woods, where he pitched down head foremost.
His body quivered for a little while and then lay still.

Henry was proud of his marksmanship, but he felt some remorse, too, when
he looked upon his victim. Yet he was eager to tell his father and his
young sister and brother of his success. They took off the pelt and cut
up the deer. A part of the haunch Henry ate for dinner and the antlers
were fastened over the fireplace, as the first important hunting trophy
won by the eldest son of the house.

Henry did not boast much of his triumph, although he noticed with secret
pride the awe of the children. His best friend, Paul Cotter, openly
expressed his admiration, but Braxton Wyatt, a boy of his own age, whom
he did not like, sneered and counted it as nothing. He even cast doubt
upon the reality of the deed, intimating that perhaps Ross or Sol had
fired the shot, and had allowed Henry to claim the credit.

Henry now felt incessantly the longing for the wilderness, but, for the
present, he helped his father furnish their house. It was too late to
plant crops that year, nor were the qualities of the soil yet altogether
known. It was rich beyond a doubt, but they could learn only by trial
what sort of seed suited it best. So they let that wait a while, and
continued the work of making themselves tight and warm for the winter.

The skins of deer and buffalo and beaver, slain by the hunters, were
dried in the sun, and they hung some of the finer ones on the walls of
the rooms to make them look more cozy and picturesque. Mrs. Ware also
put two or three on the floors, though the border women generally
scorned them for such uses, thinking them in the way. Henry also helped
his father make stools and chairs, the former a very simple task,
consisting of a flat piece of wood, chopped or sawed out, in which three
holes were bored to receive the legs, the latter made of a section of
sapling, an inch or so in diameter. But the baskets required longer and
more tedious work. They cut green withes, split them into strips and
then plaiting them together formed the basket. In this Mrs. Ware and
even the little girl helped. They also made tables and a small stone
furnace or bake-oven for the kitchen.

Their chief room now looked very cozy. In one corner stood a bedstead
with low, square posts, the bed covered with a pure white counterpane.
At the foot of the bedstead was a large heavy chest, which served as
bureau, sofa and dressing case. In