"Oh, don't go away," begged Grace. "We like to have you here, and I wish, too, that you would let me paddle that beautiful canoe. It is the first bark canoe I have ever seen. I know how to paddle a modern canoe, but I saw this morning that the bark boat is an entirely different craft. Will you teach me?" "Me show. Go meet Big Friend now." "Bring him back with you, Willy," urged Grace, but the Indian already had withdrawn, and when they looked out he had gone. "Hey, you folks!" called Hippy, who was grooming Hindenburg with a horse brush. "Where is the dinner?" Grace said she had forgotten all about it, and that Mrs. Shafto had gone out to try to shoot a duck. "In the meantime we starve, eh? Hindenburg is so hungry that his sides are caving in, and the bear has gone out into the woods to eat leaves. By the way, Willy Hoss's canoe is down yonder hidden under the bushes. He said you were to use it, Grace. He has gone away." After dinner, which was more in the nature of a luncheon, Mrs. Shafto came into camp with three ducks which she had shot, and promised her charges that they should have stuffed roast duck for supper. That afternoon Grace tried the canoe. She got one spill and was soaked to the skin, but crawled back to shore laughing at her mishap, and essayed another attempt. "I thought my canoe was cranky, but this beats everything," she called to her companions as she again floated out on the stream in the bark canoe. The Overland girl practiced for half an hour, during which she got the hang of the cranky bark canoe and did very well paddling it. "Let me try it," begged Emma. "You will not," objected Hippy. "Think I want to plunge into that cold water and rescue you?" "Do you think I am simple enough to fall in?" demanded Emma indignantly. "Yes, and as often as I could pull you out. Then again, you would lose yourself listening to the voices of nature and get into a fine, wet mess. That nature stuff makes me weary." Emma did not paddle the canoe that day, nor did any of the others express a desire to do so. They saw no more of the Indian that day, and that night the girls spread their blankets in the tepee. "We must have a fire in here for the sake of cheerfulness," urged Anne. "Yes. And burn ourselves up," objected Emma. "There should be no danger unless we roll into the fire in our sleep," answered Miss Briggs. A small fire was kindled in the tepee, and, for a long time after they had gone in for the night, the Overland girls sat with feet doubled under them, enjoying the novel sensation of having for their use a real Indian tepee, and listening to Joe Shafto relate some of her experiences in the Big North Woods.