A Little Maid of Ticonderoga

								

trail to big road to Shoreham sleep here," she added, holding up a
fine round molasses cake in one hand and a roasted chicken in the
other.
Faith was hungry as well as tired, and the two friends ate with good
appetite. Kashaqua repacked the basket with what remained of the food,
and with a pleasant nod to Faith declared she would "sleep a little,"
and curled herself up near the shelter.
Faith looked about the rough camp, and peered down the trail. She
decided she too would sleep a little, and stretched herself out close
beside Kashaqua, thinking that it was a wonderful thing to be so far
from home,--nearly in sight of Lake Champlain, Kashaqua had told her,
with an Indian woman for her guide and protector; and then her eyes
closed and she was sound asleep.
It seemed to Faith that she had not slept a minute before she awakened
suddenly, and found that Kashaqua had disappeared. But she heard a
queer scrambling sound behind her and sat up and looked around. For a
moment she was too frightened to speak, for a brown bear was clawing
the remainder of their luncheon from the basket, grunting and
sniffing, as if well pleased with what he found.
As Faith looked at him she was sure that this creature had dragged
Kashaqua off into the woods, and that he might turn and seize her as
soon as he had finished with the basket.
"Kashaqua! Kashaqua!" she called hopelessly. "What shall I do? What
shall I do?"
There was a rustle of leaves close behind her and the Indian woman
darted into the clearing. Without a word to Faith she ran straight to
where the bear was crouched over the basket. Faith could hardly
believe what she saw, for Kashaqua had seized the basket and pushed it
out of the bear's reach, and was now belaboring him with a stout piece
of wood that she had seized from the pile by the shelter. As she hit
the bear she called out strange words in the Indian tongue, whose
meaning Faith could not imagine, but which the bear seemed to
understand. The creature accepted the blows with a queer little
whimper which made Faith laugh in spite of her fear. And when Kashaqua
had quite finished with him he crept along beside her, looking up as
if pleading for forgiveness.
"Oh, Kashaqua! Is it the bear that your papooses tamed?" exclaimed
Faith, remembering the story told her on the way.
Kashaqua nodded, at the same time muttering words of reproach to the
bear.
"He like bad Indian, steal from friends," she explained to Faith. "His
name Nooski," she added.
Nooski was quite ready to make friends with Faith, but she was not
yet sure of his good-nature. It seemed to the little girl that the
bear understood every word Kashaqua uttered; and when they went on
their way down the trail Nooski followed, or kept close beside them.
It was still early in the afternoon when they reached level ground and
Faith had her first glimpse of the blue waters of Lake Champlain and
saw the heights of Ticonderoga on the opposite shore. For a moment she