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"But now," said John one morning, as the three of them sat by the fireside in the barabbara, "we are a fine-looking lot, aren't we? Just look at us every one of us has got something the matter with him!" They all took a glance and broke out in a loud laugh together, in which Skookie joined uproariously. As a matter of fact, each one of them was wearing a bandage.
When at last they left the mountains and crossed the tundra to the deserted village near which they had left their dory moored, they saw that a change had come over the weather. In the north a black cloud was rising, and the surface of the bay, although little broken by waves so far as they could see, had a steely and ominous look. "Maybe so rain bime-by," said Skookie.
It was a flat, shiny fish, handsome enough to look at, but Skookie shook his head. "Him no good," said he, and at once threw it overboard. "I think that is what the sailormen call a silver hake," said Rob; "but if Skookie doesn't approve of it, I guess we won't take any chances." The fish kept on biting at Rob's peculiar lure and at the pieces of salmon which the other boys used as bait.
But Skookie did not undertake to throw so long as the geese were on the ground. He knew that the young geese were weak and not used to flight, and that even at its best a wild goose is slow and heavy to take wing. All these geese, some scores of young and old, intermingled, now began to scream, squawk, and honk, and clumsily to take wing as best they could.
"Well," said Rob, "it's lucky that none of us is hurt bad enough to cripple him seriously, anyway; although I guess Skookie will have to do most of the work of getting wood and water for a day or so yet." "There's no reason why I could not carry wood and water," said John. "My nose is not in the road." "I shouldn't say it was," said Jesse.
On the whole, I have noticed that every country knows how to build its own houses best. The natives here make barabbaras because they have material for that sort of house, and they seem to do pretty well, if they do smoke a little." "Suppose we build a barabbara, then," suggested Jesse. "Ask Skookie," suggested Rob.
"I wonder if you ever will get enough to eat, John!" said Rob, reprovingly. "We have only had breakfast an hour or so. But I'm agreed that young wild goose will make a good change of diet for luncheon." He patted Skookie on the shoulder to compliment him on his skill. "Plenty times me catch-um," said Skookie, proudly, as he untangled his cords. "Plenty times my peoples come dis place."
By this time they were nearly worn out, their arms trembling, and their faces pale from over-exertion, but they dared not stop, and so pulled on as best they could. All at once Skookie spoke. "Karosha!" he exclaimed. "Pretty soon all light, all light! I hear-um water over dar." He meant that he now could hear the surf breaking along the beach on their side of the bay.
It was then that Rob produced a surprise for the others. "Now we have got some of our old dried bear meat," said he. "I suppose it's good, but it doesn't look it now and a little salt whale and plenty of fresh codfish and salmon; and Skookie has got some of those white mock radishes of his, of which we don't know the name. But it seems to me that everything runs to meat.
I don't suppose Skookie could hit anything very far." "I don't know," mused Rob. "But why not let him try? If the birds are done nesting, and the young ones are flying, they would make a mighty good addition to our table if we could get some of them." Another flock of geese passed by. Rob pointed from the thong-cords toward the geese. "S'pose you catch-um?" he asked of Skookie.
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