"Listen, Bessie! She just called one of the girls. And did you hear what she called her? Minnehaha—that's a funny name, isn't it?"
"It's an Indian name, Zara. It means Laughing Water. That's the name of the girl that Hiawatha loved, in the poem. I've read that, haven't you?"
"I've never been able to read very much, Bessie. But that girl isn't an Indian. She's ever so much lighter than I am—she's as fair as you. And Indians are red, aren't they?"
"She's not an Indian, Zara. That's right enough. It must be some sort of a game. Oh, listen!"
For the older girl, the one Zara had pointed out, had spied Bessie's peeping face suddenly.
"Look, girls!" she cried, pointing.
And then, without a word of signal all the girls suddenly broke out into a song—a song Bessie had never heard before.
| "Wohelo for aye, Wohelo for aye, |
| Wohelo, Wohelo, Wohelo for aye; |
| Wohelo for work, Wohelo for health, |
| Wohelo, Wohelo, Wohelo for love!" |
As they ended the song, all the girls, with laughing faces, followed the eyes of their leader and looked at Bessie, who, frightened at first when she saw that she had been discovered, now returned the look shyly. There was something so kind, so friendly, about the manner of these strange girls that her fear had vanished.