concluded, "I'm anxious to be off as soon as possible."

"No, no, Jasper, I'll not give you a single charge of powder or an ounce
of lead this day. You must spend another night with me, my man; I have
not had half my talk out with you. You have no need to hurry, for Marie
does not know you are coming, so of course she can't be impatient."

Mr Grant said this with a laugh, for he knew the state of Jasper's
heart, and understood why he was so anxious to hasten away.

"Besides," continued the fur-trader, "Mr Heywood has not half finished
the drawing of my fort, which he began yesterday, and I want him to make
me a copy of it."

"I shall be delighted to do so," said the artist, who was busily engaged
in arranging his brushes and colours.

"Well, well," cried Jasper. "I suppose I must submit. I fancy _you_
have no objection to stop here another day, Arrowhead?"

The Indian nodded gravely, as he squatted down on the floor and began to
fill his pipe.

"That's settled, then," said Jasper, "so I'll go with you to the store,
if you'll allow me."

"With all my heart," replied the fur-trader, who forthwith led the way
to the store, followed by the Indians with their packs of furs.

Now, the store or shop at a Hudson's Bay trading-post is a most
interesting and curious place. To the Indian, especially, it is a sort
of enchanted chamber, out of which can be obtained everything known
under the sun. As there can be only one shop or store at a
trading-post, it follows that that shop must contain a few articles out
of almost every other style of shop in the world. Accordingly, you will
find collected within the four walls of that little room, knives and
guns from Sheffield, cotton webs from Manchester, grindstones from
Newcastle, tobacco from Virginia, and every sort of thing from I know
not where all! You can buy a blanket or a file, an axe or a pair of
trousers, a pound of sugar or a barrel of nails, a roll of tobacco or a
tin kettle,--everything, in short, that a man can think of or desire.
And you can buy it, too, without money! Indeed, you _must_ buy it
without money, for there is not such a thing as money in the land.

The trade is carried on entirely by barter, or exchange. The Indian
gives the trader his furs, and the trader gives him his goods. In order
to make the exchange fair and equitable, however, everything is rated by
a certain standard of value, which is called a _made-beaver_ in one part
of the co