Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue in the Big Woods Part 28

After dinner they decided it was time to go for the roasting ears, and again they were in the boat, as it was nearer to the farmer's house across the water than by going the winding road.

Tom picked out the kind of ears he wanted, large and full of kernels in which the milk, or white juice, was yet running. This was a corn that ripened late, and was very good for roasting.

With the corn in one end of the boat, and the children in the stern, or rear, where he could watch them as they moved about on the broad seat, Tom rowed the boat toward camp. They reached it just in time for supper, and just as Mr. Brown got home from his trip to the city.

"We're going to have roast ears of corn to-night!" called Sue as she hugged and kissed her father.

"Oh! That makes me feel as if I were a boy!" said Mr. Brown. "Who is going to roast the corn?"

"I am," said Tom. "I've done it many a time."

"Well, I'm glad you know how. But now let's have supper."

The children did not eat much, because they were so anxious to roast the corn, but Tom said they must wait until dark, as the camp fire would look prettier then.

However, it could hardly have been called dark when Tom, after much teasing on the part of Bunny and Sue, set aglow the light twigs and branches, which soon made the bigger logs glow.

"We have to have a lot of hot coals and embers," said Tom, "or else the corn will smoke and burn. So we'll let the fire burn for a while until there are a lot of red hot coals or embers of wood."

When this had come about, Tom brought out the ears, stripped the green husks from them, and then, brushing off a smooth stone that had been near the fire so long that it was good and hot, he placed on it the ears of corn.

Almost at once they began to roast, turning a delicate brown, and Tom turned them over from time to time, so they would not burn, by having one side too near the fire too long.

"When will they be ready to eat?" asked Bunny Brown.

"In a few minutes," said Tom. "There, I guess these two are ready," and he picked out two smoking hot ones, nicely browned, using a sharp-pointed stick for a fork. He offered one ear to Mr. Brown and the other to Mrs. Brown.

"No, let the children have the first ones," said their mother.

"Be careful, they're hot!" cautioned Tom, as he pa.s.sed the ears on their queer wooden sticks to Bunny and Sue.

Sue blew on hers to cool it, but Bunny was in such a hurry that he started to eat at once. As a result he cried:

"Ouch! It's hot!"

"Be careful!" cautioned his mother, and after that Bunny was careful.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TOM BROUGHT OUT THE EARS AND STRIPPED THE GREEN HUSKS FROM THEM.

_Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue in the Big Woods._ _Page_ 195.]

Soon two more ears were roasted, and these Mr. and Mrs. Brown took. They waited a bit for them to cool, and then began to eat slowly.

"They are delicious," said Mrs. Brown.

"This is the only way to cook green corn," remarked Uncle Tad.

"It's the best I've eaten since I was a boy," declared Mr. Brown. "We shall have to have some more, Tom."

"Yes, I'll cook some more for you. Parched corn is good, too. The Indians like that. You have to wait until the ears are nearly ripe for that, though, and the kernels dried."

"Aren't you going to eat any, Tom?" Bunny asked, as he took the ear the bigger boy handed him.

"Oh, yes, I'll have some now, if you've had all you want."

"Well, maybe I'll eat more," said Bunny.

"And I want another," put in Sue.

"There's plenty here," said Tom, as he began to eat. Almost as he spoke there was a crackling of the leaves and sticks behind the embers of the roast-corn party, and before any one could turn around to see what it was a voice spoke:

"White folks make heap good meal same as Indians."

"That's right, Eagle Feather," called back Tom, who did not seem to be so much taken by surprise as did the others. "Come and have some. What brings you here?"

"Eagle Feather lose him horse," was the answer. "Come look for him.

Maybe you hab?" and he squatted down beside the campfire and accepted a roasted ear that Tom handed him.

"What does this mean about Eagle Feather's horse being _here_?" asked Mr. Brown.

"Me tell you 'bout a minute," answered the Indian, gnawing away at the corn.

CHAPTER XX

FUN IN THE ATTIC

Bunny Brown looked at his sister Sue, and she looked at him. What could it mean--so many things being taken away? First Bunny's train of cars, then Sue's electric-eyed Teddy bear. Now Eagle Feather's horse was missing and he had come to Camp Rest-a-While to look for it, though why the children could not understand. Tom was kept busy roasting the ears of corn, and pa.s.sing them around. Eagle Feather ate three without saying anything more, and would probably have taken another, which Tom had ready for him, when Mr. Brown asked:

"Well, Eagle Feather, what is your trouble? Is your horse really gone?

And if it is, why do you think it is here? We don't have any horses here. All our machines go by gasolene."

"Me know all such," replied the Indian. "Little wagon make much puff-puff like boy's heap big medicine train. No horse push or pull 'um.

Eagle Feather hab good horse, him run fast and stop quick, sometimes, byemby, like squaw, Eagle Feather fall off. But horse good--now somebody take. Somebody take Eagle Feather's horse."

"Maybe he wandered away," said Mr. Brown. "Horses often do that you know, when you tie them in the woods where flies bite them."

"Yes, Eagle Feather know that. But how you say--him rope broke or cut?"

and the Indian held out a halter made of rope, with a piece of rope dangling from it. Mr. Brown looked closely at it.

"Why, that's been cut!" exclaimed the children's father, for the end of the rope by which the horse had been tied was smooth, and not broken and rough, as it would have been had it been pulled apart. If you will cut a rope and then break another piece, you can easily see the difference.

"Sure, cut!" exclaimed Eagle Feather. "Done last night when all dark.

Indians at corn dance and maybe sleepy. No hear some one come up soft to Eagle Feather's barn and take out horse. Have to cut rope 'cause Indian tie knot white man find too much hard to make loose."

"So you think a white man took your horse, and that's why you come to us?" asked Mr. Brown.