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His mouth was pinching very hard and his eyes blinking to keep back the tears when Mrs. Raften came into the room. She saw at a glance what was wrong. "He's homesick," she said to her husband. "He'll be all right to-morrow," and she took Yan by the hand and led him upstairs to bed. Twenty minutes later she came to see if he was comfortable.
Raften turned away, heeding neither that nor Guy's shrill attempt to interpolate some details of his own importance in this present hunt "Ef it hadn't been for me they wouldn't had no axe along, Mr. Raften" but William had disappeared. The boys put out the fire carefully and made somewhat silently for camp.
"Purty good for a man as swore he had no revolver," and Raften pointed to Caleb's weapon. "I seen you with that ten years ago. An' sure I'm not scairt of you an' yer revolver," said Raften, seeing Caleb fingering his white pet; "an' I tell ye this. I won't have ye and yer Sheep-killing cur ramatacking through my woods an' making fires this dry saison."
Yan had never seen that expression on his face before, excepting once, and that was as he shook hands with a noted pugilist just after he had won a memorable fight. Yan did not know whether he liked it or not. On the road home Raften talked with unusual freeness about his plans for his son.
We want to make a pond for the cattle to drink, but we can't make a dam without two big logs across. Will you let us have the team a few minutes to place the logs?" "It ain't fur a swimmin'-pond, is it, ye mean?" said Raften, with a twinkle in his eye. "It would do for that as well," and Yan blushed.
The rest of the morning was devoted to preparation, Mrs. Raften taking the leading hand. "Now, who's to be cook?" she asked. "Sam" "Yan" said the boys in the same breath. "Hm! You seem in one mind about it. Suppose you take it turn and turn about Sam first day." Then followed instructions for making coffee in the morning, boiling potatoes, frying bacon.
Marget's first feeling was resentment, but her second thought was a pleasant one. That "stuck-up" woman, the enemy's wife, should see her boy's triumph, and Mrs. Burns at once seized on the chance to play society cat. "How do ye do, Mrs. Raften; hope you're well," she said with a tinge of malicious pleasure and a grand attempt at assuming the leadership. "Quite well, thank you.
This was a special meeting called to arrange for a new schoolhouse. Raften got out a lot of papers, including letters from the Department of Education. The School District had to find half the money; the Department would supply the other half if all conditions were complied with. Chief of these, the schoolhouse had to have a given number of cubic feet of air for each pupil.
"What'll ye make the raft of?" asked Raften. "Cedar rails nailed together," answered Sam. "No nails in mine," objected Yan; "that isn't Injun." "An' none o' my cedar rails fur that. 'Pears to me it'd be less work an' more Injun to pack the stuff on yer backs an' no risk o' wettin' the beds." So the raft was given up, and the stuff was duly carted to the creek's side. Raften himself went with it.
"Couldn't a-been right made," said Raften; then with a sudden interest, which showed how eagerly he would have joined in this forty years ago, he said, "Why don't ye make a rale taypay?" "Dunno' how, an' ain't got no stuff." "Wall, now, yez have been pretty good an' ain't slacked on the wurruk, yez kin have the ould wagon kiver. Cousin Bert could tache ye how to make it, if he wuz here.
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