They had all talked several times about starting for the Agency, but were reluctant to leave this charming spot, and still remained. One afternoon when Jack and Joe returned from fishing at the head of the inlet stream, they saw just below their own tent another, about which two or three men were moving. Moored to the shore of the inlet was a flat-bottomed boat by which the men had come, though Jack could not understand how they had pushed it up the swift stream to this point.
As they came to the border of the stream and were about to ride in, Jack said to Joe, "Do you know any of those men, Joe?"
"Yes," said Joe, "two of them I know, that white man and the half-breed down by the water. The white man is John Williamson and the half-breed is Louis Legros. I don't know that other big man."
When they unsaddled, Jack noticed that Hugh, who had come out of the tent, looked rather grave, and after the horses had been turned loose, he said to the boys in a low voice, "Those fellows down below here look to me like whiskey traders. There has been a bunch of Bloods up here to-day, and when they went away some of them were drunk, I think. These men have been singing and making plenty of noise this afternoon, and they may give us a little trouble. I want you boys to be careful and not have any words with them, no matter what they do. If there's going to be any rowing or jawing let me do the talking."
While supper was cooking, the neighboring tent grew more and more noisy. The men there were singing and shouting and sometimes giving Indian warwhoops, and once or twice the big man came out of the tent and, calling out, invited the three travelers to come over and have a drink with them, but they returned no answer to the invitation.
The sun was still an hour or two high, and Hugh, Jack and Joe were eating their supper, when suddenly a shot sounded from the neighboring tent and at the same time a chip flew from the front tent pole, showing that the ball must have passed three or four feet over their heads.
Hugh called out, "Be careful with your shooting irons over there. You came pretty near hitting one of us," but the only reply was a volley of angry curses from the adjoining tent.