of that winter afternoon. The sun went down in flaming
splendours of crimson and gold, a young moon hung like a sickle of
silver above the dark pine forest, and everywhere below was the
white purity of the fresh-fallen snow.

Supper was nearly ready when they got back to Roaring Water
Portage, but there were two or three customers in the store, and
Katherine went to help her father with them, while Miles
unharnessed and fed the four dogs. Oily Dave was one of the people
gathered round the stove waiting to be served with flour and bacon,
and it was his voice raised in eager talk which Katherine heard
when she came back from the sitting-room into the store.

"If it's true what they are saying, that Barton, Skinner, & Co. are
in liquidation, then things is going to look queer for some of us
when the spring comes, and the question will be as to who can claim
the boats, though some of them ain't much good."

"I suppose that you'll stick to your'n, seeing that it is by far
the best in the fleet," said another man, who had a deep, rumbling
laugh.

Katherine looked at her father in dumb surprise. She had been
expecting him to announce the news of the fishing boats having been
bought by the Englishman with the remarkable name, instead of which
he was just going on with his work, and looking as if he had no
more information than the others.

Lifting his head at that moment he caught his daughter's perplexed
glance, and, after a moment, said hastily: "I wouldn't be in too
much hurry about appropriating the boats if I were you."

"Why not?" chorused the listeners.

"Barton & Skinner have been bought out, and the new owner might not
approve of his property being made off with in that fashion," 'Duke
Radford replied.

"Who's bought it? Who told you? Look here, we want to know," one
man burst out impatiently.

"Then you had better go up to the second portage and ask Astor
M'Kree," rejoined 'Duke Radford slowly. "It was he who told me
about it, and he has got the order to build four more boats."

"Now that looks like business, anyhow. Who is the man?" demanded
Rick Portus, who was younger than the others, and meant "to make
things hum" when he got a chance.

'Duke Radford fumbled with the head of a flour barrel, and for a
moment did not answer. It was an agonizing moment for Katherine,
who was entering items in the ledger, and had to be blind and deaf
to what was passing round her, yet all the time was acutely
co