"What, have you a stack of barley here?" was Tom's eager question.
"Oh, yes," replied George, "and we make the finest kind of bread. I am sorry we can't offer any to-day."
It was so long since they had tasted bread that its name was almost forgotten.
All returned to the house. The Chief was still there, and he looked at the group in a curious way. Everything in sight attracted his curiosity, and the Professor tried to make him feel at home in his new surroundings. His wounds were progressing favorably, and he was now able to stand on one leg without much pain. At the suggestion of the Professor, Harry made a pair of crutches, which were brought in early the next morning, and he took them and imitated the act of walking with one of his legs raised up. This was a novel proceeding for the savage, and after they had been offered to him several times the Professor urged him to try them.
Comprehending what was wanted he struggled to his feet and reached for them. When they were adjusted he leaned forward for the first step, and a look of surprise came over him. It was a revelation to his poor untutored mind. It lighted up into an expression he had never exhibited before, and he thus received the first lesson on the route to civilization.
It was amusing to see him make one attempt after the other, and before night he could travel about fairly well. What must have been his thoughts as he saw the busy workshops and the surroundings of the home to which he had been so unwillingly brought? At every opportunity the Professor cultivated his acquaintance. As time wore on he became communicative in his way, but it was difficult to bring things to his mind and comprehend the language used.
He was first taught to name certain things, such as the different foods; and it did not take long to learn what "Yes" and "No" meant, and when handed anything particularly appetizing it was finally associated in his mind with "good." Thus step by step he acquired a small vocabulary of words.
The first task in the morning was the threshing out of barley. Chief, as he was called, witnessed the task, and picked up and fondled one of the flails, like a child caressing a new toy, but he did not have the remotest idea what the threshing of the barley meant until the beaten straw had been removed and the golden grain was winnowed out.
And there was another thing that interested him immensely, and that was the grist mill, composed of the two stones, and when the water wheel was set in motion and the upper stone began to whirr, he stood with mouth and eyes open, and watched the meal running from the spout like one entranced. Usually these people are too stolid to pay attention to such things, but his intense interest was so pronounced that it attracted all who witnessed it.
He followed every step in the preparation of the flour and in the making of the bread, and when the loaves were finally deposited on the table, it was some time before he could gain sufficient composure to taste it. When he did so eventually the amount he ate was enough commendation of its quality to satisfy the most egotistic baker.