"Mu-ka-lip-we-u," was the reply.
"And what is the name of that sinew-thread?"
"Tun-u-wan."
Jean repeated these words, and so well did she speak them that Kitty was much pleased.
"Babby learn queek," she encouraged. "Babby spik all sam' Injun bimeby."
"I am going to learn Indian," Jean declared, "and I want you to tell me the names of many things."
The studying of the Maliseet language was a new pleasure to Jean, and she made excellent progress. She asked the names of various things about the camp, and in a few days she had stored up in her mind quite a stock of words. She now spoke of the fire as "skwut," firewood as "Skwut-o-e-to'tch," the mouth as "hu-ton," eyes as "u-si-suk," hair as "pi-es." There was no end to the words she learned, and both Sam and Kitty vied with each other in teaching her. When Sam brought in a rabbit he would hold it up and say "Ma-tu-kwes," or if a partridge, "se-se-ka-ti-ke-es." Then he would laugh as Jean tried to pronounce the words.
When the ice was firm enough to venture upon, Jean watched Sam as he cut a hole, dropped down a line, and brought forth a fine speckled trout. As the fish flopped about, he exclaimed, "Sko-tum! Sko-tum!"
One day he produced a piece of ash wood, and began to make the frames of a pair of snow-shoes.
"Ha-kum-mul," he said.