So fully did Benny’s dreams take possession of him, that, although he had been awake for two hours the next morning before he met Paul, he was rather startled and considerably disappointed to find his friend in ordinary dress, without a sign of belt, scalp, or tomahawk about him. Still, of course Paul was an Indian, and Benny promptly determined that no one should beat him in getting information about the young man’s earlier life; so Benny opened conversation abruptly by asking, “Where do you begin to cut when you want to take a man’s scalp off?”
“Why, who are you going to scalp, little fellow?” asked Paul.
“Oh, nobody,” said Benny, in confusion. “I’d like to know, that’s all.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to ask some one else, then,” said Paul, with a laugh. “Try me on something easier.”
“Then how do you ride a wild horse without saddle or bridle?” asked Benny.
“Worse and worse,” said Paul. “See here, Benny, have you been reading dime novels, and made up your mind to go West?”
“Not exactly,” said Benny; “but,” he continued, “I wouldn’t mind going West if I had some good safe fellow to go with—some one who has been there and knows all about it.”
“Well, I know enough about it to tell you to stay at home,” said Paul.
This was proof enough, thought Benny; so, although he was aching to ask Paul many other questions about Indian life, he hurried off to assure the other boys that it was all right—that Paul was an Indian, and no mistake. The consequence was that when Paul approached the school-house half of the boys advanced slowly to meet him, and then they clustered about him, and he became conscious of being looked at even more intently than on the day of his first appearance. He did not seem at all pleased by the attention; he looked rather angry, and then turned pale; finally he hurried upstairs into the school-room and whispered something to the teacher, at which Mr. Morton shook his head and patted Paul on the shoulder, after which the boy regained his ease and took his seat.
But at recess he again found himself the centre of a crowd, no member of which seemed to care to begin any sort of game. Paul stopped short, looked around him, frowned, and asked, “Boys, what is the matter with me?”