[Illustration:  Old Turk]

XXXII

The New War Chief

Caleb had been very busy all the day before doing no one knew what, and Saryann was busy, too.  She had been very busy for long, but now she was bustling.  Then, it seems, Caleb had gone to Mrs. Raften, and she was very busy, and Guy made a flying visit to Mrs. Burns, and she had become busy.  Thus they turned the whole neighbourhood into a “bee.”

For this was Sanger, where small gatherings held the same place as the club, theatre and newspaper do in the lives of city folk.  No matter what the occasion, a christening, wedding or funeral, a logging, a threshing, a home-coming or a parting, the finishing of a new house or the buying of a new harness or fanning-mill, any one of these was ample grounds for one of their “talking bees”; so it was easy to set the wheels a-running.

At three o’clock three processions might have been seen wending through the woods.  One was from Burns’s, including the whole family; one from Raften’s, comprising the family and the hired men; one from Caleb’s, made up of Saryann and many of the Boyles.  All brought baskets.

They were seated in a circle on the pleasant grassy bank of the pond.  Caleb and Sam took charge of the ceremonies.  First, there were foot-races, in which Yan won in spite of his wounded arm, the city boy making a good second; then target-shooting and “Deer-hunting,” that Yan could not take part in.  It was not in the programme, but Raften insisted on seeing Yan measure the height of a knot in a tree without going to it, and grinned with delight when he found it was accurate.

“Luk at that for eddication, Sam!” he roared.  “When will ye be able to do the like?  Arrah, but ye’re good stuff, Yan, an’ I’ve got something here’ll plase ye.”

Raften now pulled out his purse and as magistrate paid over with evident joy the $5 bounty due for killing the Lynx.  Then he added:  “An’ if it turns out as ye all claim” [and it did] “that this yer beast is the Sheep-killer instid av old Turk, I’ll add that other tin.”

Thus Yan came into the largest sum be had ever owned in his life.

Then the Indians went into their teepees.  Caleb set up a stake in the ground and on that a new shield of wood covered with rawhide; over the rawhide was lightly fastened a piece of sacking.

The guests were in a circle around this; at one side were some skins—­Yan’s Lynx and Coon—­and the two stuffed Owls.

Then the drum was heard, “Tum-tum—­tum-tum—­tum-tum—­tum-tum——­” There was a volley of war-whoops, and out of the teepees dashed the Sanger Indians in full war paint.

  “Ki ki—­ki yi—­ki yi yi yi
  Ki yi—­ki yi—­ki yi yi yi!”

They danced in exact time to the two-measure of the drum that was pounded by Blackhawk.  Three times round the central post with the shield they danced, then the drum stopped, and they joined in a grand final war-whoop and squatted in a circle within that of the guests.