Injuns trappin' below; she might of got one of them,"
opined a short, stockily built man who, catching sight of the
newcomers, addressed Fallon:

"Hey, Irish, you was down on the tote-road; did you hear Diablesse?"

Fallon finished drying his face upon the coarse roller-towel and turned
toward the group who waited expectantly. "Yis, Oi hear-rd her, all
roight," he replied lightly. "An' thin Oi _see'd_ her."

Others crowded about, hanging upon his words. "An' thin, be way av
showin' me contimpt," he added, "Oi dhrug her a moile or more t'rough
th' woods be th' tail."

Loud laughter followed this assertion; but not a few, especially among
the older men, shook their heads in open disapproval, and muttered
curses at his levity.

"But me frind Bill, here," Irish continued, "c'n tell ye more about
her'n phwat Oi kin. He's new in th' woods, Bill is; an' so damned green
he know'd nayther th' manein' nor use av th' rackets. So, be gad, he
come widout 'em. Mushed two whole days t'rough th' shnow.

"But, listen; no mather how ignorant, nor how much he don't know, a
good man's a man--an' to pr-rove ut he jumps wid his axe roight into
th' middle av th' werwolf's own an' kills noine, countin' th' three
cripples Oi finished.

"But wid D'ablish herself, moind, he t'row'd away his axe an' goes to a
clinch wid his knoife in his fisht. An' phwin 'tis over an' he picks
himsilf up out av th' shnow an' wipes th' blood from his eyes--her
blood--f'r he comes out av ut widout scratch nor scar--D'ablish lays at
his feet dead as a nit."

Fallon gazed triumphantly into the incredulous faces of the men, and,
with a smile, added, "'Twas thin Oi dhrug her be th' tail to th' sled,
afther shmashin' her head wid th' axe to make sure."

"An' where is she now, Irish?" mocked one. "Did she jump off the sled
an' make a get-away?"

Over at the grub-shack the cook's half-breed helper beat lustily upon
the discarded saw-blade that hung suspended by a wire, and the men
crowded noisily out of the doors.

"Oi'll show ye afther supper, ye damned shpalpeen, how much av her got
away!" shouted Irish, who waited for Bill to remove the evidence of his
fight before piloting him to the grub-shack.

A single table of rough lumber covered with brown oilcoth extended the
full length of the center of the room. Above this table six huge
"Chicago burners" lighted the interior, which, as the two men entered,
was a hive of noisy activity.

Men scuffled for plac