When Hawk-Eye and Limberleg came up, they took her with them through the little green alley that led to the cave. When they reached it the children had flung a great pile of dry sticks on the fire, and the flames were leaping high in the air to welcome them.
"See," cried Limberleg, "even the fire dances with joy at your coming."
She took Grannie into the cave and showed her the piles of warm skins, and the heaps of nuts: then she showed Grannie how to cook clams.
The Twins had taken Blackbird and Squaretoes the very first thing to see the rabbits. Then they came back for Grannie and made her go and see them too, and when every one had seen everything there was to see, it was dark, and Limberleg had a real feast ready for them to eat.
She had killed a deer the day before, and so they had broiled venison, seasoned with sea salt. They had clams steamed with seaweed, and they had nuts and wild plums.
When they had all stuffed themselves full, Limberleg said to Hawk-Eye: "Now tell us all about your journey. When you went away, we watched you from the hill-top until you were a mere speck on the water. We knew nothing more of you until we heard your shout to-day. There were many weary days between."
"They were not weary to me," said Hawk-Eye. "I reached the other sh.o.r.e in safety, and then turned my boat toward the sunset. I kept in the shallow water near the sh.o.r.e, and followed the coast around the end of the point of land which we crossed when we came here.
"I knew our river must empty into the big water not far away, and so I paddled up the first stream I found. I slept in the boat at night. The first night I was awakened by the howling of wolves. But I had only to push my boat out into the stream. They would not follow me there.
"For two days I paddled up-stream. The second day I began to see things that I knew, and on the morning of the third I reached the river path just as Grannie was coming down for water."
"Yes, yes," cried Grannie. "I thought I was dreaming! The boat frightened me. I thought Hawk-Eye was dead and that I saw his spirit.
I started to run to the cave."
"Did you think we were all dead?" asked Limberleg.
"Yes," said Grannie. "I thought some cave bear or tiger had got you.
You were always so bold and venturesome. And as for these worthless ones," she added, patting Firetop on the head, "I didn"t know whether they had gone with you, or had stolen away into the woods and been eaten by old Sabre-tooth."
"Well, you see," cried Limberleg, laughing, "it pays to be bold and brave." When she said "bold and brave," she looked right at Hawk-Eye.
She thought he was the boldest and bravest man in the world.
"There aren"t any sabre-toothed tigers on this island, and there"s plenty to eat every day. Didn"t the others want to come too when you told them about it?" she said to Hawk-Eye.
"They all wanted to come," Hawk-Eye answered, "but the boat would not hold so many. So I stayed to show them how to make boats for themselves. Long Arm and Big Ear and Grey Wolf are all at work on them now, and they will come in the spring or summer if they get them done."
"How will they know the way?" asked Firetop.
"I told them just how to follow the river and the coast, and where to cross," said Hawk-Eye. "They can"t help finding the island, and if they find the island, they can"t help finding us. I told them we were on the side where the sun rises out of the water."
It had grown very dark as they talked. There was only firelight in the cave, but just then Limberleg saw a bright streak on the edge of the water toward the east.
"Look, Grannie, look," she cried, pointing to it. "We have discovered the secret of the sun and the moon! They both sleep in the water!"
The children and Grannie and Hawk-Eye and Limberleg all watched together until the white streak grew brighter and stretched in a silver path across the water to the beach below. They saw the pale disk of the moon slowly rise into the deep blue of the night sky, and the stars wink down at them.
"I suppose no one else in the whole world knows the secret," said Limberleg solemnly. "You see this is the end of the world. You can"t go any farther."
"Except in my boat," said Hawk-Eye.
"The spirits of the water have been good to us," said Limberleg. "We will not tempt them too far. If there are more secrets, we will not try to find them out."
"Some day," said Hawk-Eye, "someday I mean to go,"--but Limberleg would not let him finish.
"No," she said, putting her hand over his mouth, "no, you are not going any where at all, ever again! You are going to stay right here with us and be happy."
POSTSCRIPT.
_L"envoi_.
_Long, long ago, when the Earth was young And Time was not yet old, Ere all the stars in the sky were hung, Or the silver moon grown cold_;
_When the clouds that sail between the worlds Were fanned with fluttering wings, And over all the land there curled The fronds of growing things_;
_When fishes swarmed in all the seas, And on the wooded sh.o.r.e There roamed among the forest trees A million beasts or more_;
_Then in the early morn of Time, Called from the formless clod, Came Man, to start the weary climb From wild beast up to G.o.d_,--
_Oh, bravely did he dare and do, And bravely fight and die, Or you to-day could not be you And I could not be I_.