dollar a plew," commented Hank, watching
his partner out of the corner of his eye. "Time war when it war worth
somethin', I tell ye; but them days air past--an' th' beaver, too, purty
nigh. I remember one spring when I got five dollars a pound fer beaver
from ol' Whiskey Larkin. Met him on th' headwaters o' th' Platte. He
paid me that then an' thar, an' then had ter pack it all th' way ter
Independence. But it's different with th' other skins, an' us four shore
could have a fine winter together."

"It's allus excitin' ter me ter wait till th' pelts prime, settin' in a
good camp with th' traps strung out, smokin' good terbaker an' eatin'
good grub," said Ogden, reminiscently. "Then th' frosts set in, snow
falls an' th' cold comes ter stay; an' we web it along th' lines settin'
traps fer th' winter's work. By gosh! What ye say, Tom?"

Tom was studying the floor, vainly trying to find a way to please his
friends and to follow the commands of an urging he could not resist. For
him the mating call had come, and his whole nature responded to it with
a power which would not be denied. On one hand called the old life, the
old friends to whom he owed so much; a winter season with them in a good
fur country, with perfect companionship and the work he loved so dearly;
on the other the low, sweet voice of love, calling him to the One Woman
and to trails untrod. The past was dead, living only in memory; the
future stirred with life and was rich in promise. He sighed, slowly
shook his head and looked up with moist eyes, glancing from one eager
face to another.

"I'm goin' back ter Missoury," he said in a low voice. "Thar's a
question I got ter ask, back thar, when th' danger's all behind an' it
kin be asked fair. If th' answer is 'no' I promise ter jine ye at Bent's
or foller after. Leave word fer me if ye go afore I git thar. But
trappin' is on its last legs, an' th' money's slippin' out o' it, like
fur from a pelt in th' spring; 'though I won't care a dang about that if
I has ter turn my back on th' settlements." His eyes narrowed and his
face grew hard. "Jest now I'm worryin' about somethin' else. Here I am
in Santer Fe, passin' Armijo an' Salezar every day, an' have ter turn my
back on one of th' big reasons fer comin' hyar. Thar's a new welt acrost
my back that burns through th' flesh inter my soul like a livin' fire.
Thar's an oath I swore on th' memory of a close friend who war beaten
an' starved an' murdered; an' now I'm a