IV. The Wolf’s Den
“Mother, I may be late in getting home from school this afternoon,” said Wallace on Monday at noon. “Mr. Emerson said he was going to take us for a walk after school to-day. He told us to ask if it would be all right. Will it, mother?”
“Yes, Wallace, but try to be home before dark.”
“I’ll tell you all about our trip at supper time,” said Wallace. “Good-by.”
Wallace bounded in just as supper was being put on the table.
“Good evening, everybody. Oh, it was fine!” he exclaimed. “Mr. Emerson took us for a long walk in the park—to a part I have never seen before.”
“That was splendid,” said his mother.
“Now, tell us all about your trip,” said his father, when Wallace had partly satisfied his hunger.
Wallace began: “We walked until we reached the wild part of the park. Soon we came to a steep hill and a great pile of high rocks covered with trees and bushes.
“‘How many of you boys have ever been in a real cave?’ Mr. Emerson asked. Only three of us had, and we were very much excited.
“‘Well,’ he said, ‘right above that big granite rock there is a natural cave. It was found only a few days ago. The opening was covered with bushes, so nobody knew it was there. It must have been the den of some wild animal years ago. The opening is so small that only one boy can go in at a time.’
“He divided us into four sections and made me the leader of section one.
“One at a time we climbed up until all five boys of my section were on top of the rock. There was the cave, a dark opening in the rocks about as big around as a barrel. Being the leader, I had to go in first.”
“Weren’t you scared?” asked Ruth.
“Well—it was exciting,” admitted her brother. “I got down on my hands and knees and looked in, but could see nothing. Then I crawled in. It was as dark as a pocket. I tried to stand up and bumped my head, the ceiling was so low.
“In a minute or two I could see better. The walls of the cave were nothing but rocks. The floor was covered with sand and dry leaves. There was just room enough to turn around in, so I turned around and crawled out.”
“Well, I call that pretty brave, Wallace, to go in first,” his mother said.
“There wasn’t anything to be afraid of, mother,” said Wallace. After a moment he continued, “Well, after the boys in my group had all been in, we climbed down, and the other sections went up and did the same thing. Every boy went in, although some of the little fellows looked pretty white when they came out. Then we sat on the rocks, and Mr. Emerson talked about the homes of wild animals and the early savages.
“‘What animal do you suppose lived in this cave?’ Mr. Emerson asked us. Some guessed wolves and some, bears. We finally decided to name it The Wolf’s Den.