me one when it has been in his
possession only a brief while, will grieve him as much as the loss of a
dear friend."

Just then young Linden caught the faint but clear notes of some one
whistling. He had but to listen a second or two, when he recognized it,
as he did the hearty laugh that followed. Looking to his right, he saw
Terry himself standing but a few paces away, and, so to speak, in his
"war paint." Bullet pouch, powder-horn, bundle on his back, and, more
than all, the splendid rifle was there. The round, chubby face, clear
eyes, and pug nose of the Irish lad seemed to radiate delight as he
made an elaborate salute to his friend, and, with mock gravity, doffed
his hat and scraped his foot along the ground. "Why, Terry," said the
delighted Fred, asking the useless question, "what is the meaning of
this?"

"I'm going wid ye to the camp in the Ozark Mountains; do ye think I
could rist aisy, knowin' that ye had to travel such a long distance wid
no one to take care of ye?"

"Well, now, that just pleases me more than I can tell you," said the
overjoyed Fred, slapping him on the shoulder; "there isn't any one in
the wide world whose company I want as bad as yours; I lay awake half of
last night trying to get up some plan by which I could have you with me,
but I couldn't think of any, and had to give it up. Father sent only for
me, and I didn't suppose that Mr. MacClaskey would spare you. Tell me
how you managed it."

A quizzical expression came upon the face of the Irish lad, who, leaning
on his rifle, took off his hat and scratched his head for a few seconds
before answering.

"Wal, bein' it's yersilf, Fred, I don't mind sayin' that it took some
strategy, as I suppose Deerfut would call it. Last night, after we had
eat our supper, and the chores were done wid, and Mr. MacClaskey had
took his seat by the fire and lit his pipe, and Mrs. MacClaskey had
started her spinning-wheel a-hummin', and the children had been packed
off to bed, I told the folks the whole story. I managed it in such a
style that the owld gentleman, who, you know, has spint two winters in
the mountains, said it would make the folks out there desprit short of
hands. I observed, in me careless way, that such was the case, and that
Mr. Linden had sent word to ye that he wanted ye to come, and, from
things that I knew, me own prisence would give great satisfaction to
sartin parties. Ye understand that I had yersilf in me eye, though I
didn't thi