"Now see here, Mr. Clark, fair and square; we come here to ask a simple question about the woods. You are the only man that knows or we wouldn't 'a' bothered you. I knowed you had it in for Da, so I tried to fool you, and it didn't go. I wish now I had just come out square and said, 'I'm Sam Raften; will you tell me somethin' I want to know, or won't you?' I didn't know you hed anything agin me or me friend that's camping with me."
There is a strong bond of sympathy between all Woodcrafters. The mere fact that a man wants to go his way is a claim on a Woodcrafter's notice. Old Caleb, though soured by trouble and hot-tempered, had a kind heart; he resisted for a moment the first impulse to slam the door in their faces; then as he listened he fell into the tempter's snare, for it was baited with the subtlest of flatteries. He said to Yan:
"Is your name Raften?"
"No, sir."
"Air ye owt o' kin?"
"No, sir."
[146] "I don't want no truck with a Raften, but what do ye want to know?"
"We built a wigwam of bark, but it's no good, but now we have a big canvas cover an' want to know how to make a teepee."
"A teepee. H-m—" said the old man reflectively.