"I don't know how to begin."
"She'll be there t-to-morrer sure," Strong declared.
"So shall I," said the young man.
"C-cal'late she's w-wownded, too," Strong suggested. "B-be careful. She's like a w-wild deer."
They were leaving the fire on their way to bed. The young man stopped and repeated the words incredulously—"Like a wild deer!"
"T-take the ch-childem with ye," Strong advised. "She'll w-want t' look 'em over."
X
SOCKY woke early next morning, and lay looking up at the antlers, guns, and rifles which adorned the wall. On a table near him were some of the treasures of that sylvan household—a little book entitled Melinda, a dingy Testament, a plush-covered photograph-album, and a stuffed bird on a wire bough.