“Well, we have some pressing obligations,” hinted Dick.
“What are they?”
“Our first debt is to the Indians. We’ve decided to give them half ownership in the mine. Papers will be made out in the regular way and a guardian appointed.”
“Who will be the guardian?” asked Factor MacClaren.
“The Royal North West Mounted.”
“But they may not care to accept such a responsibility,” smiled the corporal.
“O they’re all pretty decent fellows,” teased Sandy. “I don’t think we’ll have very much difficulty on that score.”
Corporal Richardson laughed.
“Are yuh really serious ’bout this, Dick?” demanded Malemute Slade. “Yuh don’t mean you’d give half the mine to them Indians?”
“We don’t mean anything else,” Dick spoke very quietly. “They spared our lives. We wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for them. When we went to school back in the States, our history books told us how white men have been taking land and valuable resources away from the Indians for the past three hundred years. Here’s one case where the Indian is going to receive what’s coming to him.”