THE LAW OF THE BOUNDARIES 65 



&quot; Francois has come ! &quot; declared the Jay, in an 

 even, dramatic voice. 



The silence of consternation settled over the 

 group. 



&quot; Frangois and The Boy /&quot; added Jack. 



&quot; What s a Boy? &quot; asked Lynx. 



&quot;I know,&quot; asserted Mooswa. &quot;When I was 

 a calf in the Company s corral at Fort Resolu 

 tion, I played with a Boy, the Factor s Man-Cub. 

 Great Horns ! he was nice. Many a time he gave 

 me to eat the queer grass things that grew in the 

 Factor s garden.&quot; 



&quot; Where is Fran9ois ? &quot; queried the King. 



&quot;At Red Stone Brook he and The Boy. 

 I had breakfast with them.&quot; 



&quot; Renegade ! &quot; sneered Carcajou. 



&quot; And Frangois says they will stay here all 

 Winter and kill fur. There are three big Bear 

 Traps in the outfit I saw them, Muskwa ; 

 what think you ? Great steel jaws to them, 

 with hungry teeth. They would crack the leg of 

 a Moose, even a Buffalo ; and there are Num 

 ber Four Traps for Umisk and Nekik ; and 

 smaller ones for you, Mister Marten many 

 of them. Oh, my! but it s nice to have an 

 eight-dollar coat. All the Thief-trappers in the 

 land covet it. 



&quot; And Fran9ois has an Ironstick, and The 

 5 



