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He swerved sharply from his course, and then leaped with all his strength for the old-man's throat from the slightly higher level of the gully's bank. Now, the old-man weighed two hundred and forty pounds, and measured nine feet from the tip of his snout to the tip of his long tail.
He was only a few poor relics of a man, a comical remnant of some by-gone thing; they laughed at him when he tried to pay them attention. Their laughter crushed him, and he withdrew into his old-man's world, and despondently adapted himself to it. The only thing that kept life in him was his concern for the boy, and he clung despairingly to his position as his providence.
"It was a strange sight to see the Eagle sitting next to the Grouse; the Rabbit sitting close to the Lynx; the Mouse right under the very nose of the Bobcat, and the tiny Humming-bird talking to the Hawk in a whisper, as though they had always been great friends. All about OLD-man's fire they sat and whispered or talked in signs.
"'I am sorry for you, said the white Beaver chief of all the Beavers in the world 'but you must find my brother the Coyote, who knows where OLD-man's lodge is. The Coyote will do your bidding if you sing that song when you see him. Take this stick with you, because you will have a long journey, and with the stick you may cross any river and not drown, if you keep it always in your hand.
The faster he travelled the hotter they grew, until in pain he cried out to the Sun to come and take back his leggings; but the Sun would not hear him. On and on OLD-man ran. Faster and faster he flew through the country, setting fire to the brush and grass as he passed. Finally he came to a great river, and jumped in. Sizzzzzzz the water said, when OLD-man's legs touched it.
At all events, with practically no perceptible slackening of speed, she flew straight for the old-man's throat, and received the cruel stroke of his hind-leg fairly upon her chest, being flung backwards fully five yards, with blood spouting from her.
This stopped the fight; but still OLD-man cried, till, drying his tears, he saw a Red Fox sitting near the Bulls, watching him. 'Hi, there, you go away from there! If you want meat you go and kill it, as I did. "Red Fox laughed 'Ha! Ha! Ha! foolish OLD-man Ha! ha! Then he ran away and told the other Foxes and the Wolves and the Coyotes about OLD-man's meat.
Soon the Coyote came back with meat, and young-man built a fire and ate some of it, even before it was warm, for he was starving. When he had finished the Coyote said: "'Now I shall take you to OLD-man's lodge, come. "They started, even though it was getting dark.
The man had a hard time of it, with no clothes to keep him warm, and no wife to help him, so he went out looking for OLD-man. "It took the man a long time to find OLD-man's lodge, but as soon as he got there he went right in and said: "'OLD-man, you have made me and left me to live with the Wolf-people. I don't like them at all. They give me scraps of meat to eat and won't build a fire.
His old-man's reminiscences came over him so strongly that for a time he forgot Madam Olsen and everything about her. He allowed himself to be lulled by past memories, and wept in his heart like a little child. Ah! it was dreary to live away from one's native place and everything in one's old age; but if it only brought a blessing on the laddie in some way or other, it was all as it should be.
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