"
"This fellow is a sort of chief, an' he says the white folks?--
that's us, you know?--have taken th' Indians' cave. He says he
doesn't want t' have any trouble, an' that we can stay here as long
as we like, but that we must give him an' his followers a lot of
food. Says they hain't got much. Land! Those beggars would eat us
out of everything we had if we'd let 'em!"
"What are you going to tell them?" inquired Mr. Damon.
"I'm goin' t' tell 'em t' go t' grass, or words t' that effect,"
replied Abe. "They haven't any weapons that amount t' anything, an'
we can stand 'em off. Besides, we'll soon be goin' away from here;
won't we, Tom?"
"Yes, but--"
"Oh, there's no use givin' in to 'em," interrupted Abe. "If you give
'em half a loaf, they want two. Th' only way is t' be firm. I'll
tell 'em we can't accommodate 'em."
Thereupon he began once more to talk to the Indians in their own
tongue. His words were at first received in silence, and then angry
cries came from the natives. The chief made a gesture of protest.
"Well, if you don't like it, you know what you kin do!" declared
Abe. "We've got th' best part of our journey before us, an' we can't
give away our supplies. Go hunt food if you want it, ye lazy
beggars!"
The peaceful demeanor of the Indians now turned to rage.
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