worth three dollars and fifty
cents each, or, to be generous, we'll say four dollars." Rolf glanced
at Quonab, who, unseen by the trader shook his head, held his right hand
out, open hollow up, then raised it with a jerk for two inches.

Quickly Rolf caught the idea and said; "No, I don't reckon them pale.
I call them prime dark, every one of them." Quonab spread his hand with
all five fingers pointed up, and Rolf continued, "They are worth five
dollars each, if they're worth a copper."

"Phew!" said the trader. "you forget fur is an awful risky thing; what
with mildew, moth, mice, and markets, we have a lot of risk. But I
want to please you, so let her go; five each. There's a fine black fox;
that's worth forty dollars."

"I should think it is," said Rolf, as Quonab, by throwing to his right
an imaginary pinch of sand, made the sign "refuse."

They had talked over the value of that fox skin and Rolf said, "Why, I
know of a black fox that sold for two hundred dollars."

"Where?"

"Oh, down at Stamford."

"Why, that's near New York."

"Of course; don't you send your fur to New York?"

"Yes, but it costs a lot to get it there.

"Now," said Warren, "if you'll take it in trade, I'll meet you half-way
and call it one hundred dollars."

"Make it one hundred and twenty-five dollars and I'll take a rifle,
anyway."

"Phew!" whistled the trader. "Where do ye get such notions?"

"Nothing wrong about the notion; old Si Sylvanne offered me pretty near
that, if I'd come out his way with the stuff."

This had the desired effect of showing that there were other traders. At
last the deal was closed. Besides the fox skin, they had three hundred
dollars' worth of fur. The exchange for the fox skin was enough to buy
all the groceries and dry goods they needed. But Rolf had something else
in mind.

He had picked out some packages of candies, some calico prints and
certain bright ribbons, when the trader grasped the idea. "I see; yer
goin' visitin'. Who is it? Must be the Van Trumpers!"

Rolf nodded and now he got some very intelligent guidance. He did not
buy Annette's dress, because part of her joy was to be the expedition
in person to pick it out; but he stocked up with some gorgeous pieces
of jewellery that were ten cents each, and ribbons whose colours were
as far beyond expression as were the joys they could create in the
backwoods female heart.

Proudly clutching his new rlile, and carrying in his wallet a memora