“He’ll go—blind!” and David, too, was on the point of tears. “And—we—worked so hard t’—get th’ furs t’—save his eyes!”
Neither of them felt like eating, but, by force of habit they lighted a fire in the stove, filled the kettle from the water hole at the lake, and prepared to cook their supper.
“They’s no tea! And no flour! And no pork!” announced David after a search. “Indian Jake took all th’ grub!”
“Took all th’ grub!” exclaimed Andy.
“Aye, all th’ grub!” David repeated.
“Whatever will we do now?” asked Andy in consternation.
“They’s a bit of tea in our pack on th’ toboggan. Unlash un and bring th’ things right in, Andy,” said David. “We have th’ bladders of fat, and most of th’ dried deer’s meat th’ Injuns gave us, and some hard bread left in th’ bag too. We’ll make out.”
There were also three ptarmigans that Andy had shot during the day, and a rabbit they had taken from one of the traps. An inventory assured him that, so far as provisions were concerned, they would do very well indeed for the present.
“Indian Jake didn’t take any grub out o’ th’ Halfway tilt or th’ Namaycush Lake tilt, either,” said David, as the two stood contemplating their small stock of provisions. “What we has in th’ other tilts ain’t much, but ’twill have t’ do us till th’ break up.”