"What does the dog want in Klitonda's lodge?" came the fierce reply. "Does he come here to mock the chief of the Ayana? Are the Coast dogs waiting outside to kill their enemy, and steal his daughter? They will never have her, no, not while Klitonda has breath in his body."
"Let the chief of the Ayana put aside his axe," the Chilcat responded. "Let him sit down. Klukwan has come with a message from his leader who is waiting for his return."
"No, Klitonda will stand. He will not sit while a Chilcat dog is within his lodge. Whatever you have to say, say it at once. Speak."
"Does the chief of the Ayana know that the Chilcats are near; that they are lying among the trees? Does he know how many, and how strong they are? Does not his heart tremble as he hears this? The Chilcats have come from far. They know that the white men are here, and would take the pelts from the Ayana Indians. They know, too, that Klitonda's heart is one with the traders from beyond the mountains of the rising sun. Will the Chilcats allow this? Will they hide like jack-rabbits among the trees, and let the white men take the furs? No. They have come for revenge. They are ready to drive back the white people. Then let the chief of the Ayana beware, for he cannot escape them. The Chilcats are swift as wolves, and their fangs are long and sharp."
"Klitonda does not fear the Coast dogs," was the savage reply. "They are not wolves; they are dogs. Let them come; let them bark, that is all they can do. The Chilcats have no heart. They crawl among the trees, they sneak up in the night. Their hearts are like water. Why should Klitonda be afraid of papooses? Bah!"
"The Ayana chief is surely talking wind," the visitor responded. "The Chilcats are no dogs, and their hearts are not weak. Were their hearts weak when they drove back the Ayana braves in the great battle at Tagish Lake? Does Klitonda wish to meet them to-night? Does he long to see the Chilcats come from among the trees like hungry wolves? Does he wish to see his people killed around him, and he himself carried as a captive back to the Coast? How could the proud Klitonda endure that?"
"The Chilcat dogs will never take Klitonda beyond the mountains," was the fierce rejoinder.
"How can he help it?"
"He will fight, and the white men will fight too. Has Klukwan seen how strong the white traders are behind their wooden walls?"
"Bah! What do the Chilcats care for a row of trees? Walls of stone cannot stop them, and how then can those sticks?"