essness
of multitudes of creatures who arrogantly boast that they are
civilised--he was too angry for that. He was only conscious that a
vain and impertinent echo of the town had, by his instrumentality,
found its way into and vilified the secret refuge of God's austerity.
Tearing back the bolts from the storehouse door and lifting the latch,
he rushed out into the cool half-light.

Half-way between himself and the pier he saw the Indians' camp-fire,
with four figures squatting round, two of which were Peggy's and
Beorn's. Running down the descent, he burst into their midst, seized
the offending gramophone and crushed it down with his heel into the
flames. His foot was scorched, but he did not care for that. When his
work was accomplished, turning savagely upon his spectators he said,
"I'll teach you to offend God's silence," and strode away, leaving
them staring after him through the shadows, terrified and amazed.
Suddenly he returned; there was a gentler look upon his face. Going up
to where Peggy sat, he took her by the hand, and, without a word, led
her out of the circle of firelight towards the shack.

CHAPTER XIII

THE DEAD SOUL SPEAKS OUT

The Man with the Dead Soul was drunk, heartily and shamelessly drunk;
Granger, the contriver of his condition, sat facing him, impatiently
waiting to see whether that was true which the Indians said, that,
when drink had subdued his body, his soul returned for a little space.

The nominal occasion of the carousal was the home-coming of Eyelids
and, as Granger had subtly put it, "the celebration of his own
entrance into the family of Ericsen." However, in a country from which
there is no means of escape, save through the magic doors of
imagination, and where men get so bored with themselves, and their
environment, and one another, that they are willing to seek a
temporary release by drinking such noxious drugs as pain-killer,
essence of ginger, of peppermint, etc., for the sake of the alcohol
which they contain, the only excuse necessary for intoxication is
opportunity. Spirits of any kind are strictly forbidden in Keewatin,
that the Indians may be protected from intemperance; nevertheless,
despite all precautions of the Mounted Police, a certain quantity
finds its way up in disguised forms, or smuggled in sacks of flour and
bales of traders' merchandise.

Granger, being well aware that the fool says with his lips what the
wise man knows in his heart, had determi