Doctor Joe.

"'Twill be tryin' and hard work sometimes," suggested Thomas,
"travellin' when the weather's nasty, but I'm not doubtin' the lads'll
be able t' manage un."

"We'll manage un!" David declared with pride in the confidence placed
in him and Andy.

To drive dogs on these sub-arctic trails in fair weather and foul
calls for courage and grit, and the lads felt justly proud of the
responsibility that had been laid upon them. There would be many a
shift to make on the ice, they knew. There would be blinding blizzards
and withering arctic winds to face, and no end of hard work. But these
lads of The Labrador loved to stand upon their feet like men and face
and conquer the elements like hardy men of courage. This is the way of
boys the world over--eager for the time when they may assume the
responsibility of manhood. Such a time comes earlier to the lads of
The Labrador than with us. In that stern land there is no idling and
there are no holidays, and every one, the lad as well as his father,
must always do his part, which is his best.

Fort Pelican, the nearest port at which the mail boat called, was
seventy miles eastward from The Jug. With the uncertainty of wind and
tide the boat journey to Fort Pelican usually consumed three days, and
with equal time required for return, the voyage could seldom be
accomplished in less than six days. Lem Horn and his family lived at
Horn's Bight, thirty miles from The Jug, and fifteen miles beyond, at
Caribou Arm, was Jerry Snook's cabin. Save an Eskimo settlement of
half a dozen huts near Fort Pelican and the families of Lem Horn and