affairs. To throw myself upon him, there- 

 fore, and by brute force to overcome the 

 noble fellow defending his little ones, was 

 out of the question; as plainly impossible 

 as to rob a bird's nest or to beat a child. 

 But suppose Noel, my big Indian, should 

 chance that way on his perpetual quest for 

 new beaver ground ? I could see the queer 

 squint in his eye and the grin on his wrin- 

 kled face as he watched me hopping over 

 the bogs, with the old gander nipping at my 

 heels and spanking me with his broad wings 

 as he chased me gloriously out of his baili- 

 wick. That was too much, even for the sake 

 of encouraging Waptonk as he deserved ; so 

 instead of running away I sank down quietly 

 in the moss, waiting half humorously to take 

 my medicine and fully expecting to get it 

 "good and plenty." 



Quite near me he stopped, his head down 

 close to the ground, his tongue bent up like 

 a spring into the roof of his mouth, hissing 

 vigorously and watching me keenly out of 

 his bright eyes to see the effect of his dem- 

 onstration. It flashed upon me instantly why 



205 



In Quest of 

 ffieJYfftf^- 



