An Odyssey of the North
The sleds were singing their eternallament to the creaking of the harness and the tinkling bells ofthe leaders; but the men and dogs were tired and made no sound.The trail was heavy with new-fallen snow, and they had come far,and the runners, burdened with flint- like quarters of frozenmoose, clung tenaciously to the unpacked surface and held backwith a stubbornness almost human.Darkness was coming on, but there was no camp to pitch thatnight. The snow fell gently through the pulseless air, not inflakes, but in tiny frost crystals of delicate design. It wasvery warm--barely ten below zero--and the men did not mind.Meyers and Bettles had raised their ear flaps, while Malemute Kidhad even taken off his mittens.The dogs had been fagged out early in the after noon, but theynow began to show new vigor. Among the more astute there was acertain restlessness--an impatience at the restraint of thetraces, an indecisive quickness of movement, a sniffing of snoutsand pricking of ears. These became incensed at their morephlegmatic brothers, urging them on with numerous sly nips ontheir hinder quarters. Those, thus chidden, also contracted andhelped spread the contagion. At last the leader of the foremostsled uttered a sharp whine of satisfaction, crouching lower inthe snow and throwing himself against the collar. The restfollowed suit.There was an ingathering of back hands, a tightening of traces;the sleds leaped forward, and the men clung to the gee poles,violently accelerating the uplift of their feet that they mightescape going under the runners. The weariness of the day fellfrom them, and they whooped encouragement to the dogs. Theanimals responded with joyous yelps. They were swinging throughthe gathering darkness at a rattling gallop.'Gee! Gee!' the men cried, each in turn, as their sleds abruptlyleft the main trail, heeling over on single runners like luggerson the wind.Then came a hundred yards' dash to the lighted parchment window,which told its own story of the home cabin, the roaring Yukonstove, and the steaming pots of tea. But the home cabin had beeninvaded. Threescore huskies chorused defiance, and as many furryforms precipitated themselves upon the dogs which drew the firstsled. The door was flung open, and a man, clad in the scarlettunic of the Northwest Police, waded knee-deep among the furiousbrutes, calmly and impartially dispensing soothing justice withthe butt end of a dog whip. After that the men shook hands; andin this wise was Malemute Kid welcomed to his own cabin by astranger.Stanley Prince, who should have welcomed him, and who wasresponsible for the Yukon stove and hot tea aforementioned, wasbusy with his guests. There were a dozen or so of them, asnondescript a crowd as ever served the Queen in the enforcementof her laws or the delivery of her mails. They were of manybreeds, but their common life had formed of them a certaintype--a lean and wiry type, with trail-hardened muscles, and sun-browned faces, and untroubled souls which gazed frankly forth,clear-eyed and steady.They drove the dogs of the Queen, wrought fear in the hearts ofher enemies, ate of her meager fare, and were happy. They hadseen life, and done deeds, and lived romances; but they did notknow it.And they were very much at home. Two of them were sprawled uponMalemute Kid's bunk, singing chansons which their Frenchforebears sang in the days when first they entered the Northwestland and mated with its Indian women. Bettles' bunk had suffereda similar invasion, and three or four lusty voyageurs workedtheir toes among its blankets as they listened to the tale of onewho had served on the boat brigade with Wolseley when he foughthis way to Khartoum.And when he tired, a cowboy told of courts and kings and lordsand ladies he had seen when Buffalo Bill toured the capitals ofEurope. In a corner two half-breeds, ancient comrades in a lostcampaign, mended harnesses and talked of the days when theNorthwest flamed with insurrection and Louis Riel was king.Rough jests and rougher jokes went up and down, and great hazardsby trail and river were spoken of in the light of commonplaces,only to be recalled by virtue of some grain of humor or ludicroushappening. Prince was led away by these uncrowned heroes who hadseen history made, who regarded the great and the romantic as butthe ordinary and the incidental in the routine of life. He passedhis precious tobacco among them with lavish disregard, and rustychains of reminiscence were loosened, and forgotten odysseysresurrected for his especial benefit.When conversation dropped and the travelers filled the last pipesand lashed their tight- rolled sleeping furs. Prince fell backupon his comrade for further information.'Well, you know what the cowboy is,' Malemute Kid answered,beginning to unlace his moccasins; 'and it's not hard to guessthe British blood in his bed partner. As for the rest, they'reall children of the coureurs du bois, mingled with God knows howmany other bloods. The two turning in by the door are theregulation 'breeds' or Boisbrules. That lad with the worstedbreech scarf--notice his eyebrows and the turn of his jaw--showsa Scotchman wept in his mother's smoky tepee. And that handsomelooking fellow putting the capote under his head is a Frenchhalf-breed--you heard him talking; he doesn't like the twoIndians turning in next to him. You see, when the 'breeds' roseunder the Riel the full-bloods kept the peace, and they've notlost much love for one another since.' 'But I say, what's thatglum-looking fellow by the stove? I'll swear he can't talkEnglish. He hasn't opened his mouth all night.' 'You're wrong. Heknows English well enough. Did you follow his eyes when helistened? I did. But he's neither kith nor kin to the others.When they talked their own patois you could see he didn'tunderstand. I've been wondering myself what he is. Let's findout.' 'Fire a couple of sticks into the stove!'Malemute Kid commanded, raising his voice and looking squarely atthe man in question.He obeyed at once.'Had discipline knocked into him somewhere.' Prince commented ina low tone.Malemute Kid nodded, took off his socks, and picked his way amongrecumbent men to the stove. There he hung his damp footgear amonga score or so of mates.'When do you expect to get to Dawson?' he asked tentatively.The man studied him a moment before replying. 'They sayseventy-five mile.So? Maybe two days.' The very slightest accent was perceptible,while there was no awkward hesitancy or groping for words.'Been in the country before?' 'No.' 'Northwest Territory?' 'Yes.''Born there?' 'No.''Well, where the devil were you born? You're none of these.'Malemute Kid swept his hand over the dog drivers, even includingthe two policemen who had turned into Prince's bunk. 'Where didyou come from? I've seen faces like yours before, though I can'tremember just where.' 'I know you,' he irrelevantly replied, atonce turning the drift of Malemute Kid's questions.'Where? Ever see me?' 'No; your partner, him priest, Pastilik,long time ago. Him ask me if I see you, Malemute Kid. Him give megrub. I no stop long. You hear him speak 'bout me?' 'Oh! you'rethe fellow that traded the otter skins for the dogs?' The mannodded, knocked out his pipe, and signified his disinclinationfor conversation by rolling up in his furs. Malemute Kid blew outthe slush lamp and crawled under the blankets with Prince.'Well, what is he?' 'Don't know--turned me off, somehow, and thenshut up like a clam.But he's a fellow to whet your curiosity. I've heard of him. Allthe coast wondered about him eight years ago. Sort ofmysterious, you know. He came down out of the North in the deadof winter, many a thousand miles from here, skirting Bering Seaand traveling as though the devil were after him. No one everlearned where he came from, but he must have come far. He wasbadly travel-worn when he got food from the Swedish missionaryon Golovin Bay and asked the way south. We heard of all thisafterward. Then he abandoned the shore line, heading right acrossNorton Sound. Terrible weather, snowstorms and high winds, but hepulled through where a thousand other men would have died,missing St. Michaels and making the land at Pastilik. He'd lostall but two dogs, and was nearly gone with starvation.'He was so anxious to go on that Father Roubeau fitted him outwith grub; but he couldn't let him have any dogs, for he was onlywaiting my arrival, to go on a trip himself. Mr. Ulysses knew toomuch to start on without animals, and fretted around for severaldays. He had on his sled a bunch of beautifully cured otterskins, sea otters, you know, worth their weight in gold. Therewas also at Pastilik an old Shylock of a Russian trader, who haddogs to kill. Well, they didn't dicker very long, but when theStrange One headed south again, it was in the rear of a spankingdog team. Mr. Shylock, by the way, had the otter skins. I sawthem, and they were magnificent. We figured it up and found thedogs brought him at least five hundred apiece. And it wasn't asif the Strange One didn't know the value of sea otter; he was anIndian of some sort, and what little he talked showed he'd beenamong white men.'After the ice passed out of the sea, word came up from NunivakIsland that he'd gone in there for grub. Then he dropped fromsight, and this is the first heard of him in eight years. Nowwhere did he come from? and what was he doing there? and why didhe come from there? He's Indian, he's been nobody knows where,and he's had discipline, which is unusual for an Indian. Anothermystery of the North for you to solve, Prince.' 'Thanks awfully,but I've got too many on hand as it is,' he replied.Malemute Kid was already breathing heavily; but the young miningengineer gazed straight up through the thick darkness, waitingfor the strange orgasm which stirred his blood to die away. Andwhen he did sleep, his brain worked on, and for the nonce he,too, wandered through the white unknown, struggled with the dogson endless trails, and saw men live, and toil, and die like men.The next morning, hours before daylight, the dog drivers andpolicemen pulled out for Dawson. But the powers that saw to HerMajesty's interests and ruled the destinies of her lessercreatures gave the mailmen little rest, for a week later theyappeared at Stuart River, heavily burdened with letters for SaltWater.However, their dogs had been replaced by fresh ones; but, then,they were dogs.The men had expected some sort of a layover in which to rest up;besides, this Klondike was a new section of the Northland, andthey had wished to see a little something of the Golden Citywhere dust flowed like water and dance halls rang withnever-ending revelry. But they dried their socks and smoked theirevening pipes with much the same gusto as on their former visit,though one or two bold spirits speculated on desertion and thepossibility of crossing the unexplored Rockies to the east, andthence, by the Mackenzie Valley, of gaining their old stampinggrounds in the Chippewyan country.Two or three even decided to return to their homes by that routewhen their terms of service had expired, and they began to layplans forthwith, looking forward to the hazardous undertaking inmuch the same way a city-bred man would to a day's holiday in thewoods.He of the Otter Skins seemed very restless, though he took littleinterest in the discussion, and at last he drew Malemute Kid toone side and talked for some time in low tones.Prince cast curious eyes in their direction, and the mysterydeepened when they put on caps and mittens and went outside. Whenthey returned, Malemute Kid placed his gold scales on the table,weighed out the matter of sixty ounces, and transferred them tothe Strange One's sack. Then the chief of the dog drivers joinedthe conclave, and certain business was transacted with him.The next day the gang went on upriver, but He of the Otter Skinstook several pounds of grub and turned his steps back towardDawson.'Didn't know what to make of it,' said Malemute Kid in responseto Prince's queries; 'but the poor beggar wanted to be quit ofthe service for some reason or other--at least it seemed a mostimportant one to him, though he wouldn't let on what. You see,it's just like the army: he signed for two years, and the onlyway to get free was to buy himself out. He couldn't desert andthen stay here, and he was just wild to remain in the country.Made up his mind when he got to Dawson, he said; but no one knewhim, hadn't a cent, and I was the only one he'd spoken two wordswith. So he talked it over with the lieutenant-governor, and madearrangements in case he could get the money from me- loan, youknow. Said he'd pay back in the year, and, if I wanted, would putme onto something rich. Never'd seen it, but he knew it was rich.'And talk! why, when he got me outside he was ready to weep.Begged and pleaded; got down in the snow to me till I hauled himout of it. Palavered around like a crazy man.Swore he's worked to this very end for years and years, andcouldn't bear to be disappointed now. Asked him what end, but hewouldn't say.Said they might keep him on the other half of the trail and hewouldn't get to Dawson in two years, and then it would be toolate. Never saw a man take on so in my life. And when I said I'dlet him have it, had to yank him out of the snow again. Told himto consider it in the light of a grubstake. Think he'd have it?No sir! Swore he'd give me all he found, make me rich beyond thedreams of avarice, and all such stuff. Now a man who puts hislife and time against a grubstake ordinarily finds it hard enoughto turn over half of what he finds. Something behind all this,Prince; just you make a note of it. We'll hear of him if he staysin the country-' 'And if he doesn't?' 'Then my good nature gets ashock, and I'm sixty some odd ounces out.' The cold weather hadcome on with the long nights, and the sun had begun to play hisancient game of peekaboo along the southern snow line ere aughtwas heard of Malemute Kid's grubstake. And then, one bleakmorning in early January, a heavily laden dog train pulled intohis cabin below Stuart River. He of the Otter Skins was there,and with him walked a man such as the gods have almost forgottenhow to fashion. Men never talked of luck and pluck and five-hundreddollar dirt without bringing in the name of AxelGunderson; nor could tales of nerve or strength or daring pass upand down the campfire without the summoning of his presence. Andwhen the conversation flagged, it blazed anew at mention of thewoman who shared his fortunes.As has been noted, in the making of Axel Gunderson the gods hadremembered their old- time cunning and cast him after the mannerof men who were born when the world was young. Full seven feet hetowered in his picturesque costume which marked a king ofEldorado. His chest, neck, and limbs were those of a giant. Tobear his three hundred pounds of bone and muscle, his snowshoeswere greater by a generous yard than those of other men.Rough-hewn, with rugged brow and massive jaw and unflinching eyesof palest blue, his face told the tale of one who knew but thelaw of might. Of the yellow of ripe corn silk, hisfrost-incrusted hair swept like day across the night and fellfar down his coat of bearskin.A vague tradition of the sea seemed to cling about him as heswung down the narrow trail in advance of the dogs; and hebrought the butt of his dog whip against Malemute Kid's door as aNorse sea rover, on southern foray, might thunder for admittanceat the castle gate.Prince bared his womanly arms and kneaded sour-dough bread,casting, as he did so, many a glance at the three guests--threeguests the like of which might never come under a man's roof in alifetime. The Strange One, whom Malemute Kid had surnamedUlysses, still fascinated him; but his interest chieflygravitated between Axel Gunderson and Axel Gunderson's wife. Shefelt the day's journey, for she had softened in comfortablecabins during the many days since her husband mastered the wealthof frozen pay streaks, and she was tired. She rested against hisgreat breast like a slender flower against a wall, replyinglazily to Malemute Kid's good-natured banter, and stirringPrince's blood strangely with an occasional sweep of her deep,dark eyes. For Prince was a man, and healthy, and had seen fewwomen in many months. And she was older than he, and an Indianbesides. But she was different from all native wives he had met:she had traveled--had been in his country among others, hegathered from the conversation; and she knew most of the thingsthe women of his own race knew, and much more that it was not inthe nature of things for them to know. She could make a meal ofsun-dried fish or a bed in the snow; yet she teased them withtantalizing details of many-course dinners, and caused strangeinternal dissensions to arise at the mention of various quondamdishes which they had well-nigh forgotten. She knew the ways ofthe moose, the bear, and the little blue fox, and of the wildamphibians of the Northern seas; she was skilled in the lore ofthe woods, and the streams, and the tale writ by man and bird andbeast upon the delicate snow crust was to her an open book; yetPrince caught the appreciative twinkle in her eye as she read theRules of the Camp. These rules had been fathered by theUnquenchable Bettles at a time when his blood ran high, and wereremarkable for the terse simplicity of their humor.Prince always turned them to the wall before the arrival ofladies; but who could suspect that this native wife--Well, itwas too late now.This, then, was the wife of Axel Gunderson, a woman whose nameand fame had traveled with her husband's, hand in hand, throughall the Northland. At table, Malemute Kid baited her with theassurance of an old friend, and Prince shook off the shyness offirst acquaintance and joined in. But she held her own in theunequal contest, while her husband, slower in wit, venturednaught but applause. And he was very proud of her; his every lookand action revealed the magnitude of the place she occupied inhis life. He of the Otter Skins ate in silence, forgotten in themerry battle; and long ere the others were done he pushed backfrom the table and went out among the dogs. Yet all too soon hisfellow travelers drew on their mittens and parkas and followedhim.There had been no snow for many days, and the sleds slipped alongthe hardpacked Yukon trail as easily as if it had been glare ice.Ulysses led the first sled; with the second came Prince and AxelGunderson's wife; while Malemute Kid and the yellow-haired giantbrought up the third.'It's only a hunch, Kid,' he said, 'but I think it's straight.He's never been there, but he tells a good story, and shows a mapI heard of when I was in the Kootenay country years ago. I'd liketo have you go along; but he's a strange one, and sworepoint-blank to throw it up if anyone was brought in. But when Icome back you'll get first tip, and I'll stake you next to me,and give you a half share in the town site besides.' 'No! no!' hecried, as the other strove to interrupt. 'I'm running this, andbefore I'm done it'll need two heads.If it's all right, why, it'll be a second Cripple Creek, man; doyou hear?--a second Cripple Creek! It's quartz, you know, notplacer; and if we work it right we'll corral the wholething--millions upon millions. I've heard of the place before,and so have you. We'll build a town--thousands of workmen--goodwaterways--steamship lines--big carrying trade--lightdraughtsteamers for head reaches--survey a railroad, perhaps--sawmills-electriclight plant--do our own banking--commercialcompany--syndicate--Say! Just you hold your hush till I getback!' The sleds came to a halt where the trail crossed the mouthof Stuart River. An unbroken sea of frost, its wide expansestretched away into the unknown east.The snowshoes were withdrawn from the lashings of the sleds. AxelGunderson shook hands and stepped to the fore, his great webbedshoes sinking a fair half yard into the feathery surface andpacking the snow so the dogs should not wallow. His wife fell inbehind the last sled, betraying long practice in the art ofhandling the awkward footgear, The stillness was broken withcheery farewells; the dogs whined; and He of the Otter Skinstalked with his whip to a recalcitrant wheeler.An hour later the train had taken on the likeness of a blackpencil crawling in a long, straight line across a mighty sheet offoolscap.II One night, many weeks later, Malemute Kid and Prince fell tosolving chess problems from the torn page of an ancient magazine.The Kid had just returned from his Bonanza properties and wasresting up preparatory to a long moose hunt.Prince, too, had been on creek and trail nearly all winter, andhad grown hungry for a blissful week of cabin life.'Interpose the black knight, and force the king. No, that won'tdo. See, the next move-''Why advance the pawn two squares? Bound to take it in transit,and with the bishop out of the way-' 'But hold on! That leaves ahole, and-' 'No; it's protected. Go ahead! You'll see it works.'It was very interesting. Somebody knocked at the door a secondtime before Malemute Kid said, 'Come in.' The door swung open.Something staggered in.Prince caught one square look and sprang to his feet. The horrorin his eyes caused Malemute Kid to whirl about; and he, too, wasstartled, though he had seen bad things before. The thingtottered blindly toward them. Prince edged away till he reachedthe nail from which hung his Smith & Wesson.'My God! what is it?' he whispered to Malemute Kid.'Don't know. Looks like a case of freezing and no grub,' repliedthe Kid, sliding away in the opposite direction. 'Watch out! Itmay be mad,' he warned, coming back from closing the door.The thing advanced to the table. The bright flame of the slushlamp caught its eye. It was amused, and gave voice to eldritchcackles which betokened mirth.Then, suddenly, he--for it was a man--swayed back, with a hitchto his skin trousers, and began to sing a chantey, such as menlift when they swing around the capstan circle and the seasnorts in their ears: Yan-kee ship come down de ri-ib-er, Pull!my bully boys! Pull! D'yeh want--to know de captain ru-uns her?Pull! my bully boys! Pull! Jon-a-than Jones ob SouthCaho-li-in-a, Pull! my bullyHe broke off abruptly, tottered witha wolfish snarl to the meat shelf, and before they couldintercept was tearing with his teeth at a chunk of raw bacon. Thestruggle was fierce between him and Malemute Kid; but his madstrength left him as suddenly as it had come, and he weaklysurrendered the spoil. Between them they got him upon a stool,where he sprawled with half his body across the table.A small dose of whiskey strengthened him, so that he could dip aspoon into the sugar caddy which Malemute Kid placed before him.After his appetite had been somewhat cloyed, Prince, shudderingas he did so, passed him a mug of weak beef tea.The creature's eyes were alight with a somber frenzy, whichblazed and waned with every mouthful. There was very little skinto the face. The face, for that matter, sunken and emaciated,bore little likeness to human countenance.Frost after frost had bitten deeply, each depositing its stratumof scab upon the half- healed scar that went before. This dry,hard surface was of a bloody-black color, serrated by grievouscracks wherein the raw red flesh peeped forth. His skin garmentswere dirty and in tatters, and the fur of one side was singed andburned away, showing where he had lain upon his fire.Malemute Kid pointed to where the sun-tanned hide had been cutaway, strip by strip--the grim signature of famine.'Who--are--you?' slowly and distinctly enunciated the Kid.The man paid no heed.'Where do you come from?' 'Yan-kee ship come down de ri-ib-er,'was the quavering response.'Don't doubt the beggar came down the river,' the Kid said,shaking him in an endeavor to start a more lucid flow of talk.But the man shrieked at the contact, clapping a hand to his sidein evident pain. He rose slowly to his feet, half leaning on thetable.'She laughed at me--so--with the hate in her eye; andshe--would--not--come.' His voice died away, and he was sinkingback when Malemute Kid gripped him by the wrist and shouted,'Who? Who would not come?' 'She, Unga. She laughed, and struck atme, so, and so. And then-' 'Yes?''And then-' 'And then what?' 'And then he lay very still in thesnow a long time. He is- still in--the--snow.' The two men lookedat each other helplessly.'Who is in the snow?' 'She, Unga. She looked at me with the hatein her eye, and then-''Yes, yes.' 'And then she took the knife, so; and once,twice--she was weak. I traveled very slow. And there is much goldin that place, very much gold.' 'Where is Unga?' For all MalemuteKid knew, she might be dying a mile away. He shook the mansavagely, repeating again and again, 'Where is Unga? Who isUnga?' 'She--is--in--the--snow.' 'Go on!' The Kid was pressinghis wrist cruelly.'So--I--would--be--in--the snow--but--I--had--a--debt--to--pay.It--was--heavy--Ihad--a- debt--to--pay--a--debt--to--pay I--had-'The faltering monosyllables ceased as he fumbled in his pouch anddrew forth a buckskin sack.'A--debt--to--payfive--pounds--of--gold-grub--stake--Mal--e--mute--Kid--I-' The exhausted head droppedupon the table; nor could Malemute Kid rouse it again.'It's Ulysses,' he said quietly, tossing the bag of dust on thetable. 'Guess it's all day with Axel Gunderson and the woman.Come on, let's get him between the blankets. He's Indian; he'llpull through and tell a tale besides.' As they cut his garmentsfrom him, near his right breast could be seen two unhealed,hard-lipped knife thrusts.III 'I will talk of the things which were in my own way; but youwill understand.I will begin at the beginning, and tell of myself and the woman,and, after that, of the man.' He of the Otter Skins drew over tothe stove as do men who have been deprived of fire and are afraidthe Promethean gift may vanish at any moment. Malemute Kid pickedup the slush lamp and placed it so its light might fall upon theface of the narrator. Prince slid his body over the edge of thebunk and joined them.'I am Naass, a chief, and the son of a chief, born between asunset and a rising, on the dark seas, in my father's oomiak. Allof a night the men toiled at the paddles, and the women cast outthe waves which threw in upon us, and we fought with the storm.The salt spray froze upon my mother's breast till her breathpassed with the passing of the tide. But I--I raised my voicewith the wind and the storm, and lived.'We dwelt in Akatan-' 'Where?' asked Malemute Kid.'Akatan, which is in the Aleutians; Akatan, beyond Chignik,beyond Kardalak, beyond Unimak. As I say, we dwelt in Akatan,which lies in the midst of the sea on the edge of the world. Wefarmed the salt seas for the fish, the seal, and the otter; andour homes shouldered about one another on the rocky strip betweenthe rim of the forest and the yellow beach where our kayaks lay.We were not many, and the world was very small.There were strange lands to the east--islands like Akatan; so wethought all the world was islands and did not mind.'I was different from my people. In the sands of the beach werethe crooked timbers and wave-warped planks of a boat such as mypeople never built; and I remember on the point of the islandwhich overlooked the ocean three ways there stood a pine treewhich never grew there, smooth and straight and tall. It is saidthe two men came to that spot, turn about, through many days, andwatched with the passing of the light. These two men came fromout of the sea in the boat which lay in pieces on the beach. Andthey were white like you, and weak as the little children whenthe seal have gone away and the hunters come home empty. I knowof these things from the old men and the old women, who got themfrom their fathers and mothers before them. These strange whitemen did not take kindly to our ways at first, but they grewstrong, what of the fish and the oil, and fierce. And they builtthem each his own house, and took the pick of our women, and intime children came. Thus he was born who was to become the fatherof my father's father.'As I said, I was different from my people, for I carried thestrong, strange blood of this white man who came out of the sea.It is said we had other laws in the days before these men; butthey were fierce and quarrelsome, and fought with our men tillthere were no more left who dared to fight. Then they madethemselves chiefs, and took away our old laws, and gave us newones, insomuch that the man was the son of his father, and nothis mother, as our way had been. They also ruled that the son,first-born, should have all things which were his father'sbefore him, and that the brothers and sisters should shift forthemselves. And they gave us other laws. They showed us new waysin the catching of fish and the killing of bear which were thickin the woods; and they taught us to lay by bigger stores for thetime of famine. And these things were good.'But when they had become chiefs, and there were no more men toface their anger, they fought, these strange white men, each withthe other. And the one whose blood I carry drove his seal spearthe length of an arm through the other's body. Their childrentook up the fight, and their children's children; and there wasgreat hatred between them, and black doings, even to my time, sothat in each family but one lived to pass down the blood of themthat went before. Of my blood I was alone; of the other man'sthere was but a girl. Unga, who lived with her mother. Her fatherand my father did not come back from the fishing one night; butafterward they washed up to the beach on the big tides, and theyheld very close to each other.'The people wondered, because of the hatred between the houses,and the old men shook their heads and said the fight would go onwhen children were born to her and children to me. They told methis as a boy, till I came to believe, and to look upon Unga as afoe, who was to be the mother of children which were to fightwith mine. I thought of these things day by day, and when I grewto a stripling I came to ask why this should be so.And they answered, "We do not know, but that in such way yourfathers did." And I marveled that those which were to comeshould fight the battles of those that were gone, and in it Icould see no right. But the people said it must be, and I wasonly a stripling.'And they said I must hurry, that my blood might be the older andgrow strong before hers. This was easy, for I was head man, andthe people looked up to me because of the deeds and the laws ofmy fathers, and the wealth which was mine. Any maiden would cometo me, but I found none to my liking. And the old men and themothers of maidens told me to hurry, for even then were thehunters bidding high to the mother of Unga; and should herchildren grow strong before mine, mine would surely die.'Nor did I find a maiden till one night coming back from thefishing. The sunlight was lying, so, low and full in the eyes,the wind free, and the kayacks racing with the white seas. Of asudden the kayak of Unga came driving past me, and she lookedupon me, so, with her black hair flying like a cloud of night andthe spray wet on her cheek. As I say, the sunlight was full inthe eyes, and I was a stripling; but somehow it was all clear,and I knew it to be the call of kind to kind.As she whipped ahead she looked back within the space of twostrokes--looked as only the woman Unga could look--and again Iknew it as the call of kind. The people shouted as we ripped pastthe lazy oomiaks and left them far behind. But she was quick atthe paddle, and my heart was like the belly of a sail, and I didnot gain. The wind freshened, the sea whitened, and, leaping likethe seals on the windward breech, we roared down the goldenpathway of the sun.' Naass was crouched half out of his stool, inthe attitude of one driving a paddle, as he ran the race anew.Somewhere across the stove he beheld the tossing kayak and theflying hair of Unga. The voice of the wind was in his ears, andits salt beat fresh upon his nostrils.'But she made the shore, and ran up the sand, laughing, to thehouse of her mother. And a great thought came to me that night--athought worthy of him that was chief over all the people ofAkatan. So, when the moon was up, I went down to the house of hermother, and looked upon the goods of Yash-Noosh, which were piledby the door--the goods of Yash-Noosh, a strong hunter who had itin mind to be the father of the children of Unga.Other young men had piled their goods there and taken them awayagain; and each young man had made a pile greater than the onebefore.'And I laughed to the moon and the stars, and went to my ownhouse where my wealth was stored. And many trips I made, till mypile was greater by the fingers of one hand than the pile ofYash-Noosh. There were fish, dried in the sun and smoked; andforty hides of the hair seal, and half as many of the fur, andeach hide was tied at the mouth and big bellied with oil; and tenskins of bear which I killed in the woods when they came out inthe spring. And there were beads and blankets and scarlet cloths,such as I got in trade from the people who lived to the east, andwho got them in trade from the people who lived still beyond inthe east.And I looked upon the pile of Yash-Noosh and laughed, for I washead man in Akatan, and my wealth was greater than the wealth ofall my young men, and my fathers had done deeds, and given laws,and put their names for all time in the mouths of the people.'So, when the morning came, I went down to the beach, casting outof the corner of my eye at the house of the mother of Unga. Myoffer yet stood untouched.And the women smiled, and said sly things one to the other. Iwondered, for never had such a price been offered; and that nightI added more to the pile, and put beside it a kayak ofwell-tanned skins which never yet had swam in the sea. But in theday it was yet there, open to the laughter of all men. The motherof Unga was crafty, and I grew angry at the shame in which Istood before my people. So that night I added till it became agreat pile, and I hauled up my oomiak, which was of the value oftwenty kayaks. And in the morning there was no pile.'Then made I preparation for the wedding, and the people thatlived even to the east came for the food of the feast and thepotlatch token. Unga was older than I by the age of four suns inthe way we reckoned the years. I was only a stripling; but then Iwas a chief, and the son of a chief, and it did not matter.'But a ship shoved her sails above the floor of the ocean, andgrew larger with the breath of the wind. From her scuppers sheran clear water, and the men were in haste and worked hard at thepumps. On the bow stood a mighty man, watching the depth of thewater and giving commands with a voice of thunder. His eyes wereof the pale blue of the deep waters, and his head was maned likethat of a sea lion. And his hair was yellow, like the straw of asouthern harvest or the manila rope yarns which sailormen plait.'Of late years we had seen ships from afar, but this was thefirst to come to the beach of Akatan. The feast was broken, andthe women and children fled to the houses, while we men strungour bows and waited with spears in hand. But when the ship'sforefoot smelled the beach the strange men took no notice of us,being busy with their own work.With the falling of the tide they careened the schooner andpatched a great hole in her bottom. So the women crept back, andthe feast went on.'When the tide rose, the sea wanderers kedged the schooner todeep water and then came among us. They bore presents and werefriendly; so I made room for them, and out of the largeness of myheart gave them tokens such as I gave all the guests, for it wasmy wedding day, and I was head man in Akatan. And he with themane of the sea lion was there, so tall and strong that onelooked to see the earth shake with the fall of his feet. Helooked much and straight at Unga, with his arms folded, so, andstayed till the sun went away and the stars came out.Then he went down to his ship. After that I took Unga by the handand led her to my own house. And there was singing and greatlaughter, and the women said sly things, after the manner ofwomen at such times. But we did not care. Then the people left usalone and went home.'The last noise had not died away when the chief of the seawanderers came in by the door. And he had with him blackbottles, from which we drank and made merry. You see, I was onlya stripling, and had lived all my days on the edge of the world.So my blood became as fire, and my heart as light as the froththat flies from the surf to the cliff. Unga sat silent among theskins in the corner, her eyes wide, for she seemed to fear. Andhe with the mane of the sea lion looked upon her straight andlong. Then his men came in with bundles of goods, and he piledbefore me wealth such as was not in all Akatan.There were guns, both large and small, and powder and shot andshell, and bright axes and knives of steel, and cunning tools,and strange things the like of which I had never seen.When he showed me by sign that it was all mine, I thought him agreat man to be so free; but he showed me also that Unga was togo away with him in his ship.Do you understand?--that Unga was to go away with him in hisship. The blood of my fathers flamed hot on the sudden, and Imade to drive him through with my spear. But the spirit of thebottles had stolen the life from my arm, and he took me by theneck, so, and knocked my head against the wall of the house. AndI was made weak like a newborn child, and my legs would no morestand under me.Unga screamed, and she laid hold of the things of the house withher hands, till they fell all about us as he dragged her to thedoor. Then he took her in his great arms, and when she tore athis yellow hair laughed with a sound like that of the big bullseal in the rut.'I crawled to the beach and called upon my people, but they wereafraid. Only Yash- Noosh was a man, and they struck him on thehead with an oar, till he lay with his face in the sand and didnot move. And they raised the sails to the sound of their songs,and the ship went away on the wind.'The people said it was good, for there would be no more war ofthe bloods in Akatan; but I said never a word, waiting till thetime of the full moon, when I put fish and oil in my kayak andwent away to the east. I saw many islands and many people, and I,who had lived on the edge, saw that the world was very large. Italked by signs; but they had not seen a schooner nor a man withthe mane of a sea lion, and they pointed always to the east. AndI slept in queer places, and ate odd things, and met strangefaces. Many laughed, for they thought me light of head; butsometimes old men turned my face to the light and blessed me, andthe eyes of the young women grew soft as they asked me of thestrange ship, and Unga, and the men of the sea.'And in this manner, through rough seas and great storms, I cameto Unalaska. There were two schooners there, but neither was theone I sought. So I passed on to the east, with the world growingever larger, and in the island of Unamok there was no word of theship, nor in Kadiak, nor in Atognak. And so I came one day to arocky land, where men dug great holes in the mountain. And therewas a schooner, but not my schooner, and men loaded upon it therocks which they dug. This I thought childish, for all the worldwas made of rocks; but they gave me food and set me to work. Whenthe schooner was deep in the water, the captain gave me money andtold me to go; but I asked which way he went, and he pointedsouth. I made signs that I would go with him, and he laughed atfirst, but then, being short of men, took me to help work theship. So I came to talk after their manner, and to heave onropes, and to reef the stiff sails in sudden squalls, and to takemy turn at the wheel. But it was not strange, for the blood of myfathers was the blood of the men of the sea.'I had thought it an easy task to find him I sought, once I gotamong his own people; and when we raised the land one day, andpassed between a gateway of the sea to a port, I looked forperhaps as many schooners as there were fingers to my hands. Butthe ships lay against the wharves for miles, packed like so manylittle fish; and when I went among them to ask for a man with themane of a sea lion, they laughed, and answered me in the tonguesof many peoples. And I found that they hailed from the uttermostparts of the earth.'And I went into the city to look upon the face of every man. Butthey were like the cod when they run thick on the banks, and Icould not count them. And the noise smote upon me till I couldnot hear, and my head was dizzy with much movement. So I went onand on, through the lands which sang in the warm sunshine; wherethe harvests lay rich on the plains; and where great cities werefat with men that lived like women, with false words in theirmouths and their hearts black with the lust of gold. And all thewhile my people of Akatan hunted and fished, and were happy inthe thought that the world was small.'But the look in the eyes of Unga coming home from the fishingwas with me always, and I knew I would find her when the time wasmet. She walked down quiet lanes in the dusk of the evening, orled me chases across the thick fields wet with the morning dew,and there was a promise in her eyes such as only the woman Ungacould give.'So I wandered through a thousand cities. Some were gentle andgave me food, and others laughed, and still others cursed; but Ikept my tongue between my teeth, and went strange ways and sawstrange sights. Sometimes I, who was a chief and the son of achief, toiled for men--men rough of speech and hard as iron, whowrung gold from the sweat and sorrow of their fellow men. Yet noword did I get of my quest till I came back to the sea like ahoming seal to the rookeries.But this was at another port, in another country which lay to thenorth. And there I heard dim tales of the yellow-haired seawanderer, and I learned that he was a hunter of seals, and thateven then he was abroad on the ocean.'So I shipped on a seal schooner with the lazy Siwashes, andfollowed his trackless trail to the north where the hunt was thenwarm. And we were away weary months, and spoke many of the fleet,and heard much of the wild doings of him I sought; but never oncedid we raise him above the sea. We went north, even to thePribilofs, and killed the seals in herds on the beach, andbrought their warm bodies aboard till our scuppers ran grease andblood and no man could stand upon the deck. Then were we chasedby a ship of slow steam, which fired upon us with great guns. Butwe put sail till the sea was over our decks and washed themclean, and lost ourselves in a fog.'It is said, at this time, while we fled with fear at ourhearts, that the yellowhaired sea wanderer put in to thePribilofs, right to the factory, and while the part of his menheld the servants of the company, the rest loaded ten thousandgreen skins from the salt houses. I say it is said, but Ibelieve; for in the voyages I made on the coast with never ameeting the northern seas rang with his wildness and daring, tillthe three nations which have lands there sought him with theirships.And I heard of Unga, for the captains sang loud in her praise,and she was always with him. She had learned the ways of hispeople, they said, and was happy. But I knew better- knew thather heart harked back to her own people by the yellow beach ofAkatan.'So, after a long time, I went back to the port which is by agateway of the sea, and there I learned that he had gone acrossthe girth of the great ocean to hunt for the seal to the east ofthe warm land which runs south from the Russian seas.And I, who was become a sailorman, shipped with men of his ownrace, and went after him in the hunt of the seal. And there werefew ships off that new land; but we hung on the flank of theseal pack and harried it north through all the spring of theyear. And when the cows were heavy with pup and crossed theRussian line, our men grumbled and were afraid. For there wasmuch fog, and every day men were lost in the boats. They wouldnot work, so the captain turned the ship back toward the way itcame. But I knew the yellow- haired sea wanderer was unafraid,and would hang by the pack, even to the Russian Isles, where fewmen go. So I took a boat, in the black of night, when the lookoutdozed on the fo'c'slehead, and went alone to the warm, long land.And I journeyed south to meet the men by Yeddo Bay, who are wildand unafraid. And the Yoshiwara girls were small, and bright likesteel, and good to look upon; but I could not stop, for I knewthat Unga rolled on the tossing floor by the rookeries of thenorth.'The men by Yeddo Bay had met from the ends of the earth, and hadneither gods nor homes, sailing under the flag of the Japanese.And with them I went to the rich beaches of Copper Island, whereour salt piles became high with skins.And in that silent sea we saw no man till we were ready to comeaway. Then one day the fog lifted on the edge of a heavy wind,and there jammed down upon us a schooner, with close in her wakethe cloudy funnels of a Russian man-of-war. We fled away on thebeam of the wind, with the schooner jamming still closer andplunging ahead three feet to our two. And upon her poop was theman with the mane of the sea lion, pressing the rails under withthe canvas and laughing in his strength of life. And Unga wasthere--I knew her on the moment--but he sent her below when thecannons began to talk across the sea.As I say, with three feet to our two, till we saw the rudder liftgreen at every jump--and I swinging on to the wheel and cursing,with my back to the Russian shot. For we knew he had it in mindto run before us, that he might get away while we were caught.And they knocked our masts out of us till we dragged into thewind like a wounded gull; but he went on over the edge of the skyline--he and Unga.'What could we? The fresh hides spoke for themselves. So theytook us to a Russian port, and after that to a lone country,where they set us to work in the mines to dig salt. And somedied, and--and some did not die.' Naass swept the blanket fromhis shoulders, disclosing the gnarled and twisted flesh, markedwith the unmistakable striations of the knout. Prince hastilycovered him, for it was not nice to look upon.'We were there a weary time and sometimes men got away to thesouth, but they always came back. So, when we who hailed fromYeddo Bay rose in the night and took the guns from the guards, wewent to the north. And the land was very large, with plains,soggy with water, and great forests. And the cold came, with muchsnow on the ground, and no man knew the way. Weary months wejourneyed through the endless forest--I do not remember, now, forthere was little food and often we lay down to die. But at lastwe came to the cold sea, and but three were left to look upon it.One had shipped from Yeddo as captain, and he knew in his headthe lay of the great lands, and of the place where men may crossfrom one to the other on the ice. And he led us--I do not know,it was so long--till there were but two. When we came to thatplace we found five of the strange people which live in thatcountry, and they had dogs and skins, and we were very poor. Wefought in the snow till they died, and the captain died, and thedogs and skins were mine. Then I crossed on the ice, which wasbroken, and once I drifted till a gale from the west put me uponthe shore. And after that, Golovin Bay, Pastilik, and the priest.Then south, south, to the warm sunlands where first I wandered.'But the sea was no longer fruitful, and those who went upon itafter the seal went to little profit and great risk. The fleetsscattered, and the captains and the men had no word of those Isought. So I turned away from the ocean which never rests, andwent among the lands, where the trees, the houses, and themountains sit always in one place and do not move. I journeyedfar, and came to learn many things, even to the way of readingand writing from books. It was well I should do this, for it cameupon me that Unga must know these things, and that someday, whenthe time was met--we--you understand, when the time was met.'So I drifted, like those little fish which raise a sail to thewind but cannot steer. But my eyes and my ears were open always,and I went among men who traveled much, for I knew they had butto see those I sought to remember. At last there came a man,fresh from the mountains, with pieces of rock in which the freegold stood to the size of peas, and he had heard, he had met, heknew them. They were rich, he said, and lived in the place wherethey drew the gold from the ground.'It was in a wild country, and very far away; but in time I cameto the camp, hidden between the mountains, where men worked nightand day, out of the sight of the sun. Yet the time was not come.I listened to the talk of the people. He had gone away--they hadgone away--to England, it was said, in the matter of bringing menwith much money together to form companies. I saw the house theyhad lived in; more like a palace, such as one sees in the oldcountries. In the nighttime I crept in through a window that Imight see in what manner he treated her. I went from room toroom, and in such way thought kings and queens must live, it wasall so very good. And they all said he treated her like a queen,and many marveled as to what breed of woman she was for there wasother blood in her veins, and she was different from the women ofAkatan, and no one knew her for what she was. Aye, she was aqueen; but I was a chief, and the son of a chief, and I had paidfor her an untold price of skin and boat and bead.'But why so many words? I was a sailorman, and knew the way ofthe ships on the seas. I followed to England, and then to othercountries. Sometimes I heard of them by word of mouth, sometimesI read of them in the papers; yet never once could I come bythem, for they had much money, and traveled fast, while I was apoor man. Then came trouble upon them, and their wealth slippedaway one day like a curl of smoke. The papers were full of it atthe time; but after that nothing was said, and I knew they hadgone back where more gold could be got from the ground.'They had dropped out of the world, being now poor, and so Iwandered from camp to camp, even north to the Kootenay country,where I picked up the cold scent. They had come and gone, somesaid this way, and some that, and still others that they had goneto the country of the Yukon. And I went this way, and I wentthat, ever journeying from place to place, till it seemed I mustgrow weary of the world which was so large. But in the Kootenay Itraveled a bad trail, and a long trail, with a breed of theNorthwest, who saw fit to die when the famine pinched. He hadbeen to the Yukon by an unknown way over the mountains, and whenhe knew his time was near gave me the map and the secret of aplace where he swore by his gods there was much gold.'After that all the world began to flock into the north. I was apoor man; I sold myself to be a driver of dogs. The rest youknow. I met him and her in Dawson.She did not know me, for I was only a stripling, and her life hadbeen large, so she had no time to remember the one who had paidfor her an untold price.'So? You bought me from my term of service. I went back to bringthings about in my own way, for I had waited long, and now that Ihad my hand upon him was in no hurry.As I say, I had it in mind to do my own way, for I read back inmy life, through all I had seen and suffered, and remembered thecold and hunger of the endless forest by the Russian seas. As youknow, I led him into the easthim and Unga--into the east wheremany have gone and few returned. I led them to the spot where thebones and the curses of men lie with the gold which they may nothave.'The way was long and the trail unpacked. Our dogs were many andate much; nor could our sleds carry till the break of spring. Wemust come back before the river ran free. So here and there wecached grub, that our sleds might be lightened and there be nochance of famine on the back trip. At the McQuestion there werethree men, and near them we built a cache, as also did we at theMayo, where was a hunting camp of a dozen Pellys which hadcrossed the divide from the south.After that, as we went on into the east, we saw no men; only thesleeping river, the moveless forest, and the White Silence of theNorth. As I say, the way was long and the trail unpacked.Sometimes, in a day's toil, we made no more than eight miles, orten, and at night we slept like dead men. And never once did theydream that I was Naass, head man of Akatan, the righter ofwrongs.'We now made smaller caches, and in the nighttime it was a smallmatter to go back on the trail we had broken and change them insuch way that one might deem the wolverines the thieves. Againthere be places where there is a fall to the river, and the wateris unruly, and the ice makes above and is eaten away beneath.In such a spot the sled I drove broke through, and the dogs; andto him and Unga it was ill luck, but no more. And there was muchgrub on that sled, and the dogs the strongest.But he laughed, for he was strong of life, and gave the dogs thatwere left little grub till we cut them from the harnesses one byone and fed them to their mates. We would go home light, he said,traveling and eating from cache to cache, with neither dogs norsleds; which was true, for our grub was very short, and the lastdog died in the traces the night we came to the gold and thebones and the curses of men.'To reach that place--and the map spoke true--in the heart of thegreat mountains, we cut ice steps against the wall of a divide.One looked for a valley beyond, but there was no valley; the snowspread away, level as the great harvest plains, and here andthere about us mighty mountains shoved their white heads amongthe stars. And midway on that strange plain which should havebeen a valley the earth and the snow fell away, straight downtoward the heart of the world.Had we not been sailormen our heads would have swung round withthe sight, but we stood on the dizzy edge that we might see a wayto get down. And on one side, and one side only, the wall hadfallen away till it was like the slope of the decks in a topsailbreeze. I do not know why this thing should be so, but it was so."It is the mouth of hell," he said; "let us go down." And we wentdown.'And on the bottom there was a cabin, built by some man, of logswhich he had cast down from above. It was a very old cabin, formen had died there alone at different times, and on pieces ofbirch bark which were there we read their last words and theircurses.One had died of scurvy; another's partner had robbed him of hislast grub and powder and stolen away; a third had been mauled bya baldface grizzly; a fourth had hunted for game and starved--andso it went, and they had been loath to leave the gold, and haddied by the side of it in one way or another. And the worthlessgold they had gathered yellowed the floor of the cabin like in adream.'But his soul was steady, and his head clear, this man I had ledthus far. "We have nothing to eat," he said, "and we will onlylook upon this gold, and see whence it comes and how much therebe. Then we will go away quick, before it gets into our eyes andsteals away our judgment. And in this way we may return in theend, with more grub, and possess it all." So we looked upon thegreat vein, which cut the wall of the pit as a true vein should,and we measured it, and traced it from above and below, and drovethe stakes of the claims and blazed the trees in token of ourrights. Then, our knees shaking with lack of food, and a sicknessin our bellies, and our hearts chugging close to our mouths, weclimbed the mighty wall for the last time and turned our faces tothe back trip.'The last stretch we dragged Unga between us, and we fell often,but in the end we made the cache. And lo, there was no grub. Itwas well done, for he thought it the wolverines, and damned themand his gods in one breath. But Unga was brave, and smiled, andput her hand in his, till I turned away that I might hold myself."We will rest by the fire," she said, "till morning, and we willgather strength from our moccasins." So we cut the tops of ourmoccasins in strips, and boiled them half of the night, that wemight chew them and swallow them. And in the morning we talked ofour chance. The next cache was five days' journey; we could notmake it. We must find game.'"We will go forth and hunt," he said.'"Yes," said I, "we will go forth and hunt." 'And he ruled thatUnga stay by the fire and save her strength. And we went forth,he in quest of the moose and I to the cache I had changed. But Iate little, so they might not see in me much strength. And in thenight he fell many times as he drew into camp. And I, too, madeto suffer great weakness, stumbling over my snowshoes as thougheach step might be my last. And we gathered strength from ourmoccasins.'He was a great man. His soul lifted his body to the last; nordid he cry aloud, save for the sake of Unga. On the second day Ifollowed him, that I might not miss the end. And he lay down torest often. That night he was near gone; but in the morning heswore weakly and went forth again. He was like a drunken man, andI looked many times for him to give up, but his was the strengthof the strong, and his soul the soul of a giant, for he liftedhis body through all the weary day. And he shot two ptarmigan,but would not eat them. He needed no fire; they meant life; buthis thought was for Unga, and he turned toward camp.He no longer walked, but crawled on hand and knee through thesnow. I came to him, and read death in his eyes. Even then itwas not too late to eat of the ptarmigan. He cast away his rifleand carried the birds in his mouth like a dog. I walked by hisside, upright. And he looked at me during the moments he rested,and wondered that I was so strong. I could see it, though he nolonger spoke; and when his lips moved, they moved without sound.As I say, he was a great man, and my heart spoke for softness;but I read back in my life, and remembered the cold and hunger ofthe endless forest by the Russian seas. Besides, Unga was mine,and I had paid for her an untold price of skin and boat and bead.'And in this manner we came through the white forest, with thesilence heavy upon us like a damp sea mist. And the ghosts of thepast were in the air and all about us; and I saw the yellow beachof Akatan, and the kayaks racing home from the fishing, and thehouses on the rim of the forest. And the men who had madethemselves chiefs were there, the lawgivers whose blood I boreand whose blood I had wedded in Unga. Aye, and Yash- Noosh walkedwith me, the wet sand in his hair, and his war spear, broken ashe fell upon it, still in his hand. And I knew the time was meet,and saw in the eyes of Unga the promise.'As I say, we came thus through the forest, till the smell of thecamp smoke was in our nostrils. And I bent above him, and torethe ptarmigan from his teeth.He turned on his side and rested, the wonder mounting in hiseyes, and the hand which was under slipping slow toward the knifeat his hip. But I took it from him, smiling close in his face.Even then he did not understand. So I made to drink from blackbottles, and to build high upon the snow a pile--of goods, and tolive again the things which had happened on the night of mymarriage. I spoke no word, but he understood. Yet was heunafraid. There was a sneer to his lips, and cold anger, and hegathered new strength with the knowledge. It was not far, but thesnow was deep, and he dragged himself very slow.Once he lay so long I turned him over and gazed into his eyes.And sometimes he looked forth, and sometimes death. And when Iloosed him he struggled on again. In this way we came to thefire. Unga was at his side on the instant. His lips movedwithout sound; then he pointed at me, that Unga might understand.And after that he lay in the snow, very still, for a long while.Even now is he there in the snow.'I said no word till I had cooked the ptarmigan. Then I spoke toher, in her own tongue, which she had not heard in many years.She straightened herself, so, and her eyes were wonder-wide, andshe asked who I was, and where I had learned that speech.'"I am Naass," I said.'"You?" she said. "You?" And she crept close that she might lookupon me.'"Yes," I answered; "I am Naass, head man of Akatan, the last ofthe blood, as you are the last of the blood." 'And she laughed.By all the things I have seen and the deeds I have done may Inever hear such a laugh again. It put the chill to my soul,sitting there in the White Silence, alone with death and thiswoman who laughed.'"Come!" I said, for I thought she wandered. "Eat of the food andlet us be gone. It is a far fetch from here to Akatan." 'But sheshoved her face in his yellow mane, and laughed till it seemedthe heavens must fall about our ears. I had thought she would beoverjoyed at the sight of me, and eager to go back to the memoryof old times, but this seemed a strange form to take.'"Come!' I cried, taking her strong by the hand. "The way is longand dark.Let us hurry!' '"Where?" she asked, sitting up, and ceasing fromher strange mirth.'"To Akatan," I answered, intent on the light to grow on her faceat the thought. But it became like his, with a sneer to the lips,and cold anger.'"Yes,' she said; "we will go, hand in hand, to Akatan, you andI. And we will live in the dirty huts, and eat of the fish andoil, and bring forth a spawn--a spawn to be proud of all the daysof our life. We will forget the world and be happy, very happy.It is good, most good. Come! Let us hurry. Let us go back toAkatan." 'And she ran her hand through his yellow hair, andsmiled in a way which was not good. And there was no promise inher eyes.'I sat silent, and marveled at the strangeness of woman. I wentback to the night when he dragged her from me and she screamedand tore at his hair--at his hair which now she played with andwould not leave. Then I remembered the price and the long yearsof waiting; and I gripped her close, and dragged her away as hehad done. And she held back, even as on that night, and foughtlike a she-cat for its whelp. And when the fire was between usand the man. I loosed her, and she sat and listened. And I toldher of all that lay between, of all that had happened to me onstrange seas, of all that I had done in strange lands; of myweary quest, and the hungry years, and the promise which had beenmine from the first. Aye, I told all, even to what had passedthat day between the man and me, and in the days yet young. Andas I spoke I saw the promise grow in her eyes, full and largelike the break of dawn. And I read pity there, the tenderness ofwoman, the love, the heart and the soul of Unga. And I was astripling again, for the look was the look of Unga as she ran upthe beach, laughing, to the home of her mother. The stern unrestwas gone, and the hunger, and the weary waiting.The time was met. I felt the call of her breast, and it seemedthere I must pillow my head and forget. She opened her arms tome, and I came against her. Then, sudden, the hate flamed in hereye, her hand was at my hip. And once, twice, she passed theknife.'"Dog!" she sneered, as she flung me into the snow. "Swine!" Andthen she laughed till the silence cracked, and went back to herdead.'As I say, once she passed the knife, and twice; but she was weakwith hunger, and it was not meant that I should die. Yet was Iminded to stay in that place, and to close my eyes in the lastlong sleep with those whose lives had crossed with mine and ledmy feet on unknown trails. But there lay a debt upon me whichwould not let me rest.'And the way was long, the cold bitter, and there was littlegrub. The Pellys had found no moose, and had robbed my cache. Andso had the three white men, but they lay thin and dead in theircabins as I passed. After that I do not remember, till I camehere, and found food and fire--much fire.' As he finished, hecrouched closely, even jealously, over the stove. For a longwhile the slush-lamp shadows played tragedies upon the wall.'But Unga!' cried Prince, the vision still strong upon him.'Unga? She would not eat of the ptarmigan. She lay with her armsabout his neck, her face deep in his yellow hair. I drew the fireclose, that she might not feel the frost, but she crept to theother side. And I built a fire there; yet it was little good, forshe would not eat. And in this manner they still lie up there inthe snow.''And you?' asked Malemute Kid.'I do not know; but Akatan is small, and I have little wish to goback and live on the edge of the world. Yet is there small use inlife. I can go to Constantine, and he will put irons upon me, andone day they will tie a piece of rope, so, and I will sleep good.Yet--no; I do not know.' 'But, Kid,' protested Prince, 'this ismurder!' 'Hush!' commanded Malemute Kid. 'There be things greaterthan our wisdom, beyond our justice. The right and the wrong ofthis we cannot say, and it is not for us to judge.' Naass drewyet closer to the fire. There was a great silence, and in eachman's eyes many pictures came and went.
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