Lilian was absolutely spellbound with terror and could not move. Mrs.
Wyman went to the pantry to prepare them food.

The chief was restless. He kept his eyes roving over everything. Finally
he began to move about.

He went into the sitting-room. He spied the china closet door and
opened it.

"Ugh!" he said, as if in delight at the pretty dishes. He waved his
hand at Lilian and pointed to the rosebud china, making an imperative
gesture, as if to say, "We want to eat off those."

Lilian, anxious to seem to want to please these terrible visitors,
nodded and smiled a ghastly smile. The very fact that she must do
something seemed to relieve the spell of cold horror that had settled
on her.

She took a fresh cloth from a drawer, and spread it deftly on the table.
As she straightened the corners daintily, to see if they were quite
even, the Indian grumbled his approval.

She took out the dishes and set seven places. She recalled, with a great
thump of her heart, what Jack had said about scalping, but as yet there
had been no warlike demonstrations.

She began to be more at ease. But what was that uneasy chief doing? He
was prying into everything. Lilian distinctly saw him put her scissors
into his pocket. But she dared not protest.

While thus distracted, she heard her mother in the kitchen burst into a
merry laugh. She ran hastily out to see what had come over her.

Mrs. Wyman was in the pantry, holding a corner of her apron over her
mouth, as if to smother her amusement.

There sat the six Indians on the floor, with hats drawn down surlily
over their faces, and with blankets shrugged about their shoulders.
"Mother, what is it?" was Lilian's whispered inquiry.

Mrs. Wyman pointed silently at the ludicrous row of savages, and covered
her lips again with her apron.

Lilian could not help laughing, too.

"New Year's callers, after all," she said, to herself.

Mrs. Wyman had made the circle of waiting braves move somewhat away from
the stove, so that she could cook ham and warm potatoes. Lilian returned
to her table-setting. She placed a spoon-holder on the cloth, full of
bright tea-spoons.

The inquisitive chief gave a genuine whoop of delight at sight of them.
He sprang to her side and openly began putting them in his pocket.

This was too much. Lilian flew at him and tried to snatch them away from
him. He scowled fiercely, and jabbered at her in excited gutturals.

At once she heard a great scuffling of f