hild, yo' can't have any
dinnah till we find out who took the syrup."

The little yellow face was very serious. He turned and looked at the
still smoking plenty-bowl.

"Are yoh hungry?"

He nodded, got up briskly, held up his train, and dragged his high
stool to the table, scrambled up, and established himself.

"Look at that!" said the Colonel triumphantly. "That youngster hasn't
just eaten a pint o' syrup."

Mac was coming slowly up behind Kaviak with a face that nobody liked
looking at.

"Oh, let the brat alone, and let's get to our grub!" said Potts, with
an extreme nervous irritation.

Mac swept Kaviak off the stool. "You come with me!"

Only one person spoke after that till the meal was nearly done. That
one had said, "Yes, Farva," and followed Mac, dinnerless, out to the
Little Cabin.

The Colonel set aside a plateful for each of the two absent ones, and
cleared away the things. Potts stirred the fire in a shower of sparks,
picked up a book and flung it down, searched through the sewing-kit for
something that wasn't lost, and then went to the door to look at the
weather--so he said. O'Flynn sat dozing by the fire. He was in the way
of the washing-up.

"Stir your stumps, Jimmie," said the Colonel, "and get us a bucket of
water." Sleepily O'Flynn gave it as his opinion that he'd be damned if
he did.

With unheard-of alacrity, "I'll go," said Potts.

The Colonel stared at him, and, by some trick of the brain, he had a
vision of Potts listening at the door the night before, and then
resuming that clinking, scratching sound in the corner--the store
corner.

"Hand me over my parki, will you?" Potts said to the Boy. He pulled it
over his head, picked up the bucket, and went out.

"Seems kind o' restless, don't he?"

"Yes. Colonel--"

"Hey?"

"Nothin'."

Ten minutes--a quarter of an hour went by.

"Funny Mac don't come for his dinner, isn't it? S'pose I go and look
'em up?"

"S'pose you do."

Not far from the door he met Mac coming in.

"Well?" said the Boy, meaning, Where's the kid?

"Well?" Mac echoed defiantly. "I lammed him, as I'd have lammed Robert
Bruce if he'd lied to me."

The Boy stared at this sudden incursion into history, but all he said
was: "Your dinner's waitin'."

The minute Mac got inside he looked round hungrily for the child. Not
seeing him, he went over and scrutinised the tumbled contents of the
bunks.

"Where's Kaviak?"

"P'raps you'll tell us."

"You mean