The Automobile Girls in the Berkshires; Or, The Ghost of Lost Man's Trail

walk, she thought the little Indian girl lost consciousness. But never once did Eunice moan or give a cry of pain. “Over there,” said Naki finally, “lies the Indian wigwam.” He pointed in front of him, where a solitary hill rose before them, shaded by dense woods. “But I can’t see an opening there,” Ruth cried; “neither smoke, nor anything to suggest that people are living on that hill.” Naki smiled wisely. “The Indians have forgotten much of their father’s wisdom,” he declared. “But not yet have they forgotten how to hide in their own forests.” “Do you think I had better go ahead, Naki?” Bab queried. “Some one ought to tell the grandmother that Eunice is hurt. Since I am responsible for the accident, it is my place to break the news to her. I will run on ahead.” “Not alone, Bab!” protested loyal Ruth. “You are no more responsible for Eunice’s injury than the rest of us. It just happened to be your shot that wounded her. It might just as easily have been mine. How could we have dreamed the child was hiding in the underbrush? I shall go ahead with you.” “Better keep with me,” enjoined Naki. “You could not find your way to the wigwam. We have followed the ‘Lost Man’s Trail.’ When we get up to the tent, keep a little in the background. The Indian woman is very old. She cannot forgive easily. It is best that I explain to her as well as I can. I will go first, alone, with the child.” Eunice stirred a little on Naki’s shoulder. “The little one,” she declared feebly. “She of the pale face and the hair like the sun. I wish her to go with me to the tent of my grandmother.” And Eunice pointed with her uninjured arm toward Mollie. Under a canopy formed of the interlaced branches of great hemlock trees stood an Indian wigwam. It looked as much a part of the landscape as the trees themselves. The rains and the sun had bleached it to an ashen gray. Outside the tent hung a bunch of arrows. Against the side leaned a long bow. A fire near by had been hastily covered over. But nowhere about was there a sign of human life. “Your grandmother has heard the footsteps of strangers approaching,” Naki said to Eunice.