And it was after supper, and Mr.Sherwood was unpacking his trunk, when he rather carelessly said, "Oh, here's something I brought for you," and gave Whitey a parcel.
Whitey thanked his father, and undid the parcel, and he dropped the things that were in it, and his eyes popped out, and for a moment he could hardly breathe, he was so excited, for they were Boots! And when Whitey recovered a bit he rushed over and actually hugged his father.
Perhaps you would like to know why a pair of boots would cause all this feeling in Whitey.

For one thing, it was because he never had owned any.
In New York all the boys wore shoes, and when Whitey had come to the ranch he had worn them, too, until the soles of his feet had become hard enough, like Injun's, for him to go barefoot, which he delighted in doing.
But in the late fall, and the spring, when it was colder, he again followed Injun's lead, and wore moccasins.

Buckskin moccasins, with little bead decorations.

In the cold of winter, when the snow was deep, and when the big thaws came, Whitey wore heavy, moccasin-like muck-lucks, made of buckskin, which laced high, nearly to his knees, and over the tops of which hung the tops of heavy, woolen socks.
These comprised Injun and Whitey's footwear for the seasons.

But there was one thing that Whitey envied the cowboys on the ranch their boots.
For you must know that there are two things on which a puncher spends his money extravagantly--his boots and his saddle.