Of course the children were shown to Mike and the old Indian smiled as he allowed his hand to light gently upon Bab"s yellow curls.
Most of the timber men knew Mike, or had heard of the trapper, and he was generally welcomed at any camp he visited. In this case, however, he was doubly welcome, for he was a friend of one of the bosses, and the story soon went the rounds of the entire camp.
"Going to visit us for the winter, Mike?" asked Mr. Latimer, thinking of the great boon he would be to go about with the children after school hours. Knowing the forests as he did, he could teach and show them everything and at the same time prevent any danger from coming to them.
"Mike set traps nex" moon, way up mountain," replied Mike, laconically.
"Mike stay here till time for trap to catch big game!" eagerly came from Mr. Starr, who sensed part of Mr. Latimer"s plan.
"Mike, get much money for time he stay. Mike show little ones all over woods and teach many good things about everything!" added Mr. Latimer.
By this time the ladies realized what the two men were after, and abetted the plan with all of their persuasions.
Mike stood uncertain. He smiled down at the children who showed in their faces how delightful life would be with a real Indian trapper to show them about the woods, while the ladies urged the proposition resistlessly, and the men stood waiting expectantly for an answer.
"Mike not make much pelts las" year. Not eat much this year. Mike tink dis snow make a big pelt time--make much money," explained the trapper.
"Mike take all this money from this day to trapper"s day. Mike go to mountain on trapper day and set traps. Watch much. Get big pelt and come back soon; Mike make more money here with white man," spoke Mr. Starr, taking a roll of bills from his pocket and counting out fifty dollars upon the table, giving Mike to understand that the money was his if he would remain in camp until December 15, which day was generally Trapper"s Day in the North.
The Indian looked about at the faces and saw only the kindly desire to have him remain, and his eyes became misty at the unusual welcome from the white men.
Don and Dot could hardly restrain their impatience to have Mike say "yes," so Don ran over, took the dark hand of the trapper in both his and shook it, saying, "Come on, Mike, we want you."
The children all flocked about, coaxing the Indian to remain, until he smiled and consented to be their guard after school hours. Miss Miller heaved an audible sigh of relief, for she had had her troubles in the last two weeks, trying to keep Babs and the twins always in a "safety circle" beneath her watchful eye.
Cook came in just then and asked a question.
"Hey, boss, when is church out? My dinner is cooked an" waitin" fer the two boys to set up de tables."
At that everyone hurried out that the cook might not be delayed in his programme of feeding so many hungry people.
"Take Mike into the office and tell him all you have seen since you have been here," suggested Mr. Latimer to the children.
While the children danced over the frozen ground showing the Indian the way to the office, the elders gathered in the Starr"s log hut and discussed the value of the trapper.
"Everybody knows Mike for hundreds of miles around this part of the country, and he knows every foot of ground, the depth of waters, the bog-lands, and the haunts of wild animals. He is as true and honorable as any white man, and more trustworthy than many," explained Mr. Starr.
"He is almost too old a man to continue trapping, I should think,"
remarked Mr. Latimer. "Why, he must be almost seventy years old."
"More than that, I think," replied Mr. Starr.
"You never can tell an Indian"s age after a certain period. He may be a hundred and fifty and he would not show it any more than to-day," said Mrs. Latimer.
"Well, the one essential thing is that he is perfectly capable and agile enough to guard the children in their wanderings," added Mrs. Starr, who was greatly relieved to have such a treasure.
"If he would consent to give up trapping this winter, I would willingly pay him more than he will get out of any pelts he might get. And life here would be much easier for him without being too civilized," said Mr.
Starr.
"Well, we"ll let him try it for a time and perhaps he will like the children enough to wish to remain for the season," suggested Mr.
Latimer.
Meanwhile, the children were having a glorious time with their new friend and guardian. The twins were enchanted to be living with a real, true Indian, and Babs seemed to take a violent fancy to the long haired old man.
Mike was like one of the children, telling them Indian legends in his own queer English, which Paul called "Pidgin English." The afternoon pa.s.sed quickly for the children and they were all amazed when the gong banged for supper.
The following day while the children were at school, Mike looked about the camp with curiosity and then walked away to see how much timber the men had cut. Unknown to anyone, Babs quietly crept after her new play-fellow, and soon was out of sight of the camp.
Babs was past three years and quite able to amuse herself at times, and since coming to the woods she had enjoyed playing in the clearing with a toy shovel and pick and a blunt axe. She liked to make believe she was chopping down trees and piling them up in tiny heaps of firewood that cook"s helper generally used for kindlings. No one was concerned about the child as she had played quietly in that way for several days and she was not given to adventure like the twins. So, it was with a startled expression that Mrs. Starr called Babs and, receiving no reply, went to the door of the log cabin to find her. As no Babs was to be seen, and n.o.body had seen her anywhere for the past half hour, Mrs. Starr felt frightened.
Mrs. Starr and Mrs. Latimer ran over to the school room to inquire, but no one had seen Babs there. Then, they ran to the office where the two bosses were writing and figuring, but neither one of them had seen Babs.
"Where"s Mike?" asked Mr. Starr.
"Oh, I never thought of him," replied Mrs. Starr with a feeling of relief.
"If Mike isn"t about the clearing you can rest a.s.sured that he has Babs with him, and she is as safe as she would be in bed," said Mr. Starr, going out of the office to inquire about Mike at the cook"s quarters.
As Mike had not been seen about for an hour, there was no doubt that Babs and he were out together.
Now Mike had loped silently over the frozen ground toward the direction of the timber cutting, without ever looking behind him. Had he glanced back he might have seen a tiny little girl making great efforts to follow after him. Mike was too entirely a creature of nature to walk in a beaten path when a short-cut through the woods saved so many steps.
Therefore, Babs found her path beset by many obstacles as she tried to follow exactly in the way Mike had chosen.
Her short little legs could not keep up with his agile old ones, and soon Babs was left behind. Try as she would she could not run fast enough to find Mike again. She could barely remember in which direction she last saw him going, and finally, she sat down upon a flat rock and cried. She was tired, she was hungry, she wanted to go home, and she wanted Mike. But not one of these wants were satisfied, and she cried l.u.s.tily for someone to come and find her.
Since living in the forest, Mother had often warned the children never to go out of sight of the clearing, for there might be bears about the woods. To add to her fear of being lost, came a queer sound among the underbrush.
"Oh, it"s a bear!" wailed Babs, trying to locate the wild beast and seeking shelter behind a huge tree.
She hugged the immense trunk of the pine while she poked her yellow head out to see if the bear was in sight, but he had not yet come into view.
She stood behind the tree until wearied of inaction, and as the noise could no longer be heard, crept out of hiding, and Babs started off in a direction she hoped would bring her to Mike. She stumbled and fell over roots, got up and went on again; dodged between the thick growth of pine trees, and finally came to the road that was broken out by the men when they first came to camp--the road that led to the trail running into town.
Babs was thankful to find a road but not sure which direction to take, and when a little girl is very tired and hungry and forlorn the work of thinking hard is apt to put her to sleep, especially if she sits down upon a large pile of pine needles and leans against a stump to think.
And so it was with Babs. She leaned her tousled curls against the stump and closed her eyes.
In taking the short-cut to the timber-cutters, Mike had seen tracks of wild hares and quail, and finding that the work in the timber was not as interesting as he thought it would be, he decided to follow the road back and get his rifle to shoot some game for the cook.
He was quietly loping along the road when he saw the little white hood bobbing down behind the pine stump.
Mike looked all about for some evidence of the children or elders, but not a sign or sound was to be heard except the strange cracklings of forest silences. Mike gave a shrill whistle to call anyone who had strayed close by, but no one answered except Babs who was suddenly awakened from her nap.
"O-oh, Mike! Did oo know I is losted affer oo?" said she, rubbing her eyes with her mittened hands.
"Mike take Babby home," coaxed Mike, lifting the child to his shoulder.
Reaching the clearing Mike carried Babs over to the office where he heard how everyone missed the child and, finding that Mike was gone also, they felt that Babs was safe, for doubtless the two were together.
Mike understood perfectly but said nothing about finding Babs alone a mile from the clearing, for he silently vowed never to leave the little one alone again.