was
exceedingly pleasant accurately to accomplish the light skilled labour.
But between these human beings, alone in a vast wilderness, was no
communication outside the necessities of the moment. Thus in a little
the three pairs of snow-shoes, complete even to the buckskin foot-loops,
hung from the sheltered branch of a spruce.

"Bring now to me," said the young man, "poles of the hickory, logs of
gijik, the cedar; bring me wigwass, the birch-bark, and the rawhide of
mooswa, the moose."

"These things are at hand," repeated May-may-gwan.

Then ensued days of severe toil. Dick was, of course, unable to handle
the axe, so the girl had to do it under his direction. The affair was of
wedges with which to split along the grain; of repeated attempts until
the resulting strips were true and without warp; of steaming and tying
to the proper curve, and, finally, of binding together strongly with the
tough _babiche_ into the shape of the dog-sledge. This, too, was
suspended at last beneath the sheltering spruce.

"Bring me now," said Dick, "rawhide of mooswa, the moose, rawhide of
ah-tek, the caribou, watab, the root for sewing."

Seated opposite each other, heads bent over the task, they made the
dog-harness, strong, serviceable, not to be worn out, with the collar,
the broad buckskin strap over the back, the heavy traces. Four of them
they made, for Sam would undoubtedly complete the team, and these, too,
they hung out of reach in the spruce-tree.

Now Sam returned from his longest trip, empty of information, but light
of spirit, for he had succeeded by his simple shrewdness in avoiding all
suspicion. He brought with him another "husky" dog, and a strong animal
like a Newfoundland; also some tea and tobacco, and an axe-blade. This
latter would be especially valuable. In the extreme cold steel becomes
like glass. The work done earned his approval, but he paused only a
day, and was off again.

From the inside of the teepee hung many skins of the northern hare which
May-may-gwan had captured and tanned while Dick was still on his back.
The woven blanket was finished. Now she lined the woollen blankets with
these hare-skins, over an hundred to each. Nothing warmer could be
imagined. Of caribou skin, tanned with the hair on, she and Dick
fashioned jackets with peaked hoods, which, when not in use, would hang
down behind. The opening about the face was sewn with bushy fox's tails,
and a puckering-string threaded through so th