incurable drunkenness; and most of Tom's friend's entertained the
belief that if he ever attempted to run he would crack all over, and
go to pieces like a disentombed Egyptian mummy. Tom therefore walked
off to the row of buildings inhabited by the men, where he sat down
on a bench in front of his bed, and proceeded leisurely to fill his
pipe.

The room in which he sat was a fair specimen of the dwellings devoted
to the _employes_ of the Hudson's Bay Company throughout the country.
It was large, and low in the roof, built entirely of wood, which was
unpainted; a matter, however, of no consequence, as, from long
exposure to dust and tobacco smoke, the floor, walls, and ceiling had
become one deep, uniform brown. The men's beds were constructed after
the fashion of berths on board ship, being wooden boxes ranged in
tiers round the room. Several tables and benches were strewn
miscellaneously about the floor, in the centre of which stood a large
double iron stove, with the word _"Carron"_ stamped on it. This
served at once for cooking and warming the place. Numerous guns,
axes, and canoe-paddles hung round the walls or were piled in
corners, and the rafters sustained a miscellaneous mass of materials,
the more conspicuous among which were snow-shoes, dog-sledges, axe-
handles, and nets.

Having filled and lighted his pipe, Tom Whyte thrust his hands into
his deerskin mittens, and sauntered off to perform his errand.




CHAPTER IV.