E-text prepared by Al Haines CHILDREN OF THE WILD by CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS Author of "Kings in Exile," "The Feet of the Furtive," etc. New York The MacMillan Company 1922 CONTENTS I. THE LITTLE FURRY ONES THAT SLIDE DOWN HILL II. THE BLACK IMPS OF PINE-TOP III. YOUNG GRUMPY AND THE ONE-EYED GANDER IV. LITTLE SWORD AND THE INKMAKER V. ROCKED IN THE CRADLE OF THE DEEP VI. TEDDY BEAR'S BEE TREE VII. THE SNOWHOUSE BABY VIII. LITTLE SILK WING IX. A LITTLE ALIEN IN THE WILDERNESS X. WHAT HE SAW WHEN HE KEPT STILL XI. THE LITTLE VILLAGER AND HIS UNFRIENDLY GUESTS XII. THE BABY AND THE BEAR XIII. THE LITTLE SLY ONE XIV. THE DARING OF STRIPES TERROR-TAIL XV. DAGGER BILL AND THE WATER BABIES CHAPTER I THE LITTLE FURRY ONES THAT SLIDE DOWN HILL In the brown, balsam-smelling log cabin on the shores of Silverwater, loveliest and loneliest of wilderness lakes, the Babe's great thirst for information seemed in a fair way to be satisfied. Young as he was, and city-born, the lure of the wild had nevertheless already caught him, and the information that he thirsted for so insatiably was all about the furred or finned or feathered kindreds of the wild. And here by Silverwater, alone with his Uncle Andy and big Bill Pringle, the guide, his natural talent for asking questions was not so firmly discouraged as it was at home. But even thus early in this adventurous career, this fascinating and never-ending quest of knowledge, the Babe found himself confronted by a most difficult problem. He had to choose between authorities. He had to select between information and information. He had to differentiate for himself between what Bill told him and what his Uncle Andy told him. He was a serious-minded child, who had already passed through that most painful period of doubt as to Santa Claus and the Fairies, and had not yet reached the period of certainty about everything. He was capable of both belief and doubt. So, naturally, he had his difficulties.