hich
he piled up in readiness around a large piece of drift timber he had the
good fortune to discover, not far from the spot where they landed.

This done, he stood back a few paces and admired his handiwork, his head
on one side with quite the air of a connoisseur.

Presently he began to wish that Adolay would return, and then sat down
to make fire by the slow and laborious Eskimo process of rubbing two
pieces of stick rapidly together until the friction should ignite them.
He was still absorbed in the work when the Indian girl returned with a
bundle of wood which she threw down beside the rest.

"You have had better luck than I expected," said Cheenbuk. "See, I have
made you a nest to sleep in," he added, pointing to the canoe.

"It is very nice," she observed, with an appreciative smile. "What are
you doing?"

"Making fire," he answered, resuming his work and continuing it with
such vigour that beads of perspiration stood on his brow.

Without speaking, the girl went to the canoe and opened a bundle wrapped
in deerskin which formed part of its lading. She drew therefrom a
fire-bag, richly ornamented with beads, such as Indian chiefs and braves
are wont to carry under their belts. It contained the pipe, tinder-box,
flint, steel, and tobacco which are usually supplied by the fur-traders
to the Red men.

Cheenbuk was so interested in the proceedings of his companion that he
ceased to carry on his own work, thereby allowing the sticks to cool and
losing his labour.

"You need not work so hard," said Adolay, taking a flint, steel, and
piece of tinder from the bag and, beginning to strike a light, to the
great interest of the Eskimo. "We manage to get fire differently and
more easily."

In a few seconds a spark caught on the tinder, which began to smoke, and
the girl, wrapping it in a bundle of dry grass, whirled it round at
arm's-length until the draught caused it to burst into flame. Thrusting
the burning mass into the heart of the twigs, which had been previously
prepared, she glanced up at her protector with a look that said plainly,
"Watch, now, the result."

But Cheenbuk required no encouragement to do so. He had been watching
all the time with mouth, as well as eyes, wide-open, and a loud "hoi!
hoi! ho!" burst from him as the flame leaped up, suffusing the canoe and
wall of rock and the near objects with a ruddy glow which paled
everything else to a cold grey by contrast.

"I've seen that once