~f To CARIBOO AND BACK }-- But if the white men would hand over all their powder and shot they could take one sack pemmican. It was their winter’s supply. But ammunition was most necessary for the white men to have, if only for protection. They had already had occasion to notice that the Indians as they came nearer the coast were less friendly, more suspicious, then the.Crees of the prairies. So they made no trade. In the morning, while Jacques and his as- sistants were putting the finishing touches to the raft, Mary Mulligan stood on the bank carefully counting over the little heap of pro- visions at her feet. She was making her cal- culations and shaking her head as she did it. “Take your gun, Jimmie me boy,” she called as her son came up the bank. ‘You and Arthur go and have another try. You might have the luck to come on something to eat, if it was only a few squirrels. Sure, they’d make soup, and there’s still an onion left for flavoring!” “T’ll ask Jacques,” answered Jim. He had been out with his gun most of the previous day but had shot nothing but a few birds. Soon after Mary saw the two boys go in among [136]