rent from that
to which he had been accustomed. Then he dispensed with his services,
and took up the conversation himself, to the obvious astonishment as
well as respect of the Indians, who seemed to think the white chief had
actually picked up a new language after listening to it for only half an
hour!

The principal chief opened his pack slowly and spread its contents on
the counter with care. He did not hurry himself, being a very dignified
man. There were beavers, martens, otters, silver-foxes, and many other
valuable furs, for which large sums are given in the European markets.
To obtain these, however, the Company of Traders had to expend very
large sums in transporting goods into those northern wilds, and still
larger sums would have to be paid to voyageurs, clerks, and employes
generally, as well as risks run and time spent before these furs could
be conveyed to market and turned into gold--hence our red chief had to
content himself with moderate prices. These prices, moreover, he did
not himself put on his furs. Lumley did that for him, according to the
tariff used by the fur-traders all over the country, every article being
rated at a standard unit of value, styled a "made-beaver" in some parts
of the country--a "castore" in other parts. On the counter was marked,
with a piece of chalk, the value of each fur--a beaver was valued at so
many castores, according to its quality, a fox at so many--and when the
sum was added up, the total was made known by a number of goose-quills
being presented to the chief, each quill representing a castore. The
Indians, being acquainted with this process, did not require to have it
explained.

Profoundly did that chief gaze at his bundle of quills on receiving them
from Lumley after Salamander had swept his furs into a corner. He was
studying, as it were, the credit balance of his bank-account before
investing.

"Now then, chief," asked Lumley, with an urbane expression of
countenance, "what shall I give you?"

The chief gazed solemnly round the store with his piercing black eyes,
while all the other piercing black eyes around gazed at him expectantly!
At last his gaze became riveted on a particular spot. The surrounding
black eyes turned to that spot intently, and the chief said:

"_Baskisigan_."

"Ah, I thought so--a gun?" said Lumley; "hand one over, Salamander."

The interpreter went to a box which contained half a dozen of the common
cheap articles which w