e here."

She seemed rather relieved at that, and told me that she was not
frightened. Then she asked me where they went. I told her, and said that
when it got lighter I meant to creep after them and see if they were
still in the grove.

"Don't leave me," said she. "I reckon I'm a little frightened, after
all, and it's very lonesome in here all alone. Please get into the
wagon with me!"

I said nothing. Instead I sat for some time on the wagon-tongue and
asked myself what I should do, and what she meant by this invitation.
At last I started up, and trembling like a man climbing the gallows, I
climbed into the wagon. There, sitting in the spring seat in the gown
she had worn yesterday, with her little shoes on the dashboard, sat
Virginia trying to wrap herself in the buffalo-robe.

I folded it around her and took my seat by her side. With scarcely a
whisper between us we sat there and watched the stars wheel over to the
west and down to their settings. At last I felt her leaning over against
my shoulder, and found that she was asleep; and softly putting my arms
about her outside the warm buffalo-robe, I held her sleeping like a baby
until the shrill roundelays of the meadow-larks told me it was morning.

Then after taking away my arms I awakened her.

CHAPTER X

THE GROVE OF DESTINY DOES ITS WORK

Virginia opened her eyes and smiled at me. I think this was the first
time that she had given me more than just a trace of a smile; but now
she smiled, a very sweet winning smile; and getting spryly out of the
wagon she said that she had been a lazy and useless passenger all the
time she had been with me, and that from then on she was going to do the
cooking. I told her that I wasn't going to let her do it, that I was
strong and liked to cook; and I stammered and blundered when I tried to
hint that I liked cooking for her. She looked very dense at this and
insisted that I should build the fire, and show her where the things
were; and when I had done so she pinned back her skirts and went about
the work in a way that threw me into a high fever.

"You may bring the new milk," said she, "and by that time I'll have a
fine breakfast for you."

When the milk was brought, breakfast was still a little behindhand, but
she would not let me help. Anyhow, I felt in spite of my talk that I
wanted to do some other sort of service for her: I wanted to show off,
to prove myself a protector, to fight for her, to knock down or dr