Taken by surprise, the chief hesitated. “To learn to read and write and speak like the white man.”
“What do you think I am here for?”
“To show our children the way,” he reluctantly answered. “But not to punish them.”
Seger was addressing the women through the chief. “Do you think I can teach your children if they are out shooting birds?”
“No, I do not think so.”
“Do you think it would be honest if I took pay for teaching your children and let them run to camp all the time?”
“No, I think it is necessary that the children be kept in school—but you must not whip them.”
Seger faced Unko. “What kind of a person do you want to have teach your children—a liar?”
“No, a liar is bad for them.”
Unko saw the drift of Seger’s remarks, and he moved about uneasily, the butt of his pistol showing from beneath his blanket.