ig8 TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 



was looking over the trophies in the hold, Steve stood 

 beside me, and in his odd mixture of Americanese 

 and English desired me to grant him a favour. 



11 You do this for me, you bet, I do all same for 

 you." 



Which meant, in effect, that if his wants were 

 favourably considered, mine would receive his careful 

 attention when the right time came. 



The little native wished to remain with us, to see 

 the trip through, to hunt with us, and be our inter- 

 preter and general factotum. We had never figured 

 on such a stroke of luck. Ned might safely be 

 trusted to care for the trophies, and Steve could work 

 his way back to Kodiac from Cook's Inlet as occa- 

 sion offered. I closed with the sporting offer, and, 

 much delighted, Steve curled himself up in a maze 

 of blankets in a corner of the hold, and set himself 

 to sleep. 



At dawn the loading up of our flotilla commenced 

 in earnest. We conveyed everything to the mouth of 

 the river, and then packed the bidarkas and a dory 

 with a heap of stores, rifle cases, tents, and cases in- 

 numerable. Leaving all sorts of instructions, verbal 

 and written, with Captain Clemsen, we said good- 

 bye to our fragrant Lily, with not a few regrets, and, 

 speaking personally, not a few qualms. 



Now were we fairly launched into a nomadic life. 

 I set out in a three-hatch bidarka, with a sinister- 

 looking paddler, who hugged a little bag of seal-oil 

 to his manly chest. The energetic paddler had not 

 corked his treasure sufficiently, and presently the 



