“Do you admit Injun testimony in this court?” he asked, disgustedly.
“If I’d known that,” he muttered, “I’d have bought a dozen or so to testify on my side.”
The Indian’s testimony was to the effect that this white man had left another white man in a native hut at Fort Yukon so sick that all the Indians thought he would die.
“Of course I can’t buck agin Injun testimony,” growled the prisoner; “but I say it’s a lie, all the same, and don’t prove nothing.”
“There is one thing that we must not neglect,” said the judge. “Marshall, you may search the prisoner.”
The latter struggled furiously, but was overpowered and held by strong hands while the marshall searched his pockets. From these were produced a number of articles, including a wallet, which the judge opened, spreading its contents on the table before him.
“Do you recognize anything here?” he asked of Jalap Coombs.
“I can identify this as having been in Goldollar’s possession,” answered the mate, picking up one of the articles that had dropped from the wallet, and holding it so that all might see.
Both Phil and Serge uttered exclamations of amazement, for the object thus exhibited was nothing more nor less than the mysteriously carved and almost forgotten fur-seal’s tooth that had already exerted so great an influence upon their fortunes.
“What do you know about this thing?” asked the judge of Jalap Coombs, taking the fur-seal’s tooth from him and examining it curiously.
“I know that there were an old Eskimo at St. Michaels what were shipped by Goldollar to go with us to Nulato as dog-driver. He wore this bit of ivory hung about his neck, and seemed to set a heap by it. One time when he were looking at it I heerd Goldollar say that by rights it belonged to him, seeing as he got it from some natyve, and it were afterwards stole from him. He didn’t say nothing to the Husky about it, but when we got to Nulato he give him so much liquor that in the morning the old chap couldn’t be woke up. Goldollar fooled round him a while, and then saying he’d have to give up the job of waking him, left him, and ordered the teams to pull out. I afterwards seen Goldollar take that very identical tooth outen his pocket several times and look at it like it were a diamond or some sich, and heerd him tell Strengel that any man as owned it would surely have luck. It didn’t seem to bring him none, though. Leastways no good luck, for he hain’t had nothing but bad luck sence.”