he Cree Indian to
the white man, used both on arrival and departure, "Watchee"--which is
a corruption of "What cheer." No other words of greeting had passed
between them, and he, when he had landed, had set to work at once to
help them with their unlading. When that was finished and the furs had
been carried up to the store, they had raised their tent, kindled
their fire, brewed their black tea, cooked their bacon, and gone to
rest. Granger had so far intruded on their reserve as to ask them to
spend the night in his store, but his invitation had been ungraciously
refused with a shake of the head.

Next day Pere Antoine had married them, after which he had departed,
promising, however, to return before the summer was out. Granger had
said nothing more to him either concerning Spurling or the death of
Strangeways, except to insist that the warrant for the arrest,
together with the letters and locket which had been found, should be
left with himself; nevertheless, he had been well aware that these
things were largely responsible for the hurry of the priest's
departure. At first he had not been surprised at the silence of Peggy,
for he had grown accustomed to the shy modesty of women who are
Indian-bred. The women of Keewatin accept it as their fate that they
are born to be subservient to men--to be their burden-bearers. But at
the end of a few days, when her demeanour had shown no sign of change,
he had become a little curious. In the early part of the year the
white blood that was in her had been more manifest, and because of it
she had been proud. When she had insisted that he should marry her, if
he would live with her, the reason she had given him for her demand
had been _because her blood was white_. Since then she had journeyed
into the winter-wilderness with the menfolk of her family, like any
other Indian or half-breed girl, and in the primeval solitariness of
the land the red blood of her mother had asserted itself; the hand of
her native deity had been laid upon her mouth, staying her flow of
words, the shyness of the forest-gods had entered into her eyes, and
the Lord God of Women had stooped her shoulders, causing her to carry
her head less bravely, binding the hereditary burden of the red woman
upon her back. She had unlearned in those few months all the conceits
of self-respect which she had been taught in the school at Winnipeg,
and had reverted to the ancient type from which she was sprung,--the
river Ind