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Night, too, was now coming. Without a word the boys bent to their oars, thoroughly alarmed. Rob and Skookie were perhaps the calmest of the four, and Rob undertook to do what he could to encourage his companions. "One thing you want to remember, boys," said he, "and that is that one of these dories will stand almost as much sea as a ship, if you handle her right.
There were hundreds of fish moving about, up and down, and round and round, hesitating about following up the thread of the fresh water, and not wanting to go back to the salt water, which lay behind them. "My gracious, there's about a million in there!" exclaimed John, peering over the edge. "Yes, but Skookie couldn't get any with the snag-pole now," said Rob.
I don't suppose we could make a bark shelter, and we have nothing that would do for a tent; but we have our kamelinkas, and the blanket we made out of the sea-parrot breasts. We'd get along somehow. What do you say, Skookie?" Skookie grinned, understanding what was on foot. "All light all light!" he said. "Agreed then, fellows," said Rob.
"And where did the hunters come from?" asked Rob. "I dinno. Maybe so Eagle Harbor, maybe so Old Harbor." "Which way is Old Harbor, Skookie?" asked Rob, suddenly. The lad pointed back across the mountains, beyond the bay, and beyond their camp on the farther side. "Plenty far," he said. "Then which way is Eagle Harbor I suppose you mean a native village." "Eagle Harbor dis way."
Under his guidance, they finished the work on the bear-skins, scraping them and rubbing them day after day, until at last they turned them into valuable rugs. It was Skookie, also, who showed them where to get their salmon and codfish most easily. In short, he naturally dropped into the place of local guide.
"Fox!" cried Jesse, with conviction; and Skookie, who understood English better than he spoke it, laughed in assent. "Fokus," he said, repeating the word as nearly as he could.
Skookie, without advice from any one, stationed himself at the foot of the pool, and whenever the fish headed that way, he tossed a stone in front, heading it back and keeping it from running out toward the sea.
Up above, on the summit of the rock, the boys had seen the sudden jerk on the rope and noticed that now it was motionless, whereas before it had trembled and shifted as Rob moved along the shelf. Skookie was the first to divine what had happened. He pointed to the cord, now tense and stiff, and leaned out over the rim, peering down at the shelf where Rob had stood.
Skookie, going ahead with his work, fumbled in his pocket and fished out a piece of hide cord, which he measured off to a certain length between his arms; then, picking up a bit of stick, he whittled out a pointed peg and attached one end of his cord to this, while he arranged the other so that it would control the trigger which held the arm in place on the farther side of the klipsie bow.
All right, Jess, I'm game to go down to the mouth of the creek where we left the dory, and go out in the bay for a try after cod. But how will you get down there with your foot all tied up?" Jesse put his hand on Skookie's shoulder. "Oh, that will be easy," said he. "Skookie and I will go down the creek in the bidarka."
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