VERANCE FROM
THE BEARS--RODERICK'S COMMENTS.

It was wisely decided that, as the children were so exhausted, at least
a couple of days should be allowed to pass before they were asked to
give anything like a full account of their marvellous adventures.

Wenonah, of course, was the principal speaker, but Roderick often put in
some quaint remark, which gave additional interest to the story. Seated
in her father's arms, while Roderick monopolised those of his mother,
while Minnehaha and the boys, with some friends from the Fort and
mission, gathered round, Wenonah told in her own way the story of their
strange adventures:

"Roderick and I were to try and gather as many berries as Minnehaha; so
we took our rogans, and we went to where the berries were thickest, and
once we came back and emptied our dishes, and then we hurried away where
we had seen a good many. But we did not find as many there as we hoped,
and so we went on and on, and it took us a long time to fill our rogans,
and when we did we started to come back, but we did not find the way,
and so we hurried on and on. Then after a while we called, and called,
and nobody answered us. So Roddy and I said we would not cry. So we
hurried on and on, to try and get back. Then we came to some high
rocks, and we climbed up as high as we could, and when we called again
we thought we heard voices answering us from some other rocks, and so we
hurried over there, but there was nobody, and no voice. Then we pushed
on, and on, and soon we heard the thunder, but we never stopped, but
just tried to get back before the rain.

"Soon we left the rocky land, and went down a long hill where we saw a
little stream. This we crossed where the water was not deep.

"We wanted to get home, so we tried not to feel tired or to cry; but,
although we tried ever so hard, we could not find the way. We had held
on to our dishes, but now they were not half full, and so we stopped and
ate some of the berries. Soon after, it began to thunder very hard, and
there was lightning, and so we hurried up to some big trees, and while
we were standing under the branches, to be out of the rain, we saw one
old tree that was all hollow on one side, and as the rain was coming
down through the branches we went and got into this hollow tree. I had
Roderick go in first so that I could keep him dry, and I stood at the
outside."

Here Roderick spoke up and said:

"I wanted to stand on the outside beca