THE VALUE OF THEIR FUR 37 



away. I was mad enough to have slain him, but 

 I m glad I did n t. It s not good to kill a Man 

 You see I was cross,&quot; he added, apologetically, 

 &quot; and my head ached from living in that stuffy 

 hole all Winter.&quot; 



&quot; Did n t it hurt your paw ? &quot; queried Jack. 

 cc I should have thought your fingers would have 

 been tender from sucking them so much while 

 you were sleeping in the nest/ 



&quot;That s what saved Nichemous s life,&quot; an 

 swered Muskwa. &quot; My fist was swollen up like 

 a moss-bag, else the blow would have crushed 

 his skull. But I knocked the fur all off the 

 top ; and his wife, who is a great medicine wo 

 man, could n t make it grow again ; though she 

 patched the skin up some way or other. That 

 is why you 11 see Nichemous s hat tied on with a 

 red handkerchief always.&quot; 



&quot; I also know of this Man,&quot; wheezed Otter. 

 &quot; Nichemous stepped on my slide once when he 

 was poaching my preserve I had it all nice and 

 smooth, and slippery, and the silly creature, with 

 out a claw to his foot, tried to walk on it.&quot; 



&quot;What happened, Long-Back?&quot; asked Jack- 

 eagerly. 



&quot; Well, he went down the slide faster than 

 ever I did, head first ; but, would you believe it, 

 on his back.&quot; 



