Part 5 (2/2)
”I knohere we could get fresh fish, pretty nearly any a it We could freeze it and keep it so But what about the lard? You meant it to be sold, didn't you?”
”Yes, of course; but how much did you sell?” asked Katherine, with a hope that he really had sold it all and otten to mention it
”Sixteen pounds, all told Oily Dave seeh, of course, he wanted to beat me doo cents a pound, and when he found I would not put up with that, he tried to palm some bad money off on to me I'm not so sure that he would not have had ht to be, but Stee Jenkin called out to me to keepon hand, so I made the old rascal pay up in honest coin”
There was an air of er about Miles as he spoke, for he rather prided hieneral smartness, so Katherine's next words were a terrible blow to his pride
”My dear boy, you had better have let him have his two cents twice over, and then winked at the iven hiht,” she said bitterly
”What do you mean?” he demanded, with the offended air he always displayed when his pride ounded
”I mean that Oily Dave or some of his precious companions walked off with thole buckets of that lard froht, unless indeed you took the trouble to carry it into the cellar again”
”It would not have been possible for anyone to do that, for I was here all the time,” he answered stiffly
”Quite all the ti; so tone, anxious to win hiet some clue to the disappearance of the stuff
”I don't think I went away at all,” Miles began, then caught himself up in a sudden recollection ”Oh yes, I did! I reht, indoors for Father to give e”
”Then while you were indoors the thief stepped into the store and walked off with our two pails of lard Well, I hope the stuff will make hiust
”I wonder who it was? It couldn't possibly have been Jean,” said Miles, ”for he was sitting on the counter and banging his heels
When I went into the kitchen I heard hi and banging when I came back”
”Was it Jean Doulais whoon the blackboard, and had to write my explanations, because I could not o and punch the noisy one's head, but this I forbade for prudent reasons”
”Pity you didn't let the fellow corowled Miles ”If Jean didn't take the things, he must know pretty ho did Will you tackle him about it?”
”I think not,” replied Katherine, after a pause for consideration ”He ht think we suspected him, which would be bad from a business point of view Then he would be certain to tell the thief, and that would lessen our chances of detecting hiered lot they are here this winter!” Miles exclaimed in a petulant tone ”Just see what a rush we had to save the stores froht Father had his accident”
”But we did save thehter ”And incidentally we also saved the lives of a noble pair of ular pity they didn't get killed, I think; and I shouldn't wonder if they are at the botto also”
Katherine shook her head ”Oily Daveseems to be second nature with him But Stee Jenkin is rateful because we saved hiht Then remember how kind he and his ere to us when Father was so ill Oh, I've got a better opinion of Stee than to think he would steal our things now!”
Miles grunted again in a disbelieving fashi+on, but he did not attereed that for the future a ilant watch should be kept both indoors and out A padlock and chain were put on the door of the fish-house, everything that could be locked up was carefully made fast; then Katherine and Miles set the their eyes open to find out who had stolen the lard
Later in that sa Indian came in with a lot of dried fish which he wanted to trade off for provisions, and, after a good deal of bargaining, Katherine took the lot in exchange for a small barrel of flour and a packet of tobacco
”No need for us to go fishi+ng to-s for a fortnight, if we are careful,” she said to her brother, when he came back froet it from?” he asked
”From an Indian who called hifellow's Hiawatha, for you knoassi, and Annemeekee the thunder,” Katherine replied ”Only there was nothing grand nor terrible about this Waywassi Indian with a h”