uitable clothes for the most part. How well
Stonor was to know that little suit cut like a boy's with Norfolk jacket
and divided skirt! What additional articles she needed Miss Pringle
bought at the store for a mythical destitute Indian boy. They had soon
found it necessary to take Miss Pringle into their confidence. She went
about charged with the secret like a soda-water-bottle with the cork
wired down.

Beside Gordon Strange, the only person around the post who could speak
the Kakisa tongue was a woman, Mary Moosa, herself a Kakisa who had
married a Cree. Her husband was a deck-hand on the steamboat. Stonor had
already engaged Mary Moosa to take this trip with him as interpreter,
and Mary, who had her own notions of propriety, had stipulated that her
oldest boy be taken along. Mary herself promised to be a godsend on the
trip; for she was just the comfortable dependable soul to look after
Clare, but the boy now became a problem, for the dug-out that Stonor
designed to use on the Swan River would only carry three persons
comfortably, with the necessary outfit. Yet Stonor could not speak to
Mary in advance about leaving the boy at home.

Such was Stonor's assiduity that everything was ready for the start two
days ahead of time--an unheard-of thing up North. Everybody at the post
gave up a morning to seeing the steamboat off. She carried with her a
report from Stonor to his inspector, telling of the proposed trip. Clare
was among those who waved to her from the shore. No surprise had been
occasioned by the announcement of her decision to remain over a trip.
Gaviller was already planning further entertainments. She had by this
time moved down to the Mission with the Pringles.

On the afternoon of that day Stonor transported his goods and swam his
horses across the river, to be ready for the start from the other side.
Mary Moosa and her son met him there, and camped beside the outfit for
the night. Stonor returned to Enterprise House for dinner. He had tried
to get out of it, knowing that the fact of this dinner would rankle in
the trader's breast afterwards, but Gaviller had insisted on giving him
a send-off. It was not a happy affair, for three of the guests were
wretchedly nervous. They could not help but see in their mind's eye
Gaviller's expression of indignant astonishment when the news should be
brought him next day.

Gaviller further insisted on taking everybody down to the shore to see
Stonor off, thus obligi