The Coolidge examiner., 1938-10-13
CHAPTER VII-Continued
IL

'Ah-hah!' the Indians exchanged
significant glances. Men did not
travel at night in the "bush," or on
swift rivers.
''You trade at Fort George?" she
asked the cider man who had done
all the talking.
"Enh henh. at For Geor'. Were
you cum?"
From Rupert House-Nichicun."
Again the Indians squinted doubt
fully into each others dark faces.
Come inside and I'll give you
some supper" The men were hun
cry.
Dat dog!" said the older Mon
tagnais. II see heem on For
Geor'."
NO" replied Heather, starting to
make tea and placing some cold
caribou and hammock on the table,
he belongs to me-"
While the Indians ate ravenously
Heather boldly met their furtive
glances from where she sat on the
bunk beside the fretting husky.
When the Monta gnais had emptied
the tea kettle and cleared the table
of food set before them, sucking
his lips with a grunt of satisfaction,
the older man turned to the girl
watching him from the bunk.
Put de husky out. We sleep
here!" he brazenly ordered.
The fighting blood of her soldier
father boiled in the girls veins at
the insolence as she rose to her feet.
You sleep at your camp!" Her
heart pounded in her throat, her
eyes went black with anger, as the
grimacing younger man leered into
her tense face.
Our blanket ees wet. We ;leep
here!" insisted the other with a
scowl. Put husky out! He ees
cross!"
Then moving nearer to the girl,
whose right hand stole to her hip
pocket, the younger of the Indians
reached, to touch her hair, as he
said: "Eet ees lax de sum-"
But as she drew back from the
hand approaching her head there
was snarl from the bunk across
the room and, launched by his iron
muscled legs, Rough's one hundred
and forty pounds of bone and sinew
catapulted into his collar, swapping
the rawhide leash like paper. Again
the dog leaped, carrying the young
Indian screaming to the floor as the
older man disappeared through the
door. Again and again the infuriat-
ed husky struck with his great tusks
at the defending arms of the panic
stricken Indian. Then Heather threw
herself upon the dog and with des-
perate wrench on his collar fell with
him sidewise to the floor. Momen-
tarily freed from the dog, with
leap the Indian shot through the
half open door, pulling it shut be-
hind him.
g.
Alan and McCord arrived with
Noel and the two canoes and Heath
er told them of the Montagnais and
their rout by the infuriated Rough.
The indignant men stared at each
other in disgust.
''And to think" groaned McCord,
I'VE staked that pair to grub when
we met them on the river; l want
to see them show up here again"
That night, while Heather listened,
the three men went into their plans
for the winter. There was, indeed,
much work to be done if Alan and
Noel were to find water trail to the
Koksoak in the spring.
when are you leaving for the
Sinking Lakes?" asked Heather of
Alan who sat at the table poring
over the much-handled sketch map
of Aleck Drummond and comparing
it with McCord's government map
of Labrador.
Tomorrow" he answered, with
out lifting his eyes from the maps
TO the wistful-eyed girl who watched
him. We've got no time to lose.
If Noel and l strike the last of the
migration, we've got to cache all
the meat we can get, then, later,
build a cache on these Koksoak
headwaters we're going to find and
leave supply of food. This will be
our emergency cache. when we come
up the river over the ice in the fall,
with all that gold"
You seem pretty sure of finding
the Koksoak headwaters and the
gold" she replied. doubtfully.
''Of course. We've got to be,
Heather! Or-we'd never dare to
make the try!"
The girl gave a little shiver as
her brows contracted in a frown
Somehow I've got the feeling
that we're never coming back-that
we're going to starve or drown in
the rapids. or the Naskapi will get
u.s."
Here! here WHAT'S all this
talk?" John turned from the fire.
place where he had been shaping
birch ax-helves with a draw-knife.
Is this my big girl who sent the
Indians about their business? Of
course we're coming backI We're