The Portland daily press., 1890-09-03

locanues. A weeg equals about fifty
| cents.
"All right" said McIvor, II will nav
you for your dog if you pay me for my
| fowls"
elbow much?"
Twenty weeg."
The Indian saw that he was caught,
and walked out with muttered "Kish,"
meaning, "Hold on, we shall see." Next
evening he again came to the store, and
said: 'There are bad people about; l
have seen wendigo. You pay me for
my dog" (Wendigo: a spirit, ghost,
giant, something uncanny.)
"Get the wendigo to pay you," said
Mr.. McIvor, laughing, and again the
man SUNK off. Mr.. McIvor knew the
Indian nature well. and he said to me:
''That old fellow is up to some devil
| ment. That's what they always do when
they want to do an evil trick themselves:
pretend that some one else is going to do
it. We had better keep watch on the
place; he might set fire to it."
We watched that night, but nothing
unusual occurred. After dinner next
day, as was endeavoring to recuperate
a bit from night watching by short
snooze, I became aware of presence,
and opening my eyes saw my old woman
standing over me, with her finger on her
lips to enjoin silence. When she saw that
was awake she whispered hurriedly:
Run! Indians going to kill trader, kill
all white people in the store. Match-ee-
MIME keep traders wife. You good to old
woman. Runw
And the old woman, casting an anxious
look at the door, hobbled away as fast as
she could
did run, but it was to Mr.. McIvor,
who was at that moment walking down
| to the store with his wife.
breathlessly related to Mr.. McIvor as
nearly as | could remember them the
words of the old woman.
"Theres something in it," he said,
land we must be prepared for them.
Let us look for our guns. The looms
mean business"
His wife, who had heard all, looked
frightened, and he turned to her saying:
(Which is it, Maggie? Wi us, or at
the hoose?"
"With you, John, till the DEATH" she
answered boldly.
He gave her a look of admiration and
affection, and hastily rose to collect and
load our arms.
But we were too late; while we were
talking in the Office the store had silently
| filed with Indians, their faces sinister
| and threatening as they stood ranged up
| against the high counter. So intent had
we been on the discussion that we had
not heard the soft tread of their moccas-
ined feet, and there we stood, fairly
caught, face to face with death.
1t is hard to remember what passed
through my mind at that moment l
| think that my feelings were more those
| of indignation than offear. 1t vexed me
| to think of death at the hands of those
brutes, an inglorious death, of which but
passing notice might appear in some
| newspaper, or, what was more likely, no
notice at all, for the Hudson's Bay COM
| pany have never cared to publish abroad
such little mishaps as these. How DIFF
| ferent, thought, would it have been if
were in the army. Then if / had to die
my name would be mentioned with pride
by my family as well as with regret, and
possibly my portrait might appear in The
| Illustrated London News. So dear to
humanity is the praise it receives when
no longer alive to hear it, when the pleas
ure of the praise is but in the anticipa-
ton alone.
watched Mr.. McIvor with a certain
amount of curiosity, not unmixed with
hope, to see what he would do. He did
not hesitate moment, but drawing his
cneerruny complied with the request,
and each producing his pipe leisurely
| filled it and commenced to smoke, as if
they had come there for nothing else.
In the meanwhile Mr.. McIvor had quiet
ly drawn toward him small keg of
gunpowder containing about twenty-five
pounds. He deity removed the head;
then taking candle and lighting it with
the same match with which he lit his
| pipe he thrust it down into the powder
to within two inches Of the fame. So
quietly had he done this that the In
dams, who were at the moment engaged
in lighting their pipes, did not notice 1t.
| 1t was a solemn kind Of smoke. Not
another word was spoken on either side.
The only thing that woke the dead 81
lence was the occasional "puff, puff" of
pipe that would not draw. watched
the candle with kind of fascination
and saw an inch burn away. Twas fear
full lest spark should drop from it, and
thus rob us of our full two inches of
life; but the candle burned steadily on.
There was but half an inch left.
I remember that I wondered if the
| plovers had begun to make their nests
| in the marshes at home; if my brother
| Charley had come home for the Easter
holidays, and if he would know where
the migle thrush always built her nest
in the big elm tree; but my reveries
were broken by a movement among
the Indians and muttered "non-gom,"
meaning now.
Match-ee MIME arose and with him all
the rest of the Indians, with their guns
in their hands. Mr.. McIvor, who was
watching them, made a movement
toward the candle in the gunpowder.
The movement attracted the attention
of the Indians, and they now for the
first time comprehended the situation.
A minute later there was not an Indian
in the store. They had gone out as
silently and suddenly as they had come
in, leaving us in sole possession, but
with the candle burning dangerously
near the powder. Mr.. McIvor now care
fully approached the key, and with a
steady hand raised the candle from its
dangerous candlestick Not one moment
| too soon, for scarcely had he lifted it
clear off the keg when the few grains Of
| powder which had adhered to it came in
contact with the fame and We're ignited;
| but we were saved.
| The sudden revulsion of feeling took
the strength completely out of my legs,
| and l sat down helplessly on box, until
| the voice of Mr.. McIvor ordering me to
| shut the door and lock it recalled me
to my senses. Mrs. McIvor clasped her
husband around the neck and kissed
him passionately He was not unmoved
for the moment; but suddenly he burst
out laughing, and said in his broadcast
Scotch:
did ye see the look o the auld diel
when he caught sight o the candle i the
| pouther, Maggie? But Maggie did not
| hear him; she had tainted, and the man
| who had been cheerfully looking death
| in the face for the last half hour now
became as frightened as child when
| he saw his wife in fainting fit. Twill
| she come around, dye Think he asked
in tone of intense anxiety. There was