TOM AH JOSEPH. 139 



his chin with his thumb and fingers, as if feeling for 

 whiskers which he never found. 



He was doing this about eight o'clock the morn- 

 ing after our arrival at Princeton, as we stood on the 

 little wharf at Louis Lake with quite a pile of traps 

 lying about us. 



"That's a stove, you say, in that canvas, Mr. 

 Stevens?" 



"Yes, that's a stove, camp-stove." 



" And that big canvas bag's got your bedding in 

 it, humph?" 



"Yes." 



" Ugh ! Twouldn't do to get them wet, would 

 it ? The birch might leak goyig up, and it might 

 be " (scratching his head a little) " safer to " 



"To what, Joe?" 



" I was thinking, we might send 'em up on the 

 steamer." 



"What will it cost?" ' 



" Oh ! a quarter." 



" All right : take them over to the boat." Which 

 he did not exactly do, but went over to where the 

 boat lay, and returned with the captain and engi- 

 neer who compose the crew ; and they transfer all 

 our plunder, with the exception of my rods and a 

 small satchel or two, to the deck of the steamer. 



"How's this, Tomah?" 



