Chapter XII: The Dwarf's Discovery.—brain or Bone

"I THINK we had better settle down somewhere," said the dwarf, "and not wander over the prairies forever. This is not just where I meant to stop; but Tom's chart was lost, and we must make the best of it."

"But how do we know that the land here is not preëmpted?" inquired Mrs. Willard.

"I'll venture that," replied the Hunchback; "we are in the region Tom said was not taken up. Besides, there are no signs of settlers."

The two women put their heads out of the wagon, and looked around.

"We certainly should not be troubled with neighbors in this solitude," observed Mrs. Willard, dubiously.

"Nor sigh 'for a lodge in some vast wilderness,'" suggested her sister.

"But what 'should' we do in case of sickness?" forebodingly asked the former.

"Take care of each other," replied the dwarf.

"Suppose we were all sick at once?"

"Suppose the Man in the Moon should shoot us," gruffly grunted the dwarf. "We came out to get a farm, and we can't do it by remaining in the wagon all our lives, and conjuring difficulties. If we mean to do anything, let us begin, I say."

"Well, boys, what do you think?" inquired the mother, of Ferdie and Georgie.

But their courage was at low tide; and dispirited, they turned their faces aside without answering.

"Arriving" west and "going" west they had found to be very different.

Prospective pioneering and the reality were so unlike! They had not counted the cost in encouraging their father to immigrate, nor in accepting Tom's plan for them. Very romantic ideas had they entertained of life on the prairies. But now they were reduced to plain matters of fact.

"I am sorry we ever left the east!" fretted Georgie.

"We can't help that now," replied his mother.

"But how are we to get along in this miserable place?" asked Ferdinand. "No neighbors, no house to live in; nothing but land, land! How are we to live?"

"By thought, contrivance, and work," said the dwarf.

"O, yes, you'd do lots of work!" retorted Georgie. "If you peel your own potatoes, you'll do well."

"I'll do my part, if you will yours," piped the dwarf.

"Yes, you'll 'think.' Well, I prefer that part myself."

"I tell you," reiterated the dwarf, frowning, "I'll do my part if you'll do yours."

"My sons," sadly interposed the mother, "you'll kill your mother if you quarrel. We have met with great trouble. We must love and help each other. And remember, children, it is through no fault of Frankie's that he is not as strong as the rest of us. But how beautifully he remembered the route! I am not sure, with his strong memory and time for thought, but that he will be as useful in making our new home as either of us."

"Mother," said little Hunchie, softened by her soothing speech, "you know that I was the last to give in my assent to Tom's plan. I knew Ferdinand and Georgie were too excited about the prairies to weigh the matter. But we are here, and I believe we shall succeed nicely after a while. It is in our favor that there are no settlers, for we can choose the best of the land. Tom says this whole region is destined to be thickly populated. And don't you recollect how crowded the cars and steamers were with people bound to Minnesota? We shall have neighbors soon enough. We must select our claim as wisely as we can while there is so fine a chance, and hasten to improve it, so that new comers may not get it from us."

"Frankie is right," decided the mother. "Let us make a beginning. All is, if we can't get on farming, we shall have the claim to sell; and we can go back to the Mississippi, dispose of our team, and, if we wish, return to Maine."

"So we can," chimed in Georgie, brightening. "But what's to be done first? I'm sure I don't know."

"Select a site for a cabin," answered the dwarf, curtly. "Mother, you and aunt Esther get dinner, while we boys attend to this business. Unhitch the horses from the wagon, Ferdinand. You take one, and Georgie the other, and ride in opposite directions, and see what sort of a spot for a house you can choose. We ought to find a spring, if possible, as we shall not be able to dig a well, and river water isn't wholesome to drink. Tom said there is too much decaying vegetable matter in it."

"We shan't ride, and we are going together," said Ferdinand. "Come, Georgie."

And snatching aunt Esther's red shawl, and adjusting half to Georgie's shoulders and the remainder over his own, with arms around each other's waists, they sauntered off.

"They'll learn that it isn't all play," said Frankie, gazing after the scarlet-robed boys.

They had gone, perhaps, a half mile, when Ferdie suddenly slinging the shawl across his arm, the brothers ran, excitedly, different ways, describing a large circle. Then, waving their caps, they shouted,—

"Drive over here! This is the place. Splendid for dinner, too!"

So, the women and Frankie getting into the wagon, the latter guided the span there.

"It's perfectly charming!" cried aunt Esther, with unwonted enthusiasm.

They had reached a gentle swell of ground, at the foot of which was an oval-shaped lakelet, its turfy borders being as evenly curved as if done with the landscape gardener's tools, and the water was so translucent that the smallest object could be seen at the bottom. It was fed by boiling springs, several of which at either end were sending up fine white sand, while farther from the shore was still another, of great size and force. A mile and a half west was a fine grove.

"Well done!" exclaimed Mrs. Willard, with maternal pride. "You have won credit to yourselves. We can erect our cabin on the top of the eminence, and it will command a splendid view. The lake will furnish an unfailing supply of sweet and healthful water. And when we open our farm, every inch of it will be in sight."

"Now," cried Ferdie and Georgie in a breath, "we'll feed the horses, while mother cooks dinner."

"You may leave the headstall on the off horse, Ferdie," said the dwarf.

"What for? He can't eat with the bits in his mouth."

"Guess I'll have a short ride," answered the Hunchback. "Lead him alongside the forward wheel, Ferdie. Now, fold this blanket, and strap it on his back." And springing from the wagon, the dwarf mounted the animal.

Ferdie and Georgie clapped their hands and shouted, the odd-shaped rider cut so queer a figure.

The slim, short legs and arms, and big head, the latter "beating time," nodding and jerking with the motion of the horse, did indeed constitute a ludicrous picture.

"How his head bobs!" said Georgie, laughing uncontrollably. "It'll snap off, I'm afraid."

"Hush, boys," interposed the mother, in an undertone. "You will hurt Frankie's feelings. It is a noble head, if it is large. 'Tisn't all bone, like many big-headed folks, and it's properly put together." Then, raising her voice, "Don't be gone long, Frankie, or I shall worry about you."

The stout horse and small rider plodded slowly on, for the dwarf had never ridden a beast before, and his weighty top-piece toppled painfully when the animal trotted.

He was away some time. The family became anxious concerning him, and Ferdie was on the point of taking the other horse, and riding to see if any accident had befallen him, when he emerged from the grove. On his arrival, he silently seated himself on the grass, and ate the bountiful portion his mother had reserved, while his brothers and aunt Esther discussed which way the projected cabin should set.

"Tom said the door ought to be towards the south," remarked Ferdinand, "because it's the sunny and warm side."

"Then we will have it so," answered aunt Esther.

"Come, Ferdinand, harness up," interrupted the dwarf, wiping his mouth.

"Harness up? Not by a jugful! We are going to build the cabin here," cried Ferdie and Georgie at the top of their lungs. "Aren't we, mother?"

"My son," said Mrs. Willard, laying her hand lovingly on the Hunchback's shoulder, "all of us deem this a delightful spot. Don't you think we had better build our new abode here?"

"What shall we build it of?" asked he.

"Of logs," tartly replied Ferdinand. "You didn't dream that we designed erecting a marble palace—did you?"

"Where will you get the logs?" persisted Hunchback.

"There are a pair of sharp axes in the wagon, and a grove yonder," returned Ferdinand, loftily.

"How will you get the logs here?"

"We suppose the span can draw them."

"And after the logs are brought, are you and Georgie strong enough to lift the great green tree-trunks upon each other, till the walls of the cabin are constructed? It would require a company of men."

As there was no reply to this, the Hunchback added,—

"Hurry, and tackle in the horses, and drive to the grove."

They were soon there.

"Now," said the dwarf, jumping out of the vehicle, "hitch the span; then all follow me."

Striking a narrow path, which he pronounced a deer's trail, leading through the wood, there, on the other side of the grove, sheltered from the north winds, stood a snug cabin. It was unshingled, and without door or windows. There was, indeed, no aperture for the latter. A few loose boards composed the floor. Wide cracks yawned in the walls. Some rods farther on flowed the creek. Between it and the cabin was a copious spring of ice-cold water. Facing the dwelling was smooth prairie, and at a convenient distance was a small, unroofed shed, built of logs.

"I had been considering the case," remarked the dwarf, "and saw that we could not, unassisted, build a cabin, and that we must, therefore, locate near some town where help could be procured. But, you know, land is high in such places. We can fix this up, and manage to live for the present."

"What if the owners return and claim it?" asked prudent aunt Esther.

"No danger of that," affirmed the Hunchback. "See how dry the logs of the walls are, and there are no traces of footsteps. The cabin is very old, and has long been abandoned. Years ago, before immigration had penetrated so far, it was erected, no doubt, by the hunter and trapper. It is on Uncle Sam's land, and we may occupy it if we will."

Mrs. Willard drew the young-old head to her, and pressing a kiss on the dwarf's lips, presently said,—

"What should we do without our wise Frankie?"