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diff --git a/old/51848-0.txt b/old/51848-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ddd7826..0000000 --- a/old/51848-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7212 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Dick Kent at Half-Way House, by Milton Richards - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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 -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Dick Kent at Half-Way House - -Author: Milton Richards - -Illustrator: Christian R. Schaare - -Release Date: April 24, 2016 [EBook #51848] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DICK KENT AT HALF-WAY HOUSE *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -[Illustration: “Dick,” he trembled, “What happen? You shoot this -man—you—” (_Page 174_)] - - - - - DICK KENT - AT HALF WAY HOUSE - - - By MILTON RICHARDS - - - Author of - “Dick Kent With the Mounted Police,” - “Dick Kent in the Far North,” - “Dick Kent With the Eskimos,” - “Dick Kent, Fur Trader,” - “Dick Kent With the Malemute Mail,” - “Dick Kent on Special Duty,” - “Tom Blake’s Mysterious Adventure,” - “The Valdmere Mystery,” etc. - - [Illustration: Logo] - - - A. L. BURT COMPANY - Publishers New York - - Printed in U. S. A. - - - BOYS _of the_ ROYAL MOUNTED POLICE SERIES - - STORIES OF ADVENTURE IN THE NORTH WOODS - FOR BOYS 12 TO 16 YEARS - By MILTON RICHARDS - - DICK KENT WITH THE MOUNTED POLICE - DICK KENT IN THE FAR NORTH - DICK KENT WITH THE ESKIMOS - DICK KENT, FUR TRADER - DICK KENT WITH THE MALEMUTE MAIL - DICK KENT ON SPECIAL DUTY - DICK KENT AT HALF WAY HOUSE - - Copyright, 1929 - By A. L. BURT COMPANY - Printed in U. S. A. - - - - - Contents - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I Dinosaur’s Island 3 - II Two Visitors 10 - III Suspicion Grows 18 - IV The First Encounter 28 - V Dick Finds a Canoe 37 - VI A Bleak Prospect 45 - VII Breeds Don’t Count 53 - VIII A Human Gorilla 61 - IX Bows and Arrows 66 - X Toma’s Daring Plan 74 - XI A Canoe at Last 82 - XII The Meeting on the River 91 - XIII Half Way House 100 - XIV Charges and Counter-charges 107 - XV A Threatening Letter 115 - XVI A Midnight Raid 123 - XVII A Hidden Pit 132 - XVIII Take the Offensive 141 - XIX Troubles Come Fast 150 - XX Toma Brings News 158 - XXI Frazer’s Ruse 167 - XXII Tension Tightens 176 - XXIII The Police Take Charge 183 - XXIV Near Frazer’s Cabin 191 - XXV Gathering up the Threads 199 - XXVI Frazer’s Confession 205 - XXVII Toma’s Scar 214 - XXVIII Leave-taking 222 - XXIX The River Pilot 231 - XXX Back from the Barracks 243 - XXXI He Who Laughs Last 253 - - - - - DICK KENT AT HALF WAY HOUSE - - - - - CHAPTER I. - DINOSAUR’S ISLAND. - - -Just before dusk, riding in on a slight swell, the canoe touched on the -leeward side of the island. It was a wooded island, similar to a score -of others that dotted that lake. There was little to differentiate it -from its brothers except that in its very center the fir and balsam had -graciously withdrawn to permit a huge shaft of solid rock to raise its -head loftily and majestically skyward. - -The three young men who disembarked from the canoe, stood looking toward -the shaft with something like eagerness in their eyes. Then one of them -spoke: - -“There it is! The rock of the dinosaur!” - -Another of the trio, a stockily built boy with light blue eyes and sandy -complexion, removed a battered felt hat that had been crammed down over -his well-shaped head and ran his fingers through a mop of corn-colored -hair. - -“Bones! Toma—bones!” - -The remaining member of the party, swarthy, dark, soft-footed, agile as -a panther, grinned as he stooped down to tie the strings of one of his -moccasins. - -“Mebbe this not right place after all,” he said. - -The first speaker turned swiftly at this and regarded the stooping -figure. What had induced Toma to make that remark? The description that -had been given them by Mr. Donald Frazer, factor at Half Way House, -fitted this island exactly: an island in a lake of many islands, an -island with a tall rock. Dick Kent remembered as well as if it had been -only yesterday. - -“It’s three hundred miles northwest of here in a country of innumerable -lakes,” the factor had directed them. “These lakes all drain into the -Half Way River. They are all very close together, forming a sort of -chain. Most of the lakes are dotted with a few islands, but there is one -lake, near the center of the chain, that has more islands than all the -rest—scores of small wooded islands. On one of these you will find a -tall, spindling rock. The island with that rock is the island of the -dinosaur.” - -So remembering this conversation, Dick could not believe with Toma that -they might have come to the wrong place. Here was the wooded island. -Here was the spindling rock. Here was the lake of many islands. - -“Why don’t you think it’s the right place?” he demanded. - -The young Indian straightened up quickly, his eyes twinkling. - -“Why you get so worried, Dick?” he inquired blandly. “I no say this the -wrong place. Mebbe so, mebbe not. Plenty islands I see in other lakes -an’ plenty rocks too.” - -“But not a rock as tall as that one,” objected Sandy. - -Dick nodded his head. - -“Yes, and most of the other lakes we explored had only a few islands. -This one tallies exactly with the description Mr. Frazer gave us.” - -Toma grinned again. - -“All right,” he waved their arguments aside. “What you say, we go see?” - -The three boys pushed forward. The island was scarcely more than four or -five acres in area. In a few minutes they reached the center, coming to -a full stop near the base of the pinnacle. They found a peculiar -formation here. In some prehistoric time a gigantic upheaval had thrust -the underlying strata to a position very nearly perpendicular. In other -words, layer upon layer of substratum had been lifted up out of the -earth and exposed to view. Embedded in one of the layers of rock was the -huge fossil of a prehistoric reptile. Its immense frame could be seen -very distinctly from where the boys were standing. Supported by the -rock, much of which had crumbled away, the skull of the dinosaur rested -lightly against the side of the pinnacle and the bones of the rest of -the body, still joined and intact, extended downward to the edge of a -deep pit. - -The effect of all this was ghastly. Staring at it, one was conscious of -an indescribable feeling that the fleshless body of the dinosaur still -retained life and that it had clambered out of the deep pit beneath it -and was now endeavoring to climb the tall, spindling spire of granite. -So lifelike and terrible indeed, did the primeval monster appear, that -for a full five minutes the three boys stood there without as much as -moving a muscle. - -Suddenly the tension snapped as Dick burst into a roar of laughter. He -laughed until the tears came into his eyes and coursed down his cheeks. -He roared and slapped his thigh and sat down on a rock, swaying back and -forth in a paroxysm of uncontrollable mirth. - -Toma and Sandy stared at their chum in utter amazement. They surveyed -each other blankly. They looked quickly over at the dinosaur in the -belief that possibly they had overlooked something. - -“See here,” began Sandy, “what in the name of common sense are you -yowling about? If you can possibly see anything funny in that grewsome -mass of bones your sense of humor is warped. Stop it, Dick! Stop it, I -say before you drive me daft. Stop!” - -Dick raised his head and wiped his eyes. He was still choking. - -“You—you see nothing funny?” he gasped. - -“I do not!” - -“What do you think of our friend, the dinosaur?” and Dick indulged in -another convulsive chuckle. - -Sandy’s eyes flashed fire. - -“Say—” - -“Look at it! Look at it!” shrieked Dick. “Its size! Must weigh -tons—tons, Sandy. And—we’ve come—three hundred miles—laboring under -impression—going to carry it back on a raft.” - -“Well—” - -“On a raft,” continued Dick. “That thing on a raft. If you can, just get -that picture in that slow mind of yours.” - -Toma was grinning broadly now. - -“The portages,” he wondered. - -“Yes, think of carrying that huge skeleton over the portages.” - -“Why it—it can’t be done,” stated the young Scotchman, beginning to see -the light. “Absolutely out of question. We’ve come on a fool’s errand. -Mr. Frazer must have—” - -“Known it!” Dick took the words out of his chum’s mouth. “Of course, he -knew it. Can’t you see, Sandy, we’ve been victimized, made the butt of -one of the worst jokes I’ve ever heard of. No wonder they all grinned -and acted so queerly when we left the post. By this time, half the -people in this north country are laughing up their sleeves. It’s all a -hoax. I’ll bet that London museum Mr. Frazer told us about hasn’t even -made an offer for this dinosaur.” - -“You mean the whole affair from beginning to end was planned by that -fool and his friends?” - -“Exactly.” - -“And that we’ve not only lost what we thought was a chance to make a few -hundred dollars but have become the laughing stock of—of—” Sandy choked -and gurgled. - -“Right again,” grinned Dick. “You’re learning fast.” - -Sandy’s color drained from his cheeks and he sat down quickly, -endeavoring to control the fierce gathering storm within. - -“And _you_ call that a good joke,” he inquired bitterly, “a friendly, -decent joke that sent us packing through a hundred dangers at the risk -of life and limb? _You_ can laugh at that?” - -“Well, what would you have me do? Sit down and cry? Not I. Might as well -make the best of it. I’ll go back and laugh with ’em.” - -“I laugh too,” said Toma. And he did. - -Sandy continued to glower. He looked up at the dinosaur. Then he put his -head in his hands and groaned. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - TWO VISITORS. - - -Dick Kent had plenty of time that night to think about the crude joke -Mr. Frazer, the factor at Half Way House, had played upon them. The -factor must have known full well that the mammoth skeleton of the -dinosaur could not be conveyed easily up the river on an ordinary raft. -He must have known, too, of the utter impossibility of packing the huge -creature over the thirteen portages that are to be found between the -island of the granite shaft and the trading post, three hundred miles up -the river. - -Given sufficient leisure to think the matter over, Dick decided that he -did not blame Sandy one bit for the anger and bitterness that Frazer’s -trickery had aroused. The young Scotchman had eaten his supper in a huff -and later had retired to his blankets in a manner that was, to say the -very least, thoroughly hostile and unfriendly. His actions indicated -very plainly that he, for one, didn’t consider this business of the -dinosaur as the sort of joke that could pass unnoticed or unforgiven, or -that could be laughed down or yet dismissed with a shrug. It rankled and -cut deep. Some day Mr. Frazer would hear about it. - -Dick turned his eyes toward the campfire and watched the shadows -creeping up to the bright circle its glimmering light made. He lay quite -still, listening to the monotonous beat of the water around the shore of -the island. He was dimly aware of the tall granite slab that thrust up -its pointed head in cold disdain of the lowly trees under it. Far away -somewhere a loon called out mockingly and derisively to its mate. - -Sandy woke on the following morning in a better humor. Over a hot cup of -tea and a crisp rasher of bacon, he apologized for his behavior on the -previous night. - -“I had no reason to be angry with you, Dick,” he stated contritely. “But -you irritated me because you took it all so good-naturedly. It can’t be -denied that the joke is on us, but you surely know that he went too far -with it. He never should have permitted us to start out. Our time is -worth something and we paid the factor a good stiff price for our -grubstake. Then there are all those cumbersome tools we brought -along—rock chisels, pickaxes, hatchets and what not. We paid for them -out of our own hard-earned money. A very expensive practical joke, if -you ask me.” - -In the act of raising a cup of steaming beverage to his lips, Toma -paused and his dark eyes fell upon Sandy’s face. - -“Mebbe not so much joke like you think. Mebbe Mr. Frazer him not want us -to stay at Half Way House any longer. Mebbe he think your Uncle Walter -send us fellows down to spy on him an’ he no like that.” - -Both Dick and Sandy started. They had never looked at the situation from -quite that angle. The young Indian’s statement had induced a new train -of thought. Come to think of it, why had Sandy’s uncle, Mr. Walter -MacClaren, factor at Fort Good Faith and superintendent for the Hudson -Bay Company for all that vast northern territory, sent them over to Half -Way House in the first place? Sandy looked at Dick searchingly for -another moment, then broke forth: - -“Gee, I never thought about that. Toma, you’re too deep for us. I can -begin to see now.” - -Dick pursed his lips, scowling slightly. - -“Mr. MacClaren said that the hunting was good up around Half Way House -and that we’d enjoy our summer’s vacation there. He didn’t tell us that -he was suspicious of Mr. Frazer. Naturally he wouldn’t. He wanted us to -find that out for ourselves. Sandy,” he glanced eagerly across at his -chum, “as far as you know, has Mr. Frazer a reputation for being much of -a practical joker?” - -Sandy put down his cup and proceeded to pour out his second helping of -tea. - -“No, I’ve never heard that he was. And certainly he doesn’t look the -part. I wouldn’t call him frivolous. My impression of him has always -been that he is inclined to be sort of taciturn, reserved and fairly -uncommunicative.” - -At this juncture, Toma again broke into the discussion. - -“He not look like man that see anything to laugh about ever. I no like -that fellow very much. I no like them friends he keep alla time hanging -around the post. Look like bad men to me.” - -On many occasions previously during their sojourn in the North, the two -boys had come to place a good deal of reliance on the young Indian’s -snap judgment. He had an almost uncanny ability to read character and of -finding hidden traits, both good and bad, in the persons with whom he -came in contact. Seldom did he err. - -“He’s referring to Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum,” said Sandy. “Well, I -don’t know as one could call them Frazer’s friends.” - -“I see Mr. Frazer talk with them many times,” Toma wagged his head. -“When I come close they hush up—don’t talk any more. An’ one time I see -a light in Mr. Frazer’s room late, ’bout two o’clock, I think. An’ there -through the window I see ’em. Wolf Brennan, McCallum, Frazer an’ two -Indians I do not know.” - -“Why didn’t you tell us this before?” demanded Dick. - -That was the way with Toma—ever reticent. His uncommunicativeness often -became a source of despair to his two chums. - -“You no ask me.” - -“But how did we know?” glared Sandy. “We weren’t up at two o’clock that -night.” - -“I no tell you that,” Toma explained, “because I think mebbe you no want -to hear bad things about Mr. Frazer.” - -“You cherub!” Sandy snorted. - -“Sandy,” questioned Dick, “how does Mr. Frazer stand with the company?” - -Sandy stirred the oatmeal, sugar and bacon grease together in what was -to Dick an unappetizing mess. - -“Uncle Walter never told me.” - -“But haven’t you heard?” Dick persisted. - -“No, I haven’t,” Sandy commenced to eat his favorite dish. “Uncle Walter -never tells me anything about his business. He’s as close-mouthed as the -average Scotchman, I guess.” - -“There are some ways in which you do not resemble him in the least,” -pointed out Dick, winking at Toma. - -No more was said on the subject then. As soon as they had washed their -breakfast dishes, Dick and Sandy went over for another view of the -dinosaur, while Toma set out to explore the island. The dinosaur, in the -bright morning sunlight, seemed to be as ugly and repellent as it had -been in the evening’s shadows on the night before. Again they were awed -by its presence. It seemed inconceivable that anything so huge and ugly -had ever walked upon the earth. - -“How’d you like to meet one of those things alive?” asked Sandy. - -“Not for me. A bullet would probably flatten out on its scaly hide. At -the best, it would feel like no more than a pin-prick. And Mr. Frazer -told us we could bring that thing back on a raft. He must have known -better, because he was here two years ago and saw it with his own eyes.” - -“Of course, he knew better,” growled Sandy. - -The bushes parted behind them. First Toma’s head was thrust through and -then his body. He motioned to them eagerly. - -“Come on,” he said. “I show you something. Come quick!” - -They turned and followed him, finding it difficult to keep pace with -him, so quickly did he go. They came presently to a fringe of willows -not far from the western shore of the lake. The young Indian motioned -them to be seated. - -“Watch out there in the lake,” he commanded them. “Pretty soon you see -something. Keep very quiet. No talk now.” - -Both waited expectantly. Out ahead of them the lake rippled and -sparkled. Suddenly a canoe glided within their range of vision—a canoe -containing two occupants. Their paddles dipping in unison, the two men -sat very straight, one in, the center and one in the stern, two mackinaw -coated figures, two bearded white men whom the boys recognized -instantly. In the excitement of the moment, Sandy jabbed his elbow in -Dick’s ribs. - -“Cracky!” he blurted out. “What’s up now? Wolf Brennan and Toby -McCallum! They’re coming here.” - -But in this Sandy was mistaken. The canoe did not pause, did not waver. -It swept in fairly close to the island then, as if it had suddenly -changed its mind, it swerved sharply and continued on its course. The -two men sat like statues until they were thirty or forty yards away. -Then Wolf Brennan craned his thick, bull-like neck and looked back. - -Even at that distance the boys caught the expression that distorted the -man’s coarse features. A leer, a mocking, unfriendly grin, a diabolical, -fiendish sneer! - -Abruptly he turned and the paddle, gripped in his huge ape-like hands, -glinted in the sunlight as it smote the gleaming water. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - SUSPICION GROWS. - - -“Now what are they up to?” - -Dick’s hands clenched as he spoke. He half rose from his kneeling -position behind the willow copse and glared at Sandy as if he expected -that that young man could answer the question. - -“Yes, what are they up to?” he repeated in a low tense voice. “Messrs. -Brennan and McCallum must be on our trail. And from the look that Wolf -just now directed toward this island, they know we’re here. The whole -thing is a puzzle to me. I don’t know what to think of it.” - -“What I can’t understand,” said Sandy in a breathless voice, “is why -they did not stop. They’ve gone right on. The reasonable and decent -thing for them to do would be to come over and say ‘hello’. They might, -at least, have shown that they were hospitable.” - -“Wonder if Frazer sent them,” mused Dick. - -Sandy pursed his lips and scowled as he looked out toward the flashing -crests of water. - -“I shouldn’t wonder,” he answered. “Now that we’ve found the little -joker in this deal of the dinosaur, I’m inclined to think he has. -Further than that, I’m prompted to believe that there was something more -than the mere playing of a practical joke that induced Factor Frazer to -get us to come out here. There must be some deviltry afoot at Half Way -House. Our presence there isn’t wanted. He sent us up here on this wild -goose chase to get us out of the way, and, working on this hypothesis, -the next logical inference is that Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum have -trailed us all the way up here.” - -Dick motioned Sandy and Toma to follow him to the opposite side of the -island. Arriving at their camp, he turned upon his two chums. - -“I’ve been thinking of what you’ve just said, Sandy,” he remarked, as he -began packing their luggage. “I want to tell you that I believe you’ve -hit the nail on the head. Something underhanded is taking place at Half -Way House. We’ve been sent out here to be kept in ignorance of what is -going on. They know that all of us are attached to the Mounted Police -reserve and it would be fatal to their plans to have us there at the -post. Wolf Brennan and his pal are out here to watch us, to see that we -do not return. I—” - -The young Scotchman interrupted him. - -“Hold on there a moment, Dick. I don’t know as I’d care to go that far. -I gather from what you’ve just said that you mean they’ve been -commissioned by Frazer to put us out of the way.” - -Dick smiled. “No, I didn’t quite mean that, Sandy. I don’t think we’ll -be murdered. Not that. As long as we stay on this island, or remain here -in this vicinity, we’ll be safe enough. We might stay here all summer, -and we’d never see them again, never be bothered, but—” - -“Yes, yes,” said Sandy impatiently, “go on, Dick.” - -“But,” continued Dick, “let us leave this island or this vicinity and -then trouble aplenty.” - -“You mean they’ll attempt to stop us if we start back for Half Way -House?” - -“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” said Dick. “They’ll harass us at -every turn. I’m convinced of it. I won’t say they’ll resort to open -violence if underhanded methods will avail.” - -“Oh come, Dick, surely not.” - -“As I live, I sincerely believe it. I wouldn’t put these thoughts in -your mind, if I didn’t But I can easily prove my point.” - -“How?” - -“By starting back.” - -“What—you mean right now?” - -“No better time than now. If my suspicions are correct, we’ll run into -some snag within the next day or two.” - -“Is that why you were starting to pack that luggage?” - -“Yes.” - -Sandy tongued his cheek and in the bright light of that perfect morning -he squinted at his chum. In that brief interval he did some quick -thinking. - -“Wait a minute, Dick,” he finally broke forth. “Let’s not be too hasty.” - -“But I’m not hasty. No use staying here any longer that I can see. We’ve -all agreed that it’s out of the question to bother with the dinosaur. -There’s absolutely nothing we can do here unless it is to put in a few -weeks fishing and hunting, and somehow,” Dick stroked back the hair from -his forehead, “I’m in no mood for that. Let’s start back and see what -happens.” - -“No, I think I have a better plan. Let’s postpone that return trip until -we’ve had a chance to interview Messrs. Brennan and McCallum.” - -“Just what do you propose to do?” - -“Well,” began Sandy, “I doubt if they are aware that we’ve seen them. We -can jump into our canoe, slip down along the east side of the lake and -come upon them in such a way that they’ll think our meeting is quite -accidental. We’ll profess great surprise at seeing them. We’ll ask them -point-blank what they are doing out here.” - -Dick laughed. “Yes, and not learn a thing. They’ll have a very plausible -story, don’t worry about that. And why go to all that trouble anyway? If -you want to talk to them, Sandy, let’s jump in the canoe and overtake -them at once.” - -“All right. Just as you say. I’m ready.” - -“What do you think about it?” Dick turned upon the young Indian. - -Toma deliberated for nearly a minute. His eyes flecked and his gaze -dropped. - -“No harm we go see them. Take jus’ a few minutes an’ we find out what -they say. Come on.” - -They dragged their canoe down to the water and Sandy pushed off. The -light craft bobbed and swayed for twenty feet through the blue, almost -unruffled surface near shore, then headed straight out toward the -gradually disappearing speck retreating in the distance. For fully ten -minutes no one spoke. The little vessel leaped and darted through the -blue, sparkling element. In another ten minutes the other canoe had -grown appreciably larger. Between strokes, Dick puffed: - -“Remember, Sandy, this is your suggestion. You’re the spokesman.” - -“Leave it to me,” the other retorted. “I know just what I’m going to -say.” - -“Whatever you do,” Dick warned him, “don’t let them guess that we’re -suspicious of them.” - -“I won’t,” growled Sandy. - -Thus it happened that when they pulled abreast of the smaller craft, it -was Sandy who hailed them. The two men raised their paddles and -permitted their canoe to be overhauled. There ensued an exchange of -greetings. - -“Why didn’t you stop?” asked Sandy. - -“Stop?” Wolf Brendan rubbed his unshaven chin and stared questioningly. -“Stop where?” - -“Why, at the island, of course.” - -Brennan continued to stare blankly, almost foolishly. He was a good -actor. - -“There’s a hull lot of islands in this here lake. What island do you -mean?” - -“The dinosaur’s island, of course. You saw us, didn’t you?” - -“Nope, we didn’t see yuh. Knew yuh was up here, o’ course, getting them -bones of that thar dinosaur, but we didn’t know just where—which island, -I mean.” - -“You weren’t very far behind us on the trail.” - -“Nope, ’bout a day I guess. Seen your campfire along the trail. One was -still smoking when we got to it.” - -“We sort o’ half suspected we’d run across yuh somewheres,” McCallum -interjected. “So this yere is the lake of the dinosaur? ’Magine yuh -fellows will be pretty busy durin’ the next few weeks gettin’ them bones -chipped out o’ the rock ready for shippin’.” - -“No,” Sandy informed them, “we’re not going to bother with it. The -thing’s too big for us to handle.” - -“Yuh can build a big raft,” McCallum suggested. - -“What about the portages?” There was a faint note of anger in Sandy’s -voice. - -“Yuh’ll have to pack it, o’ course,” McCallum said. “But it’s almost as -easy to build a big raft as a small one.” - -“The dinosaur’s skeleton is too big and too heavy to pack,” declared -Sandy haughtily. - -“Yuh don’t say.” - -“It certainly is.” - -“What yuh gonna do then?” - -“We’ve given it up,” Sandy spoke harshly. “We’re starting back to Half -Way House this afternoon.” - -Wolf Brennan spat in the water and glanced inquiringly at the three -occupants in the other canoe. - -“If yuh fellows was right smart now, yuh wouldn’t give up so easily. -There’s a lot o’ money to be made if yuh can manage to get that big -lizard back where it can be took to one o’ the company’s steamers. If I -was making a contract now,” Wolf Brennan spat in the water again, “I’m -thinkin’ I’d move Heaven an’ earth afore I’d give up.” - -Sandy glanced back at him. - -“I’m not saying we’ll never get the dinosaur out. But if we do, it won’t -be this summer and it won’t be on a raft one is required to pole up a -river that has thirteen portages.” - -“How else could yuh get it out?” - -“I don’t know. We haven’t thought about that—yet. Perhaps this winter we -may come to some definite conclusion.” - -“So yuh’re goin’ back to Half Way House?” - -“You bet we are.” - -“Too bad.” - -“And where are you going?” Sandy inquired innocently. - -Wolf Brennan glanced at McCallum for a brief interval and between them -passed a significant and knowing look. - -“Sort o’ figured we’d go prospectin’ for a time.” - -“Where?” - -Brennan seemed to be hazy on this point. He coughed embarrassedly and -looked again at his partner. - -“’Tother side o’ the lake there’s some hills an’ we kind o’ thought we’d -put in a week or two jus’ sort o’ looking’ around.” - -“What side of the lake?” persisted Sandy. - -“On the north side,” Brennan answered. “If yuh’re startin’ back for the -post this afternoon, we may see yuh again.” - -“I shouldn’t wonder. Because we are starting for the post this -afternoon.” - -Brennan blinked and again he looked at McCallum. Evidently this was -McCallum’s cue for he spoke up. - -“Mebbe if yuh’d stick around for a while,” he suggested, “the four of us -could figure out some way to get out that dinosaur.” - -“Five of us,” corrected Dick, speaking for the first time. “You’ve -overlooked Toma.” - -“Breeds don’t count.” - -“This one here,” stated Dick furiously, stooping over and patting Toma -on the shoulder, “is as good as any dirty, bewhiskered white man that -ever came over the trail from Half Way House. You can take that -statement in any way you see fit, McCallum.” - -“Regular spit-fire, ain’t yuh?” - -“I’m not accustomed to have my friends insulted.” - -McCallum removed his hat and bowed gravely. - -“I shore beg your pardon. I didn’t mean no offense. Along toward -evening, me an’ Wolf will drop over to your little island and pay yuh -our respects.” - -“Suit yourself,” said Sandy, “but we won’t be there. As I’ve already -told you, we’re starting back to Half Way House this afternoon.” - -What Sandy read in McCallum’s eyes was a challenge, but it was Wolf -Brennan who spoke. - -“Mebbe,” he said. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - THE FIRST ENCOUNTER. - - -The first night on their return trip to Half Way House the boys camped -twenty miles south of the lake. Here they received their first set-back. -In the morning they awoke to find their canoe was gone. Rage in their -hearts, they gathered in a little group and stared at the place where it -had been. They guessed immediately what had happened. After the first -shock, Dick scowled and looked at his two chums. - -“Well, we know where we stand now,” he declared grimly. - -“Three against two,” blurted Sandy. “They can’t stop us.” - -Dick mopped his moist forehead and dug the tip of one moccasin into the -loose sand. - -“That may be true. We have the advantage in numbers. But I’d also like -to point out to you that even though that is so the odds are in their -favor, nevertheless. We never know when to look for them. They’ll strike -when we least expect it and always from under cover. They’ve already won -the first round. Poling up the river in a raft is a tedious and -disheartening undertaking. It will take us three times as long to reach -our destination. I don’t know as I’m in favor of going on in that way.” - -“Why not?” - -“Too much danger.” - -“Not any more danger than there was in the canoe,” objected Sandy. - -“Probably not. But until this moment we haven’t been sure in our own -minds that Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum have taken the offensive. Now -we know. There’s absolutely no question about it. They’ve struck once -and they’ll strike again too. The next time it may be a stray shot that -will get one of us.” - -“What do you mean by a stray shot?” demanded Sandy. - -“If one of us gets killed it might as well be a stray shot, mightn’t it? -I mean, it will be a difficult thing to prove that we were deliberately -fired on and that those two miscreants did the firing.” - -“You propose then to walk back?” - -“Yes, I think it will be safer.” - -“But they can shoot us just as well while we are going through the woods -as they can if we were aboard a raft.” - -“I don’t agree with you there. There’s no better mark that I can think -of then three standing figures on a raft, no obstructions of any kind to -check the progress of a bullet, the best sort of cover along the shore -in which they can hide.” - -“Well, I don’t mind walking,” said Sandy. “But what about our luggage -here? We can’t carry all of that. I’m mighty glad now we left those -tools back there at the island of the dinosaur.” - -“I’d suggest that we make a cache, right here, of what we can not carry. -If we are to travel swiftly, we ought not to pack more than fifty pounds -each. Isn’t that right, Toma?” - -The Indian nodded. “Not more than fifty pounds. That way we travel -quick. Think much better like you say not to pole up river in raft. Next -time Wolf Brennan him not be so easy on us.” - -Sandy suddenly clapped his hands. His face brightened and he laughed -gleefully. - -“Cracky! I’ve just had an inspiration. We’ll beat them at their own -game. We won’t set our course along the river. We’ll go a more -roundabout way and put them off our trail entirely.” - -“But how?” questioned Dick, greatly interested. - -“I just happened to remember,” explained Sandy, “that sixty miles -southwest of here is the Clear Spring River. It’s a large stream, fairly -navigable. On this river, near what is called the Great Heart Portage, -is an old trading post, now deserted, once the headquarters for an -independent fur company. If I remember correctly, Uncle Walter said that -this independent company has been out of business for something like -eight years. But their stores and warehouses are still there. These have -been made over into dwelling houses and are occupied by half-breeds and -Indians during the winter months. If we proceed in a straight line -toward this old trading post, we ought to reach it in two days. When we -arrive there, the chances are, we may find Indians in the vicinity and -may be able to purchase another canoe. If we do, we’ll proceed up the -Clear Spring River to Halstead’s Island, which will bring us about -fifteen miles west of Half Way House.” Sandy paused and regarded Dick -and Toma questioningly. “What do you think of that for a plan?” - -“Good,” declared Toma. - -“I like it very much,” smiled Dick. “It ought to throw Brennan and -McCallum completely off our trail. They’ll be waiting for us somewhere a -short distance up the river and, when we fail to put in an appearance -either by raft or on foot, they won’t know what has become of us. I -doubt if they’ll ever tumble to the fact that we’ve gone over to the -Clear Spring River. When they do come back here to investigate and -stumble upon our trail, we’ll be so far away they won’t be able to -overtake us.” - -While Dick had been talking, Toma paced restlessly back and forth near -the campfire. For some unexplainable reason, he felt uneasy. For several -minutes now, he had been watching closely a thicket of elders as a cat -might watch a mouse. On two different occasions the leaves and branches -of the elders had stirred gently. A light breeze flowed down along the -river valley, yet it was so vagrant and listless that it scarcely could -be felt fanning one’s cheek. Yet he had distinctly seen the elders -moving. His quick eye had noted this and his first thought had been that -possibly a squirrel was playing there. Catching up his rifle, he strode -straight over to the clustered thicket and parted the branches. As he -peered within, for one fleeting moment he was under the impression that -he had caught sight of something brown. Then he heard a stealthy -movement, followed, by the unmistakable crackling of dry branches. - -Pushing his way within the thicket, he paused to listen. He could hear -no further sound. Yet something told him that that fleeting glimpse of -something brown had not been of an animal but of a man—Wolf Brennan or -McCallum! - -He took a few steps forward, critically examining the ground. A barely -audible sound escaped his lips. He stooped quickly over the faint -imprint of a moccasined foot. Satisfied, his suspicions confirmed, he -dashed on through the thicket, emerging at its farther side, just as two -figures topped a low hill not thirty feet ahead. Toma raised his rifle -to his shoulder in a lightning motion, then came a blinding explosion -and the two men ducked their heads as a bullet whistled between them. - -The skulkers did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second. They -dashed down the hill toward the thicker growth just below. Just as they -entered this welcome barrier, a second bullet clipped the leaves above -their heads. - -In the wild scramble that followed, Wolf Brennan lost his hat. Cursing, -he started back for it when still another lead pellet whizzed past, so -close to his face that he thought better of it, turned and plunged on -after his companion. - -Soon afterward, Toma strode back into camp as calmly as if nothing -happened. His expression was reserved and dignified. Except for a faint -sparkle in his eyes, one could never have guessed that only a short time -before he had been so busy. - -“What were you shooting at?” Dick and Sandy demanded. - -The young Indian smiled faintly. - -“A wolf,” he answered. - -“Where did you see it? Pshaw, you’re joking,” accused Sandy. “A wolf! -One seldom sees a wolf during the summer.” - -“I see ’em wolf,” declared Toma, “an’ I shoot at him one, two, three -times.” - -“Yes, we heard you,” said Dick. “Hit him?” - -“I not try very hard. I have lots fun scare that wolf. Wolf no good to -eat unless one pretty near starve. Why for I kill him?” - -“I’d kill a wolf any time I had a chance,” declared Dick. “I hate them.” - -Sandy started to say something, then suddenly paused. Of a sudden his -eyes had grown very round and he stared at Toma as if fascinated. He was -looking straight at the young Indian’s hip pocket. From it a bulky -object protruded. The object was brown and it was a little difficult to -tell just what it was, nevertheless, Sandy had his suspicions. He strode -forward quickly and yanked it from his chum’s pocket. He smoothed it and -held it out for better inspection. - -“Where did you get it?” he demanded. - -At the sharp question, Dick turned and he, too, stood goggling. - -“I no tell you a lie,” Toma explained. “That fellow him wolf all -right—Wolf Brennan.” - -Dick turned pale. “Did you kill him?” he cried in horror. “Tell the -truth, Toma, you didn’t hit him, surely? You wouldn’t do that.” - -“I just tell you I like make ’em run. Wolf Brennan, Toby McCallum do -very fast run back there in the trees,” Toma pointed away in the -direction he had just come. “Mebbe next time them fellows think twice -before they try spy on our camp.” - -For a brief interval, Dick and Sandy grinned over the mental picture of -those two racing figures, but their mirth was short-lived. The same -thought came to each at the same time. - -“I’ll bet they heard what we were talking about,” gasped Sandy. - -“Sure they did,” said Dick. - -“In that case, no use going to Clear Spring River. Might as well go on -the way we planned in the first place”—dolefully. - -“Might as well.” - -Toma, who had been gazing up and down along the shore, suddenly broke -forth: - -“What you think them fellows do with our canoe?” - -“Set it adrift, of course,” grunted Sandy. “It’s probably miles away by -this time. Might even have reached the Lake of Many Islands.” - -Toma rubbed his forehead with a grimy hand. - -“Mebbe not. Mebbe current take it close in to shore an’ that canoe not -very far away this minute.” - -“Possible, I’ll admit,” agreed Dick, “but not very probable. More likely -they took it out here in mid-stream and sunk it.” - -“If you fellow stay here,” suggested Toma, “I very willing to walk back -to see if mebbe I find it.” - -“No,” said Dick, “I wouldn’t want you to do that. I mean it isn’t fair -that you should take all the risks and do all the work, Toma. Let’s toss -a coin to see who goes.” - -It was agreed. They tossed the coin and Dick lost. A few minutes later, -carrying his rifle and a few emergency rations, he waved good-bye to his -two chums and started out. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - DICK FINDS A CANOE. - - -Dick had no definite plan in mind other than to proceed down the river -in search of their missing canoe. As Toma had suggested, there was a -possible chance that the unscrupulous Wolf Brennan and his partner had -set the craft adrift, believing that it would be carried by the current -into the Lake of Many Islands—out of sight and out of reach of their -three young opponents. If this was the plan that Wolf had actually put -into effect, there was still a frail chance for its recovery. It might -have floated out of the main current and subsequently been washed -ashore. If Dick were lucky, he might come upon it. It was a somewhat -hopeless quest yet, under the circumstances, it might be well worth the -effort. - -“I won’t waste more than a few hours,” Dick decided, as he picked his -way along the rock-strewn shore. “If I don’t find it within five miles -from camp, I’ll give up.” - -At the end of an hour, his patience was rewarded. Turning a bend in the -stream, his heart gave a quick leap. Two hundred yards ahead was what -looked to be very much like the thing he sought. It was a canoe—that -much he knew. It was close to shore, drifting idly, round and round a -circular pool on his own side of the river. He emitted a fervid sigh of -satisfaction and relief and bounded forward. Fifty feet from his -objective he stopped short, his breath catching. - -It was not their canoe at all. It was the one in which only the day -before, he had seen Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum pass by the island of -the dinosaur. The realization had come so unexpectedly that, for a time, -Dick was almost too dazed and bewildered to collect his scattered wits. - -So Brennan and his partner had lost their canoe, too? How had that -happened? Had they left it partly in the water and partly on shore, and -had the current succeeded in tugging it away? It seemed probable. The -river played no favorites. - -And then Dick saw something that caused his pulses to leap with -excitement. In the white sand, twenty feet from where the craft was -bobbing idly, were the marks made by the canoe when it had been beached, -and around these marks were the unmistakable imprints of moccasined -feet. - -Dick could not suppress a grin of appreciation. Well-trained canoe that! -A very obliging current! Caught in a net-work of in-shore eddies, moving -round and round in a circle, the canoe was nearly as safe as if it had -been dragged clear of the water and deposited in the white sand along -the beach. - -Coincident with this discovery, there came the realization that he was -treading on dangerous ground. Having left their canoe here, very -naturally the partners would return. Perhaps they already had. For all -Dick knew to the contrary, right at this moment from behind some leafy -ambuscade they might be watching his approach. The thought frightened -him. He paused dead in his tracks, undecided what to do. After the -reception Wolf had received back there at the boys’ camp, it was only -reasonable to suppose that neither of the partners would hesitate about -using their own weapons. On the other hand, if they were still lingering -in the vicinity of the other camp or had paused to rest somewhere, he -would be missing a golden opportunity if caution or the fear of a bullet -kept him from making a closer approach. - -Come to think of it, he was in as much danger here, a mere fifty yards -from his goal, as he would be if he were actually at the side of the -canoe. Already he was within rifle range. But they hadn’t fired. Were -they waiting for him to come just a wee mite closer, or was it really -true that they hadn’t yet arrived upon the scene? - -For a full minute Dick stood there, unable to decide. His heart pounded -like a trip-hammer. Three times he took a step forward and thrice he -stopped short, in panic at the thought of what might happen to him if he -could command the courage to go on. - -And then, almost beside himself from the inactivity and suspense, he -gathered together the fluttering, loose ends of a waning decision, -gritted his teeth, and darted forward. Bounding along at top speed, in a -few seconds he came abreast of the canoe, checked himself, then splashed -out waist-deep into the water and clambered aboard. - -He dropped his rifle, frantically seized one of the paddles and was half -way out into the river before he was sufficiently recovered from his -fright to realize that he had actually made good his escape. Yet he -continued to paddle furiously. Never before had he bucked a current with -such fierce and desperate ardor. He swept round the bend in the river, -perspiration pouring from every pore, working with a dogged, automatic, -machine-like regularity. Seemingly he could not, dare not ease up for -even as much as a split-second. - -On and on he raced. A thin, white line of foam trailed off in his wake. -Now and again in his eager haste, his paddle scooped the water in the -air behind him, where the freshening breeze caught it and whirled it -away. - -He was limp as a rag and utterly spent when he reached camp. Toma and -Sandy, who stood watching him as he glided up to shore, blinked in -amazement. - -He had not the breath to answer their eager questions. He lay back in -the stern, puffing, gasping, while the blood throbbed in his head with -such insistence that for a time he actually believed that his temples -would burst. His vision was somewhat obscured, too. Through a sort of -haze he could perceive Sandy dancing wildly like a jungle savage. - -“Dick, you lucky beggar!” shrieked the suddenly daft and madly plunging -young maniac. “What’s the meaning of this? O boy! Cracky! If you haven’t -turned the tables after all. What a come-back! I’ll bet if either one of -’em had gold teeth you’d have stolen them, too. Where’d you get it?” - -Not yet able to speak intelligently, Dick pointed down the river. - -“You did, eh?” - -Dick nodded. - -“Fight ’em?” Sandy persisted. - -Dick shook his head. - -“Well, that’s too bad. I was hoping that you had left them back there to -nurse a couple of broken heads. Serve ’em right after what they did to -our canoe.” - -Dick sat up, his breathing now less violent. - -“Ju—just what do you mean, Sandy? Have you found it?” - -“You bet we have. Toma and I found it in your absence. It’s not down the -river at all. It’s over there in the brush, just where they carried it -after smashing it up with rocks. We must have slept like logs not to -have heard them.” - -Dick thrust his two arms into the water over the side of the canoe and -commenced to bathe his hot, sweat-streaked face. - -“Well, it doesn’t matter now. We have this.” - -“Yes, thanks to you. What do you say we leave this accursed place before -something else happens? Toma and I can bring over the luggage while you -sit there and rest a bit. You need it. When we saw you first, I’m only -exaggerating a little when I say you were travelling at the rate of -twenty knots an hour.” - -“I’ll admit I was frightened.” - -“You must have been. Next time we want to get a little speed in a pinch, -I’m going to frighten you myself.” - -“Cut out the talking, Sandy, and let’s start. I’m afraid to linger here -much longer. Don’t forget that we’ve stirred up a hornets’ nest by -taking a flying shot at Messrs. Brennan and McCallum, and now have added -insult to injury by appropriating their canoe.” - -“Serves ’em right.” - -“Please——” - -Dick did not finish the sentence. A warning shout from Toma was followed -instantly by a sinister crack of a rifle and the whine of a bullet. The -young Indian came running, carrying part of the luggage. Dazed by the -suddenness of the attack, they could not determine at first from whence -the murderous leaden messenger had come. A second puff of smoke revealed -the place the two outlaws were hiding. Sitting in the canoe, Dick -returned their fire, while Sandy, strangely calm for him, sprang up the -bank to fetch what remained of their provisions. - -When they were ready to embark, the firing had ceased. But it was only a -lull before the storm. Changing their position, this time creeping down -closer to the shore, Wolf Brennan and his companion blazed away at the -speeding, bobbing mark out there in the water. In order to save -themselves, the three boys dropped their paddles and sprawled at full -length in the bottom of the canoe. - -“Whatever you do—keep down!” panted Dick. - -Crack! Crack! Crack! Wood splintered around them. Running wild in the -current now, their craft started down stream. Suddenly, water commenced -pouring in through one side. They were sinking—and drifting as they -sank. Calm though he was, Dick had a feeling that they were -irretrievably lost. The water was like ice, chilling one to the marrow. -The opposite shore was still a long distance away. - -“Be ready!” Dick called sharply. “Swim! Keep under as much as possible!” - -Like a man dying, the canoe gurgled and went down. A bullet spat in the -water where it had been. A yell of triumph sounded from the shore. - -“Dive!” shivered Dick. “We’ll make it!” - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - A BLEAK PROSPECT. - - -Drenched and exhausted, they waded ashore. They wrung the water out of -their dripping garments, eyeing each other soberly. His mouth grim, Toma -turned and waved defiance at their two enemies, who stood watching them -from the opposite side. - -Dick was too overcome, too utterly sick at heart even for speech. His -mind dwelt upon their awful plight. No catastrophe, except death itself, -could have been more terrible. Canoe, supplies, guns—everything they -possessed—had gone to the bottom of the river. In one stroke, fate had -delivered a fearful blow. They were face to face with starvation, that -grimmest of all spectres of the wild. They were two hundred miles from -the nearest trading post—and food. The country through which they must -pass was unsettled, except for roving bands of Indians, and here and -there, probably, a white hunter or prospector. Without rifles, it would -be very difficult to obtain game. They had not even matches with which -to light a fire. - -Standing there, shivering and despondent, Sandy addressed his chums: - -“We’re alive, and that’s about all. An hour ago the odds were in our -favor. Not now. The tables have been turned. The advantage is theirs. At -least, they have rifles and matches.” - -Despondently, they turned out their pockets. Each of the boys had a -hunting knife. Dick had three fish hooks and a line. Sandy produced a -watch, compass, and an emergency kit containing bandages and medicine. -Toma pulled out an odd assortment of articles, including three wire -nails, a mouth-organ, a bottle of perfume, a mirror, and a package of -dried dates. That was all, not counting a small amount of money which -each one carried. - -“The prospect doesn’t look very bright,” sighed Dick. “Fish will have to -keep us alive until we get back to the post. Toma,” he turned eagerly -upon the young Indian, “do you know how to start a fire without -matches?” - -“Yes,” Toma nodded. - -“Well, that will help some. We haven’t any salt to eat with our fish, -but in this sort of emergency I guess we can’t complain. One thing that -pleases me, that makes all this endurable, is that Wolf Brennan and Toby -McCallum are not apt to bother us any more. We’re on opposite sides of -the river, and by the time they can build a raft, we’ll be a good many -miles ahead of them. If you fellows are willing, I’d just as soon walk -all night.” - -“But we can’t walk without food,” Sandy reminded him. “We must stop, -catch a few fish, and make a fire. In time the sun will dry out our -clothing, so we don’t need to worry about that.” - -Toma led the way as they pushed on. It was late when they stopped. Dick -immediately repaired to the river, where he caught four trout. In the -meantime, Sandy watched Toma making a fire. It was a slow process. The -young Indian walked up through the woods, and from the stem of a number -of weeds he gathered a handful of pith. Next he procured dry moss, and, -from the shore of the river, a hard rock about the size of a man’s hand. -Proceeding with these materials to a place sheltered from the wind and -handy to fuel, he squatted down, holding the rock in one hand and his -knife in the other. With the ball of pith on the ground in front of him, -working with incredible speed, he struck knife and rock together, -sending a shower of red sparks upon the inflammable substance below. - -Presently, it began to smoulder. Lying prone, he blew upon it gently. -Delicate, fine pencils of smoke arose, then a tiny flame, no larger than -that made by a match, flamed up from the pith. With a quick motion, -still continuing to blow, Toma sprinkled over his embryo fire a quantity -of dry moss. The little flame rose higher. He added a few tiny twigs and -the outer husks of the weeds, from which he had taken the pith. Within -five minutes their campfire was blazing brightly, and when Dick returned -with the trout, he stood there staring in wonderment. - -“Did you do that, Toma?” - -“Yes, I do ’em.” - -“What with?” Dick inquired curiously. - -“The steel of his hunting knife and an ordinary rock,” explained Sandy. -“Struck them together and made sparks. The sparks ignited a little ball -of fluff he gathered from some weeds in the woods.” - -“That not ordinary rock,” Toma pointed out. “That what Indian call -fire-rock. Make spark easy. Not always you find rock like that. If I use -different kind of rock, it take much longer.” - -When they had eaten their supper, consisting of the four trout, baked -over the fire, they all felt much more cheerful. Dick and Sandy spent an -interesting half-hour receiving instructions in the art of fire making. -Both soon discovered that it was not as easy as it looked. Each made -several futile attempts before he finally succeeded. When they left -camp, setting out upon their lonely night’s journey, much to the young -Indian’s amusement, Dick took the fire-rock with him. - -“We find plenty more rock like that along the river,” Toma told him. -“Why you carry that extra load?” - -“It’s not heavy,” Dick grinned. “Besides it fits nicely into my left -hip-pocket. I don’t intend to take any chances about finding another -rock as good as this. I know I can make a fire with this one and I might -not be so fortunate with some other kind.” - -Toma laughed again as they made their way through the enveloping spring -twilight. The air was exhilarating and the quiet earth was touched with -a solemn beauty. Not a breath of air stirred through the fir and balsam -along the slope. A fragrant earth smell uprose from the rich soil. They -passed shrubs that flamed with white and crimson flowers. Dick became so -impressed with the loveliness of it all that for a time he quite forgot -about their dilemma. Later, when he did remember it, it didn’t seem so -terrible after all. - -“We’ll fool them yet,” he announced cheerily. “If we can manage to get -food as we go along, there’s no reason why we can’t arrive at Half Way -House in time to upset Frazer’s plans.” - -“We must do it,” replied Sandy soberly. - -“It won’t be easy,” warned Dick. - -“I know that. It makes me all the more anxious to succeed. I’m not very -apt to forget this experience for a long time. If the factor really is -up to some underhanded work—and the actions of Brennan and McCallum have -indicated that pretty plainly—I, for one, intend to get to the bottom of -it.” - -“That’s the spirit,” applauded Dick. “We’ll show him. We’ll go till we -drop. If anything happens to one of us, the other two must carry on.” - -They paused at that and shook hands all around. Then they went on more -grimly and doggedly. All night they tramped. When the early morning sun -blazed a new trail across the blue field of the sky, they made a second -camp, started another fire with flint and steel and devoured hungrily, -almost ravenously, the six trout which Dick had the good fortune to -catch in a deep, quiet pool near the shore of the river. - -In catching the trout, Dick had used clams for bait. Watching him, the -operation had given Sandy an idea. He set out along the shore, returning -at the end of an hour with thirty large clams, which he placed in a hole -he had scooped out in the sand. - -“When we’ve had a few hours sleep,” he told Dick and Toma proudly, “I’ll -roast these fellows in the hot ashes and we’ll have a change of diet.” - -“Not a bad idea,” Dick rejoined. “I’m almost hungry enough to eat them -right now.” - -They slept longer than they had intended. It was late afternoon when -they awoke. The warm sun, beating down upon their tired bodies, had kept -them as warm and comfortable as if they had been wrapped in blankets. So -refreshed were they when they had clambered up from their couches of -white sand that Toma was moved to remark: - -“Not bad idea to sleep daytime an’ travel night. At night fellow sleep -by campfire with no blankets get cold. No rest good.” - -“True,” agreed Dick. “We’ll do most of our travelling at night. Wish I -knew what time it was. Too bad the water spoiled Sandy’s watch. By the -look of that sun, I’d say it was about three o’clock in the afternoon.” - -Toma squinted up at it and shook his head. - -“Five o’clock,” he corrected. “Soon as we get something to eat, better -tramp some more. Dick, you give ’em me fishhook and line an’ mebbe by -time you an’ Sandy get fire ready an’ bake clams, I catch some more -fish.” - -Toma had better luck even than Dick. A few minutes before the clams were -baked, he appeared upon the scene with eight speckled beauties, none of -which weighed less than two pounds. They cleaned and baked them all, -wrapped up five in Dick’s moose-hide coat, made a pack of it, and -started out upon their journey. - -They went jubilantly. It was many hours before the sun swung down toward -the northwestern horizon. Just as the twilight waned and the half-night -of the Arctic dropped its mantle over the earth, Toma, who was twenty -yards in the lead, suddenly stopped short and threw up his hands, -shouting for his two companions to hurry. When they reached his side, he -pointed down at the loose sand at his feet. - -“Go—ood Heavens!” stammered Dick. - -In the sand, plainly distinguishable, were the imprints of naked human -feet. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - BREEDS DON’T COUNT. - - -Who made those naked footprints in the sand? For hours afterward the -boys puzzled over it, but could come to no satisfactory conclusion. -Indians, as they well knew, seldom went barefoot. If, on the other hand, -the tracks had been made by a white man, who was he and from whence had -he come? Though they searched long and diligently for the remains of a -campfire or other evidences of the stranger’s presence, none was to be -found. The tracks could be followed for a distance of nearly a quarter -of a mile along the shore, after which they turned away from the river -and became lost in the thick moss that carpeted the woods. - -Nor could they pick up the tracks again. Toma, whom nature and training -had specially fitted for this kind of work, was forced to admit, -finally, that even he was baffled. Given a little more time, he believed -that he could find other imprints, but inasmuch as Sandy and Dick chafed -at the delay already caused by the mysterious, barefoot stranger, he -decided to concur with popular sentiment and try to think no more about -it. - -But it was not thus to be dismissed so lightly. The passing of time -seemed only to add fresh interest to the puzzle. During the next two -days it was the popular topic of discussion. New theories were advanced -by one or other of the boys, argued over sometimes for hours, then -relegated to the limbo of dead and forgotten things. - -On the morning of the third day, however, while travelling over a rough -section of country near the winding, interminable river, Dick was -reminded again of the tracks. His own toes had worn through his -moccasins. There was a hole about the size of a silver dollar in each -one of his heels. In another day or so, he, too, would be walking -barefoot, much as he dreaded to think of it, making those peculiar and -tragic marks in the sand. - -He glanced over at Sandy’s moccasins and noted with a sinking of the -heart that his were even in worse condition than his own. Toma’s were in -better shape, but also very badly worn. Soon they must all endure the -torture of going unshod, or else cut up their moosehide coats and make -new footgear. - -None of the three wanted to part with his coat. The nights were often -chilly and it would be a positive hardship to do without them. - -“I’d almost as soon go barefoot,” declared Sandy. - -“Yes, I know,” Dick’s face clouded, “but do you think we can endure -these forced marches if our feet are cut and bruised? Mine are beginning -to cause me untold suffering now. You, Sandy, are limping. No! Don’t try -to deny it. I’ve been watching you. A few more bruises, a few more -scratches and cuts, and we won’t be able to walk five miles a day. You -may not have noticed it, but already we have begun to slacken down. I -don’t believe we made more than eighteen miles yesterday. We put in the -hours but we don’t seem to get the results. I’ll admit that it’s tough -going through here, but we won’t find anything better until we reach the -seventh portage.” - -“I know it,” sighed the other. “Yet I hate to part with my coat. -Say—where in the dickens has Toma gone?” - -“I saw him around here only a few minutes ago,” Dick answered -absent-mindedly, still absorbed with the pressing problem of footgear. - -“No, you didn’t,” his chum flatly contradicted. “He’s been away a long -time now—over an hour, I’m sure. I’m beginning to worry about him.” - -“Probably away somewhere getting fish for breakfast,” Dick decided. - -“He’s done that already.” - -“You couldn’t lose that restless scamp if you tried, so stop worrying.” - -“I can’t help it,” grumbled Sandy. - -Dick suddenly sat up straight, the perplexed lines vanishing from his -forehead. - -“Say, I’ll bet I know. He’s gone off to snare rabbits. He’s been -complaining a lot lately about our fish diet. I recall now that when we -were walking along together early this morning he informed me that at -our next stop he intended to set out some snares.” - -“Don’t blame him one bit. I’m tired of this fish diet myself. Every time -I wake up, I examine my body to see if I haven’t started to grow -scales.” - -Dick laughed. “Fish are called brain-food, Sandy. Don’t forget that. By -the time we reach Half Way House, we’ll all be very learned and wise.” - -“I much prefer to wallow along in ignorance,” Sandy retorted. “I hate -fish. When we get home I never want to see another. Lately, about all I -can think about is flapjacks and coffee and thick slices of white bread -with a top covering of butter. Last night, or to be more exact, -yesterday afternoon while I slept, I dreamed that Uncle Walter had just -received one of those big plum puddings from England and that he made me -a present of the whole of it.” - -Sandy paused to moisten his lips. - -“I never had such a vivid dream,” he went on. “At one sitting I ate the -whole of it. It had dates and raisins in it, and currants and nuts, and -there was a rich sauce that I kept pouring over it and—yum, yum—” - -“Stop! Stop!” Dick shouted, vainly trying to shut out the appetizing -picture. “You can tell the rest of that some other time when I’m in a -better condition to appreciate it.” - -“Well, if you won’t listen to me,” Sandy said aggrievedly, “I’m going to -curl up here in the sun and go to sleep. Maybe I’ll dream about another -plum pudding.” - -“Think I’ll roll in too,” said Dick, smiling at the idiom. - -_Sans_ blankets or covering of any kind, even a coat, there was, of -course, nothing to roll into. One simply stretched out in the sunshine, -covered one’s face with a handkerchief to keep away the flies and fell -away into deep slumber. He felt particularly tired today and decided -that, as soon as Toma returned, he’d follow Sandy’s example. He lay -back, his arms pillowed under his head, watching a few widely scattered -fleecy clouds floating lazily along under the deep blue field of the -sky. - -He did not hear the young Indian steal quietly into camp more than two -hours later, having fallen asleep in spite of himself. But when he did -recover consciousness, Toma was the first person his eyes lighted upon. -The Indian was standing less than twenty feet away, his back toward him, -and he was busily absorbed in feeding a freshly-kindled fire. Something -unusual about the native boy’s appearance immediately attracted Dick’s -attention. He saw what it was. Toma, apparently, had rolled up his -moose-hide trousers and had gone wading for clams. From his ankles to -his knees his legs were bare. - -“Did you get any clams, Toma?” Dick inquired sleepily. “How long have -you been back? Why didn’t you wake me, Toma?” - -The young Indian answered none of Dick’s questions. However, he smiled -somewhat sheepishly as he turned around and faced his chum. Then Dick -gave utterance to a prolonged exclamation of genuine astonishment. His -eyes widened perceptibly. He sat up very quickly, contemplating Toma as -one might contemplate a man from Mars. - -“What in blue blazes have you done with the bottom of your pants?” -gasped Dick. - -“I cut ’em off,” answered Toma, flushing. - -“Yes, I see you have—but why?” - -By way of explanation, and not without a touch of the Indian’s native -dignity, he strode over to a pile of driftwood and fished out of it two -new moccasins. Excellent work, Dick could see at a glance; moccasins of -which anyone might have been proud. - -“Sew ’em all same like squaw,” said Toma. - -“But you had no needle.” - -“Make ’em needle out of stick,” came the prompt reply. - -“But what about the sinew, Toma? You had no thread. How could you sew -without thread?” - -Toma hung his head. He hated to make this admission, but the truth must -come out. Toma was always truthful. - -“I use part of fish-line,” he explained. - -“Part of the fish-line?” gurgled Dick. - -“Yes, I use ’em part of the fish-line.” - -“Well, I must admit that you made _good_ use of it. There is really more -than we require anyway. I’m glad for your sake, Toma. Who, beside -yourself, would ever have thought of a stunt like that? They’ll come in -mighty handy for you, of course, but won’t you feel cold, Toma? When the -winds are chilly I’m afraid you’ll suffer.” - -Toma shook his head, bit his lips and stared very hard at some imaginary -object across the river. It was plain that he was keenly embarrassed and -quite at a loss to know what to say. Finally, he found the words that he -had been vainly striving for and quickly blurted them out: - -“Dick, I no can stand it any longer to see Sandy all time limp. Mebbe -two, three more days Sandy sit down and feet swollen so bad not walk any -farther.” - -He gulped, averted his eyes, then tossed the result of his handiwork -over at the sleeper’s side. Dick took in the little tableau, feeling -suddenly very sick and mean and miserable and selfish. He did not try to -hide the tears that came into his eyes. Through a sort of mist he saw -Sandy’s blurred form stretched out there on the sand. Then he glanced at -Toma, who looked very ludicrous and silly standing there in his -abbreviated trousers, the cool night wind blowing over his bare legs. - -At that instant there popped into his mind the sarcastic utterance of -one Toby McCallum: - -“Breeds don’t count!” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - A HUMAN GORILLA. - - -Neither that day nor the following did the boys succeed in getting a -single trout. It was an unforeseen calamity and they were wholly -unprepared for it. At first, they could not understand it. They knew -that the river teemed with fish. Up to this time, they had had no -trouble in catching all they had required. That blazing hot noon when -Sandy returned to camp empty-handed and reported that not one member of -the countless schools of trout and white-fish, that literally darkened -the stream, would rise to his bait, Dick could not believe his ears. - -“You couldn’t have tried very hard, Sandy,” he chided him. “Here, give -me that line. You never were much of a fisherman, that is the trouble -with you. You haven’t the patience, Sandy.” - -The young Scotchman relinquished the line, his eyes stormy. - -“I’ll admit I’m no fisherman,” he blurted, “but please don’t tell me -that I didn’t try, because I did, or that I haven’t the patience because -I have. I’ve caught nearly as many trout on this trip as you have. But -they aren’t biting today at all. I think the river must be bewitched.” - -Dick smiled knowingly and confidently, unsheathed his hunting knife and -cut a long alder pole. Then, winking at Toma, he hurried over to the -river, sure in his belief that he’d show Sandy a thing or two about the -gentle art of fishing. - -He baited his hook and cast his line. Repeatedly he whipped the swift -water, grinning. In a moment he’d feel that sharp tug, experience that -old familiar thrill. Poor Sandy! At best, he was only a half-hearted -fisherman, had never learned to love the sport, had never entered into -it with the enthusiasm and spirit that made for proficiency. The minute -passed, but he was not discouraged. Back and forth his line flipped over -the water. The smile left his face. He scowled, swung in his line, -walked fifty or sixty yards upstream and tried again. - -An hour—two hours—he was very grim now, but he just couldn’t give up. -There were fish here. He must get fish. They had no other food except -clams and it was not possible to get many of them. Good Lord, what would -happen if their one heretofore unfailing source of sustenance were cut -off? Following their long tramp that previous night, they were all weak -from hunger. He was so famished right now that he could even relish -eating a dead crow. Despondently, he sat down on a rock, still whipping -the water. A shadow appeared from behind him and he heard a voice: - -“What’s the matter, Dick? No catch ’em one yet?” - -Dick turned his head. He looked up into Toma’s serious face and gulped -down a lump in his throat. - -“I don’t understand it. I don’t understand it!” he wailed. - -The young Indian regarded the river with a sober, thoughtful face. - -“Long time I been ’fraid about this,” he sighed. “All the time I hope -mebbe I’m wrong. River too swift here to get many fish. No pools along -here. Trout keep in central current an’ hurry on to better feeding place -down the river.” - -“So that’s the reason. But, Toma, what are we going to do? We must eat, -somehow, and for nearly thirty miles the river is just like this. Is it -starvation? Has it come to that?” - -“Mebbe not starve, but get mighty hungry.” - -“Perhaps we could kill a few birds with stones,” Dick suggested -hopefully. - -“I know better plan than that. We do like Indians before white men come. -I make ’em bows an’ arrows. Only trouble is we no shoot straight at -first.” - -“But what about the strings for our bows?” - -“We use fish-line.” - -Dick slid off the rock, his expression more hopeful. - -“All right, let’s set to work. I’ll help you, Toma. We’ll eat birds for -dinner, squirrels—anything! Perhaps we might even be lucky enough to get -a rabbit. If we don’t find something to eat pretty soon we’ll——” - -The words died in his throat. On that instant back at camp, Sandy let -out a scream—a ringing, pulsating, vibrant, piercing scream of terror. -Looking back, they perceived Sandy tearing along toward them, arms and -legs swinging, hat gone and the loose sides of his unbuttoned jacket -billowing up in the wind. - -While Dick stood there, wondering what it was all about, Toma stooped -swiftly then straightened up, a rock in either hand, his cheeks the -color of yellow parchment. At that moment, Dick caught sight of the -apparition himself. His eyes popped and unconsciously he made a queer, -choking noise in his throat. A thing that looked like a beast and yet, -somewhat resembled a man, was making its way slowly down the steep bank -toward their campfire. The horrible creature’s face was covered with a -long black beard and the hair of his head straggled down over his eyes -and fluffed out in a sinuous black wave around his shoulders. - -It was a man undoubtedly—but what a man! A skin of some sort had been -wrapped and tied around his torso, but both his arms and legs were quite -naked. In every sense—a wild man. His huge frame supported bulging -muscles. His chest expanded like a barrel. He walked with a gliding -motion. His head rotated from side to side and, during the breathless -silence that followed Sandy’s arrival, they could hear him clucking and -grunting to himself. - -The three boys waited there, rigid with terror. Never before had they -seen a wild man. His awful appearance, his constant gibbering, his -bobbing head and fearful eyes reminded Dick of gorillas and huge hairy -apes, whose pictures he had often studied in his natural history book at -school. When the hideous creature had turned from a momentary inspection -of their campfire and commenced gliding toward them, with one accord -they shrieked and fled. - -They had no thought of their sore feet now, neither were they aware of -the incessant, gnawing pains of hunger. In a great crisis of this sort, -the mind has a peculiar tendency to become wholly subjective to the -feelings of instinct. Instinct inherited from a thousand generations of -jungle-prowling ancestors, told them to flee—and they fled. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - BOWS AND ARROWS. - - -Soon they headed away from the shore into the thickets of willow and -jack-pine and began to climb the ascent that led away from the river, up -and up, until right ahead they could see the somber, interminable green -of the forest. It was cool here, a welcome coolness after the stiff -climb. They were all panting for breath, fearful lest the wild man be -still in pursuit of them. None of the boys wanted to meet him, cared -about engaging in a hand to hand fight with that gorilla-like monster. -So, plunging in the forest, they continued on, leaving the river far -behind. At the end of a half hour, they swung south, guided by the sun, -and continued their difficult journey in the direction of Half Way -House. - -When Dick felt perfectly sure that they were no longer being followed, -he called a halt and brought up the subject closest to all of them. - -“What about something to eat?” he inquired. “This will never do. We must -eat. Toma, let’s put your plan into execution.” - -“You mean ’em bows and arrows? All right, you get ’em fish-line.” - -Dick handed it to him. With his hunting knife the young Indian set to -work, cutting and fashioning the bows, while Dick and Sandy sharpened -some straight sticks for arrows. Under Toma’s instructions, they tufted -one end of each arrow with some tough, fibrous bark the young Indian -found for them. In a little less than twenty minutes they were ready. -Walking at a distance of about one hundred yards apart and, still moving -south, they commenced to hunt. - -Dick was not very hopeful. The first bird he saw, a bird that resembled -a king-fisher, he shot at and missed. Five minutes later, his heart -landed up in his throat as a rabbit scurried into his path and, for the -second time he bent his bow and again he missed. He missed a squirrel -that ran up a tree in front of him. Recovering his arrows each time, he -took five shots at the squirrel and in the end lost sight of it. Every -minute he was becoming more discouraged and more hungry. The arrows -never went just where he expected. Usually, he was a foot or two wide of -his mark, whether that mark was moving or stationary. After what seemed -like an hour, he pressed over more to his right to discover if either of -the others had had any better luck. There he found Sandy. - -“How are you getting on?” he inquired eagerly. - -Sandy turned his head. No need to ask him how he had fared. The -discouraged lines in his face told the story. His words confirmed it. - -“Dick, I’ve seen two rabbits and three grouse and I failed to get any of -them. Think I’m too excited and eager. What did you get?” - -“Nothing!” Dick’s eyes were tragic. - -The young Scotchman averted his face. - -“Cripes!” he choked. - -When he turned toward Dick again the latter experienced a momentary -feeling of utter discouragement and despair. Slow starvation—had it come -to that? He noticed how gaunt and drawn his chum’s face was. - -“Every minute that we have to spare, we must practice with these bows -and arrows, Sandy,” Dick told him. “It’s our only salvation. In time -we’ll grow expert in their use. I had a chance once to take up archery -and now I wish I had.” - -They heard a shout near at hand. The bushes parted and Toma plunged -forward to join them. Toma was carrying something. What was it? Staring, -Sandy suddenly let out a whoop and bounded forward to meet him. - -“A porcupine!” he shouted. “Dick, Dick, come here! A porcupine and two -rabbits! Thank God for that.” - -Dick merely stood there, gasping—doubting the evidence of his own -senses. A queer feeling swept through him. It was not merely joy at the -successful outcome of their hunt, but a feeling of relief, of tension -relaxed. The future did not look quite so dark now. With food they could -make it. Good old Toma! Faithful ever, a wonderful help in time of -stress or emergency. - -All the boys contended that they had never tasted anything so good as -that porcupine, which they roasted, Indian fashion, over the fire. When -they had eaten they were actually happy. For nearly an hour Toma -instructed them in the use of their bows and arrows. Then they sat down -to decide what to do next. - -“I don’t know what would be the best plan,” puzzled Dick, “keep on as -we’re doing or retrace our steps to the river. What would you boys -suggest?” - -“Go back to the river,” answered Toma unhesitatingly. - -“But why?” asked Dick. - -“Follow the river,” explained Toma, “an’ then no chance we get lost. Bad -to get lost now without grub, blankets. Pretty soon all our clothes wear -out. What we do then?” - -“Yes, that’s true,” agreed Dick. “There’s no danger of getting lost if -we follow the river. The only thing I was thinking of, will we find as -much game in the river valley as we will up here?” - -“Not much difference,” returned Toma. “Hunting pretty much the same -everywhere. It’s like what you call ’em—luck. If we lucky we see many -things to shoot. If not see ’em, no luck. ’Nother thing, by an’ by, -fishing get good again.” - -Seeing the wisdom in all that Toma had said, they returned to the river -valley without discussing the matter further. After partaking of the -porcupine they had become more optimistic and were determined now to -push on to their destination more hurriedly. It was agreed that not only -would they walk all that night, but part of the next day before they -made camp. They had still some of the roasted porcupine and rabbit, so -it would not be necessary to stop long for lunch. - -An hour later, breaking through a willow thicket, they perceived the -slope leading to the river, descended it and continued along the shore. -Occasionally, while they were marching, Dick and Sandy would test their -marksmanship by firing at some object ahead, picking up the arrow again -when they reached it. The interminable twilight of the Arctic made this -possible and it was not long before each of the boys began to note a -decided improvement in his marksmanship. - -The feet of the three adventurers grew more sore and swollen through the -passing of the hours. Yet they pushed doggedly on. They had walked so -much that the action had become mechanical. Sometimes they plodded ahead -with eyes half-closed, nearly asleep. The twilight faded and the day -sprang forth. The gray morning mist lifted from the river. A hot sun -threw its slanting rays across the strip of white sand along which the -boys were proceeding. - -Suddenly, Toma who was in the lead, stopped quickly, called sharply to -his two chums and pointed ahead. - -“Look!” he shouted. - -On their side of the river, less than a quarter of a mile away, gently -eddying among the tops of the spruce and balsam, were thin spirals of -smoke. - -“A campfire!” shrieked Sandy in wonder. “Oh boy, we’re in luck! Maybe we -can get help—a canoe or a gun.” - -Unmindful of his great weariness and tortured feet, he had started out -on a dead run, when Dick called to him sharply. - -“Just a minute, Sandy. Not so fast. It may be Wolf Brennan and Toby -McCallum.” - -Sandy stopped dead in his tracks. - -“What’s that? Are you mad? If they had come up the river, we’d have seen -them.” - -“I’m not so sure. They might have passed us while we slept, or yesterday -when we were in the woods after that experience with the wild man. One -can never be too sure, Sandy. Our best plan is not to rush that camp, to -make sure who they are before we let ourselves be seen.” - -“That is right, Dick,” agreed Toma. “Brennan an’ McCallum very bad; also -very clever fellow. No tell just where they may be now.” - -Sandy, quick to see the wisdom propounded by his two friends, nodded in -agreement while he waited for them to come up. They left the flat, sandy -shore, where they could easily be seen, and proceeded thereafter through -the jack-pine and willows farther up along the slope. Inside of twenty -minutes they had approached to within a short distance of the place -where the smoke was ascending. - -At first they could see no one. They waited in a breathless inactivity. -The brush was very thick and, from where they crouched, the boys could -see only the light streamers of smoke drifting up from among a heavy -copse of willow. Indeed, to determine who might be sitting around the -campfire, the boys soon saw that it would be necessary to creep even -closer. This they did not care to do for fear that the sound of their -light movement might be detected. If only one of the campers would rise -up behind that brush. For ten long minutes they waited, undecided -whether to take the chance or not, For ten long minutes they watched the -smoke rising, curling and eddying up through the trees. Putting his -hands to his lips, Dick rose stealthily and tiptoed forward another -twenty feet, this time more to the right. Then through a narrow opening -in the thicket he caught sight of a kneeling form which he recognized -instantly. It was McCallum! And as McCallum put up a hand and leaned to -one side to evade a momentary puff of smoke from the fire, he saw Wolf -Brennan and another man. The third person sat in such a position that -Dick caught only his profile and so did not immediately recognize him. - -Even when this third person did present a better view, Dick pondered -over his identity. There was something vaguely familiar about him. Where -had he seen him? A repulsive looking man, heavily bearded with deep-set, -staring eyes. His flannel shirt, open at the neck, revealed a hairy, -bear-like chest. The man was huge and muscular. One more look, then Dick -sat down, gasping. A slow flush mounted his cheeks. He knew now. It was -the wild man! - - - - - CHAPTER X. - TOMA’S DARING PLAN. - - -“Can’t be!” gasped Sandy. - -“I tell you it is! The wild man. With McCallum and Brennan.” - -The young Scotchman sank down to a sitting position, staring across at -Dick. Just then he had no words to voice his astonishment. But not so -Toma. - -“What’s that you tell ’em Sandy an’ me? This fellow look like crazy man -now wear clothes? Sit there an’ talk McCallum an’ Brennan like he got -some sense after all?” - -“Yes, that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you.” - -“No believe.” - -“Slip over there then and see for yourself. It’s true, Toma. He looks -different now, but it’s the same person undoubtedly.” - -The young Indian still shook his head in unbelief as he crawled forward -to the place Dick had recently vacated. For several minutes he crouched -there, his eyes on the three men, then cautiously returned. - -“Am I right?” demanded Dick. - -“You say right. It is that fellow. He no more crazy than you an’ me. He -look like wild man, that’s all. I think mebbe Wolf Brennan tell him come -over dress like that to make us big scare.” - -“That’s what I think.” - -Sandy caught at Dick’s arm. - -“Well,” he said nervously, “let’s get away from here before we’re -discovered.” - -Dick did not reply. His face was serious, absorbed. He was thinking -deeply. - -“Let’s get out of here,” Sandy insisted. “Remember, Dick, they’re armed -and we aren’t.” - -“Just a moment, Sandy. It’s just occurred to me that these men must have -a canoe or craft of some kind. I’ve been wondering if it wouldn’t be -possible to get it away from them a little later when they fall asleep. -If we can successfully put such a plan into effect, it won’t take us -long to get to Half Way House.” - -Toma emphatically nodded his head. - -“Yes, if they got canoe, we try get it.” - -Sandy brightened visibly. - -“I’m willing to take the chance,” he said. “This constant walking has -begun to tell upon us all. We have still a long way to go. Yes, I’m -willing to take the chance,” he repeated eagerly. - -It was hot where the three boys sat. The sun, now directly overhead, -beat down upon them with fierce, penetrating insistence. Not a breath of -wind stirred along the river valley. Dick wiped away the beads of -moisture that stood out upon his face and commenced fanning himself with -his broad-rimmed hat. - -“First of all we must find out for certain whether they have a canoe,” -he pointed out. “If they have, it’s probably hid in the brush near the -river. We must try to find out exactly where it is.” - -Sandy nodded his head. - -“Do you suppose there is any chance that the three of them will take a -nap?” he inquired. - -“Extremely likely,” rejoined Dick. “From what I can make out, they’re -preparing their mid-day meal now. After they have eaten, they’ll do -either one of two things, embark on their journey again immediately or -sit around and rest for an hour or two. I’m very much inclined to the -latter view. Unlike ourselves, they’re in no hurry to return to Half Way -House. They’ve been sent out here to watch us. No doubt, they think that -after the scare we received yesterday, we’re still up in the woods.” - -“I shouldn’t wonder,” Sandy half grinned. - -“You think we better try get gun as well as canoe?” Toma asked. - -“That depends a good deal upon circumstances. I mean, we’ll get one if -we can do it without taking too much of a chance.” - -“You suggest waiting here then until we find out what they’re going to -do?” - -Dick nodded. “We’re as safe here as anywhere.” - -“Let’s creep a little closer,” suggested Toma. - -“No, we’d better stay here. In these bushes they can’t see us. If we’re -quiet, they can’t hear us either.” - -During the interval of deep silence that followed, they could hear quite -distinctly the voices of the three men. Occasionally, too, there came to -their ears the rattle of a kettle or the clatter of a spoon. The -ascending streamers of smoke thinned gradually and finally disappeared. -Now and again, Wolf Brennan’s harsh laugh fell across the quiet air. - -The minutes slipped by. Dick began to wonder if they would never cease -talking. The drone of their voices continued on unintermittingly, for an -hour or more, before the sequestered camp became quiet. Not until then -did Dick turn and motion to his companions. - -“Now’s our chance,” he whispered. “Toma, you and Sandy follow me down -along the shore of the river and we’ll try to find that canoe. We must -take our time. In case they hear us we’ll make a break for the trees and -climb the slope.” - -Moving slowly, cautiously, Dick led the way down to the river. They were -glad when they reached the belt of white sand. Their footsteps could not -be heard here. They proceeded about fifty yards, to a point just below -the place where the three men were camped. Though they looked up along -the bank eagerly, they had seen no trace of the outlaws’ craft. But -presently, Toma moved closer to Dick, nudging him in the elbow. - -“I see it,” he breathed. - -“Where?” - -The young Indian pointed. “Right there,” he said. - -Dick’s heart nearly stood still. The canoe was farther up the bank than -he had expected. The three men had carried it within thirty feet of the -place where they had built their fire. Its graceful lines standing out -sharply against the background of green brush—never had the boys looked -upon anything they wanted so much and yet which seemed so unattainable. -Even if Wolf Brennan and his two unprepossessing companions were -sleeping soundly, how could they ever contrive to creep up there -unheard, pick up the canoe and make their way back to the river? - -It would be a terrible risk. Careful though they might be, it would be -almost impossible to secure the prize without arousing the sleepers. -Disheartened, the boys crouched down close to the bank. - -“Guess we’ll have to give it up,” murmured Sandy, “We’ll lose our lives -in the attempt.” - -Dick groaned. “And when they wake up, they’ll start up the river again -and we’ll probably never have another chance.” - -As he spoke, he looked at Toma and noticed a sudden sparkle of -determination in the young Indian’s eyes. Toma had become excited, -restless. His hands moved along the edge of the bank nervously. - -“Tell you what we do,” he proposed. “I have plan. Listen, Dick. You two -fellows stay here. Keep down close to bank so they no see you. While you -do that I circle round through the trees an’ come down on them from -above, making loud noise. Pretty soon I wake ’em up. I try keep hid. By -an’ by, them fellows think mebbe it’s a bear an’ come up an’ try find -it. Soon they do that, you, Sandy run up quick, get canoe.” - -“And leave you in the lurch,” protested Sandy. “I guess not. You’ll get -a bullet for your pains.” - -Toma shook his head. “No ’fraid of that. I keep plenty hid alla time. -Pretty soon them fellows give up an’ go back to camp.” - -“But what will you do?” inquired Dick. - -“I keep right on till I come to bend in river. You an’ Sandy be watch, -look for me alla time an’ soon I come down to shore you paddle in an’ -pick me up.” - -Dick’s face grew instantly grave. - -“The plan might or might not work,” he decided. “Supposing, Toma, that -only one or two of them leave camp. How do you know they’ll all follow -you?” - -“I not know that,” the young Indian admitted. “But pretty good chance -they all come when I make noise.” - -“But if only two should follow you, what will we do?” persisted Dick. - -“Mebbe you get chance to get canoe anyway. If one fellow stay at camp, -he very much like to know what other two fellow do, what you call ’em, -he be excite. He keep look up that way. Then mebbe you an’ Sandy creep -up close behind him with club an’ knock him down.” - -Dick’s breath caught. He and Sandy were staring questioningly and a -little wildly into each other’s eyes. - -Toma persisted. “What you say ’bout that?” - -“I couldn’t do it, Dick,” Sandy exploded. “There’s something sneaky and -cowardly about creeping up and knocking a man down with a club. I just -can’t do it. I can’t!” - -“He try same by you,” the young Indian scowled. “What for you not do it -to him?” - -“If we had a rope,” said Dick, “we might grab him and tie him up.” - -Toma’s face fell. “Why we talk ’bout that now? Mebbe all three follow -me. It’s only chance I see to get canoe.” - -“All right,” Dick suddenly came to a decision. “We’ll risk it. We’ve -delayed long enough now. Get busy, Toma, and carry out your plan just as -you’ve told it to us.” - -The Indian’s sober features lighted into a broad smile. Swinging about -without further preliminary, he broke into a dog-trot, then, twenty -yards further down the shore, turned and began making his way up the -steep embankment. The boys watched him for a while, whereupon they -turned and looked at each other, their cheeks flushed with excitement. -Dick reached over quickly and laid his right hand on Sandy’s shaking -shoulder. - -“We’re in for it now,” he said. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - A CANOE AT LAST. - - -The first intimation Dick and Sandy had that Toma had arrived opposite -the outlaws’ camp was when they saw Wolf Brennan spring to his feet, -rifle in hand, and call sharply to his two friends. Immediately after -that, a crackling in the brush, made by Toma, came to their ears. - -“A moose!” shouted Wolf Brennan, pointing. - -The other two, disturbed from their slumbers, scrambled to a place -beside Brennan, their attitudes that of tense watching. - -Breathless with excitement, Dick wondered if Toma’s ruse would work. The -three men stood there immobile as three statues. The crackling noise up -along the slope continued. Finally, when the boys had begun to believe -that the outlaws were too clever for them, Wolf Brennan turned upon his -two compatriots, growling: - -“Toby, yuh stay here while me and Willison take a run up there tuh see -what’s up. All ready, Willison, grab your gun.” - -Willison obeyed implicitly, following Wolf Brennan up along the slope to -the first ridge on the ascent. Toby McCallum, one hand against a tree, -stood and watched them depart. Dick nudged Sandy. - -“Now!” he whispered tersely. “You drag down the canoe while I attend to -McCallum.” - -They clambered up the low embankment, moving swiftly and quietly. -Reaching the canoe, Sandy paused while Dick gathering momentum, leaped -straight over a low barricade of scraggy brush and hurled himself -straight at his adversary. - -Turning in time to see Dick leaping for him, McCallum instinctively -raised one arm to ward off the attack. However, this defensive action -came too late. With all his weight behind it, Dick struck McCallum in a -flying tackle just above the knees. The outlaw crashed down like a sack -of wheat. He was somewhat stunned by the impact of the fall, but, even -then, tried to reach out for his rifle, lying on the ground barely two -feet away. - -In the meantime, perceiving both Dick and McCallum struggling on the -ground, locked in each other’s arms, Sandy dropped the bow of the canoe -and hurried to the rescue. Just as Dick succeeded in pinioning -McCallum’s arms under him, Sandy caught up the outlaw’s gun. - -“Quick, Dick!” he shouted. “I’ve got it.” - -Dick released his hold and staggered to his feet. - -“Glad you came, Sandy,” he panted. “McCallum, lay right there,” he -ordered savagely, “if you know what’s good for you.” - -While Sandy covered their prisoner, Dick stooped and unbuckled the -cartridge belt from around McCallum’s waist, placed it about his own, -then took the rifle from Sandy’s trembling hands. - -“Hurry, Sandy!” he blurted. “Go over and pull down that canoe. I’ll -watch McCallum here until you’re ready.” - -The prospector’s face was livid with rage and humiliation as Sandy -departed. Suddenly, to Dick’s surprise, he opened his mouth and shouted -at the top of his voice. It was a warning, clarion call that echoed and -re-echoed through that quiet forest place. - -Dick’s cheeks blanched. “Yell all you like,” he told McCallum. “We’ll -get away just the same.” - -From his position there on the ground, the outlaw glared up, his face -crimson with fury, and broke into a torrent of abusive oaths. - -“Yuh’ll pay for this,” he snarled. “Yuh ain’t got safe back tuh Half Way -House yet. It’ll take a hull lot more than one canoe and one rifle tuh -get yuh there. Remember that.” - -“Yes, I’ll remember it,” said Dick tensely, “and I’ll be on the lookout -for you too.” - -“Yuh better,” growled the other. - -Dick did not reply. Out of the corner of one eye he was watching Sandy’s -progress toward the shore. The moment the canoe slid across the belt of -yellow sand, he addressed himself to McCallum. - -“If you get off the ground before I reach the river, I’ll take a -pot-shot at you,” he threatened. “We’re desperate—and I mean business. -Just try it if you like.” - -Evidently McCallum took Dick at his word, for he did not so much as move -a muscle as Dick sped down to the shore where Sandy awaited him. He -jumped into the canoe and Sandy pushed off. Putting down his rifle, he -seized one of the oars and began paddling frantically. The canoe rocked -and swayed as it darted over the water. Spray dashed up around them. -They swept into the central channel, desperately bucking the swift -current. It was a race against death. Any moment now Wolf Brennan would -return and commence firing from shore. In the glare of the sun, the -river roared about them. They paddled as they had never paddled before. -The shoreline gradually receded. On and on they swept. Perspiration -poured out upon their foreheads and trickled into their eyes. Their -breath struggled in their throats. - -Zip! A bullet whistled between them and spat viciously into the water. -Crack! A puff of smoke from shore, and Dick’s paddle leaped out of his -hands, punctured by a speeding pellet of destruction. - -With a quick, convulsive movement of his arm, Dick retrieved his paddle -and as he did so he caught a glimpse of three figures running along the -shore. - -“Make for the opposite side!” he screeched to Sandy. “We must get out of -rifle range.” - -“But Toma—” faltered Sandy. - -“He’ll look after himself. Quick, Sandy!” His own paddle clove the water -again just as a third bullet whistled above their heads. - -In a few minutes more their danger perceptibly decreased. The fire from -the two on shore was now going more wide of its mark. Soon it ceased -altogether. They were close to the opposite shore now, still paddling -desperately. - -“Dick, I can’t stand this pace much longer,” Sandy gasped - -“All right, ease up. We’ll run ashore for a minute or two.” - -When Sandy had grunted his approval, Dick turned the bow of the canoe -sharply and the light, graceful craft grated upon the white sand and -came to a full stop. - -“Good gracious, Dick,” Sandy gurgled, springing out, “that was a close -call. I’m afraid they’re going to capture Toma.” - -Dick shook his head. “Not that boy. He’s too clever for them,” he -replied, still breathing heavily. - -“But how will we ever manage to pick him up again?” blurted the young -Scotchman. - -“Have to await our chance. Toma will keep an eye on us. He’ll make his -way along the opposite shore. When he thinks the time is propitious, -he’ll give us a signal.” - -“I hope so,” said Sandy prayerfully. “If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t -be where we are now.” - -“True. But don’t worry about him. He’s clever, as you ought to know by -now. I haven’t the least fear that Brennan will ever succeed in -capturing him.” - -“What do you propose to do now?” asked Sandy. - -Dick pursed his lips. “When we are rested, we’ll paddle along this side -of the river slowly so that Toma will have plenty of time to keep up -with us. We’ll go up the river a mile or two and then stop for the -night. We’ll build a fire close to the shore so that Toma will know just -where we are, what we are doing. We’ll have to take turns sleeping -tonight. I don’t think there is any danger that Brennan’s party will -build a raft and come over, yet it will be wise to be on our guard. Now -that they know we have a rifle, they’ll think twice before they try a -stunt like that.” - -The remainder of the afternoon passed uneventfully. They saw no more of -Brennan and his friends, neither did they catch a glimpse of Toma. Just -before dusk they disembarked in a sheltered spot and by means of the -fire stone soon had a blazing campfire near the shore. While Dick -watched it and gathered more drift-wood and dry branches, Sandy took the -rifle and went up along the slope in search of game. Within twenty -minutes he came back carrying a rabbit. - -“Wish Toma was here to enjoy it with us,” he stated a little -sorrowfully. “Dick, I’m terribly afraid that something has happened to -him. I try to make myself believe that he’s safe, but the feeling still -persists.” - -Dick laughed away Sandy’s fears while he prepared supper and later as -they gathered brush for a high bon-fire. The fire would keep them warm -that night, Dick explained. Also it would be a beacon to let Toma know -just where they were. - -“We’ll keep it burning brightly until morning,” he told Sandy. “What -part of the night would you like to keep watch?” he inquired. - -“From now until a little after midnight,” replied Sandy. - -So it was decided. A pale dusk covered the earth when Dick stretched out -by the fire and went to sleep, but it was much darker than usual when he -was awakened by his weary chum and notified that it was his turn to -stand guard. - -“Keep the fire going good, Dick,” Sandy instructed sleepily. “It’s -chilly and I’d like to have an unbroken sleep.” - -The young Scotchman was slumbering deeply, curled up alongside the -comforting blaze, by the time Dick had returned with his first arm-load -of wood. The older boy smiled as he looked down at him. What an eventful -day it had been, he mused. No wonder Sandy was so tired. The -difficulties and hardships of the past week had tested strength, -endurance and nerve to the utmost. They couldn’t go on indefinitely like -this. The hard pace had begun to tell. By the look of him, Sandy -couldn’t stand much more of it. His cheeks were sunken and there were -deep hollows under his eyes. - -The young leader sighed and sat down with his back to the fire, his gaze -wandering. Up overhead the clouds seemed to be gathering for rain. -Through a narrow rift shone a handful of brilliant stars and a white -half-circle of moon. Down below, glinting mysteriously, was the wide -path of the river. Tonight its song was as mournful as the weird music -of an Indian lullabye. - -Dick continued to sit there half musing, half dreaming, until suddenly -down near the shore he heard a loud splash. He bolted to his feet and -ran for his rifle. Wolf Brennan—was his first thought. Wolf Brennan and -Toby McCallum! They had made a raft and come over after all! - -He caught the rifle to him, when a muffled figure staggered up over the -bank, shaking himself like a dog that had been thrown into a -mill-pond—shaking and blowing and shivering, and beating his arms to -quicken the circulation in his body. - -Dick gave one short, sharp cry, dropped his rifle and darted forward, -arms outstretched. - -“Toma! Toma!” he called. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - THE MEETING ON THE RIVER. - - -When Sandy awoke on the following morning, his joy was unbounded. Taking -one look at Toma, he gasped and daubed frantically at his sleep-stained -eyes. Both the young Indian and Dick laughed at the young Scotchman’s -astonishment. - -“How did you get here?” asked Sandy, finding his voice. - -“I swim across the river,” grinned Toma. - -“What’s that! Across the river!” Sandy’s eyes grew wide. - -“Yes, that’s what I do. River cold and swift, but me, I think pretty -sure I make it.” - -“He arrived here in the middle of the night,” explained Dick. “It was -about an hour after you woke me up to relieve you for guard duty.” - -Sandy looked out at the river that swirled and rolled along northward. -At the point where Toma had crossed, it was over half a mile wide. Its -waters were swift and as cold as ice. A remarkable feat even for an -expert. - -All the boys were happy and in high spirits when they embarked in the -canoe an hour later and resumed their journey upstream. Though it was -hard work to paddle incessantly against the strong current, it was -nevertheless a welcome relief after the days they had spent in -travelling on foot. All day they sweated at their task. They were miles -away from Wolf Brennan and his party by the time that night fell. They -were turning in towards shore to make camp, when Toma, who was sitting -in the bow, suddenly sang out: - -“Canoe! Canoe! I see ’em canoe!” - -Instantly Dick and Sandy straightened up, their eyes almost staring from -their heads. - -“Where?” they demanded in one voice. - -“Oh, I see it now!” Sandy shouted. “Hold into mid-stream Toma, so we’ll -meet him. Small canoe. Just one man. Wonder who it is?” - -The canoe and its lone occupant drifted toward them. Closer and closer -it came. The man, industriously plying his paddle, took form. Dick’s -heart leaped and he suddenly went weak all over. He recognized the garb -of that lonely traveller. No mistaking that broad-brimmed hat and -scarlet coat. A mounted policeman! All of the boys had become so -breathlessly interested in trying to determine the identity of the -occupant of the canoe that he was within two hundred yards of them -before any of them spoke again. Then, suddenly Dick raised his paddle -and waved a frantic, hilarious greeting. - -“Corporal Rand!” he shrieked. - -The policeman had never received a more spontaneous and noisy welcome. -The three chums howled and shrieked. They rent the air with their -huzzas. In the stern, Sandy laughingly reached out, caught the prow of -Rand’s canoe and both crafts floated down stream nearly fifty yards -while they exchanged greetings. Then, as if moved by a common impulse -they swerved to the left and presently disembarked at the edge of a -sand-bar projecting out from shore. - -“I never expected to meet any of you here,” stated the corporal, pulling -up his canoe. “Thought you were all over at Fort Good Faith. In fact, I -sent a letter over there less than a week ago, asking you to meet me at -Half Way House.” - -“You did?” gasped Dick and Sandy. - -“Yes, and I was disappointed when you didn’t show up.” - -Dick’s expression was one of amazement. - -“Didn’t Factor Frazer tell you where we had gone?” he demanded. - -“Why no. Did he know?” - -“Certainly he knew.” There was an angry quaver in Dick’s voice. “He was -the one that sent us up here.” - -“Did you let him know that you expected us from Fort Good Faith?” -inquired Sandy. - -The corporal nodded. - -“And he said nothing?” - -“Not a word.” - -In jerky, angry sentences, Dick told Corporal Rand of the dinosaur and -of the incidents leading up to their journey to the island of the -granite shaft. Out of breath at last, he paused and Sandy took up the -narrative where he left off, relating in the minutest detail everything -that had happened subsequent to their departure from the island. Rand -listened without once asking a question or making a comment. Even after -Sandy had finished, he sat silent and thoughtful, the toe of one boot -tracing patterns in the sand. - -“Why don’t you laugh?” asked Sandy. - -Corporal Rand straightened up. “Laugh? What for?” - -“Why, at the beautiful joke Factor Frazer played upon us.” - -Corporal Rand’s brows knit and his mouth tightened. - -“It doesn’t impress me as being particularly amusing.” - -“What do you make of it all?” - -The policeman raised his eyes toward the young Scotchman and half -smiled. - -“I’ll be perfectly frank. I haven’t the least idea.” - -“Can you imagine what we have done to incur their enmity—Factor -Frazer’s, Wolf Brennan’s and Toby McCallum’s?” - -“No.” - -“When I first saw you, do you know what I thought?” inquired the young -leader of the trio. - -“No. What did you think, Dick?” - -“I thought perhaps you had guessed that we were in trouble and had come -to our rescue.” - -Corporal Rand shook his head. “No, I am on patrol duty.” - -“But why did you wish to meet us at Half Way House?” persisted Dick. - -“That’s a different story. The police have another little job for you.” - -“What is it?” the boys inquired in unison. - -“Wanted you to go over to Caribou Lake to investigate a rumor.” - -The three boys gathered more closely around the policeman. - -“What rumor?” asked Dick. - -Corporal Rand rubbed his chin thoughtfully. - -“It concerns a certain Conroy Miller, a prospector who has been working -up in that section. Miller has not been heard from since last fall. He -sent word down to Ford Laird by an Indian that he proposed to trap all -winter in the vicinity of Caribou Lake, where he had staked out a few -mining claims, and asked Factor Goodwin to send out a quantity of -supplies. On the first of December last year the Indian, who had brought -in the message, and several companions with dog teams, took the supplies -out to Miller and afterward returned, reporting that Miller had received -them and wished to thank the factor for his kindly co-operation. - -“Well, a few weeks ago a trapper, a German named Lutz, reported to the -Fort McKenzie detachment that he had passed through the Caribou Lake -region and had stopped at Miller’s cabin. He reported that the cabin was -well stocked with provisions but that no one was there. In fact, there -was every evidence that the cabin had not been tenanted for months. -Dishes were on the table just as Miller had left them. In one corner of -the room was a quantity of green fur and a pile of traps. Dust had -settled everywhere, proving conclusively that Miller had not been at -home for a long time.” - -Corporal Rand paused for a moment, then resumed. - -“Lutz, who is an honorable fellow in every way, became frightened, -jumped to the conclusion that Miller had met with an accident and -searched the vicinity in an attempt to find the prospector’s body. -Unsuccessful in this, he proceeded straight to McKenzie Barracks and -reported the matter to us.” - -“Are you on your way there now?” Dick cut in. - -“Yes. I wanted you boys to go along to help search for the body. When -you failed to meet me at Half Way House, I started on alone.” - -“You hold to the Lutz theory then, that he met with an accident while -trapping?” interrogated Sandy. - -“We have come to no definite conclusions yet. We may find his body there -and we may not. If we don’t, I propose to follow up another lead, that -he has met with foul play.” - -“Foul play?” cried Dick. - -“Yes, it is possible. There are many rumors floating around about him. -Nothing tangible yet. However, there is one thing we have made a note -of. On April third, an Indian named Henri Karek claims he met Miller on -the trail between Thunder River and Lynx Lake. He stated further that -Miller was in the best of health and carried a good grub supply. His -destination, he told the Indian, was Fort Laird.” - -“Wonder if the Indian really met him,” mused Dick. - -“He met someone by the name of Miller,” replied the corporal, “but -whether it was our man or not is a debatable question. Since then other -stories have been circulated, most of them, I fear, without foundation. -If it was really Conroy Miller that Karek met on the trail, he never -reached his destination. That much I have found out by making inquiries -at Fort Laird.” - -The corporal paused abruptly, regarding the boys through half closed -lids. Dick wondered what he was thinking about. - -“How long since you left the dinosaur’s island?” the policeman suddenly -inquired. - -“Just two weeks ago today,” Sandy replied. - -“You’ve had an unusual experience. Went hungry, didn’t you? Looks as if -you’d been living on a diet of fish and no mistake. Honestly, Dick, I -believe you’ve lost ten pounds.” - -“I think I have,” came the unconcerned rejoinder. - -“Wolf and McCallum will have to answer for this some day, but I don’t -want to do anything now. We’ll give them plenty of rope and see if they -won’t eventually hang themselves. Now about that pseudo-wildman you -spoke of, I can’t seem to place him—unless it’s old Bill Willison, an -eccentric trapper who used to live in the vicinity of Fort Laird.” - -“That’s who it is!” Dick exclaimed. “I remember now. They called him -Willison.” - -“Too bad he’s fallen into their net. He’s not a vicious character and -would harm no one if left alone. The old man is as rugged as the hills -and they say as old as Methuselah. If he has joined Brennan’s party, it -was under compulsion. Of that I feel sure. No doubt, the canoe you have -belongs to him.” - -“Does the old man wander around sometimes just dressed in furs and -without any shoes or moccasins?” - -Rand laughed. “Yes. The other clothes you saw him in, he wears only when -he goes to a trading post for supplies. In his own natural habitat, old -Willison is almost as wild as he looks.” - -“Then Brennan and McCallum sent him to frighten us?” asked Sandy. - -“Undoubtedly.” - -Toma edged closer, waiting for a chance to break into the conversation. -Corporal Rand noted his look. - -“Yes, Toma, what is it?” he asked kindly. - -The young Indian put his hand to his stomach and grinned. - -“If you got some tea, corporal,” he hinted, “I like ’em get your kettle -and put some water over the fire. No taste tea for over two weeks.” - -“Just fish and rabbits,” grunted Sandy. - -“And don’t forget the clams and porcupine,” appended Dick. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - HALF WAY HOUSE. - - -Cool air rose from the river, driving before it long, grey streamers of -mist. Up through the trees it spread, close to the ground, dense as -smoke. Across the sandbar, well up on the bank above, in the deep shadow -of the balsam, a bright fire etched in bold relief the faces of Corporal -Rand and the three boys. They made a complete circle around the fire and -were conversing eagerly. Just now it was Sandy who held the center of -interest. - -“Something underhanded going on at Half Way House,” he explained to the -corporal. “I think that Uncle Walter is suspicious of Factor Frazer. I -don’t know exactly what the trouble is, but I think it has something to -do with the way Mr. Frazer has been keeping his accounts. You see, Uncle -Walter is Chief Factor for this district and audits the books of all the -trading posts. He acted very mysterious when he asked us to go over to -Half Way House. Didn’t he, Dick?” - -“Yes, he did,” Dick corroborated his chum. - -“It looks to me,” Sandy went on, “as if Mr. Frazer suspected that we -were spies sent by my uncle and took the method he did to get rid of -us.” - -“Seems very likely,” smiled the policeman. - -“Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum were at the post when we left,” -continued Sandy. “After what has happened, we can draw only one -conclusion, that these two men are paid emissaries of Frazer’s. I -suspect he wants to keep us out here until he has had time to cover up -some sort of deviltry.” - -Corporal Rand rose and gazed down into the fire. - -“It would seem so, Sandy. Something deeply mysterious afoot there. -Probably another case for the police to solve. I’ve never known it to -fail. No sooner do we hear of an important case and start working upon -it, than something else crops up. We’ve done nothing but patrol duty -until this Miller case came to our attention. I start out upon this case -when I learn of this business at Half Way House. Probably before I get -back from Caribou Lake, there will be a murder or two added to the -growing list of crimes.” - -“Do you plan to have us accompany you to Caribou Lake?” Dick asked. - -“When I met you out here this afternoon, that was my intention. But now -that I’ve talked with you and heard your story I’ve changed my mind. -It’s more important that you should go on to Half Way House. By -travelling as fast as you can, you should make it in four more days.” - -“What will we do when we get there?” asked Dick. - -“That’s up to you,” Corporal Rand spoke grimly. “You handled the -Dewberry case very nicely. I’m really in no position to advise you or -help you in any way because I don’t know what’s wrong there. If I were -you though, the minute I arrived I’d confront Frazer and demand an -explanation. I’d mention Wolf Brennan and McCallum too. Make it plain -that you intend to take up the matter with the police.” - -“Do you believe there is a chance that he may confess?” asked Sandy -incredulously. - -“No, I don’t. But there is a chance that your accusations may sweep him -off his guard, that he will blurt out something that will give you a -clue to the mystery.” - -“I never thought of that,” said Dick. - -“I’ll divide my grubstake with you,” Rand went on. “I haven’t much, but -you’re welcome to half of it. I can give you tea, rice, a little sugar, -part of a slab of bacon and about ten pounds of flour.” - -“You may run yourself short,” Dick hesitated. - -“No,” smiled Rand. “I can look after myself.” - -“Now that we’ve met you, I hate to separate so soon.” - -“It can’t be helped,” smiled the policeman. “And that reminds me that -it’s getting late. We must hurry to bed if we expect to make an early -start tomorrow.” - -Following a good breakfast the next morning, the boys loaded their -canoe, shook hands with the corporal and, just at six o’clock by Rand’s -watch, the two canoes floated out into the river, separated and began -speeding on their respective ways. All day the boys worked like Trojans. -In spite of a delay of over an hour at one portage, they managed to -travel over forty miles before they stopped at dusk to make camp. - -The second day was more or less a repetition of the first and, on the -afternoon of the third day since their meeting with Corporal Rand, they -drew up at the boat landing at Half Way House, tired but exultant. - -They walked up along the well-beaten path toward the trading post, the -cynosure of curious eyes. And indeed, this was not to be wondered at. -Their appearance resembled scarecrows more than human beings. They were -ragged from head to foot. Their faces were burned a deep brown from the -exposure to sun and wind. As they made their way past a row of cabins, -the company’s warehouse and finally to the store itself, Toma’s -abbreviated trousers caused a good deal of merriment among lounging -groups of Indians and half-breeds. - -Though they were exultant, they were also grim. Dick’s eyes were hard as -he led his two companions through those tittering groups. His hands were -clenched tightly at his sides and, reaching the entrance he flung open -the door and strode defiantly in. Toma and Sandy followed, their manner -belligerent. - -Behind the counter, busily occupied in rearranging merchandise on the -shelves, the factor, Mr. Donald Frazer had not noticed their entrance. -When he did look around, his face paled. - -“Y—y—you!” he trembled. - -Three pairs of glaring, unfriendly eyes bored into the wavering optics -of the man behind the counter. As yet, not one of the boys had spoken. A -deep and ominous silence settled over the room. - -“We’re back!” Dick cleared his throat. - -“So I perceive,” the factor attempted to make light of the matter, but -his effort at jocularity proved a dismal failure. - -“We’re back,” Dick repeated, his voice harsh and cold, “and we demand an -accounting. You’re a miserable snake, Frazer, and you have a lot to -answer for. Before we report this matter to the police, perhaps you’d -like to do a little explaining on your own account.” - -The factor’s right hand reached out and he grasped the counter for -support. He tried to speak, but in his fear and great agitation, the -words would not come. A queer rumbling in his throat, his jaw muscles -twitching, his face white, he stood there helplessly staring at the -three determined figures confronting him. - -“Didn’t expect us back, did you?” almost snarled Dick. “Had an idea that -we’d starve out there, didn’t you? Thought that your friends, Wolf -Brennan and Toby McCallum, would settle our hash for good and all, -didn’t you? Well, we’re back. What do you propose to do about it?” - -Frazer’s face distorted queerly and he protested angrily. - -“What sort of a plot are you trying to lay at my door?” he wheezed. -“Brennan and McCallum—I don’t understand you. What have they to do with -me? If you had trouble with them, it was not of my making.” - -“Don’t try to deny that you didn’t send them. You did.” - -At this juncture Sandy completely lost his temper. In a flash, he had -bounded over the counter, seizing Frazer by the throat. - -“You wretch!” he shouted, shaking the factor as a cat might shake a -mouse. “You wretch! Don’t lie to us! You sent us out there to the island -of the dinosaur for no other reason than to get rid of us. And then,” -Sandy shrieked “you instructed those two miserable rats to follow us to -make sure we didn’t get back.” - -The factor was a powerful man and Sandy’s advantage was only temporary. -Frazer flung him off, stepped back and his fist crashed into Sandy’s -face sending him reeling back, where he toppled and fell over a packing -case. The resounding impact of his fall was sufficiently heavy to shake -the room. Dick and Toma cried out angrily and they, too, leaped over the -barrier. Retreating before them, Frazer sped down along the space behind -the counter, reached up in one of the shelves and whipped out a -revolver, just as Dick made a lurch for him. - -“Stand back!” he cried, breathing hard. - -An inner door flew open. There came the sound of running footsteps. Dick -turned in time to see, to his unutterable astonishment, the commanding -figure of Sandy’s uncle, Mr. Walter MacClaren. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - CHARGES AND COUNTER-CHARGES. - - -“Mr. Frazer,” ordered Factor MacClaren, “put down that gun. Dick, what’s -the meaning of this?” - -Before Dick had time to reply, Sandy’s head uprose behind the counter, -twisted around and presented a blood-stained face to his uncle. At sight -of it, Mr. MacClaren started back in dismay. - -“Good Heavens, Sandy—you too! What have you boys been up to?” He whirled -toward Frazer again. “Put down that gun, I told you. Put it down! Mr. -Frazer, Dick, Sandy, I demand an explanation. Are you all mad?” - -“If you want the truth, they attacked me first.” Frazer had grown more -calm now. “Your own nephew grabbed me by the throat and I knocked him -down. These other two miscreants were coming toward me just as you ran -in. I picked up the revolver as a last resort. I have a right to defend -myself.” - -Mr. Walter MacClaren sat down in a chair, produced a handkerchief and -feverishly mopped his brow. Sandy clambered over the counter and -advanced toward him. Dick was still trembling and fighting mad. Toma’s -lips were drawn tightly across his teeth. There was still an atmosphere -of tension in the room. Sandy’s voice broke the quiet. - -“Uncle Walter, that man is no better than a murderer. He sent us up Half -Way River on a fool’s errand, then hired a couple of his confederates to -track us down and try to kill us.” - -Mr. MacClaren stared at his nephew incredulously. It was his Scottish -caution that moved him to exclaim. - -“Careful, Sandy. Careful, Sandy, my boy. Those are hard words. A -murderer, you say. Are you prepared to back up your statements?” - -“I am,” spat Sandy. - -“Mr. MacClaren, he lies.” It was Frazer’s voice. “There is no truth in -what he says. The boys are laboring under a delusion. If they’ve been -attacked while away on their trip, it was not through any of my -conniving. I have nothing whatever to do with Wolf Brennan and Toby -McCallum. Those men are not in my employ, as these three young men seem -to believe.” - -“They have been in your employ, haven’t they?” MacClaren asked drily. - -“Indeed, they have not,” protested Frazer. - -“If that is true, how do you account for the three entries in your own -ledger under the date of March third, seventh and fifteenth? According -to your own books, you paid McCallum and Brennan for work done here at -the post.” - -“Yes, I’ll admit that but—” Frazer paused slightly confused. - -“They have been in your employ then?” Mr. MacClaren persisted. - -“Little tasks about the post here,” the other retorted. “Does it -necessarily follow that they are in my employ regularly?” - -“No, it doesn’t. But it does give us a line on the type of men you do -employ.” - -“You’re prejudiced,” flamed Frazer. - -“Not at all. If these boys are wrong, I shall insist that they -apologize. But it hasn’t been proved that they are wrong yet. Sandy, go -on with your story.” - -During its recital, Mr. MacClaren’s eyes narrowed. He turned again upon -the factor. - -“You must have known, Mr. Frazer, that the boys could never bring back -the bones of that dinosaur. Isn’t that true?” - -“No, it isn’t. I never saw the dinosaur. I had no idea that it was so -large.” - -“Look here,” protested Dick, “I can bring witnesses here to prove that -you visited the dinosaur’s island two years ago.” - -Sandy’s uncle ignored the sally. He asked the post manager another -question. - -“You promised the boys six hundred dollars if they would bring the bones -of the dinosaur back here to Half Way House. Is that correct?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“As I understand it, the bones of the dinosaur were to be sold to a -famous London Museum. Is that also correct?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“You have a letter from that museum making a certain offer.” - -“Yes, Mr. MacClaren, I have.” - -“May I see it?” - -“You could see it if I had any desire to show it to you, but I haven’t. -I consider it none of your business.” - -Mr. MacClaren smiled grimly at this affront. - -“Very well. That may not be my business, but what you do here as a -factor of a Hudson’s Bay Company’s post is my business. Does your -contract permit you to engage in any enterprise not connected with that -of the company?” - -“On my own time, yes.” - -“You’d better re-read your contract.” - -“I’ve already done that,” sneered the other. - -“When I came over here today,” Mr. MacClaren’s voice was deathly calm, -“an audit of your books showed that you had robbed the company of over -two thousand dollars. I suppose you had a perfect right to do that under -the terms of your contract?” - -“I object to that word ‘robbed’,” rasped Frazer. “I’ll admit to a -shortage but I’ve covered it.” - -“Yes, when I drew your attention to it.” - -“I paid back every cent of it in gold.” - -“Where did you get the gold?” sneered Mr. MacClaren. “How did you come -in possession of it? There’s another point that may need a little -explaining.” - -“You know as well as I do that we take gold over the counter in exchange -for goods.” - -“Correct. But whenever we do we keep a record of the transaction. In -auditing your books, I found no such record.” - -“The more you talk the farther you get away from the subject under -discussion. You asked me what was wrong here and I told you. Your own -nephew assaulted me without cause. Not only that, but he made a very -serious charge against me, a charge without any foundation whatsoever.” - -“Whose word can I take for that?” inquired Mr. MacClaren sarcastically -and angrily. - -“Mine.” - -“But I do not consider that your word is sufficient. You’ve lied to me -repeatedly. You lied to me this afternoon. Your conduct generally is so -deceitful and dishonest that I think I was perfectly justified in asking -for your resignation.” - -“By doing that you haven’t hurt my feelings in the least. For some time -past, I have been seriously thinking of quitting the service anyway. In -fact, not long ago I completed arrangements to take charge of an -independent trading post shortly to be established at Caribou Lake.” - -At the mention of the name, Caribou Lake, Dick pricked up his ears. That -was the name of the place Corporal Rand was proceeding to. - -“It is your privilege to go anywhere you like,” Dick heard Mr. MacClaren -say. - -Sandy looked across at Frazer, a peculiar gleam in his eyes. At that -moment he presented a most unusual appearance. His bruised lips had -swollen to twice their normal size. His cheeks were smeared with blood. - -“If you’ll permit me to say so,” he blurted forth, “I’d like to prophesy -that you’ll not take charge at Caribou Lake either. I propose to swear -out a warrant for your arrest.” - -Frazer’s face grew a shade whiter, but he recovered himself quickly. - -“Two can play at the same game,” he reminded Sandy. - -“My charge is a more serious one.” - -“What is your charge?” - -“Attempted murder.” - -The man behind the counter laughed a mirthless laugh and made an ugly -grimace. - -“You may have a lot of trouble proving that.” - -“I expect to,” said Sandy calmly, “but we’ll get you in the end. Please -don’t forget that. This matter isn’t settled by a long way.” - -Mr. MacClaren rose hastily to his feet. - -“Enough,” he said. “Argument will get us nowhere. Mr. Frazer will be -leaving us tonight and after his departure we’ll have plenty of time to -discuss your case.” - -The factor darted from behind the counter and strode over to where Mr. -MacClaren stood. - -“I didn’t say I was going tonight,” he snarled, his face close to that -of his superior. - -“No, but I’m saying it. In fact, I insist upon it.” - -“You’re exceeding your authority. You have no right to compel me to go.” - -“Nevertheless, that is my intention.” - -“I refuse to go.” - -Coming from a mysterious place, a revolver leaped into MacClaren’s -hands. Dick was astounded. He had never suspected that Sandy’s uncle -could draw a gun so quickly. Its cold nozzle sprang forward pressing -against the front of Frazer’s coat. - -“We won’t argue the matter,” he declared pleasantly. “I’ll accompany you -to your room while you pack your things. After that I’ll arrange for a -transport. Much as we may dislike to part with your company, Mr. Frazer, -I think it is for the good of all concerned. Turn and march to your -room.” - -Frazer complied hurriedly, his features swollen with rage. The two -figures passed through the inner doorway, their footsteps echoed down -the long corridor and, presently, in the trading room a deep silence -reigned. - -Mopping the blood from his face with a handkerchief which Dick -moistened, Sandy was soon more presentable. - -“That was a mighty wallop he gave me,” half grinned the injured one. -“Still, I suppose that it was coming to me. Shouldn’t have lost my -temper.” - -“It’s probably just as well that things have turned out as they have,” -Dick reassured him. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - A THREATENING LETTER. - - -The next morning, after the departure of Donald Frazer, Harold Scott, -Frazer’s assistant, was placed in charge of the company’s post at Half -Way House. Having made the appointment, Sandy’s uncle issued final -instructions and then prepared for an immediate departure for Fort Good -Faith. - -“I’d just as soon you’d stay here for a week or two,” he told the boys. -“There is a bare possibility that Frazer may return to cause trouble. -Mr. Scott may require your help.” - -This request on the part of Mr. MacClaren met with general approval, for -none of them believed that Frazer’s real perfidy had yet been uncovered. -Something deeper and more mysterious was afoot. Frazer’s attempt to rob -the company was not, they reasoned, his only crime. He was mixed up in -other and more sinister affairs. Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum were, -undoubtedly, part of the gang who were operating under Frazer’s -directions. - -“Where do you suppose Frazer will go?” Sandy inquired of Dick soon after -Mr. MacClaren’s leave taking. “Do you think that he is really -establishing a new trading post at Caribou Lake?” - -“No, I don’t,” Dick replied. “I think that was a fabrication, pure and -simple. There wouldn’t be enough money in it for him. That is a very -sparsely inhabited district. Few Indians trap there during the winter -and I doubt very much whether the fur trade would warrant the -establishment of a post.” - -“That’s what I’ve always heard. The country is rugged and hilly, better -adapted to mining and prospecting than to trapping.” - -“Exactly. Frazer has no intention of engaging in trade there. You could -tell when he said it, that it was a lie. He has other projects in mind.” - -“All I know is,” put in Sandy, “that anyone that would associate with -characters like Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum can’t be very honest -himself.” - -“Where do you suppose he got the gold to cover his shortage?” Dick -mused. - -“Probably stole it. That’s Uncle Walter’s belief too. It’s another case -of robbing Peter to pay Paul.” - -Dick and Sandy were sitting on a bench outside the trading room while -this discussion was going on. It was a lovely morning and after the -rigorous activities of their experience down river, it seemed good -merely to sit there basking in the sun. Some distance away, Toma -sauntered about among the idling groups of Indians and half-breeds who -came here to trade. Presently, he came strolling up with that shrewd -gleam in his eyes that denoted some new discovery. Dick looked up and -smiled as he approached. - -“What’s on your mind now, Toma?” - -Without preamble, the young Indian plunged into his subject. - -“You remember them two fellow, Indian boys, I tell you ’bout I see in -that room one night with Toby McCallum, Wolf Brennan an’ Mr. Frazer?” - -Dick scratched his head. “Let me see. You mean that time when you saw -the light burning in Frazer’s room at two o’clock in the morning?” - -“Yes. Them two fellow here.” - -“Here at the post?” inquired Sandy, straightening up in his seat. - -“Yes.” - -“What are they doing?” - -“They just hang ’round. Do nothing like us. I find out they have tepee -down near the river.” - -“Well, what about it?” demanded Dick. “They have a right to stay there -if they want to, haven’t they?” - -Toma grinned. “That just the trouble. Why they want to stay here now -that their friend, Mr. Frazer, go ’way? They very good friend Mr. -Frazer, you think they like go ’long too.” - -“Perhaps they’ll follow later,” surmised Sandy. - -“Mebbe so. But I think I know why they stay here.” - -“Why?” asked Dick. - -“’Cause Mr. Frazer tell ’em to. Mr. Frazer talk with them two fellow -just before he go. I see him do that. I see they very careful nobody -hear what they say too.” - -Dick felt a momentary quickening of his pulses. - -“Good boy! No one could ever accuse you of being slow-witted. I know -what’s on your mind now. You believe that these two Indians have been -left behind purposely—that they’ll be up to some mischief before long.” - -“Yes, Dick, them very bad fellow. Other Indians say that. Like drink -alla time an’ get in trouble.” - -Toma scowled and took a seat on the bench beside Sandy. For one full -moment no one spoke. - -“There are two reasons why Frazer instructed those two Indians to remain -here. Either they intend to cause Scott all the trouble they can or they -are waiting for the arrival of Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum,” said -Dick. - -“We’ll keep an eye on them,” stated Sandy darkly. “We might possibly -learn something to our advantage.” - -Toma turned his head. “There they are now,” he said. - -Two Indians came down the path toward the trading room, walking one -behind the other. Both were sinister looking men, Dick thought. He -wondered if they were intending to enter the store to make some purchase -or whether the object of their visit was to appraise himself and his two -chums. He bent his head toward Sandy and whispered in a low voice. - -“Slip into the trading room and see what they do.” - -The young Scotchman rose, stretched himself languidly, imitated a yawn -and lounged through the open door. The two Indians followed him in. Dick -winked at Toma, produced his hunting knife and began whittling on a -stick. For five minutes they waited. At the end of that time the Indians -came out, one of them carrying a package under his arm. Just outside the -door, looking about them for a moment idly, they took a seat on the -bench near Dick and Toma. - -The action was wholly unexpected and Dick was taken unawares. Were the -two Indians giving them a secret appraisal? Was there an ulterior motive -behind this seemingly trivial act? To add to his surprise, one of the -two men addressed him. - -“You come up the river yesterday?” he asked. - -“Yes,” answered Dick. - -“River more high than last year,” said the Indian conversationally. - -“I believe it is,” Dick nodded. - -“You come back prospecting trip, eh?” - -Dick shook his head. “No, we weren’t prospecting.” - -“How you like ’em new factor?” came the next question. - -“Mr. Scott is a very nice fellow,” replied Dick, half smiling to -himself. - -“Mr. Frazer fine fellow too.” - -Dick looked startled. “I’m—I’m glad you like him,” he stammered. - -“You no like him?” persisted the Indian. - -“Why do you ask me that question?” Dick wanted to know. - -The Indian did not answer. - -“You call ’em your name Dick Kent?” - -“Yes.” - -The Indian rolled a cigarette and lighted it, inhaling the smoke deeply, -puffing with satisfaction. Sandy came out and, perceiving his seat -occupied, stood leaning lazily against the door frame. An interval of -silence, then Dick’s questioner fumbled in his pocket and drew forth a -slip of white paper which he handed over with a slight bow. - -“What’s this?” Dick asked. - -“That am letter for you. By an’ by you read.” - -The Indian rose to his feet beckoning to his companion. - -“By an’ by you read,” he repeated. - -“Who is this letter from?” - -“I not know that.” A slight frown settled between the native’s eyes. - -“But who gave it to you?” persisted Dick. - -“Fellow come up river this morning gave it to me. Tell ’em me give it to -you. Tell ’em me you read it by an’ by. - -“But don’t you know this man’s name?” - -“Fellow name—” the Indian hesitated, “fellow say his name John Clark. By -an’ by you read letter.” - -The speaker smiled a sort of twisted smile, took his companion by the -arm and hurriedly made his departure. - -Puzzled, Dick looked down at the letter in his hands. Then he glanced up -at Sandy. He gulped. Who was John Clark? He had never heard of him. - -“For goodness sake, don’t keep me in suspense!” It was Sandy’s voice. -“Open the letter.” - -Dick complied hurriedly. Sandy left his position by the door and slumped -in the seat beside him. A bit of a white paper fluttered in Dick’s -hands. He read in a choked voice: - - “Mr. Dick Kent: - - “If everything goes well, I’ll be seein’ you a few days after you - receive this letter. Mebbe you can guess why. Mebbe it won’t be very - good for your health if you stop very long at Half Way House. - - “Yours, - “Wolf.” - -“So that’s it!” Sandy exclaimed excitedly. - -“A threat,” said Dick. - -“Wolf come an’ shoot you, Dick,” grinned Toma. “That fellow mad all -over. While you got chance, you better run away.” - -Dick laughed. Yet, in spite of his laughter, he did not feel very happy -at that moment. Wolf Brennan was a desperate character. The Wolf felt -that he had a grievance and would try to settle his score. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - A MIDNIGHT RAID. - - -Dick did not sleep well that night. Though he was not willing to admit -it even to himself, Wolf Brennan’s threatening letter had upset him. He -lay for a long time on his bed in the loft over the trading room, his -mind active and restless. Close at hand, he could hear the even -breathing of Sandy and Toma and, through the open window, there was -borne to him the soughing of the wind in the pines. It was a clear June -night of half darkness and only partially stilled woodland noises. Birds -still peeped sleepily in the trees, the little denizens of the forest -spaces still moved about as they had during the brighter hours of day. - -Lying there, Dick was aware of a myriad night sounds. The staunch old -log building, built nearly eighty years before by members of the -Honorable, the Hudson’s Bay Company, creaked and groaned in the brisk -night wind. Something was flapping up there on the roof. Was that a bird -that made that peculiar pecking noise just under the eaves? Trying -desperately to sleep, Dick succeeded only in becoming more and more -awake with each passing moment. - -In despair, finally, he swung his legs over his bunk, reached for his -clothes and commenced to dress. - -“I’ll go outside,” he thought, “and walk around for a while. The -exercise may make me sleepy.” - -He slipped quietly down the stairway and thence outside. Walking -briskly, he turned his steps toward the river and, upon reaching the -boat landing, sat down with his back against one of the pilings, -watching the water eddying along under him. - -Along the shore for nearly a quarter of a mile, both up and down stream, -were the brown, skin tepees of the post population. About them the -stillness of night had descended. From the inverted, cone-like top of -one of them, smoke issued. Dick sat and watched it speculatively. The -members of that household were up early. Probably someone sick. Through -the translucent walls he could see the faint reflection of a fire -within. - -Must be someone sick, he mused. An Indian child perhaps. A papoose -suffering an attack of colic. Once he thought he heard a child’s -plaintive whimper. - -The flap was drawn aside and a figure emerged. Behind the first figure -came a second. Dick drew in his breath sharply, slid along the rough -planking and concealed himself behind a flat-bottomed boat which had -been drawn up on the pier for caulking. Lying flat on his stomach, he -raised his head and peeped over the top. - -The Indians, who had brought the letter from Wolf Brennan, were making -their way along the shore. They walked after the manner of men who knew -where they were going. Reaching a point just opposite the boat landing, -they swung sharply to the left, taking the path that led up along the -warehouse to the trading post. - -Dick’s heart thumped excitedly as he rose soon afterward and commenced -following them. He went leisurely. He endeavored to keep himself -concealed as much as possible by walking, not along the path, but -through the bushes that grew on either side of it. For two hundred yards -he stalked his quarry, finally bringing up in a clump of willows not -sixty feet from the trading room. Lying concealed, his eyes were glued -upon the forms of the two prowlers, who had strolled boldly up to the -building itself. - -Dick’s mind raced. What was the intention of those two midnight raiders? -What were they up to? Had they designs upon the life of Mr. Scott, the -new incumbent? Was this to be the first in a long series of reprisals -aimed at Mr. MacClaren and the Hudson’s Bay Company by a disgruntled -former factor and his insidious crew? - -Now that it was too late, Dick regretted his folly in coming out of -doors without first taking the precaution to arm himself. In case the -two men broke into the trading room—and that seemed to be their -intention—what could he do to prevent further depredations? Two against -one, and they were armed. He was no match for either one of them -physically. To make matters still worse, he recalled that he had left -the door, leading to the loft, unlocked. If the Indians succeeded in -forcing the door of the trading room, they would have easy access to -Factor Scott’s room, which adjoined the hall at the top of the stairs -just across from the space that the boys occupied. - -Almost desperate because of his helplessness, it suddenly occurred to -Dick that probably the best way to prevent the Indians’ entrance would -be to call out sharply, attracting attention to himself. Such a move -might cost him his life, but on the other hand, it might arouse the -sleeping occupants of the post. In the very act of inflating his lungs -another plan popped into his head. - -Why not, he asked himself, follow the two Indians inside? In a flash, -there had come to him a mental picture of the revolver Donald Frazer had -returned to the shelf behind the counter yesterday afternoon. If the -Indians went up the stairway, he would rush in, seize the weapon and -could probably reach the factor’s room in time. - -His body bent forward almost at right angles, he slipped out from behind -his place of concealment and very cautiously commenced working his way -forward. He was within thirty paces of the trading room door by the time -the two Indians had forced the lock and had gained admittance. When the -door closed behind them, he sprinted lightly across, not to the door but -to the window. The interior space was dark and shadowy, yet he could -make out the two forms hesitating near the counter. To their left was -the door leading to the loft. Twenty feet to their right was another -door leading to the cellar. To Dick’s great astonishment, instead of -making their way to the stairway, they turned in the opposite direction, -tip-toed across the floor, flung open the door and descended below. - -No unexpected move on their part could have surprised him more. What did -they expect to find in the basement? Dick had been there often and knew -what it contained—packing cases, boxes, rolls of wrapping paper, yes, -and—suddenly Dick grinned. He thought he knew now. All his panic over -nothing. Petty thievery, not murder, was the motive behind the Indians’ -forced entrance. Liquor was what they had come for. The Indians’ love of -fire-water had led them here. - -Realizing this, his tension relaxed. He decided not to go in to get the -revolver after all. He’d wait until they reappeared—that would be safer. -He’d keep hid. If he opened the door and stepped upon the trading room -floor, no matter how quiet his footsteps, they would be sure to be -heard. The loss of the liquor would be little compared to the risk he -took. He’d have the goods on them anyway. Tomorrow the factor could -swear out a warrant and place them under arrest. - -“No,” decided Dick, “I’ll wait and bide my time.” - -He had not long to wait. The cellar door opened and the two prowlers -appeared, carrying two burlap sacks, bulging with what looked like -bottles, and so heavy that the two stalwart natives bent under their -load. - -Dick slipped around the corner of the trading room, flattened himself -against the side of the building and waited tensely. He heard the outer -door creak lightly. He heard light footsteps pattering across the ground -outside, gradually growing less distinct as they paced off the distance -to the warehouse. As Dick peeped out around his corner, they passed the -warehouse and disappeared from view. - -Dick hurried inside, bounded up the stairway and knocked loudly at the -factor’s door. - -“Who’s there?” inquired a sleepy voice. - -“It is I—Dick Kent, Mr. Scott. I’d like to see you.” - -The creaking of a bed, the sound of footsteps moving across the floor, -and the door swung open. - -“Hello, Dick. Come on in. What’s the trouble?” - -“Mr. Scott,” announced Dick breathlessly, following the other inside, -“I’ve just been a witness to a bit of thieving. Two Indians broke into -the trading room and made their way to the cellar where they stole -something. I thing it was liquor. They came out carrying burlap sacks -full of what looked like bottles.” - -“Do you think you could identify the two thieves?” asked Mr. Scott, -motioning Dick to a chair. - -“Yes, I can. I can even take you to their tepee. Rough looking -characters. No doubt, you know them well.” - -“Pierre and Henri Mekewai,” guessed the factor. “They’re about the -roughest looking pair that hang around the post.” - -“I don’t know their names,” replied Dick, “but as I told you, I can -identify them. I saw them come out of the tepee and followed them up -here.” - -The new factor’s eyes widened and he regarded Dick in some surprise. - -“You saw them come out of their tepee?” he blurted. “What were you doing -outside at this time of the night?” - -“Oh, I assure you, I wasn’t up to any mischief,” smiled Dick. “Restless -and couldn’t sleep. Thought that if I went out and walked around a while -I could come back and get a little rest.” - -The factor proceeded to dress. - -“If you’ll wait just a minute,” he instructed, “we’ll go down and -investigate. I shouldn’t wonder but what you are right about the liquor. -That’s an Indian’s old trick. It’s a frequent occurrence. Don’t know why -we keep the stuff. It’s only a temptation to many a poor devil who seems -powerless to resist it.” - -Mr. Scott continued to chat amiably while he pulled on his clothes. A -few minutes later, he led the way to the basement. Reaching the bottom -of the flight of stairs, he struck a match and lighted a candle that -stood on a shelf. Dick following close behind him, he walked straight -over to a pile of cases in the far corner, stooped down and began -examining them carefully. - -“I happen to know just how much there is here, so it won’t take long to -determine the extent of our loss,” Mr. Scott pointed out. - -Dick held the candle while the factor took inventory. At the end of five -minutes he straightened up, looked at Dick searchingly, then bent down -and made a second examination. - -“What’s the matter?” asked Dick. - -“Can’t understand it. It seems to be all here.” - -“What! All of it?” - -“Yes, all of it. Every case and every bottle. Nothing missing.” - -Dick whistled in surprise. - -“If that’s true, they’ve taken something else.” - -“But there’s nothing else down here in this cellar that anyone could -possibly want. I mean, nothing of value.” - -“Are you sure?” gasped Dick. - -“Absolutely.” - -“But I tell you, they came up the cellarway carrying two burlap -sacks—sacks full of something. I saw them with my own eyes, Mr. Scott. I -wasn’t dreaming. I tell you they took something.” - -The factor scratched his head, continuing to stare at Dick, an -expression of wonderment in his eyes. - -“That beats me. Don’t know what to make of it.” - -Wondering and still perplexed, they ascended to the upper floor. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - A HIDDEN PIT. - - -Factor Scott decided that he would not prefer charges against the two -Indians until he had definitely discovered what they had stolen. But in -the days that passed, to his increasing astonishment, he could find -nothing missing. What had the two prowlers taken from the cellar? It was -a question that was threshed over, pro and con, for many an hour. In -Sandy’s opinion, the solution to the mystery was to be found in only one -way: namely, that Factor Scott had taken a hurried inventory a few days -previous to the robbery and that there were more cases of liquor in the -cellar than he had on record. - -“He can say what he likes,” insisted Sandy. “There is the real solution. -Those two Indians wanted fire-water and they broke in and got it.” - -However, when Dick reported this theory to the factor, Mr. Scott had a -good laugh over it. - -“It wasn’t liquor,” he smiled, “you can tell Sandy for me. Even if I did -make a mistake in my reckoning, I insist that it wasn’t bottles of rum -that the Indians stole.” - -“How do you know that?” asked Dick. - -“It’s all very simple. If the Indians had stolen liquor they would have -proceeded to get gloriously drunk. They wouldn’t have been able to -resist the temptation. I know Indian nature well enough for that.” - -“You’re quite right.” laughed Dick. “We’ll eliminate such an hypothesis. -Now what I’d like to know is, what did they steal out of that cellar?” - -The factor bit his lips. “I confess that I don’t know. Every day for the -past three weeks I’ve gone to the cellar and, if there was anything -there beside those empty packing boxes, the cases of liquor and wrapping -paper, I’d have seen it. If it wasn’t for the evidence of the broken -lock on the trading room door, I’d be very much inclined to believe that -you have been the victim of a nightmare or an hallucination.” - -“And I wouldn’t blame you in the least,” stated Dick smiling. “However, -as you say, that broken lock is pretty conclusive evidence of a forced -entrance. Of course, you have only my word as to the rest of the story.” - -“I wouldn’t doubt you, Dick,” the factor patted his shoulder. “I know -you’re sincere and truthful about this. I really believe that you saw -the two Indians come up from the cellar carrying those two loaded burlap -sacks. By the way, Dick, if those had contained bottles you’d have heard -the rattle.” - -“That’s true. No sound came from the sacks.” Dick paused and stroked his -chin reflectively. “Pshaw! We don’t seem to be getting anywhere. Mr. -Scott, will you give me permission to go down into that cellar and -examine it carefully? I just want to satisfy myself that we haven’t -overlooked anything.” - -“Certainly. I’d be glad to have you. I’ve been down there myself a -number of times since the robbery. I’ve gone over every foot of space -and found nothing at all suspicious; found nothing that might give me a -clue to what the Mekewai brothers stole. But though I searched -carefully, I might have overlooked something. Two pairs of eyes are -better than one. Go down and look for yourself.” - -Dick went down. He lighted the candle that was always to be found on the -shelf near the bottom of the stairway, and explored every inch of space -in that dark interior. The floor of the cellar was constructed of heavy -planks nailed to logs which had been sunk into the earth. In a country -where cement was almost unknown, it was as good a flooring for a -basement as could be found anywhere. Starting at one end of the cellar, -Dick examined every plank in the floor. The planks had been in the -cellar for a long time and they made a clattering noise as he walked -over them. This suggested an idea. He wondered if any of the planks were -loose. He went up to the trading room, procured a heavy chisel and -returned and tried to pry up the planks. - -The eighth plank over from the bottom of the stairway, to his great -glee, he discovered was loose. It came up when he exerted a slight -pressure upon it. Grasping the plank next to it, he found that that also -was loose. Pulling up this second board he received a rude shock. The -edge of a gaping hole, freshly dug in the earth, was visible there under -the planking. Removing another section of the floor, he completely -uncovered it. Reaching out for the candle, he explored the shallow pit -below. - -The hole was about three feet wide, six feet long and three feet deep. -The dirt taken from it had been thrown under the planking between the -logs used as support for the floor. The pit was absolutely empty. - -Dick’s first impulse was to return to the trading room and report his -discovery to Mr. Scott. But on second thought he decided not to do this. -He would work on the case alone, not even saying anything to Sandy and -Toma. He would find out what the Indians had taken out of that pit. When -he did, something told him that he would have a clear case against -Frazer. - -He replaced the flooring hurriedly, scraped dust over the loose planks -and ascended to the room above. Busy waiting on a number of customers, -the factor did not accost him. Dick proceeded straight outside and sat -down on the long bench to think it over. - -In a few minutes he came to a decision. He got quickly to his feet, -re-entered the trading room and made his way upstairs to the loft. From -among his personal belongings he picked up a small black automatic, -thrust it in his hip pocket and again made his way outside. The first -person he saw was Toma. - -“Where you go, Dick, in so big hurry?” the young Indian asked. - -Previously, when he had made his plans, Dick had decided to play a lone -hand, but now it would be a little awkward getting rid of Toma. Well it -would do no harm in taking him along. Toma was close-mouthed and -dependable. He might prove to be of valuable assistance in an emergency. - -“I’m going down to see those two Indians,” Dick informed him. “Care to -come along?” - -“Yes,” grunted his chum. - -Dick took him by the arm. “Come along then,” he said. - -Together they hurried along the foot trail in the direction of the -river. Passing the warehouse, a voice called out lustily. - -“Hey there!” - -It was Sandy. Dick and Toma paused while the third member of the trio -shambled up. - -“Where are you fellows going?” Sandy inquired suspiciously. - -Dick gave up. He could see how impossible it was now to keep anything -from two friends like these. Then and there he confessed. - -Both Sandy and Toma were astonished at the outcome of Dick’s -investigations. - -“A hole under the floor of the cellar!” Sandy exclaimed. “Good Heavens, -what do you suppose Factor Frazer has been concealing there?” - -“I don’t know but I have a hunch,” Dick answered, proud of the -impression he had made. - -“Tell us,” pleaded Sandy. - -“I haven’t time just now. I’m anxious to get over to the Mekewai -brothers’ tepee to have a look around. There’s a remote chance that -we’ll find those two sacks of loot.” - -Sandy balked. “If we’re going over there,” he said, “I want a gun.” - -“I have one,” Dick patted his hip pocket. “Anyway I don’t think they’ll -have the courage to attack us in broad daylight. Hurry if you’re -coming.” - -They followed Dick down the path to the river, then along the shore to -the Mekewai tepee. His two chums crowding close behind him, Dick knocked -gently against the closed flap. - -“Hello! Hello!” he called. - -They heard subdued voices within. The flap was drawn aside and the -Mekewai boys stooped down and peered at them through the entrance. - -“What you want?” one of them asked gruffly. - -“Came over to see if you could lend us a canoe so that we can go -fishing,” lied Dick. “Our own is damaged and we are having it repaired.” - -“No have canoe,” growled one of the Mekewai boys. - -But Dick was not put off so easily. - -“Do you know anyone that has?” - -“Come in,” one of the Indians invited, “an’ I try think where mebbe you -find one.” - -Dick pressed a coin in the hand of each of the two brothers. - -“Wish you could,” he said, stepping inside. - -One glance told Dick what he wanted to know. There were no sacks here. -Nothing at all of an incriminating nature. Dick was tremendously -disappointed and he could not resist turning his head and looking at -Sandy. - -Sandy was amused. There was a twinkle in his eyes and the beginning of a -smile puckering the corners of his mouth. - -“I think mebbe I know fellow that has canoe,” one of the Indians spoke -up. “How much you like pay?” - -“We didn’t want to buy one,” stated Sandy, helping Dick out. “We wanted -to borrow one.” - -“Don’t know anybody like ’em borrow you canoe.” - -“Thank you,” said Dick, backing toward the door. “In that case we’ll -have to wait until our own is repaired.” - -The three boys went out, Dick scowling, Sandy and Toma amused over the -interview. - -“Never mind, old chap,” consoled Sandy, “you may have better luck next -time. By the way, what do you think they’ve done with the stuff?” - -“Don’t worry, they’ve either hidden it somewhere or have sent it over to -Frazer. I hardly expected to find it there. There was about one chance -in a thousand.” - -“Now that we’re on the subject,” coaxed Sandy, “Perhaps you’ll be -willing to tell me what your hunch is. What did those two Indians bring -up out of that pit?” - -“Gold,” came the answer unhesitatingly. - -Sandy looked dubious. “What makes you think it was gold?” - -“I’ll tell you why. If you recall the conversation between your Uncle -Walter and Frazer the day we had the trouble in the trading room, you -will remember that Frazer said that he had paid the shortage in gold. -That’s the only reason I have for suspecting that it was gold that the -Indians took out of the cellar. If Frazer had two thousand dollars worth -of gold, sufficient to cover his shortage, it is not unlikely that he -had more of it stored away somewhere. Frazer did not explain -satisfactorily to your uncle how he had obtained that gold. The -inference is that he stole it.” - -“Seems reasonable,” said Sandy, “and I wonder from whom.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - TAKE THE OFFENSIVE. - - -The next morning, Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum arrived at Half Way -House. Sandy, who was walking along the river at the time, witnessed -their approach, a grim and dour pair aboard a light raft, which they -poled and shoved against the tugging current. - -Sandy did not wait for them to put in at the boat landing. Suddenly -fearful, he hastened up to the post to spread the alarm. Dick and Toma -received the news calmly. The former went immediately to his room, -buckled on his revolver and returned to the trading room to announce to -his two chums that he proposed to go down to the river forthwith to meet -the new arrivals. - -“Dick,” exploded Sandy, “you’re crazy! Have you forgotten the letter you -received?” - -Dick shook his head. “No, I haven’t. That’s the very reason I’m going -down there. If they think they can intimidate me, they’re badly -mistaken. If I show the white feather they’ll make life miserable for -me—not only for me but for all of us. The best thing to do is put on a -bold front and go down there and show them that I’m not afraid.” - -“Cracky!” admired Sandy. “I wouldn’t have the nerve to do that. They may -pull a gun and shoot you.” - -“You show ’em pretty good sense, Dick,” declared Toma, indicating by his -expression how proud he was of his chum. “When them fellow see you down -at the boat landing they won’t know what to think.” - -“Come on,” said Dick, “let’s hurry.” - -They ran all the way down to the river. They arrived there just as the -two outlaws drove their raft up to the landing and made fast. Pushing -his way through the crowd, Dick was one of the first to welcome them. - -“Hello, Wolf. Hello, Toby. I see you’ve got back. I received your -letter, Brennan.” - -The outlaws were nonplused, taken aback by the unexpectedness of Dick’s -greeting. Both were seething with fury. In the very act of reaching for -his gun, Wolf paused and bethought himself of the mounted police. For -all he knew, this might be a trap for them to fall into. - -“Yes, we got back,” growled Wolf, his face red with humiliation. “We got -back an’ we’re going to stay here fer awhile. We got a lot of business -to attend to here at Half Way House,” he hinted darkly. “Just as soon as -we’ve seen Factor Frazer, we got a little matter we want to talk over -with yuh.” - -Looking around and perceiving no mounted policemen in the crowd, Wolf -raised his voice. - -“A little matter we want to discuss with yuh an’ your friends.” - -“Factor Frazer isn’t here any more,” Dick told them. - -Both the men gave a quick start, staring at him incredulously. - -“You’re lyin’,” croaked McCallum. - -“Go and see for yourself,” Dick spoke calmly. “Mr. Scott is in charge -here now.” - -The news had a very unusual effect upon the two newcomers. McCallum went -suddenly pale and the frown upon Wolf Brennan’s forehead blackened like -a thunder cloud. Yet is was apparent that they only half believed Dick’s -statement. Seizing his rifle and a small bag of luggage, Wolf motioned -to his companion and they lumbered up the path toward the trading post. -The boys followed them all the way, slipping through the door just as -Brennan demanded: - -“Where’s Donald Frazer?” - -Scott turned quickly at the sound of the gruff voice. - -“Mr. Frazer isn’t here any more.” - -“Where is he?” - -“That’s a question, Mr. Brennan, that I can’t answer. I do not happen to -be in Mr. Frazer’s confidence. The former factor went away very suddenly -and left no forwarding address. Otherwise I might suggest that you could -write to him.” - -The sarcasm was lost upon Brennan. - -“I believe yuh know an’ don’t want to tell us,” McCallum growled. - -Wolf Brennan marched to the counter and made a few purchases. When this -had been done, he turned, held a whispered consultation with his -partner, then again approached the factor. - -“Got any liquor?” he snarled. - -“A little,” answered Scott, not wishing to sell it to him. - -Brennan’s ugly face lighted up and he started for the cellar door. - -“I know where yuh keep it,” he said, “an’ I’ll go down an’ fetch a -couple of bottles. That’s the way I always done when Frazer was here.” - -Factor Scott came around the corner of the counter, his cheeks flushed -with anger. - -“Mr. Frazer isn’t here now,” he informed Brennan hotly. “If you want two -bottles of liquor, I’ll get it myself. And while we’re on the subject, -I’ll tell you this much: I don’t care about selling the stuff to people -like you and McCallum. Also I want to warn you, if you get drunk and -cause any trouble around the post, I’ll put you on the list and you’ll -never get another drop from me as long as I remain in charge here.” - -The two partners exchanged significant glances and Wolf’s face fell. -Observing this, Scott believed that it was his threat that caused their -sudden dejection. But not Dick. He could see through the wily plan of -the big prospector. Brennan wanted to go down to the cellar alone to -fetch his two bottles because, by doing so, he would have an opportunity -to look into the pit and see if the gold was still there. - -When Scott returned with the bottles, McCallum paid for them and the two -partners stalked out. Watching their exit, the factor turned grimly to -Dick. - -“When did they get here?” he asked. - -“Just a short time ago. We met them at the boat landing when they -arrived.” - -Factor Scott scowled. “I hope they decide to leave again before they -commence to drink that rum. They’re vicious. Frazer seemed to get along -with them well enough but it was because he let them have their own way. -All winter they’ve been a regular pest around here, have instigated more -fights and have caused more trouble than any other twenty men in this -entire region. But now that I’m in charge,” Factor Scott’s lips -tightened, “they don’t want to try their bullying methods with me.” - -Soon afterward the boys went outside and sat down on the bench to -discuss the new development. - -“Brennan didn’t fool me when he suggested going to the cellar,” Sandy -stated. - -“You’re thinking about the pit, aren’t you?” smiled Dick. “The same -thought came into my mind. Wolf wanted to find out whether or not Frazer -had taken the gold.” - -“What do you suppose they’ll do next?” mused Sandy. - -Toma rose nervously and paced back and forth in front of the store -building. Abruptly he stopped in front of Dick, frowning. - -“Them fellow go to find Pierre and Henri Mekewai,” he said. “Why not we -go ’long too? Mebbe we find out where they hide the gold.” - -“Why not?” Sandy bounced to his feet. “Listen, Dick. I have an -inspiration. Let’s cut straight through the woods over to the river and -hide in the brush behind the Mekewai tepee. If you recall, their tepee -is set at the bottom of a slope just below a heavy thicket of alders. -The alder bushes are only about twenty feet from the tepee. If they -commence drinking, they’ll talk loud enough so that we’ll be able to -catch a good deal of what they say.” - -Dick was so pleased with this plan that he clapped Sandy on the back, -suggesting that they start at once. Less than a quarter of an hour -later, they crawled on hands and knees into the thicket at the place -designated. It was very quiet in the tepee. The only sound they heard -was the murmur of the river. - -“They haven’t arrived here yet,” Dick whispered. “But I’m pretty sure -they’ll be along in a few minutes. Just now, I imagine, they’re making -inquiries down at the boat landing. You see, they don’t know yet whether -the Mekewai boys are here or whether they have gone with Frazer.” - -Toma parted the bushes and looked out. - -“I see somebody come,” he announced excitedly. - -Dick and Sandy rose to their knees and they, too, peered down along the -shore. - -“Brennan and McCallum all right,” Sandy whispered breathlessly. - -Dick nudged his chum, “Careful!” he warned. “Let’s all sit down and be -very quiet.” - -Soon afterward they could hear voices in the tepee, the loud domineering -voice of Wolf Brennan, the rasping snarl of Toby McCallum and the -broken, guttural tones of one of the Mekewai boys. Only occasionally, -however, did they catch a word they could understand. - -But true to Sandy’s prediction, the voices grew more noisy. They had -probably opened one of the bottles. Heavy oaths punctured the talk now. -An argument of some sort seemed to be in progress. - -“It’s a lie!” suddenly screamed McCallum. - -Then the boys heard quite distinctly Wolf thunder out: “Where’s Henri?” - -Sandy leaned close to Dick whispering in his ear: “Hear that? Only one -of the Mekewai boys is inside there. Wonder where the other is?” - -At that moment Dick felt a thrill of excitement go through him. Brennan -was speaking and he had heard another sentence. - -“If yuh didn’t bury it in a safe place, yuh’ll have to answer for it.” - -“Plenty safe,” they heard Pierre Mekewai answer. - -A roar of ribald laughter was followed by splintering glass. Evidently, -they had already finished one bottle and had broken it. The voices -subsided a little hereafter and the three boys were straining their ears -in an effort to make out what was being said, when a soft, cat-like -tread sounded behind them. - -Dick whirled, his hand darting to the revolver at his side. Sandy gave a -low exclamation of dismay. Toma grunted. Approaching them was the other -Mekewai brother. He carried a rifle. His pock-scarred face was twisted -in a hideous leer. - -“What you fellow do here?” he demanded. - -“Haven’t we a right to sit here if we want to?” trembled Dick. - -“You go ’way pretty quick,” threatened the Indian. - -The boys rose to their feet, feeling like culprits caught in the act of -committing some petty offense. - -“You go quick,” snarled the Indian. “If you come back again, next time I -shoot.” - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - TROUBLES COME FAST. - - -Retiring to his room that night, Dick sat down in a chair near the open -window and stooped to unlace his moccasins. The loft was smothering. -Sunshine still streamed into the room. All day a furnace glare had lain -over the river valley. Outside the grass was dry and the leaves of the -white poplar curled from the intense heat. One of the longest days in -the year, it would be three hours yet before the crimson ball of the -sun, rolling through the northwestern sky, would sink to the line of the -horizon. Ten feet away, sitting on the edge of his bunk, Sandy puffed -and wiped his perspiring brow. - -“Whew! Let’s postpone going to sleep for a while and slip down to the -river and have a dip. It will be the third time we’ve been in today, but -we have to try to keep cool somehow. Cracky! But isn’t this loft hot.” - -In the act of pulling off one moccasin, Dick paused, considering Sandy’s -suggestion. He rose from the chair and stood looking out of the window. - -“I’ll bet that’s where Toma is now,” he guessed. - -Just then he saw a movement in the brush, caught the bright gleam of sun -upon steel, and stepped back just as the screen on the window shivered -from the lightning stroke of a bullet. Something that felt like a breath -of hot wind scorched his side. Two holes appeared as if by magic in his -bulging flannel shirt. A vicious thud behind him and another hole showed -in a pine log on the opposite wall. - -“Cracky!” exclaimed Sandy again. “Dick are you hurt?” - -“Almost got me that time.” Trembling, Dick walked over and exhibited the -tell-tale holes. - -“Didn’t it even nick you?” gurgled Sandy. - -“Not a bit. That was lucky. I caught a glimpse of the man that fired the -shot.” - -“Who was it?” - -“Pierre Mekewai.” - -“Wolf put him up to it.” - -“No question about that. Now that he’s got a little liquor into him, -he’s commencing measures of retaliation.” - -The door opened below and someone came bounding up the stairs. -White-faced, Factor Scott bounded into the room. - -“Did someone fire through the window just now?” - -“Yes,” answered Dick. - -“The devil!” exploded the factor. “As soon as I heard the report -outside, I ran out to see if I could see anyone. Wonder what practical -joker did that?” - -“It wasn’t a practical joker,” stormed Sandy. “It was an assassin. He—he -tried to kill Dick. Dick was standing in front of the window. The bullet -went right through his shirt. Come here, Mr. Scott, and look at it.” - -The factor, amazement written in his face, crossed the room as he was -bidden. His eyes grew very wide and his lips compressed tightly. - -“Heavens! What a close call, Dick. You’re lucky you’re alive.” - -“Don’t I know it,” trembled Dick. - -“That settles it,” the factor’s breath caught and he plunked down in a -chair. “Tomorrow I’m going to send word to the police.” - -“No, I wish you wouldn’t.” - -Mr. Scott started in surprise. - -“Wish I wouldn’t! Why not? When murder is attempted I think it’s about -time something was done about it. When the police come, they’ll find out -who fired that bullet.” - -“I already know who fired the bullet.” - -“Who?” the factor’s voice snapped. - -“Pierre Mekewai.” - -“Are you sure?” - -“Absolutely. I saw him.” - -“Very well then, I’ll put him under arrest. But what—Good Heavens, what -grudge has he against you?” - -“It’s not his grudge. It’s Brennan’s and McCallum’s. We had some trouble -down river. They’re trying to even the score, that’s all.” - -“In that case we’ll have them all placed under arrest.” - -“No, not yet, Mr. Scott. For certain reasons of my own I do not wish -anything done about this for the time being, anyway. And as for the -police, until we find we can’t cope with the situation ourselves, we -won’t call them.” - -“Dick, I think you’re mad.” - -“No, not mad,” Dick smiled. “I’m merely carrying out, or I should say -Sandy, Toma and I are carrying out certain investigations.” - -“For whom?” - -“The mounted police.” - -Factor breathed an expansive sigh. - -“Well all I hope is that everything will come out all right. I’d hate to -have any of you boys get hurt.” - -“For our own sakes, I hope so too,” grinned Sandy. - -“But what’s at the bottom of this?” the factor commenced all over again. -“You can’t make me believe that men will attempt murder because of some -trivial grudge.” - -“I’m not trying to,” retorted Dick. “We’re not sure what it’s all about -ourselves. But we propose to find out.” - -“Good for you!” applauded the factor. - -Next morning, when Dick and Sandy awoke, there was another surprise in -store for them. Bounding from his bed, the former was the first to make -the discovery. He stood, staring in dismay. Across the room, Toma’s bunk -had not been disturbed. Where was he? Overcome with sudden fear, he -stepped forward, gasping. - -“Sandy!” he shrieked, pointing. “Sandy!” - -The young Scotchman became so weak at the thought of what might have -happened, that he gave utterance to a little cry of dismay and sat down. - -“It’s all our fault,” he moaned. “We shouldn’t have gone to bed until we -had found out where he had gone. Something terrible has occurred or he’d -have been back long before this.” - -“I’m afraid so,” Dick was forced to admit. - -“He knows we’d worry about him if he stayed out all night. He wouldn’t -do it either unless he was hurt—or—or——” Sandy’s voice broke. - -The boys commenced feverishly to tear into their clothes, and, in less -than two minutes, they were bounding down the stairs into the trading -room. Factor Scott looked up in surprise at their precipitous entrance. - -“What’s wrong now?” - -“Mr. Scott, have you seen Toma?” - -The factor rubbed his chin. “Why, no, I haven’t. Didn’t he come in last -night?” - -The boys did not answer. Bolting to the door, they ran outside. They -began searching everywhere. They made inquiries of every person they -met. Organizing a search party, they scoured the woods in the vicinity -of the post. That afternoon at three o’clock, beaten and discouraged, -they returned to the trading room to see if by any chance Toma had -returned during their absence. Factor Scott met them at the door. - -Dick’s and Sandy’s dejected appearance told the story. The factor knew -without asking that they had been unsuccessful. He endeavored to comfort -them. - -“We mustn’t worry,” he said, placing a kindly arm about the shoulders of -the disconsolate pair. “I feel sure that Toma is safe. I really can’t -make myself believe there has been foul play.” - -“Wish I could think that,” Sandy’s eyes were tragic. - -“Mr. Scott,” requested Dick, “may we see you alone for a few moments?” - -“Why, yes. Certainly.” - -Dick turned and dismissed the search party and he and Sandy followed the -factor inside. They went directly to the little room at the back. Scott -closed and locked the door. - -“What is it, Dick?” he asked. - -“Sandy and I have come to a decision. We’re going to have it out with -Brennan, McCallum and the two Mekewai brothers. We’re convinced that -those four men know where Toma is—wh—what has happened to him. They’re -going to tell us or we’ll know the reason why.” - -Aghast, the factor stood and stared at the two boys. - -“What!” he exclaimed. “You’d go there? Why, they’ll kill you. You’re no -match for them. Just pause to consider, Dick. Don’t be rash. There must -be a better way than that.” - -“If there is,” Dick’s tones struck coldly upon the ears of the older -man, “I wish you’d tell me. If they haven’t already killed him, there’s -a chance that Toma may be over at the Mekewai tepee.” - -“You mean held prisoner?” - -“Yes, there’s a faint chance. I haven’t much hope that we’ll find him. I -believe that they murdered him, just as they tried to murder me last -night.” - -“If you’re determined to go,” suggested the factor, “can’t I send a few -men along with you?” - -“No, we’ll go alone. We don’t know whom we can absolutely trust. Thank -you for your willingness to help. Come on, Sandy.” - -As they walked back into the trading room, the younger boy, who was in -the lead, stopped unexpectedly and gave vent to an ear-splitting -screech: - -“Toma!” - -In the doorway swayed the young Indian. A livid scar streaked his -forehead. His hat was gone and his hair was crusted with blood. He stood -there, smiling feebly. In a moment two strong pair of arms encircled him -and bore him triumphantly and joyously into the room. Sandy was sobbing -like a child. Dick laughed half hysterically, his eyes filled with -tears. - -“I’ll bring some bandages,” shouted the factor. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - TOMA BRINGS NEWS. - - -Though Sandy and Dick were anxious to find out what had happened to -Toma, they did not ask him a question until his head had been bandaged, -food had been given him, and he had been made comfortable in a bed -upstairs. - -“Now tell us all about it if you feel strong enough, Toma,” said Dick, -as he, Sandy and the factor bent over him. - -“I tell you pretty quick,” the young Indian smiled up at them weakly. -“Not very much I remember what happen. Last night I take ’em my rifle -an’ walk away through the woods. Think mebbe I shoot partridge or two. -By an’ by, I come to old mission trail, ’bout two miles from here. It -very hot in the woods an’ I sit down on a log to rest. I sit there mebbe -ten, mebbe twenty minutes. All at once I hear ’em sound like partridge -make try fly through the brush. I look ’round when something hit me on -the head, knock me off the log. Everything turn black. Not remember -nothing after that. Stay there all night just like a dead man. When I -wake up, sun shining. Feel sick, dizzy, when I try sit up. Want drink of -water very bad. Tongue all swell so big that it hurt me if I close my -mouth.” - -“Ugh!” shuddered the factor. “Imagine that sort of agony out there all -alone.” - -“And he isn’t telling half of it.” As he spoke Sandy bent forward and -brushed back a wisp of black hair that had fallen over the patient’s -bandaged head. - -“Then what did you do?” asked Dick. - -“Well,” continued Toma, “I want water very much. I think ’em me ’bout -little creek I cross night before. Long way off that creek. Part time I -walk hold on trees, other time I crawl. I get tired an’ think no use. -Too weak to get there. But after I lay still little while, I feel -better. Then I go on some more. After very long time I come to creek. I -very glad then. I crawl right over an’ lay down in water. I drink not -too much at first, then after while some more. I began feel better. I -stay mebbe one hour at the little creek then I come on here.” - -“And that’s all you can tell?” gasped the factor. - -“Yes, I say everything I know.” - -“Did you see the man that struck you on the head?” - -“No see ’em,” answered the young Indian. - -“Where did you leave your gun?” - -“Somebody take gun. Take money too. Everything gone when I wake up.” - -“This isn’t a bullet wound on your head,” Dick told him. “It was made by -some sharp instrument.” - -“Knife,” guessed Toma. “Place where I thought I hear partridge only -little way behind me—not more than fifteen feet. What I think happen, -man creep up that far an’ throw ’em knife.” - -“You’re probably right,” said Dick. “An Indian, not a white man attacked -you. As a general thing a white man doesn’t know much about knife -throwing. No doubt, it was one of the Mekewai brothers.” - -Toma nodded his head slightly, lying there on the pillow. - -“I think mebbe Mekewai too.” - -“What induced you to go hunting at that hour?” inquired Sandy -reproachfully. “Was that your real reason for going off alone?” - -The Indian flushed. “That only one reason,” he admitted. - -“What were some of the others?” Dick smiled. Toma hesitated, looking at -the factor. Mr. Scott interpreted that look. - -“If you like, I’ll withdraw,” he announced cheerily. - -“No, Mr. Scott, stay right where you are. You might as well hear the -rest of the story. Toma, you can trust Mr. Scott implicitly. Now what -was another reason?” - -“I know,” interrupted Sandy eagerly. “He was out trying to find the -place where the Mekewai brothers hid those sacks. Come now, confess. -Isn’t that what you were doing?” - -To the surprise of everyone, Toma shook his head. - -“No,” he said emphatically; “I not go look that time. One other time I -go look everywhere an’ try find. But last night I have something else -make me go. I think mebbe I find the factor.” - -“Who, me?” almost shrieked Scott. - -“No, Mr. Frazer, the factor Sandy’s uncle send away.” - -Scott laughed uproariously. “Good gracious, my boy! What a queer fancy. -Frazer! Why he’s miles away.” - -There was one thing Toma did not like and that was to be ridiculed. His -eyes darkened angrily. A slow flush mounted to his cheeks. He appealed -to his two friends. - -“Dick, Sandy—I tell you that not so crazy like you think. Factor Frazer -come here two nights ago.” - -“I can’t believe it——” began Dick. - -“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” cried Sandy excitedly. “Toma wouldn’t -make that statement if he didn’t have a good reason for doing so. Hold -on there, you two fellows! Not so fast! Give him time to explain. Toma, -if they won’t believe you, I will. What makes you so sure Donald Frazer -was here two nights ago?” - -“Old Indian he tell ’em me he see Frazer go past his tepee with Wolf -Brennan an’ Toby McCallum. Him very good Indian an’ I don’t think he -tell lie. Him Indian fellow that live next to last tepee south of the -boat landing. I talk with him yesterday when he tell me that. He say -nearly everybody know now Frazer stay in little cabin not far away in -the woods—some place near mission trail. That’s why I go that way.” - -“Donald Frazer’s presence here can mean only one thing,” decided the -factor. “He is planning revenge for being dismissed from the service. By -nature a revengeful man, he’ll retaliate in every way that he can. We -must be ready for him.” - -“What do you think he’ll do? Personally, I can’t see that he can -accomplish much—one man against as powerful a company as the Hudson’s -Bay.” As Sandy spoke, he reached for a chair, which he pulled toward the -factor. “Sit down, Mr. Scott. And please tell us what you think Frazer -will do. Seems to me he’s wasting time.” - -The factor thanked Sandy and slipped into the chair. For a moment the -room was quiet. Toma put out his hand weakly and tugged at the blankets -that had been tucked in around him. It was still uncomfortably warm -upstairs, almost as hot as it had been on the day before when Dick had -been fired upon. - -Mr. Scott cleared his throat. “Every factor has his following,” he -commenced. “Frazer has been here eight years and has made many friends, -of course. These friends will sympathize with him now that he has lost -his position and will be ready to believe that he has been treated -unjustly. It will divert trade to independent companies. He may be able -to influence many of our best customers against us. Not only that, if he -has no scruples about employing more criminal methods—and I don’t think -he has—he can tamper with incoming shipments of merchandise and outgoing -shipments of fur. He can do incalculable damage in so many different -ways that I can’t begin to enumerate or even think of all of them.” - -“We must be on our guard incessantly,” Dick advised. - -“Even if we are, I doubt if we’ll be able to stop him. The only sure way -would be to have the police come over and take him into custody. When -Corporal Rand gets back from his patrol, I’ll lay the matter before -him.” - -“I’m afraid it will be weeks before Corporal Rand returns,” said Dick, -shaking his head. - -“That’s unfortunate.” - -“Yes, it is,” agreed the young man. “Sandy and I will do all we can, but -I guess we’ll have more than our hands full fighting that crowd.” - -“And they won’t fight fair,” lamented Sandy. “Cowardly tactics, -unscrupulous methods—snakes in the grass all of them. Yesterday they -almost killed Dick, and now they have wounded Toma. They won’t stop at -anything. With all deference to your opinion, Mr. Scott, I do not -believe that revenge is Frazer’s only motive. There is some other -reason; something less devious, more deep and mysterious. Dick, we might -as well tell Mr. Scott about that pit in the cellar.” - -“What’s that!” the factor bounded from his chair. - -Dick’s face changed color. He had not expected that Sandy would blurt -out about that discovery. - -“I should have told you,” he apologized. “I——” - -“A pit in the cellar!” Scott gasped. “I don’t understand.” - -“Under the floor,” explained Dick. “The planking is loose. A hole—quite -a large hole there. Frazer evidently knew about it; probably had it dug. -Those burlap sacks the Mekewai brothers brought up that night must have -come from that hole; been hidden there.” - -The factor mumbled incoherently, staring at the two young men opposite. -He sank into his chair again, brought out a handkerchief and mopped his -perspiring face. - -“A pit, you say? Under the floor! Well, good gracious! How——” - -“That isn’t all. You might as well hear the rest of it,” Dick -interrupted, glaring at Sandy. “We have pretty good reasons to suspect -that Frazer hired the Mekewai brothers to get those sacks. Frazer’s -loot, we believe. Probably gold. Two other persons know all about the -sacks, too—Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum.” - -“A conspiracy!” exploded the factor. “What else have you found out?” - -“Nothing, except that we know the Mekewai brothers buried the loot -somewhere.” - -In great agitation, the factor filled and lit his pipe. He puffed for a -moment in silence. - -“I can begin to see where I’ve been duped, too,” he told them. “What -you’ve just divulged helps to throw light on some of Frazer’s former -actions. For one thing, it was never quite clear to me why he kept -sending me away on such trivial errands. Twice during the month -preceding his discharge, I was despatched to outlying districts -ostensibly to drum up trade among the Indians. It seemed foolish to me -at the time, but I had no choice in the matter. It didn’t make a bit of -difference how busy we were, he’d always find some pretext to send me -away.” - -“Exactly! He worked the same scheme on us,” Sandy cut in. “Say! What’s -the matter with you, Toma?” - -The injured boy raised his hand, commanding silence. - -“Listen,” he said. “I think I hear somebody come up the stairs.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - FRAZER’S RUSE. - - -Dick ran to the door and opened it. In the hallway outside was the young -half-breed boy, whom Mr. Scott employed in various capacities. - -“Yes, yes, Meschel, what is it?” - -The boy’s eyes were round and staring. - -“Mr. Scott here?” he cried. “Tell Mr. Scott to come quick. Fellow -downstairs very drunk, try to break in through the window.” - -“Who was he?” demanded the factor, who now stood immediately behind -Dick. “But never mind, Meschel, I’ll be right down.” - -He followed the half-breed below. Dick and Sandy joined him. - -“Mr. Scott,” said Dick, “I think Meschel must be dreaming. Who would -break in at this time of day? They don’t need to. All they have to do is -to walk in through the front door.” - -“So it would seem,” smiled the factor, “but after the many surprises -we’ve received in the last few days, I’m prepared for anything. What -window did they try to break in, Meschel?” - -“Window at the back where you have your office,” the half-breed replied -promptly. “Two women come in an’ buy some cloth an’ right after I hear -some noise that seem like it come from your office. Just as soon as I -open the door, a man standing in front of the window outside, put down -the screen an’ run away. Screen lying on ground now. You see that for -yourself.” - -It was just as Meschel had told them. Making their way into the little -office, the factor, Dick and Sandy stood looking at the evidence of the -marauder’s recent visit. - -The factor turned to Meschel. “You must have seen who it was.” - -“Not sure because I was very much scare.” - -“Come now, Meschel, you know better than that. If he stood just in front -of the window facing you, you could easily identify him. You’ve already -told me that he was drunk. If you had that much eye for detail, surely -you can give me a description of him.” - -The half-breed blinked and a slow flush of embarrassment mounted his -swarthy face. - -“Yes, Mr. Scott, I know who it was. But I’m ’fraid tell you because you -go make that fellow trouble an’ afterward sometime he come kill me.” - -A slight frown of perplexity appeared upon the factor’s thoughtful brow. - -“What’s that, Meschel? You know who it is and won’t tell me? You’re -afraid of the consequences?” - -“I tell you,” whimpered Meschel, “but I am very much ’fraid. Pierre -Mekewai—that’s the fellow I see.” - -Mr. Scott swallowed heavily, commenced pacing back and forth. His face -was touched with pallor. He stopped before Dick and Sandy. - -“Frazer’s work! Now what do you suppose he was up to?” - -The disclosure acted upon Dick like a cold shower. He stood with lips -pressed, staring at the screen outside. Near him, Sandy clenched his -fists convulsively. - -“Mr. Scott,” asked Dick at length, “have you any way to bar the windows? -It may be Frazer’s intention to burn down the post.” - -“Not in broad daylight, surely. No, I think that more likely what they -were after were the company’s books. Another thing, as Frazer knows, we -often keep money in this room, valuable papers and accounts. It would be -a serious loss to this post if we should lose them. All the records -dealing with transactions with our fur customers are here. However, your -suggestion to bar the windows is a good one. I’ll send for the -blacksmith at once.” - -“From now on,” said Dick, “we’d better keep close watch day and night.” - -The factor nodded. “Two night watchmen armed with rifles. You and Sandy -can help me during the day.” - -It was well that these precautions were taken. That same night, two -Indians, hired for the positions for night watchmen, repulsed three -efforts on the part of Frazer’s men to gain admittance. So persistent -were these attempts to enter the post, that Dick began to believe that -something even of more value than the company’s records were at stake. -At ten o’clock on the following morning, he and Mr. Scott were -discussing this phase of it, when a young half-breed bolted through the -open door of the trading room, shouting wildly. - -“Fire, Meester Scott! The warehouse eet ees burn! Come queek!” - -The factor tore around the end of the counter, his eyes blazing like two -lamps. - -“My God!” he cried. “The fur! Thousands of dollars worth waiting for -shipment.” He raced to the door. “Come on!” he shouted. - -The boys followed closely behind the racing form of the factor. They -could see the fire now. Dense volumes of smoke curled up from the eaves -of the building. As yet, no flame was discernible but the smoke was -thick. They had almost reached the burning building, when suddenly Dick -stopped. Through his mind there had flashed an appalling thought. The -trading post was unguarded. Everyone had rushed to the fire. Hadn’t the -warehouse been purposely set on fire with this end in view? For a -moment, he watched Sandy and the factor racing on, then turned quickly -and sprinted back to the trading room. - -Purposely leaving the door open behind him, revolver in hand, he -concealed himself behind the counter and waited. Through the door and -open windows there came to him the frenzied shouts of the fire fighters. -Even in the trading room he could detect the rancid smell of smoke. He -wondered if he had been foolish in coming here when his assistance was -so urgently required back there at the warehouse. He crouched low, his -thought a conflicting whirl. Once he half started to his feet, deciding -that his suspicions were groundless and that he must hurry to the aid of -his comrades. But again he thought better of it and stooped still lower, -breathlessly waiting. - -A step sounded outside. Whispering voices, then the stealthy movement of -feet across the floor. He gripped his revolver convulsively. He dare not -look up for fear that he might be discovered. He did not wish to -confront them yet. What were they here for? Why had they made those -repeated attempts to break in? - -The door of the factor’s office opened and closed. He could hear muffled -voices in there, the faint shuffling of feet, the creaking of what -sounded like a drawer. Stealthy as a cat, he rose to an upright -position, tip-toed around the counter and, with desperate caution, made -his way over to the door of the factor’s office. His hand stole -tremblingly to the knob. Just before he closed over it, he heard a husky -voice. - -“Quick! Someone may come back any moment. It’s here! You take one and -I’ll take the other.” - -Steeling himself for the ordeal, Dick turned the knob and kicked the -door open. A wicked, pock-marked face, with wolfish fangs bared, -confronted him. Behind Henri Mekewai stood the figure of Donald Frazer. - -“Make one move,” said Dick in a voice of deathly calm, “and I’ll blow -your brains out.” - -The renegade Indian snarled like a cornered beast. Frazer’s first spasm -of fear was followed by a low cry of rage. His unsteady, sinister eyes -squinted into Dick’s, then with a lightning motion his hand flashed -toward his belt. - -The room roared with the explosion. Frazer’s revolver clattered to the -floor. He held up a bleeding hand, like one scarcely crediting the -evidence of his senses. - -“Next time,” Dick growled, “I won’t be so easy on you. Move back to the -wall, Mekewai, if you make another move like that, I’ll shoot you where -you stand. Stand back!” - -Wincing with pain, the former factor hurriedly obeyed. The Indian -followed him. As they did so, Dick’s gaze flashed to the open roll-top -desk and on that instant his eyes popped. - -There on the flat surface in front of him were two large leather -pokes—prospector’s pokes, bulging with gold. At sight of them, his heart -leaped. He was so startled and astonished at seeing them there, that for -a period he was off guard. Perceiving the momentary laxing of vigilance, -the Indian dove headlong, straight toward Dick, who, recovering his -presence of mind, tried to slip to one side and fire at the same time. -The revolver exploded harmlessly, the bullet crashing into the wall -opposite. Hurled back through the door, Dick landed in a heap just -inside the trading room, Mekewai on top of him. But even then, Dick had -not lost the instinct of self-preservation. His opponent’s head was just -above him and he struck out boldly with his clubbed weapon. Mekewai -groaned, went limp and slipped to one side. Dick scrambled to his knees -just in time to dive furiously for the speeding form of Frazer, who had -bounded through the open office door. - -It was a glancing tackle, yet it was almost sufficient to knock Frazer -from the perpendicular. Crashing up against the wall, the fleeing man -inadvertently dropped one of the pokes and was trying to reach it when -Dick made a second lunge for him. - -Almost cornered, Frazer leaped frantically straight over Dick’s head and -darted for the door. A bullet whistled after him, missing him by a scant -two inches. - -Dick groped to his feet, stepped over the prostrate heap on the floor -and stumbled back into the little office, where he picked up Frazer’s -revolver. Then returning quickly, he got the poke Frazer had dropped, -slipped both revolver and gold under the counter in the trading room and -was just stooping down to examine the unconscious prisoner, when the -door of the loft opened and Toma, his face flushed with excitement, -staggered toward him. - -“Dick,” he trembled, “What happen? You shoot this man—you——” - -“Toma, get back to bed,” Dick interrupted whirling about, confronting -his chum. “Don’t worry—everything all right—now. Frazer and Mekewai—I—I -tried to capture both of them and—and Frazer got away. My fault too. I -was careless.” - -“Why they come?” the young Indian demanded, steadying himself by holding -on to the counter. - -“Gold! In the office, Toma. Frazer had it concealed there.” - -Dick’s chum stood and stared incredulously. - -“They get ’em?” he croaked. - -“Part of it.” - -Then, without explaining further, Dick strode over, procured a rope from -the company’s stock and commenced binding up his unconscious prisoner. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - TENSION TIGHTENS. - - -Toma walked nervously to the door and peered out. - -“No go back to bed,” he stated. “I stay up. Dick, you run get Sandy an’ -try follow Frazer. Tell ’em factor I am here all alone to watch Mekewai -an’ gold. Soon as factor get back here, then I go to bed.” - -There was less smoke drifting in through the door now, an indication -that the fire at the warehouse might be under control. But it would be -some time before Scott, Meschel and Sandy returned. No doubt, they and -others had taken a good deal of the fur from the warehouse to a safe -distance outside. Dick was very anxious to know how the fight with the -fire was progressing. Yet, he feared to leave the trading room, even for -a moment, while the wounded Indian and gold were still there. Indeed, -Dick half expected that Frazer would return with the second Mekewai -brother and probably Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum. In such an event, -Toma would be no match for them. By the same token, it was doubtful -whether the combined efforts of himself and Toma would be sufficient to -repulse them. - -“You better go quick,” insisted Toma. - -Dick turned beseeching eyes toward his valiant comrade. - -“Toma, I can’t do it. I’m afraid. The minute I go through that door, -they’ll be down upon you like a pack of wolves. Four against one—what -chance would you have?” - -Toma had started to protest, when Dick caught sight of an ominous glint -of metal less than a hundred yards away. Without further adieu, he -sprang forward and slammed the door, bolted and locked it. Then from the -front window, he and Toma looked out toward the place where the former -had seen the stealthy movement. - -“Over behind that brush! Look!” - -The young Indian drew in his breath sharply. - -“I see ’em three men, Wolf, McCallum an’ Frazer.” - -Alert, Dick stepped back. “Look out, Toma,” he jerked. “They may fire. -What do you say we route them out of there? They don’t know yet that -we’ve seen them. If you’ll stand guard here, I’ll run up to the loft and -fetch our rifles.” - -When Dick returned, Toma was still standing there. - -“Have they gone yet?” he inquired. - -“No.” - -The boys fired three rounds at the screen of willows and presently the -skulkers broke and fled precipitously. To Dick’s amazement, Toma -continued to discharge his rifle. - -“What’s the idea?” he snapped. “You can’t hit them now. Isn’t one chance -in a thousand that a stray bullet will get to them.” - -“That not why I shoot,” Toma informed him cooly. “Factor, Sandy, they -hear noise. They come back.” - -Dick grinned. “Yes, that is a good way to summon them. If the factor -hears that, he’ll go frantic.” - -And in truth the boys did not have long to wait. They heard voices -outside, then, before they had time to open it, loud pounding on the -door. - -“Good gracious, Dick, what is going on here?” the factor shouted as he -came into the room, quickly followed by Sandy and Meschel. - -“Cracky!” Sandy’s eyes popped. “What’s that?” He stood staring at the -now groaning form of Henri Mekewai. - -“Frazer was here in your absence. So was that scum you see lying on the -floor. There’s a secret compartment in the wall of your office and two -pokes of gold were concealed there. I walked in upon them just as they -were taking it from its hiding place. I was so surprised at seeing the -gold that, even though I had them covered, I was off guard for a moment -and the Indian leaped upon me.” - -“And you shot him!” gasped Sandy. - -“No, I struck him over the head when we tumbled to the floor. -Previously, I had wounded Frazer in the hand when he tried to reach for -his gun. During my struggle with Henri, Frazer seized the two pokes and -started to rush by me. I grabbed for him and nearly upset him. He -dropped one of the pokes, but in spite of all I could do, he escaped -with the other.” - -“But who were you shooting at just before we came?” - -“Frazer and the two prospectors. They were returning to get the other -poke. Did you succeed in saving most of the fur?” - -“Some of it was badly scorched and ruined,” the factor informed him. -“However, the fire is out now. I have placed Langley, the blacksmith, -and two half-breeds in charge. The fire is of very mysterious origin. It -broke out among the bales of fur in the back of the building. I believe -now it was the work of an incendiary. No doubt, Frazer started it. When -Sandy’s uncle drove him away from the post, he probably took one of the -keys of the warehouse with him. Today when no one was looking, either he -or one of his accomplices boldly entered, started the fire, then came -out and locked the door.” - -“There’s no question but what Frazer set the fire,” said Dick grimly. “I -suspected it from the first. I followed you and Sandy almost to the -warehouse, when it suddenly occurred to me that we had left the door to -the trading room open and the place unprotected.” He paused and looked -earnestly up into the factor’s face. “Can’t you see,” he went on, “that -it was all of a prearranged plan? Unsuccessful in his efforts to get -into your office, Frazer hit upon the very clever idea of firing the -warehouse, knowing that all of us would rush out to the scene of the -fire, leaving this place wholly unguarded.” - -Mr. Scott thumped his two hands together and looked at Dick admiringly. - -“You’re right. If it hadn’t been for you, they’d have succeeded.” - -“You mean, they almost succeeded in spite of me. Don’t forget they got -one of those pokes.” - -The factor moved forward. “Show me the place where the gold was hid. You -spoke of a secret compartment. I want to see it.” - -Dick led the way into the little office and pointed at the gaping hole -in the wall. When closed, the door of the compartment fitted so nicely -into its place that, standing three feet away, it was almost impossible -to tell where it was. To complete the deception, a calendar had been -hung down over it from a nail in the wall. - -“And you didn’t know a thing about that cabinet?” Surprised, Dick turned -upon the factor. - -“No, it’s a revelation to me.” - -“I wonder from whom he stole the gold.” - -Mr. Scott shook his head. “I can’t imagine. It’s all a mystery to me. In -spite of the fact that I’ve been working here for nearly three years, I -must confess to a complete ignorance of Frazer’s nefarious schemes. I -always suspected, however, that he was dishonest and I had almost proved -to my satisfaction that he was stealing from the company. It was no -surprise to me, therefore, when Mr. MacClaren came over from Fort Good -Faith to audit the books.” - -Sandy had grown restless and impatient. - -“Where’s the gold?” he demanded. - -“Come on,” said Dick, leading the way, “and I’ll show you that too.” - -Returning to the trading room, he stepped behind the counter, stooped -and lifted up for their inspection both poke and gun. - -“Do you suppose they’ll come back for it?” the factor inquired -nervously. - -“Of course they will. They won’t be satisfied with half of it. Just -before you came over from the warehouse, they were preparing to rush the -post.” - -“What will be their next ruse,” puzzled Sandy. - -“I don’t know but you may depend on it, they’ll think of some scheme. -Frazer is a dangerous opponent. There is only one way that I can see to -put a stop to this.” - -“How?” Sandy and Scott inquired in one breath. - -“Just this,” Dick gestured emphatically. “Assume the offensive -ourselves. Instead of waiting for him to carry the fight into our -territory, let’s go down and make it interesting for him.” - -“Now I think you talk sense,” Toma’s eyes snapped. - -“We’ll do it,” Sandy exclaimed excitedly. - -“Right now,” Toma appended. - -“You bet!” Sandy began dancing up and down. “I have an idea. We’ll -recruit a little party and start out. There’s Langley, the blacksmith, -and those two half-breeds down at the warehouse, Toma, Dick and myself. -That makes six in all. Six against four.” - -“Seven,” corrected a vibrant, musical voice. - -Startled, every person in the room turned sharply and looked in the -direction from which the voice had come. Dick gasped and reached out -toward the counter for support. - -There in the doorway stood Corporal Rand! - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - THE POLICE TAKE CHARGE. - - -Corporal Rand immediately took charge. - -“Now,” he said, “tell me all about it.” - -He listened gravely to the story the boys told, while he sat there near -the open doorway, through which there poured the hot sun of early -afternoon. Bronzed and weather-beaten was the corporal, but hard as -nails, a steel spring in action. - -“Making merry in my absence, eh?” His eyes glinted as he spoke. “Where -can I find these men?” - -“You might find a few of them over at the Mekewai tepee,” replied Dick. -“I do not know whether Frazer will be there or not. Toma says that the -former factor occupies a cabin somewhere near the Old Mission road.” - -“I’ll slip over to the tepee,” announced the policeman as calmly as if -he spoke of entering the adjoining room. “If Wolf Brennan and McCallum -are away with Frazer, I may be able to pick up the other Mekewai boy.” - -“May I go with you?” asked Dick eagerly. - -To Dick’s great disappointment, the corporal shook his head. - -“No, I’ll go alone,” he smiled. “You can stay here and rest on your -oars. I think you’ve done enough for one day, Dick, old chap. I may call -upon you later. Now if you’ll tell me where I can find this Mekewai -tepee, I’ll be ever so much obliged to you.” - -“Turn down the bank to your right when you get to the boat landing,” -instructed Dick. “It’s the fourth tepee.” - -Corporal Rand rose, yawned and walked over to where Henry Mekewai lay -trussed up on the floor. To Dick’s surprise, he spoke to him. - -“Where’s your brother?” he demanded. - -The Indian’s ugly, repulsive face twisted into a snarl at the sound of -the voice. He did not know it was the policeman that spoke to him. His -eyes, averted, gazed at the wall beside him. - -“Where’s your brother?” persisted the quiet voice. - -Henri Mekewai turned his head surlily and looked up. He started visibly. -In common with other natives of that vast northern territory, he -possessed an almost superstitious dread of anyone wearing that flaming -red coat. Sudden terror leaped into his eyes. - -“Where’s your brother?” the corporal asked for the third and last time. - -“My brother he——” the Indian paused and moistened his dry lips. - -“Yes, go on.” - -“My brother in our tepee, I think. I not sure.” - -“Where are Brennan and McCallum?” - -“Find ’em in tepee,” answered the Indian like a parrot. - -“Do they stay with you?” - -“Yes.” - -“And where does Frazer stay?” - -“He stay in cabin two mile from Half Way House. Pretty close to Old -Mission trail.” - -Corporal Rand turned away. - -“You’d better lock him up in a room somewhere,” he instructed Dick. -“Take off these bonds. I may talk to him again later when I come back.” - -Without further word, the policeman spun on his heel and clanked out, -spurs rattling, his body very straight and trim and pleasing to the eye. -He was absent just twenty minutes, by Dick’s watch. When he returned, -two figures preceded him—Wolf Brennan and Toby McCallum, a somewhat -worried looking pair. They came shame-facedly into the room, slinking -like two whipped curs. Gone was their blustering courage and -cocksureness. Rand motioned them over to one side of the room a little -disdainfully. - -“Don’t try to move,” he ordered, “if you know what’s good for you. Mr. -Scott, is the other prisoner locked up?” - -“Yes, Corporal.” - -“Do you think you can find a place for these two men?” - -“In the office. The windows are barred.” - -The policeman beckoned to the two prisoners, then strode forward and -opened the door. - -“Get in there,” he commanded. - -Wolf Brennan and his partner lost no time in doing as they were told. -The door was locked behind them. - -“Now, Dick.” - -“Yes, Corporal Rand,” Dick stepped forward. - -“I’ll want you and Sandy to accompany me. We’ll get an early supper and -leave here around seven o’clock. I think I know where Frazer’s cabin is. -I propose to swing completely around it and come in from the opposite -side. That will mean about six miles of steady tramping.” - -“Why not go straight there?” asked Sandy. - -“Because they may be on the lookout for us. They may be watching the -road leading from the post. I want to surprise them.” - -The corporal sat down in a chair while the three boys crowded around -him. - -“We’re all mighty glad you got back,” Sandy broke forth eagerly. “You -certainly came at an opportune time. How did you manage to get here so -quickly?” - -“Because I didn’t go as far as I expected to,” Rand smiled. “It’s rather -a long story, Sandy, and I don’t intend to burden you with it now. My -destination, as you may remember, was Caribou Lake. However, I got no -further than the lower waters of the Half Way River. I was drifting -along one day, half asleep, when I saw a canoe approaching. The occupant -of the little craft proved to be Jim Maynard, an old friend of mine. Jim -is a trapper and prospector and has been working all winter up in the -region of Caribou Lake. When I told him I was going up to Miller’s -cabin, he seemed surprised. ‘You won’t find him there,’ he told me. He -explained to me that he had visited at Miller’s cabin just two days -before the latter left by dog team for the south. I asked if Miller had -told him his destination. He replied that he had, Miller, it appeared, -was going out to Fort Laird.” - -“But he never got there,” Sandy interrupted. - -“No, he never got there. Something happened to him en route. He might -have lost his way in a storm and both he and his dogs perished.” - -“So the mystery is still a mystery.” - -The policeman nodded. “Time probably will solve it. Some day, I expect, -a lone traveller wandering through the vast wilderness space south of -Caribou Lake will run across his bleached skeleton. The north has many -secrets,” he went on, half to himself, “many of which will never be -solved.” - -“I wish we could solve this mystery that surrounds Frazer,” put in Dick. -“He had a good deal of gold hidden here, corporal. First we discover the -place where he had it concealed in the basement, now we find the secret -compartment in the little room. Of course, it is stolen gold. But from -whom did he steal it?” - -“Gold in the basement!” the policeman stared at Dick. “You didn’t -mention that. So he had it there too?” - -Dick nodded. “Very cleverly concealed just like it was in the office. -Only in the cellar, instead of having a secret niche in the wall, he -took up a portion of the plank flooring, dug a pit and hid it in there -in burlap sacks.” - -“Burlap sacks!” Rand looked incredulous. “That is very unusual. How do -you know he had it in burlap sacks?” - -“Because I saw them,” and Dick narrated the incidents of the night the -Mekewai brothers broke into the trading room and descended to the -cellar. - -“You are really sure that they carried this gold in burlap sacks?” - -“Yes, Corporal.” - -“And you say the sacks were nearly full?” - -“Why, yes,” Dick looked puzzled, wondering what the policeman was -driving at. - -“But how do you know it was gold they carried in those burlap sacks?” - -“We didn’t, of course. We merely surmised that. It was something very -valuable or they wouldn’t have been so anxious to get it.” - -“I grant you that. But did you ever stop to consider how much a sack of -gold, one of the heaviest metals, would weigh? And didn’t it ever occur -to you that if a man had gold enough to fill a burlap sack, he’d be -wealthy enough to afford a container a little more durable and -dependable than burlap?” - -“Why, I never thought of that,” Dick scratched his head. - -“The inference is, that it wasn’t gold. Only a fool would put so -precious a metal in burlap sacks.” - -“Yes, that seems reasonable,” Dick smiled sheepishly. “But if it wasn’t -gold, what was it?” - -Corporal Rand laughed heartily. - -“Now, my boy, you’re asking me a very difficult question. If we can find -what they did with those sacks, I might be able to tell you.” - -“I know what they did with those sacks,” Dick informed him. - -“Very well, please tell me.” - -“They buried them.” - -“Why are you so sure?” - -“We overheard one of the Mekewai boys tell Wolf Brennan and Toby -McCallum that they had buried the sacks in a safe place.” - -“In a safe place,” mused the policeman aloud. - -“Yes,” Sandy corroborated his chum, “those were the very words he used.” - -Corporal Rand sat for a moment immersed in thought. Then suddenly he -started to his feet. - -“I think I’ll go in and have a talk with Henri Mekewai,” he said. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - NEAR FRAZER’S CABIN. - - -When Corporal Rand came out of the room in which Henri Mekewai was -imprisoned, the boys met him in the hall outside. - -“What luck?” asked Sandy. - -“Not a word out of him,” Rand growled a little testily. “Couldn’t get -him to admit that he had even taken the sacks out of the cellar. Claims -that he knows nothing about it. I tried to frighten him, but it’s no -use. The only way to get to the bottom of this is to find Frazer himself -and force a confession.” - -“It will soon be time now to start after him,” Sandy looked at his -watch. “Ten minutes to six now. Supper is waiting for us in the dining -room.” - -“When we go, shall we take our rifles,” asked Dick. - -“No, just our revolvers.” - -On the way to the supper table, Toma swung in behind Corporal Rand, his -face utterly disconsolate. Looking at him, one might have thought that -he had just lost his nearest and dearest friend. His lower lip quivered. -Unshed tears stood in his eyes. In the dining room, when Rand drew out -his chair to sit down, Toma stood near him gulping. - -“Corporal Rand.” - -“Yes, Toma,”—kindly. - -“Corporal Rand, I feel ’em much better now.” - -The policeman turned his head and surveyed the drawn, haggard face. - -“You certainly don’t look it. You ought to be in bed.” - -“Tomorrow,” smiled the young Indian, “I take ’em off bandages.” - -“I’m glad to hear that, Toma.” - -A deep sigh. “Corporal Rand, I feel plenty strong go along you, Dick an’ -Sandy.” - -The policeman shook his head as he reached over and patted the young -man’s arm. - -“Like to have you, Toma. If you hadn’t been wounded. I’d say yes. You’re -really in no condition to go.” - -To the surprise of everyone, Toma swung on his heel and walked out of -the room. Sandy’s face clouded. - -“Poor devil!” he exclaimed. “That upset him so much he won’t even eat -his supper.” - -“It is hard on him,” sympathized Dick, looking down at his plate. “The -minute you brought up the matter, Toma set his heart on accompanying us. -It is a terrible blow to him. He loves action and wants to be in at the -finish.” - -“I appreciate all that, but you must remember that if he overtaxes -himself, a thing which he is very apt to do, it is liable to cause -complications. He still has a slight fever. Tell that by looking at him. -Eyes heavy, cheeks flushed. No, boys, for his own sake, I can’t permit -him to go.” - -Not long afterward, Corporal Rand and the two boys left the trading -post, hurrying away through the woods. They had slipped off so quietly -and unobtrusively that few persons were aware of their going. Rand set -the pace, walking with long, easy strides. Through dense thickets of -alders, through the shadowed coolness of fir and balsam, across rippling -green meadows of luxuriant grass, they made their way. Except now and -then for a low order respecting their route, the policeman did not talk. -Only the noises of the forest and the steady beat of their footsteps -could be heard. Sandy was nervous and continually consulted his watch. - -“Eight o’clock,” he finally announced to Dick. “Ought to be getting -there pretty soon.” - -On and on they tramped. Rand never hesitated. He seemed to be sure of -his route. Dick knew they were swinging around in a wide arc, yet he -marvelled at the policeman’s sense of location. When they plunged -through the trees out to the Old Mission road, for the first time since -their departure, he raised his hand commanding them to stop. - -“We’re very close to their cabin now,” he explained in a low voice. -“Straight north,” he pointed, “about three hundred yards. We will -separate here and attempt to make our approach from three directions. -Dick and I will start out, Dick to the right and I to the left and come -upon them, if possible, coincident with your approach from the north, -Sandy. You have the shortest distance to go, therefore you must proceed -slowly. I hope to corner them in the cabin.” - -The corporal paused. “Now is there anything you’d like to ask me?” - -The boys shook their heads. - -“Very well then, we’ll start. Don’t shoot unless it is absolutely -necessary. Good luck!” - -They separated in silence. Down the road Dick hurried, watchful as a -lynx. The sunlight streamed aslant, a glare in his eyes, bright gold -where it touched the leaves of the poplar. Swerving abruptly to his -right when he had gone a distance of about two hundred yards, he darted -in among the trees, zig-zagging to avoid clumps of underbrush, his right -hand resting lightly on his hip close to the butt of his revolver. He -made little sound as he advanced, and was actually preparing for a final -sprint up to the cabin when, less than thirty feet straight ahead, he -caught a flashing glimpse of a human figure. - -Breathless, he stopped short, swung in behind a large tree and stood -there trembling. To his ears there came the faint trampling of feet. A -voice cracked across the stillness. - -Suddenly, his heart almost stopped beating. They had halted just within -the clump of bushes ahead, as though they had sensed his presence. Had -they seen him? Fearful now, he yanked out his revolver, crouched closer -to the tree and waited. Frazer’s harsh tones broke forth anew. - -“I don’t care what you say, Pierre, it isn’t safe here. Sooner or later, -someone may happen upon it.” - -“I dig ’em down deep,” the Indian reassured him. - -“Can’t help it. Too close to the post. Hundred places you might have -chosen better than this. I tell you, someone is apt to stumble upon it.” - -“You ’fraid,” accused the Indian. - -Frazer’s voice rose angrily. “Yes, I am afraid, you black cut-throat, -and you ought to be afraid too. Tonight we’ll dig it up and——” - -“Ssh!” cautioned the Indian. “I think I hear something.” - -Dick had heard something too—a slight crackling in the brush behind him -and a little off to his right. A shiver of apprehension coursed down -along his spine. Dizzy with weakness, he shrank still closer to the -tree. Just then Pierre Mekewai plunged forward, his quick Indian eyes -catching sight of Dick’s protruding arm. Firing from his hip, he darted -back to cover. The bullet sliced the bark of the balsam. Dick heard the -sound of running footsteps. A full half-minute passed. - -“Stop!” commanded a voice some distance away, followed by the crack of a -gun. - -His heart pumping, Dick bounded from behind the tree, into the -underbrush, believing that both Frazer and the Indian had fled. Too late -he discovered his mistake. A blinding flash almost in his face, a sharp -pain in his left arm, the distorted picture of the white fear-struck -face of Frazer! - -Carried forward by his own momentum, he collided with his opponent, -striking up the arm that still held the smoking weapon. Grappling, they -went down. The struggle was short and spirited. - -“I’ve got you!” rumbled Dick, his hands fastened like leeches upon the -other’s wrists. “Drop that gun!” - -He was still holding Frazer when the policeman came running up. The -corporal purloined the revolvers of both vanquished and victor. He -assisted Dick to his feet. - -“Good boy!” he breathed. “Hurt badly?” - -Before Dick had time to answer, Sandy joined them. - -“You’re wounded!” shouted the newcomer. “Can’t you see, you’re wounded.” - -“Just a scratch,” Dick smiled feebly. “A mere flesh wound, Sandy. -Corporal Rand, will you twist on a tourniquet? I’m sorry that Mekewai -got away. It was my fault. I think I was too hasty.” - -“You’re good,” grinned Rand. “I’ll take a little of the responsibility -of Mekewai’s escape myself. When he went past me, I called to him to -stop.” - -“Then you shot at him,” guessed Dick. “That was your revolver I heard.” - -“Yes, he’s wounded.” - -The policeman stepped forward and prodded Frazer with his foot. - -“Get up!” he ordered savagely. - -When the former factor had groped to an upright position, Corporal Rand -turned upon Sandy. - -“Watch him,” he instructed, “while I look after Dick’s arm.” - -The policeman worked hurriedly and in a manner that left no doubt in the -minds of his onlookers that he knew his business. He had just stepped -back to relieve Sandy when, through the screen of trees ahead, two -figures hove into view. Perceiving them, Dick exclaimed softly under his -breath. - -“Bless, me, if he didn’t come along after all,” gasped Corporal Rand. -“The rascal!” - -Hands clawing the air, Pierre Mekewai, savage and vindictive-looking -even in defeat, marched toward them. Ten paces behind, equally savage -and vindictive-looking, came the Indian’s captor—a young man with a -bandage wound around his head! - -“By cripes!” Sandy broke the stillness. “By Golly, it’s the first time -that Toma ever disobeyed an order.” - -Corporal Rand tried to look severe, bit his lips, then presently threw -back his head and laughed. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - GATHERING UP THE THREADS. - - -In the cabin, recently occupied by Donald Frazer, they found the poke. -It was the mate to the one Dick had picked up off the floor of the -trading room at Half Way House earlier in the day. Frazer’s face fell -when Corporal Rand pulled it out of the pack lying in the corner. - -“Gold—sure enough!” the policeman’s eyes sparkled. “You made a big haul -from somewhere, didn’t you, Frazer?” - -The prisoner ignored the thrust. - -“I came by it honestly.” - -“Glad to hear that.” - -“It’s mine and I’m going to have it. You can turn over that other poke -too. Walter MacClaren’s fault I didn’t take it all with me in the first -place. He had no right to drive me away from Half Way House at the point -of a gun. There isn’t a court in the land that wouldn’t exonerate me of -the charges you’ll bring against me.” - -Corporal Rand laughed sarcastically. - -“You talk like a fool.” - -“We’ll see,” growled Frazer. “I’ve a right to fight for my own. No man -can keep from me by force what rightfully belongs to me.” - -“Are you referring now to the gold?” - -“Yes.” - -“You really have the nerve to stand there and make an assertion like -that?” snapped the corporal “It was stolen and you know it.” - -“You can’t prove it.” - -“Oh yes, I can. Not very difficult either. The proof is less than a -hundred yards away.” - -Donald Frazer went deathly pale. - -“What’s that—hundred yards—you, you—do you know what you’re talking -about?” - -“Yes,” grimly smiled the policeman. “I do. If you don’t believe me, -we’ll go there together and dig it up.” - -Frazer staggered back as if from a blow. Every vestige of color drained -from his cheeks. In terror his hands went up clutching his throat. - -“You—you know!” The sound that issued from his lips was a low breath of -agony. - -“Yes, I know. A horrible crime! You, Brennan, McCallum and the two -Indians will have to answer for it, Frazer. Bit by bit, these boys here -have unearthed the evidence that will hang you as assuredly as I’m -standing here. Miller’s murder will not go unavenged.” - -Frazer crumpled like a leaf and would have fallen had not Sandy caught -him. Dick whirled upon the mounted policeman at the mention of the -missing prospector’s name, for a full minute not able to speak. He, too, -was trembling violently over the very unexpectedness of the revelation. - -“Miller!” he cried, when he had found his voice. “The man from Caribou -Lake! How do you know that?” - -“By putting two and two together, Dick,” Corporal Rand answered -unhesitatingly. “To you boys belong most of the credit. The evidence I -had was inconsequential until it was added to what you had unearthed -yourselves.” - -“I don’t think I quite understand,” puzzled Dick. - -“Very well then, let’s review the case. Let’s start with Miller, the -prospector. At Caribou Lake last fall, Miller made a very rich strike. -Before the freeze-up, he had taken out over thirty thousand dollars -worth of gold. He remained at his claim all winter, rigging up -windlasses, trapping in his spare time, preparing for the active -resumption of work in the spring. Late in March, he suddenly decided -that he needed more equipment and tools. When Jim Langley visited Miller -at Caribou Lake on March twenty-third, the latter explained to his -friend that he was setting out for Fort Laird on the twenty-fifth, just -two days later. Miller showed Langley two pokes filled with gold—the -gold he had mined the previous fall—and told Langley that he was taking -it with him. - -“From that point, we almost lose trace of Miller. Setting out by dog -team from Caribou Lake, he failed to arrive at his destination. The last -seen of him was on April third, between Thunder River and Lynx Lake, by -an Indian named Henri Karek. The prospector was in good health and had -plenty of grub, the Indian claimed. - -“I do not know whether you remember or not, but between April third and -April tenth we had one of the warmest chinooks we have ever experienced -so early in the year. The trails were running water and most of the snow -in the open melted. From Lynx Lake to Fort Laird, a distance of -eighty-five miles, there is a lot of open country and two small rivers, -which flood badly during the wet season. Now on the other hand, between -Lynx Lake and Half Way House, a distance of a hundred and twenty miles, -there are no rivers at all and the trail threads its way through heavy -forests that protect the snow.” - -Corporal Rand paused. “Do you follow me?” he asked. - -Dick and Sandy nodded eagerly. - -“Yes, yes, Corporal. Please go on.” - -“That chinook will explain why Miller didn’t continue on his way to Fort -Laird. Swollen rivers to cross, poor trail. Remember he had a sledge and -dog team.” - -“So he changed his mind and came on to Half Way House,” Sandy -interrupted. - -“Naturally he would,” the policeman replied. “Put yourself in his place. -Wouldn’t you have done the same?” - -“Yes.” - -“And don’t forget he had two large pokes of gold. Deducing that he came -on to Half Way House, what happened? Well, for one thing, he was robbed. -It is something more than mere coincidence that Frazer has, or I should -say, had two pokes of gold in his possession. The gold was hidden in a -secret place. Isn’t that true?” Corporal Rand addressed Dick. - -“Yes, it’s quite true.” - -“Now we’ve come to your discovery of the pit in the cellar. What was in -this pit? More gold? No. Furs? Possibly, but not very likely. One need -not keep fur so carefully hid. Mr. Frazer, with perfect impunity and no -fear of detection, could have kept stolen fur in the company’s -warehouse. So, by elimination and deduction, we arrive gradually at a -startling conclusion, namely that the contents of that pit—something -that was kept in two burlap sacks—was even of more importance to Mr. -Frazer than the gold.” - -“How did you make that out?” Sandy again interrupted. - -“I’ll prove it to you. When Mr. MacClaren discharged Frazer and drove -him away from the post at the point of a gun, there were two things that -the latter was unable to take away with him: the gold hid in the office -and the sacks concealed in the pit. If the gold had been of more value -to Frazer than the contents of the pit, he’d have tried to get the gold -first, wouldn’t he?” - -“Yes, he would,” agreed Sandy. - -“But instead of trying to get the gold first, he sent the Mekewai -brothers to procure the two sacks. Why?” - -“Yes, yes, why?” blurted Sandy. - -“Because he was terribly afraid that in his absence someone would -stumble upon what he had hidden in the cellar.” - -“I can’t make it out,” Sandy scratched his head. “Can you, Dick?” - -“Yes,” Dick whispered through white lips. “I understand now. God help -the man that did it. Don’t ask, Sandy—don’t ask. It’s too unutterably -horrible. For your own peace of mind, it is better that you should never -know.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - FRAZER’S CONFESSION. - - -Donald Frazer’s confession, made on the day following his capture, -corroborated the statements which had been made by Corporal Rand. The -actual murder, according to Frazer, had been committed by Pierre and -Henri Mekewai in the trading room at Half Way House on the night of -April 18th, just ten days after the prospector had been seen at Lynx -Lake by the Indian, Henri Karek, and within two hours after his, -Miller’s, arrival at the post. - -“He drove in at ten o’clock or very shortly after,” Frazer told them. -“Since morning it had snowed heavily and the wind had risen almost to a -gale. There were five of us in the trading room at the time, Wolf -Brennan, Toby McCallum, the two Mekewai brothers and myself. We had all -been drinking for several hours. The first intimation we had of Miller’s -arrival was when we heard the sound of a sledge outside, then a voice -calling through the door. Brennan and McCallum went out and assisted -Miller to unharness and feed his team and later helped him carry in his -grub-box, blankets and the two pokes containing gold. Miller was chilled -to the bone and had not eaten for twelve hours. He asked me if I could -get supper for him. He especially wanted a hot cup of tea. He was very -tired, he said, and wished to get to bed as quickly as possible. - -“I went to the door of the loft to summon my native boy, Meschel, who, -like Mr. Scott, had already retired, when Wolf Brennan called me to one -side, suggesting in an undertone that he would do the work himself. -Immediately afterward Wolf started for the kitchen, winking at me -covertly as he went past. On some pretext or other, I followed him a few -minutes later, and there in the kitchen, while Wolf brewed the tea and -prepared the lunch, he told me about the two pokes. - -“‘They’re worth thousands’, he informed me. ‘Gold enough there to buy -our way into Kingdom Come’.” - -“At first I was appalled at the thought. - -“‘You mean to murder him’?” I asked. - -“Wolf told me that that was exactly what he meant. For a few hundred -dollars and a bottle of rum, he said, the Mekewai boys would be willing -to slip up behind Miller while he ate and knife him in the back. - -“I told him flatly that I wouldn’t be party to such a crime. I was -horrified. The mere thought of it sent cold shivers running down my -back. But after we had two or three more drinks from a bottle, I looked -at it differently. For days I had been desperate, wondering where I -could get enough money to repay what I had borrowed from company -funds—in all about two thousand dollars.” - -“Why had you borrowed that amount?” interrupted Corporal Rand: - -“Money I had lost at cards. I had to cover my shortage before the books -were audited or else suffer disgrace and probably imprisonment. I lived -in constant fear of Mr. MacClaren’s coming. Here was a chance to get -myself out of a very bad hole. I took it.” - -Frazer lowered his eyes and a deep silence crept over the little room. - -“Within thirty minutes of the time I came to a decision,” he resumed, -“the crime had been committed. Miller’s death was almost instantaneous. -At my suggestion, we dug the pit under the floor in the cellar. The -Mekewai boys concealed the body there, were paid their blood-money and -bottle of rum and went home singing.” - -“Singing!” gasped Dick. - -“Yes, they went home singing,” repeated the former factor. “Just as soon -as they had gone, Brennan, McCallum and I held a short conference and it -was decided that I should keep the gold in my possession until it could -be sold to advantage. The money received for it would be divided equally -among the three of us. Before entering the service of the Hudson’s Bay -Company I was a cabinetmaker by trade and that night I told them that I -could easily construct a wall-cabinet in my office, where we could hide -the gold. - -“The next morning the Mekewai brothers came over before daybreak—as it -had been previously planned—to get the dead man’s effects. The dogs were -sold to an Indian, who resides at Fort Chipewayan, and all the others -things were weighted with rocks and sunk through a hole in the ice in -Half Way River. - -“Miller’s body was the only thing we had to worry about. As the days -passed, I began to see that I would never know one moment’s peace as -long as the corpse remained in the cellar. My waking hours were filled -with grim spectres of fear and horror, with a constant dread of -discovery. The thing preyed upon my mind so much that finally I summoned -Wolf and Toby and explained to them that we must find a safer burial -place. The body, I told them, had to be moved. I simply couldn’t stand -the worry and suspense any longer. I was rapidly becoming a physical and -mental wreck. I jumped at my own shadow. - -“Brennan and McCallum endeavored to laugh away my fears, but I was -obdurate. Wolf pointed out that moving the body again presented unusual -difficulties. Even at night there was a chance that someone might see -us. The days were getting longer, he said. Neither he nor his partner, -he made it quite plain, wished to have anything to do with such a -perilous and unnecessary undertaking. - -“Thus the matter rested for several days, and then I had an inspiration. -As soon as I could send Mr. Scott away, I hired the Mekewai brothers to -come over late at night and dismember the body. They put it in sacks and -agreed to come back on the following night and take the sacks away and -bury them.” - -Frazer paused, wiping his perspiring face. - -“We could not carry out this plan because on the very next morning these -three boys appeared. I can not begin to tell you, Corporal Rand, how -their coming startled me. I was afraid that the mounted police had in -some mysterious way got wind of the murder and had sent them here to spy -upon me. I recalled that during the previous summer the boys had -assisted you in solving the Dewberry case. By the end of the week, -frantic, desperate, I began to plan how I could get them to leave the -post without arousing their suspicions.” - -Again Frazer paused and again, he daubed at his flushed sweat-streaked -face. - -“I need not tell you how I eventually succeeded. You all know what -subsequently occurred. But I was afraid even when the boys departed for -the island of the dinosaur that they could see into my little game and -would return as soon as they were out of sight of the post. In order to -make sure on this point, I sent Brennan and McCallum to watch them -closely and prevent them from coming back again. - -“Strange as it may seem, I had no opportunity during the next few weeks -to remove Miller’s body from the cellar. People dropped in at the post -unexpectedly. Mr. Stearns, an old friend of mine, came up from Fort -Vermilion and remained with me for several days. No sooner had he left -than a party of prospectors arrived on the scene and camped in the trees -just outside the trading room for a full week. Then you put in an -appearance, Corporal, and _within two hours of your departure Mr. -MacClaren walked in upon me_.” - -Startled by these disclosures, Sandy leaned over and whispered in Dick’s -ear: - -“Divine interference! And some people doubt the existence of God!” - -“Please continue with your confession,” the policeman instructed Frazer. - -“I have nothing more to tell.” - -Corporal Rand turned his head thoughtfully and looked out of the window. -Another deep silence pervaded the room. - -“Does old Bill Willison know anything about the murder of Miller?” he -asked finally. - -Frazer shook his head. “No, not a thing. He’s as innocent as a babe. He -doesn’t enter into this case at all except in a small way. He lives in a -cabin now along the lower stretches of Half Way River. When Wolf and -Toby lost their canoe, they walked back in the woods to Willison’s place -and hired him to take them up river in pursuit of these boys. On the -way, they conceived the plan of dressing Willison like a wild man and -frightening the boys so badly that they would leave the course of the -river and strike off toward Fort Good Faith.” - -“It didn’t work, did it?” glared Sandy. - -“No comments, please!” came the corporal’s sharp reprimand. - -“You set fire to the warehouse.” The policeman turned again to Frazer. - -“Yes, it was a ruse to get Scott and these boys out of the post.” - -“Did you instruct Pierre Mekewai to shoot at Dick that night Dick stood -near the window of the loft?” - -“No, Corporal, I did not. Those instructions were issued by Wolf Brennan -who bore this young man a grudge.” - -“Who threw the knife that wounded young John Toma?” - -“Henri Mekewai.” - -“By your orders?” - -“No, sir. I knew nothing about it until afterwards.” - -Corporal Rand gathered up the sheets of foolscap on the desk in front of -him. - -“I have your confession here, Mr. Frazer, word for word, just as you -have told it to us. Are there any other statements you wish to make -apropos of this case?” - -Frazer raised his head and for the first time that afternoon he looked -straight into the eyes of his questioner. - -“With your permission, Corporal,” he stated in a hollow, choking voice, -“I’d like to say that heinous as my crime is and black as my character -may seem to you, I am ready and willing to pay the penalty. I want you -all to know that I hold no brief for myself, expect no sympathy or -mercy. On the other hand, I’d like to have you understand, to believe -somehow, that here at the last I am a changed man, an altogether -different person than he who was one of the slayers of Conroy Miller. -Before God, now that it is too late, I am deeply and sincerely sorry. -Crime is a terrible thing, Corporal, and if I had my life to live again -I swear to you——” - -In the middle of a sentence, Frazer stopped short, sank back in his -chair and covered his face with his hands. In the deep silence that -followed Dick looked searchingly at Sandy and together they rose and -tip-toed out of the room. They did not pause until they had reached the -path, leading to the river. - -“How sweet and cool the air is outside,” remarked Sandy. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII. - TOMA’S SCAR. - - -Corporal Rand met the three boys just outside the trading room. He, too, -breathed deeply of the cool, sweet air, his eyes shining with relief. - -“Well,” he announced smiling, “the worst is over. Five prisoners in safe -custody and everyone of them has confessed. The Mekewai brothers were -more reticent than the other three, but I have enough evidence to hang -them all. Another case has gone down in the police records.” - -“Perhaps if we had known,” grinned Sandy, “we might not have come at -all. What about it, Toma?” - -The young Indian moved over and sat down on the bench, his thoughtful, -dark eyes turned toward the fringe of poplar and balsam that ran in a -zig-zag line around the natural clearing that harbored the white, log -building of the great fur company. For a moment he did not speak. - -“I think I come anyway,” he answered finally. “I like alla time plenty -move around. Plenty excitement, too, once in a while.” - -“Well you got the excitement,” grunted Sandy. “Enough to do for a long -time. You can be thankful that this job is finished.” - -“Mebbe not so thankful like you think,” Toma retorted evasively. - -Corporal Rand looked up in surprise. - -“You must like fighting better than I do,” he smiled. “In my line of -duty I’m forced into it sometimes, but just between you and me, I’d -prefer staying out. Now tell us, Toma, why you’re not glad that our -troubles are all over.” - -“I am glad,” the young Indian objected. “Pretty hard for me I try to -make you understand. Mebbe you no feel like I feel. What you say if bad -fellow come up, sneaking like coyote, an’ make ’em scar on your head -that stay there till you die? How you like it stay all night in woods -alla same dead man? Make me more mad than ever I feel before. I like do -to that Mekewai fellow just what he do to me. No chance now. No chance I -ever fight that man again. Tomorrow, next day mebbe, all these bad -fellows you take away to Mackenzie Barracks an’ I no see ’em any more.” - -It was a long speech for Toma. Dick and Sandy looked at him in -astonishment while Corporal Rand moved over, sat down beside him and in -a friendly way, threw one arm over his heaving shoulders. - -“I understand what you mean,” he said kindly. “But you mustn’t forget -that this Henri Mekewai will be punished for all his misdeeds. He has -many crimes to answer for. You mustn’t feel that way about it. You -helped to capture him, Toma, and that is surely revenge enough.” - -“But he no carry scar on his head,” the young Indian pointed out. - -“True enough. But he carries other scars that one can’t see. His heart -and soul are scarred with wickedness and, no doubt, he will be compelled -to pay the life penalty.” - -Knowing something of the Indian’s point of view, in his own mind, Dick -did not blame Toma for the stand he took. An eye for an eye and a tooth -for a tooth. It had been bred in Toma, was the product of generations of -savage, relentless ancestors—part of the Indian’s code. - -“I didn’t know you were so blood-thirsty, Toma,” Sandy poked fun at him. -“You mustn’t think of such things.” - -Toma averted his eyes, flushing under the criticism. - -“I think alla time about that scar,” he said. - -The policeman drummed thoughtfully on the bench for a moment, then again -he addressed the young man beside him. - -“Yes, Toma, you must forget. If you’ll promise me to overlook this -slight, I’ll give you and Sandy a chance to earn a little extra police -pay during the next two weeks. Tomorrow I will be compelled to take my -five prisoners back to the Mackenzie River Barracks. You and Sandy can -render me valuable aid by accompanying my party. I hate to take any -chance of losing them now. One can’t be too careful. They are dangerous -criminals, desperate men all, and would take the first chance offered -them for a break for liberty.” - -The young Indian’s eyes brightened. - -“Thank you, Corporal, I like that very much.” - -“Two weeks at full police pay. I’m giving you and Sandy this chance -because on the last occasion it was Dick who helped me.” - -“That’s splendid of you, Corporal,” Sandy’s face was beaming. “I’d like -to hear what Inspector Cameron says when we bring them in. Aren’t you -jealous, Dick?” - -Dick laughed. “No, Sandy, the arrangements suits me perfectly. The -experiences of the past few days have been so vigorous that I am ready -to take a short vacation. I shall wait here till you return.” - -The mounted policeman rose preparatory to entering the trading post. - -“Very well, then, that is the understanding. You, Toma, and Sandy are to -accompany me. We’ll leave here at six o’clock, journeying up the river -in two canoes as far as Painter’s Ferry, where we will disembark and -proceed eastward overland to the Mackenzie River Trail. When we reach -Moose Lake, I think I can arrange for horses to take us the remainder of -the way. I left my own mount at Painter’s Ferry.” - -“How long do you think it will take us to make the trip?” Sandy asked -eagerly. - -“About seven days. I’ve made it in five on a hurried patrol, but with -the prisoners, of course, we’ll not be able to travel quite so fast.” - -“I can expect Sandy and Toma back here then in about twelve or fourteen -days?” Dick asked anxiously. - -“Yes, it will take about that long. I suppose, Dick, that you will put -in your time fishing.” - -When Dick shook his head, Sandy broke out into a roar of merriment. - -“Dick’s had all the fishing he wants in one summer,” he explained to the -corporal. “When we were down river, just after leaving the island of the -dinosaur, we lost all our grub and had to fish or go hungry.” - -Corporal Rand smiled. “I had almost forgotten. Well, anyway, I’m not -worrying about Dick being utterly bored anywhere. He’ll find plenty to -keep him busy.” - -Bright and early on the following morning, Corporal Rand led out the -five prisoners in preparation for their departure. All arrangements had -been completed. At the river, drawn up alongside the landing wharf, were -two large canoes, packed with grub for the journey to Painter’s Ferry. -It had been arranged that four men would go in each canoe, Donald -Frazer, Wolf Brennan, Pierre Mekewai and Corporal Rand in one, Henri -Mekewai, Toby McCallum, Sandy and Toma in the other. The prisoners were -to furnish the motive power for the two crafts. Not only would this keep -them out of mischief, but it would give their guards a better -opportunity to watch for any attempt at treachery. As a further -precaution, no rifles were to be taken. Sandy and Toma carried revolvers -in holsters strapped under their left armpits with coats worn over them. - -An inquisitive, jabbering crowd followed them to the boat landing. Upon -their arrival there, Corporal Rand ordered the prisoners to their -respective canoes, and while this command was being carried out, a most -unusual thing happened. Instead of stepping into the canoe, Henri -Mekewai, the last one to move forward to take his place, suddenly -lurched forward and leaped straight into the river. - -The action was totally unexpected. By the time Dick and the Corporal had -sprung to the end of the wharf, the Indian was thirty feet away, his -long arms cutting the water with quick powerful strokes. A sudden -splash, and he had negotiated the swift inshore current, where he -half-raised from the water, took a deep breath and dove out of sight. -While Dick stood dazed by the quickness of it all, he heard a quick -pattering of feet behind him and turned his head just in time to see -Toma executing a graceful, running leap that carried him flying through -the air and into the river a full twenty feet from the wharf. - -His next vivid impression was of Corporal Rand. Revolver in hand, the -policeman stepped into the nearest canoe, calling out as he did so: - -“Sandy, Dick—watch the other boat while I go out and fetch Mekewai!” -Then to the three prisoners: “Your paddles, men, and hurry! I’ll shoot -the first one who doesn’t do his duty. Now—!” - -The craft shot forward. One eye on the prisoner, Dick watched the -progress, excitement tugging at his heart. He was sure now that Henri -Mekewai had made his escape. On various occasions, he had witnessed -remarkable feats of endurance and prowess of Indian swimmers. He feared -that Toma had no chance to overtake his enemy. Out there in the current, -he could see two bobbing heads about forty feet apart. Two bobbing heads -sweeping quickly down the stream. - -“Look, Dick!” Sandy shouted. “Toma is gaining! He’ll catch him yet -before the canoe gets there. Look, look, Dick!” - -A cold shiver suddenly struck its icy fingers through Dick’s chest. For -a moment he doubted the evidence of his senses. For the first time, he -noticed something that previously had escaped his attention. As Toma -raised one arm in a desperate forward stroke, in the bright sun he -caught the glint of steel. - -He could see more easily now. Toma was swimming with a knife grasped -firmly in his right hand. Like a flash, there came to Dick a horrible -realization. The young Indian was planning his revenge! An eye for an -eye and a tooth for a tooth. The memory of that insidious attack in the -woods near the Mission Trail apparently burned in his mind with undimmed -fury. An insult and injury never to be forgotten! - -Sick at heart, the two silent watchers on the wharf, half turned and -gazed solemnly into each other’s tense, set faces. - -“Once an Indian, always an Indian,” blurted Sandy. “I’m afraid Toma is -going to break _his_ promise to Corporal Rand.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - LEAVE-TAKING. - - -Toma overtook Henri Mekewai in mid-stream and, with arm upraised -brandishing the knife, checked the other’s flight until Corporal Rand -and the canoe arrived. Not until the two swimmers were pulled aboard did -Dick’s tension relax. He was glad that it was all over, relieved beyond -measure that Toma had not committed his rash act. He stepped back from -the edge of the wharf, breathing a sigh of relief. He knew now that not -in vain had the young Indian given his promise to Corporal Rand. - -“I was afraid for a minute,” he heard Sandy’s voice. “Terribly afraid, -Dick. I thought that in the excitement of the moment, Toma might forget -himself. I can see now that he didn’t pull out that knife to attack -Henri Mekewai. Merely wanted to defend himself. And I don’t blame him -either. I’d hate to be in a similar position without some means of -protection.” - -“So would I,” Dick agreed. “He showed good judgment, that is all, and -quick thinking in a time of emergency. Just the same, for a moment it -looked as if he really intended to use that knife.” - -Sandy laughed relievedly. “Neither one of us would have thought a thing -about it if we hadn’t remembered what Toma had said about carrying that -scar. But we should have known him better than to believe that he really -would break his promise to Corporal Rand.” - -The canoe was returning now. It sped back toward the landing and, a -short time later breasting the current, shot inshore, coming to a full -stop next to the other craft. Rand’s voice rang out sharply: - -“Toma, we’ll wait here while you run up to the post to get a change of -clothes. While you’re up there, you’d better procure another revolver -from Mr. Scott and a box of ammunition. It’s poor policy to take a -chance with wet cartridges.” - -Toma grinned as he stepped ashore. “All right, Corporal, I go hurry.” - -In a moment more he had sped away through the crowd, the object of -admiration and respect on the part of the half score of Indians and -half-breeds that thronged the landing wharf. - -“Pretty close call,” Rand looked over at Dick. “Took me wholly unawares. -Keep my eyes open next time.” - -“Weren’t you afraid for a time?” Dick asked. - -“Afraid of what?” - -“That Toma would use that knife,” Dick answered. - -“No, not in the least. He’d given me his promise. I was sure he wouldn’t -attack Mekewai unless it was to prevent him from escaping. As a matter -of fact, he held the prisoner for nearly twenty seconds there in -mid-stream until we arrived. If it hadn’t been for him, I fully believe -that Mekewai would have contrived to reach the opposite shore. A -splendid swimmer.” - -“But not as good as Toma,” Sandy pointed out. - -“That was proved beyond a shadow of a doubt. All right, Sandy, slip into -the other canoe and we’ll be on our way as soon as Toma returns. Pierre, -you get in beside Sandy.” - -For a moment the policeman grew grim. “For the benefit of the rest of -you prisoners,” he glared around him, “I’d like to say that if another -person attempts to escape, I’ll show no mercy. I’ll shoot the next man -who tries it.” - -Wolf Brennan raised his shaggy head and looked straight over at the -stern guardian of the law. - -“I won’t answer fer the rest of them, Corporal, but yuh can bank on me.” - -“Good for you, Wolf.” - -“An’ me too,” said Toby McCallum. - -“Thank you, Toby.” - -“If it ain’t out of order,” Brennan spoke again, “I’m kind o’ curious -tuh know just where you’re takin’ us.” - -“Mackenzie Barracks,” snapped the officer. - -For a period of nearly ten minutes, conversation waned. Sandy had taken -his place in the canoe and kept glancing back toward the trading post, -looking for Toma. - -“Don’t be so impatient, Sandy,” Dick advised him. “He’ll be along -presently. When you get there, give my respects to Inspector Cameron.” - -“Righto!” - -A well-known figure made his way along the path from the warehouse. Not -long afterward, the young Indian, attired in dry clothing and grinning -broadly, took his place in the canoe beside Sandy. The order was given -to start. Paddles dipped in the water. - -“Good-bye, Dick, good-bye!” shrieked Sandy and Toma. - -“Good-bye,” Dick answered, feeling suddenly very lonely and out of it. - -Corporal Rand turned, smiled and waved his hand. - -“Keep out of mischief, Dick,” he advised him. - -“I’ll try to,” responded Dick. - -To the surprise of everyone, Wolf Brennan swung half way around and -leered back toward shore. - -“Don’t go diggin’ up no more dinosaur’s bones,” he called out mockingly, -while Toby McCallum bent forward and gave vent to a cackling, jarring -laugh. - -On that instant, Dick’s face shadowed and he bit his lips. The threat -had gone home. So they had thrown that up to him? His hands clenched as -he turned about facing the tittering crowd. - -Dinosaur’s bones! Like a ghost of the past, it had come up to haunt him. -The memory was not a very pleasant one. The picture burned in his -mind—three credulous young men starting out on a fool’s errand. How -easily they had all been taken in. A mere child, he reasoned bitterly, -would have known better. Eyes straight to the fore, he strode angrily -across the landing and up the familiar, well-beaten, path. - -“I’ll show them yet,” he blurted angrily to himself. “I’ll make it my -business to wipe out that disgrace if it’s the last thing I do.” - -In the trading room, Mr. Scott awaited him. - -“Well, have they gone?” he inquired eagerly. - -“Yes,” answered Dick, forcing a smile, “they’re on their way now.” - -“Their start wasn’t very propitious, was it?” The factor moved back to -the counter. - -“No,”—glumly. - -“Why Dick,” accused the factor, “you look as if you hadn’t a hope in the -world. I wouldn’t worry if I were you. Your friends will return safely. -Two weeks isn’t very long, Dick, when you stop to consider.” - -“I wasn’t thinking of that. I—I mean I know they will. It isn’t that.” - -“For goodness sake, then, what is the matter?” - -Dick slumped into a chair, removed his hat and ran his fingers through -his hair. - -“Mr. Scott,” he began, “we’ve been pretty good friends and I’m going to -take you into my confidence. Something is troubling me. Perhaps you can -help. Perhaps——” he paused, regarding the other perplexedly. - -“You can depend on me,” the other did not hesitate. “What is it?” - -“It concerns the dinosaur.” - -“Dinosaur!” gasped the factor. - -“Yes. I’ve decided that I’m going to do something about it. Have you -ever seen it, Mr. Scott?” - -The factor shook his head. “No, never,” he answered. “I’ve heard of it -though. I was here two years ago when Donald Frazer went up to look at -it. Quite a curiosity, I believe.” - -“You’re right. It is. It must be a very valuable fossil. I believe that -Frazer was right when he told us, Sandy, Toma and me, that it was very -valuable. No doubt, some museum somewhere would be glad to pay real -money for it.” - -“I shouldn’t wonder. But what are you driving at, Dick? You’re the most -restless scamp I ever saw. Exactly what is on your mind now?” - -“I’d like to make a contract with someone to take that dinosaur -outside—to sell it.” - -“Is it because you are short of money? If you are, I——” - -“No,” Dick interrupted, “that isn’t it at all. I want to take out that -dinosaur for reasons of my own, Mr. Scott.” - -“You’re really serious about this?” - -“Never more serious in my life.” - -“Well what do you want me to do to help you?” - -“First of all, I want your advice. Just for the sake of -argument—supposing that it were humanly possible to remove the skeleton -from that island—where could one be likely to sell it?” - -Mr. Scott pursed his lips and gazed at Dick thoughtfully. - -“Well I must confess that that’s a big order. Guess I’ll have to think -it over. Have a sleep on it. No, wait a minute! Tell you, Dick, what I’d -do if I were in your shoes and really wanted to sell that dinosaur. I’d -write to the Canadian Geographical Society at Toronto and get their -advice. They know all about such things. Just the sort of project they’d -be interested in.” - -“Thank you,” said Dick, his eyes shining. “I appreciate your suggestion. -Now we come to the really difficult part. Supposing that the society -really is interested, how in the name of all that’s worth while am I -going to solve the problem of transporting—conveying it outside? -Remember the thing must weigh tons.” - -“As large as that?” - -“Yes.” - -The factor wrinkled his nose in perplexity. “That lets out a raft or -canoe. Why not build a scow?” - -For a moment, Dick’s heart leaped. Then suddenly he became serious -again. - -“No, that wouldn’t do either. Even a scow would be battered hopelessly -about in the rapids. The dinosaur, unless very carefully taken apart and -crated—and I wouldn’t know how to do that—could not be carried over the -portages. And even if it could be, you couldn’t portage a scow. If you -let it go through the rapids, it would be broken up. Remember, too, that -you are bucking an upstream current. What motive power would you use for -the scow?” - -Mr. Scott threw up his hands in a gesture of mock despair. - -“Enough! Enough!” he cried. “I can see now that a scow is out of the -question.” - -“At the same time,” puzzled Dick, “it wasn’t a bad suggestion. As you -know, the skeleton of the dinosaur is on an island in the center of a -lake. We could build a scow to take it to shore. But what to do with it -after we got it there, is more than I can tell you. I’ve racked my -brains trying to figure it all out. From the lake of the dinosaur to Big -Rock River, a tributary of the Peace, is over five hundred miles. There -are no trails. Even if we had plenty of horses and wagons, it would be -absolutely impossible to take the dinosaur out that way.” - -“I give up,” sighed the factor. “From what you have told me, that -dinosaur seems to be pretty safe from molestation. It’s a hard problem, -and just now I can’t think of any solution. Why bother with it, Dick? -The game isn’t worth the candle.” - -Dick shook his head stubbornly. “There must be some way. Nothing is -impossible. I won’t give up yet. I won’t!” - -Mr. Scott was surprised at the other’s vehemence. He stared at Dick -wonderingly, then turned and strode over to the door. Just then a -customer came in and the subject was dropped. His brows puckered, Dick -lounged to the door and looked outside. - -“Hang the luck!” he whispered to himself. “The farther I get into this -thing, the more difficult it appears.” - -With an impatient, angry gesture, he yanked his hat down over his eyes -and strode outside. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX. - THE RIVER PILOT. - - -On the next day, the routine and monotony of life at the post was broken -by the arrival of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s steamer from Painter’s -Ferry. It carried a cargo of merchandise and the bi-monthly mail for -persons residing at the post and vicinity. Dick was on hand when it hove -to and tied up at the landing. Factor Scott was also there and waved his -hand at the pilot, Captain Morrison, who stood near the rail while the -gang plank was lowered. A moment later, a crowd of passengers trooped -down to the shore. Dick followed the factor who went aboard to speak to -the captain. - -“You’re a day ahead of your schedule,” he smiled as they shook hands. - -Captain Morrison was a grizzled veteran of twenty years’ continuous -service with the great fur company. Few men knew the North better than -he. On the Athabasca, the Peace and the Mackenzie Rivers and Great Slave -Lake he had passed a long and eventful career. Scarcely a white person -in the North that he had not met at some time or other. He smiled when -he saw Dick, stepped forward and extended a brawny hand. - -“Perhaps you don’t remember me, my boy. You’re Dick Kent, aren’t you? I -was at Peace River Crossing two years ago when you made that flight from -near Fort Good Faith to the Crossing in that airplane with that fire -ranger.” - -“At the time of the small-pox epidemic,” Dick recalled. “I remember you -now.” - -“I had the _Northern Queen_ then. My run was from Fort Vermilion to -Hudson’s Hope. Got transferred up here this spring.” - -Morrison turned for a moment to call out instructions to the first mate, -then resumed: - -“Still assisting the police?” - -“Occasionally,” answered Dick. - -“That’s what I thought. We passed Corporal Rand, Mr. Frazer and a number -of others in two canoes. Where are they bound for?” - -“Mackenzie Barracks,” answered Mr. Scott. - -“Frazer accompanying the policeman?” - -“Yes.” - -“Had some trouble here?” persisted the captain. - -It was a little difficult for Mr. Scott to explain the circumstances. He -hesitated, looking at Dick. - -“You have guessed correctly, Captain Morrison. Donald Frazer, the former -factor here, has been arrested for complicity in the murder of Conroy -Miller, a prospector. The motive was robbery. With the exception of the -two young men you might have noticed in one of the canoes, all the -others in the party were implicated.” - -Captain Morrison stalked to the rail and looked down at the scene of -activity below. His mouth twitched and he wiped his perspiring face with -a shaky hand. - -“Good Heavens! I never would have suspected—it is hard to -believe—Frazer! The last person on earth I’d associate with such a -crime.” - -“That’s true,” Mr. Scott admitted. “He’s changed a lot in the last two -or three years. Gambling and drinking led up to it. He was pressed for -money, had appropriated funds belonging to the company.” - -“Weren’t two of those prisoners Toby McCallum and Wolf Brennan? Seems to -me I recognized them.” - -“That’s who they were. The others were Henri and Pierre Mekewai, two -Indians.” - -“Never heard of the Indians, but Toby McCallum and Wolf Brennan I know -well. Very unscrupulous, both of them. At one time, about ten years ago, -they worked under me. I was on the Athabasca then. My run was from -Gruard to Athabasca Landing. Lazy, impertinent, light fingered. I had -the devil’s own time with them. Finally forced to dismiss them from my -employ.” - -“How far do you run up the river?” Dick asked, hoping to change the -subject. - -“I go as far as Big Rock Lake. During high water, occasionally I go down -Big Rock River which flows into the Peace.” - -Dick started. “You mean to say, Captain, that in high water you can run -your steamer clear from here to Peace River Crossing?” - -“Quite right, my boy. A month ago I could have done it quite easily. But -not now. Under the present arrangement, all the supplies for these -northern posts in this immediate territory, are freighted across country -from Peace to Big Rock Lake. Costs the company a pile of money, too. If -the cost wasn’t so prohibitive, we would deepen the channel in Big Rock -River.” - -At this juncture, Morrison was called away to supervise the work of -unloading cargo stored in the hold. Dick and Mr. Scott watched the -proceedings for a time, then turned and retraced their steps to the -post. - -“You don’t know how hard it was to tell Captain Morrison about Frazer,” -confided the latter. “He and Frazer were pretty close friends at one -time, I believe. I’ve often heard the former factor speak of him in -rather laudatory terms.” - -“It was quite a shock to him. You could see that. By the way, when does -Captain Morrison make the return trip to Big Rock Lake?” - -“Early tomorrow morning. He always ties up here for the night. All -afternoon they’ll be loading cordwood which, as you know, they use for -fuel. Also, I have nearly two hundred bales of fur ready for shipment.” - -So, as was his usual custom, the grizzled pilot of the North’s great -waterways remained at Half Way House for the night. Dick spent the -afternoon in a futile wandering about, still pondering over the problem -of the dinosaur. The captain’s statement, that in the spring, when water -was high, his steamer could proceed as far south as Peace River -Crossing, filled him with unbounded joy. If only he could think of some -way—some plan by which he could bring the fossil from the Lake of Many -Islands to Half Way House, his perplexity would be at an end. - -“It can’t be impossible,” he kept repeating to himself over and over in -a monotonous, mournful undertone. “I simply must think of some way -before the boys return.” - -But how? Almost within his reach, that remaining barrier of three -hundred miles of wilderness held him from his goal. The thought was -maddening. Restless as a sprite, he paced back and forth between the -post and the river at least twenty times. Again he considered Mr. -Scott’s suggestion regarding a scow. Wasn’t there some way of pushing or -hauling such an unwieldy craft through the rapids opposite the portages? -For a time, he seriously considered the advisability of a gasoline motor -in the scow. - -Of all the plans that had come into his mind, the last seemed most -feasible. Yet, it had its drawbacks too. In the first place, he didn’t -have a motor or the gasoline with which to run it. It would cost a lot -of money and a good deal of time would elapse before he could even hope -to try out his plan. In case that it should prove to be impracticable, -he would be out a good sum of money and no nearer a workable solution. - -After supper, he sat in the dining room, still pondering the question. -He could hear Captain Morrison and Mr. Scott conversing in low tones at -the opposite side of the room. Now and again, a word or phrase came to -him. Tonight Captain Morrison was in a reminiscent mood and he regaled -his host with many tales of a long lifetime spent in the northern -Canadian wilderness. His voice droned on and on happily. Occasionally he -lapsed into thoughtful silences, industriously sucking his pipe. The -room was pleasantly warm and Dick felt tired and sleepy. - -He rose lazily to his feet and went to a window and looked out. He was -standing close to Captain Morrison now and could hear every word that -was being said. In spite of himself, he became interested. - -“In 1904, I think it was,” Morrison paused for a moment, puffing at his -pipe. “Yes, 1904. I was running on this river same as I am now. A -different steamer though, the _Lady Marian_. Trim little vessel she was -and, at that time, the fastest boat that ever headed into these northern -waters. She was new and spick as a pin. I was proud of her. I wasn’t a -bit ashamed when that distinguished party of Hudson’s Bay officials, I -was telling you about, came out here from London, England on their round -of inspection. - -“There were a couple of Lords and an Earl or two in that party. I picked -them up at Big Rock Lake and steamed up here for Half Way House in one -of the worst storms I have ever seen. It had rained steady for six days. -River flowing like a torrent. Drift bumping up against us every few -minutes. So nasty outside that not one of the party could come out on -deck. Thermometer dropping every hour. That was in April, too—the tail -end of the month. My second trip since the ice went out. Near Painter’s -Ferry I was standing in the bow, watching the drift, when I heard -someone come up behind me and felt a hand on my arm. I turned, and so -help me Bob, if it wasn’t the commissioner himself. - -“‘When do we arrive at Half Way House?’ he asked me. - -“‘In about six more hours,’ I told him. - -“He nodded to me, pinched my arm in a friendly way and went below. I -kept watching the drift until the dark came. All the time the storm was -increasing. The rain turned into a wet, blinding snow. It kept getting -colder every minute. I was afraid of the drift and slowed down until I -was barely drifting with the current. - -“With the engines quiet and the darkness growing more and more intense, -I began to see that I could never make Half Way House in six hours. So I -went below and explained my difficulties. The commissioner was a very -grave man and a little impatient at the delay. - -“‘Why don’t you put on a little more steam?’ he asked me. - -“‘I’m afraid of crashing into the drift,’ I told him. - -“He hesitated, twirled the ends of his waxed mustache and turned to the -rest of the party. - -“‘Are you gentlemen willing to take the risk?’ he inquired. ‘If you are, -I’ll give the captain here instructions to go ahead more quickly.’ - -“There wasn’t a dissenting voice. They were all anxious, it seemed, to -get on to their destination. I went down and gave the engineer his -orders. - -“‘Full steam ahead,’ I said a little angrily. ‘Give her all you’ve got. -The commissioner and his party are in a hurry to get to Half Way House.’ - -“Soon after, when I went to the deck, the _Lady Marian_ was thundering -under my feet like a huge locomotive. We drove straight into a head -wind, a furious storm of sleet and snow. It kept me busy trying to -figure out where I was. Every little while, I was compelled to take -soundings. The minutes and the hours slipped on. The night was black as -a crow’s wing. Snow piling up in drifts along the deck—slippery as ice. -Still no sight of Half Way House. I couldn’t see a light twinkling. I -was certain that we must be close upon it by that time and finally I -rang orders to the engineer to slow down and, a few minutes later, to -stop altogether. - -“Nearly frozen, I stood there like a lost child gazing out through the -storm. One thing that worried me was the rate of speed we were drifting. -I had never seen the current so swift here before. It literally boiled -around us. When the steamer went forward again, the velocity of the -current increased. Then two miles farther on, it became steadier, less -precipitous. - -“For a long time I stood out there on the deck, shivering, weary, -disgusted, unable to account for the phenomenon. I knew the river like -you gentlemen know a book. I had never run into anything like that -before. Between Painter’s Ferry and Half Way House, such a current -simply did not exist. Then suddenly, like a clap out of a blue sky, it -struck me all at once. I got so blamed mad that I felt like jumping -overboard. For the first time in all my life, I had committed an -unpardonable error.” - -“What was it?” asked Dick, unable to contain himself any longer. - -With maddening deliberateness, the old river man silently filled and -relighted his pipe. He turned toward his young questioner and grinned -broadly. - -“In the terrific storm and darkness,” he explained, “I had run -completely past Half Way House and down an uncharted stretch of river -six miles past the first portage. All things considered, I was mighty -fortunate. If it had been a few weeks later, I would have run slap-dash -into the rocks there at the portage.” - -“Did you go back to Half Way House that same night?” - -Captain Morrison laughed and shook his head. - -“No, that’s the best part of it. It hurt like blazes to go below and -tell that distinguished party what a fool I had made of myself. But -instead of becoming angry, as I had supposed they would, they had a good -laugh over it and instructed me to pull in a little closer to shore -where we wouldn’t drag anchor, and stop for the night. - -“The next morning was beautiful. The wind had changed into the west and -one could feel the faint stirrings of a regular chinook. I was getting -ready to turn back, when the commissioner came on deck, all rosy and -smiling, and asked me how I had spent the night. - -“‘Fine,’ I told him. - -“‘Have you got a good head of steam?’ - -“‘Yes, sir,’ I answered. ‘I can take you back to the trading post in a -little over an hour and a quarter.’ - -“I had stepped forward to give my orders to my engineer, when he called -me back. - -“‘Have you ever been this far down the river before?’ he asked me. - -“I told him that I had not. I explained to him that there were no -trading posts further down the river and that navigation was impossible -except during high flood. - -“‘The lower part of the river has never been charted then?’ he said. - -“I shook my head. - -“‘Very well then, Captain Morrison, we’ll go on down the river and chart -it. We’ll stop at Half Way House on our return.’” - -Dick suddenly strode forward and placed an eager, trembling hand on the -broad shoulders of the river pilot. - -“And did you really chart the river?” he asked in a queer, tense voice. - -“Yes, that’s what we did,” the other replied promptly. “We were away two -weeks. Went three hundred and fifty miles by actual count.” - -Dick suddenly threw his hat in the air. - -“Whoopee!” he shouted, - - - - - CHAPTER XXX. - BACK FROM THE BARRACKS. - - -“Captain Morrison,” said Dick, shaking the pilot’s hand, “I can’t begin -to tell you how thankful I am that I remained here tonight and listened -to that interesting account of your experiences. It has solved a great -problem for me.” - -“What problem? I don’t understand. How have I helped you?” Captain -Morrison’s questions came like staccato explosions. - -“Did you ever hear of the dinosaur in the Lake of Many Islands?” Dick -asked. - -The river man rubbed his forehead thoughtfully, - -“No, I don’t believe that I have. Is there a dinosaur there?” - -“On the island of the granite shaft,” explained Dick. “A huge skeleton -of a dinosaur, or what has been described as a dinosaur, a big skeleton -weighing tons. At Mr. Scott’s suggestion, I’m writing out to the -Canadian Geographical Society to see if they will be interested in -buying it, or at least, finding a purchaser. My great problem was to -discover how to get the thing out of there if I did succeed in selling -it. I’ve been studying over it for weeks. Until you came here tonight, I -had no idea that it was possible to descend the river in a steamer even -in high water.” - -“You didn’t!” gasped the captain. - -“No, I didn’t. None of us did.” - -“I thought that nearly every one knew that the river had been charted,” -mused the old pilot. “I have the chart in my possession right now. In -the morning, if you will accompany me to the steamer, I’ll show it to -you.” - -“Splendid,” enthused Dick. “Now comes the next difficulty. Do you think -the Hudson’s Bay Company would consider a proposal to transport the -skeleton from the Lake of Many Islands to Peace River Crossing?” - -“Why not?” the captain looked at Dick in surprise. “We carry thousands -of dollars worth of freight every year for private individuals.” - -“When would be the best time to go up there for it?” came Dick’s next -question. - -“That depends a good deal upon the season. Ordinarily, I should say, the -latter part of April or the first part of May. Certainly not until the -snow has all melted and the first spring rains have come.” - -“If I can find a purchaser, can I depend upon yours or some other -steamer to do the work for me. The reason I’m asking you this is because -I’d hate to enter into any sort of contract and then discover at the -last minute that you were too busy to make the trip.” - -“That difficulty can be solved easily. Let me know just as soon as you -have completed arrangements with the society and I’ll charter a steamer -for you.” - -“Thank you, Captain Morrison. That’s very good of you. I’ll write a -letter tonight and will send it out to the Canadian Geographical Society -in the mail that you are taking with you tomorrow. Even allowing for -delays, I ought to hear from them within two months. If the answer is -favorable, I’ll get in touch with you just as soon as I can.” - -“Very well, Dick, I’ll expect to hear from you. Now, if I’m not too -inquisitive, do you think that such an undertaking as the one you -propose will be a profitable venture on your part?” - -“I really don’t know,” came the startling answer. “To be perfectly frank -with you, I don’t care if I don’t make a single penny.” - -Captain Morrison’s eyes popped. - -“What’s that? You don’t care? You—you——” - -Factor Scott’s amused laugh broke across the room. - -“Look here, Dick,” he expostulated, “in fairness to the captain, you -ought to give him your real reason for wanting to fetch out the -dinosaur.” - -“All right, Mr. Scott, I will.” - -Dick pulled forward a chair and sat down. - -“If you have just a moment or two more to spare, I’ll tell you. For a -long time now it had been a sore point with me. A number of weeks ago, -at the instance of Mr. Frazer, I went up there to the island of the -dinosaur, accompanied by my two friends, Sandy MacClaren and John -Toma—the two young men you saw yesterday with Corporal Rand. Mr. Frazer -had promised us quite a large sum of money if we would bring the -skeleton back to Half Way House. Not until we arrived at the island and -saw how large the dinosaur was, did we learn that the expedition was -planned by the factor merely to get us out of the way. It was a fool’s -errand. It made us all feel silly. Quite a few people, who have heard -about it, had a good laugh at our expense. I can take a joke as well as -the next one, but this joke was too raw to suit me, or my chums either. -We had paid out quite a large sum of money for tools and grubstake and -were forced to endure untold, almost unbelievable hardships.” - -Captain Morrison’s eyes shadowed. - -“Atrocious!” he pronounced. “I don’t blame you in the least for feeling -as you do.” - -Soon afterward, Dick bade good-night to Factor Scott and the genial -river pilot and retired to his room in the loft to write his letter to -the Canadian Geographical Society. On the following morning, he was up -bright and early and, after a hurried breakfast, went down to the -landing wharf, his epistle in hand. - -Captain Morrison greeted him cheerily. - -“Good morning, young man, you’re abroad early. Were you afraid I’d pull -anchor before you had time to mail that precious letter? Bet you didn’t -sleep a wink last night.” - -Dick flushed under the steady gaze. - -“In strict confidence, I didn’t sleep very much, but I guess it was more -than a wink. I feel rested, anyway—and happy, too.” - -The captain yanked his blue cap farther down over his eyes and bellowed -out an order. A sailor, standing idly near the gangplank, jumped as if -he had been shot. - -“Got to watch them every minute,” grumbled the captain. “By the way, I -told you to come over and see that chart. If you’ll come with me to the -cabin, I’ll give you a peep at it. Rather proud of that chart. Made -under very unusual circumstances. Has the sanction and approval of the -highest officials of the Hudson’s Bay Company.” - -For nearly an hour Dick remained aboard with the captain, studying the -chart and listening to the account of that memorable journey down the -river. When the time came for him to go ashore, he shook hands with his -benefactor, thanking him once more. - -“I never would have solved the problem if it hadn’t been for you,” he -declared earnestly, squeezing the pilot’s rough hand. “You can’t realize -how happy it has made me.” - -“Even happier than the satisfaction of knowing you helped to bring those -crooks to justice?” inquired the other slyly. - -Dick smiled modestly. “No, I wouldn’t say that. What I mean is that -everything has worked out so nicely. The slate is almost wiped clean. -Somehow it seemed that our job wasn’t fully completed until we had -settled the fate of that dinosaur.” - -Captain Morrison laughed, shook hands again and Dick hurried down the -gangplank just as the steamer’s whistle shrieked out its warning. He -turned to wave a last good-bye then thoughtfully made his way up to the -post. - -“Never saw such a change in anyone in my life,” commented the factor as -Dick breezed through the open door. “Your smile would warm the heart of -a stone.” - -“That’s just the way I feel,” chuckled the young man. “All I have to do -now is enjoy a well-earned vacation while I’m waiting for Sandy and -Toma.” - -“I bet you can hardly wait until they come. They’ll be as pleased as -punch when you tell them the news.” - -However, during the next few days, in which he had plenty of time to -think it all over, Dick decided that he would say absolutely nothing -about the dinosaur for the present. Instead, he would keep that for a -surprise until he had received word from the Canadian Geographical -Society. By so doing, if the society’s letter was unfavorable toward the -project, no one would be disappointed except himself. - -Nevertheless, he counted the days, almost the hours, while he waited for -his chums’ return. When the thirteenth day came and passed, little lines -of worry and impatience began to etch his smooth, brown forehead. On the -fourteenth day, he had grown so restless that he found it utterly -impossible to remain in one place more than a few minutes at a time. He -walked around the post like a lost soul. What was keeping them? Had the -prisoners escaped? Through his mind there flashed in review a hundred -scenes of lurid, sanguinary combat, through which he could follow the -sinister, gliding form of two Mekewai brothers—triumphant at last. So -vividly did his troubled imagination conjure up these fantastic horrors, -that he could actually see Sandy, Corporal Rand and Toma lying prone and -lifeless in the shadow of the sentinel trees along the gloomy, woodland -trail to Fort Mackenzie. - -At four o’clock in the afternoon, almost crazed by his obsessions, he -wandered back toward the trading room, then suddenly stopped short as if -transfixed. Coming out of the woods, less than a hundred yards away, -were two well-known figures—two laughing and noisy young men. - -A thrill of joy coursed through him. - -“Hello, Dick!” they both shouted as their friend bounded forward to meet -them. - -By the time he had joined them, Sandy and Toma had slipped off their -shoulder-packs, heedlessly letting them fall to the ground. - -“Fooled you, didn’t we?” cried the former. “Instead of returning by -Painter’s Ferry, we struck straight across country. Had a glorious time. -Toma shot a moose.” - -“How did the prisoners behave?” Dick demanded. - -“Everything went just like clock-work,” replied Sandy. “No trouble at -all. The Mekewais were docile as two lambs. We both had the satisfaction -of seeing the lot of them thrown into iron cells, where they’ll remain -until the day of the trial. When that time comes, we’ll be the Crown’s -chief witnesses. Inspector Cameron asked me to tell you that.” - -“We’ll all be ready,” smiled Dick. - -“Inspector Cameron sent his very kindest regards to you,” continued the -young man. “He says that we’re getting better and better all the time. -Here’s your check, Dick.” - -“Thank you,” said the recipient of the money, glancing at the bit of -paper while he flushed with pride and pleasure. - -“And that isn’t all,” Sandy hurried on. “I almost forgot to tell you an -important bit of news. The story of Miller’s strike at Caribou Lake has -precipitated a gold rush. Hundreds of prospectors are on their way there -and a few already staked out claims. The police think that there’ll be -an important camp established near Miller’s claim before the summer is -over. Constable Perry left two days after our arrival, to go up there -and keep order. The chances are that he’ll be stationed there -permanently.” - -“Too bad that Miller isn’t there himself,” said Dick. “If his life -hadn’t been cut short, he might have lived to become very, very -wealthy.” - -“That’s true,” Sandy’s face shadowed a little. - -Toma turned radiantly upon Dick. - -“What you do alla time we be gone?” he asked curiously. “Sandy an’ me -tell each other that you get so lonesome that——” - -Interrupting him, Dick put aside the implications with a lordly gesture. - -“Not a bit of it. Never had a more interesting time in my life.” - -“You didn’t even miss us!” gasped Sandy. - -Dick flushed as he stooped to pick up the forgotten shoulder-packs. - -“Sandy,” he reproved him, “sometimes I think you talk too much. Come on -now, Factor Scott will be waiting for you.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI. - HE WHO LAUGHS LAST. - - -Two months later at Fort Good Faith, Dick received a letter which caused -him to exclaim excitedly and then call out in an eager voice to Sandy, -who stood just across the room conversing with a half-breed trapper from -Willing River. - -“Sandy, come here!” - -Dick’s chum swung obediently on his heel and hurried over. - -“Yes, Dick. What’s up now?” - -“A letter about the dinosaur,” explained Dick. “Arrived here just now -from the Canadian Geographical Society.” - -Sandy’s expression changed suddenly from eagerness to surprise. - -“Our dinosaur up there at the Lake of Many Islands!” he gasped. - -Dick nodded. “The very same.” - -“You mean to tell me you’ve been corresponding with the Canadian -Geographical Society about that mountain of bones?” inquired the other -wonderingly. - -“Yes, Sandy, that’s what I’ve been doing.” - -The next question was a very natural one: - -“But why?” - -“To prove the old saying that the man who laughs last laughs best,” -answered Dick enigmatically. - -“What do you mean by that?” - -“I mean just this: Up until the time we encountered the dinosaur, we -never tackled any task we didn’t successfully finish. But that dinosaur -stuck us. We didn’t know how we’d get the brute out of the country. We -lost a certain amount of prestige when we set out upon that undertaking. -It made us look like fools. With the exception of Corporal Rand, -everybody had a good laugh over it.” - -“But it was our first experience of the kind,” Sandy expostulated. “We -knew nothing about fossil hunting. Except in a hazy way, we didn’t even -know what a dinosaur was. The mistake was natural. I’ll admit that the -joke was on us, but almost anyone else, even an older person, might have -been taken in by it.” - -“True enough, Sandy.” Dick’s hand rested lightly on his friend’s -shoulder. “Still I think you’ll agree with me that if we succeed in -getting the dinosaur away from the island, we can feel more like facing -the world again.” - -“Well, what have you done about it? What does the letter say?” - -Dick handed over the sheet of paper. - -“Read it,” he said. - - Ottawa, Canada, - August 2nd, 1923. - - Mr. Richard Kent, - Fort Good Faith, - N. W. T. - Dear Sir: - -In reply to your letter, dated June 27th, I wish to say that our society -is very much interested in your proposal and early next spring will -undertake the preliminary work of exhuming, crating and shipping the -fossil you have described. Our representative, Mr. Claymore, has been -instructed to proceed at once to Fort Good Faith, where he will arrive -about September 1st to take up with you more fully the project of -transporting the dinosaur from Half Way River to the end-of-steel at -Peace River Crossing. - - Yours very truly, - (Signed) L. P. Graham, - Secretary for the Society. - -Sandy glanced up when he had finished reading, thoughtfully folded the -letter and handed it back to his chum. - -“I suppose you know what you’re doing, Dick. Made all your plans?” - -Dick nodded emphatically. “Yes, down to the last detail.” - -“Taking Toma and me with you?”—a slight frown and an assumed air of -great indifference. - -“You bet I am,” grinned Dick. “You ought to know that without asking. -You and Toma are to furnish the brains for my working party.” - - - THE END - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard (or amusing) - spellings and dialect unchanged. - ---Added a Table of Contents based on chapter headings. - ---In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the - HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.) - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Dick Kent at Half-Way House, by Milton Richards - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DICK KENT AT HALF-WAY HOUSE *** - -***** This file should be named 51848-0.txt or 51848-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/8/4/51848/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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