for two days?" retorted his son. "Wass I to think you would be
stoppin' in the lame camp till you died? Wass it not more likely that
some wan would find you an' bring you in--as they did?"

"No thanks to you that they did, Tuncan, what_ever_. Where did you
leave the other boys?"

"How should I know?" returned the son sharply; "they dropped off--wan
here an' wan there--sayin' they would try for a buffalo in wan place or
another, or, that they would rest awhile; an' so I wass left by myself.
I found it quite enough to look efter number wan."

"It hes _always_ been as much, that, as ye could manitch, Tuncan, even
when things wass goin' easy," said the old man with a sarcastic laugh,
that induced the young man to rise and quit the room.

He went towards a small shop, or store, as such places were styled in
the Nor'-West. It fell to his lot in the family arrangements to look
after and manage this store. Indeed the youth's anxiety for the ease
and comfort of "number wan" had induced him to select the post as being
a part of the family duties that was peculiarly suited to himself.

On reaching the store he went straight to a large roll of Canadian twist
tobacco, cut off a piece, refilled his pipe, and, sitting down on a bale
began or, rather, continued to smoke. He had not been seated long when
the door opened, and the head of a half-breed peeped cautiously in with
an uncommonly sly look.

"That you, Francois La Certe?" said McKay rather sternly, for he knew
the man well. "What iss it you will be wantin' now?"

Francois wanted many things--things almost too numerous to mention; but,
first, he would pay his debts to Cloudbrow.

"Come, that's something new," said McKay with a cynical laugh. "You
must have come by a fortune, or committed a robbery before ye would be
so honest. How much are you goin' to pay?"

"The sledge that you lent me, I have brought back," said the half-breed
with a deprecatory air.

"So, you call returning a loan paying your debts?" said Duncan.

La Certe did not quite say that, but he thought it bore some resemblance
to a payment to account, and at all events was proof of his good
intentions.

"And on the strength of that you'll want plenty more credit, I hev no
doubt."

"No--not plenty," said La Certe, with the earnest air of a man who is
exposing his whole soul to inspection, and who means to act this time
with the strictest sincerity, to say nothing of honesty. "It is only a
lit