But Wilder was studying the man out of his knowledge of his malevolent reputation. He knew he was confronting the dreaded creature who had perpetrated his terrible vengeance upon those two people he had encountered at the house in the hills. He knew it at once when he recognised Clarence as one of the family he had visited that noonday. And he was anxious to discover the impression his presence on the river made upon the man.
He had not long to wait.
“You gold men,” Usak said, in a tone that was deep-throated and full of the latent savage in him. “You come for gold? You come to Caribou.” He shook his head, and his eyes suddenly opened wide, and their black depths were full of that fierce resentment which was to be feared like a cyclonic storm. “I tell you no!” he cried hotly. “Caribou is not for whiteman gold man. No. It is for the white girl the good boss Marty leave to the care of Usak. Him all mans quit Caribou quick. I say him. I—Usak. You’m go quick as you come. You not go, then all mans get kill up dead. It so. Him no gold on Caribou, an’ Caribou him for my good white-girl boss, Kid.”
With his last word the man stood erect and his movement was without any apparent effort. He stood a creature of mighty stature grasping a long rifle that was dwarfed beside him. He deliberately spat in the fire and turned away. Then it was, for the first time, he experienced the authority he had forced on his white companion’s shoulders. Clarence, too, had risen, but he did not turn away.
“Say, Usak, just stop right here,” he ordered sharply.
The Indian was startled. He turned again and waited at the boy’s bidding, while his passionate eyes narrowed on the instant.
Clarence gave him no time to speak. He passed round the fire to Wilder and thrust out a welcoming hand.
“I’m glad to meet you, sir,” he said, with an amiable boyish smile. “Guess I’m only a kid, but I can speak for my mother an’ the Kid. You see, Usak’s our guardian around here. He’s the best thing to us that was ever put into an Indian’s body. But he reckons this river and all the territory around it belongs to my mother an’ the Kid, an’ hates the sight of folks he thinks likely to do us hurt. You get that? But he don’t quite understand things between whitefolk. I’m glad to welcome you to our country, an’ I’ll be glad to welcome you by our home down the river. And I guess Mum, and the Kid’ll feel that way, too. Maybe you’ll forget Usak spat into your fire.”
Wilder took the boy’s hand in a powerful grip, and smiled up into his ingenuous tired face.
“Why, sure,” he cried. “You don’t need to say another word. I’ve been along this morning to pay my respects to your splendid mother, and your—Kid. And seeing I’m located on this river of yours for the next year, why, I’m hoping I’ll see a deal of you all. My friends here feel that way, too. We’re not pirates come to steal anything you reckon is yours, or to hand you a moment’s worry. That goes, an’ I guess your mother’ll tell you the same.”