nawus_
to burn de snow out on de lak'.' He go back to he's camp an' Ton-Kan an'
John Pickles is ver' mooch scare. De night she ver' black. Wan tam I
t'ink I hear som' wan walk out on de lak', but I ain' sure an' Ton-Kan
say dat _tamahnawus_. Den he point out on de lak' an' I kin see leetle
fire lak' de eye of de fox in de dark. Den she mak de leetle spark, an'
she move 'long ver slow. I laugh an' I say, 'Dat James Dean out dere,
she mak de fire to scare Injun.' Den rat behine me som' wan laugh, an'
stands James Dean, an' he say, 'No, James Dean is here. Dat de
_tamahnawus_ out on de lak'. He burn de snow, lak I tell um.' I say,
'Mebbe-so, de piece of rope burn lak dat.' An' he say, 'No, dat ain' no
rope. Dat _tamahnawus_ burn de snow. You t'ink you smart Injun--but I
show you. If dat is rope she goin' out pret' queek, ain' it? She can't
mak' de big fire?' I say, 'No, rope can't mak' no big fire.' 'A'right,'
he say, 'I tell de _tamahnawus_ to mak' de beeg fire dat mak' de lak'
all light.' Den he yell at de _tamahnawus_. He say, 'Mak' de beeg fire!
Mak' de beeg fire!' But she ain' mak' no beeg fire, an' de leetle fire
crawl slow out on de snow, an' I laugh on heem. He say, 'De _tamahnawus_
ain' hear dat. I got yell louder.' So he yell louder, 'Mak' de beeg
fire! Mak' de beeg fire!' An den." Pierre Bonnet Rouge paused and
shuddered. "An' den de beeg fire com'! So queek--so beeg you kin see de
trees. An' den she all dark, so black you can't see nuttin'. An' James
Dean laugh. An' Ton-Kan, she so scare she howl lak' de dog. An' John
Pickles, she try to dig de hole in de snow an' crawl in. An' me--I'm so
scare I can't talk.

"Nex' mornin' w'en she git light nuff to see we go 'way from dat lak'
jes' so fas lak we kin, an' we ain' stop till we git to de Blackwater."
Pierre Bonnet Rouge lapsed into silence, and at length Connie asked:

"But the _cache_? And the foxes that wore the collars?"

"Nex' year I hunt caribou agin, but I ain' go by Hill lak', you bet.
Young Injun 'long _nem_ Clawhammer, an' we swing roun' by de beeg lak'
an' com' by de cabin. Lots of tracks, but I ain' see James Dean tracks.
By-m-by, we com' on de camp of 'bout ten Innuit. Dey mak' de track by de
cabin, an' dey got all de stuff out. I ain' see James Dean. _S'pose_
James Dean dead. He los' de medicine, an' de _tamahnawus_ git um.

"So I keep way from Hill Lak'. T'ree, four year go by, an' de fox
trappin' is bad. I ain' so mooch fraid of _tamahnawus_ no