Harry ran for the spear and returned it to Chief, and all ranged up alongside to witness his performances. The boys secured spears, also, and made the attempt to throw them, but they fell far short. When Harry attempted to make the trial, Chief seized it, and took his hand, and showed how to hold it to make an effective throw.
The trick consisted in grasping the stem tightly between the thumb and edge of the palm, with the little finger below the stem. The boys watched the proceedings with interest, but could not understand why that method of doing it was most effective.
The Professor came to the rescue. "The throwing of the javelin, the proper term for all weapons of this character, was an interesting thing from the earliest times. The lighter weapons are thrown by grasping them between the thumb and the two first fingers; but the heavy ones like this need a firmer grasp, and on account of their weight are not so easily kept in a horizontal position when in the act of impelling it forwardly. When, however, the spear is grasped in the manner shown you, the little finger, and the next finger to it, both act to guide the stem, and by practice they can be thrown with great accuracy."
This javelin-throwing match was the means of bringing the Chief and the boys nearer together than anything else that had transpired, and it began to make them take an interest in him, which was not the case theretofore. What really affected Chief more than anything else was the confidence imposed in him some days after, when Harry gave him one of the bolos. It was almost touching to see the joy he expressed. The Professor thought it would be a stroke of policy to have the present come from the boys.
Although he was still limping and unable to move around with any celerity he was out using the bolo at every opportunity. Here was an opportunity, as the Professor explained, to show how intelligent direction would not only be serviceable to the Chief himself, but that its possession would turn its use into channels that would be of value to him.
The gift made him particularly grateful, and so several days afterwards Harry and Tom, by a concerted arrangement, took the yaks, and the truck which had been previously made to haul in the flagpole, and, motioning to Chief, set off for the woods. A fair-sized tree was selected, and the boys, without a word to indicate that they wanted him to assist, began to cut down the tree.
He looked on wistfully for a time, and then edged his way over and made a motion to take Harry's place, to which he assented. It was now impossible for Harry to regain his place at the tree, and when it fell he acted and looked like a conqueror, and Harry patted him on the back as a token of his good work. A section of the butt of the tree was cut off, and loaded on the truck, and dragged to the sawmill. The end had to be squared off, and Chief insisted on doing this, the use of the exceedingly novel tool being the greatest pleasure, evidently, that he had ever enjoyed.
The fixing of it to the reciprocating saw frame was a marvel to him, and when he saw the boards cut off his joy knew no bounds. The proceedings at the sawmill delighted the Professor. "I have always contended, as heretofore expressed, that the same motive which prompts us to do things with pleasure is to know that we are doing things which produce results."
And then Harry did another graceful thing. He turned up a number of brass balls which he gave to Chief. If there is one thing a savage loves better than another, it is something round. That is why beads are so attractive, and buttons, and small trinkets of that kind. They are like children in this respect. Put a cube and a ball, both of the same material, before a child, and he will usually select the ball. It is a psychological phase which has never been explained; and the same test has been made with monkeys.