52 
WILD AMERICANS 
tended to the white girl. It was a most peculiar look' 
ing something—about the size of a small leather 
purse, gray colored, with odd spines or horns all over 
it. Ginger noticed that a string was tied to it. 
Suddenly the thing wiggled. 
Ginger shrieked and jumped back a step. She had 
been about to take it in her hand! 
The Indian boy stared at her all the harder. Then 
he put the thing down on the ground, holding one 
end of the string. At once it tried to run away, dart' 
ing this way and that. It had four little legs, such as 
a lizard has, and a head much like a lizard’s, too, with 
a crown of short, sharp horns around it. Its body 
was rounded, like a toad’s. 
“My goodness, what is it?” asked Ginger. 
She moved a little closer, but she wouldn’t touch 
the strange creature. The Indian boy picked it up 
and held it carefully. He extended it to Ginger again, 
but she was still afraid of it. Presently the boy spoke. 
“Come,” he said, and started away. 
No one else had seen the two children, so when 
Ginger followed the lad, not even Mother knew 
where she had gone. The two went down a hill, over 
a low cliff and out onto a sandy flat area. Soon the 
little boy stopped and pointed to the ground. 
