LADY HOLLYHOCK’S visitors differed greatly in many ways. It was not
only in looks that they varied, but in their very natures. And strange
to say, many were different from what they seemed.
Some who appeared bravest and strongest were the weakest. For instance,
who would have thought, to look at the fierce appearing Straw Indian,
in all the bravery of war-bonnet and blanket, that he was one of the
weakest of them all?
It was not his fault, poor fellow. He really wanted to be brave and
strong. He showed that in both manner and dress. But with his weak
constitution, how could he ever have gone into battle with the braves
of his tribe? It had always been impossible for him to stand up for
himself, even, without something to lean on.
He tried to make up for his natural weakness by dressing and acting
like a brave, but it was useless.
Exercise, which makes others grow strong, only made the poor Straw
Indian weaker, and while he was yet young his constitution gave way and
he was laid to rest by the little Wests, who loved him in spite of his
weakness, beside others of his tribe.
After the manner of real Indians he was buried in a sitting position,
down in the orchard, near the clothes-pin Indian village.
However frail he may have been in life, now that the friendly earth
supported him, none sat straighter than the lamented Straw Indian.
[Illustration: THE STRAW INDIAN]