e storekeeper.

"'That? It is our money. It is what a trader paid us for our furs.'

"'What was his name?'

"'That we do not know. We did not ask. We do not care who buys from
us; all we care is that he buys. One man's money is as good as
another's.'

"Then the storekeeper laughed in their faces. And he said: 'You have
been fooled. You have been fooled as easily as little children. Do you
know what this "money" is that you have given me?'

"'No,' they said.

"'It is not money at all,' he told them. 'It is nothing but labels
from beer bottles. You cannot have those things you have piled up on
the floor. I will take them back and keep them here until you bring me
real money for them.'

"Then they said to him, 'But it is all we have. We cannot go back to
our people with nothing.'

"He said: 'I cannot help that. It is no fault of mine.'

"They wanted to fight--but it would do no good to kill the agent or
drive him away. There would be no one from whom to get things another
year.

"'You ought to have brought your furs to me. I would have given you
real money for them,' said the agent.

"They went away very sorrowful. After many days they came back to us
again. We were very glad when we saw them coming--but we wondered that
their canoes were not piled high with the things we had told them to
buy.

"When we heard their story we were very sorrowful. We talked about it
a great deal. We said, 'What shall we do?'

"Then we made up our minds. This is what we decided. We said: 'The
next white man that comes among us we shall hold. We shall not let him
go until he pays to us a sum of money, seven hundred dollars, equal to
that which we have lost. Since he is a white man he or his friends
must make up to us that which we have lost at the hands of a white
man.'

"So now you see--you are the man. And it is you that must pay back to
us the money."

"But I haven't seven hundred dollars."

"Then you must promise that you will pay it, or get your friends to
pay it. These many years you have come here among us. We will trust
you for that. It is much that we should trust you--when it is one of
your own people who brought such suffering and loss upon us."

"But this is an outrage!" said Mr. Cabot. "I never did anything to you
but good. You know that."

"Yes, we know that," said the Indian, gravely. "But we shall leave you
here unless you pay. You cannot find your way out alone--even if you
could stand and walk upon yo