CHOOSING THE KING 23 



&quot;You took too much of it, old Blubber- 

 nose,&quot; yelled Jay, fiendishly; &quot;Wolverine has n t 

 got a nose like the head of a Sturgeon Fish. 

 Anyway, you re out of it, Mister Rat; if the 

 Lieutenant says you re not fit for King, why 

 you re not I must say I m glad of it.&quot; 



&quot; There are still the two cousins, Otter and 

 Mink,&quot; said Carcajou. 



&quot; Fish Thieves both of them,&quot; declared 

 Whisky-Jack. &quot; So is Fisher, only he has n t 

 nerve to go in the water after Fish ; he waits till 

 Man catches and dries them, then robs the cache. 

 That s why they call him Fisher they should 

 name him Fish-stealer.&quot; 



&quot; Look here, Jack,&quot; retorted Wolverine, &quot;last 

 Winter I heard Fran9ois say that you stole even 

 his soap.&quot; 



&quot; I thought it was butter,&quot; chuckled Jay 

 &quot; it made me horribly sick. But their butter 

 was so bad, I thought the soap was an extra 

 good pat of it.&quot; 



&quot; I may say,&quot; continued Carcajou, &quot; that these 

 two cousins, Otter and Mink, like Muskrat, have 

 too limited a knowledge for either to be Chief of 

 the Boundaries. While they know all about 

 streams and water powers, they d be lost on 

 land. Why, in deep snow, Nekik with his 

 short, little legs makes a track as though some- 



