as the plan of making the skee sled had flashed upon me
came another plan for driving every Indian out of town. I jumped up
and ran away as fast as a poor crutch and a leg and a half could carry
me.

CHAPTER XI

I give the savage Indians a great Scare, and then gather up my
scattered Family at the end of a queer Christmas Day.

How I ever got along through the darkness and snow on my crutch I
scarce know, but in less time than it takes to say I tumbled in at the
back door of the hotel. I went directly into the kitchen and felt
about till I found a knife, which I put in my pocket. Then I stumped
on into the office, leaned against the counter, and lit the wall lamp,
took it out of its bracket, and made my way somehow to the
cellar-door. I left my crutch and fairly slid down the stairs, holding
the lamp in both hands above my head. Once down I set it on a small
box, dropped on the cellar bottom, and drew over to me the largest
pumpkin in the pile against the wall. What I thought to do was to make
the most diabolical jack-lantern that ever was, and scare the drunken
savages out of what little wit they had left.

I took the pumpkin in my lap, and with the knife cut out the top like
a cover. Then with my hands I dug out the seeds and festoons of stuff
that held them. Then I turned up one side and plugged out two eyes and
a long nose. I was going to make the corners of the mouth turn up, as
I had always done when making jack-lanterns at home, but just as I
started to cut it came to me that it would look worse if they turned
down; so thus I made it, adding most hideous teeth, and cutting half
of my fingers in my haste. Then I gave the face straight eyebrows and
a slash in each cheek just as an experiment, and looked around for a
candle.

I could see nothing of the kind, nor could I remember ever having
noticed one about the house. For a moment I knew not what to do; then
my eyes rested on the lamp, and I asked myself why that would not do
as well as a candle, or even better, since it gave more light. The
hole in the top was not big enough to take in the lamp, but I cut it
out more, and with half a dozen trials, and after burning all the
fingers I had not already cut, I got the lamp in. The cover was now
too small for the opening, but I grabbed another pumpkin and slashed
out a larger one and clapped it into place. If I had had time I
believe I should have been frightened at the thing myself, it was that
hideous