d be any more dependence if them wild
critters should come beseeching our dwelling than a three-year-old."

At which the husband thrust his hand up into his wiry hair, till he
made it stand upon end all over his head, while he grew very red in
the face, and said, fiercely,--

"Let the varmints come on if they wants to. Guess I could stand it if
you could."

Tom saw that there was danger of a falling out between his fat,
overgrown hostess and her diminutive husband, and adroitly said,--

"We don't any one of us know what we could do until the time comes. I
was surprised myself at what I had done."

"Well," said the woman, restored to good humor, "there's a great deal
o' good sense in that remark. I know it from experience. For when I
had the toothache so that I couldn't sleep nights for a week, and
husband wanted to take me over to Groveville, to the doctor's, I felt
as weak as dish-water; but when I got there, I had out two jaw teeth
and a stump without wincin', as you may say, and the doctor said he'd
like me for a subject to pull on all the time. But I told him it would
take two to make a bargain on that, I reckoned;" and she laughed
heartily at the remembrance of her own wit.

But Tom had finished his meal, and rose to go, when his hostess
said,--

"You won't think o'travelling in the night--will yer?"

"Every moment is precious," replied Tom.

"Well, husband," said she, "if the boy feels, under the circumstances,
that he must go, it isn't in me to detain him. But it seems to me we
orter do as we'd be did by, and help him onto his way a piece. Now,
you jist go and harness the hoss into the waggin while I put up
something to stay his stomach like till he gets to the fort. You could
drive him there just as well as not, husband."

"Pretty long drive," observed the man, looking out of the little
window dubiously.

"Well, but," she persisted, "you see the child's got to go all the way
afoot, and it'll take so long that his folks'll be killed, murdered,
tomahawked, and scalped, afore he can git there." Then, waxing warm,
"an' if you an' I was in that perdicament, we'd want them as was going
to help us not to aggervate our feelin's by coming to our rescue when
it was too late."

"Yes, yes," returned the little man, unable to reply to his wife's
wordy reasoning.

"Now, if you're not afeard--"

"_Afeard!_" said he, bristling his hair, and reddening again. "Who's
afeard? I was only thinking, if the Injuns sh