“Who are you?” Tess asked. “If you don’t mind telling us. This is Sammy Pinkney; and I’m Tess Kenway; and this is my sister, Dot.”
“Huh!” said the stranger. “I—I’m Rowdy.”
“Rowdy?” repeated Tess, wonderingly.
“That’s what they call me,” said the other hastily. “Just Rowdy. And we’d better go to my cave.”
“But you don’t live out here in the woods all by yourself, do you?” asked Sammy, in much surprise.
“No. But—but my father’s gone a long way off.” The boy hesitated a moment, and then added: “Gone to Canada—trapping. Won’t be back for ever so long. So I live in the cave.”
“Oh, my!” murmured Tess.
“Je-ru-sa-lem!” exclaimed Sammy. “Ain’t you afraid to live here alone?”
“I’m not afraid,” said their new friend. “And there’s nobody to boss you all the time here. Come on. You follow me. Drag along the sled. We might need that after the snow’s stopped.”
He started to crawl out through the hole into the storm again, and the trio from Red Deer Lodge decided that there was nothing better to do than to follow him.