Ye took un, didn't ye?"
"No, I didn't take no stove. I weren't in th' river tilt, an' don't
know what yer talkin' about," lied the half-breed.
"Some one took un an' we was layin' it t' you. Now I wonders who
'twere."
"Well, _I_ wouldn't take it. Ye ought t' known _I_ wouldn't do a thing
like that," insisted Micmac, with an air of injured innocence. "Maybe
th' Mingen Injuns took it. There's been some around an' they says
they'll take anything they find, an' fur too, if they find any in th'
tilts. These are their huntin' grounds an' outsiders has no right on
'em. They gave me right t' hunt down t' th' suth'ard."
"Who may th' Mingen Injuns be, now?"
"Mountaineers as belong Mingen way up south, an' hunts between this
an' th' Straits."
"I were thinkin' 'twere th' Nascaupees took th' stove if you didn't
take un."
"Th' Nascaupees are back here a bit t' th' west'ard. I saw some of 'em
one day when I was cruisin' that way an' I made tracks back fer I
didn't want t' die so quick. They'll kill anybody they see in here,
an' burn th' tilts if they happen over this way an' see 'em. Ye have
t' be on th' watch fer 'em all th' time."
"I'll be watchin' out fer un an' keep clear if I sees their footin',"
said Bob as he went out to bring in his things.
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