? ? ? ? 'So, my good comrades, ye have again forgotten that you were men? Good! Very good. There will be fewer bellies to feed.'
? ? ? ? Sitka Charley retied the flour as he spoke, strapping the pack to the one on his own back. He kicked Joe till the pain broke through the poor devil's bliss and brought him doddering to his feet. Then he shoved him out upon the trail and started him on his way. The two Indians attempted to slip off.
? ? ? ? 'Hold, Gowhee! And thou, too, Kah-Chucte! Hath the flour given such strength to thy legs that they may outrun the swift-winged lead? Think not to cheat the law. Be men for the last time, and be content that ye die full-stomached. Come, step up, back to the timber, shoulder to shoulder. Come!'
? ? ? ? The two men obeyed, quietly, without fear; for it is the future which pressed upon the man, not the present.
? ? ? ? 'Thou, Gowhee, hast a wife and children and a deerskin lodge in the Chipewyan. What is thy will in the matter?'
? ? ? ? 'Give thou her of the goods which are mine by the word of the captain- the blankets, the beads, the tobacco, the box which makes strange sounds after the manner of the white men.
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