54 GETTING F HOME. 



We started quite briskly the next morning, and there was no 

 trouble till after dinner, as we only stopped once for him to 

 warm himself, but very soon afterwards he gave out again, and 

 sitting down he wished us both good-bye, saying that he meant 

 to remain where he was and die. We lit a fire and warmed him 

 thoroughly, and got him on another mile or so, but beyond that 

 he would not go, and it was only by pretending to quarrel with 

 him and by hitting him, when he got furious and chased me, 

 that I got him home at last. It took several days to appease 

 his wrath, and to prove that I only did what I had done to save 

 his life. 



When I got home I found that Badger had been neglecting 

 the traps, spending most of his time in A-ta-ka-koup's house ; 

 and on going along my line I found that a wolverine had paid 

 the traps a visit, and had eaten two martens and left nothing 

 but the tail of what must have been a fine fisher, a skin which 

 is worth fully two martens. I got one fine wolf, and I fear 

 that the poor animal had been several days in the trap, as he 

 had eaten everything in the shape of a twig within reach, and 

 had gnawed the bark from the log to which the trap was 

 fastened. 



On my way home I was crossing a small ridge when I saw 

 A-ta-ka-koup's son-in-law, the man whom I had thrown over 

 my head in the struggle for the " shrub," and who had never 

 forgiven me, go quickly into a clump of small fir trees, which 

 were on my way to the hut, and I also noticed that he had a 

 gun in his hand, and seemed to move in a stealthy way as if he 

 had seen me coming, and did not wish me to know of his being 

 there. Now I had been told by Badger that he had vowed to 

 be revenged on me for what I had done to him, so that he 



