M. M. Oblinger

“ A little later, escorted by one of the headmen of the village, Dick and Toma arrived at the tepee of the chief. On hands and knees, they crawled through the aperture, over which hung a wide strip of tanned moose-hide, soft as chamois. Bear-skins covered the earth floor within, except in the center space, where a wood fire burned cheerfully. It was warm inside the tepee and clean and tidy. A faint odor of wood smoke mingled with the more pungent and appetizing smell of broiling meat. ”

“ In the sky—a vast canopy flung over a frozen world—the sun shone wanly. On either side of the sun hung sun-dogs. In the air—frost. Below, a limitless, monotonous expanse of snow.
In the sledge, which flew along over the hard snow-surface, Dick and Toma sat muffled to their ears. From time to time, they beat their arms about their shivering bodies and urged on the dogs. Already they had come eight or ten miles along the faint trail they had made on the previous day.
In their pursuit of the Indian they had expected, quite naturally, to go southwestward in the direction of the Indian encampment. ”

“ So, imagine their surprise and delight on the following morning to find the young man in question already amongst them. Toma sauntered up with solemn unconcern to the place where Dick and Sandy were endeavoring to build a fire. No apparition could have astonished them more. From their squatting position, they looked up and gasped, then rose in unison, howling like two maniacs. They descended upon the young Indian with a varied assortment of whoops and yells, lifted him up bodily between them and carried him triumphantly away to the tent of Dr. Brady. ”

“ As Rand looked at it, a half-hearted wonderment stole over him, then a sudden quickening of the heart. Here before him was a man-made stump, the first he had seen in the last two hundred miles of steady travelling through the wilderness.
Someone, perhaps a long time ago, had felled a tree here. The corporal could easily make out the imprint of an ax. And looking farther he had found other stumps, upon which trees had once rested—about thirty of them in all—standing there old and rotten at the heart, like so many dreary sentinels in an unsightly garden of desolation. ”

“ Morning came at last, heralded by flaming colors in the east, preceded by a fitful breeze that stirred the dry grass uneasily at his feet. Kantisepa was very tired. His body was stiff and sore. When he picked up the strange being again to resume his journey, his legs trembled, scarcely supporting him.
Late that morning he stumbled into the Indian encampment. Like many brown inverted cones were the dwellings that stood row on row within a narrow, peaceful valley. Through the center of the village trickled a brook, which was fed from numerous small springs bubbling up between broken rocks. ”

“ Dick and Sandy dismounted quickly and went back to where the young guide’s horse stood quivering and panting. Toma loosened the cinches and drew off the saddle just as the exhausted beast sank to the ground. Each one of the boys knew what was about to happen—what ought to be done—but each waited for the others to move.
“You take ’em what supplies you can from packhorse,” Toma ordered.
“Yes,” said Dick, “the rest we’ll have to leave here. Throw your saddle on the pack-horse, Toma, and lead him up where the other ponies are. Wait there for me.” ”

“ Sandy and the physician looked down at the sleeping form, then across at Dick and Toma in perplexity.
“Guess.”
“The Indian with the boots. You’ve half-killed him.”
“Wrong. Guess again.”
“One of our former dog drivers—probably Fontaine,” said Dr. Brady.
“No. You’re not right either. I’ll give you one more chance.”
“Look here,” Sandy growled impatiently. “Enough of this. You’re not a child any more. Who is it?”
“The man who owns the boots.”
“The Indian owns the boots,” exclaimed Sandy triumphantly. “I guessed right after all.”
“No, you didn’t. The Indian don’t own the boots. He stole them.” ”

“ A tiny squeak, of the sort a mouse makes under the heel of an enraged householder, and his mittened hands went straight up. He came forward, bellowing for mercy. Tears of terror welled into his eyes. Never before had Dick seen any person more craven, cowardly-weak and utterly disgusting than he. Somehow, it blunted the edge of his own and Toma’s victory to take a man like that. ”

“ He rose, crossed the room, and flung open the door. A cold draft of air whirled in across the floor. Toma hurried over to where Dick stood and peered over his shoulder. They heard a shout. It brought Sandy and Father Michaud to their feet. Villagers were running in the street. A crowd had gathered.
“They—they’ve come back,” blurted Dick, darting through the door, Toma right behind him. They joined the throng.
In the center of the crowd stood, not Dr. Brady and Father Bleriot, but—and Dick’s heart sank at the sight of him—their captive of the night before. ”

“ A parka concealed the sleeper’s face. Blankets, many thick folds, enwrapped him. None of the features was visible. Yet Sandy had seen enough to convince him that this man was not Rand.
“I don’t see why you should try to deceive me, Dick,” remonstrated Sandy. “That isn’t the corporal at all. Too thin. Don’t attempt to fool me.”
“It is the corporal,” insisted Dick. “But he’s changed a lot. I met him face to face, and at first didn’t even recognize him. He must have had a terrible time. He was picked up two days ago by an Indian hunter, where he’d fallen in the snow. His feet were badly frozen.” ”

“ Both Kantisepa and the chief had heard of the existence of the big city to the south, and the name “Edmonton” was not unfamiliar to them. But neither had ever heard, or if they had heard would have believed that ordinary mortals, even the smartest of the white race, could fashion boats from wood and iron that could float through thin air. Finally, however, when Dick had nearly exhausted his patience and his vocabulary, he saw that in a measure, at least, they had begun to credit his story.
“It is very wonderful,” said the chief, “that men are now able to go floating through the skies. ”

“ But it was not until three days later, after they had crossed the Wapiti and were proceeding northward across a level, wind-swept district, that colder weather actually arrived. A fierce Arctic blast beat down upon them, chilling their blood. Particles of frost hung in the air. Trees cracked, as the intense cold penetrated within, freezing the sap. Yet, though the weather was almost unendurable, Toma’s prophecy had come true, and they were able to speed across the level waste, the miles dropping away behind them. ”

“ Toma may be able to overtake Lamont and compel him to return. But what guarantee will you have that he’ll guide us correctly? Don’t you think that there is the danger that in revenge he’ll take us way out of our course entirely, lead us afield? That would be disastrous.”
“He wouldn’t dare. His life would be forfeit. I’ll attend to that,” said the young man grimly.
“Well, at any rate, it’s worth trying. But why don’t you go after him yourself, Dick? Do you think this young Indian will be as apt to find him as you will?”
“Yes, more apt to. You don’t know Toma. He’s a jewel. ”

“ Sandy gasped, “that all the snow in the universe has been gathered together and dropped down in this one place.”
“It certainly looks like it,” agreed Dr. Brady, as he took a step forward and slid waist-deep into a drift. “How are we going to break trail? I certainly pity your friend Toma. Do you think it will be wise to push on until we hear from him?”
Dick shook his head despondently.
“No, we’ll have to wait here. This storm is the worst thing that could have happened. Toma may not be able to rejoin us for two or three days.” ”

“ On the second day, however, the driver, whom Fontaine said had contracted smallpox, and whom Dr. Brady later had examined, died suddenly. The morale of the party tottered. If ever the half-breeds had placed any faith in the medicine of the white man, they lost it now. Again they became panic stricken. The muttering and the complaining broke out afresh. Hourly, it grew more and more difficult to keep them at their work. Dick found it necessary to have either Sandy or Toma drive the last team in the line, with instructions to be ever on the alert, their revolvers always in readiness. ”

“ A while ago he acted queerly when I asked him to relieve one of the drivers, who was breaking trail.”
Dr. Brady was walking right behind the two boys and evidently had been listening to their conversation, for, at this juncture, he suddenly broke forth:
“He did act queerly—only I think I’d call it defiant. There was a mutinous look in that squint eye of his.”
“It was unprovoked,” said Dick, a little bitterly. “I asked him in a friendly way. It’s only fair that we should all take turn in breaking trail. He’s the only one that seems to object.”
“But what did he say?” Sandy demanded impatiently. ”

“ They waited until the two figures came up to them, two Indians from the encampment: the leader and, to the boys’ surprise, the young Indian, who wore the service boots and revolver of the mounted police.
“What do you want?” demanded Toma.
“This young man,” replied the leader, pointing to his companion, “wishes to go with you too.”
For a moment, Dick was in a quandary. He required the fellow’s assistance, yet he was afraid to include him in their party. The Indian might be a murderer or a thief. His appearance was against him. He might prove to be a worse customer than Lamont. ”

“ Sandy frowned at the information. “Why, that’s only about twenty miles south of the trail we propose to take now—the one to Fort Vermilion.”
“No,” said Dick, turning to his chum. “It’s farther than that. I’d call it a good fifty miles.”
“Well, have your own way. But what’s fifty miles to a fire like that? By the time we get there, it may be raging not only south but north of the trail as well. You can’t deny it.” ”

“ I’ll try and find a guide for you. You proceed northeast, cross the Wapiti, the Little Moose, pass over a height of land known as ‘The Divide,’ enter the barren lands and thus eventually come to the Keechewan Mission, an important Catholic missionary center. It’s a hard trip and you’ll never forget it.”
“Are there many people at this mission?” inquired Sandy.
“Yes, there’s a sort of village there—a mission-village: flour mill, schools, hospital and the like. There are always several large Indian encampments close by. The plague has found its way there. Scores have died. ”

“ Brady’s chances now, or the priest’s either. What do you think about it, Toma?”
For once the young Indian was at a loss to know what to say. He shook his head and walked on beside them.
“I’m tired of it all,” said Dick. “Our luck has deserted us. There used to be a time, Sandy, when we could stumble through difficulties blindly. But I’m afraid that that time has passed. We’re up against a solid rock wall. We can’t scale it. It’s too high for our puny strength. We’re helpless.” ”

“ Sandy suddenly interjected. “You say we’re better off without him—but are we? When he leaves us, who’ll show us the way? Lamont is the only member of this party who has been to Keechewan. There’s no trail. We can wander miles off our course, get ourselves into all sorts of difficulties and dangers—freeze and starve and heaven knows what. The Barrens is a horrible place in winter, a death-trap if you don’t know it. ”

“ Dick evaded the other’s eyes. “—I sometimes wonder if it is all worth while. Most of them are only Indians. They not only do not appreciate what we’re doing for them, but more than that, they resent and scorn our help. Why not,” Dick’s gaze was fixed on some object on the distant horizon, “leave them to their own devices, let them suffer the consequences?”
If Dick had struck Brady in the face, the good doctor could not have been more surprised. ”

“ Who are those fellows, Dick?”
“Those,” answered Dick, happily, “are our new drivers. And the teams and sledges I purchased over at the Indian village, where we captured the thief.”
“What Indian village do you mean?”
“It’s up in the hills to the westward, that chain of hills you saw on this side of the Wapiti. They run parallel with the river. We followed the tracks of the thief all the way there, and overtook him just as he pulled up at the village. He’s a renegade member of that tribe and the chief will punish him. He’s the same man who stole Corporal Rand’s boots and revolver.” ”

“ That night the stars were hid, but off to the southeast the sky was an orange curtain of fire. Its lurid glow lit up the horizon, a ghastly and awesome sight, giving the impression that the earth itself was being devastated, devoured by the ruthless monster of flame. ”

“ AN INDIAN WITH BOOTS
Dick, Sandy and Toma hurried over to the Indian encampment in the afternoon of the same day the dog drivers had deserted them. Toma, it was decided, would act as interpreter, while Sandy—as he expressed it—merely trailed along to lend his moral support and to give advice.
“You must offer them unheard of wages for the trip,” reasoned Sandy. “We must give them presents and supplies. These Indians don’t know the meaning or value of money, so you’d better make them an offer they can understand. ”

“ He’s—he’s—well, he thinks he’s going to be placed under arrest. Can you imagine anything so absurd? And by Inspector Cameron, too. He’s really worrying about it.”
Dick’s roar of laughter echoed to every part of the room. Tears of merriment chased each other down his cheeks.
“I don’t think that is so very funny,” Sandy declared with great dignity. “You ought to pity the man.”
“You chump! You chump!” howled Dick. “Why that—that isn’t an hallucination; it’s a fact. Corporal Rand may be arrested. He probably will be, but I don’t believe Cameron will be very severe with him. Not this time.” ”