, for he seen I had no stick nor nothin', an' I never
turned a hair; I kep' cool an' waited till jest as he was going to
jump for my throat, then I turned and gave him one kick on the snoot
that sent him fifty feet in the air, an' when he come down he was
deader'n Kilsey's hen when she was stuffed with onions. Oh, Maw, I'm
just the bully boy; they can't do nothin' in camp 'thout me. I had to
larn 'em to hunt Deer an' see things--an'--an'--an'--lots o' things,
so they are goin' to make me Head Chief of the hull Tribe, an' call
me 'Hawkeye,' too; that's the way the Injuns does. It's to be at four
o'clock this afternoon, an' you got to come."

Burns scoffed at the whole thing and told Guy to get to work at the
potatoes, and if he left down the bars so that the Pig got out he'd
skin him alive; he would have no such fooling round his place. But Mrs
Burns calmly informed him that _she_ was going. It was to her
much like going to see a university degree conferred on her boy.

Since Burns would not assist, the difficulty of the children now
arose. This, however, was soon settled. They should go along. It was
two hours' toil for the mother to turn the four brown-limbed, nearly
naked, dirty, happy towsle-tops into four little martyrs, befrocked,
beribboned, becombed and be-booted. Then they all straggled across the
field, Mrs. Burns carrying the baby in one arm and a pot of jam in
the other. Guy ran ahead to show the way, and four-year-old,
three-year-old and two-year-old, hand in hand, formed a diagonal line
in the wake of the mother.

They were just a little surprised on getting to camp to find Mrs.
Raften and Minnie there in holiday clothes. Marget's first feeling was
resentment, but her second thought was a pleasant one. That "stuck-up"
woman, the enemy's wife, should see her boy's triumph, and Mrs. Burns
at once seized on the chance to play society cat.

"How do ye do, Mrs. Raften; hope you're well," she said with a tinge
of malicious pleasure and a grand attempt at assuming the leadership.

"Quite well, thank you. We came down to see how the boys were getting
on in camp."

"They've got on very nicely _sense my boy j'ined them_," retorted
Mrs. Burns, still fencing.

"So I understand; the other two have become very fond of him,"
returned Mrs. Raften, seeking to disarm her enemy.

This speech had its effect. Mrs. Burns aimed only to forestall the
foe, but finding to her surprise that the enemy's wife was quite
gentle