"Come with me, David. I have something
waiting for you."
They went into the Little Missioner's room, and pointing to his tumbled
bed, Father Roland said:
"Now, David, strip!"
David had noticed with some concern the garments worn that morning by
Father Roland and the Frenchman--their thick woollen shirts, their
strange-looking, heavy trousers that were met just below the knees by
the tops of bulky German socks, turned over as he had worn his more
fashionable hosiery in the college days when golf suits, bulldog pipes,
and white terriers were the rage. He had stared furtively at Thoreau's
great feet in their moose-hide moccasins, thinking of his own vici kids,
the heaviest footwear he had brought with him. The problem of outfitting
was solved for him now, as he looked at the bed, and as Father Roland
withdrew, rubbing his hands until they cracked, David began undressing.
In less than a quarter of an hour he was ready for the big outdoors.
When the Missioner returned to give him a first lesson in properly
"stringing up" his moccasins, he brought with him a fur cap very similar
to that worn by Thoreau. He was amazed to find how perfectly it fitted.
"You see," said Father Roland, pleased at David's wonder, "I always take
back a bale of this stuff with me, of different sizes; it comes in
handy, you know.
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