“I’ll remember that,” Walt promised. “All Indians aren’t bad anyway,” he added so seriously that both boys laughed.
“Did you ever know any well?” asked Robert.
“Yes, indeed. I trapped all one winter with an Ojibway up in Canada. He was a fine fellow and amusing, too. At night we used to sit around our fire and smoke and once in a while I could get him to talk. He knew all the Indian stories and legends from start to finish and they were mighty interesting, too.”
“Tell us some of them,” urged Joseph eagerly.
“Well, now,” said Walt slowly. “I don’t know as I can remember them. Certainly I can’t tell ’em the way he did.”
“That doesn’t make any difference,” exclaimed Joseph. “Tell them as best you can and that will be good enough for us. Isn’t that so, Bob?”
“I should say so,” agreed Robert heartily. “I love those Indian legends.”
“All right then,” said Walt. “I’ll try my best. Did you ever hear the legend of ‘The Lone Lightning’?”
“Never,” cried both boys. “Tell us that one,” urged Joseph eagerly.
The old trapper filled his pipe deliberately. When it was lighted and he had settled himself comfortably against the trunk of a tree and taken a few big puffs, he began his story.
“Once upon a time there was a little orphan boy. He lived with his uncle who treated him very badly and gave him but little to eat. As a result the boy pined away and was thin and slight and never grew much. This treatment went on for a long time and finally the uncle pretended to be greatly ashamed of the way he had abused his nephew. He commenced to feed the boy all he could eat in order to fatten him and to make up for the hard usage he had received. The uncle’s real plan, however, was to kill the boy by overfeeding him.
“He told his wife to give the boy plenty of bear’s meat, especially the fat, as that was supposed to be the best part. They used to force food on the boy and one day they nearly choked him to death by trying to cram it down his throat. The boy finally escaped from the lodge, however, and fled into the woods. He did not know his way about and soon got lost. Night fell and the boy was afraid. He climbed high into the branches of a tall pine tree so that the wild animals could not reach him and while up there he fell asleep. While he was asleep he had a dream.