It were needless to detail all that was said and done during the remainder of that night, or, rather, morning, for day began to break soon after the happy meeting narrated in the last chapter. It would require more space than we can afford to tell of all that was said and done; how Robin embraced his children over and over again in the strength of his love, and thanked God in the fervour of his gratitude; how Roy and Nelly were eager to relate all that had befallen them since they were carried away into captivity, in a much shorter time than such a long story could by any possibility be told; how Walter rendered the telling of it much more difficult by frequent interruptions with eager questions, which induced divergencies from which the tale-tellers forgot to return to the points where the interruptions occurred; how Larry O’Dowd complicated matters by sometimes volunteering anecdotes of his own, illustrative of points similar to those which were being related; how Slugs always cut these anecdotes short with a facetious poke in the ribs, which caused Larry to howl; how Stiff rendered confusion worse confounded by trying to cook some breakfast, and by upsetting the whole affair into the fire; and how the children themselves broke in on their own discourse continually with sudden and enthusiastic questions as to the health of their mother and the welfare of the live stock at Fort Enterprise.

All this cannot be described, therefore we leave it to the vivid imagination of the reader.

“Now, comrades,” said Robin, after the sun had risen, after breakfast had been and eaten, after every incident had been related at least twice over, and after every conceivable question had been asked four or five times—“now, comrades, it remains for us to fix what we’ll do.”

“To the Fort,” said Larry O’Dowd abruptly.

“Ay—home!” cried Walter.

“Oh yes—home—home!” exclaimed Roy and Nelly in the same breath.

“Ditto,” observed Obadiah Stiff.

Slugs and the Black Swan, being men of few words, said nothing, but nodded approval.

“Well, it’s quite plain that we’re all of one mind,” resumed Robin; “nevertheless, there are one or two points to which I ax yer attention. In the first place, it’s now near the end of November. Fort Enterprise, in a straight line, is more nor three weeks’ march from hereaway. Our provisions is low. When I left the Fort provisions was low there too, an’ if my brother Jeff ha’nt had more nor his usual luck in huntin’ they’ll be lower yet before long. Now, I think it would be better to go back to Silver Lake for a week or so, hunt an’ fish there till we’ve got a good supply, make noo sleds, load ’em chock full, an’ then—ho! for home. What say ye to that, comrades?”

As every one assented readily to this plan, they proceeded at once to carry it into execution. At first, indeed, Nelly looked a little disappointed, saying that she wanted to get to her darling mother without delay; but, on Walter pointing out to her that it would only delay matters a week or so, and that it would enable the whole party to rest and recruit, and give Wapaw time to recover thoroughly from his wounds, she became reconciled, and put on her snow-shoes to return to Silver Lake with some degree of cheerfulness; and when, in the course of that day’s walk, she began to tell her father of all the beauties and wonders of Silver Lake, she was not only reconciled but delighted to return.

“O father!” said she, as they walked briskly through the forest, “you’ve no notion what a beautiful place Silver Lake is. It’s so clear, and so—so—oh! I don’t know how to tell you; so like the fairy places Walter used to tell us of, with clear water and high cliffs, and the clouds shining up at the clouds shining down, and two suns—one below and another above. And then the hut! we made it all ourselves.”

“What! made the trees and all?” said Robin, with a smile.

“No, of course not the trees; but we cut the trees and piled ’em up, and spread the brush-wood, and—and—then the fish! we caught such big ones.”

“How big, Nelly?”

“Oh, ever so big!”

“How big may that be?”

“Well, some were so long,” (measuring off the size on her arm,) “an’ some near as long as my leg—an’ they were good to eat too—no good! you’ve no notion; but you’ll see and taste ’em too. Then there’s the shooskin’! Did you ever shoosk, father?”

“No, lass—leastways I don’t remember, if I did.”

“But you know what it is?”

“To be sure, Nelly; ha’nt I seed ye do it often on the slopes at Fort Enterprise?”

“Well, the shooskin’ here is far, far better. The first time Roy did it he said it nearly banged all his bones to pieces—yes, he said he felt as if his backbone was shoved up into his brain; and I sometimes thought it would squeeze all my ribs together. Oh, it is so nice! You shall try it, father.”

Robin laughed heartily at this, and remarked that he would be very glad to try it, though he had no particular desire to have his ribs squeezed together, or his backbone shoved up into his brain!

Then Nelly went on with great animation and volubility to tell of the trapping of the bear, and the snaring of rabbits, and the catching of fish, and of Roy’s peculiar method of wading into the lake for ducks, and many other things.

Roy, meanwhile, entertained Walter and Larry O’Dowd with a somewhat similar account of their doings during the months of their residence in that wild region; and thu............