Elizabeth shook her head.
'Drink,' he grunted again, pushing the bottle at her. 'Piah-chuck! Skookurn!' He had a slugglish animal grin, and when she drew back, tipped the bottle into his mouth, and directly choked, so that his friends on their horses laughed loud as he stood coughing. 'Heap good,' he remarked, looking at Elizabeth, who watched his eyes swim with the plot of the drink. 'Where you come back?' he inquired, touching the wagon. 'You cross Okanagon? Me cross you; cross horses; cross all. Heap cheap. What yes?'
The others nodded. 'Heap cheap,' they said.
'We don't want you,' said Elizabeth.
'No cross? Maybe he going cross you? What yes?'
Again Elizabeth nodded.
'Maybe he Jake?' pursued the Indian.
'Yes, he is. We don't want you.'
'We cross you all same. He not.'
The Indian spoke loud and thick, and Elizabeth looked over the river where her husband was running with a rifle, and Jake behind him, holding a warning hand on his arm. Jake called across to the Indians, who listened sullenly, but got on their horses and went up the river.
'Now,' said Jake to Clallam, 'they ain't gone. Get your wife over here so she kin set in my room till I see what kin be done.'
John left him at once, and crossed on the raft. His wife was stepping on it, when the noise and flight of riders descended along the other bank, where Jake was waiting. They went in a circle, with hoarse shouts, round the cabin as Mart with Nancy came from the pasture. The boy no sooner saw them than he caught his sister up and carried her quickly away among the corrals and sheds, where the two went out of sight.
'You stay here, Liza,' her husband said. 'I'll go back over.'
But Mrs. Clallam laughed.
'Get ashore,' he cried to her. 'Quick!'
'Where you go, I go, John.'
'What good, what good, in the name—'
'Then I'll get myself over,' said she. And he seized her as she would have jumped into the stream.
While they crossed, the Indians had tied their horses and rambled into the cabin. Jake came from it to stop the Clallams.
'They're after your contract,' said he, quietly. 'They say they're going to have the job of takin' the balance of your stuff that's left acrosst the Okanagon over to this side.'
'What did you say?' asked Mrs. Clallam.
'I set 'em up drinks to gain time.'
'Do you want me there?' said Clallam.
'Begosh, no! That would mix things worse.'
'Can't you make them go away?' Elizabeth inquired.
'Me and them, ye see, ma'am, we hev a sort of bargain they're to git certain ferryin'. I can't make 'em savvy how I took charge of you. If you want them—' He paused.
