, he said, hoping to find MacNair and to plead with him to
deal fairly with his people. It is true that MacNair pays more for the
labour of their hands than the company does for their furs, and in
doing so he has proved himself a friend of the Indians. But he can
well afford to pay more. Is not the _pil chickimin_--the gold--worth
more even than the finest of skins?

He reached beneath the blankets and, drawing forth one of the cheap
knives, held it aloft. For years, he told them, the great fur company
has been robbing the Indians. Has been charging them two, three, four,
and even ten times the real value of the goods they offer in barter.
But the Indians have not known this. Even he, LeFroy, did not know it
until the _kloshe kloochman_--the good white woman--came into the North
and built a school at the mouth of the Yellow Knife. She is the real
friend of the Indians. For she brought goods, even more goods than are
found in the largest of the Hudson Bay posts, and she sells them at
prices unheard of--at their real value in the land of the white man.

"See now!" he cried, holding the knife aloft, "in the store of MacNair,
for this knife you will pay eight skins. Who will buy it for two?"

A dozen Indians crowded forward, and the knife passed into the hands of
an old squaw. Other knives and hatchets changed hands, and yards of
bolt goods were sold at prices that caused the black eyes of the
purchasers to glitter with greed.

"Why do you stay here?" cried LeFroy suddenly. "Oh! my people, why do
you remain to toil all your lives in the mines--to be robbed of the
work of your hands? Come to the Yellow Knife and join those who are
already enjoying the fruits of their labours! Where all have plenty,
and none are asked to toil and dig in the dirt of the mines. Where all
that is required is to sit in the school and learn from books, and
become wise in the ways of the white man."

The half-breed paused, swaying his body to and fro as he gazed intently
into the eyes of the greed-crazed horde. Suddenly his voice arose
almost to a shriek. "You are free men--dwellers in a free land! Who
is MacNair, that he should hold you in servitude? Why should you toil
to enrich him? Why should you bow down beneath his tyranny? Who is
_he_ to make laws that you shall obey?" He shifted his gaze to the
upturned face of Sotenah. "Who is he to say: 'You shall drink no
firewater'? And who is he to flog you when you break tha