boys, when he thought the Doctor was not looking, emptied
the steaming fragrant cocoa from his mug and filled it with water
instead.

"I 'lows I'se not accustomed to no sweetness," was his excuse.

The boys proved the jolliest of comrades and the best of huntsmen. In
the nipping wind they rowed the boat where the Doctor told them, so
that he could shoot. He had on a lined leather coat: but they had only
torn cotton shirts and thin jackets to face the raw dampness of the
early morning.

But they laughed and joked and carried on, and didn't care whether any
seals were found or not. The hunt was unsuccessful. When Grenfell
left, however, he promised the boys they should have a dozen fox traps
for the winter.

Their eyes shone, and they grasped his hands. It was to them a
princely, a magnificent gift.

"Doctor, Doctor!" was all they could say. "What can we do for ye?"

"Go out and catch foxes," said the Doctor. "We'll see what we can get
for them when you catch them."

Next summer the Doctor, true to his word as always, came back and
found the little house as bare and bleak as before. But the boys met
him with the same old broad grins on their faces, cheerful as the
sunrise.

"See, Doctor!" They flourished the precious pelt of a silver fox. "We
kep' it for youse, though us hadn't ne'er a bit in the house. We
knowed you'd do better'n we with he."

So Dr. Grenfell said he would try. He went to an island where Captain
Will Bartlett made his home. This Bartlett was the father of "Bob"
Bartlett who captained Peary's ship, the _Roosevelt_, on the
successful trip to the North Pole in 1909. Father Bartlett was famous
round about for sealing and fishing, and he had not only a thriving
summer trade of his own but a big heart for unfortunate neighbors.

"Do your best for me, Captain Will," said Grenfell, handing over the
skin.

"That I will, Doctor!" answered Bartlett heartily. "Drop in on your
way back."

The Doctor did so--and he found Captain Will had put aside a full
boat-load of provisions of all sorts for the starving family.

Happy in the thought of the good it would do, Grenfell started back
for the promontory at Big River where he had every reason to expect
the family would be watching for him anxiously.

As he neared the land--he saw no one moving. The boat was beached, and
the Doctor went up to the house.

The door was locked: there was no one within hail, though he shouted
again and again.

Grenfell