The Sign of the Beaver: Chapter 25 Summary & Analysis

Three days later, it looks like it’s going to snow again. Matt is busy carrying firewood inside when he hears the dog barking and follows the sound to the river. A large shape is coming toward him—and Matt realizes it’s his family. He races for his father and then embraces his mother, who struggles to climb off the sled. Sarah just stares at Matt, and Matt gives her an awkward hug. Matt tells the dog to be quiet and leads his family to the cabin.

Matt has to help his mother inside because she’s weak and barely able to stand. He settles her on a stool by the fire, noticing that she’s very thin and pale. She says she insisted they get here before Christmas. Matt’s father says it was typhus—they all got sick, but Matt’s mother insisted they get moving. She says she couldn’t stand thinking about Matt alone up here. Matt says he wasn’t alone; he often had the Native Americans. Sarah looks afraid, but Matt says they were his friends—and he had a Native brother. Judging by his family’s stares, Matt knows he’ll have to explain this one to them. They might not ever understand. He watches his father look around the cabin at the bow, the snowshoes, and at all the other things the tribe gave Matt or taught him to make.

Matt’s father says they must unload the sled before it snows again. Outside with him, Matt asks where the baby is. Matt’s father says it only lived five days, and Matt shouldn’t say anything to his mother. Then, Matt’s father puts a hand on Matt’s shoulder and says he’s proud of Matt—Matt did “a man’s job.” Matt can’t speak. He knows that this is how Attean felt when he found his manitou, and he can’t think of how he almost left with Attean’s family.

Matt and his father unload flour, quilts, new clothes, and a new kettle. Matt’s father has a new rifle, while Matt discovers that his mother has been carrying Matt’s old rifle. He knows she’d use it if she had to, as would Sarah. Sarah, for her part, seems so grown up as she unpacks the family’s items. She comments on the dog, which won’t come near her. Matt explains that he doesn’t trust white people easily. He realizes he should’ve made Sarah a bow instead of a doll.

Matt’s mother admires everything in the cabin and marvels at all of Matt’s stored food. As Matt turns to head back outside for another load, his mother stops him and says she wants to look at him. She remarks that he’s gotten so tall and thin—and his skin is so dark, she could almost mistake him for a Native American. He jokes that he almost became one, hoping that she’ll never find out about him almost going with Attean’s family. She happily tells Matt that they’re going to have neighbors in the spring, and a few other families are planning to settle nearby. There will be a mill and a town and a school before long. Matt knows he should be happy, but he likes the woods as they are right now.

As Matt listens to his family talk, he thinks of the Native Americans. He wishes Saknis and Attean knew that Matt’s family finally arrived. But Matt also knows that Saknis had been right: more white settlers are coming, and soon, there will be a town where Saknis and his tribe once hunted. Matt wishes he could know if Attean and Saknis found new hunting grounds. But as Matt puts his hands into the pockets of his new jacket, he thinks about the stew he’ll cook for his family and about eating with them tonight. When they’re done with dinner, he’ll tell them about Attean.