The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-08-05

old Souci come, after all?
1T Is true" continued the Indian,
"the company Is my friend. 1t was
that the young men trade with 1t than
with these people who come and so.
If l go. how shall / live, for l have
no cache at AkImiski? How shall I
cross the water If the ice has not set?
Etienne's dark face wrinkled with
pleasure. Souci would go. 1.-The COM
pany will make you its man, If you
will CO." he said. 1--WE will set you
across the open water In the York
boat and give you supplies for the
winter, and your sons-what they
need. AND If you hold the young men,
there will be new guns for you and
your sons and debt double the hunt
your family brings in." Etienne ex-
tended his hand to seal the bargain.
I'VE may not cross the water before
the Christmas trade-then we will
lose the fur, for the trade will go to
their camps" suggested Saul.
1--WE will cross you to the island at
once, If you will return with us now"
The wife of Saul was already wall
ing in protest at his decision, but the
dark faces of his sons betrayed no
feeling.
My sons and my wife will stay
here" said the Indian without a
glance at those interested 81 will go
down river with you, for the winter
will not wait"
Etienne turned to the smiling
Guthrie. you see, he will go with us
at once. Now, we will max de troubp
for McDonap Ha Ha! to get all dose
fox skim" And he repeated his con-
versation with Saul.
Through the singing air of the blue
dawn, two dog teams hurried down
river. On the second night, arriving
at the cache of caribou hung in tree
for the return trip, they found that
wolverines had destroyed the meat
To feed seven dogs it was necessary
to hunt, for Saul had come with
light sled.
The following morning, as the east
grayed, the men started for the
neighbOring muskeg in search Of the
early feeding caribou. With Shot,
whose rigid war training to absolute
silence and obedience made it pos
sible to take him on a still hunt,
which was out of the question with
the yelping and uncomfortable huskies.
Garth waited on the edge of a barren
for the light.
Smell something, Shot?" he asked
the dog, who stood beside him in the
spruce scrub, dilating his nostrils as
he shifted the keen air. AS yet the
dusk hung over the white barren in a
gray blur. If the blue-coated deer of
the north were out there scraping
with round-toed hoofs the snow from
the moss, the light would soon betray
them. Trembling with excitement, for
the great airedale had served his
novitiate the winter previous on the
Raft, and knew for what they waited,
Shot tested the air. The man whose
mittened hand rested on the shaggy
back beside him wondered, as the
two crouched waiting for the day.
light, If to the memory of his dog
returned the ghosts of similar watches
in Flemish shellholes and listening
posts. AS his eyes strained to pierce
the CRAVING blanket which shrouded
the muskeg, Guthrie found himself
tracing the parapets of imagined
trenches = listening for suspicious
sounds. Then the first light filtered
over the barren, and he searched for
the gray-blue shapes against the snow
Suddenly the dog at his side stiff
fened on his toes, his iron dorsal mus
cles set, and the tremor which swept
the shaggy body, with the suppressed
whine, signaled the faint in the air.
STEADY, Shot ~
The trained war dog crouched mute
-athrill with the scent of game in
his nostrils. Gradually the exploring
eyes of the hunter made out dim
shapes, long rifle shot distant. Slow
ly, with his dog at his heels, Garth
circled the barren up-wind under
cover Of the scrub, until he had an
easy shot at two cows and bull.
STEADY, Shot," he whispered, and
took careful aim. At the flash of the
Ross, the bull leaped forward, ran a
few feet into the wind and crumpled
on the snow. AS the bewildered cows
circled up-winG, Guthrie fired again.
A hurt COW plunged forward, seeking
the scrub edging the barren, and
reaching it, disappeared.
go get 'em, Shotl" Like a wrath,
the airedale crossed the barren in
pursuit, as Guthrie followed, upbraid-
ing himself for his poor shooting. A
hundred yards inside the scrub he
found the caribou pulled down and
dispatched by the dog.
Replacing his rifle in its skin case
and resting it against a spruce, Garth
was hastily dressing out the meat be-
fore the hide froze, while Shot ex-
plored the game trails of the vicinity,
when low laugh sounded behind him.
Looking up, he saw, watching him,
the Ojibwa, Joe Mokoman, who called
himself the father Of Ninda.
Guthrie casually rose to his feet, skin
ming knife in hand, as he measured
the sinister face of the man who
faced him, lingering the action of his
gun. 1t was clear from the CLINT in
the small eyes that the Ojibwa still
nursed the memory of his expulsion
from the trade-house. How far would