"Ah ha!" piped Ide. "There are the remnants, eh? We met the rest of the colony hiperin' out of the woods. They've gone to Little Lobster, girl, and the old woman is worryin' about you."
Wade stared straight at Barrett. The timber baron understood the challenge of his eyes. He was commanded to declare his intentions. In spite of himself, he scowled. It was a scowl of recalcitrancy. And the young man, angered by the presence of Britt and the evident appearance of treachery, shot his bolt.
"There is a piece of good-fortune for this poor girl, Mr. Ide. Mr. Barrett proposes to educate her, and he's going to take her with him out of the woods."
"She has been gettin' a lot of attention lately," blurted the Honorable Pulaski, with malice and derision. "For the past three or four days, Rodburd, your young partner here has been her steady company. They have just come strollin' alone together down the Lovers' Lane from Jerusalem Knob." He fixed his keen eyes on the astonished face of Nina Ide. His narrow nature believed that, like other girls, she could be stirred to quick jealousy. And knowing her influence over her father, he foresaw trouble ahead for the partnership between Ide and Wade. "Seems to be in the air up this way now for the young men to gallivant through the woods with the Skeet girl. Wade here seems to have cut out Colin MacLeod." Then the coarse old jester sneered into the indignant face Wade turned to him.
"It will be a good thing for her to go to school," said Ide, a little puzzled by the evident antagonism of these men. "It will be kind of you, Mr. Barrett."
"Say, look here, Ide," cried Britt, in his irritation suddenly deciding to play the strong hand with this young interloper, "your friend Wade here, being a school-teacher, seems to have school on the brain. He also seems to be full of ready-made plans for men older and better than he is. From things that come to me, he has picked up a lot of foolishness about these Skeets and Bushees and this girl since he's been cruisin' round these woods. Mr. Barrett and myself have made arrangements to take care of the rest of that pauper settlement, and the Skeets probably told you so when you met them."
"We'll look after the girl, too." He walked up to Wade and snapped his fingers, unable to resist his desire to bully. "Now, young fellow, you've been stickin' your nose pretty deep into other men's business. Take it out, or I'll twist it off your face. Any one would think that this girl matter was runnin' the world in these parts. There's been too much talk about what's of no consequence. Go along with your partner. You're on my land. Keep movin'."