t he needed
hardening.

Mrs. Strong objected to the hardening process if it consisted in turning
her boy loose to learn the ways of the city streets, but had consented to
his going with his father, urged thereto by fears for his health, which
was not of the best, and the knowledge that he had reached the "bear and
Indian" age, and it was certainly a good thing for him to have his
experiences first-hand.

To Ted the whole thing was perfectly delightful. When he lay down at
night, he would often like to see "Mother and Ju," but he was generally
so tired that he was asleep before he had time to think enough to be
really homesick. During the day there was too much doing to have any
thinking time, and, since he had met this boy friend, he thought of
little else but him and what they were to do next. The Tyee had assured
Mr. Strong that it was perfectly safe for the boys to go about together.

"Kalitan knows all the trails," he said. "He take care of white brother.
Anything come, call Chetwoof."

As Mr. Strong was very anxious to penetrate the glacier under Klake's
guidance, and wanted Ted to enjoy himself to the full, he left the boys
to themselves, the only stipulation being that they should not go on the
water without Chetwoof.

There seemed to be always something new to do. As the days grew warmer,
the ice broke in the river, and the boys tramped all over the country.
Ted learned to use the bow and arrow, and brought down many a bird for
supper, and proud he was when he served up for his father a wild duck,
shot, plucked, and cooked all by himself.

They fished in the stream by day and set lines by night. They trapped
rabbits and hares in the woods, and one day even got a silver fox, a skin
greatly prized by the fur traders on account of its rarity. Kalitan
insisted that Ted should have it, though he could have gotten forty
dollars for it from a white trader, and Ted was rejoiced at the idea of
taking it home to make a set of furs for Judith.

One day Ted had a strange experience, and not a very pleasant one, which
might have been very serious had it not been for Kalitan. He had noticed
a queer-looking plant on the riverbank the day before, and had stopped to
pick it up, when he received such a sudden and unexpected pricking as to
cause him to jump back and shout for Kalitan. His hand felt as if it had
been pierced by a thousand needles, and he flew to a snow-bank to rub it
with snow.

"I must have gotten hold o