As he entered, Paup-puk-keewiss saw five horrid-looking Manitoes in the act of eating. It was the father and his four sons. They were really hideous to look upon. Their eyes were swimming low in their heads, and they glared about as if they were half starved. They offered Paup-puk-keewiss something to eat, which he politely refused, for he had a strong suspicion that it was the thigh-bone of a man.
“What have you come for?” said the old one.
“Nothing,” answered Paup-puk-keewiss.
They all stared at him.
“Do you not wish to wrestle?” they all asked.
“Yes,” replied Paup-puk-keewiss, “I don’t mind if I do take a turn.”
Pipe-bearer, who stood near enough to overhear the conversation, grinned from ear to ear when he caught this remark. A hideous smile came over the faces of the Manitoes.
“You go,” they said to the eldest brother.
The two got ready—the Manito and Paup-puk-keewiss—and they were soon clinched in each other’s arms for a deadly throw. Paup-puk-keewiss knew their object—his death; they wanted a taste of his body, and he was determined they should have it, perhaps in a different sense from that they intended.