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In the struggle with the terrifying and pitiless natural forces, they returned to the primitive, garmenting themselves in the skins of wild beasts, and covering their feet with the walrus mucluc and the moosehide moccasin.
He kicked Mucluc Charley's shins under the table, but that graceless hero immediately unfolded a new and most logical reason for the sale. Curly Jim got pen and ink and paper and wrote out the bill of sale. O'Brien sat with pen poised in hand. "Le's have one more," he pleaded. "One more before I sign away a hundred thousan' dollars." Curly Jim filled the glasses triumphantly.
"Ever hast thou dealt in strong medicine," he said. "Doubtless the evil-doer will be briefly known to thee." "Ay, briefly known when I set eyes upon him." Again Klok-No-Ton hesitated. "Have there been gossips from other places?" he asked. Scundoo shook his head. "Behold! Is this not a most excellent mucluc?"
Percy Leclaire and Mucluc Charley drowned the faro dealer's objections in applause for so noble a sentiment.
Fifty miles of it would end the journey. He called a rest, built a fire, threw each dog its half-salmon, and thawed and ate his pound of beans. Then he sprang on the sled, yelled, "Mush!" and the dogs went out strongly against their breast-bands. "Hit her up, you huskies!" he cried. "Mush on! Hit her up for grub! And no grub short of Mucluc! Dig in, you wolves! Dig in!"
The rope with which it was tied ran across the path to a pine stump. They tripped over it and went down, O'Brien underneath. A faint flash of consciousness lighted his brain. He felt the impact of bodies upon his and struck out madly for a moment with his fists. Then he went to sleep again. His gentle snore arose on the air, and Mucluc Charley began to giggle.
The shock of the jolt broke the continuity of Leclaire's mental process. "How much to the pan?" he demanded. "Pan nothin'!" Mucluc Charley was angry. "Idea got it got leg-hold ran it down." Leclaire's face took on a rapt, admiring expression, and again he hung upon the other's lips. " . . . O hell!" said Mucluc Charley.
It was a MUCLUC of the Innuit pattern, sewed together with sinew threads, and devoid of beads or furbelows. But it was the skin itself that was remarkable. In that it was all of half an inch thick, it reminded me of walrus-hide; but there the resemblance ceased, for no walrus ever bore so marvellous a growth of hair.
"An' I'll stay an' be eaten." "But I'm going to take one fish each for the dogs," Smoke explained, "and one meal for myself." "An' you'll sure need it if you make Mucluc to-morrow night." Smoke, through the medium of Carluk, stated the program. "Make fires, long fires, plenty fires," he concluded. "Plenty Boston man stop Mucluc. Boston man much good. Boston man plenty grub.
But there was nothing small about O'Brien. He went into the bar-room and returned with Mucluc Charley and Percy Leclaire. "Business 'sociates of mine, business 'sociates," he announced, with a broad wink to them and a guileless grin to Curly. "Always trust their judgment, always trust 'em. They're all right. Give 'em some fire-water, Curly, an' le's talk it over."
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