t's up in the Unaga country. And I guess it's new
to me. I'd say it's new to anyone. It's mostly a thousand miles I've got
to make, right up somewhere on the north-west shores of Hudson's Bay."

"A--thousand miles! It's tough." Dr. Ross shook his head.

"An' it comes at a bad time for me," Steve went on thoughtfully. "Still,
I guess it can't be helped. You see, it's murder! Or they reckon it is.
A letter got through from Seal Bay. That's on the Hudson coast. The
Indian Department don't know where it comes from. It seems to have been
handed in by an Indian named Lupite. The folks tried to get out of him
where he came from, but I guess he didn't seem to know. Anyway he didn't
tell them. He said Unaga, and kind of indicated the north. Just the
north. Well, it isn't a heap to go on. Still, that's the way of these
things. I've got to locate the things the folks at Seal Bay couldn't
locate. It seems there's a biggish trading post way up hidden somewhere
on the plateau of Unaga. It was run by two partners, and they had a sort
of secret trade. The man at Seal Bay--Lorson Harris--reckons it's a hell
of an important trade. The names of these traders were Marcel Brand--a
chemist--and Cy Allshore, a pretty tough northern man. These fellers
used to come down and trade at Seal Bay. Well, I don't know much more
except this letter came into Seal Bay--it's written in a woman's hand
and in English--to say her husband, Marcel Brand, and this, Cy Allshore,
have been murdered. And she guesses by Indians. She don't seem dead
sure. But they've been missing over a year. I'm just handing you this so
you'll know the sort of thing I'm up against. And I've got to leave
Nita, and my little baby girl, for two years--sure."

The kindly doctor nodded. He removed his pipe, and cleared his throat.
His eyes were alight with a ready smile that was full of sympathy.

"Say, you haven't got to worry a thing for them that way," he said.
"It's tough leaving them. Mighty tough. I get all that. And it sort of
makes me wonder. But--Say, it's queer," he went on. "I was coming right
along over to help fix things for you. And I was scared to death
wondering how to do it without butting in. You were coming along over to
me to set the same sort of proposition, and were scared to death I'd
feel like turning you down. One of these days some bright darn fool'll
fix up mental telepathy to suit all pocket-books. It'll save us all a
deal of worry when that comes along. No