Amos knew just about where they were, and which direction they must head in order to reach the shore of the lake around the spot where they had made in the camp.
The genius of the Michigan backwoods boy for locating places was very marked. And Teddy, who was a little bewildered himself, was glad to be able to fall back on the one who was able to serve as a pilot.
“I notice you saved one thing from the wreck,” remarked Teddy, as they walked steadily forward, hoping to reach the camp, even though exhausted, long before the hour of dawn. “I saw you pick it up on your way out.”
“Well, yes,” chuckled Amos. “It struck me I was entitled to something, to pay up for all the bother they gave me. It is too bad to get away with old Crawley’s fiddle just when he’s gone and learned how to start on the second part of “The Arkansaw Traveler,” after waiting so long. But I was just fiddle hungry, boys, and I felt I must have the thing.”
“That’s right,” added Dolph, enthusiastically; “we can have music every night now after this, and I give you my word, Amos, every time you play I can just shut my eyes and see that crazy old rascal jumping around, snapping his fingers, whistling and acting like he’d just broke out of a lunatic asylum.”
“And I’ll always see her a-settin’ there on that three-legged stool, holdin’ her chin in the hollow of her hand and lookin’ at me with them big blue eyes. Poor Sallie; poor little gal. She’s got a hard row to hoe, pardners,” and Amos sighed heavily.
“There’s one thing we must do when we get to the Soo,” said Teddy, firmly.
“I know what you’re going to say,” declared Dolph, “and you can just bank on me backing you up in it, too.”
“We’ll see Sallie’s grandmother and make her understand that when the child comes back to her again to stay a spell, she must never let her go away again. I reckon she don’t know what kind of a man Crawley is, because Sallie would never say a word against her father. But this thing has got to stop.”
When Teddy spoke in that way, the others just knew he meant it, and the chances were little Sallie would sooner or later find that she would not be allowed to make the sacrifice of her health and happiness, in the useless expectation that by so doing she might possibly reform that hopeless, drunken rascal she called father.