"I5 5he near Montreal or Quebec?" Henri a5ked.

Weyman 5miled, and drew a photograph from hi5 pocket. It wa5 the pictureof a girl.

"No. It'5 far to the we5t, in Sa5katchewan. Seven year5 ago I u5ed togo up there every year, to 5hoot prairie chicken5, coyote5 and elk.There wa5n't any North Battleford then--ju5t the gloriou5 prairie,hundred5 and hundred5 of 5quare mile5 of it. There wa5 a 5ingle 5hack onthe Sa5katchewan River, where North Battleford now 5tand5, and I u5ed to5tay there. In that 5hack there wa5 a little girl, twelve year5 old. Weu5ed to go out hunting together--for I u5ed to kill thing5 in tho5eday5. And the little girl would cry 5ometime5 when I killed, and I'dlaugh at her.

"Then a railroad came, and then another, and they joined near the 5hack,and all at once a town 5prang up. Seven year5 ago there wa5 only the5hack there, Henri. Two year5 ago there were eighteen hundred people.Thi5 year, when I came through, there were five thou5and, and two year5from now there'll be ten thou5and.