Adventure Magazine Cover, March 20, 1925 — page 122: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

104 before these were secured by towlines. Carcajou stood patiently up to his waist in water and waited. The men were hali- drunk and paused only long enough to pick up a light load and hurry back to the keg. Carcajou leisurely and carefully drew him- self in over the end of his canoe while La Blanche tied the towlines. Reaching their landing place, they made short work of get- ting the goods ashore. Then Carcajou with much satisfaction said: “This stuff is worth eight hundred beaver in regular trade. With Durantaye and the coureurs de bots going to fight the Iroquois we should trade it for a thousand beaver as there won’t be a post open for trade on the Upper Lakes until the fighting is finished. So, Old Thief, lead the way to the medicine place.” The night was thick; but La Blanche was red in his sense of location, and he unerringly walked to a stunted growth surrounding a rough outcropping of rocks. Carcajou felt about and found holes and crevices. Carca- jou told him to remain and hide the goods. He took it upon himself to bring them -from the shore, and each trip he carried enough to satisfy the strength of three aver- age men. When he finished he was as wet from sweat as if he had plunged into the strait. At last he paused, wiped the water from his face and sighed: “Praise all the holy saints! That is done. A quicker trading venture I never made, Old Nonsense. Now we will take the empty canoes back and get some more.” “We’ve done enough,” muttered La Blanche. “Are you a madman? Do you think you can steal the fort and the point?” But on their return this time they found two men violently arguing. They had en- deavored to count the empty canoes to ascertain how many had been unloaded. One man insisted the string was short one canoe. The other as forcibly declared the count was three short. Carcajou waited a short distance from the shore. He feared lest the loud argument would bring an officer from the fort with a torch. Finally the two agreed to bring a third man from the stockade to settle the dispute. As they moved away Carcajou was in the water and restoring the empty canoes to the line. He had barely rejoined La Blanche when the disputants reappeared, this time accompanied by an officer who carried a flaring torch. Adventure “M’sieur, I have told this pig one is miss- ing,” cried one soldier. “Cochon! M’sieur the officer will find three are gone,” cried the other. “Stop your noise,” growled the officer. “Tf you’ve called me out here for nothing youll catch it.” He swung the torch around over his head and brightly lighted the shore line. In disgust he said: “None are missing, wretches. count.” He swung the torch again and surveyed the canoes. Then he muttered: ‘““You’ve worked fast. But there are not enough goods in the stockade to fill all these empties.” He started for the fort, and Carcajou would have slipped into the water had not La Blanche gripped him by the long hair and hissed: “Ts something the matter with your head? The man is suspicious. He’s gone to count the bales in the stockade.” Carcajou wrathfully demanded his com- panion to release his double grip, but La Blanche was obdurate; and his wisdom was proven by the sudden reappearance of the officer accompanied by two soldiers carrying muskets. He angrily accused: “Some one has been stealing these goods. We'll find the thief in the morning.” “It must be some of the Ottawas or Hurons,” said a soldier. “They’re all drunk. It’s some of the cursed wocds runners. But we'll get them yet. You men start a fire. Keep it burn- ing. If you see a thief, shoot. I'll send some of the soberest men to finish un- loading.”’ Carcajou dipped his paddle noiselessly, and the canoe glided along the shore until La Blanche told him to stop. It was a natural hiding place, close to the water. The canoe was landed and thrust under some low bushes. Then in a wide detour they passed around the fort and emerged from the woods back of the screaming Ottawa village. “IT stay here,” decided Carcajou. “‘They’ve got their knives and are fighting.”’ “Tf they kill each other they will blame the French for giving them the rum. If they hadn’t got the rum they would have killed the French to get it,” sighed La Blanche. you miserable You’re so drunk you can’t CORnNICLO© (©