ot think that. Well, it's over
now. The gloomy passage, the big, dark room--See?"

Suddenly, at a turn westward out of the chamber and beyond it, they
entered upon what might, indeed, have been fairyland. The exit was
another passage, rising gently to a rock- and tree-sheltered nook in
the heart of a tiny island. From any outward point this retreat was
invisible, and when they had emerged upon it the Indian woman's
spirits rose again. She caught up the Sun Maid and tossed her lightly
upon a bending branch, that seemed to have grown expressly for a
child's swing.

"My warrior trained that bough for our son's pleasure, and from it he
rocked and danced as a tiny papoose. Now--in you, he lives again.
Hold, Dark-Eye! What are you seeking?"

"Oh, just nothing! I was poking around to see----"

"If you could find anything to eat? The wild blackberries should grow
just yonder, and, wait--I'll look."

"For what will you look, Other Mother? Aren't these the prettiest
posies yet?" and Kitty held upward a cluster of cardinal flowers which
she had pulled from a mass by the water's edge.

"Ah, they are alive! They have the heart of fire. But, take care. It
is always wet where they grow and small feet slip easily. If you were
to soil your pretty clothes, old Katasha might be angry."

"I'll take care. May I have all I can gather?"

"All. Every one."

Then Wahneenah returned into the cave and to a niche in its wall
where, years before, she had put a store of dried corn, some salt, and
a bit of tinder. The articles had been stored in earthen jugs, and it
was just possible they might be found in good condition. If they were,
she would show the man-child how to catch a fish out of the little
stream in the cavern, where the delicate trout were apt to hide. Then
they would make a fire as they had used in the old days, and she would
cook for these white children such a supper as her own dear ones had
enjoyed.

"See, Gaspar, Dark-Eye. I will fetch you a line and hook. Sit quiet
and draw out our supper--when it bites!"

"But I have a far better hook than that in my pocket; and a line the
Sauganash gave me, one day. I am a good fisher, Wahneenah. How many
fish do you want for your supper?"

"You are a good boaster, any way, pale-face, like all your race; and I
want just as many fish as will satisfy our hunger. If you had your bow
here, you might wing us a bird. Though that would not be wise, maybe.
Keep an eye to the Sun Maid, les