d be
if I was home. We don't have a chance to be anything here. Now, I
suppose you----"

Here Mr. MacPherson entered and the loquacious Secretary Bayard became
suddenly engrossed in his work. The factor opened a door leading into
a small room to the right.

"Come in here, Ungava Bob," said he, "and we'll have a talk. Now," he
continued when they were seated, "what do you think you'll do?"

"I don't know, sir. I wants t' get home wonderful bad," said Bob.

"Yes, yes, I suppose you do. But you're a long way from home. It looks
as though you'll have to stay here till the ship comes next summer. I
can send you back with it."

"'Tis a long while t' be bidin' here, sir, an' I'm fearin' as
mother'll be worryin'."

"There's no way out of it that I can see, though. I'll give you work
to do to pay for your keep, and I'm afraid that's the best we can do
unless," continued the factor, thoughtfully "unless you go with the
mail. I find I've got to send some letters to Fort Pelican. How far is
that from Eskimo Bay,--a hundred miles?"

"Ninety, sir."

"Do you speak Eskimo?"

"No, sir."

"Well, the dog drivers will be Eskimos. The men that leave here will
go east to the coast. They will meet other Eskimos there who will go
to Pelican. It's a hard and dangerous journey. Are you a good
traveller?"

"Not so bad, sir, an' I drives dogs."

Mr. MacPherson was silent for a few moments, then he spoke.

"These Eskimos are careless scallawags with letters and they lose them
sometimes. The letters I am sending are very important ones or I
wouldn't be sending them. I think you would take better care of them
than they. Will you keep them safe if I let you go with the Eskimos?"

"Yes, sir, I'd be rare careful."

"Well, we'll see. I think I'll let you take the letters. I can't say
yet just when I'll have you start but within the month."

"Thank you, sir."

"In the meantime make yourself useful about the place here. There'll
be nothing for you to do to-day. Look around and get acquainted. You
may go now. Come to the office in the morning and one of the clerks
will tell you what to do."

"All right, sir."

When Bob passed out of doors he was fairly treading upon air. A way
was opening up for him to return home and in all probability he should
reach there by the time Dick and Ed and Bill came out from the trails
in the spring and if they had not, in the meantime, taken the news of
his disappearance to Wolf Bight, the folks at h