ANTOINE GARDAPEE. 223 



two American kings of the forest, who held dominion 

 over all the beasts and exacted tributes of fish, flesh and 

 fur from them. And another marauding wolverine was 

 invading our realm! 



By some unwritten law my stool was always at the 

 left of the fireplace and Antoine's on the right. The 

 tobacco bag hung on my side, and when we were in ex- 

 ecutive session it was my duty to hand out "the weed of 

 Ole Virginny." So after we had removed our stools 

 from the table, which was half an oak log, with legs set 

 in holes made by an inch auger, we sat down in our 

 places, and I handed the old man the plug. After his 

 pipe was filled and emptied he said: "You stop here till 

 I keel de dev'. I go watch for heem. My trap all fix, 

 all right he come to-night an' I keel a-heem, he keel 

 a-me, it make no dif . He run my line all a-tam an' I no 

 git heem; he break all our trap like hell a'most. Gimme 

 some tobac." 



Tobacco had a soothing effect on Antoine, as it has 

 on many men, and a second pipe quieted his anger, but 

 did not interfere with his determination. I filled his 

 haversack with provisions, and with blankets and snow- 

 shoes on back and rifle on shoulder he started on his 

 mission of revenge. He did not say with Shylock: 



"If I can catch him once upon the hip, 



I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him." 



He had never heard of Shylock, but he had in his heart 

 all the revengeful feeling that the poor, persecuted Jew 

 felt for his enemies. 



It was well along toward sundown when he left, and 

 I cleaned up our table and got in the night wood, and 

 spent the evening in the unpoetic work of darning my 

 woollen socks, filling the box in the stock of my rifle with 



