“You’re making a fine hunt,” he complimented. “As fine a hunt as your father could have made.”
“We’ve got a fine lot o’ fur,” admitted David, with just pride, “but we been hopin’ for a silver fox.”
“That isn’t strange,” and the half-breed smiled, in his peculiar way. “Every hunter is looking for a silver fox all the time, but not many get ’em.”
“If we don’t get un,” said David, “Andy and me have made a good hunt anyhow, and we won’t be complainin’ about un.”
“How have you been doin’, Jake?” asked David “You never say much about un.”
“Have you got much fur?” persisted David.
“Oh, I’ve got some. I been thinkin’,” suggested Indian Jake, turning the subject, as he always did, from himself to the boys, “that you lads better bring all your furs from the other tilts down here to the Narrows tilt.”
“Maybe ’twould be a good plan,” David agreed.
“Yes,” continued Indian Jake, “and then you’ll have it all together.”
“’Twill make a fine showin’ when we has un all together,” enthused David.
“Yes,” said Indian Jake, “and we can go over it together and see what it’s worth.”
“We’ll fetch un all down here next trip,” agreed David. “I’d like t’ see un all laid out together.”
“And every trip you’d better bring down what you catch,” suggested Indian Jake. “It’s better to keep all your fur in one place.”
“Aye,” said David, “I’m thinkin’ ’tis better.”
“And will you be bringin’ all your fur here too?” asked Andy.
“No,” answered Indian Jake, “it’s better to keep ’em separate. If I had mine here we might be gettin’ ’em mixed, and we wouldn’t know which was which. I’ll keep mine up to my first tilt.”
“I’m thinkin’ we’d know all _our_ fur,” persisted Andy. “I don’t see how we’d be like t’ get un mixed.”
“There’s no tellin’ but we would, though,” persisted Indian Jake.
“Davy and I knows _our_ fur,” insisted Andy. “We’ve looked at un so many times, and counted out th’ price they’ll be like t’ bring, we’d know un anywhere.”
“We’ll be gettin’ more fur,” David explained, “and we may not be able t’ tell all til’ new fur like we do that we got now.”
“No,” said Indian Jake, “nobody can remember all the fur he gets. I can’t tell all mine so I’d know ’em, if they were with others.”
“Davy and I could tell ours,” again insisted Andy; “th’ new uns just like th’ old uns, no matter how many we gets.”