THE LAW OF THE BOUNDARIES 47 



&quot; I m late,&quot; he growled, sniffing at each bush 



and stump as he made the circuit of the Court. 



I &quot; What ! only Your Majesty and the Red Widow 



here as yet. It s bad form for our Comrades to 



keep the King waiting.&quot; 



While Blue Wolf was still speaking the Wil 

 lows were thrust open as though a tree had 

 crashed through them, and Mooswa s massive 

 head protruded, just for all the world as if 

 hanging from a wall in the hall of some great 

 house. His Chinese-shaped eyes blinked at the 

 light. &quot; May I be knock-kneed,&quot; he wheezed 

 plaintively, &quot; if it did n t take me longer to do 

 those thirty miles this morning than I thought it 

 would the going was so soft. I should have 

 been here on time, though, if I had n t struck 

 just the loveliest patch of my favourite weed at 

 Little Rapids where the fire swept last year, 

 you know.&quot; 



&quot;That s what the Men call Fire-weed,&quot; cried 

 Carcajou, pushing his strong body through the 

 fringe of berry bushes. 



&quot; That s because they don t know,&quot; retorted 

 Mooswa ; &quot; and because it always grows in good 

 soil after the Fire has passed, I suppose.&quot; 



&quot;Where does the seed come from, Mooswa? &quot; 

 asked Lynx, who had come up while they were 

 talking. &quot; Does the Fire bring it ? &quot; 



