When they were all unwrapped, Hugh said: "There, son, you've sure got
some real old relics, now. I don't know as I ever see a nicer lot of
arrow points, and I'm sure I never see a pipe like that. Them things
is mighty old. I wouldn't be a mite surprised if that fellow died
before America was discovered."
Jack was delighted with the find. He still felt that he would like to
have the bundle, and, above all, would like to know what there was
inside of it, but he made up his mind that it was better to do as
Hugh had said. After they had reached their horses, he wrapped the
pot carefully up in his coat and tied it to the horn of his saddle,
and all the way home he rode with his hand on it, so that it should
not be jarred and broken.
When they reached home he spread his trophies out on the kitchen
table to show to Mrs. Carter, and said to her, "Won't these make a
great show in my room in New York?"
CHAPTER XXIX
SWIFTFOOT IN NEW YORK
At last the time approached when Mr. Sturgis and Jack were to leave
the ranch and take their departure for the distant east. The weather
had long been growing cooler, and was now cold. The leaves of the
aspens had turned yellow, and one by one had loosed their holds upon
the trees, and twirled slowly toward the ground. The bull elk had
ceased whistling. The deer had taken on their winter coats. The lake
was frozen, and the migrating ducks and geese had gone. Snow storms
were more frequent, and often the ground was white for days at a
time, until some interval of mild weather melted the snow again.
One day, some weeks after the Powells' last visit, Charley had driven
over in the waggon and brought Jack a wolf puppy, now large and well
grown. It was a great grey animal, heavily coated, sleek, smooth, and
in good condition, with a long, pointed head, which looked a little
like that of a collie dog. Though perfectly tame with Charley, the
wolf was shy of strangers, and at first, when approached by Jack or
any of the men at the ranch, seemed timid, and shrank for protection
behind young Powell. Charley had foreseen this, and had arranged to
spend two or three days at the ranch, in order that the wolf might
learn to know his master.
"If I leave him here strange to you, you see," he said, "he'll either
leave you when I go away, and come back to the ranch, or else he'll
run away and become wild, and I don't want to turn no wolves loose
on this range. I tried what Hugh told me to with the pups, and now
they're all tame as the dogs."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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