NOVEMBER JOE
a muskrat's pelt that then he'll head straight for Val's. We've got to be there afore him."
We were. This was the first time I had experience of Joe's activities on behalf of a woman, and, to begin with, I guessed that he himself had a tender feeling for Sally Rone. So he had, but it was not the kind of feeling I had surmised. It was not love, but just an instinct of downright chivalry, such as one sometimes finds deep-set in the natures of the men of the woods. Some day later I may tell you what November was like when he fell head over ears in love, but that time is not yet.
The afternoon was yet young when we arrived at Val Black's. At that period he was living in a deserted hut which had once been used by a bygone generation of lumbermen.
It so happened that Val Black was not at home, but Joe entered the hut and searched it thoroughly. I asked him what he was seeking.
"Those skins of Sally's."
"Then you do think Black . . ."
"I think nothing yet. And here's the man himself anyway."
He turned to the door as Val Black came
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