hand checked him, and so thin was her
voice that scarcely did he hear it, yet did he hear all of it. Her hand
fumbled and groped in the hood of her parka, and she drew forth a pouch
that she placed in his hand. "And now your lips, my lover. Your lips on
my lips, and your hand on my heart."

And in that long kiss darkness came upon him again, and when again he
was conscious he knew that he was alone and he knew that he was to die.
He was wearily glad that he was to die.

He found his hand resting on the pouch. With an inward smile at the
curiosity that made him pull the draw-string, he opened it. Out poured
a tiny flood of food. There was no particle of it that he did not
recognize, all stolen by Labiskwee from Labiskwee--bread-fragments saved
far back in the days ere McCan lost the flour; strips and strings of
caribou-meat, partly gnawed; crumbles of suet; the hind-leg of the
snowshoe rabbit, untouched; the hind-leg and part of the fore-leg of the
white weasel; the wing dented still by her reluctant teeth, and the leg
of the snow-bird--pitiful remnants, tragic renunciations, crucifixions
of life, morsels stolen from her terrible hunger by her incredible love.

With maniacal laughter Smoke flung it all out on the hardening
snow-crust and went back into the blackness.

He dreamed. The Yukon ran dry. In its bed, among muddy pools of water
and ice-scoured rocks, he wandered, picking up fat nugget-gold. The
weight of it grew to be a burden to him, till he discovered that it was
good to eat. And greedily he ate. After all, of what worth was gold that
men should prize it so, save that it was good to eat?

He awoke to another sun. His brain was strangely clear. No longer did
his eyesight blur. The familiar palpitation that had vexed him through
all his frame was gone. The juices of his body seemed to sing, as if the
spring had entered in. Blessed well-being had come to him. He turned to
awaken Labiskwee, and saw, and remembered. He looked for the food flung
out on the snow. It was gone. And he knew that in delirium and dream it
had been the Yukon nugget-gold. In delirium and dream he had taken heart
of life from the life sacrifice of Labiskwee, who had put her heart in
his hand and opened his eyes to woman and wonder.

He was surprised at the ease of his movements, astounded that he was
able to drag her fur-wrapped body to the exposed thawed gravel-bank,
which he undermined with the ax and caved upon her.

Three days,