A. M. Chisholm

“ I ain't never been sick in my life, but I figger my luck won't last. I rap on wood and I cross my fingers and I bless myself when I sneeze and I always buy the best ammynition there is. I organize myself on a losin' basis and I get along. Now about this here cache, I figger we ain't got a chance in the world to find her. And so I'll bet we do!"
We all laughed at this contradictory philosophy.
"There's not so much difference between us, after all," said Mr. Fothergill. "But if we find the furs, Ballou will want to crawl into a hole. And wait till I tell him about that rascally Frenchman. ”

“ But Pack did not return, and after breakfast Toft and I started downstream.
"You see," he said, "there's just a chance that all the Frenchman wants is a start for wherever he's went to. He might cache the canoe somewheres along the bank or tie it up or just let it float on the chance of it lodging. He'd figger we'd have sense enough to hunt pretty close for it before we'd try to get out overland. Now Dinny he was out for the Frenchman, and so he wouldn't look for nothing but him. He'll go fast. We can go slower and look closer." ”

“ Toft explained, "I thought you was kickin' at it. Lots of fellers would beef the Frenchman without givin' him a chance to come ashore. That's what I meant. But Dinny'll holler at him once, and then if the pea soup don't come in he'll get him right there."
It was odd to hear the little man with the gentle voice and the childlike eyes talk in this matter-of-fact way.
"Stealin' a canoe in this man's country," he went on, "ain't no diff'rent from stealin' a horse on the plains. It sets a man afoot. And this is no country to be set afoot in." ”