Alice Wilde: The Raftsman's Daughter — page 45: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

LOST IN THE Woops. 41 herself to eat. She tried to smile as she waited upon her guests; but her face grew paler and her eyes larger every moment. Not that there was any such great cause for fricht ; there were no wild animals in that vicinity, except an occa- sional hungry bear in the spring, who had made his way from some remote forest; but she was a woman, timid and loving, and her fears kept painting terrible pictures of death by starvation, fierce wolves, sly panthers, and all the horrors of darkness. “Poh! poh! child, don’t look so scart,” said her father, though he was evidently hurrying his meal, and quite uncon- scious of the perfection of the salmnon-sauce, “ there’s no cause. He’s lost; but he can’t get so fur in the wrong direction but we'll rouse him out with our horns and lanterns and guns. We'll load our rifles with powder and fire ’em off. He hasn’t had time to get fur.” ‘“ Likely he'll make his own way back time we're through supper,” remarked one of the men cheerfully, as he helped himself to a second large piece of venison-pie. ‘“’Tain’t no use to be ina aurry. These city folks can’t find thar way in the woods quite like us fellers, though. They ain’t up to ’t.” Alice looked over at the speaker; and, albeit she was usually so hospitable, wished he would make more speed with his eating. Pallas waited upon the table in profound silence. Something was upon her mind; but when Alice looked at her anxiously she turned her eyes away, pretending to be busy with her duties. | ; Ben Perkins had been asked to supper, but did not make his appearance until it was nearly over. When he came in he did not look anybody straight in the face, but sitting down with a reckless, jovial air, different from his usual taciturn manner, began laughing, talking, and eating, filling his plate with every thing he could reach. “ Have you. seen any thing of Mr. Moore?” was the first question put to him, in the hope of hearing from the absent man. ‘““Moore ? no,—ain’t he here? Thought of course he’d be here makin’ himself agreeable to the women;” and he laughed. Whether Alice’s excited state exalted .all‘ her perceptions, comiclbooks CO