fter to maintain a stubborn silence.

On the far side of the headland they came upon very definite signs
of civilization. Tucked into a little bay was a sort of settlement.
A long, rough log house was the main building, and around it were
grouped some score or more shanties such as that Voudrin had occupied
on the Beaver River. On one side of the settlement, a high stockade
of heavy timber was set. It appeared that it was at first intended
to surround the entire group, but that the cold weather had put a
stop to the work.

Voudrin, with the dog-train and sledge, was already ashore on the
beach where a number of men had run down from the large main
building. These now advanced over the frozen lake to greet the two
on foot. McTavish looked them over with keen eyes, memorizing their
faces for future use. It was not long before he located Whiskey
Bill and a number of the other hunters and trappers that were
frequent visitors to the Dickey River-post.

In almost total silence, the procession reached the beach, and
wound up the slight declivity to the large house in the center of
the settlement. Here McTavish was led inside, and discovered that
the building was divided off into a number of small rooms. Into
one of these he was pushed, and the heavy door swung after him. A
little while later an Indian packer appeared with the traps that
had been taken off his sledge, and dumped them into the room,
telling him to make his own supper. Nothing was missing, even
matches, and McTavish built a small chip fire such as he was
accustomed to burn on the trail, taking the material from a pile
of seasoned logs in one corner of the room. The floor was beaten
earth as hard as a rock.

Perplexed and amazed at the mysterious goings-on about him, the
Scotchman vainly sought to explain the presence of the men here,
and his own extraordinary position. Not for ten years, except in
the case of the pursued criminal turning at bay, had an officer in
the Company been subjected to such insulting and disrespectful
treatment. Here, discipline and propriety, the two cardinal virtues
among the Company's servants, had been grossly violated, and by
men who knew the consequences.

Discipline and propriety! On those great beams of organization had
the mighty structure of the Hudson Bay Trading Company been built.
It was reverence for them that caused a dozen men a thousand miles
from the nearest settlement to sit down to dinner in order of
precedence,