^v^.. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^^ .>^4fe. .*- ^.V 4^. 1.0 I^I^S |2.5 |50 ""* i^ — I^ia 1.8 1.25 1.4 III 1.6 ,4 6" ► vQ v) / '/ -<^ Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIK STREET WEBSiER.N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-'503 m RV ^\ ^q) V ^7^. ^ ^ ,. */mm lOOSVV \ & OTHK fiU tU>^ \ OAR IRS V\ \. i RASl R I '■ !•! ill.-.IINt f. p«iip.^Mi*M*it!a'j.tvw.SiiV '•^11' 1 \! I, ■, ■ itr \ \y\' MOOSWA ^ OTHERS OF THE BOUNDARIES By W. A. FRASF, R lllmty„lf,l h ARPHLIR HKMING I CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS NEW rORK M DCCCC c /9o o Copyright, igoo, hy (.'HARI.KS StRIHNKR's SONS ALL R I R H T S R K S R It V E D UNIVERSITY J-RESS • JOHN WILSON AND SON • CAMBRIIIGE, U.S.A. Contents fAOE Introduction ix Thi; I)wii,i,krs oi iHt Houndarius xiii Choosinc; thk Rinc; ... I Thi: Value ok their Vvr 27 The Law ok the Boundaries 46 The Buildinc; ok the Shack 74 The Exploration ok Carcajou 91 The Setting Out ok the Traps 98 The Otter Si ide 109 The Trapping ok Wolverine 130 The Coming ok the Train Docis 146 The Trapping ok Black Fox 1 50 The Run of the Wolves 166 Carcajou's Revenge 179 Pisbw Steals The Boy's Food 194 The Punishing of Pisew 203 The Caring for The Boy 219 FRAN901S AT The Landing 232 MoOSWA BRINGS HeLP TO ThE BoY 237 Illustrations From drawings by Arthur Heming PAGE "Well, let ine see," continued Black Fox, •' here Ye have all assembled; •* for form's sake I will call your names" Frontispiece "So I lay still, pretending to be asleep" 36 ♦'The ball struck me in the shoulder, and made me furious with rage" 42 '• Wuf ! " sniffed Muskwa, gently. " Our Man burns the stink-weed in his mouth" 94 '*Cat," answered Francois; "dat's Mister Lynk " . . 102 Rof was going with so much speed, . . . that he could n't gather for a spring 1 26 They were a funny-looking party 144 ♦* Holy Mudder, dis time sabe Francois" . . . . 174 " I go for pull out now. Boy" 194 "It's terrible ! " Mooswa blurted out 216 "Poor old Chap!" 224 In three days they arrived at The Landing .... 260 :^ i T H ft came to seasons ewan Ri Long as sittin listened enthusia in the w If th( interest lips, the in the h( Seven Black F Half-bre a season, Carcaj through North-\ trapping Introduction THIS simple romance < ^a simple people, the furred dwellers of the Northern forests, came to me from time to time during the six seasons I spent on the Athabasca and Saskatch- ewan Rivers in the far North- West of Canada. Long evenings have passed pleasantly, swiftly, as sitting over a smouldering camp-fire I have listened to famous Trappers as they spoke with enthusiastic vividness of the most fascinating life in the world, — the fur-winner's calling. If the incidents and tales in this book fail of interest the fault is mine, for, coming from their lips, they pleased as did the song of the Minstrel in the heroic past. Several of the little tales are absolutely true. Black Fox was trapped as here described, by a Half-breed, Johnnie Groat, who was with me for a season. Carcajou has raided, not one, but many shacks through the chimney, as fifty Trappers in the North-West could be brought to testify. The trapping of this clever little animal by means of X INTRODUCTION a hollow stump, all other schemes having failed, was an actual occurrence. It is a well known fact that many a Trapper has had to abandon his " marten road " and move to another locality when Carcajou has set up to drive him out. Mooswa is still plentiful in the forests of the Athabasca, and is the embodiment of dignity among animals. There is no living thing more characteristic of the Northern land than Whisky-Jack, the Jay. Wherever a traveller stops, on plain or in forest, and uncovers food, there will be one or two of these saucy, thieving birds. Where they nest, or how, is much of a mystery. I never met but one man who claimed to have found Jack's nest, and this man, a Trapper, was of rather an imaginative turn of mind. The Rabbit of that land is really a hare, never burrowing, but living quite in the open. As told in the story they go on multiplying at a tremen- dous rate for six years ; the seventh, a plague carries a great number of them off, and very few are seen for the next couple of years. The supply of fur depends almost entirely upon the rabbit — he is the food reserve for the other forest dwellers. Blue Wolf is also an actuality. Once in a while one of the gray wolves grows larger than I his fellov 1 have one 2 are very i Trappers Per hup '^too proli I or other ftell the tl '■ me undei A poplars, I handed vy I soothing ***Bi INTRODUCTION XI I failed, known don his locality out. of the dignity :teristic he Jay. forest, two of i^ nest, let but 's nest, her an , never Vs told remen- plague ;ry few The on the other his fellows, and wears a rich blue-gray coat. I [have one of these pelts in my house now — they Bare very rare, and are known to the Traders and I Trappers as Blue Wolf Perhaps this story is too simple, too light, ■ too prolific of natural history, too something |or other— 1 don't know; I have but tried to itell the things that appeared very fascinating to Ime under the giant spruce and the white-barked poplars, with the dark-faced Indians and open- handed white Trappers sitting about a spirit- soothing camp-fire. 1 ? I in a r than THE DW 1 MOOSWA, tl MU.SKWA, /- Black Yoy, The Rkd Cros8-Stri RoF, the Bl. Carcajou, and know PisEW, the J UMlaK, the Wapoos, th for Man Wapistan, Nekik, the Sakwasew, Fish. WUCHUSK, admired 1 SiKAK, the broke up Wenusk, tl WUCHAK, / THE DWELLERS OF THE BOUNDARIES AND THEIR NAMES IN THE CREE INDIAN LANGUAGE :i ;; MooswA, the Moose. Protector of The Boy. Mu.sKWA, the Bear. Black Fox, King of the Boundaries. The Rkd WiD(nv, Black Fox's Alother. Ciioss-Stripks, Black Fox's Baby Brother. RoF, the Blue IVolf. Leader of the Ciray Wolf Pack. Carcajou, the JVolverine. Lieutenant to Black King. and known as the " Devil of the Woods." PisF.w, the Lynx. Possessed of a cat-like treachery. Umisk, the Beaver. Known for his honest industry. Wapoos, the Rabbit (really a Hare). The meat food for Man and Beast in the Boundaries. Wapistan, the Marten. With fur like the Sable Nf.kik, the Otter. An eater of Fish. Sakwasew, the Mink. Would sell his Mother for a Fish. WucHUSK, the Muskrat. A houseless vagabond who admired Umisk, the Beaver. SiKAK, the Skunk. A chap to be avoided, and who broke up the party at Nekik's slide. Wf.nusk, the Badger. WucHAK, the Fisher. r* xiv DWELLERS OF THE BOUNDARIES Whisky-Jack, the Canada "Jay. A sharp-tongued Gos- sip. CouciAR, Eaglk, Buffalo, Ant, and Caribou. WiK-SAH-KK-c HACK. Legendary God of the Indians, who could change himself into an animal at will. Francois, French Half-breed Trapper. NiCHEMous, Half-breed hunter who tried to kill Muskwa. Trappers, Half-breeds, and Train Dogs. Rod, The Boy. Son of Donald MacGiegor, formerly Factor to Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Resolution. When Rod was a little chap, Mooswa had been brought into Fort Resohition as a calf, his mother having been killed, and they became playmates. Then MacGregor was moved to Edmonton, and Rod was brought up in civiliz-ation until he was fourteen, when lie got permission to go back to the Athabasca for a Winter's trapping with Francois, who was an old servant of the Factor's. This story is of that Winter. Mooswa had been turned loose in the forest by Factor MacGregor when leaving the Fort. The Boundaries. The great Spruce forests and Muskeg lands lying between the Saskatchewan River, the Arctic Ocean, and the Rocky Mountains — being the home of the fur-bearing animals. ;j 1 ;^ lRIES ed Gos- [ndians, ill. iuskwa. ormerly olut ion. ught into and tliey Imonton, en, when Winter's Factor's, loose in ;ts and I River, — being Mooswa And Others of the Boundaries ''1 ■m And THE ou ripened !• vine, and straight-gi heart-shap ereigns th branches t — a fairy crimson n: grass and Oh, bu Boundarie which stre the Peace the bould' beautiful, the soft ni of silver ai lill! Mooswa And Others of the Boundaries CHOOSING THE KING THE short, hot Summer, with its long-drawn- out days full of coaxing sunshine, had ripened Nature's harvest of purple-belled pea- vine, and yellow-blossomed gaillardia, and tall straight-growing moose weed ; had turned the heart-shaped leaves of the poplars into new sov- ereigns that fell with softened clink from the branches to earth, waiting for its brilliant mantle — a fairy mantle all splashed blood-red by crimson maple woven in a woof of tawny bunch- grass and lace-fronded fern. Oh, but it was beautiful ! that land of the Boundaries, where Black Fox was King; and which stretched from the Saskatchewan to where the Peace first bounded in splashing leaps from the boulder-lined foothills of the Rockies ; all beautiful, spruce-forested, and muskeg-dotted — the soft muskegs knee deep under a moss carpet of silver and green. MOOSWA The Saskatoons, big hrotlicr to the Huckle- berry, were drying on the l)ush where they had ripened ; the Raspberries had grown red in their time and gladdened the heart of Muskwa, the Bear; the Currants clustered like strings of black pearls in the cool beds of la/y streams, where pin-tailed Grouse, and Pheasant in big, red cravat, strutted and crouked in this glorious feeding- ground so like a miniature vineyard ; the Cran- berries nestled shyly in the moss ; and the Wolf and Willow-berries gleamed like tiny white stars along the banks of the swift-running, emerald- green Saskatchewan and Athabasca. All this was in the heritage land of Black Fox, and Muskwa, and Mooswa. It was at this time, in the full Autumn, that Whisky- Jack flew North and South, and East and West, and called to a meeting the Dwellers that were in the Boundaries. This was for the choosing of their King, a yearly observance, and J for the settling of other matters. When they had gathered. Black Fox greeted the Animals : — " Good Year to you. Subjects, and much eat- ing, each unto his own way of life ! " Whisky-Jack preened his mischievous head, ruffled his blue-gray feathers, broke into the harsh, cackling laugh of the Jay, and sneered, CHOOSING THF. KING n their va, the f black where cravat, eeding- : Cran- i Wolf ::e stars merald- Jl this »x, and n, that ast and ers that or the ice, and greeted ch eat- head, ito the ineered, « "Fating! always of eating; and never a more beautiful song to you, or — " " Less thieving to you, ch, Mister Jay," growled Muskwa. " You who come by your eating easily have it not so heavily on your mind as we Toilers." " Well, let me sec," continued Black Fox, with reflective dignity, " here Yc have all assembled; for form's sake I will call your names." From Mooswa to Wapoos each one of the Dwellers as his name was spoken stepped forward in the circle and saluted the King. " Jack has been a faithful messenger," said Black King ; " but where are Cougar, and Buffalo, and Fagle ? " " They had notice, thank you. Majesty, for vour praise. Cougar says the mountain is his King, and that he would n't trust himself among a lot of Plain Dwellers." " He 's a Highway Robber and an Outlaw, any- way, so it does n't matter," asserted Carcajou. " You would n't talk that way if he were at your throat, my fat little Friend," lisped Whisky- Jack. " Buffalo is afraid of Man, and won't come ; nearly all his brothers have been killed off, and he is hiding in the Spruce woods near Athabasca Lake." " I saw a herd of them last Summer," declared r: MOOSWA Mooswa; " fine big fellows they have grown to be, too. Their hair is longer, and blacker, and curlier than it was when they were on the Plains. There 's no more than fifty of them left alive in all the North woods ; it 's awful to think of how they were slaughtered. That 's why I stick to the Timber Boundaries." " Eagle won't come, Your Majesty, because Jay's chatter makes his head ache," declared Carcajou. " Blame me," cried Whisky-Jack, "if anybody doesn't turn up at the meeting — say it's my fault; I don't mind." " You know why we meet as usual ? " queried Black Fox, placing his big white-tipped brush affectedly about his feet. "That they do," piped Whisky-Jack; "it's because they 're afraid of losing their hides. I 'ni not — nobody tries to rob me." " Worthless Gabbler ! " growled Muskwa. " Jack is right," declared Black Fox ; " if we do not help each other with the things we have learned, our warm coats will soon be on the shoulders of the White Men's Wives." " Is that why the Men are always chasing us ? " asked Beaver, turning his sharp-pointed head with the little bead eyes toward the King. "Not in your case," snapped Whisky-Jack,; CHOOSING THE KING " for they eat you, old Fat Tail. I heard the two White Men who camped on our river last Winter say that your Brother, whom they caught when they raided your little round lodge, tasted like beefsteak, whatever that is. — He, he ! And Frani^ois the Guide ate his tail and said it was equal to fat bacon." " Unthinking Wretch ! " cried Umisk angrily, bringing his broad tail down on a stone like the crack of a pistol. " I picked his bones," taunted the Jay ; " he was dead, and cooked too, so it did n't matter." " Cannibal ! " grunted Bear. "They eat you also, Muskwa ; only when they 're very hungry though, — they say your flesh is like bad pork, strong and tough." Black Fox interrupted the discord. " Com- rades," he pleaded, " don't mind Jack ; he 's only a Jay, and you know what chatterers they are. He means well — does he not tell us when the Trappers are coming, and where the Traps are r " Yes, and steal the Bait so you won't get caught," added Jay. " Oh, I am good — I help you. You 're a lot of crawling fools — all but the King. You can run, and fight, but you don't know things. That's because you don't asso- ciate with Man, and sit in his camp as I do." 6 MOOSWA " I *ve been in his camp," asserted Carcajou, picking up a small stone slyly to shy at Jack. " Not when he was home," retorted the Jay ; " you sneaked in to steal when he was away." " Stop ! " commanded the King, angrily. " Your chatter spoils everything, do stop ! " Whisky-Jack spread his feathers till he looked like a woollen ball, and subsided. "This is the end of the year," continued Black Fox, " and the great question is, are you satis- fied with the rule — is it good?" Wolverine spoke : " I have been Lieutenant to the Black King for four years — I am satis- fied. W^hen our enemies, the Trappers, have tried to catch us by new wiles His Majesty has told us how to escape." " Did he, always ^ " demanded the Bird. " Who knew of the little White Powder that Francois put in the Meat — the White Medicine Powder he had in a bottle ? Neither you. Car- cajou, nor Black King, nor anyone tasted that — did you ? Even now you do not know the name of it; but I can tell you — it 's strychnine. Ha, ha ! but that was funny. They put it out, and I, Whisky-Jack, whom you call a Tramp, told you. I, Jack the Gabbler, flew till my wings were tired warning you to beware." "You might have saved yourself the trouble," .iiii CHOOSING THE KING retorted V/olverine; "Black King would have found it with his nose. Can he not tell even if any Man has touched the Meat that is always a Bait?" '' Stupid ! " exclaimed Jack ; " do you think the Men are such fools ? They handle not the Bait which is put in the Traps — they know that all the brains you chaps have are in your noses. Catch Fran9ois, the Half-breed, doing that ; he 's too clever. He cuts it with a long knife, and handles it with a stick. The little White Powder that is the essence of death is put in a hole in the Meat. I know ; I 've seen them at it. Haven't their Train-Dogs noses also — and did n't two of them that time eat the Bait, and die before they had travelled the length of a Rabbit-run. I saw them — they grew stiff and quiet, like the White Man who fell in the snow last Winter when he was lost. But I 'm satis- fied with Black Fox ; and you can be his Lieu- tenant — I don't care." " Yes," continued Carcajou, " who among us is more fitted to be King ? Muskwa is strong, and big, and brave ; but soon he will go into his house, and sleep until Spring. What would become of us with no King for months ? " "Yes, I'm sleepy," answered Bear — "and tired. I 've tramped up and down the banks ("■' lit ^] 8 MOOSWA 4- of the river eating white Buffalo- berries and red Cranberries until I 'm weary. They are so small, and I am so big ; it keeps me busy all day." " You Ve got stout on it," chuckled Jack. " I wish I could get fat." " You talk too much, and fret yourself to death over other people's business," growled Bear. "You're a meddling Tramp." " Muskwa," said Mink, "there are bushels and bushels of big, juicy. Black Currants up in the Muskeg, near the creek I fish in — I wish I could eat them. Swimming, swimming all day after little frightened Fish, that are getting so cunning. Why, they hide under sticks, and get up in shallow water among the stones, so that I can hardly see them. It must be pleasant to sit up on your quarters, nice and dry, pull down the bushes and eat great, juicy Berries. I wish I lived on fruit." " No you don't," snarled Jay ; " you 'd sell your Mother for a fish." "If you're quite through wrangling," inter- rupted Wolverine, " I '11 go on talking about the King. Who is better suited than Black Fox ? Is it Mooswa.'' He would make a very magnificent-looking King. See his great horns. He would protect us — just now; but do you not know that in the Spring they will drop off. and our hands all won't loo Then the all covere again are thing witi body thai Mooswac put his r grass, bee; " I wisl tired of th leaves an sweet and made this " No, " you 're s horns in much witl you 've ju seen Men at Slave I want you The Bii and forth fore-foot ( Black n >a iMl CHOOSING THE KING and our Comrade will be like a Man without hands all Summer. Why, even his own Wife won't look at him while he is in that condition. Then the young horns come out soft and pulpy, all covered with velvet, and until they get hard again are tender, and he 's afraid to strike any- thing with them. You see, we must have some- body that is King all the year round. Why, Mooswa could n't tell us about the Bait; he can't put his nose to the ground ; he can't even eat grass, because of his short neck." " I wish I could," sighed the Moose. " I get tired of the purple-headed Moose-weed, and the leaves and twigs. The young grass looks so sweet and fresh. But Carcajou is right ; I was made this way — I don't know why, though." "No, you weren't!" objected Whisky-Jack ; " you 're such a lordly chap when you get your horns in good order, and have gone around so much with that big nose stuck up in the air, that you've just got into that shape — He, he ! I 've seen Men like you. The Hudson's Bay Factor, at Slave Lake, is just your sort. Bah ! I don't want you for a King." The Bull Moose waved his tasselled beard back and forth angrily, and stamped a sharp, powerful fore-foot on the ground like a trip-hammer. Black Fox interfered again. " Why do you iifc,; lO MOOSWA make everybody angry, you silly Bird ? " he said to the Jay. " Do you lecg Perhi scrapj I 1( thi from th( earn man) and you learn from me. But go on, Bully Car- cajou. Tell us all why we 're not fit to be Kings. Perhaps Rof, there, would like to hear of his failings." " I don't want to be King," growled Rof, the big Blue Wolf, surlily. " No, your manners are against you," sneered Jack ; " you 'd do better as executioner." " Well," commenced Carcajou, taking up the challenge, " to tell you the truth, we 're all just a little afraid of Rof We don't want a despotic Ruler if we can help it. I don't wish to hurt his feelings, but when Blue Wolf got hungry his subjects might suffer." " I don't want him for King," piped Mink ; " his jaws are too strong and his legs too long." " Oh, I could n't stay here," declared Blue Wolf, " and manage things for you fellows. Next month I 'm going away down below Grand Rapids. My Brother has been hunting there with a Pack of twenty good fellows, and says the Rabbits are so thick that he's actually getting fat ;" and Wolf licked his steel jaws with a hun- gry mo^ big iolli "Yoi (( CHOOSmC THE KING II gry movement that made them all shudder. His big lolling tongue looked like a firebrand. " You need n't fret," squeaked Jay ; " we don't want you. We don't want a rowdy Ruler. I saw you fighting with the Train Dogs over at Wapiscaw last Winter. You 're as disgraceful as any domestic cur." "Now, Pisew — " began Carcajou. As he mentioned the Lynx's name, a smile went round the meeting. Whisky-Jack took a fit of chuckling laughter, until he fell off his perch. This made him cranky in an instant. " Of all the silly Sneaks ! " he exclaimed scorn- fully, as he fluttered up on a small Jack-pine, and stuck out his ruffled breast. " That Spear-eared Creature for King! Oh, my! Oh, my! that's too rich ! He 'd have you all catching Rabbits for him to eat. Kings are great gourmands, I know, but they don't eat Field Mice, and Frogs, and Snails, and trash of that sort — not raw, anyway." Carcajou proceeded more gravely with his ob- jection. " As I said before, this is purely a mat- ter of business with us ; and anything I say must not be taken as a personal affi-ont." " Of course not, of course not," interrupted Jack. " Go on with your candid observations. Hump-back." 12 MOOSWA (C 13 We all know our Friend's weakness for per- fume," continued Wolverine. " Do you call Castoreum a perfume?" ques- tioned Whisky-Jack. "It's a vile, diabolical stink — that's what it is. Why, the Trappers won't keep it in their Shacks — it smells so bad ; they bury it outside. Nobody but a gaunt, brainless creature, like the Cat there, would risk his neck for a whiff of that horrible-smelling stuff." " Order ! " commanded Black King ; " you get so personal. Jack. You know that our Comrade, Beaver, furnishes the Castoreum, don't you ? " " Yes, I know ; and he ought to be ashamed of it." " It's not my fault," declared Umisk ; " your friends, the cruel Trappers, don't get it from us till we 're dead." " Well, never mind about that," objected Car- cajou. "We know, and the Trappers know, that Lynx is the easiest caught of all our fellows ; if he were our King they 'd snare him in a week — then we'd be without a Ruler. We must have some one that not only can take care of us, but of himself too." " Pisew can't do that — he can't take care of his own family," twittered Jay. " His big furry feet make a trail in the snow like Panther's, CHOOSING THE KING 13 and then when you come up to him, he 's just a great starved Cat, with less brains than a Tadpole." Carcajou suddenly reared on his hind quarters and let fly the stone with his short, strong, right arm at the Bird. " Evil Chatterer ! " he ex- claimed angrily, " you are always making mis- chief." Jack hopped nimbly to one side, cocked his saucy silvered head downward, and piped : " Pro- ceed with the meeting ; the f^rince of all Mis- chief-makers, Carcajou, the Devil of the Woods, lectures us on morality." " Yes, let us proceed with the discussion," commanded Black Fox. " Brothers," said the Moose, in a voice that was strangely plaintive, coming from such a big, deep throat, " I am satisfied with Black Fox for King ; but if anything were to happen requiring us to choose another, one of almost equal wis- dom, I should like to nominate Beaver. We know that when the world was destroyed by the great flood, and there was nothing but water, that Umisk took a little mud, made it into a ball with his handy tail, and the ball grew, and they built it up until it became dry land again. Wiesahke- chack has told us all about that. I have travelled from the Athabasca across Peace River, and up H MOOSWA r '! to the foothills of the big mountains, to the head-waters of the Smoky, and have seen much of Brother Umisk's clever work, and careful, cau- tious way of life. I never heard any one cay a word against his honesty." " That 's something," interrupted Jay ; " that *s more than can be said for many of us." The big melancholy eyes of the Moose simply blinked solemnly, and he proceeded : " Brother Umisk has constructed dams across streams, and turned miles of forest into rich, moist Muskeg, where the loveliest long grasses grow — most de- licious eating. These dams are like the great hard roads you have seen the White Men cut through our country to pull their stupid carts over ; I can cross the softest Muskeg on one and my sharp hoofs hardly bury to the fetlock. Is that not work worthy of an Animal King ? And he has more forethought, more care for the Winter, than any of us. Some of you have seen his stock of food." " I have," eagerly interrupted Nekik, the Otter. " And I," said Fisher. " I too, Mooswa," cried Mink. " I have seen it," quoth Muskrat ; " it 's just beautiful ! " " You tell them about Umisk's food supply. i 1 1 m CHOOSING THE KING 15 Brother Muskrat," commanded the Moose. " I can't dive under the water like you and see it ready stored, but I have observed the trees cut down by his chisel-teeth." " You make me blush," remonstrated Beaver, modestly. " Beautiful White Poplar trees," went on Mooswa ; " and always cut so they fall just on the edge of the stream. Is that not clever for one of us? Man can't do it every time." "Trowel Tail only cuts the leaning trees — that 's why ! " explained Whisky-Jack. Mooswa was too haughty to notice the inter- ruption, but continued his laudation of Beaver's cunning work. " Then our Brother Umisk cuts the Poplar into pieces the length of my leg ; and, while I think of it, I 'd like to ask him why he leaves on the end of each stick a piece like the handle of a rolling-pin." " What 's a roUing-piii ? " gasped Jay. " Something the Cook throws at your head when you 're trying to steal his dinner," interjected Carcajou. Lynx laughed maliciously at this thrust. "Is n't Wolverine a witty chap ? " he said, fawningly, to Blue Wolf " I know what that cunning little end is for," i6 MOOSWA declared Muskrat ; " I Ml tell you what Beaver does with the sticks under water, and then you Ml understand." Black King yawned as though all this bored him. "He doesn't like to hear his rival praised," sneered Whisky-Jack ; " it makes him sleepy." " Well," continued Wuchusk, "Beaver floats the Poplar down to his pond, to a little place just up stream from his lodge, with a nice, soft bottom. There he dives swiftly with each piece, and the small round end you speak of, Mooswa, sticks in the mud, see? Oh, it is clever; I wish I could do it, — but I can't. I have to rummage around all Winter for my dinner. All the sticks stand there close together on end ; the ice forms on top of the water, and nobody can see them. When Umisk wants his dinner, he swims up the pond, selects a nice, fat, juicy Poplar, pulls it out of the mud, floats it in the front door of his pretty, round-roofed lodge, strips o'^ the rough covering, and eats the white, mealy inner-bark. It's delicious ! No wonder Beaver is fat." " I should think it would be indigestible," said Lynx. " But is n't Umisk kind to his family — dear little Chap ! " " Must be hard on the teeth," remarked Mink. " I find fishbones tough enough." m CHOOSING THK KING 17 "I " Oh, it 's just lovely ! " sighed Beaver. like it." " What do you do with the logs after you Ve eaten the crust?" asked Black King, pretending to be interested. " Float them down against the dam," answered Beaver. "They come in handy for repairing breaks." " What breaks the dam ? " mumbled Blue Wolf, gruffly. " I know," screamed Jay; "the Trappers. I saw PVan9ois knock a hole in one last Winter. That's how he caught your cousins, Umisk, when they rushed to fix the break." "How do you know when it's damaged, Beaver ? " queried Mooswa. " Supposing it was done when you were asleep — you don't make your bed in the water, I suppose." " No, we have a nice, dry shelf all around on the inside of the lodge, just above — we call it the second-story ; but we keep our tails in the water always, so as soon as it commences to lower we feel it, you know." " That is wise," gravely assented Mooswa. " Have I not said that Umisk is almost as clever as our King ? " " He may be," chirruped Jay ; " but Fran9ois never caught the Black King, and he catches ■m i8 MOOSWA ;l > <1 ' 'I many Beaver. Last winter he took out a Pack of their thick, brown coats, and I heard him say- there were fifty pelts in it." "That's just it," concurred Carcajou. '* I ad- mire Umisk as much as anybody. He 's an honest, hard-working Uttle chap, and looks after his family and relations better than any of us ; but if there was any trouble on we couldn't con- sult him, for at the first crack of a Firestick, or bark of a Train Dog, he 's down under the water, and either hidden away in his lodge, or in one of the many hiding-holes he has dug in the banks for just such emergencies. We must have some one who can get about and warn us all." " I object to him because he 's got Fleas," declared Jay, solemnly. " Fleas ! " a chorus of voices exclaimed in indignant protest. The Coyote, who had been digging viciously at the back of his ear with a sharp-clawed foot, dropped his leg, got up, and stretched himself, with a yawn, hoping that nobody had observed his petulant scratching. " That's silly ! " declared Mooswa. *' A chap that lives under the water have Fleas ? " "Is it.?" piped Whisky-Jack. "What's his thick fur coat, with the strong, black guard-hairs for ? Do you suppose that does n't keep his '^ hide dry : in a stiffs won't, the he has n't his left hi " Perha Fisher — " Nor I "My n " Look me," comi 1 '11 take ; him King This mi I show our ( manded B( Umisk 1 I '^sure enoug .ulouble cla tell you ? H |wi^h that Trout. 1 Fleas, iias little bettei il)e above " This [angrily, for ing to do CHOOSING THE KING 19 hide dry ? If one of you land-dwellers were out in a stift' shower you'd be wet to the skin; but he won't, though he stay under water a month. If he has n't got Fleas, what is that double nail on his left hind-foot for ? " " Perhaps he has n't got a split-nail," ventured Fisher — "I haven't." " Nor I ! " declared Mink. " My nails are all single ! " asserted Muskrat. " Look for yourselves if you don't believe me," commanded Jack. " If he has n't got it, 1 '11 take back what I said, and you can make him King if you wish." This made Black Fox nervous. " Will you I show our Comrades your toes, please ? " he com- manded Beaver, with great politeness. Umisk held up his foot deprecatingly. There Isure enough, on the second toe, was a long, black, double claw, like a tiny pincers. " What did I tell you ? " shrieked Jack. " He can pin a Flea with that as easily as Mink seizes a wriggling iTrout. He's got half-a-dozen different kinds of Fleas, lias Umisk. I won't have a King who is llittle better than a bug-nursery. A King must [be above that sort of thing." "This is all nonsense," exclaimed Carcajou [angrily, for he had fleas himself; " it 's got noth- ling to do with the matter. Umisk has to live ( im 20 MOOSWA under the ice nearly all Winter, and would be of no more service to us than Muskwa — that *s the real objection." " My ! " cried Beaver, patting the ground irritably with his trowel-tail, " one really never knows just how vile he is till he gets running for office. Besides, I don't want to be King — I 'm too busy. Perhaps sometime when I was here governing the Council, Francois, or another enemy, would break my dam and murder the whole family ; besides, it 's too dusty out here — I like the nice, clean water. My feet get sore walking on the land." " Oh, he does n't want to be King ! " declared Jay, ironically. " Next! next ! Who else is there, Frog-legged Carcajou ^ " "Well, there's Muskrat," suggested Lynx; " I like him." " Yes, to eat ! " interrupted Whisky-Jack. " If Wuchusk were King, we 'd come home some day and find that he 'd been eaten by one of his own subjects — by the sneaking Lynx — * Slink' it should be." " You should n't say that," declared Black Fox; " because you 're our Mail Carrier you should n't m take so many liberties." "I'm only telling the truth. It has always! been the custom at these meetings for each one 3 CHOOSING THE KING 21 to speak just what he thought, and no hard feel- ings afterward." Carcajou pulled his long, curved claws through his whiskers reflectively. " What 's the use of wrangling Hke this — we're as silly as a lot of Men. Last Winter when I was down at Grand Rapids I sat up on the roof of a Shack listening to those two-legged creatures squabbling. They were all arguing fiercely about the different ways of getting to Heaven. According to each one he was on the right road, and the rest were all wrong. Fresh Meat ! but it was stupid ; for I gathered from what they said that the one way to get there was to be good ; only each had a differ- ent way." " What place did you say ? " queried the Jay. " Grand Rapids." " No, no ! the place they all wanted to go to." " Heaven." "Where's that?" " I don't know, and you needn't bother; for the Men said it was a place for the good, only." Beaver's fat sides fairly shook as he chuckled delightedly over the snub Carcajou had given Jack. " Ha, ha ! " roared Bear; " Sweet Berries ! but Humpback is too many for you. Birdie," and the woods echoed with his laughter. " Rats ! " screamed the Jay ; " that 's the sub- igmum 22 MOOSWA I': % lii' (( C( ject under discussion. Our friend wanders from his theme trying to be personal." " Oh, nobody 's personal here," sighed Lynx. I 'm a ' Slink,' but that does n't count." " Yes, talking of Rats," recommenced Carcajou, like L.ynx, I admire our busy little Brother, Beaver, though I never ate one in my life — " " Pisew did ! " chirruped the bird-voice from over their heads. " Thouph I never ate one," solemnly repeated Wolverine; "but if Umisk won't do for King, there is no use discussing Wuchusk's chances. He has all Trowel Tail's failings, without his great wisdom, and even can't build a decent house, though he lives in one. Half the time he has n't anything to eat for his family ; you'll see him skirmishing about Winter or Summer, eating Roots, or, like our friends Mink and Otter, chasing Fish. Anyway, I get tired of that hor- rible odour of musk always. His house smells as bad as a Trapper's Shack with piles of fur in it — I hate people who use musk, it shows bad taste ; and to carry a little bag of it around with one all the time — it's detestable ! " " You should take a trip to the Barren Lands, my fastidious friend, as I did once," interposed Mooswa, " and get a whiff of the Musk Hx. Much Fodder ! it turned my stomach." CHOOSING THE KING 23 " You took too much of it, old Blubber- nose," yelled Jay, fiendishly; "Wolverine hasn't got a nose like the head of a Sturgeon Fish. Anyway, you're out of it. Mister Rat; if the Lieutenant says you 're not fit for King, why you're not — I must say I 'm glad of it." " There are still the two cousins. Otter and Mink," said Carcajou. " Fish Thieves — both of them," declared Whisky-Jack. " So is Fisher, only he has n't nerve to go in the water after Fish ; he waits till Man catches and dries them, then robs the cache. That's why they call him Fisher — they should name him Fish-stealer." " Look here. Jack," retorted Wolverine, "last Winter I heard Francois say that you stole even his soap." " I thought it was butter," chuckled Jay — " it made me horribly sick. But their butter was so bad, I thought the soap was an extra good pat of it." " I may say," continued Carcajou, " that these two cousins. Otter and Mink, like Muskrat, have too limited a knowledge for either to be Chief of the Boundaries. While they know all about streams and water powers, they 'd be lost on land. Why, in deep snow, Nekik with his short, little legs makes a track as though some- 24 MOOSWA f 1 VI body had pulled a log along — that wouldn't I d( be Ki declared Otter. t want " Nor I ! " added Mink.' "And we don't want you — so that settles it ; all agreed ! " cried Whisky-Jack, gleefully. " Nothing like having peace and harmony in the meeting. It always comes to the same thing: people's names arr put up, they 're blackguarded and abused, and in the end nobody 's fit for the billet but Black Fox ; and Carcajou, of course, is his Lieutenant." " We have now considered everybody's claims," began Carcajou — " You *ve modestly forgotten yourself," inter- rupted Whisky-Jack. "You'd make a fine, fat, portly Ruler." " No, I withdraw in favour of Black Fox, and we won't even mention your name. Black Fox has be^n a good King ; he has saved many of us from a Trap ; besides, he wears the Royal Robe. Look at him! his Mother and all his Brothers and Sisters are red, except Stripes, the Baby, who is a Cross ; does that not show that he has been selected for royal honours ? Among ourselves each one is like his Brother — there is little difference. The Minks are alike, the Otter are alike, the Wolves are alike — all are alike; ( except, of or a little Kin,: s mai coat ; and hairs mah jackets." "It'sju sycophantii " I'm g out Jay ; " day for it. worth to t your marke you." "For th( just now," this busines spin yarns.' "Yes, w( " I 've got select a Ch and VVapoc not yet bee dreading J? they were r " Well, tl agreed to h fulness of a CHOOSING THE KING 25 except, of course, that one may be a little larger or a little darker than the other. Look at the Kin : s magnificent Robe — blacker than Fisher's coat ; and the silver tip of the white guard- hairs make it more beautiful than any of our jackets." " It 's just lovely ! " purred Pisew, with a fine sycophantic touch. " I 'm glad I have n't a coat like that," sang out Jay ; " His Majesty will be assassinated some day for it. Do you fellows know what he 's worth to the Trappers — do any of you know vour market value ^ I thought not — let me tell »> YOU. "For the sake of a mild Winter, don't — not just now," pleaded Carcajou. " Let us settle this business of the King first, then you can all spin yarns." "Yes, we're wasting time," declared Umisk. " I 've got work to do on my house, so let us select a Chief, by all means. There 's Coyote, and Wapoos, and Sikak the Skunk, who have not yet been mentioned." But each of these, dreading Jack's sharp tongue, hastily asserted they were not in the campaign as candidates. " Well, then," asked Carcajou, " are you all agreed to have Black Fox as Leader until the fulness of another year?" C 26 MOOSWA (( I 'm satisfied ! " said Bear, gruffly. " It's an honour to have him," ventured Pisew the Lynx. " He 's a good enour^h King," declared Nekik the Otter. "I'm agreed!" exclaimed Beaver; "I want to get home to my work." " Long live the King ! " barked Blue Wolf. " Long live the King ! " repeated Mink, and Fisher, and the rest of them in chorus. " Now that's settled," announced Wolverine. "Thank you. Comrades," said Black Fox; " you honour me. I will try to be just, and look after you carefully. May 1 have Wolverine as Lieutenant again .? " They all agreed to this. THE VALUE OF THEIR FUR " I^T OW that's serious business enough for lAI one day," declared the King; "Jack, vou may tell us about the fur, and perhaps some of the others also have interesting tales to relate." Whisky-Jack hopped down from his perch, and strutted proudly about in the circle. " Mink," he began, snapping his beak to clear his throat, "you can chase a silly, addle-headed Fish into the mud and eat him, but you don't know the price of your own coat. Listen ! The Black King's jacket is worth more than your fur and all the others put together. 1 heard the Factor at Wapiscaw tell his clerk about it last Winter when 1 dined with him." " You mean when you dined with the Train Dogs," sneered Pisew. " You '11 dine with them some day, and their stomachs will be fuller than yours," retorted the Bird. " Mink, your pelt is worth a dollar and a half — ' three skins,' as the Company Men say when they are trading with the Indians, for a skin r 28 MOOSWA THE I. , In ■ if ; means fifty cents. You wood-dwellers did n't know that, I suppose." "What do they sell my coat for?" queried Beaver. "Six dollars — twelve skins, for a prime, dark one. Kit-Beaver, that's one of your Babies, old Trowel Tail, sells for fifty cents — or is given away. You, Fisher, and you. Otter, are nip and tuck — eight or ten dollars, according to whether your fui is black or of a dirty cofi-ee colour. But there 's Pisew ; he 's got a hide as big as a blanket, and it sells for only two dollars. Do you know what they do with your skin, Slink ^ They line long cloaks for the White Wives with it ; because it 's soft and warm, — also cheap and nasty. He, he ! old Feather-bed Fur. " Now, Wapistan, the Marten, they call a little gentleman. It 's wonderful how he has grown in their aflPections, though. Why, 1 remem- ber, five years ago the Company was paying only three skins for prime Marten ; and what do you suppose your hide sells for now, wee Brother?" " Please don't," pleaded Marten, " it 's a pain- ful subject ; I wish they could n't sell it at all. J 'm almost afraid to touch anything to eat — there's sure to be a Trap underneath. The other day I saw a nice, fat White Fish head, and m thought ^ I reached scrap' ng ; close sha teeth lool- got in th to do." " So do " What who knov " Died ! "I sho cousin of ] still alive, I wish m' "Oh, b remonstrai lining — where it w Marten, i; Of cours Brother c faded yell three or f seven for wonder if for your ci " 1 supj :!! 1 THE VALUE OF THEIR FUR 29 thought Mink had left a bite for me ; but when 1 reached for it, bang ! went a pair of steel jaws, scrap' ng my very nose. Fat Fish ! it was a close shave — I'm trembling yet; the jagged teeth looked so viciously cruel. If my leg had got in them 1 know what I should have had to do." " So do I," asserted Jack. " What would he have done, Babbler — you who know all things ? " asked Lynx. " Died ! " solemnly croaked Jay. " I should have had to cut off my leg, as a cousin of mine did," declared Wapistan. " He's still alive, but we all help him get a living now. I wish my skin was as cheap as Muskrat's." "Oh, bless us ! he *s only worth fifteen cents," remonstrated Jack. " His wool is but used for lining — put on the inside of Men's big coats where it won't show. But your fur, dear Pussy Marten, is worth eight dollars; think of that! Of course that 's for a prime pelt. That Brother of yours, sitting over there with the faded yellow jacket, would n't fetch more than three or four at the outside; but I'll give you seven for yours now, and chance if — should n't wonder if you'd fetch twelve when chey skin you, for your coat is nice and black." " I suppose there 's no price on your hide," 30 MOOSWA t ' , whined l.ynx ; "it's nice to be of no value in the world — isn't it?" " 'I'here 's always a price on brains ; but that does n't interest you, Silly, does it ? You 're not in the market. Your understanding runs to a fine discrimination in perfumes — prominent odours, like Castoreum, or dead Fish. If you were a Man you 'd have been a hair-dresser. " Muskwa, your pelt's a useful one; still it does n't sell for a very great figure. Last year at Wapiscaw I saw pictures on the Factor's walls of men they call Soldiers, and they had the queerest, great, tall head-covers, made from the skins of cousins of yours. And the Factor also had a Bear pelt on the floor, which he said was a good one, worth twenty dollars — that's your value dead, twenty dollars. " Mooswa's shaggy shirt is good; but they scrape the hair off and make moccasins of the leather. Think of that. Weed-eater ; perhaps next year the Trappers will be walking around in your hide, killing your Brother, or your Daddy, or some other big-nosed, spindle-legged member of your family. The homeliest man in the whole Chippewa tribe they have named * The Moose,' and he 's the ugliest creature I ever saw ; you 'd be ashamed of him — he 's even ashamed of himself." THE VALUE OF THiaR FUR 31 " What's the hide worth ? " asked Carcajou. "Seven dollars the Factor pays in trade, which is another name for robbery; Init I think it's dear at that price, with no hair on, for it is tanned, of course — the Squaws make the skin into leather. You would n't believe, though, that they'd ever be able to skin Bushy-tail, would you ? " " What ! the Skunk? " cried Lynx. " Have n't the Men any noses ? " " Not like yours, Slink; but they take his pelt right enough ; and the white stripes down his back that he 's so proud of are dyed, and these Men, who are full of lies, sell it as some kind of Sable. And Marten, too, they sell him as Sable — Canadian Sable." " I 'm sure we are all enjoying this," suggested Black King, sarcastically. " Yes, Brothers," assented Whisky-Jack, " Black Fox's silver hide is worth more than all the rest put together. Sometimes it fetches Five Hundred Dollars! " " Oh ! " exclaimed Otter, enviously ; " is that true, Jack ? " " It is. Bandy-legs — I always speak the truth ; but it is only a fad. A tribe of Men called Rus- sians buy Silver Fox ; It is said they have a lot of money, but, like Pisew, little brains. For my f,- 32 MOOSWA ni. '^ part, I 'd rather have feathers ; they don't rub off, and are nicer in every way. Do you know who likes your coat. Carcajou ? " " The Russians ! " piped Mink, like a little school-boy. " Stupid Fish-eater ! Bigger fools than the Russians buy Wolverine — the Eskimo, who live av/ay down at the mouth of the big river that runs to the icebergs." " What are icebergs. Brother ? " asked Mink. " Pieces of ice," answered Jack. " Now you know everything, go and catch a G 'deye for your supper." " Goldeye don't come up the creeks, you ig- norant Bird," retorted Sakwasew. " I wish they did, though ; one can see their big, yellow eyes so far in the water — they 're easily caught." "Suckers are more useful," chimed in Fisher; " when they crowd the river banks in Autumn, eating those black water-bugs, I get fat, and hardly wet a foot ; I hate the water, but I do like a plump, juicy Sucker." " Not to be compared to a Goldeye or Dore," objected Mink; "they're too soft and liabby." " Fish, Fish, Fish ! always about Fish, or something to eat, with you Water- Rats," inter- rupted Carcajou, disgustedly. " Do let us get THE VALUE OF THEIR FUR 33 back to the subject. Do you know what the Men say of our Black King, Comrades ? " " They call him The Devil ! " declared Jay. " No they don't," objected Carcajou ; " they aver he 's Wiesahkechack, the great Indian God, who could change himself into Animals — that's what they think. You all know Francois, the French Half-breed, who trapped at Hay River last Winter." "He killed my First Cousin," sighed Marten. "I lost a Son by him — poisoned," moaned Black King's Mother, the Red Widow, who had been sitting quietly during the meeting watching with maternal pride the form of her son. " Yes, he tried to catch me," boasted Carcajou, " but I outwitted him, and threw a Number Four Steel Trap in the river. He had a fight with a Chippewa Indian over it — blamed him for the theft. Oh, I enjoyed that. I was hidden under a Spruce log, and watched Fran9ois pum- mel the Indian until he ran u.way. I don't understand much French, but the Half-breed used awful language. I wish they 'd always fight amongst themselves." " Why did n't the Chippewa squeeze Francois till he was dead? — that's what I should have done," growled Muskwa. " Do you remember 3 if ■■:r.« ' m tat 34 MOOSWA Nichemous, the Cree Half-breed, who always keeps his hat tied on with a handkerchief? " "I saw him once," declared Black Fox. "Well, he tried to shoot me — crept up close to a log I was lying behind, and poked his Iron- stick over it, thinking I was asleep. That was in the Winter — I think it was the Second of February : but do you know, sometimes I get my dates mixed. One year I forgot in my sleep, and came out on the First to see what the weather was like. Ha, ha ! fancy that ; coming out on the First and thought it was the Second." " What has that got to do with Nichemous, old Garrulity?" squeaked Whisky-Jack. Muskwa licked his gray nose apologetically for having wandered from the subject. " Well, as I have said, it was the Second of February ; 1 had been lying up all Winter in a tremendously snug nest in a little coulee that runs off Pem- bina River. Hunger ! but I was weak when I came out that day." " I should think you would have been," sym- pathized the Bird, mockingly. " I had pains, too ; the hard Red-willow Berries that 1 always eat before I lay up were griping me horribly — they always do that — they 're my medicine, you know." " Muskwa is getting old," interrupted Jay. THE VALUE OF THEIR FUR 35 " He 's garrulous — it *s his pains and aches now." Bear took no notice of the Bird. " I was tired and cross ; the sun was nice and warm, and I lay down behind a log to rest a little. Suddenly there was a sound of the crisp hide of the snow cracking, and at first I thought it was something to eat coming, — something for my hunger. I looked cautiously over the tree, and there was Nichemous trailing me ; his snow-shoe had cut through the crust; but it was too late to run, for that Ironstick of his would have reached ; so I lay still, pretending to be asleep. Nichemous crept up, oh, so cunningly. He did n't want to wake poor old Muskwa, you see — not until he woke me with the bark of his Ironstick. Talk about smells. Mister Lynx. Wifh ! the breath of that when it coughs is worse than the smell of Coyote — it 's fairly blue in the air, it 's so bad." " Where was Nichemous all this time ? " cried Jack, mockingly. " Have patience, little shaganappi (cheap) Bird. Nichemous saw my trail leading up to the log, but could not see it going away on the other side. I had just one eye cocked up where I could watch his face. Wheeze ! it was a study. He 'd raise one foot, shove it forward gently, put that big gut-woven shoe down slowly on the snow, »m 36 MOOSWA and carry his body forward ; then the other foot the same way, so as not to disturb me. Good, kind Nichemous ! What a queer scent he gave to the air. Have any of you ever stepped on hot coals, and burned your foot?" "I have!" cried Blue Wolf ; "I had a fight with three Train Dogs once, at Wapiscaw, when their Masters were asleep. It was all over a miserable frozen White Fish that even the Dogs would n't eat. They were husky fighters. Wur-r-r ! we rolled over and over, and finally I fetched up in the camp-fire." " Then you know what your paw smelled like when the coals scorched it ; and that is just the nasty scent that came down the air from Niche- mous — like burnt skin. I could have nosed him a mile away had he been up wind, but he was n't at first. When Nichemous got to the big log, he reached his yellow face over, with the Ironstick in line with his nose, and I saw mur- der in his eyes, so I just took one swipe at the top of his head with my right paw and scalped him clean. W hu-u-o-o- f-f- ! but he yelled. The Ironstick barked as he went head first into the snow, and its hot breath scorched my arm — un- derneath where there 's little hair; but the round iron thing it spits out did n't touch me. I gave Nichemous a squeeze, threw him down, and went ,/\ M'-dLdl- «)s is killed or hunted at the forbidden hours, we shall decide in Counril who must die." " Also, O King," still pleaded Rabbit, " for all time have we claimed another protection. You know our way of life. For seven years we go on peopjHig the streets of our Muskeg Cities, growing more plentiful all the time, until there is a great population. Then comes the sick- ness on The Seventh Year, and we die off like Flies." (( It has been so for sixty years," assented " My father, who is sixty, has always Mooswa known of this thing 'ely. " Is it Death Song, the Rattler, he who glides ? " cried Marten, his little legs trembling with fear. " Has my cousin, Ookistutoowan the Grizzly, come down from his home in the up-hills to dis- pute with me the way of the road?" queried Black Bear, Muskwa. " I am ready for him ! " he declared, shaking his back like a huge St. Bernard. " Didst see Train Dogs, bearer of ill news ? " demanded Wolf. " Ur-r-r ! I fear not ! " and he bared his great yellow fangs viciously. " Worse, worse still ! " piped Whisky-Jack, spreading his wings out, and sloping his small round head down toward them. " Worse than any you have mentioned — some one to make you all tremble." " Tell us, tell us ! " cried Carcajou. " One would think Wiesahkechack had come back from his Spirit Home where the Northern Lights grow." THE I " Fra, even, dr The ; group. " Frai " Wh: "I ki a calf ir tion, I p Great H me to ea Factor's "Whc "At I had bi " Ren( " And Winter i Traps what thi with hun a Moose ber Fou smaller of them. eight-dol land covt " And THE LAW OF THE BOUNDARIES 65 '* Francois has come!'' declared the Jay, in an even, dramatic voice. The silence of consternation settled over the group. " Fran9ois and T'/ie Boy /" added Jack. " What 's a Boy ? " asked Lynx. " I know," asserted Mooswa. " When I was a calf in the Company's corral at Fort Resolu- tion, I played with a Boy, the Factor's Man-Cub. Great Horns ! he was nice. Many a time he gave me to eat the queer grass things that grew in the Factor's garden." " Where is Fran9ois ? " queried the King. "At Red Stone Brook — he and The Boy. I had breakfast with them." " Renegade ! " sneered Carcajou. " And Fran9ois says they will stay here all Winter and kill fur. There are three big Bear Traps in the outfit — I saw them, Muskwa ; what think you ? Great steel jaws to them, with hungry teeth. They would crack the leg of a Moose, even a Buffalo ; and there are Num- ber Four Traps for Umisk and Nekik ; and smaller ones for you. Mister Marten — many of them. Oh, my! but it's nice to have an eight-dollar coat. All the Thief-trappers in the land covet it. " And Fran9ois has an Ironstick, and The 5 iN|:|*„j^J IMAGE EVALUATrON TEST TARGET (MT-S) /. C^/ 2^ A < <;^ ms'- U. % if 1.0 £:! I.I 1.25 2.8 *^ m m u 1^ 1^ 22 1.8 U III 1.6 V] <^ /] 7 :> > / s Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 1^\'^^'^ -5^'^W^ '9) / o % <>.. ^ fc^'4* y^ ^ fe^ 66 MOOSWA Boy has an Ironstick, and there will be great sport here all Winter. That's what Francois said, and I think it is true — not that a Half- breed sticks to the truth over-close." The Hunt-fear settled over the gathering. No one had heart even to check the spiteful gibes of their feathered Clerk. The Law of the Boundaries, and the suspicious evidence of its violation that pointed to Lynx, were forgotten — which was, perhaps, a good thing for that unprin- cipled poacher. Black King was first to break the fear- silence. " Subjects, draw close, for already it has conic to us that we have need of all our wisdom, and all our loyalty one to another, and the full strength of our laws." Silently they bunched up ; then he pro- ceeded : — " l^'ran9ois is a great Hunter. He has the cunning of Wolverine, the strength of Muskwa, the speed of mine own people, and the endurance of Mooswa. Besides, there are the Traps, and the Ironstick; and Snares made from Deer-sinew and Cod-line. The soft strong cord which Man weaves. Also will this Evil Slayer, who is but a vile Half- breed, have the White Powder of Death in a tiny bottle — such a small bottle, and yet holding ar- »ro- THE LAW OF THE BOUNDARIES 67 enough Devil-medicine to slay every Dweller in the Boundaries." " That it will, Your Majesty," confirmed Jack ; "and it kills while you breathe thrice — so, If-f-h, if-f-h, if-f-h ! and you fall — your legs kick out stiff, and you are dead. I 've seen it do its terrible work." "Just so," assented Black King. "The use of that is against Man's law, even ; but Fran- cois cares not, so be it the Red-co^ts know not of its use. Now must we take an oath to help one the other, if we prefer not to have our coats nailed on the Hunt-Man's Shack walls, or stretched on the wedge-boards he uses for the hides of Otter, and Mink, and Fisher, and myself. Even Muskrat and Pisew go on a wedge- board when they are skinned. You, Beaver, and Muskwa, and Mooswa have your skins stretched by iron thorns on the side of a Shack. "Now take we the oath?" he asked, looking from one to the other. A murmur of eager assent started with the deep bass of Blue Wolf and died away in the plaintive treble of Wapoos. " Then, listen and repeat with me," he com- manded. "*l:«:j,j| ■J) 1; 68 MOOSWA The Oath of the Boundaries. " * We, Dwellers within the Boundaries, swear by the Spirit of Wiesahkechack, who is God of the Indians and all Animals, that, come Trap, come Ironstick, come White-powdered Bait, come Snare, come Arrow, come what soe'er may, we will help each other, and warn each other, and keep ward for each other; in the Star-time and the Sun-time, in the Flower- time and the Snow-time ; that the call of one for help shall be the call of all ; and the fight of one shall be the fight of all ; and the enemy of one shall be the enemy of all. " * By the Mark that is on the tail of each of us, we swear this. By the White Tip that is on the tail of Fox ; by the Black Gloss that is on the tail of Marten ; by the Perfume that is on the tail of Sikak ; by the great, bushy tail of Blue Wolf, and the short tail of Bear ; the broad, hairless tail of Beaver, and the strong tapered tail of Otter; by the Kink that is in the tail of Mink ; by the much-haired tail of Fisher; the white Cotton-tail of Rabbit, the fawn-coloured tail of Mooswa, and the Bob-tail of Lynx ; by the feathered tail of Whisky-Jack : and all others according to their Tail-mark, we swear it.* THE "N his wo "Y( rupted *'0 fullv. horn, where the Ru '' Of coming riving, horn, is from Hog,h the cole butter, soft, full of r a Man River B ing. about and wm toes to "Be grily. our 1 IVi THE LAW OF THE BOUNDARIES 69 " Now," said Black King, " Fran9ois will have his work cut out, for we are many against one." " You forget The Boy, Your Majesty," inter- rupted Carcajou. " Oh, he does n't count," cried Jack, disdain- fully. " He 's a Moneas — which means a green- horn. He 's new to the Forest — has lived where the paths of Man are more plentiful than the Run-ways in Wapoos's Muskeg. " Of course, personally, I don't mind their coming — like it; it means free food without far flying. Oh, but The Boy is a wasteful green- horn. When he fried the white fat-meat, which is from the animal that dwells with Man, the Hog, he poured the juice out on the leaves, and the cold turned it into food like butter — white butter. Such rich living will make my voice soft. The Man-cub has a voice like mine — tull of rich, sweet notes. Did any of you ever hear a Man or Man-cub sing ' Down upon the Suwanee River ' ? That 's what The Boy sang this morn- ing. But I don't know that river — it's not about here; and in my time I have flown far and wide over more broad streams than I have toes to my feet." "Be still, empty-head!" cried the King, an- grily. " You chatter as though the saving of our lives were good fun. Brother Carcajou, "I'il '.M» I j.'i* 70 MOOSWA Francois needs no help. For five years he has followed me for my Black Coat — for five Win- ters I have eluded his Traps, and his Baits, and the cough of his Ironstick. But one never knows when the evil day is to come. Last Winter Fran9ois trapped on Hay River. I was there; as you know, it is a great place for Black Currants." " Do you eat the hitter, sour Berries, Your Majesty?" queried Marten. " No, Silly ; except for the flavour of them that is in the flesh of Gay Cock, the Pheasant. But it is in every child's book of the Fox tribe, that where Berries are thick, the Birds are many." ** How comes Fran9ois here to the Pelican this year, then ? " growled Blue Wolf " Because of the thing Men call Fate," an- swered Black King, learnedly ; " though they do not understand the shape of it. We call it the Whisper of Wiesahkechack. Wiesahke whis- pered to me that because of the fire there were no Berries at Hay River, that the Birds had all come to the Pelican ; and 1 have no doubt that He, who is the King of evil Mischief Makers, har. also talked in thought-words to Fran9ois, that here is much fur to be had for the killing." " I should like to see Fran9ois," exclaimed Nekik, the Otter. s THE « An( vears sii "W-1 a Man about — "Sav Jack; ' Nose, years." The forth wl "But continue Jack, dc or only I do? ] meditati " Yoi snapped "Th( Muskw; once sav river ; I family heel." "Per terribly " T'ou I THE LAW OF THE BOUNDARIES 71 " And The Boy ! " suggested Mooswa. " It 's vears since I saw a Man-cub." " W-h-e-u-f-f- ! " ejaculated Muskwa. " I saw ;i Man once — Nichemous. Did I tell you ;ibout — " " Save me from Owls!" interrupted Whisky- Jack ; " that 's your stock-story, old Squeaky Nose. I 've heara it fifty times in the last two years." The Bear stood rocking his big body back and forth while the saucy bird chattered. "But I should like to see more of Man," he continued, when Jay had finished. " Tell me. Jack, do they always walk on their hind-legs — or only when they are going to kill or fight — as I do? I think we must be cousins," he went on, meditatively. '•' You ought to be ashamed of it, then ! " snapped the Bird. "They leave a trail just like mine," proceeded Muskwa, paying no attention to the Jay. " I once saw a Man's track on the mud bank of the river; I could have sworn it was one of mv family had passed — a long foot-print with a heel." " Perhaps it was your own track — you are so terribly stupid at times," suggested Jack. " l^ou might have made that mistake," retorted '*'^^n|!f I- '.m , if .1 ..».» 72 MOOSWA m it Muskwa, " for you can 't scent; but when I in- vestigated with my nose, I knew that it was Man. There was the same horrible smell that came to me once as two of these creatures passed down the river in a canoe, whilst I was eating Berries by the water's edge. But you spend most of your time begging a living from these Men, Jack — tell me if they generally walk as I do, on all fours ? " "Long ago they did, Muskwa; when their brains were small, like yours. Then they devel- oped, and got more sense, and learned to balance themselves on their hind-legs." " What's the use of having four legs and only usipq; two ? " grunted Bear, with a dissatisfied air. I'ou '11 find out, my Fat Friend, if you come within range of the Ironstick — what did Niche- mous try to do ^ After that you won't ask silly questions, for Fran9ois will take your skin, dry it in the sun, and put your brainless head on a tree as a Medicine Offering to the Hunt Spirit; and he '11 take your big carcass home, and The Boy will help him eat it. Don 't bother me about Man — if you want to knovv his ways, come and see for yourself." " I 'd like to. Clerk," answered Bear, humbly. " They 're going to build a house," asserted Whisky-Jack. THE LAW OF THK BOUNDARIKS 73 "A lodge !" exclaimed Beaver. "Oh, I must see that." "What say you, Black King?" queried Car- cajou. " May we all go to-morrow, and see this Trapper and The Boy — think you it 's safe ? " " Better now than when the Traps are set and Firestick loaded." So they arranged amongst themselves to go at dawn the next day, and watch from the bush Frangois and Roderick. Then the meeting broke up. ' .; • HI ; .■• I THE BUILDING OF THE SHACK it ' NEXT morning, just as the gray oncoming Day was rolling back into the Forest depths the Night curtain, Muskwa, who was swinging along leisurely, with a walk like a Blue- Jacket, towards the Trapper's Camp, discov- ered Wapoos sitting in his path. " A snareless runway to you. Little Brother ! Are you heading for the Shack ? " " Yes," bleated Wapoos ; " I 'm still weak from the Seventh Year sickness, and hop badly, I fear." " Jump up. Afflicted One, your furry stomach will feel warm on my back, — Huh! huh! this beastly fog that comes up from the waters of the Athabasca to battle with the sunlight gets into my lungs. I shall soon have to creep into a warm nest for my long sleep." " Hast seen any of our Comrades?" queried Wapoos, as he lay in the velvet cushion of black fur that was a good four inches deep on Bear's back. THK BUILDING OF THE SMACK 75 << I heard Rof's hoarse bay as he called across i the Pelican to some one. Mere is Nekik's trail, where his belly has scraped all the mud spots." " Are n't we a funny lot ? " giggled Wapoos. " Mooswa's legs are like the posts of Man's ^^.;^che — so long; and Otter's are like the knots on a tree — too short. See! there goes Black King and his red-headeil Mother." " That is the queerest outfit in the Boundaries," chuckled Muskwa. "The Widow is red, and three of the Sons ; the Babe, Stripes, is brown, with a dark cross on his back; while the King is as black as my Daddy was. Sweet Honey ! but his coat was beautiful — like the inside of a hole on a pitch-dark night. There is a family of Half-breeds up at The Landing just like the Widow's lot. Some are red-haired, some are brown, and some are black. I saw them once Fishing at Duck Lake." " Did they see you, Muskwa? " "Am I not here, Little Brother — therefore their eyes were busy with the Fish. Wu-u-f-f ! I catch the scent of Man. Jump down, Wapoos ; push through the Willows and tell me what thou seest." Bear sat on his haunches and waited. " There 's a white lodge," reported Rabbit, as 76 MOOSWA .ii» ,'P « he hopped back, "and inside is a throat-call that is not of our Comrades." "That's Man's tepee; most like it was The Boy's song your big ears heard." They went forward gingerly, Wapoos acting as pilot. In a little open space where Red Stone Brook emptied into the Athabasca was a small " A " tent. 'I'he two comrades lay down in the willows to watch. Soon they were joined by Black King ; Otter was already there. Then came Blue Wolf and Mooswa. As Carcajou joined them, Whisky-Jack fluttered into the centre of the party. " That 's a Tent," he said, with the air of a courier explaining sights to a party of tourists. " The Boy is putting on his fur. Do you hear his song-cry ? " " He hath a full stomach," growled Rof, " for his voice is rich in content. What is the cry, Bird of Knowledge?" " It's a song of my Crow Cousins. I '11 re- peat a line for your fur-filled ears : — " * There were three crows sat on a tree. And they were black as crows could be ; Said one of them unto his mate. Let 's catch old Carcajou to ate ! * '* " All of a kind flock together," retorted Wol- verine ; " Birds, and Boys, and Fools ! " THE BUil.DlNC; OK rUl. SHACK 77 Jack chuckled. To have roused CiU'cajou's ungcr was something to start the day with. " Plenty of Water to you all, Comrades," greeted Beaver pleasantly, patting a smooth seat for himself with his tail, as he joineil the others. " Where is the Man ?" ijueried Black King. ''Sleeping!" answered Jack. "He makes a noise with his nose like fat Muskwa does when he runs from Grizzly." •'I'hat's a pretty lodge," remarked Beaver, critically. " When will they flood it ? " " Stupid ! they don't live in water," reproved lav. "If it is wet thev make a little hollow path and run the water off." " Is that a Dead-fall, Jack ? " asked Muskwa, pointing his gray nozzle at a small square build- ing that was three logs high. " It's their Shack; they started it yesterday." "A poor Lodge!" declared Umisk. "The first flood will undermine the corners, and down it will come. Have they no trowel-tails to round it up with good blue-clay ? " " Umisk, you should travel. Your ideas are limited. Have they not built their Shack on high ground where there will be no flood ? " "But they'll freeze in the Winter," persisted Beaver. " The water would keep them warm if they flooded it." HV: fit ' .'.I 78 MOOSWA if "They've got a stove," the Courier answered. "What's a stove? " asked Lynx. " You '11 find out, Mister Cat, when they make bouillon of your ribs. It 's that iron-thing with one long ear." "Is that their breakfast — that pile of wood- meat? " queried Beavei. "Yes, meat for the stove," piped Jack. " Do you think they have teeth like a wood-axe and eat bark because you do ? " " They have queer teeth, sure enough," re- torted Trowel Tail. " See this tree stump, cut flat from two sides, all full of notches, as though a Kit-Beaver who did n't know his business had nibbled it down. How in the name of Good Dams they can fell trees into a stream that way I can't make out. This tree fell on land and they had to carry the logs. They 're silly crea- tures and have much to learn." ** There 's The Boy ! " whispv^red Jack, nudg- ing Muskwa in the ribs with his wing. They all peered eagerly at the door of the tent, for a white-skinned hand was unlacing it. Then a fair face, with rosy cheeks, topped by a mass of yellow hair, was thrust through the open- ing, and presently a lad of fourteen stepped out, stretched his arms upward, and commenced whist- ling like a bird. iiii t ■■» i " No, Silent One, I don't — neither do you ; but if you 'II just wrap it up for a few days and give it a rest, I 'm sure it will be all right." " Do," cried Carcajou ; " we sha'n't mind. I suppose that 's what The Boy calls his Tongue Trap — he knew whom to set it for, too." " Come and trample him with your sharp hoofs, dear Mooswa," pleaded Whisky-Jack, the lack of sympathy and the chaff making him furious. " Oh, sit still, if you 're going to ride on my horns," exclaimed the Bull. " You 're jigging about — " "As though he had corns," interrupted Car- cajou. " It was so nice of you, Whisky-Jack," said Lynx, in vn oily tone, "to take care of us all while we were there — wasn't it? Some of us might have burned our tongues but for you destroying the hot Bait." When the animals got back to their meeting- place, which was known as the Boundary Centre, they stopped for a time to compare notes. " Comrades," said Mooswa, " little have I claimed from you. I kill not anything ; neither the Fox Cubs, nor the Sons of Umisk, nor the red-tailed Birds that beat their wings like drums, nor anything. But this new law I ask of you all in the face of the King ; for the Be y that was THE BUILDING OF THE SHACK 87 my Man-brother, the safeguard of the Boun- daries." " You have not had the hot-meat thrust in your throat, friend of the rascally Cub,' objected Jack, angrily. "Hush, Chatterer!" growled Bear; "let Mooswa speak." " The horn-crowned Lord of the Forest gives expression to a noble sentiment," declared P.^ew. " By all means let the Kit-Man grow free of the Boundary Fear, until his claws are long and his bone-cracking teeth are strong." " He must have a Mother also," said the Red- Widow softly. " You have all forsworn malice to my Babe, Stripes, until he is of full strength — let the Man-Cub have the same guard." " What about Fran9ois ? " objected Whisky- Jack. " By my Stone-crop I '11 wager he taught that Chick the trick of the hot pork." " For him," continued Mooswa, gravely, " in defence of our rights and our lives the full law of the Forest ; by night, the lone road and the cry of Blue Wolf and his Brothers ; by day, the strong clasp of Muskwa; at close quarters, the stamp of my hoofs ; and for his Traps and their Bait, the cunning of Carcajou and Black King." " This is fair — it is a good Law," said Black Fox. ■'Kt "Hi ■■'iS 1^ 88 MOOSWA I ' ( r ■•■« < " It is ! " they all cried in chorus. " I am satisfied ! " added the Moose. " 1 think it would be well, Subjects," said Black King, thoughtfully, " to watch this Man and Man-Cub until the setting out of the Traps; after that we can regulate our lives in accordance. How long will it take them to build their Shack, Clerk ? " " Four days, Francois told The Boy last even- ing, as he smoked the scent-flower." " Then on the fourth day, three or four of us who are quick travellers had better go and watch the evil ways of this Slaver. What say you all?" " Most wise King," exclaimed Pisew, " select thou the Strong Runners." " Very well : Mooswa, Muskwa, Rof, and my- self — also Carcajou, for he has great knowledge of Man the Killer's ways." " I should like to set the lodge when it is finished," whined Beaver, " but my short little fore-legs travel not overfast on land." " So you shall, Comrade," growled Muskwa; " You may ride on my back." "Or on my antlers," suggested Mooswa; " their bowl will be like a cradle for you." " That 's settled, then," declared Black Fox. " On the fourth round of the Sun we meet at THE BUILDING OF THE SHACK 89 F>an9ois's Shack, in the safety time of the Forest, dawn hour ; cither that or dusk hour. What say you Brothers — which shall it be ? " " It would suit me better on account of my work," ventured Umisk, "to go at dusk hour. 1 have lost much time lately, and I'm building new lodges for my three-year-old Sons who are starting out for themselves this Fall." " Don't be late, then — I go to bed at dusk," lisped Whisky-Jack, mincingly, for his tongue was wondrous sore. " I will take note of what the Men do in the meantime." " And take care of us, O Wise Bird," sneered Pisew. " Big-feet ! Spear-ear ! Herring-waist ! " fairly screamed Jay, forgetting the sore tongue in his rage. " Before Winter is over, you '11 be glad of Jack's advice, or I don't know F'ran9ois." " The white of a Partridge egg is good for a burn," retorted Lynx. " Find one and cool your fevered tongue." " Are not these wranglers just like Men, Car- cajou ? " remarked Mooswa. " If you all spent more time in lawful hunt for food you would be fatter. It will profit me more to browse in the Forest than listen to your frost-singed wit, so I leave you. Comrades." " And I prefer even fat Frogs to hot fat Pork," tH '•I 90 MOOSWA said Pisew, maliciously, slinking like a shadow into the woods. " ' Fat Frogs,' " sneered Carcajou ; " good enough for that smooth-faced Sneak — I hardly know what I 'm going to have for dinner, though." " Fat Birds are the thing to tickle my appe- tite," declared Black King. " It is coming the time of day for them to shove their heads under wing, too. I 'm off — remember we meet on the Fourth day." lows I coven "It "St Beave << V Jack. "\N front turn of pla It forth "Y time legs THK KXPLORATION OK CARCAJOU AT sunset on the Fourth day Black King and his party once more crouched in the wil- lows at Red Stone Brook. Fran9ois and his young friend were just putting some finishing touches to the Shack roof — placing the last earth sods on top of the poles, for it was a mud covering. " It's nearly finished," whispered Jay. " Strong Teeth ! but that is funny," laughed Beaver. " What is funny. Eater of Wood ? " queried Jack. "Why, the Man carries his trowel-tail in his front paws. I wish I could do that. I have to turn around to look when I *m doing a nice bit of plastering." It was the Half-breed's spade that had drawn forth this remark. "Yes," declared Whisky-Jack wisely, "one time the Men were like you — walked on four legs and used a trowel-tail for their building ; HV. 'lit* :||f; l! !» " ^ ■' ' ■' 92 MOOSWA now they stand upright, and have shed the trowel which they use in their hands." " Wonderful ! " soHloquized Umisk ; " still they an't do as good work. Fat Poplar ! but it 's a poor Lodge. Fhe only sensible thing about it is the mud roof." Fran9ois struck the clod sharply with his spade, settling it into place. " How clumsily the Man works," cried Beaver ; " I 'm glad my tail is where it is. What 's that mud thing sticking up out of the corner. Jay ? Is it a little lodge for the Kit-Man ? " " That 's a chimney — part of the fire-trap," answered Jack. " I know what that's like," asserted Carcajou. " I went down one once. The Trapper locked his door, thinking to keep me out while he rounded up his Traps. It's a splendid trail for getting in and out of a Shack. Why, I can carry a side of bacon up that hole — did it." " Is n't The Boy lovely ^ " muttered Mooswa. "Isn't his call sweet .^ What does Fran9ois name him. Jack — Man-Cub or Kit-Man .f* " Just then the Half-breed sang out : " Rod, I t'ink me it's grub time — knock off. De ole gi 'ack s e s mis (( Rod ? " mused the Moose. " Yes, that what the Factor used to call him. ' Rod ! Rod ! IS % i( « EXPLORATION OF CARCAJOU 93 up for he would shout, and The Boy would run with his little fat legs." Rod and the Half-breed went inside, closed the door and lighted a candle, for it was growing dark, put a fire in the stove and cooked their supper. The watchers, eager to see everything, edged cautiously up to the log walls. Space for a small window had been left by the builders, but the sash was not yet in place. " I should like to see that mud-work the Man did with his hand-trowel," whispered Umisk. *' Climb on my horns, Little Brother," said Mooswa, softly, " and I will lift you up." Beaver slipped around gently on the roof in- specting Fran9ois's handicraft, while the others listened at the window. " By Goss ! Rod," said the Breed, " I put me leetle fire in de fire-place for dry dat c'imney, s'e 's sof. De fros' spoil him when s'e 's no dry." " I believe they have made the chimney too small," muttered Carcajou. " I 'm going up to have a look." " To-mor' we put out dat Traps," remarked the Half-breed. " What you t'ink. Boy — I see me dat Black Fox yesterday." " The Black Fox ! " exclaimed his young ij-r; ! ■>. (If 94 MOOSWA i!i * :i if; I? I !» ■!■ companion, eagerly. " The beauty you spoke of as being in this part of the country ? " llie King trembled. Already this terrible Trapper was on his trail. "Yes; I know me where he have hes hole. I put dat number t'ree Otter Trap close by, cover him wit' leaves, an' put de fis'-head bait on top. Den we see. We keel plenty fur here dis Winter. Dere 's big moose track too — mus' be bull." Black King scratched Mooswa's fore-leg with a paw to draw his attention, but the latter had heard. " I make some snare to-night, an' put him out wit* Castoreum. Dere 's plenty Cat here." Lynx shuddered. " We must help each other," he whined, in a frightened voice. Mooswa felt a little pat on his lofty horn, and looked up. " Lift me down. Brother," whispered Beaver. "Where's Carcajou?" queried the King. " Poking around the chimney — he made me nervous." "Wuf!" snifFed Muskwa, gently. "Our Man. burns the stink-weed in his mouth — it's horrible ! " Fran9ois was smoking. Carcajou was busy examining the mud-and- stick wall of the chimney, which stuck up three EXPLORATION OF CARCAJOU 95 feet above the roof. " I *m sure they 've made it too small," he muttered ; " I '11 never be able to get down. That will be too bad. By my Cun- ning ! but I *d like to know for sure — I will ! " For nothing on earth will satisfy a Wolverine's curiosity but complete investigation. He gave a spring, grabbed the top of the chimney with his strong fore-legs, and pulled him- self up. As he did so the soft mud collapsed and sank with a tremendous crash through the hole in the roof, carrying the reckless animal with it. " Run for it ! " commanded Black King, sharply ; " that mischievous Devil has made a mess of the business." " Whif! Wuf! Whiff!" grunted Bear, plung- ing through the thicket. Black Fox melted silently into the Forest darkness as swiftly as a cloud-shadow crosses a sunlit plain. Lynx gathered his sinewy legs and fairly spurned the earth in far-reaching bounds. Beaver had been sitting curled up in the bowl of Mooswa's antlers, peeping in the window at the time of Carcajou's mishap. His quick brain took in the situation. Grasping the two strong front points, he squeaked, " Fly, Mooswa ! " " Sit tight, Little Brother ! " admonished the m 96 MOOSWA If ■ W « 'I, IB » t Moose, putting his nose straight out and laying the horn-crown back over his withers, as he rushed with a peculiar side-wheel action, like a pacing-horse, from the clearing. When the crash came Francois jumped to his feet in amazement. Before he could investigate the mass of mud upheaved, a small dark-brown body scuttled across the floor clattered up the wall, and vanished through the open window. The Breed jumped for the door, grabbing a gun as he went. Throwing it open he rushed out, but of course there was nothing in sight. Wolverine was busily engaged in working his short legs to their full capacity in an earnest endeavour to place considerable territory between himself and the treacherous Shack. Fran9ois came back grunting his dissatisfaction. Rod stood in speechless amazement while his companion examined the pile of soft mud debris critically by the aid of a candle. "I t'ought me dat!" he remarked, with satis- fied conviction, straightening his back and setting the candle down on the rude plank table. " It's dat Debil of de Woods, Carcajou. Wait you, Mister Wolverine ; Francois s'ow you some treek." * What was he after ? " queried The Boy. *' After for raise Ole Nick," declared the Half- : t EXPLORATION OF CARCAJOU 97 breed, dejectedly. " You know what we mus* do? We mus' ketc' dat debil firs', or we keel no fur here. He steal de bait, an' cac'e de Trap ; s'pose we go out from de S'ack, dat Carcajou come down de c'imney, tear up de clo'es, spill de farina — de flour, t'row de pot in de ribber, an' do ever' fool t'ing what you can t'ink. Never mind, I ketc' him, an' I keel him ; " and Fran9ois fairly danced a Red River jig in his rage. Whisky-Jack had perched on the end of a roof-plate log when the trouble materialized, so he heard this tirade against Wolverine. The Bird could hardly go to sleep for chuckling. What a sweet revenge he would have next day ; how he would revile Wolverine. Surely the unfortunate Carcajou had scorched his feet, and mayhap his back, when he fell in the fire-place. " I wonder whose toes are sore to-night," the Jay thought. "I hope he got a good singeing — meddling beast ! Nice Lieutenant to upset everything just when we were having such a lovely time. Oh, but I '11 rub it into him to-morrow." '■ m THE SETTING OUT OF THE TRAPS (C R OYAL Son," said the Red Widow next mornii in w hat is the Burrow of the Men-Kind like?" "Ask Carcajou when he comes, Mother," repHed Black Fox ; and he related the incident of the night before. "Art sure. Son, that the Kit-Man's Mother is not with him ? " " No, Dame, she is not." " Then he will get into trouble — that is cer- tain. I have looked after you all — a big family, too, nine of you — and know what it means. Pisew, with his cannibal taste for Fox-cubs — and mark this. Son, even Carcajou has a weak- ness the same way, my Mother taught me to understand. And Rof, who seems such a big, gruff, kind-hearted fellow, would crack one oi your backs with liis great jaws quick enough in the Hunger-year, were no one looking. Mooswa is honest, but the others bear him no love, surely. And Fran9ois is to set out the Traps SETTING OUT OF THF TRAPS 99 to-day, and he has discovered our home here in this cut-bank, you say. Well, Son, thou art the King, because of thy Wisdom ; but together we must advise against this Slayer, who has the cun- ning of Carcajou and the Man-knowledge of Wiesahkechack." " What shall we do. Dame ? " " Now, thy red Brother, Speed, must take the message to the strong runners of our Comrades, Mooswa and the others, as has been arranged, to meet ; and when Fran9ois has passed with the Traps, go you five after this Man, and gain knowledge of where they are placed, and do all things necessary for safety In the Boundaries. The Watcher over Animals has sent soft snow last night, the first of this Cold-time, so your task will be easy. Just the length of a brisk run, higher up the Pelican, is a cut-bank with a hole as good as this. Before you were born, with your beautiful silver coat, I lived there. " Now, Fran9ois, even as he told the Man- Cub, will trap here, and who knows but he may put his Fire-medicine with its poison breath in the door of our Burrow, and seek to drive us out to be killed." " That is true, Most Wise Mother ; the sight of the twisting red-poison is more dreadful than anything ; for it smothers and eats up, and is i-.l lOO MOOSWA i- Ip » '' ' ' if swift as the wind, and spreads like the flood in the river, and fears neither Man nor Beast, and obeys not even the Spirit God of the Animals when it is angered." " Well, Son, while you follow the trail of this evil Trapper, I, with all your Brothers, will go to the other Burrow." " Be sure the Cubs step all in one track. Mother — your track, so this Breed Man, with his sharp eyes, shall not suspect." " Do you hear. Cubs ? " asked the Widow. " Remember what your Brother has said. Also each day one of us will make a fresh trail here, so that the Man may think we still live in this house." So while Speed glided swiftly through the Boundaries uttering his whimper call to Mooswa, Muskwa, Rof, and Carcajou, Fran9ois and Rod shouldered each a bag of Traps and started to lay out the Marten Road, as was called a big circle of Traps extending perhaps thirty miles, for the Winter's hunt. The Boy was filled with eager, joyous antici- pation. During his school days in town he had thought and dreamed of the adventurous free life of a Fur Trapper in the great Spruce Forests of the North. That was chiefly because it was bred in the bone with him. He threw ill r ■ at .1 ... '■ «• «< nkT " CAT," ANSWERED FRANCOIS; "DAT'S MISTER LYNK." ... c m SEl back as tru his f( time "I stopp built theg a smi beyoi "\ comp some "C Lynk him < haps He thick, noose stock; head down noose explai t'roug no m SETTING OUT OF THE TRAPS loi back to the forty years of his father's Factor-life as truly as an Indian retains the wild instinct of his forefathers, though he delve for half a life- time in the civilization of the White Man. " Here is de Marten tracks," cried Francois, stopping suddenly ; and with precise celerity he built a little converging stockade by placing in the ground sharp-pointed sticks. In this he set a small steel Trap, covered it with leaves, and beyond placed the head of a fish. "What's that track?" asked The Boy, as his companion stopped and looked at the trail of some big-footed creature. " Cat," answered Frangois ; " dat 's Mister Lynk. He like for smell some t'ing, so I give him Castoreum me for rub on hes nose — per- haps some necktie too." He cut a stick four feet long and four inches thick, and to the middle of it fastened a running noose made from cod-line. Then building a stockade similar to the last, and placing a fish- head smeared with Castoreum inside, he bent down a small Poplar and from it suspended the noose covering the entrance to the stockade. " Now, Mister Lynk he go for smell dat," explained Fran9ois. " He put hes fat head t' rough dat noose ; perhaps he don't get him out no more. By Goss ! he silly ; when dat string !!.4» "til m 102 MOOSWA » • t, get tight he fight wid de stick, an' jump, and phiy de fool. Dc stick don't say not'ing, hut jump too, of course, cause it loose, you see. If de stick he fas' den de Lynk hreak dc string; Imr dis way dey fight, an' by an' by dat Lynk he dead for soor, I t'ink me." " He has queer taste," said The Boy, *' to risk his neck for that stuflf — it 's worse than a Skunk." They moved on, and behind, quite out of sight, but examining each contrivance of the Trapper, came Black Fox, Muskwa, Blue Wolf, Mooswa, and Carcajou. Whisky-Jack was with them ; now flying ahead to discover where the enemy were, now fluttering back with a dismal " Pee weep ! Pee weep ! " to report and rail at things generally. Carcajou at times travelled on three legs. " Got a thorn in your foot ? " queried the Jay, solicitously. "Toes are cold," answered Wolverine, shortly. " He-a-weep ! " laughed Whisky-Jack, sneer- ingly ; " they were hot enough last night, when you called on Francois through the chimney- Whose toes are sore to-day, Mister Carcajou r And the fur is burnt off your back — excuse me while I laugh ; " and the Bird gave vent to a harsh, cackling chuckle. and but If ; bur k he SKTTING our OF TIIK TRAPS 103 *' Hello !" Carcajou exclaimed, suddenly. " I smell Castoreum ; or is it Sikak the Skunk ? " When they came to the l.ynx Snare, almost immediately, he circled around gingerly in the snow, examining every bush, and stick, and sem- blance of track ; then he peered into the little stockade. "It's all right!" he declared; "that Franv^ois is a double dealing Breed. I have known hiin set a Snare like this for Pisew, and a little to one side put a Number Four Steel Trap, nicely covered up, to catch an unsuspicious, simple-minded Wolverine." " Why don't you also say honesty modest. Wol- verine ? " derided Whisky-Jack. " But that 's a Snare for Pisevv, right enough," continued Carcajou. " It is ! " added Black Fox. " Watch me spring it ! " commanded Carcajou, tearing with his strong jaws and stronger feet at the fastening which held down the bent poplar. Swish ! And the freed sapling shot into the air, dangling the cord like a hangman's noose invit- ingly before their eyes. " Now if any one wants the Fish-head, he may have it," he added. " Not with Castoreum Sauce," said Black Fox. Even Blue Wolf turned his nose up at it. " Well, I '11 eat it myself," bravely remarked Wolverine, " for I 'm hungry." i,.# 126 MOOSWA 9 .i t.l" ft the thought of water, but he crept on to the slide with nervous steps. " You won't get in the hole," jeered Jack ; " your feet arc too big." Fisew tried it standing up, with arched back, just for all the world like a cat on a garden fence. As he neared the bottom at lightning speed, confusion seized him; he tried to spring, but only succeeded in throwing a half somersault, and plunged head first into the water. I'he Jay fairly screamed with delight, and hopped about on his perch overhead in a perfect ecstasy of fiendish enjoyment. " Did n't scorch his tongue a bit ! " he cried. " Give him the tail feathers of the Pheasant to dry his face with, oh. Your Majesty ! Ha, ha, ha ! Pe-he-e-e ! " Pisew scrambled out filled with morose anger. " That 's another failure," adjudged the King. " Who is next? " " Carcajou's turn ! " instigated Whisky-Jack. " He knows all about sliding up and down chimneys — he '11 win, sure ! " " I will try it," grunted the fat, little Chap ; " but if you make fun of me. Jack, I *11 wring your neck first chance I get." Wolverine shufiled clumsily to the starting post, studied the Slide critically for a minute with his little snake-like eyes, then deliberately THE OTTER SLIDE 127 turned over on his back, and prepared for the descent. " Tuck in your ears ! " shouted Whisky Jack. Now this was an insult. Carcajou's ears were so very short that they were generally supposed to have been cut off for stealing. However, Wol- verine started, tail first, holding his head up between his fore-paws to judge distances. When he struck the bottom, his powerful hind-feet jammed into the snow, and the speed of his going threw him safely over on the ice, landing him right side up on all-fours. " Capital ! Capital !" yapped Black King, pat- ting his furred hands together in approval. " That will be pretty hard to beat. Skunk, you're a cijver little Fellow, see if you can make a tie of it with Carcajou." Sikak moved up to the Slide with a peculiar rocking-horse-like gallop. Taking his cue from Carcajou he decided to go down the same way. Now, in the excitement of the thing the animals had gathered close to the Slide, lining it on both sides. " Cranky little White-streak ! " exclaimed Whisky-Jack ; " why don't you make a speech before you start." Skunk had never travelled in this shape be- fore, and was nervous. During his delay over getting a straight start. Carcajou and Mink, half- llHjiJ 128 MOOSWA (E >i«li:|,j at^4i -1 a ' «*ti ■it way down, got into an altercation about a good seat that each claimed. " Keep it, then, Cilutton !" v/hined Sakwas-.'w, starting across the chute. As he did so, Skunk got away rather prematurely, coming down with the speed of a snow-slide off a roof. He struck Mink i^ull amidship, and thinking it was a diaboli- cal trick on the part of the others, developed an angry odour that would have put a Lyddite shell to shame. A wild scramble took place. " Fat liens !" shrieked Black King, as he fled through the Forest, his long brush trailing in the snow. " I 'm choking ! " screamed Carcajou. *' By the power of all F'orest Smells, was there ever such a disgraceful Chap on the face of the Earth ; " and he scurried away with his short legs, just for all the world like a Bear Cub. Fisher climbed a tree in hot haste, as did Marten. Mink dove in the Otter's hole and disappeared ; but with him he carried the evil thing, for he was full of the blue halo that vi- brated from his skunk-smirched coat. " I shall never be able to go home any more," he moaned ; " my relatives will kill me." Even Jay clasped one claw over his nose and flew wildly through the forest, almost knocking THE OTTER SLIDE 129 1 out his brains against branches. In ten seconds there was nobody left on the ground but Otter and poor little white-striped Skunk. The collision had sent him rolling over and over down to the ice bottom of the stream. He got up, shook himself, used some very bad animal language, and slunk away to his family, to tell them of the trick Cr.rcajou and Mink had played him. " That Glutton was afraid I 'd win the Pheas- ant," he confided to Mrs. Sikak; "but I broke up the part", anyway." Otter was wandering about disconsolately through the woods, declaiming to the trees that his Slide was ruined for all time to come, and he really wished the Trap had ended his days. \.j If THE TRAPPING OF WOLVERINE (( 4 i «l ii ■'■' 8.|.. .i- WHEN PVangois missed the Beaver trap that had been placed in the dam, and that Umisk had taken for his sons to study, also the two set on Otter's slide, it made him furious. He knew Wolverine must have cached them. Once before he had been forced to give up a good Marten Road because of the relentless ingenuity of this almost human-brained animal ; but it would be different this time, the Half- breed declared — he would make a fight of it. " I keel me dat Carcajou ! " he exclaimed emphatically over and over again to The Boy. " Dat Debil ob de Wood he eat my bait, an' cy.c'e de Trap, an* come an' sit dere by de door an' listen what we talk. I see de track dis mornin'." The very night Fran9oIs made this boast, Wol- verine came and entirely appropriated the re- maining hind-quarter of his Caribou from the roof When the Half-breed discovered this fresh mark of his enemy's energetic attention he be- came inarticulate with ire. said THE TRAPPING OF WOLVERINR 131 NE ;r trap n, and study, le him cached to give lentless mimal ; I Half- »f it. claimed le Boy. ait, an' le door ick dis t, Wol- the re- lom the tiis fresh he be- " Why don't you try the strychnine on him ? " asked Roderick. " Dat no use," declared the enraged Trapper ; " when I put poison in de bait, Carcajou come, smell him, den he do some dirty trick on it tor make me swear. But I catc' him soor — I put de gun wid pull-string." He spent the greater part of the next day arranging a muzzle-loading shot gun, with a trade hall in it, for the destruction of the animal who had stolen his venison. Franc^ois had seen Wol- verine's own private little path for coming up the bank of the Pelican, and on this he staked down the gun and put some pine logs on either side, so that Carcajou must take the bait from in front. The gun was left cocked, with a string attached to the trigger; on the string, just at the muzzle, was tied a piece of Caribou meat. Wolverine chuckled when he saw the arrange- ment. " Poor old Fran9ois ! " he muttered ironically : " this is really too bad ; it 's actual robbery to take that Bait — it 's so easy." Now this little wood-dweller had a most decided streak of vanity in his make-up. Like many really smart men, he liked to show off his cunning — that was his weakness. " This is a good chance to give some of the others an object lesson," he said to himself, sitting down to wait for an ji.' 132 MOOSWA "it ;: '! II i- (t i''''«^.-> audience. Presently Blue Wolf and Lynx came in sight, jogging along together. " Eur-r-r-r ! " said Wolf, hoarsely ; " had any Eating this day, Gulo ? " " No appetite," declared Carcajou, getting up so the half-starved Lynx might see his well- rounded stomach. " Most wise Lieutenant," smirked Pisew, "what wisdom hast thou originated this day ? " "That's a queer thing, isn't it?" remarked Carcajou, nodding his broad forehead towards the baited gun. Blue Wolf looked, took a wide detour, and approached it from the side. The others followed in his footsteps. " Years have given you sagacity. Mister Rof," commended Wolverine. " From the side always, eh ? Danger sits on top, and Death waits in front." My nose finds a Bait ! " answered Wolf It s Meat ! " added Pisew, working his mus- tached upper lip like a cat. " I smell powder ! " declared Carcajou, quietly- " The evil breath of the Ironstick ? " queried Blue Wolf " Perhaps the White Death-powder makes that peculiar odour," he hazarded. " No," asserf^d Carcajou ; " Fran9ois knows better than that : to smell that Bait costs nothing ; (t n relii came Lr-r ! " s day, ing up well- Pisew, ly? narked owards ir, and allowed r Rof," always, vaits in 3lf. is mus- quietly. queried •powder knows othing ; THE TRAPPING OF WOLVERINE 133 to bite it makes a heavier price than either of us cares to pay. Fran9ois knows that we smell first, and bite last ; and if our noses detected aught amiss would we pull the string with our teeth ? " "Wise Lieutenant!" murmured Lynx. " Cunning old Thief! " mused Wolf to himself. " Do either of you food-hunters want it ? " asked Carcajou. " I *m not very hungry this morning," answered Blue Wolf. " I discovered seven Deer Mice under a log not two hours ago," lied Pisew; "sweet, long- eared little Chaps they were, and quite fat from eating the seeds of the yellow-lipped Sunflower — most delicious flavour it gives to their flesh. My stomach is at peace for the first time in many days." " Keep your eye open for the Breed-Man, th^n," commanded Wolverine ; " I think I 'd relish that Caribou steak — your Deer- Mice have given me an appetite." He tore the pine logs away from one side of the gun, examined the string critically, cut it with his sharp teeth just behind the bait, and devoured the fresh meat with great gusto, smacking his lips with a tanta- lizing suggestiveness of good fare. "In case of accidents I think I 'd better break i'll. 14 '34 MOOSWA J'' 9 4" lis up this Ironstick," he said. Seizing the hammer in his strong jaws, and placing his paws on the barrel and stock, he tore it off and completely demolished the old muzzle-loader. " Well," yawned Wolf, stretching himself, " you 're a match for the Man, I believe. I 'm off, for I 've got a long run ahead of me — the Pack gathers to-night at Deep Creek." " What's the run — Stag ? " asked Pisew, insinuatingly. " Whatever it may be it will be all eaten," answered Rof ; " so you need n't trail. Good- bye, Lieutenant," he barked, loping with power- ful strides through the woods out of sight. " I '11 go with yoUy most wise Lieutenant," declared Pisew. " Well, trot along in front," grunted Carcajou; " I want to fix the trail a bit." After they had walked for half an hour Wolverine stopped, and, cocking his eye up a slim pole which seemed to grow from the centre of a high Spruce stump, exclaimed, " Great- Eating ! what in the name of Wiesahkechack is that ? " " Meat ! " answered Pisew, looking at some- thing which dangled from the top of the pole. "It's Fran9ois again," said Carcajou, sniffing at the stump. THE TRAPPING OF WOLVERINE 135 mmer n the •letely isevv. " What a splendid cache," cried Lynx, admir- ingly ; " nobody but Squirrel could climb that pole. " But they might knock it down," declared Carcajou. " I have a notion to try." " Better leave it alone," advised Pisew. "If it 's Fran9ois, there 's something wrong." " Carcajou does n't take advice from a cotton- headed Cat," sneered the other. " Easy Killing ! but I 'm going up to see what it 's like. I know that stump — it 's hollow ; there is no chance for a Trap there." It was about three feet high. Wolverine made a running jump, grabbing the top edge to pull himself up ; as he did so some- thing snapped. A hov i of enraged surprise came from the little animal as he dangled with hind Loes just touching the ground, and his fore-paws in a steel Trap which he had pulled over the side. The cunning Breed had blocked up his Trap on the inside of the hollow shell, where it was invisi- ble from the ground. " For the Sake of Security ! don't make such a noise," pleaded Pisew. " Fool-talker ! " retorted Carcajou ; " come and help me out of this fix." " I can't open the Trap," objected Lynx ; " why, it would take the strength of Muskwa to flatten its springs." 136 MOOSWA « it w ■'»-« •ii.l>.!lf " Run to the King and ask for help, as is the law of the Boundaries," ordered Wolverine. " Gently, Mister Lieutenant, gently ; don't get so excited — keep cool." *' Wait till I get out of this," screamed Carca- jou ; ''I '11 warm your jacket." "There, there," returned Lynx, " don't threaten me — don't abuse me, and I '11 help you — " " That 's a good Pisew — hurry, please — Fran- 9ois may come — " " On one condition," added Lynx, sitting down on his haunches with deliberate self-possession. " Hang the conditions ! " blustered Carcajou — "talk of conditions with a Fellow's fingers in a steel Trap ! " " All the same, I '11 only do it on one condi- tion — when they talked the other day of making me King — " " * They talked,' " interrupted Carcajou ; " no- body talked of making you King." " llow didn't, I know. Lieutenant; but that's just what I want you to promise now, before I help you." " I '11 see you ared first ! " grunted Wolve- rine, snapping at t! ; Trap chain which was fastened to the pole, until he screamed with pain. "All right — I 'm off! Francois will soon find you," declared Pisew. THE TRAPPING OF WOLVERINE 137 no- " Come back ! " cried the entrapped Animal. " What do you wish ? " " Well, if anything happens Black King, we Ml need another ruler — anyway, next year there'll be an election, and I want you to stick up for me as you did for Black Fox. You 're so wise and eloquent, dear Carcajou, that the others will do just as you advise. I could make it worth while, too, if there were any charges against you ; sup- pose some one accused you unjustly of having eaten a Cub or a Kit under the Killing Age, why, I could see that nothing happened, you know." "Sneak! Thief! Murderer!" ejaculated Car- cajou disdainfully. " If I could but get out of this fix, 1 'd eat you." " What 's the row, you Fellows ? " piped a bird- voice, as Whisky-Jack swooped down to a small Poplar, and craned his neck in amazement at the sight he beheld. " By my Lonely Life ! " he chuckled, " if here is n't the King of all Knaves sitting with his hands in the stocks. Great Rati^ris ! but you 're a wise one ; whose toes hurt now. Mister Mocker ? Why does n't that cat-faced Lynx help you out ? " " I offered to," declared Pisew, " but his temper is so vile I dare not touch him. He threatened to kill me — I'm afraid to go near him." .11-,^ 138 MOOSWA ■ J '■ It " Why don't you run to Black King for help, you stupid — you can't open that Trap." " Wise Bird," almost sobbed Carcajou, in his gratitude, " this scheming rascal took advantage of my misfortune, and tried to make me promise to do something for him, or he would let Fran- cois catch me." " Pisew is not to be trusted — he is too much like a Man," asserted Jack. Turning to the Lynx, he exclaimed, angrily : " You go on the back-trail there, and if Francois comes, lead him off slowly ; just keep in his sight — he '11 follow you. 1 will get the Lieutenant out of this. Mind, if you play any tricks, or break the Oath of the Boundaries, the King will command Blue Wolf to break your back — he'll do it too. I 'm off for help," he said to the prisoner ; "just keep your courage up, old Carey ; " and working his fan-like wings with exceeding diligence, he dove through the woods at a great rate toward the King's Burrow. " I was only joking, dear friend Carcajou," said Lynx, fawningly, for he dreaded the anger of the other animals. " Don't say a word about it to the King; he might think I was in earnest." "Tr.'iitor!" snarled Wolverine ; "go back and watch for Francois." in THE TRAPPING OF WOLVERINE 139 " Don't say any more about it," pleaded Pisew, "and I'll watch, oh, so carefidly, most loyal, true Eieutenant." Whisky-Jack's shrill call from a tree startled the family of the Red Widow. " Quick, Royal Son," she cried, " there 's a danger signal. Listen: ' Hee-e-e-p, hee-e-ep, he-e-e-ep ! ' That means some one caught. Where are my Sons? All here but Stripes, Goodness ! " She wrung her paws miserably, and in her eagerness rushed to the door. " What is it, Bringer of Evil News? Who's caught — not my Baby Cub? " she asked of Whisky-Jack. " No, Good Dame. Would you believe it, the cleverest one in all the Boundaries, except- ing your Son, is now keeping the jaws of a Trap apart with his own soft paws — it's Carcajou." " What 's to do ? " cried Black Fox, joining his Mother. " Carcajou is caught ! " she answered, heaving a sigh of relief that it was n't Cross-stripes. Jay Bird explained the situation. " Nobody but Muskwa can spring a Number Four Trap," asserted the King; "and ht^ is holed up these two days — isn't he, Mother? " " Yes," she assented. " And asleep by now. You will find him at the big Burrow that is in the fourth cut-bank from here up stream." 140 MOOSWA m%t:u „ " The old Chap must get up, then," cried Black Fox, with emphasis, " for he is not in the deep frost-sleep yet. Here, Jack, run and bring Beaver to cut off the pole Carcajou's Trap is ringed to, and I'll go for Muskwa; if you see Rof, tell him to meet me at Bear's Burrow." The King had a trem ^dou ':in e with Musk- wa. Bruin was sleepy ?.'!<•' • mnky. "Quick! wake up, Brother!" Blacl Ioa shouted in his ear. The Bear never moved — siii.j ly snored. The energetic visitor turned tail on, and pro- ceeded to rake Bruin's ribs with his strong hind feet as a dog makes the gravel fly. Muskwa grunted and simply flicked his short, woolly ears. The King jumped on him, set up the long howl of the Kill in his very face, put his sharp teeth through one of the nerveless ears, and generally held a small riot over the sleeper. He never would have managed to wake Bear had not Blue Wolf arrived to help him. Muskv/a was for all the world like a maudlin, drunken old sailor. " All right, you Fellows," he said gfoggily, his eyes still closed, " I don't want any more Berries — eat 'em yourself." " Not Berries ! " howled Wolf; " Carcajou is in a Trap." " Go 'way — don't believe it. Carcajou 's an old Sweep! " THE TRAPPING OF WOLVERINE 141 :ried the ring p is see Blue Wolf's powerful voice rang the Chase Note in Muskwa's ear. It woke the big fellow sufficiently to enable him to take a side-hook sweep at the offender with his disengaged paw. The blow was a sleepy one, else it had cracked his tormentor's skull. " He 's coming all right," remarked the King, critically. " By the Flavour of Meat, he is ! " ejaculated Rof. In the end they got Muskwa on his feet, with a little understanding in his stupor-clogged brain, and half-pushing, half-leading, conducted him to where Carcajou was sitting in the stocks. In his flight Whisky-Jack had met Mooswa, and he was there also. Beaver was chiselling away at the pole ; ^or once loosened, even if they could not spring the Trap sufficiently to get Carcajou's paws out, between them they might manage to get him away and cached somewhere ; anything was better than letting him fall into the Trapper's hands. " Of all the wood I ever cut this is the worst," panted Umisk, resting for a minute. "It cramps my neck cutting down so close sideways. It is dry Tamarack, the slivers are all sticking in my tongue." As Black Fox and Rof withdrew their paws 142 MOOSWA *• »H I'll IMS '■ ''it from under Muskwa's arms, he keeled over lazily and wont sound asleep in two seconds. " Give him a good lift with your hind-foot, Mooswa," commanded the King, sharply. " Of all the heavy-brained Animals I ever saw ! " " If we but had some of Man's fire," opined Jack, '* we could wake him up quick enough by singeing a couple of my feathers under his nose." Mooswa planted both hind-feet, bang ! in Be ir's ribs; Rof gave a deep bay in his face; Black King once more put his saw-like teeth through an ear ; and by these gentle, persuasive methods Muskwa was wakened sufficiently to get on his feet. He swayed drunkenly. " Stop fighting, Cubs ! " he growled, under the impression that he was being bothered by some of his own children. " Get up and squeeze the springs of the Trap — Car:ajou is caught! Here they are — put a paw on each — there ! squeeze ! " yelled Black Fox. Just then Beaver finished cutting the pole, and it fell with a crash — the noise helped waken Muskwa. " Slip the ring off the stub, Umisk, that 's a good Chap," cned Wolverine. This done, he and the Trap clattered to the ground. (C C ome on screamed Black Fox to Muskwa, as he and Rof shouldered him to the THE TRAPPING OK WOLVERINE 143 the Trap. " Squeeze now ! " the Fox shouted again, placing Bear's powerful paws on the springs. " I '11 squeeze," answered Bruin, petulantly ; "but why don't you speak louder — say what you mean. You Fellows have all got colds — 1 can't hear you." " Dead Eagles ! but Fran9ois will," remarked "There, now, a little harder — use your strength, Muskwa ! " The Bear pressed his great weight on the springs; they slipped down, and the jaws slowly opened like the sides of a travelling-bag. With a cry of delight Carcajou pulled his bruised fin- gers out, and in gratitude rubbed his shorf: little Coon-like head against Bruin's great cheek. " Good old Muskwa ! " he cried joyfully ; " I '11 never forget this." " Your fingers will be a long time sore, then," sneered Jay. *'' Never — mind — little friend. It 's all right ; let me go — to sleep now, don't — don't bother ; " and he flopped over like a bag of potatoes, sighed wearily once or twice, and started off with a monotonous, bubbling snore. " He 's hopeless," moaned the King. " We '11 never get him home." 144 MOOSWA 1 ": i) :«:-! ' '■■'.l'# '■'«■■««,, HI " I saw Fran9ois just like that once," chirped Whisky-Jack ; " he had some medicine in a bottle, and the more of it he took the sleepier he got." " How in the name of Many Birds shall we ever get him back to his hole ? " asked Black Fox, perplexedly. " I Ml carry him," declared the Moose. " Here, you Fellows, roll him up on my horns ; " and dropping to his knees Mooswa put the great, chair-like spread of his antlers down to the snow. " Come, Pisew, give us a hand," commanded the King. Beaver, and Lynx, and Rof, and Black Fox shouldered and pushed at the huge black ball, and Mooswa kept edging his horn- cradle in under the mass, until finally Muskwa lay snugly in the hollow. " Now all give a mighty push, and help me up ! " snuffed the Moose. " All right," he added, staggering to his feet, and pointing his nose skyward, allowing the burdened antlers to lie along his withers. " Ride with Muskwa, Jack," commanded the King, " and show Mooswa the old Sleeper's house. Branch out, the rest of you, and make the Many- trail ; for many trails make few catches." Car- cajou was sitting on his haunches, licking his fir t w / 1 i* ^ • -.tH ^ vji 1 T^.& ; • 1 lil^ "'^l^^^l - 1 |>^'^ . » ^^^Plft' ' >. !w ^ 4^: u % k%\«:,^ ^ * ^^ ■ t| V r .-Jj ^ _ ^ i THEY WERE A FL'NNY-LOOKING PARTY, THE TRAPPING OF WOLVERINE 145 aching paws. " How are you going to get home, Little Comrade?" he asked. " I *11 give him a lift," interposed Blue Wolf. " Clamber up, old Curiosity." They were a funny-looking party — quite like an ambulance train ; Muskwa asleep on Mooswa's horns, and Carcajou astraddle of Wolf's strong back. "Walk in RoPs tracks, Pisew, till you strike a muskeg," ordered the King ; " Fran9ois won't fancy the fun of following a traveller like you through a big swamp." " I should like to hide that Trap," lamented Carcajou. "Oh, never mind," interrupted Black Fox. "Get away home, everybody." " I '11 hear some choice French to-night," de- clared Jack. " When Francois discovers that somebody has robbed his Trap, he '11 jabber himself asleep." All the way to his home Carcajou swore ven- geance on the Man who had made his paws so sore. " You '11 do it. Brother," said Rof, " and I don't blame you. Of course we must remember our oath -.about The Boy" 10 THE COMING OF THE TRAIN DOGS ■•).ciii« !*<* ,- Mfl.' '<■ Jt, ■'.tillf FOR three days nothing unusual happened. Hunger commenced to nip at every one, for, as we know, it was the Seventh Year of the Rabbit cycle, and they were scarce. All the others envied old Muskwa, slumbering peace- fully, nourished by the fat of his Summer's pillage. The narrow body of Lynx was getting nar- rower, the gaunt sides of Blue Wolf gaunter. Fisher and Marten were living on Deer Mice, Squirrels, and small game ; and the Red Wid- ow's family were depending almost entirely upon Spruce Partridge — the flesh of these birds had become particularly astringent, too. The gray- mottled, pin-tail Grouse had entirely disappeared — better eating they were, the Widow contended ; but in tlie Seventh Year it was not a m:itter of selection at all, and each Animal was poaching on the other's preserve — all because of the scarcity of Wapoos. But in spite of the general starva- tion, every one left a small dole of his food for COMING OF THE TRAIN DOGS 147 DOGS ppened. ery one, • of the All the r peace- immer's ng nar- ^aunter. r Mice, d Wid- ly upon rds had e gray- ppeared tended ; itter of ling on scarcity sta.'va- 3od for Carcajou, whose paws were too sore to prowl about. He felt the restricted diet more than any of them, being a perfect gourmand, — " Gulo the Glutton," that was his name ; and he liked good living. On the fourth day Whisky-Jack, startled his comrades with the announcement that Fran9ois had acquired a train of four dogs from Niche- mous, who was passing down the ice-road of the river with a Free-Trader. Blue Wolf snuffed discontentedly at the news ; they were his ene- mies, and many a scar he can-ied as souvenir of combats with these domesticated cousins. Family instinct, however, led him to skulk close to Fran9ois's Shack one evening hoping to see the dogs. He went often after the first visit, though advised by Carcajou that it would end in his getting a destroying blast from the Firestick. " They have n't got one," Rof assured him. " You destroyed the only Ironstick they had.' " That was an old Trade Musket," retorted Wolverine. " Francois is too clever to put his good Ironstick out in the wet. You '11 find that he has another, if you don't keep away. What's the attraction, anyway ? " he asked. " There can't be anything to eat there, with those yelping Huskies about." 148 MOOSWA »••« • lit It was Whisky-Jack who gave the secret away. " Blue Wolf's i:i love," he said, solemnly ; " three of the Train are of the sister kind, and Rof's got his eye on one. Frp.n9ois calls her * Marsh Maid,' but the Train-leader is a big Huskie Dog, and he '11 chew Growler the Wolf into little bits — I sha'n't mind, Rof's too surly for me." Blue Wolf became a great dandy ; brushed his coat — scraped the snow away from a moss patch in the Jack-Pines, and rubbed his shaggy fur till it became quite presentable. The big fight that Jack anticipated so eagerly materialized, but, contrary to Jay's forecast, Rof trounced the Huskie soundly. After that he came and went pretty much as he desired — growled his admiration of Marsh Maid, and took forcible possession of Huskie's White Fish. All this nearly brought sorrow to the Red Widow's family, for Stripes, the Kit-Fox, having his curiosity roused by Jrck's recital of Blue Wolf's doings, incautiously ventured close to the Shack one day to have a look at the Train. With an angry howl Huskie swooped down upon him, and but for Rod, who, hearing Stripes's plaintive squeal, rushed out and drove the Dog off, he would have been most effectually COMING OF THE TRAIN DOCr 149 eaten up. The young Fox fled for his life, and his tale of this adventure filled the Red Widow's heart with gratitude toward The Boy. Within the Boundaries :he food fever was strong on the Animals, and Fran9ois's baits be- came an almost irresistible temptation. Trap after Trap Black King and his family robbed, leaving the Meat with the White Powder in, and taking it when it was clear of this, until Fran9ois was in despair. " By Goss ! " he confided to The Boy, " I t'ink me we goin' keel no fur here. Dat Carca- jou he de Debil, but mos' all de odder Animal is Debil too. S'pose I put out de Trap, dey take de bait, cac'e de Trap, and s'pose me dey laugh by deyselves. I see dat Black Fox two, t'ree time, an' I know me his track now ; ev'ry day I see dat tracks. But we must catc' him. What fur we keel now? Not enough to pay fer de grub stake." THE TRAPPING OF BLACK FOX liHii;tt,|»** I**! H 4i, ■! in SO far all the plans of the Half-breed for capturing Black Fox had failed ; but one da^• conditions were favourable for his master- stroke — a rare trick known only to himself. He smiled grimly when in the early morning he discovered that the snow bore a tender young crust just sufficient to bear a fair-sized animal. His preparations were elaborate. " To-day we catc' dat black fell','* he said, gleefully, to Rod. " You waii here till 1 s'oot Mister Mus'rat firs' for bait, den I s'o'*^ you some treek." Soon Fran9ois returned with a freshly killed Muskrat, which he promptly skinned, taking great care not to touch th" meat with his hands. Putting the hindquarters in a pouch formed from the blood-stained skin, he next made a long- handled scraper. "Now I fix dis tea-dance \^'iere de fox alway go for sit in one place ever' day — I know me dat place," he chuckled as, gathering up the outfit, he started for the Forest. THE TRAPPING OF BLACK FOX 151 Arrived there Fran9ois pulled the snow from under the gentle crust with his scraper for a space of six or eight feet, leaving a miniature cave under the frozen shell. Into this he shoved two strong steel Traps, and using a long stick emptied the Muskrat pouch of its meat just above. " Now, Mister S'arp-nose," muttered the Breed, " I t'ink me you no smell not'ing but Meat. You don't like smell Francois, eh ? For dat I give me de Mus'rat smell for you' nose. Backing away from his work the Half-breed carefully smoothed down the snow into his tracks for a long distance, then filling his pipe, lighted it, and trudged back to the Shack to await the success of this ruf:. When Black King came up the wind, winding up the meat-scent like a ball of yarn, he struck a new combination. There were no evidences of Man's handicraft ; no Trap insight — no baited gun; no Marten stockade; no bent sapling with a hungry noose dangling to iej but there were undoubtedly two nice, juicy, appetizing pieces of meat lying on top of the undisturbed snow-crust. Black Fox sat down and surveyed the surround- ing territory critically ; cocked his sharp eyes and sharper nose toward all points of the compass. 152 MOOSWA In I The Forest was like a graveyar(^ — as silent ; no hidden enemy lurked near witn ready Firestick — his nose assured him on that point. Then he walked gingerly in a big circle all about the glamourous centre-piece of sweet-smell- ing meat, his nose prospecting every inch of the ground. Something had evidently disturbed the snow where Fran9ois had smoothed it down. Three c-rcles he completed like this ; each one smaller and closer to the Bait. Three lengths of himself from the covered-danger he sat down again, and tried to think it out. " It can't be a Trap," he mused ; " nothing has walked where the eating is, that much is cer- tain. Fran9ois can smooth the white ground- cover down, but can't put a crust on it. Starvation Year! but that Meat smells good — I have n't eaten for two days. I wish it were a Trap — then I should know what I was about. It looks mighty suspicious — must be the White Powder ; think I had better leave it alone. If there were only a Trap in sight I would tackle it quick enough ; it 's easy to spring one of those things and get the Bait." He trotted away twenty yards, meaning to go home and not risk it. Suddenly he stopped, sat down once more and thought it all over again, his determination \veakened by appetite. THE TRAPPING OF BLACK FOX 15J His lean stomach clamoured tor the Meat — it was full of nothing but the great pain of hunger. " Forest Devils! " muttered the hesitating Fox ; " I believe I 'm losing my nerve — am afraid be- cause there is n't anything in sight but the Meat. I 'd never hear the last of it if Carcajou, or Pisew, or any of them came along, saw my trail, and then, having more pluck than 1 've got, went and ate that free eating. I wonder what it is ? Smells like a cut of Muskrat, or a piece of Caribou ; it 's not Fish." He walked back cautiously, irresolutely, and took a look from the opposite side. " I have a notion to try it; I can tell if there's White Medicine about when I get it at the end of my nose," he said, peering all about carefully ; there was nobudy in sight — nothing I " vV-^.iien Foxes ! " but he was nervous. His big " brush " was simply trembling with the fear of some un- known danger. He laughed hysterically at the idea. It was the unusualness of Meat lying on the snow and no evidence of why it should be there: there was no appearance of a Kill near the spot. How in the world had it come there ? There was no track leading up to nor away from it; perhaps Hawk, or Whisky-Jack, or some other bird had dropped it. It was •54 MOOSWA It ' •'(» X -Hi, '"**n the most wonderful problem he had ever run up against. But thinking it over brought no solution ; also his stomach clamoured loutlcr and louder tor the appetizing morsel. Rising up, Black King crept cautiously towards the fascinating object. His foot went through the snow crust. "This would n't bear up a Baby Lynx," he thought. *' Neither Francois nor any other Man can have been near that Meat." He took another step — and another, eyes and nose inspecting every inch of the snow. He could almost reach it; another step, and as his paw sank through the crust it touched some- thing smooth and slippery. There was a clang of iron, and the bone of his left fore-leg was clamped tight in the cruel jaws of a Fox Trap. Poor old Black King! Despair and pain stretched him, sobbing queer little whimpering cries of anguish in the snow. Only for an in- stant ; then he realized that unless help came from his Comrades his peerless coat would soon be stretched skin-side out on a wedge-shaped board in Frangois's shack. Shrill and plaintive his trembling whistle, " Wh-e-e-he-e-e-, Wh-e-e- he-e-e! " went vibrating through the still Forest in a supplicating call to his companions for succour. Then an hour of despairing anguish, without \[\K TRAIMMNG OF BLACK FOX .55 one single glint of hope. Kvcry crack of tree- bark, as the frost stretched it, was the snapping of a twig under Krain^ois's feet ; every rustle of bare branches overhead was the shuffling rasp of his snow-shoes on the yielding crust. Excruciating pains shot up the Fox's leg ami suggested grim tortures in store when l^"rani,ois had taken him from the I'rap - - perhaps he would skin him alive; the Indians and Half- breeds were so frightfully cruel to Animals. If only Carcajou, or Whisky-Jack, or dear old Mooswa could hear his whistle — surely they would help him out. Suddenly he heard the rustle of Jack's wings, and turned eagerly. A big, brown, belated leaf fluttered idly from a Cot- tonwood and fell in the snow. There was no Whisky-Jack in sight — nothing but the help- less, shrivelled leaf scurrying away before the wind. At intervals he barked a call, then listened. How deadly silent the F'orest was; his heart thuinping against his ribs sounded like the beat of Partridge's wing-drums at the time of mating. Strange fancies for an animal flitted through his mind — something like a man's thoughts when he drifts close to death. Why had Wiesahke- chack, who was God of Man and Animals, ar- ranged it this way. During all his life Black .%. #. ^^ o.;« IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 l;^ 12.8 |50 ""^ m I.I 1^ 2.0 1.25 m U III 1.6 .^ V ^; c»* ^>/ ^r /A Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MSej (716) 872-4503 ^ V ^^ -:"i^ ¥> * \\ O^ r^^ 5 156 MOOSWA »? ) I" ■'Ot King had killed only when hunger forced him to it ; but here was Fran(;ois, a Man, killing, killing always — killing everything. And for what ? Not to eat ; for the Breed had flour in plenty, and meat that was already killed. It was not because of hunger; but simply to steal their coats, that he or some other Man or Woman might look fine in fur-clothes stolen from the Boundary Dwellers — at the sacrifice of their lives. Again Black Fox heard a leaf sawing its whis- pering way down through the willow wands : he even did not turn his head. But it was wings this time ; and a cheery, astonished voice sang out: " Hello, Your Majesty, what are you doing there with your hands in the snow — feeling for a Mole's nest.^ " *' Praise to Wiesahkechack ! " cried the King ; " is that you. Jay ? I'm trapped at last," he con- tinued, " and you must fly like the wind and get some of our Comrades to help me out." " There 's a poor chance," said the Bird, de- spondently ; " as you know, none of us can spring that big Trap but Muskwa, and we'll never get him out now — he is dead to the world." "What am I to do?" moaned the King — " we must try something." " Oh, we shall get you out of here. I '11 call THE TRAPPING OF BLACK FOX 157 Beaver to cut the stake that holds the chain, and you 'II just have to carry the Trap home with you. Carcajou might be strong enough to press down the spring, but his hands are so pulftd up from the squeeze they got, he can't do a thing with them. Don't fret ; I will soon get them all here, and we'll see what can be done." In a wonderfully short time Jack had sum- moned Beaver, Mooswa, Blue Wolf, and Lynx. Mooswa's great heart was touched at the sight of their Sovereign's misery. "My services are of little use here," he said. " I will go back on the trail, close to the Shack, and watch for Francois." " Sparrow Hawks ! " exclaimed Jay ; " I quite forgot about that. Our Friend was getting ready to come out on his Marten Road when I left. Somebody will feel the foul breath of his Iron- stick if we don't keep a sharp lookout." " All the better if he brings it," answered Mooswa ; " for then he '11 follow me, and I '11 lead him away so far that you'll have plenty of time to get our King home." " Noble Comrade ! " smirked Lynx ; " such self-sacrifice ! But don't you know that the Hunter will never give up your trail until you are dead ? The snow is deep, the crust won't hold against your beautiful, sharp hoofs, and the 158 MOOSWA »»0 r. • •» ■i)tt j""!-,.* Killer will run you down before the Sun sets twice." " Most considerate Traitor I " snapped Whisky- Jack. " You would rather Black King fell into FVan9ois's hands — would n't you ? " Kor the Jay knew what Pisew had said to Carcajou when the latter was in the Trap. " All right, Mooswa," growled Rof, admiringly ; " you are a noble fellow. Go and lead Fran9ois away — don't get within burning distance of his Firestick, though ; I and my Pack will take care that the Man-enemy does n't follow your trail after the closing of the light of day." " I killed a Man once," answered Bull Moose ; " but I '11 never do it again, nor must you. Com- rade. That is a thing to be settled amongst themselves — the Man-kill is not for us." " I talk not of killing!" snarled Blue Wolf, surlily; "when our cry goes up, Fran9ois will take the back-trail, and keep it till he is safe within the walls of his own Shack — that's what 1 mean." " It is well ! " affirmed the King, approvingly ; " act thus, Comrades. We are not like Man, who slays for the sake of slaying, and calls it sport." " Most generous Black King ! " exclaimed Pisew, with an evil smirk. THE TRAPPING OF BLACK FOX 159 un sets Vhisky- ell into hor the »u when iringly; I'rangois s of his ,ke care lur trail Moose ; I, Com- .mongst Wolf, ois will is safe s what vingiy ; Man, calls it :laimed Mooswa and Blue Wolf started off together. Uniisk was driving his ivory chisels through the hard, dry Birch-stake that held the Trap. It was a slow job — almost like cutting metal. Suddenly a thought struck Black Fox. " Mow am I to get home with this clumsy iron on my leg?" he asked. " Mooswa has gone, and there is no one to carry me." " I could help you with the Trap," answered Umisk. " And leave a trail to the house like a Rabbit- run ? The Breed would find it, and murder the whole family ; I *m not going to risk my Mother's skin in that manner." " Thoughtful King ! " lisped Pisew. " True, true," confirmed Beaver. " Fran9ois would surely find the trail. There is no other way, unless — unless — " Unless what, faithful Little Friend ? " Unless you take the way of our People." " And that way — Friend ? " « Cut off the leg ! " " Horrible ! " ejaculated Lynx. " Horrible for you, Frog-heart," interposed Jack. " The King is different — he 's got pluck." " Your Majesty will never get the Trap off," continued Beaver, " until Muskwa the Strong comes out in the Spring. Even if you did carry (( (C i6o MOOSWA it home, your leg would go bad before that tune. Black Fox pondered for a minute, weighing care- fully the terrible alternative. On one hand was the risk of leading the Trapper to his carefully concealed home, and months of tortured idleness with the Trap on his leg; on the other the per- manent crippling of himself by amputation. " Can you cut the leg off, wise Umisk ?" he asked. " I did it once for my own Brother, who was caught," Beaver answered, simply. " Take off mine, then ! " commanded the King, decisively ; " it is the only way." "You'll bleed to death," said Lynx, solici- tously. •* Oh, that would be lovely!" sneered Jack; " for then we'd all choose Pisew as his successor — * Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi ! ' Excuse me. Comrades, that's an expression Fran9ois uses sometimes when he drinks Fire-water ; it means, a live Slink is better than a dead Hero." When Black Fox gave the command to ampu- tate his limb, Beaver ceased cutting the stake, scuttled over to a White Poplar, girdled the tree close to the ground, then, standing on his strong hind-legs, cut the bark again higher up. Next he peeled a strip, brought it over beside the Fox, THE TRAPPING OF BLACK FOX i6i and chiselled some of the white inner bark, chew- ing it to a pulp. " Hold this in your mouth, Pisew, and keep it warm," Beaver commanded, passing it to Lynx. " We shall manage to stop the blood, I think." " You will poison our King," said Jack, " if you put that stuff on the wound after Slink has held it in his mouth." Beaver paid no attention, but stripped three little threads from the cloth-like tree-lining, and drew the fibre through his teeth to soften it. Then he spoke to the Bird : " Come down here. Jack, and hold these threads — your beak should be as good as a needle at this job. Now for it. Your Majesty ! " Umisk continued, and one might have fancied he was a celebrated surgeon rolling up his sleeves before going at a difficult amputation. " This is horribly bitter stuff," muttered Pisew — " it tastes like the Wolf-willow berry." " Good for the wound — will dry up the bleed- ing ! " affirmed the little Doctor curtly. " Is there anything the matter with this Bait, King — any White Death-powder ? " he asked. "If not, stick it in your mouth — it will brace you up, and take your mind off the leg." "There is no White Powuer in it — I can guarantee that," snickered Jay. " I flew in the II l62 MOOSWA t ')•! i door yesterday when Fran9ois and The Boy were out, stole the bottle off its roost, and dropped it through their water-hole in the river ice ; just to save your life, Pisew, you know — you 're such a silly Glutton you would eat any- thing." "Jack," said the King, looking up gratefully, " your tongue is the worst part of you — your heart is all right." " Even his tongue is all right now since he got over the fat Pork," sneered Pisew. " Bird of Torture ! " ejaculated Black King, " but that hurts, Umisk;" for Beaver had gir- dled the skin of the leg even as he had the bark of the tree. " Think of the Meat in your mouth. King," advised Umisk. " Hold up this skin with your claw. Jack," he commanded. " There ! pull it a little higher. I '11 cut the bone here, you see ; then we '11 cover it with the skin-flap.'' " Full-crop ! but you have a great head, Umisk," cried Jack, admiringly. " Wh-e-e ! Wh-e-e-e-e ! " squealed the Fox, crunching his sharp, white teeth to hold back the cries (( of pai n. Quick, Pisew, hand out the Poplar-bread — it's off! " commanded Beaver. " Now, Jack, the thread. Hold one end in your beak, while I i I THE TRAPPING OF BLACK FOX 163 e Boy it, and le river now — It any- itefuUy, — your : he got c King, lad gir- the bark , King," th your pull it a ^ou see ; ,t head, he Fox, back the bread — ack, the while I wrap it. There — let go! put a hole through the skin here ! " Black King's tongue was loll- ing out with the pain, but with Jack's strong, sharp beak, Beaver's teeth-scalpel and deft fin- gers, the whole operation was completed in half an hour. " What 's that ? " queried Black Fox suddenly, cocking his ears ; " I heard the cough of Fran- cois's Firestick — listen 1 " " I heard it too," asserted Jack ; " the Breed is after poor old Mooswa. If he kills our Com- rade, Blue Wolf and his Pack will make short work of him." " Now we are ready to take Your Majesty home. I think I 've made a fairish job of it," said Umisk, holding up the shortened limb with great professional pride. " Bring the foot, Jack, — it must be buried. Pisew, you can ca.ry the King, now that he is not loaded down with iron. There will be only your big-footed track to see ; for I '11 circle wide, double a few times, cross Long Lake under the ice, and our enemy will never know where I 've gone." " Leave the foot here," advised Jay ; " the Breed will find it, see blood on the snow, dis- cover Pisew's track leading away, and think Lynx has eaten Black Fox out of the Trap ; knowing our friend's cannibal instincts, he '11 believe this. 164 MOOSWA ...,,..i '■>•!? •^s '■*,. m That will give our Chief a chance to get well ; for Fran9ois, thinking he 's dead, will not try again to catch him." " I don't want my reputation ruined this way," whined Pisew. " Ruin your reputation ! " sneered the Bird. " That is rich ! It's like Skunk complaining of a bad odour when you 're about." " You go with Pisew and Black King, Jack," ordered Umisk, who had taken full management of the arrangements ; '* better be off now before the cold-sting gets into the wound." He helped Black Fox on Lynx's back, and started them off; then struck out in a different direction himself. The Red Widow's first intimation of this great calamity was Jack's thin voice calling for help to get Black Fox up into the Burrow. How the old lady wept. " First it was little Cross-stripes, my Babe," she moaned, caressing the King with her soft cheek ; " now it 's you, my beautiful Son. Poor Lad ! you '11 never be able to run again." " Oh, yes I shall, Mother," replied Black Fox. "The leg will soon heal up, and I '11 manage all right. I 'm only too thankful to be out of that horrible Trap." " Bless Umisk's clever little heart ! " cried the Widow in her gratitude, as she stroked the black head with her paw. ell ; for •y again s way," le Bird. ning of , Jack," igement V before ; helped lem off; mself. his great ■ help to ^ow the 5-stripes, ing with iful Son. Lgain." ack Fox. anage all t of that THK TRAPPING OF BLACK FOX 165 ** Not forgetting a word for his sharp teeth, eh, good Dame?" remarked Jack. " I '11 get food for the family," added Black King's younger Brother, proudly assuming the responsibility. The Red Widow thanked Lynx and Whisky- Jack for bringing her wounded son home, and begged Pisew to walk back in his tracks a distance, and use every endeavour to cover up the trail leading to their burrow. cried the the black THE RUN OF THE WOLVES *^1 If A' FTER Mooswa left the others he walked to within two hundred yards of the Shack. " Brother Rof," he said to his Comrade, " wait for me to-night at Pelican Portage — you and your Pack. Jf the Man follows me that far, I shall be tired by then, and need your help." "You'll get it, old Friend — we'll sing the Song of the Kill for this slayer of the Boundary People. There will be great sport to-night — rare sport. Ur-r-r-a-ah ! but the Pups will learn somewhat of the Chase — by my love of a Long Run, they shall ! Drink not, Mooswa, while you trail, for a water-logged stomach makes a dry throat ! " Just as Blue Wolf disappeared on his Pack- gathering errand, the Half-breed came out of his Shack. On his feet were snow-shoes ; over his shoulder a bag, and in his hand a .45-75 Win- chester rifle — he was ready for the Marten Road. Mooswa started off through the Forest at a rack- ing pace. c f c s h V THK RUN OF THK WOLVfcS 167 walked Shack. , " wait ou and t far, 1 I. ng the )undary light — ill learn a Long I, while ;s a dry Pack- t of his )ver his 5 Win- 1 Road. a rack- " By Goss ! " exclaimed the Trapper, catching sight of the Bull Moose, " I miss me dat good c'ance for s'oot." 'I'hrowing down his bag he started in pursuit, picking up Mooswa's big trail. The hoof-prints were like those of a five-year-old steer. Out of sight the Moose stopped, turned siile- ways, and cocking his big heavy ears forward, listened intently. Yes, Fran(;ois was following ; the shuffle of his snow-shoes over the snow was soft and low, like whispering wind through the harp branches of a dead Tamarack ; but Mooswa could hear it — all his life he had been listening for just such music. Wily as the Breed was, sometimes a twig would crack, sometimes the snow-crust crunch as he stepped over the white mound of a buried log. He had never seen a Moose act as this one did. Usually they raced at full speed for miles at first, tiring themselves out in the deep snow ; while behind, never halting, never hesitating, followed the grim Hunter, skimming easily over the sur- face with his light-travelling snow-shoes — and the certainty that in the end he would overtake his victim. But this chase was on altogether new lines ; something the Half-breed had never ex- perienced. Mooswa kept just beyond range of his gun. A dozen times inside of the first i68 MOOSWA ISO .: , »if hour Fran9ois caught sight of the magnificent itali antlers. Once, exasperated by the tantalizing view of the giant Bull, he took a long-range chance-shot. That was the report Black King had heard. When Francois came to the spot in which Mooswa had been standing, he examined the snow — there was no blood. "By Goss ! " he muttered, " I t'ink some one put bad Medicine on me. P'raps dat Moose, he Debil Moose." Hour after hour the hunter followed the Bull's trail ; hour after hour Mooswa trotted, and walked, and rested, and doubled, and circled, just as it suited the game he was playing. Fran9ois, like nil Indians or Breeds, had no love for a long shot — ammunition was too precious to be wasted. He could wear the Moose down in two days, surely ; then at twenty or thirty yards his gun would do the rest. In the afternoon he tightened the loin-belt one hole — his stomach was getting empty; but that did not matter — he could travel better. If the fast lasted for three days it was of no moment; for when the Moose was skin and brought to the Shack by dog-train, the pot would boil night and day, and he would feast as long as he had fasted. The thought of the fat, butter-like nose of this misshapen Animal brought moisture to the nificent talizing g-range Ic King I which led the ;s!" he [edicine »> 3se. e Bull's walked, St as it ois, like ng shot wasted. days, his gun belt one but that If the loment; It to the ight and 1 fasted. of this to the THE RUN OF THE WOLVES 169 parched lips of the long-striding Half-breed — that delicacy would soon be his. He travelled faster at the thought of it ; also he must push his quarry to tire him, so the Moose would lie down and rest all night. The dusk was beginning to settle down as Mooswa struck straight for Pelican Portage, though it was only four o'clock in the afternoon. Would Blue Wolf be there to turn back the pursuer ? If by any chance his comrade missed, what a weary struggle he would have next day with the blood-thirsty Breed ever on his trail. As Mooswa neared the Portage, a low, whimper- ing note caught his ear. Then another answered close by ; and another, and another joined in, until the woods rang with a fierce chorus — it was the Wolf-pack's Call of the Killing : — " Wh-i-m-m-p ! Wh-i-i-m-m-p ! buh-h ! bu-h-h ! buh-h-h ! O-o-o-o-h-h ! O-o-o-o-h-h ! Bl-o-o-d ! Bl-o-o-d ! ! Bl-o-o-o-o-d ! ! ! " That was the Wolf-cry, sounding like silvery music in the ears of the tired Moose. " Hungry, every one of them ! " he mut- tered. "If Francois stumbles, or sleeps, or for- gets the Man-look for a minute, Rof 's Pack will slay him." Then he coughed asthmatically, and Blue Wolf bounded into the open, shaking his shaggy coat. lyo MOOSWA i i im " Safe passage, Brothers, for Mooswa," he growled, with authority ; " also no kilHng for the Hunt-man, for the hunt is of our doing." Fran9ois heard the Wolf-call too, and a chill struck his heart. Night was coming on, he was alone in the woods, and in front of him a Pack of hungry Wolves. Turning, he glided swiftly over the back-trail. "The Kill-Call, Brothers," cried Rof, his sharp eyes seeing this movement of the fleeing Breed. Once again the death-bells of the for- est, the Blood Song of Blue Wolf, rang out : «W-a-h-h-h! W-a-h-h-h! Gur-h-h-h ! Yap! yap ! ! yap ! ! ! " which is the snarl-fastening of teeth in flesh, the gurring choke of blood in the throat, and the satisfied note of victory. The Hunter became the hunted, and into his throat crept the wild, unreasoning terror that Mooswa and every other living animal had known because of his desire for their lives. What would avail a rifle in the night against Blue Wolf's hungry Brethren ? True, he could climb a tree — but only to freeze ; the starlit sky would send down a steel-pointed frost that would soon bring on a death-sleep, and tumble him to the yellow fangs of the gray watchers. Mile on mile the Half-breed fled, nursing his strength with a woodman's instinct. How use- 1 1 »» ra.y he for the a chill , he was a Pack swiftly lof, his fleeing the for- tig out : Yap! ning of I in the into his -or that i known It would Wolfs b a tree uld send Dn bring i yellow -sing his [ow use- THE RUN OF THE WOLVES 171 less, too, seemed the flight ; those swift-rushing, merciless Wolves would overtake him as soon as the shadows had deepened into night. He had his Buffalo knife, and when they pressed too close, could build a fire ; that might save him — it was a bare possibility. With the thirst for Mooswa's olood upon him, his eager straining after the fleeing animal had been exhilaration ; desire had nourished his stomach, and anticipated victory kept his throat moist: now the Death-fear turned the night-wind to a hot fire-blast ; his lungs pumped and ham- mered for a cooling lotion ; his heart pounded at the bone-ribs with a warning note for rest. The thews that had snapped with strong elasticity in the morning, now tugged and pulled with the ache of depression; going, he had chosen his path over the white carpet, coolly measuring the lie of each twig, and brush, and stump ; now he trav- elled as one in a thicket. Small skeleton Spruce- shoots, stripped of their bark by hungry Wapoos, and dried till every twig was like a lance, reached out and caught at his snow-shoes ; drooping Spruce-boughs, low swinging with their weight of snow, caused him to double under or circle in his race against Blue Wolf's Pack. All nature, animate and inanimate, was fighting for his life — eager for his blood. Even a sharp 1J2 MOOSWA ■•C|||l»^ c half-dead limb, sticking out from a Tamarack, cut him in the face, and sucked a few drops of the hot fluid. Startled into ejaculation, Francois panted huskily: "Holy Mudder, sabe me dis time. I give to de good Pere Lacombe de big ofl^erin' for de Mission." And all the time swinging along with far-reaching strides. Memory-pictures of animals that had stood helplessly at bay before his merciless gun flashed through his mind. Once a Moose-mother had fronted him to defend her two calves — the big almond eyes of the heroir beast had pleaded for their lives. He had not understood it then ; now, some way or another, it came back to him — they glared from the forest like avenging spirit eyes, as he toiled to leave that Wolf-call behind. The Shack was still many miles away, for he had trave-led far in the fulness of his seasoned strength in the Hunt-race of the daytime. " I got me one c'ance," he muttered hoarsely. " S'pose I get too weak make fire, I dead, soor." A big Birch, in its heavy frieze-coat of white cloth, seemed to whisper, " Just one chance I " Eagerly Francois tore its resin-oiled blanket from the tree, took a match from his firebag, snapped the sulphur end with his thumb-nail, for his clothes were saturated with fear-damp perspi- ration, and lighted the quick-blazing Birch. A marack, rops of •'raiKjois me dis ; de big le time 1 stood flashed her had the big ided for t then ; ) him — ig spirit jehind. , for he jeasoned loarsely. i, soor." te cloth, blanket firebag, -nail, for 3 perspi- irch. A THE RUN OF THE WOLVES 173 clump of dead Red Willows furnished eager timber. How his sinewy arms wrenched them from their rotted roots. High he piled the de- fence beacon ; the blaze shot up, and red-tinted the ghost forns of the silent trees. Gray shadows circled the outer rim of blazing light — the Wolves were forming a living stock- ade about him. Blue Wolf placed the sentinels strategically. " Not too close, silly pups," he called warningly to two yearling grandsons ; " the Firestick will scorch your sprouting mus- taches if you poke your noses within reach. Remember, Comrades," he said to the older Wolves, "there is no Kill — only the Blood-fear for this Man." The sparks fluttered waveringly skyward, like fire-flies at play; the Willows snapped and crackled like ice on a river when the water is falling. When the light blazed high the Wolves slunk back ; when there was only a huge red glow of embers, they closed in again. All night Fran9ois toiled, never letting the rifle from his grasp. With one hand and his strong moccasined feet he crushed the dry, brittle Red Willows, and threw them on his life-guarding fire. No sleeping; a short-paced beat round and round the safety-light, and almost incessantly on his trembling lips a crude, plead- 174 MOOSWA V'l '<4j I '•^^w., ing prayer : " Holy Mudder, dis time sabe Fran- 9ois. 1 give de offerin' plenty — also what de good Pries' say, I hear me." *' Look at his face, Brothers," growled Blue Wolf. " Now thou hast seen the Man-fear. Is it not more terrible than the Death-look in the eyes of Buck .? It is not well to kill Man, is it, Comrades ? " " No ! " they admitted surlily — for they were hungry. " Come," said Rof, when the bitter cold dawn hour — colder than any of the others — warned them that the light was on its way, " trot we back on Mooswa's trail, and if the Man continues to his Burrow, then go we our path." When the light had grown stronger Fran9ois peered about carefully. " Blessed Virgin ! Mos' Holy ob Mudders ! I t'ink me dat prayer you hear ; dat wolves is gone soor. To de good Pere Lacombe I give me big presen' for de Mission. I keep me dat promise soor," crossing himself fervently, in confirmation. Blue Wolf was saying to the Pack as he trotted along at their head : *' Only for the promise to Mooswa the Hunt-man would have made a good meal for us, Brothers." " What are promises in the Hunger Year — e Fran- vhat de d Blue sar. Is <: in the an, is it, ley were :er cold •thers — its way, 1 if the we our Fran9ois ders ! I is gone I me big promise rmation. e trotted )mise to g a good Year — HOLY MUDDEK, DIS TIME SABE FRA^C01S." Si THE RUN OF THE WOLVES 175 the Seventh Year of the Wapoos ? " cried a gaunt companion, stopping. " Let us go back, and — " Blue Wolf turned in a passion. *' Eirst we fight!" he yelped, baring his huge fangs. "I, who am leader here, and also am in the Council of the Boundaries, say the Man goes unharmed." The other dropped his bushy tail, moved side- ways a few paces, and sat down i eekly ; swaying his head furtively from side to side, avoiding the battle-look in Blue Wolf's eyes. Rof turned dis- dainfully, and trotted off on their back track ; the Pack followed. " I 've saved this Man for Mooswa's sake," thought Blue Wolf. " De prayer turn* back dat wolves soor," mut- tered the Breed, as hurrying on he reiterated his generous offering to the Mission. I: was noon when he swung into the little log Shack, with something in his face which was not there before — something new that had come in one night. He did not want to talk about it ; even to cease thinking of it were better ; besides, what was the use of frightening The Boy. " I no get dat Moose," he said curtly, as he pulled his wet moccasins off, cut some tobacco, mixed it with the Red Willow kinnikinick, filled his wooden pipe, and lying down in front of the fire-place smoked moodily. 176 MOOSWA The Boy busied himself getting a meal ready for his companion. " By Goss ! he big Moose," continued the Half- breed, after a time, when he had emptied the bowl of his pipe ; " but I lose de trail las' night. S'pose he goin* too far t'ro de muskeg, I can' find him." " Never mind, Fran9ois," cried The Boy, " you 'II get another chance at him before Win- ter 's over. Come and eat, you must be hungry — the hot tea will make you forget." " I s'pose somebody put bad medicine for me," grumbled the Breed, in a depressed mono- tone ; " mus' be de ole Nokum at Lac La Bic'e. She *s mad for me, but I don' do not'ing bad for her." But still nothing of his terrible ex- perience with the Wolves. Why speak of it ? Perhaps next day they would be fifty miles away. After Fran9ois had rested he said : " I mus' go see dat Trap for de Silver Fox ; I t'ink me I catc' him dis time." " Don't go out again to-day - — you *re too tired," pleaded Rod. " Mus' go," replied the other. " S'pose dat Fox in de Trap, dat Debil Carcajou, or de Lynk, or some odder Animal, eat him ; dere 's no Rabbit now, an' dey 's all starve." eal ready the Half- 3tied the as' night, ig, I can' he Boy, )re Win- e hungry icine for d mono- La Bic'e. t'ing bad -rible ex- ak of it ? fty miles [ mils' go Tie I catc' u *re too 'pose dat de Lynk, lo Rabbit THE RUN OK THE WOLVES 177 " I '11 go with you, then," exclaimed The Boy. When they came to the Trap, Fran9ois stared in amazement. It had been sprung. The Breed examined the snow carefully. "Jus* what I t'ink me. He's been catc', an' dat Lynk eat him all up. Only one foot lef ' ; see!" and he held up the amputated black paw. " Here 's de big trail of de Lynk, too." Dejectedly they went back to the Shack. " Now 1 know it 's de bad medicine," asserted Fran9ois. " De Debil come in dat Moose for lead me away, an' I lose de Silver Fox what wort' two, t'ree hun'red dollar." " The Lynx has had rather an extravagant blow- out," remarked The Boy. " One could go to England, dine there in great shape, and back again for the price of his dinner." Fran9ois did not answer. He was certainly running in bad luck. " I t'ink me we pull out from dis S'ack," he said ; "give up de Marten Road, an' move down to my ol' place at Hay Riber. Before, I keel plenty fur dere ; here I get me not'ing, only plenty bad medicine." "All right, Frangois, I 'm willing — anything you say," answered Rod. " I got my ol' S'ack down dere," continued 12 ■Ill; c 178 MOOSWA the Trapper, " an' we go for dat place. To- morrow we pick up de Trap. De Black Fox he 's die, so I s'pose me we don't want stop here. I got give little Pere Lacombe some presen' for de Mission, an' mus' keel de fur for dat, soor." e. To- ick Fox op here, isen' for soor." CARCAJOU'S REVENGE IN the morning Francois and Roderick started with their dog-train to pick up Traps from the Marten Road. " S'pose it 's better w'at I go to de Ean'ing firs'," Francois remarked reflectively, as they plodded along behind the dogs and carry-all ; " we don' got plenty Trap now, an' I can' find dat poison bottle. Yesterday I look, but he 's gone soor; I put him on de s'elf, but he's not dere now. P'r'aps dat Whisky-Jack steal him, for he take de spoon some time ; but anyway can' trap proper wit' out de poison." After they had left the Shack Whisky-Jack cleaned up the scraps that had been thrown out from breakfast, and having his crop full, started through the woods looking for a chance of gos- sip. He observed Carcajou scuttling awkwardly along through the deep snow ; this was the first time Jack had seen him since he had been lib- erated from the Trap. " Hello ! " cried the Jay ; " able to be about agam ? i8o MOOSWA ■'-.■■« C I" Si " Who 's at the Man-shack ? " queried the other in answer, entirely ignoring Jack's personal gibe. " Nobody," piped the Bird ; " left me in charge and went out on their Marten Road." " And the Dogs, O One-in-charge ? " asked Carcajou. " Gone too ; are you out for a scrap with the Huskies, my bad-tempered Friend.''" " Were you sweet-tempered, gentle Bird, when you burnt your toes, and scorched your gizzard with the Man-Cub's fat pork? " " Well, sore toes are enough to ruffle one, aren't they. Hunchback, — Crop-eared Stealer of Things ? " " And your Men Friends took the leg off our King," continued Wolverine, ignoring the other's taunc. " The Red Widow is close to an attack of rabies with all this worry." " You 're full of stale news," retorted Jay. " If they are all away," declared Carcajou, " I 'm going to have another peep at that chim- ney. Also there are three debts to be paid." The Bird chuckled. " Generous Little Lieu- tenant ! leave my account out. But if you must go to the Shack, I '11 keep watch and give you a call if I see them coming back." " Fat-eating ! but I hate climbing," grunted ied the personal n charge asked with the rd, when * gizzard ffle one, [ Stealer y off our e other's in attack Jay. I^arcajou, lat chim- aid." de Lieu- ^ou must give you grunted CARCAJOU'S REVENGE i8i Wolverine, as he struggled up the over-reaching log-ends at one corner of the Shack. " If they had only left the door open — I never close the door of my Burrow." He went down the chimney as though it were a ladder, his back braced against one side, and his strong curved claws holding in the dry mud of the other. Inside of the Shack he worked with exceeding diligence, deporting himself much after the manner of soldiers looting a King's palace. Three bags of flour stood in a corner. " That 's queer stuff," muttered Carcajou, ripping open the canvas. " Dry Eating ! " and he scattered it with malignant fury. He pattered up and down in it, rolled in it, and generally had a pleas- ing, dusty time. The white stuff got in his throat and made him cough ; the tickling de- veloped a proper inebriate's thirst. Two zinc pails, full of water, sat on a wooden bench ; the choking Animal perched on the edge of one, and tried to drink ; but as he stooped over the spread- ing top his centre of gravity was disarranged somewhat, and his venture ended disastrously. The floor was clay, smooth-ironed by Francois's feet, so it held the fluid like a pot, and, inci- dentally, much batter of Wolverine's mixing was originated. He was still thirsty, and tried the l82 MOOSWA 'i»'f If"' Other pail. That even did not last so long, for, as he was pulling himself up, somewhat out of temper, it tumbled heedlessly from the bench, and converted the Shack-floor into a white, al- kaline-looking lake. Then he puddled around in batter which clung to his short legs, and stuck to his toe-hairs, try- ing to get a drink from little pools, but only suc- ceeding in getting something like liquid pancakes. The stuff worked into his coat, and completely put to flight any feelings of restraint he might have had. A cyclone and an earthquake work- ing arm in arm could not have more efl^ectually disarranged the internal economy of Francois's residence. Like most Half-breeds Fran9ois played a con- certina ; and like most of his fellow tribesmen he hung up his things on the bed or floor. It was under the bed that Carcajou discovered the instrument, and when he had finished with it, it might have been put in paper boxes and sold as matches. Two feather pillows provided him with enthusiastic occupation for a time ; mixed with batter the feathers entirely lost their elas- ticity, and refused to float about in the air. This puzzled the marauder — he could n't understand it; for you see he knew nothing of specific gravity. CARCAJOU'S REVENGE »«3 ong, for, out of ; bench, 'hite, al- ch clung airs, try- )nly suc- ancakes. npletely e might e work- Fectually ran^ois's d a con- ibesmen 3or. It ;red the ith it, it nd sold ied him mixed ^ir elas- This ierstand specific A jug of molasses was more rational — but it added to his thirst, also turned the white coat he had evolved from the flour-mixture into a dismal cofi^ee colour. Great Animals! but he was having a time. Whisky-Jack, from his post outside, kept en- couraging him from time to time, as the din of things moving rapidly in the interior came to his delighted ears. " Bravo ! What 's broken ? " he screamed, when the pail met with itsi^downfall. The blankets dried the floor a bit after in- dustrious little Wolverine had hauled them up and down a few times. This evidently gave him satisfaction, for he worked most energetically. Two sides of fat bacon reclined sleepily under the bed — a mouthful filled Carcajou with joy. Great Eating 1 but if he had that much food in his Burrow he need n't do a stroke of work all Winter. He tried to carry a side up the chim- ney ; and got started with it all right, for an iron bar had been built across the mud fire-place to hang pots on, which gave him a foothold ; a little higher up he slipped, and clattered down, bacon and all, burning his feet in coals that lin- gered from the morning's fire. The sight of dis- turbed cinders floating from the chimney-top intimated to Jack what had happened, and he whistled with joy. 1 84 MOOSWA Si This was an excuse for another round of demolition. " If I could only open the Shack," thought Wolverine. Though a dweller in caves, yet he knew which was the door, for over its ill- fitting threshold came a strong glint of light ; also up and down its length ran two cracks through which came more light. Most certainly it was the door, he decided, sniffing at the fresh air that whistled through the openings. Close by stood a box on end, holding a wash- bowl. Carcajou climbed up on this, and ex- amined a little iron thing that seemed to bear on the subject. It was somewhat like a Trap ; if he could spring this thing, perhaps it had something to do with opening the door. As he fumbled at it, suddenly the wind blew a big square hole in the Shack's side ; he had lifted the latch, only he did n't know it was a latch, of course — it was like a Trap, something to be sprung, that was all. "By all the Loons ! " screamed Jay ; " now you 're all right — what 's inside ? You /lave had your revenge, Carey, old Boy," he added, as he caught sight of his coffee-coloured friend. Carcajou paid no attention to his volatile Com- rade, for he was busily engaged in gutting the place. "My fingers are still sore from the Man's Trap," he muttered, " but I think I can cache this Fat-eating." und of Shack," n caves, r its ill- f light ; cracks :ertainly le fresh a wash- md ex- bear on p; if he Tiething ibled at hole in only he - it was was all. now have added, lend, e Com- ng the : Man's n cache (( u CARCAJOU'S REVENGE 185 " Fran9ois will trail you," declared the Bird. " He may do that," admitted Wolverine, " but he'll not find the Eating. Has he a scent-nose of the Woods to see it through many covers of snow .'' " " This is just lovely ! " piped Jack, hopping about in the dough ; " it's like the mud at White Clay River. Butter ! " he screamed in delight, perching on the edge of a wooden firkin, off which his friend had knocked the top. " I just love this stuff — it puts a gloss on one's feathers. We are having our revenge, are n't we, old Plaster-coat ? " " I am — Whe-e-e-cugh ! " cried the fat little desperado, coughing much flour from his clogged lungs. " I say. Hunchback, would n't you like to be a Man, and have all these things to eat, without the eternal worry of stealing them ? I should — I 'd be eating butter all the time ; " and Jack drove his beak with great rapidity into the firkin's yellow contents. " I '11 return in a minute after I 've cached this," said Wolverine, as he backed out of the Shack dragging a big piece of bacon. "Oh, my strong Friend of much Brain, please cache this wooden-thing of Yellow-eating for me," pleaded Jay, when Carcajou reappeared. i86 MOOSWA If... '*< I" iflp'j " By the Year of Famine ! but i"- *s delicious — it must be great for a Singer's throat. Did 1 ever tell you how I was sold once at Wapiscaw over a bit of butter ? " "No, my guzzling Friend — nor would you now, if you did n't want me to do a favour," grunted the industrious toiler, rolling Whisky- Jack's tub of butter off into the Forest. " Well, it was this way — I saw a cake of this Yellow-eating in the Factor's Shack ; you know the square holes they leave for light — it was in one of those. I swooped down and tried to drive my beak into it — " " Like the hot pork," interrupted the tub- roller. " Never mind, Carey, old Boy, — let by-gones be by-gones — I dove my beak fair at the Yel- low Thing, and, would you believe it, nearly broke my neck against something hard which was between me and the Eating — I couldn't see it, though." " Ha, ha, he-e-e-e-! " laughed Carcajou. " You bone-headed Bird — that was glass — Man's glass — they put it in those holes to keep the frost, Whisky-Jacks, and other evil things out — I know what it is. There ! now your Yellow-eating is safe — Fran9ois won't find it," he added, pushing snow against the log under which lay the hidden CARCAJOJ'S REVENGE 187 iOUS It d 1 ever w over a mid you favour," Whisky- cake of ick ; you light— it and tried the tub- by-gones the Yel- it, nearly which was n't see it, lu. "You — Man's the frost, — I know ^-eating is i, pushing le hidden firkin. " I wish you would fly and bring Rof and some of the other Fellows — tell them I 'm giving a Feast-dance ; make them hurry up, for the Men will be back before long." " Oh, Carey, they '11 guzzle my butter," re- plied the Bird. "They won't find it. Tell the Red Widow to come and get a piece of this Fat-eating for the King. Fly like the wind. 1 '11 have everything out of the Shack, and you must tell Blue Wolf I and the others to come and help me carry it to the Meeting Place." " Look here, Giver-of-the- Feast," said Jack, struck by a new thought, " what about The Boy } If you take all the food, he'll starve before they get to the Landing for more. We must remem- ber our promise to Mooswa." "That's so," replied Carcajou; "I'll leave enough Fish and Dry-eating to carry them out of the Boundaries; strange, though, that you should have thought of The Boy — hast forgotten the hot pork ? " " Neither have I forgotten my word to Mooswa," said the Bird, as he flew swiftly to sum- mon the others to the feast. Wolverine rounded up his day's work by caching the granite-ware dishes and rolling an iron pot down the bank, and into the water hole. i88 MOOSWA .«,,... c I9i| ^^.^ At Carcajou s pot-latch there was rare hilarity. " I 'm proud of you, old Cunning," Blue Wolf said, patronizingly, as he sat with distended stomach licking the fat from his wire-haired mustache. " If anything should happen Black King, which Wicsahkcchack forbid ! we c^uld not do better than make you our next Ruler. I have made a few good steals in my time, but never anything like this. To be able to give a Tea Dance of this sort ! Ghur-r-r ! " he gurgled in satisfaction, and rubbed his head and neck along Wolverine's plump side affectionately, as a dog caresses a man's leg. " Not only wise, but so generous ! " Lynx said, oilily, for he too had eaten of the salted fat. " To remember one's Friends in the Day of Plenty is truly noble ; I shall never forget this kind invitation." "Cheek!" muttered Jack, for he had not in- vited Pisew at all — had purposely left him out of the general call ; but Lynx, always craftily suspicious, seeing a movement on among some of the Animals, had followed up and discovered the barbecue. " I have n't eaten a meal like this since the year before the Big Fire," murmured the Red Widow, reminlscently. " Easy Catching ! but the Birds were thick that year — and fat and lazy. ■I CARCAJOU'S REVENGE 189 re hilarity. "g' Blu( 1 distended wire-haired )pen Black 2 c^uld not Ruler. I ' time, but 1 to give a he gurgled neck along , as a dog IS ! " Lynx 2 salted fat. le Day of forget this lad not in- ft him out lys craftily nong some discovered 5 since the d the Red ng ! but the t and lazy. *Crouk, Crouk ! ' they'd say, when one walked politely with gentle tread amongst them, stretch their heads up, and patter a little out of the way with their short, feathered legs — actually not at- tempt to fly. But I never expect to see u year like that again," she sighed, regretfully. " Excuse me for mentioning it; but this fulness in my stomach has suggested the general condition of that time. The King will be delighted to have this nice, fat back-piece that I 'm taking home to him. He did well to make you Lieutenant, Carcajou — you are a brainy Boundary Dweller. By my family crest, the White Spot at the end of my Tail, I '11 never forget this kindness." " Hear, hear ! " cried Whisky-Jack ; " you make the snub-nosed Robber blush. I had no idea how popular you were. Crop-ear. I 've a notion to bring out the — Goodness ! " he mut- tered to himself; " I nearly gave it away. Friendship is friendship, but butter is butter, ar:d harder to get." ^' Bring out what? " asked Pisew. '* The Castoreum, Prying-Cat," glibly an- swered Jay, cocking his head down and sticking out his tongue at Lynx. " I remember the year you speak of. Good Widow ; I also was fat that Fall," said Marten. " So was I," declared Wuchak, the Fisher — 190 MOOSWA I" " never had to climb a tree to get my dinner for months." " It was the Fifth Year of the Wapoos," enjoined Pisevv, *' and we Animal Eaters were all fat. Why, my paw was the size of Panther's — I took great pride in the trail I left." "Extraordinary taste!" remarked Jack, "to feel proud of your big feet. Now, if in the Year of Plenty you had run a little to brain — " •^ Never mind. Jack," interrupted Blue Wolf, good-humouredly, for the feast-fulness made him well disposed toward all creatures, " we can't all be as smart as you are, you know. Tired jaws ! I believe I don't care for any dessert," he con- tinued, sniffing superciliously at a rib -bone Wol- verine pushed toward him. But he picked it up, broke it in two with one clamp of his vise- like teeth, and swallowed the knuckle end. " Even if one is full," he remarked, giving a little gulp as it hitched in his throat, "a morsel of bone or something at the finish of the meal seems to top it off, and aids digestion." " I take mine just as it comes, bone and meat together," declared Otter. " So do I," affirmed Mink, for they had been given a great ration of Fish as their share of the banquet. Carcajou had purloined it from the Shack with his other loot. •; I CARCAJOU'S REVENGE 191 llnner for Wapoos," ters were Panther's » Jack, "to 1 the Year »» Jlue Wolf, made him e can't all ired jaws ! ," he con- bone Wol- picked it >f his vise- ickle end. giving a " a morsel the meal »» n. ; and meat had been lare of the from the " I must say that I like fresh Fish better than dried," declared Nekik to his companion, Mink ; " but with the streams almost frozen to the bottom, and the stupid Tail-swimmers buried in the mud, one cannot be too thankful for any- thing in the way of Iviting. The wealthiest one in all the Boundaries is old Umisk, the Beaver; he's got miles on miles of food that can't run away from him." "Oh, I never could stand a vegetarian diet," grunted Carcajou. " I do eat Berries and Roots when Meat is scarce, but, taking it all round, you '11 find that the brainiest, cleverest, most active Fellows in the Boundaries are the Flesh- eaters. Look at old Mooswa — good enough Chap ; big and strong, too, in a way, but Safe- trails! what can he do? Nothing but trot, trot, trot, and try to rustle that big head-gear of his through the bush. Did you ever see a Flesh- eater have to run around with a small horn-forest on his head in the way of protection ? Never ! they don't run to horns — they run to brains." "And teeth," added Blue Wolf, curling his upper lip and baring ivory fangs the length of a man's finger to the admiring gaze of his friends. " I eat Meat," chirped Whisky-Jack, " and I don't run to horns or teeth either, so it must all 192 MOOSWA go to brains, I suppose. Lucky for you fellows, too." " No, Wise Bird," began Lynx," you don't need horns or teeth to defend yourself; your tongue, like Sikak's tail, keeps everybody away." " Let 's go home," grunted Wolverine ; " I 'm so full I can hardly walk." " I Ml give you a ride on my back, generous Benefactor," smirked Fisew. " He thinks you have cached some of the bacon," sneered Jack ; " he'll be full of gratitude while the pork lasts." Soon the Boundaries were silent, for full- stomached animals sleep well. While there was feasting in the Boundaries there was much desolation in the Shack. Fran9ois and The Boy had returned late to their wrecked home, and the Trapper's speech when he saw the debris, was something of wondrous entangle- ment, for an excited French Hi.lf-breed has a vocabulary all his own, and our i/iend was ex- cited in the superlative degree. He knew it was Carcajou who had robbed him, for there were plaster casts of his brazen foot all over the mortar- like floor. " We can't go to de new trap-place dis way," the Half-breed said ; " we don' got no grub, de dis' he 's gone, an' de poison, an' it jes' look like I fellows, on't need r tongue, e ; " I 'm generous e of the gratitude for fuU- loundaries Francois r wrecked n he saw entangle- ;ed has a d was ex- lew it was lere were le mortar- CARCAJOU'S REVENGE lyj de Debil he 's put bad Medicine on us himself. You stay here one week alone if I go me de Lan'ing ? " he asked Rod. " I mus' get de flour, more bacon, some trap, an* de strykeen. 1 take me de dog-train for bring de grub stake. You jes' stop on de S'ack, an' when 1 come back we go down to Hay Riber." It was late enough when Fran9ois fell into a fitful troubled slumber, for the occasion demanded much recrimination against animals in general, and Carcajou in particular. Whatever chance Fran9ois might have had of discovering Carcajou's cache next morning, was that night utterly destroyed by a fall of snow. 13 dis way," grub, de look like PISEW STEALS THE BOY'S FOOD t^'' m •'■'t-^i. IN the morning, Fran9ois, taking his loaded snake-whip, hammered the Huskie dogs into a submission sufficient to permit of their being harnessed ; put a meagre ration for four days in the carryall, tied on his snow-shoes, and said to Roderick : " I go for pull out now. Boy ; I s'pose t'ree day I make me de Lan'ing. I stop dere one day, hit de back-trail den, an' come de S'ack here wid de grub stake in fo'r more. You got grub lef for dat long, soor. Bes' not go far from de S'ack ; de Blue Wolf he migh' come roun' dis side wit' hes Pack — bes' stick close de S'ack." Then he slipped down the long-terraced river- bank with his train, and started up the avenue of its broad bosom toward The Landing. With rather a dreary feeling of lonesomeness Rod watched him disappear around the first long. Spruce-covered point, then went back into the Shack and whistled to keep the mercury of his spirits from congealing. FOOD [lis loaded skie dogs it of their n for four -shoes, and now, Boy ; .an'ing. I 1, an' come fo'r more. Bes' not he migh' bes' stick raced river- avenue ot esomeness the first back into nercury of "I GO FOR PULL OUT ^0W, BOY.' ( 1'*^%*, ( t 2 C e F n I n 1 PISEW STEALS THE BOY'S FOOD 195 Other eyes had seen Fran9ois wind around the first turn that shut him out from Rod's vision : Blue Wolf's e)-.s ; the little bead eyes of Car- cajou ; the shifting, treacherous, cat-like orbs of Pisevv, the Lynx. Mooswa's big almond eyes blinked solemnly from a thicket of willow that lined the river bank. "I wonder if he'll bring the same Huskies back in his train ? " said Blue Wolf, as they returned through the Boundaries together. " I should think he would," ventured Mooswa. " Don't know about that," continued Rof, " these Breeds have no affection for their Dogs, nor anything else but their own Man-Cubs. They do like them, I must say. Why, I 've heard one of them, a big, rough Man he was too, cry every night for Moons because of the death of his Cub. He was as savage as any Wolf, though, for he killed another Man in a fight just at that time, and thought i»o more of it than I did over killing a Sheep at Lac La Biche. But every night he howled, and moaned, and whim- pered for his lost Cub, just as a Mother Wolf might when her young are trapped, or stricken with the breath of the Firestick, or killed in a Pack-riot. Yes, they 're queer, the Men," he mused in a low growl. " When Francois goes to The Landing, if one of the other Breeds stumps 196 MOOSWA V: I"* him for a trade, he'll swap off the whole rain. " I 'm sure he 'II stick to Marsh Maid," de- clared Pisew ; " she '11 be back again all right, Brother Rof." Blue Wolf looked sheepishly at Mooswa. What a devil this Lynx was to read his thoughts like that. " I hope nothing will happen Francois, for the sake of The Boy," wheezed Mooswa. " These Breed Men also lurget everything when the fire- water, that makes them like mad Bulls, is in camp ; it is always at The Landing too," he mut- tered, despondently. " When I was a Calf at the Fort, I heard the old Factor say — I think I 've told you about that time — " " Yes, yes," interrupted Carcajou impatiently, for he was a quick-thinking little Animal, " what did the Factor say about these Breed Men ? " *' I 'm coming to that," asserted Mooswa, ponderously. " It was at the time I was a Calf in the Fort Corral, and the Factor, who was my Boy's father, said that a Breed would sell his Soul for a gallon of this Devil-water that puts madness in their blood." " What 's a Soul ? " asked Carcajou. " I wonder if I smashed Fran9ois's in the Shack." " I don't know," answered Mooswa ; something Man has, but which we have n't "it s -it's I'M the whole vlaid," de- all right, eepishly at as to read dIs, for the . " These ;n the fire- Julls, is in D," he mut- Calf at the think I 've mpatiently, mal, " what Men ? " Mooswa, was a Calf ho was my aid sell his r that puts cc ajou. " I he Shack." swa ; " it 's -en't — it's PISEW STEALS THE BCi'S FOOD 197 the thing that looks out of their eyes and makes us all turn our heads away. Even Rof there, who stands up against Cougar without flinching, drops his head when Man looks at him — is that not so, brave Comrade ? " " It is," answered Blue Wolf, dragging his tail a little. " And a Breed will trade this thing for fire- water?" queried Carcajou. " So the Factor said," answered the Moose. " I would n't if I had it," declared Wolverine — " not even for the Fat-eating, and that is good for one. Was it that which made Wiesahkechack King of Men and Animals, and everything, when he was here — this Soul thing ? " he asked pantingly, for the easy stride of his long-legged comrades made his lungs pump fast. " I suppose so," replied Mooswa ; " but if Francois gets fire-water at The Landing, I 'm afraid it will be ill with The Boy. But, Comrades, you all remember your oath to me and the King, that for the Man-Cub shall be our help, and our care, and not the blood-feud that is against Man, because of his killing." I remember," cried Blue Wolf. And I," answered Pisew. " I never forget anything," declared Carcajou. " When my paws ached because of Fran9ois, I (( (C 198 MOOSWA c 1*1 ' 'Jfl l-'t^a, '*>i% laid up hate against him ; and when Black King's leg was lost because of this evil Man's Trap the hate grew stronger; but by the l^ais v>n my Flanks do I bear not hate against The Boy, and bear the promise given to you, Mooswa." " I '11 carry you for a short trail, Lieutenant," said Blue Wolf, stopping beside Wolverine ; " the Fat-eating has put new strength In my bones — jump up on my back. Your brains are nimbler than ours, but your short legs can't get over the deep snow so fast." "Been to see him off, eh?" piped Whisky- Jack cheerily, fluttering up. " 1 heard him tell The Boy they 'd go down to Hay River when he comes back from The Landing ; but how did you Fellows know he was leav^ing this morning? " " Rof got It from his Huskie sweetheart," said Lynx. " The Dogs were tied up last night, and the carryall outfit was lying ready at the door — that meant hitting the trail early this morning." " Has the Man-Cub got Eating enough to last against Fran9ois's return, Jack ? " asked Bull Moose, solicitously. " A dozen White Fish, a little flour, and some tea." " That will keep the stomach-ache awa}'-, if the Breed comes back quickly," affirmed Mooswa. Pisew cocked his Hair-plumed ears hungrily at PISEW STEALS THE BOY'S FOOD i 99 the mention of Fish ; and the thief-thought that was always in his heart kept whimpering, " Fish ! Ficih; Fish that is in the Shack— The Boy's Fish ! " The woods were so bare, too. It was the Seventh Year, the Famine Year, and a chance of eating came only at long intervals. Carcajou had robbed the Shack, and it had been accounted clever — all the Flesh Eaters had feasted merrily off the loot. Why should he not also steal the twelve Fish ? But he was not like Carcajou, a feast-giver, an Animal to make himself popular by great gifts ; if he stole the Fish he would cache them, and the eating would round up his lean stomach. " Carrier of Messages," began Mooswa, ad- dressing Whisky-Jack, " thy part of the Oath Promise is watching over The Boy. If aught goes wrong, bring thou the news." "Very well, old Sober-sides," answered Jay, saucily. " I '11 come and sit on your horns that have so many beautifu. roosts for me, and whisper each day into your ear, that is big enough to hold my nest, all that happens at the Shack ! " "He'll keep you busy. Mooswa," smirked Pisew. " Mocswa has time to spare for his Friends," answered Jack, " because he eats an honest dinner. You, Bob-tail, are so busy with your thieving and 200 MOOSWA Si C lying-in-wait for somebody's children to eat, that you have no time for honest talk." " Here 's your path, Carcajou," cried Blue Wolf, stopping while Wolvenne jumped down. " I 'm going on to see how Black King is." " Last night a strong wind laid many acres of Birch Trees on their backs, two hours' swift trot from here — I'm going there for my dinner," de- clared the Moose; "it will be fine feeding. It is a pity you Chaps are n't vegetarians ; the Blood Fever must be awful — killing, killing, killing, — it's dreadful!" he wheezed, turning to the left and striding away through the forest. " I '11 go and see Black King too," exclaimed Whisky-Jack. " I 'm off to the muskeg to hunt Mice," an- nounced Pisew ; " the Famine Year brings one pretty low." "Your Father must have been born in a Famine Year," suggested Jack, " and you inherited the depravity from him." Lynx snarled disagreeably, and as he slunk cat- like through the woods, spat in contemptuous anger. "Jack has gone to the King's Burrow," he muttered ; " I '11 have a look at The Boy's Shack. I wonder where he keeps that Fish, and if he leaves the d or open at all. Perhaps when he goes down to the rivei for water — ah, yes. Cubs PISEW STEALS THE BOY'S FOOD 201 eat, that ried Blue 3ed down. »» ; IS. ly acres of swift trot nner," de- eding. It the Blood killing, — to the left exclaimed Vlice," an- )rings one 1 a Famine erited the slunk cat- :emptuous irrow," he ^'s Shack, ind if he when he ^es, Cubs and Kittens are all careless — even the Man-Cub will not be wise, I think. Now, so soon, the pittance of food 1 had from that thief. Carca- jou, has melted in my stomach, and the walls are collapsing again. 1 wonder where the hump- backed Lieutenant cached the rest of his stolen Fat-eating." Thus treacherously planning, Lynx stealthily circled to the Shack, lay down behind a Cotton- wood log fifty feet away, and watched with a rav- enous look in his big round eyes. Presently he saw Rod open the door, look across the waste of snow, stretch his arms over his head wearily, turn back into the Shack, reappear with two metal pails in one hand and an axe in the other, and pass from view over the steep river bank. With a swift, noiseless rush the yellow-gray thief darted into the building. His keen nose pointed out the dried White Fish lying on a box in the corner. Stretching his jaws to their ut- most width, he seized four or five and bounded into the thick bush with them. Two hundred paces from the clearing Pisew dropped his booty behind a fallen tree. " I '11 have time for the others," he snarled, pulling a white covering over the fish with his huge paw. As he stole back again, a sound of ice-chopping came to his ears. "Plenty of time," he muttered. 202 MOOSWA •'*'*H and once more his jaws were laden with The Boy's provision. In his eagerness to take them all, two fish slipped to the floor; Pisew be- came frightened, and bolted with those he had in his mouth. " I can't go back any more," he thought, as he rushed away ; " but 1 've done well, I 've done very well." The Boy returned with the water, took his axe and cut some wood. He did not miss the fish. Pisew carried his stolen goods away and cached them. That night Whisky-Jack, sitting on his perch under the extended end of the roof, heard some- thing that gave him a start. Rod had discovered the loss of his Fish. " My God ! this is serious," the Bird heard him say. " Two fish and a handful of flour for ten days' food — perhaps longer. This is terrible. It 's that Devil of the Woods, Carcajou, who has robbed me, I suppose — he stole the bacon be- fore. If I only could get a chance at him with a rifle, I 'd settle his thieving life." The misery in The Boy's voice touched Whisky-Jack. " Pisew has done this evil thing," he chirped to himself. " If he has, he has broken his oath of the Boy-care." THE PUNISHING OF PISEW e touched IN the morning Whisky-Jack flew early to the home of Black King, and told him of the fish-stealing. •* Yes," affirmed the Red Widow, " it was Pisew. His father before him was a Traitor a?id a Thief; they were always a mean, low lot. And was n't this Man-Cub good and kind to my Babe, Stripes, when that brute of a Huskie Dog attacked him?" " Yes, Good Dame," affirmed the Bird ; " but for this Man-Cub your Pup would have lined the stomach of a Train Dog — now he may live to line the cloak of some Man-woman — that is, if Francois catches him. But what shall be done to this breaker of Boundary Laws and Sneak-thief, Pisew, Your Majesty ? " " Summon Carcajou, Mooswa, Blue Wolf, and others of the Council, my good Messenger," commanded the King. " There is no fear of the trail now, for Fran9ois is gone, and The Boy hunts not." 204 MOOSWA ( In. til When they had gathered, Whisky-Jack again told of what had been done. " It is Pisew, of a certainty," cried Carcajou. " Yes, it is that Traitor," concurred Rof, with a growl. " I could hardly believe any Animal capable of such meanness," sighed Bull Moose ; " we must investigate. If it be true — " " Yes, if it prove true ! " snapped Carcajou. " Uhr-r-r, if this thing be true — !" growled Blue Wolf, and there was a perceptible gleam of white as his lip curled with terrible emphasis. "Go and look!" commanded Black King; " the snow tells no false tales ; the Thief will have written with his feet that which his tongue will lie to conceal." The vigilants proceeded to the scene of Pisew's greedy outrage. " I thought so," said Carcajou, examining the ground minutely. " Here he hid the stuff," cried Rof, from be- hind a fallen tree. " That odour is Dried Fish ; and this — bah ! it 's worse — it *s the foul smell of our Castoreum-loving Friend, Pisew ; " and he cnWed his nose disdainfully in the half-muffled tracks of the detested Cat. *' I can see his big foot-prints plainly," added Mojswa. " There is no question as to who is the thief. Let us go back and summon the THK PUNISHING OF PISFW 205 ack again ircajou. Rof, with il capable 3se ; " we ircajou. growled gleam of hasis. :k King ; "hief will lis toncrue Df Pisew's Carcajou, from be- ied Fish ; bul smell and he If-muffled y^," added o who is imon the Council of the Boundaries, and decide what is to be done with this Breaker of Oaths." When they had returned to the King's burrow, he commanded that Umisk, Nekik, Wapistan, Mink, Skunk, Wapoos, and all others, shouKl be gathered, so that judgment might be passed upon the traitor. "Also summon Pisew," he said to Jay. When the Council members had arrived, Whisky-Jack came back with a report that Lynx could not be found. " Guilt and a full stomach have caused him to travel far ; it is easier to keep out of the way than to answer eyes that u.vc asking questions," declared Blue Wolf, in a thick voice. "Then we shall decide without .lim," cried Black King, angrily. The evidence was put clearly before the Coun- cil by Rof, Carcajou, and Mooswa ; besides, each of the animals swore solemnly by their different tail-marks, which is an oath not to be broken, that they had not done this thing. " Well," said Black Fox, " we arranged before that, in case of a serious breach of the Law, the Council should decide by numbers whether any one must die because of the Law breaking. Is that not so ? " " It is," they all answered. 2o6 MOOSWA c I " Then what of Pisew, who has undoubtedly broken the Oath-promise that was made unto Mooswa ? " " He must die ! " snarled Blue Wolf. " He must cease to be ! " echoed Carcajou. " Yes, it is not right that he live ! " declared Mooswa. And from Bull Moose down to Wapistan, all agreed that Pisew deserved death for his traitorous conduct. " But how ? " asked the King. Nobody answered for a time. Killing, except because of hunger, was a new thing to them no one wanted to have the slaying of Lynx upon his conscience — the role of executioner was undesir- able. " He shall die after the manner of his Father, — by the Snare, and by the means of Man, which is just," announced Carcajou, presently. " But Fran9ois has gone, and the Man-Cub traps not," objected the Red Widow. " He did not trouble to take up the Snares, though. Good Dame," affirmed Wolverine ; " I know of three." "You know of three, and didn't spring them?" queried Jack, incredulously. "There was no Bait— only the vile smell- ing Castoreum," answered Carcajou, disdainfully. " And there was also a chance that Pisew might /