To the left of the fire-place was the one couch the room contained, and to this the injured man at once made his way. He sat upon the edge and rested for a few minutes. He was breathing hard, and most of the time he kept his right hand to his suffering side. He seemed to pay no heed to what was taking place around him, but stared straight before him as if in a dream. He aroused at length, and glanced at the three standing before him.
"Make yourselves at home," he said. "There is plenty of food in the next room. It is quite warm there, for I always keep a fire going. The women, I think, will find it comfortable. Sam, I want to speak to you alone."
Jean was not slow in taking this hint, so she opened a door to the right of the fire-place and passed into the adjoining room. This was somewhat similar to the one they had just left, excepting that it was not so cosy. The table had no cloth covering it, and upon it stood a single candle stuck in a wooden candle-stick. This she lighted with a coal from the fire-place, and then looked curiously around. Along one side of the room was an abundance of provisions, all in bags, and carefully arranged. There were blankets, too, piles of them, and nearby a stack of furs. Jean thought of the Loyalists on the A-jem-sek. Here was sufficient food and clothing to last them for some time. And why should they not have them? She would speak to the owner just as soon as possible, and no doubt he would be willing to send something to the needy ones.
As she looked toward a corner of the room opposite the food and blankets, she was astonished to see many muskets leaning against the wall. She went over and began to count, and found there were fifty in all. She also saw numerous old swords, bayonets, and boxes filled with bullets. There were cans, as well, which she believed contained powder. She grew more puzzled now than ever. Who could the man be, and why did he have so many guns? Perhaps he was a trader, and dealt with the Indians. But why had not Sam and Kitty spoken about him? Then she recalled the look of defiance in his eyes when she had first met him. What was the meaning of that?
She crossed the room to where the Indian woman was searching among the pots, pans, and other cooking utensils near the fire-place.
"What are you going to do?" she asked.
"Cook supper," was the reply. "Plenty grub, eh?"
"There certainly is, Kitty. I wonder what that man is going to do with it all." She then lowered her voice, and glanced toward the door. "Do you know anything about him?" she enquired. "Why does he have so many guns?"
"Kitty know," was the reply. "White man beeg chief."
"What kind of a chief?"