say I leeve my bones on
de Beeg Salmon; de Husky shoot at me; but--Tiens! I am here!"

"What? You had trouble with the Huskies?"

"Oui, dey t'o't I was a devil, because I come down riviere from de
Bad-Lands, but Kovik, he talk to dem an' I stay. Tell dem I come from
Whale Riviere. Den dey get mad because I feesh salmon at de rapide and
mak' trouble; and poor Kovik, he tell dem dat I am bad spirit, so I can
get away."

Jean laughed heartily at the memory of Kovik's dilemma. "Dey mus' t'ink
poor Kovik ees damn liar by dees tam." Then he added soberly, "But he
save my life."

Seated with his three friends, Marcel told of his struggle to reach the
Salmon, his meeting with the Esquimos, and escape with his dog.

"So you got a dog after all, Jean? But you were crazy to take a chance
with those Huskies; they won't stand trespassing on their fisheries and
they were shy of you because you came from the headwaters. I'm glad you
didn't kill that pair, much as they deserved it. It would have made
trouble later."

"Good old Kovik! We won't forget him," added McCain.

"No, that we will not," agreed Gillies. "He thought a lot of your
father, Jean."

"Wal," said Jean proudly, "I weel have good dog-team een two year. Dat
pup, she ees wort' all de work an' trouble to get her."

"You're lucky," said Gillies. "It's mighty hard on our hunters not to
have good dogs, but they couldn't pay the Huskies' price. The Crees only
took three for breeding purposes, and six cost us a thousand in trade.
The rest were taken to Fort George and East Main."

The days at the Mission with Pere Breton and Julie raced by--hours of
unalloyed happiness for Jean after ten months in the "bush." Not a day
passed that did not find him romping with the great puppy who had
learned to gaze at her tall master through slant eyes eloquent with
love. Each morning when he visited the Mission fish nets and his own,
the puppy rode in the bow of the canoe. Each afternoon, often
accompanied by Julie Breton, they went for a run up the river shore. Man
and dog were inseparable.

When he heard that Kovik had arrived, Jean brought Fleur down to the
shore, to find the family absent from their lodge. To Marcel's
amazement, his puppy at first failed to recognize her brothers, who,
yelping madly, rushed her in a mass.

With flattened ears, and mane stiffened on neck and back, their doughty
sister met them half-way. Bowling one over, she shouldered another to
the ground,