"But others said, 'Look what he has paid us! We are all rich men. The price is better than we ever had before!'
"The old, wise men said, 'How do you know that it is more, when you do not know how much it is?'
"So, night and day, there was talking to and fro—along the trail by day, around the camp-fire when the sun had set.
"It soon came time for us to send men down to Rigolet, on Hamilton Inlet, there to buy at the Hudson's Bay store the things that we would need in the winter time.
"We sent twelve of the strong young men in their canoes to get the things and bring them home to our tents. We were happy when we thought of all the guns and tobacco, all the flour and the fine clothes so much money would buy.
"They went: and they were gone many days, while we waited in one fixed place for them, and in our minds spent the money many times over."
Then the Indian paused. He was squatting on his haunches, and puffing at his pipe. Mr. Cabot's leg was giving him much pain, but he was too proud to ask the Indian to do anything for him.
The Indian's face grew very stern as he remembered. His tone became as hard as the expression of his face. He looked at Mr. Cabot and clenched his fist. "When our men came to the storekeeper, they walked all about the store. 'I'll take that fine dress,' said one. 'Give me that shotgun,' said another. 'I will have this bag of tobacco,' said a third. Some took flour, and some chose bright ornaments for their wives, and others took candy, and one man got a talking-machine. Some chose the best clothes in the store. They also took much food of every kind, and ammunition for the guns.
"They made great piles of the things on the floor, to take them to the canoes.
"Then they brought out their money to pay for all these things.