“Oh, yes; they are all right; she will learn such things easily, I think! But I wanted to ask about that cousin of yours—the lady who, you said, wanted to come out from Ohio to teach Indians and visit you. Is she coming?”
“Well, she writes like it. She is a fine scholar, Lavina is; but I kind o’ let up on asking her to come after I struck this camp, for she always held her head high, I hear, and wouldn’t be noways proud of me as a relation, if she found me doing so much downright kitchen work. I hain’t seen her since she was grow’d up, you know, and I don’t know how she’d feel about it.”
“If she’s any good, she’ll think all the more of you for having pluck to tackle any honest work that comes,” said Overton, decidedly. “We all do—every man in the settlement. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be asking you to look after this little girl, who hasn’t any folks—father or mother—to look after her right. I thought if that lady teacher would just settle down here, I would make it worth her while to teach ’Tana.”
“Well, now, that would be wise,” exclaimed Mrs. Huzzard, delightedly. “An’ I’ll write her a letter this very night. Or, no—not to-night,” she added, “for I’ll be too busy. To-night the dance is to be.”
“What dance?”
“Well, now, I clean forgot to tell you about that. But it was Mr. Lyster planned it out after you left yesterday. As he’s to go back East in a few days, he is to give a supper and a dance to the boys, and I just thought if 80 they were going to have it, they might as well have it right and so it’s to be here.”
Overton twisted his hat around in silence for a few moments.
“What does ’Tana think of it?” he asked, at last.
“She? Why, land’s sakes! She’s tickled a heap over it. Indeed, to go back to the commencement, I guess it was to please her he got it up. At least, that’s the way it looked to me, for she no sooner said she’d like to see a dance with this crowd at the Ferry than he said there should be one, and I should get up a supper. I tell you that young chap sets store by that little girl of yours, though she does sass him a heap. They’re a fine-looking young couple, Mr. Dan.”
Mr. Dan evidently agreed, for he nodded his head absently, but did not speak. He did not look especially pleased over the announcement of the dance.