The Magnetic North

eved and do now know, that the

ac took a diagram and special directions, and went after the rest of elephas, convey

layed games with Kaviak, going about

ut, "You comin' long to Pymeut th

s the

. And it's stopped snowin', and hasn't thought of sleeti

the piece of dirty paper the Indian h

f consumption, but of a devil. They've sent a dogteam to

ld our horses till we

r wh

g hot, rolled up some food and stuff for trading, in a light reindeer skin blanket, lashed it

nd there in the river and frozen fast in the ice. High on the bank lay one of the long cornucopia-shaped basket fish-traps, and presen

mulating an impression that had vaguely haunted him on the Lower River in September; wondering i

n four legs, was not a habitation, but a storehouse, and was perched so high, not for fear of floods, but for fear

nailed on it transversely to prevent the feet from slipping. But the Boy stopped at the rude ladder's foot, deciding that this particular mark of interest

rth-mounds, snow-encrusted, some with drift-logs

to make his presence known, he saw, to his relief, the back of a sol

d as the figure turned h

ed out when he got nea

h and sparkling eyes lit up a young, goo

o? You know

es

. It seemed to be a capi

re i

d pointed, and then:

Nicholas, thought the visitor, remarking the

he biggest of the u

ng hangs out? Nichola

s is the

ime. Ain't yo

h

hy

t of laughter, and

at's you

sounded lik

l-like opening leading into the council-house.

at's always laughing, no matter wha

e way to another spasm of merr

this one,"

and pulled off his Arctic cap with a

luck, I'm prou

k," began Nichol

Princess Muckluck. Only, how's a fella

giggled, while he

ching, like her brother's, a little below the knee, was shaped round i

ow's your

; even Princess Muckl

the Boy followed him on a

opening in the middle for a smoke-hole some three feet square, and covered at present by a piece of thin, translucent skin. With the sole exception of the smoke-hole, the whole thing was so cove

as possible, when the bearskin flap fell behind

ucks sitting, or, rather, lounging and squatting, on the outer edge of the wide sleepi

in glow of two seal-oil lamps, mounted on two posts, planted o

as no fire that he could see. Nicholas was talking away very rapidly to the half-dozen grave and reverend signiors, t

nd his little offering was laid before the council-men. More grunts, and room made for the visitor on the sleeping-bench next the post that supported one of

f the well-hewn logs, and of the neat attachment of the

s?" he inquire

' ... heap ol'

to his job," he said. "I don't s

no

sproportionately small hands of the men about him, corrected his

others listened with respect, smoking and making inarticulate noises now and then. Whe

ll about?" t

ck," said the buck

r, b'long me," Nichol

the Holy Cross pe

gone; white me

eir heads and cou

noticing what he was saying till he found nearly all the eyes of the company fixed inte

one buck doubtfully. "He make

said the Boy, followin

who hitherto had held his peace; "all get s

the tale afresh. "Shamán come. Father

lenty quick, plenty

e in silence brok

'Yukon Inua

Inua? Where

red Nicholas. "Oh, the ri

nto the ages with one slim brown hand-"fore Hol

l Fathe

N

ttural voice: "S

ious!

-ni

ny Chr

nd-by, as if wishing thoroughly to ju

r. No good. Ol' father say, 'Me well man? Good friend Holy Cross,

ompany grunt

cholas added with

an't hear throug

the floor. It then appeared that, underneath, was an excavation about two feet deep. In the centre, w

Story-teller took the cover off the smoke

r the men-folk, in old lard-cans or native wooden kantaks. These vessels they

n't let the Bo

for the Boy's "Canadian webfeet" had been left in the Kachime, and he sank in the snow at every step. Twice in the dusk he stumbled over an ighloo

rough the snow, with bent head and swaying, jerking gait, looked up suddenly and s

is

ark all same owl. Him

f the Shamán looked like a huge bat flying

or asked, thinking that for sheer di

pen and swallow him. The Boy stooped and saw his friend's feet dis

pose; he could make only such

they stood in the house of the Chief of the Pymeuts, that native of whom Fat

the spaciousness of the Kachime, but it

the evening meal. She nodded, and her white teeth shone in the blaze. Over in the corner, wrapped in skins, l

ou clean 'em first?" asked the vis

cholas; "him

at it was perfectly true. Yukon salmon broiled in their skins over a birch fire a

to the delights of reindeer "back-f

ister-such a nice one, too"-(the Prin

st, that politeness was bei

e day. I care about her a lot. I've come up here to make

evidently had profited more by her schooling

an orange, Princ

o' f

ella ball that

; "me see him in boxes S

ls, and we used to eat as many as we liked. We don't have muc

o there," s

a gold-mine and have bought back the Orange Grove, my siste

ook li

unny, too, 'cau

What's

born at th

aculated

s care a heap about each

k stared in

e exclaimed. "It's like th

ng akin to disgust in the face of the Princess.

hing strange about it;

ft

ch pleased. Once in a wh

of laughter. "Why, your women are like our dogs! Huma

Nicholas went to him, bent down, and apparently tried to soothe

Holy Cross school

r Aloysius and the Si

e a Catho

ye

t English I've hea

ck-unless"-she regarded the Boy with a s

through wisps of straight gray hair. No voice but his was heard for some time in the ighloo, then, "I fra

thinking such an apparition

o," she whispered, "

dev

Sh! Yo

a scream. Nicholas came hurrying back to

get S

oon." Muckluck

ouched down

die before the S

k soothingly, but her

him up to drink. He glared over the cup with wild eyes, his teeth chatt

moved clo

"If Nicholas think he die, he drag hi

alk went on, Nicholas listening fascinated. "No Pymeut," sh

s dying they haul him out o' door

get him out

arry hi

holas rejoined them, silent, looking very grave. Was he contemplating turning the poor old fellow out? The Boy sat devisin

up as a long wail came, muffled, but keen still with anguish, down through

las! what

ha

re, that! Why, it'

him C

and brin

dog i

hat's n

dog; him

uman noise

were the doleful lamenting of the Mahlemeut wit

pted to call "American," a faculty for assimilating the grave conclusions of the doctors, and importing them light-heartedly into personal experience, he realised that what met his eyes here in Nicholas' house was one of the oldest pictures humanity has presented. This was what was going on by the Yukon, when King John, beside

d an old reindeer-skin full of holes, and examined it. At this the girl, who had

man bab

Nicholas held back the flap and gravely waited there, till one Pymeut after another crawled in. They were the men the Boy had seen at the Kachime, with one exception-a vicious-looking old fellow, thin, w

signed to Muckluck to come and sit by him. Grav

amán?" whisp

is apparition, however hideous,

e people

ore now i

is ever

ick, so

ambled on, but

, "devil 'fraid already.

from the genial glow, only to sit back, humped together, blinking, silent. The Boy began to feel that, if h

e Shamán, presenting some

t's

ngue," whisp

n song, "Thanks for a good me

hen took a box of matches and a plug of the Boy's tobacco out of his pocket, and held the lot towards the Shamán, seeming to say that to save his life he couldn't rake up another earthly thing to tempt his Shamánship. Although t

volubly, and evidently commending the Boy to

kon Inua n

men bring plague

ney?" whispe

t h

e plunged his hands down into his trousers pockets an

nd he can give this to Yuk

e could endure the temptation no longer his two black claws shot out, but Nicholas intercepted the much-envied object, while, as it seemed, h

he had set the lamp down again, with a grunt, he put his black thumb on the wick and squeezed out the light. When he came back to the fire, which had burnt low, he pulled open his parki

ck, and with Nicholas's help gathered the ashe

ous to see how the coughing of the others, which in the Kachime had been practically constant, was here almost silenced. Whether th

own between the ivory wand and the eagle's feather. Eac

d that had dared turn on the light, growled, and pulled something else from under his inexhaustible parki. The Boy peer

der cover of the devil's sudden loud remonstrance, th

n the Kaml

hollow sound no eye could see. Now, at intervals, he uttered a cry, a deep bass danger-note, singularly unnerving. Someone answered in a higher key, and they kept this up in a kind of ru

recurrent cry of the Shamán. Its accompanying drum-note was muffled

or from the bundle of skin

ped her hands and r

n to death if he's conscious

lled h

She was shaking with exc

ng shrieks, then dropped it, moaning, whining, then bursting suddenly into diabolic laughter, bellowing, whisp

seemed a serious question as to who would come out ahead. Just as you began to feel that the old Chief was at the end of his tether, and ready to give up the ghost

nd arms; but she leaned over, breathless, to catch what words might esca

an occasional faint twitch, the Boy realised for the first time that the sick man, too, wa

ble than the hell-let-loos

more than they had been under the spell of the noise. At last a queer, in

m the opposite direction, behind the Boy, and not near the Shamán at all. It grew louder, came nearer, more inexplicable, more awful. He f

indescribable stirring of somethin

stifling came over the Boy as he thought of a s

on the terror-frozen faces of the natives, fell on the bear-skin flap. It moved! A huge hand came stealing round. A hand? The ske

full in his face, pale and beautiful, but angry as an avenging angel's. For an instant the Boy still thought it a spectre, the de

ed. Nicholas got up, dazed but ob

of getting up and looking his enemy in the face, he wriggled along on his belly, still under cover of the Kamlayka, till he got to the bear-skin

the girl, "don't, don't

bending down over the moti

lled him,

" began Nichol

ell go and leave you to your abominations. But instead, go you, all of you-go!" He flung out his long arms, and the grou

suit fixed fascinated on his face. If Brother Paul had appeared as a spectre in the ighloo, it was plain that he looked upon

name, what-

the white camp

!" He flung up his arms, the pale lips mo

ht to have interfe

terly, checked himself, knelt do

r-skin was making t

ng to do but to follow his host. When the bear-skin had dropped behind the Boy, and he crawled after Nicholas along the d