removed, she perceived that the poor indian was suffering both from fatigue and wounds—perhaps from hunger too; but this latter idea was discarded when she observed that several birds, similar to the one she had just killed, hung at the indian’s belt. she rose up quickly, therefore, and, running down to the lake, soon returned with a can of clear water, with which she purposed bathing wapaw’s wounds. wapaw seized the can, however, and emptied the contents down his throat, so she was constrained to go for a second supply.
having washed the wounds, which were chiefly on the head and appeared to her to be very severe, although, in reality, they were not so, she set the roasted bird before him and desired him to eat.
of course she had put a great many questions to wapaw while thus occupied. her residence with the indians had enabled her to speak and understand the indian tongue a little, and, although she had some difficulty in understanding much of what wapaw said in reply, she comprehended enough to let her know that a number of white men had been killed by the savages, and that wapaw was fleeing for his life.
on first hearing this a deadly paleness overspread her face, for she imagined that the white people killed must be her own kindred; but wapaw quickly relieved her mind on this point.
after this he devoted himself entirely to the roasted bird, and nelly related to him, as well as she could, the particulars of her own and roy’s escape from the indians.
