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-                            TWO ON THE TRAIL
-
-
-
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost
-no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
-under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
-eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license.
-
-
-Title: Two on the Trail
-       A Story of Canada Snows
-
-Author: E. E. Cowper
-
-Release Date: September 04, 2012 [EBook #40663]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: US-ASCII
-
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO ON THE TRAIL ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Al Haines.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: Cover]
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: Motionless before her stood a figure wrapped in the usual
-Indian blanket.  p. 100]
-
-
-
-
-                            TWO ON THE TRAIL
-
-                        A STORY OF CANADA SNOWS
-
-
-                                   BY
-                              E. E. COWPER
-
-
-           AUTHOR or "THE MOONRAKERS," "KITTIWAKE'S CASTLE,"
-                    "CREW OF THE SILVER FISH," ETC.
-
-
-
-                         WITH A FRONTISPIECE BY
-                                W. PAGET
-
-
-
-                                 LONDON
-                           THE SHELDON PRESS
-                     NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C. 2
-              New York and Toronto: The Macmillan Company
-                                  1922
-
-
-
-
-                                CONTENTS
-
-
-CHAPTER
-
-
-      I. The Log House
-     II. A Surprise that Brings Suspicion
-    III. Nell Makes up her Mind
-     IV. The Howl Of The Wolf
-      V. "Little Eyes has a Forked Tongue"
-     VI. Green Eyes in the Darkness
-    VII. A Midnight Battle
-   VIII. The Mysterious Camp Fire
-     IX. How the Great Bull Fled for his Life
-      X. The Camp on the Wolf's Tooth Rocks
-     XI. The Hunters
-    XII. The Flight Continues
-   XIII. A Race For Life
-    XIV. Rifle Shots
-     XV. In which the Ice Goes out, and the Trail Leads Home
-
-
-
-
-                            TWO ON THE TRAIL
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER I
-
-                             THE LOG HOUSE
-
-
-"Do you suppose anything has happened to him?" asked the boy; "do you,
-Nell?"
-
-He had been asking that question a great many times a day for a good
-many days.  Every time he asked it his sister said, "Oh no, of course
-not," and set about any sort of work to prove she was not thinking
-anxious thoughts.  At last, however, her answer was rather slower in
-coming, and on this particular occasion no answer came till David
-touched her arm.
-
-"Do you, Nell?" he urged.
-
-"I don't know.  I shouldn't think so," she said, but instead of getting
-busy she sat still and stared at the red-hot stove, her strong hard
-hands clasped round her knees, and a frown on her forehead--actually
-doing nothing at all but just think!
-
-This state of things was surprising enough to make "Da," as she called
-her young brother, more persistent than ever.  He was a big, strong,
-square-shouldered boy of twelve, or thereabouts, and his sister was to
-him very much what the Captain of the First Eleven might be to a boy in
-an English school.  She was wonderful.  She could do anything and
-everything that he understood and that came into his life, as
-well--better than anyone he knew.  Besides the jobs that men left
-over--in his experience--and which Nell did as cleverly as the mother
-who had died about five years before.
-
-Da had entire confidence in her, and who shall say he had not a right
-to, considering all that he saw and knew about her!
-
-She was fifteen; a head and shoulders taller than himself, and
-apparently as strong as their father. Her dark red hair was short as his
-own.  That is to say, as short as hair can be where people have no shops
-and do their own hair-cutting.  Her eyes were greenish grey and sharp as
-the keen, still eyes of the grey lynx that got trapped once in a way in
-the snares set for mink and martens.
-
-David admired her hair and eyes with all his heart, chiefly because she
-was the only member of their small family like that--he and his father
-having darkish eyes and hair.  Nell was supposed to have taken after a
-Scottish ancestress, with a vigorous character, not after the fair
-little mother with yellow hair and blue eyes; and when people start off
-like that in an independent manner they usually take a line of their own
-all through.
-
-In fact, Nell Lindsay was a girl to be trusted; dependable and clever,
-which was a very good thing, because she needed every bit of it in the
-present crisis.
-
-She and her young brother were alone in the log house--or shack--more
-than a hundred miles from any settlement.  The two nearest were
-Abbitibbi House on the lake, away to the eastward, and Brunswick House,
-north on Moose River.  Possibly the distance was equal, and Nell
-calculated it at a hundred and fifty miles either way.
-
-That is nothing much in a country of railways, or even of good roads,
-but it is a long way over trackless waste, pathless forest, and
-snow--without guide, without help from human company.
-
-When Nell did not answer David's persistent questions any longer, it was
-because she was thinking about the one hundred and fifty miles--and
-more--that lay between the shack and friends. It was friends she wanted.
-There were men nearer than that, but Nell was not sure they were
-friends, and therein lay the whole trouble, you see.
-
-Over all that wilderness of forest and waste, river and lake, there
-lived trappers who had marked out certain districts as their own
-particular trapping grounds.  Some were Indians, some white men who had
-taken up this life for the freedom and profit of making money by selling
-pelts--that is skins--to the traders who bought them up for the big
-Companies.
-
-It was an understood thing that the trappers did not poach on each
-other's grounds.  If they tried they ran the risk of being shot by the
-rightful owner.  They were rough men, and followed rough laws of their
-own making.
-
-The traders came round in early spring and bought up the fur.  Or
-perhaps the trappers took great bundles of pelts away to the trading
-posts, got their money and spent it enjoying themselves to make up for
-the hardships of winter. But Andrew Lindsay was never one of these. He
-bought his flour, tea, bacon, and tobacco from the traders, sold his
-pelts and kept his money, so that after a bit it came to be common talk
-that he had saved a lot and hidden it in, or near, the log house.  He
-was not the sort of man to imagine that people might think this.  He
-loved the wild lands for the beauty and grandeur, and hated the work of
-an office and the close life in towns.  This feeling had driven him
-north from San Francisco when he was first married. Here he had been in
-the Dominion, winter and summer, ever since, but he had not lost sight
-of the importance of education for his boy, and the money was saving up
-for that.  David was to be an engineer.  The years of work had paid very
-well and Nell knew her father's plan. Also she knew about the money, and
-that this was perhaps the last winter they would spend in the shack
-among the woods on the steep hills that ran for over a thousand miles
-from the northern frontier of Ontario to the Watchish Mountains in
-North-East Territory.  The girl was content either way.  Whatever her
-father decided was right, she thought.  The winter was coming to an end
-very soon--it was the last week in March--and he had gone on his last
-round to look at traps on the more distant runways.  The last, because
-fur gets thin and poor, and loses its thick beauty when the terrible
-cold of winter is giving before spring.
-
-And then, when it was the last thing they would have thought of, this
-blow had fallen--Lindsay had not come back.  He had gone out into the
-glittering light of the snowy world, with his gun, his double-lined fur
-sleeping bag, and food enough for four days.  _Eight_ days had passed,
-and he had not returned.
-
-Now that is how matters stood on a certain afternoon as the grey dusk
-began to creep through the trees and close in round the lonely log
-house. It was a difficult position for the girl, but she never for a
-moment gave way to impatience.
-
-This house of theirs was as different from an English home as could well
-be--which mattered not at all to the young Lindsay pair, because they
-had no idea what an English house was like.
-
-This house was built of rough logs--one big room in the middle and
-either end partitioned off, thus making two small bedrooms.  This was
-considered luxurious, as most of the trappers had but one room in the
-shack, for sleeping and eating, and work, too.  The walls were just
-rough logs inside as well as out, the cracks between were stuffed in
-with mud and the coarse moss that grows up north.  Over this skins were
-hung, on the floor big skins were laid.  From the rafters bacon hung and
-onions grown in the summer.  In the corners stood sacks of potatoes and
-flour.  The former is very important food in a country that is frozen up
-about seven months of the year, because when you cannot get green stuff
-there is risk of scurvy, and raw potatoes are the cure for that.  They
-must be kept from the least touch of frost, of course, otherwise they go
-rotten.
-
-On the floor in one corner was a pile of skins smaller and more valuable
-than the grey wolf, the black bear, and the yellow puma of the hills,
-that hung on the walls.
-
-As Nell sat by the big stove thinking, her keen eyes wandered from one
-possession to another. Finally they rested on the dog and considered him
-thoughtfully.
-
-Now this dog was not the kind you would expect to find in a trapper's
-hut, because he was close-haired, while the dogs used to pull sledges in
-all parts of the north lands have thick coats and bushy tails.  They are
-called "huskies" and have a lot of wolf in their composition.  In the
-very far north they train in teams of four up to twelve and are
-wonderfully clever at their work, taking a great pride in it, and
-refusing to let other dogs take their place in the line.  But if they
-are strong and clever they are also exceedingly savage, and if one of
-their number gets badly hurt--so that he cannot defend himself--they set
-upon him and eat him, just as wolves do when one of the pack is
-disabled.
-
-"Robin Lindsay," as Nell called him, was in no way that kind of dog.  He
-was nearly black, with a broad chest and smooth, close coat.  He had
-ears that drooped forward like a hound's, a wrinkled forehead, and wise
-brown eyes.  Certainly he was all sorts of dog, but it was all of the
-best, which mattered a great deal in that terribly lonely place.  Andrew
-Lindsay had brought him home one day, four years ago, having bought him
-from a man who was going to make an end of what he thought was a useless
-puppy.
-
-Now he lay on the thick grey skin of a wolf, his nose between his
-paws--watching Nell's face with little twitches of his thoughtful
-forehead.  He knew there was something the matter, and waited.
-
-"What shall you do, Nell, if Dad doesn't come back to-night?" asked
-David, stopping in his work of carving a tiny little sled out of wood.
-"You'll have to do something, shan't you?"
-
-Nell got up from her seat on the bench, walked slowly to the door, slid
-back the heavy bolt, opened the door and looked out.  A raw chill
-entered and seemed to creep into every corner on the instant.  Robin
-rose to his feet, stalked after his mistress and sniffed the doorstep
-enquiringly.
-
-"I thought so," said the girl as she shut out the bitter dusk.
-
-"Thought what?"
-
-"I thought it was snowing, and it is."
-
-"I suppose you mean that will wipe out Dad's trail?  Is that it?" asked
-the boy.
-
-"It wouldn't make a scrap of difference to Robin, he'd follow a trail
-through inches of snow. You simply can't bluff him.  He always knows.
-No, I wasn't thinking about the trail exactly--not in that sort of way,
-anyhow--it's not much good hunting a trail when you pretty well know
-where it's going to lead you at the start.  I mean, Da, that I guess
-where Dad is.  When I'm certain I'll tell you most likely.  Matter of
-fact I was _hoping_ for snow."
-
-"You were!"
-
-"It'll come in useful if I'm not mistaken," said Nell in a conclusive
-tone.
-
-David stared at her, puzzled.  He believed she was the cleverest girl
-alive, but he did not even remotely understand what she was talking
-about. On the face of the situation snow was the most tiresome
-impediment to any sort of move.  He knew it might be expected now,
-because when the bitterest, glittering frost began to give way to the
-cold that comes between winter and spring, the snow was softer underfoot
-and falls might be constantly expected.  Slight as the change was, the
-wind had not the same icy breath.  Not that one felt warmer, on the
-contrary, the faint tinge of damp made the air cold beyond description,
-but probably there was not quite the same danger of frost-bite for the
-face and hands.
-
-David knew all these things as a matter of course.  He had been born and
-brought up in the country.  But he did not see what the snow could have
-to do with the present trouble! However, it was better to go on carving
-his sled than show ignorance, so he waited, glancing up at his sister
-every few seconds, as she paced slowly away from the stove and back to
-it again, in a kind of thoughtful sentry-go.
-
-Then Robin growled, deep down in his throat. He had not settled down
-again on his bed, but sat up watching Nell's promenade.  He had lifted
-his muzzle and sniffed the air with a delicate, sensitive movement as
-though he were feeling something very gently.
-
-Then he growled--very low and deep.
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER II
-
-                    A SURPRISE THAT BRINGS SUSPICION
-
-
-David sprang to his feet and moved towards the door.  Neither he nor the
-girl said or thought for an instant it might be the missing man, because
-they knew the dog would not have growled in that case.
-
-It was either a stranger or someone Robin was not fond of.
-
-In a few seconds the crunch of snowshoes came to their ears, and then
-there was a heavy knock on the door.
-
-David gripped Robin by the skin of his neck. The bristles were standing
-up along his back, and the boy's hold would have been but a slight check
-had not the animal been very obedient; he was never savage like a husky.
-As Nell went forward to the door she shifted into convenient position
-the little automatic pistol that her father insisted on her wearing at
-all times.
-
-"Who's there?" she asked, as the knock came again.
-
-"Friend, miss," answered a voice from outside.  "News of your dad."
-
-Now the voice was not only rough, but it had a foreign tone to it, and
-Nell's quick mind instantly jumped to the identity of its owner.
-
-"Stenson," she said, over her shoulder to David, "you know Jan
-Stenson--the one Dad said was 'more Finn than Swede.'  He's partner with
-Barry Jukes on the location up above Abbitibbi little River.  Watch out,
-Da, we've got to be wide awake.  Don't say much."
-
-The big bolt was sliding along as she whispered these words quickly--and
-in a moment the door opened.
-
-"Won't you step inside, Mr. Stenson?  What's your news?"
-
-Mr. Jan Stenson stepped inside, and the dog received a smack from David
-for growling in an undertone, while the man unstrapped his snowshoes,
-and set them against the wall.  He was a short person, not so tall as
-Nell, but looked as broad as he was high.  Of course the clothes he wore
-emphasised this appearance: skins with fur inwards, and a sort of
-cap-like hood to the coat, drawn close round the face by a string, and
-edged all round with little furry tails to keep the freezing wind from
-the features--otherwise a man gets frost-bite in the nose or cheeks.
-
-Jan Stenson threw back his hood--or "parka," as it is called--and showed
-a broad, rather flat face, and close-set eyes that shifted as he talked.
-Nell asked him to sit down, so he sat on a bench near the stove and
-smoked tobacco that she offered.
-
-"You can have tea or cocoa," said the girl. "Dad hasn't any use for
-spirits."
-
-Mr. Stenson chose tea, without thanks.  He had a good deal of use for
-spirits when he could get them--no easy matter in the Dominion!
-
-Then he told the story for which the two were waiting so eagerly.
-
-It seemed that Andrew had reached the border line where his district
-touched theirs, when he found a very large wild cat caught in a mink
-trap.  Stenson called the beast a "catamount," so Nell knew he meant one
-of the largest and most savage of the wild cat tribe--about as big as a
-lynx and in some ways even more powerful. The creature had special value
-alive--far above the mere skin--because a certain travelling company
-down east had offered a big price for one--for the Show--uninjured.
-Therefore it entered Lindsay's mind that here was the chance to do well,
-and he tried to smother the mad animal down with his sleeping bag, and
-rope it securely, intending then to free the paw caught in the iron
-spring.  But somehow this plan missed fire.  The catamount, frantic with
-pain, fastened on the man's knee with its terrible fangs and claws, and
-he was obliged to shoot it, but not before he had suffered very serious
-injury.
-
-"He made shift to overhaul our shack, but he was about done in.  Not a
-trick left in him.  It might be a long job," suggested Mr. Stenson,
-glancing sideways at the girl, "them catamounts is chock full up with
-pison--bad as pumas and that like."
-
-"Bad luck indeed," said Nell soberly.  "Thank you very much for coming
-over to tell us.  What does Dad want us to do?"
-
-"Looks as though he makes out to have you both over at the Abbitibbi.
-That's what I come along for--to see if you'd do it.  He's got to be
-done for, sure enough.  You and him and the boy can have the shack.
-It's no odds to me and Barry.  There's the wood-house lean-to where we
-can roll up.  We've done worse many's the time.  Why not?  You think it
-out and look at it that your Dad wants someone about.  It may be weeks
-if he don't get proper attendance, and he makes out to be off soon as
-the snow clears. Eh?  Well, he won't do that if his leg's left to get
-worse.  Them catamounts is full up with pison."
-
-This was rather a long speech on the whole for Jan Stenson.  He did not
-"make out to talk," as he would have said of himself.  But he was
-apparently earnest about this, and kept on impressing the urgency of it
-in jerky sentences between puffs at his pipe.
-
-After a pause Nell asked.
-
-"Did Dad send us any message?"
-
-"Said he hoped you'd come along.  He don't find no treat in layin' up in
-a bunk, when he wants to clear up the traps."
-
-"No, poor Dad," agreed Nell thoughtfully. "Let me think."  She paused,
-and sat very quiet as she stroked Robin's smooth head.  Under her
-fingers she could feel his throat move as he growled without sound.
-
-David looked from one to the other as the talk went on.  He did not like
-the trapper, but he thought he and Jukes were very kind in this instance
-and meant well.  He wondered what Nell would do, though it certainly
-seemed as though there was not much choice in the matter. Presently she
-broke silence by asking exactly when the accident had occurred.
-According to Stenson, Lindsay had been nearly a week laid up, but they
-had been too busy to give notice earlier.  The man said nothing about
-the distance--a matter of thirty miles--because it was not considered
-anything much in a country of great distances.  Men with a sled and a
-dog team would travel on snowshoes thirty miles a day and more without
-considering it an out of the way effort.  And Stenson was, what is
-called, "travelling light," with nothing but a pack on his back,
-consisting of his sleeping blanket, his gun, and some pemmican (dried
-pressed meat); he was on his way, he said, to a camp of Indian trappers
-not far to the north-west.  They were some wandering Chippewa, or
-Ojibway Indians, belonging to the tribes on the big lakes, to the
-south-west.  They travelled away in parties hunting and collecting furs,
-and the trappers often bought these from them for tea, tobacco, and
-blankets.  There was always a lot of exchange going on and Nell,
-understanding all about it, did not question Stenson's business.
-
-Still ignoring his invitation she offered him bread--the sour-dough
-bread she made herself--and meat as well as the tea; he ate without
-comment, his close-set eyes shifting looks to every part of the room,
-and everything in it. When he had finished he got up.  Then the girl
-said as though the subject had never been dropped:
-
-"I don't see why you and Barry Jukes couldn't get Dad up home with your
-sled.  He'd pay for loss of time if it comes to that.  Why not?"
-
-Stenson shook his head.  He said the snow was getting soft, and the
-ground would be much too rough for an injured man.  Besides, they'd sold
-their dogs, and he and Barry didn't "lay-out" to pull such a load added
-to a camping outfit, because they'd have to make two days, if not three
-of it.
-
-"You can't go shifting a man in his state," he said, "not without worse
-to follow.  See here, miss, you get your outfit together, and I'll call
-in for you the third day from now and take you along.  You and the boy
-and the dog--how's that?  It won't be for long.  Sight of you will mend
-up that knee fine.  Like enough your Dad will make out to come back home
-with you in ten days or thereabouts, taking it slow and camping. I know
-you got a hand sled.  We can makeshift to load your traps on that.  The
-dog and I can pull and you can take a hand at pushing."
-
-Thus Jan Stenson explained his ideas as he pulled over his parka,
-dragged on his big fur mitts, and made ready to go out into the dusk.
-
-"When did you say--exactly?" asked Nell.
-
-"Third day from now," he was fastening on his snowshoes in the doorway.
-"I lay out to make old Oga's camp in three hours.  I'll get through
-business to-morrow and come for you morning after.  Nine o'clock more or
-less, we don't want more than one camp--if that."
-
-"All right," agreed Nell, nodding her head, "don't come sooner, because
-I shan't be ready. There's a lot to do.  I can't risk the potatoes
-freezing--I'll have to put them in fur bags. Well, good night, Mr.
-Stenson, and thank you for coming."
-
-It was not David's usual habit to remain silent, but he had been so
-surprised through this queer visit and so entirely astonished at the
-ending of it that even after the bolt slid into place he only stared at
-his sister, turning over twenty questions he wanted to ask, but not
-asking one.
-
-"So _that's_ finished!" said Nell, shutting her teeth together with a
-snap.  Then she threw herself down on the skin rug, leaned her back
-against the bench, clasped her fingers round her bent knees and
-concluded, "Now, let me think."
-
-"I wish you weren't always thinking and never saying anything," remarked
-David.  "I want to know about one thousand things, Nell, and you never
-tell me one!  Do you like that chap?  _I_ don't, and Robin hates
-him--_bite_ him, Rob--hey, bite him!"
-
-There was a mix-up on the floor between the big black hound and the boy.
-When it settled into peace, Nell asked as though nothing had
-interrupted:
-
-"Why don't you like Stenson?"
-
-"Oh, I don't know.  He's a snake and a rotter.  His eyes keep on slewing
-round.  He tells lies.  When it comes to that why does old Rob hate him?
-I say, Nell, are you really going to take that trail on Thursday?"
-
-Nell looked at the boy's earnest eyes, and a little twisted smile curled
-one corner of her firm mouth.
-
-"No," she said.
-
-"_No_, why--how will you get out of it?  I _say_----"
-
-"Easy enough.  We shan't be here, my dear."
-
-"Shan't be _here_!  Where shall we be then?"
-
-David opened his mouth as well as his eyes when the full force of this
-surprising news began to sink into his mind.
-
-"Well--with any luck--and God's help, my child--we shall be on the trail
-for Fort St. Louis.  Anyway, either that, or to Brunswick House.  I mean
-to strike the lake at the bottom of the Divide, and make the very
-straightest trail we can down the river, till we hit the Moose----"
-
-"Great snakes!" gasped David, his eyes shining with excitement, "but,
-look here, old girl--aren't you biting off more than you can chew?  It's
-a pretty big proposition, you know. How far to Fort Louis from here?"
-
-"About two hundred miles, but we shall strike the Moose River before
-that and then we shall be pretty safe, because there are more folk over
-there."  Nell spoke as though it was all settled in her mind, which was
-comforting to her astonished brother.
-
-"How do you mean _safe_?" he asked.
-
-"From this gang.  They are up to something, and I guess what it is."
-
-"You do.  What is it then?"
-
-"I've no time to explain now," said the girl, jumping up with an
-energetic spring, "there's a whole heap to do and no time to do it in,
-for we ought to get a few winks of sleep to-night or we shall be sleepy
-on the trail."  Then seeing another question on David's tongue, she
-added, "We must get off early to-morrow morning."
-
-
-
-
-                              CHAPTER III
-
-                         NELL MAKES UP HER MIND
-
-
-Nell Lindsay worked like two people that evening.  She put the potatoes
-into fur bags as she said, and went over everything of value in the
-shack.  She could not stop to talk, but David--admiring her more and
-more--gathered her plans and intentions from what she said as they
-worked.
-
-"You see, it didn't come upon me all in one moment," she explained,
-"because I'd been hacking away at this notion for the last four days
-really.  Ever since Dad didn't come, you see, Da. _If_ he didn't come,
-the only plan was to find out what was wrong from the Chippewas--we
-could make their camp and ask--and then simply strike the trail for the
-Fort, because Dad would want us to do that one thing."
-
-David checked with his hands full of potatoes to say:
-
-"But look here--what about Dad now?"
-
-"Well--I don't think I believe all that story. It's got a kind of false
-feeling in it.  Dad may have got his knee hurt, but I'm certain sure,
-Da, he never meant us to leave this and go over to Abbitibbi Lake with
-Stenson.  I'm _sure_ he never did.  Probably he said to Stenson, 'as
-you're bound for Oga's camp, just you look in at the shack and tell them
-I'm here all right'--do you see, Da?  He may be lamed up too much to
-take the trail for a few days, but I believe that's about the length of
-it!  He only sent us the news.  I sort of _feel_ that in my mind."
-
-"But what----"
-
-"I'm coming to that," Nell checked him. "Here, put this against the
-partition, it's warmer than the outside wall.  I don't believe they'll
-freeze so, Da, the worst of the winter is done."  She rested a minute,
-hands on hips, looking round at her labours.  Then she took up the tale
-of her belief in a much lower voice as though she were afraid of being
-overheard.
-
-"You know about all that money Dad has been saving up to make you into a
-real good engineer, don't you, Da?  Well, it's hidden in this shack and
-no one knows where it is but Dad and me. It's a good lot, because Dad
-just kept the fur money year after year, and we buy things from the
-traders--you know.  I rather wanted him to take it all down to the
-Settlement, but he wouldn't leave us here before Mother went, nor
-since--so it just had to stay, you see what I mean. Well, these men must
-know that.  They know Dad's been saving up, and they know the money is
-somewhere.  Now I believe their plan is to get us and Robin out of the
-house, then they'll come and hunt over every inch and steal it."
-
-"They'd get caught and----"
-
-"They can lay it on the Chippewas--Oga's camp isn't so far off.  He's
-been shifting round this district quite a while.  Don't you see, Da,
-they can't do a thing if Dad is here--nor if you and I and Robin are
-here.  It's a trick to keep us out of the shack."
-
-Nell's cheeks were scarlet with the energy of her whispered story.  When
-she reached the end of it they paled again.
-
-"_That's_ how I seem to see it," she concluded, "and I'm so certain that
-I mean to clear out with all that money and take it to Fort St. Louis. I
-want to get twenty-four hours' start of Jan Stenson.  I rather hope he
-may think we've got so scared about Dad that we've gone ahead down east
-to Abbitibbi."
-
-"What about your trail?" suggested David, fervent interest in every line
-of his face.  He was beginning to understand the amazing plan and the
-full danger that was driving Nell into it.
-
-"I believe the snow will help us.  It will cover the trail."
-
-"Great snakes!  Now I see why you were looking out for snow!  But, Nell,
-if we stay here till Dad comes can't we guard the money?  It's a jolly
-big thing taking the trail to Fort Louis. Can't we stick it out here?"
-
-Nell shook her head and her eyes wavered a little from her brother's
-eager gaze.
-
-"I don't think they'd stop short of--well--real wickedness, Da, if they
-couldn't get the money by a trick.  You must remember they've got Dad as
-a kind of hostage, and they could say, 'If you don't hand over that cash
-it'll be all the worse for him,' don't you see?  Of course, it would be
-a risk for them, in the end.  But men like that chance risks. They could
-get away up north--or to the States. There's room--why, thousands of
-miles every way.  Ten to one they mightn't be caught."
-
-David realised the position entirely.  He was full of sense.  Moreover,
-he had been Nell's companion ever since he could walk and talk, and her
-common sense was notable.  He understood, but said no more, for what was
-the good of talking? their business now was to act.
-
-"I know exactly what Dad would wish us to do," went on Nell, "clear off
-with that money. Look how he's worked to get it, because you must be
-properly educated if you are to get to the top in engineering.  The only
-thing that bothered me for a bit was, if they'd do anything to him,
-supposing they understand we've gone off like that.  I thought and
-thought, and then I saw they certainly would not, because what would be
-the sense of risking prison for nothing at all!  They'll try and catch
-us right enough, and make off with the money."
-
-"Oh, you think they'll come after us, do you?" said David, stopping
-short in his silent by-play of ragging the black dog.
-
-"Rather!" agreed Nell firmly.
-
-David's mouth widened into a grin.
-
-"Do you hear that, Robin?" he said cheerfully. "Then the sooner we jolly
-well hop it the better, for we've a long, long way to Tipperary."
-
-For hours the brother and sister worked, until indeed David was so
-sleepy that Nell forced him to undress and roll up in his bunk, where in
-one minute he was soundly unconscious.  That was at one o'clock in the
-morning, when her neat arrangements were nearly completed.
-
-They were to take the hand sled, to be pulled by Robin and David, and
-pushed by herself. As a rule, a man who pulls--when there is no dog
-team--passes a rope over his shoulder and holds the end in his hands,
-then he drags, bending forward.  It is fearfully hard work and slow,
-too. Nell's inventive mind planned a kind of harness for David, who
-would go first, "breaking trail" with his snowshoes for the feet of the
-dog who would be nearest the sled.  She would go behind the first part
-of the way, because of the track towards the stream.  It would be
-necessary to hold back the little loaded sled with strength and
-judgment.  Afterwards, if breaking trail proved too hard for David, she
-would pull and he should push at the back.
-
-It will be understood that Nell intended to save the most valuable of
-the skins as well as the money.  Fortunately these were, as a rule, the
-smaller ones--marten, sable, mink, and beaver.  She made close packages
-of these pelts and fastened them on the sled, together with a
-frying-pan, a billy-can for making tea, a small, sharp axe, and their
-two sleeping bags, double skins with the fur inwards.  For food she took
-as little as she thought safe--for a reason to be explained
-presently--and nothing cumbersome--for instance, no flour--only dried
-beans, bacon, tea, and the compressed meat, called pemmican, which is
-not very nice, but very nourishing, as it is pressed into little bags
-and a very little contains a lot of meat.
-
-She took some tobacco as a precaution, supposing they should come across
-Indians and want to give a present, and she took flint and steel as well
-as matches, in case the latter got damp by any accident.
-
-Lastly she strapped in place her great treasure, a small Winchester
-repeating rifle that her father had given her and taught her to shoot
-with, and ammunition.  She had told David she wasn't going to leave it
-behind to be possibly stolen, but her intention was to use it for the
-defence of that precious money if need be.  Besides the little rifle,
-both she and David carried automatic pistols; long and careful practice
-had made them good shots--it is necessary to know how to protect oneself
-in a wild country.
-
-As Nell sat by the stove making harness from strips of hide she thought
-a good deal about the money and how she was to hide it.  Very little of
-it was gold.  Nearly all was in dollar bills. She passed in review a
-dozen hiding-places, but dismissed one after another, finally deciding
-that the only safe place would be upon her own body. Of course, she
-realised that if she were caught that would be suspected, but they must
-be put somewhere and she could defend herself.  There was one plan that
-kept on coming back into her mind.  That was to hide the money in the
-log house.  Leave it behind carefully concealed, and lead the hunters
-off on a false trail.  She thought of all the places in which it could
-be put and could not help knowing that any place inside the log house
-would be bound to be discovered.
-
-At the present time the money was laid in a recess under the floor,
-which was made of logs, more or less flattened on the top.  The hunters
-could, if they wanted, try everyone of these boards in a fairly short
-time.  They could search the berths, empty out the potato sacks--Nell
-sincerely hoped they wouldn't because of the potatoes!  The only real
-hiding-place would be a hole in the ground outside the house, but how
-could she do that when the ground was covered with snow?  You can't put
-back snow without leaving traces of your work, and besides the ground
-was hard as wood.
-
-The more she went over these things in her mind, the more definitely she
-saw that she must carry the money.
-
-"They'll come and find we are gone," murmured Nell, ticking off the
-events with one finger on the spread out fingers of her other hand, "or
-_he_ will, anyway.  He'll think I'm scared about Dad and have gone on
-ahead--I'll fasten up a paper saying, 'Gone on,' that'll be true,
-anyway."  Her mouth twisted into a smile.  "I'll fasten up the paper on
-the door, _outside_.  Then, he'll break it open most likely, and hunt
-over every inch of the place.  Then, he'll fix up that I've got the
-money on me.  Then, he'll sprint off to Abbitibbi and get there in one
-day.  Then, he'll find we never came and both of them will make out to
-follow.  Two men travelling light can go very fast.  They'll just carry
-a pack--but they'll come back here to get on to our trail like enough,
-sure to."
-
-She had used up all her fingers, and the busy hands lay in her lap as
-she thought it all over. There was a shadow over her keen eyes, for she
-could not hide from herself that the chance was rather a poor one.
-Indeed, were it not for the two days and more of start there would not
-be much chance at all.
-
-Two trappers, the hardiest, toughest men on the Continent, used to miles
-of travel at great speed, travelling light, and following after a big
-fortune in dollar bills to be had for the taking, were bound to overtake
-herself and David and the sled!  They would not go half as fast, and
-they must rest--for David's sake.  After all, he was only twelve, and no
-boy of twelve, however strong, can outlast a tough man in his prime.
-
-It was the start she was counting on, and the fact that the men would
-make so sure of catching them that they might not put out full effort.
-These trappers would do the distance in four days, going fast--at least,
-they often did when in haste--while she and David would take eight days.
-It was not a cheering calculation, but--she was looking at chances, as
-has been said before.  Possibly snow, and a lost trail.  Lastly, the
-farther they two went the more likely would they be to hap on "folk."
-On the Moose River there were many locations.  Life would be stirring.
-She might strike friends and human dwellings.
-
-Certainly, then, she must carry the money.
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER IV
-
-                          THE HOWL OF THE WOLF
-
-
-Presently Nell stood up and stretched, yawning a little, for she was
-sleepy.  She looked round on her work and knew that all was completed
-except--the one thing.  By a sort of instinct she stood quite still
-listening.  There was no sound, but the crackle of wood in the stove and
-the sighing of wind round the house.  She was glad of that crackling, it
-had a friendly feeling.
-
-Having satisfied herself that all was safe, and the big bolts shot home
-into the staples, she took down a pick that they often used for breaking
-the hard ground, and then dragged back the big black bearskin spread on
-the floor by the stove. Just as it was rolled up she started
-nervously--someone moving!  She had forgotten Robin, who had followed
-David into the small room at the end, and now--perhaps hearing strange
-movements on her part--came back to see what was happening.  He walked
-across in a dignified manner, sat down on his haunches at the edge of
-the nearest rug, and then, turning his head slowly, gazed at the door.
-
-Poor Nell, rather burdened by the weight of these events, felt a glow of
-affection towards the wise dog.  She had not remembered him oddly enough
-for quite a long while, except as a little horse for the sled.  Now as
-she looked over at him she knew she had a partner of value.  The job
-seemed much less formidable, and she fixed the sharp point of the pick
-between the floor boards with a much lighter heart.  She knew exactly
-where the place was, her father had shown her the secret of the
-hiding-place, one piece fitting over another so neatly and the rough
-bark hiding joins.  A person who did not know would have to get the
-whole line up on the chance of finding one loose one.
-
-There was the money, tied up in packets and stowed in two bags made of
-soft deerskin. Nell took it out, and heartily wished there was less of
-it!  It was not heavy, of course, because it was paper.  Also, from time
-to time her father had changed a parcel of small bills for one larger
-one, so there was not nearly as much as might have been supposed to
-represent so many years' savings.
-
-Before going to work on the hiding part of the business, the girl put
-back the log, knocked it firmly into place and put the bearskin over it.
-Then she gathered up the two bags, and stood holding them thoughtfully
-as her fingers ran over the bulk and shape of the paper.
-
-At that moment her attention was drawn to Robin by his action.  He moved
-slowly over to the door, and with drooping head blew sniffing breath
-along the lower part of it.  He made no sound, but the hackles on his
-neck rose stiffly, and the snow squeezing in under the door was blown
-out by his breath.
-
-Then, from the forest came the far-off howl of a husky dog--or a wolf.
-
-Nell knew that the huskies in an Indian camp will howl in the night for
-hours.  All of them together, too.  The most mournful and tragic sound,
-though they are not unhappy.  In the very coldest weather they will bury
-themselves in the snow--especially when they are on the Long Trail--bury
-themselves entirely and so sleep warm.  But in the camps they will
-wander round about and in and out, fighting with each other and howling
-in chorus as their ancestors the wolves must have done in far-away days
-when all this great snow country was wild as the Barren Lands up in the
-north near the Circle.
-
-Nell listened, startled.  Why should a husky dog be away out there by
-itself?  It was so unlikely that she settled this must be a lone wolf.
-But why did it howl?  They seldom did that unless they were in full cry,
-a pack of them on the track of a deer.  Also wolves were not very
-plentiful about this part; though, of course, they might come when
-driven by hunger--ravenous, and savage.
-
-"Well, it doesn't matter," thought the girl, and she spoke to Robin
-gently.  "Only a wolf, old man.  He won't interfere with us."
-
-Even as she stopped speaking, the wolf howled again.  This time it was
-nearer.  Robin scratched at the foot of the door and snuffed again
-heavily, but he did not growl.  That was reassuring, because Nell knew
-he would have growled had it been an enemy--but why didn't he growl at a
-wolf?  That seemed odd.  Wolf or husky would have been equally
-objectionable to Robin.
-
-These thoughts flashed through the girl's mind, the while she pushed the
-leather bags under the package of pelts, looked to the priming of her
-little weapon, and pulled the hood of her parka up to cover her head and
-face.  Not only for protection from cold did she do this, but for
-disguise also in a way, because, as she was dressed like a man in
-leather breeches with the fur inwards and leather moccasins--or leggings
-with boots to them--being so tall and strong she would at once be
-mistaken for a man when the parka tails fell round her face.
-
-All this took but a couple of minutes; Nell always moved quickly.  Then
-she grasped the bolt, pushing Robin aside with her foot and talking to
-him in a low voice.
-
-"We must have a look, eh, boy?" she said. And at that instant the dreary
-howl came from the back of the log house, close where the wood was
-thickest and the hill rose steeply.
-
-"Queer," said Nell to the dog, "there's something more in this than
-meets the eye--for the matter of that, it doesn't meet the eye at all,
-does it, Robin?  Hope it won't wake Da; he'll want to come out if he
-hears."
-
-But David slept; he was tired.
-
-The girl opened the door and slipped out into the snow.  She held Robin
-by the collar till such time as it might be necessary to let him go, and
-together they went to the end of the shack.
-
-No one to be seen.  No sound but the wind in the dry boughs above.  Nell
-listened intently, then she turned her head and looked back towards the
-door; after all, it was open and she did not like to go on round the
-house.  Robin must go, she would stop this side.
-
-As her hand loosed from his neck, the big dog bayed once, a deep note,
-and disappeared into the wood.  Nell went back towards the door her ears
-alert as any wild thing of the woods. Also her eyes!  In spite of the
-darkness, which was thick and starless, the snow made a paler
-background.  On that it seemed to Nell that she saw a moving shadow
-close to the house.  Not tall. Rather close to the ground.  She sprang
-forward swiftly, but the shadow was quicker; she saw it reach the door
-and slip inside.
-
-The girl was not frightened, but she checked speed and approached the
-door with extra caution.  She could not be sure whether this weird
-shadow was an animal or a human being. In the latter case the bolt might
-be shot and herself shut out with David and the treasure within!  That
-would be awkward.  She was waiting for Robin, knowing that he would
-follow that shadow with unerring certainty.
-
-Sure enough, as she crept up to the unclosed door from her side, the
-black shape of the big dog flashed into view from the other.  He had
-gone round the house with his muzzle to the ground on the trail of the
-shadow.  Straight into the doorway he went before Nell could stop him.
-With a spring she followed instantly.
-
-There was some light within, because the glow from the stove was
-diffused, and a candle--Nell made them herself out of deers' fat with a
-cotton wick--was set on the table as she left it.  By this mild radiance
-she saw, standing on the bearskin before the fire, a curious figure. At
-least, it would have been curious to a town-dweller, and wild, too.
-
-It was an Indian boy, slim, and active as a goat, complete as one of the
-Braves--as the men are called--from the feathers in his parka to the
-beads on his moccasins.  He took no notice of Robin--it would have been
-beneath the dignity of boy or man to show trace of fear of
-anything--enemy, pain, or danger.  But when he saw Nell come in swiftly
-after the dog, he flung out his right hand straight before him, with the
-palm towards her.  Nell instantly did the same thing.  This was a signal
-of peace and friendship from him, and accepted by her.
-
-Seeing it was friendliness, then, Nell shut the door, fastened it and
-then turned to this strange intruder.  Robin had seated himself on his
-haunches in his own place and was looking gravely at the two of them as
-though asking, "What next?"
-
-Nell knew enough of the Chippewa tongue to make herself understood, and
-the boy, of course, had caught some English from the trappers, but she
-knew also that it was not etiquette to ask questions of an Indian,
-however odd the circumstances, so she began by offering him tea and
-food.
-
-"My brother's feet are weary," she said, "and his throat is dry, for he
-has come a long way in the dark.  Let him sit down by the fire, and
-there will be peace and friendship in this lodge."
-
-The boy, who was perhaps a little younger than David, bore himself with
-the curious reserve and caution of a full-grown man of his tribe.  He
-sat down on the bearskin and watched her with the bead-like eyes of a
-squirrel--or a musk rat.  There was no malice in the eyes, only intense
-curiosity, which must, of course, be hidden, by all rules and habits of
-Indian "bucks."
-
-Women may be inquisitive, or surprised, but men must not be.  Nothing
-must upset their dignity.
-
-He ate the fried meat and drank the tea that she offered him, and Nell
-had a distinct impression that he was hungry.  When he had finished he
-set his plate on the floor by his side and spoke in his own language,
-and always in the rather poetical phrasing of his people.
-
-"The meat is good and the heart of the Lizard is now warm."
-
-"I am glad," said Nell, "the night is long and dark, my brother the
-Lizard journeyed a long way."
-
-"That is so--but the Lizard is strong, and he has no fear in the dark,
-because he is the son of Oga (the Pickerel).  He runs like Kee-way-din,
-the North Wind, to carry a message to the tall white sister with hair
-that flames."
-
-Nell tried not to show too much anxiety, but she realised that here was
-something really important.
-
-"I am glad," she said, "that the heart of my brother the Lizard is right
-towards me.  Oga is a great chief, and one day his son will be as tall
-as the pine trees, and as strong as the grey bear of the Rocky
-Mountains."
-
-The jet black eyes of the boy glittered with approval of this sentiment.
-He sat up rigidly, expanding his chest with pride, then he answered:
-
-"The Lizard has a sister and her name is Shines-in-the-Night; when the
-sun was warm and the chickadee danced in the woods, the tall white
-sister came to the camp of Oga.  She looked upon Shines-in-the-Night
-with the eyes of kindness and gave to her a necklace of blue beads, very
-beautiful and precious.  From that time the heart of Shines-in-the-Night
-was warm--whichever way she looked she saw only the tall white sister
-with hair that flames."
-
-Nell nodded, remembering easily the Indian girl with a paler skin than
-the others, to whom she had talked when she went with her father to buy
-some skins the previous spring.  Also she remembered the blue beads
-which she had been wearing herself at the time.
-
-"Shines-in-the-Night spoke to the Lizard, and said, 'Go to the lodge of
-my sister and tell her that the trapper from Abbitibbi, with little eyes
-that open only half-way, has a forked tongue. His words are not true,
-and his heart is black.'"
-
-"Shines-in-the-Night is very wise," said Nell in a low voice, "I know."
-
-The Lizard suddenly stood up on his feet.
-
-"Let the tall white sister take the trail," he said, watching Nell with
-twinkling eyes, "then, when Little Eyes comes to the white man's lodge,
-there will be none to answer.  My white sister will be gone, swift as
-Ah-tek (the caribou), and Moose-wa (the moose)."
-
-A sudden presentiment overwhelmed the girl.
-
-"When will the man with a forked tongue come from the camp of Oga?" she
-asked.
-
-"He will come to-day--this day that is now awake."
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER V
-
-                   "LITTLE EYES HAS A FORKED TONGUE"
-
-
-In the stillness that followed this answer to her question Nell made a
-wild calculation in her head.  To-day!  The boy must mean to-morrow.
-She said so, eagerly.
-
-"Little Eyes has a forked tongue," repeated the Lizard, with emphasis.
-"He says one thing, but his heart is false.  He spoke to my father, the
-Pickerel, and he said, 'Take money for these pelts, and have all ready
-at the day dawn.  Give me food also, for I go on the home trail in the
-morning.'  Then Shines-in-the-Night said to me, 'Run with the feet of
-Ah-tek to the white man's lodge and carry this word from me to the tall
-white sister, for the heart of Little Eyes is not good towards her.'"
-
-"How does she know?" questioned Nell.
-
-The Lizard made a gesture with his expressive brown hands.
-
-"It is clear to Shines-in-the-Night, as the face of the Forest, or the
-tune of the River," he said.
-
-"Well," said the girl, with a sort of desperate firmness, "what must be,
-must be then.  We will go as soon as the day breaks.  I will wake my
-brother, we will eat and go."
-
-"That is well," agreed the Lizard evidently satisfied, "the snow will
-hide the trail, and the great black ninnymoosh (dog) will be your
-friend."  He looked at Robin with grave approval. There was evidently a
-sympathy between them, though the hound was not familiar.
-
-Nell went over to a locker in which were kept all sorts of small
-articles and loose oddments, and extracted therefrom a strong clasp
-knife. It was a good knife, but, more important still, it was a showy
-knife.  It possessed three blades of different sizes, a corkscrew, and a
-spike, useful for making holes or as a lever, for it was strong. She
-gave it to the boy, being very careful indeed not to suggest that she
-was offering payment.
-
-"Will my brother the Lizard take this from my hand, in token that my
-heart is very good towards him?  My brother will some day be a great
-chief and these little knives shall help him to skin Mak-wa (the bear),
-after the gun has sent him into the Afterland."
-
-The boy's eyes shone as he took this unexpected treasure.  It was a
-prize of immense value to him, and one that would make him the envy of
-every other boy for years.  Nell was turning over in her mind what on
-earth she could send to Shines-in-the-Night--for she owed the girl a
-great deal--her action had been so clever and so swift, founded as it
-was almost entirely on instinct.  She did not possess the things worn by
-other girls of her age; where no shops are people do not accumulate
-small matters of dress.
-
-Swiftly she went to her room and opened a box.  Turning over her few
-things she came upon a Christmas card shaped like a little book with a
-scented sachet inside.  Just a very small cushion of satin with a bunch
-of mignonette painted on it, and a sweet smell of the same flower.  On
-the outside of the cover was a picture of a pretty cottage and holly
-trees glittering with snow.  It was a Christmas card sent to Nell by
-relations in a far-away land.  She was fond of it, but she understood
-well what it would mean to the Chippewa girl, so she took it to the boy
-and presented it in a ceremonious manner, a special gift from herself to
-Shines-in-the-Night.
-
-The Lizard was greatly impressed.  Of course, he tried to conceal his
-wonder and admiration, because a brave must never be surprised.  He hid
-it in his leather shirt, then he went, with startling swiftness and
-perfectly noiseless, and the girl found herself alone again faced by the
-necessity of instant flight.
-
-It was three o'clock in the morning, and she wanted to be off in the
-grey of daybreak.
-
-There was no time to make a careful disposition of the "greenbacks," or
-dollar bills.  She took a broad strip of a pelt, cured soft as silk,
-tacked the two packets to it with strong stitches of her needle and
-thread, and fastened it round her waist under her leather shirt.  It was
-the only way she could think of doing it quickly.  Later she might
-invent some new plan.  But it all depended on events.
-
-Then she woke David, who grunted rather discontentedly, and then sat up
-in his blankets.
-
-"What's the good of getting up in the middle of the night," he said;
-"we've done all the things, and we aren't going till to-morrow."
-
-"We are going to-day, in about half an hour," Nell told him; "something
-has happened."
-
-"I _say_--what, what's happened?" David scrubbed his face with both
-hands to wake himself, he was still rather unbelieving.
-
-"I'll tell you while we are having breakfast," said Nell.  "It's very
-queer and it isn't nice! Things have been happening all night, and now
-it's just about daybreak."
-
-"_I say!_" exclaimed the boy again, "then you haven't been to sleep!
-What a shame!"
-
-"Don't think I could have gone to sleep anyhow.  I had such a horribly
-wideawake mind. Never mind, we'll sleep to-night--let's hope."  She
-laughed and went away.
-
-Less than an hour later the little cavalcade took the trail.
-
-Nell left the house in order because she could not find it possible to
-leave dirt and confusion. She locked the door outside and put the big
-key in her pocket.  Then she nailed a square of paper on the doorpost,
-using a stone to drive in the nail.  On the paper was printed:
-
-                  GONE ON.  E.L.  (for Ellen Lindsay).
-
-"Will he believe that?" asked David, speaking in a whisper, for the
-grey, thick chill of the morning's dawn rather oppressed him, though the
-flight did not.  He thought the whole thing a mighty spree.
-
-"Not till he's broken open the door," said Nell dryly.  "That is the
-time I'm counting on, you see?  He'll break in and hunt every corner of
-the house for Dad's money.  When he can't find it he'll think I've gone
-on to Dad, at their shack.  I'm counting on _that_, too."
-
-"Jolly lot of counting, and not much really certainty," commented David,
-making a face. "How's he going to account for breaking the door open and
-turning the place upside down--I mean when Dad comes back?"
-
-"Oh--he'll say the Chippewas must have done it.  It's pretty simple,
-because Indians do break into shacks sometimes.  That'll do for a story
-if nothing comes of his plan--I mean if he doesn't get hold of the
-money, anyhow.  But you must remember he's laying out to lift that money
-off us somehow, and if he gets it they'll just vamoose"--by which she
-meant--"make themselves scarce"--"they won't stop to make explanations."
-
-"Well," said David as he strapped on his snowshoes, "they won't get it."
-
-"No," agreed Nell, "they won't.  But they'll make a good try, because
-when people begin on a nasty job they get kind of involved and _have_ to
-go on."
-
-"Best thing is not to begin," said her brother in rather a sententious
-voice.
-
-Nell showed her pretty teeth in a silent laugh.
-
-"Come on," she whispered, as she fastened the harness on her odd steeds.
-"Off we go, Da, and God bless us all--Dad as well."
-
-The fall of the ground was steepish, but the track was fairly beaten
-out, because winter and summer it was a path to the stream below.  The
-distance was hardly more than half a mile, and in summer Nell went up
-and down often for water.  In winter they went up and down almost as
-often for fish, as they had got an ice-hole trap in the stream, which
-was deepish, though not very wide so early in its course, its source
-being way up in the mountains at the back of the log house.
-
-Nell's plan was quite definite.  She meant to get on the "River" and
-follow its course to the lake--about thirty miles, perhaps more--cross
-the lake, get on to the ever-widening river and go on at top speed till
-their river joined up with the Moose, when they might hope to hit on
-human habitations.
-
-It was a reasonable plan, but there was one very serious danger--the
-possibility that "the bottom might fall out of the trail," as the
-language of the northlands puts it.  In other words, that the ice might
-break and go down-stream--one moving mass, hundreds of miles in length,
-cracking, heaving, and piling up on itself.  That happened every spring.
-The farther up north you were the later it took place, of course.  A few
-days of sunshine, a milder feel in the wind, and the springs in the
-hills would begin to trickle into the streams, the streams into the
-rivers, and up would rise the bursting ice on the swollen water.
-
-Now that was what Nell was dreading most of all.  A thaw would make the
-snow clog, too; there was extra effort when the trail was heavy. As they
-darted down the hill she sniffed the air like a dog; the snowflakes
-drifting against her face were rather large and wettish, not like the
-biting ice powder that drove along in the winter.
-
-A thaw was coming, but she would do this journey before it made the
-river road impassable.
-
-Down and down they went, Nell hanging back her whole weight to prevent
-the sled slipping on to Robin's heels.  David kept to the outside for
-the time, giving a hand to steady the load at the worst places.  There
-was nothing top heavy or slack about the packing of the sled.  They had
-been trained to do it to perfection--canvas cover lashed down at the
-sides as neatly as the mainsail cover of a well-kept yacht.
-
-In ten minutes they had reached the stream and stood firm upon the
-snow-covered ice.  The real journey was beginning.
-
-They stood still to take breath after the scramble of that quick
-descent.  Nell looked back at the track.  It was covered already with
-snow.  She felt a thrill of thankfulness that her hope was fulfilled.
-The marks of the sled runners were not quite gone in places--though they
-would be soon--but the trail of the dog's feet, and the digs made by the
-heel of the snowshoes when the weight was thrown back so hard, were
-already gone.  The hard packing of the snow had helped them, and now
-came fresh snow and blotted out the trail.
-
-On either side of them the banks rose fairly steep, and woods covered
-the banks.  All the world was still and grey, and under the spruce firs
-the snow carpet lay smooth and untrodden-- dead white with the black
-boles rising from it.
-
-Their road lay straight ahead by the frozen stream, and the one thing
-that mattered was haste.
-
-David now took his place as leader.  Robin trotted behind him in the
-traces, muzzle to the ground as he always ran, and Nell pushed at the
-back.  Both she and David wore the round-toed snowshoes that most of the
-Indians use--not the very long shape like a boat, worn by the plainsmen,
-and the men who go on the long trail over the vast snow expanses in the
-far north.
-
-These shoes are made of the green wood of the tamarack, steamed to make
-it pliable--then the loop can be bowed into the shape of the snowshoe
-racket.  This is bound in place by strips of caribou skin rawhide soaked
-in warm water, which also binds the ends together.  When this is done
-the shoe is hung up to dry slowly, afterwards holes are made with the
-red-hot cleaning rod of a rifle which is used for boring, then webbing
-of caribou rawhide shrinks when it is wet and thus tightens up the shoe
-when other things would stretch.
-
-Both Nell and David were used to this form of travelling and had long
-ceased to get the cramps and aches that come to people at the beginning.
-
-Silent as the falling snow down the river path between the deathly
-stillness of the woods they flew along.
-
-The journey had begun in earnest.
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER VI
-
-                       GREEN EYES IN THE DARKNESS
-
-
-So their flight continued all day, with brief rests for "changing
-horses," as it were. About twelve o'clock they were very hungry, and
-Nell decreed a short spell for dinner.  They seemed to have the whole
-world to themselves. There was more brushwood and undergrowth in the
-woods now, not only fir trees, but many other sorts.  More hiding ground
-for wild animals, too--but that was not a serious danger till the night
-should make them bold.
-
-Nell unstrapped the little axe and looked about for a dead sapling of a
-birch tree; when she found it she bent it over double and split the bend
-with a sharp blow of the axe.  Inside was white pith dry as powder; with
-this and dead sticks they made a small, round, red-hot fire, as the
-Indians do, first scraping a place bare on the edge of the bank where it
-was reasonably flat.  Then they boiled tea in the billy-can, weak, but
-hot, putting a little molasses sugar into it to take off the bitterness.
-Some of this they gave to Robin when it was cooler--he was very fond of
-tea.  For food they ate some pemmican and a bit of Nell's bread.  They
-had brought what they could carry--which was not much, of course--then
-they would rely chiefly on soaked beans.
-
-"We'll have bacon for supper," said Nell in a comforting voice.  It went
-to her heart, rather, to see David eating the dried meat without a word
-of complaint; it was not very tempting, because, though nourishing, it
-was rather tasteless.
-
-Robin had dried fish.  That is the main food of dogs in the winter.  Of
-course, when a deer is shot, or rabbits and hares are trapped--or even a
-fox--they get meat, but you cannot depend on it in the snow time: these
-creatures get scarce, because the hunting animals destroy them.
-
-Next time they camped it was late afternoon, when the dusk was beginning
-to shadow the silent forest.  They were very tired.  Not so tired as an
-inexperienced pair would have been, but certainly very tired and
-stiff--the muscles of the legs suffered from these long hours of
-snowshoe work.  But neither of them said a word. David would not have
-admitted it for the world, and Nell was too thankful for the successful
-day's journey to complain about aches.
-
-The night camp was a more serious affair than the "dinner" one.  First
-they scraped out a wide place on the bank just below a high pitch of
-rock.  There was a good deal of rock about in places which would mean
-rapids and waterfalls presently, all sorts of inconveniences to stop the
-pace of their journey.  But in this position they were glad of it,
-because it seemed to wall them off from the lonely woods, also it made a
-shelter from the chill wind that moaned through the spaces.
-
-Then they gathered dead wood.  At least, David did that while Nell
-unlashed the load and got out the sleeping bags, the bacon and
-frying-pan, and big, thick stockings to change into in case their feet
-were damp--which always was the case, and might mean frost-bite or, at
-least, serious chill, unless attended to.
-
-They regularly walled themselves in from the forest.  On one side was
-the rock wall, on the other the sled turned up on its side, and so
-making rather a good barrier in between the snow scraped up into a high
-fence, while the fourth side was open to the river--their icy,
-snow-covered road.  Not every part of the banks was convertible in this
-practical way.  You could go for long stretches and pass only masses of
-brushwood and rocks overhanging the course of the stream, but this place
-Nell's careful eye singled out as just right for a night camp.
-
-First, after this barricading, came the fire and collection of a fine
-heap of dead wood for the night.  Then supper--fried bacon, bread, and
-tea; then the changing of foot-gear, and finally the two crawled into
-their fur-lined bags, feet foremost, and drew them up over their heads.
-That is the only way to keep warm, because otherwise the cold air is
-bound to creep in somewhere. If you cover your head as well, you may
-feel a bit stuffy, but you are not cold.
-
-Robin, who had no bushy tail to curl round over his nose and toes as the
-husky dogs do, came and made his bed between their two bags. And then
-there was silence in the strange, lonely camp, miles away from a human
-habitation. The boughs overhead and the over-reaching rock protected
-them from falling snow, but every now and then a flake sizzled on to the
-fire. The light of the burning wood cast a pink glow on the snow wall of
-their barrier, and with all the loneliness and cold there was a sense of
-comfort and even security.
-
-Nell had arranged the pile of fresh wood close to her head so as to be
-within reach for replenishing the fire.  For a time she could not
-sleep--in spite of the terribly long day just passed and the sleepless
-night of work before that.  She could not throw off the feeling of
-responsibility, or that liveliness of mind that made her obliged to keep
-on following the doings of Jan Stenson in her imagination.  Had they
-escaped him or would he follow?
-
-Twice she rose on her elbow and reached out of her bag to throw handfuls
-of wood on the fire, both times Robin raised his head to watch her
-doings, and she saw the shine of the flame light on his deep-set eyes.
-David was sound asleep, jerking a little and making grunts and
-distressful noises, as his hardworked muscles reminded him of the day's
-labour.
-
-Then the girl fell asleep, too, deeply asleep; and the camp was quite
-still but for the faint crackle of wood as the fire died down.
-
-It was about midnight when Nell was roused by a low growling from the
-hound.  It must have gone on for some time before the girl realised it,
-because she was aware of it in her dreams after a fashion.  But she was
-so deeply asleep that waking herself was like coming up out of a well,
-by slow stages.
-
-Then she put her nose cautiously out of her furry nest and gazed round.
-It was dark, except for the faint paleness of the snow, for of course
-the rock barricade made a blackness, and the trees were fairly thick
-above.  Of the fire remained only a scatter of red sparks and white
-ashes.
-
-Nell raised herself to a sitting posture, bag and all, and stayed
-absolutely quiet, looking about to realise what the trouble was, if any.
-She did not attempt to put wood on the fire even.  She hardly breathed.
-
-From somewhere close, but not on the ground, came a very slight crack,
-the crack of dead wood. This was nothing, because the weight of snow
-would break a twig any time, apart from the movings of grey squirrels,
-chipmunks or other furry things that made shelters in the hollows of
-trunks.  She was not afraid.  Indeed, she firmly believed that there was
-only one event that could shake her peace of mind seriously, and that
-was the knowledge that the trapper was really on their trail.
-
-She was just going to lie down again when something made her look up at
-the top of the rock that shielded them on the side they had made their
-beds.  It might have been ten or twelve feet--hardly more--and
-perpendicular, but a broken surface mostly grown over with the coarse
-grey tinted moss that deer eat in winter.
-
-At the top, directly above the sleeping-place, shone two pale green
-lights.  They were close together, and terribly bright and evil.  They
-glared out of pitch darkness on the rock top, and Nell felt a shock as
-she met fully the utter malevolence of the stare.  Like the eyes in a
-picture that seem to follow the person who looks at them, these eyes
-appeared to meet Nell's horrified gaze, but a moment after she realised
-that they were most likely watching something else.  Then she saw the
-something else, and that startled her almost as much as the eyes.
-
-Attracted perhaps by the smell of food and the warmth of the glowing
-embers, another creature of the forest was peering cautiously round the
-end of the upturned sled.  Probably it had been creeping about the
-silent camp for some time, and hearing no sound ventured to inspect
-farther.
-
-When Nell had moved to sit up, she had done so with the ease and swift
-silence of any other woodland dweller.  Now she remained as still as
-sleeping David, except that she shifted one hand very, very gently on to
-Robin's head--as a check; by the twitch of his forehead she _felt_ his
-eyes watching.  So they stayed, frozen as it were, while the searcher
-came round the end of the sled and stood still.
-
-It looked very big against the snow, but the girl knew how to allow for
-the dimness and the uncertain jumps of light from the wood sparks. She
-was not sure if it was an opossum, a fox, or a big wild cat.  Either of
-the two last would be likely to be hunting at night.  Then she saw as it
-drew nearer that it was carrying some animal in its jaws.  It had been
-hunting in the river bank close by and caught a rabbit, or perhaps a
-musk-rat, and the warmth had attracted it into the circle of the little
-camp.  It was a cat.  A wild cat, of course, one of the great strong
-specimens that the trappers called catamounts, and quite possibly mate
-to the one that had bitten Andrew Lindsay.  It carried its prey with
-head held rather high, as a household cat carries a mouse, and it
-stepped with the same wonderfully cautious delicacy, the big bushy tail
-drooping. Body close to the ground it crawled forward, and presently
-crouched, growling over its catch, as a cat growls.
-
-Robin's growl had ceased when Nell touched him.  He simply watched in
-silence, having no desire at all to tackle a wild cat in fair fight!
-Unless he disabled the enemy at the first onslaught he would get the
-worst of the battle most likely, and in any case might lose his sight
-and be torn in rags.  He knew all about wild cats and left them, and a
-few other unpleasant forest people, severely alone.
-
-The girl was not afraid, for she had always heard that a wild cat will
-never attack first unless it is shut into a confined space or is caught
-in a trap.  Out in the woods it will run--as a rule.
-
-Crouching down, it began to eat the rabbit, stopping every second and
-staring round with ferocious menace for any enemy.  Then it saw the
-green eyes on the top of the rock, and shrank into itself with a sort of
-spitting shriek.  Robin shifted his position and pressed close to his
-mistress--the shriek was horrible, undoubtedly.
-
-Nell became uneasy.  She did not like those terrible eyes on the rock
-top, but reasoned in her own mind that the other animal--whatever it
-was--was interested in the catamount, and neither would interfere with
-her.  Nevertheless, her hand stole to her pistol pocket and she got out
-the weapon, to be ready.
-
-Now the beast on the rock was hungry, as forest creatures mostly are in
-the winter.  It had been attracted to the camp by the smell of bacon,
-and probably been sitting up there for hours with the intent patience of
-a wild thing.  The appearance of the cat had changed the attraction.
-Here was a rabbit, in plain view, and the sight of the other beast
-eating was too great a provocation.
-
-The pale green eyes seemed to send out flames of rage, and a snarl came
-from the rock top that was every bit as fiendish as the cat's shriek.
-
-Nell knew pretty well that she had only to throw a handful of sticks on
-to the smouldering embers to drive both wild beasts into hiding. But
-with curiosity was mixed a good deal of excitement.  She wanted to see
-what they would do.  They were taken up with one another, anyhow, and
-when you live in the woods, the doings of the creatures become as
-interesting as very exciting books.  Never had it come her way to see a
-catamount defend its supper--or early breakfast--from a lynx; she fully
-believed the watcher on the rock top to be that, most savage, perhaps,
-of all the cat tribe.
-
-
-
-
-                              CHAPTER VII
-
-                           A MIDNIGHT BATTLE
-
-
-For perhaps three minutes the two creatures spat and screamed at each
-other.  David awakened, uncovered his face cautiously and gazed about
-with interest.  Then he murmured:
-
-"I say, Nell, just look!"
-
-"I know," her voice was equally low pitched.
-
-"What'll they do?"
-
-"Oh, run away.  The cat won't fight the lynx."
-
-"Is it a lynx?  Snakes, what a row!  I say, Nell, that cat yells like a
-slate pencil with a bit of wire in it screaming down a slate.  Doesn't
-it make your teeth feel gritty?" he giggled.
-
-"Hush," warned Nell.
-
-"They don't hear, they are jolly busy.  Oh, I _say_!"
-
-This last "I say" was caused by a new movement on the part of the lynx.
-It was very hungry, and had no intention of letting that rabbit be eaten
-by a mere wild cat if anything could be gained by interfering!
-Evidently it ran or jumped from the rock top to the snow barrier, for
-the two malevolent green eyes suddenly glared palely from the bank.
-Then Nell saw the dark crouching shape run round on to the upturned
-sled.  She was sure now it was a lynx, she could distinguish the heavy,
-powerful hind legs and the bob tail, then in a moment, right across the
-faint glow of the fire, the flat, wicked face with the tufted ears laid
-back.
-
-But the great wild cat held on to the rabbit. There was no time to eat,
-but it would not run, as, of course, the lynx expected.  They are
-terrible creatures and will fight almost anything that does fight in the
-forest.  Their teeth, and the knife-like talons on their powerful hind
-legs make them dangerous everywhere.  Nell wished the cat would run and
-be done with it all.  She put out her hand to the wood pile, meaning to
-throw some sticks on the fire that glowed dully between them and these
-dangerous neighbours, when David saw what she intended and urged her not
-to.
-
-"Don't, Nell, it'll send them off with one jump.  Do let's see what
-they'll do!"
-
-"But, Da----"
-
-"Oh, I know they are awful brutes, but we've never had a chance of
-seeing a catamount stand up to a lynx.  Do wait!"
-
-Nell gave in.  All the same, she was not sure it was wise, and she kept
-a bunch of sticks in her hand ready to beat on the smoulder of the fire
-with them and so drive about a shower of sparks, supposing the fighters
-became too unpleasant.
-
-Robin was uneasy, but he remained as before, just watchful.  Both Nell
-and David knew that he would fight a wolf, but not a lynx--not if he
-could possibly get out of it, anyway.
-
-The wild cat was drawn up into a hoop, looking like a picture of a huge
-witch cat.  It was a picture, too, of rage indescribable, one paw
-holding down the rabbit, one lifted, as it screeched at the crouching
-lynx on the top of the sled.  Every tooth in its stretched, open mouth
-was bare, and its ears lay flat and close. The face of the lynx was like
-a wicked mask in front of its hunched-up body.
-
-Then, in a second the suspense was over, and the noise that followed was
-like nothing Nell had ever heard in all her years of forest life.  The
-silence of the woods seemed to be split and shaken by the hideous yowls
-and screeches of the furious beasts as they struggled for a mastery.
-Most people have heard two cats fight.  If that can be imagined at least
-twenty times worse, and in the profound stillness of winter night in a
-snow-laden forest, that is what the girl and boy heard.
-
-The bodies of the two wild creatures rolled, bounded, and spun in one
-raging ball.  No one could have told which was which.
-
-David scrambled to his feet, bag and all, and leaned against the rock
-watching, too intent to notice Nell's actions.  She did what she had
-wanted to do in the first place, threw a handful of dried sticks on the
-twinkling red ashes. Amongst the sticks were some dead birch saplings.
-These burst into a flame almost on the instant, and a rush of crackling
-light streamed up into the air, making the tree boles look pink, like
-the rosy tinted snow.
-
-In that same instant Nell saw that the cat was uppermost, with teeth
-fastened in the face of the lynx.  He would not give way, but the lynx
-was killing him by terrible strokes of those razor-like claws which were
-lashing at the soft underpart of the catamount's body.
-
-This she saw in a sort of instantaneous vision. Then the leaping flame
-did its work.  With one spasmodic movement the mad beasts fell apart.
-The lynx ran away, crouching close to the snow, with a curious hunched
-movement of his strong hind legs, and the great cat disappeared in two
-bounds, leaving a trail of dark stains on the snow.  He was shockingly
-hurt.
-
-"Oh, I say, why _did_ you, Nell?" cried David.
-
-"I wasn't going to have the catamount killed," said his sister firmly.
-"I loathe lynxes.  Their faces are as wicked as demons.  I believe they
-are demons."
-
-"Cats are pretty well as bad.  It was a catamount that bit Dad, Stenson
-said."
-
-"It was in a trap," Nell excused the cat briskly.  "Of course they're
-savage, they are wild animals, but I didn't want that lynx to triumph.
-Who got the rabbit?  It was the cat's own rabbit."
-
-"Poor rabbit," said David.
-
-Then they both laughed.  It was such a very mad sort of scene, as Nell
-said.
-
-David walked round the fire cautiously and found the rabbit.  There it
-was, left on the battered battlefield.  He picked it up gingerly.
-
-"If we knew where the catamount was, we might go to him and say, 'Here
-is your rabbit.'  As we don't, Robin had better have it.  He won't mind.
-He didn't get much supper.  We've got to make our food last."
-
-Robin did not seem to mind much, and so the other two let him finish the
-poor cat's find, while they divided a bit of Nell's bread between them.
-It was cold.  They were both rather weary all over, but they laughed and
-neither one nor the other confessed to that weariness, for this was only
-the beginning of the trail.
-
-Nell decreed just one more hour in their bags, and then they must break
-camp and get off with dawn.  She got no more sleep herself, that
-interlude had been too strenuous.  She lay warm in her fur bag
-thinking--thinking, as the dark turned into grey.  Then she got out of
-her bag and started on the morning work, perhaps the most miserable and
-difficult time in the twenty-four hours of a day's trail.  The stiffness
-had not gone out of her tired muscles, her hands seemed stupid with the
-bitter morning chill.  But Nell said never a word.  She was leader, and
-it was her job to keep the flag flying, whatever she felt herself.
-
-Soon the fire was blazing and the billy-can hung over it to boil water.
-Then she got out her treat, the special secret she had planned for the
-two first mornings.  In the bag with the foodstuffs and utensils she had
-hidden a tight-lidded can of ready-made oatmeal porridge.  There was
-always a sack of the coarse kind at the log house, and so Nell had
-boiled enough--or rather taken what was boiling--it was always ready at
-home. Only enough for two mornings, but even that would be a help.  "One
-wants breaking in by degrees," thought poor Nell as her blue hands
-stirred the porridge.
-
-David woke and saw it; what he said about that surprise made things very
-cheerful.  Later on there grew a faint pinkness, low between the trees.
-The snow had ceased to fall, and far away the sun was rising on the
-white world.  Nell did not say so, because her principle always was
-never to look for trouble, or to express dread of a possible one, but it
-was a pity the snow had ceased to fall.  Moreover, either the shelter of
-the wood made the air less bitter or it really was warmer.  And she did
-not want a thaw--not yet.  There was that long, long river road ahead,
-and though the ice would remain thick, a thaw would start the little
-streamlets in the hills, thousands of small springs would trickle down
-into the river bed, and that would set the water swelling and lifting
-under the ice.
-
-There was the more need for hurry.  That was the way she looked at it.
-So breakfast was eaten, the sled neatly packed, and the party on the
-trail again before true daylight.
-
-The first thing they came across as they turned into the river road was
-the dead body of the catamount.  Nell was sorry about it.  The great
-brindled beast was so torn and disfigured.
-
-"After all, it was his rabbit," she said again. "I hate lynxes."
-
-"The lynx got an ugly one in the eye all the same," suggested David.
-"It's not feeling very lively this morning."
-
-So they left their first camp and sped away and away again along the
-white road, eating up the miles.  Their spirits rose after the first
-effort, because it seemed so easy.  The stiffness wore off and they
-seemed to grow stronger.  The only thing that worried Nell at all was
-the thaw.  It made the snow soft, so that the trail was heavy, and every
-now and then they heard the tiny trickle sound that meant water from
-somewhere.
-
-Again, supposing they were followed, the trail was deep and obvious.  Of
-course, if the thaw continued the snow would go into a slush, but at
-present the track lay horribly plain, long ruts made by the sled runners
-and the print of Robin's feet.
-
-However, there was no use lamenting what could not be helped, but it
-made Nell more anxious than she showed in her manner.  They stopped
-every now and then to change places, and made the longer halt about
-twelve for dinner as before. They were so hot with pulling that there
-was not the least hankering after hot food, which was a comfort, as the
-meal was made off pemmican as before.
-
-It was late afternoon, and when they were beginning to get tired--really
-tired, that the first serious check came in the long hours of swift
-progress.
-
-The thaw seemed to have ceased and an icy wind got up, moaning dismally
-in the tree-tops. The river, which had been always rather narrow,
-widened out within a sort of gorge of rocks and brushwood.  The bed of
-it began to slope slightly in a long series of what would be rapids when
-the water was flowing, and then, on a turn, they came to the rocky dip
-of a high waterfall. Frozen it was still, of course.  One mass of ice
-and snow.  Rather a terrible place in the strange stillness of its
-hold-up.  And everywhere rocks--rocks and steep, difficult places
-blending with the forest.
-
-"And _now_ what next?" said David, looking about.
-
-"Let's look round first," his sister answered cautiously.
-
-So they left the sled, and taking Robin they made an examination of both
-sides of the fall. This was a long business, but it ended in the
-discovery that the river made a sharp loop here, as well as a fall, and
-their best plan would be to drag the sled through the wood--down the
-hill, of course--cut across the loop, and pick up the river again about
-a mile below.
-
-It was going to delay them some time, and both of them were too well
-versed in scoutcraft to think for a moment that it would confuse the
-trail or shake off a pursuer, because what they had done would be so
-obvious.  However, it could not be helped, and so Nell, keen to get it
-over, decided to start on this overland bit at once.  David was willing
-enough, but they soon found the business was a worse job than their
-worst fears had reached.
-
-A yard or two at a time, and then it became a matter of going far round
-some impossible obstacle, cutting a way through impassable undergrowth,
-or letting the sled down a rock wall.  And darkness was closing in.
-
-
-
-
-                              CHAPTER VIII
-
-                        THE MYSTERIOUS CAMP FIRE
-
-
-Nell decreed that the second night's camp was to be here.  They could
-not go over such difficult ground in the dark, besides which the only
-way to go was to unpack the sled and carry the load down piecemeal.
-
-"So," explained Nell, "we may as well stop here now, and instead of
-loading the sled to-morrow morning we'll take the packs down on our
-backs and then carry the sled.  It'll be easiest in the end."
-
-David was entirely willing.  In fact, any plan would have pleased him
-that did not involve going on just then!  They set to vigorously to
-clear a place this time.  It was a case of axe first, and then using
-their snowshoes to scrape aside the snow and tangled mess of brushwood.
-They were pretty well surrounded by rocky hillocks and dense
-undergrowth, but Nell was content.  "We seem safe," she said.
-
-Then, seeing David standing still, apparently listening, she asked him
-what the matter was?
-
-"It's the frozen waterfall," said the boy. "Queer it is how you miss the
-noise that ought to be there.  You feel as if the river was holding its
-breath, just for a minute, and then it would go--_crash_!  Don't you
-remember what a row it makes in the summer on the rocks--you can hear it
-for miles.  Nell, how many miles have we come, do you think?"
-
-Nell thought thirty--in the two days.  David was disappointed, but the
-girl shook her head.
-
-"You've got to remember how the stream winds about.  That's the nuisance
-of it all.  If you could go to Moose River as the geese and swans
-fly--well----"
-
-"Wish we could," said the boy, and then, "never mind, we are jolly lucky
-to have got so far.  I expect we're pretty safe now, Nell, don't you?"
-
-"Hope so," said the girl.  She could not say she believed so--yet.
-
-The camp was a success in that it was very sheltered and cosy, but the
-funniest thing happened to start with almost.  The kit was unpacked for
-cooking and easier conveyance in the morning.  Nell put the neat bundles
-of pelts in place for pillows--rather a good idea.  The two had made a
-good meal of bacon, beans, and tea, and were sitting very quietly in the
-warmth of the fire changing their foot-gear and greasing their weary
-feet.  It was a moment of peace. Robin raised his head and growled
-faintly in his throat.  He was lying on his side, all four feet
-stretched to the fire and head close to Nell. She laid her hand on his
-ears, and then looked where his frowning eyes were gazing--something was
-pushing through the brushwood towards the camp circle.
-
-In a moment it appeared, and with it came a curious dry, rattling sound.
-
-It strolled along grubbing a busy snout under dead leaves and rubbish, a
-hedgehog--quite the most independent of all the forest creatures,
-because no other animal will attempt to interfere with it or risk being
-shot by one of the deadly spines of its queer armoured coat.  Even a
-lynx makes a wide circuit round a hedgehog, because if he's angry and
-ejects a quill--or spine--and that sticks, nothing the wounded beast can
-do will get it out.  The spine goes on working itself in and in, and
-often causes blood poisoning, apart from the horrible pain.
-
-Master Hedgehog trotted into the circle of light entirely unashamed,
-having no reason to fear any person.  He was attracted, because the snow
-was scraped away and a chance offered of finding amongst the stuff
-underneath a few grubs or beetles as food in these hungry days. He
-routed about with his odd little pig-like snout, taking no more notice
-of the campers than he would have done of a bear, a wolf, or a skunk.
-No one could touch him.  Nell laid a restraining hand on Robin, who was
-watching intently, but there was no need, the black dog knew all about
-hedgehogs.
-
-Presently this very self-contained visitor trotted away into the
-brushwood, rustling his spines as he went.  David laughed and said it
-was a pity not to have shot the little pig.
-
-"We could have baked him in the ashes, Nell," he added regretfully.
-
-"We mustn't fire shots unless we are forced," she answered, "that would
-never do.  Do you remember the story Dad told us about that fox that
-tried all ways to get a hedgehog in snow time and couldn't?  So he
-burrowed a tunnel in the snow and came up under the hedgehog and bit it
-underneath.  Horribly clever, foxes are. I rather love them, don't you,
-Da?  They are so clever."
-
-Everything seemed to promise a peaceful night.  The two got into their
-fur bags in peace and quiet.  The night was still, there was no sound
-but the slipping of snow from branches, as the weight shifted a little
-in the thaw.
-
-And then Nell found she could not sleep.  She had that kind of busy mind
-that seems straining after sounds.  The fact was she was anxious, though
-she would not allow it.  Her mind was craving to get on, and on.  She
-would have liked to travel all night as well as all day, but had to keep
-up a sort of pretence of ease and security for fear of worrying David
-too much.  He would have taken it to heart, and the strain would have
-been too great, joined to the hard day's pulling.
-
-Hour after hour the girl lay still, only moving to keep the fire up.
-She would have given anything to feel sleepy and to stop thinking.  She
-could not forget those precious leather bags that she felt against her
-side; the presence of them forced her to keep on thinking about the long
-miles ahead before she could put them in safety.
-
-Presently something else began to disturb her. That queer feeling of
-certainty that someone is near.  She heard no special sound, yet the
-sense of a presence grew and grew till the commonest noises made her
-jump.  When the faint grey of dawn began to creep around the little
-camp, she crawled out of her bag and stood up.  Robin sprang up too and
-shook himself, then he stretched a very long stretch and yawned, looking
-at his mistress in an interested way.
-
-Nell took him by the ears and whispered to him that he must stop and
-look after David.  She was going a very short way, but he must guard the
-camp.  Robin sank down against the boy's side with a sigh.  He wanted to
-go, but he knew his duty.  The girl looked to the priming of her pistol,
-then she stole away alone, into the forest.
-
-She made a circle round the camp, and when she came to her
-starting-point followed on again in a still wider circle.  After that
-the high rocks forming the gates of the waterfall stopped a complete
-circle.  She turned and went back outside her own track.
-
-It was difficult, because of the roughness, but she persevered, to be
-rewarded, for quite suddenly she came upon the ashes of a little camp
-fire. Kneeling down she felt the patch, the ashes were still warm.
-
-The place lay to the north-west of their own camp--that was, on the back
-track behind them. Whoever made that fire was following the sled pullers
-most likely and was travelling light himself, for there was no trace of
-sled runners. Nell sought very anxiously for his trail both to and from
-the fire, but it was purposely confused--concealed in the shrewdest way.
-Just here and there Nell saw obvious "spoor" of human passage.  Then it
-was gone.
-
-The fire was very small and round, showing the camp of a "sour-dough,"
-as an experienced hand is called in the north.  But no more could she
-feel certain of.  There was another very odd thing.  It did not appear
-that this traveller had found the camp of the fugitives.  He had stopped
-for the night in this place, and presumably gone on before the break of
-day.
-
-The girl comforted herself with this reflection. It might be a trapper
-on his own business passing from one district to another, but
-unconscious of her and David.  She would have liked to go back along the
-river trail to look for his spoor, but time was pressing seriously.  As
-she went "home" with flying feet she cogitated whether it would be wise
-to tell David, and ended in telling him.  After all, they were doing the
-job in partnership!
-
-She woke him from sound sleep when she got in, and told him while the
-fire was burning up. He said nothing for a few minutes.  Then he made a
-practical suggestion.
-
-"If we take Robin to that camp fire and start him on the scent, he'll
-follow it up and be on the man all right."
-
-"But," said Nell firmly, "we are running away from the trapper.  What's
-the sense of going after him?"
-
-David began to laugh, and laughed so much in a silent and suppressed
-manner that he rolled over.  Robin looked at them both with such a
-puzzled gaze under his frowning forehead that it made them both laugh
-the more.  After that they felt better, and decided to go ahead,
-thanking God if the man had passed them and gone racing on under a
-misapprehension.  There was a lot of heavy work to do in the portage of
-the sled and packs, Nell knew they would not gain very much in
-distance--the pursuer might, of course, get on miles before them.
-
-Snowshoes were very little use at the present, so they slung them on
-their backs in readiness, and after breakfast made tracks for the lower
-reach of the river, carrying the bundles of pelts. The stream was
-winding and very rugged altogether. The first falls were followed by
-another wild and rocky gorge, where the water must race furiously down
-in summer time.  It was some distance before the two could force a way
-down to a place that looked like a new start, and plain sailing, as it
-were, for the fresh road.  But they did come to it at last, and the snow
-was smooth and spotless.  No one had been before them, certainly, on the
-river.
-
-They put the bundles in safety and went back. The way back did not seem
-so far--it never does, even in a land of roads.  The camp was untouched,
-and again they loaded themselves with as much as they could carry.
-Finally they returned for the sled and the sleeping bags.  Then Robin
-went with them.  Up till then he had been guarding the family property,
-much against his will, but duty demanded the sacrifice of his feelings.
-
-Then, after a rest and a meal, they started again on the untrodden road.
-Nor was it very easy going on a fresh trail of softening snow.  They
-made themselves very hot, but they were hopeful and contented, because
-Nell was sure they would reach the lake that day, and somehow the lake
-appeared to them a landmark--a great gain--a sort of half-way house!  It
-would not be half-way, hardly a quarter of the way, but at any rate it
-was a bad quarter, for the farther they went the nearer they must come
-to friends and human habitations.
-
-It was during this tough bit of the journey that Nell told David about
-the post-house and the cache, that is to say, the reason before hinted
-why they had so little food with them.  On the other side of the lake
-which they must soon cross was a small shack.  Just one little room with
-a rusty stove and a bunk or two.  It had been set up for the convenience
-of trappers in the coldest time, and was used by any of them going east
-to Moose River.
-
-Andrew Lindsay had told his daughter that close to one angle of this hut
-he had made a cache.  That is to say, he had buried in a small pit and
-covered over invisibly a certain amount of canned food, with tea,
-tobacco, candles, matches, and such little matters as knives, an axe,
-and so on.  A trapper learns by experience that he may be left with
-nothing, so, like a squirrel hiding nuts, he makes his cache for a
-reserve store.
-
-Nell was counting on this; moreover, it had more than once occurred to
-her that, in case of dangerous pursuit she might cache the money she was
-carrying, but that would be decided by circumstances.
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER IX
-
-                  HOW THE GREAT BULL FLED FOR HIS LIFE
-
-
-All the afternoon they laboured on and on, and by degrees two things
-came to pass. The woods thinned, there were open spaces, the banks grew
-lower and more open.  They were coming to the lake.
-
-The other obvious change was in the wind. It had veered to the north and
-blew bitterly cold, while fine particles of frozen snow began to strike
-the travellers faster and faster.  As it grew dusk the air was freezing
-hard, and that wind from the north was getting up.
-
-Then, also in a moment, the white expanse of the lake spread before
-their eyes--dim and shadowy, lost in the distance.
-
-Nell's heart sank a bit at that moment.  It was all so fearfully dreary
-and exposed.  The forest they had passed through seemed a friendly
-shelter beside this!  But it had to be faced.  The river passed through
-it and the journey must be taken up again--away over there in the
-far-away dimness--where the stream poured out, wider, going east to join
-the Moose River.
-
-"I suppose," said Nell, looking round with carefully assumed
-indifference, "we'd better camp here.  It's getting dark."
-
-"Not much shelter," David suggested.  "Hope it isn't going to work up a
-blizzard."
-
-His sister was sure it was late in the year for a blizzard.  She said
-that, but in her heart she knew that April was an uncertain month
-always. She stood looking and looking, while the blowing fur tails hid
-the troubled expression of her face.
-
-"Come along," she said at last, "round by the north bank, we'll
-go--there," she pointed some distance along to the left with her
-fur-mittened hand.
-
-David asked why not straight across--it was level and easier.
-
-"Is it because of the trail?" he asked.  "The snow will cover that.
-Just look how it's coming down."
-
-Nell said it was because of the river stream. She was a little afraid of
-ice bridges, or holes under the snow.  The stream in the middle would be
-swifter than the sides.  You never know how the surface freezes, or
-where the strong stream begins to make its way beneath. The girl thought
-of all that, because she had been here with her father and he had shown
-her what to beware of as the spring thaws approached. This was
-important, while David's mention of their trail was also a point.  She
-decided that they would not go on to the lake, at present. They would
-follow a more difficult way around the north side and make a camp when
-they had put some distance between themselves and the place where the
-river entered the lake.
-
-With this intention then they first did some confusing work.  They
-struck out straight ahead over the snow; then, having gone some distance
-came back on their own tracks to the starting-place, took off their
-snowshoes and climbed the bank, lifting the sled over obstacles.  It was
-strenuous work, but it could be done for a yard or two, and all they
-wanted was to hide their start.  Having reached a bare stretch beyond
-brushwood clumps, Nell went back to obliterate the trail.  In this she
-was helped by the wind, which, blowing harder and harder in icy gusts,
-whirled the snow round about in eddies, scattering it afresh in finest
-powdery flakes.
-
-"All the better," said Nell, panting a little as she climbed the slope
-again.  "Now then, Da, 'on, on we go,' as our old spelling book
-said--next thing is a camp.  This blizzardy wind is beastly, but it's
-helping us all the time."
-
-David agreed as he always did, bravely coming up to the scratch at all
-times in his sister's steps. All the same, he had never in his life felt
-worse--that is to say, more exhausted and despondent. The thought of
-having to set to again and make a camp, and a fire, if it would burn,
-and then face the night almost unprotected, was not cheering. However,
-Nell was right about the blizzard; the advantages made up for the
-misery.
-
-As long as they could they went along the north shore of the lake
-itself, close to the bank.  They returned to it, because of the much
-easier going, of course, after they had confused the trail by a land
-tramp of perhaps half a mile.  That was awfully hard and could not have
-continued much longer, as their strength was giving out owing to the
-obstacles.
-
-Presently, when it became increasingly difficult to see, Nell pulled up
-at a place where the shore formed some small protection, because the
-land rose in a slope with trees on the higher part.  They could not camp
-on the ice here, so they landed in a likely place, hopeful of shelter
-from the snow-laden bushes, and began to make what preparation they
-could.
-
-To tell the truth, even Nell could have cried at that moment.  But there
-is a great deal in being responsible "boss" of anything!  You can't let
-yourself go if you have real grit, and she had plenty.
-
-They scraped and scraped at the snow till they reached down to the
-frozen bank and made a sort of barrier.  A great deal of it blew back
-again, but that had to be borne.  Fortunately the fire was kind enough
-to burn--the worst of the storm had not come then--and they were able to
-get a meal of hot tea and bacon.  It made a great difference.  Then,
-protected in a small measure by the upturned sled and the bundles, the
-bushes, and the heaped up snow, they got ready for "bed."  At the last
-moment Nell did rather a clever thing.  She scraped the fire off its
-first place lower down, making it up again with a good bundle of wood.
-Then she and David lay down in their bags on the hot, dried ground where
-the fire had just been built.  It answered so well that they both fell
-asleep at once in spite of the increasing storm.
-
-Nell was very weary indeed.  The burden was a growing one, because she
-had had so little rest in forty-eight hours of strenuous work.
-Therefore a cry from David close to her ears seemed to ring in her head
-for hours before she realised that he was shaking her shoulder and
-calling to her in rather an agitated voice, for him.  Then she was awake
-on the instant.  Wide awake and throwing sticks on the dying embers, for
-the one thing necessary at that instant was obviously a fire.
-
-"It's _wolves_," David was saying.  "But, Nell, they stop up north as a
-rule, don't they?  I say, what a beastly row."
-
-Nell was loading the little Winchester.  She heard the "beastly row"
-very clearly, but did not show agitation.
-
-"They are after something," she said.  "Don't you remember once before
-when we heard them at home Dad said they'll follow some animal that is
-trying to escape for miles--a hundred miles--any distance till it is
-exhausted.  They are so persistent when they are hungry, I expect it's a
-deer, poor thing!"
-
-"Bucks are awfully clever at confusing their own trails though," urged
-David, who hated to think of wolves succeeding, "they'll jump thirty
-feet sideways bang into bushes to throw those beasts off the scent.  I
-do think they are clever. I say, Nell, there's one good thing!"
-
-"What?"
-
-"Why the wind.  It's blowing hard from them to us.  That's why we hear
-them so plainly--don't you see?  If it was the other way they'd get
-scent of us.  Jolly thing they can't!"
-
-"It is," said Nell decidedly, inwardly praying that the wolves would
-stay on the north side, but that depended on which way the hunted
-creature fled.
-
-The two crouched low under the snow wall, waiting and listening to those
-howls that had roused David.  It was a dreadful sound--the howling of
-the wolf pack in full cry after its flying prey.  The weird shriek of it
-came down the wind in gusts.  Perhaps the horrible brutes were at fault!
-Nell hoped so.  David said so, he was anxious to help the deer if that
-were possible, but his sister preferred to remain entirely apart!  One
-does not want to get mixed up with wolves on such a night.
-
-The noise of the howling grew louder, and Nell threw a good armful of
-dead wood on the blaze to rouse a high flame.  She and David were
-standing up gazing anxiously over their snow wall up the slope of the
-shore, when suddenly they received a shock that was very startling.
-
-Out of the driving whiteness of the blown snow loomed a huge plunging
-shape.  It was lurching down the bank directly on to them--like a
-nightmare in a very horrid dream--when apparently it saw the fire, and
-checked.  For a moment the two in the camp were aware of amazing antlers
-and a long distorted face, then the creature swerved with a fine effort,
-bounded aside with a loud blowing snort, and took to the lake some yards
-beyond, higher up.
-
-"Did you see--did you see?" David was shaking his sister's arm in
-excitement.
-
-"Don't, Da, I've got the rifle.  Put more wood on the fire, quick.  Hark
-to the others!"
-
-"Poor old chap, he's got a start," said the boy, piling on wood and
-glancing back up the hill. "I wish you could kill the lot, Nell."
-
-Nell laughed in spite of everything.
-
-"I!  Let's hope they won't notice us, if they're hot on the old bull's
-trail."
-
-The weird howling drew nearer, till the bitter blast of the north wind
-seemed full of it, and then--sudden as the appearance of the desperate
-bull moose--shadows flitted over the rise as though they were part of
-the snowstorm.
-
-Nell fully expected one or more of the wolves to come over the barrier,
-though she knew the fire would frighten them, but the pack, about eight
-or ten at the outside, were running close together on the hot scent of
-the big moose. Perhaps the fire did scare them aside, as it had scared
-him.  The darkness swallowed them, and the fierce long-drawn cry of the
-howl lessened as the wind caught it.  They were gone, over the lake.
-
-When Nell felt Robin's coat she noted that his hackles were stiff and
-his throat quivering with deep growls.  Robin could put up with most of
-the wild folk--after a fashion--but wolves made him furious!  All three
-of the party sat down again close to the fire, and comforted themselves
-with hot tea and dried meat.
-
-"Something happens every night," commented David thoughtfully; "this was
-the queerest. Who'd have thought of a bull moose down here--and wolves!"
-
-"How can we tell how far they'd come," said Nell.  "He looked awfully
-done.  Da, his antlers were jolly fine--all of seven feet across.  I
-expect he was an old bull and that they singled him out of the herd and
-kept him back from the others--that's the way they do."
-
-"I do hope he got away," said the boy again.
-
-Nell hoped so, too, but she didn't think it likely.  Wolves are
-fearfully persistent.
-
-After a bit they went back to bed and actually slept till a faint, faint
-pink light spread over the flatness of the lake.
-
-The wind was less keen, but it still blew the snow about in eddies, and
-Nell was very eager to be off while this help was on their side.
-
-She looked back towards the river and the far woods.  Nothing showed.
-They struck camp very quickly indeed, for her hurry was infectious. She
-felt unsafe out here in the open, for figures show a long way upon clean
-snow.
-
-They kept to the edge more or less.  Not quite the edge, because there
-is always a good deal of rotten ice under the banks, but within a little
-of it.  It was easier going, and of course Nell was not quite sure where
-the river ran out of the lake and onward.  She longed desperately for
-that fresh start on the river road.  It would be wonderful to have
-crossed the lake and be actually on the straight track to Moose River.
-
-All day they drove on and on, stopping once or twice in likely places on
-the banks for a rest and food.  This lake was not nearly so large as the
-Abbitibbi Lake, or several others--it was not so wide.  Away over the
-snow they could see the opposite--the southern--shore.  But they could
-not see the end.  It was probably twenty-five miles long from the
-entrance of the river at the west, to its exit in the east, and that's a
-long, long way even on snowshoes, when you are on the trail with a sled,
-even a light sled.
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER X
-
-                   THE CAMP ON THE WOLF'S TOOTH ROCKS
-
-
-The dusk was falling again and the weary travellers were looking eagerly
-for the right sort of camping ground, when the most startling thing
-happened.
-
-As the miles were covered a feeling of security was beginning to grow.
-Why, they could not have explained, except that they were naturally
-hopeful, even when tired--which was a good thing if you consider the
-strain to come still. They did not complain of the biting wind, or of
-the snow that continued to fall at intervals, because it was a help
-towards safety in their opinion.  Certainly it was far more difficult to
-distinguish objects.
-
-Nell gave a joyful exclamation as the right kind of place loomed just
-ahead of them--a wooded, rocky arm stretching out into the lake.  Had
-there been water it would, of course, have been a promontory; as it was
-it offered a screen and some shelter.  It was much less exposed and
-hardly the place that a bull moose would gallop over or wolves be found
-on.  It was altogether promising.
-
-"Here we camp," said Nell, and David dropped his harness, stretching his
-arms with a sigh of relief.
-
-Leaving the sled they both climbed up the steep and rocky bank, beating
-a way through snow-covered juniper bushes on to the wooded promontory.
-Above the lake and sheltered to a great extent, the place seemed ideal
-to their hopes.  David began hacking a clear space with quick strokes of
-the little axe--a woodman learns that quick tentative stroke in the
-bitter north, because in the frost his axe blade is liable to fly into a
-thousand splinters like glass if used as it would be in a warmer
-climate--a sort of brisk tap, with caution.  Nell went down again to the
-sled to bring up necessaries, for it was plainly labour lost to haul the
-sled up on to the promontory.
-
-In so doing her attention was drawn to the dog Robin, who was not acting
-according to his usual rule, which was to lie down and watch while camp
-was made, waiting for his supper. He moved restlessly about, nose to the
-ground, this way and that, round, in and out, and presently disappeared
-among the underwood.
-
-When Nell got up to the top again, laden with sleeping bags, food and
-utensils, David drew her attention to this.
-
-"Some animal," said Nell; "what a plague! We must look out, Da, it might
-be a bear."
-
-David thought it couldn't be.
-
-"Bears are still asleep," he said.
-
-"Not when thaws begin," Nell answered decidedly, as she cherished the
-little flame in the birch bark.  "Just a breath of warmer wind and the
-old things wake up.  Dad says you can't always count on them either,
-because they are so hungry and there's nothing for them to eat--no
-berries, no roots, no fish, because the streams are not free, no
-nothing.  I hope it isn't a bear. Robin couldn't fight a bear."
-
-"We should have to make polite speeches to it like the Red men do," said
-David.  "Oh, what's the use of bothering when ninety-nine-to-one it's
-only a chipmunk."
-
-The fire burned up and a cosy glow danced on the bushes that shielded
-the little open space. The snow water began to bubble in the billy-can.
-Nell was kneeling on the ground slicing bacon into the pan when from the
-corner of her eye she caught the movement of an alien shadow. She sprang
-up with a swift movement in time to see a shape melt backward into the
-underbrush.
-
-Drawing her revolver the girl was in pursuit on the instant.  David
-followed because she went--he had seen nothing himself.  Nell dived
-ahead with the quick judgment of a woodswoman in choosing her path, and
-brought up suddenly in utter astonishment within a few yards of the
-fire.
-
-Motionless before her stood a figure wrapped in the usual Indian
-blanket, moccasins on the feet, head and arms muffled in the blanket.
-The only thing that moved was the curious roving glance of the black
-eyes--absolutely black and shining like a squirrel's.
-
-For an Indian she was pretty, her skin being much lighter in shade than
-that of the average Redskin girl.  After the first shock of being caught
-she smiled, showing most beautiful teeth.
-
-"Shines-in-the-Night," said Nell, speaking in a mixture of Chippewa and
-English, "you are very far from the camp of your people.  Is it wise?"
-
-"It is wise," answered the girl, and her voice was very low and quite
-musical.  "My brother the Lizard knows, and I also know, that the
-trapper Little Eyes has a bad heart towards the tall white sister.  She
-has known only his forked tongue.  His heart is very black."
-
-"It is black," agreed Nell, "but we are not afraid, because the trail is
-lost and Little Eyes will try in vain to find it when he goes back to
-the log house of our father."
-
-The Indian shook her head, her curious, inscrutable eyes full of
-intelligence.
-
-"My sister is deceived.  Little Eyes will not return to the log house."
-She held up one hand and touched three of the fingers of it with the
-other hand.  "One sun--Little Eyes leaves the camp of my father the
-Pickerel and comes to the log house.  He sees a writing on the door,
-with fire and powder he blows away the lock, and long time he searches
-in the house of my sister----"
-
-"I _said_ he would," muttered Nell to David aside.
-
-"Brute!" said the boy.
-
-Shines-in-the-Night glanced from one to the other, then she went on:
-
-"My brother the Lizard has seen these things. I have followed the trail
-of my sister, while the Lizard went to the Abbitibbi River in the
-footsteps of Little Eyes.  I say that he will not return to the log
-house.  It is empty.  He cannot find that which he seeks.  Little Eyes
-has a quick mind, it darts like the head of a snake.  He will come
-across--see----"
-
-Suddenly she went down on one knee and made a little plan with bits of
-stick for the rivers.
-
-In a flash Nell saw the danger.  Finding that the girl and boy had not
-gone to the shack at Abbitibbi River, the trapper could start at once on
-a long slanting line to the foot of the lake on which they were now
-camping.  He would argue reasonably that they had followed the course of
-their river, as the easiest trail, and must cross the lake to follow on
-down to Moose River. Therefore, the best--the most certain--place to
-intercept them would be where the river left the lake and went on again
-through the woods twenty miles to the eastward.  He would not take the
-trouble to chivy them all over the lake, simply because they were quite
-sure to leave it by the frozen river road, and there, where it was
-comparatively narrow, he was bound to find the trail.
-
-If he arrived before they did, he would wait, knowing they had not
-passed.  If they went by first he would see the trail and follow close
-on their heels.
-
-Either way it seemed as though he must catch them.
-
-Poor Nell, very tired, cold, and hungry, felt this blow more than she
-would have done had she been fresh.  She looked at the bits of stick,
-understanding well how the two rivers ran, side by side, as it were,
-though so very many miles apart, over a hundred miles.
-
-"But he can't do it in the time," said David. He had been watching the
-plan also with interested eyes.  "Look at the miles he's had to go.
-First from our shack across to Abbitibbi, then, right away down to the
-base of the lake.  Look at it, Nell, he couldn't do it in the time.
-Four days!"
-
-Nell said nothing.  She was remembering vividly that one strong man
-alone on snowshoes, travelling light, goes at least three times as fast
-as they could at the best, with the sled, and the handicap of
-inexperience on the long trail. After all, David was but twelve, though
-he was so big and strong, and that long day at the waterfall rocks had
-been a set-back, while the trapper was a very old hand and used to
-immense journeys over the snow in the pursuit of his calling.
-
-Shines-in-the-Night stood up again, and made an eloquent gesture of one
-arm towards the distant southern shore of the lake.
-
-"We shall know," she said, "when the Lizard comes across the snow.  I
-said to him at the ending of the sun on this finger"--she held up her
-fourth finger--"the tall white sister will rest and make camp on the
-rock that is like a wolf's tooth.  You shall come across and tell me,
-and our hearts shall be like the heart of the fox that is not deceived.
-And now let my sister eat and rest, for who shall say how soon she must
-take the trail?"
-
-"Oh, I say," ejaculated David, "I thought we were in for a decent spell
-to-night."  Then glancing at Nell he pulled himself together and added,
-"It's awfully jolly of Shines-in-the-Night to take such a lot of
-trouble."
-
-"My sister's heart is very good towards us," said Nell gently.  "She is
-brave as the cow-moose and kind as the wood-dove in summer. It is well
-for us, and we will not forget.  Let her come and eat with us now, that
-when the Lizard comes we may be strong, if there is a long trail to go
-without sleep or rest."
-
-So it came to pass that in a few minutes the three were resting at the
-camp fire, making a good meal, and shortly after that David was sound
-asleep.  Then Nell, sleeping as she had not done for many nights,
-because of the sense of security given her by the presence of the
-Redskin girl who sat by the fire wrapped in her blanket, feeding the
-flame at intervals and listening with the acuteness of sense that gave
-her hearing and instinct like an animal.
-
-About midnight both the girl and the dog raised their heads to listen,
-and two minutes after they left the camp with movements noiseless as a
-musk-rat and went down to the edge of the lake.  The Lizard came back up
-the bank with them.  He did not say he was exhausted, or even tired, as
-a boy of any Western nation would have done; it would have been quite
-beneath the dignity of the son of a "brave" to make a complaint.  He ate
-the food his sister gave to him, offering bits to Robin--the
-"ninnymoosh"--and he answered the questions she asked him in their own
-musical tongue, in low tones and few words.
-
-Then Shines-in-the-Night shook Nell gently by one shoulder, and the
-silent little camp was roused to busy action all in a moment.
-
-The Lizard had brought rather staggering news.  So much so that Nell
-felt a sinking at the heart.  Her spirit rose to meet it directly after,
-but that required some pluck.
-
-It appeared that the Indians were right. Stenson had followed the plan
-they had prophesied and was, even at that moment, camped on the other
-shore of the lake, the southern shore opposite.  Nor was he alone.
-Another trapper was with him, though, of course, the Lizard could not
-tell his name.
-
-Then the boy said something to Shines-in-the-Night, and she passed it on
-to Nell.
-
-"My brother the Lizard has seen the tall white man--the father of my
-sister.  He is not sick, but he halts on one knee where the catamount
-bit him.  He cannot yet go on the long trail.  He is not troubled,
-because Little Eyes has spoken to him with a forked tongue and told him
-that my sister is well and content with a message."
-
-"_Ah_," murmured David, with meaning, "just what we said, Nell!  Well,
-of all the stinkers! But it's a jolly good thing that Dad's all right,
-anyway."
-
-Nell agreed vaguely.  She was thinking of the money tied round her
-waist!  Whatever happened she would save her father's earnings, his
-years of work and labour, but certainly they were in rather a tight
-corner.  Most people would have called it a hopeless one.
-
-She looked at Shines-in-the-Night, who was two years older than herself
-and had all the shrewd cunning and knowledge of the wild bred in her by
-her Redskin forefathers.  Nor did the Indian girl fail at this crisis.
-All the time she had been sitting by the fire while the white wanderers
-slept, she had been thinking out a plan, and it was formed in her mind,
-complete and practical in every detail.
-
-Now she explained it.
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER XI
-
-                              THE HUNTERS
-
-
-The southern shore of the lake was flat and open.  Down from far-distant
-hills the land sloped to the water, and for miles there were no trees.
-
-From the hills, then, came two men travelling light, with just a bundle,
-each made up of a sleeping blanket and food enough for a few days. They
-came at a great pace on their long snowshoes, giving a kick forward with
-each foot and then pressing down on the heel so that the great
-torpedo-shaped shoe slid forward over the snow almost as fast as a skate
-might on ice.  They were well used to this going, and not being impeded
-by sled, dogs, or goods there was nothing to keep them back.
-
-They came down to the shore about the hour of dusk, lighted a very small
-fire of driftwood from the river edge and boiled some tea in a
-billy-can.  After they had eaten some deer-meat they began to smoke.
-Not till then did they speak at all.  They knew what they were there for
-and neither had the least doubt that they would easily catch the two
-children, relieve them of the money, and make off with it.
-
-Stenson was the leader.  The other was a big, heavy, stupid man--Barry
-Jukes.  They had lived a hard life in the wilderness and had small
-conscience about taking some hundreds of dollars when the chance came
-their way.  All the trappers believed that Lindsay had a large sum of
-money hidden in his shack.  As long as he could take care of it himself
-he was not interfered with, but the accident of the catamount's bite had
-put an idea into the quicker, more cunning brain of Stenson--that was,
-to get the girl out of the log house on that plea, and then search it.
-To break in was a small matter, because he could easily pretend entire
-ignorance, and the blame would be laid at the door of some wandering
-Redskins, who certainly did steal at times.
-
-He had made out the injury much worse than it really was, of course, to
-work on Nell's fears. He had come back much sooner than he said he would
-in case she took it into her head to leave, and she would surely have
-been caught at once had it not been for the Lizard's information that
-night.  Because of that the two had given him the slip, but he was not
-much disturbed really.
-
-He had proceeded to pick up their trail with the skill of long practice,
-and followed it down to the stream.  They had a sled.  That would delay
-them, he knew.  Nor did he much believe in the powers of the two young
-Lindsays to keep up on the long trail without failing.
-
-Therefore he coolly broke into the shack and searched it thoroughly.  He
-tried the log floor, and presently found the joins in the wood.  He
-prised up the log, saw the empty hole and understood what must have been
-hidden there.  The conclusion he drew was, either that Nell had taken
-the money to her father at the Abbitibbi hills, where his shack was, or
-she had gone away with it down river.  In either case he felt so
-entirely certain of overtaking her that he stayed at the log house to
-make a good meal, and fill his pockets with potatoes, which were very
-precious at the end of the winter when no green food was available.
-
-Then he started away along the ridges to his own distant shack, his plan
-being to make sure whether or no the flying pair had gone that way. They
-could go some distance by stream, leaving it lower down, but the way he
-took was the shortest and hardest.  If they did not come within a
-reasonable time he would cut across to the lower end of the lake and
-look for their trail there.  He did not doubt he should find it.
-
-Now we know that he did not find the travellers anywhere near the
-Abbitibbi, because they never went that way.  But he was right enough in
-his calculation about the lake, and it was perhaps curious that Nell had
-not thought of that possibility.  Had the brother and sister not been
-delayed by the difficulties at the rapids and the waterfall rocks they
-would have got ahead of the pursuers and passed the outlet of the river
-before they reached the lake.  As it was, the two parties were opposite
-each other, but luckily the trappers did not know!
-
-Jukes grunted assents to the other man's suggestions.  It was all
-plain-sailing to him. They would take the money from the girl and
-decamp.  Not return to their own shack, but divide the loot equally
-between them and disappear into the northern wilderness.
-
-One name was as good as another to such men. They were sick of trapping
-and wanted money for a mining outfit.  The summer was coming and all
-they had to do was to take the long trail up into the North-West
-Territory and over to Alaska.  No one would ever find them, they
-thought.  Nor did they propose to harm the girl if they could get the
-money without doing so, because the police found men at the very ends of
-the earth--when they really meant to.
-
-This was the position as they sat and smoked, saying a few words now and
-then.  Stenson had explained his plan.  Jukes made no objection. At
-present there was nothing to do but sleep. It was too dark to do any
-good looking for a trail.  They rolled themselves in their blankets and
-slept soundly, for they had come many miles.
-
-They woke, of course, in the misty greyness before dawn, and presently
-saw the sun come up shedding a faint pink flush ahead.  It was warmer.
-There was a soft air from the south and a glisten of wet on the snow.
-This did not please the men, because it would make the trail heavy, but
-it did not matter much, because the same difficulty would handicap the
-two who fled, especially as they were burdened by a sled. Breakfast did
-not take long, and they were soon ready to start.
-
-Then Jan Stenson thought of crossing the lake straight across, to find
-out if the trail ran down it from end to end as the course to the river
-would lead.  The two men launched themselves on to the snowy surface,
-and went away in a slanting direction towards the upper end. They must
-cross right over to intercept the track, if track there was.  It was not
-so very far, especially with smooth going, the lake being hardly more
-than two miles broad, though it might be twenty-five long.
-
-Three-quarters of the way across, Stenson suddenly gave a hoarse chuckle
-of triumph.
-
-"Oh ho!  So the quarry is on the trail!"
-
-Jukes looked, too.  They both stood still, gazing back along a very
-distinctly marked trail. Without further remark they tracked it backward
-for some little distance; it ran away over the snow towards the
-beginning of the lake, as far as they could see.
-
-Snowshoes first, not a man's size.  Sled runners, cutting rather deep
-because the snow was softening.  Then snowshoes again, heavier in print.
-
-Stenson was triumphant.  He was always proud of his shrewdness and here
-was a case in point.
-
-"Was I right--haw?" he demanded, and Jukes grunted assent.  "Little
-Eyes" was certainly quite right in his calculation.
-
-Having seen, then, that the trail ran from the lake head and was making
-eastward, the thing to be done was to follow it.  Nothing could be
-plainer.  It had been made last night, or even that morning early.  Why,
-the racing pair could be but a little way ahead, it would be child's
-play to catch them!  That was obvious.
-
-Jan Stenson was very pleased with himself. He boasted about his own
-cleverness to Jukes as they took up the trail and followed on down the
-lake.  For several miles they went and then found the trail bore away
-towards the left, to the northern shore.  Still following on, they
-presently came to the rocky promontory and found here evidence of
-movements, finally of a dead fire and a camp.
-
-Stenson announced that the pair had come down from the head of the lake
-on the previous evening and camped here.  They must have gone on this
-morning, probably about the same time that the pursuers broke camp on
-the southern shore.
-
-It was a hopeless position for the fugitives, said Jan Stenson.
-
-After a very little while taken up in prospecting around this place, the
-hunters took up the trail again and followed at a steady, rapid pace.
-
-The northern shore began to grow more wooded, and after a bit the end of
-the lake came in view and a belt of trees, thick forest again where the
-river left the lake and started on its way to join the great wide stream
-of Moose River a long way farther east.
-
-It was just about here that Jukes declared he saw something on the snow,
-fleeing towards the mouth of the river.  Stenson had not quite such good
-eyes, but he thought it likely enough there was someone just ahead, so
-they increased their efforts.  The trail was now fresh and very
-distinct.  Two pair of snowshoes and the sled runners.  Because of the
-mildness in the air the snow was soft.  The sun shone over the dazzling
-world everywhere, and the trees on the shore dripped.
-
-When the two men came to the river head there was a sound of trickling
-water here and there, and the edges of the snow at the banks were mushy
-and rotten.  Underneath was the force of the stream within banks, not
-like the broad and rather shallow lake.  Before long the ice would heave
-up as the water swelled, then it would burst and go down river in a
-jumbled mass.  The course of the stream turned in a curve through the
-forest and the trail was lost round this.  On pressed the two men, and
-when they had passed this curve they saw before them a straight vista of
-perhaps half a mile, for in that clear atmosphere distance is shortened.
-
-At the far end of it were moving figures, a little group going ahead at
-a good pace. Considering the distance it was not easy to tell about the
-persons in the group, but the low shape on the snow was plainly a sled.
-
-On raced the two men, Stenson boasting still more about his clever
-calculation.  He was very fond of boasting at all times.  Jukes listened
-stolidly; he wanted the money, that was his point of view.
-
-In another ten minutes it became obvious that there were two figures.  A
-taller behind and a short one in front, bending forward to pull as hard
-as possible.  The little sled ran smoothly between, but it was hard
-going, because of the soft trail.  Stenson made out that Nell Lindsay
-was pushing behind, and the boy in harness. He had quite forgotten about
-the dog.
-
-Presently they saw the girl pause and look round.  It seemed that she
-saw them and spoke to the boy, who glanced round also.  Then they went
-on as before.
-
-Stenson shouted.  He and Jukes were not close enough to see the figures
-quite distinctly, and he was not inclined to go farther on this trail.
-It would be better to get the money--there was no question whatever
-about the girl giving up the money, she would see the necessity of
-that--and start away northwards at once, this trail was leading them in
-the wrong direction.
-
-After he had shouted several times the little party in front drew up and
-stood still, waiting; there was something in their attitudes that gave
-Stenson his first "jolt," as he would have called a shock of surprise.
-In five minutes it was more than a "jolt," it was astonishment mixed
-with exasperation.
-
-He and Jukes saw as soon as they came within speaking distance, a
-Redskin girl, rather tall, dressed in the usual winter dress of the
-Indians, which was not very different from his own. With her was a
-shortish boy, and between them was a hand sled laden with pelts.  That
-was all.
-
-The girl looked at him with the half shy, inscrutable gaze of a Redskin
-girl.  Vaguely he remembered to have seen her, or someone like her.  He
-demanded her name and business.
-
-"Shines-in-the-Night, daughter of Oga the Pickerel," she answered in her
-own tongue.  "I and my brother the Lizard carry pelts across to New
-Brunswick House by the farther river."
-
-It was a deadlock!  The trail, he questioned her of the way she'd come,
-was from the upper stream.  It was perfectly simple, because the
-Chippewas were camped in the forest beyond Lindsay's log house.  The
-trail was hers, then, not Nell's!  Stenson could have killed these two
-in his fury, but he dared not; the Chippewa Chief would have killed him
-in return.
-
-
-
-
-                              CHAPTER XII
-
-                          THE FLIGHT CONTINUES
-
-
-By this time it is understood what the plan was that Shines-in-the-Night
-put before Nell, when the Lizard brought news of the pursuers' nearness.
-
-It was a wonderfully complete plan, because it included the making of a
-trail anew from the head of the lake and down the centre to the outlet
-of the river.  The shrewd mind of the Redskin girl saw the necessity of
-this, because Stenson would not have been satisfied with a trail that
-began at the Wolf's Tooth Rocks. He would, of course, want to know by
-what track the fugitives reached it.  The way they had really come the
-afternoon before, close to the bank, was partly obliterated by the thaw
-and partly defaced by the Lizard, who went back on it for some little
-distance till he had destroyed the connection with the camp on the rock.
-
-At first Nell refused to agree, but Shines-in-the-Night made it quite
-plain that she and the Lizard would be in no danger.
-
-"Great Chief Oga the Pickerel," she said impressively.  "Once Little
-Eyes do him bad turn never forgive.  Him know that.  All time Oga finish
-Little Eyes.  Police no matter at all then."
-
-It was true.  Nell knew that the Red men never forgive an injury and
-never forget a friend. If Stenson had killed the girl, no length of
-time, no number of years or miles of distance would save him in the end
-from the vengeance of Oga.
-
-That made a great deal of difference.  She could not have agreed to the
-plan if she had believed it would endanger the girl's life.
-
-So she and David accepted the generous offer and one curious thing
-happened in connection with this.
-
-When it was settled, she said:
-
-"You are very good to us, Shines-in-the-Night. Your heart is very warm
-and kind.  We have not thanks enough to give you."
-
-"The tall white sister has given me a great gift," answered the Indian;
-"it lies on my heart and keeps it warm towards her.  So that no deed is
-too much for me."
-
-She put her hand within the leather shirt that she wore under her
-blanket, and drew out, almost reverently, the Christmas card that Nell
-had sent her.  A hole had been made at one corner, and a deer's tendon,
-such as Indian women sew with, was passed through the hole, thus hanging
-the card round her neck.  As she brought it out, the faint, delicate
-scent from the sachet pervaded the air and made Robin lift his muzzle
-from his paws and wrinkle his nose with little tentative sniffs.
-
-To Shines-in-the-Night this card was the most wonderful and beautiful
-thing she had ever seen.  She believed it to be a miracle, too, a charm
-of great power, and she knew that the possession of it would give her a
-sort of status of honour above the other girls and women of the
-Chippewas.
-
-Nell knew the Indians, but even she was surprised at the immense
-satisfaction this card had given.  Just at a critical moment she bound
-this girl to her service with a bond almost unbreakable. It was a
-strange thing.
-
-After that the action proceeded swiftly.
-
-The time being little beyond midnight they had some hours before the
-camp on the south shore would wake.  Nell and David took a small compact
-bundle each, simply the sleeping bag, a billy-can, a little tea and
-pemmican, the object being to travel as light as possible and cover as
-much ground as they could in the shortest time. The Indians gave Nell
-careful and distinct directions about her journey.  She was not to touch
-on the lake, but to go along the north side of it through the woods and
-cut across the bend of the river on the land.  In this way she was to
-travel quite ten miles of the stream, but always keeping in the woods.
-After that it would be safe for her to take to the course of the ice,
-they all thought, but it might depend on circumstances. About that time,
-too, she would reach the log house--the bunk house run up for
-travellers, where Andrew Lindsay had made a cache.  Nell was depending
-rather on that for enough food to keep on with.  Haste being her one
-object, it was not possible to set a wire for a chance rabbit, and
-concealment being necessary, they could not fire a gun unless absolutely
-forced to do so in self-defence.  A shot would ring far in the silent
-snow-laden woods.
-
-So that was the plan mapped out by the two girls, and very soon after
-that they parted, Nell and David going off east through the scattered
-woods of the north shore, the Lizard and his sister going back west,
-also on the shore, and dragging the sled, until they arrived at a place
-from which it seemed safe to take to the lake again and come down the
-centre of it as described, making the trail that was to mislead the
-pursuers.
-
-All those long hours till the grey of morning began to make the trees
-ghostlike, brother and sister went on and on with Robin.  At first they
-felt the pleasure of going ahead without the drag of the sled, but about
-six o'clock they were very tired, and Nell decreed a short rest, tea,
-and a feed.  They made a small round fire with great care, boiled some
-snow water for tea, ate their dried meat and gave Robin a bit of the
-dried fish they carried for him.  No bacon.  They must wait for the
-cache.
-
-Then, rested somewhat, they went on again. They had reached the river
-outlet and were cutting across that part round which its course wound.
-This was about the time when Stenson was coming down the lake hot on the
-trail of the Indians, who were certainly ten miles behind Nell, if not
-more.
-
-David was beginning to think it was all right again.  He depended
-greatly on the Indian girl's ruse, but Nell was very anxious.  She could
-feel that money at her waist every time she moved, and the
-responsibility was a burden. She had taken upon herself to remove it
-from the hiding-place, and she had a feeling that she owed it to her
-father now to carry her plan through, whatever it cost.
-
-With this dread upon her she put off taking to the river as long as they
-could get on by land. But it was harder, slower going--the shoes caught
-in snags and roots unless they moved with greatest care, and a long
-swing was difficult.
-
-About noon, and after another rest, Nell declared she'd risk it.  They
-unstrapped their snowshoes, broke a way through the undergrowth and
-found the river again--wider, snow-covered for the most part, smooth
-going.
-
-They had not come all this way without seeing a forest creature or
-two--a rabbit, a mink that was chasing it just as stoats do in England.
-The rabbit escaped, thanks to Robin's interference, but the mink did
-also.
-
-The climb down the bank brought them up against the land entrance of a
-musk-rat's nest, a big heap of sticks and rubbish that looked so
-careless, but was so carefully made.  They knew that down away under the
-ice was a water entrance also, and between the two entrances a nest most
-beautifully safe and dry which the mink was always trying to get at.
-
-Nell and David knew of these things and had often seen them, but to-day
-was no time to wait and watch.  Once on the water--or rather on the
-snow-covered ice--they strapped on their shoes and went on again at a
-fine pace, considering the thaw, which is most certainly a drawback if
-you want to race.
-
-They had counted on reaching the bunk house that night, but they did not
-reach it, and they were faced by the inevitable night in the snow with
-no food but the tea and dwindling pemmican. It was not quite so cold,
-but that was small gain when the wetness was taken into account.
-Dripping trees and wet snow!
-
-They would not make a sound of complaint, either of them, though they
-were dizzy with weariness and stiff in every muscle.  They scraped a
-tiny camp free of snow, made a fire with bits of stick and dead leaves,
-boiled their water almost mechanically, and after eating all they dared
-of the food remaining, crawled into their bags and were asleep in a few
-seconds, the two, with the dog between them.  So soundly they slept that
-no stir among the wild creatures on the banks roused them, nor did the
-faint ceaseless trickle of tiny streams running into the river.
-
-The hardest part was waking in the morning to start on again in the raw
-chill of the thaw at dawn.  No sun, of course.  Grey mist, shadows, and
-slush!
-
-"Never mind," said Nell, answering their thoughts, because neither had
-spoken, "we _must_ reach the bunk house and the cache to-day. Then we'll
-have a feast and a rest, and a fire in the stove; they always keep the
-fire laid--we shall have to do it for the next that comes along when we
-go."
-
-David seized on Robin in a sort of paroxysm of satisfaction.  They
-rolled about on the ground together, and presently got up very cheerful.
-
-"Da, you're a brick," said Nell, measuring out tea.  "I _say_, we are
-short.  That's the last. And only this to eat!  Pity we can't eat Rob's
-fish, but we can't; it's like wood."
-
-They made fun of the poor meal, the slush, the stiffness, and the long
-miles ahead.
-
-"Come on," said the girl, and they had started before the sun was up.
-
-All the morning they kept on, and then Nell began to recognise certain
-landmarks her father had spoken of at different times.  The first of
-these was the narrowing of the river into a sort of gorge, the sides of
-which were steep, rocky, and wooded.  David said it was a good thing
-they had no sled; that was the "bright side" certainly.  But they had
-themselves, and it meant a landing, a severe climb and a struggle
-through a regular maze of undergrowth.  They had to use the little axe,
-which they had held to as a necessity and carried strapped to David's
-back. Bad as it was, landing was the only way, because the river went
-down the gorge in rapids, and the strong stream had begun to force tiny
-rivulets over the snow.
-
-About the middle of the afternoon, when David was very silent and Nell
-had taken to describing the bunk house, which she declared was close by,
-Robin left them.  He had become restless a little while back, following
-up some trail with persistence, and now he disappeared altogether.
-
-"Never mind," said Nell.  It was rather a favourite expression of hers,
-always meaning really "never say die!"  "He can't possibly lose us, even
-if we lose him."
-
-"I say, Nell, look at the big rocks and the jolly hiding holes up
-there."  David waved a hand towards a sort of fortress above them.  "If
-the bunk house turns out to be a frost we'd better come back here and
-hide.  It would be jolly safe."
-
-"Start housekeeping in a cave!  All right, but what shall we eat?
-Robin?  Or the foxes that live up there?  We haven't even got a snare."
-
-As they talked they came into a sort of rough track leading from the
-heights down to the river. The wood was less dense, and Nell suddenly
-checked.
-
-"Da!  Oh, Da!  See--we are all right!  I'd give three cheers only we'd
-better not!  _There's_ the bunk house, up on the bank above the stream
-in that bit of open--see!"
-
-They both stood still, gazing their fill as it were. This meant rest,
-warmth, a safe night, food, and in the minds of both a feeling that the
-worst was over.
-
-David made extravagant signs of joy--silent signs.  Nell's face, which
-had been looking very pinched and years older than the fifteen she
-counted, seemed to plump out suddenly into roundness.  The eyes of the
-two met with a sort of mutual congratulation, then their attention was
-distracted by a growl, and both looked to see the meaning of the sound.
-
-Not far from them and on higher ground among the rocks stood a black
-bear.  His little red eyes were fixed on them with a sort of malevolent
-irritation.  He was very thin, a mere loose hide over bones, and the two
-knew that he had waked from his winter sleep in the caves and come out,
-desperately hungry, to find nothing to eat, and rather a comfortless
-world.  He was annoyed.
-
-
-
-
-                              CHAPTER XIII
-
-                            A RACE FOR LIFE
-
-
-Now any hunter of the great North-West Territory will tell you that the
-only animal, perhaps, that no man can ever count on is a bear.
-
-The big white polar bear and the grizzly of the Rocky Mountains are
-always savage, most horribly dangerous.  But the black and brown bears
-will seldom interfere with man; never, unless wounded, or with cubs,
-when there is plenty of food about.  The safest time for bears is
-perhaps in the autumn, when their cubs are growing up and they have
-quantities of berries, honey, and such food to eat.
-
-Now Nell knew all this very well.  She and David had often seen bears.
-She had no fear of them, at the same time uncertainty remained. And it
-was a bad time of year!
-
-This particular bear had been asleep in the cave above.  He had waked up
-with the ice still covering the fish, and small animals mostly slain by
-the foxes.  He was probably turning over dead wood logs to hunt for
-beetles and slugs, but that is a poor meal to go on, after about five
-months' fast, and he was in a very irritable mood.
-
-Slowly he raised himself on his haunches and sat up.  Nell would have
-liked to stand still and watch him, but felt it would not do.  She moved
-away, quicker and quicker, but trying to do it in an unaggressive way.
-
-"Good thing we haven't got the shoes on," she said to David, making
-talk, as it were, with one eye on the big black bear.
-
-"Why?" asked the boy, shifting his into an easier position where they
-were slung across his shoulder.
-
-"Because I think we shall have to run for it."
-
-"Oh no!"
-
-"Oh yes," said Nell; "he's in a bad temper. What a nuisance!"
-
-"Can't we shoot him?" suggested David, as they moved on with increasing
-speed.
-
-"Shoot!  My dear boy, with automatics!  He wouldn't mind much unless we
-shot his eye out, and then he'd be deadly!  Wish I'd brought the little
-rifle, but I thought it was safer with the pelts on the sled, it's so
-heavy to carry.  You want something pretty strong to stop a bear. Dad
-says their skins are so thick.  Bother it, he's coming.  Run, Da, and
-don't tumble over the roots, whatever you do.  Remember the bunk house
-is good and close.  We'll get there."
-
-"Where's that donkey Robin?" muttered David, but Nell did not answer;
-she was intent on this very tiresome adventure.  It was fairly plain
-that the dog had found the bear trail and followed it to the cave.  No
-doubt he was hunting up there among the rocks, and in a way she was not
-anxious for him to come till this was over, because a dog has small
-chance with a bear if it comes to fighting at close quarters.  People
-have an idea that a bear kills by hugging, and will always squeeze his
-enemy to death, whereas the astonishing weapon it uses is the lightning
-swiftness of its _strike_.  A bear strikes with his fore-paw--which is
-armed with terrible rending claw--as quickly as a snake darts, and he
-can break the neck of a moose or a buffalo with one smack.  Nell knew
-all about this and she did not want Robin to come to close quarters,
-therefore she would not whistle, but ran on, David keeping up with her,
-faster and faster.
-
-Now these two were very swift of foot, but they had been greatly tried
-for a good many days and nights, they were hungry and a bit spent, for
-it was afternoon; lastly, they were cumbered with their packs and shoes.
-They were handicapped, but fortunately for them so also was the bear,
-for he, too, was not at his best.
-
-A certain great writer says that an elephant does not seem to be made
-for speed, but if he wanted to catch an express train he would probably
-catch it.  A bear, too, does not look as though he could run, but he
-can, very fast indeed, and it took all the running those two could
-manage to keep ahead.  Nell's anxiety was David chiefly. Could he hold
-out?
-
-Fortunately it was all downhill, and they were very surefooted with long
-practice of running over rough ground.  The bear came shambling on
-behind, grunting with anger.
-
-"Don't look round, Da," ordered Nell sharply, "you'll trip up!  Look
-where you're going! The bunk house is quite close now."
-
-David did as he was told, knowing she was right about the tripping.  A
-stumble would be death.  Just where you put your feet mattered
-enormously at that moment.  The bunk house was close--which was
-comforting.
-
-What he did not realise, and Nell wanted to keep from him, was that the
-bear was gaining. Every time she sent a glancing look over her shoulder
-he was a little nearer.  She measured the distance to the bunk house
-anxiously.  It was touch and go; she would not admit to herself that it
-could not be done.  What was the distance? Fifty yards, forty?  Less?
-
-And at that moment David went headlong over a bunch of snags half hidden
-by snow.  He was looking round to see what Nell was looking at.  Just as
-anybody might.  He wanted to see what she thought and felt, because he
-realised great danger.
-
-Nell sprang to him.  He was on his feet in less time than it takes to
-tell about it, but the bear had gained.  The girl glanced once at him
-and her soul sickened.  His red mouth was open and his little pig-like
-eyes were full of mad rage, even the horrid smell of his rusty coat came
-to her on the clean air.
-
-"Run, Da," she said, keeping her voice level, "run!  We shall do it,"
-but she was loosening her pistol in its pocket and getting ready for the
-stand that must come directly.
-
-On the instant she felt a stab of dread, from behind came a sudden
-bell-like bay--the note of Robin on a scent in full cry.
-
-He had been hunting round about the dens in the rocks and hit on the
-bear's fresh tracks.  It was a beautiful sound, that deep note of the
-big hound, and to Nell it meant rescue, she believed. One glance she
-took at the wood behind.  Up on the slope she saw the black shape of
-Robin, nose to ground, racing down on the track of the bear--and his
-mistress.
-
-He was galloping, tail high, heavy ears drooped forward.  Again he gave
-out his deep bay.
-
-The bear checked his speed, wavered, and then came on again, but without
-the terrible intentness of his previous attack.  Being a wild creature
-he was aware of danger.  Something was coming!
-
-Nell increased her speed, if that were possible, and heartened her
-brother with a joyous cry:
-
-"On, on, Da--let's get the door open, and then call Robin in.  He
-mustn't fight the bear."
-
-The difficulty of opening the door with the bear at her elbow, so to
-speak, had been the haunting terror.  One couldn't do it.  There would
-be no time.
-
-She and David raced down to the door, just as the bear turned to deal
-with this swift black shape that leaped round him in the snow, keeping
-just out of reach of his death-dealing forearm.
-
-"Oh, the key, the key--it's locked!" cried Nell rather desperately.
-"Oh, Da!  Where did Dad say----"  She tried to think.  David was
-absorbed in watching Robin's assault on the bear, which was sitting up
-again, making swift smacks at the illusive black attacker.
-
-"Well _done_--go it, Robin!"
-
-"Oh, don't, he'll be killed," Nell expostulated in an agonised voice,
-while her eyes travelled eagerly round the door frame, and she shook the
-solid latch.
-
-"He won't be killed.  He's too quick," said the boy triumphantly.  "Key?
-Oh, there it is on a nail under the eave.  I say, Nell, look at Rob!
-He's a right smart one!"
-
-It was true.  Rob was tormenting the bear with great cleverness, but
-Nell was far more intent on getting into safety, and probably few people
-have experienced a warmer sense of relief than she did when she opened
-the door of the bunk house.
-
-Not much of a place, but the relief!
-
-She glanced round with a satisfied look, and saw four bunks--like the
-berths of a ship--on one side, a rusty stove laid ready for lighting, as
-the custom is the outgoing traveller must lay the fire for the one who
-arrives wet and chilled, a pile of chopped wood, and a rough cupboard.
-Besides that a heavily made bench and a table. But the joy of it!  Nell
-could have danced round that very rough table in spite of her weary
-legs, but there was Robin to capture and a furious bear outside.
-
-After that look round she rushed out again and whistled to the dog.
-Then she called.  Robin was very loath to leave the great black brute,
-out of whose reach he kept for the time being.
-
-He came at Nell's call reluctantly.  The bear came, too, but with more
-caution as he was not sure how much he liked the log house.
-
-Then the heavy door was slammed and locked, and the three sat down and
-breathed hard amid bursts of laughter.  Robin laughed, too, as dogs do,
-his lips lifted over his teeth.  His eyes said:
-
-"What a spree, wasn't it?" and he laid a heavy paw on Nell's knee.
-
-She stroked his black silky head with a hand that shook just a little.
-
-"If it hadn't been for Rob, Da, you'd have been--well, it was touch and
-go when you fell over that root."
-
-"Rotten thing!" said David cheerfully.  "But you know it's not so easy
-to run for your life carrying a mass of things, and the ground all
-tangled up under the snow.  Well, here we are! I say, how jolly!  Nell,
-what will the old brute do?"
-
-"Go away, presently," answered his sister as she kneeled to light the
-stove.  "Now, then, first off with the moccasins and have our dry
-stockings, then we'll have a real decent supper.  Da, put the fur bags
-in the bunks and bring those bunk blankets near the stove; we'll have it
-all hot and dry."
-
-The first thing that happened after that was a discovery, and not a
-pleasant one either.  There was a little food in the cupboard--tea and
-cocoa in tins, flour, and tobacco, and a small bit of bacon frozen hard.
-It was obviously the cache of some trapper who had passed here on his
-way down to Moose River, and as he would depend on it when he returned
-probably, they were in honour bound either to leave it alone, or put
-back what they took.  Nell remembered with a sudden shock of dismay that
-Andrew Lindsay's cache was outside.  He had described the place at the
-corner of the shack.  Not trusting some of the trappers--with good
-reason--he had made a cache of his own.  That would have been quite all
-right if the bear had not been outside.
-
-They had to laugh and be thankful for the small supply in the cupboard.
-In the morning, or late that night perhaps, they would dig for "Dad's
-cache" and put back what they had used--also have another supper and a
-good breakfast.
-
-They gave Robin his last piece of fish, and at the same moment
-remembered that it was not possible to make tea without water, or get
-water without snow, and all the snow was outside!
-
-Long they waited and listened, their only comfort being the warmth of
-the fire.  They were very patient, as people learn to be who live hardly
-and have to make, get, and do everything for themselves by the work of
-their own wits and fingers.  It is not an easy life, but it teaches you
-a lot which is never wasted.
-
-Presently, from the little window, glazed with parchment, they caught a
-sight of the bear sitting up holding in his arms a piece of logwood,
-which he seemed to be licking--for insects probably.
-
-"Oh, _poor_ old thing!" said Nell joyfully, and she rushed to the door
-with her billy-can.
-
-Very soon after the smell of hot tea and baking bread made the log house
-feel like home.
-
-
-
-
-                              CHAPTER XIV
-
-                              RIFLE SHOTS!
-
-
-In spite of insufficient supper, a horrible trial when you are extremely
-hungry, it is doubtful if ever two people slept sounder than these
-travellers.  The dry bunks and blankets, with the warm fur bags, made
-beds for a king.  The hot tea and hot heavy bread, made with flour and
-water, were warming, and satisfying, too, with the bit of bacon.  They
-were too tired to worry about the bear, which came back and prowled
-round the shack when the warm smell of food came out of the pipe that
-served as a chimney.  Bears love bacon, which is why the great traps
-laid for them--drop traps--are nearly always baited with lumps of bacon
-or pork.
-
-How soon he went away they did not know, for they were asleep, and they
-slept for ten hours almost without moving, and woke up to daylight
-filtering in through the parchment pane, and a cold stove.
-
-They got up with reluctance, in spite of hunger.  David would have
-preferred to stay where he was all day, and argued about it in a
-disgraceful manner, Nell said.  She opened the door and there, close by,
-was the wide river, the white road leading to safety and civilisation.
-
-Then the sun came up, hot and bright, and the snow sparkled in millions
-of dripping jewels.
-
-"Come out and dig for breakfast," said Nell, "or will you do the stove
-while I dig?"
-
-"Look out for the bear," answered David sleepily, "probably he's waiting
-round the corner."
-
-But he wasn't.  All was clear, and presently the two travellers were
-busy as bees digging for the cache by Nell's recollection of its
-position. Fortunately the ground was much softer, because of the thaw
-and the sun, while the cache itself was only just below the surface and
-covered chiefly by stones and rubbish.  This was the usual way.  Men did
-not have time or inclination to make deep pits, they just concealed the
-package from man and beast till they should come by again and need the
-goods.
-
-The parcel was carefully tied up in dressed hide, so that the leather
-was soft.  Tea, sugar, baking powder, and flour, beans and bacon.  The
-latter was rather rusty, certainly, but what is that when you are
-hungry!  Probably it had been well frozen and was hardly thawed yet.
-Nell took it all indoors and smoothed the place over. They had been
-obliged to dig with the axe.  They had nothing else, but it was not good
-for the blade!
-
-Her plan was to eat well and carry on the rest, after putting back the
-little store in the cupboard. They would surely want it for the journey
-still ahead.  She would divide the weight into two parcels wrapped in
-the skin.
-
-Nell's mind was fairly at ease.  If she had realised it, the reason of
-that was chiefly the warmth, the long, restful sleep, and the sunshine.
-Things look so different in different circumstances and nervous dread
-often comes with weariness and cold.  She believed the danger was over
-and the journey on from now would be easy.  It was not so very far, she
-reasoned, and the best of all was that every mile now might bring them
-to possible habitations, to farms even.  They were coming down into the
-haunts of men at last.  That meant safety.
-
-Of course, all this work--digging up and smoothing down--then the stove
-lighting and wood collecting, then the comfortable breakfast on a table,
-with the water boiling hard by on the warm stove, all took time.  Time,
-too, was taken up in dividing the food into proper shares for carrying
-away and leaving.  It was at this stage that David suddenly made the
-proposition which undermined the plan for the day already settled.
-
-He was leaning against the doorway, looking out at the sun on the river,
-playing with Robin, just as though they were at home up in the hills,
-left so far behind.
-
-"I say, Nell, why do you want to go to-day?"
-
-Nell stopped in her work of putting back the cache in the cupboard.
-
-"But, Da, we ought to!"
-
-"Why _ought_?  We are perfectly safe now.  It will only make a few
-hours' difference."
-
-"We can't be sure of that.  How about Stenson?  We don't know where he
-is.  He won't give up."
-
-"He will.  Sure as fate he'll catch the Redskins and the sled.  He'll
-believe he has followed a false trail all through and he'll give up.
-Now just think, Nell, why on earth should he come on this way.  He was
-bound to find them, and there you are!  Why _should_ he keep on coming
-this way with no trail to follow?"
-
-It was true.  Quite true and reasonable.  It was most unlikely that
-Stenson should go on searching for a different trail over miles and
-miles of country when he had found the end of the trail made--as he
-thought--by the young Lindsays.  Where would he look?  It was fair and
-reasonable to conclude that he would be baffled by the young Indians and
-go back to Abbitibbi.  The plan propounded and carried out by
-Shines-in-the-Night was a very sound one. She would go her way, across
-to the other river which ran down to the Moose about parallel with this
-one, only some fifty miles of woods between the two streams.  Stenson
-might follow her, to see what she would do, but he had no means of
-picking up the trail of the Lindsays.
-
-All these thoughts, for and against, rose and sank in the girl's mind.
-There was really no reason why they should not take a very necessary
-rest for this one day and start at dawn on the following morning, but
-instinctively she felt it was dangerous.  David said, "But why?  But
-why, Nell?" twice.  She had no very definite reason to answer with.
-Only a feeling.
-
-Of course she wanted to stop; who would not after such a strain?  The
-shack was luxury.  They really did need the rest, and in a way there was
-a good deal to do getting themselves clean, tidy, and ship-shape for the
-journey to come.
-
-In the end David won.  Nell laughed, gave in, and began to make
-baking-powder bread with the new materials, stirring it in the billy-can
-with a stick.  You can use billy-cans for so many things when you have
-to!
-
-"On one condition," she said, "that we go to bed as soon as the sun goes
-down and get off really early, about four o'clock, so we can start
-before daybreak."
-
-David promised joyfully.  Whatever he felt in the morning would be
-another pair of shoes!  He went off down to the river and came back to
-say the thaw was jolly well getting a move on things!  The ice was
-shifting up the banks.  In some places there was water as well as melted
-snow on its surface.
-
-"Look out for bridge ice, Nell, to-morrow," he said, as he sat down to
-the table.  "I do believe it's going out in a few days.  Rather early
-this year, isn't it?"
-
-Nell said it was warmer down here than up in the hills.  There was a
-much greater force of water underneath, too, here than up at the source
-of the stream, naturally.  And, after all, it was April!
-
-"Once it begins, it always goes so quickly," she said.  "If it will last
-for us, just two whole days more--we ought to get somewhere safe, Da, in
-that time."
-
-"We shall," said David with conviction, and his sister put away from her
-the queer nervous feeling that would not let her mind rest entirely.
-
-A great part of that afternoon they lay still in their bunks, talking at
-intervals, while Robin dozed by the fire.  As it happened, this was a
-very good thing for all three!  The odd jobs were done.  All was ready,
-the wood to fill the stove with in the morning, and the packets.
-
-About sundown they had a meal, and after that the grey dusk began to
-creep over everything. Soft, still shadow.
-
-"Now bed," said Nell; "we've got no candles and we must be up about
-four."
-
-The words were hardly finished when a gun-shot rang out sharp on the
-silence.
-
-Nell started as though she had been hit, because her mind was still
-strained.
-
-"It may be anybody," said David.  Robin growled.  Nell opened the door
-and listened.
-
-From the wood at the back a voice said, loud and harsh:
-
-"You would, would you?  You'd be ugly, eh?"
-
-It was Stenson's voice, and undoubtedly he had met with the bear!
-
-"Come on, Da.  Smart.  We must get off. Thank God for the evening, and
-thank God for the bear!"
-
-Nell laughed suddenly, a low, jerky laugh.
-
-"Who'd have thought it?" said David.  That was all.  He was feeling the
-least bit guilty, because Nell had really wanted to go on. However,
-there it was--and thank God for the bear!
-
-It took a very few minutes to clear out.  The bundles were done up in
-double-quick time, and the rest was ready.
-
-"Now then," said Nell, "and, Da, hold Robin; whatever happens he mustn't
-go."
-
-David, strapping on snowshoes, agreed quickly, then he said:
-
-"It's bad luck his finding the place warm and the stove still alight.
-It's a complete give-away."
-
-"He won't find anything, unless he blows the door out.  I've locked it
-and I've got the key," answered Nell grimly.  "There's another shot!
-He's still busy.  What a mercy it is getting really dark!"
-
-Cautiously keeping the shack between themselves and the wood they sped
-down to the brink, out through the rotten ice and slush, and away on to
-the river.  Then off, with all the speed they could muster, away and
-away, eastward again down that smooth snow-covered road, and the last
-thing they heard was another shot.
-
-"I hope the old bear kills him," said David vindictively.
-
-"Oh, he won't.  Stenson's got his gun.  But, Da, what a true mercy; if
-he hadn't come by the bear track he'd have actually walked into the
-shack and caught us going to bed."
-
-"I'd have shot him if he had, as soon as wink," said David; "he wants
-peppering."
-
-Nell laughed again.  She had thought of that last resort herself!
-
-Next time she spoke she said how splendid the rest had been.  This was
-because she knew David was feeling a little guilty about it.  Also it
-was very, very true.  Both of them moved in quite a new way.  The effort
-of that last day was gone; they were as fresh as when they started, and
-so was Robin.
-
-Darker it grew and darker, till they went on with no light but the snow
-and a few stars, not the great shining stars of the farthest north, but
-stars that helped a little.
-
-Nell was more anxious about the road underfoot than the skies overhead.
-There was always the danger of a flaw in the ice below, and she knew
-there might be holes--places where water had come up over the ice,
-places where streams from the bank running in made weakness.  Nell had
-often heard stories of inexperienced folk going up north too late in the
-season, who had died a quick death because "the bottom fell out of the
-trail," that was the expression used when the ice road gave way under
-you and you went down and under the awful drifting sections of ice. And
-yet what were they to do?  The river was better going than the rough
-shores which might be any kind of travelling, up hill, down dale, woods,
-streams cutting into the big one, every sort of delay and check.
-
-It was best, she decided, to keep on, going fast, as long as they heard
-no cracking, serious cracking.  If that began, they must land and get
-past any weak place by the bank.
-
-"After all, we are not very heavy," she said, and comforted herself with
-that.
-
-"_He_ is," suggested David.  "I wonder what he is doing now!  I wonder
-if he'll break the lock of that shack, or if he'll hit our trail and
-follow up directly.  Of course, he may have killed the bear.  If he has
-he might stop to strip the pelt at once and come down to the shack
-afterwards."
-
-So did David talk cheerfully, because he was refreshed by that good
-rest.  Nell was glad to hear it.  She also was refreshed and unafraid of
-the night, but the long, long road ahead seemed to rise before her eyes
-as they drove on and on into the darkness.
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER XV
-
-          IN WHICH THE ICE GOES OUT, AND THE TRAIL LEADS HOME
-
-
-Now the reason that Mr. Jan Stenson turned up at the bunk house was not
-far to seek.  It has been said he was proud of his cunning, and he was
-cunning, though Shines-in-the-Night baffled him by her clever trick.
-
-He and Jukes saw the two Redskins cut across presently to the northward,
-going steadily on their way to the upper river.  He would not interfere
-with them for the reason already stated. No good could come of
-quarrelling with Redskins.  They never forgive.  If it was after scores
-of years or over thousands of miles they would pay the score in
-full--ultimately.  So he let the girl go and he and Jukes had a row.
-
-Jukes taunted him with folly, and words grew very hot indeed.  Finally
-Jukes went away by himself, saying he was going back to the shack in the
-hills.  He went, sullen and savage.
-
-Stenson was left alone, bitterly furious with the young Lindsays,
-because he was sure the first part of the trail was theirs, and he was
-equally sure he must have been hoaxed somehow.  But how!  And the
-presence of the young Indians was entirely surprising, too.  He could
-not make it all out.
-
-Doggedly he went back on that trail till he came to the lake.  Then, as
-it was near midday, he made a short rest and ate some of his dried meat.
-After that he deliberately went back all the way to the rock of the
-Wolf's Tooth and began searching about there with care that he had not
-bestowed in the morning, when he had rather jumped to conclusions on
-first sighting the trail.  Taken it all for granted, that is to say. Now
-he meant to unravel the mystery, and he came near enough to make a fair
-guess.  Searching about with the skill of an old hand, he decided that
-the camp fire was not an Indian fire--too large--also there was far too
-much trampling up and down the bank for Redskins, who move like forest
-creatures.  Then he followed tracks in the snow back and forth, till
-suddenly he came on the print of _dog's_ feet.  Then he gave a short
-laugh that was almost a shout.  What a fool he'd been!  It must be the
-dog's trail that proved the presence of the Lindsays.  Why hadn't he
-remembered the dog!
-
-From that moment he went hunting on a new plan, as it were.  The
-Lindsays must have started from this promontory.  He was sure of that.
-Therefore the point most evident was to find the start.  From the fire
-he worked round, taking a semicircle on the land side and back again.
-By dusk he had not discovered what he wanted, but he believed he should,
-so he camped there that night and began again as soon as he could see
-well.
-
-Of course he found the trail made by Nell, David, and the dog, right
-across by the north shore to beyond the first big bend of the river,
-where they took to the ice again.  The thaw had made it more difficult,
-but such an old trailer as Stenson could not be deceived easily.
-
-He found the fire where they stopped, and finally in the dusk, as
-described, he followed the trail up the steep to the neighbourhood of
-the bear's den.  If he had not done that he would, of course, have
-surprised the two in the shack. As it was, the bear became, after all, a
-friend to the pair he had attacked in the first place.
-
-When Stenson appeared the big black brute was in a worse mood than
-before.  He was more hungry and he had smelt the scent of cooking that
-came from the stove-pipe of the log house. The trapper fired at him,
-because he was obviously dangerous and it had not occurred to him that
-the trail he had followed ended so soon. If it had, he would have been
-more cautious probably.
-
-The bear, slightly wounded, made a dash for the man, who ran behind a
-tree and fired again. But the light was deceiving, and the affair ended
-in the bear retreating into the rocky fortress--to fight another day.
-Stenson, seeing drops of blood on the snow, decided to come again, kill
-the bear, and get the pelt; meanwhile he would go on down to the shack,
-which was, he knew, not far distant on this curve of the river bank.
-Therefore he presently came down to the log hut and found it was locked.
-That did not surprise him much, but he expected to find the key hung as
-usual in some place under the sheltering eaves of the log roof.
-
-By this time it was too dark to see a trail, or find a small thing like
-a key.  So Mr. Jan Stenson lost his temper, as he usually did, and blew
-in the lock of the door, as he had done to another log house not long
-before!
-
-Instantly he was greeted by a smell of warmth and food.  The little
-place had not had time to cool.  The blankets were warm.  The stove
-hastily filled up with fresh wood, already dry, was quite hot.
-
-Stenson rushed out into the snow, and lighting a torch made of a bit of
-dry bark, looked about over the ground and found at once the track of
-the three sets of footprints to the water's edge--or rather to the edge
-of the ice.
-
-He went slowly back to the shack, considering what he should do, and the
-final conclusion he came to was--a mistake.
-
-He did not imagine that the Lindsays were but ten minutes ahead of him.
-Had he been sure of that he would certainly have followed on at once.
-The smartness of Nell's retreat was beyond him. He did not believe she
-would have gone off down river in the dark.  It was unreasonable to
-suppose that two young things would have started at nightfall.
-Therefore he decided to follow his inclination, now he knew that they
-must be about six or eight hours ahead of him at the outside, on a
-direct course to Moose River and probably unsuspicious of his approach.
-He would make a good meal, take a few hours' comfortable sleep and go on
-again at dawn.  He was travelling faster than they were.  They seemed
-entirely at his mercy, for the river was wide and open, while there
-would be many, many miles of Moose River yet to cover.
-
-Thus, while Nell, David, and Robin drove their weary feet on and on
-through the night hours, Mr. Stenson slept soundly and woke up before
-daybreak to finish the food Andrew Lindsay had cached.  It was certainly
-not justice, but that has nothing to do with adventures, very often,
-anyway.
-
-Later on he started, picked up the trail at once and went off down river
-at a pace that over-gained on the hunted pair from the first.  Given
-time, and a clear field, he was simply bound to overtake them, and he
-knew it.
-
-Nell was obliged to call a rest early in the morning.  They had to light
-a fire and fry some bacon, which Robin shared.  Anxiety was telling on
-her as well as fatigue, and her legs trembled with weariness.  David was
-really wonderful, but he was rather silent, and Robin's feet were a
-little sore.  He was not used to so many miles of travel; ice particles
-got between his toes, and though he bit them out when the party rested,
-after so many days of irritation and wetness it had caused pain.  He was
-a little lame, too.
-
-"Oh, when will it end?" was poor Nell's feeling as they packed up and
-went on again. This time not for many hours.  They had to call another
-halt which stretched to middle day. The sun was shining gloriously and
-the whole world was one sheet of sparkles.  Had they been less tired, it
-would have seemed a glorious day to be alive on.  The country was
-flatter and more open as a rule, but in places the woods came again, and
-the twittering of birds sounded in the dripping branches.
-
-About three o'clock in the afternoon, David called Nell's attention to a
-line of willows across the low pastures towards the south.  A very long
-way ahead, but still visible.  Was it not a tributary stream, a little
-river, running into their own road?  They both stood still to look and
-consider. It was--or might be--important, because sometimes a mile or
-two up these tributary streams a homestead would be found, a farm or
-small settlement.  There was just a chance that it might be so in this
-case, the open country to the south appearing somehow to suggest
-cultivation, or they thought so.
-
-Standing so, Nell looked round, and her heart gave a sickening leap as
-she realised the full horror of what she saw.
-
-Jan Stenson, coming straight down the river after them.  Too far off for
-them to see his face, but the short, strong figure they knew.
-
-David saw also; his remark was characteristic.
-
-"Well, we're three, he's one.  We'll have to kill him."
-
-"Da!  He'll shoot Robin."
-
-"Can't we shoot _him_?" retorted the boy fiercely.
-
-"Come on," was Nell's answer.
-
-The weakness left them in sheer excitement, and they raced ahead.  Nell,
-thinking hard of ways and means, felt her mind haunted by the corner
-where the smaller river joined in.  Should they make a stand by the
-willows?  Perhaps pistol shots might be heard by someone and bring help.
-It was a very poor chance, though.
-
-She looked round.  Stenson gained very little. Their spurt had been
-useful.  Now they were nearing the corner.  Which should they do?
-
-In the excitement of the race the condition of the ice had been almost
-forgotten, but at this point there was a loud crack, and then another.
-Nell had a feeling as though the ice beneath their snow road had swayed.
-Glancing at the bank nearest the willows she saw the whole ice line move
-and shift at the edges.
-
-Robin was running with his nose to the ground as usual, but he checked
-now with a whine of anxiety, and sheered off from the side where the new
-stream opened up.
-
-"Follow Robin," ordered Nell sharply.  "Not too close together, Da--the
-higher we are the better."
-
-There was another crack, and behind the flying snowshoes a thin line of
-water oozed up in one place, then all was quiet again.
-
-Robin sped on, choosing his path, and the two followed.  They were so
-intent that Nell forgot her feeling about the other stream, or rather
-she abandoned the idea in the excitement of getting over that dangerous
-place.  The only thing to do seemed to be to go straight ahead.
-
-David was talking excitedly, and she had not even listened, because of
-her anxiety.  But when they were going on safely again she said, "What?"
-
-"Why, Stenson, Nell!  If he doesn't land and go by the banks, he'll
-smash through sure as----"
-
-"He'll land," said Nell; "it won't delay him much to do that."
-
-"Not so sure," grunted David, and he kept on looking back over his
-shoulder.
-
-Nell was just going to beg him not to do it, because it checked their
-speed a little, when he gave a crow of triumph and stopped short.
-
-Nell perforce stopped, while in her ears rang a sharp far-away splitting
-sound.
-
-Mr. Jan Stenson had reached the weak spot--and the ice had gone under
-with him.
-
-From side to side of the river behind the two came reports, as the ice
-gave in all directions.
-
-"Oh," gasped Nell, "what ought we--to do!"
-
-"I believe you want to go back and help him out!  I _say_, Nell, you
-really _are_!"
-
-"But, Da, it's rather awful!"
-
-"Oh no.  Only awfully wet, and jolly cold. Look, he's got his arms over
-the edge of the ice and is breaking along towards the shore.  He'll get
-out--in the end.  Come on."
-
-The last thing they saw, in far distance, was a figure crawling very
-slowly out on to the north bank.  It did not seem to be moving in their
-direction.  As a matter of fact, Jan Stenson made the best of his way
-back to the shack, having lost his gun, though he saved his life--by a
-very narrow margin!  It would have been madness to follow the flying
-pair in his drenched clothes, with no means of making a fire, as his
-ammunition and matches were soaked.  Better to get back to warmth and
-dryness--and start again to-morrow.
-
-That was what he said to himself, but he did not do it.  One of his
-snowshoes had gone in that struggle for life--and anyway, the river was
-not safe any more.
-
-The young Lindsays went on for awhile without such haste, and presently
-camped on the south bank.  As they were collecting firewood and making a
-cheerful blaze they heard sounds of voices--several voices and the
-barking of dogs. Then appeared, attracted nearer by the sight of this
-little fire, three men and a dog sled drawn by six huskies.  It seemed
-that Nell's instinct was right, and up along that little river there was
-a homestead and small farm.  These men had been up there with supplies,
-and were coming back with pelts, on their way home to the nearest
-settlement on Moose River.
-
-They were entirely amazed at the Lindsay pair and Robin, and asked many
-questions, but Nell, as always, was cautious.  They had all heard of
-Andrew Lindsay the trapper.  Nell told them he had injured his leg and
-she was doing important business for him.  She must get to the
-settlement, and after that she and David would go back home.
-
-"You can't go on the ice," said one man, "it's not safe now.  It's going
-out all along."
-
-"I know," agreed the girl, and David laughed.
-
-No one saw what he was laughing at!
-
-So those three went down to the settlement in good and safe company, and
-Nell deposited all that money in the local post office, for that had
-been her intention all through.
-
-A very little she took to buy necessary kit, and then she, David, and
-Robin went back to the hills with the trader who was going as usual to
-collect pelts from the trappers in the far-away woods.
-
-Going back was a safe enough journey, and did not seem as long as you
-might think, because of the relief of mind.  Nor was Nell worried about
-her father, because she knew that the Redskin friends,
-Shines-in-the-Night and the Lizard, had long since gone back to the home
-camp and carried the news of Nell's flight to put the hard-earned money
-in safety.
-
-And it was so.  When they got back to the log house in the forest,
-Lindsay had come and knew the whole story.  Nor was he kept long in
-suspense, for by the time he had mended his door and got all ship-shape
-the adventurous pair and Robin arrived with the traders.
-
-Stenson and Jukes removed to another neighbourhood--they found it
-healthier.
-
-And so presently did Andrew Lindsay and his children, when David had to
-be turned into an engineer.  But the story of those two on the trail was
-not soon forgotten among the folk in the North.
-
-
-
-
-                                THE END.
-
-
-
-
-                      Printed in Great Britain at
-     _The Mayflower Press, Plymouth_.  William Brendon & Son, Ltd.
-
-
-
-
-                     *      *      *      *      *
-
-
-
-
-
-
-                        Books for Boys and Girls
-
-
-                         _From Six to Sixteen_
-
-                           BY POPULAR WRITERS
-
-                   ILLUSTRATED BY FIRST-CLASS ARTISTS
-
-
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-               SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE
-                                  AND
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-
-              S.P.C.K. HOUSE, NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C.2
-                NEW YORK AND TORONTO: THE MACMILLAN CO.
-                        And at all Booksellers.
-
-
-
-
-                         _FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN_
-
-Oggie and the Sea Fairies.  By ALICE SOPHIA JACKSON.
-The Adventures of Mr. Bunny Kit.  By A. EVA RICHARDSON.
-The Fairy Spectacles.  By M. P. THOMASSET.
-Sunshiny Stories.  By CONSTANCE HEWARD.
-How Audrey became a Guide.  By F. O. H. NASH.
-Audrey in Camp.  By F. O. H. NASH.
-Joy, the Happiest Child in England.  By F. O. BEAMES.
-Princess Lily-of-the Valley.  By THEODORA MILLS.
-Queen Mab.  By Mrs. ARTHUR WOODGATE.
-Kevin and the Cats.  By K. F. PURDON.
-The Adventures of Nancy in Sweden.  By PAULINE TOLLER.
-Two Little People and Some Others.  By JESSIE MITCHELL.
-Mick, an Ugly Dog.  By EMILY UNDERDOWN (NORLEY CHESTER).
-The Moon Lady.  By A. EVA RICHARDSON.
-Two from Town.  By THEODORA MILLS.
-Geoffey.  By AMY GRIFFS VERNON.
-Tom Dick and Nancy.
-The Children of the Cliff.  By A. V. BUTTON.
-The Dauntless Three.  By BEATRICE RADFORD.
-Little King Richard.  By MAUD CAREW.
-Stories from Fancyland.  By LEWIS EVANS.
-Norah with an "H."  By LUCIE E. JACKSON.
-Some Brownies and a Boggart.  By F. O. H. NASH.
-While Mother Was Away.  By ETHEL TALBOT.
-The Island Camp.  By ETHEL TALBOT.
-A Year of Adventure.  By ROBERT DE MOUNTJOIE RUDOLF.
- (The scene is laid in Ceylon during the Napoleonic Wars.)
-Who are the Cromlyns?  By E. L. HAVERFIELD.
-The Fortunes of Harold Borlase.  A Story of the Days of Drake.  By JOHN
-GRAEME.
-The Plague Ship.  By G. A. HENTY.
-Holiday Chums.  By ETHEL TALBOT.
-The Wiltons in Wartime.  By ROBERT DE MOUNTJOIE RUDOLF.
-Barncliffe of Errington.  Adventures during the Peninsular War.  By F.
-B. FORESTER.
-Sylvia finds a Fairy.  By ROBERT DE MOUNTJOIE RUDOLF.
-A Little Pair of Pilgrims.  By MARGARET J. M. BOLLAND.
-The Gilroy Family.  By CONSTANCE M. SPENDER.
-Lion Hearts.  A Sequel to the "Gilroy Family."  By CONSTANCE M. SPENDER.
-The Cottage in the Wood.  By MARY BALDWIN.
-From Greenland's Icy Mountains.  A Tale of the Polar Seas.  By GORDON
-STABLES.
-Barbara's Behaviour.  A Story for Girls.  By M. BRAMSTON.
-The Ranche in the Valley.  By G. A. HENTY.
-The Story of Pat.  By Mrs. H. O. CRADOCK.
-Penelope and the Haunted House.  By M. F. HUTCHINSON.
-Pat of Whitehouse.  A Story of Girl Guides.  By H. B. DAVIDSON.
-The Cotton Wool Girl.  By E. M. CHANNON.
-Kitty's Summer Holidays.  By BEATRICE RADFORD.
-Harter's Ranch.  By F. B. FORESTER.
-Over the Sea Wall, By E. EVERETT-GREEN.
-The House of Mystery.  By MARY BALDWIN.
-Jack, the Englishman.  By H. LOUISA BEDFORD.
-Four Winds.  By WINIFRED PARES.
-Heroes of the Chitral Siege.  By ALICE F. JACKSON.
-The Fortunes of Junia.  By M. BRAMSTON.
-The Gold Hunters.  An Exciting Story of the Californian Goldfields.  By
-W. J. MARX.
-Kitty.  By A. F. MOUNT (Mrs. BRICKNELL PERRY).
-The Stranding of the White Rose.  By C. DUDLEY LAMPEN.
-Finding her Family.  By ELSIE J. OXENHAM.
-Three in a Bungalow.  A Story for Girls.  By M. F. HUTCHINSON.
-The Treasure League.  By ROBERT DE MOUNTJOIE RUDOLF.
-Barbara Pelham.  The Story of an Unselfish Life.  By M. E. SHIPLEY.
-Adventures of Marshall Vavasour, Midshipman.  By S. W. SADLER.
-The Treasure of Spanish Villa.  By F. BAYFORD HARRISON.
-Care of Uncle Charlie.  By FLORENCE WILLMOT.
-The Lone Shanty on the Hill.  An Adventure Story for Children.  By NANCY
-M. HAYES.
-The Secret of Marsh Haven.  A Story of School Adventure.  By ALFRED
-JUDD.
-
-
-
-                              BY AMY GREY
-
-Jack's Baby.  A Story of a Kidnapped Baby.
-Dick's Debt.  Tells how a Boy did his Bit in War-time.
-Vita.  The Story of a Charming Little Girl.
-The Copper Urn.  A Story of Treasure hidden in a Copper Urn.
-
-
-
-                      _SPLENDID STORIES FOR BOYS_
-                          BY HARRY COLLINGWOOD
-
-Geoffrey Harrington's Adventures.  Wonderful Adventures on an Island in
-the Pacific.
-The Cruise of the "Non-Such" Buccaneer.
-
-
-
-                            _STIRRING TALES_
-                          BY W. H. G. KINGSTON
-                     (The famous writer for boys.)
-
-The Log House by the Lake.  A Tale of Canada.
-The Two Shipmates.
-Ned Garth; or, Made Prisoners in Africa.
-Sunshine Bill.
-Owen Hartley; or, Ups and Downs.  A Tale of the Sea.
-The Cruise of "The Dainty."
-The Frontier Fort A Tale of Canada.
-The Mate of the "Lily."
-The Gilpins.
-
-
-
-                            _SCHOOL STORIES_
-
-Skimpy and the Saint.  By SIBYL B. OWSLEY.
-Eardley House.  A Girls' School Story.  By SIBYL B. OWSLEY.
-The Chronicles of Durnford.  A Public School Story.  By JOHN CARTWRIGHT.
-The School they Handed On.  By SIBYL B. OWSLEY.
-Westcote Towers.  A Boys' School Story.  By MARJORIE C. BARNARD.
-Donald Marston.  A Sequel to "Westcote Towers."  By M. C. BARNARD.
-Rosamond's Girls.  By M. BRAMSTON.
-
-
-
-                         _CAPITAL SEA STORIES_
-                          BY W. CHAS. METCALFE
-
-Grit and Pluck; or, The Young Commander.
-Frank and Fearless; or, Adventures among Cannibals.
-Dick Trawle, Second Mate.
-Young Salts.
-Ice-Gripped; or, The "Tomboy" of Boston.
-Blown out to Sea.
-
-
-
-                          BY JOHN A. HIGGINSON
-
-When Duty Called.  A Yarn of Shipwreck and Adventure on the Coast of
-Portugal.
-A Broken Voyage.
-A Strange Craft.
-The White Pirate.
-
-
-
-                       _BOOKS FOR YOUNGER GIRLS_
-                           BY L. E. TIDDEMAN
-
-Aunt Pen.
-Molly's Decision.
-Nancy and her Cousins.
-Next-Door Gwennie.
-Ray and Fairy.
-The Story of Dorothy.
-When Bab was Young.
-
-
-
-                           BY HERBERT HAYENS
-
-A Kidnapped Prince.
-For Rupert and the King.
-An Amazing Conspiracy.
-(The hero risks his life to rescue his cousin from a Central American
-prison.)
-
-
-
-                           BY BESSIE MARCHANT
-         (Well known as a writer of books for boys and girls.)
-
-Athabasca Bill.  A Tale of the Far West.
-A Brave Little Cousin.
-Darling of Sandy Point.
-The Deputy Boss;
-The House at Brambling Minster.  An Amusing Tale of a Haunted House.
-The Mysterious City.  A Story of the Congo.
-Redwood Ranch.
-Rolf the Rebel.  Adventures in Cuba.
-The Western Scout.
-Yew Tree Farm.
-
-
-
-                          BY ALICE WILSON FOX
-
-Too Near the Throne.  An Historical Romance.
-Love the Leader; or, Defenders of the Faith.
-Diana's Decision.  A Story for Girls.
-
-
-
-                         _STORIES OF ADVENTURE_
-                          BY FREDERIC HARRISON
-
-Rupert Dudleigh.  A Story of Old Brighton.
-Within a Year.  A Story of the Siege of Acre.
-De Montfort's Squire.  A Story of the Battle of Lewes.
-Sea Scouts Afloat.  A Story of the Great War.
-
-
-
-                           EDITH E. COWPER'S
-                        Books for Boys and Girls
-
-Andrew Garnett's Will.
-Bessie.
-The Black Dog's Rider.  A High-spirited Girl turns Highway Robber.
-The Captain of the Waterguard.  Adventures on the South Coast
- in the Early Days of the Coastguard Service.
-Ida's Floating Camp.
-The Disappearance of David Pendarve.
-The House with Dragon Gates.  A Story of Old Chiswick in 1745.
-The Invaders of Fairford.  An Historical Story of Cromwellian Times.
-The Island of Rushes.  The Strange Story of a Holiday Mystery.
-The King's Double.  A Vivid Episode in the Civil War.
-Leo Lousada, Gentleman Adventurer.  Strange Ad ventures in the Channel
-Islands.
-The Misadventures of I.M.P.
-The Moonrakers.  A Story of Smugglers in the New Forest in 1747.
-The Mystery of Castle Veor.
-Red White, and Blue.
-Two Girls and a Secret.
-Two on the Trial.  A Story of Trappers' Life in the Far North of Canada.
-Wild Rose to the Rescue.
-
-
-
-                             BY MRS. EWING
-               (Whose stories have never been surpassed.)
-
-Daddy Darwin's Dovecot.
-Dandelion Clocks, and Other Tales.
-Jackanapes.
-Lob Lie-by-the-Fire; or, The Luck of Lingborough.
-Mary's Meadow, and Letters from a Little Garden.
-The Peace Egg, and a Christmas Mumming Play.
-Snapdragons.  A Tale of Christmas Eve and Old Father Christmas.
-The Story of a Short Life.
-
-                            Another Edition.
-
-Jackanapes, Daddy Darwin's Dovecot, and The Story of a
- Short Life.  In one volume, with Coloured Illustrations by H. M. BROCK,
-R.I.
-Mary's Meadow, and Other Tales of Fields and Flowers.
- With Coloured Illustrations by H. V. WHEELHOUSE.
-Old-fashioned Fairy Tales.  With 8 Coloured Illustrations by W. GRAHAM
-ROBERTSON.
-
-                   Another Edition.  Crown 8vo. size.
-
-Jackanapes and Other Stories.  Illustrated by GORDON BROWNE and RANDOLPH
-CALDECOTT.
-Lob Lie-by-the-Fire and Other Tales.  Illustrated by GORDON BROWNE.
-
-
-
-                            BY JOY MERIVALE
-
-Only a Boy; or, How Vere got back his Diamond.
-Jumped by Convicts.  A Tale of Plantation Life in British Guiana.
-The Fallen Flyer; or, Camping in Canada.
-
-
-
-                           _HISTORICAL TALES_
-
-            See also books by GERTRUDE HOLLIS, J. M. NEALE,
-                    FREDERIC HARRISON, E. E. COWPER.
-
-A Nest of Malignants.  A Story of the Civil War.  By DOROTHEA MOORE.
-The Cross of Pearls.  The Story of a French Family in the Fourteenth
- Century.  By Mrs. CATHERINE BEARNE.
-A Saint George of King Charles's Days.  By DOROTHEA TOWNSHEND.
-Dame Joan of Pevensey.  A Sussex Tale.  By E. E. CRAKE.
-The Forest Shrine.  By E. P. GOUGH.
-In Perilous Days.  A Tale of the French Revolution.  By Mrs. CATHERINE
-BEARNE.
-In the Days of Origen.  By the Rev. A. SHIRLEY.
-Out of Weakness.  By ANNIE L. GEE.
-Master and Man.  A Story of the Peasants' Revolt, 1381.  By J. O.
-HARDWICK.
-Sir Ranulf.  A Story of St. Hugh of Lincoln.  By E. K. SETH-SMITH.
-The Purple Rose.  A Story of Italy in the Fifteenth Century.  By ANNE
-FORRESTER.
-A Bearer of Despatches.  A Story of the Siege of Lynn, 1643.  By EMIL
-LOCH.
-The Firebrand of the Indies.  A Romance of Francis Xavier.  By E. K.
-SETH-SMITH.
-Richard of Lympne.  By VIOLET T. KIRKE.
-Under the Blue Flag.  A Story of Monmouth's Rebellion.  By MARY E.
-PALGRAVE.
-Glory of War.  A Story of the Days of Marlborough.  By H. A. HINKSON.
-Whither?  The Story of a Flight.  An Historical Tale.  By DOROTHEA
-TOWNSEND.
-The Hidden Chalice.  By IERNE L. PLUNKET.
-Brave Dame Mary; or, The Siege of Corfe Castle.
-
-
-
-                           BY GERTRUDE HOLLIS
-
-Between Two Crusades.  A Tale of A.D. 1187.
-The Blessed Bands.  A Tale of Savonarola.
-Hugh the Messenger.  A Tale of the Siege of Calais
-In a Royal Nursery.  The Exciting Adventures of Charles I.'s Children.
-In Crazy Times.  A Tale of King Charles the Martyr.
-In the Days of St. Anselm.
-The King who was never Crowned.
-Leo Of Mediolanum.  A Tale of the Fourth Century.
-The Lost Exile.  A Tale of Siberia.
-My Lord of Reading.  A Tale of the Reformation.
-Philip Okeover's Pagehood.  A Story of the Peasants' Rising.
-Spurs and Bride.  A Tale of the Magna Charta.
-Uncle Michael's Story.  A Tale of the River Amazon.
-
-
-
-                            BY JOHN COMFORT
-
-Matt Desmond's Bit.
-On His Own.  The Adventures of an English Boy in Canada.
-Don's Doings.  A Story of Life in Western Canada.
-Toby's Luck.
-Nobby, a Son of Empire.
-
-
-
-                           _HISTORICAL TALES_
-                          BY J. M. NEALE, D.D.
-
-Deeds of Faith.
-Duchenier; or, The Revolt of La Vendee.
-The Egyptian Wanderers.  A Story of the Great Tenth Persecution.
-Evenings at Sackville College.  Legends for Children.
-The Exiles of the Cebenna.  A Story of the Decian Persecution.
-The Farm of Aptonga.  A Story of the Times of St. Cyprian.
-The Followers of the Lord.
-Herbert Tresham.  A Tale of the Great Rebellion.
-The Lazar House of Leros.  A Tale or the Eastern Church in the
- Seventeenth Century.
-The Lily of Tiflis.  A Sketch of Georgian Church History.
-The Lions of Wady-Araba.  A Story dealing with the Decian Persecution.
-The Quay of the Dioscuri.  A Tale of the Rise of Arianism.
-The Sea Tigers.  A Tale of the Nestorian Church.
-Shepperton Manor.  A Tale of the Times of James I.
-The Sword of King Affonso.  Tells of the Ill-fated Expedition of
- Sebastian of Portugal to Africa.
-Tales Illustrative of the Apostles' Creed.
-Tales of Christian Endurance.
-Tales of Christian Heroism.
-Victories of the Saints.
-
-
-
-                              _OTHER BOOKS
-                            FOR YOUNG FOLK_
-
-The Children's Old Testament.  By E. B. TRIST (Mrs. WM. O. PIERCY). With
-thirty-six coloured and many black and white Illustrations.
-
-The Land of the Ever-Young.  By ROSAMOND LANGBRIDGE.  With four coloured
-and four black and white Illustrations by F. D. BEDFORD. An exquisite
-phantasy, which Mr. F. D. Bedford, who illustrated "Peter and Wendy,"
-has sympathetically interpreted.
-
-The Pilgrim's Progress.  By JOHN BUNYAN.  An edition for children,
-arranged by JEAN MARIAN MATTHEW.  With four coloured and forty-two black
-and white Illustrations by H. J. FORD.
-
-A Life of Our Lord.  Told in the Words of the Four Gospels.  With twelve
-coloured Illustrations by JAMES CLARK, R.I.  (The letterpress is
-entirely in the words of the Gospels, those incidents having been chosen
-which are readily intelligible to children.)
-
-Where the Dolls Lived.  By Mrs. H. C. CRADOCK.  With four coloured and
-numerous black and white Illustrations by HONOR C. APPLETON.  (A story
-in prose and picture, calculated to win the heart of any little girl.)
-
-Peggy's Twins.  By Mrs. H. C. CRADOCK.  With four coloured and six black
-and white Illustrations by HONOR C. APPLETON.  (Another charming book
-from these collaborators, who know so well how to charm the minds of
-little children.)
-
-
-
-                         _BIBLE PICTURE BOOKS_
-
-A Life of our Saviour.  For Little Children.  Containing: Our Saviour's
-Childhood, Ministry, Teaching and Triumph. With twelve coloured
-Pictures, and many other Illustrations.
-
-The Dawn of the World.  Containing: The Story of Creation, The
-Patriarchs, Joseph.
-
-The Chosen People Containing: Moses, Judges in Israel, David.
-
-Forerunners of Christ.  Containing: Prophets in Israel and Judah,
-Elijah, Kings of Israel and Judah.
-
-By E. B. TRIST (Mrs. WM. O. PIERCY).  Each with twelve coloured and
-twelve black and white Illustrations.
-
-SS. Peter and Paul.  Depicted by H. J. FORD.  With Notes on the pictures
-by W. K. LOWTHER CLARKE.  With coloured Frontispiece and thirteen other
-Illustrations.
-
-Sketches of English Church History.  By ELIZABETH GRIERSON. Illustrated.
-(Biographical Sketches drawn from all periods of English History.)
-
-The Land where Jesus Lived.  By GERTRUDE HOLLIS.  With coloured Plates
-and numerous Photographic Reproductions.  (An attractive book for the
-young.)
-
-The Parables.  With coloured Frontispiece and twelve black and white
-Illustrations.  By H. J. FORD.  (The parables are given in full with
-short explanations where necessary.)
-
-A Nation's Hero.  The Story of Israel's Exile and Return. By S. H. MACY.
-With coloured Frontispiece and other Illustrations.
-
-A Glorious Host.  Sketches of Saints, Heroes, and Martyrs. By E. B.
-TRIST.  Illustrated.
-
-How and Where they Lived in Bible Times.  By E. B. TRIST. With eight
-coloured and numerous half-tone Illustrations.
-
-Our Wonderful Cathedrals.  Series I. and II.  By GERTRUDE HOLLIS.  With
-eight coloured and numerous other Illustrations.
-
-Our Wonderful Church.  By GERTRUDE HOLLIS.  With eight Illustrations.
-
-Our Wonderful Faith.  Papers for Children on the Apostles' Creed. By
-EDWARD W. OSBORNE, D.D.  With eight Illustrations.
-
-Our Wonderful Earth.  By F. A. PITTS.  With numerous Illustrations.
-
-Gentle Jesus.  A Book for His Little Children.  By GERTRUDE HOLLIS.
-With twenty-four Illustrations.
-
-Heralds of the Cross.  Short Sketches of Missionary Heroes.  By E. B.
-TRIST.  With sixteen Illustrations
-
-Some Battlefields of the Cross.  Asia and some Islands of the Southern
-Seas.  By E. B. TRIST.  With sixteen Illustrations.
-
-More Battlefields of the Cross.  In the British Empire and Elsewhere.
-By E. B. TRIST (Mrs. WM. O. PIERCY).  With coloured Frontispiece and
-eight black and white Illustrations.
-
-Our Wonderful Bible.  By GERTRUDE HOLLIS.  With several Illustrations.
-(The history of the Bible to the present day.)
-
-Our Wonderful Prayer Book.  By GERTRUDE HOLLIS.  With Illustrations.
-
-Boys and Girls I have Known.  By E. W. OSBORNE, D.D.  With coloured
-Frontispiece and sixteen other Illustrations.
-
-Some Wonderful Things in the Catechism.  By EDWARD W. OSBORNE, D.D.
-With eight Illustrations.
-
-The Children's Bread.  Teachings on the Church Year from Advent to
-Trinity, for Sunday Scholars.  By M. L. McCLURE.  With numerous
-Illustrations.
-
-The Children's Heritage.  Talks to the Church's Children on the Church's
-Faith.  By the Rev. G. R. OAKLEY, M.A., B.D.
-
-The Cross and the Sword.  Stories of the Royal Soldier-Saints of
-England.  By the Rev. G. R. OAKLEY, M.A., B.D. With eight Illustrations
-by W. PAGET.
-
-Crowned with Glory.  Stories of the Younger Saints in the Prayer-Book
-Calendar.  By the Rev. G. R. OAKLEY, M.A., B.D.  With several
-Illustrations.
-
-Livingstone, The Empire Builder, or Set under the Cross. By J. A.
-STAUNTON BATTY.  With Illustrations.
-
-A Book of Nursery Rhymes.  Being Mother Goose's Melodies, arranged in
-order of Attractiveness and Interest by CHARLES WELSH.
-
-By E. B. TRIST (Mrs. WM. C. PIEROT).  With coloured and other
-Illustrations.
-
-The Story of Creation.
-Joseph.
-Moses.
-Judges in Israel.
-The Patriarchs.
-Elijah.
-David.
-Kings of Israel and Judah.
-Prophets in Israel and Judah.
-
-The Land of Faraway, and Other Stories for Little Children. With
-coloured Frontispiece and numerous other Illustrations.
-
-Teddy and the Fairy, and Other Stories for Little Children. With
-coloured Frontispiece and many other Illustrations.
-
-Old World Wonder Stories.  Edited with an Introduction by M. V. O'SHEA.
-With Illustrations.
-
-The Tales of Mother Goose.  As First Collected by CHARLES PERRAULT in
-1696.  A Translation by CHARLES WELSH.  With Illustrations.
-
-
-
-                     _OLD TALES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN_
-
- Adapted by C. M. DUNCAN-JONES.  With coloured and other Illustrations.
-
-A London Sparrow and Mignonette.
-Little Drake and other Stories.
-Stories from Ballads.
-Stories from France.
-Stories from Wales.
-English Folk-Lore Stories.
-
-
-
-Four Gospel Picture Books in large type. Each has Three Coloured
-Pictures, and many other Illustrations.
-
-Our Saviour's Childhood.
-Our Saviour's Ministry.
-Our Saviour's Teaching,
-Our Saviour's Triumph.
-
-
-
-               SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE
-                                  AND
-                           THE SHELDON PRESS
-                  LONDON: NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C.2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO ON THE TRAIL ***
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