with a look of compassion for her was that
of old Musq'oosis the hunchback.

His teepee was beside the river, a little removed from the others. He
sat at the door, sunning himself, smoking, meditating, looking for all
the world like a little old wrinkled muskrat squatting on his
haunches.

If it had not been for Musq'oosis, Bela's lot in the tribe would long
ago have become unbearable. Musq'oosis was her friend, and he was a
person of consequence. The position of his teepee suggested his social
status. He was with them, but not of them. He was so old all his
relations were dead. He remained with the Fish-Eaters because he loved
the lake, and could not be happy away from it. For their part they
were glad to have him stay; he brought credit to the tribe.

As one marked by God and gifted with superior wisdom, the people were
inclined to venerate Musq'oosis even to the point of according him
supernatural attributes. Musq'oosis laughed at their superstitions,
and refused to profit by them. This they were unable to understand;
was it not bad for business?

But while they resented his laughter, they did not cease to be
secretly in awe of him, and all were ready enough to seek his advice.
When they came to him Musq'oosis offered them sound sense without any
supernatural admixture.

In earlier days Musq'oosis had sojourned for a while in Prince George,
the town of the white man, and there he had picked up much of the
white man's strange lore. This he had imparted to Bela--that was why
she was crazy, they said.

He had taught Bela to speak English. Bela's first-hand observations of
the great white race had been limited to half a score of
individuals--priests, policemen, and traders.

The row in Charley's teepee had started early that morning. Charley,
bringing in a couple of skunks from his traps, had ordered Bela to
skin them and stretch the pelts. She had refused point blank, giving
as her reasons in the first place that she wanted to go fishing; in
the second place, that she didn't like the smell.

Both reasons seemed preposterous to Charley. It was for men to fish
while women worked on shore. As for a smell, whoever heard of anybody
objecting to such a thing. Wasn't the village full of smells?

Nevertheless, Bela had gone fishing. Bela was a duck for water. Since
no one would give her a boat, she had travelled twenty miles on her
own account to find a suitable cottonwood tree, and had then cut it
down unaided, ho