Page:Toilers of the Trails.djvu/69

 and I'll make you rich, drop you anywhere you say on this coast, and nobody will know you met us. I'll fill your canoe with guns, shells, clothes, anything you want. What is this company to you? You sweat, freeze, and starve for your fur, and they cheat you out of it. The Indian is the company's dog. They barely keep you people from starving so that you will hunt more fur. Come, now, you play no tricks on us, and we'll fill your canoe from the ship's stores."

The German sat back satisfied that his appeal must have an effect on this inscrutable Indian.

Slowly the swart features of Gaspard relaxed. His small eyes glittered as he said, leaning forward eagerly:

"You geeve me all des outfit, grub, gun', blanket', if I show you de way up river to Albanee?"

"Yes, I'll make you a rich man among your people. No one will ever know. When we've got the fur at Albany, we'll land you anywhere you say. But if you lie to us,"—the German, with a black scowl, shook a huge fist in the Cree's face—"I'll skin—well, you know what you'll get."

"You fill de cano'?" asked Laroque, ignoring the threat,

"Yes."

"Ver' well, w'en you go?" he asked quickly.

"When the weather clears a launch will go up to reconnoitre."

"Ah-hah!" grinned Laroque. "I show de way." And German and Cree wrung each other's hands.

Laroque was assigned a bunk in the forecastle,