verse of
a well-known lugubrious negro melody. "All the world am sad and
dreary," wailed Caroline, in a high head-note, "everywhere I roam." "Oh,
darkieth," lisped the younger girl in response, "how my heart growth
weary, far from the old folkth at h-o-o-me." This was repeated two or
three times before the others seemed to get the full swing of it, and
then the lines rose and fell sadly and monotonously in the darkness. I
don't know why, but I at once got the impression that those motherless
little creatures were under a vague belief that their performance was
devotional, and was really filling the place of an evening hymn. A brief
and indistinct kind of recitation, followed by a dead silence, broken
only by the slow creaking of new timber, as if the house were stretching
itself to sleep too, confirmed my impression. Then all became quiet
again.

But I was more wide awake than before. Finally I rose, dressed myself,
and dragging my stool to the fire, took a book from my knapsack, and by
the light of a guttering candle, which I discovered in a bottle in the
corner of the hearth, began to read. Presently I fell into a doze.
How long I slept I could not tell, for it seemed to me that a dreamy
consciousness of a dog barking at last forced itself upon me so strongly
that I awoke. The barking appeared to come from behind the cabin in the
direction of the clearing where I had tethered Chu Chu. I opened the
door hurriedly, ran round the cabin towards the hollow, and was almost
at once met by the bulk of the frightened Chu Chu, plunging out of the
darkness towards me, kept only in check by her reata in the hand of a
blanketed shape slowly advancing with a gun over its shoulder out of the
hollow. Before I had time to recover from my astonishment I was thrown
into greater confusion by recognizing the shape as none other than
Caroline!

Without the least embarrassment or even self-consciousness of her
appearance, she tossed the end of the reata to me with the curtest
explanation as she passed by. Some prowling bear or catamount had
frightened the mule. I had better tether it before the cabin away from
the wind.

"But I thought wild beasts never came so near," I said quickly.

"Mule meat's mighty temptin'," said the girl sententiously and passed
on. I wanted to thank her; I wanted to say how sorry I was that she
had been disturbed; I wanted to compliment her on her quiet midnight
courage, and yet warn her against recklessness;