The Huntress. Footner Hulbert

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СКАЧАТЬ repeated Bela, puzzled.

      Musq'oosis shrugged. "That just his fonny way of talk. He mean chop tree, dig earth, work. So he come wit' me. He ver' good partner to trip. All tam laugh and sing and mak' music wit' his wind. He is talk to me just the same lak I was white man, too. Me, I never have no friend lak that. I lak Walter Forest more as if he was my son."

      The old man's head drooped at this point, and the story seemed to have reached its end.

      "What do you do when you come here, you two?" Bela eagerly demanded.

      Musq'oosis sighed and went on. "The Fish-Eaters was camp down the lake by Musquasepi then. Your mot'er was there. She ver' pretty girl. Mos' pretties' girl in the tribe, I guess."

      "Pretty?" said Bela, amazed.

      "She is the first one we see when we come. We are paddling up the river and she is setting muskrat trap on the bank. Your fat'er look at her. Her look at your fat'er. Both are lak wood with looking. Wa! I think me, Bird-Mouth ain't goin' to keep out of trouble up here neither! Well, he is lak crazy man after that. All night he want stay awake and talk me about her. He ask me what her name mean. I tell him Loseis mean little duck. He say, 'Nobody ever got better name.' 'Better wait,' I say, 'plenty ot'er girl to see.' 'Not for me,' he say.

      "In a week he marry her. Marry her honest wit' priest and book. He build a house at Nine-Mile Point and a stable. Say he goin' to keep stopping-house for freighters when they bring in the company's outfit in the winter. He cut moch hay by Musquasepi for his stable. He work lak ten red men. When the ice come, right away he start to freight his hay across. I say 'Wait, it is not safe yet.' He laugh.

      "One day come big storm wit' snow. He got lost out on the ice wit' his team and drive in airhole. We find the hay floating after. He never see you. You come in the spring. He was a fine man. That is all."

      After a silence Musq'oosis said: "Well, what you think? What you goin' do?"

      "I goin' outside," Bela promptly answered. "To my fat'er's country."

      Musq'oosis shook his head heavily. "It is far. Many days' journey down the little river and the big river to the landing. From the landing four days' walk to town. I am too old to travel so far."

      "I not afraid travel alone," exclaimed Bela.

      Musq'oosis continued to shake his head. "What you goin' do in town?" he asked.

      "I marry a white man," replied Bela coolly.

      Musq'oosis betrayed no astonishment. "That is not easy," he observed with a judicial air. "Not easy when there are white women after them. They know too moch for you. Get ahead of you."

      "I am a handsome girl," said Bela calmly. "You have say it. You tell me white men crazy for handsome girls."

      "It is the truth," returned Musq'oosis readily. "But not for marry."

      "My fat'er marry my mot'er," persisted Bela.

      "Ot'er white men not same lak your fat'er."

      Bela's face fell. "Well, what must I do?" she asked.

      "There is moch to be said. If you clever you mak' your white man marry you."

      "How?" she demanded.

      Musq'oosis shrugged. "I can't tell you in one word," he replied.

      "I can't stay with these people," she said, frowning.

      "All right," said Musq'oosis. "But stay in the country. This is your country. You know the way of this country. I tell you somesing else. You got some money here."

      "Money?" she echoed, opening her eyes wide.

      "When your fat'er die, he have credit wit' the company. Near six hundred dollars. Beaton, the old company trader, he talk wit' me for cause I your fat'er's friend. He say this money too little to go to law wit'. The law is too far from us. He say 'I not give it to Loseis, because her people get it. They only poor, shiftless people, just blow it in on foolishness.' He say, 'I goin' keep it for the child.' I say, 'All right.'

      "Well, bam-by Beaton leave the company, go back home outside. He give me an order on the new trader. He say keep it till Bela grow up. I have it now. So I say to you, this money buy you a team, mak' you rich in this country. But outside it is nothing. I say to you, don't go outside. Marry a white man here."

      Bela considered this. "Which one?" she asked. "There is only Stiffy and Mahooly, the traders. The gov'ment won't let the police to marry."

      "Wait," said Musq'oosis impressively. "More white men are coming. Many white men are coming."

      "I can't wait," complained Bela rebelliously. "Soon I be old."

      "Some are here already," he added.

      She looked at him questioningly.

      "Las' week," he went on, "the big winds blow all the ice down the lake. It is calm again. The sun is strong. So I put my canoe in the water and paddle out. Me, I can't walk ver' good. Can't moch ride a horse. But my arm's strong. When I yo'ng, no man so strong lak me on a paddle. So I paddle out on the lake. Smell sweet as honey; shine lak she jus' made to-day. Old man feel lak he was yo'ng too.

      "Bam-by far across the lake I see little bit smoke. Wa! I think, who is there now? I look, I see the sky is clean as a scraped skin. I think no wind to-day. So I go across to see who it is. I go to Nine-Mile Point where your fat'er built a house long time ago. You know it. Wa! Wa! There is five white men stopping there, with moch horses and wagons, big outfit. Rich men.

      "So I spell wit' them a while. They mak' moch fun. Call me ol' black Joe. Feed me ver' good. We talk after. They say gov'ment goin' measure all the land at the head of lake this summer and give away to farmers. So they come to get a piece of land. They are the first of many to come. Four strong men, and anot'er who cooks for them. They got wait over there till ice on the shore melt so they drive around."

      "All right. I will marry one of them," announced Bela promptly.

      "Wait!" said Musq'oosis again, "there is moch to be said."

      "Why you not tell me when you come back?" she demanded.

      "I got think first what is best for you."

      "Maybe they got girls now," she suggested, frowning.

      "No girls around the lake lak you," he stated.

      She was mollified.

      "Do everything I tell you or you mak' a fool!" he remarked impressively.

      "Tell me," she asked amenably.

      "Listen. White men is fonny. Don't think moch of somesing come easy. If you want get white man and keep him, you got mak' him work for you. Got mak' him wait a while. I am old. I have seen it. I know."

      Bela's eyes flashed imperiously. "But I want him now," she insisted.

      "You are a fool!" said Musq'oosis calmly. "If you go after him, he laugh at you. You got mak' out you don' want him at all. You got mak' him run after СКАЧАТЬ