met him at the door and
told him that Sprigg, although still unconscious, showed some signs of
improvement; his breathing was stronger and more regular, and the tremor
about his limbs had nearly disappeared. Ben wished to know if it would
not be advisable for him to go to the lick and shoot a fat, young buck
for Sprigg. Sprigg's favorite dish was a venison ham chopped up and made
into a pie, with rich, brown crust and plenty of good, cream gravy, and
he ought to have it for his dinner to-morrow. His mother smiled at the
suggestion, and answered that it would be many a day, she feared, before
his little friend could be equal to such a strong diet. Well, he would
go and shoot a buffalo for Sprigg. Sprigg was uncommonly fond of buffalo
tongue, and might like to have some for his supper that night. No;
buffalo tongue was not more to be thought of than venison pastry. Well,
then, a fat, young bear; what could be more tender and delicate than the
fat of a young bear, especially when the woods, as now, were full of
wild honey? No; all too rich and strong for the present demands of the
case. Should the little patient be found able to swallow just a few
spoonfuls of weak squirrel broth, right glad and thankful should they
be. So "Benjamin" might go and fetch a squirrel for Sprigg.

"Benjamin" went and did as he was bidden, bringing down a squirrel
within gunshot of the fort and sending it in forthwith to his mother.
But this was far from satisfying "Benjamin," and he believed it would be
far from satisfying Sprigg. As the station here had resulted in a
settlement of considerable extent, game of the larger sort had grown
very scarce in the immediate vicinity, thus obliging the hunter, who
would pursue the chase on a scale beseeming the hunter's paradise, to
betake him to the more unfrequented parts of the forest. So, to the
distant lick went young Ben Logan, leading, Daniel Boone-like, a horse
by the bridle to help him home with the spoils of the chase. He had
taken counsel with himself and was resolved that Sprigg should have a
fair start in the direction of recovery to health, and to this
benevolent end a fat, young buck or buffalo must that day bite the dust;
or, better still, as the woods were full of wild-honey, a fat, young
bear. Squirrels and birds might do well enough for people in full
health, where nature had only to hold her own; but in a case like
Sprigg's where nature was exhausted, it was only the larger quadrupeds