ead or tail of the situation.

[Illustration]

"Well, by jolly!" he shouted at last, "what ails ye all? Ye act like a
parcel of lunatics!"

The Goodman commanded silence, and briefly told the whole story to the
Captain.

"Where did you find the lad?" he asked, when he had finished.

"He was here when I came," said the Captain. "Settin' on the
hearth-stone eatin' them eggs as if he had n't seen food fer a
se'nnight and never expected to see any again. The dog busted out of
the house when I came in, and as I could n't get any word out of the
lad, I just set down by the fire and took forty winks. It was too late
for meeting, and besides I reckoned I could sleep better here." He
finished with his jolly laugh.

Zeb, meanwhile, sat hugging the dog and rolling his eyes from one face
to another as if in utter bewilderment. Perhaps he wondered if the
Captain meant to capture him, too, for life must have seemed to the
poor black boy just a series of efforts to escape being carried off to
some place where he did not wish to go, by people whom he had never
seen before. The Goodman at last sat down before Zeb on the settle and
tried to get from him some account of what had happened in the forest.
But Zeb was totally unable to tell his story. His few words of English
were inadequate to the recital of the terrors of the past twenty-four
hours.

"Let the lad be," said the Goodwife at last. "He 's safe, praise God,
and we shall just have to wait to find out how he managed to escape
from the savages and make his way back here." She went to the secret
closet and brought out a huge piece of pumpkin pie. Zeb's eyes gleamed
as he seized it. "He must n't eat too much at once," said she. "As
nearly as I can make out by the shells, he 's had six eggs already.
That will do for a time. Dan, build a fire in the fireplace in the old
kitchen. There 's warm water in the kettle, and do thou see that Zeb
takes a bath. He is crusted with mud. He must have wallowed in it.
Nancy and I will get dinner the while."

Dan beckoned to Zeb, and the two boys disappeared. Zeb had never
bathed before except in the ocean, and the new process did not please
him. "I believe he wished he 'd stayed with the Indians," said Dan when
he appeared an hour later followed by a well-polished but somewhat
embittered Zeb. "I 've just about taken his skin off and I 'm all worn
out. Oh, Mother, is n't dinner almost ready?"

"Almost," said his mother, as she opened the o