Chapter 51
forget him, Dan,' said Ted, directing attention to the blighted being
in the corner.
But Tom never sulked long, and came out from his brief eclipse with
the cheerful proposition:
'Look here, we'll get the city to ship out to Dansville all the cases
of yellow fever, smallpox, and cholera that arrive; then Nan will be
happy and her mistakes won't matter much with emigrants and
convicts.'
'I should advise settling near Jacksonville, or some such city, that
you might enjoy the society of cultivated persons. The Plato Club is
there, and a most ardent thirst for philosophy. Everything from the
East is welcomed hospitably, and new enterprises would flourish in
such kindly soil,' observed Mr March, mildly offering a suggestion,
as he sat among the elders enjoying the lively scene.
The idea of Dan studying Plato was very funny; but no one except
naughty Ted smiled, and Dan made haste to unfold another plan
seething in that active brain of his.
'I'm not sure the farming will succeed, and have a strong leaning
towards my old friends the Montana Indians. They are a peaceful
tribe, and need help awfully; hundreds have died of starvation
because they don't get their share. The Sioux are fighters, thirty
thousand strong, so Government fears 'em, and gives 'em all they
want. I call that a damned shame!' Dan stopped short as the oath
slipped out, but his eyes flashed, and he went on quickly: 'It is
just that, and I won't beg pardon. If I'd had any money when I was
there I'd have given every cent to those poor devils, cheated out of
everything, and waiting patiently, after being driven from their own
land to places where nothing will grow. Now, honest agents could do
much, and I've a feeling that I ought to go and lend a hand. I know
their lingo, and I like 'em. I've got a few thousands, and I ain't
sure I have any right to spend it on myself and settle down to enjoy
it. Hey?'
Dan looked very manly and earnest as he faced his friends, flushed
and excited by the energy of his words; and all felt that little
thrill of sympathy which links hearts together by the tie of pity for