BUSINESS AND ROMANCE 309 



Evidently he had just finished telling one of his mirth-provok- 

 ing stories, as the men were good-naturedly questioning him 

 about it; for, as we sat down, he continued: 



"Yes, sir, it's true; fire attraks 'em. Why, I've knowed *em 

 come from miles round when they catched a glimpse of it, an' 

 as long as there's danger o' white bears bein' round you'U never 

 again find Old Billy Brass tryin' to sleep beside a big fire. No, 

 sir, not even if His Royal Highness the Commissioner or 

 His Lordship the Bishop gives the word." 



Then he sat there slowly drawing upon his pipe with ap- 

 parently no intention of adding a single word to what he 

 had already said. Lest something interesting should be lost, 

 I ventured: 



"Was it the Bishop or the Commissioner that made the 

 trouble.^" 



"No, sir, neither; 'twas the Archdeacon," replied the old 

 man as he withdrew his pipe and rubbed his smarting eyes clear 

 of the smoke from the blazing logs. Taking a few short draws 

 at the tobacco, he continued: 



"There was three of us, me an' Archdeacon Lofty an' 

 Captain Hawser, who was commandin' one of the Company's 

 boats that was a-goin' to winter in Hudson Bay. It happened 

 in September. The three of us was hoofin' it along the great 

 barren shore o' the bay. In some places the shore was that flat 

 that every time the tide came in she flooded 'bout all the 

 country we could see, an' we had a devil of a time tryin' to keep 

 clear o' the mud. We had a few dogs along to help pack our 

 beddin', but, nevertheless, it was hard work; for we was 

 carryin' most of our outfit on our backs. 



"One evenin' just before sundown we stumbled upon a lot 

 o' driftwood scattered all about the flats. As so much wood 

 was lyin' around handy, we decided to spend the night on a 

 little knoll that rose above high-water mark. For the last 

 few days we had seen so httle wood that any of our fires could 



