“That won’t go, kid! You’ve got to obey orders. Here!”
He threw down the branches and began to strip off the soft tips.
“Let me help you, Billy.” She set at it, glad of action.
“There!” He piled them under the table, spread them smoothly, and stood back. “In with you! I’ll have to spread the covers. You can’t do it for yourself,—not in this boarding-house.”
She was not deceived by his jocularity, but something compelled her to submit without words. She lay down in the sweet-smelling litter, and he covered her thick with the boughs.
“Sorry my blankets are so heavy, but they’re the best the house affords.”
“But where is your—what will you do, Billy? You must be awfully tired.”
“I’d be a nice lad to go to sleep now, wouldn’t I? The fire must be kept up, the wolves scared away; bears, too, and—”
“Oh, Billy, don’t!” Her self-control broke, and she began to cry.
“Say! Kid! If you do that I’ll run away! I’ll jump into the drink! I can fight a bear, but I can’t stand salt water—not that sort!”