Chief had been slyly preparing this treat for them, as savages like the root, and all regarded it a welcome change, and it was that peculiar look which George wrongly interpreted. How often the motives of people are misjudged in the same manner, and without a more pronounced reason than Chief had!
When the meal was announced Angel, as usual, was the first to appear, and when he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror he thought one of his friends had come to visit him. It did not seem to startle him in the least, but like all children tried to look behind it.
The wall prevented that, so when George handed him one of the small ones, and he put his hand behind the mirror, the vacancy there is what alarmed him. When he did finally comprehend what it was, it so attracted him that he could not partake of the meal, but sat entranced before it.
After the meal he took the mirror to the rafters, and found a hiding place for it, and they would often notice him with it, but from that time forward he never brought it down into the room.
CHAPTER XVI
A SURPRISING TRIP TO THE CAVE
The house was completed and partly furnished. New bedding was prepared for the bedrooms, the Chief installed in one, and the other two reserved for John and the Professor. The new living room, which was commodious, served as a dining room, and a door was cut through from the old kitchen to the new dining parlor.
The other rooms in the original building were reserved for the boys. John was now fully recovered, and felt like beginning his task anew, although he did not recall any of the previous work which he was engaged in. Chief was progressing well in his education, and the constant source of wonder to all was that he did not take the advantage his liberty gave him to leave them.
One day John had a long conversation with him on the subject, and afterwards the boys were curious to know the result of the interview; but the result of the talk was not, apparently, satisfactory to John, and the subject was not pressed. He was entirely well, and took a keen interest in everything around him, and participated in the work. Each new phase had some special attraction, and as the days passed less anxiety was felt on this score.