ehow the thought that she meant her mother was
dead kept Phil from questioning her any further.

The little thing had evidently already recovered from her recent grief.
She trusted in Phil, and believed that it would only be a matter of a
short time before he would bring "daddy."

In her eyes Phil was a magician. Nothing could be beyond his power to
accomplish. That is what the faith of a child means.

She prattled all the way along, and yet it was pretty much about the
woods, the flowers she liked to pick, the noisy scolding squirrels, and
how daddy had always watched over her so carefully since they came up
here, ever and ever so long ago.

Not once did she refer to any former life. It seemed to be in the nature
of a closed book with the child.

Phil was waiting to see how she acted when they came in sight of the
cabin, for he felt sure she must recognize it. She pointed to several
things, even telling him that the tree with the dead top was where
"bushy-tail" lived and had a family, so daddy said, and daddy knew
everything.

All at once the child gave a cry. She had discovered the cabin.

"Oh! I live here!" she burst out, and disengaging her hand from that of
her champion she flew to the open door and burst in, shrilly crying:

"Daddy! Daddy!"

Imagine the astonishment of Lub. He happened to be sitting tailor
fashion on the floor sewing a button on that he had burst off, Ethan
told him when he gorged so much the evening before.

Hearing a flutter, and then that cry in a childish voice, Lub turned to
see what he thought at first must be a specter.

The little girl was abashed to find only a stranger there. Her sudden
hopes being so suddenly dissolved brought the tears again into her
eyes.

But Phil quickly managed to brighten her up. And Lub was ready to do
almost anything to please the little miss, even to trying to stand on
his head had she demanded it.

Then along came the other fellows. Of course both of them were as much
astonished as Lub had been, but at the same time showed that they were
not sorry to have such a little sunbeam around.

Among themselves, of course, they talked it all over, and knew that
Mazie must be the child who had been the sole companion of the lonely
occupant of the cabin.

"Too bad if it turns out he's a scoundrel, and a law breaker, with such
a bully little girl belonging to him."

X-Ray Tyson said this, looking as he spoke at the suspiciously new coin
he had picked