The Camanches thought, with a thrill of exultation, that the Captain
would be obliged to proffer his shoulders for the last man, and would
then be left pondering alone, like the goat in the well. That would be
something of a revenge, at any rate.
But when only one boy remained, who, to the exasperation of the entire
tribe, was the identical small savage who had proposed going up in that
ridiculous style, the Captain quietly opened the iron door, and he and
the small savage retired with dignity.
The Captain, who had his "good streaks," never reported the Camanches,
but they manifested a disposition thereafter to settle quietly upon
their own reservation and cultivate the peaceful arts, and they always
treated their neighbors, the Diggers, with respect, though unmingled
with affection.
[Illustration: "LITTLE BO-PEEP, SHE WENT TO SLEEP."]
SOLIMIN: A SHIP OF THE DESERT.
BY SUSAN COOLIDGE.
I asked a party of children once the meaning of the word "desert," and
all but one shouted out, "rice pudding and oranges!" having in their
minds the dinner which we had just eaten. That one, who was older than
the rest, said, rather shyly, "A big piece of land, aunty, isn't it?"
but even he didn't know how big,--or that there is a difference in
spelling between the _dessert_ which people eat and the _desert_ which
sometimes eats people, closing its jaws of sand, and swallowing them up
as easily as a boy swallows a cherry.
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