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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Young Fur Traders, by R. M. Ballantyne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Young Fur Traders
+
+Author: R. M. Ballantyne
+
+Posting Date: June 1, 2012 [EBook #6357]
+Release Date: August, 2004
+First Posted: December 1, 2002
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG FUR TRADERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE YOUNG FUR-TRADERS.
+
+
+
+
+UNIFORM WITH THIS BOOK.
+
+_THE CORAL ISLAND. MARTIN RATTLER. UNCAVA._
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Pierre was standing over the great kettle. "_The Young
+Fur Traders_]" Frontispiece
+
+
+
+SNOWFLAKES AND SUNBEAMS; OR, THE YOUNG FUR-TRADERS
+
+A Tale of the Far North.
+
+
+BY ROBERT MICHAEL BALLANTYNE
+
+
+
+
+PEEFACE.
+
+In writing this book my desire has been to draw an exact copy of the
+picture which is indelibly stamped on my own memory. I have carefully
+avoided exaggeration in everything of importance. All the chief, and
+most of the minor incidents are facts. In regard to unimportant
+matters, I have taken the liberty of a novelist--not to colour too
+highly, or to invent improbabilities, but--to transpose time, place,
+and circumstance at pleasure; while, at the same time, I have
+endeavoured to convey to the reader's mind a truthful impression of the
+_general effect_--to use a painter's language--of the life and country
+of the Fur Trader.
+
+EDINBURGH, 1856.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I Plunges the reader into the middle of an arctic winter;
+conveys him into the heart of the wildernesses of North America; and
+introduces him to some of the principal personages of our tale
+
+CHAPTER II The old fur-trader endeavours to "fix" his son's "flint,"
+and finds the thing more difficult to do than he expected
+
+CHAPTER III The counting-room
+
+CHAPTER IV. A wolf-hunt in the prairies; Charley astonishes his father,
+and breaks in the "noo'oss" effectually
+
+CHAPTER V Peter Mactavish becomes an amateur doctor; Charley
+promulgates his views of things in general to Kate; and Kate waxes
+sagacious
+
+CHAPTER VI Spring and the voyageurs
+
+CHAPTER VII. The store
+
+CHAPTER VIII. Farewell to Kate; departure of the brigade; Charley
+becomes a voyageur
+
+CHAPTER IX. The voyage; the encampment; a surprise
+
+CHAPTER X. Varieties, vexations, and vicissitudes
+
+CHAPTER XI. Charley and Harry begin their sporting career without much
+success; Whisky-John catching
+
+CHAPTER XII. The storm
+
+CHAPTER XIII. The canoe; ascending the rapids; the portage;
+deer-shooting and life in the woods
+
+CHAPTER XIV. The Indian camp; the new outpost; Charley sent on a
+mission to the Indians
+
+CHAPTER XV. The feast; Charley makes his first speech in public; meets
+with an old friend; an evening in the grass
+
+CHAPTER XVI The return; narrow escape; a murderous attempt, which
+fails; and a discovery
+
+CHAPTER XVII The scene changes; Bachelors' Hall; a practical joke and
+its consequences; a snow-shoe walk at night in the forest
+
+CHAPTER XVIII The walk continued; frozen toes; an encampment in the snow
+
+CHAPTER XIX Shows how the accountant and Harry set their traps, and
+what came of it
+
+CHAPTER XX The accountant's story
+
+CHAPTER XXI Ptarmigan-hunting; Hamilton's shooting powers severely
+tested; a snow-storm
+
+CHAPTER XXII The winter packet; Harry hears from old friends, and
+wishes that he was with them CHAPTER XXIII Changes; Harry and Hamilton
+find that variety is indeed, charming; the latter astonishes the former
+considerably
+
+CHAPTER XXIV Hopes and fears; an unexpected meeting; philosophical talk
+between the hunter and the parson
+
+CHAPTER XXV Good news and romantic scenery; bear-hunting and its results
+
+CHAPTER XXVI An unexpected meeting, and an unexpected deer-hunt;
+arrival at the outpost; disagreement with the natives; an enemy
+discovered, and a murder
+
+CHAPTER XXVII The chase; the fight; retribution; low spirits and good
+news
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII Old friends and scenes; coming events cast their shadows
+before
+
+CHAPTER XXIX The first day at home; a gallop in the prairie, and its
+consequences
+
+CHAPTER XXX Love; old Mr. Kennedy puts his foot in it
+
+CHAPTER XXXI The course of true love, curiously enough, runs smooth for
+once; and the curtain falls
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+Plunges the reader into the middle of an Arctic winter; conveys him
+into the heart of the wildernesses of North America; and introduces him
+to some of the principal personages of our tale.
+
+
+Snowflakes and sunbeams, heat and cold, winter and summer, alternated
+with their wonted regularity for fifteen years in the wild regions of
+the Far North. During this space of time the hero of our tale sprouted
+from babyhood to boyhood, passed through the usual amount of accidents,
+ailments, and vicissitudes incidental to those periods of life, and
+finally entered upon that ambiguous condition that precedes early
+manhood.
+
+It was a clear, cold winter's day. The sunbeams of summer were long
+past, and snowflakes had fallen thickly on the banks of Red River.
+Charley sat on a lump of blue ice, his head drooping and his eyes bent
+on the snow at his feet with an expression of deep disconsolation.
+
+Kate reclined at Charley's side, looking wistfully up in his expressive
+face, as if to read the thoughts that were chasing each other through
+his mind, like the ever-varying clouds that floated in the winter sky
+above. It was quite evident to the most careless observer that,
+whatever might be the usual temperaments of the boy and girl, their
+present state of mind was not joyous, but on the contrary, very sad.
+
+"It won't do, sister Kate," said Charley. "I've tried him over and over
+again--I've implored, begged, and entreated him to let me go; but he
+won't, and I'm determined to run away, so there's an end of it!"
+
+As Charley gave utterance to this unalterable resolution, he rose from
+the bit of blue ice, and taking Kate by the hand, led her over the
+frozen river, climbed up the bank on the opposite side--an operation of
+some difficulty, owing to the snow, which had been drifted so deeply
+during a late storm that the usual track was almost obliterated--and
+turning into a path that lost itself among the willows, they speedily
+disappeared.
+
+As it is possible our reader may desire to know who Charley and Kate
+are, and the part of the world in which they dwell, we will interrupt
+the thread of our narrative to explain.
+
+In the very centre of the great continent of North America, far removed
+from the abodes of civilised men, and about twenty miles to the south
+of Lake Winnipeg, exists a colony composed of Indians, Scotsmen, and
+French-Canadians, which is known by the name of Red River Settlement.
+Red River differs from most colonies in more respects than one--the
+chief differences being, that whereas other colonies cluster on the
+sea-coast, this one lies many hundreds of miles in the interior of the
+country, and is surrounded by a wilderness; and while other colonies,
+acting on the Golden Rule, export their produce in return for goods
+imported, this of Red River imports a large quantity, and exports
+nothing, or next to nothing. Not but that it _might_ export, if it only
+had an outlet or a market; but being eight hundred miles removed from
+the sea, and five hundred miles from the nearest market, with a series
+of rivers, lakes, rapids, and cataracts separating from the one, and a
+wide sweep of treeless prairie dividing from the other, the settlers
+have long since come to the conclusion that they were born to consume
+their own produce, and so regulate the extent of their farming
+operations by the strength of their appetites. Of course, there are
+many of the necessaries, or at least the luxuries, of life which the
+colonists cannot grow--such as tea, coffee, sugar, coats, trousers, and
+shirts--and which, consequently, they procure from England, by means of
+the Hudson's Bay Fur Company's ships, which sail once a year from
+Gravesend, laden with supplies for the trade carried on with the
+Indians. And the bales containing these articles are conveyed in boats
+up the rivers, carried past the waterfalls and rapids overland on the
+shoulders of stalwart voyageurs, and finally landed at Red River, after
+a rough trip of many weeks' duration. The colony was founded in 1811,
+by the Earl of Selkirk, previously to which it had been a trading-post
+of the Fur Company. At the time of which we write, it contained about
+five thousand souls, and extended upwards of fifty miles along the Red
+and Assiniboine rivers, which streams supplied the settlers with a
+variety of excellent fish. The banks were clothed with fine trees; and
+immediately behind the settlement lay the great prairies, which
+extended in undulating waves--almost entirely devoid of shrub or
+tree--to the base of the Rocky Mountains.
+
+Although far removed from the civilised world, and containing within
+its precincts much that is savage and very little that is refined, Red
+River is quite a populous paradise, as compared with the desolate,
+solitary establishments of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company. These lonely
+dwellings of the trader are scattered far and wide over the whole
+continent--north, south, east, and west. Their population generally
+amounts to eight or ten men--seldom to thirty. They are planted in the
+thick of an uninhabited desert--their next neighbours being from two to
+five hundred miles off--their occasional visitors, bands of wandering
+Indians--and the sole object of their existence being to trade the
+furry hides of foxes, martens, beavers, badgers, bears, buffaloes, and
+wolves. It will not, then, be deemed a matter of wonder that the
+gentlemen who have charge of these establishments, and who, perchance,
+may have spent ten or twenty years in them, should look upon the colony
+of Red River as a species of Elysium, a sort of haven of rest, in which
+they may lay their weary heads, and spend the remainder of their days
+in peaceful felicity, free from the cares of a residence among wild
+beasts and wild men. Many of the retiring traders prefer casting their
+lot in Canada; but not a few of them _smoke_ out the remainder of their
+existence in this colony--especially those who, having left home as
+boys fifty or sixty years before, cannot reasonably expect to find the
+friends of their childhood where they left them, and cannot hope to
+remodel tastes and habits long nurtured in the backwoods so as to
+relish the manners and customs of civilised society.
+
+Such an one was old Frank Kennedy, who, sixty years before the date of
+our story, ran away from school in Scotland; got a severe thrashing
+from his father for so doing; and having no mother in whose
+sympathising bosom he could weep out his sorrow, ran away from home,
+went to sea, ran away from his ship while she lay at anchor in the
+harbour of New York, and after leading a wandering, unsettled life for
+several years, during which he had been alternately a clerk, a
+day-labourer, a store-keeper and a village schoolmaster, he wound up by
+entering the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, in which he obtained
+an insight into savage life, a comfortable fortune, besides a
+half-breed wife and a large family.
+
+Being a man of great energy and courage, and moreover possessed of a
+large, powerful frame, he was sent to one of the most distant posts on
+the Mackenzie River, as being admirably suited for the display of his
+powers both mental and physical. Here the small-pox broke out among the
+natives, and besides carrying off hundreds of these poor creatures,
+robbed Mr. Kennedy of all his children save two, Charles and Kate, whom
+we have already introduced to the reader.
+
+About the same time the council which is annually held at Red River in
+spring for the purpose of arranging the affairs of the country for the
+ensuing year thought proper to appoint Mr. Kennedy to a still more
+outlandish part of the country--as near, in fact, to the North Pole as
+it was possible for mortal man to live--and sent him an order to
+proceed to his destination without loss of time. On receiving this
+communication, Mr. Kennedy upset his chair, stamped his foot, ground
+his teeth, and vowed, in the hearing of his wife and children, that
+sooner than obey the mandate he would see the governors and council of
+Rupert's Land hanged, quartered, and boiled down into tallow!
+Ebullitions of this kind were peculiar to Frank Kennedy, and meant
+_nothing_. They were simply the safety-valves to his superabundant ire,
+and, like safety-valves in general, made much noise but did no damage.
+It was well, however, on such occasions to keep out of the old
+fur-trader's way; for he had an irresistible propensity to hit out at
+whatever stood before him, especially if the object stood on a level
+with his own eyes and wore whiskers. On second thoughts, however, he
+sat down before his writing-table, took a sheet of blue ruled foolscap
+paper, seized a quill which he had mended six months previously, at a
+time when he happened to be in high good-humour, and wrote as follows:--
+
+Letter
+
+To the Governor and Council of Rupert's Land, Fort Paskisegun
+ Red River Settlement. June 15, 18--.
+
+
+Gentlemen,--I have the honour to acknowledge receipt
+ of your favour of 26th April last, appointing me
+ to the charge of Peel's River, and directing me to strike
+ out new channels of trade in that quarter. In reply, I
+ have to state that I shall have the honour to fulfil your
+ instructions by taking my departure in a light canoe as
+ soon as possible. At the same time I beg humbly to
+ submit that the state of my health is such as to render
+ it expedient for me to retire from the service, and I herewith
+ beg to hand in my resignation. I shall hope to be
+ relieved early next spring.--I have the honour to be,
+ gentlemen, your most obedient, humble servant,
+
+
+       F. Kennedy.
+
+
+
+"There!" exclaimed the old gentleman, in a tone that would lead one to
+suppose he had signed the death-warrant, and so had irrevocably fixed
+the certain destruction, of the entire council--"there!" said he,
+rising from his chair, and sticking the quill into the ink-bottle with
+a _dab_ that split it up to the feather, and so rendered it _hors de
+combat_ for all time coming.
+
+To this letter the council gave a short reply, accepting his
+resignation, and appointing a successor. On the following spring old
+Mr. Kennedy embarked his wife and children in a bark canoe, and in
+process of time landed them safely in Red River Settlement. Here he
+purchased a house with six acres of land, in which he planted a variety
+of useful vegetables, and built a summer-house after the fashion of a
+conservatory, where he was wont to solace himself for hours together
+with a pipe, or rather with dozens of pipes, of Canadian twist tobacco.
+
+After this he put his two children to school. The settlement was at
+this time fortunate in having a most excellent academy, which was
+conducted by a very estimable man. Charles and Kate Kennedy, being
+obedient and clever, made rapid progress under his judicious
+management, and the only fault that he had to find with the young
+people was, that Kate was a little too quiet and fond of books, while
+Charley was a little too riotous and fond of fun.
+
+When Charles arrived at the age of fifteen and Kate attained to
+fourteen years, old Mr. Kennedy went into his conservatory, locked the
+door, sat down on an easy chair, filled a long clay pipe with his
+beloved tobacco, smoked vigorously for ten minutes, and fell fast
+asleep. In this condition he remained until the pipe fell from his lips
+and broke in fragments on the floor. He then rose, filled another pipe,
+and sat down to meditate on the subject that had brought him to his
+smoking apartment. "There's my wife," said he, looking at the bowl of
+his pipe, as if he were addressing himself to it, "she's getting too
+old to be looking after everything herself (_puff_), and Kate's getting
+too old to be humbugging any longer with books: besides, she ought to
+be at home learning to keep house, and help her mother, and cut the
+baccy (_puff_), and that young scamp Charley should be entering the
+service (_puff_). He's clever enough now to trade beaver and bears from
+the red-skins; besides, he's (_puff_) a young rascal, and I'll be bound
+does nothing but lead the other boys into (_puff_) mischief, although,
+to be sure, the master _does_ say he's the cleverest fellow in the
+school; but he must be reined up a bit now. I'll clap on a double curb
+and martingale. I'll get him a situation in the counting-room at the
+fort (_puff_), where he'll have his nose held tight to the grindstone.
+Yes, I'll fix both their flints to-morrow;" and old Mr. Kennedy gave
+vent to another puff so thick and long that it seemed as if all the
+previous puffs had concealed themselves up to this moment within his
+capacious chest, and rushed out at last in one thick and long-continued
+stream.
+
+By "fixing their flints" Mr. Kennedy meant to express the fact that he
+intended to place his children in an entirely new sphere of action, and
+with a view to this he ordered out his horse and cariole [Footnote: A
+sort of sleigh.] on the following morning, went up to the school, which
+was about ten miles distant from his abode, and brought his children
+home with him the same evening. Kate was now formally installed as
+housekeeper and tobacco-cutter; while Charley was told that his future
+destiny was to wield the quill in the service of the Hudson's Bay
+Company, and that he might take a week to think over it. Quiet,
+warm-hearted, affectionate Kate was overjoyed at the thought of being a
+help and comfort to her old father and mother; but reckless, joyous,
+good-humoured, hare-brained Charley was cast into the depths of despair
+at the idea of spending the livelong day, and day after day, for years
+it might be, on the top of a long-legged stool. In fact, poor Charley
+said that he "would rather become a buffalo than do it." Now this was
+very wrong of Charley, for, of course, he didn't _mean_ it. Indeed, it
+is too much a habit among little boys, ay, and among grown-up people,
+too, to say what they don't mean, as no doubt you are aware, dear
+reader, if you possess half the self-knowledge we give you credit for;
+and we cannot too strongly remonstrate with ourself and others against
+the practice--leading, as it does, to all sorts of absurd
+exaggerations, such as gravely asserting that we are "broiling hot"
+when we are simply "rather warm," or more than "half dead" with fatigue
+when we are merely "very tired." However, Charley _said_ that he would
+rather be "a buffalo than do it," and so we feel bound in honour to
+record the fact.
+
+Charley and Kate were warmly attached to each other. Moreover, they had
+been, ever since they could walk, in the habit of mingling their little
+joys and sorrows in each other's bosoms; and although, as years flew
+past, they gradually ceased to sob in each other's arms at every little
+mishap, they did not cease to interchange their inmost thoughts, and to
+mingle their tears when occasion called them forth. They knew the
+power, the inexpressible sweetness, of sympathy. They understood
+experimentally the comfort and joy that flow from obedience to that
+blessed commandment to "rejoice with those that do rejoice, and weep
+with those that weep." It was natural, therefore, that on Mr. Kennedy
+announcing his decrees, Charley and Kate should hasten to some retired
+spot where they could commune in solitude; the effect of which
+communing was to reduce them to a somewhat calmer and rather happy
+state of mind. Charley's sorrow was blunted by sympathy with Kate's
+joy, and Kate's joy was subdued by sympathy with Charley's sorrow; so
+that, after the first effervescing burst, they settled down into a calm
+and comfortable state of flatness, with very red eyes and exceedingly
+pensive minds. We must, however, do Charley the justice to say that the
+red eyes applied only to Kate; for although a tear or two could without
+much coaxing be induced to hop over his sun-burned cheek, he had got
+beyond that period of life when boys are addicted to (we must give the
+word, though not pretty, because it is eminently expressive)
+_blubbering_.
+
+A week later found Charley and his sister seated on the lump of blue
+ice where they were first introduced to the reader, and where Charley
+announced his unalterable resolve to run away, following it up with the
+statement that _that_ was "the end of it." He was quite mistaken,
+however, for that was by no means the end of it. In fact it was only
+the beginning of it, as we shall see hereafter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+The old fur-trader endeavours to "fix" his son's "flint," and finds the
+thing more difficult to do than he expected.
+
+
+Near the centre of the colony of Red River, the stream from which the
+settlement derives its name is joined by another, called the
+Assiniboine. About five or six hundred yards from the point where this
+union takes place, and on the banks of the latter stream, stands the
+Hudson's Bay Company's trading-post, Fort Garry. It is a massive square
+building of stone. Four high and thick walls enclose a space of ground
+on which are built six or eight wooden houses, some of which are used
+as dwellings for the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, and others
+as stores, wherein are contained the furs, the provisions which are
+sent annually to various parts of the country, and the goods (such as
+cloth, guns, powder and shot, blankets, twine, axes, knives, etc.,
+etc.) with which the fur-trade is carried on. Although Red River is a
+peaceful colony, and not at all likely to be assaulted by the poor
+Indians, it was, nevertheless, deemed prudent by the traders to make
+some show of power; and so at the corners of the fort four round
+bastions of a very imposing appearance were built, from the embrasures
+of which several large black-muzzled guns protruded. No one ever
+conceived the idea of firing these engines of war; and, indeed, it is
+highly probable that such an attempt would have been attended with
+consequences much more dreadful to those _behind_ than to those who
+might chance to be in front of the guns. Nevertheless they were
+imposing, and harmonised well with the flag-staff, which was the only
+other military symptom about the place. This latter was used on
+particular occasions, such as the arrival or departure of a brigade of
+boats, for the purpose of displaying the folds of a red flag on which
+were the letters H. B. C.
+
+The fort stood, as we have said, on the banks of the Assiniboine River,
+on the opposite side of which the land was somewhat wooded, though not
+heavily, with oak, maple, poplar, aspens, and willows; while at the
+back of the fort the great prairie rolled out like a green sea to the
+horizon, and far beyond that again to the base of the Rocky mountains.
+The plains at this time, however, were a sheet of unbroken snow, and
+the river a mass of solid ice.
+
+It was noon on the day following that on which our friend Charley had
+threatened rebellion, when a tall elderly man might have been seen
+standing at the back gate of Fort Garry, gazing wistfully out into the
+prairie in the direction of the lower part of the settlement. He was
+watching a small speck which moved rapidly over the snow in the
+direction of the fort.
+
+"It's very like our friend Frank Kennedy," said he to himself (at least
+we presume so, for there was no one else within earshot to whom he
+could have said it, except the door-post, which every one knows is
+proverbially a deaf subject). "No man in the settlement drives so
+furiously. I shouldn't wonder if he ran against the corner of the new
+fence now. Ha! just so--there he goes!"
+
+And truly the reckless driver did "go" just at that moment. He came up
+to the corner of the new fence, where the road took a rather abrupt
+turn, in a style that insured a capsize. In another second the spirited
+horse turned sharp round, the sleigh turned sharp over, and the
+occupant was pitched out at full length, while a black object, that
+might have been mistaken for his hat, rose from his side like a rocket,
+and, flying over him, landed on the snow several yards beyond. A faint
+shout was heard to float on the breeze as this catastrophe occurred,
+and the driver was seen to jump up and readjust himself in the cariole;
+while the other black object proved itself not to be a hat, by getting
+hastily up on a pair of legs, and scrambling back to the seat from
+which it had been so unceremoniously ejected.
+
+In a few minutes more the cheerful tinkling of the merry sleigh-bells
+was heard, and Frank Kennedy, accompanied by his hopeful son Charles,
+dashed up to the gate, and pulled up with a jerk.
+
+"Ha! Grant, my fine fellow, how are you?" exclaimed Mr. Kennedy,
+senior, as he disengaged himself from the heavy folds of the buffalo
+robe and shook the snow from his greatcoat. "Why on earth, man, don't
+you put up a sign-post and a board to warn travellers that you've been
+running out new fences and changing the road, eh?"
+
+"Why, my good friend," said Mr. Grant, smiling, "the fence and the road
+are of themselves pretty conclusive proof to most men that the road is
+changed; and, besides, we don't often have people driving round corners
+at full gallop; but--"
+
+"Hollo! Charley, you rascal," interrupted Mr. Kennedy--"here, take the
+mare to the stable, and don't drive her too fast. Mind, now, no going
+off upon the wrong road for the sake of a drive, you understand."
+
+"All right, father," exclaimed the boy, while a bright smile lit up his
+features and displayed two rows of white teeth: "I'll be particularly
+careful," and he sprang into the light vehicle, seized the reins, and
+with a sharp crack of the whip dashed down the road at a hard gallop.
+
+"He's a fine fellow that son of yours," said Mr. Grant, "and will make
+a first-rate fur-trader."
+
+"Pur-trader!" exclaimed Mr. Kennedy. "Just look at him! I'll be shot if
+he isn't thrashing the mare as if she were made of leather." The old
+man's ire was rising rapidly as he heard the whip crack every now and
+then, and saw the mare bound madly over the snow. "And see!" he
+continued, "I declare he _has_ taken the wrong turn after all."
+
+"True," said Mr. Grant: "he'll never reach the stable by that road;
+he's much more likely to visit the White-horse Plains. But come,
+friend, it's of no use fretting, Charley will soon tire of his ride; so
+come with me to my room and have a pipe before dinner."
+
+Old Mr. Kennedy gave a short groan of despair, shook his fist at the
+form of his retreating son, and accompanied his friend to the house.
+
+It must not be supposed that Frank Kennedy was very deeply offended
+with his son, although he did shower on him a considerable amount of
+abuse. On the contrary, he loved him very much. But it was the old
+man's nature to give way to little bursts of passion on almost every
+occasion in which his feelings were at all excited. These bursts,
+however, were like the little puffs that ripple the surface of the sea
+on a calm summer's day. They were over in a second, and left his
+good-humoured, rough, candid countenance in unruffled serenity. Charley
+knew this well, and loved his father tenderly, so that his conscience
+frequently smote him for raising his anger so often; and he over and
+over again promised his sister Kate to do his best to refrain from
+doing anything that was likely to annoy the old man in future. But,
+alas! Charley's resolves, like those of many other boys, were soon
+forgotten, and his father's equanimity was upset generally two or three
+times a day; but after the gust was over, the fur-trader would kiss his
+son, call him a "rascal," and send him off to fill and fetch his pipe.
+
+Mr. Grant, who was in charge of Fort Garry, led the way to his smoking
+apartment, where the two were soon seated in front of a roaring
+log-fire, emulating each other in the manufacture of smoke.
+
+"Well, Kennedy," said Mr. Grant, throwing himself back in his chair,
+elevating his chin, and emitting a long thin stream of white vapour
+from his lips, through which he gazed at his friend
+complacently--"well, Kennedy, to what fortunate chance am I indebted
+for this visit? It is not often that we have the pleasure of seeing you
+here."
+
+Mr. Kennedy created two large volumes of smoke, which, by means of a
+vigorous puff, he sent rolling over towards his friend, and said,
+"Charley."
+
+"And what of Charley?" said Mr. Grant with a smile, for he was well
+aware of the boy's propensity to fun, and of the father's desire to
+curb it.
+
+"The fact is," replied Kennedy, "that Charley must be broke. He's the
+wildest colt I ever had to tame, but I'll do it--I will--that's a fact."
+
+If Charley's subjugation had depended on the rapidity with which the
+little white clouds proceeded from his sire's mouth, there is no doubt
+that it would have been a "fact" in a very short time, for they rushed
+from him with the violence of a high wind. Long habit had made the old
+trader and his pipe not only inseparable companions, but part and
+parcel of each other--so intimately connected that a change in the one
+was sure to produce a sympathetic change in the other. In the present
+instance, the little clouds rapidly increased in size and number as the
+old gentleman thought on the obstinacy of his "colt."
+
+"Yes," he continued, after a moment's silence, "I've made up my mind to
+tame him, and I want _you_, Mr. Grant, to help me."
+
+Mr. Grant looked as if he would rather not undertake to lend his aid in
+a work that was evidently difficult; but being a good-natured man, he
+said, "And how, friend, can I assist in the operation?"
+
+"Well, you see, Charley's a good fellow at bottom, and a clever fellow
+too--at least so says the schoolmaster; though I must confess, that so
+far as my experience goes, he's only clever at finding out excuses for
+not doing what I want him to. But still I'm told he's clever, and can
+use his pen well; and I know for certain that he can use his tongue
+well. So I want to get him into the service, and have him placed in a
+situation where he shall have to stick to his desk all day. In fact, I
+want to have him broken into work; for you've no notion, sir, how that
+boy talks about bears and buffaloes and badgers, and life in the woods
+among the Indians. I do believe," continued the old gentleman, waxing
+warm, "that he would willingly go into the woods to-morrow, if I would
+let him, and never show his nose in the settlement again. He's quite
+incorrigible. But I'll tame him yet--I will!"
+
+Mr. Kennedy followed this up with an indignant grunt, and a puff of
+smoke, so thick, and propelled with such vigour, that it rolled and
+curled in fantastic evolutions towards the ceiling, as if it were
+unable to control itself with delight at the absolute certainty of
+Charley being tamed at last.
+
+Mr. Grant, however, shook his head, and remained for five minutes in
+profound silence, during which time the two friends puffed in concert,
+until they began to grow quite indistinct and ghost-like in the thick
+atmosphere.
+
+At last he broke silence.
+
+"My opinion is that you're wrong, Mr. Kennedy. No doubt you know the
+disposition of your son better than I do; but even judging of it from
+what you have said, I'm quite sure that a sedentary life will ruin him."
+
+"Ruin him! Humbug!" said Kennedy, who never failed to express his
+opinion at the shortest notice and in the plainest language--a fact so
+well known by his friends that they had got into the habit of taking no
+notice of it. "Humbug!" he repeated, "perfect humbug! You don't mean to
+tell me that the way to break him in is to let him run loose and wild
+whenever and wherever he pleases?"
+
+"By no means. But you may rest assured that tying him down won't do it."
+
+"Nonsense!" said Mr. Kennedy testily; "don't tell me. Have I not broken
+in young colts by the score? and don't I know that the way to fix their
+flints is to clap on a good strong curb?"
+
+"If you had travelled farther south, friend," replied Mr. Grant, "you
+would have seen the Spaniards of Mexico break in their wild horses in a
+very different way; for after catching one with a lasso, a fellow gets
+on his back, and gives it the rein and the whip--ay, and the spur too;
+and before that race is over, there is no need for a curb."
+
+"What!" exclaimed Kennedy, "and do you mean to argue from that, that I
+should let Charley run--and _help_ him too? Send him off to the woods
+with gun and blanket, canoe and tent, all complete?" The old gentleman
+puffed a furious puff, and broke into a loud sarcastic laugh.
+
+"No, no," interrupted Mr. Grant; "I don't exactly mean that, but I
+think that you might give him his way for a year or so. He's a fine,
+active, generous fellow; and after the novelty wore off, he would be in
+a much better frame of mind to listen to your proposals. Besides" (and
+Mr. Grant smiled expressively), "Charley is somewhat like his father.
+He has got a will of his own; and if you do not give him his way, I
+very much fear that he'll--"
+
+"What?" inquired Mr. Kennedy abruptly.
+
+"Take it," said Mr. Grant.
+
+The puff that burst from Mr. Kennedy's lips on hearing this would have
+done credit to a thirty-six pounder.
+
+"Take it!" said he; "he'd _better_ not."
+
+The latter part of this speech was not in itself of a nature calculated
+to convey much; but the tone of the old trader's voice, the contraction
+of his eyebrows, and above all the overwhelming flow of cloudlets that
+followed, imparted to it a significance that induced the belief that
+Charley's taking his own way would be productive of more terrific
+consequences than it was in the power of the most highly imaginative
+man to conceive.
+
+"There's his sister Kate, now," continued the old gentleman; "she's as
+gentle and biddable as a lamb. I've only to say a word, and she's off
+like a shot to do my bidding; and she does it with such a sweet smile
+too." There was a touch of pathos in the old trader's voice as he said
+this. He was a man of strong feeling, and as impulsive in his
+tenderness as in his wrath. "But that rascal Charley," he continued,
+"is quite different. He's obstinate as a mule. To be sure, he has a
+good temper; and I must say for him he never goes into the sulks, which
+is a comfort, for of all things in the world sulking is the most
+childish and contemptible. He _generally_ does what I bid him, too. But
+he's _always_ getting into scrapes of one kind or other. And during the
+last week, notwithstanding all I can say to him, he won't admit that
+the best thing for him is to get a place in your counting-room, with
+the prospect of rapid promotion in the service. Very odd. I can't
+understand it at all;" and Mr. Kennedy heaved a deep sigh.
+
+"Did you ever explain to him the prospects that he would have in the
+situation you propose for him?" inquired Mr. Grant.
+
+"Can't say I ever did."
+
+"Did you ever point out the probable end of a life spent in the woods?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Nor suggest to him that the appointment to the office here would only
+be temporary, and to see how he got on in it?"
+
+"Certainly not."
+
+"Then, my dear sir, I'm not surprised that Charley rebels. You have
+left him to suppose that, once placed at the desk here, he is a
+prisoner for life. But see, there he is," said Mr. Grant, pointing as
+he spoke towards the subject of their conversation, who was passing the
+window at the moment; "let me call him, and I feel certain that he will
+listen to reason in a few minutes."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr. Kennedy, "you may try."
+
+In another minute Charley had been summoned, and was seated, cap in
+hand, near the door.
+
+"Charley, my boy," began Mr. Grant, standing with his back to the fire,
+his feet pretty wide apart, and his coat-tails under his
+arms--"Charley, my boy, your father has just been speaking of you. He
+is very anxious that you should enter the service of the Hudson's Bay
+Company; and as you are a clever boy and a good penman, we think that
+you would be likely to get on if placed for a year or so in our office
+here. I need scarcely point out to you, my boy, that in such a position
+you would be sure to obtain more rapid promotion than if you were
+placed in one of the distant outposts, where you would have very little
+to do, and perhaps little to eat, and no one to converse with except
+one or two men. Of course, we would merely place you here on trial, to
+see how you suited us; and if you prove steady and diligent, there is
+no saying how fast you might get on. Why, you might even come to fill
+my place in course of time. Come now, Charley, what think you of it?"
+
+Charley's eyes had been cast on the ground while Mr. Grant was
+speaking. He now raised them, looked at his father, then at his
+interrogator, and said,--
+
+"It is very kind of you both to be so anxious about my prospects. I
+thank you, indeed, very much; but I--a--"
+
+"Don't like the desk?" said his father, in an angry tone. "Is that it,
+eh?"
+
+Charley made no reply, but cast down his eyes again and smiled (Charley
+had a sweet smile, a peculiarly sweet, candid smile), as if he meant to
+say that his father had hit the nail quite on the top of the head that
+time, and no mistake.
+
+"But consider," resumed Mr. Grant, "although you might probably be
+pleased with an outpost life at first, you would be sure to grow weary
+of it after the novelty wore off, and then you would wish with all your
+heart to be back here again. Believe me, child, a trader's life is a
+very hard and not often a very satisfactory one--"
+
+"Ay," broke in the father, desirous, if possible, to help the argument,
+"and you'll find it a desperately wild, unsettled, roving sort of life,
+too, let me tell you! full of dangers both from wild beast and wild
+men--"
+
+"Hush!" interrupted Mr. Grant, observing that the boy's eyes kindled
+when his father spoke of a wild, roving life, and wild beasts.--"Your
+father does not mean that life at an outpost is wild and _interesting_
+or _exciting_. He merely means that--a--it--"
+
+Mr. Grant could not very well explain what it was that Mr. Kennedy
+meant if he did not mean that, so he turned to him for help.
+
+"Exactly so," said that gentleman, taking a strong pull at the pipe for
+inspiration. "It's no ways interesting or exciting at all. It's slow,
+dull, and flat; a miserable sort of Robinson Crusoe life, with red
+Indians and starvation constantly staring you in the face--"
+
+"Besides," said Mr. Grant, again interrupting the somewhat unfortunate
+efforts of his friend, who seemed to have a happy facility in sending a
+brilliant dash of romantic allusion across the dark side of his
+picture--"besides, you'll not have opportunity to amuse yourself, or to
+read, as you'll have no books, and you'll have to work hard with your
+hands oftentimes, like your men--"
+
+"In fact," broke in the impatient father, resolved, apparently, to
+carry the point with a grand _coup_--"in fact, you'll have to rough it,
+as I did, when I went up the Mackenzie River district, where I was sent
+to establish a new post, and had to travel for weeks and weeks through
+a wild country, where none of us had ever been before; where we shot
+our own meat, caught our own fish, and built our own house--and were
+very near being murdered by the Indians; though, to be sure, afterwards
+they became the most civil fellows in the country, and brought us
+plenty of skins. Ay, lad, you'll repent of your obstinacy when you come
+to have to hunt your own dinner, as I've done many a day up the
+Saskatchewan, where I've had to fight with red-skins and grizzly bears
+and to chase the buffaloes over miles and miles of prairie on
+rough-going nags till my bones ached and I scarce knew whether I sat
+on--"
+
+"Oh," exclaimed Charley, starting to his feet, while his eyes flashed
+and his chest heaved with emotion, "that's the place for me,
+father!--Do, please, Mr. Grant send me there, and I'll work for you
+with all my might!"
+
+Frank Kennedy was not a man to stand this unexpected miscarriage of his
+eloquence with equanimity. His first action was to throw his pipe at
+the head of his enthusiastic boy; without worse effect, however, than
+smashing it to atoms on the opposite wall. He then started up and
+rushed towards his son, who, being near the door, retreated
+precipitately and vanished.
+
+"So," said Mr. Grant, not very sure whether to laugh or be angry at the
+result of their united efforts, "you've settled the question now, at
+all events."
+
+Frank Kennedy said nothing, but filled another pipe, sat doggedly down
+in front of the fire, and speedily enveloped himself, and his friend,
+and all that the room contained, in thick, impenetrable clouds of smoke.
+
+Meanwhile his worthy son rushed off in a state of great glee. He had
+often heard the voyageurs of Red River dilate on the delights of
+roughing it in the woods, and his heart had bounded as they spoke of
+dangers encountered and overcome among the rapids of the Far North, or
+with the bears and bison-bulls of the prairie, but never till now had
+he heard his father corroborate their testimony by a recital of his own
+actual experience; and although the old gentleman's intention was
+undoubtedly to damp the boy's spirit, his eloquence had exactly the
+opposite effect--so that it was with a hop and a shout that he burst
+into the counting-room, with the occupants of which Charley was a
+special favourite.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+The Counting-room.
+
+
+Everyone knows the general appearance of a counting-room. There are one
+or two peculiar features about such apartments that are quite
+unmistakable and very characteristic; and the counting-room at Fort
+Garry, although many hundred miles distant from other specimens of its
+race, and, from the peculiar circumstances of its position, not
+therefore likely to bear them much resemblance, possessed one or two
+features of similarity, in the shape of two large desks and several
+very tall stools, besides sundry ink-bottles, rulers, books, and sheets
+of blotting-paper. But there were other implements there, savouring
+strongly of the backwoods and savage life, which merit more particular
+notice.
+
+The room itself was small, and lighted by two little windows, which
+opened into the courtyard. The entire apartment was made of wood. The
+floor was of unpainted fir boards. The walls were of the same material,
+painted blue from the floor upwards to about three feet, where the blue
+was unceremoniously stopped short by a stripe of bright red, above
+which the somewhat fanciful decorator had laid on a coat of pale
+yellow; and the ceiling, by way of variety, was of a deep ochre. As the
+occupants of Red River office were, however, addicted to the use of
+tobacco and tallow candles, the original colour of the ceiling had
+vanished entirely, and that of the walls had considerably changed.
+
+There were three doors in the room (besides the door of entrance), each
+opening into another apartment, where the three clerks were wont to
+court the favour of Morpheus after the labours of the day. No carpets
+graced the floors of any of these rooms, and with the exception of the
+paint aforementioned, no ornament whatever broke the pleasing
+uniformity of the scene. This was compensated, however, to some extent
+by several scarlet sashes, bright-coloured shot-belts, and gay portions
+of winter costume peculiar to the country, which depended from sundry
+nails in the bedroom walls; and as the three doors always stood open,
+these objects, together with one or two fowling-pieces and
+canoe-paddles, formed quite a brilliant and highly suggestive
+background to the otherwise sombre picture. A large open fireplace
+stood in one corner of the room, devoid of a grate, and so constructed
+that large logs of wood might be piled up on end to any extent. And
+really the fires made in this manner, and in this individual fireplace,
+were exquisite beyond description. A wood-fire is a particularly
+cheerful thing. Those who have never seen one can form but a faint idea
+of its splendour; especially on a sharp winter night in the arctic
+regions, where the thermometer falls to forty degrees below zero,
+without inducing the inhabitants to suppose that the world has reached
+its conclusion. The billets are usually piled up on end, so that the
+flames rise and twine round them with a fierce intensity that causes
+them to crack and sputter cheerfully, sending innumerable sparks of
+fire into the room, and throwing out a rich glow of brilliant light
+that warms a man even to look at it, and renders candles quite
+unnecessary.
+
+The clerks who inhabited this counting-room were, like itself,
+peculiar. There were three--corresponding to the bedrooms. The senior
+was a tall, broad-shouldered, muscular man--a Scotchman--very
+good-humoured, yet a man whose under lip met the upper with that
+peculiar degree of precision that indicated the presence of other
+qualities besides that of good-humour. He was book-keeper and
+accountant, and managed the affairs intrusted to his care with the same
+dogged perseverance with which he would have led an expedition of
+discovery to the North Pole. He was thirty or thereabouts.
+
+The second was a small man--also a Scotchman. It is curious to note how
+numerous Scotchmen are in the wilds of North America. This specimen was
+diminutive and sharp. Moreover, he played the flute--an accomplishment
+of which he was so proud that he ordered out from England a flute of
+ebony, so elaborately enriched with silver keys that one's fingers
+ached to behold it. This beautiful instrument, like most other
+instruments of a delicate nature, found the climate too much for its
+constitution, and, soon after the winter began, split from top to
+bottom. Peter Mactavish, however, was a genius by nature, and a
+mechanical genius by tendency; so that, instead of giving way to
+despair, he laboriously bound the flute together with waxed thread,
+which, although it could not restore it to its pristine elegance,
+enabled him to play with great effect sundry doleful airs, whose
+influence, when performed at night, usually sent his companions to
+sleep, or, failing this, drove them to distraction.
+
+The third inhabitant of the office was a ruddy, smooth-chinned youth of
+about fourteen, who had left home seven months before, in the hope of
+gratifying a desire to lead a wild life, which he had entertained ever
+since he read "Jack the Giant Killer," and found himself most
+unexpectedly fastened, during the greater part of each day, to a stool.
+His name was Harry Somerville, and a fine, cheerful little fellow he
+was, full of spirits, and curiously addicted to poking and arranging
+the fire at least every ten minutes--a propensity which tested the
+forbearance of the senior clerk rather severely, and would have
+surprised any one not aware of poor Harry's incurable antipathy to the
+desk, and the yearning desire with which he longed for physical action.
+
+Harry was busily engaged with the refractory fire when Charley, as
+stated at the conclusion of the last chapter, burst into the room.
+
+"Hollo!" he exclaimed, suspending his operations for a moment, "what's
+up?"
+
+"Nothing," said Charley, "but father's temper, that's all. He gave me a
+splendid description of his life in the woods, and then threw his pipe
+at me because I admired it too much."
+
+"Ho!" exclaimed Harry, making a vigorous thrust at the fire, "then
+you've no chance now."
+
+"No chance! what do you mean?"
+
+"Only that we are to have a wolf-hunt in the plains to-morrow; and if
+you've aggravated your father, he'll be taking you home to-night,
+that's all."
+
+"Oh! no fear of that," said Charley, with a look that seemed to imply
+that there was very great fear of "that"--much more, in fact, than he
+was willing to admit even to himself. "My dear old father never keeps
+his anger long. I'm sure that he'll be all right again in half-an-hour."
+
+"Hope so, but doubt it I do," said Harry, making another deadly poke at
+the fire, and returning, with a deep sigh, to his stool.
+
+"Would you like to go with us, Charley?" said the senior clerk, laying
+down his pen and turning round on his chair (the senior clerk never sat
+on a stool) with a benign smile.
+
+"Oh, very, very much indeed," cried Charley; "but even should father
+agree to stay all night at the fort, I have no horse, and I'm sure he
+would not let me have the mare after what I did to-day."
+
+"Do you think he's not open to persuasion?" said the senior clerk.
+
+"No, I'm sure he's not."
+
+"Well, well, it don't much signify; perhaps we can mount you."
+(Charley's face brightened.) "Go," he continued, addressing Harry
+Somerville--"go, tell Tom Whyte I wish to speak to him."
+
+Harry sprang from his stool with a suddenness and vigour that might
+have justified the belief that he had been fixed to it by means of a
+powerful spring, which had been set free with a sharp recoil, and shot
+him out at the door, for he disappeared in a trice. In a few minutes he
+returned, followed by the groom Tom Whyte.
+
+"Tom," said the senior clerk, "do you think we could manage to mount
+Charley to-morrow?"
+
+"Why, sir, I don't think as how we could. There ain't an 'oss in the
+stable except them wot's required and them wot's badly."
+
+"Couldn't he have the brown pony?" suggested the senior clerk.
+
+Tom Whyte was a cockney and an old soldier, and stood so bolt upright
+that it seemed quite a marvel how the words ever managed to climb up
+the steep ascent of his throat, and turn the corner so as to get out at
+his mouth. Perhaps this was the cause of his speaking on all occasions
+with great deliberation and slowness.
+
+"Why, you see, sir," he replied, "the brown pony's got cut under the
+fetlock of the right hind leg; and I 'ad 'im down to L'Esperance the
+smith's, sir, to look at 'im, sir; and he says to me, says he 'That
+don't look well, that 'oss don't,'--and he's a knowing feller, sir, is
+L'Esperance though he _is_ an 'alf-breed--"
+
+"Never mind what he said, Tom," interrupted the senior clerk; "is the
+pony fit for use? that's the question."
+
+"No, sir, 'e hain't."
+
+"And the black mare, can he not have that?"
+
+"No, sir; Mr. Grant is to ride 'er to-morrow."
+
+"That's unfortunate," said the senior clerk.--"I fear, Charley, that
+you'll need to ride behind Harry on his gray pony. It wouldn't improve
+his speed, to be sure, having two on his back; but then he's so like a
+pig in his movements at any rate, I don't think it would spoil his pace
+much."
+
+"Could he not try the new horse?" he continued, turning to the groom.
+
+"The noo 'oss, sir! he might as well try to ride a mad buffalo bull,
+sir. He's quite a young colt, sir, only 'alf broke--kicks like a
+windmill, sir, and's got an 'ead like a steam-engine; 'e couldn't 'old
+'im in no'ow, sir. I 'ad 'im down to the smith 'tother day, sir, an'
+says 'e to me, says 'e, 'That's a screamer, that is.' 'Yes,' says I,
+'that his a fact.' 'Well,' says 'e--"
+
+"Hang the smith!" cried the senior clerk, losing all patience; "can't
+you answer me without so much talk? Is the horse too wild to ride?"
+
+"Yes, sir, 'e is" said the groom, with a look of slightly offended
+dignity, and drawing himself up--if we may use such an expression to
+one who was always drawn up to such an extent that he seemed to be just
+balanced on his heels, and required only a gentle push to lay him flat
+on his back.
+
+"Oh, I have it!" cried Peter Mactavish, who had been standing during
+the conversation with his back to the fire, and a short pipe in his
+mouth: "John Fowler, the miller, has just purchased a new pony. I'm
+told it's an old buffalo-runner, and I'm certain he would lend it to
+Charley at once."
+
+"The very thing," said the senior clerk.--"Run, Tom; give the miller my
+compliments, and beg the loan of his horse for Charley Kennedy.--I
+think he knows you, Charley?"
+
+The dinner-bell rang as the groom departed, and the clerks prepared for
+their mid-day meal.
+
+The Senior clerk's order to _"run"_ was a mere form of speech, intended
+to indicate that haste was desirable. No man imagined for a moment that
+Tom Whyte could, by any possibility, _run_. He hadn't run since he was
+dismissed from the army, twenty years before, for incurable
+drunkenness; and most of Tom's friend's entertained the belief that if
+he ever attempted to run he would crack all over, and go to pieces like
+a disentombed Egyptian mummy. Tom therefore walked off to the row of
+buildings inhabited by the men, where he sat down on a bench in front
+of his bed, and proceeded leisurely to fill his pipe.
+
+The room in which he sat was a fair specimen of the dwellings devoted
+to the _employés_ of the Hudson's Bay Company throughout the country.
+It was large, and low in the roof, built entirely of wood, which was
+unpainted; a matter, however, of no consequence, as, from long exposure
+to dust and tobacco smoke, the floor, walls, and ceiling had become one
+deep, uniform brown. The men's beds were constructed after the fashion
+of berths on board ship, being wooden boxes ranged in tiers round the
+room. Several tables and benches were strewn miscellaneously about the
+floor, in the centre of which stood a large double iron stove, with the
+word _"Carron"_ stamped on it. This served at once for cooking and
+warming the place. Numerous guns, axes, and canoe-paddles hung round
+the walls or were piled in corners, and the rafters sustained a
+miscellaneous mass of materials, the more conspicuous among which were
+snow-shoes, dog-sledges, axe-handles, and nets.
+
+Having filled and lighted his pipe, Tom Whyte thrust his hands into his
+deerskin mittens, and sauntered off to perform his errand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+A wolf-hunt in the prairies--Charley astonishes his father, and breaks
+in the "noo 'oss" effectually.
+
+During the long winter that reigns in the northern regions of America,
+the thermometer ranges, for many months together, from zero down to 20,
+30, and 40 degrees _below_ it. In different parts of the country the
+intensity of the frost varies a little, but not sufficiently to make
+any appreciable change in one's sensation of cold. At York Fort, on the
+shores of Hudson's Bay, where the winter is eight months long, the
+spirit-of-wine (mercury being useless in so cold a climate) sometimes
+falls so low as 50 degrees below zero; and away in the regions of Great
+Bear Lake it has been known to fall considerably lower than 60 degrees
+below zero of Fahrenheit. Cold of such intensity, of course, produces
+many curious and interesting effects, which, although scarcely noticed
+by the inhabitants, make a strong impression upon the minds of those
+who visit the country for the first time. A youth goes out to walk on
+one of the first sharp, frosty mornings. His locks are brown and his
+face ruddy. In half-an-hour he returns with his face blue, his nose
+frost-bitten, and his locks _white_--the latter effect being produced
+by his breath congealing on his hair and breast, until both are covered
+with hoar-frost. Perhaps he is of a sceptical nature, prejudiced it may
+be, in favour of old habits and customs; so that, although told by
+those who ought to know that it is absolutely necessary to wear
+moccasins in winter, he prefers the leather boots to which he has been
+accustomed at home, and goes out with them accordingly In a few minutes
+the feet begin to lose sensation. First the toes, as far as feeling
+goes, vanish; then the heels depart, and he feels the extraordinary and
+peculiar and altogether disagreeable sensation of one who has had his
+heels and toes amputated, and is walking about on his insteps. Soon,
+however, these also fade away, and the unhappy youth rushes frantically
+home on the stumps of his ankle-bones--at least so it appears to him,
+and so in reality it would turn out to be if he did not speedily rub
+the benumbed appendages into vitality again.
+
+The whole country during this season is buried in snow, and the
+prairies of Red River present the appearance of a sea of the purest
+white for five or six months of the year. Impelled by hunger, troops of
+prairie wolves prowl round the settlement, safe from the assault of man
+in consequence of their light weight permitting them to scamper away on
+the surface of the snow, into which man or horse, from their greater
+weight, would sink, so as to render pursuit either fearfully laborious
+or altogether impossible. In spring, however, when the first thaws
+begin to take place, and commence that delightful process of disruption
+which introduces this charming season of the year, the relative
+position of wolf and man is reversed. The snow becomes suddenly soft,
+so that the short legs of the wolf, sinking deep into it, fail to reach
+the solid ground below, and he is obliged to drag heavily along; while
+the long legs of the horse enable him to plunge through and dash aside
+the snow at a rate which, although not very fleet, is sufficient
+nevertheless to overtake the chase and give his rider a chance of
+shooting it. The inhabitants of Red River are not much addicted to this
+sport, but the gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Service sometimes practise
+it; and it was to a hunt of this description that our young friend
+Charley Kennedy was now so anxious to go.
+
+The morning was propitious. The sun blazed in dazzling splendour in a
+sky of deep unclouded blue, while the white prairie glittered as if it
+were a sea of diamonds rolling out in an unbroken sheet from the walls
+of the fort to the horizon, and on looking at which one experienced all
+the pleasurable feelings of being out on a calm day on the wide, wide
+sea, without the disagreeable consequence of being very, very sick.
+
+The thermometer stood at 39° in the shade, and  "everythin_k_" as Tom
+Whyte emphatically expressed it, "looked like a runnin' of right away
+into slush." That unusual sound, the trickling of water, so
+inexpressibly grateful to the ears of those who dwell in frosty climes,
+was heard all around, as the heavy masses of snow on the housetops sent
+a few adventurous drops gliding down the icicles which depended from
+the eaves and gables; and there was a balmy softness in the air that
+told of coming spring. Nature, in fact, seemed to have wakened from her
+long nap, and was beginning to think of getting up. Like people,
+however, who venture to delay so long as to _think_ about it, Nature
+frequently turns round and goes to sleep again in her icy cradle for a
+few weeks after the first awakening.
+
+The scene in the court-yard of Fort Garry harmonised with the cheerful
+spirit of the morning. Tom Whyte, with that upright solemnity which
+constituted one of his characteristic features, was standing in the
+centre of a group of horses, whose energy he endeavoured to restrain
+with the help of a small Indian boy, to whom meanwhile he imparted a
+variety of useful and otherwise unattainable information.
+
+"You see, Joseph," said he to the urchin, who gazed gravely in his face
+with a pair of very large and dark eyes, "ponies is often skittish.
+Reason why one should be, an' another not, I can't comprehend. P'r'aps
+it's nat'ral, p'r'aps not, but howsomediver so 'tis; an' if it's more
+nor above the likes o' _me_, Joseph, you needn't be suprised that it's
+somethink haltogether beyond _you_."
+
+It will not surprise the reader to be told that Joseph made no reply to
+this speech, having a very imperfect acquaintance with the English
+language, especially the peculiar dialect of that tongue in which Tom
+Whyte was wont to express his ideas, when he had any.
+
+He merely gave a grunt, and continued to gaze at Tom's fishy eyes,
+which were about as interesting as the face to which they belonged, and
+_that_ might have been mistaken for almost anything.
+
+"Yes, Joseph," he continued, "that's a fact. There's the noo brown o'ss
+now, _it's_ a skittish 'un. And there's Mr. Kennedy's gray mare, wot's
+a standin' of beside me, she ain't skittish a bit, though she's plenty
+of spirit, and wouldn't care hanythink for a five-barred gate. Now, wot
+I want to know is, wot's the reason why?"
+
+We fear that the reason why, however interesting it might prove to
+naturalists, must remain a profound secret for ever; for just as the
+groom was about to entertain Joseph with one of his theories on the
+point, Charley Kennedy and Harry Somerville hastily approached.
+
+"Ho, Tom!" exclaimed the former, "have you got the miller's pony for
+me?"
+
+"Why, no, sir; 'e 'adn't got his shoes on, sir, last night--"
+
+"Oh, bother his shoes!" said Charley, in a voice of great
+disappointment. "Why didn't you bring him up without shoes, man, eh?"
+
+"Well, sir, the miller said 'e'd get 'em put on early this mornin', an'
+I 'xpect 'e'll be 'ere in 'alf-a-hour at farthest, sir."
+
+"Oh, very well," replied Charley, much relieved, but still a little
+nettled at the bare possibility of being late.--"Come along, Harry;
+let's go and meet him. He'll be long enough of coming if we don't go to
+poke him up a bit."
+
+"You'd better wait," called out the groom, as the boys hastened away.
+"If you go by the river, he'll p'r'aps come by the plains; and if you
+go by the plains, he'll p'r'aps come by the river."
+
+Charley and Harry stopped and looked at each other. Then they looked at
+the groom, and as their eyes surveyed his solemn, cadaverous
+countenance, which seemed a sort of bad caricature of the long visages
+of the horses that stood around him, they burst into a simultaneous and
+prolonged laugh.
+
+"He's a clever old lamp-post," said Harry at last: "we had better
+remain, Charley."
+
+"You see," continued Tom Whyte, "the pony's 'oofs is in an 'orrible
+state. Last night w'en I see'd 'im I said to the miller, says I, 'John,
+I'll take 'im down to the smith d'rectly.' 'Very good,' said John. So I
+'ad him down to the smith--"
+
+The remainder of Tom's speech was cut short by one of those unforeseen
+operations of the laws of nature which are peculiar to arctic climates.
+During the long winter repeated falls of snow cover the housetops with
+white mantles upwards of a foot thick, which become gradually thicker
+and more consolidated as winter advances. In spring the suddenness of
+the thaw loosens these from the sloping roofs, and precipitates them in
+masses to the ground. These miniature avalanches are dangerous, people
+having been seriously injured and sometimes killed by them. Now it
+happened that a very large mass of snow, which lay on and partly
+depended from the roof of the house near to which the horses were
+standing, gave way, and just at that critical point in Tom Whyte's
+speech when he "'ad 'im down to the smith," fell with a stunning crash
+on the back of Mr. Kennedy's gray mare. The mare was not "skittish"--by
+no means--according to Tom's idea, but it would have been more than an
+ordinary mare to have stood the sudden descent of half-a-ton of snow
+without _some_ symptoms of consciousness. No sooner did it feel the
+blow than it sent both heels with a bang against the wooden store, by
+way of preliminary movement, and then rearing up with a wild snort, it
+sprang over Tom Whyte's head, jerked the reins from his hand, and upset
+him in the snow. Poor Tom never _bent_ to anything. The military
+despotism under which he had been reared having substituted a touch of
+the cap for a bow, rendered it unnecessary to bend; prolonged drill,
+laziness, and rheumatism made it at last impossible. When he stood up,
+he did so after the manner of a pillar; when he sat down, he broke
+across at two points, much in the way in which a foot-rule would have
+done had _it_ felt disposed to sit down; and when he fell, he came down
+like an overturned lamp-post. On the present occasion Tom became
+horizontal in a moment, and from his unfortunate propensity to fall
+straight, his head, reaching much farther than might have been
+expected, came into violent contact with the small Indian boy, who fell
+flat likewise, letting go the reins of the horses, which latter no
+sooner felt themselves free than they fled, curvetting and snorting
+round the court, with reins and manes flying in rare confusion.
+
+The two boys, who could scarce stand for laughing, ran to the gates of
+the fort to prevent the chargers getting free, and in a short time they
+were again secured, although evidently much elated in spirit.
+
+A few minutes after this Mr. Grant issued from the principal house
+leaning on Mr. Kennedy's arm, and followed by the senior clerk, Peter
+Mactavish, and one or two friends who had come to take part in the
+wolf-hunt. They were all armed with double or single barrelled guns or
+pistols, according to their several fancies. The two elderly gentlemen
+alone entered upon the scene without any more deadly weapons than their
+heavy riding-whips. Young Harry Somerville, who had been strongly
+advised not to take a gun lest he should shoot himself or his horse or
+his companions, was content to take the field with a small
+pocket-pistol, which he crammed to the muzzle with a compound of ball
+and swan-shot.
+
+"It won't do," said Mr. Grant, in an earnest voice, to his friend, as
+they walked towards the horses--"it won't do to check him too abruptly,
+my dear sir."
+
+It was evident that they were recurring to the subject of conversation
+of the previous day, and it was also evident that the father's wrath
+was in that very uncertain state when a word or look can throw it into
+violent agitation.
+
+"Just permit me," continued Mr. Grant, "to get him sent to the
+Saskatchewan or Athabasca for a couple of years. By that time he'll
+have had enough of a rough life, and be only too glad to get a berth at
+headquarters. If you thwart him now, I feel convinced that he'll break
+through all restraint."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr. Kennedy, with a frown--"Come here, Charley," he
+said, as the boy approached with a disappointed look to tell of his
+failure in getting a horse; "I've been talking with Mr. Grant again
+about this business, and he says he can easily get you into the
+counting-room here for a year, so you'll make arrangements--"
+
+The old gentleman paused. He was going to have followed his wonted
+course by _commanding_ instantaneous obedience; but as his eye fell
+upon the honest, open, though disappointed face of his son, a gush of
+tenderness filled his heart. Laying his hand upon Charley's head, he
+said, in a kind but abrupt tone, "There now, Charley, my boy, make up
+your mind to give in with a good grace. It'll only be hard work for a
+year or two, and then plain sailing after that, Charley!"
+
+Charley's clear blue eyes filled with tears as the accents of kindness
+fell upon his ear.
+
+It is strange that men should frequently be so blind to the potent
+influence of kindness. Independently of the Divine authority, which
+assures us that "a soft answer turneth away wrath," and that "_love_ is
+the fulfilling of the law," who has not, in the course of his
+experience, felt the overwhelming power of a truly affectionate word;
+not a word which possesses merely an affectionate signification, but a
+word spoken with a gush of tenderness, where love rolls in the tone,
+and beams in the eye, and revels in every wrinkle of the face? And how
+much more powerfully does such a word or look or tone strike home to
+the heart if uttered by one whose lips are not much accustomed to the
+formation of honeyed words or sweet sentences! Had Mr. Kennedy, senior,
+known more of this power, and put it more frequently to the proof, we
+venture to affirm that Mr. Kennedy, junior, would have _allowed_ his
+_"flint to be fixed"_ (as his father pithily expressed it) long ago.
+
+Ere Charley could reply to the question, Mr. Grant's voice, pitched in
+an elevated key, interrupted them.
+
+"Eh! what?" said that gentleman to Tom Whyte. "No horse for Charley!
+How's that?"
+
+"No, sir," said Tom.
+
+"Where's the brown pony?" said Mr. Grant, abruptly.
+
+"Cut 'is fetlock, sir," said Tom, slowly.
+
+"And the new horse?"
+
+"'Tan't 'alf broke yet, sir."
+
+"Ah! that's bad.--It wouldn't do to take an unbroken charger, Charley;
+for although you are a pretty good rider, you couldn't manage him, I
+fear. Let me see."
+
+"Please, sir," said the groom, touching his hat, "I've borrowed the
+miller's pony for 'im, and 'e's sure to be 'ere in 'alf-a-hour at
+farthest."
+
+"Oh, that'll do," said Mr. Grant; "you can soon overtake us. We shall
+ride slowly out, straight into the prairie, and Harry will remain
+behind to keep you company."
+
+So saying, Mr. Grant mounted his horse and rode out at the back gate,
+followed by the whole cavalcade.
+
+"Now this is too bad!" said Charley, looking with a very perplexed air
+at his companion. "What's to be done?"
+
+Harry evidently did not know what was to be done, and made no
+difficulty of saying so in a very sympathising tone. Moreover, he
+begged Charley very earnestly to take _his_ pony, but this the other
+would not hear of; so they came to the conclusion that there was
+nothing for it but to wait as patiently as possible for the arrival of
+the expected horse. In the meantime Harry proposed a saunter in the
+field adjoining the fort. Charley assented, and the two friends walked
+away, leading the gray pony along with them.
+
+To the right of Fort Garry was a small enclosure, at the extreme end of
+which commences a growth of willows and underwood, which gradually
+increases in size till it becomes a pretty thick belt of woodland,
+skirting up the river for many miles. Here stood the stable belonging
+to the establishment; and as the boys passed it, Charley suddenly
+conceived a strong desire to see the renowned "noo 'oss," which Tom
+Whyte had said was only "'alf broke;" so he turned the key, opened the
+door, and went in.
+
+There was nothing _very_ peculiar about this horse, excepting that his
+legs seemed rather long for his body, and upon a closer examination,
+there was a noticeable breadth of nostril and a latent fire in his eye,
+indicating a good deal of spirit, which, like Charley's own, required
+taming.
+
+"Oh" said Charley, "what a splendid fellow! I say, Harry, I'll go out
+with _him."_
+
+"You'd better not."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Why? just because if you do Mr. Grant will be down upon you, and your
+father won't be very well pleased."
+
+"Nonsense," cried Charley. "Father didn't say I wasn't to take him. I
+don't think he'd care much. He's not afraid of my breaking my neck. And
+then, Mr. Grant seemed to be only afraid of my being run off with--not
+of his horse being hurt. Here goes for it!" In another moment Charley
+had him saddled and bridled, and led him out into the yard.
+
+"Why, I declare, he's quite quiet; just like a lamb," said Harry, in
+surprise.
+
+"So he is," replied Charley. "He's a capital charger; and even if he
+does bolt, he can't run five hundred miles at a stretch. If I turn his
+head to the prairies, the Rocky Mountains are the first things that
+will bring him up. So let him run if he likes, I don't care a fig." And
+springing lightly into the saddle, he cantered out of the yard,
+followed by his friend.
+
+The young horse was a well-formed, showy animal, with a good deal of
+bone--perhaps too much for elegance. He was of a beautiful dark brown,
+and carried a high head and tail, with a high-stepping gait, that gave
+him a noble appearance. As Charley cantered along at a steady pace, he
+could discover no symptoms of the refractory spirit which had been
+ascribed to him.
+
+"Let us strike out straight for the horizon now," said Harry, after
+they had galloped half-a-mile or so along the beaten track. "See, here
+are the tracks of our friends." Turning sharp round as he spoke, he
+leaped his pony over the heap that lined the road, and galloped away
+through the soft snow.
+
+At this point the young horse began to show his evil spirit. Instead of
+following the other, he suddenly halted and began to back.
+
+"Hollo, Harry!" exclaimed Charley; "hold on a bit. Here's this monster
+begun his tricks."
+
+"Hit him a crack with the whip," shouted Harry.
+
+Charley acted upon the advice, which had the effect of making the horse
+shake his head with a sharp snort, and back more vigorously than ever.
+
+"There, my fine fellow, quiet now," said Charley, in a soothing tone,
+patting the horse's neck. "It's a comfort to know you can't go far in
+_that_ direction, anyhow!" he added, as he glanced over his shoulder,
+and saw an immense drift behind.
+
+He was right. In a few minutes the horse backed into the snow-drift.
+Finding his hind-quarters imprisoned by a power that was too much even
+for _his_ obstinacy to overcome, he gave another snort and a heavy
+plunge, which almost unseated his young rider.
+
+"Hold on fast," cried Harry, who had now come up.
+
+"No fear," cried Charley, as he clinched his teeth and gathered the
+reins more firmly.--"Now for it, you young villain!" and raising his
+whip, he brought it down with a heavy slash on the horse's flank.
+
+Had the snow-drift been a cannon, and the horse a bombshell, he could
+scarcely have sprung from it with greater velocity. One bound landed
+him on the road; another cleared it; and, in a second more, he
+stretched out at full speed--his ears flat on his neck, mane and tail
+flying in the wind, and the bit tight between his teeth.
+
+"Well done," cried Harry, as he passed. "You're off now, old fellow;
+good-bye."
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Charley, in reply, leaving his cap in the snow as a
+parting souvenir; while, seeing that it was useless to endeavour to
+check his steed, he became quite wild with excitement; gave him the
+rein; flourished his whip; and flew over the white plains, casting up
+the snow in clouds behind him like a hurricane.
+
+While this little escapade was being enacted by the boys, the hunters
+were riding leisurely out upon the snowy sea in search of a wolf.
+
+Words cannot convey to you, dear reader, an adequate conception of the
+peculiar fascination, the exhilarating splendour of the scene by which
+our hunters were surrounded. Its beauty lay not in variety of feature
+in the landscape, for there was none. One vast sheet of white alone met
+the view, bounded all round by the blue circle of the sky, and broken,
+in one or two places, by a patch or two of willows, which, rising on
+the plain, appeared like little islands in a frozen sea. It was the
+glittering sparkle of the snow in the bright sunshine; the dreamy
+haziness of the atmosphere, mingling earth and sky as in a halo of
+gold; the first taste, the first _smell_ of spring after a long winter,
+bursting suddenly upon the senses, like the unexpected visit of a
+long-absent, much-loved, and almost-forgotten friend; the soft, warm
+feeling of the south wind, bearing on its wings the balmy influences of
+sunny climes, and recalling vividly the scenes, the pleasures, the
+bustling occupations of summer. It was this that caused the hunters'
+hearts to leap within them as they rode along--that induced old Mr.
+Kennedy to forget his years, and shout as he had been wont to do in
+days gone by, when he used to follow the track of the elk or hunt the
+wild buffalo; and it was this that made the otherwise monotonous
+prairies, on this particular clay, so charming.
+
+The party had wandered about without discovering anything that bore the
+smallest resemblance to a wolf, for upwards of an hour; Fort Garry had
+fallen astern (to use a nautical phrase) until it had become a mere
+speck on the horizon, and vanished altogether; Peter Mactavish had
+twice given a false alarm, in the eagerness of his spirit, and had
+three times plunged his horse up to the girths in a snow-drift; the
+senior clerk was waxing impatient, and the horses restive, when a
+sudden "Hollo!" from Mr. Grant brought the whole cavalcade to a stand.
+
+The object which drew his attention, and to which he directed the
+anxious eyes of his friends was a small speck, rather triangular in
+form, which overtopped a little willow bush not more than five or six
+hundred yards distant.
+
+"There he is!" exclaimed Mr. Grant. "That's a fact," cried Mr. Kennedy;
+and both gentlemen, instantaneously giving a shout, bounded towards the
+object; not, however, before the senior clerk, who was mounted on a
+fleet and strong horse, had taken the lead by six yards. A moment
+afterwards the speck rose up and discovered itself to be a veritable
+wolf. Moreover, he condescended to show his teeth, and then, conceiving
+it probable that his enemies were too numerous for him, he turned
+suddenly round and fled away. For ten minutes or so the chase was kept
+up at full speed, and as the snow happened to be shallow at the
+starting-point, the wolf kept well ahead of its pursuers--indeed,
+distanced them a little. But soon the snow became deeper, and the wolf
+plunged heavily, and the horses gained considerably. Although to the
+eye the prairies seemed to be a uniform level, there were numerous
+slight undulations, in which drifts of some depth had collected. Into
+one of these the wolf now plunged and laboured slowly through it. But
+so deep was the snow that the horses almost stuck fast. A few minutes,
+however, brought them out, and Mr. Grant and Mr. Kennedy, who had kept
+close to each other during the run, pulled up for a moment on the
+summit of a ridge to breathe their panting steeds.
+
+"What can that be?" exclaimed the former, pointing with his whip to a
+distant object which was moving rapidly over the plain.
+
+"Eh! what--where?" said Mr. Kennedy, shading his eyes with his hand,
+and peering in the direction indicated. "Why, that's another wolf,
+isn't it? No; it runs too fast for that."
+
+"Strange," said his friend; "what _can_ it be?"
+
+"If I hadn't seen every beast in the country," remarked Mr. Kennedy,
+"and didn't know that there are no such animals north of the equator, I
+should say it was a mad dromedary mounted by a ring-tailed roarer."
+
+"It can't be surely--not possible!" exclaimed Mr. Grant. "It's not
+Charley on the new horse!"
+
+Mr. Grant said this with an air of vexation that annoyed his friend a
+little. He would not have much minded Charley's taking a horse without
+leave, no matter how wild it might be; but he did not at all relish the
+idea of making an apology for his son's misconduct, and for the moment
+did not exactly know what to say. As usual in such a dilemma, the old
+man took refuge in a towering passion, gave his steed a sharp cut with
+the whip, and galloped forward to meet the delinquent.
+
+We are not acquainted with the general appearance of a "ring-tailed
+roarer;" in fact, we have grave doubts as to whether such an animal
+exists at all; but if it does, and is particularly wild, dishevelled,
+and fierce in deportment, there is no doubt whatever that when Mr.
+Kennedy applied the name to his hopeful son, the application was
+singularly powerful and appropriate.
+
+Charley had had a long run since we last saw him. After describing a
+wide curve, in which his charger displayed a surprising aptitude for
+picking out the ground that was least covered with snow, he headed
+straight for the fort again at the same pace at which he had started.
+At first Charley tried every possible method to check him, but in vain;
+so he gave it up, resolving to enjoy the race, since he could not
+prevent it. The young horse seemed to be made of lightning, with bones
+and muscles of brass; for he bounded untiringly forward for miles,
+tossing his head and snorting in his wild career. But Charley was a
+good horseman, and did not mind _that_ much, being quite satisfied that
+the horse _was_ a horse and not a spirit, and that therefore he could
+not run for ever. At last he approached the party, in search of which
+he had originally set out. His eyes dilated and his colour heightened
+as he beheld the wolf running directly towards him. Fumbling hastily
+for the pistol which he had borrowed from his friend Harry, he drew it
+from his pocket, and prepared to give the animal a shot in passing.
+Just at that moment the wolf caught sight of this new enemy in advance,
+and diverged suddenly to the left, plunging into a drift in his
+confusion, and so enabling the senior clerk to overtake him, and send
+an ounce of heavy shot into his side, which turned him over quite dead.
+The shot, however had a double effect. At that instant Charley swept
+past; and his mettlesome steed swerved as it heard the loud report of
+the gun, thereby almost unhorsing his rider, and causing him
+unintentionally to discharge the conglomerate of bullets and swan-shot
+into the flank of Peter Mactavish's horse--fortunately at a distance
+which rendered the shot equivalent to a dozen very sharp and
+particularly stinging blows. On receiving this unexpected salute, the
+astonished charger reared convulsively, and fell back upon his rider,
+who was thereby buried deep in the snow, not a vestige of him being
+left, no more than if he had never existed at all. Indeed, for a moment
+it seemed to be doubtful whether poor Peter _did_ exist or not, until a
+sudden upheaving of the snow took place, and his dishevelled head
+appeared, with the eyes and mouth wide open, bearing on them an
+expression of mingled horror and amazement. Meanwhile the second shot
+acted like a spur on the young horse, which flew past Mr. Kennedy like
+a whirlwind.
+
+"Stop, you young scoundrel!" he shouted, shaking his fist at Charley as
+he passed.
+
+Charley was past stopping, either by inclination or ability. This
+sudden and unexpected accumulation of disasters was too much for him.
+As he passed his sire, with his brown curls streaming straight out
+behind, and his eyes flashing with excitement, his teeth clinched, and
+his horse tearing along more like an incarnate fiend than an animal, a
+spirit of combined recklessness, consternation, indignation, and glee
+took possession of him. He waved his whip wildly over his head, brought
+it down with a stinging cut on the horse's neck, and uttered a shout of
+defiance that threw completely into the shade the loudest war-whoop
+that was ever uttered by the brazen lungs of the wildest savage between
+Hudson's Bay and Oregon. Seeing and hearing this, old Mr. Kennedy
+wheeled about and dashed off in pursuit with much greater energy than
+he had displayed in chase of the wolf.
+
+The race bid fair to be a long one, for the young horse was strong in
+wind and limb; and the gray mare, though decidedly not "the better
+horse," was much fresher than the other.
+
+The hunters, who were now joined by Harry Somerville, did not feel it
+incumbent on them to follow this new chase; so they contented
+themselves with watching their flight towards the fort, while they
+followed at a more leisurely pace.
+
+Meanwhile Charley rapidly neared Fort Garry, and now began to wonder
+whether the stable door was open, and if so, whether it were better for
+him to take his chance of getting his neck broken, or to throw himself
+into the next snow-drift that presented itself.
+
+He had not to remain long in suspense. The wooden fence that enclosed
+the stable-yard lay before him. It was between four and five feet high,
+with a beaten track running along the outside, and a deep snow-drift on
+the other. Charley felt that the young horse had made up his mind to
+leap this. As he did not at the moment see that there was anything
+better to be done, he prepared for it. As the horse bent on his
+haunches to spring, he gave him a smart cut with the whip, went over
+like a rocket, and plunged up to the neck in the snow-drift; which
+brought his career to an abrupt conclusion. The sudden stoppage of the
+horse was _one_ thing, but the arresting of Master Charley was
+_another_ and quite a different thing. The instant his charger landed,
+he left the saddle like a harlequin, described an extensive curve in
+the air, and fell head foremost into the drift, above which his boots
+and three inches of his legs alone remained to tell the tale.
+
+On witnessing this climax, Mr. Kennedy, senior, pulled up, dismounted,
+and ran--with an expression of some anxiety on his countenance--to the
+help of his son, while Tom Whyte came out of the stable just in time to
+receive the "noo 'oss" as he floundered out of the snow.
+
+"I believe," said the groom, as he surveyed the trembling charger,
+"that your son has broke the noo 'oss, sir, better nor I could 'ave
+done myself."
+
+"I believe that my son has broken his neck," said Mr. Kennedy
+wrathfully. "Come here and help me to dig him out."
+
+In a few minutes Charley was dug out, in a state of insensibility, and
+carried up to the fort, where he was laid on a bed, and restoratives
+actively applied for his recovery.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Peter Mactavish becomes an amateur doctor; Charley promulgates his
+views of tilings in general to Kate; and Kate waxes sagacious.
+
+
+Shortly after the catastrophe just related, Charley opened his eyes to
+consciousness, and aroused himself out of a prolonged fainting fit,
+under the combined influence of a strong constitution and the medical
+treatment of his friends.
+
+Medical treatment in the wilds of North America, by the way, is very
+original in its character, and is founded on principles so vague that
+no one has ever been found capable of stating them clearly. Owing to
+the stubborn fact that there are no doctors in the country, men have
+been thrown upon their own resources, and as a natural consequence
+_every_ man is a doctor. True, there _are_ two, it may be three, real
+doctors in the Hudson's Bay Company's employment; but as one of these
+is resident on the shores of Hudson's Bay, another in Oregon, and a
+third in Red River Settlement, they are not considered available for
+every case of emergency that may chance to occur in the hundreds of
+little outposts, scattered far and wide over the whole continent of
+North America, with miles and miles of primeval wilderness between
+each. We do not think, therefore, that when we say there are _no_
+doctors in the country, we use a culpable amount of exaggeration.
+
+If a man gets ill, he goes on till he gets better; and if he doesn't
+get better, he dies. To avert such an undesirable consummation,
+desperate and random efforts are made in an amateur way. The old
+proverb that "extremes meet" is verified. And in a land where no
+doctors are to be had for love or money, doctors meet you at every
+turn, ready to practise on everything, with anything, and all for
+nothing, on the shortest possible notice. As maybe supposed, the
+practice is novel, and not unfrequently extremely wild. Tooth-drawing
+is considered child's play--mere blacksmith's work; bleeding is a
+general remedy for everything, when all else fails; castor-oil, Epsom
+salts, and emetics are the three keynotes, the foundations, and the
+copestones of the system.
+
+In Red River there is only one _genuine_ doctor; and as the settlement
+is fully sixty miles long, he has enough to do, and cannot always be
+found when wanted, so that Charley had to rest content with amateur
+treatment in the meantime. Peter Mactavish was the first to try his
+powers. He was aware that laudanum had the effect of producing sleep,
+and seeing that Charley looked somewhat sleepy after recovering
+consciousness, he thought it advisable to help out that propensity to
+slumber, and went to the medicine-chest, whence he extracted a small
+phial of tincture of rhubarb, the half of which he emptied into a
+wine-glass, under the impression that it was laudanum, and poured down
+Charley's throat! The poor boy swallowed a little, and sputtered the
+remainder over the bedclothes. It may be remarked here that Mactavish
+was a wild, happy, half-mad sort of fellow--wonderfully erudite in
+regard to some things, and profoundly ignorant in regard to others.
+Medicine, it need scarcely be added, was not his _forte_. Having
+accomplished this feat to his satisfaction, he sat down to watch by the
+bedside of his friend. Peter had taken this opportunity to indulge in a
+little private practice just after several of the other gentlemen had
+left the office, under the impression that Charley had better remain
+quiet for a short time.
+
+"Well, Peter," whispered Mr. Kennedy, senior, putting his head in at
+the door (it was Harry's room in which Charley lay), "how is he now?"
+
+"Oh! doing capitally," replied Peter, in a hoarse whisper, at the same
+time rising and entering the office, while he gently closed the door
+behind him. "I gave him a small dose of physic, which I think has done
+mm good. He's sleeping like a top now."
+
+Mr. Kennedy frowned slightly, and made one or two remarks in reference
+to physic which were not calculated to gratify the ears of a physician.
+
+"What did you give him?" he inquired abruptly.
+
+"Only a little laudanum."
+
+"_Only,_ indeed! it's all trash together, and that's the worst kind of
+trash you could have given him. Humph!" and the old gentleman jerked
+his shoulders testily.
+
+"How much did yon give him?" said the senior clerk, who had entered the
+apartment with Harry a few minutes before.
+
+"Not quite a wineglassful," replied Peter, somewhat subdued.
+
+"A what!" cried the father, starting from his chair as if he had
+received an electric shock, and rushing into the adjoining room, up and
+down which he raved in a state of distraction, being utterly ignorant
+of what should be done under the circumstances.
+
+Poor Harry Somerville fell rather than leaped off his stool, and dashed
+into the bedroom, where old Mr. Kennedy was occupied in alternately
+heaping unutterable abuse on the head of Peter Mactavish, and imploring
+him to advise what was best to be done. But Peter knew not. He could
+only make one or two insane proposals to roll Charley about the floor,
+and see if _that_ would do him any good; while Harry suggested in
+desperation that he should be hung by the heels, and perhaps it would
+run out!
+
+Meanwhile the senior clerk seized his hat, with the intention of going
+in search of Tom Whyte, and rushed out at the door; which he had no
+sooner done than he found himself tightly embraced in the arms of that
+worthy, who happened to be entering at the moment, and who, in
+consequence of the sudden onset, was pinned up against the wall of the
+porch.
+
+"Oh, my buzzum!" exclaimed Tom, laying his hand on his breast; "you've
+a'most bu'st me, sir. W'at's wrong, sir?"
+
+"Go for the doctor, Tom, quick! run like the wind. Take the freshest
+horse; fly, Tom, Charley's poisoned--laudanum; quick!"
+
+"'Eavens an' 'arth!" ejaculated the groom, wheeling round, and stalking
+rapidly off to the stable like a pair of insane compasses, while the
+senior clerk returned to the bedroom, where he found Mr. Kennedy still
+raving, Peter Mactavish still aghast and deadly pale, and Harry
+Somerville staring like a maniac at his young friend, as if he expected
+every moment to see him explode, although, to all appearance, he was
+sleeping soundly, and comfortably too, notwithstanding the noise that
+was going on around him. Suddenly Harry's eye rested on the label of
+the half-empty phial, and he uttered a loud, prolonged cheer.
+
+"It's only tincture of--"
+
+"Wild cats and furies!" cried Mr. Kennedy, turning sharply round and
+seizing Harry by the collar, "why d'you kick up such a row, eh?"
+
+"It's only tincture of rhubarb," repeated the boy, disengaging himself
+and holding up the phial triumphantly.
+
+"So it is, I declare," exclaimed Mr. Kennedy, in a tone that indicated
+intense relief of mind; while Peter Mactavish uttered a sigh so deep
+that one might suppose a burden of innumerable tons weight had just
+been removed from his breast.
+
+Charley had been roused from his slumbers by this last ebullition; but
+on being told what had caused it, he turned languidly round on his
+pillow and went to sleep again, while his friends departed and left him
+to repose.
+
+Tom Whyte failed to find the doctor. The servant told him that her
+master had been suddenly called to set a broken leg that morning for a
+trapper who lived ten miles _down_ the river, and on his return had
+found a man waiting with a horse and cariole, who carried him violently
+away to see his wife, who had been taken suddenly ill at a house twenty
+miles _up_ the river, and so she didn't expect him back that night.
+
+"An' where has 'e been took to?" inquired Tom.
+
+She couldn't tell; she knew it was somewhere about the White-horse
+Plains, but she didn't know more than that.
+
+"Did 'e not say w'en 'e'd be home?"
+
+"No, he didn't."
+
+"Oh dear!" said Tom, rubbing his long nose in great perplexity. "It's
+an 'orrible case o' sudden and onexpected pison."
+
+She was sorry for it, but couldn't help that; and thereupon, bidding
+him good-morning, shut the door.
+
+Tom's wits had come to that condition which just precedes "giving it
+up" as hopeless, when it occurred to him that he was not far from old
+Mr. Kennedy's residence; so he stepped into the cariole again and drove
+thither. On his arrival he threw poor Mrs. Kennedy and Kate into great
+consternation by his exceedingly graphic, and more than slightly
+exaggerated, account of what had brought him in search of the doctor.
+At first Mrs. Kennedy resolved to go up to Fort Garry immediately, but
+Kate persuaded her to remain at home, by pointing out that she could
+herself go, and if anything very serious had occurred (which she didn't
+believe), Mr. Kennedy could come down for her immediately, while she
+(Kate) could remain to nurse her brother.
+
+In a few minutes Kate and Tom were seated side by side in the little
+cariole, driving swiftly up the frozen river; and two hours later the
+former was seated by her brother's bedside, watching him as he slept
+with a look of tender affection and solicitude.
+
+Rousing himself from his slumbers, Charley looked vacantly round the
+room.
+
+"Have you slept well, darling?" inquired Kate, laying her hand lightly
+on his forehead.
+
+"Slept--eh! oh yes. I've slept. I say, Kate, what a precious bump I
+came down on my head, to be sure!"
+
+"Hush, Charley!" said Kate, perceiving that he was becoming energetic.
+"Father said you were to keep quiet--and so do I," she added, with a
+frown. "Shut your eyes, sir, and go to sleep."
+
+Charley complied by shutting his eyes, and opening his mouth, and
+uttering a succession of deep snores.
+
+"Now, you bad boy," said Kate, "why _won't_ you try to rest?"
+
+"Because, Kate, dear," said Charley, opening his eyes again--"because I
+feel as if I had slept a week at least; and not being one of the seven
+sleepers, I don't think it necessary to do more in that way just now.
+Besides, my sweet but particularly wicked sister, I wish just at this
+moment to have a talk with you."
+
+"But are you sure it won't do you harm to talk? do you feel quite
+strong enough?"
+
+"Quite: Sampson was a mere infant compared to me."
+
+"Oh, don't talk nonsense, Charley dear, and keep your hands quiet, and
+don't lift the clothes with your knees in that way, else I'll go away
+and leave you."
+
+"Very well, my pet; if you do, I'll get up and dress and follow you,
+that's all! But come, Kate, tell me first of all how it was that I got
+pitched off that long-legged rhinoceros, and who it was that picked me
+up, and why wasn't I killed, and how did I come here; for my head is
+sadly confused, and I scarcely recollect anything that has happened;
+and before commencing your discourse, Kate, please hand me a glass of
+water, for my mouth is as dry as a whistle."
+
+Kate handed him a glass of water, smoothed his pillow, brushed the
+curls gently off his forehead, and sat down on the bedside.
+
+"Thank you, Kate; now go on."
+
+"Well, you see," she began--
+
+"Pardon me, dearest," interrupted Charley, "if you would please to look
+at me you would observe that my two eyes are tightly closed, so that I
+don't _see_ at all."
+
+"Well, then, you must understand--"
+
+"Must I? Oh!--"
+
+"That after that wicked horse leaped with you over the stable fence,
+you were thrown high into the air, and turning completely round, fell
+head foremost into the snow, and your poor head went through the top of
+an old cask that had been buried there all winter."
+
+"Dear me!" ejaculated Charley; "did anyone see me, Kate?"
+
+"Oh yes."
+
+"Who?" asked Charley, somewhat anxiously; "not Mrs. Grant, I hope? for
+if she did she'd never let me hear the last of it."
+
+"No; only our father, who was chasing you at the time," replied Kate,
+with a merry laugh.
+
+"And no one else?"
+
+"No--oh yes, by-the-by, Tom Whyte was there too."
+
+"Oh, he's nobody. Go on."
+
+"But tell me, Charley, why do you care about Mrs. Grant seeing you?"
+
+"Oh! no reason at all, only she's such an abominable quiz."
+
+We must guard the reader here against the supposition that Mrs. Grant
+was a quiz of the ordinary kind. She was by no means a sprightly,
+clever woman, rather fond of a joke than otherwise, as the term might
+lead you to suppose. Her corporeal frame was very large, excessively
+fat, and remarkably unwieldy; being an appropriate casket in which to
+enshrine a mind of the heaviest and most sluggish nature. She spoke
+little, ate largely, and slept much--the latter recreation being very
+frequently enjoyed in a large arm-chair of a peculiar kind. It had been
+a water-butt, which her ingenious husband had cut half-way down the
+middle, then half-way across, and in the angle thus formed fixed a
+bottom, which, together with the back, he padded with tow, and covered
+the whole with a mantle of glaring bed-curtain chintz, whose pattern
+alternated in stripes of sky-blue and china roses, with broken
+fragments of the rainbow between. Notwithstanding her excessive
+slowness, however, Mrs. Grant was fond of taking a firm hold of
+anything or any circumstance in the character or affairs of her
+friends, and twitting them thereupon in a grave but persevering manner
+that was exceedingly irritating. No one could ever ascertain whether
+Mrs. Grant did this in a sly way or not, as her visage never expressed
+anything except unalterable good-humour. She was a good wife and an
+affectionate mother; had a family of ten children, and could boast of
+never having had more than one quarrel with her husband. This
+disagreement was occasioned by a rather awkward mischance. One day, not
+long after her last baby was born, Mrs. Grant waddled towards her tub
+with the intention of enjoying her accustomed siesta. A few minutes
+previously, her seventh child, which was just able to walk, had
+scrambled up into the seat and fallen fast asleep there. As has been
+already said, Mrs. Grant's intellect was never very bright, and at this
+particular time she was rather drowsy, so that she did not observe the
+child, and on reaching her chair, turned round preparatory to letting
+herself plump into it. She always _plumped_ into her chair. Her muscles
+were too soft to lower her gently down into it. Invariably on reaching
+a certain point they ceased to act, and let her down with a crash. She
+had just reached this point, and her baby's hopes and prospects were on
+the eve of being cruelly crushed for ever, when Mr. Grant noticed the
+impending calamity. He had no time to warn her, for she had already
+passed the point at which her powers of muscular endurance terminated;
+so grasping the chair, he suddenly withdrew it with such force that the
+baby rolled off upon the floor like a hedgehog, straightened out flat,
+and gave vent to an outrageous roar, while its horror-struck mother
+came to the ground with a sound resembling the fall of an enormous sack
+of wool. Although the old lady could not see exactly that there was
+anything very blameworthy in her husband's conduct on this occasion,
+yet her nerves had received so severe a shock that she refused to be
+comforted for two entire days.
+
+But to return from this digression. After Charley had two or three
+times recommended Kate (who was a little inclined to be quizzical) to
+proceed, she continued,--
+
+"Well, then you were carried up here by father and Tom Whyte, and put
+to bed, and after a good deal of rubbing and rough treatment you were
+got round. Then Peter Mactavish nearly poisoned you, but fortunately he
+was such a goose that he did not think of reading the label of the
+phial, and so gave you a dose of tincture of rhubarb instead of
+laudanum as he had intended; and then father flew into a passion, and
+Tom Whyte was sent to fetch the doctor, and couldn't find him; but
+fortunately he found me, which was much better, I think, and brought me
+up here. And so here I am, and here I intend to remain."
+
+"And so that's the end of it. Well, Kate, I'm very glad it was no
+worse."
+
+"And I am very _thankful_" said Kate, with emphasis on the word, "that
+it's no worse."
+
+"Oh, well, you know, Kate, I _meant_ that, of course."
+
+"But you did not _say_ it," replied his sister earnestly.
+
+"To be sure not," said Charley gaily; "it would be absurd to be always
+making solemn speeches, and things of that sort, every time one has a
+little accident."
+
+"True, Charley; but when one has a very serious accident, and escapes
+unhurt, don't you think that _then_ it would be--"
+
+"Oh yes, to be sure," interrupted Charley, who still strove to turn
+Kate from her serious frame of mind; "but sister dear, how could I
+possibly _say_ I was thankful with my head crammed into an old cask and
+my feet pointing up to the blue sky, eh?"
+
+Kate smiled at this, and laid her hand on his arm, while she bent over
+the pillow and looked tenderly into his eyes.
+
+"O my darling Charley, you are disposed to jest about it; but I cannot
+tell you how my heart trembled this morning when I heard from Tom Whyte
+of what had happened. As we drove up to the fort, I thought how
+terrible it would have been if you had been killed; and then the happy
+days we have spent together rushed into my mind, and I thought of the
+willow creek where we used to fish for gold eyes, and the spot in the
+woods where we have so often chased the little birds, and the lake in
+the prairies where we used to go in spring to watch the water-fowl
+sporting in the sunshine. When I recalled these things, Charley, and
+thought of you as dead, I felt as if I should die too. And when I came
+here and found that my fears were needless, that you were alive and
+safe, and almost well, I felt thankful--yes, very, very thankful--to
+God for sparing your life, my dear, dear Charley." And Kate laid her
+head on his bosom and sobbed, when she thought of what might have been,
+as if her very heart would break.
+
+Charley's disposition to levity entirely vanished while his sister
+spoke; and twining his tough little arm round her neck, he pressed her
+fervently to his heart.
+
+"Bless you, Kate," he said at length. "I am indeed thankful to God, not
+only for sparing my life, but for giving me such a darling sister to
+live for. But now, Kate, tell me, what do you think of father's
+determination to have me placed in the office here?"
+
+"Indeed, I think it's very hard. Oh, I do wish _so_ much that I could
+do it for you," said Kate with a sigh.
+
+"Do _what_ for me?" asked Charley.
+
+"Why, the office work," said Kate.
+
+"Tuts! fiddlesticks! But isn't it, now, really a _very_ hard case?"
+
+"Indeed it is; but, then, what can you do?"
+
+"Do?" said Charley impatiently; "run away to be sure."
+
+"Oh, don't speak of that!" said Kate anxiously. "You know it will kill
+our beloved mother; and then it would grieve father very much."
+
+"Well, father don't care much about grieving me, when he hunted me down
+like a wolf till I nearly broke my neck."
+
+"Now, Charley, you must not speak so. Father loves you tenderly,
+although he _is_ a little rough at times. If you only heard how kindly
+he speaks of you to our mother when you are away, you could not think
+of giving him so much pain. And then the Bible says, 'Honour thy father
+and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord
+thy God giveth thee;' and as God speaks in the Bible, _surely_ we
+should pay attention to it!"
+
+Charley was silent for a few seconds; then heaving a deep sigh, he
+said,--
+
+"Well, I believe you're right, Kate; but then, what am I to do? If I
+don't run away, I must live, like poor Harry Somerville, on a
+long-legged stool; and if I do _that_, I'll--I'll--"
+
+As Charley spoke, the door opened, and his father entered.
+
+"Well, my boy," said he, seating himself on the bedside and taking his
+son's hand, "how goes it now? Head getting all right again? I fear that
+Kate has been talking too much to you.--Is it so, you little
+chatterbox?"
+
+Mr. Kennedy parted Kate's clustering ringlets and kissed her forehead.
+
+Charley assured his father that he was almost well, and much the better
+of having Kate to tend him. In fact, he felt so much revived that he
+said he would get up and go out for a walk.
+
+"Had I not better tell Tom Whyte to saddle the young horse for you?"
+said his father, half ironically. "No, no, boy; lie still where you are
+to-day, and get up if you feel better to-morrow. In the meantime, I've
+come to say good-bye, as I intend to go home to relieve your mother's
+anxiety about you. I'll see you again, probably, the day after
+to-morrow. Hark you, boy; I've been talking your affairs over again
+with Mr. Grant, and we've come to the conclusion to give you a run in
+the woods for a time. You'll have to be ready to start early in spring
+with the first brigades for the north. So adieu!"
+
+Mr. Kennedy patted him on the head, and hastily left the room.
+
+A burning blush of shame arose on Charley's cheek as he recollected his
+late remarks about his father; and then, recalling the purport of his
+last words, he sent forth an exulting shout as he thought of the coming
+spring.
+
+"Well now, Charley," said Kate, with an arch smile, "let us talk
+seriously over your arrangements for running away."
+
+Charley replied by seizing the pillow and throwing it at his sister's
+head; but being accustomed to such eccentricities, she anticipated the
+movement and evaded the blow.
+
+"Ah, Charley," cried Kate, laughing, "you mustn't let your hand get out
+of practice! That was a shockingly bad shot for a man thirsting to
+become a bear and buffalo hunter!"
+
+"I'll make my fortune at once," cried Charley, as Kate replaced the
+pillow, "build a wooden castle on the shores of Great Bear Lake, take
+you to keep house for me, and when I'm out hunting you'll fish for
+whales in the lake; and we'll live there to a good old age; so
+good-night, Kate dear, and go to bed."
+
+Kate laughed, gave her brother a parting kiss, and left him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+Spring and the voyageurs.
+
+
+Winter, with its snow and its ice: winter, with its sharp winds and
+white drifts; winter, with its various characteristic occupations and
+employments, is past, and it is spring now.
+
+The sun no longer glitters on fields of white; the woodman's axe is no
+longer heard hacking the oaken billets, to keep alive the roaring
+fires. That inexpressibly cheerful sound the merry chime of
+sleigh-bells, that tells more of winter than all other sounds together,
+is no longer heard on the bosom of Red River; for the sleighs are
+thrown aside as useless lumber--carts and gigs have supplanted them.
+The old Canadian, who used to drive the ox with its water-barrel to the
+ice-hole for his daily supply, has substituted a small cart with wheels
+for the old sleigh that used to glide so smoothly over the snow, and
+_grit_ so sharply on it in the more than usually frosty mornings in the
+days gone by. The trees have lost their white patches, and the clumps
+of willows, that used to look like islands in the prairie, have
+disappeared, as the carpeting that gave them prominence has dissolved.
+The aspect of everything in the isolated settlement has changed. The
+winter is gone, and spring--bright, beautiful, hilarious spring--has
+come again.
+
+By those who have never known an arctic winter, the delights of an
+arctic spring can never, we fear, be fully appreciated or understood.
+Contrast is one of its strongest elements; indeed, we might say, _the_
+element which gives to all the others peculiar zest. Life in the arctic
+regions is like one of Turner's pictures, in which the lights are
+strong, the shadows deep, and the _tout ensemble_ hazy and romantic. So
+cold and prolonged is the winter, that the first mild breath of spring
+breaks on the senses like a zephyr from the plains of Paradise.
+Everything bursts suddenly into vigorous life, after the long,
+death-like sleep of Nature; as little children burst into the romping
+gaieties of a new day, after the deep repose of a long and tranquil
+night. The snow melts, the ice breaks up, and rushes in broken masses,
+heaving and tossing in the rising floods, that grind and whirl them
+into the ocean, or into those great fresh-water lakes that vie with
+ocean itself in magnitude and grandeur. The buds come out and the
+leaves appear, clothing all nature with a bright refreshing green,
+which derives additional brilliancy from sundry patches of snow, that
+fill the deep creeks and hollows everywhere, and form ephemeral
+fountains whose waters continue to supply a thousand rills for many a
+long day, until the fierce glare of the summer sun prevails at last and
+melts them all away.
+
+Red River flows on now to mix its long-pent-up waters with Lake
+Winnipeg. Boats are seen rowing about upon its waters, as the settlers
+travel from place to place; and wooden canoes, made of the hollowed-out
+trunks of large trees, shoot across from shore to shore--these canoes
+being a substitute for bridges, of which there are none, although the
+settlement lies on both sides of the river. Birds have now entered upon
+the scene, their wild cries and ceaseless flight adding to it a
+cheerful activity. Ground squirrels pop up out of their holes to bask
+their round, fat, beautifully-striped little bodies in the sun, or to
+gaze in admiration at the farmer, as he urges a pair of _very_
+slow-going oxen, that drag the plough at a pace which induces one to
+believe that the wide field _may_ possibly be ploughed up by the end of
+next year. Frogs whistle in the marshy grounds so loudly that men new
+to the country believe they are being regaled by the songs of millions
+of birds. There is no mistake about their _whistle_. It is not merely
+_like_ a whistle, but it _is_ a whistle, shrill and continuous; and as
+the swamps swarm with these creatures, the song never ceases for a
+moment, although each individual frog creates only _one_ little gush of
+music, composed of half-a-dozen trills, and then stops a moment for
+breath before commencing the second bar. Bull-frogs, too, though not so
+numerous, help to vary the sound by croaking vociferously, as if they
+understood the value of bass, and were glad of having an opportunity to
+join in the universal hum of life and joy which rises everywhere, from
+the river and the swamp, the forest and the prairie, to welcome back
+the spring.
+
+Such was the state of things in Red River one beautiful morning in
+April, when a band of voyageurs lounged in scattered groups about the
+front gate of Fort Garry. They were as fine a set of picturesque, manly
+fellows as one could desire to see. Their mode of life rendered them
+healthy, hardy, arid good-humoured, with a strong dash of
+recklessness--perhaps too much of it--in some of the younger men. Being
+descended, generally, from French-Canadian sires and Indian mothers,
+they united some of the good and not a few of the bad qualities of
+both, mentally as well as physically--combining the light, gay-hearted
+spirit and full, muscular frame of the Canadian with the fierce
+passions and active habits of the Indian. And this wildness of
+disposition was not a little fostered by the nature of their usual
+occupations. They were employed during a great part of the year in
+navigating the Hudson's Bay Company's boats, laden with furs and goods,
+through the labyrinth of rivers and lakes that stud and intersect the
+whole continent, or they were engaged in pursuit of the bisons,
+[Footnote: These animals are always called buffaloes by American
+hunters and fur-traders.] which roam the prairies in vast herds.
+
+They were dressed in the costume of the country: most of them wore
+light-blue cloth capotes, girded tightly round them', by scarlet or
+crimson worsted belts. Some of them had blue and others scarlet cloth
+leggings, ornamented more or less with stained porcupine quills,
+coloured silk, or variegated beads; while some might be seen clad in
+the leathern coats of winter--deer-skin dressed like chamois leather,
+fringed all round with little tails, and ornamented much in the same
+way as those already described. The heavy winter moccasins and duffel
+socks, which gave to their feet the appearance of being afflicted with
+gout, were now replaced by moccasins of a lighter and more elegant
+character, having no socks below, and fitting tightly to the feet like
+gloves. Some wore hats similar to those made of silk or beaver which
+are worn by ourselves in Britain, but so bedizened with scarlet
+cock-tail feathers, and silver cords and tassels, as to leave the
+original form of the head-dress a matter of great uncertainty. These
+hats, however, are only used on high occasions, and chiefly by the
+fops. Most of the men wore coarse blue cloth caps with peaks, and not a
+few discarded head-pieces altogether, under the impression, apparently,
+that nature had supplied a covering which was in itself sufficient.
+These costumes varied not only in character but in quality, according
+to the circumstances of the wearer; some being highly ornamental and
+mended--evincing the felicity of the owner in the possession of a good
+wife--while others were soiled and torn, or but slightly ornamented.
+The voyageurs were collected, as we have said, in groups. Here stood a
+dozen of the youngest--consequently the most noisy and showily
+dressed--laughing loudly, gesticulating violently, and bragging
+tremendously. Near to them were collected a number of sterner
+spirits--men of middle age, with all the energy, and muscle, and bone
+of youth, but without its swaggering hilarity; men whose powers and
+nerves had been tried over and over again amid the stirring scenes of a
+voyageur's life; men whose heads were cool, and eyes sharp, and hands
+ready and powerful, in the mad whirl of boiling rapids, in the sudden
+attack of wild beast and hostile man, or in the unexpected approach of
+any danger; men who, having been well tried, needed not to boast, and
+who, having carried off triumphantly their respective brides many years
+ago, needed not to decorate their persons with the absurd finery that
+characterised their younger brethren. They were comparatively few in
+number, but they composed a sterling band, of which every man was a
+hero. Among them were those who occupied the high positions of bowman
+and steersman, and when we tell the reader that on these two men
+frequently hangs the safety of a boat, with all its crew and lading, it
+will be easily understood how needful it is that they should be men of
+iron nerve and strength of mind.
+
+Boat-travelling in those regions is conducted in a way that would
+astonish most people who dwell in the civilised quarters of the globe.
+The country being intersected in all directions by great lakes and
+rivers, these have been adopted as the most convenient highways along
+which to convey the supplies and bring back the furs from outposts.
+Rivers in America, however, as in other parts of the world, are
+distinguished by sudden ebullitions and turbulent points of character,
+in the shape of rapids, falls, and cataracts, up and down which neither
+men nor boats can by any possibility go with impunity; consequently, on
+arriving at such obstructions, the cargoes are carried overland to
+navigable water above or below the falls (as the case may be), then the
+boats are dragged over and launched, again reloaded, and the travellers
+proceed. This operation is called "making a portage;" and as these
+portages vary from twelve yards to twelve miles in length, it may be
+readily conceived that a voyageur's life is not an easy one by any
+means.
+
+This, however, is only one of his difficulties. Rapids occur which are
+not so dangerous as to make a "portage" necessary, but are sufficiently
+turbulent to render the descent of them perilous. In such cases, the
+boats, being lightened of part of their cargo, are _run_ down, and
+frequently they descend with full cargoes and crews. It is then that
+the whole management of each boat devolves upon its bowman and
+steersman. The rest of the crew, or _middlemen_ as they are called,
+merely sit still and look on, or give a stroke with their oars if
+required; while the steersman, with powerful sweeps of his heavy oar,
+directs the flying boat as it bounds from surge to surge like a thing
+of life; and the bowman stands erect in front to assist in directing
+his comrade at the stern, having a strong and long pole in his hands,
+with which, ever and anon, he violently forces the boat's head away
+from sunken rocks, against which it might otherwise strike and be stove
+in, capsized, or seriously damaged.
+
+Besides the groups already enumerated, there were one or two others,
+composed of grave, elderly men, whose wrinkled brows, gray hairs, and
+slow, quiet step, showed that the strength of their days was past;
+although their upright figures and warm brown complexions gave promise
+of their living to see many summers still. These were the principal
+steersmen and old guides--men of renown, to whom the others bowed as
+oracles or looked up to as fathers; men whose youth and manhood had
+been spent in roaming the trackless wilderness, and who were,
+therefore, eminently qualified to guide brigades through the length and
+breadth of the land; men whose power of threading their way among the
+perplexing intricacies of the forest had become a second nature, a kind
+of instinct, that was as sure of attaining its end as the instinct of
+the feathered tribes, which brings the swallow, after a long absence,
+with unerring certainty back to its former haunts again in spring.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+The store.
+
+
+At whatever establishment in the fur-trader's dominions you may chance
+to alight you will find a particular building which is surrounded by a
+halo of interest; towards which there seems to be a general leaning on
+the part of everybody, especially of the Indians; and with which are
+connected, in the minds of all, the most stirring reminiscences and
+pleasing associations.
+
+This is the trading-store. It is always recognisable, if natives are in
+the neighbourhood, by the bevy of red men that cluster round it,
+awaiting the coming of the storekeeper or the trader with that stoic
+patience which is peculiar to Indians. It may be further recognised, by
+a close observer, by the soiled condition of its walls occasioned by
+loungers rubbing their backs perpetually against it, and the peculiar
+dinginess round the keyhole, caused by frequent applications of the
+key, which renders it conspicuous beyond all its comrades. Here is
+contained that which makes the red man's life enjoyable; that which
+causes his heart to leap, and induces him to toil for months and months
+together in the heat of summer and amid the frost and snow of winter;
+that which _actually_ accomplishes, what music is _said_ to achieve,
+the "soothing of the savage breast:" in short, here are stored up
+blankets, guns, powder, shot, kettles, axes, and knives; twine for
+nets, vermilion for war-paint, fishhooks and scalping-knives, capotes,
+cloth, beads, needles, and a host of miscellaneous articles, much too
+numerous to mention. Here, also occur periodical scenes of bustle and
+excitement, when bands of natives arrive from distant hunting-grounds,
+laden with rich furs, which are speedily transferred to the Hudson's
+Bay Company's stores in exchange for the goods aforementioned. And many
+a tough wrangle has the trader on such occasions with sharp natives,
+who might have graduated in Billingsgate, so close are they at a
+bargain. Here, too, voyageurs are supplied with an equivalent for their
+wages, part in advance, if they desire it (and they generally do desire
+it), and part at the conclusion of their long and arduous voyages.
+
+It is to one of these stores, reader, that we wish to introduce you
+now, that you may witness the men of the North brigade receive their
+advances.
+
+The store at Fort Garry stands on the right of the fort, as you enter
+by the front gate. Its interior resembles that of the other stores in
+the country, being only a little larger. A counter encloses a space
+sufficiently wide to admit a dozen men, and serves to keep back those
+who are more eager than the rest. Inside this counter, at the time we
+write of, stood our friend, Peter Mactavish, who was the presiding
+genius of the scene.
+
+"Shut the door now, and lock it," said Peter, in an authoritative tone,
+after eight or ten young voyageurs had crushed into the space in front
+of the counter. "I'll not supply you with so much as an ounce of
+tobacco if you let in another man."
+
+Peter needed not to repeat the command. Three or four stalwart
+shoulders were applied to the door, which shut with a bang like a
+cannon-shot, and the key was turned.
+
+"Come now, Antoine," began the trader, "we've lots to do, and not much
+time to do it in, so pray look sharp."
+
+Antoine, however, was not to be urged on so easily. He had been
+meditating deeply all the morning on what he should purchase. Moreover,
+he had a sweetheart, and of course he had to buy something for her
+before setting out on his travels. Besides, Antoine was six feet high,
+and broad shouldered, and well made, with a dark face and glossy black
+hair; and he entertained a notion that there were one or two points in
+his costume which required to be carefully rectified, ere he could
+consider that he had attained to perfection: so he brushed the long
+hair off his forehead, crossed his arms, and gazed around him.
+
+"Come now, Antoine," said Peter, throwing a green blanket at him; "I
+know you want _that_ to begin with. What's the use of thinking so long
+about it, eh? And _that_, too," he added, throwing him a blue cloth
+capote. "Anything else?"
+
+"Oui, oui, monsieur," cried Antoine, as he disengaged himself from the
+folds of the coat which Peter had thrown over his head. "Tabac,
+monsieur, tabac!"
+
+"Oh, to be sure," cried Peter. "I might have guessed that _that_ was
+uppermost in your mind. Well, how much will you have?" Peter began to
+unwind the fragrant weed off a coil of most appalling size and
+thickness, which looked like a snake of endless length. "Will that do?"
+and he flourished about four feet of the snake before the eyes of the
+voyageur.
+
+Antoine accepted the quantity, and young Harry Somerville entered the
+articles against him in a book.
+
+"Anything more, Antoine?" said the trader. "Ah, some beads and silks,
+eh? Oho, Antoine!--By the way, Louis, have you seen Annette lately?"
+
+Peter turned to another voyageur when he put this question, and the
+voyageur gave a broad grin as he replied in the affirmative, while
+Antoine looked a little confused. He did not care much, however, for
+jesting. So, after getting one or two more articles--not forgetting
+half-a-dozen clay pipes, and a few yards of gaudy calico, which called
+forth from Peter a second reference to Annette--he bundled up his
+goods, and made way for another comrade.
+
+Louis Peltier, one of the principal guides, and a man of importance
+therefore, now stood forward. He was probably about forty-five years of
+age; had a plain, olive-coloured countenance, surrounded by a mass of
+long jet-black hair, which he inherited, along with a pair of dark,
+piercing eyes, from his Indian mother; and a robust, heavy, yet active
+frame, which bore a strong resemblance to what his Canadian father's
+had been many years before. His arms, in particular, were of herculean
+mould, with large swelling veins and strongly-marked muscles. They
+seemed, in fact, just formed for the purpose of pulling the heavy sweep
+of an inland boat among strong rapids. His face combined an expression
+of stern resolution with great good-humour; and truly his countenance
+did not belie him, for he was known among his comrades as the most
+courageous and at the same time the most peaceable man in the
+settlement. Louis Peltier was singular in possessing the latter
+quality, for assuredly the half-breeds, whatever other good points they
+boast, cannot lay claim to very gentle or dove-like dispositions. His
+grey capote and blue leggings were decorated with no unusual ornaments,
+and the scarlet belt which encircled his massive figure was the only
+bit of colour he displayed.
+
+The younger men fell respectfully into the rear as Louis stepped
+forward and begged pardon for coming so early in the day. "Mais,
+monsieur," he said, "I have to look after the boats to-day, and get
+them ready for a start to-morrow."
+
+Peter Mactavish gave Louis a hearty shake of the hand before proceeding
+to supply his wants, which were simple and moderate, excepting in the
+article of _tabac_, in the use of which he was _im_-moderate, being an
+inveterate smoker; so that a considerable portion of the snake had to
+be uncoiled for his benefit.
+
+"Fond as ever of smoking, Louis?" said Peter Mactavish, as he handed
+him the coil.
+
+"Oui, monsieur--very fond," answered the guide, smelling the weed. "Ah,
+this is very good. I must take a good supply this voyage, because I
+lost the half of my roll last year;" and the guide gave a sigh as he
+thought of the overwhelming bereavement.
+
+"Lost the half of it, Louis!" said Mactavish. "Why, how was that? You
+must have lost _more_ than half your spirits with it!"
+
+"Ah, oui, I lost _all_ my spirits, and my comrade François at the same
+time!"
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed the clerk, bustling about the store while the
+guide continued to talk.
+
+"Oui, monsieur, oui. I lost _him_, and my tabac, and my spirits, and
+very nearly my life, all in one moment!"
+
+"Why, how came that about?" said Peter, pausing in his work, and laying
+a handful of pipes on the counter.
+
+"Ah, monsieur, it was very sad (merci, monsieur, merci; thirty pipes,
+if you please), and I thought at the time that I should give up my
+voyageur life, and remain altogether in the settlement with my old
+woman. Mais, monsieur, that was not possible. When I spoke of it to my
+old woman, she called _me_ an old woman; and you know, monsieur, that
+_two_ old women never could live together in peace for twelve months
+under the same roof. So here I am, you see, ready again for the voyage."
+
+The voyageurs, who had drawn round Louis when he alluded to an anecdote
+which they had often heard before, but were never weary of hearing over
+again, laughed loudly at this sally, and urged the guide to relate the
+story to "_monsieur_" who, nothing loath to suspend his operations for
+a little, leaned his arms on the counter and said--
+
+"Tell us all about it, Louis; I am anxious to know how you managed to
+come by so many losses all at one time."
+
+"Bien, monsieur, I shall soon relate it, for the story is very short."
+
+Harry Somerville, who was entering the pipes in Louis's account, had
+just set down the figures "30" when Louis cleared his throat to begin.
+Not having the mental fortitude to finish the line, he dropped his pen,
+sprang off his stool, which he upset in so doing, jumped up,
+sitting-ways, upon the counter, and gazed with breathless interest into
+the guide's face as he spoke.
+
+"It was on a cold, wet afternoon," said Louis, "that we were descending
+the Hill River, at a part of the rapids where there is a sharp bend in
+the stream, and two or three great rocks that stand up in front of the
+water, as it plunges over a ledge, as if they were put there a purpose
+to catch it, and split it up into foam, or to stop the boats and canoes
+that try to run the rapids, and cut them up into splinters. It was an
+ugly place, monsieur, I can tell you; and though I've run it again and
+again, I always hold my breath tighter when we get to the top, and
+breathe freer when we get to the bottom. Well, there was a chum of mine
+at the bow, Francois by name, and a fine fellow he was as I ever came
+across. He used to sleep with me at night under the same blanket,
+although it was somewhat inconvenient; for being as big as myself and a
+stone heavier, it was all we could do to make the blanket cover us.
+However, he and I were great friends, and we managed it somehow. Well,
+he was at the bow when we took the rapids, and a first-rate bowman he
+made. His pole was twice as long and twice as thick as any other pole
+in the boat, and he twisted it about just like a fiddlestick. I
+remember well the night before we came to the rapids, as he was sitting
+by the fire, which was blazing up among the pine-branches that overhung
+us, he said that he wanted a good pole for the rapids next day; and
+with that he jumped up, laid hold of an axe, and went back into the
+woods a bit to get one. When he returned, he brought a young tree on
+his shoulder, which he began to strip of its branches, and bark.
+'Louis, says he, 'this is hot work; give us a pipe.' So I rummaged
+about for some tobacco, but found there was none left in my bag; so I
+went to my kit and got out my roll, about three fathoms or so, and
+cutting half of it off, I went to the fire and twisted it round his
+neck by way of a joke, and he said he'd wear it as a necklace all
+night, and so he did, too, and forgot to take it off in the morning;
+and when we came near the rapids I couldn't get at my bag to stow it
+away, so says I, 'Francois, you'll have to run with it on, for I can't
+stop to stow it now.' 'All right,' says he, 'go ahead;' and just as he
+said it, we came in sight of the first run, foaming and boiling like a
+kettle of robbiboo. 'Take care, lads,' I cried, and the next moment we
+were dashing down towards the bend in the river. As we came near to the
+shoot, I saw Francois standing up on the gunwale to get a better view
+of the rocks ahead, and every now and then giving me a signal with his
+hand how to steer; suddenly he gave a shout, and plunged his long pole
+into the water, to fend off from a rock which a swirl in the stream had
+concealed. For a second or two his pole bent like a willow, and we
+could feel the heavy boat jerk off a little with the tremendous strain,
+but all at once the pole broke off short with a crack, Francois' heels
+made a flourish in the air, and then he disappeared head foremost into
+the foaming water, with my tobacco coiled round his neck! As we flew
+past the place, one of his arms appeared, and I made a grab at it, and
+caught him by the sleeve; but the effort upset myself and over I went
+too. Fortunately, however, one of my men caught me by the foot, and
+held on like a vice; but the force of the current tore Francois' sleeve
+out of my grasp, and I was dragged into the boat again just in time to
+see my comrade's legs and arms going like the sails of a windmill, as
+he rolled over several times and disappeared. Well, we put ashore the
+moment we got into still water, and then five or six of us started off
+on foot to look for Francois. After half-an-hour's search, we found him
+pitched upon a flat rock in the middle of the stream like a bit of
+driftwood, We immediately waded out to the rock and brought him ashore,
+where we lighted a fire, took off all his clothes, and rubbed him till
+he began to show signs of life again. But you may judge, mes garçons,
+of my misery when I found that the coil of tobacco was gone. It had
+come off his neck during his struggles, and there wasn't a vestige of
+it left, except a bright red mark on the throat, where it had nearly
+strangled him. When he began to recover, he put his hand up to his neck
+as if feeling for something, and muttered faintly, 'The tabac.' 'Ah,
+morbleu!' said I, 'you may say that! Where is it?' Well, we soon
+brought him round, but he had swallowed so much water that it damaged
+his lungs, and we had to leave him at the next post we came to; and so
+I lost my friend too."
+
+"Did Francois get better?" said Charley Kennedy, in a voice of great
+concern.
+
+Charley had entered the store by another door, just as the guide began
+his story, and had listened to it unobserved with breathless interest.
+
+"Recover! Oh oui, monsieur, he soon got well again.'
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad," cried Charley.
+
+"But I lost him for that voyage," added the guide; "and I lost my tabac
+for ever."
+
+"You must take better care of it this time, Louis," said Peter
+Mactavish, as he resumed his work.
+
+"That I shall, monsieur," replied Louis, shouldering his goods and
+quitting the store, while a short, slim, active little Canadian took
+his place.
+
+"Now, then, Baptiste," said Mactavish, "you want a--"
+
+"Blanket, monsieur,"
+
+"Good. And--"
+
+"A capote, monsieur."
+
+"And--"
+
+"An axe--"
+
+"Stop, stop!" shouted Harry Somerville from his desk. "Here's an entry
+in Louis's account that I can't make out--30 something or other; what
+can it have been?"
+
+"How often," said Mactavish, going up to him with a look of
+annoyance--"how often have I told you, Mr. Somerville, not to leave an
+entry half-finished on any account!"
+
+"I didn't know that I left it so," said Harry, twisting his features,
+and scratching his head in great perplexity. "What _can_ it have been?
+30--30--not blankets, eh?" (Harry was becoming banteringly bitter.) "He
+couldn't have got thirty guns, could he? or thirty knives, or thirty
+copper kettles?"
+
+"Perhaps it was thirty pounds of tea," suggested Charley.
+
+"No doubt it was thirty _pipes_," said Peter Mactavish.
+
+"Oh, that was it!" cried Harry, "that was it! thirty pipes, to be sure.
+What an ass I am!"
+
+"And pray what is _that_?" said Mactavish, pointing sarcastically to an
+entry in the previous account--"_5 yards of superfine Annette_. Really,
+Mr. Somerville, I wish you would pay more attention to your work and
+less to the conversation."
+
+"Oh dear!" cried Harry, becoming almost hysterical under the combined
+effects of chagrin at making so many mistakes, and suppressed merriment
+at the idea of selling Annettes by the yard. "Oh, dear me--"
+
+Harry could say no more, but stuffed his handkerchief into his mouth
+and turned away.
+
+"Well, sir," said the offended Peter, "when you have laughed to your
+entire satisfaction, we will go on with our work, if you please."
+
+"All right," cried Harry, suppressing his feelings with a strong
+effort; "what next?"
+
+Just then a tall, raw-boned man entered the store, and rudely thrusting
+Baptiste aside, asked if he could get his supplies now.
+
+"No," said Mactavish, sharply; "you'll take your turn like the rest."
+
+The new-comer was a native of Orkney, a country from which, and the
+neighbouring islands, the Fur Company almost exclusively recruits its
+staff of labourers. These men are steady, useful servants, although
+inclined to be slow and lazy _at first_; but they soon get used to the
+country, and rapidly improve under the example of the active Canadians
+and half-breeds with whom they associate; some of them are the best
+servants the Company possess. Hugh Mathison, however, was a very bad
+specimen of the race, being rough and coarse in his manners, and very
+lazy withal. Upon receiving the trader's answer, Hugh turned sulkily on
+his heel and strode towards the door. Now, it happened that Baptiste's
+bundle lay just behind him, and on turning to leave the place, he
+tripped over it and stumbled, whereat the voyageurs burst into an
+ironical laugh (for Hugh was not a favourite).
+
+"Confound your trash!" he cried, giving the little bundle a kick that
+scattered everything over the floor.
+
+"Crapaud!" said Baptiste, between his set teeth, while his eyes flashed
+angrily, and he stood up before Hugh with clinched fists, "what mean
+you by that, eh?"
+
+The big Scotchman held his little opponent in contempt; so that,
+instead of putting himself on the defensive, he leaned his back against
+the door, thrust his hands into his pockets, and requested to know
+"what that was to him."
+
+Baptiste was not a man of many words, and this reply, coupled with the
+insolent sneer with which it was uttered, caused him to plant a sudden
+and well-directed blow on the point of Hugh's nose, which flattened it
+on his face, and brought the back of his head into violent contact with
+the door.
+
+"Well done!" shouted the men; "bravo, Baptiste! _Regardez le nez, mes
+enfants!_"
+
+"Hold!" cried Mactavish, vaulting the counter, and intercepting Hugh,
+as he rushed upon his antagonist; "no fighting here, you blackguards!
+If you want to do _that,_ go outside the fort;" and Peter, opening the
+door, thrust the Orkneyman out.
+
+In the meantime, Baptiste gathered up his goods and left the store, in
+company with several of his friends, vowing that he would wreak his
+vengeance on the "gros chien" before the sun should set.
+
+He had not long to wait, however, for just outside the gate he found
+Hugh, still smarting under the pain and indignity of the blow, and
+ready to pounce upon him like a cat on a mouse.
+
+Baptiste instantly threw down his bundle, and prepared for battle by
+discarding his coat.
+
+Every nation has its own peculiar method of fighting, and its own ideas
+of what is honourable and dishonourable in combat. The English, as
+everyone knows, have particularly stringent rules regarding the part of
+the body which may or may not be hit with propriety, and count it foul
+disgrace to strike a man when he is down, although, by some strange
+perversity of reasoning, they deem it right and fair to _fall_ upon him
+while in this helpless condition, and burst him if possible. The
+Scotchman has less of the science, and we are half inclined to believe
+that he would go the length of kicking a fallen opponent; but on this
+point we are not quite positive. In regard to the style adopted by the
+half-breeds, however, we have no doubt. They fight _any_ way and
+_every_ way, without reference to rules at all; and really, although we
+may bring ourselves into contempt by admitting the fact, we think they
+are quite right. No doubt the best course of action is _not_ to fight;
+but if a man does find it _necessary_ to do so, surely the wisest plan
+is to get it over at once (as the dentist suggested to his timorous
+patient), and to do it in the most effectual manner.
+
+Be this as it may, Baptiste flew at Hugh, and alighted upon him, not
+head first, or fist first, or feet first, or _anything_ first, but
+altogether--in a heap as it were; fist, feet, knees, nails, and teeth,
+all taking effect at one and the same time, with a force so
+irresistible that the next moment they both rolled in the dust together.
+
+For a minute or so they struggled and kicked like a couple of serpents,
+and then, bounding to their feet again, they began to perform a
+war-dance round each other, revolving their fists at the same time in,
+we presume, the most approved fashion. Owing to his bulk and natural
+laziness, which rendered jumping about like a jack-in-the-box
+impossible, Hugh Mathison preferred to stand on the defensive; while
+his lighter opponent, giving way to the natural bent of his mercurial
+temperament and corporeal predilections, comported himself in a manner
+that cannot be likened to anything mortal or immortal, human or
+inhuman, unless it be to an insane cat, whose veins ran wild-fire
+instead of blood. Or perhaps we might liken him to that ingenious piece
+of firework called a zigzag cracker, which explodes with unexpected and
+repeated suddenness, changing its position in a most perplexing manner
+at every crack. Baptiste, after the first onset, danced backwards with
+surprising lightness, glaring at his adversary the while, and rapidly
+revolving his fists as before mentioned; then a terrific yell was
+heard; his head, arms, and legs became a sort of whirling conglomerate;
+the spot on which he danced was suddenly vacant, and at the same moment
+Mathison received a bite, a scratch, a dab on the nose, and a kick on
+the stomach all at once. Feeling that it was impossible to plant a
+well-directed blow on such an assailant, he waited for the next
+onslaught; and the moment he saw the explosive object flying through
+the air towards him, he met it with a crack of his heavy fist, which,
+happening to take effect in the middle of the chest, drove it backwards
+with about as much velocity as it had approached, and poor Baptiste
+measured his length on the ground.
+
+"Oh, pauvre chien!" cried the spectators, "c'est fini!"
+
+"Not yet," cried Baptiste, as he sprang with a scream to his feet
+again, and began his dance with redoubled energy, just as if all that
+had gone before was a mere sketch--a sort of playful rehearsal, as it
+were, of what was now to follow. At this moment Hugh stumbled over a
+canoe-paddle, and fell headlong into Baptiste's arms, as he was in the
+very act of making one of his violent descents. This unlooked-for
+occurrence brought them both to a sudden pause, partly from necessity
+and partly from surprise. Out of this state Baptiste recovered first,
+and taking advantage of the accident, threw Mathison heavily to the
+ground. He rose quickly, however, and renewed the light with freshened
+vigour.
+
+Just at this moment a passionate growl was heard, and old Mr. Kennedy
+rushed out of the fort in a towering rage.
+
+Now Mr. Kennedy had no reason whatever for being angry. He was only a
+visitor at the fort, and so had no concern in the behaviour of those
+connected with it. He was not even in the Company's service now, and
+could not, therefore, lay claim, as one of its officers, to any right
+to interfere with its men. But Mr. Kennedy never acted much from
+reason; impulse was generally his guiding-star. He had, moreover, been
+an absolute monarch, and a commander of men, for many years past in his
+capacity of fur-trader. Being, as we have said, a powerful, fiery man,
+he had ruled very much by means of brute force--a species of suasion,
+by the way, which is too common among many of the gentlemen (?) in the
+employment of the Hudson's Bay Company. On hearing, therefore, that the
+men were fighting in front of the fort, Mr. Kennedy rushed out in a
+towering rage.
+
+"Oh, you precious blackguards!" he cried, running up to the combatants,
+while with flashing eyes he gazed first at one and then at the other,
+as if uncertain on which to launch his ire. "Have you no place in the
+world to fight but _here_? eh, blackguards?"
+
+"O monsieur," said Baptiste, lowering his hands, and assuming that
+politeness of demeanour which seems inseparable from French blood,
+however much mixed with baser fluid, "I was just giving _that dog_ a
+thrashing, monsieur."
+
+"Go!" cried Mr. Kennedy in a voice of thunder, turning to Hugh, who
+still stood in a pugilistic attitude, with very little respect in his
+looks.
+
+Hugh hesitated to obey the order; but Mr. Kennedy continued to advance,
+grinding his teeth and working his fingers convulsively, as if he
+longed to lay violent hold of the Orkneyman's swelled nose; so he
+retreated in his uncertainty, but still with his face to the foe. As
+has been already said, the Assiniboine River flows within a hundred
+yards of the gate of Fort Garry. The two men, in their combat, had
+approached pretty near to the bank, at a place where it descends
+somewhat precipitately into the stream. It was towards this bank that
+Hugh Mathison was now retreating, crab fashion, followed by Mr.
+Kennedy, and both of them so taken up with each other that neither
+perceived the fact until Hugh's heel struck against a stone just at the
+moment that Mr. Kennedy raised his clenched fist in a threatening
+attitude. The effect of this combination was to pitch the poor man head
+over heels down the bank, into a row of willow bushes, through which,
+as he rolled with great speed, he went with a loud crash, and shot head
+first, like a startled alligator, into the water, amid a roar of
+laughter from his comrades and the people belonging to the fort; most
+of whom, attracted by the fight, were now assembled on the banks of the
+river.
+
+Mr. Kennedy's wrath vanished immediately, and he joined in the
+laughter; but his face instantly changed when he beheld Hugh sputtering
+in deep water, and heard some one say that he could not swim.
+
+"What! can't swim?" he exclaimed, running down the bank to the edge of
+the water. Baptiste was before him, however. In a moment he plunged in
+up to the neck, stretched forth his arm, grasped Hugh by the hair, and
+dragged him to the land.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Farewell to Kate--Departure of the brigade--Charley becomes a voyageur.
+
+
+On the following day at noon, the spot on which the late combat had
+taken place became the theatre of a stirring and animated scene. Fort
+Garry, and the space between it and the river, swarmed with voyageurs,
+dressed in their cleanest, newest, and most brilliant costume. The
+large boats for the north, six in number, lay moored to the river's
+bank, laden with bales of furs, and ready to start on their long
+voyage. Young men, who had never been on the road before, stood with
+animated looks watching the operations of the guides as they passed
+critical examination upon their boats, overhauled the oars to see that
+they were in good condition, or with crooked knives (a species of
+instrument in the use of which voyageurs and natives are very expert)
+polished off the top of a mast, the blade of an oar, or the handle of a
+tiller. Old men, who had passed their lives in similar occupations,
+looked on in silence--some standing with their heads bent on their
+bosoms, and an expression of sadness about their faces, as if the scene
+recalled some mournful event of their early life, or possibly reminded
+them of wild, joyous scenes of other days, when the blood coursed
+warmly in their young veins, and the strong muscles sprang lightly to
+obey their will; when the work they had to do was hard, and the sleep
+that followed it was sound--scenes and days that were now gone by for
+ever. Others reclined against the wooden fence, their arms crossed,
+their thin white hair waving gently in the breeze, and a kind smile
+playing on their sunburned faces, as they observed the swagger and
+coxcombry of the younger men, or watched the gambols of several
+dark-eyed little children--embryo buffalo-hunters and voyageurs--whose
+mothers had brought them to the fort to get a last kiss from papa, and
+witness the departure of the boats.
+
+Several tender scenes were going on in out-of-the-way places--in angles
+of the walls and bastions, or behind the gates-between youthful couples
+about to be separated for a season. Interesting scenes these of pathos
+and pleasantry--a combination of soft glances and affectionate fervent
+assurances; alternate embraces (that were _apparently_ received with
+reluctance, but _actually_ with delight, and proffers of pieces of
+calico and beads and other trinkets (received both _apparently_ and
+_actually_ with extreme satisfaction) as souvenirs of happy days that
+were past), and pledges of unalterable constancy and bright hope in
+days that were yet to come.
+
+A little apart from the others, a youth and a girl might be seen
+sauntering slowly towards the copse beyond the stable. These were
+Charley Kennedy and his sister Kate, who had retired from the bustling
+scene to take a last short walk together, ere they separated, it might
+be for years, perhaps for ever! Charley held Kate's hand, while her
+sweet little head rested on his shoulder.
+
+"O Charley, Charley, my own dear, darling Charley, I'm quite miserable,
+and you ought not to go away; it's very wrong, and I don't mind a bit
+what you say, I shall die if you leave me!" And Kate pressed him
+tightly to her heart, and sobbed in the depth of her woe. "Now, Kate,
+my darling, don't go on so! You know I can't help it--"
+
+"I _don't_ know," cried Kate, interrupting him, and speaking
+vehemently--"I don't know, and I don't believe, and I don't care for
+anything at all; it's very hard-hearted of you, and wrong, and not
+right, and I'm just quite wretched!"
+
+Poor Kate was undoubtedly speaking the absolute truth; for a more
+disconsolate and wretched look of woebegone misery was never seen on so
+sweet and tender and lovable a little face before. Her blue eyes swam
+in two lakes of pure crystal, that overflowed continually; her mouth,
+which was usually round, had become an elongated oval; and her
+nut-brown hair fell in dishevelled masses over her soft cheeks.
+
+"O Charley," she continued, "why _won't_ you stay?"
+
+"Listen to me, dearest Kate," said Charley, in a very husky voice.
+"It's too late to draw back now, even if I wished to do so; and you
+don't consider, darling, that I'll be back again soon. Besides, I'm a
+man now, Kate, and I must make my own bread. Who ever heard of a man
+being supported by his old father."
+
+"Well, but can't you do that here?"
+
+"No, don't interrupt me, Kate," said Charley, kissing her forehead;
+"I'm quite satisfied with _two short_ legs, and have no desire whatever
+to make my bread on the top of _three long_ ones. Besides, you know I
+can write to you."
+
+"But you won't; you'll forget."
+
+"No, indeed, I will not. I'll write you long letters about all that I
+see and do; and you shall write long letters to me about--"
+
+"Stop, Charley," cried Kate; "I won't listen to you. I hate to think of
+it."
+
+And her tears burst forth again with fresh violence. This time
+Charley's heart sank too. The lump in his throat all but choked him; so
+he was fain to lay his head upon Kate's heaving bosom, and weep along
+with her.
+
+For a few minutes they remained silent, when a slight rustling in the
+bushes was heard. In another moment a tall, broad-shouldered,
+gentlemanly man, dressed in black, stood before them. Charley and Kate,
+on seeing this personage, arose, and wiping the tears from their eyes,
+gave a sad smile as they shook hands with their clergyman.
+
+"My poor children," said Mr. Addison, affectionately, "I know well why
+your hearts are sad. May God bless and comfort you! I saw you enter the
+wood, and came to bid you farewell, Charley, my dear boy, as I shall
+not have another opportunity of doing so."
+
+"O dear Mr. Addison," cried Kate, grasping his hand in both of hers,
+and gazing imploringly up at him through a perfect wilderness of
+ringlets and tears, "do prevail upon Charley to stay at home; please
+do!"
+
+Mr. Addison could scarcely help smiling at the poor girl's extreme
+earnestness.
+
+"I fear, my sweet child, that it is too late now to attempt to dissuade
+Charley. Besides, he goes with the consent of his father; and I am
+inclined to think that a change of life for a _short_ time may do him
+good. Come, Kate, cheer up! Charley will return to us again ere long,
+improved, I trust, both physically and mentally."
+
+Kate did _not_ cheer up, but she dried her eyes, and endeavoured to
+look more composed; while Mr. Addison took Charley by the hand, and, as
+they walked slowly through the wood, gave him much earnest advice and
+counsel.
+
+The clergyman's manner was peculiar. With a large, warm, generous
+heart, he possessed an enthusiastic nature, a quick, brusque manner,
+and a loud voice, which, when his spirit was influenced by the strong
+emotions of pity or anxiety for the souls of his flock, sunk into a
+deep soft bass of the most thrilling earnestness. He belonged to the
+Church of England, but conducted service very much in the Presbyterian
+form, as being more suited to his mixed congregation. After a long
+conversation with Charley, he concluded by saying--
+
+"I do not care to say much to you about being kind and obliging to all
+whom you may meet with during your travels, nor about the dangers to
+which you will be exposed by being thrown into the company of wild and
+reckless, perhaps very wicked, men. There is but _one_ incentive to
+every good, and _one_ safeguard against all evil, my boy, and that is
+the love of God. You may perhaps forget much that I have said to you;
+but remember this, Charley, if you would be happy in this world, and
+have a good hope for the next, centre your heart's affection on our
+blessed Lord Jesus Christ; for believe me, boy, _His_ heart's affection
+is centred upon you."
+
+As Mr. Addison spoke, a loud hello from Mr. Kennedy apprised them that
+their time was exhausted, and that the boats were ready to start.
+Charley sprang towards Kate, locked her in a long, passionate embrace,
+and then, forgetting Mr. Addison altogether in his haste, ran out of
+the wood, and hastened towards the scene of departure.
+
+"Good-bye, Charley!" cried Harry Somerville, running up to his friend
+and giving him a warm grasp of the hand. "Don't forget me, Charley. I
+wish I were going with you, with all my heart; but I'm an unlucky dog.
+Good-bye." The senior clerk and Peter Mactavish had also a kindly word
+and a cheerful farewell for him as he hurried past.
+
+"Good-bye, Charley, my lad!" said old Mr. Kennedy, in an _excessively_
+loud voice, as if by such means he intended to crush back some unusual
+but very powerful feelings that had a peculiar influence on a certain
+lump in his throat. "Good-bye, my lad; don't forget to write to your
+old--Hang it!" said the old man, brushing his coat-sleeve somewhat
+violently across his eyes, and turning abruptly round as Charley left
+him and sprang into the boat--"I say, Grant, I--I--What are you staring
+at, eh?" The latter part of his speech was addressed, in an angry tone,
+to an innocent voyageur, who happened accidentally to confront him at
+the moment.
+
+"Come along, Kennedy," said Mr. Grant, interposing, and grasping his
+excited friend by the arm--"come with me."
+
+"Ah, to be sure!--yes," said he, looking over his shoulder and waving a
+last adieu to Charley, "Good-bye, God bless you, my dear boy!--I say,
+Grant, come along; quick, man, and let's have a pipe--yes, let's have a
+pipe." Mr. Kennedy, essaying once more to crush back his rebellious
+feelings, strode rapidly up the bank, and entering the house, sought to
+overwhelm his sorrow in smoke: in which attempt he failed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+The voyage--The encampment--A surprise.
+
+
+It was a fine sight to see the boats depart for the north. It was a
+thrilling, heart-stirring sight to behold these picturesque, athletic
+men, on receiving the word of command from their guides, spring lightly
+into the long, heavy boats; to see them let the oars fall into the
+water with a loud splash, and then, taking their seats, give way with a
+will, knowing that the eyes of friends and sweethearts and rivals were
+bent earnestly upon them. It was a splendid sight to see boat after
+boat shoot out from the landing-place, and cut through the calm bosom
+of the river, as the men bent their sturdy backs until the thick oars
+creaked and groaned on the gunwales and flashed in the stream, more and
+more vigorously at each successive stroke, until their friends on the
+bank, who were anxious to see the last of them, had to run faster and
+faster in order to keep up with them, as the rowers warmed at their
+work, and made the water gurgle at the bows--their bright blue and
+scarlet and white trappings reflected in the dark waters in broken
+masses of colour, streaked with long lines of shining ripples, as if
+they floated on a lake of liquid rainbows. And it was a glorious thing
+to hear the wild, plaintive song, led by one clear, sonorous voice,
+that rang out full and strong in the still air, while at the close of
+every two lines the whole brigade burst into a loud, enthusiastic
+chorus, that rolled far and wide over the smooth waters--telling of
+their approach to settlers beyond the reach of vision in advance, and
+floating faintly back, a last farewell, to the listening ears of
+fathers, mothers, wives, and sisters left behind. And it was
+interesting to observe how, as the rushing boats sped onwards past the
+cottages on shore, groups of men and women and children stood before
+the open doors and waved adieu, while ever and anon a solitary voice
+rang louder than the others in the chorus, and a pair of dark eyes grew
+brighter as a voyageur swept past his home, and recognised his little
+ones screaming farewell, and seeking to attract their _sire's_
+attention by tossing their chubby arms or flourishing round their heads
+the bright vermilion blades of canoe-paddles. It was interesting, too,
+to hear the men shout as they ran a small rapid which occurs about the
+lower part of the settlement, and dashed in full career up to the Lower
+Fort--which stands about twenty miles down the river from Fort
+Garry--and then sped onward again with unabated energy, until they
+passed the Indian settlement, with its scattered wooden buildings and
+its small church; passed the last cottage on the bank; passed the low
+swampy land at the river's mouth; and emerged at last as evening
+closed, upon the wide, calm, sea-like bosom of Lake Winnipeg.
+
+Charley saw and heard all this during the whole of that long, exciting
+afternoon, and as he heard and saw it his heart swelled as if it would
+burst its prison-bars, his voice rang out wildly in the choruses,
+regardless alike of tune and time, and his spirit boiled within him as
+he quaffed the first sweet draught of a rover's life--a life in the
+woods, the wild, free, enchanting woods, where all appeared in _his_
+eyes bright, and sunny, and green, and beautiful!
+
+As the sun's last rays sunk in the west, and the clouds, losing their
+crimson hue, began gradually to fade into gray, the boats' heads were
+turned landward. In a few seconds they grounded on a low point, covered
+with small trees and bushes which stretched out into the lake. Here
+Louis Peltier had resolved to bivouac for the night.
+
+"Now then, mes garçons," he exclaimed, leaping ashore, and helping to
+drag the boat a little way on to the beach, "vite, vite! à terre, à
+terre!--Take the kettle, Pierre, and let's have supper."
+
+Pierre needed no second bidding. He grasped a large tin kettle and an
+axe, with which he hurried into a clump of trees. Laying down the
+kettle, which he had previously filled with water from the lake, he
+singled out a dead tree, and with three powerful blows of his axe,
+brought it to the ground. A few additional strokes cut it up into logs,
+varying from three to five feet in length, which he piled together,
+first placing a small bundle of dry grass and twigs beneath them, and a
+few splinters of wood which he cut from off one of the logs. Having
+accomplished this, Pierre took a flint and steel out of a gaily
+ornamented pouch which depended from his waist, and which went by the
+name of a fire-bag in consequence of its containing the implements for
+procuring that element. It might have been as appropriately named
+tobacco-box or smoking-bag, however, seeing that such things had more
+to do with it, if possible, than fire. Having struck a spark, which he
+took captive by means of a piece of tinder, he placed in the centre of
+a very dry handful of soft grass, and whirled it rapidly round his
+head, thereby producing a current of air, which blew the spark into a
+flame; which when applied, lighted the grass and twigs; and so, in a
+few minutes, a blazing fire roared up among the trees--spouted volumes
+of sparks into the air, like a gigantic squib, which made it quite a
+marvel that all the bushes in the neighbourhood were not burnt up at
+once--glared out red and fierce upon the rippling water, until it
+became, as it were, red-hot in the neighbourhood of the boats, and
+caused the night to become suddenly darker by contrast; the night
+reciprocating the compliment, as it grew later, by causing the space
+around the fire to glow brighter and brighter, until it became a
+brilliant chamber, surrounded by walls of the blackest ebony.
+
+While Pierre was thus engaged there were at least ten voyageurs
+similarly occupied. Ten steels were made instrumental in creating ten
+sparks, which were severally captured by ten pieces of tinder, and
+whirled round by ten lusty arms, until ten flames were produced, and
+ten fires sprang up and flared wildly on the busy scene that had a few
+hours before been so calm, so solitary, and so peaceful, bathed in the
+soft beams of the setting sun.
+
+In less than half-an-hour the several camps were completed, the kettles
+boiling over the fires, the men smoking in every variety of attitude,
+and talking loudly. It was a cheerful scene; and so Charley thought as
+he reclined in his canvas tent, the opening of which faced the fire,
+and enabled him to see all that was going on.
+
+Pierre was standing over the great kettle, dancing round it, and making
+sudden plunges with a stick into it, in the desperate effort to stir
+its boiling contents--desperate, because the fire was very fierce and
+large, and the flames seem to take a fiendish pleasure in leaping up
+suddenly just under Pierre's nose, thereby endangering his beard, or
+shooting out between his legs and licking round them at most unexpected
+moments, when the light wind ought to have been blowing them quite in
+the opposite direction; and then, as he danced round to the other side
+to avoid them, wheeling about and roaring viciously in his face, until
+it seemed as if the poor man would be roasted long before the supper
+was boiled. Indeed, what between the ever-changing and violent flames,
+the rolling smoke, the steam from the kettle, the showering sparks, and
+the man's own wild grimaces and violent antics, Pierre seemed to
+Charley like a raging demon, who danced not only round, but above, and
+on, and through, and _in_ the flames, as if they were his natural
+element, in which he took special delight.
+
+Quite close to the tent the massive form of Louis the guide lay
+extended, his back supported by the stump of a tree, his eyes blinking
+sleepily at the blaze, and his beloved pipe hanging from his lips,
+while wreaths of smoke encircled his head. Louis's day's work was done.
+Few could do a better; and when his work was over, Louis always acted
+on the belief that his position and his years entitled him to rest, and
+took things very easy in consequence.
+
+Six of the boat's crew sat in a semicircle beside the guide and
+fronting the fire, each paying particular attention to his pipe, and
+talking between the puffs to anyone who chose to listen.
+
+Suddenly Pierre vanished into the smoke and flames altogether, whence
+in another moment he issued, bearing in his hand the large tin kettle,
+which he deposited triumphantly at the feet of his comrades.
+
+"Now, then," cried Pierre.
+
+It was unnecessary to have said even that much by way of invitation.
+Voyageurs do not require to have their food pressed upon them after a
+hard day's work. Indeed it was as much as they could do to refrain from
+laying violent hands on the kettle long before their worthy cook
+considered its contents sufficiently done.
+
+Charley sat in company with Mr. Park--a chief factor, on his way to
+Norway House. Gibault, one of the men who acted as their servant, had
+placed a kettle of hot tea before them, which, with several slices of
+buffalo tongue, a lump of pemmican, and some hard biscuit and butter,
+formed their evening meal. Indeed, we may add that these viands, during
+a great part of the voyage, constituted their every meal. In fact, they
+had no variety in their fare, except a wild duck or two now and then,
+and a goose when they chanced to shoot one.
+
+Charley sipped a pannikin of tea as he reclined on his blanket, and
+being somewhat fatigued in consequence of his exertions and excitement
+during the day, said nothing. Mr. Park, for the same reasons, besides
+being naturally taciturn, was equally mute, so they both enjoyed in
+silence the spectacle of the men eating their supper. And it _was_ a
+sight worth seeing.
+
+Their food consisted of robbiboo, a compound of flour, pemmican, and
+water, boiled to the consistency of very thick soup. Though not a
+species of food that would satisfy the fastidious taste of an epicure,
+robbiboo is, nevertheless, very wholesome, exceedingly nutritious, and
+withal palatable. Pemmican, its principal component, is made of buffalo
+flesh, which fully equals (some think greatly excels) beef. The recipe
+for making it is as follows:-First, kill your buffalo--a matter of
+considerable difficulty, by the way, as doing so requires you to travel
+to the buffalo-grounds, to arm yourself with a gun, and mount a horse,
+on which you have to gallop, perhaps, several miles over rough ground
+and among badger-holes at the imminent risk of breaking your neck. Then
+you have to run up alongside of a buffalo and put a ball through his
+heart, which, apart from the murderous nature of the action, is a
+difficult thing to do. But we will suppose that you have killed your
+buffalo. Then you must skin him; then cut him up, and slice the flesh
+into layers, which must be dried in the sun. At this stage of the
+process you have produced a substance which in the fur countries goes
+by the name of dried meat, and is largely used as an article of food.
+As its name implies, it is very dry, and it is also very tough, and
+very undesirable if one can manage to procure anything better. But to
+proceed. Having thus prepared dried meat, lay a quantity of it on a
+flat stone, and take another stone, with which pound it into shreds.
+You must then take the animal's hide, while it is yet new, and make
+bags of it about two feet and a half long by a foot and a half broad.
+Into this put the pounded meat loosely. Melt the fat of your buffalo
+over a fire, and when quite liquid pour it into the bag until full; mix
+the contents well together; sew the whole up before it cools, and you
+have a bag of pemmican of about ninety pounds weight. This forms the
+chief food of the voyageur, in consequence of its being the largest
+possible quantity of sustenance compressed into the smallest possible
+space, and in an extremely convenient, portable shape. It will keep
+fresh for years, and has been much used, in consequence, by the heroes
+of arctic discovery, in their perilous journeys along the shores of the
+frozen sea.
+
+The voyageurs used no plate. Men who travel in these countries become
+independent of many things that are supposed to be necessary here. They
+sat in a circle round the kettle, each man armed with a large wooden or
+pewter spoon, with which he ladled the robbiboo down his capacious
+throat, in a style that not only caused Charley to laugh, but
+afterwards threw him into a deep reverie on the powers of appetite in
+general, and the strength of voyageur stomachs in particular.
+
+At first the keen edge of appetite induced the men to eat in silence;
+but as the contents of the kettle began to get low, their tongues
+loosened, and at last, when the kettles were emptied and the pipes
+filled, fresh logs thrown on the fires, and their limbs stretched out
+around them, the babel of English, French, and Indian that arose was
+quite overwhelming. The middle-aged men told long stories of what they
+_had_ done; the young men boasted of what they _meant_ to do; while the
+more aged smiled, nodded, smoked their pipes, put in a word or two as
+occasion offered, and listened. While they conversed the quick ears of
+one of the men of Charley's camp detected some unusual sound.
+
+"Hist!" said he, turning his head aside slightly, in a listening
+attitude, while his comrades suddenly ceased their noisy laugh.
+
+"Do ducks travel in canoes hereabouts?" said the man, after a moment's
+silence; "for, if not, there's someone about to pay us a visit. I would
+wager my best gun that I hear the stroke of paddles."
+
+"If your ears had been sharper, François, you might have heard them
+some time ago," said the guide, shaking the ashes out of his pipe and
+refilling it for the third time.
+
+"Ah, Louis, I do not pretend to such sharp ears as you possess, nor to
+such sharp wit either. But who do you think can be _en route_ so late?"
+
+"That my wit does not enable me to divine," said Louis; "but if you
+have any faith in the sharpness of your eyes, I would recommend you to
+go to the beach and see, as the best and shortest way of finding out."
+
+By this time the men had risen, and were peering out into the gloom in
+the direction whence the sound came, while one or two sauntered down to
+the margin of the lake to meet the new-comers.
+
+"Who can it be, I wonder?" said Charley, who had left the tent, and was
+now standing beside the guide.
+
+"Difficult to say, monsieur. Perhaps Injins, though I thought there
+were none here just now. But I'm not surprised that we've attracted
+_something_ to us. Livin' creeturs always come nat'rally to the light,
+and there's plenty of fire on the point to-night."
+
+"Rather more than enough," replied Charley, abruptly, as a slight
+motion of wind sent the flames curling round his head and singed off
+his eye-lashes. "Why, Louis, it's my firm belief that if I ever get to
+the end of this journey, I'll not have a hair left on my head."
+
+Louis smiled.
+
+"O monsieur, you will learn to _observe_ things before you have been
+long in the wilderness. If you _will_ edge round to leeward of the
+fire, you can't expect it to respect you."
+
+Just at this moment a loud hurrah rang through the copse, and Harry
+Somerville sprang over the fire into the arms of Charley, who received
+him with a hug and a look of unutterable amazement.
+
+"Charley, my boy!"
+
+"Harry Somerville, I declare!"
+
+For at least five minutes Charley could not recover his composure
+sufficiently to _declare_ anything else, but stood with open mouth and
+eyes, and elevated eyebrows, looking at his young friend, who capered
+and danced round the fire in a manner that threw the cook's
+performances in that line quite into the shade, while he continued all
+the time to shout fragments of sentences that were quite unintelligible
+to anyone. It was evident that Harry was in a state of immense delight
+at something unknown save to himself, but which, in the course of a few
+minutes, was revealed to his wondering friends.
+
+"Charley, I'm _going!_ hurrah!" and he leaped about in a manner that
+induced Charley to say he would not only be going but very soon _gone_,
+if he did not keep further away from the fire.
+
+"Yes, Charley, I'm going with you! I upset the stool, tilted the
+ink-bottle over the invoice-book, sent the poker almost through the
+back of the fireplace, and smashed Tom Whyte's best whip on the back of
+the 'noo 'oss' as I galloped him over the plains for the last time: all
+for joy, because I'm going with you, Charley, my darling!"
+
+Here Harry suddenly threw his arms round his friend's neck, meditating
+an embrace. As both boys were rather fond of using their muscles
+violently, the embrace degenerated into a wrestle, which caused them to
+threaten complete destruction to the fire as they staggered in front of
+it, and ended in their tumbling against the tent and nearly breaking
+its poles and fastenings, to the horror and indignation of Mr. Park,
+who was smoking his pipe within, quietly waiting till Harry's
+superabundant glee was over, that he might get an explanation of his
+unexpected arrival among them.
+
+"Ah, they will be good voyageurs!" cried one of the men, as he looked
+on at this scene.
+
+"Oui, oui! good boys, active lads," replied the others, laughing. The
+two boys rose hastily.
+
+"Yes," cried Harry, breathless, but still excited, "I'm going all the
+way, and a great deal farther. I'm going to hunt buffaloes in the
+Saskatchewan, and grizzly bears in the--the--in fact everywhere! I'm
+going down the Mackenzie River--I'm going _mad_, I believe;" and Harry
+gave another caper and another shout, and tossed his cap high into the
+air. Having been recklessly tossed, it came down into the fire. When it
+went in, it was dark blue; but when Harry dashed into the flames in
+consternation to save it, it came out of a rich brown colour.
+
+"Now, youngster," said Mr. Park, "when you've done capering, I should
+like to ask you one or two questions. What brought you here?"
+
+"A canoe," said Harry, inclined to be impudent.
+
+"Oh, and pray for what _purpose_ have you come here?"
+
+"These are my credentials," handing him a letter.
+
+Mr. Park opened the note and read.
+
+"Ah! oh! Saskatchewan--hum--yes--outpost--wild boy--just so--keep him
+at it--ay, fit for nothing else. So," said Mr. Park, folding the paper,
+"I find that Mr. Grant has sent you to take the place of a young
+gentleman we expected to pick up at Norway House, but who is required
+elsewhere; and that he wishes you to see a good deal of rough life--to
+be made a trader of, in fact. Is that your desire?"
+
+"That's the very ticket!" replied Harry, scarcely able to restrain his
+delight at the prospect.
+
+"Well, then, you had better get supper and turn in, for you'll have to
+begin your new life by rising at three o'clock to-morrow morning. Have
+you got a tent?"
+
+"Yes," said Harry, pointing to his canoe, which had been brought to the
+fire and turned bottom up by the two Indians to whom it belonged, and
+who were reclining under its shelter enjoying their pipes, and watching
+with looks of great gravity the doings of Harry and his friend.
+
+"_That_ will return whence it came to-morrow. Have you no other?"
+
+"Oh yes," said Harry, pointing to the overhanging branches of a willow
+close at hand, "lots more."
+
+Mr. Park smiled grimly, and, turning on his heel, re-entered the tent
+and continued his pipe, while Harry flung himself down beside Charley
+under the bark canoe.
+
+This species of "tent" is, however, by no means a perfect one. An
+Indian canoe is seldom three feet broad--frequently much narrower--so
+that it only affords shelter for the body as far down as the waist,
+leaving the extremities exposed. True, one _may_ double up as nearly as
+possible into half one's length, but this is not a desirable position
+to maintain throughout an entire night. Sometimes, when the weather is
+_very_ bad, an additional protection is procured by leaning several
+poles against the bottom of the canoe, on the weather side, in such a
+way as to slope considerably over the front; and over these are spread
+pieces of birch bark or branches and moss, so as to form a screen,
+which is an admirable shelter. But this involves too much time and
+labour to be adopted during a voyage, and is only done when the
+travellers are under the necessity of remaining for some time in one
+place.
+
+The canoe in which Harry arrived was a pretty large one, and looked so
+comfortable when arranged for the night that Charley resolved to
+abandon his own tent and Mr. Park's society, and sleep with his friend.
+
+"I'll sleep with you, Harry, my boy," said he, after Harry had
+explained to him in detail the cause of his being sent away from Red
+River; which was no other than that a young gentleman, as Mr. Park
+said, who _was_ to have gone, had been ordered elsewhere.
+
+"That's right, Charley; spread out our blankets, while I get some
+supper, like a good fellow." Harry went in search of the kettle while
+his friend prepared their bed. First, he examined the ground on which
+the canoe lay, and found that the two Indians had already taken
+possession of the only level places under it. "Humph!" he ejaculated,
+half inclined to rouse them up, but immediately dismissed the idea as
+unworthy of a voyageur. Besides, Charley was an amiable, unselfish
+fellow, and would rather have lain on the top of a dozen stumps than
+have made himself comfortable at the expense of anyone else.
+
+He paused a moment to consider. On one side was a hollow "that" (as he
+soliloquised to himself) "would break the back of a buffalo." On the
+other side were a dozen little stumps surrounding three very prominent
+ones, that threatened destruction to the ribs of anyone who should
+venture to lie there. But Charley did not pause to consider long.
+Seizing his axe, he laid about him vigorously with the head of it, and
+in a few seconds destroyed all the stumps, which he carefully
+collected, and, along with some loose moss and twigs, put into the
+hollow, and so filled it up. Having improved things thus far, he rose
+and strode out of the circle of light into the wood. In a few minutes
+he reappeared, bearing a young spruce fir tree on his shoulder, which
+with the axe he stripped of its branches. These branches were flat in
+form, and elastic--admirably adapted for making a bed on; and when
+Charley spread them out under the canoe in a pile of about four inches
+in depth by four feet broad and six feet long, the stumps and the
+hollow were overwhelmed altogether. He then ran to Mr. Park's tent, and
+fetched thence a small flat bundle covered with oilcloth and tied with
+a rope. Opening this, he tossed out its contents, which were two large
+and very thick blankets--one green, the other white; a particularly
+minute feather pillow, a pair of moccasins, a broken comb, and a bit of
+soap. Then he opened a similar bundle containing Harry's bed, which he
+likewise tossed out; and then kneeling down, he spread the two white
+blankets on the top of the branches, the two green blankets above
+these, and the two pillows at the top, as far under the shelter of the
+canoe as he could push them. Having completed the whole in a manner
+that would have done credit to a chambermaid, he continued to sit on
+his knees, with his hands in his pockets, smiling complacently, and
+saying, "Capital--first-rate!"
+
+"Here we are, Charley. Have a second supper--do!"
+
+Harry placed the smoking kettle by the head of the bed, and squatting
+down beside it, began to eat as only a boy _can_ eat who has had
+nothing since breakfast.
+
+Charley attacked the kettle too--as he said, "out of sympathy,"
+although he "wasn't hungry a bit." And really, for a man who was not
+hungry, and had supped half-an-hour before, the appetite of _sympathy_
+was wonderfully strong.
+
+But Harry's powers of endurance were now exhausted. He had spent a long
+day of excessive fatigue and excitement, and having wound it up with a
+heavy supper, sleep began to assail him with a fell ferocity that
+nothing could resist. He yawned once or twice, and sat on the bed
+blinking unmeaningly at the fire, as if he had something to say to it
+which he could not recollect just then. He nodded violently, much to
+his own surprise, once or twice, and began to address remarks to the
+kettle instead of to his friend. "I say, Charley, this won't do. I'm
+off to bed!" and suiting the action to the word, he took off his coat
+and placed it on his pillow. He then removed his moccasins, which were
+wet, and put on a dry pair; and this being all that is ever done in the
+way of preparation before going to bed in the woods, he lay down and
+pulled the green blankets over him.
+
+Before doing so, however, Harry leaned his head on his hands and
+prayed. This was the one link left of the chain of habit with which he
+had left home. Until the period of his departure for the wild scenes of
+the Northwest, Harry had lived in a quiet, happy home in the West
+Highlands of Scotland, where he had been surrounded by the benign
+influences of a family the members of which were united by the sweet
+bonds of Christian love--bonds which were strengthened by the
+additional tie of amiability of disposition. From childhood he had been
+accustomed to the routine of a pious and well-regulated household,
+where the Bible was perused and spoken of with an interest that
+indicated a genuine hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and
+where the name of JESUS sounded often and sweetly on the ear. Under
+such training, Harry, though naturally of a wild, volatile disposition,
+was deeply and irresistibly impressed with a reverence for sacred
+things, which, now that he was thousands of miles away from his
+peaceful home, clung to him with the force of old habit and
+association, despite the jeers of comrades and the evil influences and
+ungodliness by which he was surrounded. It is true that he was not
+altogether unhurt by the withering indifference to God that he beheld
+on all sides. Deep impression is not renewal of heart. But early
+training in the path of Christian love saved him many a deadly fall. It
+guarded him from many of the grosser sins, into which other boys, who
+had merely broken away from the _restraints_ of home too easily fell.
+It twined round him--as the ivy encircles the oak--with a soft, tender,
+but powerful grasp, that held him back when he was tempted to dash
+aside all restraint; and held him up when, in the weakness of human
+nature, he was about to fall. It exerted its benign sway over him in
+the silence of night, when his thoughts reverted to home, and during
+his waking hours, when he wandered from scene to scene in the wide
+wilderness; and in after years, when sin prevailed, and intercourse
+with rough men had worn off much of at least the superficial amiability
+of his character, and to some extent blunted the finer feelings of his
+nature, it clung faintly to him still, in the memory of his mother's
+gentle look and tender voice, and never forsook him altogether. Home
+had a blessed and powerful influence on Harry. May God bless such
+homes, where the ruling power is _love!_ God bless and multiply such
+homes in the earth! Were there more of them there would be fewer
+heart-broken mothers to weep over the memory of the blooming, manly
+boys they sent away to foreign climes--with trembling hearts but high
+hopes--and never saw them more. They were vessels launched upon the
+troubled sea of time, with stout timbers, firm masts, and gallant
+sails--with all that was necessary above and below, from stem to stern,
+for battling with the billows of adverse fortune, for stemming the tide
+of opposition, for riding the storms of persecution, or bounding with a
+press of canvas before the gales of prosperity; but without the
+rudder--without the guiding principle that renders the great power of
+plank and sail and mast available; with which the vessel moves obedient
+to the owner's will, without which it drifts about with every current,
+and sails along with every shifting wind that blows. Yes, may the best
+blessings of prosperity and peace rest on such families, whose bread,
+cast continually on the waters, returns to them after many days.
+
+After Harry had lain down, Charley, who did not feel inclined for
+repose, sauntered to the margin of the lake, and sat down upon a rock.
+
+It was a beautiful, calm evening. The moon shone faintly through a mass
+of heavy clouds, casting a pale light on the waters of Lake Winnipeg,
+which stretched, without a ripple, out to the distant horizon. The
+great fresh-water lakes of America bear a strong resemblance to the
+sea. In storms the waves rise mountains high, and break with heavy,
+sullen roar upon a beach composed in many places of sand and pebbles;
+while they are so large that one not only looks out to a straight
+horizon, but may even sail _out of sight of land_ altogether.
+
+As Charley sat resting his head on his hand, and listening to the soft
+hiss that the ripples made upon the beach, he felt all the solemnising
+influence that steals irresistibly over the mind as we sit on a still
+night gazing out upon the moonlit sea. His thoughts were sad; for he
+thought of Kate, and his mother and father, and the home he was now
+leaving. He remembered all that he had ever done to injure or annoy the
+dear ones he was leaving; and it is strange how much alive our
+consciences become when we are unexpectedly or suddenly removed from
+those with whom we have lived and held daily intercourse. How bitterly
+we reproach ourselves for harsh words, unkind actions; and how
+intensely we long for one word more with them, one fervent embrace, to
+prove at once that all we have ever said or done was not _meant_ ill,
+and, at any rate, is deeply, sincerely repented of now! As Charley
+looked up into the starry sky, his mind recurred to the parting words
+of Mr. Addison. With uplifted hands and a full heart, he prayed that
+God would bless, for Jesus' sake, the beloved ones in Red River, but
+especially Kate; for whether he prayed or meditated, Charley's thoughts
+_always_ ended with Kate.
+
+A black cloud passed across the moon, and reminded him that but a few
+hours of the night remained; so hastening up to the camp again, he lay
+gently down beside his friend, and drew the green blanket over him.
+
+In the camp all was silent. The men had chosen their several beds
+according to fancy, under the shadow of a bush or tree. The fires had
+burned low--so low that it was with difficulty Charley, as he lay,
+could discern the recumbent forms of the men, whose presence was
+indicated by the deep, soft, regular breathing of tired but, healthy
+constitutions. Sometimes a stray moonbeam shot through the leaves and
+branches, and cast a ghost-like, flickering light over the scene, which
+ever and anon was rendered more mysterious by a red flare of the fire
+as an ember fell, blazed up for an instant, and left all shrouded in
+greater darkness than before.
+
+At first Charley continued his sad thoughts, staring all the while at
+the red embers of the expiring fire; but soon his eyes began to blink,
+and the stumps of trees began to assume the form of voyageurs, and
+voyageurs to look like stumps of trees. Then a moonbeam darted in, and
+Mr. Addison stood on the other side of the fire. At this sight Charley
+started, and Mr. Addison disappeared, while the boy smiled to think how
+he had been dreaming while only half asleep. Then Kate appeared, and
+seemed to smile on him; but another ember fell, and another red flame
+sprang up, and put her to flight too. Then a low sigh of wind rustled
+through the branches, and Charley felt sure that he saw Kate again
+coming through the woods, singing the low, soft tune that she was so
+fond of singing, because it was his own favourite air. But soon the air
+ceased; the fire faded away; so did the trees, and the sleeping
+voyageurs; Kate last of all dissolved, and Charley sank into a deep,
+untroubled slumber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+Varieties, vexations, and vicissitudes.
+
+
+Life is checkered--there is no doubt about that; whatever doubts a man
+may entertain upon other subjects, he can have none upon this, we feel
+quite certain. In fact, so true is it that we would not for a moment
+have drawn the reader's attention to it here, were it not that our
+experience of life in the backwoods corroborates the truth; and truth,
+however well corroborated, is none the worse of getting a little
+additional testimony now and then in this sceptical generation.
+
+Life is checkered, then, undoubtedly. And life in the backwoods
+strengthens the proverb, for it is a peculiarly striking and remarkable
+specimen of life's variegated character.
+
+There is a difference between sailing smoothly along the shores of Lake
+Winnipeg with favouring breezes, and being tossed on its surging
+billows by the howling of a nor'-west wind, that threatens destruction
+to the boat, or forces it to seek shelter on the shore. This difference
+is one of the checkered scenes of which we write, and one that was
+experienced by the brigade more than once during its passage across the
+lake.
+
+Since we are dealing in truisms, it may not, perhaps, be out of place
+here to say that going to bed at night is not by any means getting up
+in the morning; at least so several of our friends found to be the case
+when the deep sonorous voice of Louis Peltier sounded through the camp
+on the following morning, just as a very faint, scarcely perceptible,
+light tinged the eastern sky.
+
+"Lève, lève, lève!" he cried, "lève, lève, mes enfants!"
+
+Some of Louis's _infants_ replied to the summons in a way that would
+have done credit to a harlequin. One or two active little Canadians, on
+hearing the cry of the awful word _lève_, rose to their feet with a
+quick bound, as if they had been keeping up an appearance of sleep as a
+sort of practical joke all night, on purpose to be ready to leap as the
+first sound fell from the guide's lips. Others lay still, in the same
+attitude in which they had fallen asleep, having made up their minds,
+apparently, to lie there in spite of all the guides in the world. Not a
+few got slowly into the sitting position, their hair dishevelled, their
+caps awry, their eyes alternately winking very hard and staring awfully
+in the vain effort to keep open, and their whole physiognomy wearing an
+expression of blank stupidity that is peculiar to man when engaged in
+that struggle which occurs each morning as he endeavours to disconnect
+and shake off the entanglement of nightly dreams and the realities of
+the breaking day. Throughout the whole camp there was a low, muffled
+sound, as of men moving lazily, with broken whispers and disjointed
+sentences uttered in very deep, hoarse tones, mingled with confused,
+unearthly noises, which, upon consideration, sounded like prolonged
+yawns. Gradually these sounds increased, for the guide's _lève_ is
+inexorable, and the voyageur's fate inevitable.
+
+"Oh dear!--yei a--a--ow" (yawning); "hang your _lève!_"
+
+"Oui, vraiment--yei a-a----ow--morbleu!"
+
+"Eh, what's that? Oh, misère!"
+
+"Tare an' ages!" (from an Irishman), "an' I had only got to slaape yit!
+but--yei a--a----ow!"
+
+French and Irish yawns are very similar, the only difference being,
+that whereas the Frenchman finishes the yawn resignedly, and springs to
+his legs, the Irishman finishes it with an energetic gasp, as if he
+were hurling it remonstratively into the face of Fate, turns round
+again and shuts his eyes doggedly--a piece of bravado which he knows is
+useless and of very short duration.
+
+"Lève! lève!! lève!!!" There was no mistake this time in the tones of
+Louis's voice. "Embark, embark! vite, vite!"
+
+The subdued sounds of rousing broke into a loud buzz of active
+preparation, as the men busied themselves in bundling up blankets,
+carrying down camp-kettles to the lake, launching the boats, kicking up
+lazy comrades, stumbling over and swearing at fallen trees which were
+not visible in the cold, uncertain light of the early dawn, searching
+hopelessly, among a tangled conglomeration of leaves and broken
+branches and crushed herbage, for lost pipes and missing
+tobacco-pouches.
+
+"Hollo!" exclaimed Harry Somerville, starting suddenly from his
+sleeping posture, and unintentionally cramming his elbow into Charley's
+mouth, "I declare they're all up and nearly ready to start."
+
+"That's no reason," replied Charley, "why you should knock out all my
+front teeth, is it?"
+
+Just then Mr. Park issued from his tent, dressed and ready to step into
+his boat. He first gave a glance round the camp to see that all the men
+were moving, then he looked up through the trees to ascertain the
+present state and, if possible, the future prospects of the weather.
+Having come to a satisfactory conclusion on that head, he drew forth
+his pipe and began to fill it, when his eye fell on the two boys, who
+were still sitting up in their lairs, and staring idiotically at the
+place where the fire had been, as if the white ashes, half-burned logs,
+and bits of charcoal were a sight of the most novel and interesting
+character, that filled them with intense amazement.
+
+Mr. Park could scarce forbear smiling.
+
+"Hollo, youngsters, precious voyageurs _you'll_ make, to be sure, if
+this is the way you're going to begin. Don't you see that the things
+are all aboard, and we'll be ready to start in five minutes, and you
+sitting there with your neckcloths off?"
+
+Mr. Park gave a slight sneer when he spoke of _neckcloths_, as if he
+thought, in the first place, that they were quite superfluous portions
+of attire, and in the second place, that having once put them on, the
+taking of them off at night was a piece of effeminacy altogether
+unworthy of a Nor'-wester.
+
+Charley and Harry needed no second rebuke. It flashed instantly upon
+them that sleeping comfortably under their blankets when the men were
+bustling about the camp was extremely inconsistent with the heroic
+resolves of the previous day. They sprang up, rolled their blankets in
+the oil-cloths, which they fastened tightly with ropes; tied the
+neckcloths, held in such contempt by Mr. Park, in a twinkling; threw on
+their coats, and in less than five minutes were ready to embark. They
+then found that they might have done things more leisurely, as the
+crews had not yet got all their traps on board; so they began to look
+around them, and discovered that each had omitted to pack up a blanket.
+
+Very much crestfallen at their stupidity, they proceeded to untie the
+bundles again, when it became apparent to the eyes of Charley that his
+friend had put on his capote inside out; which had a peculiarly ragged
+and grotesque effect. These mistakes were soon rectified, and
+shouldering their beds, they carried them down to the boat and tossed
+them in. Meanwhile Mr. Park, who had been watching the movements of the
+boys with a peculiar smile, that filled them with confusion, went round
+the different camps to see that nothing was left behind. The men were
+all in their places with oars ready, and the boats floating on the calm
+water, a yard or two from shore, with the exception of the guide's
+boat, the stern of which still rested on the sand awaiting Mr. Park.
+
+"Who does this belong to?" shouted that gentleman, holding up a cloth
+cap, part of which was of a mottled brown and part deep blue.
+
+Harry instantly tore the covering from his head, and discovered that
+among his numerous mistakes he had put on the head-dress of one of the
+Indians who had brought him to the camp. To do him justice the cap was
+not unlike his own, excepting that it was a little more mottled and
+dirty in colour, besides being decorated with a gaudy but very much
+crushed and broken feather.
+
+"You had better change with our friend here, I think," said Mr. Park,
+grinning from ear to ear, as he tossed the cap to its owner, while
+Harry handed the other to the Indian, amid the laughter of the crew.
+
+"Never mind, boy," added Mr. Park, in an encouraging tone, "you'll make
+a voyageur yet.--Now then, lads, give way;" and with a nod to the
+Indians, who stood on the shore watching their departure, the trader
+sprang into the boat and took his place beside the two boys.
+
+"Ho! sing, mes garçons," cried the guide, seizing the massive sweep and
+directing the boat out to sea.
+
+At this part of the lake there occurs a deep bay or inlet, to save
+rounding which travellers usually strike straight across from point to
+point, making what is called in voyageur parlance a _traverse_. These
+traverses are subjects of considerable anxiety and frequently of delay
+to travellers, being sometimes of considerable extent, varying from
+four to five, and in such immense seas as Lake Superior, to fourteen
+miles. With boats, indeed, there is little to fear, as the inland craft
+of the fur-traders can stand a heavy sea, and often ride out a pretty
+severe storm; but it is far otherwise with the bark canoes that are
+often used in travelling. These frail craft can stand very little
+sea--their frames being made of thin flat slips of wood and sheets of
+bark, not more than a quarter of an inch thick, which are sewed
+together with the fibrous roots of the pine (called by the natives
+_wattape_), and rendered water-tight by means of melted gum. Although
+light and buoyant, therefore, and extremely useful in a country where
+portages are numerous, they require very tender usage; and when a
+traverse has to be made, the guides have always a grave consultation,
+with some of the most sagacious among the men, as to the probability of
+the wind rising or falling--consultations which are more or less marked
+by anxiety and tediousness in proportion to the length of the traverse,
+the state of the weather and the courage or timidity of the guides.
+
+On the present occasion there was no consultation, as has been already
+seen. The traverse was a short one, the morning fine, and the boats
+good. A warm glow began to overspread the horizon, giving promise of a
+splendid day, as the numerous oars dipped with a plash and a loud hiss
+into the water, and sent the boats leaping forth upon the white wave.
+
+"Sing, sing!" cried the guide again, and clearing his throat, he began
+the beautiful quick-tuned canoe-song "Rose Blanche," to which the men
+chorused with such power of lungs that a family of plovers, which up to
+that time had stood in mute astonishment on a sandy point, tumbled
+precipitately into the water, from which they rose with a shrill,
+inexpressibly wild, plaintive cry, and fled screaming away to a more
+secure refuge among the reeds and sedges of a swamp. A number of ducks
+too, awakened by the unwonted sound, shot suddenly out from the
+concealment of their night's bivouac with erect heads and startled
+looks, sputtered heavily over the surface of their liquid bed, and
+rising into the air, flew in a wide circuit, with whistling wings, away
+from the scene of so much uproar and confusion.
+
+The rough voices of the men grew softer and softer as the two Indians
+listened to the song of their departing friends, mellowing down and
+becoming more harmonious and more plaintive as the distance increased,
+and the boats grew smaller and smaller, until they were lost in the
+blaze of light that now bathed both water and sky in the eastern
+horizon, and began rapidly to climb the zenith, while the sweet tones
+became less and less audible as they floated faintly across the still
+water, and melted at last into the deep silence of the wilderness.
+
+The two Indians still stood with downcast heads and listening ears, as
+if they loved the last echo of the dying music, while their grave,
+statue-like forms added to rather than detracted from, the solitude of
+the deserted scene.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Charley and Harry begin their sporting career without much
+success--Whisky-john catching.
+
+
+The place in the boats usually allotted to gentlemen in the Company's
+service while travelling is the stern. Here the lading is so arranged
+as to form a pretty level hollow, where the flat bundles containing
+their blankets are placed, and a couch is thus formed that rivals
+Eastern effeminacy in luxuriance. There are occasions, however, when
+this couch is converted into a bed, not of thorns exactly, but of
+corners; and really it would be hard to say which of the two is the
+more disagreeable. Should the men be careless in arranging the cargo,
+the inevitable consequence is that "monsieur" will find the leg of an
+iron stove, the sharp edge of a keg, or the corner of a wooden box
+occupying the place where his ribs should be. So common, however, is
+this occurrence that the clerks usually superintend the arrangements
+themselves, and so secure comfort.
+
+On a couch, then, of this kind Charley and Harry now found themselves
+constrained to sit all morning--sometimes asleep, occasionally awake,
+and always earnestly desiring that it was time to put ashore for
+breakfast, as they had now travelled for four hours without halt,
+except twice for about five minutes, to let the men light their pipes.
+
+"Charley," said Harry Somerville to his friend, who sat beside him, "it
+strikes me that we are to have no breakfast at all to-day. Here have I
+been holding my breath and tightening my belt, until I feel much more
+like a spider or a wasp than a--a--"
+
+"_Man_, Harry; out with it at once, don't be afraid," said Charley.
+
+"Well, no, I wasn't going to have said _that_ exactly, but I was going
+to have said a voyageur, only I recollected our doings this morning,
+and hesitated to take the name until I had won it."
+
+"It's well that you entertain so modest an opinion of yourself," said
+Mr. Park, who still smoked his pipe as if he were impressed with the
+idea that to stop for a moment would produce instant death. "I may tell
+you for your comfort, youngster, that we shan't breakfast till we reach
+yonder point."
+
+The shores of Lake Winnipeg are flat and low, and the point indicated
+by Mr. Park lay directly in the light of the sun, which now shone with
+such splendour in the cloudless sky, and flashed on the polished water,
+that it was with difficulty they could look towards the point of land.
+
+"Where is it?" asked Charley, shading his eyes with his hand; "I cannot
+make out anything at all."
+
+"Try again, my boy; there's nothing like practice."
+
+"Ah yes! I make it out now; a faint shadow just under the sun. Is that
+it?"
+
+"Ay, and we'll break our fast _there_."
+
+"I would like very much to break your head _here_," thought Charley,
+but he did not say it, as, besides being likely to produce unpleasant
+consequences, he felt that such a speech to an elderly gentleman would
+be highly improper; and Charley had _some_ respect for gray hairs for
+their own sake, whether the owner of them was a good man or a goose.
+
+"What shall we do, Harry? If I had only thought of keeping out a book."
+
+"I know what _I_ shall do," said Harry, with a resolute air: "I'll go
+and shoot!"
+
+"Shoot!" cried Charley. "You don't mean to say that you're going to
+waste your powder and shot by firing at the clouds! for unless you take
+_them_, I see nothing else here."
+
+"That's because you don't use your eyes," retorted Harry. "Will you
+just look at yonder rock ahead of us, and tell me what you see?"
+
+Charley looked earnestly at the rock, which to a cursory glance seemed
+as if composed of whiter stone on the top. "Gulls, I declare!" shouted
+Charley, at the same time jumping up in haste.
+
+Just then one of the gulls, probably a scout sent out to watch the
+approaching enemy, wheeled in a circle overhead. The two youths dragged
+their guns from beneath the thwarts of the boat, and rummaged about in
+great anxiety for shot-belts and powder-horns. At last they were found;
+and having loaded, they sat on the edge of the boat, looking out for
+game with as much--ay, with _more_ intense interest than a Blackfoot
+Indian would have watched for a fat buffalo cow.
+
+"There he goes," said Harry; "take the first shot, Charley."
+
+"Where? where is it?"
+
+"Right ahead. Look out!"
+
+As Harry spoke, a small white gull, with bright-red legs and beak, flew
+over the boat so close to them that, as the guide remarked, "he could
+see it wink!" Charley's equanimity, already pretty well disturbed, was
+entirely upset at the suddenness of the bird's appearance; for he had
+been gazing intently at the rock when his friend's exclamation drew his
+attention in time to see the gull within about four feet of his head.
+With a sudden "Oh!" Charley threw forward his gun, took a short,
+wavering aim, and blew the cock-tail feather out of Baptiste's hat;
+while the gull sailed tranquilly away, as much as to say, "If _that's_
+all you can do, there's no need for me to hurry!"
+
+"Confound the boy!" cried Mr. Park. "You'll be the death of someone
+yet; I'm convinced of that."
+
+"Parbleu! you may say that, c'est vrai," remarked the voyageur with a
+rueful gaze at his hat, which, besides having its ornamental feather
+shattered, was sadly cut up about the crown.
+
+The poor lad's face became much redder than the legs or beak of the
+gull as he sat down in confusion, which he sought to hide by busily
+reloading his gun; while the men indulged in a somewhat witty and
+sarcastic criticism of his powers of shooting, remarking, in flattering
+terms, on the precision of the shot that blew Baptiste's feather into
+atoms, and declaring that if every shot he fired was as truly aimed, he
+would certainly be the best in the country.
+
+Baptiste also came in for a share of their repartee. "It serves you
+right," said the guide, laughing, "for wearing such things on the
+voyage. You should put away such foppery till you return to the
+settlement, where there are _girls_ to admire you." (Baptiste had
+continued to wear the tall hat, ornamented with gold cords and tassels,
+with which he had left Red River).
+
+"Ah!" cried another, pulling vigorously at his oar, "I fear that Marie
+won't look at you, now that all your beauty's gone."
+
+"'Tis not quite gone," said a third; "there's all the brim and half a
+tassel left, besides the wreck of the remainder."
+
+"Oh, I can lend you a few fragments," retorted Baptiste, endeavouring
+to parry some of the thrusts. "They would improve _you_ vastly."
+
+"No, no, friend; gather them up and replace them: they will look more
+picturesque and becoming now. I believe if you had worn them much
+longer all the men in the boat would have fallen in love with you."
+
+"By St. Patrick," said Mike Brady, an Irishman who sat at the oar
+immediately behind the unfortunate Canadian, "there's more than enough
+o' rubbish scattered over mysilf nor would do to stuff a fither-bed
+with."
+
+As Mike spoke, he collected the fragments of feathers and ribbons with
+which the unlucky shot had strewn him, and placed them slyly on the top
+of the dilapidated hat, which Baptiste, after clearing away the wreck,
+had replaced on his head.
+
+"It's very purty," said Mike, as the action was received by the crew
+with a shout of merriment.
+
+Baptiste was waxing wrathful under this fire, when the general
+attention was drawn again towards Charley and his friend, who, having
+now got close to the rock, had quite forgotten their mishap in the
+excitement of expectation.
+
+This excitement in the shooting of such small game might perhaps
+surprise our readers, did we not acquaint them with the fact that
+neither of the boys had, up to that time, enjoyed much opportunity of
+shooting. It is true that Harry had once or twice borrowed the
+fowling-piece of the senior clerk, and had sallied forth with a beating
+heart to pursue the grouse which are found in the belt of woodland
+skirting the Assiniboine River near to Fort Garry. But these
+expeditions were of rare occurrence, and they had not sufficed to rub
+off much of the bounding excitement with which he loaded and fired at
+anything and everything that came within range of his gun. Charley, on
+the other hand, had never fired a shot before, except out of an old
+horse-pistol; having up to this period been busily engaged at school,
+except during the holidays, which he always spent in the society of his
+sister Kate, whose tastes were not such as were likely to induce him to
+take up the gun, even if he had possessed such a weapon. Just before
+leaving Red River, his father presented him with his own gun,
+remarking, as he did so, with a sigh, that _his_ day was past now; and
+adding that the gun was a good one for shot or ball, and if he
+(Charley) brought down _half_ as much game with it as he (Mr. Kennedy)
+had brought down in the course of his life, he might consider himself a
+crack shot undoubtedly.
+
+It was not surprising, therefore, that the two friends went nearly mad
+with excitation when the whole flock of gulls rose into the air like a
+white cloud, and sailed in endless circles and gyrations above and
+around their heads--flying so close at times that they might almost
+have been caught by the hand. Neither was it surprising that
+innumerable shots were fired, by both sportsmen, without a single bird
+being a whit the worse for it, or themselves much the better; the
+energetic efforts made to hit being rendered abortive by the very
+eagerness which caused them to miss. And this was the less
+extraordinary, too, when it is remembered that Harry in his haste
+loaded several times without shot, and Charley rendered the right
+barrel of his gun _hors de combat_ at last, by ramming down a charge of
+shot and omitting powder altogether, whereby he snapped and primed, and
+snapped and primed again, till he grew desperate, and then suspicious
+of the true cause, which he finally rectified with much difficulty.
+
+Frequently the gulls flew straight over the heads of the youths--which
+produced peculiar consequences, as in such cases they took aim while
+the birds were approaching; but being somewhat slow at taking aim, the
+gulls were almost perpendicularly above them ere they were ready to
+shoot, so that they were obliged to fire hastily in _hope_, feeling
+that they were losing their balance, or give up the chance altogether.
+
+Mr. Park sat grimly in his place all the while, enjoying the scene, and
+smoking.
+
+"Now then, Charley," said he, "take that fellow."
+
+"Which? where? Oh, if I could only get one!" said Charley, looking up
+eagerly at the screaming birds, at which he had been staring so long,
+in their varying and crossing flight, that his sight had become
+hopelessly unsteady.
+
+"There! Look sharp; fire away!"
+
+Bang went Charley's piece, as he spoke, at a gull which flew straight
+towards him, but so rapidly that it was directly above his head;
+indeed, he was leaning a little backwards at the moment, which caused
+him to miss again, while the recoil of the gun brought matters to a
+climax, by toppling him over into Mr. Park's lap, thereby smashing that
+gentleman's pipe to atoms. The fall accidentally exploded the second
+barrel, causing the butt to strike Charley in the pit of his
+stomach--as if to ram him well home into Mr. Park's open arms--and
+hitting with a stray shot a gull that was sailing high up in the sky in
+fancied security. It fell with a fluttering crash into the boat while
+the men were laughing at the accident.
+
+"Didn't I say so?" cried Mr. Park, wrathfully, as he pitched Charley
+out of his lap, and spat out the remnants of his broken pipe.
+
+Fortunately for all parties, at this moment the boat approached a spot
+on which the guide had resolved to land for breakfast; and seeing the
+unpleasant predicament into which poor Charley had fallen, he assumed
+the strong tones of command with which guides are frequently gifted,
+and called out,--
+
+"Ho, ho! à terre! à terre! to land! to land! Breakfast, my boys;
+breakfast!"--at the same time sweeping the boat's head shoreward, and
+running into a rocky bay, whose margin was fringed by a growth of small
+trees. Here, in a few minutes, they were joined by the other boats of
+the brigade, which had kept within sight of each other nearly the whole
+morning.
+
+While travelling through the wilds of North America in boats, voyageurs
+always make a point of landing to breakfast. Dinner is a meal with
+which they are unacquainted, at least on the voyage, and luncheon is
+likewise unknown. If a man feels hungry during the day, the
+pemmican-bag and its contents are there; he may pause in his work at
+any time, for a minute, to seize the axe and cut off a lump, which he
+may devour as he best can; but there is no going ashore--no resting for
+dinner. Two great meals are recognised, and the time allotted to their
+preparation and consumption held inviolable--breakfast and supper: the
+first varying between the hours of seven and nine in the morning; the
+second about sunset, at which time travellers usually encamp for the
+night. Of the two meals it would be difficult to say which is more
+agreeable. For our own part, we prefer the former. It is the meal to
+which a man addresses himself with peculiar gusto, especially if he has
+been astir three or four hours previously in the open air. It is the
+time of day, too, when the spirits are freshest and highest, animated
+by the prospect of the work, the difficulties, the pleasures, or the
+adventures of the day that has begun; and cheered by that cool, clear
+_buoyancy_ of Nature which belongs exclusively to the happy morning
+hours, and has led poets in all ages to compare these hours to the
+first sweet months of spring or the early years of childhood.
+
+Voyageurs, not less than poets, have felt the exhilarating influence of
+the young day, although they have lacked the power to tell it in
+sounding numbers; but where words were wanting, the sparkling eye, the
+beaming countenance, the light step, and hearty laugh, were more
+powerful exponents of the feelings within. Poet, and painter too, might
+have spent a profitable hour on the shores of that great sequestered
+lake, and as they watched the picturesque groups--clustering round the
+blazing fires, preparing their morning meal, smoking their pipes,
+examining and repairing the boats, or suning their stalwart limbs in
+wild, careless attitudes upon the greensward--might have found a
+subject worthy the most brilliant effusions of the pen, or the most
+graphic touches of the pencil.
+
+An hour sufficed for breakfast. While it was preparing, the two friends
+sauntered into the forest in search of game, in which they were
+unsuccessful; in fact, with the exception of the gulls before
+mentioned, there was not a feather to be seen--save, always, one or two
+whisky-johns.
+
+Whisky-johns are the most impudent, puffy, conceited little birds that
+exist. Not much larger in reality than sparrows, they nevertheless
+manage to swell out their feathers to such an extent that they appear
+to be as large as magpies, which they further resemble in their
+plumage. Go where you will in the woods of Rupert's Land, the instant
+that you light a fire two or three whisky-johns come down and sit
+beside you, on a branch, it may be, or on the ground, and generally so
+near that you cannot but wonder at their recklessness. There is a
+species of impudence which seems to be specially attached to little
+birds. In them it reaches the highest pitch of perfection. A bold,
+swelling, arrogant effrontery--a sort of stark, staring,
+self-complacent, comfortable, and yet innocent impertinence, which is
+at once irritating and amusing, aggravating and attractive, and which
+is exhibited in the greatest intensity in the whisky-john. He will jump
+down almost under your nose, and seize a fragment of biscuit or
+pemmican. He will go right into the pemmican-bag, when you are but a
+few paces off, and pilfer, as it were, at the fountain-head. Or if
+these resources are closed against him, he will sit on a twig, within
+an inch of your head, and look at you as only a whisky-john _can_ look.
+
+"I'll catch one of these rascals," said Harry, as he saw them jump
+unceremoniously into and out of the pemmican-bag.
+
+Going down to the boat, Harry hid himself under the tarpaulin, leaving
+a hole open near to the mouth of the bag. He had not remained more than
+a few minutes in this concealment when one of the birds flew down, and
+alighted on the edge of the boat. After a glance round to see that all
+was right, it jumped into the bag. A moment after, Harry, darting his
+hand through the aperture, grasped him round the neck and secured him.
+Poor whisky-john screamed and pecked ferociously, while Harry brought
+him in triumph to his friend; but so unremittingly did the bird scream
+that its captor was fain at last to let him off, the more especially as
+the cook came up at the moment and announced that breakfast was ready.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The storm.
+
+
+Two days after the events of the last chapter, the brigade was making
+one of the traverses which have already been noticed as of frequent
+occurrence in the great lakes. The morning was calm and sultry. A deep
+stillness pervaded Nature, which tended to produce a corresponding
+quiescence in the mind, and to fill it with those indescribably solemn
+feelings that frequently arise before a thunderstorm. Dark, lurid
+clouds hung overhead in gigantic masses, piled above each other like
+the battlements of a dark fortress, from whose ragged embrasures the
+artillery of heaven was about to play.
+
+"Shall we get over in time, Louis?" asked Mr. Park, as he turned to the
+guide, who sat holding the tiller with a firm grasp; while the men,
+aware of the necessity of reaching shelter ere the storm burst upon
+them, were bending to the oars with steady and sustained energy.
+
+"Perhaps," replied Louis, laconically.--"Pull, lads, pull! else you'll
+have to sleep in wet skins to-night."
+
+A low growl of distant thunder followed the guide's words, and the men
+pulled with additional energy; while the slow measured hiss of the
+water, and clank of oars, as they cut swiftly through the lake's clear
+surface, alone interrupted the dead silence that ensued.
+
+Charley and his friend conversed in low whispers; for there is a
+strange power in a thunder-storm, whether raging or about to break,
+that overawes the heart of man,--as if Nature's God were nearer then
+than at other times; as if He--whose voice, indeed, if listened to,
+speaks even in the slightest evolution of natural phenomena--were about
+to tread the visible earth with more than usual majesty, in the vivid
+glare of the lightning flash, and in the awful crash of thunder.
+
+"I don't know how it is, but I feel more like a coward," said Charley,
+"just before a thunderstorm than I think I should do in the arms of a
+polar bear. Do you feel queer, Harry?"
+
+"A little," replied Harry, in a low whisper, "and yet I'm not
+frightened. I can scarcely tell what I feel, but I'm certain it's not
+fear."
+
+"Well, I don't know," said Charley. "When father's black bull chased
+Kate and me in the prairies, and almost overtook us as we ran for the
+fence of the big field, I felt my heart leap to my mouth, and the blood
+rush to my cheeks, as I turned about and faced him, while Kate climbed
+the fence; but after she was over, I felt a wild sort of wickedness in
+me, as if I should like to tantalise and torment him,--and I felt
+altogether different from what I feel now while I look up at these
+black clouds. Isn't there something quite awful in them, Harry?"
+
+Ere Harry replied, a bright flash of lightning shot athwart the sky,
+followed by a loud roll of thunder, and in a moment the wind rushed,
+like a fiend set suddenly free, down upon the boats, tearing up the
+smooth surface of the water as it flew, and cutting it into gleaming
+white streaks. Fortunately the storm came down behind the boats, so
+that, after the first wild burst was over, they hoisted a small portion
+of their lug sails, and scudded rapidly before it.
+
+There was still a considerable portion of the traverse to cross, and
+the guide cast an anxious glance over his shoulder occasionally, as the
+dark waves began to rise, and their crests were cut into white foam by
+the increasing gale. Thunder roared in continued, successive peals, as
+if the heavens were breaking up, while rain descended in sheets. For a
+time the crews continued to ply their oars; but as the wind increased,
+these were rendered superfluous. They were taken in, therefore, and the
+men sought partial shelter under the tarpaulin; while Mr. Park and the
+two boys were covered, excepting their heads, by an oilcloth, which was
+always kept at hand in rainy weather.
+
+"What think you now, Louis?" said Mr. Park, resuming the pipe which the
+sudden outburst of the storm had caused him to forget. "Have we seen
+the worst of it?"
+
+Louis replied abruptly in the negative, and in a few seconds shouted
+loudly, "Look out, lads! here comes a squall. Stand by to let go the
+sheet there!"
+
+Mike Brady, happening to be near the sheet, seized hold of the rope,
+and prepared to let go, while the men rose, as if by instinct, and
+gazed anxiously at the approaching squall, which could be seen in the
+distance, extending along the horizon, like a bar of blackest ink,
+spotted with flakes of white. The guide sat with compressed lips, and
+motionless as a statue, guiding the boat as it bounded madly towards
+the land, which was now not more than half-a-mile distant.
+
+"Let go!" shouted the guide, in a voice that was heard loud and clear
+above the roar of the elements.
+
+"Ay, ay," replied the Irishman, untwisting the rope instantly, as with
+a sharp hiss the squall descended on the boat.
+
+At that moment the rope became entangled round one of the oars, and the
+gale burst with all its fury on the distended sail, burying the prow in
+the waves, which rushed inboard in a black volume, and in an instant
+half filled the boat.
+
+"Let go!" roared the guide again, in a voice of thunder; while Mike
+struggled with awkward energy to disentangle the rope.
+
+As he spoke, an Indian, who during the storm had been sitting beside
+the mast, gazing at the boiling water with a grave, contemplative
+aspect, sprang quickly forward, drew his knife, and with two blows (so
+rapidly delivered that they seemed but one) cut asunder first the sheet
+and then the halyards, which let the sail blow out and fall flat upon
+the boat. He was just in time. Another moment and the gushing water,
+which curled over the bow, would have filled them to the gunwale. As it
+was, the little vessel was so full of water that she lay like a log,
+while every toss of the waves sent an additional torrent into her.
+
+"Bail for your lives, lads!" cried Mr. Park, as he sprang forward, and,
+seizing a tin dish, began energetically to bail out the water.
+Following his example, the whole crew seized whatever came first to
+hand in the shape of dish or kettle, and began to bail. Charley and
+Harry Somerville acted a vigorous part on this occasion--the one with a
+bark dish (which had been originally made by the natives for the
+purpose of holding maple sugar), the other with his cap.
+
+For a time it seemed doubtful whether the curling waves should send
+most water _into_ the boat, or the crew should bail most _out_ of it.
+But the latter soon prevailed, and in a few minutes it was so far got
+under that three of the men were enabled to leave off bailing and reset
+the sail, while Louis Pettier returned to his post at the helm. At
+first the boat moved but slowly, owing to the weight of water in her;
+but as this gradually grew less, she increased her speed and neared the
+land.
+
+"Well done, Redfeather," said Mr. Park, addressing the Indian as he
+resumed his seat; "your knife did us good service that time, my fine
+fellow."
+
+Redfeather, who was the only pure native in the brigade, acknowledged
+the compliment with a smile.
+
+"_Ah, oui_," replied the guide, whose features had now lost their stern
+expression. "These Injins are always ready enough with their knives.
+It's not the first time my life has been saved by the knife of a
+red-skin."
+
+"Humph! bad luck to them," muttered Mike Brady; "it's not the first
+time that my windpipe has been pretty near spiflicated by the knives o'
+the redskins, the murtherin' varmints."
+
+As Mike gave vent to this malediction, the boat ran swiftly past a low
+rocky point, over which the surf was breaking wildly.
+
+"Down with the sail, Mike," cried the guide, at the same time putting
+the helm hard up. The boat flew round, obedient to the ruling power,
+made one last plunge as it left the rolling surf behind, and slid
+gently and smoothly into still water under the lee of the point.
+
+Here, in the snug shelter of a little bay, two of the other boats were
+found, with their prows already on the beach, and their crews actively
+employed in landing their goods, opening bales that had received damage
+from the water, and preparing the encampment; while ever and anon they
+paused a moment to watch the various boats as they flew before the
+gale, and one by one doubled the friendly promontory.
+
+If there is one thing that provokes a voyageur more than another, it is
+being wind-bound on the shores of a large lake. Rain or sleet, heat or
+cold, icicles forming on the oars, or a broiling sun glaring in a
+cloudless sky, the stings of sand-flies, or the sharp probes of a
+million musquitoes, he will bear with comparative indifference; but
+being detained by high wind for two, three, or four days
+together--lying inactively on shore, when everything else, it may be,
+is favourable: the sun bright, the sky blue, the air invigorating, and
+all but the wind propitious--is more than his philosophy can carry him
+through with equanimity. He grumbles at it; sometimes makes believe to
+laugh at it; very often, we are sorry to say, swears at it; does his
+best to sleep through it; but whatever he does, he does with a bad
+grace, because he's in a bad humour, and can't stand it.
+
+For the next three days this was the fate of our friends. Part of the
+time it rained, when the whole party slept as much as was possible, and
+then _endeavoured_ to sleep _more_ than was possible, under the shelter
+afforded by the spreading branches of the trees. Part of the time was
+fair, with occasional gleams of sunshine, when the men turned out to
+eat and smoke and gamble round the fires; and the two friends sauntered
+down to a sheltered place on the shore, sunned themselves in a warm
+nook among the rocks, while they gazed ruefully at the foaming billows,
+told endless stories of what they had done in time past, and equally
+endless _prospective_ adventures that they earnestly hoped should
+befall them in time to come.
+
+While they were thus engaged, Redfeather, the Indian who had cut the
+ropes so opportunely during the storm, walked down to the shore, and
+sitting down on a rock not far distant, fell apparently into a reverie.
+
+"I like that fellow," said Harry, pointing to the Indian.
+
+"So do I. He's a sharp, active man. Had it not been for him we should
+have had to swim for it."
+
+"Indeed, had it not been for him I should have had to sink for it,"
+said Harry, with a smile, "for I can't swim."
+
+"Ah, true, I forgot that. I wonder what the red-skin, as the guide
+calls him, is thinking about," added Charley in a musing tone.
+
+"Of home, perhaps, 'sweet home,'" said Harry, with a sigh. "Do you
+think much of home, Charley, now that you have left it?"
+
+Charley did not reply for a few seconds. He seemed to muse over the
+question.
+
+At last he said slowly--
+
+"Think of home? I think of little else when I am not talking with you,
+Harry. My dear mother is always in my thoughts, and my poor old father.
+Home? ay; and darling Kate, too, is at my elbow night and day, with the
+tears streaming from her eyes, and her ringlets scattered over my
+shoulder, as I saw her the day we parted, beckoning me back again, or
+reproaching me for having gone away--God bless her! Yes, I often, very
+often, think of home, Harry."
+
+Harry made no reply. His friend's words had directed his thoughts to a
+very different and far-distant scene--to another Kate, and another
+father and mother, who lived in a glen far away over the waters of the
+broad Atlantic. He thought of them as they used to be when he was one
+of the number, a unit in the beloved circle, whose absence would have
+caused a blank there. He thought of the kind voice that used to read
+the Word of God, and the tender kiss of his mother as they parted for
+the night. He thought of the dreary day when he left them all behind,
+and sailed away, in the midst of strangers, across the wide ocean to a
+strange land. He thought of them now--_without_ him--accustomed to his
+absence, and forgetful, perhaps, at times that he had once been there.
+As he thought of all this a tear rolled down his cheek, and when
+Charley looked up in his face, that tear-drop told plainly that he too
+thought sometimes of home.
+
+"Let us ask Redfeather to tell us something about the Indians," he said
+at length, rousing himself. "I have no doubt he has had many adventures
+in his life. Shall we, Charley?"
+
+"By all means--Ho, Redfeather; are you trying to stop the wind by
+looking it out of countenance?"
+
+The Indian rose and walked towards the spot where the boys lay.
+
+"What was Redfeather thinking about?" said Charley, adopting the
+somewhat pompous style of speech occasionally used by Indians. "Was he
+thinking of the white swan and his little ones in the prairie; or did
+he dream of giving his enemies a good licking the next time he meets
+them?"
+
+"Redfeather has no enemies," replied the Indian. "He was thinking of
+the great Manito, [Footnote: God.] who made the wild winds, and the
+great lakes, and the forest."
+
+"And pray, good Redfeather, what did your thoughts tell you?"
+
+"They told me that men are very weak, and very foolish, and wicked; and
+that Manito is very good and patient to let them live."
+
+"That is to say," cried Harry, who was surprised and a little nettled
+to hear what he called the heads of a sermon from a red-skin, "that
+_you_, being a man, are very weak, and very foolish, and wicked, and
+that Manito is very good and patient to let _you_ live?"
+
+"Good," said the Indian calmly; "that is what I mean."
+
+"Come, Redfeather," said Charley, laying his hand on the Indian's arm,
+"sit down beside us, and tell us some of your adventures. I know that
+you must have had plenty, and it's quite clear that we're not to get
+away from this place all day, so you've nothing better to do."
+
+The Indian readily assented, and began his story in English.
+
+Redfeather was one of the very few Indians who had acquired the power
+of speaking the English language. Having been, while a youth, brought
+much into contact with the fur-traders, and having been induced by them
+to enter their service for a time, he had picked up enough of English
+to make himself easily understood. Being engaged at a later period of
+life as a guide to one of the exploring parties sent out by the British
+Government to discover the famous North West Passage, he had learned to
+read and write, and had become so much accustomed to the habits and
+occupations of the "pale faces," that he spent more of his time, in one
+way or another, with them than in the society of his tribe, which dwelt
+in the thick woods bordering on one of the great prairies of the
+interior. He was about thirty years of age; had a tall, thin, but wiry
+and powerful frame; and was of a mild, retiring disposition. His face
+wore a habitually grave expression, verging towards melancholy;
+induced, probably, by the vicissitudes of a wild life (in which he had
+seen much of the rugged side of nature in men and things) acting upon a
+sensitive heart, and a naturally warm temperament. Redfeather, however,
+was by no means morose; and when seated along with his Canadian
+comrades round the camp fire, he listened with evidently genuine
+interest to their stories, and entered into the spirit of their jests.
+But he was always an auditor, and rarely took part in their
+conversations. He, was frequently consulted by the guide in matters of
+difficulty, and it was observed that the "red-skin's" opinion always
+carried much weight with it, although it was seldom given unless asked
+for. The men respected him much because he was a hard worker, obliging,
+and modest---three qualities that insure respect, whether found under a
+red skin or a white one.
+
+"I shall tell you," he began, in a soft, musing tone, as if he were
+wandering in memories of the past--"I shall tell you how it was that I
+came by the name of Redfeather."
+
+"Ah!" interrupted Charley, "I intended to ask you about that; you don't
+wear one."
+
+"I did once. My father was a great warrior in his tribe," continued the
+Indian; "and I was but a youth when I got the name.
+
+"My tribe was at war at the time with the Chipewyans, and one of our
+scouts having come in with the intelligence that a party of our enemies
+was in the neighbourhood, our warriors armed themselves to go in
+pursuit of them. I had been out once before with a war-party, but had
+not been successful, as the enemy's scouts gave notice of our approach
+in time to enable them to escape. At the time the information was
+brought to us, the young men of our village were amusing themselves
+with athletic games, and loud challenges were being given and accepted
+to wrestle, or race, or swim in the deep water of the river, which
+flowed calmly past the green bank on which our wigwams stood. On a bank
+near to us sat about a dozen of our women--some employed in ornamenting
+moccasins with coloured porcupine quills; others making rogans of bark
+for maple sugar, or nursing their young infants; while a few, chiefly
+the old women, grouped themselves together and kept up an incessant
+chattering, chiefly with reference to the doings of the young men.
+
+"Apart from these stood three or four of the principal men of our
+tribe, smoking their pipes, and although apparently engrossed in
+conversation, still evidently interested in what was going forward on
+the bank of the river.
+
+"Among the young men assembled there was one of about my own age, who
+had taken a violent dislike to me because the most beautiful girl in
+all the village preferred me before him. His name was Misconna. He was
+a hot-tempered, cruel youth; and although I endeavoured as much as
+possible to keep out of his way, he sought every opportunity of picking
+a quarrel with me. I had just been running a race along with several
+other youths, and although not the winner, I had kept ahead of Misconna
+all the distance. He now stood leaning against a tree, burning with
+rage and disappointment. I was sorry for this, because I bore him no
+ill-will, and if it had occurred to me at the time, I would have
+allowed him to pass me, since I was unable to gain the race at any rate.
+
+"'Dog!' he said at length, stepping forward and confronting me, 'will
+you wrestle?'
+
+"Just as he approached I had turned round to leave the place. Not
+wishing to have more to do with him, I pretended not to hear, and made
+a step or two towards the lodges. 'Dog,' he cried again, while his eyes
+flashed fiercely, as he grasped me by the arm, 'will you wrestle, or
+are you afraid? Has the brave boy's heart changed into that of a girl?'
+
+"'No, Misconna,' said I. 'You _know_ that I am not afraid; but I have
+no desire to quarrel with you.'
+
+"'You lie!' cried he, with a cold sneer,--'you are afraid; and see,' he
+added, pointing towards the women with a triumphant smile, 'the
+dark-eyed girl sees it and believes it too!'
+
+"I turned to look, and there I saw Wabisca gazing on me with a look of
+blank amazement. I could see, also, that several of the other women,
+and some of my companions, shared in her surprise.
+
+"With a burst of anger I turned round. 'No,' Misconna,' said I, 'I am
+_not_ afraid, as you shall find;' and springing upon him, I grasped him
+round the body. He was nearly, if not quite, as strong a youth as
+myself; but I was burning with indignation at the insolence of his
+conduct before so many of the women, which gave me more than usual
+energy. For several minutes we swayed to and fro, each endeavouring in
+vain to bend the other's back; but we were too well matched for this,
+and sought to accomplish our purpose by taking advantage of an
+unguarded movement. At last such a movement occurred. My adversary made
+a sudden and violent attempt to throw me to the left, hoping that an
+inequality in the ground would favour his effort. But he was mistaken.
+I had seen the danger and was prepared for it, so that the instant he
+attempted it I threw forward my right leg, and thrust him backwards
+with all my might. Misconna was quick in his motions. He saw my
+intention--too late, indeed, to prevent it altogether, but in time to
+throw back his left foot and stiffen his body till it felt like a block
+of stone. The effort was now entirely one of endurance. We stood each
+with his muscles strained to the utmost, without the slightest motion.
+At length I felt my adversary give way a little. Slight though the
+motion was, it instantly removed all doubt as to who should go down. My
+heart gave a bound of exaltation, and with the energy which such a
+feeling always inspires, I put forth all my strength, threw him heavily
+over on his back, and fell upon him.
+
+"A shout of applause from my comrades greeted me as I rose and left the
+ground; but at the same moment the attention of all was taken from
+myself and the baffled Misconna by the arrival of the scout, bringing
+us information that a party of Chipewyans were in the neighbourhood. In
+a moment all was bustle and preparation. An Indian war-party is soon
+got ready. Forty of our braves threw off the principal parts of their
+clothing; painted their faces with stripes of vermilion and charcoal;
+armed themselves with guns, bows, tomahawks and scalping knives, and in
+a few minutes left the camp in silence, and at a quick pace.
+
+"One or two of the youths who had been playing on the river's bank were
+permitted to accompany the party, and among these were Misconna and
+myself. As we passed a group of women, assembled to see us depart, I
+observed the girl who had caused so much jealousy between us. She cast
+down her eyes as we came up, and as we advanced close to the group she
+dropped a white feather, as if by accident. Stooping hastily down, I
+picked it up in passing, and stuck it in an ornamented band that bound
+my hair. As we hurried on I heard two or three old hags laugh, and say,
+with a sneer, 'His hand is as white as a feather: it has never seen
+blood.' The next moment we were hid in the forest, and pursued our
+rapid course in dead silence.
+
+"The country through which we passed was varied, extending in broken
+bits of open prairie, and partly covered with thick wood, yet not so
+thick as to offer any hindrance to our march. We walked in single file,
+each treading in his comrade's footsteps, while the band was headed by
+the scout who had brought the information. The principal chief of our
+tribe came next, and he was followed by the braves according to their
+age or influence. Misconna and I brought up the rear. The sun was just
+sinking as we left the belt of woodland in which our village stood,
+crossed over a short plain, descended a dark hollow, at the bottom of
+which the river flowed, and following its course for a considerable
+distance, turned off to the right and emerged upon a sweep of
+prairieland. Here the scout halted, and taking the chief and two or
+three braves aside, entered into earnest consultation with them.
+
+"What they said we could not hear; but as we stood leaning on our guns
+in the deep shade of the forest, we could observe by their animated
+gestures that they differed in opinion. We saw that the scout pointed
+several times to the moon, which was just rising above the treetops,
+and then to the distant horizon: but the chief shook his head, pointed
+to the woods, and seemed to be much in doubt, while the whole band
+watched his motions in deep silence but evident interest. At length
+they appeared to agree. The scout took his place at the head of the
+line, and we resumed our march, keeping close to the margin of the
+wood. It was perhaps three hours after this ere we again halted to hold
+another consultation. This time their deliberations were shorter. In a
+few seconds our chief himself took the lead, and turned into the woods,
+through which he guided us to a small fountain which bubbled up at the
+root of a birch tree, where there was a smooth green spot of level
+ground. Here we halted, and prepared to rest for an hour, at the end of
+which time the moon, which now shone bright and full in the clear sky,
+would be nearly down, and we could resume our march. We now sat down in
+a circle, and taking a hasty mouthful of dried meat, stretched
+ourselves on the ground with our arms beside us, while our chief kept
+watch, leaning against the birch tree. It seemed as if I had scarcely
+been asleep five minutes when I felt a light touch on my shoulder.
+Springing up, I found the whole party already astir, and in a few
+minutes more we were again hurrying onwards.
+
+"We travelled thus until a faint light in the east told us that the day
+was at hand, when the scout's steps became more cautious, and he paused
+to examine the ground frequently. At last we came to a place where the
+ground sank slightly, and at a distance of a hundred yards rose again,
+forming a low ridge which was crowned with small bushes. Here we came
+to a halt, and were told that our enemies were on the other side of
+that ridge; that they were about twenty in number, all Chipewyan
+warriors, with the exception of one paleface--a trapper, and his Indian
+wife. The scout had learned, while lying like a snake in the grass
+around their camp, that this man was merely travelling with them on his
+way to the Rocky Mountains, and that, as they were a war-party, he
+intended to leave them soon. On hearing this the warriors gave a grim
+smile, and our chief, directing the scout to fall behind, cautiously
+led the way to the top of the ridge. On reaching it we saw a valley of
+great extent, dotted with trees and shrubs, and watered by one of the
+many rivers that flow into the great Saskatchewan. It was nearly dark,
+however, and we could only get an indistinct view of the land. Far
+ahead of us, on the right bank of the stream, and close to its margin,
+we saw the faint red light of watch fires; which caused us some
+surprise, for watch-fires are never lighted by a war-party so near to
+an enemy's country. So we could only conjecture that they were quite
+ignorant of our being in that part of the country; which was, indeed,
+not unlikely, seeing that we had shifted our camp during the summer.
+
+"Our chief now made arrangements for the attack. We were directed to
+separate and approach individually as near to the camp as was possible
+without risk of discovery, and then, taking up an advantageous
+position, to await our chief's signal, which was to be the hooting of
+an owl. We immediately separated. My course lay along the banks of the
+stream, and as I strode rapidly along, listening to its low solemn
+murmur, which sounded clear and distinct in the stillness of a calm
+summer night, I could not help feeling as if it were reproaching me for
+the bloody work I was hastening to perform. Then the recollection of
+what the old woman said of me raised a desperate spirit in my heart.
+Remembering the white feather in my head, I grasped my gun and
+quickened my pace. As I neared the camp I went into the woods and
+climbed a low hillock to look out. I found that it still lay about five
+hundred yards distant, and that the greater part of the ground between
+it and the place where I stood was quite flat, and without cover of any
+kind. I therefore prepared to creep towards it, although the attempt
+was likely to be attended with great danger, for Chipewyans have quick
+ears and sharp eyes. Observing, however, that the river ran close past
+the camp, I determined to follow its course as before. In a few seconds
+more I came to a dark narrow gap where the river flowed between broken
+rocks, overhung by branches, and from which I could obtain a clear view
+of the camp within fifty yards of me. Examining the priming of my gun,
+I sat down on a rock to await the chief's signal.
+
+"It was evident from the careless manner in which the fires were
+placed, that no enemy was supposed to be near. From my concealment I
+could plainly distinguish ten or fifteen of the sleeping forms of our
+enemies, among which the trapper was conspicuous, from his superior
+bulk, and the reckless way in which his brawny arms were flung on the
+turf, while his right hand clutched his rifle. I could not but smile as
+I thought of the proud boldness of the pale-face--lying all exposed to
+view in the gray light of dawn while an Indian's rifle was so close at
+hand. One Indian kept watch, but he seemed more than half asleep. I had
+not sat more than a minute when my observations were interrupted by the
+cracking of a branch in the bushes near me. Starting up, I was about to
+bound into the underwood, when a figure sprang down the bank and
+rapidly approached me. My first impulse was to throw forward my gun,
+but a glance sufficed to show me that it was a woman.
+
+"'Wah!' I exclaimed, in surprise, as she hurried forward and laid her
+hand on my shoulder. She was dressed partly in the costume of the
+Indians, but wore a shawl on her shoulders and a handkerchief on her
+head that showed she had been in the settlements; and from the
+lightness of her skin and hair, I judged at once that she was the
+trapper's wife, of whom I had heard the scout speak.
+
+"'Has the light-hair got a medicine-bag, or does she speak with
+spirits, that she has found me so easily?'
+
+"The girl looked anxiously up in my face as if to read my thoughts, and
+then said, in a low voice,--
+
+"'No, I neither carry the medicine-bag nor hold palaver with spirits;
+but I do think the good Manito must have led me here. I wandered into
+the woods because I could not sleep, and I saw you pass. But tell me,'
+she added with still deeper anxiety, 'does the white-feather come
+alone? Does he approach _friends_ during the dark hours with a soft
+step like a fox?'
+
+"Feeling the necessity of detaining her until my comrades should have
+time to surround the camp, I said: 'The white-feather hunts far from
+his lands. He sees Indians whom he does not know, and must approach
+with a light step. Perhaps they are enemies.'
+
+"'Do Knisteneux hunt at night, prowling in the bed of a stream?' said
+the girl, still regarding me with a keen glance. 'Speak truth,
+stranger' (and she started suddenly back); 'in a moment I can alarm the
+camp with a cry, and if your tongue is forked--But I do not wish to
+bring enemies upon you, if they are indeed such. I am not one of them.
+My husband and I travel with them for a time. We do not desire to see
+blood. God knows,' she added in French, which seemed her native tongue,
+'I have seen enough of that already.'
+
+"As her earnest eyes looked into my face a sudden thought occurred to
+me. 'Go,' said I, hastily, 'tell your husband to leave the camp
+instantly and meet me here; and see that the Chipewyans do not observe
+your departure. Quick! his life and yours may depend on your speed.'
+
+"The girl instantly comprehended my meaning. In a moment she sprang up
+the bank; but as she did so the loud report of a gun was heard,
+followed by a yell, and the war-whoop of the Knisteneux rent the air as
+they rushed upon the devoted camp, sending arrows and bullets before
+them.
+
+"On the instant I sprang after the girl and grasped her by the arm.
+'Stay, white-cheek; it is too late now. You cannot save your husband,
+but I think he'll save himself. I saw him dive into the bushes like a
+cariboo. Hide yourself here; perhaps you may escape.'
+
+"The half-breed girl sank on a fallen tree with a deep groan, and
+clasped her hands convulsively before her eyes, while I bounded over
+the tree, intending to join my comrades in pursuing the enemy.
+
+"As I did so a shrill cry arose behind me, and looking back, I beheld
+the trapper's wife prostrate on the ground, and Misconna standing over
+her, his spear uplifted, and a fierce frown on his dark face.
+
+"'Hold!' I cried, rushing back and seizing his arm. 'Misconna did not
+come to kill _women_. She is not our enemy.'
+
+"'Does the young wrestler want _another_ wife?' he said, with a wild
+laugh, at the same time wrenching his arm from my gripe, and driving
+his spear through the fleshy part of the woman's breast and deep into
+the ground. A shriek rent the air as he drew it out again to repeat the
+thrust; but before he could do so, I struck him with the butt of my gun
+on the head. Staggering backwards, he fell heavily among the bushes. At
+this moment a second whoop rang out, and another of our band sprang
+from the thicket that surrounded us. Seeing no one but myself and the
+bleeding girl, he gave me a short glance of surprise, as if he wondered
+why I did not finish the work which he evidently supposed I had begun.
+
+"'Wah!' he exclaimed; and uttering another yell plunged his spear into
+the woman's breast, despite my efforts to prevent him--this time with
+more deadly effect, as the blood spouted from the wound, while she
+uttered a piercing scream, and twined her arms round my legs as I stood
+beside her, as if imploring for mercy. Poor girl! I saw that she was
+past my help. The wound was evidently mortal. Already the signs of
+death overspread her features, and I felt that a second blow would be
+one of mercy; so that when the Indian stooped and passed his long knife
+through her heart, I made but a feeble effort to prevent it. Just as
+the man rose, with the warm blood dripping from his keen blade, the
+sharp crack of a rifle was heard, and the Indian fell dead at my feet,
+shot through the forehead, while the trapper bounded into the open
+space, his massive frame quivering, and his sunburned face distorted
+with rage and horror. From the other side of the brake six of our band
+rushed forward and levelled their guns at him. For one moment the
+trapper paused to cast a glance at the mangled corpse of his wife, as
+if to make quite sure that she was dead; and then uttering a howl of
+despair, he hurled his axe with a giant's force at the Knisteneux, and
+disappeared over the precipitous bank of the stream.
+
+"So rapid was the action that the volley which immediately succeeded
+passed harmlessly over his head, while the Indians dashed forward in
+pursuit. At the same instant I myself was felled to the earth. The axe
+which the trapper had flung struck a tree in its flight, and as it
+glanced off the handle gave me a violent blow in passing. I fell
+stunned. As I did so my head alighted on the shoulder of the woman, and
+the last thing I felt, as my wandering senses forsook me, was her still
+warm blood flowing over my face and neck.
+
+"While this scene was going on, the yells and screams of the warriors
+in the camp became fainter and fainter as they pursued and fled through
+the woods. The whole band of Chipewyans was entirely routed, with the
+exception of four who escaped, and the trapper whose flight I have
+described; all the rest were slain, and their scalps hung at the belts
+of the victorious Knisteneux warriors, while only one of our party was
+killed.
+
+"Not more than a few minutes after receiving the blow that stunned me,
+I recovered, and rising as hastily as my scattered faculties would
+permit me, I staggered towards the camp, where I heard the shouts of
+our men as they collected the arms of their enemies. As I rose, the
+feather which Wabisca had dropped fell from my brow, and as I picked it
+up to replace it, I perceived that it was _red_, being entirely covered
+with the blood of the half-breed girl.
+
+"The place where Misconna had fallen was vacant as I passed, and I
+found him standing among his comrades round the camp fires, examining
+the guns and other articles which they had collected. He gave me a
+short glance of deep hatred as I passed, and turned his head hastily
+away. A few minutes sufficed to collect the spoils, and so rapidly had
+everything been done that the light of day was still faint as we
+silently returned on our track. We marched in the same order as before,
+Misconna and I bringing up the rear. As we passed near the place where
+the poor woman had been murdered, I felt a strong desire to return to
+the spot. I could not very well understand the feeling, but it lay so
+strong upon me that, when we reached the ridge where we first came in
+sight of the Chipewyan camp, I fell behind until my companions
+disappeared in the woods, and then ran swiftly back. Just as I was
+about to step beyond the circle of bushes that surrounded the spot, I
+saw that some one was there before me. It was a man, and as he advanced
+into the open space and the light fell on his face, I saw that it was
+the trapper. No doubt he had watched us off the ground, and then, when
+all was safe, returned to bury his wife. I crouched to watch him.
+Stepping slowly up to the body of his murdered wife, he stood beside it
+with his arms folded on his breast and quite motionless. His head hung
+down, for the heart of the white man was heavy, and I could see, as the
+light increased, that his brows were dark as the thunder-cloud, and the
+corners of his mouth twitched from a feeling that the Indian scorns to
+show. My heart is full of sorrow for him now" (Redfeather's voice sank
+as he spoke); "it was full of sorrow for him even _then_, when I was
+taught to think that pity for an enemy was unworthy of a brave. The
+trapper stood gazing very long. His wife was young; he could not leave
+her yet. At length a deep groan burst from his heart, as the waters of
+a great river, long held down, swell up in spring and burst the ice at
+last. Groan followed groan as the trapper still stood and pressed his
+arms on his broad breast, as if to crush the heart within. At last he
+slowly knelt beside her, bending more and more over the lifeless form,
+until he lay extended on the ground beside it, and twining his arms
+round the neck, he drew the cold cheek close to his, and pressed the
+blood-covered bosom tighter and tighter, while his form quivered with
+agony as he gave her a last, long embrace. Oh!" continued Redfeather,
+while his brow darkened, and his black eye flashed with an expression
+of fierceness that his young listeners had never seen before, "may the
+curse--" He paused. "God forgive them! How could they know better?
+
+"At length the trapper rose hastily. The expression of his brow was
+still the same, but his mouth was altered. The lips were pressed
+tightly like those of a brave when led to torture, and there was a
+fierce activity in his motions as he sprang down the bank and proceeded
+to dig a hole in the soft earth. For half an hour he laboured,
+shovelling away the earth with a large, flat stone; and carrying down
+the body, he buried it there, under the shadow of a willow. The trapper
+then shouldered his rifle and hurried away. On reaching the turn of the
+stream which shuts the little hollow out from view, he halted suddenly,
+gave one look into the prairie he was henceforth to tread alone, one
+short glance back, and then, raising both arms in the air, looked up
+into the sky, while he stretched himself to his full height. Even at
+that distance I could see the wild glare of his eye and the heaving of
+his breast. A moment after, and he was gone."
+
+"And did you never see him again?" inquired Harry Somerville, eagerly.
+
+"No, I never saw him more. Immediately afterwards I turned to rejoin my
+companions, whom I soon overtook, and entered our village along with
+them. I was regarded as a poor warrior, because I brought home no
+scalps, and ever afterwards I went by the name of _Redfeather_ in our
+tribe."
+
+"But are you still thought a poor warrior?" asked Charley, in some
+concern, as if he were jealous of the reputation of his new friend.
+
+The Indian smiled. "No," he said: "our village was twice attacked
+afterwards, and in defending it, Redfeather took many scalps. He was
+made a chief!"
+
+"Ah!" cried Charley, "I'm glad of that. And Wabisca, what came of her?
+Did Misconna get her?"
+
+"She is my wife," replied Redfeather.
+
+"Your wife! Why, I thought I heard the voyageurs call your wife the
+white swan."
+
+"Wabisca is _white_ in the language of the Knisteneux. She is beautiful
+in form, and my comrades call her the white swan."
+
+Redfeather said this with an air of gratified pride. He did not,
+perhaps, love his wife with more fervour than he would have done had he
+remained with his tribe; but Redfeather had associated a great deal
+with the traders, and he had imbibed much of that spirit which prompts
+"_white_ men" to treat their females with deference and respect--a
+feeling which is very foreign to an Indian's bosom. To do so was,
+besides, more congenial to his naturally unselfish and affectionate
+disposition, so that any flattering allusion to his partner was always
+received by him with immense gratification.
+
+"I'll pay you a visit some day, Redfeather, if I'm sent to any place
+within fifty miles of your tribe," said Charley with the air of one who
+had fully made up his mind.
+
+"And Misconna?" asked Harry.
+
+"Misconna is with his tribe," replied the Indian, and a frown
+overspread his features as he spoke; "but Redfeather has been following
+in the track of his white friends; he has not seen his nation for many
+moons."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+The canoe--Ascending the rapids--The portage--Deer shooting and life in
+the woods.
+
+
+We must now beg the patient reader to take a leap with us, not only
+through space, but also through time. We must pass over the events of
+the remainder of the journey along the shore of Lake Winnipeg.
+Unwilling though we are to omit anything in the history of our friends
+that would be likely to prove interesting, we think it wise not to run
+the risk of being tedious, or of dwelling too minutely on the details
+of scenes which recall powerfully the feelings and memories of bygone
+days to the writer, but may, nevertheless, appear somewhat flat to the
+reader.
+
+We shall not, therefore, enlarge at present on the arrival of the boats
+at Norway House, which lies at the north end of the lake, nor on what
+was said and done by our friends and by several other young comrades
+whom they found there. We shall not speak of the horror of Harry
+Somerville, and the extreme disappointment of his friend Charley
+Kennedy, when the former was told that instead of hunting grizzly bears
+up the Saskatchewan he was condemned to the desk again at York Fort,
+the depot on Hudson's Bay,--a low, swampy place near the sea-shore,
+where the goods for the interior are annually landed and the furs
+shipped for England, where the greater part of the summer and much of
+the winter is occupied by the clerks who may be doomed to vegetate
+there in making up the accounts of what is termed the Northern
+Department, and where the brigades converge from all the wide scattered
+and far-distant outposts, and the _ship_ from England--that great event
+of the year--arrives, keeping the place in a state of constant bustle
+and effervescence until autumn, when ship and brigades finally depart,
+leaving the residents (about thirty in number) shut up for eight long,
+dreary months of winter, with a tenantless wilderness around and behind
+them, and the wide, cold frozen sea before. This was among the first of
+Harry's disappointments. He suffered many afterwards, poor fellow!
+
+Neither shall we accompany Charley up the south branch of the
+Saskatchewan, where his utmost expectations in the way of hunting were
+more than realised, and where he became so accustomed to shooting ducks
+and geese, and bears and buffaloes, that he could not forbear smiling
+when he chanced to meet with a red-legged gull, and remembered how he
+and his friend Harry had comported themselves when they first met with
+these birds on the shores of Lake Winnipeg! We shall pass over all
+this, and the summer, autumn, and winter too, and leap at once into the
+spring of the following year.
+
+On a very bright, cheery morning of that spring a canoe might have been
+seen slowly ascending one of the numerous streams which meander through
+a richly-wooded fertile country, and mingle their waters with those of
+the Athabasca River, terminating their united career in a large lake of
+the same name. The canoe was small--one of the kind used by the natives
+while engaged in hunting, and capable of holding only two persons
+conveniently, with their baggage. To any one unacquainted with the
+nature and capabilities of a northern Indian canoe, the fragile, bright
+orange-coloured machine that was battling with the strong current of a
+rapid must indeed have appeared an unsafe and insignificant craft; but
+a more careful study of its performances in the rapid, and of the
+immense quantity of miscellaneous goods and chattels which were, at a
+later period of the day, disgorged from its interior, would have
+convinced the beholder that it was in truth the most convenient and
+serviceable craft that could be devised for the exigencies of such a
+country.
+
+True, it could only hold two men (it _might_ have taken three at a
+pinch), because men, and women too, are awkward, unyielding baggage,
+very difficult to stow compactly; but it is otherwise with tractable
+goods. The canoe is exceedingly thin, so that no space is taken up or
+rendered useless by its own structure, and there is no end to the
+amount of blankets, and furs, and coats, and paddles, and tent-covers,
+and dogs, and babies, that can be stowed away in its capacious
+interior. The canoe of which we are now writing contained two persons,
+whose active figures were thrown alternately into every graceful
+attitude of manly vigour, as with poles in hand they struggled to force
+their light craft against the boiling stream. One was a man apparently
+of about forty-five years of age. He was a square-shouldered, muscular
+man, and from the ruggedness of his general appearance, the soiled
+hunting-shirt that was strapped round his waist with a party-coloured
+worsted belt, the leather leggings, a good deal the worse for wear,
+together with the quiet, self-possessed glance of his gray eye, the
+compressed lip and the sunburned brow, it was evident that he was a
+hunter, and one who had seen rough work in his day. The expression of
+his face was pleasing, despite a look of habitual severity which sat
+upon it, and a deep scar which traversed his brow from the right temple
+to the top of his nose. It was difficult to tell to what country he
+belonged. His father was a Canadian, his mother a Scotchwoman. He was
+born in Canada, brought up in one of the Yankee settlements on the
+Missouri, and had, from a mere youth, spent his life as a hunter in the
+wilderness. He could speak English, French, or Indian with equal ease
+and fluency, but it would have been hard for anyone to say which of the
+three was his native tongue. The younger man, who occupied the stern of
+the canoe, acting the part of steersman, was quite a youth, apparently
+about seventeen, but tall and stout beyond his years, and deeply
+sunburned. Indeed, were it not for this fact, the unusual quantity of
+hair that hung in massive curls down his neck, and the voyageur
+costume, we should have recognised our young friend Charley Kennedy
+again more easily. Had any doubts remained in our mind, the shout of
+his merry voice would have scattered them at once.
+
+"Hold hard, Jacques," he cried, as the canoe trembled in the current,
+"one moment, till I get my pole fixed behind this rock. Now, then,
+shove ahead. Ah!" he exclaimed with chagrin, as the pole slipped on the
+treacherous bottom and the canoe whirled round.
+
+"Mind the rock," cried the bowsman, giving an energetic thrust with his
+pole, that sent the light bark into an eddy formed by a large rock
+which rose above the turbulent waters. Here it rested while Jacques and
+Charley raised themselves on their knees (travellers in small canoes
+always sit in a kneeling position) to survey the rapid.
+
+"It's too much for us, I fear, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, shading his
+brow with his horny hand. "I've paddled up it many a time alone, but
+never saw the water so big as now."
+
+"Humph! we shall have to make a portage then, I presume. Could we not
+give it one trial more? I think we might make a dash for the tail of
+that eddy, and then the stream above seems not quite so strong. Do you
+think so, Jacques?"
+
+Jacques was not the man to check a daring young spirit. His motto
+through life had ever been, "Never venture, never win"--a sentiment
+which his intercourse among fur-traders had taught him to embody in the
+pithy expression, "Never say die;" so that, although quite satisfied
+that the thing was impossible, he merely replied to his companion's
+speech by an assenting "Ho," and pushed out again into the stream. An
+energetic effort enabled them to gain the tail of the eddy spoken of,
+when Charley's pole snapped across, and, falling heavily on the
+gunwale, he would have upset the little craft had not Jacques, whose
+wits were habitually on the _qui vive_, thrown his own weight at the
+same moment on the opposite side, and counterbalanced Charley's slip.
+The action saved them a ducking; but the canoe, being left to its own
+devices for an instant, whirled off again into the stream, and before
+Charley could seize a paddle to prevent it, they were floating in the
+still water at the foot of the rapids.
+
+"Now isn't that a bore?" said Charley, with a comical look of
+disappointment at his companion.
+
+Jacques laughed.
+
+"It was well to _try_, master. I mind a young clerk who came into these
+parts the same year as I did, and _he_ seldom _tried_ anything. He
+couldn't abide canoes. He didn't want for courage neither; but he had a
+nat'ral dislike to them, I suppose, that he couldn't help, and never
+entered one except when he was obliged to do so. Well, one day he
+wounded a grizzly bear on the banks o' the Saskatchewan (mind the tail
+o' that rapid, Mr. Charles; we'll land t'other side o' yon rock). Well,
+the bear made after him, and he cut stick right away for the river,
+where there was a canoe hauled up on the bank. He didn't take time to
+put his rifle aboard, but dropped it on the gravel, crammed the canoe
+into the water and jumped in, almost driving his feet through its
+bottom as he did so, and then plumped down so suddenly, to prevent its
+capsizing, that he split it right across. By this time the bear was at
+his heels, and took the water like a duck. The poor clerk, in his
+hurry, swayed from side to side tryin' to prevent the canoe goin' over.
+But when he went to one side, he was so unused to it that he went too
+far, and had to jerk over to the other pretty sharp; and so he got
+worse and worse, until he heard the bear give a great snort beside him.
+Then he grabbed the paddle in desperation, but at the first dash he
+missed his stroke, and over he went. The current was pretty strong at
+the place, which was lucky for him, for it kept him down a bit, so that
+the bear didn't observe him for a little; and while it was pokin' away
+at the canoe, he was carried down stream like a log and stranded on a
+shallow. Jumping up he made tracks for the wood, and the bear (which
+had found out its mistake), after him; so he was obliged at last to
+take to a tree, where the beast watched him for a day and a night, till
+his friends, thinking that something must be wrong, sent out to look
+for him. (Steady, now, Mr. Charles; a little more to the right. That's
+it.) Now, if that young man had only ventured boldly into small canoes
+when he got the chance, he might have laughed at the grizzly and killed
+him too."
+
+As Jacques finished, the canoe glided into a quiet bay formed by an
+eddy of the rapid, where the still water was overhung with dense
+foliage.
+
+"Is the portage a long one?" asked Charley, as he stepped out on the
+bank, and helped to unload the canoe.
+
+"About half-a-mile," replied his companion. "We might make it shorter
+by poling up the last rapid; but it's stiff work, Mr. Charles, and
+we'll do the thing quicker and easier at one lift."
+
+The two travellers now proceeded to make a portage. They prepared to
+carry their canoe and baggage overland, so as to avoid a succession of
+rapids and waterfalls which intercepted their further progress.
+
+"Now, Jacques, up with it," said Charley, after the loading had been
+taken out and placed on the grassy bank.
+
+The hunter stooped, and seizing the canoe by its centre bar, lifted it
+out of the water, placed it on his shoulders, and walked off with it
+into the woods. This was not accomplished by the man's superior
+strength. Charley could have done it quite as well; and, indeed, the
+strong hunter could have carried a canoe twice the size with perfect
+ease. Immediately afterwards Charley followed with as much of the
+lading as he could carry, leaving enough on the bank to form another
+load.
+
+The banks of the river were steep--in some places so much so that
+Jacques found it a matter of no small difficulty to climb over the
+broken rocks with the unwieldy canoe on his back; the more so that the
+branches interlaced overhead so thickly as to present a strong barrier,
+through which the canoe had to be forced, at the risk of damaging its
+delicate bark covering. On reaching the comparatively level land above,
+however, there was more open space, and the hunter threaded his way
+among the tree stems more rapidly, making a detour occasionally to
+avoid a swamp or piece of broken ground; sometimes descending a deep
+gorge formed by a small tributary of the stream they were ascending,
+and which to an unpractised eye would have appeared almost impassable,
+even without the encumbrance of a canoe. But the said canoe never bore
+Jacques more gallantly or safely over the surges of lake or stream than
+did he bear _it_ through the intricate mazes of the forest; now diving
+down and disappearing altogether in the umbrageous foliage of a dell;
+anon reappearing on the other side and scrambling up the bank on
+all-fours, he and the canoe together looking like some frightful yellow
+reptile of antediluvian proportions; and then speeding rapidly forward
+over a level plain until he reached a sheet of still water above the
+rapids. Here he deposited his burden on the grass, and halting only for
+a few seconds to carry a few drops of the clear water to his lips,
+retraced his steps to bring over the remainder of the baggage. Soon
+afterwards Charley made his appearance on the spot where the canoe was
+left, and throwing down his load, seated himself on it and surveyed the
+prospect. Before him lay a reach of the stream which spread out so
+widely as to resemble a small lake, in whose clear, still bosom were
+reflected the overhanging foliage of graceful willows, and here and
+there the bright stem of a silver birch, whose light-green leaves
+contrasted well with scattered groups and solitary specimens of the
+spruce fir. Reeds and sedges grew in the water along the banks,
+rendering the junction of the land and the stream uncertain and
+confused. All this and a great deal more Charley noted at a glance; for
+the hundreds of beautiful and interesting objects in nature which take
+so long to describe even partially, and are feebly set forth after all
+even by the most graphic language, flash upon the eye in all their
+force and beauty, and are drunk in at once in a single glance.
+
+But Charley noted several objects floating on the water which we have
+not yet mentioned. These were five gray geese feeding among the rocks
+at a considerable distance off, and all unconscious of the presence of
+a human foe in their remote domains. The travellers had trusted very
+much to their guns and nets for food, having only a small quantity of
+pemmican in reserve, lest these should fail--an event which was not at
+all likely, as the country through which they passed was teeming with
+wild-fowl of all kinds, besides deer. These latter, however, were only
+shot when they came inadvertently within rifle range, as our voyageurs
+had a definite object in view, and could not afford to devote much of
+their time to the chase.
+
+During the day previous to that on which we have introduced them to our
+readers, Charley and his companion had been so much occupied in
+navigating their frail bark among a succession of rapids, that they had
+not attended to the replenishing of their larder, so that the geese
+which now showed themselves were looked upon by Charley with a longing
+eye. Unfortunately they were feeding on the opposite side of the river,
+and out of shot. But Charley was a hunter now, and knew how to overcome
+slight difficulties. He first cut down a pretty large and leafy branch
+of a tree, and placed it in the bow of the canoe in such a way as to
+hang down before it and form a perfect screen, through the interstices
+of which he could see the geese, while they could only see, what was to
+them no novelty, the branch of a tree floating down the stream. Having
+gently launched the canoe, Charley was soon close to the unsuspecting
+birds, from among which he selected one that appeared to be unusually
+complacent and self-satisfied, concluding at once, with an amount of
+wisdom that bespoke him a true philosopher, that such _must_ as a
+matter of course be the fattest.
+
+"Bang" went the gun, and immediately the sleek goose turned round upon
+its back and stretched out its feet towards the sky, waving them once
+or twice as if bidding adieu to its friends. The others thereupon took
+to flight, with such a deal of sputter and noise as made it quite
+apparent that their astonishment was unfeigned. Bang went the gun
+again, and down fell a second goose.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Jacques, throwing down the remainder of the cargo as
+Charley landed with his booty, "that's well. I was just thinking as I
+comed across that we should have to take to pemmican to-night."
+
+"Well, Jacques, and if we had, I'm sure an old hunter like you, who
+have roughed it so often, need not complain," said Charley, smiling.
+
+"As to that, master," replied Jacques, "I've roughed it often enough;
+and when it does come to a clear fix, I can eat my shoes without
+grumblin' as well as any man. But, you see, fresh meat is better than
+dried meat when it's to be had; and so I'm glad to see that you've been
+lucky, Mr. Charles."
+
+"To say truth, so am I; and these fellows are delightfully plump. But
+you spoke of eating your shoes, Jacques. When were you reduced to that
+direful extremity?"
+
+Jacques finished reloading the canoe while they conversed, and the two
+were seated in their places, and quietly but swiftly ascending the
+stream again, ere the hunter replied.
+
+"You've heerd of Sir John Franklin, I s'pose?" he inquired, after a
+minute's consideration.
+
+"Yes, often."
+
+"An' p'r'aps you've heerd tell of his first trip of discovery along the
+shores of the Polar Sea?"
+
+"Do you refer to the time when he was nearly starved to death, and when
+poor Hood was shot by the Indian?"
+
+"The same," said Jacques.
+
+"Oh, yes; I know all about that. Were you with them?" inquired Charley,
+in great surprise.
+
+"Why, no--not exactly _on_ the trip; but I was sent in winter with
+provisions to them--and much need they had of them, poor fellows! I
+found them tearing away at some old parchment skins that had lain under
+the snow all winter, and that an Injin's dog would ha' turned up his
+nose at--and they don't turn up their snouts at many things, I can tell
+ye. Well, after we had left all our provisions with them, we started
+for the fort again, just keepin' as much as would drive off starvation;
+for, you see, we thought that surely we would git something on the
+road. But neither hoof nor feather did we see all the way (I was
+travellin' with an Injin), and our grub was soon done, though we saved
+it up, and only took a mouthful or two the last three days. At last it
+was done, and we was pretty well used up, and the fort two days ahead
+of us. So says I to my comrade--who had been looking at me for some
+time as if he thought that a cut off my shoulder wouldn't be a bad
+thing--says I, 'Nipitabo, I'm afeard the shoes must go for it now;' so
+with that I pulls out a pair o' deerskin moccasins. 'They looks
+tender,' said I, trying to be cheerful. 'Wah!' said the Injin; and then
+I held them over the fire till they was done black, and Nipitabo ate
+one, and I ate the tother, with a lump o' snow to wash it down!"
+
+"It must have been rather dry eating," said Charley, laughing.
+
+"Rayther; but it was better than the Injin's leather breeches, which we
+took in hand next day. They was _uncommon_ tough, and very dirty,
+havin' been worn about a year and a half. Hows'ever, they kept us up;
+an' as we only ate the legs, he had the benefit o' the stump to arrive
+with at the fort next day."
+
+"What's yon ahead?" exclaimed Charley, pausing as he spoke, and shading
+his eyes with his hand.
+
+"It's uncommon like trees," said Jacques. "It's likely a tree that's
+been tumbled across the river; and from its appearance, I think we'll
+have to cut through it."
+
+"Cut through it!" exclaimed Charley; "if my sight is worth a gun-flint,
+we'll have to cut through a dozen trees."
+
+Charley was right. The river ahead of them became rapidly narrower; and
+either from the looseness of the surrounding soil, or the passing of a
+whirlwind, dozens of trees had been upset, and lay right across the
+narrow stream in terrible confusion. What made the thing worse was that
+the banks on either side, which were low and flat, were covered with
+such a dense thicket down to the water's edge, that the idea of making
+a portage to overcome the barrier seemed altogether hopeless.
+
+"Here's a pretty business, to be sure!" cried Charley, in great disgust.
+
+"Never say die, Mister Charles," replied Jacques, taking up the axe
+from the bottom of the canoe; "it's quite clear that cuttin' through
+the trees is easier than cuttin' through the bushes, so here goes."
+
+For fully three hours the travellers were engaged in cutting their way
+up the encumbered stream, during which time they did not advance three
+miles; and it was evening ere they broke down the last barrier and
+paddled out into a sheet of clear water again.
+
+"That'll prepare us for the geese, Jacques," said Charley, as he wiped
+the perspiration from his brow; "there's nothing like warm work for
+whetting the appetite, and making one sleep soundly."
+
+"That's true," replied the hunter, resuming his paddle. "I often wonder
+how them white-faced fellows in the settlements manage to keep body and
+soul together--a-sittin', as they do, all day in the house, and a-lyin'
+all night in a feather bed. For my part, rather than live as they do, I
+would cut my way up streams like them we've just passed every day and
+all day, and sleep on top of a flat rock o' nights, under the blue sky,
+all my life through."
+
+With this decided expression of his sentiments, the stout hunter
+steered the canoe up alongside of a huge flat rock, as if he were bent
+on giving a practical illustration of the latter part of his speech
+then and there.
+
+"We'd better camp now, Mister Charles; there's a portage o' two miles
+here, and it'll take us till sundown to get the canoe and things over."
+
+"Be it so," said Charley, landing. "Is there a good place at the other
+end to camp on?"
+
+"First-rate. It's smooth as a blanket on the turf, and a clear spring
+bubbling at the root of a wide tree that would keep off the rain if it
+was to come down like water-spouts."
+
+The spot on which the travellers encamped that evening overlooked one
+of those scenes in which vast extent, and rich, soft variety of natural
+objects, were united with much that was grand and savage. It filled the
+mind with the calm satisfaction that is experienced when one gazes on
+the wide lawns studded with noble trees; the spreading fields of waving
+grain that mingle with stream and copse, rock and dell, vineyard and
+garden, of the cultivated lands of civilized men; while it produced
+that exulting throb of freedom which stirs man's heart to its centre,
+when he casts a first glance over miles and miles of broad lands that
+are yet unowned, unclaimed; that yet lie in the unmutilated beauty with
+which the beneficent Creator originally clothed them--far away from the
+well-known scenes of man's checkered history; entirely devoid of those
+ancient monuments of man's power and skill that carry the mind back
+with feelings of awe to bygone ages, yet stamped with evidences of an
+antiquity more ancient still in the wild primeval forests, and the
+noble trees that have sprouted, and spread, and towered in their
+strength for centuries--trees that have fallen at their posts, while
+others took their place, and rose and fell as they did, like long-lived
+sentinels whose duty it was to keep perpetual guard over the vast
+solitudes of the great American Wilderness.
+
+The fire was lighted, and the canoe turned bottom up in front of it,
+under the branches of a spreading tree which stood on an eminence,
+whence was obtained a bird's-eye view of the noble scene. It was a flat
+valley, on either side of which rose two ranges of hills, which were
+clothed to the top with trees of various kinds, the plain of the valley
+itself being dotted with clumps of wood, among which the fresh green
+foliage of the plane tree and the silver-stemmed birch were
+conspicuous, giving an airy lightness to the scene and enhancing the
+picturesque effect of the dark pines. A small stream could be traced
+winding out and in among clumps of willows, reflecting their drooping
+boughs and the more sombre branches of the spruce fir and the straight
+larch, with which in many places its banks were shaded. Here and there
+were stretches of clearer ground where the green herbage of spring gave
+to it a lawn-like appearance, and the whole magnificent scene was
+bounded by blue hills that became fainter as they receded from the eye
+and mingled at last with the horizon. The sun had just set, and a rich
+glow of red bathed the whole scene, which was further enlivened by
+flocks of wild-fowls and herds of reindeer.
+
+These last soon drew Charley's attention from the contemplation of the
+scenery, and observing a deer feeding in an open space, towards which
+he could approach without coming between it and the wind, he ran for
+his gun and hurried into the woods while Jacques busied himself in
+arranging their blankets under the upturned canoe, and in preparing
+supper.
+
+Charley discovered soon after starting, what all hunters discover
+sooner or later--namely, that appearances are deceitful; for he no
+sooner reached the foot of the hill than he found, between him and the
+lawn-like country, an almost impenetrable thicket of underwood. Our
+young hero, however, was of that disposition which sticks at nothing,
+and instead of taking time to search for an opening, he took a race and
+sprang into the middle of it, in hopes of forcing his way through. His
+hopes were not disappointed. He got through--quite through--and
+alighted up to the armpits in a swamp, to the infinite consternation of
+a flock of teal ducks that were slumbering peacefully there with their
+heads under their wings, and had evidently gone to bed for the night.
+Fortunately he held his gun above the water and kept his balance, so
+that he was able to proceed with a dry charge, though with an
+uncommonly wet skin. Half-an-hour brought Charley within range, and
+watching patiently until the animal presented his side towards the
+place of his concealment, he fired and shot it through the heart.
+
+"Well done, Mister Charles," exclaimed Jacques, as the former staggered
+into camp with the reindeer on his shoulders. "A fat doe, too."
+
+"Ay," said Charley; "but she has cost me a wet skin. So pray, Jacques,
+rouse up the fire, and let's have supper as soon as you can."
+
+Jacques speedily skinned the deer, cut a couple of steaks from its
+flank, and placing them on wooden spikes, stuck them up to roast, while
+his young friend put on a dry shirt, and hung his coat before the
+blaze. The goose which had been shot earlier in the day was also
+plucked, split open, impaled in the same manner as the steaks, and set
+up to roast. By this time the shadows of night had deepened, and ere
+long all was shrouded in gloom, except the circle of ruddy light around
+the camp fire, in the centre of which Jacques and Charley sat, with the
+canoe at their backs, knives in their hands, and the two spits, on the
+top of which smoked their ample supper, planted in the ground before
+them.
+
+One by one the stars went out, until none were visible except the
+bright, beautiful morning star, as it rose higher and higher in the
+eastern sky. One by one the owls and the wolves, ill-omened birds and
+beasts of night, retired to rest in the dark recesses of the forest.
+Little by little, the gray dawn overspread the sky, and paled the
+lustre of the morning star, until it faded away altogether; and then
+Jacques awoke with a start, and throwing out his arm, brought it
+accidentally into violent contact with Charley's nose.
+
+This caused Charley to awake, not only with a start, but also with a
+roar, which brought them both suddenly into a sitting posture, in which
+they continued for some time in a state between sleeping and waking,
+their faces meanwhile expressive of mingled imbecility and extreme
+surprise. Bursting into a simultaneous laugh, which degenerated into a
+loud yawn, they sprang up, launched and reloaded their canoe, and
+resumed their journey.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+The Indian camp--The new outpost--Charley sent on a mission to the
+Indians.
+
+
+In the councils of the fur-traders, on the spring previous to that
+about which we are now writing, it had been decided to extend their
+operations a little in the lands that lie in central America, to the
+north of the Saskatchewan River; and in furtherance of that object, it
+had been intimated to the chief trader in charge of the district that
+an expedition should be set on foot, having for its object the
+examination of a territory into which they had not yet penetrated, and
+the establishment of an outpost therein. It was, furthermore, ordered
+that operations should be commenced at once, and that the choice of men
+to carry out the end in view was graciously left to the chief trader's
+well-known sagacity.
+
+Upon receiving this communication, the chief trader selected a
+gentleman named Mr. Whyte to lead the party; gave him a clerk and five
+men, provided him with a boat and a large supply of goods necessary for
+trade, implements requisite for building an establishment, and sent him
+off with a hearty shake of the hand and a recommendation to "go and
+prosper."
+
+Charles Kennedy spent part of the previous year at Rocky Mountain
+House, where he had shown so much energy in conducting the trade,
+especially what he called the "rough and tumble" part of it, that he
+was selected as the clerk to accompany Mr. Whyte to his new ground.
+After proceeding up many rivers, whose waters had seldom borne the
+craft of white men, and across innumerable lakes, the party reached a
+spot that presented so inviting an aspect that it was resolved to pitch
+their tent there for a time, and, if things in the way of trade and
+provision looked favourable, establish themselves altogether. The place
+was situated on the margin of a large lake, whose shores were covered
+with the most luxuriant verdure, and whose waters teemed with the
+finest fish, while the air was alive with wild-fowl, and the woods
+swarming with game. Here Mr. Whyte rested awhile; and having found
+everything to his satisfaction, he took his axe, selected a green lawn
+that commanded an extensive view of the lake, and going up to a tall
+larch, struck the steel into it, and thus put the first touch to an
+establishment which afterwards went by the name of Stoney Creek.
+
+A solitary Indian, whom they had met with on the way to their new home,
+had informed them that a large band of Knisteneux had lately migrated
+to a river about four days' journey beyond the lake at which they
+halted; and when the new fort was just beginning to spring up, our
+friend Charley and the interpreter, Jacques Caradoc, were ordered by
+Mr. Whyte to make a canoe, and then, embarking in it, to proceed to the
+Indian camp, to inform the natives of their rare good luck in having a
+band of white men come to settle near their lands to trade with them.
+The interpreter and Charley soon found birch bark, pine roots for
+sewing it, and gum for plastering the seams, wherewith they constructed
+the light machine whose progress we have partly traced in the last
+chapter, and which, on the following day at sunset, carried them to
+their journey's end.
+
+From some remarks made by the Indian who gave them information of the
+camp, Charley gathered that it was the tribe to which Redfeather
+belonged, and furthermore that Redfeather himself was there at the
+time; so that it was with feelings of no little interest that he saw
+the tops of the yellow tents embedded among the green trees, and soon
+afterwards beheld them and their picturesque owners reflected in the
+clear river, on whose banks the natives crowded to witness the arrival
+of the white men.
+
+Upon the greensward, and under the umbrageous shade of the forest
+trees, the tents were pitched to the number of perhaps eighteen or
+twenty, and the whole population, of whom very few were absent on the
+present occasion, might number a hundred--men, women, and children.
+They were dressed in habiliments formed chiefly of materials procured
+by themselves in the chase, but ornamented with cloth, beads, and silk
+thread, which showed that they had had intercourse with the fur-traders
+before now. The men wore leggings of deerskin, which reached more than
+half-way up the thigh, and were fastened to a leathern girdle strapped
+round the waist. A loose tunic or hunting-shirt of the same material
+covered the figure from the shoulders almost to the knees, and was
+confined round the middle by a belt--in some cases of worsted, in
+others of leather gaily ornamented with quills. Caps of various
+indescribable shapes, and made chiefly of skin, with the animal's tail
+left on by way of ornament, covered their heads, and moccasins for the
+feet completed their costume. These last may be simply described as
+leather mittens for the feet, without fingers, or rather toes. They
+were gaudily ornamented, as was almost every portion of costume, with
+porcupines' quills dyed with brilliant colours, and worked into
+fanciful, and in many cases extremely elegant, figures and designs; for
+North American Indians oftentimes display an amount of taste in the
+harmonious arrangement of colour that would astonish those who fancy
+that _education_ is absolutely necessary to the just appreciation of
+the beautiful.
+
+The women attired themselves in leggings and coats differing little
+from those of the men, except that the latter were longer, the sleeves
+detached from the body, and fastened on separately; while on their
+heads they wore caps, which hung down and covered their backs to the
+waist. These caps were of the simplest construction, being pieces of
+cloth cut into an oblong shape, and sewed together at one end. They
+were, however, richly ornamented with silk-work and beads.
+
+On landing, Charley and Jacques walked up to a tall, good-looking
+Indian, whom they judged from his demeanour, and the somewhat
+deferential regard paid to him by the others, to be one of the chief
+men of the little community.
+
+"Ho! what cheer?" said Jacques, taking him by the hand after the manner
+of Europeans, and accosting him with the phrase used by the fur-traders
+to the natives. The Indian returned the compliment in kind, and led the
+visitors to his tent, where he spread a buffalo robe for them on the
+ground, and begged them to be seated. A repast of dried meat and
+reindeer-tongues was then served, to which our friends did ample
+justice; while the women and children satisfied their curiosity by
+peering at them through chinks and holes in the tent. When they had
+finished, several of the principal men assembled, and the chief who had
+entertained them made a speech, to the effect that he was much
+gratified by the honour done to his people by the visit of his white
+brothers; that he hoped they would continue long at the camp to enjoy
+their hospitality; and that he would be glad to know what had brought
+them so far into the country of the red men.
+
+During the course of this speech the chief made eloquent allusion to
+all the good qualities supposed to belong to white men in general, and
+(he had no doubt) to the two white men before him in particular. He
+also boasted considerably of the prowess and bravery of himself and his
+tribe, launched a few sarcastic hits at his enemies, and wound up with
+a poetical hope that his guests might live for ever in these beautiful
+plains of bliss, where the sun never sets, and nothing goes wrong
+anywhere, and everything goes right at all times, and where,
+especially, the deer are outrageously fat, and always come out on
+purpose to be shot! During the course of these remarks his comrades
+signified their hearty concurrence to his sentiments, by giving vent to
+sundry low-toned "hums!" and "has!" and "wahs!" and "hos!" according to
+circumstances. After it was over Jacques rose, and addressing them in
+their own language, said,--
+
+"My Indian brethren are great. They are brave, and their fame has
+travelled far. Their deeds are known even so far as where the Great
+Salt Lake beats on the shore where the sun rises. They are not women,
+and when their enemies hear the sound of their name they grow pale;
+their hearts become like those of the reindeer. My brethren are famous,
+too, in the use of the snow-shoe, the snare, and the gun. The
+fur-traders know that they must build large stores when they come into
+their lands. They bring up much goods, because the young men are
+active, and require much. The silver fox and the marten are no longer
+safe when their traps and snares are set. Yes, they are good hunters:
+and we have now come to live among you" (Jacques changed his style as
+he came nearer to the point), "to trade with you, and to save you the
+trouble of making long journeys with your skins. A few days' distance
+from your wigwams we have pitched our tents. Our young men are even now
+felling the trees to build a house. Our nets are set, our hunters are
+prowling in the woods, our goods are ready, and my young master and I
+have come to smoke the pipe of friendship with you, and to invite you
+to come to trade with us."
+
+Having delivered this oration, Jacques sat down amid deep silence.
+Other speeches, of a highly satisfactory character, were then made,
+after which "the house adjourned," and the visitors, opening one of
+their packages, distributed a variety of presents to the delighted
+natives.
+
+Several times during the course of these proceedings, Charley's eyes
+wandered among the faces of his entertainers, in the hope of seeing
+Redfeather among them, but without success; and he began to fear that
+his friend was not with the tribe.
+
+"I say, Jacques," he said, as they left the tent, "ask whether a chief
+called Redfeather is here. I knew him of old, and half expected to find
+him at this place."
+
+The Indian to whom Jacques put the question replied that Redfeather was
+with them, but that he had gone out on a hunting expedition that
+morning, and might be absent a day or two.
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Charley, "I'm glad he's here. Come, now, let us take a
+walk in the wood; these good people stare at us as if we were ghosts."
+And taking Jacques's arm, he led him beyond the circuit of the camp,
+turned into a path which, winding among the thick underwood, speedily
+screened them from view, and led them into a sequestered glade, through
+which a rivulet trickled along its course, almost hid from view by the
+dense foliage and long grasses that overhung it.
+
+"What a delightful place to live in!" said Charley. "Do you ever think
+of building a hut in such a spot as this, Jacques, and settling down
+altogether?" Charley's thoughts reverted to his sister Kate when he
+said this.
+
+"Why, no," replied Jacques, in a pensive tone, as if the question had
+aroused some sorrowful recollections; "I can't say that I'd like to
+settle here _now_. There was a time when I thought nothin' could be
+better than to squat in the woods with one or two jolly comrades,
+and--" (Jacques sighed); "but times is changed now, master, and so is
+my mind. My chums are most of them dead or gone one way or other. No; I
+shouldn't care to squat alone."
+
+Charley thought of the hut _without_ Kate, and it seemed so desolate
+and dreary a dwelling, notwithstanding its beautiful situation, that he
+agreed with his companion that to "squat" _alone_ would never do at all.
+
+"No, man was not made to live alone," continued Jacques, pursuing the
+subject; "even the Injins draw together. I never knew but one as didn't
+like his fellows, and he's gone now, poor fellow. He cut his foot with
+an axe one day, while fellin' a tree. It was a bad cut; and havin'
+nobody to look after him, he half bled and half starved to death."
+
+"By the way, Jacques," said Charley, stepping over the clear brook, and
+following the track which led up the opposite bank, "what did you say
+to those red-skins? You made them a most eloquent speech apparently."
+
+"Why, as to that, I can't boast much of its eloquence, but I think it
+was clear enough. I told them that they were a great nation; for you
+see, Mr. Charles, the red men are just like the white in their fondness
+for butter; so I gave them some to begin with, though, for the matter
+o' that, I'm not overly fond o' givin' butter to any man, red or white.
+But I holds that it's as well always to fall in with the ways and
+customs o' the people a man happens to be among, so long as them ways
+and customs a'n't contrary to what's right. It makes them feel more
+kindly to you, and don't raise any onnecessary ill-will. However, the
+Knisteneux _are_ a brave race; and when I told them that the hearts of
+their enemies trembled when they heard of them, I told nothing but the
+truth; for the Chipewyans are a miserable set, and not much given to
+fighting."
+
+"Your principles on that point won't stand much sifting, I fear,"
+replied Charley: "according to your own showing, you would fall into
+the Chipewyan's way of glorifying themselves on account of their
+bravery, if you chanced to be dwelling among them, and yet you say they
+are not brave. That would not be sticking to truth, Jacques, would it?"
+
+"Well," replied Jacques with a smile, "perhaps not exactly, but I'm
+sure there could be small harm in helping the miserable objects to
+boast sometimes, for they've little else than boasting to comfort them."
+
+"And yet, Jacques, I cannot help feeling that truth is a grand, a
+glorious thing, that should not be trifled with even in small matters."
+
+Jacques opened his eyes a little. "Then do you think, master, that a
+man should _never_ tell a lie, no matter what fix he may be in?"
+
+"I think not, Jacques."
+
+The hunter paused a few minutes, and looked as if an unusual train of
+ideas had been raised in his mind by the turn their conversation had
+taken. Jacques was a man of no religion, and little morality, beyond
+what flowed from a naturally kind, candid disposition, and entertained
+the belief that the _end_, if a good one, always justifies the
+_means_--a doctrine which, had it been clearly exposed to him in all
+its bearings and results, would have been spurned by his
+straightforward nature with the indignant contempt that it merits.
+
+"Mr. Charles," he said at length, "I once travelled across the plains
+to the head waters of the Missouri with a party of six trappers. One
+night we came to a part of the plains which was very much broken up
+with wood here and there, and bein' a good place for water we camped.
+While the other lads were gettin' ready the supper, I started off to
+look for a deer, as we had been unlucky that day--we had shot nothin'.
+Well, about three miles from the camp I came upon a band o' somewhere
+about thirty Sieux (ill-looking, sneaking dogs they are, too!), and
+before I could whistle they rushed upon me, took away my rifle and
+hunting-knife, and were dancing round me like so many devils. At last a
+big black-lookin' thief stepped forward, and said in the Cree language,
+'White men seldom travel through this country alone; where are your
+comrades?' Now, thought I, here's a nice fix! If I pretend not to
+understand, they'll send out parties in all directions, and as sure as
+fate they'll find my companions in half-an-hour, and butcher them in
+cold blood (for, you see, we did not expect to find Sieux, or indeed
+any Injins, in them parts); so I made believe to be very narvous, and
+tried to tremble all over and look pale. Did you ever try to look pale
+and frighttened, Mr. Charles?"
+
+"I can't say that I ever did," said Charley, laughing.
+
+"You can't think how troublesome it is," continued Jacques, with a look
+of earnest simplicity. "I shook and trembled pretty well, but the more
+I tried to grow pale, the more I grew red in the face, and when I
+thought of the six broad-shouldered, raw-boned lads in the camp, and
+how easy they would have made these jumping villains fly like chaff if
+they only knew the fix I was in, I gave a frown that had well-nigh
+showed I was shamming. Hows'ever, what with shakin' a little more and
+givin' one or two most awful groans, I managed to deceive them. Then I
+said I was hunter to a party of white men that were travellin' from Red
+River to St. Louis, with all their goods, and wives, and children, and
+that they were away in the plains about a league off.
+
+"The big chap looked very hard into my face when I said this, to see if
+I was telling the truth; and I tried to make my teeth chatter, but it
+wouldn't do, so I took to groanin' very bad instead. But them Sieux are
+such awful liars nat'rally that they couldn't understand the signs of
+truth, even if they saw them. 'Whitefaced coward,' said he to me, 'tell
+me in what direction your people are.' At this I made believe not to
+understand; but the big chap flourished his knife before my face,
+called me a dog, and told me to point out the direction. I looked as
+simple as I could and said I would rather not. At this they laughed
+loudly and then gave a yell, and said if I didn't show them the
+direction they would roast me alive. So I pointed towards apart of the
+plains pretty wide o' the spot where our camp was. 'Now lead us to
+them,' said the big chap, givin' me a shove with the butt of his gun;
+'an' if you have told lies--'he gave the handle of his scalpin'-knife a
+slap, as much as to say he'd tickle up my liver with it. Well, away we
+went in silence, me thinkin' all the time how I was to get out o' the
+scrape. I led them pretty close past our camp, hopin' that the lads
+would hear us. I didn't dare to yell out, as that would have showed
+them there was somebody within hearin', and they would have made short
+work of me. Just as we came near the place where my companions lay, a
+prairie wolf sprang out from under a bush where it had been sleepin',
+so I gave a loud hurrah, and shied my cap at it. Giving a loud growl,
+the big Injin hit me over the head with his fist, and told me to keep
+silence. In a few minutes I heard the low, distant howl of a wolf. I
+recognised the voice of one of my comrades, and knew that they had seen
+us, and would be on our track soon. Watchin' my opportunity, and
+walkin' for a good bit as if I was awful tired--all but done up--to
+throw them off their guard, I suddenly tripped up the big chap as he
+was stepping over a small brook, and dived in among the bushes. In a
+moment a dozen bullets tore up the bark on the trees about me, and an
+arrow passed through my hair. The clump of wood into which I had dived
+was about half-a-mile long; and as I could run well (I've found in my
+experience that white men are more than a match for red-skins at their
+own work), I was almost out of range by the time I was forced to quit
+the cover and take to the plain. When the blackguards got out of the
+cover, too, and saw me cuttin' ahead like a deer, they gave a yell of
+disappointment, and sent another shower of arrows and bullets after me,
+some of which came nearer than was pleasant. I then headed for our camp
+with the whole pack screechin' at my heels. 'Yell away, you stupid
+sinners,' thought I; 'some of you shall pay for your music.' At that
+moment an arrow grazed my shoulder, and looking over it, I saw that the
+black fellow I had pitched into the water was far ahead of the rest,
+strainin' after me like mad, and every now and then stopping to try an
+arrow on me; so I kept a look-out, and when I saw him stop to draw, I
+stopped too, and dodged, so the arrows passed me, and then we took to
+our heels again. In this way I ran for dear life till I came up to the
+cover. As I came close up I saw our six fellows crouchin' in the
+bushes, and one o' them takin' aim almost straight for my face. 'Your
+day's come at last,' thought I, looking over my shoulder at the big
+Injin, who was drawing his bow again. Just then there was a sharp crack
+heard; a bullet whistled past my ear, and the big fellow fell like a
+stone, while my comrade stood coolly up to reload his rifle. The
+Injins, on seein' this, pulled up in a moment; and our lads stepping
+forward, delivered a volley that made three more o' them bite the dust.
+There would have been six in that fix, but, somehow or other, three of
+us pitched upon the same man, who was afterwards found with a bullet in
+each eye, and one through his heart. They didn't wait for more, but
+turned about and bolted like the wind. Now, Mr. Charles, if I had told
+the truth that time, we would have been all killed; and if I had simply
+said nothin' to their questions, they would have sent out to scour the
+country, and have found out the camp for sartin, so that the only way
+to escape was by tellin' them a heap o' downright lies."
+
+Charley looked very much perplexed at this.
+
+"You have indeed placed me in a difficulty. I know not what I would
+have done. I don't know even what I _ought to do_ under these
+circumstances. Difficulties may perplex me, and the force of
+circumstances might tempt me to do what I believed to be wrong. I am a
+sinner, Jacques, like other mortals, I know; but one thing I am quite
+sure of--namely, that when men speak it should _always_ be truth and
+_never_ falsehood."
+
+Jacques looked perplexed too. He was strongly impressed with the
+necessity of telling falsehoods in the circumstances in which he had
+been placed, as just related, while at the same time he felt deeply the
+grandeur and the power of Charley's last remark.
+
+"I should have been under the sod _now_," said he, "if I had not told a
+lie _then_. Is it better to die than to speak falsehood?"
+
+"Some men have thought so," replied Charley. "I acknowledge the
+difficulty of _your_ case and of all similar cases. I don't know what
+should be done, but I have read of a minister of the gospel whose
+people were very wicked and would not attend to his instructions,
+although they could not but respect himself, he was so consistent and
+Christianlike in his conduct. Persecution arose in the country where he
+lived, and men and women were cruelly murdered because of their
+religious belief. For a long time he was left unmolested, but one day a
+band of soldiers came to his house, and asked him whether he was a
+Papist or a Protestant (Papist, Jacques, being a man who has sold his
+liberty in religious matters to the Pope, and a Protestant being one
+who protests against such an ineffably silly and unmanly state of
+slavery). Well, his people urged the good old man to say he was a
+Papist, telling him that he would then be spared to live among them,
+and preach the true faith for many years perhaps. Now, if there was one
+thing that this old man would have toiled for and died for, it was that
+his people should become true Christians--and he told them so; 'but,'
+he added, 'I will not tell a lie to accomplish that end, my
+children--no, not even to save my life.' So he told the soldiers that
+he was a Protestant, and immediately they carried him away, and he was
+soon afterwards burned to death."
+
+"Well," said Jacques, "_he_ didn't gain much by sticking to the truth,
+I think."
+
+"I'm not so sure of _that_. The story goes on to say that he _rejoiced_
+that he had done so, and wouldn't draw back even when he was in the
+flames. But the point lies here, Jacques: so deep an impression did the
+old man's conduct make on his people, that from that day forward they
+were noted for their Christian life and conduct. They brought up their
+children with a deeper reverence for the truth than they would
+otherwise have done, always bearing in affectionate remembrance, and
+holding up to them as an example, the unflinching truthfulness of the
+good old man who was burned in the year of the terrible persecutions;
+and at last their influence and example had such an effect that the
+Protestant religion spread like wild-fire, far and wide around them, so
+that the very thing was accomplished for which the old pastor said he
+would have died--accomplished, too, very much in consequence of his
+death, and in a way and to an extent that very likely would not have
+been the case had he lived and preached among them for a hundred years."
+
+"I don't understand it, nohow," said Jacques; "it seems to me right
+both ways and wrong both ways, and all upside down every how."
+
+Charley smiled. "Your remark is about as clear as my head on the
+subject, Jacques; but I still remain convinced that truth is _right_
+and that falsehood is _wrong_, and that we should stick to the first
+through thick and thin."
+
+"I s'pose," remarked the hunter, who had walked along in deep
+cogitation, for the last five minutes, and had apparently come to some
+conclusion of profound depth and sagacity--"I s'pose that it's all
+human natur'; that some men takes to preachin' as Injins take to
+huntin', and that to understand sich things requires them to begin
+young,' and risk their lives in it, as I would in followin' up a
+grizzly she-bear with cubs."
+
+"Yonder is an illustration of one part of your remark. They begin
+_young_ enough, anyhow," said Charley, pointing as he spoke to an
+opening in the bushes, where a particularly small Indian boy stood in
+the act of discharging an arrow.
+
+The two men halted to watch his movements. According to a common custom
+among juvenile Indians during the warm months of the year, he was
+dressed in _nothing_ save a mere rag tied round his waist. His body was
+very brown, extremely round, fat, and wonderfully diminutive, while his
+little legs and arms were disproportionately small. He was so young as
+to be barely able to walk, and yet there he stood, his black eyes
+glittering with excitement, his tiny bow bent to its utmost, and a
+blunt-headed arrow about to be discharged at a squirrel, whose flight
+had been suddenly arrested by the unexpected apparition of Charley and
+Jacques. As he stood there for a single instant, perfectly motionless,
+he might have been mistaken for a grotesque statue of an Indian cupid.
+Taking advantage of the squirrel's pause the child let fly the arrow,
+hit it exactly on the point of the nose, and turned it over, dead--a
+consummation which he greeted with a rapid succession of frightful
+yells.
+
+"Cleverly done, my lad; you're a chip of the old block, I see," said
+Jacques, patting the child's head as he passed, and retraced his steps,
+with Charley, to the Indian camp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+The feast--Charley makes his first speech in public, and meets with an
+old friend--An evening in the grass.
+
+
+Savages, not less than civilized men, are fond of a good dinner. In
+saying this, we do not expect our reader to be overwhelmed with
+astonishment. He might have guessed as much; but when we state that
+savages, upon particular occasions, eat six dinners in one, and make it
+a point of honour to do so, we apprehend that we have thrown a slightly
+new light on an old subject. Doubtless there are men in civilised
+society who would do likewise if they could; but they cannot,
+fortunately, as great gastronomic powers are dependent on severe,
+healthful, and prolonged physical exertion. Therefore it is that in
+England we find men capable only of eating about two dinners at once,
+and suffering a good deal for it afterwards; while in the backwoods we
+see men consume a week's dinners in one, without any evil consequences
+following the act.
+
+The feast which was given by the Knisteneux in honour of the visit of
+our two friends was provided on a more moderate scale than usual, in
+order to accommodate the capacities of the "white men;" three days'
+allowance being cooked for each man. (Women are never admitted to the
+public feasts.) On the day preceding the ceremony, Charley and Jacques
+had received cards of invitation from the principal chief in the shape
+of two quills; similar invites being issued at the same time to all the
+braves. Jacques being accustomed to the doings of the Indians, and
+aware of the fact that whatever was provided for each man _must_ be
+eaten before he quitted the scene of operations, advised Charley to eat
+no breakfast, and to take a good walk as a preparative. Charley had
+strong faith, however, in his digestive powers, and felt much inclined,
+when morning came, to satisfy the cravings of his appetite as usual;
+but Jacques drew such a graphic picture of the work that lay before
+him, that he forbore to urge the matter, and went off to walk with a
+light step, and an uncomfortable feeling of vacuity about the region of
+the stomach.
+
+About noon, the chiefs and braves assembled in an open enclosure
+situated in an exposed place on the banks of the river, where the
+proceedings were watched by the women, children, and dogs. The oldest
+chief sat himself down on the turf at one end of the enclosure, with
+Jacques Caradoc on his right hand, and next to him Charley Kennedy, who
+had ornamented himself with a blue stripe painted down the middle of
+his nose, and a red bar across his chin. Charley's propensity for fun
+had led him thus to decorate his face, in spite of his companion's
+remonstrances,--urging, by way of excuse, that worthy's former
+argument, "that it was well to fall in with the ways o' the people a
+man happened to be among, so long as these ways and customs were not
+contrary to what was right." Now Charley was sure there was nothing
+wrong in his painting his nose sky blue, if he thought fit.
+
+Jacques thought it was absurd, and entertained the opinion that it
+would be more dignified to leave his face "its nat'ral colour."
+
+Charley didn't agree with him at all. He thought it would be paying the
+Indians a high compliment to follow their customs as far as possible,
+and said that, after all, his blue nose would not be very conspicuous,
+as he (Jacques) had told him that he would "look blue" at any rate when
+he saw the quantity of deer's meat he should have to devour.
+
+Jacques laughed at this, but suggested that the bar across his chin was
+_red_. Whereupon Charley said that he could easily neutralise that by
+putting a green star under each eye; and then uttered a fervent wish
+that his friend Harry Somerville could only see him in that guise.
+Finding him incorrigible, Jacques, who, notwithstanding his
+remonstrances, was more than half imbued with Charley's spirit, gave
+in, and accompanied him to the feast, himself decorated with the
+additional ornament of a red night-cap, to whose crown was attached a
+tuft of white feathers.
+
+A fire burned in the centre of the enclosure, round which the Indians
+seated themselves according to seniority, and with deep solemnity; for
+it is a trait in the Indian's character that all his ceremonies are
+performed with extreme gravity. Each man brought a dish or platter, and
+a wooden spoon.
+
+The old chief, whose hair was very gray, and his face covered with old
+wounds and scars, received either in war or in hunting, having seated
+himself, allowed a few minutes to elapse in silence, during which the
+company sat motionless, gazing at their plates as if they half expected
+them to become converted into beefsteaks. While they were seated thus,
+another party of Indians, who had been absent on a hunting expedition,
+strode rapidly but noiselessly into the enclosure, and seated
+themselves in the circle. One of these passed close to Charley, and in
+doing so stooped, took his hand, and pressed it. Charley looked up in
+surprise, and beheld the face of his old friend Redfeather, gazing at
+him with an expression in which were mingled affection, surprise, and
+amusement at the peculiar alteration in his visage.
+
+"Redfeather!" exclaimed Charlie, in delight, half rising, but the
+Indian pressed him down.
+
+"You must not rise," he whispered, and giving his hand another squeeze,
+passed round the circle, and took his place directly opposite.
+
+Having continued motionless for five minutes with becoming gravity, the
+company began operations by proceeding to smoke out of the sacred
+stem--a ceremony which precedes--all occasions of importance, and is
+conducted as follows:--The sacred stem is placed on two forked sticks
+to prevent its touching the ground, as that would be considered a great
+evil. A stone pipe is then filled with tobacco, by an attendant
+specially appointed to that office, and affixed to the stem, which is
+presented to the principal chief. That individual, with a gravity and
+_hauteur_ that is unsurpassed in the annals of pomposity, receives the
+pipe in both hands, blows a puff to the east (probably in consequence
+of its being the quarter whence the sun rises), and thereafter pays a
+similar mark of attention to the other three points. He then raises the
+pipe above his head, points and balances it in various directions (for
+what reason and with what end in view is best known to himself), and
+replaces it again on the forks. The company meanwhile observe his
+proceedings with sedate interest, evidently imbued with the idea that
+they are deriving from the ceremony a vast amount of edification--an
+idea which is helped out, doubtless, by the appearance of the women and
+children, who surround the enclosure, and gaze at the proceedings with
+looks of awe-struck seriousness that is quite solemnizing to behold.
+
+The chief then makes a speech relative to the circumstance which has
+called them together; and which is always more or less interlarded with
+boastful reference to his own deeds, past, present, and prospective,
+eulogistic remarks on those of his forefathers, and a general
+condemnation of all other Indian tribes whatever. These speeches are
+usually delivered with great animation, and contain much poetic
+allusion to the objects of nature that surround the homes of the
+savage. The speech being finished, the chief sits down amid a universal
+"Ho!" uttered by the company with an emphatic prolongation of the last
+letter--this syllable being the Indian substitute, we presume, for
+"rapturous applause."
+
+The chief who officiated on the present occasion, having accomplished
+the opening ceremonies thus far, sat down; while the pipe-bearer
+presented the sacred stem to the members of the company in succession,
+each of whom drew a few whiffs and mumbled a few words.
+
+"Do as you see the red-skins, Mr. Charles," whispered Jacques, while
+the pipe was going round.
+
+"That's impossible," replied Charley, in a tone that could not be heard
+except by his friend. "I couldn't make a face of hideous solemnity like
+that black thief opposite if I was to try ever so hard."
+
+"Don't let them think you're laughing at them," returned the hunter;
+"they would be ill-pleased if they thought so."
+
+"I'll try," said Charley, "but it is hard work, Jacques, to keep from
+laughing; I feel like a high-pressure steam-engine already. There's a
+woman standing out there with a little brown baby on her back; she has
+quite fascinated me; I can't keep my eyes off her, and if she goes on
+contorting her visage much longer, I feel that I shall give way."
+
+"Hush!"
+
+At this moment the pipe was presented to Charley, who put it to his
+lips, drew three whiffs, and returned it with a bland smile to the
+bearer.
+
+The smile was a very sweet one, for that was a peculiar trait in the
+native urbanity of Charley's disposition, and it would have gone far in
+civilized society to prepossess strangers in his favour; but it lowered
+him considerably in the estimation of his red friends, who entertained
+a wholesome feeling of contempt for any appearance of levity on high
+occasions. But Charley's face was of that agreeable stamp that, though
+gentle and bland when lighted up with a smile, is particularly
+masculine and manly in expression when in repose, and the frown that
+knit his brows when he observed the bad impression he had given almost
+reinstated him in their esteem. But his popularity became great, and
+the admiration of his swarthy friends greater, when he rose and made an
+eloquent speech in English, which Jacques translated into the Indian
+language.
+
+He told them, in reply to the chief's oration (wherein that warrior had
+complimented his pale-faced brothers on their numerous good qualities),
+that he was delighted and proud to meet with his Indian friends; that
+the object of his mission was to acquaint them with the fact that a new
+trading-fort was established not far off, by himself and his comrades,
+for their special benefit and behoof; that the stores were full of
+goods which he hoped they would soon obtain possession of, in exchange
+for furs; that he had travelled a great distance on purpose to see
+their land and ascertain its capabilities in the way of fur-bearing
+animals and game; that he had not been disappointed in his
+expectations, as he had found the animals to be as numerous as bees,
+the fish plentiful in the rivers and lakes, and the country at large a
+perfect paradise. He proceeded to tell them further that he expected
+they would justify the report he had heard of them, that they were a
+brave nation and good hunters, by bringing in large quantities of furs.
+
+Being strongly urged by Jacques to compliment them, on their various
+good qualities, Charley launched out into an extravagantly poetic vein,
+said that he had heard (but he hoped to have many opportunities of
+seeing it proved) that there was no nation under the sun equal to them
+in bravery, activity, and perseverance; that he had heard of men in
+olden times who made it their profession to fight with wild bulls for
+the amusement of their friends, but he had no doubt whatever their
+courage would be made conspicuous in the way of fighting wild bears and
+buffaloes, not for the amusement but the benefit of their wives and
+children (he might have added of the Hudson's Bay Company, but he
+didn't, supposing that that was self-evident, probably). He
+complimented them on the way in which they had conducted themselves in
+war in times past, comparing their stealthy approach to enemies' camps
+to the insidious snake that glides among the bushes, and darts
+unexpectedly on its prey; said that their eyes were sharp to follow the
+war-trail through the forest or over the dry sward of the prairie;
+their aim with gun or bow true and sure as the flight of the goose when
+it leaves the lands of the sun, and points its beak to the icy regions
+of the north; their war-whoops loud as the thunders of the cataract;
+and their sudden onset like the lightning flash that darts from the sky
+and scatters the stout oak in splinters on the plain.
+
+At this point Jacques expressed his satisfaction at the style in which
+his young friend was progressing.
+
+"That's your sort, Mr. Charles. Don't spare the butter; lay it on
+thick. You've not said too much yet, for they are a brave race, that's
+a fact, as I've good reason to know."
+
+Jacques, however, did not feel quite so well satisfied when Charley
+went on to tell them that although bravery in war was an admirable
+thing, war itself was a thing not at all to be desired, and should only
+be undertaken in case of necessity. He especially pointed out that
+there was not much glory to be earned in fighting against the
+Chipewyans, who, everybody knew, were a poor, timid set of people, whom
+they ought rather to pity than to destroy; and recommended them to
+devote themselves more to the chase than they had done in times past,
+and less to the prosecution of war in time to come.
+
+All this, and a great deal more, did Charley say, in a manner, and with
+a rapidity of utterance, that surprised himself, when he considered the
+fact that he had never adventured into the field of public speaking
+before. All this, and a great deal more--a very great deal more--did
+Jacques Caradoc interpret to the admiring Indians, who listened with
+the utmost gravity and profound attention, greeting the close with a
+very emphatic "Ho!"
+
+Jacques's translation was by no means perfect. Many of the flights into
+which Charley ventured, especially in regard to the manners and customs
+of the savages of ancient Greece and Rome, were quite incomprehensible
+to the worthy backwoodsman; but he invariably proceeded when Charley
+halted, giving a flight of his own when at a loss, varying and
+modifying when he thought it advisable, and altering, adding, or
+cutting off as he pleased.
+
+Several other chiefs addressed the assembly, and then dinner, if we may
+so call it, was served. In Charley's case it was breakfast; to the
+Indians it was breakfast, dinner, and supper in one. It consisted of a
+large platter of dried meat, reindeer tongues (considered a great
+delicacy), and marrow-bones.
+
+Notwithstanding the graphic power with which Jacques had prepared his
+young companion for this meal, Charley's heart sank when he beheld the
+mountain of boiled meat that was placed before him. He was ravenously
+hungry, it is true, but it was patent to his perception at a glance
+that no powers of gormandizing of which he was capable could enable him
+to consume the mass in the course of one day.
+
+Jacques observed his consternation, and was not a little entertained by
+it, although his face wore an expression of profound gravity while he
+proceeded to attack his own dish, which was equal to that of his friend.
+
+Before commencing, a small portion of meat was thrown into the fire as
+a sacrifice to the Great Master of Life.
+
+"How they do eat, to be sure!" whispered Charley to Jacques, after he
+had glanced in wonder at the circle of men who were devouring their
+food with the most extraordinary rapidity.
+
+"Why, you must know," replied Jacques, "that it's considered a point of
+honour to get it over soon, and the man that is done first gets most
+credit. But it's hard work" (he sighed, and paused a little to
+breathe), "and I've not got half through yet."
+
+"It's quite plain that I must lose credit with them, then, if it
+depends on my eating that. Tell me, Jacques, is there no way of escape?
+Must I sit here till it is all consumed?"
+
+"No doubt of it. Every bit that has been cooked must be crammed down
+our throats somehow or other." Charley heaved a deep sigh, and made
+another desperate attack on a large steak, while the Indians around him
+made considerable progress in reducing their respective mountains.
+
+Several times Charley and Redfeather exchanged glances as they paused
+in their labours.
+
+"I say, Jacques," said Charley, pulling up once more, "how do you get
+on? Pretty well stuffed by this time, I should imagine?"
+
+"Oh no! I've a good deal o' room yet."
+
+"I give in. Credit or disgrace, it's all one. I'll not make a pig of
+myself for any red-skin in the land."
+
+Jacques smiled.
+
+"See," continued Charley, "there's a fellow opposite who has devoured
+as much as would have served me for three days. I don't know whether
+it's imagination or not, but I do verily believe that he's _blacker_ in
+the face than when we sat down!"
+
+"Very likely," replied Jacques, wiping his lips, "Now I've done."
+
+"Done! you have left at least a third of your supply."
+
+"True, and I may as well tell you for your comfort that there is one
+way of escape open to you. It is a custom among these fellows, that
+when any one cannot gulp his share o' the prog, he may get help from
+any of his friends that can cram it down their throats; and as there
+are always such fellows among these Injins, they seldom have any
+difficulty."
+
+"A most convenient practice," replied Charley, "I'll adopt it at once."
+
+Charley turned to his next neighbour with the intent to beg of him to
+eat his remnant of the feast.
+
+"Bless my heart, Jacques, I've no chance with the fellow on my left
+hand; he's stuffed quite full already, and is not quite done with his
+own share."
+
+"Never fear," replied his friend, looking at the individual in
+question, who was languidly lifting a marrowbone to his lips; "he'll do
+it easy. I knows the gauge o' them chaps, and for all his sleepy looks
+just now he's game for a lot more."
+
+"Impossible," replied Charley, looking in despair at his unfinished
+viands and then at the Indian. A glance round the circle seemed further
+to convince him that if he did not eat it himself there were none of
+the party likely to do so.
+
+"You'll have to give him a good lump o' tobacco to do it, though; he
+won't undertake so much for a trifle, I can tell you." Jacques chuckled
+as he said this, and handed his own portion over to another Indian, who
+readily undertook to finish it for him.
+
+"He'll burst; I feel certain of that," said Charley, with a deep sigh,
+as he surveyed his friend on the left.
+
+At last he took courage to propose the thing to him, and just as the
+man finished the last morsel of his own repast, Charley placed his own
+plate before him, with a look that seemed to say, "Eat it, my friend,
+_if you can._"
+
+The Indian, much to his surprise, immediately commenced to it, and in
+less than half-an-hour the whole was disposed of.
+
+During this scene of gluttony, one of the chiefs entertained the
+assembly with a wild and most unmusical chant, to which he beat time on
+a sort of tambourine, while the women outside the enclosure beat a
+similar accompaniment.
+
+"I say, master," whispered Jacques, "it seems to my observation that
+the fellow you call Redfeather eats less than any Injin I ever saw. He
+has got a comrade to eat more than half his share; now that's strange."
+
+"It won't appear strange, Jacques, when I tell you that Redfeather has
+lived much more among white men than Indians during the last ten years;
+and although voyageurs eat an enormous quantity of food, they don't
+make it a point of honour, as these fellows seem to do, to eat much
+more than enough. Besides, Redfeather is a very different man from
+those around him; he has been partially educated by the missionaries on
+Playgreen Lake, and I think has a strong leaning towards them."
+
+While they were thus conversing in whispers, Redfeather rose, and
+holding forth his hand, delivered himself of the following oration:--
+
+"The time has come for Redfeather to speak. He has kept silence for
+many moons now, but his heart has been full of words. It is too full;
+he must speak now. Redfeather has fought with his tribe, and has been
+accounted a brave, and one who loves his people. This is true. He
+_does_ love, even more than they can understand. His friends know that
+he has never feared to face danger and death in their defence, and
+that, if it were necessary, he would do so still. But Redfeather is
+going to leave his people now. His heart is heavy at the thought.
+Perhaps many moons will come and go, many snows may fall and melt away,
+before he sees his people again; and it is this that makes him full of
+sorrow, it is this that makes his head to droop like the branches of
+the weeping willow."
+
+Redfeather paused at this point, but not a sound escaped from the
+listening circle: the Indians were evidently taken by surprise at this
+abrupt announcement. He proceeded:--
+
+"When Redfeather travelled not long since with the white men, he met
+with a pale-face who came from the other side of the Great Salt Lake
+towards the rising sun. This man was called by some of the people a
+missionary. He spoke wonderful things in the ear of Redfeather. He told
+him of things about the Great Spirit which he did not know before, and
+he asked Redfeather to go and help him to speak to the Indians about
+these strange things. Redfeather would not go. He loved his people too
+much, and he thought that the words of the missionary seemed
+foolishness. But he has thought much about it since. He does not
+understand the strange things that were told to him, and he has tried
+to forget them, but he cannot. He can get no rest. He hears strange
+sounds in the breeze that shakes the pine. He thinks that there are
+voices in the waterfall; the rivers seem to speak, Redfeather's spirit
+is vexed. The Great Spirit, perhaps, is talking to him. He has resolved
+to go to the dwelling of the missionary and stay with him."
+
+The Indian paused again, but still no sound escaped from his comrades.
+Dropping his voice to a soft plaintive tone, he continued--
+
+"But Redfeather loves his kindred. He desires very much that they
+should hear the things that the missionary said. He spoke of the happy
+hunting grounds to which the spirits of our fathers have gone, and said
+that we required a _guide_ to lead us there; that there was but one
+guide, whose name, he said, was Jesus. Redfeather would stay and hunt
+with his people, but his spirit is troubled; he cannot rest; he must
+go!"
+
+Redfeather sat down, and a long silence ensued. His words had evidently
+taken the whole party by surprise, although not a countenance there
+showed the smallest symptom of astonishment, except that of Charley
+Kennedy, whose intercourse with Indians had not yet been so great as to
+have taught him to conceal his feelings.
+
+At length the old chief rose, and after complimenting Redfeather on his
+bravery in general, and admitting that he had shown much love to his
+people on all occasions, went into the subject of his quitting them at
+some length. He reminded him that there were evil spirits as well as
+good; that it was not for him to say which kind had been troubling him,
+but that he ought to consider well before he went to live altogether
+with pale-faces. Several other speeches were made, some to the same
+effect, and others applauding his resolve. These latter had, perhaps,
+some idea that his bringing the pale-faced missionary among them would
+gratify their taste for the marvellous--a taste that is pretty strong
+in all uneducated minds.
+
+One man, however, was particularly urgent in endeavouring to dissuade
+him from his purpose. He was a tall, low-browed man; muscular and well
+built, but possessed of a most villainous expression of countenance.
+From a remark that fell from one of the company, Charley discovered
+that his name was Misconna, and so learned, to his surprise, that he
+was the very Indian mentioned by Redfeather as the man who had been his
+rival for the hand of Wabisca, and who had so cruelly killed the wife
+of the poor trapper the night on which the Chipewyan camp was attacked,
+and the people slaughtered.
+
+What reason Misconna had for objecting so strongly to Redfeather's
+leaving the community no one could tell, although some of those who
+knew his unforgiving nature suspected that he still entertained the
+hope of being able, some day or other, to weak his vengeance on his old
+rival. But whatever was his object, he failed in moving Redfeather's
+resolution; and it was at last admitted by the whole party that
+Redfeather was a "wise chief;" that he knew best what ought to be done
+under the circumstances, and it was hoped that his promised visit, in
+company with the missionary, would not be delayed many moons.
+
+That night, in the deep shadow of the trees, by the brook that murmured
+near the Indian camp, while the stars twinkled through the branches
+overhead, Charley introduced Redfeather to his friend Jacques Caradoc,
+and a friendship was struck up between the bold hunter and the red man
+that grew and strengthened as each successive day made them acquainted
+with their respective good qualities. In the same place, and with the
+same stars looking down upon them, it was further agreed that
+Redfeather should accompany his new friends, taking his wife along with
+him in another canoe, as far as their several routes led them in the
+same direction, which was about four or five days' journey; and that
+while the one party diverged towards the fort at Stoney Creek, the
+other should pursue its course to the missionary station on the shores
+of Lake Winnipeg.
+
+But there was a snake in the grass there that they little suspected.
+Misconna had crept through the bushes after them, with a degree of
+caution that might have baffled their vigilance, even had they
+suspected treason in a friendly camp. He lay listening intently to all
+their plans, and when they returned to their camp, he rose out from
+among the bushes, like a dark spirit of evil, clutched the handle of
+his scalping-knife, and gave utterance to a malicious growl; then,
+walking hastily after them, his dusky figure was soon concealed among
+the trees.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+The return--Narrow escape--A murderous attempt, which fails--And a
+discovery.
+
+
+All nature was joyous and brilliant, and bright and beautiful. Morning
+was still very young--about an hour old. Sounds of the most cheerful,
+light-hearted character floated over the waters and echoed through the
+woods, as birds and beasts hurried to and fro with all the bustling
+energy that betokened preparation and search for breakfast. Fish leaped
+in the pools with a rapidity that brought forcibly to mind that wise
+saying, "The more hurry, the less speed;" for they appeared constantly
+to miss their mark, although they jumped twice their own length out of
+the water in the effort.
+
+Ducks and geese sprang from their liquid beds with an amazing amount of
+unnecessary sputter, as if they had awakened to the sudden
+consciousness of being late for breakfast, then alighted in the water
+again with a _squash,_ on finding (probably) that it was too early for
+that meal, but, observing other flocks passing and re-passing on noisy
+wing, took to flight again, unable, apparently, to restrain their
+feelings of delight at the freshness of the morning air, the brightness
+of the rising sun, and the sweet perfume of the dewy verdure, as the
+mists cleared away over the tree-tops and lost themselves in the blue
+sky. Everything seemed instinct not only with life, but with a large
+amount of superabundant energy. Earth, air, sky, animal, vegetable, and
+mineral, solid and liquid, all were either actually in a state of
+lively exulting motion, or had a peculiarly sprightly look about them,
+as if nature had just burst out of prison _en masse_, and gone raving
+mad with joy.
+
+Such was the delectable state of things the morning on which two canoes
+darted from the camp of the Knisteneux, amid many expressions of
+goodwill. One canoe contained our two friends, Charley and Jacques; the
+other, Redfeather and his wife Wabisca.
+
+A few strokes of the paddle shot them out into the stream, which
+carried them rapidly away from the scene of their late festivities. In
+five minutes they swept round a point which shut them out from view,
+and they were swiftly descending those rapid rivers that had cost
+Charley and Jacques so much labour to ascend.
+
+"Look out for rocks ahead, Mr. Charles," cried Jacques, as he steered
+the light bark into the middle of a rapid, which they had avoided when
+ascending by making a portage. "Keep well to the left of yon swirl.
+_Parbleu_, if we touch the rock _there_ it'll be all over with us."
+
+"All right," was Charley's laconic reply. And so it proved, for their
+canoe, after getting fairly into the run of the rapid, was evidently
+under the complete command of its expert crew, and darted forward amid
+the foaming waters like a thing instinct with life. Now it careered and
+plunged over the waves where the rough bed of the stream made them more
+than usually turbulent. Anon it flew with increased rapidity through a
+narrow gap where the compressed water was smooth and black, but deep
+and powerful, rendering great care necessary to prevent the canoe's
+frail sides from being dashed on the rocks. Then it met a curling wave,
+into which it plunged like an impetuous charger, and was checked for a
+moment by its own violence. Presently an eddy threw the canoe a little
+out of its course, disconcerting Charley's intention of _shaving_ a
+rock, which lay in their track, so that he slightly grazed it in
+passing.
+
+"Ah, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, shaking his head, "that was not well
+done; an inch more would have sent us down the rapids like drowned
+cats."
+
+"True," replied Charley, somewhat crestfallen; "but you see the other
+inch was not lost, so we're not much the worse for it."
+
+"Well, after all, it was a ticklish bit, and I should have guessed that
+your experience was not up to it quite. I've seen many a man in my day
+who wouldn't ha' done it _half_ so slick, an' yet ha' thought no small
+beer of himself; so you needn't be ashamed, Mr. Charles. But Wabisca
+beats you for all that," continued the hunter, glancing hastily over
+his shoulder at Redfeather, who followed closely in their wake, he and
+his modest-looking wife guiding their little craft through the
+dangerous passages with the utmost _sangfroid_ and precision.
+
+"We've about run them all now," said Jacques, as they paddled over a
+sheet of still water which intervened between the rapid they had just
+descended and another which thundered about a hundred yards in advance.
+
+"I was so engrossed with the one we have just come down," said Charley,
+"that I quite forgot this one."
+
+"Quite right, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, in an approving tone, "quite
+right. I holds that a man should always attend to what he's at, an' to
+nothin' else. I've lived long in the woods now, and the fact becomes
+more and more sartin every day. I've know'd chaps, now, as timersome as
+settlement girls, that were always in such a mortal funk about what
+_was_ to happen, or _might_ happen, that they were never fit for
+anything that _did_ happen; always lookin' ahead, and never around
+them. Of coorse, I don't mean that a man shouldn't look ahead at all,
+but their great mistake was that they looked out too far ahead, and
+always kep' their eyes nailed there, just as if they had the fixin' o'
+everything, an' Providence had nothin' to do with it at all. I mind a
+Canadian o' that sort that travelled in company with me once. We were
+goin' just as we are now, Mr. Charles, two canoes of us; him and a
+comrade in one, and me and a comrade in t'other. One night we got to a
+lot o' rapids that came one after another for the matter o' three miles
+or thereabouts. They were all easy ones, however, except the last; but
+it _was_ a tickler, with a sharp turn o' the land that hid it from
+sight until ye were right into it, with a foamin' current, and a range
+o' ragged rocks that stood straight in front o' ye, like the teeth of a
+cross-cut saw. It was easy enough, however, if a man _knew_ it, and was
+a cool hand. Well, the _pauvre_ Canadian was in a terrible takin' about
+this shoot long afore he came to it. He had run it often enough in
+boats where he was one of a half-dozen men, and had nothin' to do but
+look on; but he had never _steered_ down it before. When he came to the
+top o' the rapids, his mind was so filled with this shoot that he
+couldn't attend to nothin', and scraped agin' a dozen rocks in almost
+smooth water, so that when he got a little more than half-way down, the
+canoe was as rickety as if it had just come off a six months' cruise.
+At last we came to the big rapid, and after we'd run down our canoe I
+climbed the bank to see them do it. Down they came, the poor Canadian
+white as a sheet, and his comrade, who was brave enough, but knew
+nothin' about light craft, not very comfortable. At first he could see
+nothin' for the point, but in another moment round they went, end on,
+for the big rocks. The Canadian gave a great yell when he saw them, and
+plunged at the paddle till I thought he'd have capsized altogether.
+They ran it well enough, straight between the rocks (more by good luck
+than good guidance), and sloped down to the smooth water below; but the
+canoe had got such a battering in the rapids above, where an Injin baby
+could have steered it in safety, that the last plunge shook it all to
+pieces. It opened up, and lay down flat on the water, while the two men
+fell right through the bottom, screechin' like mad, and rolling about
+among shreds o' birch bark!"
+
+While Jacques was thus descanting philosophically on his experience in
+time past, they had approached the head of the second rapid, and in
+accordance with the principles just enunciated, the stout backwoodsman
+gave his undivided attention to the work before him. The rapid was
+short and deep, so that little care was required in descending it,
+excepting at one point, where the stream rushed impetuously between two
+rocks about six yards asunder. Here it was requisite to keep the canoe
+as much in the middle of the stream as possible.
+
+Just as they began to feel the drag of the water, Redfeather was heard
+to shout in a loud warning tone, which caused Jacques and Charley to
+back their paddles hurriedly.
+
+"What can the Injin mean, I wonder?" said Jacques, in a perplexed tone.
+"He don't look like a man that would stop us at the top of a strong
+rapid for nothin'."
+
+"It's too late to do that now, whatever is his reason," said Charley,
+as he and his companion struggled in vain to paddle up stream.
+
+"It's no use, Mr. Charles; we must run it now--the current's too strong
+to make head against; besides, I do think the man has only seen a bear,
+or something o' that sort, for I see he's ashore, and jumpin' among the
+bushes like a cariboo."
+
+Saying this, they turned the canoe's head down stream again, and
+allowed it to drift, merely retarding its progress a little with the
+paddles.
+
+Suddenly Jacques uttered a sharp exclamation. "_Mon Dieu!_" said he,
+"it's plain enough now. Look there!"
+
+Jacques pointed as he spoke to the narrows to which they were now
+approaching with tremendous speed, which increased every instant. A
+heavy tree lay directly across the stream, reaching from rock to rock,
+and placed in such a way that it was impossible for a canoe to descend
+without being dashed in pieces against it. This was the more curious
+that no trees grew in the immediate vicinity, so that this one must
+have been designedly conveyed there.
+
+"There has been foul work here," said Jacques, in a deep tone. "We must
+dive, Mr. Charles; there's no chance any way else, and _that's_ but a
+poor one."
+
+This was true. The rocks on each side rose almost perpendicularly out
+of the water, so that it was utterly impossible to run ashore, and the
+only way of escape, as Jacques said, was by diving under the tree, a
+thing involving great risk, as the stream immediately below was broken
+by rocks, against which it dashed in foam, and through which the
+chances of steering one's way in safety by means of swimming were very
+slender indeed.
+
+Charley made no reply, but with tightly-compressed lips, and a look of
+stern resolution on his brow, threw off his coat, and hastily tied his
+belt tightly round his waist. The canoe was now sweeping forward with
+lightning speed; in a few minutes it would be dashed to pieces.
+
+At that moment a shout was heard in the woods, and Redfeather darting
+out, rushed over the ledge of rock on which one end of the tree rested,
+seized the trunk in his arms, and exerting all his strength, hurled it
+over into the river. In doing so he stumbled, and ere he could recover
+himself a branch caught him under the arm as the tree fell over, and
+dragged him into the boiling stream. This accident was probably the
+means of saving his life, for just as he fell the loud report of a gun
+rang through the woods, and a bullet passed through his cap. For a
+second or two both man and tree were lost in the foam, while the canoe
+dashed past in safety. The next instant Wabisca passed the narrows in
+her small craft, and steered for the tree. Redfeather, who had risen
+and sunk several times, saw her as she passed, and making a violent
+effort, he caught hold of the gunwale, and was carried down in safety.
+
+"I'll tell you what it is," said Jacques, as the party stood on a rock
+promontory after the events just narrated: "I would give a dollar to
+have that fellow's nose and the sights o' my rifle in a line at any
+distance short of two hundred yards."
+
+"It was Misconna," said Redfeather. "I did not see him, but there's not
+another man in the tribe that could do that."
+
+"I'm thankful we escaped, Jacques. I never felt so near death before,
+and had it not been for the timely aid of our friend here, it strikes
+me that our wild life would have come to an abrupt close.--God bless
+you, Redfeather," said Charley, taking the Indian's hand in both of his
+and kissing it.
+
+Charley's ebullition of feeling was natural. He had not yet become used
+to the dangers of the wilderness so as to treat them with indifference.
+Jacques, on the other hand, had risked his life so often that escape
+from danger was treated very much as a matter of course, and called
+forth little expression of feeling. Still, it must not be inferred from
+this that his nature had become callous. The backwoodsman's frame was
+hard and unyielding as iron, but his heart was as soft still as it was
+on the day on which he first donned the hunting-shirt, and there was
+much more of tenderness than met the eye in the squeeze that he gave
+Redfeather's hand on landing.
+
+As the four travellers encircled the fire that night, under the leafy
+branches of the forest, and smoked their pipes in concert, while
+Wabisca busied herself in clearing away the remnants of their evening
+meal, they waxed communicative, and stories, pathetic, comic, and
+tragic, followed each other in rapid succession.
+
+"Now, Redfeather," said Charley, while Jacques rose and went down to
+the luggage to get more tobacco, "tell Jacques about the way in which
+you got your name. I am sure he will feel deeply interested in that
+story--at least I am certain that Harry Somerville and I did when you
+told it to us the day we were wind-bound on Lake Winnipeg."
+
+Redfeather made no reply for a few seconds. "Will Mr. Charles speak for
+me?" he said at length. "His tongue is smooth and quick."
+
+"A doubtful kind of compliment," said Charley, laughing; "but I will,
+if you don't wish to tell it yourself."
+
+"And don't mention names. Do not let him know that you speak of me or
+my friends," said the Indian, in a low whisper, as Jacques returned and
+sat down by the fire again.
+
+Charley gave him a glance of surprise; but being prevented from asking
+questions, he nodded in reply, and proceeded to relate to his friend
+the story that has been recounted in a previous chapter. Redfeather
+leaned back against a tree, and appeared to listen intently.
+
+Charley's powers of description were by no means inconsiderable, and
+the backwoodsman's face assumed a look of good-humoured attention as
+the story proceeded. But when the narrator went on to tell of the
+meditated attack and the midnight march, his interest was aroused, the
+pipe which he had been smoking was allowed to go out, and he gazed at
+his young friend with the most earnest attention. It was evident that
+the hunter's spirit entered with deep sympathy into such scenes; and
+when Charley described the attack, and the death of the trapper's wife,
+Jacques seemed unable to restrain his feelings. He leaned his elbows on
+his knees, buried his face in his hands, and groaned aloud.
+
+"Mr. Charles," he said, in a deep voice, when the story was ended,
+"there are two men I would like to meet with in this world before I
+die. One is the young Injin who tried to save that girl's life, the
+other is the cowardly villain that took it. I don't mean the one who
+finished the bloody work: my rifle sent his accursed spirit to its own
+place--"
+
+"_Your_ rifle!" cried Charley, in amazement.
+
+"Ay, mine! It was _my_ wife who was butchered by these savage dogs on
+that dark night. Oh, what avails the strength o' that right arm!" said
+Jacques, bitterly, as he lifted up his clenched fist; "it was powerless
+to save _her_--the sweet girl who left her home and people to follow
+me, a rough hunter, through the lonesome wilderness!"
+
+He covered his face again, and groaned in agony of spirit, while his
+whole frame quivered with emotion.
+
+Jacques remained silent, and his sympathising friends refrained from
+intruding on a sorrow which they felt they had no power to relieve.
+
+At length he spoke. "Yes," said he, "I would give much to meet with the
+man who tried to save her. I saw him do it twice; but the devils about
+him were too eager to be balked of their prey."
+
+Charley and the Indian exchanged glances. "That Indian's name," said
+the former, "was _Redfeather!_"
+
+"What!" exclaimed the trapper, jumping to his feet, and grasping
+Redfeather, who had also risen, by the two shoulders, stared wildly in
+his face; "was it _you_ that did it?"
+
+Redfeather smiled, and held out his hand, which the other took and
+wrung with an energy that would have extorted a cry of pain from any
+one but an Indian. Then, dropping it suddenly and clinching his hands,
+he exclaimed,--
+
+"I said that I would like to meet the villain who killed her--yes, I
+said it in passion, when your words had roused all my old feelings
+again; but I am thankful--I bless God that I did not know this
+sooner--that you did not tell me of it when I was at the camp, for I
+verily believe that I would not only have fixed _him_, but half the
+warriors o' your tribe too, before they had settled _me!_"
+
+It need scarcely be added that the friendship which already subsisted
+between Jacques and Redfeather was now doubly cemented; nor will it
+create surprise when we say that the former, in the fulness of his
+heart, and from sheer inability to find adequate outlets for the
+expression of his feelings, offered Redfeather in succession all the
+articles of value he possessed, even to the much-loved rifle, and was
+seriously annoyed at their not being accepted. At last he finished off
+by assuring the Indian that he might look out for him soon at the
+missionary settlement, where he meant to stay with him evermore in the
+capacity of hunter, fisherman, and jack-of-all-trades to the whole clan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+The scene changes--Bachelor's Hall--A practical joke and its
+consequences--A snow-shoe walk at night in the forest.
+
+
+Leaving Charley to pursue his adventurous career among the Indians, we
+will introduce our reader to a new scene, and follow for a time the
+fortunes of our friend Harry Somerville. It will be remembered that we
+left him labouring under severe disappointment at the idea of having to
+spend a year, it might be many years, at the depot, and being condemned
+to the desk, instead of realising his fond dreams of bear-hunting and
+deer-stalking in the woods and prairies.
+
+It was now the autumn of Harry's second year at York Fort. This period
+of the year happens to be the busiest at the depot, in consequence of
+the preparation of the annual accounts for transmission to England, in
+the solitary ship which visits this lonely spot once a year; so that
+Harry was tied to his desk all day and the greater part of the night
+too, so that his spirits fell infinitely below zero, and he began to
+look on himself as the most miserable of mortals. His spirits rose,
+however, with amazing rapidity after the ship went away, and the "young
+gentlemen," as the clerks were styled _en masse_, were permitted to run
+wild in the swamps and woods for the three weeks succeeding that event.
+During this glimpse of sunshine they recruited their exhausted frames
+by paddling about all day in Indian canoes, or wandering through the
+marshes, sleeping at nights in tents or under the pine trees, and
+spreading dismay among the feathered tribes, of which there were
+immense numbers of all kinds. After this they returned to their regular
+work at the desk; but as this was not so severe as in summer, and was
+further lightened by Wednesdays and Saturdays being devoted entirely to
+recreation, Harry began to look on things in a less gloomy aspect, and
+at length regained his wonted cheerful spirits.
+
+Autumn passed away. The ducks and geese took their departure to more
+genial climes. The swamps froze up and became solid. Snow fell in great
+abundance, covering every vestige of vegetable nature, except the dark
+fir trees, that only helped to render the scenery more dreary, and
+winter settled down upon the land. Within the pickets of York Fort, the
+thirty or forty souls who lived there were actively employed in cutting
+their firewood, putting in double window-frames to keep out the severe
+cold, cutting tracks in the snow from one house to another, and
+otherwise preparing for a winter of eight months' duration, as cold as
+that of Nova Zembla, and in the course of which the only new faces they
+had any chance of seeing were those of the two men who conveyed the
+annual winter packet of letters from the next station. Outside of the
+fort, all was a wide, waste wilderness for _thousands_ of miles around.
+Deathlike stillness and solitude reigned everywhere, except when a
+covey of ptarmigan whirred like large snowflakes athwart the sky, or an
+arctic fox prowled stealthily through the woods in search of prey.
+
+As if in opposition to the gloom and stillness and solitude outside,
+the interior of the clerks' house presented a striking contrast of
+ruddy warmth, cheerful sounds, and bustling activity.
+
+It was evening; but although the sun had set, there was still
+sufficient daylight to render candles unnecessary, though not enough to
+prevent a bright glare from the stove in the centre of the hall taking
+full effect in the darkening chamber, and making it glow with fiery
+red. Harry Somerville sat in front, and full in the blaze of this
+stove, resting after the labours of the day; his arms crossed on his
+breast, his head a little to one side, as if in deep contemplation, as
+he gazed earnestly into the fire, and his chair tilted on its hind legs
+so as to balance with such nicety that a feather's weight additional
+outside its centre of gravity would have upset it. He had divested
+himself of his coat--a practice that prevailed among the young
+gentlemen when _at home_, as being free-and-easy as well as convenient.
+The doctor, a tall, broad-shouldered man, with red hair and whiskers,
+paced the room sedately, with a long pipe depending from his lips,
+which he removed occasionally to address a few remarks to the
+accountant, a stout, heavy man of about thirty, with a voice like a
+Stentor, eyes sharp and active as those of a ferret, and a tongue that
+moved with twice the ordinary amount of lingual rapidity. The doctor's
+remarks seemed to be particularly humorous, if one might judge from the
+peals of laughter with which they were received by the accountant, who
+stood with his back to the stove in such a position that, while it
+warmed him from his heels to his waist, he enjoyed the additional
+benefit of the pipe or chimney, which rose upwards, parallel with his
+spine, and, taking a sudden bend near the roof, passed over his
+head--thus producing a genial and equable warmth from top to toe.
+
+"Yes," said the doctor, "I left him hotly following up a rabbit-track,
+in the firm belief that it was that of a silver fox."
+
+"And did you not undeceive the greenhorn?" cried the accountant, with
+another shout of laughter.
+
+"Not I," replied the doctor. "I merely recommended him to keep his eye
+on the sun, lest he should lose his way, and hastened home; for it just
+occurred to me that I had forgotten to visit Louis Blanc, who cut his
+foot with an axe yesterday, and whose wound required redressing, so I
+left the poor youth to learn from experience."
+
+"Pray, who did you leave to that delightful fate?" asked Mr. Wilson,
+issuing from his bedroom, and approaching the stove.
+
+Mr. Wilson was a middle-aged, good-humoured, active man, who filled the
+onerous offices of superintendent of the men, trader of furs, seller of
+goods to the Indians, and general factotum.
+
+"Our friend Hamilton," answered the doctor, in reply to his question.
+"I think he is, without exception, the most egregious nincompoop I ever
+saw. Just as I passed the long swamp on my way home, I met him crashing
+through the bushes in hot pursuit of a rabbit, the track of which he
+mistook for a fox. Poor fellow! He had been out since breakfast, and
+only shot a brace of ptarmigan, although they are as thick as bees and
+quite tame. 'But then, do you see,' said he, in excuse, 'I'm so very
+shortsighted! Would you believe it, I've blown fifteen lumps of snow to
+atoms, in the belief that they were ptarmigan!' and then he rushed off
+again."
+
+"No doubt," said Mr. Wilson, smiling, "the lad is very green, but he's
+a good fellow for all that."
+
+"I'll answer for that," said the accountant; "I found him over at the
+men's houses this morning doing _your_ work for you, doctor."
+
+"How so?" inquired the disciple of Æsculapius.
+
+"Attending to your wounded man, Louis Blanc, to be sure; and he seemed
+to speak to him as wisely as if he had walked the hospitals, and
+regularly passed for an M.D."
+
+"Indeed!" said the doctor, with a mischievous grin. "Then I must pay
+him off for interfering with my patients."
+
+"Ah, doctor, you're too fond of practical jokes. You never let slip an
+opportunity of 'paying off' your friends for something or other. It's a
+bad habit. Practical jokes are very bad things--shockingly bad," said
+Mr. Wilson, as he put on his fur cap, and wound a thick shawl round his
+throat, preparatory to leaving the room.
+
+As Mr. Wilson gave utterance to this opinion, he passed Harry
+Somerville, who was still staring at the fire in deep mental
+abstraction, and, as he did so, gave his tilted chair a very slight
+push backwards with his finger--an action which caused Harry to toss up
+his legs, grasp convulsively with both hands at empty air, and fall
+with a loud noise and an angry yell to the ground, while his persecutor
+vanished from the scene.
+
+"O you outrageous villain!" cried Harry, shaking his fist at the door,
+as he slowly gathered himself up; "I might have expected that."
+
+"Quite so," said the doctor; "you might. It was very neatly done,
+undoubtedly. Wilson deserves credit for the way in which it was
+executed."
+
+"He deserves to be executed for doing it at all," replied Harry,
+rubbing his elbow as he resumed his seat.
+
+"Any bark knocked off?" inquired the accountant, as he took a piece of
+glowing charcoal from the stove wherewith to light his pipe. "Try a
+whiff, Harry. It's good for such things. Bruises, sores, contusions,
+sprains, rheumatic affections of the back and loins, carbuncles and
+earache--there's nothing that smoking won't cure; eh, doctor?"
+
+"Certainly. If applied inwardly, there's nothing so good for digestion
+when one doesn't require tonics--Try it, Harry; it will do you good, I
+assure you."
+
+"No, thank you," replied Harry; "I'll leave that to you and the
+chimney. I don't wish to make a soot-bag of my mouth. But tell me,
+doctor, what do you mean to do with that lump of snow there?"
+
+Harry pointed to a mass of snow, of about two feet square, which lay on
+the floor beside the door. It had been placed there by the doctor some
+time previously.
+
+"Do with it? Have patience, my friend, and you shall see. It is a
+little surprise I have in store for Hamilton."
+
+As he spoke, the door opened, and a short, square-built man rushed into
+the room, with a pistol in one hand and a bright little bullet in the
+other.
+
+"Hollo, skipper!" cried Harry, "what's the row?"
+
+"All right," cried the skipper; "here it is at last, solid as the fluke
+of an anchor. Toss me the powder-flask Harry; look sharp, else it'll
+melt."
+
+A powder-flask was immediately produced, from which the skipper hastily
+charged the pistol, and rammed down the shining bullet.
+
+"Now then," said he, "look out for squalls. Clear the decks there."
+
+And rushing to the door, he flung it open, took a steady aim at
+something outside, and fired.
+
+"Is the man mad?" said the accountant, as with a look of amazement he
+beheld the skipper spring through the doorway, and immediately return
+bearing in his arms a large piece of fir plank.
+
+"Not quite mad yet," he said, in reply, "but I've sent a ball of
+quicksilver through an inch plank, and that's not a thing to be done
+every day--even _here_, although it _is_ cold enough sometimes to
+freeze up one's very ideas."
+
+"Dear me," interrupted Harry Somerville, looking as if a new thought
+had struck him, "that must be it! I've no doubt that poor Hamilton's
+ideas are _frozen_, which accounts for the total absence of any
+indication of his possessing such things."
+
+"I observed," continued the skipper, not noticing the interruption,
+"that the glass was down at 45 degrees below zero this morning, and put
+out a bullet-mould full of mercury, and you see the result." As he
+spoke he held up the perforated plank in triumph.
+
+The skipper was a strange mixture of qualities. To a wild, off-hand,
+sailor-like hilarity of disposition in hours of leisure, he united a
+grave, stern energy of character while employed in the performance of
+his duties. Duty was always paramount with him. A smile could scarcely
+be extracted from him while it was in the course of performance. But
+the instant his work was done a new spirit seemed to take possession of
+the man. Fun, mischief of any kind, no matter how childish, he entered
+into with the greatest delight and enthusiasm. Among other
+peculiarities, he had become deeply imbued with a thirst for scientific
+knowledge, ever since he had acquired, with infinite labour, the small
+modicum of science necessary to navigation; and his doings in pursuit
+of statistical information relative to the weather, and the phenomena
+of nature generally, were very peculiar, and in some cases outrageous.
+His transaction with the quicksilver was in consequence of an eager
+desire to see that metal frozen (an effect which takes place when the
+spirit-of-wine thermometer falls to 39 degrees below zero of
+Fahrenheit), and a wish to be able to boast of having actually fired a
+mercurial bullet through an inch plank. Having made a careful note of
+the fact, with all the relative circumstances attending it, in a very
+much blotted book, which he denominated his scientific log, the worthy
+skipper threw off his coat, drew a chair to the stove, and prepared to
+regale himself with a pipe. As he glanced slowly round the room while
+thus engaged, his eye fell on the mass of snow before alluded to. On
+being informed by the doctor for what it was intended, he laid down his
+pipe and rose hastily from his chair.
+
+"You've not a moment to lose," said he. "As I came in at the gate just
+now, I saw Hamilton coming down the river on the ice, and he must be
+almost arrived now."
+
+"Up with it then," cried the doctor, seizing the snow, and lifting it
+to the top of the door. "Hand me those bits of stick, Harry; quick,
+man, stir your stumps.--Now then, skipper, fix them in so, while I hold
+this up."
+
+The skipper lent willing and effective aid, so that in a few minutes
+the snow was placed in such a position that upon the opening of the
+door it must inevitably fall on the head of the first person who should
+enter the room.
+
+"So," said the skipper, "that's rigged up in what I call ship-shape
+fashion."
+
+"True," remarked the doctor, eyeing the arrangement with a look of
+approval; "it will do, I think, admirably."
+
+"Don't you think, skipper," said Harry Somerville gravely, as he
+resumed his seat in front of the fire, "that it would be worth while to
+make a careful and minute entry in your private log of the manner in
+which it was put up, to be afterwards followed by an account of its
+effect? You might write an essay on it now, and call it the
+extraordinary effects of a fall of snow in latitude so and so, eh? What
+think you of it?"
+
+The skipper vouchsafed no reply, but made a significant gesture with
+his fist, which caused Harry to put himself in a posture of defence.
+
+At this moment footsteps were heard on the wooden platform in front of
+the building.
+
+Instantly all became silence and expectation in the hall as the result
+of the practical joke was about to be realised. Just then another step
+was heard on the platform, and it became evident that two persons were
+approaching the door.
+
+"Hope it'll be the right man," said the skipper, with a look savouring
+slightly of anxiety.
+
+As he spoke the door opened, and a foot crossed the threshold; the next
+instant the miniature avalanche descended on the head and shoulders of
+a man, who reeled forward from the weight of the blow, and, covered
+from head to foot with snow, fell to the ground amid shouts of laughter.
+
+With a convulsive stamp and shake, the prostrate figure sprang up and
+confronted the party. Had the cast-iron stove suddenly burst into
+atoms, and blown the roof off the house, it could scarcely have created
+greater consternation than that which filled the merry jesters when
+they beheld the visage of Mr. Rogan, the superintendent of the fort,
+red with passion and fringed with snow.
+
+"So," said he, stamping violently with his foot, partly from anger, and
+partly with a view of shaking off the unexpected covering, which stuck
+all over his dress in little patches, producing a somewhat piebald
+effect,--"so you are pleased to jest, gentlemen. Pray, who placed that
+piece of snow over the door?" Mr. Rogan glared fiercely round upon the
+culprits, who stood speechless before him.
+
+For a moment he stood silent, as if uncertain how to act; then turning
+short on his heel, he strode quickly out of the room, nearly
+overturning Mr. Hamilton, who at the same instant entered it, carrying
+his gun and snowshoes under his arm.
+
+"Dear me, what has happened?" he exclaimed, in a peculiarly gentle tone
+of voice, at the same time regarding the snow and the horror-stricken
+circle with a look of intense surprise.
+
+"You _see_ what has happened," replied Harry Somerville, who was the
+first to recover his composure; "I presume you intended to ask, 'What
+has _caused_ it to happen?' Perhaps the skipper will explain; it's
+beyond me, quite."
+
+Thus appealed to, that worthy cleared his throat, and said,--
+
+"Why, you see, Mr. Hamilton, a great phenomenon of meteorology has
+happened. We were all standing, you must know, at the open door, taking
+a squint at the weather, when our attention was attracted by a curious
+object that appeared in the sky, and seemed to be coming down at the
+rate of ten knots an hour, right end-on for the house. I had just time
+to cry, 'Clear out, lads,' when it came slap in through the doorway,
+and smashed to shivers there, where you see the fragments. In fact,
+it's a wonderful aërolite, and Mr. Rogan has just gone out with a lot
+of the bits in his pocket, to make a careful examination of them, and
+draw up a report for the Geological Society in London. I shouldn't
+wonder if he were to send off an express to-night; and maybe you will
+have to convey the news to headquarters, so you'd better go and see him
+about it soon."
+
+_Soft_ although Mr. Hamilton was supposed to be, he was not quite
+prepared to give credit to this explanation; but being of a peaceful
+disposition, and altogether unaccustomed to retort, he merely smiled
+his disbelief, as he proceeded to lay aside his fowling-piece, and
+divest himself of the voluminous out-of-door trappings with which he
+was clad. Mr. Hamilton was a tall, slender youth, of about nineteen. He
+had come out by the ship in autumn, and was spending his first winter
+at York Fort. Up to the period of his entering the Hudson's Bay
+Company's service, he had never been more than twenty miles from home,
+and having mingled little with the world, was somewhat unsophisticated,
+besides being by nature gentle and unassuming.
+
+Soon after this the man who acted as cook, waiter, and butler to the
+mess, entered, and said that Mr. Rogan desired to see the accountant
+immediately.
+
+"Who am I to say did it?" enquired that gentleman, as he rose to obey
+the summons.
+
+"Wouldn't it be a disinterested piece of kindness if you were to say it
+was yourself?" suggested the doctor.
+
+"Perhaps it would, but I won't," replied the accountant, as he made his
+exit.
+
+In about half-an-hour Mr. Rogan and the accountant re-entered the
+apartment. The former had quite regained his composure. He was
+naturally amiable; which happy disposition was indicated by a
+habitually cheerful look and smile.
+
+"Now, gentlemen," said he, "I find that this practical joke was not
+intended for me, and therefore look upon it as an unlucky accident; but
+I cannot too strongly express my dislike to practical jokes of all
+kinds. I have seen great evil, and some bloodshed, result from
+practical jokes; and I think that, being a sufferer in consequence of
+your fondness for them, I have a right to beg that you will abstain
+from such doings in future--at least from such jokes as involve risk to
+those who do not choose to enter into them."
+
+Having given vent to this speech, Mr. Rogan left his volatile friends
+to digest it at their leisure.
+
+"Serves us right," said the skipper, pacing up and down the room in a
+repentant frame of mind, with his thumbs hooked into the arm-holes of
+his vest.
+
+The doctor said nothing, but breathed hard and smoked vigorously.
+
+While we admit most thoroughly with Mr. Rogan that practical jokes are
+exceedingly bad, and productive frequently of far more evil than fun,
+we feel it our duty, as a faithful delineator of manners, customs, and
+character in these regions, to urge in palliation of the offence
+committed by the young gentlemen at York Fort, that they had really
+about as few amusements and sources of excitement as fall to the lot of
+any class of men. They were entirely dependent on their own unaided
+exertions, during eight or nine months of the year, for amusement or
+recreation of any kind. Their books were few in number, and soon read
+through. The desolate wilderness around afforded no incidents to form
+subjects of conversation further than the events of a day's shooting,
+which, being nearly similar every day, soon lost all interest. No
+newspapers came to tell of the doings of the busy world from which they
+were shut out, and nothing occurred to vary the dull routine of their
+life; so that it is not matter for wonder that they were driven to seek
+for relaxation and excitement occasionally in most outrageous and
+unnatural ways, and to indulge now and then in the perpetration of a
+practical joke.
+
+For some time after the rebuke administered by Mr. Rogan, silence
+reigned in _Bachelor's Hall_, as the clerks' house was termed. But at
+length symptoms of _ennui_ began to be displayed. The doctor yawned and
+lay down on his bed to enjoy an American newspaper about twelve months
+old. Harry Somerville sat down to reread a volume of Franklin's travels
+in the polar regions, which he had perused twice already. Mr. Hamilton
+busied himself in cleaning his fowling-piece; while the skipper
+conversed with Mr. Wilson, who was engaged in his room in adjusting an
+ivory head to a walking-stick. Mr. Wilson was a jack-of-all-trades, who
+could make shift, one way or other, to do _anything_. The accountant
+paced the uncarpeted floor in deep contemplation.
+
+At length he paused, and looked at Harry Somerville for some time.
+
+"What say you to a walk through the woods to North River, Harry?"
+
+"Ready," cried Harry, tossing down the book with a look of
+contempt--"ready for anything."
+
+"Will _you_ come, Hamilton?" added the accountant. Hamilton looked up
+in surprise.
+
+"You don't mean, surely, to take so long a walk in the dark, do you? It
+is snowing, too, very heavily, and I think you said that North River
+was five miles off, did you not?"
+
+"Of course I mean to walk in the dark," replied the accountant, "unless
+you can extemporize an artificial light for the occasion, or prevail on
+the moon to come out for my special benefit. As to snowing and a short
+tramp of five miles, why, the sooner you get to think of such things as
+_trifles_ the better, if you hope to be fit for anything in this
+country."
+
+"I _don't_ think much of them," replied Hamilton, softly and with a
+slight smile; "I only meant that such a walk was not very _attractive_
+so late in the evening."
+
+"Attractive!" shouted Harry Somerville from his bedroom, where he was
+equipping himself for the walk; "what can be more attractive than a
+sharp run of ten miles through the woods on a cool night to visit your
+traps, with the prospect of a silver fox or a wolf at the end of it,
+and an extra sound sleep as the result? Come, man, don't be soft; get
+ready, and go along with us."
+
+"Besides," added the accountant, "I don't mean to come back to-night.
+To-morrow, you know, is a holiday, so we can camp out in the snow after
+visiting the traps, have our supper, and start early in the morning to
+search for ptarmigan."
+
+"Well, I will go," said Hamilton, after this account of the pleasures
+that were to be expected; "I am exceedingly anxious to learn to shoot
+birds on the wing."
+
+"Bless me! have you not learned that yet!" asked the doctor, in
+affected surprise, as he sauntered out of his bedroom to relight his
+pipe.
+
+The various bedrooms in the clerks' house were ranged round the hall,
+having doors that opened directly into it, so that conversation carried
+on in a loud voice was heard in all the rooms at once, and was not
+infrequently sustained in elevated tones from different apartments,
+when the occupants were lounging, as they often did of an evening, in
+their beds.
+
+"No," said Hamilton, in reply to the doctor's question, "I have not
+learned yet, although there were a great many grouse in the part of
+Scotland where I was brought up. But my aunt, with whom I lived, was so
+fearful of my shooting either myself or someone else, and had such an
+aversion to firearms, that I determined to make her mind easy, by
+promising that I would never use them so long as I remained under her
+roof."
+
+"Quite right; very dutiful and proper," said the doctor, with a grave,
+patronising air.
+
+"Perhaps you'll fall in with more _fox_ tracks of the same sort as the
+one you gave chase to this morning," shouted the skipper, from Wilson's
+room.
+
+"Oh! there's hundreds of them out there," said the accountant; "so
+let's off at once."
+
+The trio now proceeded to equip themselves for the walk. Their costumes
+were peculiar, and merit description. As they were similar in the chief
+points, it will suffice to describe that of our friend Harry.
+
+On his head he wore a fur-cap made of otter-skin, with a flap on each
+side to cover the ears, the frost being so intense in these climates
+that without some such protection they would inevitably freeze and fall
+off.
+
+As the nose is constantly in use for the purposes of respiration, it is
+always left uncovered to fight with the cold as it best can; but it is
+a hard battle, and there is no doubt that, if it were possible, a nasal
+covering would be extremely pleasant. Indeed, several desperate efforts
+_have_ been made to construct some sort of nose-bag, but hitherto
+without success, owing to the uncomfortable fact that the breath
+issuing from that organ immediately freezes, and converts the covering
+into a bag of snow or ice, which is not agreeable. Round his neck Harry
+wound a thick shawl of such portentious dimensions that it entirely
+enveloped the neck and lower part of the face; thus the entire head
+was, as it were, eclipsed--the eyes, the nose, and the cheek-bones
+alone being visible. He then threw on a coat made of deer-skin, so
+prepared that it bore a slight resemblance to excessively coarse
+chamois leather. It was somewhat in the form of a long, wide surtout,
+overlapping very much in front, and confined closely to the figure by
+means of a scarlet worsted belt instead of buttons, and was ornamented
+round the foot by a number of cuts, which produced a fringe of little
+tails. Being lined with thick flannel, this portion of attire was
+rather heavy, but extremely necessary. A pair of blue cloth leggings,
+having a loose flap on the outside, were next drawn on over the
+trousers, as an additional protection to the knees. The feet, besides
+being portions of the body that are peculiarly susceptible of cold, had
+further to contend against the chafing of the lines which attach them
+to the snow-shoes, so that special care in their preparation for duty
+was necessary. First were put on a pair of blanketing or duffel socks,
+which were merely oblong in form, without sewing or making-up of any
+kind. These were wrapped round the feet, which were next thrust into a
+pair of made-up socks, of the same material, having ankle-pieces; above
+these were put _another_ pair, _without_ flaps for the ankles. Over all
+was drawn a pair of moccasins made of stout deer-skin, similar to that
+of the coat. Of course, the elegance of Harry's feet was entirely
+destroyed, and had he been met in this guise by any of his friends in
+the "old country," they would infallibly have come to the conclusion
+that he was afflicted with gout. Over his shoulders he slung a
+powder-horn and shot-pouch, the latter tastefully embroidered with dyed
+quill-work, A pair of deer-skin mittens, having a little bag for the
+thumb, and a large bag for the fingers, completed his costume.
+
+While the three were making ready, with a running accompaniment of
+grunts and groans at refractory pieces of apparel, the night without
+became darker, and the snow fell thicker, so that when they issued
+suddenly out of their warm abode, and emerged into the sharp frosty
+air, which blew the snow-drift into their eyes, they felt a momentary
+desire to give up the project and return to their comfortable quarters.
+
+"What a dismal-looking night it is!" said the accountant, as he led the
+way along the wooden platform towards the gate of the fort.
+
+"Very!" replied Hamilton, with an involuntary shudder.
+
+"Keep up your heart," said Harry, in a cheerful voice; "you've no
+notion how your mind will change on that point when you have walked a
+mile or so and got into a comfortable heat. I must confess, however,
+that a little moonshine would be an improvement," he added, on
+stumbling, for the third time, off the platform into the deep snow.
+
+"It is full moon just now," said the accountant, "and I think the
+clouds look as if they would break soon. At any rate, I've been at
+North River so often that I believe I could walk out there blindfold."
+
+As he spoke they passed the gate, and diverging to the right,
+proceeded, as well as the imperfect light permitted, along the footpath
+that led to the forest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+The walk continued--Frozen toes--An encampment in the snow.
+
+
+After quitting York Fort, the three friends followed the track leading
+to the spot where the winter's firewood was cut. Snow was still falling
+thickly, and it was with some difficulty that the accountant kept in
+the right direction. The night was excessively dark, while the dense
+fir forest, through which the narrow road ran, rendered the gloom if
+possible more intense.
+
+When they had proceeded about a mile, their leader suddenly came to a
+stand.
+
+"We must quit the track now," said he; "so get on your snow-shoes as
+fast as you can."
+
+Hitherto they had carried their snow-shoes under their arms, as the
+beaten track along which they travelled rendered them unnecessary; but
+now, having to leave the path and pursue the remainder of their journey
+through deep snow, they availed themselves of those useful machines, by
+means of which the inhabitants of this part of North America are
+enabled to journey over many miles of trackless wilderness, with nearly
+as much ease as a sportsman can traverse the moors in autumn, and that
+over snow so deep that one hour's walk through it _without_ such aids
+would completely exhaust the stoutest trapper, and advance him only a
+mile or so on his journey. In other words, to walk without snow-shoes
+would be utterly impossible, while to walk with them is easy and
+agreeable. They are not used after the manner of skates, with a
+_sliding_, but a _stepping_ action, and their sole use is to support
+the wearer on the top of snow, into which without them he would sink up
+to the waist. When we say that they support the wearer on the _top_ of
+the snow, of course we do not mean that they literally do not break the
+surface at all. But the depth to which they sink is comparatively
+trifling, and varies according to the state of the snow and the season
+of the year. In the woods they sink frequently about six inches,
+sometimes more, sometimes less, while on frozen rivers, where the snow
+is packed solid by the action of the wind, they sink only two or three
+inches, and sometimes so little as to render it preferable to walk
+without them altogether. Snow-shoes are made of a light, strong
+framework of wood, varying from three to six feet long by eighteen and
+twenty inches broad, tapering to a point before and behind, and turning
+up in front. Different tribes of Indians modify the form a little, but
+in all essential points they are the same. The framework is filled up
+with a netting of deer-skin threads, which unites lightness with great
+strength, and permits any snow that may chance to fall upon the netting
+to pass through it like a sieve.
+
+On the present occasion the snow, having recently fallen, was soft, and
+the walking, consequently, what is called heavy.
+
+"Come on," shouted the accountant, as he came to a stand for the third
+time within half-an-hour, to await the coming up of poor Hamilton, who,
+being rather awkward in snow-shoe walking even in daylight, found it
+nearly impossible in the dark.
+
+"Wait a little, please," replied a faint voice in the distance; "I've
+got among a quantity of willows, and find it very difficult to get on.
+I've been down twice al--"
+
+The sudden cessation of the voice, and a loud crash as of breaking
+branches, proved too clearly that our friend had accomplished his third
+fall.
+
+"There he goes again," exclaimed Harry Somerville, who came up at the
+moment. "I've helped him up once already. We'll never get to North
+River at this rate. What _is_ to be done?"
+
+"Let's see what has become of him this time, however," said the
+accountant, as he began to retrace his steps. "If I mistake not, he
+made rather a heavy plunge that time, judging from the sound."
+
+At that moment the clouds overhead broke, and a moonbeam shot down into
+the forest, throwing a pale light over the cold scene. A few steps
+brought Harry and the accountant to the spot whence the sound had
+proceeded, and a loud startling laugh rang through the night air, as
+the latter suddenly beheld poor Hamilton struggling, with his arms,
+head, and shoulders stuck into the snow, his snow-shoes twisted and
+sticking with the heels up and awry, in a sort of rampant confusion,
+and his gun buried to the locks beside him. Regaining one's
+perpendicular after a fall in deep snow, when the feet are encumbered
+by a pair of long snow-shoes, is by no means an easy thing to
+accomplish, in consequence of the impossibility of getting hold of
+anything solid on which to rest the hands. The depth is so great that
+the outstretched arms cannot find bottom, and every successive struggle
+only sinks the unhappy victim deeper down. Should no assistance be
+near, he will soon beat the snow to a solidity that will enable him to
+rise, but not in a very enviable or comfortable condition.
+
+"Give me a hand, Harry," gasped Hamilton, as he managed to twist his
+head upwards for a moment.
+
+"Here you are," cried Harry, holding out his hand and endeavouring to
+suppress his desire to laugh; "up with you," and in another moment the
+poor youth was upon his legs, with every fold and crevice about his
+person stuffed to repletion with snow.
+
+"Come, cheer up," cried the accountant, giving the youth a slap on the
+back; "there's nothing like experience--the proverb says that it even
+teaches fools, so you need not despair."
+
+Hamilton smiled as he endeavoured to shake off some of his white
+coating.
+
+"We'll be all right immediately," added Harry; "I see that the country
+ahead is more open, so the walking will be easier."
+
+"Oh, I wish that I had not come!" said Hamilton, sorrowfully, "because
+I am only detaining you. But perhaps I shall do better as we get on. At
+any rate, I cannot go back now, as I could never find the way."
+
+"Go back! of course not," said the accountant; "in a short time we
+shall get into the old woodcutters' track of last year, and although
+it's not beaten at all, yet it is pretty level and open, so that we
+shall get on famously."
+
+"Go on, then," sighed Hamilton.
+
+"Drive ahead," laughed Harry, and without further delay they resumed
+their march, which was soon rendered more cheerful as the clouds rolled
+away, the snow ceased to fall, and the bright full moon poured its rays
+down upon their path.
+
+For a long time they proceeded in silence, the muffled sound of the
+snow, as it sank beneath their regular footsteps, being the only
+interruption to the universal stillness around. There is something very
+solemnizing in a scene such as we are now describing--the calm
+tranquillity of the arctic night; the pure whiteness of the snowy
+carpet, which rendered the dark firs inky black by contrast; the clear,
+cold, starry sky, that glimmered behind the dark clouds, whose heavy
+masses, now rolling across the moon, partially obscured the landscape,
+and anon, passing slowly away, let a flood of light down upon the
+forest, which, penetrating between the thick branches, scattered the
+surface of the snow, as it were, with flakes of silver. Sleep has often
+been applied as a simile to nature in repose, but in this case death
+seemed more appropriate. So silent, so cold, so still was the scene,
+that it filled the mind with an indefinable feeling of dread, as if
+there was some mysterious danger near. Once or twice during their walk
+the three travellers paused to rest, but they spoke little, and in
+subdued voices, as if they feared to break the silence of the night.
+
+"It is strange," said Harry, in a low tone, as he walked beside
+Hamilton, "that such a scene as this always makes me think more than
+usual of home."
+
+"And yet it is natural," replied the other, "because it reminds us more
+forcibly than any other that we are in a foreign land--in the lonely
+wilderness--far away from home."
+
+Both Harry and Hamilton had been trained in families where the Almighty
+was feared and loved, and where their minds had been early led to
+reflect upon the Creator when regarding the works of His hand: their
+thoughts, therefore, naturally reverted to another home, compared with
+which this world is indeed a cold, lonely wilderness; but on such
+subjects they feared to converse, partly from a dread of the ridicule
+of reckless companions, partly from ignorance of each other's feelings
+on religious matters, and although their minds were busy, their tongues
+were silent.
+
+The ground over which the greater part of their path lay was a swamp,
+which, being now frozen, was a beautiful white plain, so that their
+advance was more rapid, until they approached the belt of woodland that
+skirts North River. Here they again encountered the heavy snow, which
+had been such a source of difficulty to Hamilton at setting out. He had
+profited by his former experience, however, and by the exercise of an
+excessive degree of caution managed to scramble through the woods
+tolerably well, emerging at last, along with his companions, on the
+bleak margin of what appeared to be the frozen sea.
+
+North River, at this place, is several miles broad, and the opposite
+shore is so low that the snow causes it to appear but a slight
+undulation of the frozen bed of the river. Indeed, it would not be
+distinguishable at all, were it not for the willow bushes and dwarf
+pines, whose tops, rising above the white garb of winter, indicate that
+_terra firma_ lies below.
+
+"What a cold, desolate-looking place!" said Hamilton, as the party
+stood still to recover breath before taking their way over the plain to
+the spot where the accountant's traps were set. "It looks much more
+like the frozen sea than a river."
+
+"It can scarcely be called a river at this place," remarked the
+accountant, "seeing that the water hereabouts is brackish, and the
+tides ebb and flow a good way up. In fact, this is the extreme mouth of
+North River, and if you turn your eyes a little to the right, towards
+yonder ice-hummock in the plain, you behold the frozen sea itself."
+
+"Where are your traps set?" inquired Harry.
+
+"Down in the hollow, behind yon point covered with brushwood."
+
+"Oh, we shall soon get to them then; come along," cried Harry.
+
+Harry was mistaken, however. He had not yet learned by experience the
+extreme difficulty of judging of distance in the uncertain light of
+night--a difficulty that was increased by the ignorance of the
+locality, and by the gleams of moonshine that shot through the driving
+clouds and threw confused fantastic shadows over the plain. The point
+which he had at first supposed was covered with low bushes, and about a
+hundred yards off, proved to be clad in reality with large bushes and
+small trees, and lay at a distance of two miles.
+
+"I think you have been mistaken in supposing the point so near, Harry,"
+said Hamilton, as he trudged on beside his friend.
+
+"A fact evident to the naked eye," replied Harry. "How do your feet
+stand it, eh? Beginning to lose bark yet?"
+
+Hamilton did not feel quite sure. "I think," said he softly, "that
+there is a blister under the big toe of my left foot. It feels very
+painful."
+
+"If you feel at all _uncertain_ about it, you may rest assured that
+there _is_ a blister. These things don't give much pain at first. I'm
+sorry to tell you, my dear fellow, that you'll be painfully aware of
+the fact to-morrow. However, don't distress yourself; it's a part of
+the experience that everyone goes through in this country. Besides,"
+said Harry smiling, "we can send to the fort for medical advice."
+
+"Don't bother the poor fellow, and hold your tongue. Harry," said the
+accountant, who now began to tread more cautiously as he approached the
+place where the traps were set.
+
+"How many traps have you?" inquired Harry in a low tone.
+
+"Three," replied the accountant.
+
+"Do you know I have a very strange feeling about my heels--or rather a
+want of feeling," said Hamilton, smiling dubiously.
+
+"A want of feeling! what do you mean?" cried the accountant, stopping
+suddenly and confronting his young friend.
+
+"Oh, I daresay it's nothing," he exclaimed, looking as if ashamed of
+having spoken of it; "only I feel exactly as if both my heels were cut
+off, and I were walking on tip-toe!"
+
+"Say you so? then right about wheel. Your heels are frozen, man, and
+you'll lose them if you don't look sharp."
+
+"Frozen!" cried Hamilton, with a look of incredulity.
+
+"Ay, frozen; and it's lucky you told me. I've a place up in the woods
+here, which I call my winter camp, where we can get you put to rights.
+But step out; the longer we are about it the worse for you."
+
+Harry Somerville was at first disposed to think that the accountant
+jested, but seeing that he turned his back towards his traps, and made
+for the nearest point of the thick woods with a stride that betokened
+thorough sincerity, he became anxious too, and followed as fast as
+possible.
+
+The place to which the accountant led his young friends was a group of
+fir trees which grew on a little knoll, that rose a few feet above the
+surrounding level country. At the foot of this hillock a small rivulet
+or burn ran in summer, but the only evidence of its presence now was
+the absence of willow bushes all along its covered narrow bed. A level
+tract was thus formed by nature, free from all underwood, and running
+inland about the distance of a mile, where it was lost in the swamp
+whence the stream issued. The wooded knoll or hillock lay at the mouth
+of this brook, and being the only elevated spot in the neighbourhood,
+besides having the largest trees growing on it, had been selected by
+the accountant as a convenient place for "camping out" on, when he
+visited his traps in winter, and happened to be either too late or
+disinclined to return home. Moreover, the spreading fir branches
+afforded an excellent shelter alike from wind and snow in the centre of
+the clump, while from the margin was obtained a partial view of the
+river and the sea beyond. Indeed, from this look-out there was a very
+fine prospect on clear winter nights of the white landscape, enlivened
+occasionally by groups of arctic foxes, which might be seen scampering
+about in sport, and gambolling among the hummocks of ice like young
+kittens.
+
+"Now we shall turn up here," said the accountant, as he walked a short
+way up the brook before mentioned, and halted in front of what appeared
+to be an impenetrable mass of bushes.
+
+"We shall have to cut our way, then," said Harry, looking to the right
+and left in the vain hope of discovering a place where, the bushes
+being less dense, they might effect an entrance into the knoll or grove.
+
+"Not so. I have taken care to make a passage into my winter camp,
+although it was only a whim, after all, to make a concealed entrance,
+seeing that no one ever passes this way except wolves and foxes, whose
+noses render the use of their eyes in most cases unnecessary."
+
+So saying, the accountant turned aside a thick branch, and disclosed a
+narrow track, into which he entered, followed by his two companions.
+
+A few minutes brought them to the centre of the knoll. Here they found
+a clear space of about twenty feet in diameter, round which the trees
+circled so thickly that in daylight nothing could be seen but
+tree-stems as far as the eye could penetrate, while overhead the broad
+flat branches of the firs, with their evergreen verdure, spread out and
+interlaced so thickly that very little light penetrated into the space
+below. Of course at night, even in moonlight, the place was pitch dark.
+Into this retreat the accountant led his companions, and bidding them
+stand still for a minute lest they should stumble into the fireplace,
+he proceeded to strike a light.
+
+Those who have never travelled in the wild parts of this world can form
+but a faint conception of the extraordinary and sudden change that is
+produced, not only in the scene, but in the mind of the beholder, when
+a blazing fire is lighted on a dark night. Before the fire is kindled,
+and you stand, perhaps (as Harry and his friend did on the present
+occasion) shivering in the cold, the heart sinks, and sad, gloomy
+thoughts arise, while your eye endeavours to pierce the thick darkness,
+which, if it succeeds in doing so, only adds to the effect by
+disclosing the pallid snow, the cold, chilling beams of the moon, the
+wide vista of savage scenery, the awe-inspiring solitudes that tell of
+your isolated condition, or stir up sad memories of other and
+far-distant scenes. But the moment the first spark of fire sends a
+fitful gleam of light upwards, these thoughts and feelings take wing
+and vanish. The indistinct scenery is rendered utterly invisible by the
+red light, which attracts and rivets the eye as if by a species of
+fascination. The deep shadows of the woods immediately around you grow
+deeper and blacker as the flames leap and sparkle upwards, causing the
+stems of the surrounding trees, and the foliage of the overhanging
+branches, to stand out in bold relief, bathed in a ruddy glow, which
+converts the forest chamber into a snug _home-like_ place, and fills
+the mind with agreeable, _home-like_ feelings and meditations. It
+seemed as if the spirit, in the one case, were set loose and
+etherealized to enable it to spread itself over the plains of cold,
+cheerless, illimitable space, and left to dwell upon objects too wide
+to grasp, too indistinct to comprehend; while, in the other, it is
+recalled and concentrated upon matters circumscribed and congenial,
+things of which it has long been cognizant, and which it can appreciate
+and enjoy without the effort of a thought.
+
+Some such thoughts and feelings passed rapidly through the minds of
+Harry and Hamilton, while the accountant struck a light and kindled a
+roaring fire of logs, which he had cut and arranged there on a previous
+occasion. In the middle of the space thus brilliantly illuminated, the
+snow had been cleared away till the moss was uncovered, thus leaving a
+hole of about ten feet in diameter. As the snow was quite four feet
+deep, the hole was surrounded with a pure white wall, whose height was
+further increased by the masses thrown out in the process of digging to
+nearly six feet. At one end of this space was the large fire which had
+just been kindled, and which, owing to the intense cold, only melted a
+very little of the snow in its immediate neighbourhood. At the other
+end lay a mass of flat pine branches, which were piled up so thickly as
+to form a pleasant elastic couch, the upper end being slightly raised
+so as to form a kind of bolster, while the lower extended almost into
+the fire. Indeed, the branches at the extremity were burnt quite brown,
+and some of them charred. Beside the bolster lay a small wooden box, a
+round tin kettle, an iron tea-kettle, two tin mugs, a hatchet, and a
+large bundle tied up in a green blanket. There were thus, as it were,
+two apartments, one within the other--namely, the outer one, whose
+walls were formed of tree-stems and thick darkness, and the ceiling of
+green boughs; and then the inner one, with walls of snow, that sparkled
+in the firelight as if set with precious stones, and a carpet of
+evergreen branches.
+
+Within this latter our three friends were soon actively employed. Poor
+Hamilton's moccasins were speedily removed, and his friends, going down
+on their knees, began to rub his feet with a degree of energy that
+induced him to beg for mercy.
+
+"Mercy!" exclaimed the accountant, without pausing for an instant;
+"faith, it's little mercy there would be in stopping just now.--Rub
+away, Harry. Don't give in. They're coming right at last."
+
+After a very severe rubbing, the heels began to show symptoms of
+returning vitality. They were then wrapped up in the folds of a thick
+blanket, and held sufficiently near to the fire to prevent any chance
+of the frost getting at them again.
+
+"Now, my boy," said the accountant, as he sat down to enjoy a pipe and
+rest himself on a blanket, which, along with the one wrapped round
+Hamilton's feet, had been extracted from the green bundle before
+mentioned--"now, my boy, you'll have to enjoy yourself here as you best
+can for an hour or two, while Harry and I visit the traps. Would you
+like supper before we go, or shall we have it on our return?"
+
+"Oh, I'll wait for it by all means till you return. I don't feel a bit
+hungry just now, and it will be much more cheerful to have it after all
+your work is over. Besides, I feel my feet too painful to enjoy it just
+now."
+
+"My poor fellow," said Harry, whose heart smote him for having been
+disposed at first to treat the thing lightly, "I'm really sorry for
+you. Would you not like me to stay with you?"
+
+"By no means," replied Hamilton quickly. "You can do nothing more for
+me, Harry; and I should be very sorry if you missed seeing the traps."
+
+"Oh, never mind the traps. I've seen traps, and set them too, fifty
+times before now. I'll stop with you, old boy, I will," said Harry
+doggedly, while he made arrangements to settle down for the evening.
+
+"Well, if _you_ won't go, I will," said Hamilton coolly, as he unwound
+the blanket from his feet and began to pull on his socks.
+
+"Bravo, my lad!" exclaimed the accountant, patting him approvingly on
+the back; "I didn't think you had half so much pluck in you. But it
+won't do, old fellow. You're in _my_ castle just now, and must obey
+orders. You couldn't walk half-a-mile for your life; so just be pleased
+to pull off your socks again. Besides, I want Harry to help me to carry
+up my foxes, if there are any;--so get ready, sirrah!"
+
+"Ay, ay, captain," cried Harry, with a laugh, while he sprang up and
+put on his snow-shoes.
+
+"You needn't bring your gun," said the accountant, shaking the ashes
+from his pipe as he prepared to depart, "but you may as well shove that
+axe into your belt; you may want it.--Now, mind, don't roast your
+feet," he added, turning to Hamilton.
+
+"Adieu!" cried Harry, with a nod and a smile, as he turned to go. "Take
+care the bears don't find you out."
+
+"No fear. Good-bye, Harry," replied Hamilton, as his two friends
+disappeared in the wood and left him to his solitary meditations.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+Shows how the accountant and Harry set their traps, and what came of it.
+
+
+The moon was still up, and the sky less overcast, when our amateur
+trappers quitted the encampment, and, descending to the mouth of the
+little brook, took their way over North River in the direction of the
+accountant's traps. Being somewhat fatigued both in mind and body by
+the unusual exertions of the night, neither of them spoke for some
+time, but continued to walk in silence, contemplatively gazing at their
+long shadows.
+
+"Did you ever trap a fox, Harry?" said the accountant at length.
+
+"Yes, I used to set traps at Red River; but the foxes there are not
+numerous, and are so closely watched by the dogs that they have become
+suspicious. I caught but few."
+
+"Then you know how to _set_ a trap?"
+
+"Oh, yes; I've set both steel and snow traps often. You've heard of old
+Labonté, who used to carry one of the winter packets from Red River
+until within a few years back?"
+
+"Yes, I've heard of him; his name is in my ledger--at least, if you
+mean Pierre Labonté, who came down last fall with the brigade."
+
+"The same. Well, he was a great friend of mine. His little cabin lay
+about two miles from Fort Garry, and after work was over in the office
+I used to go down to sit and chat with him by the fire, and many a time
+I have sat up half the night listening to him as he recounted his
+adventures. The old man never tired of relating them, and of smoking
+twist tobacco. Among other things, he set my mind upon trapping, by
+giving me an account of an expedition he made, when quite a youth, to
+the Rocky Mountains; so I got him to go into the woods and teach me how
+to set traps and snares, and I flatter myself he found me an apt pupil."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the accountant; "I have no doubt you do _flatter_
+yourself. But here we are. The traps are just beyond that mound; so
+look out, and don't stick your feet into them."
+
+"Hist!" exclaimed Harry, laying his hand suddenly on his companion's
+arm. "Do you see _that_?" pointing towards the place where the traps
+were said to be.
+
+"You have sharp eyes, younker. I _do_ see it, now that you point it
+out. It's a fox, and caught, too, as I'm a scrivener."
+
+"You're in luck to-night," exclaimed Harry, eagerly, "It's a _silver_
+fox. I see the white tip on its tail."
+
+"Nonsense," cried the accountant, hastening forward; "but we'll soon
+settle the point."
+
+Harry proved to be right. On reaching the spot they found a beautiful
+black fox, caught by the fore leg in a steel trap, and gazing at them
+with a look of terror.
+
+The skin of the silver fox--so called from a slight sprinkling of pure
+white hairs covering its otherwise jet-black body--is the most valuable
+fur obtained by the fur-traders, and fetches an enormous price in the
+British market, so much as thirty pounds sterling being frequently
+obtained for a single skin. The foxes vary in colour from jet black,
+which is the most valuable, to a light silvery hue, and are hailed as
+great prizes by the Indians and trappers when they are so fortunate as
+to catch them. They are not numerous, however, and being exceedingly
+wary and suspicious, are difficult to catch, ft may be supposed,
+therefore, that our friend the accountant ran to secure his prize with
+some eagerness.
+
+"Now, then, my beauty, don't shrink," he said, as the poor fox backed
+at his approach as far as the chain which fastened the trap to a log of
+wood, would permit, and then, standing at bay, showed a formidable row
+of teeth. That grin was its last; another moment, and the handle of the
+accountant's axe stretched it lifeless on the snow.
+
+"Isn't it a beauty!" cried he, surveying the animal with a look of
+triumphant pleasure; and then feeling as if he had compromised his
+dignity a little by betraying so much glee, he added, "But come now,
+Harry; we must see to the other traps. It's getting late."
+
+The others were soon visited; but no more foxes were caught. However,
+the accountant set them both off to see that all was right; and then
+readjusting one himself, told Harry to set the other, in order to clear
+himself of the charge of boasting.
+
+Harry, nothing loath, went down on his knees to do so.
+
+The steel trap used for catching foxes is of exactly the same form as
+the ordinary rat-trap, with this difference, that it has two springs
+instead of one, is considerably larger, and has no teeth, as these
+latter would only tend to spoil the skin. Owing to the strength of the
+springs, a pretty strong effort is required to set the trap, and,
+clumsy fellows frequently catch the tails of their coats or the ends of
+their belts, and not unfrequently the ends of their fingers, in their
+awkward attempts. Haying set it without any of the above untoward
+accidents occurring, Harry placed it gently on a hole which he had
+previously scraped--placing it in such a manner that the jaws and
+plate, or trigger, were a hair-breadth below the level of the snow.
+After this he spread over it a very thin sheet of paper, observing as
+he did so that hay or grass was preferable; but as there was none at
+hand, paper would do. Over this he sprinkled snow very lightly, until
+every vestige of the trap was concealed from view, and the whole was
+made quite level with the surrounding plain, so that even the
+accountant himself, after he had once removed his eyes from it, could
+not tell where it lay. Some chips of a frozen ptarmigan were then
+scattered around the spot, and a piece of wood left to mark its
+whereabouts. The bait is always scattered _round_ and not _on_ the
+trap, as the fox, in running from one piece to another, is almost
+certain to set his foot on it, and so get caught by the leg; whereas,
+were the bait placed _upon_ the trap, the fox would be apt to get
+caught, while in the act of eating, by the snout, which, being
+wedge-like in form, is easily dragged out of its gripe.
+
+"Now then, what say you to going farther out on the river, and making a
+snow trap for white foxes?" said the accountant. "We shall still have
+time to do so before the moon sets."
+
+"Agreed," cried Harry. "Come along."
+
+Without further parley they left the spot and stretched out towards the
+sea.
+
+The snow on the river was quite hard on its surface, so that snow-shoes
+being unnecessary, they carried them over their shoulders, and advanced
+much more rapidly. It is true that their road was a good deal broken,
+and jagged pieces of ice protruded their sharp corners so as to render
+a little attention necessary in walking; but one or two severe bumps on
+their toes made our friends sensitively alive to these minor dangers of
+the way.
+
+"There goes a pack of them!" exclaimed Harry, as a troop of white foxes
+scampered past, gambolling as they went, and, coming suddenly to a halt
+at a short distance, wheeled about and sat down on their haunches,
+apparently resolved to have a good look at the strangers who dared to
+venture into their wild domain.
+
+"Oh, they are the most stupid brutes alive," said the accountant, as he
+regarded the pack with a look of contempt. "I've seen one of them sit
+down and look at me while I set a trap right before his eyes; and I had
+not got a hundred yards from the spot when a yell informed me that the
+gentleman's curiosity had led him to put his foot right into it."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Harry. "I had no idea that they were so tame.
+Certainly no other kind of fox would do that."
+
+"No, that's certain. But these fellows have done it to me again and
+again. I shouldn't wonder if we got one to-night in the very same way.
+I'm sure, by the look of these rascals, that they would do anything of
+a reckless, stupid nature just now."
+
+"Had we not better make our trap here, then? There is a point, not
+fifty yards off, with trees on it large enough for our purpose."
+
+"Yes; it will do very well here. Now, then, to work. Go to the wood,
+Harry, and fetch a log or two, while I cut out the slabs." So saying,
+the accountant drew the axe which he always carried in his belt; and
+while Harry entered the wood and began to hew off the branch of a tree,
+he proceeded, as he had said, to "cut out the slabs." With the point of
+his knife he first of all marked out an oblong in the snow, then cut
+down three or four inches with the axe, and putting the handle under
+the cut, after the manner of a lever, detached a thick solid slab of
+about three inches thick, which, although not so hard as ice, was quite
+hard enough for the purpose for which it was intended. He then cut two
+similar slabs, and a smaller one, the same in thickness and breadth,
+but only half the length. Having accomplished this, he raised himself
+to rest a little, and observed that Harry approached, staggering under
+a load of wood, and that the foxes were still sitting on their
+haunches, gazing at him with a look of deep interest.
+
+"If I only had my gun here!" thought he. But not having it, he merely
+shook his fist at them, stooped down again, and resumed his work. With
+Harry's assistance the slabs were placed in such a way as to form a
+sort of box or house, having one end of it open. This was further
+plastered with soft snow at the joinings, and banked up in such a way
+that no animal could break into it easily--at least such an attempt
+would be so difficult as to make an entrance into the interior by the
+open side much more probable. When this was finished, they took the
+logs that Harry had cut and carried with so much difficulty from the
+wood, and began to lop off the smaller branches and twigs. One large
+log was placed across the opening of the trap, while the others were
+piled on one end of it so as to press it down with their weight. Three
+small pieces of stick were now prepared--two of them being about half a
+foot long, and the other about a foot. On the long piece of stick the
+breast of a ptarmigan was fixed as a bait, and two notches cut, the one
+at the end of it, the other about four or five inches further down. All
+was now ready to set the trap.
+
+"Raise the log now while I place the trigger," said Harry, kneeling
+down in front of the door, while the accountant, as directed, lifted up
+the log on which the others lay so as to allow his companion to
+introduce the bait-stick, in such a manner as to support it, while the
+slightest pull on the bait would set the stick with the notches free,
+and thus permit the log to fall on the back of the fox, whose effort to
+reach the bait would necessarily place him under it.
+
+While Harry was thus engaged, the accountant stood up and looked
+towards the foxes. They had approached so near in their curiosity, that
+he was induced to throw his axe frantically at the foremost of the
+pack. This set them galloping off, but they soon halted and sat down as
+before.
+
+"What aggravating brutes they are, to be sure!" said Harry, with a
+laugh, as his companion returned with the hatchet.
+
+"Humph! yes, but we'll be upsides with them yet. Come along into the
+wood, and I wager that in ten minutes we shall have one."
+
+They immediately hurried towards the wood, but had not walked fifty
+paces when they were startled by a loud yell behind them.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed the accountant, while he and Harry turned round
+with a start. "It cannot surely be possible that they have gone in
+already." A loud howl followed the remark, and the whole pack fled over
+the plain like snow-drift, and disappeared.
+
+"Ah, that's a pity! something must have scared them to make them take
+wing like that. However, we'll get one to-morrow for certain; so come
+along, lad, let us make for the camp."
+
+"Not so fast," replied the other; "if you hadn't pored over the big
+ledger till you were blind, you would see that there is _one_ prisoner
+already."
+
+This proved to be the case. On returning to the spot they found an
+arctic fox in his last gasp, lying flat on the snow, with the heavy log
+across his back, which seemed to be broken. A slight tap on the snout
+with the accountant's deadly axe-handle completed its destruction.
+
+"We're in luck to-night," cried Harry, as he kneeled again to reset the
+trap. "But after all these white brutes are worth very little; I fancy
+a hundred of their skins would not be worth the black one you got
+first."
+
+"Be quick, Harry; the moon is almost down, and poor Hamilton will think
+that the polar bears have got hold of us."
+
+"Ail right! Now then, step out," and glancing once more at the trap to
+see that all was properly arranged, the two friends once more turned
+their faces homewards, and travelled over the snow with rapid strides.
+
+The moon had just set, leaving the desolate scene in deep gloom, so
+that they could scarcely find their way to the forest; and when they
+did at last reach its shelter, the night became so intensely dark that
+they had almost to grope their way, and would certainly have lost it
+altogether were it not for the accountant's thorough knowledge of the
+locality. To add to their discomfort, as they stumbled on, snow began
+to fall, and ere long a pretty steady breeze of wind drove it sharply
+in their faces. However, this mattered but little, as they penetrated
+deeper in among the trees, which proved a complete shelter both from
+wind and snow. An hour's march brought them to the mouth of the brook,
+although half that time would have been sufficient had it been
+daylight, and a few minutes later they had the satisfaction of hearing
+Hamilton's voice hailing them as they pushed aside the bushes and
+sprang into the cheerful light of their encampment.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Harry, as he leaped into the space before the fire,
+and flung the two foxes at Hamilton's feet. "What do you think of
+_that_, old fellow? How are the heels? Rather sore, eh? Now for the
+kettle. Polly, put the kettle on; we'll all have--My eye! where's the
+kettle, Hamilton? have you eaten it?"
+
+"If you compose yourself a little, Harry, and look at the fire, you'll
+see it boiling there."
+
+"Man, what a chap you are for making unnecessary speeches! Couldn't you
+tell me to look at the fire without the preliminary piece of advice to
+_compose_ myself? Besides, you talk nonsense, for I'm composed already,
+of blood, bones, flesh, sinews, fat, and--"
+
+"Humbug!" interrupted the accountant. "Lend a hand to get supper, you
+young goose!"
+
+"And so," continued Harry, not noticing the interruption, "I cannot be
+expected, nor is it necessary, to _compose_ myself over again. But to
+be serious," he added, "it was very kind and considerate of you, Hammy,
+to put on the kettle, when your heels were in a manner uppermost."
+
+"Oh, it was nothing at all; my heels are much better, thank you, and it
+kept me from wearying."
+
+"Poor fellow!" said the accountant, while he busied himself in
+preparing their evening meal, "you must be quite ravenous by this
+time--at least _I_ am, which is the same thing."
+
+Supper was soon ready. It consisted of a large kettle of tea, a lump of
+pemmican, a handful of broken biscuit, and three ptarmigan--all of
+which were produced from the small wooden box which the accountant was
+wont to call his camp-larder. The ptarmigan had been shot two weeks
+before, and carefully laid up for future use; the intense frost being a
+sufficient guarantee for their preservation for many months, had that
+been desired.
+
+It would have done you good, reader (supposing you to be possessed of
+sympathetic feelings), to have witnessed those three nor'-westers
+enjoying their supper in the snowy camp. The fire had been replenished
+with logs, till it roared and crackled again, as if it were endued with
+a vicious spirit, and wished to set the very snow in flames. The walls
+shone like alabaster studded with diamonds, while the green boughs
+overhead and the stems around were of a deep red colour in the light of
+the fierce blaze. The tea-kettle hissed, fumed, and boiled over into
+the fire. A mass of pemmican simmered in the lid in front of it. Three
+pannikins of tea reposed on the green branches, their refreshing
+contents sending up little clouds of steam, while the ptarmigan, now
+split up, skewered, and roasted, were being heartily devoured by our
+three hungry friends.
+
+The pleasures that fall to the lot of man are transient. Doubtless they
+are numerous and oft recurring; still they are transient, and
+so--supper came to an end.
+
+"Now for a pipe," said the accountant, disposing his limbs at full
+length on a green blanket. "O thou precious weed, what should we do
+without thee!"
+
+"Smoke _tea_, to be sure," answered Harry.
+
+"Ah! true, it _is_ possible to exist on a pipe of tea-leaves for a
+time, but _only_ for a time. I tried it myself once, in desperation,
+when I ran short of tobacco on a journey, and found it execrable, but
+better than nothing."
+
+"Pity we can't join you in that." remarked Harry.
+
+"True; but perhaps since you cannot pipe, it might prove an agreeable
+diversification to dance."
+
+"Thank you, I'd rather not," said Harry; "and as for Hamilton, I'm
+convinced that _his_ mind is made up on the subject.--How go the heels
+now?"
+
+"Thank you, pretty well," he replied, reclining his head on the pine
+branches, and extending his smitten members towards the fire. "I think
+they will be quite well in the morning."
+
+"It is a curious thing," remarked the accountant, in a soliloquising
+tone, "that _soft_ fellows _never_ smoke!"
+
+"I beg your pardon," said Harry, "I've often seen hot loaves smoke, and
+they're soft enough fellows, in all conscience!"
+
+"Ah!" sighed the accountant, "that reminds me of poor Peterkin, who was
+_so_ soft that he went by the name of 'Butter.' Did you ever hear of
+what he did the summer before last with an Indian's head?"
+
+"No, never; what was it!"
+
+"I'll tell you the story," replied the accountant, drawing a few
+vigorous whiffs of smoke, to prevent his pipe going out while he spoke.
+
+As the story in question, however, depicts a new phase of society in
+the woods, it deserves a chapter to itself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+The accountant's story.
+
+
+"Spring had passed away, and York Fort was filled with all the bustle
+and activity of summer. Brigades came pouring in upon us with furs from
+the interior, and as every boat brought a C. T. or a clerk, our
+mess-table began to overflow.
+
+"You've not seen the summer mess-room filled yet, Hamilton. That's a
+treat in store for you."
+
+"It was pretty full last autumn, I think," suggested Hamilton, "at the
+time I arrived from England."
+
+"Full! why, man, it was getting to feel quite lonely at that time. I've
+seen more than fifty sit down to table there, and it was worth going
+fifty miles to hear the row they kicked up--telling stories without end
+(and sometimes without foundation) about their wild doings in the
+interior, where every man-jack of them having spent at least eight
+months almost in perfect solitude, they hadn't had a chance of letting
+their tongues go till they came down here. But to proceed. When the
+ship came out in the fall, she brought a batch of new clerks, and among
+them was this miserable chap Peterkin, whom we soon nicknamed _Butter_.
+He was the softest fellow I ever knew (far worse than you, Hamilton),
+and he hadn't been here a week before the wild blades from the
+interior, who were bursting with fun and mischief, began to play off
+all kinds of practical jokes upon him. The very first day he sat down
+at the mess-table, our worthy governor (who, you are aware, detests
+practical jokes) played him a trick, quite unintentionally, which
+raised a laugh against him for many a day. You know that old Mr. Rogan
+is rather absent at times; well, the first day that Peterkin came to
+mess (it was breakfast), the old governor asked him, in a patronizing
+sort of way, to sit at his right hand. Accordingly down he sat, and
+having never, I fancy, been away from his mother's apron-string before,
+he seemed to feel very uncomfortable, especially as he was regarded as
+a sort of novelty. The first thing he did was to capsize his plate into
+his lap, which set the youngsters at the lower end of the table into
+suppressed fits of laughter. However, he was eating the leg of a dry
+grouse at the time, so it didn't make much of a mess.
+
+"'Try some fish, Peterkin,' said Mr. Rogan kindly, seeing that the
+youth was ill at ease. 'That old grouse is tough enough to break your
+knife.'
+
+"'A very rough passage,' replied the youngster, whose mind was quite
+confused by hearing the captain of the ship, who sat next to him,
+giving to his next neighbour a graphic account of the voyage in a very
+loud key--'I mean, if you please, no, thank you,' he stammered,
+endeavouring to correct himself.
+
+"'Ah! a cup of tea perhaps.--Here, Anderson' (turning to the butler),
+'a cup of tea to Mr. Peterkin.'
+
+"The butler obeyed the order.
+
+"'And here, fill my cup,' said old Rogan, interrupting himself in an
+earnest conversation, into which he had plunged with the gentleman on
+his left hand. As he said this he lifted his cup to empty the slops,
+but without paying attention to what he was doing. As luck would have
+it, the slop-basin was not at hand, and Peterkin's cup _was_, so he
+emptied it innocently into that. Peterkin hadn't courage to arrest his
+hand, and when the deed was done he looked timidly round to see if the
+action had been observed. Nearly half the table had seen it, but they
+pretended ignorance of the thing so well that he thought no one had
+observed, and so went quietly on with his breakfast, and drank the tea!
+But I am wandering from my story. Well, about this time there was a
+young Indian who shot himself accidentally in the woods, and was
+brought to the fort to see if anything could be done for him. The
+doctor examined his wound, and found that the ball had passed through
+the upper part of his right arm and the middle of his right thigh,
+breaking the bone of the latter in its passage. It was an extraordinary
+shot for a man to put into himself, for it would have been next to
+impossible even for _another_ man to have done it, unless the Indian
+had been creeping on all fours. When he was able to speak, however, he
+explained the mystery. While running through a rough part of the wood
+after a wounded bird, he stumbled and fell on all fours. The gun, which
+he was carrying over his shoulder, holding it, as the Indians usually
+do, by the muzzle, flew forward, and turned right round as he fell, so
+that the mouth of it was presented towards him. Striking against the
+stem of a tree, it exploded and shot him through the arm and leg as
+described ere he had time to rise. A comrade carried him to his lodge,
+and his wife brought him in a canoe to the fort. For three or four days
+the doctor had hopes of him, but at last he began to sink, and died on
+the sixth day after his arrival. His wife and one or two friends buried
+him in our graveyard, which lies, as you know, on that lonely-looking
+point just below the powder-magazine. For several months previous to
+this our worthy doctor had been making strenuous efforts to get an
+Indian skull to send home to one of his medical friends, but without
+success. The Indians could not be prevailed upon to cut off the head of
+one of their dead countrymen for love or money, and the doctor had a
+dislike to the idea, I suppose, of killing one for himself; but now
+here was a golden opportunity. The Indian was buried near to the fort,
+and his relatives had gone away to their tents again. What was to
+prevent his being dug up? The doctor brooded over the thing for one
+hour and a half (being exactly the length of time required to smoke out
+his large Turkey pipe), and then sauntered into Wilson's room. Wilson
+was busy, as usual, at some of his mechanical contrivances.
+
+"Thrusting his hands deep into his breeches pockets, and seating
+himself on an old sea-chest, he began,--
+
+"'I say, Wilson, will you do me a favour?'
+
+"'That depends entirely on what the favour is,' he replied, without
+raising his head from his work.
+
+"'I want you to help me to cut off an Indian's head!'
+
+"' Then I _won't_ do you the favour. But pray, don't humbug me just
+now; I'm busy.'
+
+"'No; but I'm serious, and I can't get it done without help, and I know
+you're an obliging fellow. Besides, the savage is dead, and has no
+manner of use for his head now.'
+
+"Wilson turned round with a look of intelligence on hearing this.
+
+"'Ha!' he exclaimed, 'I see what you're up to; but I don't half like
+it. In the first place, his friends would be terribly cut up if they
+heard of it; and then I've no sort of aptitude for the work of a
+resurrectionist; and then, if it got wind, we should never hear the
+last of it; and then--'
+
+"'And then,' interrupted the doctor, 'it would be adding to the light
+of medical science, you unaspiring monster.'
+
+"'A light,' retorted Wilson, 'which, in passing through _some_ members
+of the medical profession, is totally absorbed, and reproduced in the
+shape of impenetrable darkness.'
+
+"'Now, don't object, my dear fellow; you _know_ you're going to do it,
+so don't coquette with me, but agree at once.'
+
+"'Well, I consent, upon one condition.'
+
+"'And what is that?'
+
+"'That you do not play any practical jokes on _me_ with the head when
+you have got it.'
+
+"'Agreed!' cried the doctor, laughing; 'I give you my word of honour.
+Now he has been buried three days already, so we must set about it at
+once. Fortunately the graveyard is composed of a sandy soil, so he'll
+keep for some time yet.
+
+"The two worthies then entered into a deep consultation as to how they
+were to set about this deed of darkness. It was arranged that Wilson
+should take his gun and sally forth a little before dark, as if he were
+bent on an hour's sport, and, not forgetting his game-bag, proceed to
+the graveyard, where the doctor engaged to meet him with a couple of
+spades and a dark lantern. Accordingly, next evening, Mr. Wilson, true
+to his promise, shouldered his gun and sallied forth.
+
+"It soon became an intensely dark night. Not a single star shone forth
+to illumine the track along which he stumbled. Everything around was
+silent and dark, and congenial with the work on which he was bent. But
+Wilson's heart beat a little more rapidly than usual. He is a bold
+enough man, as you know, but boldness goes for nothing when
+superstition comes into play. However, he trudged along fearlessly
+enough till he came to the thick woods just below the fort, into which
+he entered with something of a qualm. Scarcely had he set foot on the
+narrow track that leads to the graveyard, when he ran slap against the
+post that stands there, but which, in his trepidation, he had entirely
+forgotten. This quite upset the small amount of courage that remained,
+and he has since confessed that if he had not had the hope of meeting
+with the doctor in a few minutes, he would have turned round and fled
+at that moment.
+
+"Recovering a little from this accident, he hurried forward, but with
+more caution, for although the night seemed as dark as could possibly
+be while he was crossing the open country, it became speedily evident
+that there were several shades of darkness which he had not yet
+conceived. In a few minutes he came to the creek that runs past the
+graveyard, and here again his nerves got another shake; for slipping
+his foot while in the act of commencing the descent, he fell and rolled
+heavily to the bottom, making noise enough in his fall to scare away
+all the ghosts in the country. With a palpitating heart poor Wilson
+gathered himself up, and searched for his gun, which fortunately had
+not been injured, and then commenced to climb the opposite bank,
+starting at every twig that snapped under his feet. On reaching the
+level ground again he breathed a little more freely, and hurried
+forward with more speed than caution. Suddenly he came into violent
+contact with a figure, which uttered a loud growl as Wilson reeled
+backwards.
+
+"'Back, you monster,' he cried, with a hysterical yell, 'or I'll blow
+your brains out!'
+
+"'It's little good _that_ would do ye,' cried the doctor as he came
+forward. 'Why, you stupid, what did you take me for? You've nearly
+knocked out my brains as it is,' and the doctor rubbed his forehead
+ruefully.
+
+"'Oh, it's _you,_ doctor!' said Wilson, feeling as if a ton weight had
+been lifted off his heart; 'I verily thought it was the ghost of the
+poor fellow we're going to disturb. I do think you had better give it
+up. Mischief will come of it, you'll see.'
+
+"'Nonsense,' cried the doctor; 'don't be a goose, but let's to work at
+once. Why, I've got half the thing dug up already.' So saying, he led
+the way to the grave, in which there was a large opening. Setting the
+lantern down by the side of it, the two seized their spades and began
+to dig as if in earnest.
+
+"The fact is that the doctor was nearly as frightened as Wilson, and he
+afterwards confessed to me that it was an immense relief to him when he
+heard him fall down the bank of the creek, and knew by the growl he
+gave that it was he.
+
+"In about half-an-hour the doctor's spade struck upon the coffin lid,
+which gave forth a hollow sound.
+
+"'Now then, we're about done with it,' said he, standing up to wipe
+away the perspiration that trickled down his face. 'Take the axe and
+force up the lid, it's only fixed with common nails, while I--' He did
+not finish the sentence, but drew a large scalping-knife from a sheath
+which hung at his belt.
+
+"Wilson shuddered and obeyed. A good wrench caused the lid to start,
+and while he held it partially open the doctor inserted the knife. For
+five minutes he continued to twist and work with his arms, muttering
+between his teeth, every now and then, that he was a 'tough subject,'
+while the crackling of bones and other disagreeable sounds struck upon
+the horrified ears of his companion.
+
+"'All right,' he exclaimed at last, as he dragged a round object from
+the coffin and let down the lid with a bang, at the same time placing
+the savage's head with its ghastly features full in the blaze of the
+lantern.
+
+"'Now, then, close up,' said he, jumping out of the hole and shovelling
+in the earth.
+
+"In a few minutes they had filled the grave up and smoothed it down on
+the surface, and then, throwing the head into the game-bag, retraced
+their steps to the fort. Their nerves were by this time worked up to
+such a pitch of excitement, and their minds filled with such a degree
+of supernatural horror, that they tripped and stumbled over stumps and
+branches innumerable in their double-quick march. Neither would confess
+to the other, however, that he was afraid. They even attempted to pass
+a few facetious remarks as they hurried along, but it would not do, so
+they relapsed into silence till they came to the hollow beside the
+powder-magazine. Here the doctor's foot happening to slip, he suddenly
+grasped Wilson by the shoulder to support himself--a movement which,
+being unexpected, made his friend leap, as he afterwards expressed it,
+nearly out of his skin. This was almost too much for them. For a moment
+they looked at each other as well as the darkness would permit, when
+all at once a large stone, which the doctor's slip had overbalanced,
+fell down the bank and through the bushes with a loud crash. Nothing
+more was wanting. All further effort to disguise their feelings was
+dropped. Leaping the rail of the open field in a twinkling, they gave a
+simultaneous yell of consternation and fled to the fort like autumn
+leaves before the wind, never drawing breath till they were safe within
+the pickets."
+
+"But what has all this to do with Peterkin?" asked Harry, as the
+accountant paused to relight his pipe and toss a fresh log on the fire.
+
+"Have patience, lad; you shall hear."
+
+The accountant stirred the logs with his toe, drew a few whiffs to see
+that the pipe was properly ignited, and proceeded.
+
+"For a day or two after this, the doctor was observed to be often
+mysteriously engaged in an outhouse, of which he kept the key. By some
+means or other, the skipper, who is always up to mischief, managed to
+discover the secret. Watching where the doctor hid the key, he
+possessed himself of it one day, and sallied forth, bent on a lark of
+some kind or other, but without very well knowing what. Passing the
+kitchen, he observed Anderson, the butler, raking the fire out of the
+large oven which stands in the backyard.
+
+"'Baking again, Anderson?' said he in passing. 'You get soon through
+with a heavy cargo of bread just now.'
+
+"'Yes, sir; many mouths to feed, sir,' replied the butler, proceeding
+with his work.
+
+"The skipper sauntered on, and took the track which led to the
+boathouse, where he stood for some time in meditation. Casting up his
+eyes, he saw Peterkin in the distance, looking as if he didn't very
+well know what to do.
+
+"A sudden thought struck him. Pulling off his coat, he seized a mallet
+and a calking-chisel, and began to belabour the side of a boat as if
+his life depended on it. All at once he stopped and stood up, blowing
+with the exertion.
+
+"'Hollo, Peterkin!' he shouted, and waved his hand.
+
+"Peterkin hastened towards him.
+
+"'Well, sir' said he, 'do you wish to speak to me?'
+
+"'Yes,' replied the skipper, scratching his head, as if in great
+perplexity. 'I wish you to do me a favour, Peterkin, but I don't know
+very well how to ask you.'
+
+"'Oh, I shall be most happy,' said poor Butter eagerly, 'if I can be of
+any use to you.'
+
+"'I don't doubt your willingness,' replied the other; 'but then--the
+doctor, you see--the fact is, Peterkin, the doctor being called away to
+see a sick Indian, has intrusted me with a delicate piece of
+business--rather a nasty piece of business, I may say--which I promised
+to do for him. You must know that the Surgical Society of London has
+written to him, begging, as a great favour, that he would, if possible,
+procure them the skull of a native. After much trouble, he has
+succeeded in getting one, but is obliged to keep it a great secret,
+even from his fellow-clerks, lest it should get wind: for if the
+Indians heard of it they would be sure to kill him, and perhaps burn
+the fort too. Now I suppose you are aware that it is necessary to boil
+an Indian's head in order to get the flesh clean off the skull?'
+
+"'Yes; I have heard something of that sort from the students at
+college, who say that boiling brings flesh more easily away from the
+bone. But I don't know much about it,' replied Peterkin.
+
+"'Well,' continued the skipper, 'the doctor, who is fond of
+experiments, wishes to try whether _baking_ won't do better than
+_boiling_, and ordered the oven to be heated for that purpose this
+morning; but being called suddenly away, as I have said, he begged me
+to put the head into it as soon as it was ready. I agreed, quite
+forgetting at the time that I had to get this precious boat ready for
+sea this very afternoon. Now the oven is prepared, and I dare not leave
+my work; indeed, I doubt whether I shall have it quite ready and taut
+after all, and there's the oven cooling; so, if you don't help me, I'm
+a lost man.'
+
+"Having said this, the skipper looked as miserable as his jolly visage
+would permit, and rubbed his nose.
+
+"'Oh, I'll be happy to do it for you, although it is not an agreeable
+job,' replied Butter.
+
+"'That's right--that's friendly now!' exclaimed the skipper, as if
+greatly relieved. 'Give us your flipper, my lad;' and seizing
+Peterkin's hand, he wrung it affectionately. 'Now, here is the key of
+the outhouse; do it as quickly as you can, and don't let anyone see
+you. It's in a good cause, you know, but the results might be terrible
+if discovered.'
+
+"So saying, the skipper fell to hammering the boat again with
+surprising vigour till Butter was out of sight, and then resuming his
+coat, returned to the house.
+
+"An hour after this, Anderson went to take his loaves out of the oven;
+but he had no sooner taken down the door than a rich odour of cooked
+meat greeted his nostrils. Uttering a deep growl, the butler shouted
+out 'Sprat!'
+
+"Upon this, a very thin boy, with arms and legs like pipe stems, issued
+from the kitchen, and came timidly towards his master.
+
+"'Didn't I tell you, you young blackguard, that the grouse-pie was to
+be kept for Sunday? and there you've gone and put it to fire to-day.'
+
+"'The grouse-pie!' said the boy, in amazement.
+
+"'Yes, the grouse-pie,' retorted the indignant butler; and seizing the
+urchin by the neck, he held his head down to the mouth of the oven.
+
+"'Smell _that_, you villain! What did you mean by it, eh?'
+
+"'Oh, murder!' shouted the boy, as with a violent effort he freed
+himself, and ran shrieking into the house. "'Murder!' repeated Anderson
+in astonishment, while he stooped to look into the oven, where the
+first thing that met his gaze was a human head, whose ghastly visage
+and staring eyeballs worked and moved about under the influence of the
+heat as if it were alive.
+
+"With a yell that rung through the whole fort, the horrified butler
+rushed through the kitchen and out at the front door, where, as
+ill-luck would have it, Mr. Rogan happened to be standing at the
+moment. Pitching head first into the small of the old gentleman's back,
+he threw him off the platform and fell into his arms. Starting up in a
+moment, the governor dealt Anderson a cuff that sent him reeling
+towards the kitchen door again, on the steps of which he sat down, and
+began to sing out, 'Oh, murder, murder! the oven, the oven!' and not
+another word, bad, good, or indifferent, could be got out of him for
+the next half-hour, as he swayed himself to and fro and wrung his hands.
+
+"To make a long story short, Mr. Rogan went himself to the oven, and
+fished out the head, along with the loaves, which were, of course, all
+spoiled."
+
+"And what was the result?" enquired Harry.
+
+"Oh, there was a long investigation, and the skipper got a blowing-up,
+and the doctor a warning to let Indians' skulls lie at peace in their
+graves for the future, and poor Butter was sent to M'Kenzie's River as
+a punishment, for old Rogan could never be brought to believe that he
+hadn't been a willing tool in the skipper's hands; and Anderson lost
+his batch of bread and his oven, for it had to be pulled down and a new
+one built."
+
+"Humph! and I've no doubt the governor read you a pretty stiff lecture
+on practical joking."
+
+"He did," replied the accountant, laying aside his pipe and drawing the
+green blanket over him, while Harry piled several large logs on the
+fire.
+
+"Good-night," said the accountant.
+
+"Good-night," replied his companions; and in a few minutes more they
+were sound asleep in their snowy camp, while the huge fire continued,
+during the greater part of the night, to cast its light on their
+slumbering forms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+Ptarmigan-hunting--Hamilton's shooting powers severely tested--A
+snowstorm.
+
+
+At about four o'clock on the following morning, the sleepers were
+awakened by the cold, which had become very intense. The fire had
+burned down to a few embers, which merely emitted enough light to make
+darkness visible. Harry being the most active of the party, was the
+first to bestir himself. Raising himself on his elbow, while his teeth
+chattered and his limbs trembled with cold, he cast a woebegone and
+excessively sleepy glance towards the place where the fire had been;
+then he scratched his head slowly; then he stared at the fire again;
+then he languidly glanced at Hamilton's sleeping visage, and then he
+yawned. The accountant observed all this; for although he appeared to
+be buried in the depths of slumber, he was wide awake in reality, and
+moreover, intensely cold. The accountant, however, was sly--deep, as he
+would have said himself--and knew that Harry's active habits would
+induce him to rise, on awaking, and rekindle the fire,--an event which
+the accountant earnestly desired to see accomplished, but which he as
+earnestly resolved should not be performed by _him_. Indeed, it was
+with this end in view that he had given vent to the terrific snore
+which had aroused his young companion a little sooner than would have
+otherwise been the case.
+
+"My eye," exclaimed Harry, in an undertone, "how precious cold it is!"
+
+His eye making no reply to this remark, he arose, and going down on his
+hands and knees, began to coax the charcoal into a flame. By dint of
+severe blowing, he soon succeeded, and heaping on a quantity of small
+twigs, the fitful flame sprang up into a steady blaze. He then threw
+several heavy logs on the fire, and in a very short space of time
+restored it almost to its original vigour.
+
+"What an abominable row you are kicking up!" growled the accountant;
+"why, you would waken the seven sleepers. Oh! mending the fire," he
+added, in an altered tone: "ah! I'll excuse you, my boy, since that's
+what you're at."
+
+The accountant hereupon got up, along with Hamilton, who was now also
+awake, and the three spread their hands over the bright fire, and
+revolved their bodies before it, until they imbibed a satisfactory
+amount of heat. They were much too sleepy to converse, however, and
+contented themselves with a very brief enquiry as to the state of
+Hamilton's heels, which elicited the sleepy reply, "They feel quite
+well, thank you." In a short time, having become agreeably warm, they
+gave a simultaneous yawn, and lying down again, they fell into a sleep
+from which they did not awaken until the red winter sun shot its early
+rays over the arctic scenery.
+
+Once more Harry sprang up, and let his hand fall heavily on Hamilton's
+shoulder. Thus rudely assailed, that youth also sprang up, giving a
+shout, at the same time, that brought the accountant to his feet in an
+instant; and so, as if by an electric spark, the sleepers were
+simultaneously roused into a state of wide-awake activity.
+
+"How excessively hungry I feel! isn't it strange?" said Hamilton, as he
+assisted in rekindling the fire, while the accountant filled his pipe,
+and Harry stuffed the tea-kettle full of snow.
+
+"Strange!" cried Harry, as he placed the kettle on the fire--"strange
+to be hungry after a five miles' walk and a night in the snow? I would
+rather say it was strange if you were _not_ hungry. Throw on that
+billet, like a good fellow, and spit those grouse, while I cut some
+pemmican and prepare the tea."
+
+"How are the heels now, Hamilton?" asked the accountant, who divided
+his attention between his pipe and his snow-shoes, the lines of which
+required to be readjusted.
+
+"They appear to be as well as if nothing had happened to them," replied
+Hamilton: "I've been looking at them, and there is no mark whatever.
+They do not even feel tender."
+
+"Lucky for you, old boy, that they were taken in time, else you'd had
+another story to tell."
+
+"Do you mean to say that people's heels really freeze and fall off?"
+inquired the other, with a look of incredulity.
+
+"Soft, very soft and green," murmured Harry, in a low voice, while he
+continued his work of adding fresh snow to the kettle as the process of
+melting reduced its bulk.
+
+"I mean to say," replied the accountant, tapping the ashes out of his
+pipe, "that not only heels, but hands, feet, noses, and ears,
+frequently freeze, and often fall off in this country, as you will find
+by sad experience if you don't look after yourself a little better than
+you have done hitherto."
+
+One of the evil effects of the perpetual jesting that prevailed at York
+Fort was, that "soft" (in other words, straightforward, unsuspecting)
+youths had to undergo a long process of learning-by-experience: first,
+_believing_ everything, and then _doubting_ everything, ere they
+arrived at that degree of sophistication which enabled them to
+distinguish between truth and falsehood.
+
+Having reached the _doubting_ period in his training, Hamilton looked
+down and said nothing, at least with his mouth, though his eyes
+evidently remarked, "I don't believe you." In future years, however,
+the evidence of these same eyes convinced him that what the accountant
+said upon this occasion was but too true.
+
+Breakfast was a repetition of the supper of the previous evening.
+During its discussion they planned proceedings for the day.
+
+"My notion is," said the accountant, interrupting the flow of words
+ever and anon to chew the morsel with which his mouth was filled--"my
+notion is, that as it's a fine clear day we should travel five miles
+through the country parallel with North River. I know the ground, and
+can guide you easily to the spots where there are lots of willows, and
+therefore plenty of ptarmigan, seeing that they feed on willow tops;
+and the snow that fell last night will help us a little."
+
+"How will the snow help us?" inquired Hamilton.
+
+"By covering up all the old tracks, to be sure, and showing only the
+new ones."
+
+"Well, captain," said Harry, as he raised a can of tea to his lips, and
+nodded to Hamilton as if drinking his health, "go on with your
+proposals for the day. Five miles up the river to begin with, then--"
+
+"Then we'll pull up," continued the accountant; "make a fire, rest a
+bit, and eat a mouthful of pemmican; after which we'll strike across
+country for the southern woodcutters' track, and so home."
+
+"And how much will that be?"
+
+"About fifteen miles."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Harry; "pass the kettle, please. Thanks.--Do you think
+you're up to that, Hammy?"
+
+"I will try what I can do," replied Hamilton. "If the snow-shoes don't
+cause me to fall often, I think I shall stand the fatigue very well."
+
+"That's right," said the accountant; "'faint heart,' etc., you know. If
+you go on as you've begun, you'll be chosen to head the next expedition
+to the north pole."
+
+"Well," replied Hamilton, good-humouredly, "pray head the present
+expedition, and let us be gone."
+
+"Right!" ejaculated the accountant, rising. "I'll just put my odds and
+ends out of the reach of the foxes, and then we shall be off."
+
+In a few minutes everything was placed in security, guns loaded,
+snow-shoes put on, and the winter camp deserted. At first the walking
+was fatiguing, and poor Hamilton more than once took a sudden and
+eccentric plunge; but after getting beyond the wooded country, they
+found the snow much more compact, and their march, therefore, much more
+agreeable. On coming to the place where it was probable that they might
+fall in with ptarmigan, Hamilton became rather excited, and apt to
+imagine that little lumps of snow which hung upon the bushes here and
+there were birds.
+
+"There now," he cried, in an energetic and slightly positive tone, as
+another of these masses of snow suddenly met his eager eye--"that's
+one, I'm _quite_ sure."
+
+The accountant and Harry both stopped short on hearing this, and looked
+in the direction indicated.
+
+"Fire away, then, Hammy," said the former, endeavouring to suppress a
+smile.
+
+"But do you think it _really_ is one?" asked Hamilton, anxiously.
+
+"Well, I don't _see_ it exactly, but then, you know, I'm near-sighted."
+
+"Don't give him a chance of escape," cried Harry, seeing that his
+friend was undecided. "If you really do see a bird, you'd better shoot
+it, for they've got a strong propensity to take wing when disturbed."
+
+Thus admonished Hamilton raised his gun and took aim. Suddenly he
+lowered his piece again, and looking round at Harry, said in a low
+whisper,--
+
+"Oh, I should like _so_ much to shoot it while flying! Would it not be
+better to set it up first?"
+
+"By no means," answered the accountant. "'A bird in the hand,' etc.
+Take him as you find him--look sharp; he'll be off in a second."
+
+Again the gun was pointed, and, after some difficulty in taking aim,
+fired.
+
+"Ah, what a pity you've missed him!" shouted Harry,
+
+"But see, he's not off yet; how tame he is, to be sure! Give him the
+other barrel, Hammy."
+
+This piece of advice proved to be unnecessary. In his anxiety to get
+the bird, Hamilton had cocked both barrels, and while gazing, half in
+disappointment, half in surprise, at the supposed bird, his finger
+unintentionally pressed the second trigger. In a moment the piece
+exploded. Being accidentally aimed in the right direction, it blew the
+lump of snow to atoms, and at the same time hitting its owner on the
+chest with the butt, knocked him over flat upon his back.
+
+"What a gun it is, to be sure!" said Harry, with a roguish laugh, as he
+assisted the discomforted sportsman to rise; "it knocks over game with
+butt and muzzle at once."
+
+"Quite a rare instance of one butt knocking another down," added the
+accountant.
+
+At this moment a large flock of ptarmigan, startled by the double
+report, rose with a loud whirring noise about a hundred yards in
+advance, and after flying a short distance alighted.
+
+"There's real game at last, though," cried the accountant, as he
+hurried after the birds, followed closely by his young friends.
+
+They soon reached the spot where the flock had alighted, and after
+following up the tracks for a few yards further, set them up again. As
+the birds rose, the accountant fired and brought down two; Harry shot
+one and missed another; Hamilton being so nervously interested in the
+success of his comrades that he forgot to fire at all.
+
+"How stupid of me!" he exclaimed, while the others loaded their guns.
+
+"Never mind; better luck next time," said Harry, as they resumed their
+walk. "I saw the flock settle down about half-a-mile in advance of us;
+so step out."
+
+Another short walk brought the sportsmen again within range.
+
+"Go to the front, Hammy," said the accountant, "and take the first shot
+this time."
+
+Hamilton obeyed. He had scarcely made ten steps in advance, when a
+single bird, that seemed to have been separated from the others, ran
+suddenly out from under a bush, and stood stock-still, at a distance of
+a few yards, with its neck stretched out and its black eyes wide open,
+as if in astonishment.
+
+"Now then, you can't miss _that_."
+
+Hamilton was quite taken aback by the suddenness of this necessity for
+instantaneous action. Instead, therefore, of taking aim leisurely
+(seeing that he had abundant time to do so), he flew entirely to the
+opposite extreme, took no aim at all, and fired off both barrels at
+once, without putting the gun to his shoulder. The result of this was
+that the affrighted bird flew away unharmed, while Harry and the
+accountant burst spontaneously into fits of laughter.
+
+"How very provoking!" said the poor youth, with a dejected look.
+
+"Never mind--never say die--try again," said the accountant, on
+recovering his gravity. Having reloaded, they continued the pursuit.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed Harry, suddenly, "here are three dead birds.--I
+verily believe, Hamilton, that you have killed them all at one shot by
+accident."
+
+"Can it be possible?" exclaimed his friend, as with a look of amazement
+he regarded the birds.
+
+There was no doubt about the fact. There they lay, plump and still
+warm, with one or two drops of bright red blood upon their white
+plumage. Ptarmigan are almost pure white, so that it requires a
+practised eye to detect them, even at a distance of a few yards; and it
+would be almost impossible to hunt them without dogs, but for the
+tell-tale snow, in which their tracks are distinctly marked, enabling
+the sportsman to follow them up with unerring certainty. When Hamilton
+made his bad shot, neither he nor his companions observed a group of
+ptarmigan not more than fifty yards before them, their attention being
+riveted at the time on the solitary bird; and the gun happening to be
+directed towards them when it was fired, three were instantly and
+unwittingly placed _hors de combat_, while the others ran away. This
+the survivors frequently do when very tame, instead of taking wing.
+Thus it was that Hamilton, to his immense delight, made such a
+successful shot without being aware of it.
+
+Having bagged their game, the party proceeded on their way. Several
+large flocks of birds were raised, and the game-bags nearly filled,
+before reaching the spot where they intended to turn and bend their
+steps homewards. This induced them to give up the idea of going
+further; and it was fortunate they came to this resolution, for a storm
+was brewing, which in the eagerness of pursuit after game they had not
+noticed. Dark masses of leaden-coloured clouds were gathering in the
+sky overhead, and faint sighs of wind came, ever and anon, in fitful
+gusts from the north-west.
+
+Hurrying forward as quickly as possible, they now pursued their course
+in a direction which would enable them to cross the woodcutters' track.
+This they soon reached, and finding it pretty well beaten, were enabled
+to make more rapid progress. Fortunately the wind was blowing on their
+backs, otherwise they would have had to contend not only with its
+violence, but also with the snow-drift, which now whirled in bitter
+fury among the trees, or scoured like driving clouds over the plain.
+Under this aspect, the flat country over which they travelled seemed
+the perfection of bleak desolation. Their way, however, did not lie in
+a direct line. The track was somewhat tortuous, and gradually edged
+towards the north, until the wind blew nearly in their teeth. At this
+point, too, they came to a stretch of open ground which they had
+crossed at a point some miles further to the northward in their night
+march. Here the storm raged in all its fury, and as they looked out
+upon the plain, before quitting the shelter of the wood, they paused to
+tighten their belts and readjust their snow-shoe lines. The gale was so
+violent that the whole plain seemed tossed about like billows of the
+sea, as the drift rose and fell, curled, eddied, and dashed along, so
+that it was impossible to see more than half-a-dozen yards in advance.
+
+"Heaven preserve us from ever being caught in an exposed place on such
+a night as this!" said the accountant, as he surveyed the prospect
+before him. "Luckily the open country here is not more than a quarter
+of a mile broad, and even that little bit will try our wind somewhat."
+
+Hamilton and Harry seemed by their looks to say, "We could easily face
+even a stiffer breeze than that, if need be."
+
+"What should we do," inquired the former, "if the plain were five or
+six miles broad?"
+
+"Do? why, we should have to camp in the woods till it blew over, that's
+all," replied the accountant; "but seeing that we are not reduced to
+such a necessity just now, and that the day is drawing to a close, let
+us face it at once. I'll lead the way, and see that you follow close at
+my heels. Don't lose sight of me for a moment, and if you do by chance,
+give a shout; d'ye hear?"
+
+The two lads replied in the affirmative, and then bracing themselves up
+as if for a great effort, stepped vigorously out upon the plain, and
+were instantly swallowed up in clouds of snow. For half-an-hour or more
+they battled slowly against the howling storm, pressing forward for
+some minutes with heads down, as if _boring_ through it, then turning
+their backs to the blast for a few seconds' relief, but always keeping
+as close to each other as possible. At length the woods were gained; on
+entering which it was discovered that Hamilton was missing.
+
+"Hollo! where's Hamilton?" exclaimed Harry; "I saw him beside me not
+five minutes ago." The accountant gave a loud shout, but there was no
+reply. Indeed, nothing short of his own stentorian voice could have
+been heard at all amid the storm.
+
+"There's nothing for it," said Harry, "but to search at once, else
+he'll wander about and get lost." Saying this, he began to retrace his
+steps, just as a brief lull in the gale took place.
+
+"Hollo! don't you hear a cry, Harry?"
+
+At this moment there was another lull; the drift fell, and for an
+instant cleared away, revealing the bewildered Hamilton, not twenty
+yards off, standing, like a pillar of snow, in mute despair.
+
+Profiting by the glimpse, Harry rushed forward, caught him by the arm,
+and led him into the partial shelter of the forest.
+
+Nothing further befell them after this. Their route lay in shelter all
+the way to the fort. Poor Hamilton, it is true, took one or two of his
+occasional plunges by the way, but without any serious result--not even
+to the extent of stuffing his nose, ears, neck, mittens, pockets,
+gun-barrels, and everything else with snow, because, these being quite
+full and hard packed already, there was no room left for the addition
+of another particle.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+The winter packet--Harry hears from old friends, and wishes that he was
+with them.
+
+
+Letters from home! What a burst of sudden emotion--what a riot of
+conflicting feelings of dread and joy, expectation and anxiety--what a
+flood of old memories--what stirring up of almost forgotten
+associations these three words create in the hearts of those who dwell
+in distant regions of this earth, far, far away from kith and kin, from
+friends and acquaintances, from the much-loved scenes of childhood, and
+from _home_! Letters from home! How gratefully the sound falls upon
+ears that have been long unaccustomed to sounds and things connected
+with home, and so long accustomed to wild, savage sounds, that these
+have at length lost their novelty, and become everyday and commonplace,
+while the first have gradually grown strange and unwonted. For many
+long months home and all connected with it have become a dream of other
+days, and savage-land a present reality. The mind has by degrees become
+absorbed by surrounding objects--objects so utterly unassociated with
+or unsuggestive of any other land, that it involuntarily ceases to
+think of the scenes of childhood with the same feelings that it once
+did. As time rolls on, home assumes a misty, undefined character, as if
+it were not only distant in reality, but were also slowly retreating
+further and further away--growing gradually faint and dream-like,
+though not less dear, to the mental view.
+
+"Letters from home!" shouted Mr. Wilson, and the doctor, and the
+skipper, simultaneously, as the sportsmen, after dashing through the
+wild storm, at last reached the fort, and stumbled tumultuously into
+Bachelors' Hall.
+
+"What!--Where!--How!--You don't mean it!" they exclaimed, coming to a
+sudden stand, like three pillars of snow-clad astonishment.
+
+"Ay," replied the doctor, who affected to be quite cool upon all
+occasions, and rather cooler than usual if the occasion was more than
+ordinarily exciting--"ay, we _do_ mean it. Old Rogan has got the
+packet, and is even now disembowelling it."
+
+"More than that," interrupted the skipper, who sat smoking as usual by
+the stove, with his hands in his breeches pockets--"more than that, I
+saw him dissecting into the very marrow of the thing; so if we don't
+storm the old admiral in his cabin, he'll go to sleep over these prosy
+yarns that the governor-in-chief writes to him, and we'll have to
+whistle for our letters till midnight."
+
+The skipper's remark was interrupted by the opening of the outer door
+and the entrance of the butler. "Mr. Rogan wishes to see you, sir,"
+said that worthy to the accountant.
+
+"I'll be with him in a minute," he replied, as he threw off his capote
+and proceeded to unwind himself as quickly as his multitudinous haps
+would permit.
+
+By this time Harry Somerville and Hamilton were busily occupied in a
+similar manner, while a running fire of question and answer, jesting
+remark and bantering reply, was kept up between the young men, from
+their various apartments and the hall. The doctor was cool, as usual,
+and impudent. He had a habit of walking up and down while he smoked,
+and was thus enabled to look in upon the inmates of the several
+sleeping-rooms, and make his remarks in a quiet, sarcastic manner, the
+galling effect of which was heightened by his habit of pausing at the
+end of every two or three words, to emit a few puffs of smoke. Having
+exhausted a good deal of small talk in this way, and having, moreover,
+finished his pipe, the doctor went to the stove to refill and relight.
+
+"What a deal of trouble you do take to make yourself comfortable!" said
+he to the skipper, who sat with his chair tilted on its hind legs, and
+a pillow at his back.
+
+"No harm in that, doctor," replied the skipper, with a smile.
+
+"No harm, certainly, but it looks uncommonly lazy-like."
+
+"What does?"
+
+"Why, putting a pillow at your back, to be sure."
+
+The doctor was a full-fleshed, muscular man, and owing to this fact it
+mattered little to him whether his chair happened to be an easy one or
+not. As the skipper sometimes remarked, he carried padding always about
+with him; he was, therefore, a little apt to sneer at the attempts of
+his brethren to render the ill-shaped, wooden-bottomed chairs, with
+which the hall was ornamented, bearable.
+
+"Well, doctor," said the skipper, "I cannot see how you make me out
+lazy. Surely it is not an evidence of laziness, my endeavouring to
+render these instruments of torture less tormenting? Seeking to be
+comfortable, if it does not inconvenience anyone else, is not laziness.
+Why, what _is_ comfort?" The skipper began to wax philosophical at this
+point, and took the pipe from his mouth as he gravely propounded the
+momentous question. "What _is_ comfort? If I go out to camp in the
+woods, and after turning in find a sharp stump sticking into my ribs on
+one side, and a pine root driving in the small of my back on the other
+side, is _that_ comfort? Certainly not. And if I get up, seize a
+hatchet, level the stump, cut away the root, and spread pine brush over
+the place, am I to be called lazy for doing so? Or if I sit down on a
+chair, and on trying to lean back to rest myself find that the stupid
+lubber who made it has so constructed it that four small hard points
+alone touch my person--two being at the hip-joints and two at the
+shoulder-blades; and if to relieve such physical agony I jump up and
+clap a pillow at my back, am I to be called lazy for doing _that_?"
+
+"What a glorious entry that would make in the log!" said the doctor, in
+a low tone, soliloquizingly, as if he made the remark merely for his
+own satisfaction, while he tapped the ashes out of his pipe.
+
+The skipper looked as if he meditated a sharp reply; but his
+intentions, whatever they might have been, were interrupted by the
+opening of the door, and the entrance of the accountant, bearing under
+his arm a packet of letters.
+
+A general rush was made upon him, and in a few minutes a dead silence
+reigned in the hall, broken only at intervals by an exclamation of
+surprise or pathos, as the inmates, in the retirement of their separate
+apartments, perused letters from friends in the interior of the country
+and friends at home: letters that were old--some of them bearing dates
+many months back--and travel-stained, but new and fresh and cheering,
+nevertheless, to their owners, as the clear bright sun in winter or the
+verdant leaves in spring.
+
+Harry Somerville's letters were numerous and long. He had several from
+friends in Red River, besides one or two from other parts of the Indian
+country, and one--it was very thick and heavy--that bore the post-marks
+of Britain. It was late that night ere the last candle was extinguished
+in the hall, and it was late too before Harry Somerville ceased to
+peruse and re-peruse the long letter from home, and found time or
+inclination to devote to his other correspondents. Among the rest was a
+letter from his old friend and companion, Charley Kennedy, which ran as
+follows:--
+
+MY DEAR HARRY,--It really seems more than an age since I saw you. Your
+last epistle, written in the perturbation of mind consequent upon being
+doomed to spend another winter at York Fort, reached me only a few days
+ago, and filled me with pleasant recollections of other days. Oh! man,
+how much I wish that you were with me in this beautiful country! You
+are aware that I have been what they call "roughing it" since you and I
+parted on the shores of Lake Winnipeg; but, my dear fellow, the idea
+that most people have of what that phrase means is a very erroneous one
+indeed. "Roughing it," I certainly have been, inasmuch as I have been
+living on rough fare, associating with rough men, and sleeping on rough
+beds under the starry sky; but I assure you that all this is not half
+so rough upon the constitution as what they call leading an _easy
+life_, which is simply a life that makes a poor fellow stagnate, body
+and spirit, till the one comes to be unable to digest its food, and the
+other incompetent to jump at so much as half an idea. Anything but an
+easy life, to my mind. Ah! there's nothing like roughing it, Harry, my
+boy. Why, I am thriving on it--growing like a young walrus, eating like
+a Canadian voyageur, and sleeping like a top! This is a splendid
+country for sport, and as our _bourgeois_ [Footnote: The gentleman in
+charge of an establishment is always designated the bourgeois.] has
+taken it into his head that I am a good hand at making friends with the
+Indians, he has sent me out on several expeditions, and afforded me
+some famous opportunities of seeing life among the red-skins. There is
+a talk just now of establishing a new outpost in this district, so if I
+succeed in persuading the governor to let me accompany the party, I
+shall have something interesting to write about in my next letter. By
+the way, I wrote to you a month ago, by two Indians who said they were
+going to the missionary station at Norway House. Did you ever get it?
+There is a hunter here just now who goes by the name of Jacques
+Caradoc. He is a first-rater--can do anything, in a wild way, that lies
+within the power of mortal man, and is an inexhaustible
+anecdote-teller, in a quiet way. He and I have been out buffalo-hunting
+two or three times, and it would have done your heart good, Harry, my
+dear boy, to have seen us scouring over the prairie together on two
+big-boned Indian horses--regular trained buffalo-runners, that didn't
+need the spur to urge, nor the rein to guide them, when once they
+caught sight of the black cattle, and kept a sharp look-out for
+badger-holes, just as if they had been reasonable creatures. The first
+time I went out I had several rather ugly falls, owing to my
+inexperience. The fact is, that if a man has never run buffaloes
+before, he's sure to get one or two upsets, no matter how good a
+horseman he may be. And that monster Jacques, although he's the best
+fellow I ever met with for a hunting companion, always took occasion to
+grin at my mishaps, and gravely to read me a lecture to the effect that
+they were all owing to my own clumsiness or stupidity; which, you will
+acknowledge, was not calculated to restore my equanimity.
+
+The very first run we had cost me the entire skin of my nose, and
+converted that feature into a superb Roman for the next three weeks. It
+happened thus. Jacques and I were riding over the prairies in search of
+buffaloes. The place was interspersed with sundry knolls covered with
+trees, slips and belts of woodland, with ponds scattered among them,
+and open sweeps of the plain here and there; altogether a delightful
+country to ride through. It was a clear early morning, so that our
+horses were fresh and full of spirit. They knew, as well as we
+ourselves did, what we were out for, and it was no easy matter to
+restrain them. The one I rode was a great long-legged beast, as like as
+possible to that abominable kangaroo that nearly killed me at Red
+River; as for Jacques, he was mounted on a first-rate charger. I don't
+know how it is, but somehow or other everything about Jacques, or
+belonging to him, or in the remotest degree connected with him, is
+always first-rate! He generally owns a first-rate horse, and if he
+happens by any unlucky chance to be compelled to mount a bad one, it
+immediately becomes another animal. He seems to infuse some of his own
+wonderful spirit into it! Well, as Jacques and I curvetted along,
+skirting the low bushes at the edge of a wood, out burst a whole herd
+of buffaloes. Bang went Jacques's gun, almost before I had winked to
+make sure that I saw rightly, and down fell the fattest of them all,
+while the rest tossed up their tails, heels, and heads in one grand
+whirl of indignant amazement, and scoured away like the wind. In a
+moment our horses were at full stretch after them, on their _own_
+account entirely, and without any reference to _us_. When I recovered
+my self-possession a little, I threw forward my gun and fired; but
+owing to my endeavouring to hold the reins at the same time, I nearly
+blew off one of my horse's ears, and only knocked up the dust about six
+yards ahead of us! Of course Jacques could not let this pass unnoticed.
+He was sitting quietly loading his gun, as cool as a cucumber, while
+his horse was dashing forward at full stretch, with the reins hanging
+loosely on his neck.
+
+"Ah, Mister Charles," said he, with the least possible grin on his
+leathern visage, "that was not well done. You should never hold the
+reins when you fire, nor try to put the gun to your shoulder. It a'n't
+needful. The beast'll look arter itself, if it's a riglar
+buffalo-runner; any ways holdin' the reins is of no manner of use. I
+once know'd a gentleman that came out here to see the buffalo-huntin'.
+He was a good enough shot in his way, an' a first-rate rider. But he
+was full o' queer notions: he _would_ load his gun with the ramrod in
+the riglar way, instead o' doin' as we do, tumblin' in a drop powder,
+spittin' a ball out your mouth down the muzzle, and hittin' the stock
+on the pommel of the saddle to send it home. And he had them miserable
+things--the _somethin'_ 'cussion-caps, and used to fiddle away with
+them while we were knockin' over the cattle in all directions.
+Moreover, he had a notion that it was altogether wrong to let go his
+reins even for a moment, and so, what between the ramrod and the
+'cussion-caps and the reins, he was worse than the greenest clerk that
+ever came to the country. He gave it up in despair at last, after
+lamin' two horses, and finished off by runnin' after a big bull, that
+turned on him all of a suddent, crammed its head and horns into the
+side of his horse, and sent the poor fellow head over heels on the
+green grass. He wasn't much the worse for it, but his fine
+double-barrelled gun was twisted into a shape that would almost have
+puzzled an Injin to tell what it was." Well, Harry, all the time that
+Jacques was telling me this we were gaining on the buffaloes, and at
+last we got quite close to them, and as luck would have it, the very
+thing that happened to the amateur sportsman happened to me. I went
+madly after a big bull in spite of Jacques's remonstrances, and just as
+I got alongside of him up went his tail (a sure sign that his anger was
+roused), and round he came, head to the front, stiff as a rock; my poor
+charger's chest went right between his horns, and, as a matter of
+course, I continued the race upon _nothing_, head first, for a distance
+of about thirty yards, and brought up on the bridge of my nose. My poor
+dear father used to say I was a bull-headed rascal, and, upon my word,
+I believe he was more literally correct than he imagined; for although
+I fell with a fearful crash, head first, on the hard plain, I rose up
+immediately, and in a few minutes was able to resume the chase again.
+My horse was equally fortunate, for although thus brought to a sudden
+stand while at full gallop, he wheeled about, gave a contemptuous
+flourish with his heels, and cantered after Jacques, who soon caught
+him again. My head bothered me a good deal for some time after this
+accident, and swelled up till my eyes became almost undistinguishable;
+but a few weeks put me all right again. And who do you think this man
+Jacques is? You'd never guess. He's the trapper whom Redfeather told us
+of long ago, and whose wife was killed by the Indians. He and
+Redfeather have met, and are very fond of each other. How often in the
+midst of these wild excursions have my thoughts wandered to you, Harry!
+The fellows I meet with here are all kind-hearted, merry companions,
+but none like yourself. I sometimes say to Jacques, when we become
+communicative to each other beside the camp-fire, that my earthly
+felicity would be perfect if I had Harry Somerville here; and then I
+think of Kate, my sweet, loving sister Kate, and feel that, even
+although I had you with me, there would still be something wanting to
+make things perfect. Talking of Kate, by the way, I have received a
+letter from her, the first sheet of which, as it speaks of mutual Red
+River friends, I herewith enclose. Pray keep it safe, and return per
+first opportunity. We've loads of furs here and plenty of deerstalking,
+not to mention galloping on horseback on the plains in summer and
+dog-sledging in the winter. Alas! my poor friend, I fear that it is
+rather selfish in me to write so feelingly about my agreeable
+circumstances, when I know you are slowly dragging out your existence
+at that melancholy place York Fort; but believe me, I sympathize with
+you, and I hope earnestly that you will soon be appointed to more
+genial scenes. I have much, very much, to tell you yet, but am
+compelled to reserve it for a future epistle, as the packet which is to
+convey this is on the point of being closed.
+
+Adieu, my dear Harry, and wherever you may happen to pitch your tent,
+always bear in kindly remembrance your old friend,    CHARLES KENNEDY.
+
+The letter was finished, but Harry did not cease to hold intercourse
+with his friend. With his head resting on his two hands, and his elbows
+on the table, he sat long, silently gazing on the signature, while his
+mind revelled in the past, the present, and the future. He bounded over
+the wilderness that lay between him and the beautiful plains of the
+Saskatchewan. He seized Charley round the neck, and hugged and wrestled
+with him as in days of yore. He mounted an imaginary charger, and swept
+across the plains along with him; listened to anecdotes innumerable
+from Jacques, attacked thousands of buffaloes, singled out scores of
+wild bulls, pitched over horses' heads and alighted precisely on the
+bridge of his nose, always in close proximity to his old friend.
+Gradually his mind returned to its prison-house, and his eye fell on
+Kate's letter, which he picked up and began to read. It ran thus:--
+
+MY DEAR, DEAR, DARLING CHARLEY,--I cannot tell you how much my heart
+has yearned to see you, or hear from you, for many long, long months
+past. Your last delightful letter, which I treasure up as the most
+precious object I possess, has indeed explained to me how utterly
+impossible it was to have written a day sooner than you did; but that
+does not comfort me a bit, or make those weary packets more rapid and
+frequent in their movements, or the time that passes between the
+periods of hearing from you less dreary and anxious. God bless and
+protect you, my darling, in the midst of all the dangers that surround
+you. But I did not intend to begin this letter by murmuring, so pray
+forgive me, and I shall try to atone for it by giving you a minute
+account of everybody here about whom you are interested. Our beloved
+father and mother, I am thankful to say, are quite well. Papa has taken
+more than ever to smoking since you went away. He is seldom out of the
+summer-house in the garden now, where I very frequently go, and spend
+hours together in reading to and talking with him. He very often speaks
+of you, and I am certain that he misses you far more than we expected,
+although I think he cannot miss you nearly so much as I do. For some
+weeks past, indeed ever since we got your last letter, papa was engaged
+all the forenoon in some mysterious work, for he used to lock himself
+up in the summer-house--a thing he never did before. One day I went
+there at my usual time and instead of having to wait till he should
+unlock the door, I found it already open, and entered the room, which
+was so full of smoke that I could hardly see. I found papa writing at a
+small table, and the moment he heard my footstep he jumped up with a
+fierce frown, and shouted, "Who's there?" in that terrible voice that
+he used to speak in long ago when angry with his men, but which he has
+almost quite given up for some time past. He never speaks to me, as you
+know very well, but in the kindest tones, so you may imagine what a
+dreadful fright I got for a moment; but it was only for a moment,
+because the instant he saw that it was me his dear face changed, and he
+folded me in his arms, saying, "Ah, Kate, forgive me, my darling! I did
+not know it was you, and I thought I had locked the door, and was angry
+at being so unceremoniously interrupted." He then told me he was just
+finishing a letter of advice to you, and going up to the table, pushed
+the papers hurriedly into a drawer. As he did so, I guessed what had
+been his mysterious occupation, for he seemed to have covered _quires_
+of paper with the closest writing. Ah, Charley, you're a lucky fellow
+to be able to extort such long letters from our dear father. You know
+how difficult he finds it to write even the shortest note, and you
+remember his old favourite expression, "I would rather skin a wild
+buffalo bull alive than write a long letter." He deserves long ones in
+return, Charley; but I need not urge you on that score--you are an
+excellent correspondent. Mamma is able to go out every day now for a
+drive in the prairie. She was confined to the house for nearly three
+weeks last month, with some sort of illness that the doctor did not
+seem to understand, and at one time I was much frightened, and very,
+very anxious about her, she became so weak. It would have made your
+heart glad to have seen the tender way in which papa nursed her through
+the illness. I had fancied that he was the very last man in the world
+to make a sick-nurse, so bold and quick in his movements, and with such
+a loud, gruff voice--for it _is_ gruff, although very sweet at the same
+time. But the moment he began to tend mamma he spoke more softly even
+than dear Mr. Addison does, and he began to walk about the house on
+tiptoe, and persevered so long in this latter that all his moccasins
+began to be worn out at the toes, while the heels remained quite
+strong. I begged of him often not to take so much trouble, as _I_ was
+naturally the proper nurse for mamma; but he wouldn't hear of it, and
+insisted on carrying breakfast, dinner, and tea to her, besides giving
+her all her medicine. He was for ever making mistakes, however, much to
+his own sorrow, the darling man; and I had to watch him pretty closely,
+for more than once he has been on the point of giving mamma a glass of
+laudanum in mistake for a glass of port wine. I was a good deal
+frightened for him at first, as, before he became accustomed to the
+work, he tumbled over the chairs and tripped on the carpets while
+carrying trays with dinners and breakfasts, till I thought he would
+really injure himself at last, and then he was so terribly angry with
+himself at making such a noise and breaking the dishes--I think he has
+broken nearly an entire dinner and tea set of crockery. Poor George,
+the cook, has suffered most from these mishaps--for you know that dear
+papa cannot get angry without letting a _little_ of it out upon
+somebody; and whenever he broke a dish or let a tray fall, he used to
+rush into the kitchen, shake his fist in George's face, and ask him, in
+a fierce voice, what he meant by it. But he always got better in a few
+seconds, and finished off by telling him never to mind, that he was a
+good servant on the whole, and he wouldn't say any more about it just
+now, but he had better look sharp out and not do it again. I must say,
+in praise of George, that on such occasions he looked very sorry
+indeed, and said he hoped that he would always do his best to give him
+satisfaction. This was only proper in him, for he ought to be very
+thankful that our father restrains his anger so much; for you know he
+was rather violent _once_, and you've no idea, Charley, how great a
+restraint he now lays on himself. He seems to me quite like a lamb, and
+I am beginning to feel somehow as if we had been mistaken, and that he
+never was a passionate man at all. I think it is partly owing to dear
+Mr. Addison, who visits us very frequently now, and papa and he are
+often shut up together for many hours in the smoking-house. I was sure
+that papa would soon come to like him, for his religion is so free from
+everything like severity or affected solemnity. The cook, and Rosa, and
+my dog that you named Twist, are all quite well. The last has grown
+into a very large and beautiful animal, something like the stag-hound
+in the picture-book we used to study together long ago. He is
+exceedingly fond of me, and I feel him to be quite a protector. The
+cocks and hens, the cow and the old mare, are also in perfect health;
+so now, having told you a good deal about ourselves, I will give you a
+short account of the doings in the colony.
+
+First of all, your old friend Mr. Kipples is still alive and well, and
+so are all our old companions in the school. One or two of the latter
+have left, and young Naysmith has joined the Company's service. Betty
+Peters comes very often to see us, and she always asks for you with
+great earnestness. I think you have stolen the old woman's heart,
+Charley, for she speaks of you with great affection. Old Mr. Seaforth
+is still as vigorous as ever, dashing about the settlement on a
+high-mettled steed, just as if he were one of the youngest men in the
+colony. He nearly poisoned himself, poor man, a month ago, by taking a
+dose of some kind of medicine by mistake. I did not hear what it was,
+but I am told that the treatment was rather severe. Fortunately the
+doctor happened to be at home when he was sent for, else our old friend
+would, I fear, have died. As it was, the doctor cured him with great
+difficulty. He first gave him an emetic, then put mustard blisters to
+the soles of his feet, and afterwards lifted him into one of his own
+carts, without springs, in which he drove him for a long time over all
+the ploughed fields in the neighbourhood. If this is not an exaggerated
+account, Mr. Seaforth is certainly made of sterner stuff than most men.
+I was told a funny anecdote of him a few days ago, which I am sure you
+have never heard, otherwise you would have told it to me, for there
+used to be no secrets between us, Charley--alas! I have no one to
+confide in or advise with now that you are gone. You have often heard
+of the great flood; not Noah's one, but the flood that nearly swept
+away our settlement and did so much damage before you and I were born.
+Well, you recollect that people used to tell of the way in which the
+river rose after the breaking up of the ice, and how it soon overflowed
+all the low points, sweeping off everything in its course. Old Mr.
+Seaforth's house stood at that time on the little point, just beyond
+the curve of the river, at the foot of which our own house stands, and
+as the river continued to rise, Mr. Seaforth went about actively
+securing his property. At first he only thought of his boat and canoes,
+which, with the help of his son Peter and a Canadian, who happened at
+the time to be employed about the place, he dragged up and secured to
+an iron staple in the side of his house. Soon, however, he found that
+the danger was greater than at first he imagined. The point became
+completely covered with water, which brought down great numbers of
+_half_-drowned and _quite_-drowned cattle, pigs, and poultry, and
+stranded them at the garden fence, so that in a short time poor Mr.
+Seaforth could scarcely move about his overcrowded domains. On seeing
+this, he drove his own cattle to the highest land in his neighbourhood
+and hastened back to the house, intending to carry as much of the
+furniture as possible to the same place. But during his short absence
+the river had risen so rapidly that he was obliged to give up all
+thoughts of this, and think only of securing a few of his valuables.
+The bit of land round his dwelling was so thickly covered with the poor
+cows, sheep, and other animals, that he could scarcely make his way to
+the house, and you may fancy his consternation on reaching it to find
+that the water was more than knee-deep round the walls, while a few of
+the cows and a whole herd of pigs had burst open the door (no doubt
+accidentally) and coolly entered the dining-room, where they stood with
+drooping heads, very wet, and apparently very miserable. The Canadian
+was busy at the back of the house, loading the boat and canoe with
+everything he could lay hands on, and was not aware of the foreign
+invasion in front. Mr. Seaforth cared little for this, however, and
+began to collect all the things he held most valuable, and threw them
+to the man, who stowed them away in the boat. Peter had been left in
+charge of the cattle, so they had to work hard. While thus employed the
+water continued to rise with fearful rapidity, and rushed against the
+house like a mill-race, so that it soon became evident that the whole
+would ere long be swept away. Just as they finished loading the boat
+and canoes, the staple which held them gave way; in a moment they were
+swept into the middle of the river, and carried out of sight. The
+Canadian was in the boat at the time the staple broke, so that Mr.
+Seaforth was now left in a dwelling that bid fair to emulate Noah's ark
+in an hour or two, without a chance of escape, and with no better
+company than five black oxen, in the dining-room, besides three sheep
+that were now scarcely able to keep their heads above water, and three
+little pigs that were already drowned. The poor old man did his best to
+push out the intruders, but only succeeded in ejecting two sheep and an
+ox. All the others positively refused to go, so he was fain to let them
+stay. By shutting the outer door he succeeded in keeping out a great
+deal of water. Then he waded into the parlour, where he found some more
+little pigs, floating about and quite dead. Two, however, more
+adventurous than their comrades, had saved their lives by mounting
+first on a chair and then upon the table, where they were comfortably
+seated, gazing languidly at their mother, a very heavy fat sow, which
+sat, with what seemed an expression of settled despair, on the sofa. In
+a fit of wrath, Mr. Seaforth seized the young pigs and tossed them out
+of the window; whereupon the old one jumped down, and half-walking,
+half-swimming, made her way to her companions in the dining-room. The
+old gentleman now ascended to the garret, where from a small window he
+looked out upon the scene of devastation. His chief anxiety was about
+the foundation of the house, which, being made of a wooden framework,
+like almost all the others in the colony, would certainly float if the
+water rose much higher. His fears were better founded than the house.
+As he looked up the river, which had by this time overflowed all its
+banks, and was spreading over the plains, he saw a fresh burst of water
+coming down, which, when it dashed against his dwelling, forced it
+about two yards from its foundation. Suddenly he remembered that there
+were a large anchor and chain in the kitchen, both of which he had
+brought there one day, to serve as a sort of anvil when he wanted to do
+some blacksmith work. Hastening down, he fastened one end of the chain
+to the sofa, and cast the anchor out of the window. A few minutes
+afterwards another rush of water struck the building, which yielded to
+pressure, and swung slowly down until the anchor arrested its further
+progress. This was only for a few seconds, however. The chain was a
+slight one. It snapped, and the house swept majestically down the
+stream, while its terrified owner scrambled to the roof, which he found
+already in possession of his favourite cat. Here he had a clear view of
+his situation. The plains were converted into a lake, above whose
+surface rose trees and houses, several of which, like his own, were
+floating on the stream or stranded among shallows. Settlers were rowing
+about in boats and canoes in all directions, but although some of them
+noticed the poor man sitting beside his cat on the housetop, they were
+either too far off or had no time to render him assistance.
+
+For two days nothing was heard of old Mr. Seaforth. Indeed, the
+settlers had too much to do in saving themselves and their families to
+think of others; and it was not until the third day that people began
+to inquire about him. His son Peter had taken a canoe and made diligent
+search in all directions, but although he found the house sticking on a
+shallow point, neither his father nor the cat was on or in it. At last
+he was brought to the island, on which nearly half the colony had
+collected, by an Indian who had passed the house, and brought him away
+in his canoe, along with the old cat. Is he not a wonderful man, to
+have come through so much in his old age? and he is still so active and
+hearty! Mr. Swan of the mill is dead. He died of fever last week. Poor
+old Mr. Cordon is also gone. His end was very sad. About a month ago he
+ordered his horse and rode off, intending to visit Fort Garry. At the
+turn of the road, just above Grant's house, the horse suddenly swerved,
+and its rider was thrown to the ground. He did not live more than
+half-an-hour after it. Alas! how very sad to see a man, after escaping
+all the countless dangers of a long life in the woods (and his, you
+know, was a very adventurous one), thus cut violently down in his old
+age. O Charley, how little we know what is before us! How needful to
+have our peace made with God through Jesus Christ, so that we may be
+ready at any moment when our Father calls us away. There are many
+events of great interest that have occurred here since you left. You
+will be glad to hear the Jane Patterson is married to our excellent
+friend Mr. Cameron, who has taken up a store near to us, and intends to
+run a boat to York Fort next summer. There has been another marriage
+here which will cause you astonishment at least, if not pleasure. Old
+Mr. Peters has married Marie Peltier! What _could_ have possessed her
+to take such a husband? I cannot understand it. Just think of her,
+Charley, a girl of eighteen, with a husband of seventy-five!--
+
+       *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At this point the writing, which was very close and very small,
+terminated. Harry laid it down with a deep sigh, wishing much that
+Charley had thought it advisable to send him the second sheet also. As
+wishes and regrets on this point were equally unavailing, he
+endeavoured to continue it in imagination, and was soon as deeply
+absorbed in following Kate through the well-remembered scenes of Red
+River as he had been, a short time before, in roaming with her brother
+over the wide prairies of Saskatchewan. The increasing cold, however
+soon warned him that the night was far spent. He rose and went to the
+stove; but the fire had gone out, and the almost irresistible frost of
+these regions was already cooling everything in Bachelors' Hall down to
+the freezing-point. All his companions had put out their candles, and
+were busy, doubtless, dreaming of the friends whose letters had struck
+and reawakened the long-dormant chords that used to echo to the tones
+and scenes of other days. With a slight shiver, Harry returned to his
+apartment, and kneeled to thank God for protecting and preserving his
+absent friends, and especially for sending him "good news from a far
+land." The letter with the British post-marks on it was placed under
+his pillow. It occupied his waking and sleeping thoughts that night,
+and it was the first thing he thought of and reread on the following
+morning, and for many mornings afterwards. Only those can fully
+estimate the value of such letters who live in distant lands, where
+letters are few--very, very few--and far between.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+Changes--Harry and Hamilton find that variety is indeed charming--The
+latter astonishes the former considerably.
+
+
+Three months passed away, but the snow still lay deep and white and
+undiminished around York Fort. Winter--cold, silent, unyielding
+winter--still drew its white mantle closely round the lonely dwelling
+of the fur-traders of the Far North.
+
+Icicles hung, as they had done for months before, from the eaves of
+every house, from the tall black scaffold on which the great bell hung,
+and from the still taller erection that had been put up as an outlook
+for "_the ship_" in summer. At the present time it commanded a bleak
+view of the frozen sea. Snow covered every housetop, and hung in
+ponderous masses from their edges, as if it were about to fall; but it
+never fell--it hung there in the same position day after day, unmelted,
+unchanged. Snow covered the whole land, and the frozen river, the
+swamps, the sea-beach, and the sea itself, as far as the eye could
+reach, seemed like a pure white carpet. Snow lined the upper edge of
+every paling, filled up the key-hole of every door, embanked about half
+of every window, stuck in little knobs on the top of every picket, and
+clung in masses on every drooping branch of the pine trees in the
+forest. Frost--sharp, biting frost--solidified, surrounded, and
+pervaded everything. Mercury was congealed by it; vapour was condensed
+by it; iron was cooled by it until it could scarcely be touched without
+(as the men expressed it) "burning" the fingers. The water-jugs in
+Bachelors' Hall and the water-buckets were frozen by it, nearly to the
+bottom; though there was a good stove there, and the Hall was not
+_usually_ a cold place by any means. The breath of the inhabitants was
+congealed by it on the window-panes, until they had become coated with
+ice an inch thick. The breath of the men was rendered white and opaque
+by it, as they panted and hurried to and fro about their ordinary
+avocations; beating their gloved hands together, and stamping their
+well-wrapped-up feet on the hard-beaten snow to keep them warm. Old
+Bobin's nose seemed to be entirely shrivelled up into his face by it,
+as he drove his ox-cart to the river to fetch his daily supply of
+water. The only things that were not affected by it were the fires,
+which crackled and roared as if in laughter, and twisted and leaped as
+if in uncontrollable glee at the bare idea of John Frost acquiring, by
+any artifice whatever, the smallest possible influence over _them_!
+Three months had elapsed, but frost and snow, instead of abating, had
+gone on increasing and intensifying, deepening and extending its work,
+and riveting its chains. Winter--cold, silent, unyielding winter--still
+reigned at York Fort, as though it had made it a _sine qua non_ of its
+existence at all that it should reign there for ever!
+
+But although everything was thus wintry and cold, it was by no means
+cheerless or dreary. A bright sun shone in the blue heavens with an
+intenseness of brilliancy that was quite dazzling to the eyes, that
+elated the spirits, and caused man and beast to tread with a more
+elastic step than usual. Although the sun looked down upon the scene
+with an unclouded face, and found a mirror in every icicle and in every
+gem of hoar-frost with which the objects of nature were loaded, there
+was, however, no perceptible heat in his rays. They fell on the white
+earth with all the brightness of midsummer, but they fell powerless as
+moonbeams in the dead of winter.
+
+On the frozen river, just in front of the gate of the fort, a group of
+men and dogs were assembled. The dogs were four in number, harnessed to
+a small flat sledge of the slender kind used by Indians to drag their
+furs and provisions over the snow. The group of men was composed of Mr.
+Rogan and the inmates of Bachelors' Hall, one or two men who happened
+to be engaged there at the time in cutting a new water-hole in the ice,
+and an Indian, who, to judge from his carefully-adjusted costume, the
+snow-shoes on his feet, and the short whip in his hand, was the driver
+of the sledge, and was about to start on a journey. Harry Somerville
+and young Hamilton were also wrapped up more carefully than usual.
+
+"Good-bye, then, good-bye," said Mr. Rogan, advancing towards the
+Indian, who stood beside the leading dog, ready to start. "Take care of
+our young friends; they've not had much experience in travelling yet;
+and don't over drive your dogs. Treat them well, and they'll do more
+work. They're like men in that respect." Mr. Rogan shook the Indian by
+the hand, and the latter immediately flourished the whip and gave a
+shout, which the dogs no sooner heard than they uttered a simultaneous
+yell, sprang forward with a jerk, and scampered up the river, closely
+followed by their dark-skinned driver.
+
+"Now, lads, farewell," said the old gentleman, turning with a kindly
+smile to our two friends, who were shaking hands for the last time with
+their comrades. "I'm sorry you're going to leave us, my boys. You've
+done your duty well while here, and I would willingly have kept you a
+little longer with me, but our governor wills it otherwise. However, I
+trust that you'll be happy wherever you may be sent. Don't forget to
+write to me. God bless you. Farewell."
+
+Mr. Rogan shook them heartily by the hand, turned short round, and
+walked slowly up to his house, with an expression of sadness on his
+mild face; while Harry and Hamilton, having once more waved farewell to
+their friends, marched up the river side by side in silence. They
+followed the track left by the dog-sledge, which guided them with
+unerring certainty, although their Indian leader and his team were out
+of sight in advance.
+
+A week previous to this time an Indian arrived from the interior,
+bearing a letter from headquarters, which directed that Messrs.
+Somerville and Hamilton should be forthwith despatched on snow-shoes to
+Norway House. As this establishment is about three hundred miles from
+the sea-coast, the order involved a journey of nearly two weeks'
+duration through a country that was utterly destitute of inhabitants.
+On receiving a command from Mr. Rogan to prepare for an early start,
+Harry retired precipitately to his own room, and there, after cutting
+unheard of capers, and giving vent to sudden, incomprehensible shouts,
+all indicative of the highest state of delight, he condescended to tell
+his companions of his good fortune, and set about preparations without
+delay. Hamilton, on the contrary, gave his usual quiet smile on being
+informed of his destination, and returning somewhat pensively to
+Bachelors' Hall, proceeded leisurely to make the necessary arrangements
+for departure. As the time drew on, however, a perpetual flush on his
+countenance, and an unusual brilliancy about his eye, showed that he
+was not quite insensible to the pleasures of a change, and relished the
+idea more than he got credit for. The Indian who had brought the letter
+was ordered to hold himself in readiness to retrace his steps, and
+conduct the young men through the woods to Norway House, where they
+were to await further orders. A few days later the three travellers, as
+already related, set out on their journey.
+
+After walking a mile up the river, they passed a point of land which
+shut out the fort from view. Here they paused to take a last look, and
+then pressed forward in silence, the thoughts of each being busy with
+mingled recollections of their late home and anticipations of the
+future. After an hour's sharp walking they came in sight of the guide,
+and slackened their pace.
+
+"Well, Hamilton," said Harry, throwing off his reverie with a deep
+sigh, "are you glad to leave York Fort, or sorry?"
+
+"Glad, undoubtedly," replied Hamilton, "but sorry to part from our old
+companions there. I had no idea, Harry, that I loved them all so much.
+I feel as if I should be glad were the order for us to leave them
+countermanded even now."
+
+"That's the very thought," said Harry, "that was passing through my own
+brain when I spoke to you. Yet somehow I think I should feel uncommonly
+sorry after all if we were really sent back. There's a queer
+contradiction, Hammy: we're sorry and happy at the same time! If I were
+the skipper now, I would found a philosophical argument upon it."
+
+"Which the skipper would carry on with untiring vigour," said Hamilton,
+smiling, "and afterwards make an entry of in his log. But I think,
+Harry, that to feel the emotion of sorrow and joy at the same time is
+not such a contradiction as it at first appears."
+
+"Perhaps not," replied Harry; "but it seems very contradictory to _me_,
+and yet it's an evident fact, for I'm _very_ sorry to leave _them_, and
+I'm _very_ happy to have you for my companion here."
+
+"So am I, so am I," said the other heartily. "I would rather travel
+with you, Harry, than with any of our late companions, although I like
+them all very much."
+
+The two friends had grown, almost imperceptibly, in each other's esteem
+during their residence under the same roof, more than either of them
+would have believed possible. The gay, reckless hilarity of the one did
+not at first accord with the quiet gravity and, as his comrades styled
+it, _softness_ of the other. But character is frequently misjudged at
+first sight, and sometimes men who on a first acquaintance have felt
+repelled from each other have, on coming to know each other better,
+discovered traits and good qualities that ere long formed enduring
+bonds of sympathy, and have learned to love those whom at first they
+felt disposed to dislike or despise. Thus Harry soon came to know that
+what he at first thought and, along with his companions, called
+softness in Hamilton in reality gentleness of disposition and thorough
+good-nature, united in one who happened to be utterly unacquainted with
+the _knowing_ ways of this peculiarly sharp and clever world, while in
+the course of time new qualities showed themselves in a quiet,
+unobtrusive way that won upon his affections and raised his esteem. On
+the other hand, Hamilton found that although Harry was volatile, and
+possessed of an irresistible tendency to fun and mischief, he never by
+any chance gave way to anger, or allowed malice to enter into his
+practical jokes. Indeed, he often observed him to restrain his natural
+tendencies when they were at all likely to give pain, though Harry
+never dreamed that such efforts were known to any one but himself.
+Besides this, Harry was peculiarly _unselfish_, and when a man is
+possessed of this inestimable disposition, he is, not _quite_ but _very
+nearly_, perfect!
+
+After another pause, during which the party had left the open river and
+directed their course through the woods, where the depth of the snow
+obliged them to tread in each other's footsteps, Harry resumed the
+conversation.
+
+"You have not yet told me, by-the-by, what old Mr. Rogan said to you
+just before we started. Did he give you any hint as to where you might
+be sent to after reaching Norway House?"
+
+"No; he merely said he knew that clerks were wanted both for Mackenzie
+River and the Saskatchewan districts, but he did not know which I was
+destined for."
+
+"Hum! exactly what he said to me, with the slight addition that he
+strongly suspected that Mackenzie River would be my doom. Are you
+aware, Hammy my boy, that the Saskatchewan district is a sort of
+terrestrial paradise, and Mackenzie River equivalent to Botany Bay?"
+
+"I have heard as much during our conversations in Bachelors' Hall,
+but--Stop a bit, Harry; these snow-shoe lines of mine have got loosened
+with tearing through this deep snow and these shockingly thick bushes.
+There--they are right now; go on. I was going to say that I don't--oh!"
+
+This last exclamation was elicited from Hamilton by a sharp blow caused
+by a branch which, catching on part of Harry's dress as he plodded on
+in front, suddenly rebounded and struck him across the face. This is of
+common occurrence in travelling through the woods, especially to those
+who from inexperience walk too closely on the heels of their companions.
+
+"What's wrong now, Hammy?" inquired his friend, looking over his
+shoulder.
+
+"Oh, nothing worth mentioning--rather a sharp blow from a branch,
+that's all."
+
+"Well, proceed; you've interrupted yourself twice in what you were
+going to say. Perhaps it'll come out if you try it a third time."
+
+"I was merely going to say that I don't much care where I am sent to,
+so long as it is not to an outpost where I shall be all alone."
+
+"All very well, my friend; but seeing that outposts are, in comparison
+with principal forts, about a hundred to one, your chance of avoiding
+them is rather slight. However, our youth and want of experience is in
+our favour, as they like to send men who have seen some service to
+outposts. But I fear that, with such brilliant characters as you and I,
+Hammy, youth will only be an additional recommendation, and
+inexperience won't last long.--Hollo! what's going on yonder?"
+
+Harry pointed as he spoke to an open spot in the woods about a quarter
+of a mile in advance, where a dark object was seen lying on the snow,
+writhing about, now coiling into a lump, and anon extending itself like
+a huge snake in agony.
+
+As the two friends looked, a prolonged howl floated towards them.
+
+"Something wrong with the dogs, I declare!" cried Harry.
+
+"No doubt of it," replied his friend, hurrying forward, as they saw
+their Indian guide rise from the ground and flourish his whip
+energetically, while the howls rapidly increased.
+
+A few minutes brought them to the scene of action, where they found the
+dogs engaged in a fight among themselves, and the driver, in a state of
+vehement passion, alternately belabouring and trying to separate them.
+Dogs in these regions, like the dogs of all other regions, we suppose,
+are very much addicted to fighting--a propensity which becomes
+extremely unpleasant if indulged while the animals are in harness, as
+they then become peculiarly savage, probably from their being unable,
+like an ill-assorted pair in wedlock, to cut or break the ties that
+bind them. Moreover, they twist the traces into such an ingeniously
+complicated mass that it renders disentanglement almost impossible,
+even after exhaustion has reduced them to obedience. Besides this, they
+are so absorbed in worrying each other that for the time they are
+utterly regardless of their driver's lash or voice. This naturally
+makes the driver angry, and sometimes irascible men practise shameful
+cruelties on the poor dogs. When the two friends came up they found the
+Indian glaring at the animals, as they fought and writhed in the snow,
+with every lineament of his swarthy face distorted with passion, and
+panting from his late exertions. Suddenly he threw himself on the dogs
+again, and lashed them furiously with the whip. Finding that this had
+no effect, he twined the lash round his hand, and struck them violently
+over their heads and snouts with the handle; then falling down on his
+knees, he caught the most savage of the animals by the throat, and
+seizing its nose between his teeth almost bit it off. The appalling
+yell that followed this cruel act seemed to subdue the dogs, for they
+ceased to fight, and crouched, whining, in the snow.
+
+With a bound like a tiger young Hamilton sprang upon the guide, and
+seizing him by the throat, hurled him violently to the ground.
+"Scoundrel!" he cried, standing over the crestfallen Indian with
+flushed face and flashing eyes, "how dare you thus treat the creatures
+of God?"
+
+The young man would have spoken more, but his indignation was so fierce
+that it could not find vent in words. For a moment he raised his fist,
+as if he meditated dashing the Indian again to the ground as he slowly
+arose; then, as if changing his mind, he seized him by the back of the
+neck, thrust him towards the panting dogs, and stood in silence over
+him with the whip grasped firmly in his hand, while he disentangled the
+traces.
+
+This accomplished, Hamilton ordered him in a voice of suppressed anger
+to "go forward"--an order which the cowed guide promptly obeyed, and in
+a few minutes more the two friends were again alone.
+
+"Hamilton, my boy," exclaimed Harry, who up to this moment seemed to
+have been petrified, "you have perfectly amazed me! I'm utterly
+bewildered."
+
+"Indeed, I fear that I have been very violent," said Hamilton, blushing
+deeply.
+
+"Violent!" exclaimed his friend. "Why, man, I've completely mistaken
+your character. I--I--"
+
+"I hope not, Harry," said Hamilton, in a subdued tone; "I hope not.
+Believe me, I am not naturally violent. I should be very sorry were you
+to think so. Indeed, I never felt thus before, and now that it is over
+I am amazed at myself; but surely you'll admit that there was great
+provocation. Such terrible cruelty to--"
+
+"My dear fellow, you quite misunderstand me. I'm amazed at your pluck,
+your energy. _Soft_ indeed! we have been most egregiously mistaken.
+Provocation! I just think you had; my only sorrow is that you didn't
+give him a little more."
+
+"Come, come, Harry; I see you would be as cruel to him as he was to the
+poor dog. But let us press forward; it is already growing dark, and we
+must not let the fellow out of sight ahead of us."
+
+"_Allons donc_," cried Harry; and hastening their steps, they travelled
+silently and rapidly among the stems of the trees, while the shades of
+night gathered slowly round them.
+
+That night the three travellers encamped in the snow under the shelter
+of a spreading pine. The encampment was formed almost exactly in a
+similar manner to that in which they had slept on the night of their
+exploits at North River. They talked less, however, than on that
+occasion, and slept more soundly. Before retiring to rest, and while
+Harry was extended, half asleep and half awake, on his green blanket,
+enjoying the delightful repose that follows a hard day's march and a
+good supper, Hamilton drew near to the Indian, who sat sullenly smoking
+a little apart from the young men. Sitting down beside him, he
+administered a long rebuke in a low, grave tone of voice. Like rebukes
+generally, it had the effect of making the visage of the Indian still
+more sullen. But the young man did not appear to notice this; he still
+continued to talk. As he went on, the look grew less and less sullen,
+until it faded entirely away, and was succeeded by that grave, quiet,
+respectful expression peculiar to the face of the North American Indian.
+
+Day succeeded day, night followed night, and still found them plodding
+laboriously through the weary waste of snow, or encamping under the
+trees of the forest. The two friends went through all the varied stages
+of experience which are included in what is called "becoming used to
+the work," which is sometimes a modified meaning of the expression
+"used up." They started with a degree of vigour that one would have
+thought no amount of hard work could possibly abate. They became aware
+of the melancholy fact that fatigue unstrings the youngest and toughest
+sinews. They pressed on, however, from stern necessity, and found, to
+their delight, that young muscles recover their elasticity even in the
+midst of severe exertion. They still pressed on, and discovered, to
+their dismay, that this recovery was only temporary, and that the
+second state of exhaustion was infinitely worse than the first. Still
+they pressed on, and raised blisters on their feet and toes that caused
+them to limp wofully; then they learned that blisters break and take a
+long time to heal, and are much worse to walk upon during the healing
+process than they are at the commencement--at which time they
+innocently fancied that nothing could be more dreadful. Still they
+pressed on day after day, and found to their satisfaction that such
+things can be endured and overcome; that feet and toes can become hard
+like leather, that muscles can grow tough as india-rubber, and that
+spirits and energy can attain to a pitch of endurance which nothing
+within the compass of a day's march can by any possibility overcome.
+They found also, from experience, that their conversation changed, both
+in manner and subject, as they progressed on their journey. At first
+they conversed frequently and on various topics, chiefly on the
+probability of their being sent to pleasant places or the reverse. Then
+they spoke less frequently, and growled occasionally, as they advanced
+in the painful process of training. After that, as they began to get
+hardy, they talked of the trees, the snow, the ice, the tracks of wild
+animals they happened to cross, and the objects of nature generally
+that came under their observation. Then as their muscles hardened and
+their sinews grew tough, and the day's march at length became first a
+matter of indifference, and ultimately an absolute pleasure, they
+chatted cheerfully on any and every subject, or sang occasionally, when
+the sun shone out and cast an _appearance_ of warmth across their path.
+Thus onward they pressed, without halt or stay, day after day, through
+wood and brake, over river and lake, on ice and on snow, for miles and
+miles together, through the great, uninhabited, frozen wilderness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+Hopes and fears--An unexpected meeting--Philosophical talk between the
+hunter and the parson.
+
+
+On arriving at Norway House, Harry Somerville and his friend Hamilton
+found that they were to remain at that establishment during an
+indefinite period of time, until it should please those in whose hands
+their ultimate destination lay to direct them how and where to proceed.
+This was an unlooked-for trial of their patience; but after the first
+exclamation of disappointment, they made up their minds, like wise men,
+to think no more about it, but bide their time, and make the most of
+present circumstances.
+
+"You see," remarked Hamilton, as the two friends, after having had an
+audience of the gentleman in charge of the establishment, sauntered
+towards the rocks that overhang the margin of Playgreen Lake--"you see,
+it is of no use to fret about what we cannot possibly help. Nobody
+within three hundred miles of us knows where we are destined to spend
+next winter. Perhaps orders may come in a couple of weeks, perhaps in a
+couple of months, but they will certainly come at last. Anyhow, it is
+of no use thinking about it, so we had better forget it, and make the
+best of things as we find them."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Harry, "your advice is, that we should by all means be
+happy, and if we can't be happy, be as happy as we can. Is that it?"
+
+"Just so. That's it exactly."
+
+"Ho! But then you see, Hammy, you're a philosopher and I'm not, and
+that makes all the difference. I'm not given to anticipating evil, but
+I cannot help dreading that they will send me to some lonely, swampy,
+out-of-the-way hole, where there will be no society, no shooting, no
+riding, no work even to speak of--nothing, in fact, but the miserable
+satisfaction of being styled 'bourgeois' by five or six men, wretched
+outcasts like myself."
+
+"Come, Harry," cried Hamilton; "you are taking the very worst view of
+it. There certainly are plenty of such outposts in the country, but you
+know very well that young fellows like you are seldom sent to such
+places."
+
+"I don't know that," interrupted Harry. "There's young M'Andrew: he was
+sent to an outpost up the Mackenzie his second year in the service,
+where he was all but starved, and had to live for about two weeks on
+boiled parchment. Then there's poor Forrester: he was shipped off to a
+place--the name of which I never could remember--somewhere between the
+head-waters of the Athabasca Lake and the North Pole. To be sure, he
+had good shooting, I'm told, but he had only four labouring men to
+enjoy it with; and he has been there _ten_ years now, and he has more
+than once had to scrape the rocks of that detestable stuff called
+_tripe de roche_ to keep himself alive. And then there's----"
+
+"Very true," interrupted Hamilton. "Then there's your friend Charles
+Kennedy, whom you so often talk about, and many other young fellows we
+know, who have been sent to the Saskatchewan, and to the Columbia, and
+to Athabasca, and to a host of other capital places, where they have
+enough of society--male society, at least--and good sport."
+
+The young men had climbed a rocky eminence which commanded a view of
+the lake on the one side, and the fort, with its background of woods,
+on the other. Here they sat down on a stone, and continued for some
+time to admire the scene in silence.
+
+"Yes," said Harry, resuming the thread of discourse, "you are right: we
+have a good chance of seeing some pleasant parts of the country. But
+suspense is not pleasant. O man, if they would only send me up the
+Saskatchewan River! I've set my heart upon going there. I'm quite sure
+it's the very best place in the whole country."
+
+"You've told the truth that time, master," said a deep voice behind
+them.
+
+The young men turned quickly round. Close beside them, and leaning
+composedly on a long Indian fowling-piece, stood a tall,
+broad-shouldered, sun-burned man, apparently about forty years of age.
+He was dressed in the usual leathern hunting-coat, cloth leggings, fur
+cap, mittens, and moccasins that constitute the winter garb of a
+hunter; and had a grave, firm, but good-humoured expression of
+countenance.
+
+"You've told the truth that time, master," he repeated, without moving
+from his place. "The Saskatchewan _is_, to my mind, the best place in
+the whole country; and havin' seen a considerable deal o' places in my
+time, I can speak from experience."
+
+"Indeed, friend," said Harry, "I'm glad to hear you say so. Come, sit
+down beside us, and let's hear something about it."
+
+Thus invited, the hunter seated himself on a stone and laid his gun on
+the hollow of his left arm.
+
+"First of all, friend," continued Harry, "do you belong to the fort
+here?"
+
+"No," replied the man, "I'm staying here just now, but I don't belong
+to the place."
+
+"Where do you come from then, and what's your name?"
+
+"Why, I've comed d'rect from the Saskatchewan with a packet o' letters.
+I'm payin' a visit to the missionary village yonder"--the hunter
+pointed as he spoke across the lake--"and when the ice breaks up I
+shall get a canoe and return again."
+
+"And your name?"
+
+"Why, I've got four or five names. Somehow or other people have given
+me a nickname wherever I ha' chanced to go. But my true name, and the
+one I hail by just now, is Jacques Caradoc."
+
+"Jacques Caradoc!" exclaimed Harry, starting with surprise. "You knew a
+Charley Kennedy in the Saskatchewan, did you?"
+
+"That did I. As fine a lad as ever pulled a trigger."
+
+"Give us your hand, friend," exclaimed Harry, springing forward, and
+seizing the hunter's large, hard fist in both hands. "Why, man, Charley
+is my dearest friend, and I had a letter from him some time ago in
+which he speaks of you, and says you're one of the best fellows he ever
+met."
+
+"You don't say so," replied the hunter, returning Harry's grasp warmly,
+while his eyes sparkled with pleasure, and a quiet smile played at the
+corner of his mouth.
+
+"Yes I do," said Harry; "and I'm very nearly as glad to meet with you,
+friend Jacques, as I would be to meet with him. But come; it's cold
+work talking here. Let's go to my room; there's a fire in the
+stove.--Come along, Hammy;" and taking his new friend by the arm, he
+hurried him along to his quarters in the fort.
+
+Just as they were passing under the fort gate, a large mass of snow
+became detached from a housetop and fell heavily at their feet, passing
+within an inch of Hamilton's nose. The young man started back with an
+exclamation, and became very red in the face.
+
+"Hollo!" cried Harry, laughing, "got a fright, Hammy! That went so
+close to your chin that it almost saved you the trouble of shaving."
+
+"Yes; I got a little fright from the suddenness of it," said Hamilton
+quietly.
+
+"What do you think of my friend there?" said Harry to Jacques, in a low
+voice, pointing to Hamilton, who walked on in advance.
+
+"I've not seen much of him, master," replied the hunter. "Had I been
+asked the same question about the same lad twenty years agone, I should
+ha' said he was soft, and perhaps chicken-hearted. But I've learned
+from experience to judge better than I used to do. I niver thinks o'
+forming an opinion o' anyone till I geen them called to sudden action.
+It's astonishin' how some faint-hearted men will come to face a danger
+and put on an awful look o' courage if they only get warnin', but take
+them by surprise--that's the way to try them."
+
+"Well, Jacques, that is the very reason why I ask your opinion of
+Hamilton. He was pretty well taken by surprise that time, I think."
+
+"True, master; but _that_ kind of start don't prove much. Hows'ever, I
+don't think he's easy upset. He does _look_ uncommon soft, and his face
+grew red when the snow fell, but his eyebrow and his under lip showed
+that it wasn't from fear."
+
+During that afternoon and the greater part of that night the three
+friends continued in close conversation--Harry sitting in front of the
+stove, with his hands in his pockets, on a chair tilted as usual on its
+hind legs, and pouring out volleys of questions, which were pithily
+answered by the good-humoured, loquacious hunter, who sat behind the
+stove, resting his elbows on his knees, and smoking his much-loved
+pipe; while Hamilton reclined on Harry's bed, and listened with eager
+avidity to anecdotes and stories, which seemed, like the narrator's
+pipe, to be inexhaustible.
+
+"Good-night, Jacques, good-night," said Harry, as the latter rose at
+last to depart; "I'm delighted to have had a talk with you. You must
+come back to-morrow. I want to hear more about your friend Redfeather.
+Where did you say you left him?"
+
+"In the Saskatchewan, master. He said that he would wait there, as he'd
+heerd the missionary was comin' up to pay the Injins a visit."
+
+"By-the-by, you're going over to the missionary's place to-morrow, are
+you not?"
+
+"Yes, I am."
+
+"Ah, then, that'll do. I'll go over with you. How far off is it?"
+
+"Three miles or thereabouts."
+
+"Very good. Call in here as you pass, and my friend Hamilton and I will
+accompany you. Good-night."
+
+Jacques thrust his pipe into his bosom, held out his horny hand, and
+giving his young friends a hearty shake, turned and strode from the
+room.
+
+On the following day Jacques called according to promise, and the three
+friends set off together to visit the Indian village. This missionary
+station was under the management of a Wesleyan clergyman, Pastor Conway
+by name, an excellent man, of about forty-five years of age, with an
+energetic mind and body, a bald head, a mild, expressive countenance,
+and a robust constitution. He was admirably qualified for his position,
+having a natural aptitude for every sort of work that man is usually
+called on to perform. His chief care was for the instruction of the
+Indians, whom he had induced to settle around him, in the great and
+all-important truths of Christianity. He invented an alphabet, and
+taught them to write and read their own language. He commenced the
+laborious task of translating the Scriptures into the Cree language;
+and being an excellent musician, he instructed his converts to sing in
+parts the psalms and Wesleyan hymns, many of which are exceedingly
+beautiful. A school was also established and a church built under his
+superintendence, so that the natives assembled in an orderly way in a
+commodious sanctuary every Sabbath day to worship God; while the
+children were instructed, not only in the Scriptures, and made familiar
+with the narrative of the humiliation and exaltation of our blessed
+Saviour, but were also taught the elementary branches of a secular
+education. But good Pastor Conway's energy did not stop here. Nature
+had gifted him with that peculiar genius which is powerfully expressed
+in the term "a jack-of-all-trades." He could turn his hand to anything;
+and being, as we have said, an energetic man, he did turn his hand to
+almost everything. If anything happened to get broken, the pastor could
+either "mend it himself or direct how it was to be done. If a house was
+to be built for a new family of red men, who had never handled a saw or
+hammer in their lives, and had lived up to that time in tents, the
+pastor lent a hand to begin it, drew out the plan (not a very
+complicated thing certainly), set them fairly at work, and kept his eye
+on it until it was finished. In short, the worthy pastor was everything
+to everybody, "that by all means he might gain some."
+
+Under such management the village flourished as a matter of course,
+although it did not increase very rapidly owing to the almost
+unconquerable aversion of North American Indians to take up a settled
+habitation.
+
+It was to this little hamlet, then, that our three friends directed
+their steps. On arriving, they found Pastor Conway in a sort of
+workshop, giving directions to an Indian who stood with a
+soldering-iron in one hand and a sheet of tin in the other, which he
+was about to apply to a curious-looking half-finished machine that bore
+some resemblance to a canoe.
+
+"Ah, my friend Jacques!" he exclaimed as the hunter approached him,
+"the very man I wished to see. But I beg pardon, gentlemen,-strangers,
+I perceive. You are heartily welcome. It is seldom that I have the
+pleasure of seeing new friends in my wild dwelling. Pray come with me
+to my house."
+
+Pastor Conway shook hands with Harry and Hamilton with a degree of
+warmth that evinced the sincerity of his words. The young men thanked
+him and accepted the invitation.
+
+As they turned to quit the workshop, the pastor observed Jacques's eye
+fixed with a puzzled expression of countenance, on his canoe.
+
+"You have never seen anything like that before, I daresay?" said he,
+with a smile.
+
+"No, sir; I never did see such a queer machine afore."
+
+"It is a tin canoe, with which I hope to pass through many miles of
+country this spring, on my way to visit a tribe of Northern Indians,
+and it was about this very thing that I wanted to see you, my friend."
+
+Jacques made no reply, but cast a look savouring very slightly of
+contempt on the unfinished canoe as they turned and went away.
+
+The pastor's dwelling stood at one end of the village, a view of which
+it commanded from the back windows, while those in front overlooked the
+lake. It was pleasantly situated and pleasantly tenanted, for the
+pastor's wife was a cheerful, active little lady, like-minded with
+himself, and delighted to receive and entertain strangers. To her care
+Mr. Conway consigned the young men, after spending a short time in
+conversation with them; and then, requesting his wife to show them
+through the village, he took Jacques by the arm and sauntered out.
+
+"Come with me, Jacques," he began; "I have somewhat to say to you. I
+had not time to broach the subject when I met you at the Company's
+fort, and have been anxious to see you ever since. You tell me that you
+have met with my friend Redfeather."
+
+"Yes, sir; I spent a week or two with him last fall I found him stayin'
+with his tribe, and we started to come down here together."
+
+"Ah, that is the very point," exclaimed the pastor, "that I wish to
+inquire about. I firmly believe that God has opened that Indian's eyes
+to see the truth; and I fully expected from what he said when we last
+met, that he would have made up his mind to come and stay here."
+
+"As to what the Almighty has done to him," said Jacques, in a
+reverential tone of voice, "I don't pretend to know; he did for sartin
+speak, and act too, in a way that I never seed an Injin do before. But
+about his comin' here, sir, you were quite right: he did mean to come,
+and I've no doubt will come yet."
+
+"What prevented him coming with you, as you tell me he intended?"
+inquired the pastor.
+
+"Well, you see, sir, he and I and his squaw, as I said, set off to come
+here together: but when we got the length o' Edmonton House, we heerd
+that you were comin' up to pay a visit to the tribe to which Redfeather
+belongs; and so seem' that it was o' no use to come down hereaway just
+to turn about an' go up agin, he stopped there to wait for you, for he
+knew you would want him to interpret--"
+
+"Ay," interrupted the pastor, "that's true. I have two reasons for
+wishing to have him here. The primary one is, that he may get good to
+his immortal soul; and then he understands English so well that I want
+him to become my interpreter; for although I understand the Cree
+language pretty well now, I find it exceedingly difficult to explain
+the doctrines of the Bible to my people in it. But pardon me, I
+interrupted you."
+
+"I was only going to say," resumed Jacques, "that I made up my mind to
+stay with him; but they wanted a man to bring the winter packet here,
+so, as they pressed me very hard, an' I had nothin' particular to do, I
+'greed and came, though I would rather ha' stopped; for Redfeather an'
+I ha' struck up a friendship togither--a thing that I would never ha'
+thought it poss'ble for me to do with a red Injin."
+
+"And why not with a red Indian, friend?" inquired the pastor, while a
+shade of sadness passed over his mild features, as if unpleasant
+thoughts had been roused by the hunter's speech.
+
+"Well, it's not easy to say why," rejoined the other. "I've no
+partic'lar objection to the red-skins. There's only one man among them
+that I bears a grudge agin, and even that one I'd rayther avoid than
+otherwise."
+
+"But you should _forgive_ him, Jacques. The Bible tells us not only to
+bear our enemies no grudge, but to love them and to do them good."
+
+The hunter's brow darkened. "That's impossible, sir," he said; "I
+couldn't do _him_ a good turn if I was to try ever so hard. He may
+bless his stars that I don't want to do him mischief; but to _love
+him_, it's jist imposs'ble."
+
+"With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible," said
+the pastor solemnly.
+
+Jacques's naturally philosophic though untutored mind saw the force of
+this. He felt that God, who had formed his soul, his body, and the
+wonderfully complicated machinery and objects of nature, which were
+patent to his observant and reflective mind wherever he went, must of
+necessity be equally able to alter, influence, and remould them all
+according to His will. Common-sense was sufficient to teach him this;
+and the bold hunter exhibited no ordinary amount of common-sense in
+admitting the fact at once, although in the case under discussion (the
+loving of his enemy) it seemed utterly impossible to his feelings and
+experience. The frown, therefore, passed from his brow, while he said
+respectfully, "What you say, sir, is true; I believe though I can't
+_feel_ it. But I s'pose the reason I niver felt much drawn to the
+red-skins is, that all the time I lived in the settlements I was used
+to hear them called and treated as thievin' dogs, an 'when I com'd
+among them I didn't see much to alter my opinion. Here an' there I have
+found one or two honest Injins, an' Redfeather is as true as steel; but
+the most o' them are no better than they should be. I s'pose I don'
+think much o' them just because they are red-skins."
+
+"Ah, Jacques, you will excuse me if I say that there is not much sense
+in _that_ reason. An Indian cannot help being a red man any more than
+you can help being a white one, so that he ought not to be despised on
+that account. Besides, God made him what he is, and to despise the
+_work_ of God, or to undervalue it, is to despise God Himself. You may
+indeed despise, or rather abhor, the sins that red men are guilty of;
+but if you despise _them_ on this ground, you must much more despise
+white men, for _they_ are guilty of greater iniquities than Indians
+are. They have more knowledge, and are therefore more inexcusable when
+they sin; and anyone who has travelled much must be aware that, in
+regard to general wickedness, white men are at least quite as bad as
+Indians. Depend upon it, Jacques, that there will be Indians found in
+heaven at the last day as well as white men. God is no respecter of
+persons."
+
+"I niver thought much on that subject afore, sir," returned the hunter;
+"what you say seems reasonable enough. I'm sure an' sartin, any way,
+that if there's a red-skin in heaven at all, Redfeather will be there,
+an' I only hope that I may be there too to keep him company."
+
+"I hope so, my friend,", said the pastor earnestly; "I hope so too,
+with all my heart. And if you will accept of this little book, it will
+show you how to get there."
+
+The missionary drew a small, plainly-bound copy of the Bible from his
+pocket as he spoke, and presented it to Jacques, who received it with a
+smile, and thanked him, saying, at the same time, that he "was not much
+up to book-larnin', but he would read it with pleasure."
+
+"Now, Jacques," said the pastor, after a little further conversation on
+the subject of the Bible, in which he endeavoured to impress upon him
+the absolute necessity of being acquainted with the blessed truths
+which it contains--"now, Jacques, about my visit to the Indians. I
+intend, if the Almighty spares me, to embark in yon tin canoe that you
+found me engaged with, and, with six men to work it, proceed to the
+country of the Knisteneux Indians, visit their chief camp, and preach
+to them there as long as the weather will permit. When the season is
+pretty well advanced, and winter threatens to cut off my retreat, I
+shall re-embark in my canoe and return home. By this means I hope to be
+able to sow the good seed of Christian truths in the hearts of men who,
+as they will not come to this settlement, have no chance of being
+brought under the power of the Gospel by any other means."
+
+Jacques gave one of his quiet smiles on hearing this. "Right
+sir--right," he said, with some energy; "I have always thought,
+although I niver made bold to say it before, that there was not enough
+o' this sort o' thing. It has always seemed to me a kind o' madness
+(excuse my plainness o' speech, sir) in you pastors, thinkin' to make
+the red-skins come and settle round you like so many squaws, and dig up
+an' grub at the ground, when it's quite clear that their natur' and the
+natur' o' things about them meant them to be hunters. An' surely, since
+the Almighty made them hunters, He intended them to _be_ hunters, an'
+won't refuse to make them Christians on _that_ account. A red-skin's
+natur' is a huntin' natur', an' nothin' on arth 'll ever make it
+anything else.'
+
+"There is much truth in what you observe, friend," rejoined the pastor;
+"but you are not _altogether_ right. Their nature _may_ be changed,
+although certainly nothing on _earth_ will change it. Look at that
+frozen lake." He pointed to the wide field of thick snow-covered ice
+that stretched out for miles like a sheet of white marble before them.
+"Could anything on earth break up or sink or melt that?"
+
+"Nothin'," replied Jacques, laconically.
+
+"But the warm beams of yon glorious sun can do it," continued the
+pastor, pointing upwards as he spoke, "and do it effectually too; so
+that, although you can scarcely observe the process, it nevertheless
+turns the hard, thick, solid ice into limpid water at last. So is it in
+regard to man. Nothing on earth can change his heart, or alter his
+nature; but our Saviour, who is called the Sun of Righteousness, can.
+When He shines into a man's soul it melts. The old man becomes a little
+child, the wild savage a Christian. But I agree with you in thinking
+that we have not been sufficiently alive to the necessity of seeking to
+convert the Indians before trying to gather them round us. The one
+would follow as a natural consequence, I think, of the other, and it is
+owing to this conviction that I intend, as I have already said, to make
+a journey in spring to visit those who will not or cannot come to visit
+me. And now, what I want to ask is whether you will agree to accompany
+me as steersman and guide on my expedition."
+
+The hunter slowly shook his head. "I'm afeard not sir; I have already
+promised to take charge of a canoe for the Company. I would much rather
+go with you, but I must keep my word."
+
+"Certainly, Jacques, certainly; that settles the question You cannot go
+with me--unless--" the pastor paused as if in thought for a
+moment--"unless you can persuade them to let you off."
+
+"Well, sir, I can try," returned Jacques.
+
+"Do; and I need not say how happy I shall be if you succeed. Good-day,
+friend, good-bye." So saying, the missionary shook hands with the
+hunter and returned to his house, while Jacques wended his way to the
+village in search of Harry and Hamilton.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+Good news and romantic scenery--Bear-hunting and its results.
+
+
+Jaques failed in his attempt to break off his engagement with the
+fur-traders. The gentleman in charge of Norway House, albeit a
+good-natured, estimable man, was one who could not easily brook
+disappointment, especially in matters that involved the interests of
+the Hudson's Bay Company; so Jacques was obliged to hold to his
+compact, and the pastor had to search for another guide.
+
+Spring came, and with it the awakening (if we may use the expression)
+of the country from the long, lethargic sleep of winter. The sun burst
+forth with irresistible power, and melted all before it. Ice and snow
+quickly dissolved, and set free the waters of swamp and river, lake and
+sea, to leap and sparkle in their new-found liberty. Birds renewed
+their visits to the regions of the north; frogs, at last unfrozen,
+opened their leathern jaws to croak and whistle in the marshes; and men
+began their preparations for a summer campaign.
+
+At the commencement of the season an express arrived with letters from
+headquarters, which, among other matters of importance, directed that
+Messrs. Somerville and Hamilton should be despatched forthwith to the
+Saskatchewan district, where, on reaching Fort Pitt, they were to place
+themselves at the disposal of the gentleman in charge of the district.
+It need scarcely be added that the young men were overjoyed on
+receiving this almost unhoped-for intelligence, and that Harry
+expressed his satisfaction in his usual hilarious manner, asserting,
+somewhat profanely, in the excess of his glee, that the
+governor-in-chief of Rupert's Land was a "regular brick." Hamilton
+agreed to all his friend's remarks with a quiet smile, accompanied by a
+slight chuckle, and a somewhat desperate attempt at a caper, which
+attempt, bordering as it did on a region of buffoonery into which our
+quiet and gentlemanly friend had never dared hitherto to venture proved
+an awkward and utter failure. He felt this and blushed deeply.
+
+It was further arranged and agreed upon that the young men should
+accompany Jacques Caradoc in his canoe. Having become sufficiently
+expert canoemen to handle their paddles well, they scouted the idea of
+taking men with them, and resolved to launch boldly forth at once as
+_bona-fide_ voyageurs. To this arrangement Jacques, after one or two
+trials to test their skill, agreed; and very shortly after the arrival
+of the express, the trio set out on their voyage, amid the cheers and
+adieus of the entire population of Norway House, who were assembled on
+the end of the wooden wharf to witness their departure, and with whom
+they had managed during their short residence at that place, to become
+special favourites. A month later, the pastor of the Indian village,
+having procured a trusty guide, embarked in his tin canoe with a crew
+of six men, and followed in their track.
+
+In process of time spring merged into summer--a season mostly
+characterised in those climes by intense heat and innumerable clouds of
+musquitoes, whose vicious and incessant attacks render life, for the
+time being, a burden. Our three voyageurs, meanwhile, ascended the
+Saskatchewan, penetrating deeper each day into the heart of the North
+American continent. On arriving at Fort Pitt, they were graciously
+permitted to rest for three days, after which they were forwarded to
+another district, where fresh efforts were being made to extend the
+fur-trade into lands hitherto almost unvisited. This continuation of
+their travels was quite suited to the tastes and inclinations of Harry
+and Hamilton, and was hailed by them as an additional reason for
+self-gratulation. As for Jacques, he cared little to what part of the
+world he chanced to be sent. To hunt, to toil in rain and in sunshine,
+in heat and in cold, at the paddle or on the snow-shoe, was his
+vocation, and it mattered little to the bold hunter whether he plied it
+upon the plains of the Saskatchewan or among the woods of Athabasca.
+Besides, the companions of his travels were young, active, bold,
+adventurous, and therefore quite suited to his taste. Redfeather, too,
+his best and dearest friend, had been induced to return to his tribe
+for the purpose of mediating between some of the turbulent members of
+it and the white men who had gone to settle among them, so that the
+prospect of again associating with his red friend was an additional
+element in his satisfaction. As Charley Kennedy was also in this
+district, the hope of seeing him once more was a subject of such
+unbounded delight to Harry Somerville, and so, sympathetically, to
+young Hamilton, that it was with difficulty they could realize the full
+amount of their good fortune, or give adequate expression to their
+feelings. It is therefore probable that there never were three happier
+travellers than Jacques, Harry, and Hamilton, as they shouldered their
+guns and paddles, shook hands with the inmates of Fort Pitt, and with
+light steps and lighter hearts launched their canoe, turned their
+bronzed faces once more to the summer sun, and dipped their paddles
+again in the rippling waters of the Saskatchewan River.
+
+As their bark was exceedingly small, and burdened with but little
+lading, they resolved to abandon the usual route, and penetrate the
+wilderness through a maze of lakes and small rivers well known to their
+guide. By this arrangement they hoped to travel more speedily, and
+avoid navigating a long sweep of the river by making a number of
+portages; while, at the same time, the changeful nature of the route
+was likely to render it more interesting. From the fact of its being
+seldom traversed, it was also more likely that they should find a
+supply of game for the journey.
+
+Towards sunset, one fine day, about two weeks after their departure
+from Fort Pitt, our voyageurs paddled their canoe round a wooded point
+of land that jutted out from, and partly concealed, the mouth of a
+large river, down whose stream they had dropped leisurely during the
+last three days, and swept out upon the bosom of a large lake. This was
+one of those sheets of water which glitter in hundreds on the green
+bosom of America's forests, and are so numerous and comparatively
+insignificant as to be scarce distinguished by a name, unless when they
+lie directly in the accustomed route of the fur-traders. But although,
+in comparison with the freshwater oceans of the Far West, this lake was
+unnoticed and almost unknown, it would by no means have been regarded
+in such a light had it been transported to the plains of England. In
+regard to picturesque beauty, it was perhaps unsurpassed. It might be
+about six miles wide, and so long that the land at the farther end of
+it was faintly discernible on the horizon. Wooded hills, sloping gently
+down to the water's edge; jutting promontories, some rocky and barren,
+others more or less covered with trees; deep bays, retreating in some
+places into the dark recesses of a savage-looking gorge, in others into
+a distant meadow-like plain, bordered with a stripe of yellow sand;
+beautiful islands of various sizes, scattered along the shores as if
+nestling there for security, or standing barren and solitary in the
+centre of the lake, like bulwarks of the wilderness, some covered with
+luxuriant vegetation, others bald and grotesque in outline, and covered
+with gulls and other water-fowl,--this was the scene that broke upon
+the view of the travellers as they rounded the point, and, ceasing to
+paddle, gazed upon it long and in deep silence, their hands raised to
+shade their eyes from the sun's rays, which sparkled in the water, and
+fell, here in bright spots and broken patches, and there in yellow
+floods, upon the rocks, the trees, the forest glades and plains around
+them.
+
+"What a glorious scene!" murmured Hamilton, almost unconsciously.
+
+"A perfect paradise!" said Harry, with a long-drawn sigh of
+satisfaction.--"Why, Jacques, my friend, it's a matter of wonder to me
+that you, a free man, without relations or friends to curb you, or
+attract you to other parts of the world, should go boating and canoeing
+all over the country at the beck of the fur-traders, when you might
+come and pitch your tent here for ever!"
+
+"For ever!" echoed Jacques.
+
+"Well, I mean as long as you live in this world."
+
+"Ah, master," rejoined the guide, in a sad tone of voice, "it's just
+because I have neither kith nor kin nor friends to draw me to any
+partic'lar spot on arth, that I don't care to settle down in this one,
+beautiful though it be."
+
+"True, true," muttered Harry; "man's a gregarious animal, there's no
+doubt of that."
+
+"Anon?" exclaimed Jacques.
+
+"I meant to say that man naturally loves company," replied Harry,
+smiling.
+
+"An' yit I've seen some as didn't, master; though, to be sure, that was
+onnat'ral, and there's not many o' them, by good luck. Yes, man's fond
+o' seein' the face o' man."
+
+"And woman, too," interrupted Harry.--"Eh, Hamilton, what say you?--
+
+     'O woman, in our hours of ease,
+     Uncertain, coy, and hard to please,
+     When pain and anguish wring the brow,
+     A ministering angel thou.'
+
+Alas, Hammy! pain and anguish and every thing else may wring our
+unfortunate brows here long enough before woman, 'lovely woman,' will
+come to our aid. What a rare sight it would be, now, to see even an
+ordinary house-maid or cook out here! It would be good for sore eyes.
+It seems to me a sort of horrible untruth to say that I've not seen a
+woman since I left Red River; and yet its a frightful fact, for I don't
+count the copper-coloured nondescripts one meets with hereabouts to be
+women at all. I suppose they are, but they don't look like it."
+
+"Don't be a goose, Harry," said Hamilton.
+
+"Certainly not, my friend. If I were under the disagreeable necessity
+of being anything but what I am, I should rather be something that is
+not in the habit of being shot," replied the other, paddling with
+renewed vigour in order to get rid of some of the superabundant spirits
+that the beautiful scene and brilliant weather, acting on a young and
+ardent nature, had called forth.
+
+"Some of these same red-skins," remarked the guide, "are not such bad
+sort o' women, for all their ill looks. I've know'd more than one that
+was a first-rate wife an' a good mother, though it's true they had
+little edication beyond that o' the woods."
+
+"No doubt of it," replied Harry, laughing gaily. "How shall I keep the
+canoe's head, Jacques?"
+
+"Right away for the pint that lies jist between you an' the sun."
+
+"Yes; I give them all credit for being excellent wives and mothers,
+after a fashion," resumed Harry. "I've no wish to asperse the
+characters of the poor Indians; but you must know, Jacques, that
+they're very different from the women that I allude to and of whom
+Scott sung. His heroines were of a _very_ different stamp and colour!"
+
+"Did _he_ sing of niggers?" inquired Jacques, simply.
+
+"Of niggers!" shouted Harry, looking over his shoulder at Hamilton,
+with a broad grin; "no, Jacques, not exactly of niggers--"
+
+"Hist!" exclaimed the guide, with that peculiar subdued energy that at
+once indicates an unexpected discovery, and enjoins caution, while at
+the same moment, by a deep, powerful back-stroke of his paddle, he
+suddenly checked the rapid motion of the canoe.
+
+Harry and his friend glanced quickly over their shoulders with a look
+of surprise.
+
+"What's in the wind now?" whispered the former.
+
+"Stop paddling, masters, and look ahead at the rock yonder, jist under
+the tall cliff. There's a bear a-sittin' there, and if we can only get
+ashore afore he sees us, we're sartin sure of him."
+
+As the guide spoke, he slowly edged the canoe towards the shore, while
+the young men gazed with eager looks in the direction indicated, where
+they beheld what appeared to be the decayed stump of an old tree or a
+mass of brown rock. While they strained their eyes to see it more
+clearly, the object altered its form and position.
+
+"So it is," they exclaimed simultaneously, in a tone that was
+equivalent to the remark, "Now we believe, because we see it."
+
+In a few seconds the bow of the canoe touched the land, so lightly as
+to be quite inaudible, and Harry, stepping gently over the side, drew
+it forward a couple of feet, while his companions disembarked.
+
+"Now, Mister Harry," said the guide, as he slung a powder-horn and
+shot-belt over his shoulder, "we've no need to circumvent the beast,
+for he's circumvented himself."
+
+"How so?" inquired the other, drawing the shot from his fowling-piece,
+and substituting in its place a leaden bullet.
+
+Jacques led the way through the somewhat thinly scattered underwood as
+he replied, "You see, Mister Harry, the place where he's gone to sun
+hisself is just at the foot o' a sheer precipice, which runs round
+ahead of him and juts out into the water, so that he's got three ways
+to choose between. He must clamber up the precipice, which will take
+him some time, I guess, if he can do it at all; or he must take to the
+water, which he don't like, and won't do if he can help it; or he must
+run out the way he went in, but as we shall go to meet him by the same
+road, he'll have to break our ranks before he gains the woods, an'
+_that_'ll be no easy job."
+
+The party soon reached the narrow pass between the lake and the near
+end of the cliff, where they advanced with greater caution, and peeping
+over the low bushes, beheld Bruin, a large brown fellow, sitting on his
+haunches, and rocking himself slowly to and fro, as he gazed
+abstractedly at the water. He was scarcely within good shot, but the
+cover was sufficiently thick to admit of a nearer approach.
+
+"Now, Hamilton," said Harry, in a low whisper, "take the first shot. I
+killed the last one, so it's your turn this time."
+
+Hamilton hesitated, but could make no reasonable objection to this,
+although his unselfish nature prompted him to let his friend have the
+first chance. However, Jacques decided the matter by saying, in a tone
+that savoured strongly of command, although it was accompanied with a
+good-humoured smile,--
+
+"Go for'ard, young man; but you may as well put in the primin' first."
+
+Poor Hamilton hastily rectified this oversight with a deep blush, at
+the same time muttering that he never _would_ make a hunter; and then
+advanced cautiously through the bushes, slowly followed at a short
+distance by his companions.
+
+On reaching the bush within seventy yards of the bear, Hamilton pushed
+the twigs aside with the muzzle of his gun; his eye flashed and his
+courage mounted as he gazed at the truly formidable animal before him,
+and he felt more of the hunter's spirit within him at that moment than
+he would have believed possible a few minutes before. Unfortunately, a
+hunter's spirit does not necessarily imply a hunter's eye or hand.
+Having, with much care and long time, brought his piece to bear exactly
+where he supposed the brute's heart should be, he observed that the gun
+was on half-cock, by nearly breaking the trigger in his convulsive
+efforts to fire. By the time that this error was rectified, Bruin, who
+seemed to feel intuitively that some imminent danger threatened him,
+rose, and began to move about uneasily, which so alarmed the young
+hunter lest he should lose his shot that he took a hasty aim, fired,
+and _missed._ Harry asserted afterwards that he even missed the cliff!
+On hearing the loud report, which rolled in echoes along the precipice,
+Bruin started, and looking round with an undecided air, saw Harry step
+quietly from the bushes, and fire, sending a ball into his flank. This
+decided him. With a fierce growl of pain, he scampered towards the
+water; then changing his mind, he wheeled round, and dashed at the
+cliff, up which he scrambled with wonderful speed.
+
+"Come, Mister Hamilton, load again; quick, I'll have to do the job
+myself, I fear," said Jacques, as he leaned quietly on his long gun,
+and with a half-pitying smile watched the young man, who madly essayed
+to recharge his piece more rapidly than it was possible for mortal man
+to do. Meanwhile, Harry had reloaded and fired again; but owing to the
+perturbation of his young spirits, and the frantic efforts of the bear
+to escape, he missed. Another moment, and the animal would actually
+have reached the top, when Jacques hastily fired, and brought it
+tumbling down the precipice. Owing to the position of the animal at the
+time he fired, the wound was not mortal; and foreseeing that Bruin
+would now become the aggressor, the hunter began rapidly to reload, at
+the same time retreating with his companions, who in their excitement
+had forgotten to recharge their pieces. On reaching level ground, Bruin
+rose, shook himself, gave a yell of anger on beholding his enemies, and
+rushed at them.
+
+It was a fine sight to behold the bearing of Jacques at this critical
+juncture. Accustomed to bear-hunting from his youth, and utterly
+indifferent to consequences when danger became imminent, he saw at a
+glance the probabilities of the case. He knew exactly how long it would
+take him to load his gun, and regulated his pace so as not to interfere
+with that operation. His features wore their usual calm expression.
+Every motion of his hands was quick and sudden, yet not hurried, but
+performed in a way that led the beholder irresistibly to imagine that
+he would have done it even more rapidly if necessary. On reaching a
+ledge of rock that overhung the lake a few feet he paused and wheeled
+about; click went the dog-head, just as the bear rose to grapple with
+him; another moment, and a bullet passed through the brute's heart,
+while the bold hunter sprang lightly on one side, to avoid the dash of
+the falling animal. As he did so, young Hamilton, who had stood a
+little behind him with an uplifted axe, ready to finish the work should
+Jacques's fire prove ineffective, received Bruin in his arms, and
+tumbled along with him over the rock, headlong into the water, from
+which, however, he speedily arose unhurt, sputtering and coughing, and
+dragging the dead bear to the shore.
+
+"Well done, Hammy," shouted Harry, indulging in a prolonged peal of
+laughter when he ascertained that his friend's adventure had cost him
+nothing more than a ducking; "that was the most amicable, loving plunge
+I ever saw."
+
+"Better a cold bath in the arms of a dead bear than an embrace on dry
+land with a live one," retorted Hamilton, as he wrung the water out of
+his dripping garments.
+
+"Most true, O sagacious diver! But the sooner we get a fire made the
+better; so come along."
+
+While the two friends hastened up to the woods to kindle a fire,
+Jacques drew his hunting-knife, and, with doffed coat and upturned
+sleeves, was soon busily employed in divesting the bear of his natural
+garment. The carcass, being valueless in a country where game of a more
+palatable kind was plentiful, they left behind as a feast to the
+wolves. After this was accomplished and the clothes dried, they
+re-embarked, and resumed their journey, plying the paddles
+energetically in silence, as their adventure had occasioned a
+considerable loss of time.
+
+It was late, and the stars had looked down for a full hour into the
+profound depths of the now dark lake ere the party reached the ground
+at the other side of the point, on which Jacques had resolved to
+encamp. Being somewhat wearied, they spent but little time in
+discussing supper, and partook of that meal with a degree of energy
+that implied a sense of duty as well as of pleasure. Shortly after,
+they were buried in repose, under the scanty shelter of their canoe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+An unexpected meeting, and an unexpected deer-hunt--Arrival at the
+outpost--Disagreement with the natives--An enemy discovered, and a
+murder.
+
+
+Next morning they rose with the sun, and therefore also with the birds
+and beasts.
+
+A wide traverse of the lake now lay before them. This they crossed in
+about two hours, during which time they paddled unremittingly, as the
+sky looked rather lowering, and they were well aware of the danger of
+being caught in a storm in such an egg-shell craft as an Indian canoe.
+
+"We'll put in here now, Mister Harry," exclaimed Jacques, as the canoe
+entered the mouth of one of these small rivulets which are called in
+Scotland _burns_, and in America _creeks_; "it's like that your
+appetite is sharpened after a spell like that. Keep her head a little
+more to the left--straight for the p'int--so. It's likely we'll get
+some fish here if we set the net."
+
+"I say, Jacques, is yon a cloud or a wreath of smoke above the trees in
+the creek?" inquired Harry, pointing with his paddle towards the object
+referred to.
+
+"It's smoke, master; I've seed it for some time, and mayhap we'll find
+some Injins there who can give us news of the traders at Stoney Creek."
+
+"And pray, how far do you think we may now be from that place?"
+inquired Harry.
+
+"Forty miles, more or less."
+
+As he spoke the canoe entered the shallow water of the creek, and began
+to ascend the current of the stream, which at its mouth was so sluggish
+as to be scarcely perceptible to the eye. Not so, however, to the arms.
+The light bark, which while floating on the lake had glided buoyantly
+forward as if it were itself consenting to the motion, had now become
+apparently imbued with a spirit of contradiction, bounding convulsively
+forward at each stroke of the paddles, and perceptibly losing speed at
+each interval. Directing their course towards a flat rock on the left
+bank of the stream, they ran the prow out of the water and leaped
+ashore. As they did so the unexpected figure of a man issued from the
+bushes, and sauntered towards the spot. Harry and Hamilton advanced to
+meet him, while Jacques remained to unload the canoe. The stranger was
+habited in the usual dress of a hunter, and carried a fowling piece
+over his right shoulder. In general appearance he looked like an
+Indian; but though the face was burned by exposure to a hue that nearly
+equalled the red skins of the natives, a strong dash of pink in it, and
+the mass of fair hair that encircled it, proved that as Harry
+paradoxically expressed it, its owner was a _white_ man. He was young,
+considerably above the middle height, and apparently athletic. His
+address and language on approaching the young men put the question of
+his being a _white_ man beyond a doubt.
+
+"Good-morning, gentlemen," he began. "I presume that you are the party
+we have been expecting for some time past to reinforce our staff at
+Stoney Creek. Is it not so?"
+
+To this query young Somerville, who stood in advance of his friend,
+made no reply, but stepping hastily forward, laid a hand on each of the
+stranger's shoulders, and gazed earnestly into his face, exclaiming as
+he did so,--
+
+"Do my eyes deceive me? Is Charley Kennedy before me--or his ghost?"
+
+"What! eh," exclaimed the individual thus addressed, returning Harry's
+gripe and stare with interest, "is it possible? no--it cannot--Harry
+Somerville, my old, dear, unexpected friend!"--and pouring out broken
+sentences, abrupt ejaculations, and incoherent questions, to which
+neither vouchsafed replies, the two friends gazed at and walked round
+each other, shook hands, partially embraced, and committed sundry other
+extravagances, utterly unconscious of or indifferent to the fact that
+Hamilton was gazing at them, open-mouthed, in a species of stupor, and
+that Jacques was standing by, regarding them with a look of mingled
+amusement and satisfaction. The discovery of this latter personage was
+a source of renewed delight and astonishment to Charley, who was so
+much upset by the commotion of his spirits, in consequence of this, so
+to speak, double shot, that he became rambling and incoherent in his
+speech during the remainder of that day, and gave vent to frequent and
+sudden bursts of smothered enthusiasm, in which it would appear, from
+the occasional muttering of the names of Redfeather and Jacques, that
+he not only felicitated himself on his own good fortune, but also
+anticipated renewed pleasure in witnessing the joyful meeting of these
+two worthies ere long. In fact, this meeting did take place on the
+following day, when Redfeather, returning from a successful hunt, with
+part of a deer on his shoulders, entered Charley's tent, in which the
+travellers had spent the previous day and night, and discovered the
+guide gravely discussing a venison steak before the fire.
+
+It would be vain to attempt a description of all that the reunited
+friends said and did during the first twenty-four hours after their
+meeting: how they talked of old times, as they lay extended round the
+fire inside of Charley's tent, and recounted their adventures by flood
+and field since they last met; how they sometimes diverged into
+questions of speculative philosophy (as conversations _will_ often
+diverge, whether we wish it or not), and broke short off to make sudden
+inquiries after old friends; how this naturally led them to talk of new
+friends and new scenes, until they began to forecast their eyes a
+little into the future; and how, on feeling that this was an
+uncongenial theme under present circumstances, they reverted again to
+the past, and by a peculiar train of conversation--to retrace which
+were utterly impossible--they invariably arrived at _old_ times again.
+Having in course of the evening pretty well exhausted their powers,
+both mental and physical, they went to sleep on it, and resumed the
+colloquial _mélange_ in the morning.
+
+"And now tell me, Charley, what you are doing in this uninhabited part
+of the world, so far from Stoney Creek," said Harry Somerville, as they
+assembled round the fire to breakfast.
+
+"That is soon explained," replied Charley. "My good friend and
+superior, Mr. Whyte, having got himself comfortably housed at Stoney
+Creek, thought it advisable to establish a sort of half outpost, half
+fishing-station about twenty miles below the new fort, and believing
+(very justly) that my talents lay a good deal in the way of fishing and
+shooting, sent me to superintend it during the summer months. I am,
+therefore, at present monarch of that notable establishment, which is
+not yet dignified with a name. Hearing that there were plenty of deer
+about twenty miles below my palace, I resolved the other day to gratify
+my love of sport, and at the same time procure some venison for Stoney
+Creek; accordingly, I took Redfeather with me, and--here I am."
+
+"Very good," said Harry; "and can you give us the least idea of what
+they are going to do with my friend Hamilton and me when they get us?"
+
+"Can't say. One of you, at any rate, will be kept at the creek, to
+assist Mr. Whyte; the other may, perhaps, be appointed to relieve me at
+the fishing for a time, while _I_ am sent off to push the trade in
+other quarters. But I'm only guessing. I don't know anything
+definitely, for Mr. Whyte is by no means communicative."
+
+"An' please, master," put in Jacques, "when do you mean to let us off
+from this place? I guess the bourgeois won't be over pleased if we
+waste time here."
+
+"We'll start this forenoon, Jacques. I and Redfeather shall go along
+with you, as I intended to take a run up to the creek about this time
+at any rate.--Have you the skins and dried meat packed, Redfeather?"
+
+To this the Indian replied in the affirmative, and the others having
+finished breakfast, the whole party rose to prepare for departure, and
+set about loading their canoes forthwith. An hour later they were again
+cleaving the waters of the lake, with this difference in arrangement,
+that Jacques was transferred to Redfeather's canoe, while Charley
+Kennedy took his place in the stern of that occupied by Harry and
+Hamilton.
+
+The establishment of which our friend Charley pronounced himself
+absolute monarch, and at which they arrived in the course of the same
+afternoon, consisted of two small log houses or huts, constructed in
+the rudest fashion, and without any attempt whatever at architectural
+embellishment. It was pleasantly situated on a small bay, whose
+northern extremity was sheltered from the arctic blast by a gentle
+rising ground clothed with wood. A miscellaneous collection of fishing
+apparatus lay scattered about in front of the buildings, and two men
+and an Indian woman were the inhabitants of the place; the king
+himself, when present, and his prime minister, Redfeather, being the
+remainder of the population.
+
+"Pleasant little kingdom that of yours, Charley," remarked Harry
+Somerville, as they passed the station.
+
+"Very," was the laconic reply.
+
+They had scarcely passed the place above a mile, when a canoe,
+containing a solitary Indian, was observed to shoot out from the shore
+and paddle hastily towards them. From this man they learned that a herd
+of deer was passing down towards the lake, and would be on its banks in
+a few minutes. He had been waiting their arrival when the canoes came
+in sight, and induced him to hurry out so as to give them warning.
+Having no time to lose, the whole party now paddled swiftly for the
+shore, and reached it just a few minutes before the branching antlers
+of the deer came in sight above the low bushes that skirted the wood.
+Harry Somerville embarked in the bow of the strange Indian's canoe, so
+as to lighten the other and enable all parties to have a fair chance.
+After snuffing the breeze for a few seconds, the foremost animal took
+the water, and commenced swimming towards the opposite shore of the
+lake, which at this particular spot was narrow. It was followed by
+seven others. After sufficient time was permitted to elapse to render
+their being cut off, in an attempt to return, quite certain, the three
+canoes darted from the shelter of the overhanging bushes, and sprang
+lightly over the water in pursuit.
+
+"Don't hurry, and strike sure," cried Jacques to his young friends, as
+they came up with the terrified deer that now swam for their lives.
+
+"Ay, ay," was the reply.
+
+In another moment they shot in among the struggling group. Harry
+Somerville stood up, and seizing the Indian's spear, prepared to
+strike, while his companions directed their course towards others of
+the herd. A few seconds sufficed to bring him up with it. Leaning
+backwards a little, so as to give additional force to the blow, he
+struck the spear deep into the animal's back. With a convulsive
+struggle, it ceased to swim, its head slowly sank, and in another
+second it lay dead upon the water. "Without waiting a moment, the
+Indian immediately directed the canoe towards another deer; while the
+remainder of the party, now considerably separated from each other,
+despatched the whole herd by means of axes and knives.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Jacques, as they towed their booty to the shore,
+"that's a good stock o' meat, Mister Charles. It will help to furnish
+the larder for the winter pretty well."
+
+"It was much wanted, Jacques: we've a good many mouths to feed, besides
+_treating_ the Indians now and then. And this fellow, I think, will
+claim the most of our hunt as his own. We should not have got the deer
+but for him."
+
+"True, true, Mister Charles. They belong to the red-skin by rights,
+that's sartin."
+
+After this exploit, another night was passed under the trees; and at
+noon on the day following they ran their canoe alongside the wooden
+wharf at Stoney Creek.
+
+"Good-day to you, gentlemen," said Mr. Whyte to Harry and Hamilton as
+they landed; "I've been looking out for you these two weeks past. Glad
+you've come at last, however. Plenty to do, and no time to lose. You
+have despatches, of course. Ah! that's right." (Harry drew a sealed
+packet from his bosom and presented it with a bow), "that's right. I
+must peruse these at once.--Mr. Kennedy, you will show these gentlemen
+their quarters. We dine in half-an-hour." So saying, Mr. Whyte thrust
+the packet into his pocket, and without further remark strode towards
+his dwelling; while Charley, as instructed, led his friends to their
+new residence--not forgetting, however, to charge Redfeather to see to
+the comfortable lodgment of Jacques Caradoc.
+
+"Now it strikes me," remarked Harry, as he sat down on the edge of
+Charley's bed and thrust his hands doggedly down into his pockets,
+while Hamilton tucked up his sleeves and assaulted a washhand-basin
+which stood on an unpainted wooden chair in a corner--"it strikes me
+that if _that's_ his usual style of behaviour, old Whyte is a pleasure
+that we didn't anticipate."
+
+"Don't judge from first impressions; they're often deceptive,"
+spluttered Hamilton, pausing in his ablutions to look at his friend
+through a mass of soap-suds--an act which afterwards caused him a good
+deal of pain and a copious flow of unbidden tears.
+
+"Right," exclaimed Charley, with an approving nod to Hamilton.--"You
+must not judge him prematurely, Harry. He's a good-hearted fellow at
+bottom; and if he once takes a liking for you, he'll go through fire
+and water to serve you, as I know from experience."
+
+"Which means to say _three_ things," replied the implacable Harry:
+"first, that for all his good-heartedness _at bottom,_ he never shows
+any of it _at top,_ and is therefore like unto truth, which is said to
+lie at the bottom of a well--so deep, in fact, that it is never got
+out, and so is of use to nobody; secondly, that he is possessed of that
+amount of affection which is common to all mankind (to a great extent
+even to brutes), which prompts a man to be reasonably attentive to his
+friends; and thirdly, that you, Master Kennedy, enjoy the peculiar
+privilege of being the friend of a two-legged polar bear!"
+
+"Were I not certain that you jest," retorted Kennedy, "I would compel
+you to apologize to me for insulting my friend, you rascal! But see,
+here's the cook coming to tell us that dinner waits. If you don't wish
+to see the teeth of the polar bear, I'd advise you to be smart."
+
+Thus admonished, Harry sprang up, plunged his hands and face in the
+basin and dried them, broke Charley's comb in attempting to pass it
+hastily through his hair, used his fingers savagely as a substitute,
+and overtook his companions just as they entered the mess-room.
+
+The establishment of Stoney Creek was comprised within two acres of
+ground. It consisted of eight or nine houses--three of which, however,
+alone met the eye on approaching by the lake. The "great" house, as it
+was termed, on account of its relative proportion to the other
+buildings, was a small edifice, built substantially but roughly of
+unsquared logs, partially whitewashed, roofed with shingles, and
+boasting six small windows in front, with a large door between them. On
+its east side, and at right angles to it, was a similar edifice, but
+smaller, having two doors instead of one, and four windows instead of
+six. This was the trading-shop and provision-store. Opposite to this
+was a twin building which contained the furs and a variety of
+miscellaneous stores. Thus were formed three sides of a square, from
+the centre of which rose a tall flagstaff. The buildings behind those
+just described were smaller and insignificant--the principal one being
+the house appropriated to the men; the others were mere sheds and
+workshops. Luxuriant forests ascended the slopes that rose behind and
+encircled this oasis on all sides, excepting in front, where the clear
+waters of the lake sparkled like a blue mirror.
+
+On the margin of this lake the new arrivals, left to enjoy themselves
+as they best might for a day or two, sauntered about and chatted to
+their heart's content of things past, present, and future.
+
+During these wanderings, Harry confessed that his opinion of Mr. Whyte
+had somewhat changed; that he believed a good deal of the first bad
+impressions was attributable to his cool, not to say impolite,
+reception of them; and that he thought things would go on much better
+with the Indians if he would only try to let some of his good qualities
+be seen through his exterior.
+
+An expression of sadness passed over Charley's face as his friend said
+this.
+
+"You are right in the last particular," he said, with a sigh. "Mr.
+Whyte is so rough and overbearing that the Indians are beginning to
+dislike him. Some of the more clear-sighted among them see that a good
+deal of this lies in mere manner, and have penetration enough to
+observe that in all his dealings with them he is straightforward and
+liberal; but there are a set of them who either don't see this, or are
+so indignant at the rough speeches he often makes, and the rough
+treatment he sometimes threatens, that they won't forgive him, but seem
+to be nursing their wrath. I sometimes wish he was sent to a district
+where the Indians and traders are, from habitual intercourse, more
+accustomed to each other's ways, and so less likely to quarrel."
+
+"Have the Indians, then, used any open threats?" asked Harry.
+
+"No, not exactly; but through an old man of the tribe, who is well
+affected towards us, I have learned that there is a party among them
+who seem bent on mischief."
+
+"Then we may expect a row some day or other. That's pleasant!--What
+think you, Hammy?" said Harry, turning to his friend.
+
+"I think that it would be anything but pleasant," he replied; "and I
+sincerely hope that we shall not have occasion for a row."
+
+"You're not afraid of a fight, are you, Hamilton?" asked Charley.
+
+The peculiarly bland smile with which Hamilton usually received any
+remark that savoured of banter overspread his features as Charley
+spoke, but he merely replied--
+
+"No, Charley, I'm not afraid."
+
+"Do you know any of the Indians who are so anxious to vent their spleen
+on our worthy bourgeois?" asked Harry, as he seated himself on a rocky
+eminence commanding a view of the richly-wooded slopes, dotted with
+huge masses of rock that had fallen from the beetling cliffs behind the
+creek.
+
+"Yes, I do," replied Charley; "and, by the way, one of them--the
+ringleader--is a man with whom you are acquainted, at least by name.
+You've heard of an Indian called Misconna?"
+
+"What!" exclaimed Harry, with a look of surprise; "you don't mean the
+blackguard mentioned by Redfeather, long ago, when he told us his story
+on the shores of Lake Winnipeg--the man who killed poor Jacques's young
+wife?"
+
+"The same," replied Charley.
+
+"And does Jacques know he is here?"
+
+"He does; but Jacques is a strange, unaccountable mortal. You remember
+that in the struggle described by Redfeather, the trapper and Misconna
+had neither of them seen each other, Redfeather having felled the
+latter before the former reached the scene of action--a scene which, he
+has since told me, he witnessed at a distance, while rushing to the
+rescue of his wife-so that Misconna is utterly ignorant of the fact
+that the husband of his victim is now so near him; indeed, he does not
+know that she had a husband at all. On the other hand, although Jacques
+is aware that his bitterest enemy is within rifle-range of him at this
+moment, he does not know him by sight; and this morning he came to me,
+begging that I would send Misconna on some expedition or other, just to
+keep him out of his way."
+
+"And do you intend to do so?"
+
+"I shall do my best," replied Charley; "but I cannot get him out of the
+way till to-morrow, as there is to be a gathering of Indians in the
+hall this very day, to have a palaver with Mr. Whyte about their
+grievances, and Misconna wouldn't miss that for a trifle. But Jacques
+won't be likely to recognise him among so many; and if he does, I rely
+with confidence on his powers of restraint and forbearance. By the
+way," he continued, glancing upwards, "it is past noon, and the Indians
+will have begun to assemble, so we had better hasten back, as we shall
+be expected to help in keeping order."
+
+So saying, he rose, and the young men returned to the fort. On reaching
+it they found the hall crowded with natives, who sat cross-legged
+around the walls, or stood in groups conversing in low tones, and to
+judge from the expression of their dark eyes and lowering brows, they
+were in extremely bad humour. They became silent and more respectful,
+however, in their demeanour when the young men entered the apartment
+and walked up to the fireplace, in which a small fire of wood burned on
+the hearth, more as a convenient means of rekindling the pipes of the
+Indians when they went out than as a means of heating the place.
+Jacques and Redfeather stood leaning against the wall near to it,
+engaged in a whispered conversation. Glancing round as he entered,
+Charley observed Misconna sitting a little apart by himself, and
+apparently buried in deep thought. He had scarcely perceived him, and
+nodded to several of his particular friends among the crowd, when a
+side-door opened, and Mr. Whyte, with an angry expression on his
+countenance, strode up to the fireplace, planted himself before it,
+with his legs apart and his hands behind him, while he silently
+surveyed the group.
+
+"So," he began, "you have asked to speak with me; well, here I am. What
+have you to say?"
+
+Mr. Whyte addressed the Indians in their native tongue, having, during
+a long residence in the country, learned to speak it as fluently as
+English.
+
+For some moments there was silence. Then an old chief--the same who had
+officiated at the feast described in a former chapter--rose, and
+standing forth into the middle of the room, made a long and grave
+oration, in which, besides a great deal that was bombastic, much that
+was irrelevant, and more that was utterly fabulous and nonsensical, he
+recounted the sorrows of himself and his tribe, concluding with a
+request that the great chief would take these things into
+consideration--the principal _"things"_ being that they did not get
+anything in the shape of gratuities, while it was notorious that the
+Indians in other districts did, and that they did not get enough of
+goods in advance, on credit of their future hunts.
+
+Mr. Whyte heard the old man to the end in silence: then, without
+altering his position, he looked round on the assembly with a frown,
+and said, "Now listen to me; I am a man of few words. I have told you
+over and over again, and I now repeat it, that you shall get no
+gratuities until you prove yourselves worthy of them. I shall not
+increase your advances by so much as half an inch of tobacco till your
+last year's debts are scored off, and you begin to show more activity
+in hunting and less disposition to grumble. Hitherto you have not
+brought in anything like the quantity of furs that the capabilities of
+the country led me to expect. You are lazy. Until you become better
+hunters you shall have no redress from me."
+
+As he finished, Mr. Whyte made a step towards the door by which he had
+entered, but was arrested by another chief, who requested to be heard.
+Resuming his place and attitude, Mr. Whyte listened with an expression
+of dogged determination, while guttural grunts of unequivocal
+dissatisfaction issued from the throats of several of the malcontents.
+The Indian proceeded to repeat a few of the remarks made by his
+predecessor, but more concisely, and wound up by explaining that the
+failure in the hunts of the previous year was owing to the will of the
+Great Manito, and not by any means on account of the supposed laziness
+of himself or his tribe.
+
+"That is false," said Mr. Whyte; "you know it is not true."
+
+As this was said, a murmur of anger ran round the apartment, which was
+interrupted by Misconna, who, apparently unable to restrain his
+passion, sprang into the middle of the room, and confronting Mr. Whyte,
+made a short and pithy speech, accompanied by violent gesticulation, in
+which he insinuated that if redress was not granted the white men would
+bitterly repent it.
+
+During his speech the Indians had risen to their feet and drawn closer
+together, while Jacques and the three young men drew near their
+superior. Redfeather remained apart, motionless, and with his eyes
+fixed on the ground.
+
+"And, pray, what dog--what miserable thieving cur are you, who dare to
+address me thus?" cried Mr. Whyte, as he strode, with flashing eyes, up
+to the enraged Indian.
+
+Misconna clinched his teeth, and his fingers worked convulsively about
+the handle of his knife, as he exclaimed, "I am no dog. The pale-faces
+are dogs. I am a great chief. My name is known among the braves of my
+tribe. It is Misconna--"
+
+As the name fell from his lips, Mr. Wiryte and Charley were suddenly
+dashed aside, and Jacques sprang towards the Indian, his face livid,
+his eyeballs almost bursting from their sockets, and his muscles rigid
+with passion. For an instant he regarded the savage intently as he
+shrank appalled before him; then his colossal fist fell like lightning,
+with the weight of a sledge-hammer, on Misconna's forehead, and drove
+him against the outer door, which, giving way before the violent shock,
+burst from its fastenings and hinges, and fell, along with the savage,
+with a loud crash to the ground.
+
+For an instant everyone stood aghast at this precipitate termination to
+the discussion, and then, springing forward in a body, with drawn
+knives, the Indians rushed upon the white men, who in a close phalanx,
+with such weapons as came first to hand, stood to receive them. At this
+moment Redfeather stepped forward unarmed between the belligerents,
+and, turning to the Indians, said--
+
+"Listen: Redfeather does not take the part of his white friends against
+his comrades. You know that he never failed you in the war-path, and he
+would not fail you now if your cause were just. But the eyes of his
+comrades are shut. Redfeather knows what they do not know. The white
+hunter" (pointing to Jacques) "is a friend of Redfeather. He is a
+friend of the Knisteneux. He did not strike because you disputed with
+his bourgeois; he struck because Misconna _is his mortal foe_. But the
+story is long. Redfeather will tell it at the council fire."
+
+"He is right," exclaimed Jacques, who had recovered his usual grave
+expression of countenance; "Redfeather is right. I bear you no
+ill-will, Injins, and I shall explain the thing myself at your council
+fire."
+
+As Jacques spoke the Indians sheathed their knives, and stood with
+frowning brows, as if uncertain what to do. The unexpected interference
+of their comrade-in-arms, coupled with his address and that of Jacques,
+had excited their curiosity. Perhaps the undaunted deportment of their
+opponents, who stood ready for the encounter with a look of stern
+determination, contributed a little to allay their resentment.
+
+While the two parties stood thus confronting each other, as if
+uncertain how to act, a loud report was heard just outside the doorway.
+In another moment Mr. Whyte fell heavily to the ground, shot through
+the heart.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+The chase--The fight--Retribution--Low spirits and good news.
+
+
+The tragical end of the consultation related in the last chapter had
+the effect of immediately reconciling the disputants. With the
+exception of four or five of the most depraved and discontented among
+them, the Indians bore no particular ill-will to the unfortunate
+principal of Stoney Creek; and although a good deal disappointed to
+find that he was a stern, unyielding trader, they had, in reality, no
+intention of coming to a serious rupture with him, much less of laying
+violent hands either upon master or men of the establishment.
+
+When, therefore, they beheld Mr. Whyte weltering in his blood at their
+feet, a sacrifice to the ungovernable passion of Misconna, who was by
+no means a favourite among his brethren, their temporary anger was
+instantly dissipated, and a feeling of deepest indignation roused in
+their bosoms against the miserable assassin who had perpetrated the
+base and cowardly murder. It was, therefore, with a yell of rage that
+several of the band, immediately after the victim fell, sprang into the
+woods in hot pursuit of him, whom they now counted their enemy. They
+were joined by several men belonging to the fort, who had hastened to
+the scene of action on hearing that the people in the hall were likely
+to come to blows. Redfeather was the first who had bounded like a deer
+into the woods in pursuit of the fugitive. Those who remained assisted
+Charley and his friends to convey the body of Mr. Whyte into an
+adjoining room, where they placed him on a bed. He was quite dead, the
+murderer's aim having been terribly true.
+
+Finding that he was past all human aid, the young men returned to the
+hall, which they entered just as Redfeather glided quickly through the
+open doorway, and, approaching the group, stood in silence beside them,
+with his arms folded on his breast.
+
+"You have something to tell, Redfeather," said Jacques, in a subdued
+tone, after regarding him a few seconds. "Is the scoundrel caught?"
+
+"Misconna's foot is swift," replied the Indian, "and the wood is thick.
+It is wasting time to follow him through the bushes."
+
+"What would you advise then?" exclaimed Charley, in a hurried voice. "I
+see that you have some plan to propose."
+
+"The wood is thick," answered Redfeather, "but the lake and the river
+are open. Let one party go by the lake, and one party by the river."
+
+"That's it, that's it, Injin," interrupted Jacques, energetically;
+"your wits are always jumpin'. By crosin' over to Duck River, we can
+start at a point five or six miles above the lower fall, an' as it's
+thereabouts he must cross, we'll be time enough to catch him. If he
+tries the lake, the other party'll fix him there; and he'll be soon
+poked up if he tries to hide in the bush."
+
+"Come, then; we'll all give chase at once," cried Charley, feeling a
+temporary relief in the prospect of energetic action from the
+depressing effects of the calamity that had so suddenly befallen him in
+the loss of his chief and friend.
+
+Little time was needed for preparation. Jacques, Charley, and Harry
+proceeded by the river; while Redfeather and Hamilton, with a couple of
+men, launched their canoe on the lake and set off in pursuit.
+
+Crossing the country for about a mile, Jacques led his party to the
+point on the Duck River to which he had previously referred. Here they
+found two canoes, into one of which the guide stepped with one of the
+men, a Canadian, who had accompanied them, while Harry and Charley
+embarked in the other. In a few minutes they were rapidly descending
+the stream.
+
+"How do you mean to act, Jacques?" inquired Charley, as he paddled
+alongside of the guide's canoe. "Is it not likely that Misconna may
+have crossed the river already? in which case we shall have no chance
+of catching him."
+
+"Niver fear," returned Jacques. "He must have longer legs than most men
+if he gets to the flat-rock fall before us, an' as that's the spot
+where he'll nat'rally cross the river, being the only straight line for
+the hills that escapes the bend o' the bay to the south o' Stoney
+Creek, we're pretty sartin to stop him there."
+
+"True; but that being, as you say, the _natural_ route, don't you think
+it likely he'll expect that it will be guarded, and avoid it
+accordingly?"
+
+"He _would_ do so, Mister Charles, if he thought we were _here_; but
+there are two reasons agin this. He thinks that he's got the start o'
+us, an' won't need to double by way o' deceivin' us; and then he knows
+that the whole tribe is after him, and consekintly won't take a long
+road when there's a short one, if he can help it. But here's the rock.
+Look out, Mister Charles. We'll have to run the fall, which isn't very
+big just now, and then hide in the bushes at the foot of it till the
+blackguard shows himself. Keep well to the right an' don't mind the big
+rock; the rush o' water takes you clear o' that without trouble."
+
+With this concluding piece of advice, he pointed to the fall, which
+plunged over a ledge of rock about half-a-mile ahead of them, and which
+was distinguishable by a small column of white spray that rose out of
+it. As Charley beheld it his spirits rose, and forgetting for a moment
+the circumstances that called him there, he cried out--
+
+"I'll run it before you, Jacques. Hurrah! Give way, Harry!" and in
+spite of a remonstrance from the guide, he shot the canoe ahead, gave
+vent to another reckless shout, and flew, rather than glided, down the
+stream. On seeing this, the guide held back, so as to give him
+sufficient time to take the plunge ere he followed. A few strokes
+brought Charley's canoe to the brink of the fall, and Harry was just in
+the act of raising himself in the bow to observe the position of the
+rocks, when a shout was heard on the bank close beside them. Looking up
+they beheld an Indian emerge from the forest, fit an arrow to his bow,
+and discharge it at them. The winged messenger was truly aimed; it
+whizzed through the air and transfixed Harry Somerville's left shoulder
+just at the moment they swept over the fall. The arrow completely
+incapacitated Harry from using his arm, so that the canoe, instead of
+being directed into the broad current, took a sudden turn, dashed in
+among a mass of broken rocks, between which the water foamed with
+violence, and upset. Here the canoe stuck fast, while its owners stood
+up to their waists in the water, struggling to set it free--an object
+which they were the more anxious to accomplish that its stern lay
+directly in the spot where Jacques would infallibly descend. The next
+instant their fears were realised. The second canoe glided over the
+cataract, dashed violently against the first, and upset, leaving
+Jacques and his man in a similar predicament. By their aid, however,
+the canoes were more easily righted, and embarking quickly they shot
+forth again, just as the Indian, who had been obliged to make a detour
+in order to get within range of their position, reappeared on the banks
+above, and sent another shaft after them--fortunately, however, without
+effect.
+
+"This is unfortunate," muttered Jacques, as the party landed and
+endeavoured to wring some of the water from their dripping clothes;
+"an' the worst of it is that our guns are useless after sich a duckin',
+an' the varmint knows that, an' will be down on us in a twinklin'."
+
+"But we are four to one," exclaimed Harry. "Surely we don't need to
+fear much from a single enemy."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the guide, as he examined the lock of his gun.
+"You've had little to do with Injins, that's plain, You may be sure
+he's not alone, an' the reptile has a bow with arrows enough to send us
+all on a pretty long journey. But we've the trees to dodge behind. If I
+only had _one_ dry charge!" and the disconcerted guide gave a look,
+half of perplexity, half of contempt, at the dripping gun.
+
+"Never mind," cried Charley; "we have our paddles. But I forgot, Harry,
+in all this confusion, that you are wounded, my poor fellow. We must
+have it examined before doing anything further."
+
+"Oh, it's nothing at all--a mere scratch, I think; at least I feel very
+little pain."
+
+As he spoke the twang of a bow was heard, and an arrow flew past
+Jacques's ear.
+
+"Ah, so soon!" exclaimed that worthy, with a look of surprise, as if he
+had unexpectedly met with an old friend. Stepping behind a tree, he
+motioned to his friends to do likewise; an example which they followed
+somewhat hastily on beholding the Indian who had wounded Harry step
+from the cover of the underwood and deliberately let fly another arrow,
+which passed through the hair of the Canadian they had brought with
+them.
+
+From the several trees behind which they had leaped for shelter they
+now perceived that the Indian with the bow was Misconna, and that he
+was accompanied by eight others, who appeared, however, to be totally
+unarmed; having, probably, been obliged to leave their weapons behind
+them, owing to the abruptness of their flight. Seeing that the white
+men were unable to use their guns, the Indians assembled in a group,
+and from the hasty and violent gesticulations of some of the party,
+especially of Misconna, it was evident that a speedy attack was
+intended.
+
+Observing this, Jacques coolly left the shelter of his tree, and going
+up to Charley, exclaimed, "Now, Mister Charles, I'm goin' to run away,
+so you'd better come along with me."
+
+"That I certainly will not. Why, what do you mean?" inquired the other,
+in astonishment.
+
+"I mean that these stupid red-skins can't make up their minds what to
+do, an' as I've no notion o' stoppin' here all day, I want to make them
+do what will suit us best. You see, if they scatter through the wood
+and attack us on all sides, they may give us a deal o' trouble, and git
+away after all; whereas, if we _run away_, they'll bolt after us in a
+body, and then we can take them in hand all at once, which'll be more
+comfortable-like, an' easier to manage."
+
+As Jacques spoke they were joined by Harry and the Canadian; and being
+observed by the Indians thus grouped together, another arrow was sent
+among them.
+
+"Now, follow me," said Jacques, turning round with a loud howl and
+running away. He was closely followed by the others. As the guide had
+predicted, the Indians no sooner observed this than they rushed after
+them in a body, uttering horrible yells.
+
+"Now, then; stop here; down with you."
+
+Jacques instantly crouched behind a bush, while each of the party did
+the same. In a moment the savages came shouting up, supposing the white
+men were still running on in advance. As the foremost, a tall, muscular
+fellow, with the agility of a panther, bounded over the bush behind
+which Jacques was concealed, he was met with a blow from the guide's
+fist, so powerfully delivered into the pit of his stomach that it sent
+him violently back into the bush, where he lay insensible. This event,
+of course, put a check upon the headlong pursuit of the others, who
+suddenly paused, like a group of infuriated tigers unexpectedly baulked
+of their prey. The hesitation, however, was but for a moment. Misconna,
+who was in advance, suddenly drew his bow again, and let fly an arrow
+at Jacques, which the latter dexterously avoided; and while his
+antagonist lowered his eyes for an instant to fit another arrow to the
+string, the guide, making use of his paddle as a sort of javelin, threw
+it with such force and precision that it struck Misconna directly
+between the eyes and felled him to the earth, In another instant the
+two parties rushed upon each other, and a general _mélée_ ensued, in
+which the white men, being greatly superior to their adversaries in the
+use of their fists, soon proved themselves more than a match for them
+all although inferior in numbers. Charley's first antagonist, making an
+abortive attempt to grapple with him, received two rapid blows, one on
+the chest and the other on the nose, which knocked him over the bank
+into the river, while his conqueror sprang upon another Indian. Harry,
+having unfortunately selected the biggest savage of the band as his
+special property, rushed upon him and dealt him a vigorous blow on the
+head with his paddle.
+
+The weapon, however, was made of light wood, and, instead of felling
+him to the ground, broke into shivers. Springing upon each other they
+immediately engaged in a fierce struggle, in which poor Harry learned,
+when too late, that his wounded shoulder was almost powerless.
+Meanwhile, the Canadian having been assaulted by three Indians at once,
+floored one at the outset, and immediately began an impromptu war-dance
+round the other two, dealing them occasionally a kick or a blow, which
+would speedily have rendered them _hors de combat_, had they not
+succeeded in closing upon him, when all three fell heavily to the
+ground. Jacques and Charley having succeeded in overcoming their
+respective opponents, immediately hastened to his rescue. In the
+meantime, Harry and his foe had struggled to a considerable distance
+from the others, gradually edging towards the river's bank. Feeling
+faint from his wound, the former at length sank under the weight of his
+powerful antagonist, who endeavoured to thrust him over a kind of cliff
+which they had approached. He was on the point of accomplishing his
+purpose, when Charley and his friends perceived Harry's imminent
+danger, and rushed to the rescue. Quickly though they ran, however, it
+seemed likely that they would be too late. Harry's head already
+overhung the bank, and the Indian was endeavouring to loosen the gripe
+of the young man's hand from his throat, preparatory to tossing him
+over, when a wild cry rang through the forest, followed by the reports
+of a double-barrelled gun, fired in quick succession. Immediately
+after, young Hamilton bounded like a deer down the slope, seized the
+Indian by the legs, and tossed him over the cliff, where he turned a
+complete somersault in his descent, and fell with a sounding splash
+into the water.
+
+"Well done, cleverly done, lad!" cried Jacques, as he and the rest of
+the party came up and crowded round Harry, who lay in a state of
+partial stupor on the bank.
+
+At this moment Redfeather hastily but silently approached; his broad
+chest was heaving heavily, and his expanded nostrils quivering with the
+exertions he had made to reach the scene of action in time to succour
+his friends.
+
+"Thank God!" said Hamilton softly, as he kneeled beside Harry and
+supported his head, while Charley bathed his temples--"thank God that I
+have been in time! Fortunately I was walking by the river considerably
+in advance of Redfeather, who was bringing up the canoe, when I heard
+the sounds of the fray, and hastened to your aid."
+
+At this moment Harry opened his eyes, and saying faintly that he felt
+better, allowed himself to be raised to a sitting posture, while his
+coat was removed and his wound examined. It was found to be a deep
+flesh-wound in the shoulder, from which a fragment of the broken arrow
+still protruded.
+
+"It's a wonder to me, Mr. Harry, how ye held on to that big thief so
+long," muttered Jacques, as he drew out the splinter and bandaged up
+the shoulder. Having completed the surgical operation after a rough
+fashion, they collected the defeated Indians. Those of them that were
+able to walk were bound together by the wrists and marched off to the
+fort, under a guard which was strengthened by the arrival of several of
+the fur-traders, who had been in pursuit of the fugitives, and were
+attracted to the spot by the shouts of the combatants. Harry, and such
+of the party as were more or less severely injured, were placed in
+canoes and conveyed to Stoney Creek by the lake, into which Duck River
+runs at the distance of about half-a-mile from the spot on which the
+skirmish had taken place. Misconna was among the latter.
+
+On arriving at Stoney Creek, the canoe party found a large assemblage
+of the natives awaiting them on the wharf, and no sooner did Misconna
+land than they advanced to seize him.
+
+"Keep back, friends," cried Jacques, who perceived their intentions,
+and stepped hastily between them.--"Come here, lads," he continued,
+turning to his companions; "surround Misconna. He is _our_ prisoner,
+and must ha' fair justice done him, accordin' to white law."
+
+They fell back in silence on observing the guide's determined manner;
+but as they hurried the wretched culprit towards the house, one of the
+Indians pressed close upon their rear, and before anyone could prevent
+him, dashed his tomahawk into Misconna's brain. Seeing that the blow
+was mortal, the traders ceased to offer any further opposition; and the
+Indians rushing upon his body, bore it away amid shouts and yells of
+execration to their canoes, to one of which the body was fastened by a
+rope, and dragged through the water to point of land which jutted out
+into the lake near at hand. Here they lighted a fire and burned it to
+ashes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There seems to be a period in the history of every one when the fair
+aspect of this world is darkened--when everything, whether past,
+present, or future, assumes a hue of the deepest gloom; a period when,
+for the first time, the sun, which has shone in the mental firmament
+with more or less brilliancy from childhood upwards, entirely
+disappears behind a cloud of thick darkness, and leaves the soul in a
+state of deep melancholy; a time when feelings somewhat akin to despair
+pervade us, as we begin gradually to look upon the past as a bright,
+happy vision, out of which we have at last awakened to view the sad
+realities of the present, and look forward with sinking hope to the
+future. Various are the causes which produce this, and diverse the
+effects of it on differently constituted minds; but there are few, we
+apprehend, who have not passed through the cloud in one or other of its
+phases, and who do not feel that this _first_ period of prolonged
+sorrow is darker, and heavier, and worse to bear, than many of the more
+truly grievous afflictions that sooner or later fall to the lot of most
+men.
+
+Into a state of mind somewhat similar to that which we have endeavoured
+to describe, our friend Charley Kennedy fell immediately after the
+events just narrated. The sudden and awful death of his friend Mr.
+Whyte fell upon his young spirit, unaccustomed as he was to scenes of
+bloodshed and violence, with overwhelming power. From the depression,
+however, which naturally followed he would probably soon have rallied
+had not Harry Somerville's wound in the shoulder taken an unfavourable
+turn, and obliged him to remain for many weeks in bed, under the
+influence of a slow fever; so that Charley felt a desolation creeping
+over his soul that no effort he was capable of making could shake off.
+It is true he found both occupation and pleasure in attending upon his
+sick friend; but as Harry's illness rendered great quiet necessary, and
+as Hamilton had been sent to take charge of the fishing-station
+mentioned in a former chapter, Charley was obliged to indulge his
+gloomy reveries in silence. To add to his wretchedness he received a
+letter from Kate about a week after Mr. Whyte's burial, telling him of
+the death of his mother.
+
+Meanwhile, Redfeather and Jacques--both of whom at their young master's
+earnest solicitation, agreed to winter at Stoney Creek--cultivated each
+other's acquaintance sedulously. There were no books of any kind at the
+outpost, excepting three Bibles--one belonging to Charley, and one to
+Harry, the third being that which had been presented to Jacques by Mr.
+Conway the missionary. This single volume, however, proved to be an
+ample library to Jacques and his Indian friend. Neither of these sons
+of the forest was much accustomed to reading, and neither of them would
+have for a moment entertained the idea of taking to literature as a
+pastime; but Redfeather loved the Bible for the sake of the great
+truths which he discovered in its inspired pages, though much of what
+he read was to him mysterious and utterly incomprehensible. Jacques, on
+the other hand, read it, or listened to his friend, with that
+philosophic gravity of countenance and earnestness of purpose which he
+displayed in regard to everything; and deep, serious, and protracted
+were the discussions they entered into, as night after night they sat
+on a log, with the Bible spread out before them, and read by the light
+of the blazing fire in the men's house at Stoney Creek. Their
+intercourse, however, was brought to an abrupt conclusion by the
+unexpected arrival, one day, of Mr. Conway the missionary in his tin
+canoe. This gentleman's appearance was most welcome to all parties. It
+was like a bright ray of sunshine to Charley to meet with one who could
+fully sympathise with him in his present sorrowful frame of mind. It
+was an event of some consequence to Harry Somerville, inasmuch as it
+provided him with an amateur doctor who really understood somewhat of
+his physical complaint, and was able to pour balm, at once literally
+and spiritually, into his wounds. It was an event productive of the
+liveliest satisfaction to Redfeather, who now felt assured that his
+tribe would have those mysteries explained which he only imperfectly
+understood himself; and it was an event of much rejoicing to the
+Indians themselves, because their curiosity had been not a little
+roused by what they heard of the doings and sayings of the white
+missionary, who lived on the borders of the great lake. The only
+person, perhaps, on whom Mr. Conway's arrival acted with other than a
+pleasing influence was Jacques Caradoc. This worthy, although glad to
+meet with a man whom he felt inclined both to love and respect, was by
+no means gratified to find that his friend Redfeather had agreed to go
+with the missionary on his visit to the Indian tribe, and thereafter to
+accompany him to the settlement on Playgreen Lake. But with the
+stoicism that was natural to him, Jacques submitted to circumstances
+which he could not alter, and contented himself with assuring
+Redfeather that if he lived till next spring he would most certainly
+"make tracks for the great lake," and settle down at the missionary's
+station along with him. This promise was made at the end of the wharf
+of Stoney Creek the morning on which Mr. Conway and his party embarked
+in their tin canoe--the same tin canoe at which Jacques had curled his
+nose contemptuously when he saw it in process of being constructed, and
+at which he did not by any means curl it the less contemptuously now
+that he saw it finished. The little craft answered its purpose
+marvellously well, however, and bounded lightly away under the vigorous
+strokes of its crew, leaving Charley and Jacques on the pier gazing
+wistfully after their friends, and listening sadly to the echoes of
+their parting song as it floated more and more faintly over the lake.
+
+Winter came, but no ray of sunshine broke through the dark cloud that
+hung over Stoney Creek. Harry Somerville, instead of becoming better,
+grew worse and worse every day, so that when Charley despatched the
+winter packet, he represented the illness of his friend to the powers
+at headquarters as being of a nature that required serious and
+immediate attention and change of scene. But the word _immediate_ bears
+a slightly different signification in the backwoods to what it does in
+the lands of railroads and steamboats. The letter containing this hint
+took many weeks to traverse the waste wilderness to its destination;
+months passed before the reply was written, and many weeks more elapsed
+ere its contents were perused by Charley and his friend. When they did
+read it, however, the dark cloud that had hung over them so long burst
+at last; a ray of sunshine streamed down brightly upon their hearts,
+and never forsook them again, although it did lose a little of its
+brilliancy after the first flash. It was on a rich, dewy, cheerful
+morning in early spring when the packet arrived, and Charley led Harry,
+who was slowly recovering his wonted health and spirits, to their
+favourite rocky resting-place on the margin of the lake. Here he placed
+the letter in his friend's hand with a smile of genuine delight. It ran
+as follows:--
+
+MY DEAR SIR,--Your letter containing the account of Mr. Somerville's
+illness has been forwarded to me, and I am instructed to inform you
+that leave of absence for a short time has been granted to him. I have
+had a conversation with the doctor here, who advises me to recommend
+that, if your friend has no other summer residence in view, he should
+spend part of his time in Red River settlement. In the event of his
+agreeing to this, I would suggest that he should leave Stoney Creek
+with the first brigade in spring, or by express canoe if you think it
+advisable.--I am, etc.
+
+"Short but sweet--uncommonly sweet!" said Harry, as a deep flush of joy
+crimsoned his pale cheeks, while his own merry smile, that had been
+absent for many a weary day, returned once more to its old haunt, and
+danced round its accustomed dimples like a repentant wanderer who has
+been long absent from and has at last returned to his native home.
+
+"Sweet indeed!" echoed Charley. "But that's not all; here's another
+lump of sugar for you." So saying, he pulled a letter from his pocket,
+unfolded it slowly, spread it out on his knee, and, looking up at his
+expectant friend, winked.
+
+"Go on, Charley; pray don't tantalize me."
+
+"Tantalize you! My dear fellow, nothing is farther from my thoughts.
+Listen to this paragraph in my dear old father's letter:--
+
+"'So you see, my dear Charley, that we have managed to get you
+appointed to the charge of Lower Fort Garry, and as I hear that poor
+Harry Somerville is to get leave of absence, you had better bring him
+along with you. I need not add that my house is at his service as long
+as he may wish to remain in it.'
+
+"There! what think ye of that, my boy?" said Charley, as he folded the
+letter and returned it to his pocket.
+
+"I think," replied Harry, "that your father is a dear old gentleman,
+and I hope that you'll only be half as good when you come to his time
+of life; and I think I'm so happy to-day that I'll be able to walk
+without the assistance of your arm to-morrow; and I think we had better
+go back to the house now, for I feel, oddly enough, as tired as if I
+had had a long walk. Ah, Charley, my dear fellow, that letter will
+prove to be the best doctor I have had yet. But now tell me what you
+intend to do."
+
+Charley assisted his friend to rise, and led him slowly back to the
+house, as he replied,--
+
+"Do, my boy? that's soon said. I'll make things square and straight at
+Stoney Creek. I'll send for Hamilton and make him interim
+commander-in-chief. I'll write two letters--one to the gentleman in
+charge of the district, telling him of my movements; the other
+(containing a screed of formal instructions) to the miserable mortal
+who shall succeed me here. I'll take the best canoe in our store, load
+it with provisions, put you carefully in the middle of it, stick
+Jacques in the bow and myself in the stern, and start, two weeks hence,
+neck and crop, head over heels, through thick and thin, wet and dry,
+over portage, river, fall, and lake, for Red River settlement!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+Old friends and scenes--Coming events cast their shadows before.
+
+
+Mr. Kennedy, senior, was seated in his own comfortable arm-chair before
+the fire, in his own cheerful little parlour, in his own snug house, at
+Red River, with his own highly characteristic breakfast of buffalo
+steaks, tea, and pemmican before him, and his own beautiful,
+affectionate daughter Kate presiding over the tea-pot, and exercising
+unwarrantably despotic sway over a large gray cat, whose sole happiness
+seemed to consist in subjecting Mr. Kennedy to perpetual annoyance, and
+whose main object in life was to catch its master and mistress off
+their guard, that it might go quietly to the table, the meat-safe, or
+the pantry, and there--deliberately--steal!
+
+Kate had grown very much since we saw her last. She was quite a woman
+now, and well worthy of a minute description here; but we never could
+describe a woman to our own satisfaction. We have frequently tried and
+failed; so we substitute, in place, the remarks of Kate's friends and
+acquaintances about her--a criterion on which to form a judgment that
+is a pretty correct one, especially when the opinion pronounced happens
+to be favourable. Her father said she was an angel, and the only joy of
+his life. This latter expression, we may remark, was false; for Mr.
+Kennedy frequently said to Kate, confidentially, that Charley was a
+great happiness to him; and we are quite sure that the pipe had
+something to do with the felicity of his existence. But the old
+gentleman said that Kate was the _only_ joy of his life, and that is
+all we have to do with at present. Several ill-tempered old ladies in
+the settlement said that Miss Kennedy was really a quiet, modest
+girl--testimony this (considering the source whence it came) that was
+quite conclusive. Then old Mr. Grant remarked to old Mr. Kennedy, over
+a confidential pipe, that Kate was certainly, in his opinion, the most
+modest and the prettiest girl in Red River. Her old school companions
+called her a darling. Tom Whyte said "he never seed nothink like her
+nowhere." The clerks spoke of her in terms too glowing to remember; and
+the last arrival among them, the youngest, with the slang of the "old
+country" fresh on his lips, called her a _stunner!_ Even Mrs. Grant got
+up one of her half-expressed remarks about her, which everybody would
+have supposed to be quizzical in its nature, were it not for the
+frequent occurrence of the terms "good girl," "innocent creature,"
+which seemed to contradict that idea. There were also one or two
+hapless swains who said nothings, but what they _did_ and _looked_ was
+in itself unequivocal. They went quietly into a state of slow,
+drivelling imbecility whenever they happened to meet with Kate; looked
+as if they had become shockingly unwell, and were rather pleased than
+otherwise that their friends should think so too; and upon all and
+every occasion in which Kate was concerned, conducted themselves with
+an amount of insane stupidity (although sane enough at other times)
+that nothing could account for, save the idea that their admiration of
+her was inexpressible, and that _that_ was the most effective way in
+which they could express it.
+
+"Kate, my darling," said Mr. Kennedy, as he finished the last mouthful
+of tea, "wouldn't it be capital to get another letter from Charley?"
+
+"Yes, dear papa, it would indeed. But I am quite sure that the next
+time we shall hear from him will be when he arrives here, and makes the
+house ring with his own dear voice."
+
+"How so, girl?" said the old trader with a smile. It may as well be
+remarked here that the above opening of conversation was by no means
+new; it was stereotyped now. Ever since Charley had been appointed to
+the management of Lower Fort Garry, his father had been so engrossed by
+the idea, and spoke of it to Kate so frequently, that he had got into a
+way of feeling as if the event so much desired would happen in a few
+days, although he knew quite well that it could not, in the course of
+ordinary or extra-ordinary circumstances, occur in less than several
+months. However, as time rolled on he began regularly, every day or
+two, to ask Kate questions about Charley that she could not by any
+possibility answer, but which he knew from experience would lead her
+into a confabulation about his son, which helped a little to allay his
+impatience.
+
+"Why, you see, father," she replied, "it is three months since we got
+his last, and you know there has been no opportunity of forwarding
+letters from Stoney Creek since it was despatched. Now, the next
+opportunity that occurs-"
+
+"Mee-aow!" interrupted the cat, which had just finished two pats of
+fresh butter without being detected, and began, rather recklessly, to
+exult.
+
+"Hang that cat!" cried the old gentleman, angrily, "it'll be the death
+o' me yet;" and seizing the first thing that came to hand, which
+happened to be the loaf of bread, discharged it with such violence, and
+with so correct an aim, that it knocked, not only the cat, but the
+tea-pot and sugar-bowl also, off the table.
+
+"O dear papa!" exclaimed Kate.
+
+"Really, my dear," cried Mr. Kennedy, half angry and half ashamed, "we
+must get rid of that brute immediately. It has scarcely been a week
+here, and it has done more mischief already than a score of ordinary
+cats would have done in a twelvemonth."
+
+"But then the mice, papa--"
+
+"Well, but--but--oh, hang the mice!"
+
+"Yes; but how are we to catch them?" said Kate.
+
+At this moment the cook, who had heard the sound of breaking crockery,
+and judged it expedient that he should be present, opened the door.
+
+"How now, rascal!" exclaimed his master, striding up to him. "Did I
+ring for you, eh?"
+
+"No, sir; but--"
+
+"But! eh, but! no more 'buts,' you scoundrel, else I'll--"
+
+The motion of Mr. Kennedy's fist warned the cook to make a precipitate
+retreat, which he did at the same moment that the cat resolved to run
+for its life. This caused them to meet in the doorway, and making a
+compound entanglement with the mat, they both fell into the passage
+with a loud crash. Mr. Kennedy shut the door gently, and returned to
+his chair, patting Kate on the head as he passed.
+
+"Now, darling, go on with what you were saying; and don't mind the
+tea-pot--let it lie."
+
+"Well," resumed Kate, with a smile, "I was saying that the next
+opportunity Charley can have will be by the brigade in spring, which we
+expect to arrive here, you know, a month hence; but we won't get a
+letter by that, as I feel convinced that he and Harry will come by it
+themselves."
+
+"And the express canoe, Kate--the express canoe," said Mr. Kennedy,
+with a contortion of the left side of his head that was intended for a
+wink; "you know they got leave to come by express, Kate."
+
+"Oh, as to the express, father, I don't expect them to come by that, as
+poor Harry Somerville has been so ill that they would never think of
+venturing to subject him to all the discomforts, not to mention the
+dangers, of a canoe voyage."
+
+"I don't know that, lass--I don't know that," said Mr. Kennedy, giving
+another contortion with his left cheek. "In fact, I shouldn't wonder if
+they arrived this very day; and it's well to be on the look-out, so I'm
+off to the banks of the river, Kate." Saying this, the old gentleman
+threw on an old fur cap with the peak all awry, thrust his left hand
+into his right glove, put on the other with the back to the front and
+the thumb in the middle finger, and bustled out of the house, muttering
+as he went, "Yes, it's well to be on the look-out for him."
+
+Mr. Kennedy, however, was disappointed: Charley did not arrive that
+day, nor the next, nor the day after that. Nevertheless the old
+gentleman's faith each day remained as firm as on the day previous that
+Charley would arrive on that day "for certain." About a week after
+this, Mr. Kennedy put on his hat and gloves as usual, and sauntered
+down to the banks of the river, where his perseverance was rewarded by
+the sight of a small canoe rapidly approaching the landing-place. From
+the costume of the three men who propelled it, the cut of the canoe
+itself, the precision and energy of its movements, and several other
+minute points about it only apparent to the accustomed eye of a
+nor'-wester, he judged at once that this was a new arrival, and not
+merely one of the canoes belonging to the settlers, many of which might
+be seen passing up and down the river. As they drew near he fixed his
+eyes eagerly upon them.
+
+"Very odd," he exclaimed, while a shade of disappointment passed over
+his brow: "it ought to be him, but it's not like him; too
+big--different nose altogether. Don't know any of the three.
+Humph!--well, he's _sure_ to come to-morrow, at all events." Having
+come to the conclusion that it was not Charley's canoe, he wheeled
+sulkily round and sauntered back towards his house, intending to solace
+himself with a pipe. At that moment he heard a shout behind him, and
+ere he could well turn round to see whence it came, a young man bounded
+up the bank and seized him in his arms with a hug that threatened to
+dislocate his ribs. The old gentleman's first impulse was to bestow on
+his antagonist (for he verily believed him to be such) one of those
+vigorous touches with his clinched fist which in days of yore used to
+bring some of his disputes to a summary and effectual close; but his
+intention changed when the youth spoke.
+
+"Father, dear, dear father!" said Charley, as he loosened his grasp,
+and, still holding him by both hands, looked earnestly into his face
+with swimming eyes.
+
+Old Mr. Kennedy seemed to have lost his powers of speech. He gazed at
+his son for a few seconds in silence--then suddenly threw his arms
+around him and engaged in a species of wrestle which he intended for an
+embrace.
+
+"O Charley, my boy! you've come at last--God bless you! Let's look at
+you. Quite changed: six feet; no, not quite changed--the old nose;
+black as an Indian. O Charley, my dear boy! I've been waiting for you
+for months; why did you keep me so long, eh? Hang it, where's my
+handkerchief?" At this last exclamation Mr. Kennedy's feelings quite
+overcame him; his full heart overflowed at his eyes, so that when he
+tried to look at his son, Charley appeared partly magnified and partly
+broken up into fragments. Fumbling in his pocket for the missing
+handkerchief, which he did not find, he suddenly seized his fur cap, in
+a burst of exasperation, and wiped his eyes with that. Immediately
+after, forgetting that it was a cap he thrust it into his pocket.
+
+"Come, dear father," cried Charley, drawing the old man's arm through
+his, "let us go home. Is Kate there?"
+
+"Ay, ay," cried Mr. Kennedy, waving his hand as he was dragged away,
+and bestowing, quite unwittingly, a back-handed slap on the cheek to
+Harry Somerville--which nearly felled that youth to the ground. "Ay,
+ay! Kate, to be sure, darling. Yes, quite right, Charley; a
+pipe--that's it, my boy, let's have a pipe!" And thus, uttering
+coherent and broken sentences, he disappeared through the doorway with
+his long-lost and now recovered son.
+
+Meanwhile Harry and Jacques continued to pace quietly before the house,
+waiting patiently until the first ebullition of feeling, at the meeting
+of Charley with his father and sister, should be over. In a few minutes
+Charley ran out.
+
+"Hollo, Harry! come in, my boy; forgive my forgetfulness, but--"
+
+"My dear fellow," interrupted Harry, "what nonsense you are talking! Of
+course you forgot me, and everybody and everything on earth, just now;
+but have you seen Kate? is--"
+
+"Yes, yes," cried Charley, as he pushed his friend before him, and
+dragged Jacques after him into the parlour.--"Here's Harry, father, and
+Jacques.--You've heard of Jacques, Kate?"
+
+"Harry, my, dear boy;" cried Mr. Kennedy, seizing his young friend by
+the hand; "how are you, lad? Better, I hope."
+
+At that moment Mr. Kennedy's eye fell on Jacques, who stood in the
+doorway, cap in hand, with the usual quiet smile lighting up his
+countenance.
+
+"What! Jacques--Jacques Caradoc!" he cried, in astonishment.
+
+"The same, sir; you an' I have know'd each other afore now in the way
+o' trade," answered the hunter, as he grasped his old bourgeois by the
+hand and wrung it warmly. Mr. Kennedy, senior, was so overwhelmed by
+the combination of exciting influences to which he was now subjected,
+that he plunged his hand into his pocket for the handkerchief again,
+and pulled out the fur hat instead, which he flung angrily at the cat;
+then using the sleeve of his coat as a substitute, he proceeded to put
+a series of abrupt questions to Jacques and Charley simultaneously.
+
+In the meantime Harry went up to Kate and _stared_ at her. We do not
+mean to say that he was intentionally rude to her. No! He went towards
+her intending to shake hands, and renew acquaintance with his old
+companion; but the moment he caught sight of her he was struck not only
+dumb, but motionless. The odd part of it was that Kate, too, was
+affected in precisely the same way, and both of them exclaimed
+mentally, "Can it be possible?" Their lips, however, gave no utterance
+to the question. At length Kate recollected herself, and blushing
+deeply, held out her hand, as she said,--
+
+"Forgive me, Har--Mr. Somerville; I was so surprised at your altered
+appearance, I could scarcely believe that my old friend stood before
+me."
+
+Harry's cheeks crimsoned as he seized her hand and said: "Indeed,
+Ka--a--Miss--that is, in fact, I've been very ill, and doubtless have
+changed somewhat; but the very same thought struck me in regard to
+yourself, you are so--so--"
+
+Fortunately for Harry, who was gradually becoming more and more
+confused, to the amusement of Charley, who had closely observed the
+meeting of his friend and sister, Mr. Kennedy came up.
+
+"Eh! what's that? What did you say _struck_ you, Harry, my lad?"
+
+"_You_ did, father, on his arrival," replied Charley, with a broad
+grin, "and a very neat back-hander it was."
+
+"Nonsense, Charley," interrupted Harry, with a laugh.--"I was just
+saying, sir, that Miss Kennedy is so changed that I could hardly
+believe it to be herself."
+
+"And I had just paid Mr. Somerville the same compliment, papa," cried
+Kate, laughing and blushing simultaneously.
+
+Mr. Kennedy thrust his hands into his pockets, frowned portentously as
+he looked from one to the other, and said slowly, "_Miss_ Kennedy,
+_Mr._ Somerville!" then turning to his son, remarked, "That's something
+new, Charley, lad; that girl is _Miss_ Kennedy, and that youth there is
+_Mr._ Somerville!"
+
+Charley laughed loudly at this sally, especially when the old gentleman
+followed it up with a series of contortions of the left cheek, meant
+for violent winking.
+
+"Right, father, right; it won't do here. We don't know anybody but Kate
+and Harry in this house."
+
+Harry laughed in his own genuine style at this.
+
+"Well, Kate be it, with all my heart," said he; "but, really, at first
+she seemed so unlike the Kate of former days that I could not bring
+myself to call her so."
+
+"Humph!" said Mr. Kennedy. "But come, boys, with me to my smoking-room,
+and let's have a talk over a pipe, while Kate looks after dinner."
+Giving Charley another squeeze of the hand, and Harry a pat on the
+shoulder, the old gentleman put on his cap (with the peak behind), and
+led the way to his glass divan in the garden.
+
+It is perhaps unnecessary for us to say that Kate Kennedy and Harry
+Somerville had, within the last hour, fallen deeply, hopelessly,
+utterly, irrevocably, and totally in love with each other. They did not
+merely fall up to the ears in love. To say that they fell over head and
+ears in it would be, comparatively speaking, to say nothing. In fact,
+they did not fall into it at all. They went deliberately backwards,
+took a long race, sprang high into the air, turned completely round,
+and went down head first into the flood, descending to a depth utterly
+beyond the power of any deep-sea lead to fathom, or of any human mind
+adequately to appreciate. Up to that day Kate had thought of Harry as
+the hilarious youth who used to take every opportunity he could of
+escaping from the counting-room and hastening to spend the afternoon in
+rambling through the woods with her and Charley. But the instant she
+saw him a man, with a bright, cheerful countenance, on which rough
+living and exposure to frequent peril had stamped unmistakable lines of
+energy and decision, and to which recent illness had imparted a
+captivating touch of sadness--the moment she beheld this, and the
+undeniable scrap of whisker that graced his cheeks, and the slight
+_shade_ that rested on his upper lip, her heart leaped violently into
+her throat, where it stuck hard and fast, like a stranded ship on a
+lee-shore.
+
+In like manner, when Harry beheld his former friend a woman, with
+beaming eyes and clustering ringlets and--(there, we won't attempt
+it!)--in fact, surrounded by every nameless and namable grace that
+makes woman exasperatingly delightful, his heart performed the same
+eccentric movement, and he felt that his fate was sealed; that he had
+been sucked into a rapid which was too strong even for his expert and
+powerful arm to contend against, and that he must drift with the
+current now, _nolens volens_, and run it as he best could.
+
+When Kate retired to her sleeping-apartment that night, she endeavoured
+to comport herself in her usual manner; but all her efforts failed. She
+sat down on her bed, and remained motionless for half-an-hour; then she
+started and sighed deeply; then she smiled and opened her Bible, but
+forgot to read it; then she rose hastily, sighed again, took off her
+gown, hung it up on a peg, and returning to the dressing-table sat down
+on her best bonnet; then she cried a little, at which point the candle
+suddenly went out; so she gave a slight scream, and at last went to bed
+in the dark.
+
+Three hours afterwards, Harry Somerville, who had been enjoying a cigar
+and a chat with Charley and his father, rose, and bidding his friends
+good-night, retired to his chamber, where he flung himself down on a
+chair, thrust his hands into his pockets, stretched out his legs, gazed
+abstractedly before him, and exclaimed--"O Kate, my exquisite girl,
+you've floored me quite that!"
+
+As he continued to sit in silence, the gaze of affection gradually and
+slowly changed into a look of intense astonishment as he beheld the
+gray cat sitting comfortably on the table, and regarding him with a
+look of complacent interest, as if it thought Harry's style of
+addressing it was highly satisfactory--though rather unusual.
+
+"Brute!" exclaimed Harry, springing from his seat and darting towards
+it. But the cat was too well accustomed to old Mr. Kennedy's sudden
+onsets to be easily taken by surprise. With a bound it reached the
+floor, and took shelter under the bed, whence it was not ejected until
+Harry, having first thrown his shoes, soap, clothes-brush, and
+razor-strop at it, besides two or three books and several miscellaneous
+articles of toilet, at last opened the door (a thing, by the way, that
+people would do well always to remember before endeavouring to expel a
+cat from an impregnable position), and drew the bed into the middle of
+the room. Then, but not till then, it fled, with its back, its tail,
+its hair, its eyes--in short, its entire body--bristling in rampant
+indignation. Having dislodged the enemy, Harry replaced the bed, threw
+off his coat and waistcoat, untied his neckcloth, sat down on his chair
+again, and fell into a reverie; from which, after half-an-hour, he
+started, clasped his hands, stamped his foot, glared up at the ceiling,
+slapped his thigh, and exclaimed, in the voice of a hero, "Yes, I'll do
+it, or die!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+The first day at home--A gallop in the prairie, and its consequences.
+
+
+Next morning, as the quartette were at breakfast, Mr. Kennedy, senior,
+took occasion to propound to his son the plans he had laid down for
+them during the next week.
+
+"In the first place, Charley, my boy," said he, as well as a large
+mouthful of buffalo steak and potato would permit, "you must drive up
+to the fort and report yourself. Harry and I will go with you; and
+after we have paid our respects to old Grant (another cup of tea, Kate,
+my darling)--you recollect him, Charley, don't you?"
+
+"Yes, perfectly."
+
+"Well, then, after we've been to see him, we'll drive down the river,
+and call on our friends at the mill. Then we'll look in on the
+Thomsons; and give a call, in passing, on old Neverin--he's always out,
+so he'll be pleased to hear we were there, and it won't detain us.
+Then---"
+
+"But, dear father--excuse my interrupting you--Harry and I are very
+anxious to spend our first day at home entirely with you and Kate.
+Don't you think it would be more pleasant? and then, to-morrow--"
+
+"Now, Charley, this is too bad of you," said Mr. Kennedy, with a look
+of affected indignation: "no sooner have you come back than you're at
+your old tricks, opposing and thwarting your father's wishes."
+
+"Indeed, I do not wish to do so, father," replied Charley, with a
+smile; "but I thought that you would like my plan better yourself, and
+that it would afford us an opportunity of having a good long,
+satisfactory talk about all that concerns us, past, present, and
+future."
+
+"What a daring mind you have, Charley," said Harry, "to speak of
+cramming a _satisfactory_ talk of the past, the present, and the future
+all into _one_ day!"
+
+"Harry will take another cup of tea, Kate," said Charley, with an arch
+smile, as he went on,--
+
+"Besides, father, Jacques tells me that he means to go off immediately,
+to visit a number of his old voyageur friends in the settlement, and I
+cannot part with him till we have had one more canter together over the
+prairies. I want to show him to Kate, for he's a great original."
+
+"Oh, that _will_ be charming!" cried Kate. "I should like of all things
+to be introduced to the bold hunter.--Another cup of tea, Mr. S-Harry,
+I mean?"
+
+Harry started on being thus unexpectedly addressed. "Yes, if you
+please--that is--thank you--no, my cup's full already, Kate!"
+
+"Well, well," broke in Mr. Kennedy, senior, "I see you're all leagued
+against me, so I give in. But I shall not accompany you on your ride,
+as my bones are a little stiffer than they used to be" (the old
+gentleman sighed heavily), "and riding far knocks me up; but I've got
+business to attend to in my glass house which will occupy me till
+dinner-time."
+
+"If the business you speak of," began Charley, "is not incompatible
+with a cigar, I shall be happy to--"
+
+"Why, as to that, the business itself has special reference to tobacco,
+and, in fact, to nothing else; so come along, you young dog," and the
+old gentleman's cheek went into violent convulsions as he rose, put on
+his cap, with the peak very much over one eye, and went out in company
+with the young men.
+
+An hour afterwards four horses stood saddled and bridled in front of
+the house. Three belonged to Mr. Kennedy; the fourth had been borrowed
+from a neighbour as a mount for Jacques Caradoc. In a few minutes more
+Harry lifted Kate into the saddle, and having arranged her dress with a
+deal of unnecessary care, mounted his nag. At the same moment Charley
+and Jacques vaulted into their saddles, and the whole cavalcade
+galloped down the avenue that led to the prairie, followed by the
+admiring gaze of Mr. Kennedy, senior, who stood in the doorway of his
+mansion, his hands in his vest pockets, his head uncovered, and his
+happy visage smiling through a cloud of smoke that issued from his
+lips. He seemed the very personification of jovial good-humour, and
+what one might suppose Cupid would become were he permitted to grow
+old, dress recklessly, and take to smoking!
+
+The prairies were bright that morning, and surpassingly beautiful. The
+grass looked greener than usual, the dew-drops more brilliant as they
+sparkled on leaf and blade and branch in the rays of an unclouded sun.
+The turf felt springy, and the horses, which were first-rate animals,
+seemed to dance over it, scarce crushing the wild-flowers beneath their
+hoofs, as they galloped lightly on, imbued with the same joyous feeling
+that filled the hearts of their riders. The plains at this place were
+more picturesque than in other parts, their uniformity being broken up
+by numerous clumps of small trees and wild shrubbery, intermingled with
+lakes and ponds of all sizes, which filled the hollows for miles
+round--temporary sheets of water these, formed by the melting snow,
+that told of winter now past and gone. Additional animation and life
+was given to the scene by flocks of water-fowl, whose busy cry and
+cackle in the water, or whirring motion in the air, gave such an idea
+of joyousness in the brute creation as could not but strike a chord of
+sympathy in the heart of a man, and create a feeling of gratitude to
+the Maker of man and beast. Although brilliant and warm, the sun, at
+least during the first part of their ride, was by no means oppressive;
+so that the equestrians stretched out at full gallop for many miles
+over the prairie, round the lakes and through the bushes, ere their
+steeds showed the smallest symptoms of warmth.
+
+During the ride Kate took the lead, with Jacques on her left and Harry
+on her right, while Charley brought up the rear, and conversed in a
+loud key with all three. At length Kate began to think it was just
+possible the horses might be growing wearied with the slapping pace,
+and checked her steed; but this was not an easy matter, as the horse
+seemed to hold quite a contrary opinion, and showed a desire not only
+to continue but to increase its gallop--a propensity that induced Harry
+to lend his aid by grasping the rein and compelling the animal to walk.
+
+"That's a spirited horse, Kate," said Charley, as they ambled along;
+"have you had him long?"
+
+"No," replied Kate; "our father purchased him just a week before your
+arrival, thinking that you would likely want a charger now and then. I
+have only been on him once before.--Would he make a good
+buffalo-runner, Jacques?"
+
+"Yes, miss; he would make an uncommon good runner," answered the
+hunter, as he regarded the animal with a critical glance--"at least if
+he don't shy at a gunshot."
+
+"I never tried his nerves in that way," said Kate, with a smile;
+"perhaps he would shy at _that_. He has a good deal of spirit--oh, I do
+dislike a lazy horse, and I do delight in a spirited one!" Kate gave
+her horse a smart cut with the whip, half involuntarily, as she spoke.
+In a moment it reared almost perpendicularly, and then bounded forward;
+not, however, before Jacques's quick eye had observed the danger, and
+his ever-ready hand arrested its course.
+
+"Have a care, Miss Kate," he said, in a warning voice, while he gazed
+in the face of the excited girl with a look of undisguised admiration.
+"It don't do to wallop a skittish beast like that."
+
+"Never fear, Jacques," she replied, bending forward to pat her
+charger's arching neck; "see, he is becoming quite gentle again."
+
+"If he runs away, Kate, we won't be able to catch you again, for he's
+the best of the four, I think," said Harry, with an uneasy glance at
+the animal's flashing eye and expanded nostrils.
+
+"Ay, it's as well to keep the whip off him," said Jacques. "I know'd a
+young chap once in St. Louis who lost his sweetheart by usin' his whip
+too freely."
+
+"Indeed," cried Kate, with a merry laugh, as they emerged from one of
+the numerous thickets and rode out upon the open plain at a foot pace;
+"how was that, Jacques? Pray tell us the story."
+
+"As to that, there's little story about it," replied the hunter. "You
+see, Tim Roughead took arter his name, an' was always doin' some
+mischief or other, which more than once nigh cost him his life; for the
+young trappers that frequent St. Louis are not fellows to stand too
+much jokin', I can tell ye. Well, Tim fell in love with a gal there who
+had jilted about a dozen lads afore; an' bein' an oncommon handsome,
+strappin' fellow, she encouraged him a good deal. But Tim had a
+suspicion that Louise was rayther sweet on a young storekeeper's clerk
+there; so, bein' an off-hand sort o' critter, he went right up to the
+gal, and says to her, says he, 'Come, Louise, it's o' no use humbuggin'
+with _me_ any longer. If you like me, you like me; and if you don't
+like me, you don't. There's only two ways about it. Now, jist say the
+word at once, an' let's have an end on't. If you agree, I'll squat with
+you in whativer bit o' the States you like to name; if not, I'll bid
+you good-bye this blessed mornin', an' make tracks right away for the
+Rocky Mountains afore sundown. Ay or no, lass: which is't to be?'
+
+"Poor Louise was taken all aback by this, but she knew well that Tim
+was a man who never threatened in jest, an' moreover she wasn't quite
+sure o' the young clerk; so she agreed, an' Tim went off to settle with
+her father about the weddin'. Well, the day came, an' Tim, with a lot
+o' his comrades, mounted their horses, and rode off to the bride's
+house, which was a mile or two up the river out of the town. Just as
+they were startin', Tim's horse gave a plunge that well-nigh pitched
+him over its head, an' Tim came down on him with a cut o' his heavy
+whip that sounded like a pistol-shot. The beast was so mad at this that
+it gave a kind o' squeal an' another plunge that burst the girths. Tim
+brought the whip down on its flank again, which made it shoot forward
+like an arrow out of a bow, leavin' poor Tim on the ground. So slick
+did it fly away that it didn't even throw him on his back, but let him
+fall sittin'-wise, saddle and all, plump on the spot where he sprang
+from. Tim scratched his head an' grinned like a half-worried
+rattlesnake as his comrades almost rolled off their saddles with
+laughin'. But it was no laughin' job, for poor Tim's leg was doubled
+under him, an' broken across at the thigh. It was long before he was
+able to go about again, and when he did recover he found that Louise
+and the young clerk were spliced an' away to Kentucky."
+
+"So you see what are the probable consequences, Kate, if you use your
+whip so obstreperously again," cried Charley, pressing his horse into a
+canter.
+
+Just at that moment a rabbit sprang from under a bush and darted away
+before them. In an instant Harry Somerville gave a wild shout, and set
+off in pursuit. Whether it was the cry or the sudden flight of Harry's
+horse, we cannot tell, but the next instant Kate's charger performed an
+indescribable flourish with its hind legs, laid back its ears, took the
+bit between its teeth, and ran away. Jacques was on its heels
+instantly, and a few seconds afterwards Charley and Harry joined in the
+pursuit, but their utmost efforts failed to do more than enable them to
+keep their ground. Kate's horse was making for a dense thicket, into
+which it became evident they must certainly plunge. Harry and her
+brother trembled when they looked at it and realised her danger; even
+Jacques's face showed some symptoms of perturbation for a moment as he
+glanced before him in indecision. The expression vanished, however, in
+a few seconds, and his cheerful, self-possessed look returned, as he
+cried out,--"Pull the left rein hard, Miss Kate; try to edge up the
+slope."
+
+Kate heard the advice, and exerting all her strength, succeeded in
+turning her horse a little to the left, which caused him to ascend a
+gentle slope, at the top of which part of the thicket lay. She was
+closely followed by Harry and her brother, who urged their steeds madly
+forward in the hope of catching her rein, while Jacques diverged a
+little to the right. By this manoeuvre the latter hoped to gain on the
+runaway, as the ground along which he rode was comparatively level,
+with a short but steep ascent at the end of it, while that along which
+Kate flew like the wind was a regular ascent, that would prove very
+trying to her horse. At the margin of the thicket grew a row of high
+bushes, towards which they now galloped with frightful speed. As Kate
+came up to this natural fence, she observed the trapper approaching on
+the other side of it. Springing from his jaded steed, without
+attempting to check its pace, he leaped over the underwood like a stag
+just as the young girl cleared the bushes at a bound. Grasping the
+reins and checking the horse violently with one hand, he extended the
+other to Kate, who leaped unhesitatingly into his arms. At the same
+instant Charley cleared the bushes, and pulled sharply up; while
+Harry's horse, unable, owing to its speed, to take the leap, came
+crashing through them, and dashed his rider with stunning violence to
+the ground.
+
+Fortunately no bones were broken, and a draught of clear water, brought
+by Jacques from a neighbouring pond, speedily restored Harry's shaken
+faculties.
+
+"Now, Kate," said Charley, leading forward the horse which he had
+ridden, "I have changed saddles, as you see; this horse will suit you
+better, and I'll take the shine out of your charger on the way home."
+
+"Thank you, Charley," said Kate, with a smile. "I've quite recovered
+from my fright--if, indeed, it is worth calling by that name; but I
+fear that Harry has--"
+
+"Oh, I'm all right," cried Harry, advancing as he spoke to assist Kate
+in mounting. "I am ashamed to think that my wild cry was the cause of
+all this."
+
+In another minute they were again in their saddles, and turning their
+faces homeward, they swept over the plain at a steady gallop, fearing
+lest their accident should be the means of making Mr. Kennedy wait
+dinner for them. On arriving, they found the old gentleman engaged in
+an animated discussion with the cook about laying the table-cloth,
+which duty he had imposed on himself in Kate's absence.
+
+"Ah, Kate, my love," he cried, as they entered, "come here, lass, and
+mount guard. I've almost broke my heart in trying to convince that
+thick-headed goose that he can't set the table properly. Take it off my
+hands, like a good girl.--Charley, my boy, you'll be pleased to hear
+that your old friend Redfeather is here."
+
+"Redfeather, father!" exclaimed Charley, in surprise.
+
+"Yes; he and the parson, from the other end of Lake Winnipeg, arrived
+an hour ago in a tin kettle, and are now on their way to the upper
+fort."
+
+"That is, indeed, pleasant news; but I suspect that it will give much
+greater pleasure to our friend Jacques, who, I believe, would be glad
+to lay down his life for him, simply to prove his affection."
+
+"Well, well," said the old gentleman, knocking the ashes out of his
+pipe, and refilling it so as to be ready for an after-dinner smoke,
+"Redfeather has come, and the parson's come too; and I look upon it as
+quite miraculous that they have come, considering the _thing_ they came
+in. What they've come for is more than I can tell, but I suppose it's
+connected with church affairs.--Now then, Kate, what's come o' the
+dinner, Kate? Stir up that grampus of a cook! I half expect that he has
+boiled the cat for dinner, in his wrath, for it has been badgering him
+and me the whole morning.--Hollo, Harry, what's wrong?"
+
+The last exclamation was in consequence of an expression of pain which
+crossed Harry's face for a moment.
+
+"Nothing, nothing," replied Harry. "I've had a fall from my horse, and
+bruised my arm a little. But I'll see to it after dinner."
+
+"That you shall not," cried Mr Kennedy energetically, dragging his
+young friend into his bedroom. "Off with your coat, lad. Let's see it
+at once. Ay, ay," he continued, examining Harry's left arm, which was
+very much discoloured, and swelled from the elbow to the shoulder,
+"that's a severe thump, my boy. But it's nothing to speak of; only
+you'll have to submit to a sling for a day or two."
+
+"That's annoying, certainly, but I'm thankful it's no worse," remarked
+Harry, as Mr. Kennedy dressed the arm after his own fashion, and then
+returned with him to the dining-room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+Love--Old Mr. Kennedy puts his foot in it.
+
+
+One morning, about two weeks after Charley's arrival at Red River,
+Harry Somerville found himself alone in Mr. Kennedy's parlour. The old
+gentleman himself had just galloped away in the direction of the lower
+fort, to visit Charley, who was now formally installed there; Kate was
+busy in the kitchen giving directions about dinner; and Jacques was
+away with Redfeather, visiting his numerous friends in the settlement:
+so that, for the first time since his arrival, Harry found himself at
+the hour of ten in the morning utterly lone, and with nothing very
+definite to do. Of course, the two weeks that had elapsed were not
+without their signs and symptoms, their minor accidents and incidents,
+in regard to the subject that filled his thoughts. Harry had fifty
+times been tossed alternately from the height of hope to the depth of
+despair, from the extreme of felicity to the uttermost verge of sorrow,
+and he began seriously to reflect, when he remembered his desperate
+resolution on the first night of his arrival, that if he did not "do"
+he certainly would "die." This was quite a mistake, however, on Harry's
+part. Nobody ever did _die_ of unrequited love. Doubtless many people
+have hanged, drowned, and shot themselves because of it; but, generally
+speaking, if the patient can be kept from maltreating himself long
+enough, time will prove to be an infallible remedy. O youthful reader,
+lay this to heart: but pshaw! why do I waste ink on so hopeless a task?
+_Every_ one, we suppose, resolves once in a way to _die_ of love;
+so--die away, my young friends, only make sure that you don't _kill_
+yourselves, and I've no fear of the result.
+
+But to return. Kate, likewise, was similarly affected. She behaved like
+a perfect maniac--mentally, that is--and plunged herself,
+metaphorically, into such a succession of hot and cold baths, that it
+was quite a marvel how her spiritual constitution could stand it.
+
+But we were wrong in saying that Harry was _alone_ in the parlour. The
+gray cat was there. On a chair before the fire it sat, looking
+dishevelled and somewhat _blase,_ in consequence of the ill-treatment
+and worry to which it was continually subjected. After looking out of
+the window for a short time, Harry rose, and sitting down on a chair
+beside the cat, patted its head--a mark of attention it was evidently
+not averse to, but which it received, nevertheless, with marked
+suspicion, and some indications of being in a condition of armed
+neutrality. Just then the door opened, and Kate entered.
+
+"Excuse me, Harry, for leaving you alone," she said, "but I had to
+attend to several household matters. Do you feel inclined for a walk?"
+
+"I do indeed," replied Harry; "it is a charming day, and I am
+exceedingly anxious to see the bower that you have spoken to me about
+once or twice, and which Charley told me of long before I came here."
+
+"Oh, I shall take you to it with pleasure," replied Kate; "my dear
+father often goes there with me to smoke. If you will wait for two
+minutes I'll put on my bonnet," and she hastened to prepare herself for
+the walk, leaving Harry to caress the cat, which he did so
+energetically, when he thought of its young mistress, that it instantly
+declared war, and sprang from the chair with a remonstrative yell.
+
+On their way down to the bower, which was situated in a picturesque,
+retired spot on the river's bank about a mile below the house, Harry
+and Kate tried to converse on ordinary topics, but without success, and
+were at last almost reduced to silence. One subject alone filled their
+minds; all others were flat. Being sunk, as it were, in an ocean of
+love, they no sooner opened their lips to speak, than the waters rushed
+in, as a natural consequence, and nearly choked them. Had they but
+opened their mouths wide and boldly, they would have been pleasantly
+drowned together; but as it was, they lacked the requisite courage, and
+were fain to content themselves with an occasional frantic struggle to
+the surface, where they gasped a few words of uninteresting air, and
+sank again instantly.
+
+On arriving at the bower, however, and sitting down, Harry plucked up
+heart, and, heaving a deep sigh, said--
+
+"Kate, there is a subject about which I have long desired to speak to
+you-"
+
+Long as he had been desiring it, however, Kate thought it must have
+been nothing compared with the time that elapsed ere he said anything
+else; so she bent over a flower which she held in her hand, and said in
+a low voice, "Indeed, Harry, what is it?"
+
+Harry was desperate now. His usually flexible tongue was stiff as stone
+and dry as a bit of leather. He could no more give utterance to an
+intelligible idea than he could change himself into Mr. Kennedy's gray
+cat--a change that he would not have been unwilling to make at that
+moment. At last he seized his companion's hand, and exclaimed, with a
+burst of emotion that quite startled her,--
+
+"Kate, Kate! O dearest Kate, I love you! I _adore_ you! I--"
+
+At this point poor Harry's powers of speech again failed; so being
+utterly unable to express another idea, he suddenly threw his arms
+round her, and pressed her fervently to his bosom.
+
+Kate was taken quite aback by this summary method of coming to the
+point. Repulsing him energetically, she exclaimed, while she blushed
+crimson. "O Harry--Mr Somerville!" and burst into tears.
+
+Poor Harry stood before her for a moment, his head hanging down, and a
+deep blush of shame on his face.
+
+"O Kate," said he, in a deep tremulous voice, "forgive me; do--do
+forgive me! I knew not what I said. I scarce knew what I did" (here he
+seized her hand). "I know but one thing, Kate, and tell it you _will,_
+if it should cost me my life. I love you, Kate, to distraction, and I
+wish you to be my wife. I have been rude, very rude. Can you forgive
+me, Kate?"
+
+Now, this latter part of Harry's speech was particularly comical, the
+comicality of it lying in this, that while he spoke, he drew Kate
+gradually towards him, and at the very time when he gave utterance to
+the penitential remorse for his rudeness, Kate was infolded in a much
+more vigorous embrace than at the first; and what is more remarkable
+still, she laid her little head quietly on his shoulder, as if she had
+quite changed her mind in regard to what was and what was not rude, and
+rather enjoyed it than otherwise.
+
+While the lovers stood in this interesting position, it became apparent
+to Harry's olfactory nerves that the atmosphere was impregnated with
+tobacco smoke. Looking hastily up, he beheld an apparition that tended
+somewhat to increase the confusion of his faculties.
+
+In the opening of the bower stood Mr. Kennedy, senior, in a state of
+inexpressible amazement. We say inexpressible advisedly, because the
+extreme pitch of feeling which Mr. Kennedy experienced at what he
+beheld before him cannot possibly be expressed by human visage. As far
+as the countenance of man could do it, however, we believe the old
+gentleman's came pretty near the mark on this occasion. His hands were
+in his coat pockets, his body bent a little forward, his head and neck
+outstretched a little beyond it, his eyes almost starting from the
+sockets, and certainly the most prominent feature in his face: his
+teeth firmly clinched on his beloved pipe, and his lips expelling a
+multitude of little clouds so vigorously that one might have taken him
+for a sort of self-acting intelligent steam-gun that had resolved
+utterly to annihilate Kate and Harry at short range in the course of
+two minutes.
+
+When Kate saw her father she uttered a slight scream, covered her face
+with her hands, rushed from the bower, and disappeared in the wood.
+
+"So, young gentleman," began Mr. Kennedy, in a slow, deliberate tone of
+voice, while he removed the pipe from his mouth, clinched his fist, and
+confronted Harry, "you've been invited to my house as a guest, sir, and
+you seize the opportunity basely to insult my daughter!"
+
+"Stay, stay, my dear sir," interrupted Harry, laying his hand on the
+old man's shoulder and gazing earnestly into his face. "Oh, do not,
+even for a moment, imagine that I could be so base as to trifle with
+the affections of your daughter. I may have been presumptuous, hasty,
+foolish, mad if you will, but not base. God forbid that I should treat
+her with disrespect, even in thought! I love her, Mr. Kennedy, as I
+never loved before. I have asked her to be my wife, and--she--"
+
+"Whew!" whistled old Mr. Kennedy, replacing his pipe between his teeth,
+gazing abstractedly at the ground, and emitting clouds innumerable.
+After standing thus a few seconds, he turned his back slowly upon
+Harry, and smiled outrageously once or twice, winking at the same time,
+after his own fashion, at the river. Turning abruptly round, he
+regarded Harry with a look of affected dignity, and said, "Pray, sir,
+what did my daughter say to your very peculiar proposal?"
+
+"She said ye--ah! that is--she didn't exactly _say_ anything, but
+she--indeed I--"
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the old gentleman, deepening his frown as he
+regarded his young friend through the smoke. "In short, she said
+nothing, I suppose, but led you to infer, perhaps, that she would have
+said yes if I hadn't interrupted you."
+
+Harry blushed, and said nothing.
+
+"Now, sir," continued Mr. Kennedy, "don't you think that it would have
+been a polite piece of attention on your part to have asked _my_
+permission before you addressed my daughter on such a subject, eh?"
+
+"Indeed," said Harry, "I acknowledge that I have been hasty, but I must
+disclaim the charge of disrespect to you, sir. I had no intention
+whatever of broaching the subject to-day, but my feelings, unhappily,
+carried me away, and--and--in fact--"
+
+"Well, well, sir," interrupted Mr. Kennedy, with a look of offended
+dignity, "your feelings ought to be kept more under control. But come,
+sir, to my house. I must talk further with you on this subject. I must
+read you a lesson, sir--a lesson, humph! that you won't forget in a
+hurry."
+
+"But, my dear sir--" began Harry.
+
+"No more, sir--no more at present," cried the old gentleman, smoking
+violently as he pointed to the footpath that led to the house, "Lead
+the way, sir; I'll follow."
+
+The footpath, although wide enough to allow Kate and Harry to walk,
+beside each other, did not permit of two gentlemen doing so
+conveniently--a circumstance which proved a great relief to Mr.
+Kennedy, inasmuch as it enabled him, while walking behind his
+companion, to wink convulsively, smoke furiously, and punch his own
+ribs severely, by way of opening a few safety-valves to his glee,
+without which there is no saying what might have happened. He was
+nearly caught in these eccentricities more than once, however, as Harry
+turned half round with the intention of again attempting to exculpate
+himself--attempts which were as often met by a sudden start, a fierce
+frown, a burst of smoke, and a command to "go on." On approaching the
+house, the track became a broad road, affording Mr. Kennedy no excuse
+for walking in the rear, so that he was under the necessity of laying
+violent restraint on his feelings--a restraint which it was evident
+could not last long. At that moment, to his great relief, his eye
+suddenly fell on the gray cat, which happened to be reposing innocently
+on the doorstep.
+
+"_That's_ it! there's the whole cause of it at last!" cried Mr.
+Kennedy, in a perfect paroxysm of excitement, flinging his pipe
+violently at the unoffending victim as he rushed towards it. The pipe
+missed the cat, but went with a sharp crash through the parlour window,
+at which Charley was seated, while his father darted through the
+doorway, along the passage, and into the kitchen. Here the cat, having
+first capsized a pyramid of pans and kettles in its consternation, took
+refuge in an absolutely unassailable position. Seeing this, Mr. Kennedy
+violently discharged a pailful of water at the spot, strode rapidly to
+his own apartment, and locked himself in.
+
+"Dear me, Harry, what's wrong? my father seems unusually excited," said
+Charley, in some astonishment, as Harry entered the room, and flung
+himself on a chair with a look of chagrin.
+
+"It's difficult to say, Charley; the fact is, I've asked your sister
+Kate to be my wife, and your father seems to have gone mad with
+indignation."
+
+"Asked Kate to be your wife!" cried Charley, starting up, and regarding
+his friend with a look of amazement.
+
+"Yes, I have," replied Harry, with an air of offended dignity. "I know
+very well that I am unworthy of her, but I see no reason why you and
+your father should take such pains to make me feel it."
+
+"Unworthy of her, my dear fellow!" exclaimed Charley, grasping his hand
+and wringing it violently; "no doubt you are, and so is everybody, but
+you shall have her for all that, my boy. But tell me, Harry, have you
+spoken to Kate herself?"
+
+"Yes, I have."
+
+"And does she agree?"
+
+"Well, I think I may say she does."
+
+"Have you told my father that she does?"
+
+"Why, as to that," said Harry, with a perplexed smile, "he didn't need
+to be told; he made _himself_ pretty well aware of the facts of the
+case."
+
+"Ah! I'll soon settle _him_," cried Charley. "Keep your mind easy, old
+fellow; I'll very soon bring him round." With this assurance, Charley
+gave his friend's hand another shake that nearly wrenched the arm from
+his shoulder, and hastened out of the room in search of his refractory
+father.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+The course of true love, curiously enough, runs smooth for once; and
+the curtain falls.
+
+
+Time rolled on, and with it the sunbeams of summer went--the snowflakes
+of winter came. Needles of ice began to shoot across the surface of Red
+River, and gradually narrowed its bed. Crystalline trees formed upon
+the window-panes. Icicles depended from the eaves of the houses. Snow
+fell in abundance on the plains; liquid nature began rapidly to
+solidify, and not many weeks after the first frost made its appearance
+everything was (as the settlers expressed it) "hard and fast."
+
+Mr. Kennedy, senior, was in his parlour, with his back to a blazing
+wood-fire that seemed large enough to roast an ox whole. He was
+standing, moreover, in a semi-picturesque attitude, with his right hand
+in his breeches pocket and his left arm round Kate's waist. Kate was
+dressed in a gown that rivalled the snow itself in whiteness. One
+little gold clasp shone in her bosom; it was the only ornament she
+wore. Mr. Kennedy, too, had somewhat altered his style of costume. He
+wore a sky-blue, swallow-tailed coat, whose maker had flourished in
+London half-a-century before. It had a velvet collar about five inches
+deep, fitted uncommonly tight to the figure, and had a pair of bright
+brass buttons, very close together, situated half-a-foot above the
+wearer's natural waist. Besides this, he had on a canary-coloured vest,
+and a pair of white duck trousers, in the fob of which _evidently_
+reposed an immense gold watch of the olden time, with a bunch of seals
+that would have served very well as an anchor for a small boat.
+Although the dress was, on the whole, slightly comical, its owner, with
+his full, fat, broad figure, looked remarkably well in it, nevertheless.
+
+It was Kate's marriage-day, or rather marriage-evening; for the sun had
+set two hours ago, and the moon was now sailing in the frosty sky, its
+pale rays causing the whole country to shine with a clear, cold,
+silvery whiteness.
+
+The old gentleman had been for some time gazing in silent admiration on
+the fair brow and clustering ringlets of his daughter, when it suddenly
+occurred to him that the company would arrive in half-an-hour, and
+there were several things still to be attended to.
+
+"Hello, Kate!" he exclaimed, with a start, "we're forgetting ourselves.
+The candles are yet to light, and lots of other things to do." Saying
+this, he began to bustle about the room in a state of considerable
+agitation.
+
+"Oh, don't worry yourself, dear father!" cried Kate, running after him
+and catching him by the hand. "Miss Cookumwell and good Mrs.
+Taddipopple are arranging everything about tea and supper in the
+kitchen, and Tom Whyte has been kindly sent to us by Mr. Grant, with
+orders to make himself generally useful, so _he_ can light the candles
+in a few minutes, and you've nothing to do but to kiss me and receive
+the company." Kate pulled her father gently towards the fire again, and
+replaced his arm round her waist.
+
+"Receive company! Ah, Kate, my love, that's just what I know nothing
+about. If they'd let me receive them in my own way, I'd do it well
+enough; but that abominable Mrs. Taddi-what's her name-has quite addled
+my brains and driven me distracted with trying to get me to understand
+what she calls _etiquette_."
+
+Kate laughed, and said she didn't care _how_ he received them, as she
+was quite sure that, whichever way he did it, he would do it pleasantly
+and well.
+
+At that moment the door opened, and Tom Whyte entered. He was thinner,
+if possible, than he used to be, and considerably stiffer, and more
+upright.
+
+"Please, sir," said he, with a motion that made you expect to hear his
+back creak (it was intended for a bow)--"please, sir, can I do
+hanythink for yer?"
+
+"Yes, Tom, you can," replied Mr. Kennedy. "Light these candles, my man,
+and then go to the stable and see that everything there is arranged for
+putting up the horses. It will be pretty full to-night, Tom, and will
+require some management. Then, let me see--ah yes, bring me my pipe,
+Tom, my big meerschaum.--I'll sport that to-night in honour of you,
+Kate."
+
+"Please, sir," began Tom, with a slightly disconcerted air, "I'm
+afeared, sir, that--um--"
+
+"Well, Tom, what would you say? Go on."
+
+"The pipe, sir," said Tom, growing still more disconcerted--"says I to
+cook, says I, 'Cook, wot's been an' done it, d'ye think?' 'Dun know,
+Tom,' says he, 'but it's smashed, that's sartin. I think the gray
+cat--'"
+
+"What!" cried the old trader, in a voice of thunder, while a frown of
+the most portentous ferocity darkened his brow for an instant. It was
+only for an instant, however. Clearing his brow quickly, he said with a
+smile, "But it's your wedding-day, Kate, my darling. It won't do to
+blow up anybody to-day, not even the cat.--There, be off, Tom, and see
+to things. Look sharp! I hear sleigh-bells already."
+
+As he spoke Tom vanished perpendicularly, Kate hastened to her room,
+and the old gentleman himself went to the front door to receive his
+guests.
+
+The night was of that intensely calm and still character that
+invariably accompanies intense frost, so that the merry jingle of the
+sleigh-bells that struck on Mr. Kennedy's listening ear continued to
+sound, and grow louder as they drew near, for a considerable time ere
+the visitors arrived. Presently the dull, soft tramp of horses' hoofs
+was heard in the snow, and a well-known voice shouted out lustily, "Now
+then, Mactavish, keep to the left. Doesn't the road take a turn there?
+Mind the gap in the fence. That's old Kennedy's only fault. He'd rather
+risk breaking his friends' necks than mend his fences!"
+
+"All right, here we are," cried Mactavish, as the next instant two
+sleighs emerged out of the avenue into the moonlit space in front of
+the house, and dashed up to the door amid an immense noise and clatter
+of bells, harness, hoofs, snorting, and salutations.
+
+"Ah, Grant, my dear fellow!" cried Mr. Kennedy, springing to the sleigh
+and seizing his friend by the hand as he dragged him out. "This is kind
+of you to come early. And Mrs. Grant, too. Take care, my dear madam,
+step clear of the haps; now, then--cleverly done" (as Mrs. Grant
+tumbled into his arms in a confused heap). "Come along now; there's a
+capital fire in here.--Don't mind the horses, Mactavish--follow us, my
+lad; Tom Whyte will attend to them."
+
+Uttering such disjointed remarks, Mr. Kennedy led Mrs. Grant into the
+house, and made her over to Mrs. Taddipopple, who hurried her away to
+an inner apartment, while Mr. Kennedy conducted her spouse, along with
+Mactavish and our friend the head clerk at Fort Garry, into the parlour.
+
+"Harry, my dear fellow, I wish you joy," cried Mr. Grant, as the former
+grasped his hand. "Lucky dog you are. Where's Kate, eh? Not visible
+yet, I suppose."
+
+"No, not till the parson comes," interrupted Mr. Kennedy, convulsing
+his left cheek.--"Hollo, Charley, where are you? Ah! bring the cigars,
+Charley.--Sit down, gentlemen; make yourselves at home--I say, Mrs.
+Taddi--Taddi--oh, botheration--popple! that's it--your name, madam, is
+a puzzler-but-we'll need more chairs, I think. Fetch one or two, like a
+dear!"
+
+As he spoke the jingle of bells was heard outside, and Mr. Kennedy
+rushed to the door again.
+
+"Good-evening, Mr. Addison," said he, taking that gentleman warmly by
+the hand as he resigned the reins to Tom Whyte. "I am delighted to see
+you, sir (Look after the minister's mare, Tom), glad to see you, my
+dear sir. Some of my friends have come already. This way, Mr. Addison."
+
+The worthy clergyman responded to Mr. Kennedy's greeting in his own
+hearty manner, and followed him into the parlour, where the guests now
+began to assemble rapidly.
+
+"Father," cried Charley, catching his sire by the arm, "I've been
+looking for you everywhere, but you dance about like a
+will-o'-the-wisp. Do you know I've invited my friends Jacques and
+Redfeather to come to-night, and also Louis Peltier, the guide with
+whom I made my first trip. You recollect him, father?"
+
+"Ay, that do I, lad, and happy shall I be to see three such worthy men
+under my roof as guests on this night."
+
+"Yes, yes, I know that, father; but I don't see them here. Have they
+come yet?"
+
+"Can't say, boy. By the way, Pastor Conway is also coming, so we'll
+have a meeting between an Episcopalian and a Wesleyan. I sincerely
+trust that they won't fight!" As he said this the old gentleman grinned
+and threw his cheek into convulsions--an expression which was suddenly
+changed into one of confusion when he observed that Mr. Addison was
+standing close beside him, and had heard the remark.
+
+"Don't blush, my dear sir," said Mr. Addison, with a quiet smile, as he
+patted his friend on the shoulder. "You have too much reason, I am
+sorry to say, for expecting that clergymen of different denominations
+should look coldly on each other. There is far too much of this
+indifference and distrust among those who labour in different parts of
+the Lord's vineyard. But I trust you will find that my sympathies
+extend a little beyond the circle of my own particular body. Indeed,
+Mr. Conway is a particular friend of mine; so I assure you we won't
+fight."
+
+"Right, right" cried Mr. Kennedy, giving the clergy man an energetic
+grasp of the hand; "I like to hear you speak that way. I must confess
+that I've been a good deal surprised to observe, by what one reads in
+the old-country newspapers, as well as by what one sees even hereaway
+in the backwood settlements, how little interest clergymen show in the
+doings of those who don't happen to belong to their own particular
+sect; just as if a soul saved through the means of an Episcopalian was
+not of as much value as one saved by a Wesleyan, or a Presbyterian, or
+a Dissenter. Why, sir, it seems to me just as mean-spirited and selfish
+as if one of our chief factors was so entirely taken up with the doings
+and success of his own particular district that he didn't care a
+gun-flint for any other district in the Company's service."
+
+There was at least one man listening to these remarks whose naturally
+logical and liberal mind fully agreed with them. This was Jacques
+Caradoc, who had entered the room a few minutes before, in company with
+his friend Redfeather and Louis Peltier.
+
+"Right, sir! That's fact, straight up and down," said he, in an
+approving tone.
+
+"Ha! Jacques, my good fellow, is that you?--Redfeather, my friend, how
+are you?" said Mr. Kennedy, turning round and grasping a hand of
+each.--"Sit down there, Louis, beside Mrs.
+Taddi--eh?--ah!--popple.--Mr. Addison, this is Jacques Caradoc, the
+best and stoutest hunter between Hudson's Bay and Oregon."
+
+Jacques smiled and bowed modestly as Mr. Addison shook his hand. The
+worthy hunter did indeed at that moment look as if he fully merited Mr.
+Kennedy's eulogium. Instead of endeavouring to ape the gentleman, as
+many men in his rank of life would have been likely to do on an
+occasion like this, Jacques had not altered his costume a hair-breadth
+from what it usually was, excepting that some parts of it were quite
+new, and all of it faultlessly clean. He wore the usual capote, but it
+was his best one, and had been washed for the occasion. The scarlet
+belt and blue leggings were also as bright in colour as if they had
+been put on for the first time; and the moccasins, which fitted closely
+to his well-formed feet, were of the cleanest and brightest yellow
+leather, ornamented, as usual, in front. The collar of his blue-striped
+shirt was folded back a little more carefully than usual, exposing his
+sun-burned and muscular throat. In fact, he wanted nothing, save the
+hunting-knife, the rifle, and the powder-horn, to constitute him a
+perfect specimen of a thorough backwoodsman.
+
+Redfeather and Louis were similarly costumed, and a noble trio they
+looked as they sat modestly in a corner, talking to each other in
+whispers, and endeavouring, as much as possible, to curtail their
+colossal proportions.
+
+"Now, Harry," said Mr. Kennedy, in a hoarse whisper, at the same time
+winking vehemently, "we're about ready, lad. Where's Kate, eh? shall we
+send for her?"
+
+Harry blushed, and stammered out something that was wholly
+unintelligible, but which, nevertheless, seemed to afford infinite
+delight to the old gentleman, who chuckled and winked tremendously,
+gave his son-in-law a facetious poke in the ribs, and turning abruptly
+to Miss Cookumwell, said to that lady, "Now, Miss Cookumpopple, we're
+all ready. They seem to have had enough tea and trash; you'd better be
+looking after Kate, I think."
+
+Miss Cookumwell smiled, rose, and left the room to obey; Mrs.
+Taddipopple followed to help, and soon returned with Kate, whom they
+delivered up to her father at the door. Mr. Kennedy led her to the
+upper end of the room; Harry Somerville stood by her side, as if by
+magic; Mr. Addison dropped opportunely before them, as if from the
+clouds; there was an extraordinary and abrupt pause in the hum of
+conversation, and ere Kate was well aware of what was about to happen,
+she felt herself suddenly embraced by her husband, from whom she was
+thereafter violently torn and all but smothered by her sympathising
+friends.
+
+Poor Kate! she had gone through the ceremony almost
+mechanically--recklessly, we might be justified in saying; for not
+having raised her eyes off the floor from its commencement to its
+close, the man whom she accepted for better or for worse might have
+been Jacques or Redfeather for all that she knew.
+
+Immediately after this there was heard the sound of a fiddle, and an
+old Canadian was led to the upper end of the room, placed on a chair,
+and hoisted, by the powerful arms of Jacques and Louis, upon a table.
+In this conspicuous position the old man seemed to be quite at his
+ease. He spent a few minutes in bringing his instrument into perfect
+tune; then looking round with a mild, patronising glance to see that
+the dancers were ready, he suddenly struck up a Scotch reel with an
+amount of energy, precision, and spirit that might have shot a pang of
+jealousy through the heart of Neil Gow himself. The noise that
+instantly commenced, and was kept up from that moment, with but few
+intervals, during the whole evening, was of a kind that is never heard
+in fashionable drawing-rooms. Dancing in the backwood settlements _is_
+dancing. It is not walking; it is not sailing; it is not undulating; it
+is not sliding; no, it is _bona-fide_ dancing! It is the performance of
+intricate evolutions with the feet and legs that make one wink to look
+at; performed in good time too, and by people who look upon _all_ their
+muscles as being useful machines, not merely things of which a select
+few, that cannot be dispensed with, are brought into daily operation.
+Consequently the thing was done with an amount of vigour that was
+conducive to the health of performers, and productive of satisfaction
+to the eyes of beholders. When the evening wore on apace, however, and
+Jacques's modesty was so far overcome as to induce him to engage in a
+reel, along with his friend Louis Peltier, and two bouncing young
+ladies whose father had driven them twenty miles over the plains that
+day in order to attend the wedding of their dear friend and former
+playmate, Kate--when these four stood up, we say, and the fiddler
+played more energetically than ever, and the stout backwoodsmen began
+to warm and grow vigorous, until, in the midst of their tremendous
+leaps and rapid but well-timed motions, they looked like very giants
+amid their brethren, then it was that Harry, as he felt Kate's little
+hand pressing his arm, and observed her sparkling eyes gazing at the
+dancers in genuine admiration, began at last firmly to believe that the
+whole thing was a dream; and then it was that old Mr. Kennedy rejoiced
+to think that the house had been built under his own special
+directions, and he knew that it could not by any possibility be shaken
+to pieces.
+
+And well might Harry imagine that he dreamed; for besides the
+bewildering tendency of the almost too-good-to-be-true fact that Kate
+was really Mrs. Harry Somerville, the scene before him was a
+particularly odd and perplexing mixture of widely different elements,
+suggestive of new and old associations. The company was miscellaneous.
+There were retired old traders, whose lives from boyhood had been spent
+in danger, solitude, wild scenes and adventures, to which those of
+Robinson Crusoe are mere child's play. There were young girls, the
+daughters of these men, who had received good educations in the Red
+River academy, and a certain degree of polish which education always
+gives; a very _different_ polish, indeed, from that which the
+conventionalities and refinements of the Old World bestow, but not the
+less agreeable on that account--nay, we might even venture to say, all
+the _more_ agreeable on that account. There were Red Indians and
+clergymen; there were one or two ladies of a doubtful age, who had come
+out from the old country to live there, having found it no easy matter,
+poor things, to live at home; there were matrons whose absolute silence
+on every subject save "yes" or "no" showed that they had not been
+subjected to the refining influences of the academy, but whose hearty
+smiles and laughs of genuine good-nature proved that the storing of the
+brain has, after all, _very_ little to do with the best and deepest
+feelings of the heart. There were the tones of Scotch reels
+sounding--tones that brought Scotland vividly before the very eyes; and
+there were Canadian hunters and half-breed voyageurs, whose moccasins
+were more accustomed to the turf of the woods than the boards of a
+drawing-room, and whose speech and accents made Scotland vanish away
+altogether from the memory. There were old people and young folk; there
+were fat and lean, short and long. There were songs too--ballads of
+England, pathetic songs of Scotland, alternating with the French
+ditties of Canada, and the sweet, inexpressibly plaintive canoe-songs
+of the voyageur. There were strong contrasts in dress also: some wore
+the home-spun trousers of the settlement, a few the ornamented leggings
+of the hunter. Capotes were there--loose, flowing, and picturesque; and
+broad-cloth tail-coats were there, of the last century, tight-fitting,
+angular--in a word, detestable; verifying the truth of the proverb that
+extremes meet, by showing that the _cut_ which all the wisdom of
+tailors and scientific fops, after centuries of study, had laboriously
+wrought out and foisted upon the poor civilised world as perfectly
+sublime, appeared in the eyes of backwoodsmen and Indians utterly
+ridiculous. No wonder that Harry, under the circumstances, became
+quietly insane, and went about committing _nothing_ but mistakes the
+whole evening. No wonder that he emulated his father-in-law in abusing
+the gray cat, when he found it surreptitiously devouring part of the
+supper in an adjoining room; and no wonder that, when he rushed about
+vainly in search of Mrs. Taddipopple, to acquaint her with the cat's
+wickedness, he, at last, in desperation, laid violent hands on Miss
+Cookumwell, and addressed that excellent lady by the name of Mrs.
+Poppletaddy.
+
+Were we courageous enough to make the attempt, we would endeavour to
+describe that joyful evening from beginning to end. We would tell you
+how the company's spirits rose higher and higher, as each individual
+became more and more anxious to lend his or her aid in adding to the
+general hilarity; how old Mr. Kennedy nearly killed himself in his
+fruitless efforts to be everywhere, speak to everybody, and do
+everything at once, how Charley danced till he could scarcely speak,
+and then talked till he could hardly dance; and how the fiddler,
+instead of growing wearied, became gradually and continuously more
+powerful, until it seemed as if fifty fiddles were playing at one and
+the same time. We would tell you how Mr. Addison drew more than ever to
+Mr. Conway, and how the latter gentleman agreed to correspond regularly
+with the former thenceforth, in order that their interest in the great
+work each had in hand for the _same_ Master might be increased and kept
+up; how, in a spirit of recklessness (afterwards deeply repented of), a
+bashful young man was induced to sing a song which in the present
+mirthful state of the company ought to have been a humorous song, or a
+patriotic song, or a good, loud, inspiriting song, or _anything_, in
+short, but what it was--a slow, dull, sentimental song, about wasting
+gradually away in a sort of melancholy decay, on account of
+disappointed love, or some such trash, which was a false sentiment in
+itself, and certainly did not derive any additional tinge of
+truthfulness from a thin, weak voice, that was afflicted with chronic
+flatness, and _edged_ all its notes. Were we courageous enough to go
+on, we would further relate to you how during supper Mr. Kennedy
+senior, tried to make a speech, and broke down amid uproarious
+applause; how Mr. Kennedy, junior, got up thereafter--being urged
+thereto by his father, who said, with a convulsion of the cheek, "Get
+me out of the scrape, Charley, my boy"--and delivered an oration which
+did not display much power of concise elucidation, but was replete,
+nevertheless, with consummate impudence; how during this point in the
+proceedings the gray cat made a last desperate effort to purloin a cold
+chicken, which it had watched anxiously the whole evening, and was
+caught in the very act, nearly strangled, and flung out of the window,
+where it alighted in safety on the snow, and fled, a wiser, and, we
+trust, a better cat. We would recount all this to you, reader, and a
+great deal more besides; but we fear to try your patience, and we
+tremble violently, much more so, indeed, than you will believe, at the
+bare idea of waxing prosy.
+
+Suffice it to say that the party separated at an early hour--a good,
+sober, reasonable hour for such an occasion--somewhere before midnight.
+The horses were harnessed; the ladies were packed in the sleighs with
+furs so thick and plentiful as to defy the cold; the gentlemen seized
+their reins and cracked their whips; the horses snorted, plunged, and
+dashed away over the white plains in different directions, while the
+merry sleigh-bells sounded fainter and fainter in the frosty air. In
+half-an-hour the stars twinkled down on the still, cold scene, and
+threw a pale light on the now silent dwelling of the old fur-trader.
+
+       *       *      *       *       *       *       *
+
+Ere dropping the curtain over a picture in which we have sought
+faithfully to portray the prominent features of those wild regions that
+lie to the north of the Canadas, and in which we have endeavoured to
+describe some of the peculiarities of a class of men whose histories
+seldom meet the public eye, we feel tempted to add a few more touches
+to the sketch; we would fain trace a little farther the fortunes of one
+or two of the chief factors in our book. But this is not to be.
+
+Snowflakes and sunbeams came and went as in days gone by. Time rolled
+on, working many changes in its course, and among others consigning
+Harry Somerville to an important post in Red River colony, to the
+unutterable joy of Mr. Kennedy, senior, and of Kate. After much
+consideration and frequent consultation with Mr. Addison, Mr. Conway
+resolved to make another journey to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ
+to those Indian tribes that inhabit the regions beyond Athabasca; and
+being a man of great energy, he determined not to await the opening of
+the river navigation, but to undertake the first part of his expedition
+on snow-shoes. Jacques agreed to go with him as guide and hunter,
+Redfeather as interpreter. It was a bright, cold morning when he set
+out, accompanied part of the way by Charley Kennedy and Harry
+Somerville, whose hearts were heavy at the prospect of parting with the
+two men who had guided and protected them during their earliest
+experience of a voyageur's life, when, with hearts full to overflowing
+with romantic anticipations, they first dashed joyously into the almost
+untrodden wilderness.
+
+During their career in the woods together, the young men and the two
+hunters had become warmly attached to each other; and now that they
+were about to part--it might be for years, perhaps for ever--a feeling
+of sadness crept over them which they could not shake off, and which
+the promise given by Mr. Conway to revisit Red River on the following
+spring served but slightly to dispel.
+
+On arriving at the spot where they intended to bid their friends a last
+farewell, the two young men held out their hands in silence. Jacques
+grasped them warmly.
+
+"Mister Charles, Mister Harry," said he, in a deep, earnest voice, "the
+Almighty has guided us in safety for many a day when we travelled the
+woods together; for which praised be His Holy Name! May He guide and
+bless you still, and bring us together in this world again, if in His
+wisdom He see fit."
+
+There was no answer save a deeply-murmured "Amen." In another moment
+the travellers resumed their march. On reaching the summit of a slight
+eminence, where the prairies terminated and the woods began, they
+paused to wave a last adieu; then Jacques, putting himself at the head
+of the little party, plunged into the forest, and led them away towards
+the snowy regions of the Far North.
+
+
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Young Fur Traders, by R. M. Ballantyne
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Young Fur Traders, by R. M. Ballantyne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Young Fur Traders
+
+Author: R. M. Ballantyne
+
+Posting Date: June 1, 2012 [EBook #6357]
+Release Date: August, 2004
+First Posted: December 1, 2002
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG FUR TRADERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE YOUNG FUR-TRADERS.
+
+
+
+
+UNIFORM WITH THIS BOOK.
+
+_THE CORAL ISLAND. MARTIN RATTLER. UNCAVA._
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Pierre was standing over the great kettle. "_The Young
+Fur Traders_]" Frontispiece
+
+
+
+SNOWFLAKES AND SUNBEAMS; OR, THE YOUNG FUR-TRADERS
+
+A Tale of the Far North.
+
+
+BY ROBERT MICHAEL BALLANTYNE
+
+
+
+
+PEEFACE.
+
+In writing this book my desire has been to draw an exact copy of the
+picture which is indelibly stamped on my own memory. I have carefully
+avoided exaggeration in everything of importance. All the chief, and
+most of the minor incidents are facts. In regard to unimportant
+matters, I have taken the liberty of a novelist--not to colour too
+highly, or to invent improbabilities, but--to transpose time, place,
+and circumstance at pleasure; while, at the same time, I have
+endeavoured to convey to the reader's mind a truthful impression of the
+_general effect_--to use a painter's language--of the life and country
+of the Fur Trader.
+
+EDINBURGH, 1856.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I Plunges the reader into the middle of an arctic winter;
+conveys him into the heart of the wildernesses of North America; and
+introduces him to some of the principal personages of our tale
+
+CHAPTER II The old fur-trader endeavours to "fix" his son's "flint,"
+and finds the thing more difficult to do than he expected
+
+CHAPTER III The counting-room
+
+CHAPTER IV. A wolf-hunt in the prairies; Charley astonishes his father,
+and breaks in the "noo'oss" effectually
+
+CHAPTER V Peter Mactavish becomes an amateur doctor; Charley
+promulgates his views of things in general to Kate; and Kate waxes
+sagacious
+
+CHAPTER VI Spring and the voyageurs
+
+CHAPTER VII. The store
+
+CHAPTER VIII. Farewell to Kate; departure of the brigade; Charley
+becomes a voyageur
+
+CHAPTER IX. The voyage; the encampment; a surprise
+
+CHAPTER X. Varieties, vexations, and vicissitudes
+
+CHAPTER XI. Charley and Harry begin their sporting career without much
+success; Whisky-John catching
+
+CHAPTER XII. The storm
+
+CHAPTER XIII. The canoe; ascending the rapids; the portage;
+deer-shooting and life in the woods
+
+CHAPTER XIV. The Indian camp; the new outpost; Charley sent on a
+mission to the Indians
+
+CHAPTER XV. The feast; Charley makes his first speech in public; meets
+with an old friend; an evening in the grass
+
+CHAPTER XVI The return; narrow escape; a murderous attempt, which
+fails; and a discovery
+
+CHAPTER XVII The scene changes; Bachelors' Hall; a practical joke and
+its consequences; a snow-shoe walk at night in the forest
+
+CHAPTER XVIII The walk continued; frozen toes; an encampment in the snow
+
+CHAPTER XIX Shows how the accountant and Harry set their traps, and
+what came of it
+
+CHAPTER XX The accountant's story
+
+CHAPTER XXI Ptarmigan-hunting; Hamilton's shooting powers severely
+tested; a snow-storm
+
+CHAPTER XXII The winter packet; Harry hears from old friends, and
+wishes that he was with them CHAPTER XXIII Changes; Harry and Hamilton
+find that variety is indeed, charming; the latter astonishes the former
+considerably
+
+CHAPTER XXIV Hopes and fears; an unexpected meeting; philosophical talk
+between the hunter and the parson
+
+CHAPTER XXV Good news and romantic scenery; bear-hunting and its results
+
+CHAPTER XXVI An unexpected meeting, and an unexpected deer-hunt;
+arrival at the outpost; disagreement with the natives; an enemy
+discovered, and a murder
+
+CHAPTER XXVII The chase; the fight; retribution; low spirits and good
+news
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII Old friends and scenes; coming events cast their shadows
+before
+
+CHAPTER XXIX The first day at home; a gallop in the prairie, and its
+consequences
+
+CHAPTER XXX Love; old Mr. Kennedy puts his foot in it
+
+CHAPTER XXXI The course of true love, curiously enough, runs smooth for
+once; and the curtain falls
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+Plunges the reader into the middle of an Arctic winter; conveys him
+into the heart of the wildernesses of North America; and introduces him
+to some of the principal personages of our tale.
+
+
+Snowflakes and sunbeams, heat and cold, winter and summer, alternated
+with their wonted regularity for fifteen years in the wild regions of
+the Far North. During this space of time the hero of our tale sprouted
+from babyhood to boyhood, passed through the usual amount of accidents,
+ailments, and vicissitudes incidental to those periods of life, and
+finally entered upon that ambiguous condition that precedes early
+manhood.
+
+It was a clear, cold winter's day. The sunbeams of summer were long
+past, and snowflakes had fallen thickly on the banks of Red River.
+Charley sat on a lump of blue ice, his head drooping and his eyes bent
+on the snow at his feet with an expression of deep disconsolation.
+
+Kate reclined at Charley's side, looking wistfully up in his expressive
+face, as if to read the thoughts that were chasing each other through
+his mind, like the ever-varying clouds that floated in the winter sky
+above. It was quite evident to the most careless observer that,
+whatever might be the usual temperaments of the boy and girl, their
+present state of mind was not joyous, but on the contrary, very sad.
+
+"It won't do, sister Kate," said Charley. "I've tried him over and over
+again--I've implored, begged, and entreated him to let me go; but he
+won't, and I'm determined to run away, so there's an end of it!"
+
+As Charley gave utterance to this unalterable resolution, he rose from
+the bit of blue ice, and taking Kate by the hand, led her over the
+frozen river, climbed up the bank on the opposite side--an operation of
+some difficulty, owing to the snow, which had been drifted so deeply
+during a late storm that the usual track was almost obliterated--and
+turning into a path that lost itself among the willows, they speedily
+disappeared.
+
+As it is possible our reader may desire to know who Charley and Kate
+are, and the part of the world in which they dwell, we will interrupt
+the thread of our narrative to explain.
+
+In the very centre of the great continent of North America, far removed
+from the abodes of civilised men, and about twenty miles to the south
+of Lake Winnipeg, exists a colony composed of Indians, Scotsmen, and
+French-Canadians, which is known by the name of Red River Settlement.
+Red River differs from most colonies in more respects than one--the
+chief differences being, that whereas other colonies cluster on the
+sea-coast, this one lies many hundreds of miles in the interior of the
+country, and is surrounded by a wilderness; and while other colonies,
+acting on the Golden Rule, export their produce in return for goods
+imported, this of Red River imports a large quantity, and exports
+nothing, or next to nothing. Not but that it _might_ export, if it only
+had an outlet or a market; but being eight hundred miles removed from
+the sea, and five hundred miles from the nearest market, with a series
+of rivers, lakes, rapids, and cataracts separating from the one, and a
+wide sweep of treeless prairie dividing from the other, the settlers
+have long since come to the conclusion that they were born to consume
+their own produce, and so regulate the extent of their farming
+operations by the strength of their appetites. Of course, there are
+many of the necessaries, or at least the luxuries, of life which the
+colonists cannot grow--such as tea, coffee, sugar, coats, trousers, and
+shirts--and which, consequently, they procure from England, by means of
+the Hudson's Bay Fur Company's ships, which sail once a year from
+Gravesend, laden with supplies for the trade carried on with the
+Indians. And the bales containing these articles are conveyed in boats
+up the rivers, carried past the waterfalls and rapids overland on the
+shoulders of stalwart voyageurs, and finally landed at Red River, after
+a rough trip of many weeks' duration. The colony was founded in 1811,
+by the Earl of Selkirk, previously to which it had been a trading-post
+of the Fur Company. At the time of which we write, it contained about
+five thousand souls, and extended upwards of fifty miles along the Red
+and Assiniboine rivers, which streams supplied the settlers with a
+variety of excellent fish. The banks were clothed with fine trees; and
+immediately behind the settlement lay the great prairies, which
+extended in undulating waves--almost entirely devoid of shrub or
+tree--to the base of the Rocky Mountains.
+
+Although far removed from the civilised world, and containing within
+its precincts much that is savage and very little that is refined, Red
+River is quite a populous paradise, as compared with the desolate,
+solitary establishments of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company. These lonely
+dwellings of the trader are scattered far and wide over the whole
+continent--north, south, east, and west. Their population generally
+amounts to eight or ten men--seldom to thirty. They are planted in the
+thick of an uninhabited desert--their next neighbours being from two to
+five hundred miles off--their occasional visitors, bands of wandering
+Indians--and the sole object of their existence being to trade the
+furry hides of foxes, martens, beavers, badgers, bears, buffaloes, and
+wolves. It will not, then, be deemed a matter of wonder that the
+gentlemen who have charge of these establishments, and who, perchance,
+may have spent ten or twenty years in them, should look upon the colony
+of Red River as a species of Elysium, a sort of haven of rest, in which
+they may lay their weary heads, and spend the remainder of their days
+in peaceful felicity, free from the cares of a residence among wild
+beasts and wild men. Many of the retiring traders prefer casting their
+lot in Canada; but not a few of them _smoke_ out the remainder of their
+existence in this colony--especially those who, having left home as
+boys fifty or sixty years before, cannot reasonably expect to find the
+friends of their childhood where they left them, and cannot hope to
+remodel tastes and habits long nurtured in the backwoods so as to
+relish the manners and customs of civilised society.
+
+Such an one was old Frank Kennedy, who, sixty years before the date of
+our story, ran away from school in Scotland; got a severe thrashing
+from his father for so doing; and having no mother in whose
+sympathising bosom he could weep out his sorrow, ran away from home,
+went to sea, ran away from his ship while she lay at anchor in the
+harbour of New York, and after leading a wandering, unsettled life for
+several years, during which he had been alternately a clerk, a
+day-labourer, a store-keeper and a village schoolmaster, he wound up by
+entering the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, in which he obtained
+an insight into savage life, a comfortable fortune, besides a
+half-breed wife and a large family.
+
+Being a man of great energy and courage, and moreover possessed of a
+large, powerful frame, he was sent to one of the most distant posts on
+the Mackenzie River, as being admirably suited for the display of his
+powers both mental and physical. Here the small-pox broke out among the
+natives, and besides carrying off hundreds of these poor creatures,
+robbed Mr. Kennedy of all his children save two, Charles and Kate, whom
+we have already introduced to the reader.
+
+About the same time the council which is annually held at Red River in
+spring for the purpose of arranging the affairs of the country for the
+ensuing year thought proper to appoint Mr. Kennedy to a still more
+outlandish part of the country--as near, in fact, to the North Pole as
+it was possible for mortal man to live--and sent him an order to
+proceed to his destination without loss of time. On receiving this
+communication, Mr. Kennedy upset his chair, stamped his foot, ground
+his teeth, and vowed, in the hearing of his wife and children, that
+sooner than obey the mandate he would see the governors and council of
+Rupert's Land hanged, quartered, and boiled down into tallow!
+Ebullitions of this kind were peculiar to Frank Kennedy, and meant
+_nothing_. They were simply the safety-valves to his superabundant ire,
+and, like safety-valves in general, made much noise but did no damage.
+It was well, however, on such occasions to keep out of the old
+fur-trader's way; for he had an irresistible propensity to hit out at
+whatever stood before him, especially if the object stood on a level
+with his own eyes and wore whiskers. On second thoughts, however, he
+sat down before his writing-table, took a sheet of blue ruled foolscap
+paper, seized a quill which he had mended six months previously, at a
+time when he happened to be in high good-humour, and wrote as follows:--
+
+Letter
+
+To the Governor and Council of Rupert's Land, Fort Paskisegun
+ Red River Settlement. June 15, 18--.
+
+
+Gentlemen,--I have the honour to acknowledge receipt
+ of your favour of 26th April last, appointing me
+ to the charge of Peel's River, and directing me to strike
+ out new channels of trade in that quarter. In reply, I
+ have to state that I shall have the honour to fulfil your
+ instructions by taking my departure in a light canoe as
+ soon as possible. At the same time I beg humbly to
+ submit that the state of my health is such as to render
+ it expedient for me to retire from the service, and I herewith
+ beg to hand in my resignation. I shall hope to be
+ relieved early next spring.--I have the honour to be,
+ gentlemen, your most obedient, humble servant,
+
+
+       F. Kennedy.
+
+
+
+"There!" exclaimed the old gentleman, in a tone that would lead one to
+suppose he had signed the death-warrant, and so had irrevocably fixed
+the certain destruction, of the entire council--"there!" said he,
+rising from his chair, and sticking the quill into the ink-bottle with
+a _dab_ that split it up to the feather, and so rendered it _hors de
+combat_ for all time coming.
+
+To this letter the council gave a short reply, accepting his
+resignation, and appointing a successor. On the following spring old
+Mr. Kennedy embarked his wife and children in a bark canoe, and in
+process of time landed them safely in Red River Settlement. Here he
+purchased a house with six acres of land, in which he planted a variety
+of useful vegetables, and built a summer-house after the fashion of a
+conservatory, where he was wont to solace himself for hours together
+with a pipe, or rather with dozens of pipes, of Canadian twist tobacco.
+
+After this he put his two children to school. The settlement was at
+this time fortunate in having a most excellent academy, which was
+conducted by a very estimable man. Charles and Kate Kennedy, being
+obedient and clever, made rapid progress under his judicious
+management, and the only fault that he had to find with the young
+people was, that Kate was a little too quiet and fond of books, while
+Charley was a little too riotous and fond of fun.
+
+When Charles arrived at the age of fifteen and Kate attained to
+fourteen years, old Mr. Kennedy went into his conservatory, locked the
+door, sat down on an easy chair, filled a long clay pipe with his
+beloved tobacco, smoked vigorously for ten minutes, and fell fast
+asleep. In this condition he remained until the pipe fell from his lips
+and broke in fragments on the floor. He then rose, filled another pipe,
+and sat down to meditate on the subject that had brought him to his
+smoking apartment. "There's my wife," said he, looking at the bowl of
+his pipe, as if he were addressing himself to it, "she's getting too
+old to be looking after everything herself (_puff_), and Kate's getting
+too old to be humbugging any longer with books: besides, she ought to
+be at home learning to keep house, and help her mother, and cut the
+baccy (_puff_), and that young scamp Charley should be entering the
+service (_puff_). He's clever enough now to trade beaver and bears from
+the red-skins; besides, he's (_puff_) a young rascal, and I'll be bound
+does nothing but lead the other boys into (_puff_) mischief, although,
+to be sure, the master _does_ say he's the cleverest fellow in the
+school; but he must be reined up a bit now. I'll clap on a double curb
+and martingale. I'll get him a situation in the counting-room at the
+fort (_puff_), where he'll have his nose held tight to the grindstone.
+Yes, I'll fix both their flints to-morrow;" and old Mr. Kennedy gave
+vent to another puff so thick and long that it seemed as if all the
+previous puffs had concealed themselves up to this moment within his
+capacious chest, and rushed out at last in one thick and long-continued
+stream.
+
+By "fixing their flints" Mr. Kennedy meant to express the fact that he
+intended to place his children in an entirely new sphere of action, and
+with a view to this he ordered out his horse and cariole [Footnote: A
+sort of sleigh.] on the following morning, went up to the school, which
+was about ten miles distant from his abode, and brought his children
+home with him the same evening. Kate was now formally installed as
+housekeeper and tobacco-cutter; while Charley was told that his future
+destiny was to wield the quill in the service of the Hudson's Bay
+Company, and that he might take a week to think over it. Quiet,
+warm-hearted, affectionate Kate was overjoyed at the thought of being a
+help and comfort to her old father and mother; but reckless, joyous,
+good-humoured, hare-brained Charley was cast into the depths of despair
+at the idea of spending the livelong day, and day after day, for years
+it might be, on the top of a long-legged stool. In fact, poor Charley
+said that he "would rather become a buffalo than do it." Now this was
+very wrong of Charley, for, of course, he didn't _mean_ it. Indeed, it
+is too much a habit among little boys, ay, and among grown-up people,
+too, to say what they don't mean, as no doubt you are aware, dear
+reader, if you possess half the self-knowledge we give you credit for;
+and we cannot too strongly remonstrate with ourself and others against
+the practice--leading, as it does, to all sorts of absurd
+exaggerations, such as gravely asserting that we are "broiling hot"
+when we are simply "rather warm," or more than "half dead" with fatigue
+when we are merely "very tired." However, Charley _said_ that he would
+rather be "a buffalo than do it," and so we feel bound in honour to
+record the fact.
+
+Charley and Kate were warmly attached to each other. Moreover, they had
+been, ever since they could walk, in the habit of mingling their little
+joys and sorrows in each other's bosoms; and although, as years flew
+past, they gradually ceased to sob in each other's arms at every little
+mishap, they did not cease to interchange their inmost thoughts, and to
+mingle their tears when occasion called them forth. They knew the
+power, the inexpressible sweetness, of sympathy. They understood
+experimentally the comfort and joy that flow from obedience to that
+blessed commandment to "rejoice with those that do rejoice, and weep
+with those that weep." It was natural, therefore, that on Mr. Kennedy
+announcing his decrees, Charley and Kate should hasten to some retired
+spot where they could commune in solitude; the effect of which
+communing was to reduce them to a somewhat calmer and rather happy
+state of mind. Charley's sorrow was blunted by sympathy with Kate's
+joy, and Kate's joy was subdued by sympathy with Charley's sorrow; so
+that, after the first effervescing burst, they settled down into a calm
+and comfortable state of flatness, with very red eyes and exceedingly
+pensive minds. We must, however, do Charley the justice to say that the
+red eyes applied only to Kate; for although a tear or two could without
+much coaxing be induced to hop over his sun-burned cheek, he had got
+beyond that period of life when boys are addicted to (we must give the
+word, though not pretty, because it is eminently expressive)
+_blubbering_.
+
+A week later found Charley and his sister seated on the lump of blue
+ice where they were first introduced to the reader, and where Charley
+announced his unalterable resolve to run away, following it up with the
+statement that _that_ was "the end of it." He was quite mistaken,
+however, for that was by no means the end of it. In fact it was only
+the beginning of it, as we shall see hereafter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+The old fur-trader endeavours to "fix" his son's "flint," and finds the
+thing more difficult to do than he expected.
+
+
+Near the centre of the colony of Red River, the stream from which the
+settlement derives its name is joined by another, called the
+Assiniboine. About five or six hundred yards from the point where this
+union takes place, and on the banks of the latter stream, stands the
+Hudson's Bay Company's trading-post, Fort Garry. It is a massive square
+building of stone. Four high and thick walls enclose a space of ground
+on which are built six or eight wooden houses, some of which are used
+as dwellings for the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, and others
+as stores, wherein are contained the furs, the provisions which are
+sent annually to various parts of the country, and the goods (such as
+cloth, guns, powder and shot, blankets, twine, axes, knives, etc.,
+etc.) with which the fur-trade is carried on. Although Red River is a
+peaceful colony, and not at all likely to be assaulted by the poor
+Indians, it was, nevertheless, deemed prudent by the traders to make
+some show of power; and so at the corners of the fort four round
+bastions of a very imposing appearance were built, from the embrasures
+of which several large black-muzzled guns protruded. No one ever
+conceived the idea of firing these engines of war; and, indeed, it is
+highly probable that such an attempt would have been attended with
+consequences much more dreadful to those _behind_ than to those who
+might chance to be in front of the guns. Nevertheless they were
+imposing, and harmonised well with the flag-staff, which was the only
+other military symptom about the place. This latter was used on
+particular occasions, such as the arrival or departure of a brigade of
+boats, for the purpose of displaying the folds of a red flag on which
+were the letters H. B. C.
+
+The fort stood, as we have said, on the banks of the Assiniboine River,
+on the opposite side of which the land was somewhat wooded, though not
+heavily, with oak, maple, poplar, aspens, and willows; while at the
+back of the fort the great prairie rolled out like a green sea to the
+horizon, and far beyond that again to the base of the Rocky mountains.
+The plains at this time, however, were a sheet of unbroken snow, and
+the river a mass of solid ice.
+
+It was noon on the day following that on which our friend Charley had
+threatened rebellion, when a tall elderly man might have been seen
+standing at the back gate of Fort Garry, gazing wistfully out into the
+prairie in the direction of the lower part of the settlement. He was
+watching a small speck which moved rapidly over the snow in the
+direction of the fort.
+
+"It's very like our friend Frank Kennedy," said he to himself (at least
+we presume so, for there was no one else within earshot to whom he
+could have said it, except the door-post, which every one knows is
+proverbially a deaf subject). "No man in the settlement drives so
+furiously. I shouldn't wonder if he ran against the corner of the new
+fence now. Ha! just so--there he goes!"
+
+And truly the reckless driver did "go" just at that moment. He came up
+to the corner of the new fence, where the road took a rather abrupt
+turn, in a style that insured a capsize. In another second the spirited
+horse turned sharp round, the sleigh turned sharp over, and the
+occupant was pitched out at full length, while a black object, that
+might have been mistaken for his hat, rose from his side like a rocket,
+and, flying over him, landed on the snow several yards beyond. A faint
+shout was heard to float on the breeze as this catastrophe occurred,
+and the driver was seen to jump up and readjust himself in the cariole;
+while the other black object proved itself not to be a hat, by getting
+hastily up on a pair of legs, and scrambling back to the seat from
+which it had been so unceremoniously ejected.
+
+In a few minutes more the cheerful tinkling of the merry sleigh-bells
+was heard, and Frank Kennedy, accompanied by his hopeful son Charles,
+dashed up to the gate, and pulled up with a jerk.
+
+"Ha! Grant, my fine fellow, how are you?" exclaimed Mr. Kennedy,
+senior, as he disengaged himself from the heavy folds of the buffalo
+robe and shook the snow from his greatcoat. "Why on earth, man, don't
+you put up a sign-post and a board to warn travellers that you've been
+running out new fences and changing the road, eh?"
+
+"Why, my good friend," said Mr. Grant, smiling, "the fence and the road
+are of themselves pretty conclusive proof to most men that the road is
+changed; and, besides, we don't often have people driving round corners
+at full gallop; but--"
+
+"Hollo! Charley, you rascal," interrupted Mr. Kennedy--"here, take the
+mare to the stable, and don't drive her too fast. Mind, now, no going
+off upon the wrong road for the sake of a drive, you understand."
+
+"All right, father," exclaimed the boy, while a bright smile lit up his
+features and displayed two rows of white teeth: "I'll be particularly
+careful," and he sprang into the light vehicle, seized the reins, and
+with a sharp crack of the whip dashed down the road at a hard gallop.
+
+"He's a fine fellow that son of yours," said Mr. Grant, "and will make
+a first-rate fur-trader."
+
+"Pur-trader!" exclaimed Mr. Kennedy. "Just look at him! I'll be shot if
+he isn't thrashing the mare as if she were made of leather." The old
+man's ire was rising rapidly as he heard the whip crack every now and
+then, and saw the mare bound madly over the snow. "And see!" he
+continued, "I declare he _has_ taken the wrong turn after all."
+
+"True," said Mr. Grant: "he'll never reach the stable by that road;
+he's much more likely to visit the White-horse Plains. But come,
+friend, it's of no use fretting, Charley will soon tire of his ride; so
+come with me to my room and have a pipe before dinner."
+
+Old Mr. Kennedy gave a short groan of despair, shook his fist at the
+form of his retreating son, and accompanied his friend to the house.
+
+It must not be supposed that Frank Kennedy was very deeply offended
+with his son, although he did shower on him a considerable amount of
+abuse. On the contrary, he loved him very much. But it was the old
+man's nature to give way to little bursts of passion on almost every
+occasion in which his feelings were at all excited. These bursts,
+however, were like the little puffs that ripple the surface of the sea
+on a calm summer's day. They were over in a second, and left his
+good-humoured, rough, candid countenance in unruffled serenity. Charley
+knew this well, and loved his father tenderly, so that his conscience
+frequently smote him for raising his anger so often; and he over and
+over again promised his sister Kate to do his best to refrain from
+doing anything that was likely to annoy the old man in future. But,
+alas! Charley's resolves, like those of many other boys, were soon
+forgotten, and his father's equanimity was upset generally two or three
+times a day; but after the gust was over, the fur-trader would kiss his
+son, call him a "rascal," and send him off to fill and fetch his pipe.
+
+Mr. Grant, who was in charge of Fort Garry, led the way to his smoking
+apartment, where the two were soon seated in front of a roaring
+log-fire, emulating each other in the manufacture of smoke.
+
+"Well, Kennedy," said Mr. Grant, throwing himself back in his chair,
+elevating his chin, and emitting a long thin stream of white vapour
+from his lips, through which he gazed at his friend
+complacently--"well, Kennedy, to what fortunate chance am I indebted
+for this visit? It is not often that we have the pleasure of seeing you
+here."
+
+Mr. Kennedy created two large volumes of smoke, which, by means of a
+vigorous puff, he sent rolling over towards his friend, and said,
+"Charley."
+
+"And what of Charley?" said Mr. Grant with a smile, for he was well
+aware of the boy's propensity to fun, and of the father's desire to
+curb it.
+
+"The fact is," replied Kennedy, "that Charley must be broke. He's the
+wildest colt I ever had to tame, but I'll do it--I will--that's a fact."
+
+If Charley's subjugation had depended on the rapidity with which the
+little white clouds proceeded from his sire's mouth, there is no doubt
+that it would have been a "fact" in a very short time, for they rushed
+from him with the violence of a high wind. Long habit had made the old
+trader and his pipe not only inseparable companions, but part and
+parcel of each other--so intimately connected that a change in the one
+was sure to produce a sympathetic change in the other. In the present
+instance, the little clouds rapidly increased in size and number as the
+old gentleman thought on the obstinacy of his "colt."
+
+"Yes," he continued, after a moment's silence, "I've made up my mind to
+tame him, and I want _you_, Mr. Grant, to help me."
+
+Mr. Grant looked as if he would rather not undertake to lend his aid in
+a work that was evidently difficult; but being a good-natured man, he
+said, "And how, friend, can I assist in the operation?"
+
+"Well, you see, Charley's a good fellow at bottom, and a clever fellow
+too--at least so says the schoolmaster; though I must confess, that so
+far as my experience goes, he's only clever at finding out excuses for
+not doing what I want him to. But still I'm told he's clever, and can
+use his pen well; and I know for certain that he can use his tongue
+well. So I want to get him into the service, and have him placed in a
+situation where he shall have to stick to his desk all day. In fact, I
+want to have him broken into work; for you've no notion, sir, how that
+boy talks about bears and buffaloes and badgers, and life in the woods
+among the Indians. I do believe," continued the old gentleman, waxing
+warm, "that he would willingly go into the woods to-morrow, if I would
+let him, and never show his nose in the settlement again. He's quite
+incorrigible. But I'll tame him yet--I will!"
+
+Mr. Kennedy followed this up with an indignant grunt, and a puff of
+smoke, so thick, and propelled with such vigour, that it rolled and
+curled in fantastic evolutions towards the ceiling, as if it were
+unable to control itself with delight at the absolute certainty of
+Charley being tamed at last.
+
+Mr. Grant, however, shook his head, and remained for five minutes in
+profound silence, during which time the two friends puffed in concert,
+until they began to grow quite indistinct and ghost-like in the thick
+atmosphere.
+
+At last he broke silence.
+
+"My opinion is that you're wrong, Mr. Kennedy. No doubt you know the
+disposition of your son better than I do; but even judging of it from
+what you have said, I'm quite sure that a sedentary life will ruin him."
+
+"Ruin him! Humbug!" said Kennedy, who never failed to express his
+opinion at the shortest notice and in the plainest language--a fact so
+well known by his friends that they had got into the habit of taking no
+notice of it. "Humbug!" he repeated, "perfect humbug! You don't mean to
+tell me that the way to break him in is to let him run loose and wild
+whenever and wherever he pleases?"
+
+"By no means. But you may rest assured that tying him down won't do it."
+
+"Nonsense!" said Mr. Kennedy testily; "don't tell me. Have I not broken
+in young colts by the score? and don't I know that the way to fix their
+flints is to clap on a good strong curb?"
+
+"If you had travelled farther south, friend," replied Mr. Grant, "you
+would have seen the Spaniards of Mexico break in their wild horses in a
+very different way; for after catching one with a lasso, a fellow gets
+on his back, and gives it the rein and the whip--ay, and the spur too;
+and before that race is over, there is no need for a curb."
+
+"What!" exclaimed Kennedy, "and do you mean to argue from that, that I
+should let Charley run--and _help_ him too? Send him off to the woods
+with gun and blanket, canoe and tent, all complete?" The old gentleman
+puffed a furious puff, and broke into a loud sarcastic laugh.
+
+"No, no," interrupted Mr. Grant; "I don't exactly mean that, but I
+think that you might give him his way for a year or so. He's a fine,
+active, generous fellow; and after the novelty wore off, he would be in
+a much better frame of mind to listen to your proposals. Besides" (and
+Mr. Grant smiled expressively), "Charley is somewhat like his father.
+He has got a will of his own; and if you do not give him his way, I
+very much fear that he'll--"
+
+"What?" inquired Mr. Kennedy abruptly.
+
+"Take it," said Mr. Grant.
+
+The puff that burst from Mr. Kennedy's lips on hearing this would have
+done credit to a thirty-six pounder.
+
+"Take it!" said he; "he'd _better_ not."
+
+The latter part of this speech was not in itself of a nature calculated
+to convey much; but the tone of the old trader's voice, the contraction
+of his eyebrows, and above all the overwhelming flow of cloudlets that
+followed, imparted to it a significance that induced the belief that
+Charley's taking his own way would be productive of more terrific
+consequences than it was in the power of the most highly imaginative
+man to conceive.
+
+"There's his sister Kate, now," continued the old gentleman; "she's as
+gentle and biddable as a lamb. I've only to say a word, and she's off
+like a shot to do my bidding; and she does it with such a sweet smile
+too." There was a touch of pathos in the old trader's voice as he said
+this. He was a man of strong feeling, and as impulsive in his
+tenderness as in his wrath. "But that rascal Charley," he continued,
+"is quite different. He's obstinate as a mule. To be sure, he has a
+good temper; and I must say for him he never goes into the sulks, which
+is a comfort, for of all things in the world sulking is the most
+childish and contemptible. He _generally_ does what I bid him, too. But
+he's _always_ getting into scrapes of one kind or other. And during the
+last week, notwithstanding all I can say to him, he won't admit that
+the best thing for him is to get a place in your counting-room, with
+the prospect of rapid promotion in the service. Very odd. I can't
+understand it at all;" and Mr. Kennedy heaved a deep sigh.
+
+"Did you ever explain to him the prospects that he would have in the
+situation you propose for him?" inquired Mr. Grant.
+
+"Can't say I ever did."
+
+"Did you ever point out the probable end of a life spent in the woods?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Nor suggest to him that the appointment to the office here would only
+be temporary, and to see how he got on in it?"
+
+"Certainly not."
+
+"Then, my dear sir, I'm not surprised that Charley rebels. You have
+left him to suppose that, once placed at the desk here, he is a
+prisoner for life. But see, there he is," said Mr. Grant, pointing as
+he spoke towards the subject of their conversation, who was passing the
+window at the moment; "let me call him, and I feel certain that he will
+listen to reason in a few minutes."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr. Kennedy, "you may try."
+
+In another minute Charley had been summoned, and was seated, cap in
+hand, near the door.
+
+"Charley, my boy," began Mr. Grant, standing with his back to the fire,
+his feet pretty wide apart, and his coat-tails under his
+arms--"Charley, my boy, your father has just been speaking of you. He
+is very anxious that you should enter the service of the Hudson's Bay
+Company; and as you are a clever boy and a good penman, we think that
+you would be likely to get on if placed for a year or so in our office
+here. I need scarcely point out to you, my boy, that in such a position
+you would be sure to obtain more rapid promotion than if you were
+placed in one of the distant outposts, where you would have very little
+to do, and perhaps little to eat, and no one to converse with except
+one or two men. Of course, we would merely place you here on trial, to
+see how you suited us; and if you prove steady and diligent, there is
+no saying how fast you might get on. Why, you might even come to fill
+my place in course of time. Come now, Charley, what think you of it?"
+
+Charley's eyes had been cast on the ground while Mr. Grant was
+speaking. He now raised them, looked at his father, then at his
+interrogator, and said,--
+
+"It is very kind of you both to be so anxious about my prospects. I
+thank you, indeed, very much; but I--a--"
+
+"Don't like the desk?" said his father, in an angry tone. "Is that it,
+eh?"
+
+Charley made no reply, but cast down his eyes again and smiled (Charley
+had a sweet smile, a peculiarly sweet, candid smile), as if he meant to
+say that his father had hit the nail quite on the top of the head that
+time, and no mistake.
+
+"But consider," resumed Mr. Grant, "although you might probably be
+pleased with an outpost life at first, you would be sure to grow weary
+of it after the novelty wore off, and then you would wish with all your
+heart to be back here again. Believe me, child, a trader's life is a
+very hard and not often a very satisfactory one--"
+
+"Ay," broke in the father, desirous, if possible, to help the argument,
+"and you'll find it a desperately wild, unsettled, roving sort of life,
+too, let me tell you! full of dangers both from wild beast and wild
+men--"
+
+"Hush!" interrupted Mr. Grant, observing that the boy's eyes kindled
+when his father spoke of a wild, roving life, and wild beasts.--"Your
+father does not mean that life at an outpost is wild and _interesting_
+or _exciting_. He merely means that--a--it--"
+
+Mr. Grant could not very well explain what it was that Mr. Kennedy
+meant if he did not mean that, so he turned to him for help.
+
+"Exactly so," said that gentleman, taking a strong pull at the pipe for
+inspiration. "It's no ways interesting or exciting at all. It's slow,
+dull, and flat; a miserable sort of Robinson Crusoe life, with red
+Indians and starvation constantly staring you in the face--"
+
+"Besides," said Mr. Grant, again interrupting the somewhat unfortunate
+efforts of his friend, who seemed to have a happy facility in sending a
+brilliant dash of romantic allusion across the dark side of his
+picture--"besides, you'll not have opportunity to amuse yourself, or to
+read, as you'll have no books, and you'll have to work hard with your
+hands oftentimes, like your men--"
+
+"In fact," broke in the impatient father, resolved, apparently, to
+carry the point with a grand _coup_--"in fact, you'll have to rough it,
+as I did, when I went up the Mackenzie River district, where I was sent
+to establish a new post, and had to travel for weeks and weeks through
+a wild country, where none of us had ever been before; where we shot
+our own meat, caught our own fish, and built our own house--and were
+very near being murdered by the Indians; though, to be sure, afterwards
+they became the most civil fellows in the country, and brought us
+plenty of skins. Ay, lad, you'll repent of your obstinacy when you come
+to have to hunt your own dinner, as I've done many a day up the
+Saskatchewan, where I've had to fight with red-skins and grizzly bears
+and to chase the buffaloes over miles and miles of prairie on
+rough-going nags till my bones ached and I scarce knew whether I sat
+on--"
+
+"Oh," exclaimed Charley, starting to his feet, while his eyes flashed
+and his chest heaved with emotion, "that's the place for me,
+father!--Do, please, Mr. Grant send me there, and I'll work for you
+with all my might!"
+
+Frank Kennedy was not a man to stand this unexpected miscarriage of his
+eloquence with equanimity. His first action was to throw his pipe at
+the head of his enthusiastic boy; without worse effect, however, than
+smashing it to atoms on the opposite wall. He then started up and
+rushed towards his son, who, being near the door, retreated
+precipitately and vanished.
+
+"So," said Mr. Grant, not very sure whether to laugh or be angry at the
+result of their united efforts, "you've settled the question now, at
+all events."
+
+Frank Kennedy said nothing, but filled another pipe, sat doggedly down
+in front of the fire, and speedily enveloped himself, and his friend,
+and all that the room contained, in thick, impenetrable clouds of smoke.
+
+Meanwhile his worthy son rushed off in a state of great glee. He had
+often heard the voyageurs of Red River dilate on the delights of
+roughing it in the woods, and his heart had bounded as they spoke of
+dangers encountered and overcome among the rapids of the Far North, or
+with the bears and bison-bulls of the prairie, but never till now had
+he heard his father corroborate their testimony by a recital of his own
+actual experience; and although the old gentleman's intention was
+undoubtedly to damp the boy's spirit, his eloquence had exactly the
+opposite effect--so that it was with a hop and a shout that he burst
+into the counting-room, with the occupants of which Charley was a
+special favourite.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+The Counting-room.
+
+
+Everyone knows the general appearance of a counting-room. There are one
+or two peculiar features about such apartments that are quite
+unmistakable and very characteristic; and the counting-room at Fort
+Garry, although many hundred miles distant from other specimens of its
+race, and, from the peculiar circumstances of its position, not
+therefore likely to bear them much resemblance, possessed one or two
+features of similarity, in the shape of two large desks and several
+very tall stools, besides sundry ink-bottles, rulers, books, and sheets
+of blotting-paper. But there were other implements there, savouring
+strongly of the backwoods and savage life, which merit more particular
+notice.
+
+The room itself was small, and lighted by two little windows, which
+opened into the courtyard. The entire apartment was made of wood. The
+floor was of unpainted fir boards. The walls were of the same material,
+painted blue from the floor upwards to about three feet, where the blue
+was unceremoniously stopped short by a stripe of bright red, above
+which the somewhat fanciful decorator had laid on a coat of pale
+yellow; and the ceiling, by way of variety, was of a deep ochre. As the
+occupants of Red River office were, however, addicted to the use of
+tobacco and tallow candles, the original colour of the ceiling had
+vanished entirely, and that of the walls had considerably changed.
+
+There were three doors in the room (besides the door of entrance), each
+opening into another apartment, where the three clerks were wont to
+court the favour of Morpheus after the labours of the day. No carpets
+graced the floors of any of these rooms, and with the exception of the
+paint aforementioned, no ornament whatever broke the pleasing
+uniformity of the scene. This was compensated, however, to some extent
+by several scarlet sashes, bright-coloured shot-belts, and gay portions
+of winter costume peculiar to the country, which depended from sundry
+nails in the bedroom walls; and as the three doors always stood open,
+these objects, together with one or two fowling-pieces and
+canoe-paddles, formed quite a brilliant and highly suggestive
+background to the otherwise sombre picture. A large open fireplace
+stood in one corner of the room, devoid of a grate, and so constructed
+that large logs of wood might be piled up on end to any extent. And
+really the fires made in this manner, and in this individual fireplace,
+were exquisite beyond description. A wood-fire is a particularly
+cheerful thing. Those who have never seen one can form but a faint idea
+of its splendour; especially on a sharp winter night in the arctic
+regions, where the thermometer falls to forty degrees below zero,
+without inducing the inhabitants to suppose that the world has reached
+its conclusion. The billets are usually piled up on end, so that the
+flames rise and twine round them with a fierce intensity that causes
+them to crack and sputter cheerfully, sending innumerable sparks of
+fire into the room, and throwing out a rich glow of brilliant light
+that warms a man even to look at it, and renders candles quite
+unnecessary.
+
+The clerks who inhabited this counting-room were, like itself,
+peculiar. There were three--corresponding to the bedrooms. The senior
+was a tall, broad-shouldered, muscular man--a Scotchman--very
+good-humoured, yet a man whose under lip met the upper with that
+peculiar degree of precision that indicated the presence of other
+qualities besides that of good-humour. He was book-keeper and
+accountant, and managed the affairs intrusted to his care with the same
+dogged perseverance with which he would have led an expedition of
+discovery to the North Pole. He was thirty or thereabouts.
+
+The second was a small man--also a Scotchman. It is curious to note how
+numerous Scotchmen are in the wilds of North America. This specimen was
+diminutive and sharp. Moreover, he played the flute--an accomplishment
+of which he was so proud that he ordered out from England a flute of
+ebony, so elaborately enriched with silver keys that one's fingers
+ached to behold it. This beautiful instrument, like most other
+instruments of a delicate nature, found the climate too much for its
+constitution, and, soon after the winter began, split from top to
+bottom. Peter Mactavish, however, was a genius by nature, and a
+mechanical genius by tendency; so that, instead of giving way to
+despair, he laboriously bound the flute together with waxed thread,
+which, although it could not restore it to its pristine elegance,
+enabled him to play with great effect sundry doleful airs, whose
+influence, when performed at night, usually sent his companions to
+sleep, or, failing this, drove them to distraction.
+
+The third inhabitant of the office was a ruddy, smooth-chinned youth of
+about fourteen, who had left home seven months before, in the hope of
+gratifying a desire to lead a wild life, which he had entertained ever
+since he read "Jack the Giant Killer," and found himself most
+unexpectedly fastened, during the greater part of each day, to a stool.
+His name was Harry Somerville, and a fine, cheerful little fellow he
+was, full of spirits, and curiously addicted to poking and arranging
+the fire at least every ten minutes--a propensity which tested the
+forbearance of the senior clerk rather severely, and would have
+surprised any one not aware of poor Harry's incurable antipathy to the
+desk, and the yearning desire with which he longed for physical action.
+
+Harry was busily engaged with the refractory fire when Charley, as
+stated at the conclusion of the last chapter, burst into the room.
+
+"Hollo!" he exclaimed, suspending his operations for a moment, "what's
+up?"
+
+"Nothing," said Charley, "but father's temper, that's all. He gave me a
+splendid description of his life in the woods, and then threw his pipe
+at me because I admired it too much."
+
+"Ho!" exclaimed Harry, making a vigorous thrust at the fire, "then
+you've no chance now."
+
+"No chance! what do you mean?"
+
+"Only that we are to have a wolf-hunt in the plains to-morrow; and if
+you've aggravated your father, he'll be taking you home to-night,
+that's all."
+
+"Oh! no fear of that," said Charley, with a look that seemed to imply
+that there was very great fear of "that"--much more, in fact, than he
+was willing to admit even to himself. "My dear old father never keeps
+his anger long. I'm sure that he'll be all right again in half-an-hour."
+
+"Hope so, but doubt it I do," said Harry, making another deadly poke at
+the fire, and returning, with a deep sigh, to his stool.
+
+"Would you like to go with us, Charley?" said the senior clerk, laying
+down his pen and turning round on his chair (the senior clerk never sat
+on a stool) with a benign smile.
+
+"Oh, very, very much indeed," cried Charley; "but even should father
+agree to stay all night at the fort, I have no horse, and I'm sure he
+would not let me have the mare after what I did to-day."
+
+"Do you think he's not open to persuasion?" said the senior clerk.
+
+"No, I'm sure he's not."
+
+"Well, well, it don't much signify; perhaps we can mount you."
+(Charley's face brightened.) "Go," he continued, addressing Harry
+Somerville--"go, tell Tom Whyte I wish to speak to him."
+
+Harry sprang from his stool with a suddenness and vigour that might
+have justified the belief that he had been fixed to it by means of a
+powerful spring, which had been set free with a sharp recoil, and shot
+him out at the door, for he disappeared in a trice. In a few minutes he
+returned, followed by the groom Tom Whyte.
+
+"Tom," said the senior clerk, "do you think we could manage to mount
+Charley to-morrow?"
+
+"Why, sir, I don't think as how we could. There ain't an 'oss in the
+stable except them wot's required and them wot's badly."
+
+"Couldn't he have the brown pony?" suggested the senior clerk.
+
+Tom Whyte was a cockney and an old soldier, and stood so bolt upright
+that it seemed quite a marvel how the words ever managed to climb up
+the steep ascent of his throat, and turn the corner so as to get out at
+his mouth. Perhaps this was the cause of his speaking on all occasions
+with great deliberation and slowness.
+
+"Why, you see, sir," he replied, "the brown pony's got cut under the
+fetlock of the right hind leg; and I 'ad 'im down to L'Esperance the
+smith's, sir, to look at 'im, sir; and he says to me, says he 'That
+don't look well, that 'oss don't,'--and he's a knowing feller, sir, is
+L'Esperance though he _is_ an 'alf-breed--"
+
+"Never mind what he said, Tom," interrupted the senior clerk; "is the
+pony fit for use? that's the question."
+
+"No, sir, 'e hain't."
+
+"And the black mare, can he not have that?"
+
+"No, sir; Mr. Grant is to ride 'er to-morrow."
+
+"That's unfortunate," said the senior clerk.--"I fear, Charley, that
+you'll need to ride behind Harry on his gray pony. It wouldn't improve
+his speed, to be sure, having two on his back; but then he's so like a
+pig in his movements at any rate, I don't think it would spoil his pace
+much."
+
+"Could he not try the new horse?" he continued, turning to the groom.
+
+"The noo 'oss, sir! he might as well try to ride a mad buffalo bull,
+sir. He's quite a young colt, sir, only 'alf broke--kicks like a
+windmill, sir, and's got an 'ead like a steam-engine; 'e couldn't 'old
+'im in no'ow, sir. I 'ad 'im down to the smith 'tother day, sir, an'
+says 'e to me, says 'e, 'That's a screamer, that is.' 'Yes,' says I,
+'that his a fact.' 'Well,' says 'e--"
+
+"Hang the smith!" cried the senior clerk, losing all patience; "can't
+you answer me without so much talk? Is the horse too wild to ride?"
+
+"Yes, sir, 'e is" said the groom, with a look of slightly offended
+dignity, and drawing himself up--if we may use such an expression to
+one who was always drawn up to such an extent that he seemed to be just
+balanced on his heels, and required only a gentle push to lay him flat
+on his back.
+
+"Oh, I have it!" cried Peter Mactavish, who had been standing during
+the conversation with his back to the fire, and a short pipe in his
+mouth: "John Fowler, the miller, has just purchased a new pony. I'm
+told it's an old buffalo-runner, and I'm certain he would lend it to
+Charley at once."
+
+"The very thing," said the senior clerk.--"Run, Tom; give the miller my
+compliments, and beg the loan of his horse for Charley Kennedy.--I
+think he knows you, Charley?"
+
+The dinner-bell rang as the groom departed, and the clerks prepared for
+their mid-day meal.
+
+The Senior clerk's order to _"run"_ was a mere form of speech, intended
+to indicate that haste was desirable. No man imagined for a moment that
+Tom Whyte could, by any possibility, _run_. He hadn't run since he was
+dismissed from the army, twenty years before, for incurable
+drunkenness; and most of Tom's friend's entertained the belief that if
+he ever attempted to run he would crack all over, and go to pieces like
+a disentombed Egyptian mummy. Tom therefore walked off to the row of
+buildings inhabited by the men, where he sat down on a bench in front
+of his bed, and proceeded leisurely to fill his pipe.
+
+The room in which he sat was a fair specimen of the dwellings devoted
+to the _employes_ of the Hudson's Bay Company throughout the country.
+It was large, and low in the roof, built entirely of wood, which was
+unpainted; a matter, however, of no consequence, as, from long exposure
+to dust and tobacco smoke, the floor, walls, and ceiling had become one
+deep, uniform brown. The men's beds were constructed after the fashion
+of berths on board ship, being wooden boxes ranged in tiers round the
+room. Several tables and benches were strewn miscellaneously about the
+floor, in the centre of which stood a large double iron stove, with the
+word _"Carron"_ stamped on it. This served at once for cooking and
+warming the place. Numerous guns, axes, and canoe-paddles hung round
+the walls or were piled in corners, and the rafters sustained a
+miscellaneous mass of materials, the more conspicuous among which were
+snow-shoes, dog-sledges, axe-handles, and nets.
+
+Having filled and lighted his pipe, Tom Whyte thrust his hands into his
+deerskin mittens, and sauntered off to perform his errand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+A wolf-hunt in the prairies--Charley astonishes his father, and breaks
+in the "noo 'oss" effectually.
+
+During the long winter that reigns in the northern regions of America,
+the thermometer ranges, for many months together, from zero down to 20,
+30, and 40 degrees _below_ it. In different parts of the country the
+intensity of the frost varies a little, but not sufficiently to make
+any appreciable change in one's sensation of cold. At York Fort, on the
+shores of Hudson's Bay, where the winter is eight months long, the
+spirit-of-wine (mercury being useless in so cold a climate) sometimes
+falls so low as 50 degrees below zero; and away in the regions of Great
+Bear Lake it has been known to fall considerably lower than 60 degrees
+below zero of Fahrenheit. Cold of such intensity, of course, produces
+many curious and interesting effects, which, although scarcely noticed
+by the inhabitants, make a strong impression upon the minds of those
+who visit the country for the first time. A youth goes out to walk on
+one of the first sharp, frosty mornings. His locks are brown and his
+face ruddy. In half-an-hour he returns with his face blue, his nose
+frost-bitten, and his locks _white_--the latter effect being produced
+by his breath congealing on his hair and breast, until both are covered
+with hoar-frost. Perhaps he is of a sceptical nature, prejudiced it may
+be, in favour of old habits and customs; so that, although told by
+those who ought to know that it is absolutely necessary to wear
+moccasins in winter, he prefers the leather boots to which he has been
+accustomed at home, and goes out with them accordingly In a few minutes
+the feet begin to lose sensation. First the toes, as far as feeling
+goes, vanish; then the heels depart, and he feels the extraordinary and
+peculiar and altogether disagreeable sensation of one who has had his
+heels and toes amputated, and is walking about on his insteps. Soon,
+however, these also fade away, and the unhappy youth rushes frantically
+home on the stumps of his ankle-bones--at least so it appears to him,
+and so in reality it would turn out to be if he did not speedily rub
+the benumbed appendages into vitality again.
+
+The whole country during this season is buried in snow, and the
+prairies of Red River present the appearance of a sea of the purest
+white for five or six months of the year. Impelled by hunger, troops of
+prairie wolves prowl round the settlement, safe from the assault of man
+in consequence of their light weight permitting them to scamper away on
+the surface of the snow, into which man or horse, from their greater
+weight, would sink, so as to render pursuit either fearfully laborious
+or altogether impossible. In spring, however, when the first thaws
+begin to take place, and commence that delightful process of disruption
+which introduces this charming season of the year, the relative
+position of wolf and man is reversed. The snow becomes suddenly soft,
+so that the short legs of the wolf, sinking deep into it, fail to reach
+the solid ground below, and he is obliged to drag heavily along; while
+the long legs of the horse enable him to plunge through and dash aside
+the snow at a rate which, although not very fleet, is sufficient
+nevertheless to overtake the chase and give his rider a chance of
+shooting it. The inhabitants of Red River are not much addicted to this
+sport, but the gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Service sometimes practise
+it; and it was to a hunt of this description that our young friend
+Charley Kennedy was now so anxious to go.
+
+The morning was propitious. The sun blazed in dazzling splendour in a
+sky of deep unclouded blue, while the white prairie glittered as if it
+were a sea of diamonds rolling out in an unbroken sheet from the walls
+of the fort to the horizon, and on looking at which one experienced all
+the pleasurable feelings of being out on a calm day on the wide, wide
+sea, without the disagreeable consequence of being very, very sick.
+
+The thermometer stood at 39 deg. in the shade, and  "everythin_k_" as Tom
+Whyte emphatically expressed it, "looked like a runnin' of right away
+into slush." That unusual sound, the trickling of water, so
+inexpressibly grateful to the ears of those who dwell in frosty climes,
+was heard all around, as the heavy masses of snow on the housetops sent
+a few adventurous drops gliding down the icicles which depended from
+the eaves and gables; and there was a balmy softness in the air that
+told of coming spring. Nature, in fact, seemed to have wakened from her
+long nap, and was beginning to think of getting up. Like people,
+however, who venture to delay so long as to _think_ about it, Nature
+frequently turns round and goes to sleep again in her icy cradle for a
+few weeks after the first awakening.
+
+The scene in the court-yard of Fort Garry harmonised with the cheerful
+spirit of the morning. Tom Whyte, with that upright solemnity which
+constituted one of his characteristic features, was standing in the
+centre of a group of horses, whose energy he endeavoured to restrain
+with the help of a small Indian boy, to whom meanwhile he imparted a
+variety of useful and otherwise unattainable information.
+
+"You see, Joseph," said he to the urchin, who gazed gravely in his face
+with a pair of very large and dark eyes, "ponies is often skittish.
+Reason why one should be, an' another not, I can't comprehend. P'r'aps
+it's nat'ral, p'r'aps not, but howsomediver so 'tis; an' if it's more
+nor above the likes o' _me_, Joseph, you needn't be suprised that it's
+somethink haltogether beyond _you_."
+
+It will not surprise the reader to be told that Joseph made no reply to
+this speech, having a very imperfect acquaintance with the English
+language, especially the peculiar dialect of that tongue in which Tom
+Whyte was wont to express his ideas, when he had any.
+
+He merely gave a grunt, and continued to gaze at Tom's fishy eyes,
+which were about as interesting as the face to which they belonged, and
+_that_ might have been mistaken for almost anything.
+
+"Yes, Joseph," he continued, "that's a fact. There's the noo brown o'ss
+now, _it's_ a skittish 'un. And there's Mr. Kennedy's gray mare, wot's
+a standin' of beside me, she ain't skittish a bit, though she's plenty
+of spirit, and wouldn't care hanythink for a five-barred gate. Now, wot
+I want to know is, wot's the reason why?"
+
+We fear that the reason why, however interesting it might prove to
+naturalists, must remain a profound secret for ever; for just as the
+groom was about to entertain Joseph with one of his theories on the
+point, Charley Kennedy and Harry Somerville hastily approached.
+
+"Ho, Tom!" exclaimed the former, "have you got the miller's pony for
+me?"
+
+"Why, no, sir; 'e 'adn't got his shoes on, sir, last night--"
+
+"Oh, bother his shoes!" said Charley, in a voice of great
+disappointment. "Why didn't you bring him up without shoes, man, eh?"
+
+"Well, sir, the miller said 'e'd get 'em put on early this mornin', an'
+I 'xpect 'e'll be 'ere in 'alf-a-hour at farthest, sir."
+
+"Oh, very well," replied Charley, much relieved, but still a little
+nettled at the bare possibility of being late.--"Come along, Harry;
+let's go and meet him. He'll be long enough of coming if we don't go to
+poke him up a bit."
+
+"You'd better wait," called out the groom, as the boys hastened away.
+"If you go by the river, he'll p'r'aps come by the plains; and if you
+go by the plains, he'll p'r'aps come by the river."
+
+Charley and Harry stopped and looked at each other. Then they looked at
+the groom, and as their eyes surveyed his solemn, cadaverous
+countenance, which seemed a sort of bad caricature of the long visages
+of the horses that stood around him, they burst into a simultaneous and
+prolonged laugh.
+
+"He's a clever old lamp-post," said Harry at last: "we had better
+remain, Charley."
+
+"You see," continued Tom Whyte, "the pony's 'oofs is in an 'orrible
+state. Last night w'en I see'd 'im I said to the miller, says I, 'John,
+I'll take 'im down to the smith d'rectly.' 'Very good,' said John. So I
+'ad him down to the smith--"
+
+The remainder of Tom's speech was cut short by one of those unforeseen
+operations of the laws of nature which are peculiar to arctic climates.
+During the long winter repeated falls of snow cover the housetops with
+white mantles upwards of a foot thick, which become gradually thicker
+and more consolidated as winter advances. In spring the suddenness of
+the thaw loosens these from the sloping roofs, and precipitates them in
+masses to the ground. These miniature avalanches are dangerous, people
+having been seriously injured and sometimes killed by them. Now it
+happened that a very large mass of snow, which lay on and partly
+depended from the roof of the house near to which the horses were
+standing, gave way, and just at that critical point in Tom Whyte's
+speech when he "'ad 'im down to the smith," fell with a stunning crash
+on the back of Mr. Kennedy's gray mare. The mare was not "skittish"--by
+no means--according to Tom's idea, but it would have been more than an
+ordinary mare to have stood the sudden descent of half-a-ton of snow
+without _some_ symptoms of consciousness. No sooner did it feel the
+blow than it sent both heels with a bang against the wooden store, by
+way of preliminary movement, and then rearing up with a wild snort, it
+sprang over Tom Whyte's head, jerked the reins from his hand, and upset
+him in the snow. Poor Tom never _bent_ to anything. The military
+despotism under which he had been reared having substituted a touch of
+the cap for a bow, rendered it unnecessary to bend; prolonged drill,
+laziness, and rheumatism made it at last impossible. When he stood up,
+he did so after the manner of a pillar; when he sat down, he broke
+across at two points, much in the way in which a foot-rule would have
+done had _it_ felt disposed to sit down; and when he fell, he came down
+like an overturned lamp-post. On the present occasion Tom became
+horizontal in a moment, and from his unfortunate propensity to fall
+straight, his head, reaching much farther than might have been
+expected, came into violent contact with the small Indian boy, who fell
+flat likewise, letting go the reins of the horses, which latter no
+sooner felt themselves free than they fled, curvetting and snorting
+round the court, with reins and manes flying in rare confusion.
+
+The two boys, who could scarce stand for laughing, ran to the gates of
+the fort to prevent the chargers getting free, and in a short time they
+were again secured, although evidently much elated in spirit.
+
+A few minutes after this Mr. Grant issued from the principal house
+leaning on Mr. Kennedy's arm, and followed by the senior clerk, Peter
+Mactavish, and one or two friends who had come to take part in the
+wolf-hunt. They were all armed with double or single barrelled guns or
+pistols, according to their several fancies. The two elderly gentlemen
+alone entered upon the scene without any more deadly weapons than their
+heavy riding-whips. Young Harry Somerville, who had been strongly
+advised not to take a gun lest he should shoot himself or his horse or
+his companions, was content to take the field with a small
+pocket-pistol, which he crammed to the muzzle with a compound of ball
+and swan-shot.
+
+"It won't do," said Mr. Grant, in an earnest voice, to his friend, as
+they walked towards the horses--"it won't do to check him too abruptly,
+my dear sir."
+
+It was evident that they were recurring to the subject of conversation
+of the previous day, and it was also evident that the father's wrath
+was in that very uncertain state when a word or look can throw it into
+violent agitation.
+
+"Just permit me," continued Mr. Grant, "to get him sent to the
+Saskatchewan or Athabasca for a couple of years. By that time he'll
+have had enough of a rough life, and be only too glad to get a berth at
+headquarters. If you thwart him now, I feel convinced that he'll break
+through all restraint."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr. Kennedy, with a frown--"Come here, Charley," he
+said, as the boy approached with a disappointed look to tell of his
+failure in getting a horse; "I've been talking with Mr. Grant again
+about this business, and he says he can easily get you into the
+counting-room here for a year, so you'll make arrangements--"
+
+The old gentleman paused. He was going to have followed his wonted
+course by _commanding_ instantaneous obedience; but as his eye fell
+upon the honest, open, though disappointed face of his son, a gush of
+tenderness filled his heart. Laying his hand upon Charley's head, he
+said, in a kind but abrupt tone, "There now, Charley, my boy, make up
+your mind to give in with a good grace. It'll only be hard work for a
+year or two, and then plain sailing after that, Charley!"
+
+Charley's clear blue eyes filled with tears as the accents of kindness
+fell upon his ear.
+
+It is strange that men should frequently be so blind to the potent
+influence of kindness. Independently of the Divine authority, which
+assures us that "a soft answer turneth away wrath," and that "_love_ is
+the fulfilling of the law," who has not, in the course of his
+experience, felt the overwhelming power of a truly affectionate word;
+not a word which possesses merely an affectionate signification, but a
+word spoken with a gush of tenderness, where love rolls in the tone,
+and beams in the eye, and revels in every wrinkle of the face? And how
+much more powerfully does such a word or look or tone strike home to
+the heart if uttered by one whose lips are not much accustomed to the
+formation of honeyed words or sweet sentences! Had Mr. Kennedy, senior,
+known more of this power, and put it more frequently to the proof, we
+venture to affirm that Mr. Kennedy, junior, would have _allowed_ his
+_"flint to be fixed"_ (as his father pithily expressed it) long ago.
+
+Ere Charley could reply to the question, Mr. Grant's voice, pitched in
+an elevated key, interrupted them.
+
+"Eh! what?" said that gentleman to Tom Whyte. "No horse for Charley!
+How's that?"
+
+"No, sir," said Tom.
+
+"Where's the brown pony?" said Mr. Grant, abruptly.
+
+"Cut 'is fetlock, sir," said Tom, slowly.
+
+"And the new horse?"
+
+"'Tan't 'alf broke yet, sir."
+
+"Ah! that's bad.--It wouldn't do to take an unbroken charger, Charley;
+for although you are a pretty good rider, you couldn't manage him, I
+fear. Let me see."
+
+"Please, sir," said the groom, touching his hat, "I've borrowed the
+miller's pony for 'im, and 'e's sure to be 'ere in 'alf-a-hour at
+farthest."
+
+"Oh, that'll do," said Mr. Grant; "you can soon overtake us. We shall
+ride slowly out, straight into the prairie, and Harry will remain
+behind to keep you company."
+
+So saying, Mr. Grant mounted his horse and rode out at the back gate,
+followed by the whole cavalcade.
+
+"Now this is too bad!" said Charley, looking with a very perplexed air
+at his companion. "What's to be done?"
+
+Harry evidently did not know what was to be done, and made no
+difficulty of saying so in a very sympathising tone. Moreover, he
+begged Charley very earnestly to take _his_ pony, but this the other
+would not hear of; so they came to the conclusion that there was
+nothing for it but to wait as patiently as possible for the arrival of
+the expected horse. In the meantime Harry proposed a saunter in the
+field adjoining the fort. Charley assented, and the two friends walked
+away, leading the gray pony along with them.
+
+To the right of Fort Garry was a small enclosure, at the extreme end of
+which commences a growth of willows and underwood, which gradually
+increases in size till it becomes a pretty thick belt of woodland,
+skirting up the river for many miles. Here stood the stable belonging
+to the establishment; and as the boys passed it, Charley suddenly
+conceived a strong desire to see the renowned "noo 'oss," which Tom
+Whyte had said was only "'alf broke;" so he turned the key, opened the
+door, and went in.
+
+There was nothing _very_ peculiar about this horse, excepting that his
+legs seemed rather long for his body, and upon a closer examination,
+there was a noticeable breadth of nostril and a latent fire in his eye,
+indicating a good deal of spirit, which, like Charley's own, required
+taming.
+
+"Oh" said Charley, "what a splendid fellow! I say, Harry, I'll go out
+with _him."_
+
+"You'd better not."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Why? just because if you do Mr. Grant will be down upon you, and your
+father won't be very well pleased."
+
+"Nonsense," cried Charley. "Father didn't say I wasn't to take him. I
+don't think he'd care much. He's not afraid of my breaking my neck. And
+then, Mr. Grant seemed to be only afraid of my being run off with--not
+of his horse being hurt. Here goes for it!" In another moment Charley
+had him saddled and bridled, and led him out into the yard.
+
+"Why, I declare, he's quite quiet; just like a lamb," said Harry, in
+surprise.
+
+"So he is," replied Charley. "He's a capital charger; and even if he
+does bolt, he can't run five hundred miles at a stretch. If I turn his
+head to the prairies, the Rocky Mountains are the first things that
+will bring him up. So let him run if he likes, I don't care a fig." And
+springing lightly into the saddle, he cantered out of the yard,
+followed by his friend.
+
+The young horse was a well-formed, showy animal, with a good deal of
+bone--perhaps too much for elegance. He was of a beautiful dark brown,
+and carried a high head and tail, with a high-stepping gait, that gave
+him a noble appearance. As Charley cantered along at a steady pace, he
+could discover no symptoms of the refractory spirit which had been
+ascribed to him.
+
+"Let us strike out straight for the horizon now," said Harry, after
+they had galloped half-a-mile or so along the beaten track. "See, here
+are the tracks of our friends." Turning sharp round as he spoke, he
+leaped his pony over the heap that lined the road, and galloped away
+through the soft snow.
+
+At this point the young horse began to show his evil spirit. Instead of
+following the other, he suddenly halted and began to back.
+
+"Hollo, Harry!" exclaimed Charley; "hold on a bit. Here's this monster
+begun his tricks."
+
+"Hit him a crack with the whip," shouted Harry.
+
+Charley acted upon the advice, which had the effect of making the horse
+shake his head with a sharp snort, and back more vigorously than ever.
+
+"There, my fine fellow, quiet now," said Charley, in a soothing tone,
+patting the horse's neck. "It's a comfort to know you can't go far in
+_that_ direction, anyhow!" he added, as he glanced over his shoulder,
+and saw an immense drift behind.
+
+He was right. In a few minutes the horse backed into the snow-drift.
+Finding his hind-quarters imprisoned by a power that was too much even
+for _his_ obstinacy to overcome, he gave another snort and a heavy
+plunge, which almost unseated his young rider.
+
+"Hold on fast," cried Harry, who had now come up.
+
+"No fear," cried Charley, as he clinched his teeth and gathered the
+reins more firmly.--"Now for it, you young villain!" and raising his
+whip, he brought it down with a heavy slash on the horse's flank.
+
+Had the snow-drift been a cannon, and the horse a bombshell, he could
+scarcely have sprung from it with greater velocity. One bound landed
+him on the road; another cleared it; and, in a second more, he
+stretched out at full speed--his ears flat on his neck, mane and tail
+flying in the wind, and the bit tight between his teeth.
+
+"Well done," cried Harry, as he passed. "You're off now, old fellow;
+good-bye."
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Charley, in reply, leaving his cap in the snow as a
+parting souvenir; while, seeing that it was useless to endeavour to
+check his steed, he became quite wild with excitement; gave him the
+rein; flourished his whip; and flew over the white plains, casting up
+the snow in clouds behind him like a hurricane.
+
+While this little escapade was being enacted by the boys, the hunters
+were riding leisurely out upon the snowy sea in search of a wolf.
+
+Words cannot convey to you, dear reader, an adequate conception of the
+peculiar fascination, the exhilarating splendour of the scene by which
+our hunters were surrounded. Its beauty lay not in variety of feature
+in the landscape, for there was none. One vast sheet of white alone met
+the view, bounded all round by the blue circle of the sky, and broken,
+in one or two places, by a patch or two of willows, which, rising on
+the plain, appeared like little islands in a frozen sea. It was the
+glittering sparkle of the snow in the bright sunshine; the dreamy
+haziness of the atmosphere, mingling earth and sky as in a halo of
+gold; the first taste, the first _smell_ of spring after a long winter,
+bursting suddenly upon the senses, like the unexpected visit of a
+long-absent, much-loved, and almost-forgotten friend; the soft, warm
+feeling of the south wind, bearing on its wings the balmy influences of
+sunny climes, and recalling vividly the scenes, the pleasures, the
+bustling occupations of summer. It was this that caused the hunters'
+hearts to leap within them as they rode along--that induced old Mr.
+Kennedy to forget his years, and shout as he had been wont to do in
+days gone by, when he used to follow the track of the elk or hunt the
+wild buffalo; and it was this that made the otherwise monotonous
+prairies, on this particular clay, so charming.
+
+The party had wandered about without discovering anything that bore the
+smallest resemblance to a wolf, for upwards of an hour; Fort Garry had
+fallen astern (to use a nautical phrase) until it had become a mere
+speck on the horizon, and vanished altogether; Peter Mactavish had
+twice given a false alarm, in the eagerness of his spirit, and had
+three times plunged his horse up to the girths in a snow-drift; the
+senior clerk was waxing impatient, and the horses restive, when a
+sudden "Hollo!" from Mr. Grant brought the whole cavalcade to a stand.
+
+The object which drew his attention, and to which he directed the
+anxious eyes of his friends was a small speck, rather triangular in
+form, which overtopped a little willow bush not more than five or six
+hundred yards distant.
+
+"There he is!" exclaimed Mr. Grant. "That's a fact," cried Mr. Kennedy;
+and both gentlemen, instantaneously giving a shout, bounded towards the
+object; not, however, before the senior clerk, who was mounted on a
+fleet and strong horse, had taken the lead by six yards. A moment
+afterwards the speck rose up and discovered itself to be a veritable
+wolf. Moreover, he condescended to show his teeth, and then, conceiving
+it probable that his enemies were too numerous for him, he turned
+suddenly round and fled away. For ten minutes or so the chase was kept
+up at full speed, and as the snow happened to be shallow at the
+starting-point, the wolf kept well ahead of its pursuers--indeed,
+distanced them a little. But soon the snow became deeper, and the wolf
+plunged heavily, and the horses gained considerably. Although to the
+eye the prairies seemed to be a uniform level, there were numerous
+slight undulations, in which drifts of some depth had collected. Into
+one of these the wolf now plunged and laboured slowly through it. But
+so deep was the snow that the horses almost stuck fast. A few minutes,
+however, brought them out, and Mr. Grant and Mr. Kennedy, who had kept
+close to each other during the run, pulled up for a moment on the
+summit of a ridge to breathe their panting steeds.
+
+"What can that be?" exclaimed the former, pointing with his whip to a
+distant object which was moving rapidly over the plain.
+
+"Eh! what--where?" said Mr. Kennedy, shading his eyes with his hand,
+and peering in the direction indicated. "Why, that's another wolf,
+isn't it? No; it runs too fast for that."
+
+"Strange," said his friend; "what _can_ it be?"
+
+"If I hadn't seen every beast in the country," remarked Mr. Kennedy,
+"and didn't know that there are no such animals north of the equator, I
+should say it was a mad dromedary mounted by a ring-tailed roarer."
+
+"It can't be surely--not possible!" exclaimed Mr. Grant. "It's not
+Charley on the new horse!"
+
+Mr. Grant said this with an air of vexation that annoyed his friend a
+little. He would not have much minded Charley's taking a horse without
+leave, no matter how wild it might be; but he did not at all relish the
+idea of making an apology for his son's misconduct, and for the moment
+did not exactly know what to say. As usual in such a dilemma, the old
+man took refuge in a towering passion, gave his steed a sharp cut with
+the whip, and galloped forward to meet the delinquent.
+
+We are not acquainted with the general appearance of a "ring-tailed
+roarer;" in fact, we have grave doubts as to whether such an animal
+exists at all; but if it does, and is particularly wild, dishevelled,
+and fierce in deportment, there is no doubt whatever that when Mr.
+Kennedy applied the name to his hopeful son, the application was
+singularly powerful and appropriate.
+
+Charley had had a long run since we last saw him. After describing a
+wide curve, in which his charger displayed a surprising aptitude for
+picking out the ground that was least covered with snow, he headed
+straight for the fort again at the same pace at which he had started.
+At first Charley tried every possible method to check him, but in vain;
+so he gave it up, resolving to enjoy the race, since he could not
+prevent it. The young horse seemed to be made of lightning, with bones
+and muscles of brass; for he bounded untiringly forward for miles,
+tossing his head and snorting in his wild career. But Charley was a
+good horseman, and did not mind _that_ much, being quite satisfied that
+the horse _was_ a horse and not a spirit, and that therefore he could
+not run for ever. At last he approached the party, in search of which
+he had originally set out. His eyes dilated and his colour heightened
+as he beheld the wolf running directly towards him. Fumbling hastily
+for the pistol which he had borrowed from his friend Harry, he drew it
+from his pocket, and prepared to give the animal a shot in passing.
+Just at that moment the wolf caught sight of this new enemy in advance,
+and diverged suddenly to the left, plunging into a drift in his
+confusion, and so enabling the senior clerk to overtake him, and send
+an ounce of heavy shot into his side, which turned him over quite dead.
+The shot, however had a double effect. At that instant Charley swept
+past; and his mettlesome steed swerved as it heard the loud report of
+the gun, thereby almost unhorsing his rider, and causing him
+unintentionally to discharge the conglomerate of bullets and swan-shot
+into the flank of Peter Mactavish's horse--fortunately at a distance
+which rendered the shot equivalent to a dozen very sharp and
+particularly stinging blows. On receiving this unexpected salute, the
+astonished charger reared convulsively, and fell back upon his rider,
+who was thereby buried deep in the snow, not a vestige of him being
+left, no more than if he had never existed at all. Indeed, for a moment
+it seemed to be doubtful whether poor Peter _did_ exist or not, until a
+sudden upheaving of the snow took place, and his dishevelled head
+appeared, with the eyes and mouth wide open, bearing on them an
+expression of mingled horror and amazement. Meanwhile the second shot
+acted like a spur on the young horse, which flew past Mr. Kennedy like
+a whirlwind.
+
+"Stop, you young scoundrel!" he shouted, shaking his fist at Charley as
+he passed.
+
+Charley was past stopping, either by inclination or ability. This
+sudden and unexpected accumulation of disasters was too much for him.
+As he passed his sire, with his brown curls streaming straight out
+behind, and his eyes flashing with excitement, his teeth clinched, and
+his horse tearing along more like an incarnate fiend than an animal, a
+spirit of combined recklessness, consternation, indignation, and glee
+took possession of him. He waved his whip wildly over his head, brought
+it down with a stinging cut on the horse's neck, and uttered a shout of
+defiance that threw completely into the shade the loudest war-whoop
+that was ever uttered by the brazen lungs of the wildest savage between
+Hudson's Bay and Oregon. Seeing and hearing this, old Mr. Kennedy
+wheeled about and dashed off in pursuit with much greater energy than
+he had displayed in chase of the wolf.
+
+The race bid fair to be a long one, for the young horse was strong in
+wind and limb; and the gray mare, though decidedly not "the better
+horse," was much fresher than the other.
+
+The hunters, who were now joined by Harry Somerville, did not feel it
+incumbent on them to follow this new chase; so they contented
+themselves with watching their flight towards the fort, while they
+followed at a more leisurely pace.
+
+Meanwhile Charley rapidly neared Fort Garry, and now began to wonder
+whether the stable door was open, and if so, whether it were better for
+him to take his chance of getting his neck broken, or to throw himself
+into the next snow-drift that presented itself.
+
+He had not to remain long in suspense. The wooden fence that enclosed
+the stable-yard lay before him. It was between four and five feet high,
+with a beaten track running along the outside, and a deep snow-drift on
+the other. Charley felt that the young horse had made up his mind to
+leap this. As he did not at the moment see that there was anything
+better to be done, he prepared for it. As the horse bent on his
+haunches to spring, he gave him a smart cut with the whip, went over
+like a rocket, and plunged up to the neck in the snow-drift; which
+brought his career to an abrupt conclusion. The sudden stoppage of the
+horse was _one_ thing, but the arresting of Master Charley was
+_another_ and quite a different thing. The instant his charger landed,
+he left the saddle like a harlequin, described an extensive curve in
+the air, and fell head foremost into the drift, above which his boots
+and three inches of his legs alone remained to tell the tale.
+
+On witnessing this climax, Mr. Kennedy, senior, pulled up, dismounted,
+and ran--with an expression of some anxiety on his countenance--to the
+help of his son, while Tom Whyte came out of the stable just in time to
+receive the "noo 'oss" as he floundered out of the snow.
+
+"I believe," said the groom, as he surveyed the trembling charger,
+"that your son has broke the noo 'oss, sir, better nor I could 'ave
+done myself."
+
+"I believe that my son has broken his neck," said Mr. Kennedy
+wrathfully. "Come here and help me to dig him out."
+
+In a few minutes Charley was dug out, in a state of insensibility, and
+carried up to the fort, where he was laid on a bed, and restoratives
+actively applied for his recovery.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Peter Mactavish becomes an amateur doctor; Charley promulgates his
+views of tilings in general to Kate; and Kate waxes sagacious.
+
+
+Shortly after the catastrophe just related, Charley opened his eyes to
+consciousness, and aroused himself out of a prolonged fainting fit,
+under the combined influence of a strong constitution and the medical
+treatment of his friends.
+
+Medical treatment in the wilds of North America, by the way, is very
+original in its character, and is founded on principles so vague that
+no one has ever been found capable of stating them clearly. Owing to
+the stubborn fact that there are no doctors in the country, men have
+been thrown upon their own resources, and as a natural consequence
+_every_ man is a doctor. True, there _are_ two, it may be three, real
+doctors in the Hudson's Bay Company's employment; but as one of these
+is resident on the shores of Hudson's Bay, another in Oregon, and a
+third in Red River Settlement, they are not considered available for
+every case of emergency that may chance to occur in the hundreds of
+little outposts, scattered far and wide over the whole continent of
+North America, with miles and miles of primeval wilderness between
+each. We do not think, therefore, that when we say there are _no_
+doctors in the country, we use a culpable amount of exaggeration.
+
+If a man gets ill, he goes on till he gets better; and if he doesn't
+get better, he dies. To avert such an undesirable consummation,
+desperate and random efforts are made in an amateur way. The old
+proverb that "extremes meet" is verified. And in a land where no
+doctors are to be had for love or money, doctors meet you at every
+turn, ready to practise on everything, with anything, and all for
+nothing, on the shortest possible notice. As maybe supposed, the
+practice is novel, and not unfrequently extremely wild. Tooth-drawing
+is considered child's play--mere blacksmith's work; bleeding is a
+general remedy for everything, when all else fails; castor-oil, Epsom
+salts, and emetics are the three keynotes, the foundations, and the
+copestones of the system.
+
+In Red River there is only one _genuine_ doctor; and as the settlement
+is fully sixty miles long, he has enough to do, and cannot always be
+found when wanted, so that Charley had to rest content with amateur
+treatment in the meantime. Peter Mactavish was the first to try his
+powers. He was aware that laudanum had the effect of producing sleep,
+and seeing that Charley looked somewhat sleepy after recovering
+consciousness, he thought it advisable to help out that propensity to
+slumber, and went to the medicine-chest, whence he extracted a small
+phial of tincture of rhubarb, the half of which he emptied into a
+wine-glass, under the impression that it was laudanum, and poured down
+Charley's throat! The poor boy swallowed a little, and sputtered the
+remainder over the bedclothes. It may be remarked here that Mactavish
+was a wild, happy, half-mad sort of fellow--wonderfully erudite in
+regard to some things, and profoundly ignorant in regard to others.
+Medicine, it need scarcely be added, was not his _forte_. Having
+accomplished this feat to his satisfaction, he sat down to watch by the
+bedside of his friend. Peter had taken this opportunity to indulge in a
+little private practice just after several of the other gentlemen had
+left the office, under the impression that Charley had better remain
+quiet for a short time.
+
+"Well, Peter," whispered Mr. Kennedy, senior, putting his head in at
+the door (it was Harry's room in which Charley lay), "how is he now?"
+
+"Oh! doing capitally," replied Peter, in a hoarse whisper, at the same
+time rising and entering the office, while he gently closed the door
+behind him. "I gave him a small dose of physic, which I think has done
+mm good. He's sleeping like a top now."
+
+Mr. Kennedy frowned slightly, and made one or two remarks in reference
+to physic which were not calculated to gratify the ears of a physician.
+
+"What did you give him?" he inquired abruptly.
+
+"Only a little laudanum."
+
+"_Only,_ indeed! it's all trash together, and that's the worst kind of
+trash you could have given him. Humph!" and the old gentleman jerked
+his shoulders testily.
+
+"How much did yon give him?" said the senior clerk, who had entered the
+apartment with Harry a few minutes before.
+
+"Not quite a wineglassful," replied Peter, somewhat subdued.
+
+"A what!" cried the father, starting from his chair as if he had
+received an electric shock, and rushing into the adjoining room, up and
+down which he raved in a state of distraction, being utterly ignorant
+of what should be done under the circumstances.
+
+Poor Harry Somerville fell rather than leaped off his stool, and dashed
+into the bedroom, where old Mr. Kennedy was occupied in alternately
+heaping unutterable abuse on the head of Peter Mactavish, and imploring
+him to advise what was best to be done. But Peter knew not. He could
+only make one or two insane proposals to roll Charley about the floor,
+and see if _that_ would do him any good; while Harry suggested in
+desperation that he should be hung by the heels, and perhaps it would
+run out!
+
+Meanwhile the senior clerk seized his hat, with the intention of going
+in search of Tom Whyte, and rushed out at the door; which he had no
+sooner done than he found himself tightly embraced in the arms of that
+worthy, who happened to be entering at the moment, and who, in
+consequence of the sudden onset, was pinned up against the wall of the
+porch.
+
+"Oh, my buzzum!" exclaimed Tom, laying his hand on his breast; "you've
+a'most bu'st me, sir. W'at's wrong, sir?"
+
+"Go for the doctor, Tom, quick! run like the wind. Take the freshest
+horse; fly, Tom, Charley's poisoned--laudanum; quick!"
+
+"'Eavens an' 'arth!" ejaculated the groom, wheeling round, and stalking
+rapidly off to the stable like a pair of insane compasses, while the
+senior clerk returned to the bedroom, where he found Mr. Kennedy still
+raving, Peter Mactavish still aghast and deadly pale, and Harry
+Somerville staring like a maniac at his young friend, as if he expected
+every moment to see him explode, although, to all appearance, he was
+sleeping soundly, and comfortably too, notwithstanding the noise that
+was going on around him. Suddenly Harry's eye rested on the label of
+the half-empty phial, and he uttered a loud, prolonged cheer.
+
+"It's only tincture of--"
+
+"Wild cats and furies!" cried Mr. Kennedy, turning sharply round and
+seizing Harry by the collar, "why d'you kick up such a row, eh?"
+
+"It's only tincture of rhubarb," repeated the boy, disengaging himself
+and holding up the phial triumphantly.
+
+"So it is, I declare," exclaimed Mr. Kennedy, in a tone that indicated
+intense relief of mind; while Peter Mactavish uttered a sigh so deep
+that one might suppose a burden of innumerable tons weight had just
+been removed from his breast.
+
+Charley had been roused from his slumbers by this last ebullition; but
+on being told what had caused it, he turned languidly round on his
+pillow and went to sleep again, while his friends departed and left him
+to repose.
+
+Tom Whyte failed to find the doctor. The servant told him that her
+master had been suddenly called to set a broken leg that morning for a
+trapper who lived ten miles _down_ the river, and on his return had
+found a man waiting with a horse and cariole, who carried him violently
+away to see his wife, who had been taken suddenly ill at a house twenty
+miles _up_ the river, and so she didn't expect him back that night.
+
+"An' where has 'e been took to?" inquired Tom.
+
+She couldn't tell; she knew it was somewhere about the White-horse
+Plains, but she didn't know more than that.
+
+"Did 'e not say w'en 'e'd be home?"
+
+"No, he didn't."
+
+"Oh dear!" said Tom, rubbing his long nose in great perplexity. "It's
+an 'orrible case o' sudden and onexpected pison."
+
+She was sorry for it, but couldn't help that; and thereupon, bidding
+him good-morning, shut the door.
+
+Tom's wits had come to that condition which just precedes "giving it
+up" as hopeless, when it occurred to him that he was not far from old
+Mr. Kennedy's residence; so he stepped into the cariole again and drove
+thither. On his arrival he threw poor Mrs. Kennedy and Kate into great
+consternation by his exceedingly graphic, and more than slightly
+exaggerated, account of what had brought him in search of the doctor.
+At first Mrs. Kennedy resolved to go up to Fort Garry immediately, but
+Kate persuaded her to remain at home, by pointing out that she could
+herself go, and if anything very serious had occurred (which she didn't
+believe), Mr. Kennedy could come down for her immediately, while she
+(Kate) could remain to nurse her brother.
+
+In a few minutes Kate and Tom were seated side by side in the little
+cariole, driving swiftly up the frozen river; and two hours later the
+former was seated by her brother's bedside, watching him as he slept
+with a look of tender affection and solicitude.
+
+Rousing himself from his slumbers, Charley looked vacantly round the
+room.
+
+"Have you slept well, darling?" inquired Kate, laying her hand lightly
+on his forehead.
+
+"Slept--eh! oh yes. I've slept. I say, Kate, what a precious bump I
+came down on my head, to be sure!"
+
+"Hush, Charley!" said Kate, perceiving that he was becoming energetic.
+"Father said you were to keep quiet--and so do I," she added, with a
+frown. "Shut your eyes, sir, and go to sleep."
+
+Charley complied by shutting his eyes, and opening his mouth, and
+uttering a succession of deep snores.
+
+"Now, you bad boy," said Kate, "why _won't_ you try to rest?"
+
+"Because, Kate, dear," said Charley, opening his eyes again--"because I
+feel as if I had slept a week at least; and not being one of the seven
+sleepers, I don't think it necessary to do more in that way just now.
+Besides, my sweet but particularly wicked sister, I wish just at this
+moment to have a talk with you."
+
+"But are you sure it won't do you harm to talk? do you feel quite
+strong enough?"
+
+"Quite: Sampson was a mere infant compared to me."
+
+"Oh, don't talk nonsense, Charley dear, and keep your hands quiet, and
+don't lift the clothes with your knees in that way, else I'll go away
+and leave you."
+
+"Very well, my pet; if you do, I'll get up and dress and follow you,
+that's all! But come, Kate, tell me first of all how it was that I got
+pitched off that long-legged rhinoceros, and who it was that picked me
+up, and why wasn't I killed, and how did I come here; for my head is
+sadly confused, and I scarcely recollect anything that has happened;
+and before commencing your discourse, Kate, please hand me a glass of
+water, for my mouth is as dry as a whistle."
+
+Kate handed him a glass of water, smoothed his pillow, brushed the
+curls gently off his forehead, and sat down on the bedside.
+
+"Thank you, Kate; now go on."
+
+"Well, you see," she began--
+
+"Pardon me, dearest," interrupted Charley, "if you would please to look
+at me you would observe that my two eyes are tightly closed, so that I
+don't _see_ at all."
+
+"Well, then, you must understand--"
+
+"Must I? Oh!--"
+
+"That after that wicked horse leaped with you over the stable fence,
+you were thrown high into the air, and turning completely round, fell
+head foremost into the snow, and your poor head went through the top of
+an old cask that had been buried there all winter."
+
+"Dear me!" ejaculated Charley; "did anyone see me, Kate?"
+
+"Oh yes."
+
+"Who?" asked Charley, somewhat anxiously; "not Mrs. Grant, I hope? for
+if she did she'd never let me hear the last of it."
+
+"No; only our father, who was chasing you at the time," replied Kate,
+with a merry laugh.
+
+"And no one else?"
+
+"No--oh yes, by-the-by, Tom Whyte was there too."
+
+"Oh, he's nobody. Go on."
+
+"But tell me, Charley, why do you care about Mrs. Grant seeing you?"
+
+"Oh! no reason at all, only she's such an abominable quiz."
+
+We must guard the reader here against the supposition that Mrs. Grant
+was a quiz of the ordinary kind. She was by no means a sprightly,
+clever woman, rather fond of a joke than otherwise, as the term might
+lead you to suppose. Her corporeal frame was very large, excessively
+fat, and remarkably unwieldy; being an appropriate casket in which to
+enshrine a mind of the heaviest and most sluggish nature. She spoke
+little, ate largely, and slept much--the latter recreation being very
+frequently enjoyed in a large arm-chair of a peculiar kind. It had been
+a water-butt, which her ingenious husband had cut half-way down the
+middle, then half-way across, and in the angle thus formed fixed a
+bottom, which, together with the back, he padded with tow, and covered
+the whole with a mantle of glaring bed-curtain chintz, whose pattern
+alternated in stripes of sky-blue and china roses, with broken
+fragments of the rainbow between. Notwithstanding her excessive
+slowness, however, Mrs. Grant was fond of taking a firm hold of
+anything or any circumstance in the character or affairs of her
+friends, and twitting them thereupon in a grave but persevering manner
+that was exceedingly irritating. No one could ever ascertain whether
+Mrs. Grant did this in a sly way or not, as her visage never expressed
+anything except unalterable good-humour. She was a good wife and an
+affectionate mother; had a family of ten children, and could boast of
+never having had more than one quarrel with her husband. This
+disagreement was occasioned by a rather awkward mischance. One day, not
+long after her last baby was born, Mrs. Grant waddled towards her tub
+with the intention of enjoying her accustomed siesta. A few minutes
+previously, her seventh child, which was just able to walk, had
+scrambled up into the seat and fallen fast asleep there. As has been
+already said, Mrs. Grant's intellect was never very bright, and at this
+particular time she was rather drowsy, so that she did not observe the
+child, and on reaching her chair, turned round preparatory to letting
+herself plump into it. She always _plumped_ into her chair. Her muscles
+were too soft to lower her gently down into it. Invariably on reaching
+a certain point they ceased to act, and let her down with a crash. She
+had just reached this point, and her baby's hopes and prospects were on
+the eve of being cruelly crushed for ever, when Mr. Grant noticed the
+impending calamity. He had no time to warn her, for she had already
+passed the point at which her powers of muscular endurance terminated;
+so grasping the chair, he suddenly withdrew it with such force that the
+baby rolled off upon the floor like a hedgehog, straightened out flat,
+and gave vent to an outrageous roar, while its horror-struck mother
+came to the ground with a sound resembling the fall of an enormous sack
+of wool. Although the old lady could not see exactly that there was
+anything very blameworthy in her husband's conduct on this occasion,
+yet her nerves had received so severe a shock that she refused to be
+comforted for two entire days.
+
+But to return from this digression. After Charley had two or three
+times recommended Kate (who was a little inclined to be quizzical) to
+proceed, she continued,--
+
+"Well, then you were carried up here by father and Tom Whyte, and put
+to bed, and after a good deal of rubbing and rough treatment you were
+got round. Then Peter Mactavish nearly poisoned you, but fortunately he
+was such a goose that he did not think of reading the label of the
+phial, and so gave you a dose of tincture of rhubarb instead of
+laudanum as he had intended; and then father flew into a passion, and
+Tom Whyte was sent to fetch the doctor, and couldn't find him; but
+fortunately he found me, which was much better, I think, and brought me
+up here. And so here I am, and here I intend to remain."
+
+"And so that's the end of it. Well, Kate, I'm very glad it was no
+worse."
+
+"And I am very _thankful_" said Kate, with emphasis on the word, "that
+it's no worse."
+
+"Oh, well, you know, Kate, I _meant_ that, of course."
+
+"But you did not _say_ it," replied his sister earnestly.
+
+"To be sure not," said Charley gaily; "it would be absurd to be always
+making solemn speeches, and things of that sort, every time one has a
+little accident."
+
+"True, Charley; but when one has a very serious accident, and escapes
+unhurt, don't you think that _then_ it would be--"
+
+"Oh yes, to be sure," interrupted Charley, who still strove to turn
+Kate from her serious frame of mind; "but sister dear, how could I
+possibly _say_ I was thankful with my head crammed into an old cask and
+my feet pointing up to the blue sky, eh?"
+
+Kate smiled at this, and laid her hand on his arm, while she bent over
+the pillow and looked tenderly into his eyes.
+
+"O my darling Charley, you are disposed to jest about it; but I cannot
+tell you how my heart trembled this morning when I heard from Tom Whyte
+of what had happened. As we drove up to the fort, I thought how
+terrible it would have been if you had been killed; and then the happy
+days we have spent together rushed into my mind, and I thought of the
+willow creek where we used to fish for gold eyes, and the spot in the
+woods where we have so often chased the little birds, and the lake in
+the prairies where we used to go in spring to watch the water-fowl
+sporting in the sunshine. When I recalled these things, Charley, and
+thought of you as dead, I felt as if I should die too. And when I came
+here and found that my fears were needless, that you were alive and
+safe, and almost well, I felt thankful--yes, very, very thankful--to
+God for sparing your life, my dear, dear Charley." And Kate laid her
+head on his bosom and sobbed, when she thought of what might have been,
+as if her very heart would break.
+
+Charley's disposition to levity entirely vanished while his sister
+spoke; and twining his tough little arm round her neck, he pressed her
+fervently to his heart.
+
+"Bless you, Kate," he said at length. "I am indeed thankful to God, not
+only for sparing my life, but for giving me such a darling sister to
+live for. But now, Kate, tell me, what do you think of father's
+determination to have me placed in the office here?"
+
+"Indeed, I think it's very hard. Oh, I do wish _so_ much that I could
+do it for you," said Kate with a sigh.
+
+"Do _what_ for me?" asked Charley.
+
+"Why, the office work," said Kate.
+
+"Tuts! fiddlesticks! But isn't it, now, really a _very_ hard case?"
+
+"Indeed it is; but, then, what can you do?"
+
+"Do?" said Charley impatiently; "run away to be sure."
+
+"Oh, don't speak of that!" said Kate anxiously. "You know it will kill
+our beloved mother; and then it would grieve father very much."
+
+"Well, father don't care much about grieving me, when he hunted me down
+like a wolf till I nearly broke my neck."
+
+"Now, Charley, you must not speak so. Father loves you tenderly,
+although he _is_ a little rough at times. If you only heard how kindly
+he speaks of you to our mother when you are away, you could not think
+of giving him so much pain. And then the Bible says, 'Honour thy father
+and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord
+thy God giveth thee;' and as God speaks in the Bible, _surely_ we
+should pay attention to it!"
+
+Charley was silent for a few seconds; then heaving a deep sigh, he
+said,--
+
+"Well, I believe you're right, Kate; but then, what am I to do? If I
+don't run away, I must live, like poor Harry Somerville, on a
+long-legged stool; and if I do _that_, I'll--I'll--"
+
+As Charley spoke, the door opened, and his father entered.
+
+"Well, my boy," said he, seating himself on the bedside and taking his
+son's hand, "how goes it now? Head getting all right again? I fear that
+Kate has been talking too much to you.--Is it so, you little
+chatterbox?"
+
+Mr. Kennedy parted Kate's clustering ringlets and kissed her forehead.
+
+Charley assured his father that he was almost well, and much the better
+of having Kate to tend him. In fact, he felt so much revived that he
+said he would get up and go out for a walk.
+
+"Had I not better tell Tom Whyte to saddle the young horse for you?"
+said his father, half ironically. "No, no, boy; lie still where you are
+to-day, and get up if you feel better to-morrow. In the meantime, I've
+come to say good-bye, as I intend to go home to relieve your mother's
+anxiety about you. I'll see you again, probably, the day after
+to-morrow. Hark you, boy; I've been talking your affairs over again
+with Mr. Grant, and we've come to the conclusion to give you a run in
+the woods for a time. You'll have to be ready to start early in spring
+with the first brigades for the north. So adieu!"
+
+Mr. Kennedy patted him on the head, and hastily left the room.
+
+A burning blush of shame arose on Charley's cheek as he recollected his
+late remarks about his father; and then, recalling the purport of his
+last words, he sent forth an exulting shout as he thought of the coming
+spring.
+
+"Well now, Charley," said Kate, with an arch smile, "let us talk
+seriously over your arrangements for running away."
+
+Charley replied by seizing the pillow and throwing it at his sister's
+head; but being accustomed to such eccentricities, she anticipated the
+movement and evaded the blow.
+
+"Ah, Charley," cried Kate, laughing, "you mustn't let your hand get out
+of practice! That was a shockingly bad shot for a man thirsting to
+become a bear and buffalo hunter!"
+
+"I'll make my fortune at once," cried Charley, as Kate replaced the
+pillow, "build a wooden castle on the shores of Great Bear Lake, take
+you to keep house for me, and when I'm out hunting you'll fish for
+whales in the lake; and we'll live there to a good old age; so
+good-night, Kate dear, and go to bed."
+
+Kate laughed, gave her brother a parting kiss, and left him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+Spring and the voyageurs.
+
+
+Winter, with its snow and its ice: winter, with its sharp winds and
+white drifts; winter, with its various characteristic occupations and
+employments, is past, and it is spring now.
+
+The sun no longer glitters on fields of white; the woodman's axe is no
+longer heard hacking the oaken billets, to keep alive the roaring
+fires. That inexpressibly cheerful sound the merry chime of
+sleigh-bells, that tells more of winter than all other sounds together,
+is no longer heard on the bosom of Red River; for the sleighs are
+thrown aside as useless lumber--carts and gigs have supplanted them.
+The old Canadian, who used to drive the ox with its water-barrel to the
+ice-hole for his daily supply, has substituted a small cart with wheels
+for the old sleigh that used to glide so smoothly over the snow, and
+_grit_ so sharply on it in the more than usually frosty mornings in the
+days gone by. The trees have lost their white patches, and the clumps
+of willows, that used to look like islands in the prairie, have
+disappeared, as the carpeting that gave them prominence has dissolved.
+The aspect of everything in the isolated settlement has changed. The
+winter is gone, and spring--bright, beautiful, hilarious spring--has
+come again.
+
+By those who have never known an arctic winter, the delights of an
+arctic spring can never, we fear, be fully appreciated or understood.
+Contrast is one of its strongest elements; indeed, we might say, _the_
+element which gives to all the others peculiar zest. Life in the arctic
+regions is like one of Turner's pictures, in which the lights are
+strong, the shadows deep, and the _tout ensemble_ hazy and romantic. So
+cold and prolonged is the winter, that the first mild breath of spring
+breaks on the senses like a zephyr from the plains of Paradise.
+Everything bursts suddenly into vigorous life, after the long,
+death-like sleep of Nature; as little children burst into the romping
+gaieties of a new day, after the deep repose of a long and tranquil
+night. The snow melts, the ice breaks up, and rushes in broken masses,
+heaving and tossing in the rising floods, that grind and whirl them
+into the ocean, or into those great fresh-water lakes that vie with
+ocean itself in magnitude and grandeur. The buds come out and the
+leaves appear, clothing all nature with a bright refreshing green,
+which derives additional brilliancy from sundry patches of snow, that
+fill the deep creeks and hollows everywhere, and form ephemeral
+fountains whose waters continue to supply a thousand rills for many a
+long day, until the fierce glare of the summer sun prevails at last and
+melts them all away.
+
+Red River flows on now to mix its long-pent-up waters with Lake
+Winnipeg. Boats are seen rowing about upon its waters, as the settlers
+travel from place to place; and wooden canoes, made of the hollowed-out
+trunks of large trees, shoot across from shore to shore--these canoes
+being a substitute for bridges, of which there are none, although the
+settlement lies on both sides of the river. Birds have now entered upon
+the scene, their wild cries and ceaseless flight adding to it a
+cheerful activity. Ground squirrels pop up out of their holes to bask
+their round, fat, beautifully-striped little bodies in the sun, or to
+gaze in admiration at the farmer, as he urges a pair of _very_
+slow-going oxen, that drag the plough at a pace which induces one to
+believe that the wide field _may_ possibly be ploughed up by the end of
+next year. Frogs whistle in the marshy grounds so loudly that men new
+to the country believe they are being regaled by the songs of millions
+of birds. There is no mistake about their _whistle_. It is not merely
+_like_ a whistle, but it _is_ a whistle, shrill and continuous; and as
+the swamps swarm with these creatures, the song never ceases for a
+moment, although each individual frog creates only _one_ little gush of
+music, composed of half-a-dozen trills, and then stops a moment for
+breath before commencing the second bar. Bull-frogs, too, though not so
+numerous, help to vary the sound by croaking vociferously, as if they
+understood the value of bass, and were glad of having an opportunity to
+join in the universal hum of life and joy which rises everywhere, from
+the river and the swamp, the forest and the prairie, to welcome back
+the spring.
+
+Such was the state of things in Red River one beautiful morning in
+April, when a band of voyageurs lounged in scattered groups about the
+front gate of Fort Garry. They were as fine a set of picturesque, manly
+fellows as one could desire to see. Their mode of life rendered them
+healthy, hardy, arid good-humoured, with a strong dash of
+recklessness--perhaps too much of it--in some of the younger men. Being
+descended, generally, from French-Canadian sires and Indian mothers,
+they united some of the good and not a few of the bad qualities of
+both, mentally as well as physically--combining the light, gay-hearted
+spirit and full, muscular frame of the Canadian with the fierce
+passions and active habits of the Indian. And this wildness of
+disposition was not a little fostered by the nature of their usual
+occupations. They were employed during a great part of the year in
+navigating the Hudson's Bay Company's boats, laden with furs and goods,
+through the labyrinth of rivers and lakes that stud and intersect the
+whole continent, or they were engaged in pursuit of the bisons,
+[Footnote: These animals are always called buffaloes by American
+hunters and fur-traders.] which roam the prairies in vast herds.
+
+They were dressed in the costume of the country: most of them wore
+light-blue cloth capotes, girded tightly round them', by scarlet or
+crimson worsted belts. Some of them had blue and others scarlet cloth
+leggings, ornamented more or less with stained porcupine quills,
+coloured silk, or variegated beads; while some might be seen clad in
+the leathern coats of winter--deer-skin dressed like chamois leather,
+fringed all round with little tails, and ornamented much in the same
+way as those already described. The heavy winter moccasins and duffel
+socks, which gave to their feet the appearance of being afflicted with
+gout, were now replaced by moccasins of a lighter and more elegant
+character, having no socks below, and fitting tightly to the feet like
+gloves. Some wore hats similar to those made of silk or beaver which
+are worn by ourselves in Britain, but so bedizened with scarlet
+cock-tail feathers, and silver cords and tassels, as to leave the
+original form of the head-dress a matter of great uncertainty. These
+hats, however, are only used on high occasions, and chiefly by the
+fops. Most of the men wore coarse blue cloth caps with peaks, and not a
+few discarded head-pieces altogether, under the impression, apparently,
+that nature had supplied a covering which was in itself sufficient.
+These costumes varied not only in character but in quality, according
+to the circumstances of the wearer; some being highly ornamental and
+mended--evincing the felicity of the owner in the possession of a good
+wife--while others were soiled and torn, or but slightly ornamented.
+The voyageurs were collected, as we have said, in groups. Here stood a
+dozen of the youngest--consequently the most noisy and showily
+dressed--laughing loudly, gesticulating violently, and bragging
+tremendously. Near to them were collected a number of sterner
+spirits--men of middle age, with all the energy, and muscle, and bone
+of youth, but without its swaggering hilarity; men whose powers and
+nerves had been tried over and over again amid the stirring scenes of a
+voyageur's life; men whose heads were cool, and eyes sharp, and hands
+ready and powerful, in the mad whirl of boiling rapids, in the sudden
+attack of wild beast and hostile man, or in the unexpected approach of
+any danger; men who, having been well tried, needed not to boast, and
+who, having carried off triumphantly their respective brides many years
+ago, needed not to decorate their persons with the absurd finery that
+characterised their younger brethren. They were comparatively few in
+number, but they composed a sterling band, of which every man was a
+hero. Among them were those who occupied the high positions of bowman
+and steersman, and when we tell the reader that on these two men
+frequently hangs the safety of a boat, with all its crew and lading, it
+will be easily understood how needful it is that they should be men of
+iron nerve and strength of mind.
+
+Boat-travelling in those regions is conducted in a way that would
+astonish most people who dwell in the civilised quarters of the globe.
+The country being intersected in all directions by great lakes and
+rivers, these have been adopted as the most convenient highways along
+which to convey the supplies and bring back the furs from outposts.
+Rivers in America, however, as in other parts of the world, are
+distinguished by sudden ebullitions and turbulent points of character,
+in the shape of rapids, falls, and cataracts, up and down which neither
+men nor boats can by any possibility go with impunity; consequently, on
+arriving at such obstructions, the cargoes are carried overland to
+navigable water above or below the falls (as the case may be), then the
+boats are dragged over and launched, again reloaded, and the travellers
+proceed. This operation is called "making a portage;" and as these
+portages vary from twelve yards to twelve miles in length, it may be
+readily conceived that a voyageur's life is not an easy one by any
+means.
+
+This, however, is only one of his difficulties. Rapids occur which are
+not so dangerous as to make a "portage" necessary, but are sufficiently
+turbulent to render the descent of them perilous. In such cases, the
+boats, being lightened of part of their cargo, are _run_ down, and
+frequently they descend with full cargoes and crews. It is then that
+the whole management of each boat devolves upon its bowman and
+steersman. The rest of the crew, or _middlemen_ as they are called,
+merely sit still and look on, or give a stroke with their oars if
+required; while the steersman, with powerful sweeps of his heavy oar,
+directs the flying boat as it bounds from surge to surge like a thing
+of life; and the bowman stands erect in front to assist in directing
+his comrade at the stern, having a strong and long pole in his hands,
+with which, ever and anon, he violently forces the boat's head away
+from sunken rocks, against which it might otherwise strike and be stove
+in, capsized, or seriously damaged.
+
+Besides the groups already enumerated, there were one or two others,
+composed of grave, elderly men, whose wrinkled brows, gray hairs, and
+slow, quiet step, showed that the strength of their days was past;
+although their upright figures and warm brown complexions gave promise
+of their living to see many summers still. These were the principal
+steersmen and old guides--men of renown, to whom the others bowed as
+oracles or looked up to as fathers; men whose youth and manhood had
+been spent in roaming the trackless wilderness, and who were,
+therefore, eminently qualified to guide brigades through the length and
+breadth of the land; men whose power of threading their way among the
+perplexing intricacies of the forest had become a second nature, a kind
+of instinct, that was as sure of attaining its end as the instinct of
+the feathered tribes, which brings the swallow, after a long absence,
+with unerring certainty back to its former haunts again in spring.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+The store.
+
+
+At whatever establishment in the fur-trader's dominions you may chance
+to alight you will find a particular building which is surrounded by a
+halo of interest; towards which there seems to be a general leaning on
+the part of everybody, especially of the Indians; and with which are
+connected, in the minds of all, the most stirring reminiscences and
+pleasing associations.
+
+This is the trading-store. It is always recognisable, if natives are in
+the neighbourhood, by the bevy of red men that cluster round it,
+awaiting the coming of the storekeeper or the trader with that stoic
+patience which is peculiar to Indians. It may be further recognised, by
+a close observer, by the soiled condition of its walls occasioned by
+loungers rubbing their backs perpetually against it, and the peculiar
+dinginess round the keyhole, caused by frequent applications of the
+key, which renders it conspicuous beyond all its comrades. Here is
+contained that which makes the red man's life enjoyable; that which
+causes his heart to leap, and induces him to toil for months and months
+together in the heat of summer and amid the frost and snow of winter;
+that which _actually_ accomplishes, what music is _said_ to achieve,
+the "soothing of the savage breast:" in short, here are stored up
+blankets, guns, powder, shot, kettles, axes, and knives; twine for
+nets, vermilion for war-paint, fishhooks and scalping-knives, capotes,
+cloth, beads, needles, and a host of miscellaneous articles, much too
+numerous to mention. Here, also occur periodical scenes of bustle and
+excitement, when bands of natives arrive from distant hunting-grounds,
+laden with rich furs, which are speedily transferred to the Hudson's
+Bay Company's stores in exchange for the goods aforementioned. And many
+a tough wrangle has the trader on such occasions with sharp natives,
+who might have graduated in Billingsgate, so close are they at a
+bargain. Here, too, voyageurs are supplied with an equivalent for their
+wages, part in advance, if they desire it (and they generally do desire
+it), and part at the conclusion of their long and arduous voyages.
+
+It is to one of these stores, reader, that we wish to introduce you
+now, that you may witness the men of the North brigade receive their
+advances.
+
+The store at Fort Garry stands on the right of the fort, as you enter
+by the front gate. Its interior resembles that of the other stores in
+the country, being only a little larger. A counter encloses a space
+sufficiently wide to admit a dozen men, and serves to keep back those
+who are more eager than the rest. Inside this counter, at the time we
+write of, stood our friend, Peter Mactavish, who was the presiding
+genius of the scene.
+
+"Shut the door now, and lock it," said Peter, in an authoritative tone,
+after eight or ten young voyageurs had crushed into the space in front
+of the counter. "I'll not supply you with so much as an ounce of
+tobacco if you let in another man."
+
+Peter needed not to repeat the command. Three or four stalwart
+shoulders were applied to the door, which shut with a bang like a
+cannon-shot, and the key was turned.
+
+"Come now, Antoine," began the trader, "we've lots to do, and not much
+time to do it in, so pray look sharp."
+
+Antoine, however, was not to be urged on so easily. He had been
+meditating deeply all the morning on what he should purchase. Moreover,
+he had a sweetheart, and of course he had to buy something for her
+before setting out on his travels. Besides, Antoine was six feet high,
+and broad shouldered, and well made, with a dark face and glossy black
+hair; and he entertained a notion that there were one or two points in
+his costume which required to be carefully rectified, ere he could
+consider that he had attained to perfection: so he brushed the long
+hair off his forehead, crossed his arms, and gazed around him.
+
+"Come now, Antoine," said Peter, throwing a green blanket at him; "I
+know you want _that_ to begin with. What's the use of thinking so long
+about it, eh? And _that_, too," he added, throwing him a blue cloth
+capote. "Anything else?"
+
+"Oui, oui, monsieur," cried Antoine, as he disengaged himself from the
+folds of the coat which Peter had thrown over his head. "Tabac,
+monsieur, tabac!"
+
+"Oh, to be sure," cried Peter. "I might have guessed that _that_ was
+uppermost in your mind. Well, how much will you have?" Peter began to
+unwind the fragrant weed off a coil of most appalling size and
+thickness, which looked like a snake of endless length. "Will that do?"
+and he flourished about four feet of the snake before the eyes of the
+voyageur.
+
+Antoine accepted the quantity, and young Harry Somerville entered the
+articles against him in a book.
+
+"Anything more, Antoine?" said the trader. "Ah, some beads and silks,
+eh? Oho, Antoine!--By the way, Louis, have you seen Annette lately?"
+
+Peter turned to another voyageur when he put this question, and the
+voyageur gave a broad grin as he replied in the affirmative, while
+Antoine looked a little confused. He did not care much, however, for
+jesting. So, after getting one or two more articles--not forgetting
+half-a-dozen clay pipes, and a few yards of gaudy calico, which called
+forth from Peter a second reference to Annette--he bundled up his
+goods, and made way for another comrade.
+
+Louis Peltier, one of the principal guides, and a man of importance
+therefore, now stood forward. He was probably about forty-five years of
+age; had a plain, olive-coloured countenance, surrounded by a mass of
+long jet-black hair, which he inherited, along with a pair of dark,
+piercing eyes, from his Indian mother; and a robust, heavy, yet active
+frame, which bore a strong resemblance to what his Canadian father's
+had been many years before. His arms, in particular, were of herculean
+mould, with large swelling veins and strongly-marked muscles. They
+seemed, in fact, just formed for the purpose of pulling the heavy sweep
+of an inland boat among strong rapids. His face combined an expression
+of stern resolution with great good-humour; and truly his countenance
+did not belie him, for he was known among his comrades as the most
+courageous and at the same time the most peaceable man in the
+settlement. Louis Peltier was singular in possessing the latter
+quality, for assuredly the half-breeds, whatever other good points they
+boast, cannot lay claim to very gentle or dove-like dispositions. His
+grey capote and blue leggings were decorated with no unusual ornaments,
+and the scarlet belt which encircled his massive figure was the only
+bit of colour he displayed.
+
+The younger men fell respectfully into the rear as Louis stepped
+forward and begged pardon for coming so early in the day. "Mais,
+monsieur," he said, "I have to look after the boats to-day, and get
+them ready for a start to-morrow."
+
+Peter Mactavish gave Louis a hearty shake of the hand before proceeding
+to supply his wants, which were simple and moderate, excepting in the
+article of _tabac_, in the use of which he was _im_-moderate, being an
+inveterate smoker; so that a considerable portion of the snake had to
+be uncoiled for his benefit.
+
+"Fond as ever of smoking, Louis?" said Peter Mactavish, as he handed
+him the coil.
+
+"Oui, monsieur--very fond," answered the guide, smelling the weed. "Ah,
+this is very good. I must take a good supply this voyage, because I
+lost the half of my roll last year;" and the guide gave a sigh as he
+thought of the overwhelming bereavement.
+
+"Lost the half of it, Louis!" said Mactavish. "Why, how was that? You
+must have lost _more_ than half your spirits with it!"
+
+"Ah, oui, I lost _all_ my spirits, and my comrade Francois at the same
+time!"
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed the clerk, bustling about the store while the
+guide continued to talk.
+
+"Oui, monsieur, oui. I lost _him_, and my tabac, and my spirits, and
+very nearly my life, all in one moment!"
+
+"Why, how came that about?" said Peter, pausing in his work, and laying
+a handful of pipes on the counter.
+
+"Ah, monsieur, it was very sad (merci, monsieur, merci; thirty pipes,
+if you please), and I thought at the time that I should give up my
+voyageur life, and remain altogether in the settlement with my old
+woman. Mais, monsieur, that was not possible. When I spoke of it to my
+old woman, she called _me_ an old woman; and you know, monsieur, that
+_two_ old women never could live together in peace for twelve months
+under the same roof. So here I am, you see, ready again for the voyage."
+
+The voyageurs, who had drawn round Louis when he alluded to an anecdote
+which they had often heard before, but were never weary of hearing over
+again, laughed loudly at this sally, and urged the guide to relate the
+story to "_monsieur_" who, nothing loath to suspend his operations for
+a little, leaned his arms on the counter and said--
+
+"Tell us all about it, Louis; I am anxious to know how you managed to
+come by so many losses all at one time."
+
+"Bien, monsieur, I shall soon relate it, for the story is very short."
+
+Harry Somerville, who was entering the pipes in Louis's account, had
+just set down the figures "30" when Louis cleared his throat to begin.
+Not having the mental fortitude to finish the line, he dropped his pen,
+sprang off his stool, which he upset in so doing, jumped up,
+sitting-ways, upon the counter, and gazed with breathless interest into
+the guide's face as he spoke.
+
+"It was on a cold, wet afternoon," said Louis, "that we were descending
+the Hill River, at a part of the rapids where there is a sharp bend in
+the stream, and two or three great rocks that stand up in front of the
+water, as it plunges over a ledge, as if they were put there a purpose
+to catch it, and split it up into foam, or to stop the boats and canoes
+that try to run the rapids, and cut them up into splinters. It was an
+ugly place, monsieur, I can tell you; and though I've run it again and
+again, I always hold my breath tighter when we get to the top, and
+breathe freer when we get to the bottom. Well, there was a chum of mine
+at the bow, Francois by name, and a fine fellow he was as I ever came
+across. He used to sleep with me at night under the same blanket,
+although it was somewhat inconvenient; for being as big as myself and a
+stone heavier, it was all we could do to make the blanket cover us.
+However, he and I were great friends, and we managed it somehow. Well,
+he was at the bow when we took the rapids, and a first-rate bowman he
+made. His pole was twice as long and twice as thick as any other pole
+in the boat, and he twisted it about just like a fiddlestick. I
+remember well the night before we came to the rapids, as he was sitting
+by the fire, which was blazing up among the pine-branches that overhung
+us, he said that he wanted a good pole for the rapids next day; and
+with that he jumped up, laid hold of an axe, and went back into the
+woods a bit to get one. When he returned, he brought a young tree on
+his shoulder, which he began to strip of its branches, and bark.
+'Louis, says he, 'this is hot work; give us a pipe.' So I rummaged
+about for some tobacco, but found there was none left in my bag; so I
+went to my kit and got out my roll, about three fathoms or so, and
+cutting half of it off, I went to the fire and twisted it round his
+neck by way of a joke, and he said he'd wear it as a necklace all
+night, and so he did, too, and forgot to take it off in the morning;
+and when we came near the rapids I couldn't get at my bag to stow it
+away, so says I, 'Francois, you'll have to run with it on, for I can't
+stop to stow it now.' 'All right,' says he, 'go ahead;' and just as he
+said it, we came in sight of the first run, foaming and boiling like a
+kettle of robbiboo. 'Take care, lads,' I cried, and the next moment we
+were dashing down towards the bend in the river. As we came near to the
+shoot, I saw Francois standing up on the gunwale to get a better view
+of the rocks ahead, and every now and then giving me a signal with his
+hand how to steer; suddenly he gave a shout, and plunged his long pole
+into the water, to fend off from a rock which a swirl in the stream had
+concealed. For a second or two his pole bent like a willow, and we
+could feel the heavy boat jerk off a little with the tremendous strain,
+but all at once the pole broke off short with a crack, Francois' heels
+made a flourish in the air, and then he disappeared head foremost into
+the foaming water, with my tobacco coiled round his neck! As we flew
+past the place, one of his arms appeared, and I made a grab at it, and
+caught him by the sleeve; but the effort upset myself and over I went
+too. Fortunately, however, one of my men caught me by the foot, and
+held on like a vice; but the force of the current tore Francois' sleeve
+out of my grasp, and I was dragged into the boat again just in time to
+see my comrade's legs and arms going like the sails of a windmill, as
+he rolled over several times and disappeared. Well, we put ashore the
+moment we got into still water, and then five or six of us started off
+on foot to look for Francois. After half-an-hour's search, we found him
+pitched upon a flat rock in the middle of the stream like a bit of
+driftwood, We immediately waded out to the rock and brought him ashore,
+where we lighted a fire, took off all his clothes, and rubbed him till
+he began to show signs of life again. But you may judge, mes garcons,
+of my misery when I found that the coil of tobacco was gone. It had
+come off his neck during his struggles, and there wasn't a vestige of
+it left, except a bright red mark on the throat, where it had nearly
+strangled him. When he began to recover, he put his hand up to his neck
+as if feeling for something, and muttered faintly, 'The tabac.' 'Ah,
+morbleu!' said I, 'you may say that! Where is it?' Well, we soon
+brought him round, but he had swallowed so much water that it damaged
+his lungs, and we had to leave him at the next post we came to; and so
+I lost my friend too."
+
+"Did Francois get better?" said Charley Kennedy, in a voice of great
+concern.
+
+Charley had entered the store by another door, just as the guide began
+his story, and had listened to it unobserved with breathless interest.
+
+"Recover! Oh oui, monsieur, he soon got well again.'
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad," cried Charley.
+
+"But I lost him for that voyage," added the guide; "and I lost my tabac
+for ever."
+
+"You must take better care of it this time, Louis," said Peter
+Mactavish, as he resumed his work.
+
+"That I shall, monsieur," replied Louis, shouldering his goods and
+quitting the store, while a short, slim, active little Canadian took
+his place.
+
+"Now, then, Baptiste," said Mactavish, "you want a--"
+
+"Blanket, monsieur,"
+
+"Good. And--"
+
+"A capote, monsieur."
+
+"And--"
+
+"An axe--"
+
+"Stop, stop!" shouted Harry Somerville from his desk. "Here's an entry
+in Louis's account that I can't make out--30 something or other; what
+can it have been?"
+
+"How often," said Mactavish, going up to him with a look of
+annoyance--"how often have I told you, Mr. Somerville, not to leave an
+entry half-finished on any account!"
+
+"I didn't know that I left it so," said Harry, twisting his features,
+and scratching his head in great perplexity. "What _can_ it have been?
+30--30--not blankets, eh?" (Harry was becoming banteringly bitter.) "He
+couldn't have got thirty guns, could he? or thirty knives, or thirty
+copper kettles?"
+
+"Perhaps it was thirty pounds of tea," suggested Charley.
+
+"No doubt it was thirty _pipes_," said Peter Mactavish.
+
+"Oh, that was it!" cried Harry, "that was it! thirty pipes, to be sure.
+What an ass I am!"
+
+"And pray what is _that_?" said Mactavish, pointing sarcastically to an
+entry in the previous account--"_5 yards of superfine Annette_. Really,
+Mr. Somerville, I wish you would pay more attention to your work and
+less to the conversation."
+
+"Oh dear!" cried Harry, becoming almost hysterical under the combined
+effects of chagrin at making so many mistakes, and suppressed merriment
+at the idea of selling Annettes by the yard. "Oh, dear me--"
+
+Harry could say no more, but stuffed his handkerchief into his mouth
+and turned away.
+
+"Well, sir," said the offended Peter, "when you have laughed to your
+entire satisfaction, we will go on with our work, if you please."
+
+"All right," cried Harry, suppressing his feelings with a strong
+effort; "what next?"
+
+Just then a tall, raw-boned man entered the store, and rudely thrusting
+Baptiste aside, asked if he could get his supplies now.
+
+"No," said Mactavish, sharply; "you'll take your turn like the rest."
+
+The new-comer was a native of Orkney, a country from which, and the
+neighbouring islands, the Fur Company almost exclusively recruits its
+staff of labourers. These men are steady, useful servants, although
+inclined to be slow and lazy _at first_; but they soon get used to the
+country, and rapidly improve under the example of the active Canadians
+and half-breeds with whom they associate; some of them are the best
+servants the Company possess. Hugh Mathison, however, was a very bad
+specimen of the race, being rough and coarse in his manners, and very
+lazy withal. Upon receiving the trader's answer, Hugh turned sulkily on
+his heel and strode towards the door. Now, it happened that Baptiste's
+bundle lay just behind him, and on turning to leave the place, he
+tripped over it and stumbled, whereat the voyageurs burst into an
+ironical laugh (for Hugh was not a favourite).
+
+"Confound your trash!" he cried, giving the little bundle a kick that
+scattered everything over the floor.
+
+"Crapaud!" said Baptiste, between his set teeth, while his eyes flashed
+angrily, and he stood up before Hugh with clinched fists, "what mean
+you by that, eh?"
+
+The big Scotchman held his little opponent in contempt; so that,
+instead of putting himself on the defensive, he leaned his back against
+the door, thrust his hands into his pockets, and requested to know
+"what that was to him."
+
+Baptiste was not a man of many words, and this reply, coupled with the
+insolent sneer with which it was uttered, caused him to plant a sudden
+and well-directed blow on the point of Hugh's nose, which flattened it
+on his face, and brought the back of his head into violent contact with
+the door.
+
+"Well done!" shouted the men; "bravo, Baptiste! _Regardez le nez, mes
+enfants!_"
+
+"Hold!" cried Mactavish, vaulting the counter, and intercepting Hugh,
+as he rushed upon his antagonist; "no fighting here, you blackguards!
+If you want to do _that,_ go outside the fort;" and Peter, opening the
+door, thrust the Orkneyman out.
+
+In the meantime, Baptiste gathered up his goods and left the store, in
+company with several of his friends, vowing that he would wreak his
+vengeance on the "gros chien" before the sun should set.
+
+He had not long to wait, however, for just outside the gate he found
+Hugh, still smarting under the pain and indignity of the blow, and
+ready to pounce upon him like a cat on a mouse.
+
+Baptiste instantly threw down his bundle, and prepared for battle by
+discarding his coat.
+
+Every nation has its own peculiar method of fighting, and its own ideas
+of what is honourable and dishonourable in combat. The English, as
+everyone knows, have particularly stringent rules regarding the part of
+the body which may or may not be hit with propriety, and count it foul
+disgrace to strike a man when he is down, although, by some strange
+perversity of reasoning, they deem it right and fair to _fall_ upon him
+while in this helpless condition, and burst him if possible. The
+Scotchman has less of the science, and we are half inclined to believe
+that he would go the length of kicking a fallen opponent; but on this
+point we are not quite positive. In regard to the style adopted by the
+half-breeds, however, we have no doubt. They fight _any_ way and
+_every_ way, without reference to rules at all; and really, although we
+may bring ourselves into contempt by admitting the fact, we think they
+are quite right. No doubt the best course of action is _not_ to fight;
+but if a man does find it _necessary_ to do so, surely the wisest plan
+is to get it over at once (as the dentist suggested to his timorous
+patient), and to do it in the most effectual manner.
+
+Be this as it may, Baptiste flew at Hugh, and alighted upon him, not
+head first, or fist first, or feet first, or _anything_ first, but
+altogether--in a heap as it were; fist, feet, knees, nails, and teeth,
+all taking effect at one and the same time, with a force so
+irresistible that the next moment they both rolled in the dust together.
+
+For a minute or so they struggled and kicked like a couple of serpents,
+and then, bounding to their feet again, they began to perform a
+war-dance round each other, revolving their fists at the same time in,
+we presume, the most approved fashion. Owing to his bulk and natural
+laziness, which rendered jumping about like a jack-in-the-box
+impossible, Hugh Mathison preferred to stand on the defensive; while
+his lighter opponent, giving way to the natural bent of his mercurial
+temperament and corporeal predilections, comported himself in a manner
+that cannot be likened to anything mortal or immortal, human or
+inhuman, unless it be to an insane cat, whose veins ran wild-fire
+instead of blood. Or perhaps we might liken him to that ingenious piece
+of firework called a zigzag cracker, which explodes with unexpected and
+repeated suddenness, changing its position in a most perplexing manner
+at every crack. Baptiste, after the first onset, danced backwards with
+surprising lightness, glaring at his adversary the while, and rapidly
+revolving his fists as before mentioned; then a terrific yell was
+heard; his head, arms, and legs became a sort of whirling conglomerate;
+the spot on which he danced was suddenly vacant, and at the same moment
+Mathison received a bite, a scratch, a dab on the nose, and a kick on
+the stomach all at once. Feeling that it was impossible to plant a
+well-directed blow on such an assailant, he waited for the next
+onslaught; and the moment he saw the explosive object flying through
+the air towards him, he met it with a crack of his heavy fist, which,
+happening to take effect in the middle of the chest, drove it backwards
+with about as much velocity as it had approached, and poor Baptiste
+measured his length on the ground.
+
+"Oh, pauvre chien!" cried the spectators, "c'est fini!"
+
+"Not yet," cried Baptiste, as he sprang with a scream to his feet
+again, and began his dance with redoubled energy, just as if all that
+had gone before was a mere sketch--a sort of playful rehearsal, as it
+were, of what was now to follow. At this moment Hugh stumbled over a
+canoe-paddle, and fell headlong into Baptiste's arms, as he was in the
+very act of making one of his violent descents. This unlooked-for
+occurrence brought them both to a sudden pause, partly from necessity
+and partly from surprise. Out of this state Baptiste recovered first,
+and taking advantage of the accident, threw Mathison heavily to the
+ground. He rose quickly, however, and renewed the light with freshened
+vigour.
+
+Just at this moment a passionate growl was heard, and old Mr. Kennedy
+rushed out of the fort in a towering rage.
+
+Now Mr. Kennedy had no reason whatever for being angry. He was only a
+visitor at the fort, and so had no concern in the behaviour of those
+connected with it. He was not even in the Company's service now, and
+could not, therefore, lay claim, as one of its officers, to any right
+to interfere with its men. But Mr. Kennedy never acted much from
+reason; impulse was generally his guiding-star. He had, moreover, been
+an absolute monarch, and a commander of men, for many years past in his
+capacity of fur-trader. Being, as we have said, a powerful, fiery man,
+he had ruled very much by means of brute force--a species of suasion,
+by the way, which is too common among many of the gentlemen (?) in the
+employment of the Hudson's Bay Company. On hearing, therefore, that the
+men were fighting in front of the fort, Mr. Kennedy rushed out in a
+towering rage.
+
+"Oh, you precious blackguards!" he cried, running up to the combatants,
+while with flashing eyes he gazed first at one and then at the other,
+as if uncertain on which to launch his ire. "Have you no place in the
+world to fight but _here_? eh, blackguards?"
+
+"O monsieur," said Baptiste, lowering his hands, and assuming that
+politeness of demeanour which seems inseparable from French blood,
+however much mixed with baser fluid, "I was just giving _that dog_ a
+thrashing, monsieur."
+
+"Go!" cried Mr. Kennedy in a voice of thunder, turning to Hugh, who
+still stood in a pugilistic attitude, with very little respect in his
+looks.
+
+Hugh hesitated to obey the order; but Mr. Kennedy continued to advance,
+grinding his teeth and working his fingers convulsively, as if he
+longed to lay violent hold of the Orkneyman's swelled nose; so he
+retreated in his uncertainty, but still with his face to the foe. As
+has been already said, the Assiniboine River flows within a hundred
+yards of the gate of Fort Garry. The two men, in their combat, had
+approached pretty near to the bank, at a place where it descends
+somewhat precipitately into the stream. It was towards this bank that
+Hugh Mathison was now retreating, crab fashion, followed by Mr.
+Kennedy, and both of them so taken up with each other that neither
+perceived the fact until Hugh's heel struck against a stone just at the
+moment that Mr. Kennedy raised his clenched fist in a threatening
+attitude. The effect of this combination was to pitch the poor man head
+over heels down the bank, into a row of willow bushes, through which,
+as he rolled with great speed, he went with a loud crash, and shot head
+first, like a startled alligator, into the water, amid a roar of
+laughter from his comrades and the people belonging to the fort; most
+of whom, attracted by the fight, were now assembled on the banks of the
+river.
+
+Mr. Kennedy's wrath vanished immediately, and he joined in the
+laughter; but his face instantly changed when he beheld Hugh sputtering
+in deep water, and heard some one say that he could not swim.
+
+"What! can't swim?" he exclaimed, running down the bank to the edge of
+the water. Baptiste was before him, however. In a moment he plunged in
+up to the neck, stretched forth his arm, grasped Hugh by the hair, and
+dragged him to the land.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Farewell to Kate--Departure of the brigade--Charley becomes a voyageur.
+
+
+On the following day at noon, the spot on which the late combat had
+taken place became the theatre of a stirring and animated scene. Fort
+Garry, and the space between it and the river, swarmed with voyageurs,
+dressed in their cleanest, newest, and most brilliant costume. The
+large boats for the north, six in number, lay moored to the river's
+bank, laden with bales of furs, and ready to start on their long
+voyage. Young men, who had never been on the road before, stood with
+animated looks watching the operations of the guides as they passed
+critical examination upon their boats, overhauled the oars to see that
+they were in good condition, or with crooked knives (a species of
+instrument in the use of which voyageurs and natives are very expert)
+polished off the top of a mast, the blade of an oar, or the handle of a
+tiller. Old men, who had passed their lives in similar occupations,
+looked on in silence--some standing with their heads bent on their
+bosoms, and an expression of sadness about their faces, as if the scene
+recalled some mournful event of their early life, or possibly reminded
+them of wild, joyous scenes of other days, when the blood coursed
+warmly in their young veins, and the strong muscles sprang lightly to
+obey their will; when the work they had to do was hard, and the sleep
+that followed it was sound--scenes and days that were now gone by for
+ever. Others reclined against the wooden fence, their arms crossed,
+their thin white hair waving gently in the breeze, and a kind smile
+playing on their sunburned faces, as they observed the swagger and
+coxcombry of the younger men, or watched the gambols of several
+dark-eyed little children--embryo buffalo-hunters and voyageurs--whose
+mothers had brought them to the fort to get a last kiss from papa, and
+witness the departure of the boats.
+
+Several tender scenes were going on in out-of-the-way places--in angles
+of the walls and bastions, or behind the gates-between youthful couples
+about to be separated for a season. Interesting scenes these of pathos
+and pleasantry--a combination of soft glances and affectionate fervent
+assurances; alternate embraces (that were _apparently_ received with
+reluctance, but _actually_ with delight, and proffers of pieces of
+calico and beads and other trinkets (received both _apparently_ and
+_actually_ with extreme satisfaction) as souvenirs of happy days that
+were past), and pledges of unalterable constancy and bright hope in
+days that were yet to come.
+
+A little apart from the others, a youth and a girl might be seen
+sauntering slowly towards the copse beyond the stable. These were
+Charley Kennedy and his sister Kate, who had retired from the bustling
+scene to take a last short walk together, ere they separated, it might
+be for years, perhaps for ever! Charley held Kate's hand, while her
+sweet little head rested on his shoulder.
+
+"O Charley, Charley, my own dear, darling Charley, I'm quite miserable,
+and you ought not to go away; it's very wrong, and I don't mind a bit
+what you say, I shall die if you leave me!" And Kate pressed him
+tightly to her heart, and sobbed in the depth of her woe. "Now, Kate,
+my darling, don't go on so! You know I can't help it--"
+
+"I _don't_ know," cried Kate, interrupting him, and speaking
+vehemently--"I don't know, and I don't believe, and I don't care for
+anything at all; it's very hard-hearted of you, and wrong, and not
+right, and I'm just quite wretched!"
+
+Poor Kate was undoubtedly speaking the absolute truth; for a more
+disconsolate and wretched look of woebegone misery was never seen on so
+sweet and tender and lovable a little face before. Her blue eyes swam
+in two lakes of pure crystal, that overflowed continually; her mouth,
+which was usually round, had become an elongated oval; and her
+nut-brown hair fell in dishevelled masses over her soft cheeks.
+
+"O Charley," she continued, "why _won't_ you stay?"
+
+"Listen to me, dearest Kate," said Charley, in a very husky voice.
+"It's too late to draw back now, even if I wished to do so; and you
+don't consider, darling, that I'll be back again soon. Besides, I'm a
+man now, Kate, and I must make my own bread. Who ever heard of a man
+being supported by his old father."
+
+"Well, but can't you do that here?"
+
+"No, don't interrupt me, Kate," said Charley, kissing her forehead;
+"I'm quite satisfied with _two short_ legs, and have no desire whatever
+to make my bread on the top of _three long_ ones. Besides, you know I
+can write to you."
+
+"But you won't; you'll forget."
+
+"No, indeed, I will not. I'll write you long letters about all that I
+see and do; and you shall write long letters to me about--"
+
+"Stop, Charley," cried Kate; "I won't listen to you. I hate to think of
+it."
+
+And her tears burst forth again with fresh violence. This time
+Charley's heart sank too. The lump in his throat all but choked him; so
+he was fain to lay his head upon Kate's heaving bosom, and weep along
+with her.
+
+For a few minutes they remained silent, when a slight rustling in the
+bushes was heard. In another moment a tall, broad-shouldered,
+gentlemanly man, dressed in black, stood before them. Charley and Kate,
+on seeing this personage, arose, and wiping the tears from their eyes,
+gave a sad smile as they shook hands with their clergyman.
+
+"My poor children," said Mr. Addison, affectionately, "I know well why
+your hearts are sad. May God bless and comfort you! I saw you enter the
+wood, and came to bid you farewell, Charley, my dear boy, as I shall
+not have another opportunity of doing so."
+
+"O dear Mr. Addison," cried Kate, grasping his hand in both of hers,
+and gazing imploringly up at him through a perfect wilderness of
+ringlets and tears, "do prevail upon Charley to stay at home; please
+do!"
+
+Mr. Addison could scarcely help smiling at the poor girl's extreme
+earnestness.
+
+"I fear, my sweet child, that it is too late now to attempt to dissuade
+Charley. Besides, he goes with the consent of his father; and I am
+inclined to think that a change of life for a _short_ time may do him
+good. Come, Kate, cheer up! Charley will return to us again ere long,
+improved, I trust, both physically and mentally."
+
+Kate did _not_ cheer up, but she dried her eyes, and endeavoured to
+look more composed; while Mr. Addison took Charley by the hand, and, as
+they walked slowly through the wood, gave him much earnest advice and
+counsel.
+
+The clergyman's manner was peculiar. With a large, warm, generous
+heart, he possessed an enthusiastic nature, a quick, brusque manner,
+and a loud voice, which, when his spirit was influenced by the strong
+emotions of pity or anxiety for the souls of his flock, sunk into a
+deep soft bass of the most thrilling earnestness. He belonged to the
+Church of England, but conducted service very much in the Presbyterian
+form, as being more suited to his mixed congregation. After a long
+conversation with Charley, he concluded by saying--
+
+"I do not care to say much to you about being kind and obliging to all
+whom you may meet with during your travels, nor about the dangers to
+which you will be exposed by being thrown into the company of wild and
+reckless, perhaps very wicked, men. There is but _one_ incentive to
+every good, and _one_ safeguard against all evil, my boy, and that is
+the love of God. You may perhaps forget much that I have said to you;
+but remember this, Charley, if you would be happy in this world, and
+have a good hope for the next, centre your heart's affection on our
+blessed Lord Jesus Christ; for believe me, boy, _His_ heart's affection
+is centred upon you."
+
+As Mr. Addison spoke, a loud hello from Mr. Kennedy apprised them that
+their time was exhausted, and that the boats were ready to start.
+Charley sprang towards Kate, locked her in a long, passionate embrace,
+and then, forgetting Mr. Addison altogether in his haste, ran out of
+the wood, and hastened towards the scene of departure.
+
+"Good-bye, Charley!" cried Harry Somerville, running up to his friend
+and giving him a warm grasp of the hand. "Don't forget me, Charley. I
+wish I were going with you, with all my heart; but I'm an unlucky dog.
+Good-bye." The senior clerk and Peter Mactavish had also a kindly word
+and a cheerful farewell for him as he hurried past.
+
+"Good-bye, Charley, my lad!" said old Mr. Kennedy, in an _excessively_
+loud voice, as if by such means he intended to crush back some unusual
+but very powerful feelings that had a peculiar influence on a certain
+lump in his throat. "Good-bye, my lad; don't forget to write to your
+old--Hang it!" said the old man, brushing his coat-sleeve somewhat
+violently across his eyes, and turning abruptly round as Charley left
+him and sprang into the boat--"I say, Grant, I--I--What are you staring
+at, eh?" The latter part of his speech was addressed, in an angry tone,
+to an innocent voyageur, who happened accidentally to confront him at
+the moment.
+
+"Come along, Kennedy," said Mr. Grant, interposing, and grasping his
+excited friend by the arm--"come with me."
+
+"Ah, to be sure!--yes," said he, looking over his shoulder and waving a
+last adieu to Charley, "Good-bye, God bless you, my dear boy!--I say,
+Grant, come along; quick, man, and let's have a pipe--yes, let's have a
+pipe." Mr. Kennedy, essaying once more to crush back his rebellious
+feelings, strode rapidly up the bank, and entering the house, sought to
+overwhelm his sorrow in smoke: in which attempt he failed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+The voyage--The encampment--A surprise.
+
+
+It was a fine sight to see the boats depart for the north. It was a
+thrilling, heart-stirring sight to behold these picturesque, athletic
+men, on receiving the word of command from their guides, spring lightly
+into the long, heavy boats; to see them let the oars fall into the
+water with a loud splash, and then, taking their seats, give way with a
+will, knowing that the eyes of friends and sweethearts and rivals were
+bent earnestly upon them. It was a splendid sight to see boat after
+boat shoot out from the landing-place, and cut through the calm bosom
+of the river, as the men bent their sturdy backs until the thick oars
+creaked and groaned on the gunwales and flashed in the stream, more and
+more vigorously at each successive stroke, until their friends on the
+bank, who were anxious to see the last of them, had to run faster and
+faster in order to keep up with them, as the rowers warmed at their
+work, and made the water gurgle at the bows--their bright blue and
+scarlet and white trappings reflected in the dark waters in broken
+masses of colour, streaked with long lines of shining ripples, as if
+they floated on a lake of liquid rainbows. And it was a glorious thing
+to hear the wild, plaintive song, led by one clear, sonorous voice,
+that rang out full and strong in the still air, while at the close of
+every two lines the whole brigade burst into a loud, enthusiastic
+chorus, that rolled far and wide over the smooth waters--telling of
+their approach to settlers beyond the reach of vision in advance, and
+floating faintly back, a last farewell, to the listening ears of
+fathers, mothers, wives, and sisters left behind. And it was
+interesting to observe how, as the rushing boats sped onwards past the
+cottages on shore, groups of men and women and children stood before
+the open doors and waved adieu, while ever and anon a solitary voice
+rang louder than the others in the chorus, and a pair of dark eyes grew
+brighter as a voyageur swept past his home, and recognised his little
+ones screaming farewell, and seeking to attract their _sire's_
+attention by tossing their chubby arms or flourishing round their heads
+the bright vermilion blades of canoe-paddles. It was interesting, too,
+to hear the men shout as they ran a small rapid which occurs about the
+lower part of the settlement, and dashed in full career up to the Lower
+Fort--which stands about twenty miles down the river from Fort
+Garry--and then sped onward again with unabated energy, until they
+passed the Indian settlement, with its scattered wooden buildings and
+its small church; passed the last cottage on the bank; passed the low
+swampy land at the river's mouth; and emerged at last as evening
+closed, upon the wide, calm, sea-like bosom of Lake Winnipeg.
+
+Charley saw and heard all this during the whole of that long, exciting
+afternoon, and as he heard and saw it his heart swelled as if it would
+burst its prison-bars, his voice rang out wildly in the choruses,
+regardless alike of tune and time, and his spirit boiled within him as
+he quaffed the first sweet draught of a rover's life--a life in the
+woods, the wild, free, enchanting woods, where all appeared in _his_
+eyes bright, and sunny, and green, and beautiful!
+
+As the sun's last rays sunk in the west, and the clouds, losing their
+crimson hue, began gradually to fade into gray, the boats' heads were
+turned landward. In a few seconds they grounded on a low point, covered
+with small trees and bushes which stretched out into the lake. Here
+Louis Peltier had resolved to bivouac for the night.
+
+"Now then, mes garcons," he exclaimed, leaping ashore, and helping to
+drag the boat a little way on to the beach, "vite, vite! a terre, a
+terre!--Take the kettle, Pierre, and let's have supper."
+
+Pierre needed no second bidding. He grasped a large tin kettle and an
+axe, with which he hurried into a clump of trees. Laying down the
+kettle, which he had previously filled with water from the lake, he
+singled out a dead tree, and with three powerful blows of his axe,
+brought it to the ground. A few additional strokes cut it up into logs,
+varying from three to five feet in length, which he piled together,
+first placing a small bundle of dry grass and twigs beneath them, and a
+few splinters of wood which he cut from off one of the logs. Having
+accomplished this, Pierre took a flint and steel out of a gaily
+ornamented pouch which depended from his waist, and which went by the
+name of a fire-bag in consequence of its containing the implements for
+procuring that element. It might have been as appropriately named
+tobacco-box or smoking-bag, however, seeing that such things had more
+to do with it, if possible, than fire. Having struck a spark, which he
+took captive by means of a piece of tinder, he placed in the centre of
+a very dry handful of soft grass, and whirled it rapidly round his
+head, thereby producing a current of air, which blew the spark into a
+flame; which when applied, lighted the grass and twigs; and so, in a
+few minutes, a blazing fire roared up among the trees--spouted volumes
+of sparks into the air, like a gigantic squib, which made it quite a
+marvel that all the bushes in the neighbourhood were not burnt up at
+once--glared out red and fierce upon the rippling water, until it
+became, as it were, red-hot in the neighbourhood of the boats, and
+caused the night to become suddenly darker by contrast; the night
+reciprocating the compliment, as it grew later, by causing the space
+around the fire to glow brighter and brighter, until it became a
+brilliant chamber, surrounded by walls of the blackest ebony.
+
+While Pierre was thus engaged there were at least ten voyageurs
+similarly occupied. Ten steels were made instrumental in creating ten
+sparks, which were severally captured by ten pieces of tinder, and
+whirled round by ten lusty arms, until ten flames were produced, and
+ten fires sprang up and flared wildly on the busy scene that had a few
+hours before been so calm, so solitary, and so peaceful, bathed in the
+soft beams of the setting sun.
+
+In less than half-an-hour the several camps were completed, the kettles
+boiling over the fires, the men smoking in every variety of attitude,
+and talking loudly. It was a cheerful scene; and so Charley thought as
+he reclined in his canvas tent, the opening of which faced the fire,
+and enabled him to see all that was going on.
+
+Pierre was standing over the great kettle, dancing round it, and making
+sudden plunges with a stick into it, in the desperate effort to stir
+its boiling contents--desperate, because the fire was very fierce and
+large, and the flames seem to take a fiendish pleasure in leaping up
+suddenly just under Pierre's nose, thereby endangering his beard, or
+shooting out between his legs and licking round them at most unexpected
+moments, when the light wind ought to have been blowing them quite in
+the opposite direction; and then, as he danced round to the other side
+to avoid them, wheeling about and roaring viciously in his face, until
+it seemed as if the poor man would be roasted long before the supper
+was boiled. Indeed, what between the ever-changing and violent flames,
+the rolling smoke, the steam from the kettle, the showering sparks, and
+the man's own wild grimaces and violent antics, Pierre seemed to
+Charley like a raging demon, who danced not only round, but above, and
+on, and through, and _in_ the flames, as if they were his natural
+element, in which he took special delight.
+
+Quite close to the tent the massive form of Louis the guide lay
+extended, his back supported by the stump of a tree, his eyes blinking
+sleepily at the blaze, and his beloved pipe hanging from his lips,
+while wreaths of smoke encircled his head. Louis's day's work was done.
+Few could do a better; and when his work was over, Louis always acted
+on the belief that his position and his years entitled him to rest, and
+took things very easy in consequence.
+
+Six of the boat's crew sat in a semicircle beside the guide and
+fronting the fire, each paying particular attention to his pipe, and
+talking between the puffs to anyone who chose to listen.
+
+Suddenly Pierre vanished into the smoke and flames altogether, whence
+in another moment he issued, bearing in his hand the large tin kettle,
+which he deposited triumphantly at the feet of his comrades.
+
+"Now, then," cried Pierre.
+
+It was unnecessary to have said even that much by way of invitation.
+Voyageurs do not require to have their food pressed upon them after a
+hard day's work. Indeed it was as much as they could do to refrain from
+laying violent hands on the kettle long before their worthy cook
+considered its contents sufficiently done.
+
+Charley sat in company with Mr. Park--a chief factor, on his way to
+Norway House. Gibault, one of the men who acted as their servant, had
+placed a kettle of hot tea before them, which, with several slices of
+buffalo tongue, a lump of pemmican, and some hard biscuit and butter,
+formed their evening meal. Indeed, we may add that these viands, during
+a great part of the voyage, constituted their every meal. In fact, they
+had no variety in their fare, except a wild duck or two now and then,
+and a goose when they chanced to shoot one.
+
+Charley sipped a pannikin of tea as he reclined on his blanket, and
+being somewhat fatigued in consequence of his exertions and excitement
+during the day, said nothing. Mr. Park, for the same reasons, besides
+being naturally taciturn, was equally mute, so they both enjoyed in
+silence the spectacle of the men eating their supper. And it _was_ a
+sight worth seeing.
+
+Their food consisted of robbiboo, a compound of flour, pemmican, and
+water, boiled to the consistency of very thick soup. Though not a
+species of food that would satisfy the fastidious taste of an epicure,
+robbiboo is, nevertheless, very wholesome, exceedingly nutritious, and
+withal palatable. Pemmican, its principal component, is made of buffalo
+flesh, which fully equals (some think greatly excels) beef. The recipe
+for making it is as follows:-First, kill your buffalo--a matter of
+considerable difficulty, by the way, as doing so requires you to travel
+to the buffalo-grounds, to arm yourself with a gun, and mount a horse,
+on which you have to gallop, perhaps, several miles over rough ground
+and among badger-holes at the imminent risk of breaking your neck. Then
+you have to run up alongside of a buffalo and put a ball through his
+heart, which, apart from the murderous nature of the action, is a
+difficult thing to do. But we will suppose that you have killed your
+buffalo. Then you must skin him; then cut him up, and slice the flesh
+into layers, which must be dried in the sun. At this stage of the
+process you have produced a substance which in the fur countries goes
+by the name of dried meat, and is largely used as an article of food.
+As its name implies, it is very dry, and it is also very tough, and
+very undesirable if one can manage to procure anything better. But to
+proceed. Having thus prepared dried meat, lay a quantity of it on a
+flat stone, and take another stone, with which pound it into shreds.
+You must then take the animal's hide, while it is yet new, and make
+bags of it about two feet and a half long by a foot and a half broad.
+Into this put the pounded meat loosely. Melt the fat of your buffalo
+over a fire, and when quite liquid pour it into the bag until full; mix
+the contents well together; sew the whole up before it cools, and you
+have a bag of pemmican of about ninety pounds weight. This forms the
+chief food of the voyageur, in consequence of its being the largest
+possible quantity of sustenance compressed into the smallest possible
+space, and in an extremely convenient, portable shape. It will keep
+fresh for years, and has been much used, in consequence, by the heroes
+of arctic discovery, in their perilous journeys along the shores of the
+frozen sea.
+
+The voyageurs used no plate. Men who travel in these countries become
+independent of many things that are supposed to be necessary here. They
+sat in a circle round the kettle, each man armed with a large wooden or
+pewter spoon, with which he ladled the robbiboo down his capacious
+throat, in a style that not only caused Charley to laugh, but
+afterwards threw him into a deep reverie on the powers of appetite in
+general, and the strength of voyageur stomachs in particular.
+
+At first the keen edge of appetite induced the men to eat in silence;
+but as the contents of the kettle began to get low, their tongues
+loosened, and at last, when the kettles were emptied and the pipes
+filled, fresh logs thrown on the fires, and their limbs stretched out
+around them, the babel of English, French, and Indian that arose was
+quite overwhelming. The middle-aged men told long stories of what they
+_had_ done; the young men boasted of what they _meant_ to do; while the
+more aged smiled, nodded, smoked their pipes, put in a word or two as
+occasion offered, and listened. While they conversed the quick ears of
+one of the men of Charley's camp detected some unusual sound.
+
+"Hist!" said he, turning his head aside slightly, in a listening
+attitude, while his comrades suddenly ceased their noisy laugh.
+
+"Do ducks travel in canoes hereabouts?" said the man, after a moment's
+silence; "for, if not, there's someone about to pay us a visit. I would
+wager my best gun that I hear the stroke of paddles."
+
+"If your ears had been sharper, Francois, you might have heard them
+some time ago," said the guide, shaking the ashes out of his pipe and
+refilling it for the third time.
+
+"Ah, Louis, I do not pretend to such sharp ears as you possess, nor to
+such sharp wit either. But who do you think can be _en route_ so late?"
+
+"That my wit does not enable me to divine," said Louis; "but if you
+have any faith in the sharpness of your eyes, I would recommend you to
+go to the beach and see, as the best and shortest way of finding out."
+
+By this time the men had risen, and were peering out into the gloom in
+the direction whence the sound came, while one or two sauntered down to
+the margin of the lake to meet the new-comers.
+
+"Who can it be, I wonder?" said Charley, who had left the tent, and was
+now standing beside the guide.
+
+"Difficult to say, monsieur. Perhaps Injins, though I thought there
+were none here just now. But I'm not surprised that we've attracted
+_something_ to us. Livin' creeturs always come nat'rally to the light,
+and there's plenty of fire on the point to-night."
+
+"Rather more than enough," replied Charley, abruptly, as a slight
+motion of wind sent the flames curling round his head and singed off
+his eye-lashes. "Why, Louis, it's my firm belief that if I ever get to
+the end of this journey, I'll not have a hair left on my head."
+
+Louis smiled.
+
+"O monsieur, you will learn to _observe_ things before you have been
+long in the wilderness. If you _will_ edge round to leeward of the
+fire, you can't expect it to respect you."
+
+Just at this moment a loud hurrah rang through the copse, and Harry
+Somerville sprang over the fire into the arms of Charley, who received
+him with a hug and a look of unutterable amazement.
+
+"Charley, my boy!"
+
+"Harry Somerville, I declare!"
+
+For at least five minutes Charley could not recover his composure
+sufficiently to _declare_ anything else, but stood with open mouth and
+eyes, and elevated eyebrows, looking at his young friend, who capered
+and danced round the fire in a manner that threw the cook's
+performances in that line quite into the shade, while he continued all
+the time to shout fragments of sentences that were quite unintelligible
+to anyone. It was evident that Harry was in a state of immense delight
+at something unknown save to himself, but which, in the course of a few
+minutes, was revealed to his wondering friends.
+
+"Charley, I'm _going!_ hurrah!" and he leaped about in a manner that
+induced Charley to say he would not only be going but very soon _gone_,
+if he did not keep further away from the fire.
+
+"Yes, Charley, I'm going with you! I upset the stool, tilted the
+ink-bottle over the invoice-book, sent the poker almost through the
+back of the fireplace, and smashed Tom Whyte's best whip on the back of
+the 'noo 'oss' as I galloped him over the plains for the last time: all
+for joy, because I'm going with you, Charley, my darling!"
+
+Here Harry suddenly threw his arms round his friend's neck, meditating
+an embrace. As both boys were rather fond of using their muscles
+violently, the embrace degenerated into a wrestle, which caused them to
+threaten complete destruction to the fire as they staggered in front of
+it, and ended in their tumbling against the tent and nearly breaking
+its poles and fastenings, to the horror and indignation of Mr. Park,
+who was smoking his pipe within, quietly waiting till Harry's
+superabundant glee was over, that he might get an explanation of his
+unexpected arrival among them.
+
+"Ah, they will be good voyageurs!" cried one of the men, as he looked
+on at this scene.
+
+"Oui, oui! good boys, active lads," replied the others, laughing. The
+two boys rose hastily.
+
+"Yes," cried Harry, breathless, but still excited, "I'm going all the
+way, and a great deal farther. I'm going to hunt buffaloes in the
+Saskatchewan, and grizzly bears in the--the--in fact everywhere! I'm
+going down the Mackenzie River--I'm going _mad_, I believe;" and Harry
+gave another caper and another shout, and tossed his cap high into the
+air. Having been recklessly tossed, it came down into the fire. When it
+went in, it was dark blue; but when Harry dashed into the flames in
+consternation to save it, it came out of a rich brown colour.
+
+"Now, youngster," said Mr. Park, "when you've done capering, I should
+like to ask you one or two questions. What brought you here?"
+
+"A canoe," said Harry, inclined to be impudent.
+
+"Oh, and pray for what _purpose_ have you come here?"
+
+"These are my credentials," handing him a letter.
+
+Mr. Park opened the note and read.
+
+"Ah! oh! Saskatchewan--hum--yes--outpost--wild boy--just so--keep him
+at it--ay, fit for nothing else. So," said Mr. Park, folding the paper,
+"I find that Mr. Grant has sent you to take the place of a young
+gentleman we expected to pick up at Norway House, but who is required
+elsewhere; and that he wishes you to see a good deal of rough life--to
+be made a trader of, in fact. Is that your desire?"
+
+"That's the very ticket!" replied Harry, scarcely able to restrain his
+delight at the prospect.
+
+"Well, then, you had better get supper and turn in, for you'll have to
+begin your new life by rising at three o'clock to-morrow morning. Have
+you got a tent?"
+
+"Yes," said Harry, pointing to his canoe, which had been brought to the
+fire and turned bottom up by the two Indians to whom it belonged, and
+who were reclining under its shelter enjoying their pipes, and watching
+with looks of great gravity the doings of Harry and his friend.
+
+"_That_ will return whence it came to-morrow. Have you no other?"
+
+"Oh yes," said Harry, pointing to the overhanging branches of a willow
+close at hand, "lots more."
+
+Mr. Park smiled grimly, and, turning on his heel, re-entered the tent
+and continued his pipe, while Harry flung himself down beside Charley
+under the bark canoe.
+
+This species of "tent" is, however, by no means a perfect one. An
+Indian canoe is seldom three feet broad--frequently much narrower--so
+that it only affords shelter for the body as far down as the waist,
+leaving the extremities exposed. True, one _may_ double up as nearly as
+possible into half one's length, but this is not a desirable position
+to maintain throughout an entire night. Sometimes, when the weather is
+_very_ bad, an additional protection is procured by leaning several
+poles against the bottom of the canoe, on the weather side, in such a
+way as to slope considerably over the front; and over these are spread
+pieces of birch bark or branches and moss, so as to form a screen,
+which is an admirable shelter. But this involves too much time and
+labour to be adopted during a voyage, and is only done when the
+travellers are under the necessity of remaining for some time in one
+place.
+
+The canoe in which Harry arrived was a pretty large one, and looked so
+comfortable when arranged for the night that Charley resolved to
+abandon his own tent and Mr. Park's society, and sleep with his friend.
+
+"I'll sleep with you, Harry, my boy," said he, after Harry had
+explained to him in detail the cause of his being sent away from Red
+River; which was no other than that a young gentleman, as Mr. Park
+said, who _was_ to have gone, had been ordered elsewhere.
+
+"That's right, Charley; spread out our blankets, while I get some
+supper, like a good fellow." Harry went in search of the kettle while
+his friend prepared their bed. First, he examined the ground on which
+the canoe lay, and found that the two Indians had already taken
+possession of the only level places under it. "Humph!" he ejaculated,
+half inclined to rouse them up, but immediately dismissed the idea as
+unworthy of a voyageur. Besides, Charley was an amiable, unselfish
+fellow, and would rather have lain on the top of a dozen stumps than
+have made himself comfortable at the expense of anyone else.
+
+He paused a moment to consider. On one side was a hollow "that" (as he
+soliloquised to himself) "would break the back of a buffalo." On the
+other side were a dozen little stumps surrounding three very prominent
+ones, that threatened destruction to the ribs of anyone who should
+venture to lie there. But Charley did not pause to consider long.
+Seizing his axe, he laid about him vigorously with the head of it, and
+in a few seconds destroyed all the stumps, which he carefully
+collected, and, along with some loose moss and twigs, put into the
+hollow, and so filled it up. Having improved things thus far, he rose
+and strode out of the circle of light into the wood. In a few minutes
+he reappeared, bearing a young spruce fir tree on his shoulder, which
+with the axe he stripped of its branches. These branches were flat in
+form, and elastic--admirably adapted for making a bed on; and when
+Charley spread them out under the canoe in a pile of about four inches
+in depth by four feet broad and six feet long, the stumps and the
+hollow were overwhelmed altogether. He then ran to Mr. Park's tent, and
+fetched thence a small flat bundle covered with oilcloth and tied with
+a rope. Opening this, he tossed out its contents, which were two large
+and very thick blankets--one green, the other white; a particularly
+minute feather pillow, a pair of moccasins, a broken comb, and a bit of
+soap. Then he opened a similar bundle containing Harry's bed, which he
+likewise tossed out; and then kneeling down, he spread the two white
+blankets on the top of the branches, the two green blankets above
+these, and the two pillows at the top, as far under the shelter of the
+canoe as he could push them. Having completed the whole in a manner
+that would have done credit to a chambermaid, he continued to sit on
+his knees, with his hands in his pockets, smiling complacently, and
+saying, "Capital--first-rate!"
+
+"Here we are, Charley. Have a second supper--do!"
+
+Harry placed the smoking kettle by the head of the bed, and squatting
+down beside it, began to eat as only a boy _can_ eat who has had
+nothing since breakfast.
+
+Charley attacked the kettle too--as he said, "out of sympathy,"
+although he "wasn't hungry a bit." And really, for a man who was not
+hungry, and had supped half-an-hour before, the appetite of _sympathy_
+was wonderfully strong.
+
+But Harry's powers of endurance were now exhausted. He had spent a long
+day of excessive fatigue and excitement, and having wound it up with a
+heavy supper, sleep began to assail him with a fell ferocity that
+nothing could resist. He yawned once or twice, and sat on the bed
+blinking unmeaningly at the fire, as if he had something to say to it
+which he could not recollect just then. He nodded violently, much to
+his own surprise, once or twice, and began to address remarks to the
+kettle instead of to his friend. "I say, Charley, this won't do. I'm
+off to bed!" and suiting the action to the word, he took off his coat
+and placed it on his pillow. He then removed his moccasins, which were
+wet, and put on a dry pair; and this being all that is ever done in the
+way of preparation before going to bed in the woods, he lay down and
+pulled the green blankets over him.
+
+Before doing so, however, Harry leaned his head on his hands and
+prayed. This was the one link left of the chain of habit with which he
+had left home. Until the period of his departure for the wild scenes of
+the Northwest, Harry had lived in a quiet, happy home in the West
+Highlands of Scotland, where he had been surrounded by the benign
+influences of a family the members of which were united by the sweet
+bonds of Christian love--bonds which were strengthened by the
+additional tie of amiability of disposition. From childhood he had been
+accustomed to the routine of a pious and well-regulated household,
+where the Bible was perused and spoken of with an interest that
+indicated a genuine hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and
+where the name of JESUS sounded often and sweetly on the ear. Under
+such training, Harry, though naturally of a wild, volatile disposition,
+was deeply and irresistibly impressed with a reverence for sacred
+things, which, now that he was thousands of miles away from his
+peaceful home, clung to him with the force of old habit and
+association, despite the jeers of comrades and the evil influences and
+ungodliness by which he was surrounded. It is true that he was not
+altogether unhurt by the withering indifference to God that he beheld
+on all sides. Deep impression is not renewal of heart. But early
+training in the path of Christian love saved him many a deadly fall. It
+guarded him from many of the grosser sins, into which other boys, who
+had merely broken away from the _restraints_ of home too easily fell.
+It twined round him--as the ivy encircles the oak--with a soft, tender,
+but powerful grasp, that held him back when he was tempted to dash
+aside all restraint; and held him up when, in the weakness of human
+nature, he was about to fall. It exerted its benign sway over him in
+the silence of night, when his thoughts reverted to home, and during
+his waking hours, when he wandered from scene to scene in the wide
+wilderness; and in after years, when sin prevailed, and intercourse
+with rough men had worn off much of at least the superficial amiability
+of his character, and to some extent blunted the finer feelings of his
+nature, it clung faintly to him still, in the memory of his mother's
+gentle look and tender voice, and never forsook him altogether. Home
+had a blessed and powerful influence on Harry. May God bless such
+homes, where the ruling power is _love!_ God bless and multiply such
+homes in the earth! Were there more of them there would be fewer
+heart-broken mothers to weep over the memory of the blooming, manly
+boys they sent away to foreign climes--with trembling hearts but high
+hopes--and never saw them more. They were vessels launched upon the
+troubled sea of time, with stout timbers, firm masts, and gallant
+sails--with all that was necessary above and below, from stem to stern,
+for battling with the billows of adverse fortune, for stemming the tide
+of opposition, for riding the storms of persecution, or bounding with a
+press of canvas before the gales of prosperity; but without the
+rudder--without the guiding principle that renders the great power of
+plank and sail and mast available; with which the vessel moves obedient
+to the owner's will, without which it drifts about with every current,
+and sails along with every shifting wind that blows. Yes, may the best
+blessings of prosperity and peace rest on such families, whose bread,
+cast continually on the waters, returns to them after many days.
+
+After Harry had lain down, Charley, who did not feel inclined for
+repose, sauntered to the margin of the lake, and sat down upon a rock.
+
+It was a beautiful, calm evening. The moon shone faintly through a mass
+of heavy clouds, casting a pale light on the waters of Lake Winnipeg,
+which stretched, without a ripple, out to the distant horizon. The
+great fresh-water lakes of America bear a strong resemblance to the
+sea. In storms the waves rise mountains high, and break with heavy,
+sullen roar upon a beach composed in many places of sand and pebbles;
+while they are so large that one not only looks out to a straight
+horizon, but may even sail _out of sight of land_ altogether.
+
+As Charley sat resting his head on his hand, and listening to the soft
+hiss that the ripples made upon the beach, he felt all the solemnising
+influence that steals irresistibly over the mind as we sit on a still
+night gazing out upon the moonlit sea. His thoughts were sad; for he
+thought of Kate, and his mother and father, and the home he was now
+leaving. He remembered all that he had ever done to injure or annoy the
+dear ones he was leaving; and it is strange how much alive our
+consciences become when we are unexpectedly or suddenly removed from
+those with whom we have lived and held daily intercourse. How bitterly
+we reproach ourselves for harsh words, unkind actions; and how
+intensely we long for one word more with them, one fervent embrace, to
+prove at once that all we have ever said or done was not _meant_ ill,
+and, at any rate, is deeply, sincerely repented of now! As Charley
+looked up into the starry sky, his mind recurred to the parting words
+of Mr. Addison. With uplifted hands and a full heart, he prayed that
+God would bless, for Jesus' sake, the beloved ones in Red River, but
+especially Kate; for whether he prayed or meditated, Charley's thoughts
+_always_ ended with Kate.
+
+A black cloud passed across the moon, and reminded him that but a few
+hours of the night remained; so hastening up to the camp again, he lay
+gently down beside his friend, and drew the green blanket over him.
+
+In the camp all was silent. The men had chosen their several beds
+according to fancy, under the shadow of a bush or tree. The fires had
+burned low--so low that it was with difficulty Charley, as he lay,
+could discern the recumbent forms of the men, whose presence was
+indicated by the deep, soft, regular breathing of tired but, healthy
+constitutions. Sometimes a stray moonbeam shot through the leaves and
+branches, and cast a ghost-like, flickering light over the scene, which
+ever and anon was rendered more mysterious by a red flare of the fire
+as an ember fell, blazed up for an instant, and left all shrouded in
+greater darkness than before.
+
+At first Charley continued his sad thoughts, staring all the while at
+the red embers of the expiring fire; but soon his eyes began to blink,
+and the stumps of trees began to assume the form of voyageurs, and
+voyageurs to look like stumps of trees. Then a moonbeam darted in, and
+Mr. Addison stood on the other side of the fire. At this sight Charley
+started, and Mr. Addison disappeared, while the boy smiled to think how
+he had been dreaming while only half asleep. Then Kate appeared, and
+seemed to smile on him; but another ember fell, and another red flame
+sprang up, and put her to flight too. Then a low sigh of wind rustled
+through the branches, and Charley felt sure that he saw Kate again
+coming through the woods, singing the low, soft tune that she was so
+fond of singing, because it was his own favourite air. But soon the air
+ceased; the fire faded away; so did the trees, and the sleeping
+voyageurs; Kate last of all dissolved, and Charley sank into a deep,
+untroubled slumber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+Varieties, vexations, and vicissitudes.
+
+
+Life is checkered--there is no doubt about that; whatever doubts a man
+may entertain upon other subjects, he can have none upon this, we feel
+quite certain. In fact, so true is it that we would not for a moment
+have drawn the reader's attention to it here, were it not that our
+experience of life in the backwoods corroborates the truth; and truth,
+however well corroborated, is none the worse of getting a little
+additional testimony now and then in this sceptical generation.
+
+Life is checkered, then, undoubtedly. And life in the backwoods
+strengthens the proverb, for it is a peculiarly striking and remarkable
+specimen of life's variegated character.
+
+There is a difference between sailing smoothly along the shores of Lake
+Winnipeg with favouring breezes, and being tossed on its surging
+billows by the howling of a nor'-west wind, that threatens destruction
+to the boat, or forces it to seek shelter on the shore. This difference
+is one of the checkered scenes of which we write, and one that was
+experienced by the brigade more than once during its passage across the
+lake.
+
+Since we are dealing in truisms, it may not, perhaps, be out of place
+here to say that going to bed at night is not by any means getting up
+in the morning; at least so several of our friends found to be the case
+when the deep sonorous voice of Louis Peltier sounded through the camp
+on the following morning, just as a very faint, scarcely perceptible,
+light tinged the eastern sky.
+
+"Leve, leve, leve!" he cried, "leve, leve, mes enfants!"
+
+Some of Louis's _infants_ replied to the summons in a way that would
+have done credit to a harlequin. One or two active little Canadians, on
+hearing the cry of the awful word _leve_, rose to their feet with a
+quick bound, as if they had been keeping up an appearance of sleep as a
+sort of practical joke all night, on purpose to be ready to leap as the
+first sound fell from the guide's lips. Others lay still, in the same
+attitude in which they had fallen asleep, having made up their minds,
+apparently, to lie there in spite of all the guides in the world. Not a
+few got slowly into the sitting position, their hair dishevelled, their
+caps awry, their eyes alternately winking very hard and staring awfully
+in the vain effort to keep open, and their whole physiognomy wearing an
+expression of blank stupidity that is peculiar to man when engaged in
+that struggle which occurs each morning as he endeavours to disconnect
+and shake off the entanglement of nightly dreams and the realities of
+the breaking day. Throughout the whole camp there was a low, muffled
+sound, as of men moving lazily, with broken whispers and disjointed
+sentences uttered in very deep, hoarse tones, mingled with confused,
+unearthly noises, which, upon consideration, sounded like prolonged
+yawns. Gradually these sounds increased, for the guide's _leve_ is
+inexorable, and the voyageur's fate inevitable.
+
+"Oh dear!--yei a--a--ow" (yawning); "hang your _leve!_"
+
+"Oui, vraiment--yei a-a----ow--morbleu!"
+
+"Eh, what's that? Oh, misere!"
+
+"Tare an' ages!" (from an Irishman), "an' I had only got to slaape yit!
+but--yei a--a----ow!"
+
+French and Irish yawns are very similar, the only difference being,
+that whereas the Frenchman finishes the yawn resignedly, and springs to
+his legs, the Irishman finishes it with an energetic gasp, as if he
+were hurling it remonstratively into the face of Fate, turns round
+again and shuts his eyes doggedly--a piece of bravado which he knows is
+useless and of very short duration.
+
+"Leve! leve!! leve!!!" There was no mistake this time in the tones of
+Louis's voice. "Embark, embark! vite, vite!"
+
+The subdued sounds of rousing broke into a loud buzz of active
+preparation, as the men busied themselves in bundling up blankets,
+carrying down camp-kettles to the lake, launching the boats, kicking up
+lazy comrades, stumbling over and swearing at fallen trees which were
+not visible in the cold, uncertain light of the early dawn, searching
+hopelessly, among a tangled conglomeration of leaves and broken
+branches and crushed herbage, for lost pipes and missing
+tobacco-pouches.
+
+"Hollo!" exclaimed Harry Somerville, starting suddenly from his
+sleeping posture, and unintentionally cramming his elbow into Charley's
+mouth, "I declare they're all up and nearly ready to start."
+
+"That's no reason," replied Charley, "why you should knock out all my
+front teeth, is it?"
+
+Just then Mr. Park issued from his tent, dressed and ready to step into
+his boat. He first gave a glance round the camp to see that all the men
+were moving, then he looked up through the trees to ascertain the
+present state and, if possible, the future prospects of the weather.
+Having come to a satisfactory conclusion on that head, he drew forth
+his pipe and began to fill it, when his eye fell on the two boys, who
+were still sitting up in their lairs, and staring idiotically at the
+place where the fire had been, as if the white ashes, half-burned logs,
+and bits of charcoal were a sight of the most novel and interesting
+character, that filled them with intense amazement.
+
+Mr. Park could scarce forbear smiling.
+
+"Hollo, youngsters, precious voyageurs _you'll_ make, to be sure, if
+this is the way you're going to begin. Don't you see that the things
+are all aboard, and we'll be ready to start in five minutes, and you
+sitting there with your neckcloths off?"
+
+Mr. Park gave a slight sneer when he spoke of _neckcloths_, as if he
+thought, in the first place, that they were quite superfluous portions
+of attire, and in the second place, that having once put them on, the
+taking of them off at night was a piece of effeminacy altogether
+unworthy of a Nor'-wester.
+
+Charley and Harry needed no second rebuke. It flashed instantly upon
+them that sleeping comfortably under their blankets when the men were
+bustling about the camp was extremely inconsistent with the heroic
+resolves of the previous day. They sprang up, rolled their blankets in
+the oil-cloths, which they fastened tightly with ropes; tied the
+neckcloths, held in such contempt by Mr. Park, in a twinkling; threw on
+their coats, and in less than five minutes were ready to embark. They
+then found that they might have done things more leisurely, as the
+crews had not yet got all their traps on board; so they began to look
+around them, and discovered that each had omitted to pack up a blanket.
+
+Very much crestfallen at their stupidity, they proceeded to untie the
+bundles again, when it became apparent to the eyes of Charley that his
+friend had put on his capote inside out; which had a peculiarly ragged
+and grotesque effect. These mistakes were soon rectified, and
+shouldering their beds, they carried them down to the boat and tossed
+them in. Meanwhile Mr. Park, who had been watching the movements of the
+boys with a peculiar smile, that filled them with confusion, went round
+the different camps to see that nothing was left behind. The men were
+all in their places with oars ready, and the boats floating on the calm
+water, a yard or two from shore, with the exception of the guide's
+boat, the stern of which still rested on the sand awaiting Mr. Park.
+
+"Who does this belong to?" shouted that gentleman, holding up a cloth
+cap, part of which was of a mottled brown and part deep blue.
+
+Harry instantly tore the covering from his head, and discovered that
+among his numerous mistakes he had put on the head-dress of one of the
+Indians who had brought him to the camp. To do him justice the cap was
+not unlike his own, excepting that it was a little more mottled and
+dirty in colour, besides being decorated with a gaudy but very much
+crushed and broken feather.
+
+"You had better change with our friend here, I think," said Mr. Park,
+grinning from ear to ear, as he tossed the cap to its owner, while
+Harry handed the other to the Indian, amid the laughter of the crew.
+
+"Never mind, boy," added Mr. Park, in an encouraging tone, "you'll make
+a voyageur yet.--Now then, lads, give way;" and with a nod to the
+Indians, who stood on the shore watching their departure, the trader
+sprang into the boat and took his place beside the two boys.
+
+"Ho! sing, mes garcons," cried the guide, seizing the massive sweep and
+directing the boat out to sea.
+
+At this part of the lake there occurs a deep bay or inlet, to save
+rounding which travellers usually strike straight across from point to
+point, making what is called in voyageur parlance a _traverse_. These
+traverses are subjects of considerable anxiety and frequently of delay
+to travellers, being sometimes of considerable extent, varying from
+four to five, and in such immense seas as Lake Superior, to fourteen
+miles. With boats, indeed, there is little to fear, as the inland craft
+of the fur-traders can stand a heavy sea, and often ride out a pretty
+severe storm; but it is far otherwise with the bark canoes that are
+often used in travelling. These frail craft can stand very little
+sea--their frames being made of thin flat slips of wood and sheets of
+bark, not more than a quarter of an inch thick, which are sewed
+together with the fibrous roots of the pine (called by the natives
+_wattape_), and rendered water-tight by means of melted gum. Although
+light and buoyant, therefore, and extremely useful in a country where
+portages are numerous, they require very tender usage; and when a
+traverse has to be made, the guides have always a grave consultation,
+with some of the most sagacious among the men, as to the probability of
+the wind rising or falling--consultations which are more or less marked
+by anxiety and tediousness in proportion to the length of the traverse,
+the state of the weather and the courage or timidity of the guides.
+
+On the present occasion there was no consultation, as has been already
+seen. The traverse was a short one, the morning fine, and the boats
+good. A warm glow began to overspread the horizon, giving promise of a
+splendid day, as the numerous oars dipped with a plash and a loud hiss
+into the water, and sent the boats leaping forth upon the white wave.
+
+"Sing, sing!" cried the guide again, and clearing his throat, he began
+the beautiful quick-tuned canoe-song "Rose Blanche," to which the men
+chorused with such power of lungs that a family of plovers, which up to
+that time had stood in mute astonishment on a sandy point, tumbled
+precipitately into the water, from which they rose with a shrill,
+inexpressibly wild, plaintive cry, and fled screaming away to a more
+secure refuge among the reeds and sedges of a swamp. A number of ducks
+too, awakened by the unwonted sound, shot suddenly out from the
+concealment of their night's bivouac with erect heads and startled
+looks, sputtered heavily over the surface of their liquid bed, and
+rising into the air, flew in a wide circuit, with whistling wings, away
+from the scene of so much uproar and confusion.
+
+The rough voices of the men grew softer and softer as the two Indians
+listened to the song of their departing friends, mellowing down and
+becoming more harmonious and more plaintive as the distance increased,
+and the boats grew smaller and smaller, until they were lost in the
+blaze of light that now bathed both water and sky in the eastern
+horizon, and began rapidly to climb the zenith, while the sweet tones
+became less and less audible as they floated faintly across the still
+water, and melted at last into the deep silence of the wilderness.
+
+The two Indians still stood with downcast heads and listening ears, as
+if they loved the last echo of the dying music, while their grave,
+statue-like forms added to rather than detracted from, the solitude of
+the deserted scene.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Charley and Harry begin their sporting career without much
+success--Whisky-john catching.
+
+
+The place in the boats usually allotted to gentlemen in the Company's
+service while travelling is the stern. Here the lading is so arranged
+as to form a pretty level hollow, where the flat bundles containing
+their blankets are placed, and a couch is thus formed that rivals
+Eastern effeminacy in luxuriance. There are occasions, however, when
+this couch is converted into a bed, not of thorns exactly, but of
+corners; and really it would be hard to say which of the two is the
+more disagreeable. Should the men be careless in arranging the cargo,
+the inevitable consequence is that "monsieur" will find the leg of an
+iron stove, the sharp edge of a keg, or the corner of a wooden box
+occupying the place where his ribs should be. So common, however, is
+this occurrence that the clerks usually superintend the arrangements
+themselves, and so secure comfort.
+
+On a couch, then, of this kind Charley and Harry now found themselves
+constrained to sit all morning--sometimes asleep, occasionally awake,
+and always earnestly desiring that it was time to put ashore for
+breakfast, as they had now travelled for four hours without halt,
+except twice for about five minutes, to let the men light their pipes.
+
+"Charley," said Harry Somerville to his friend, who sat beside him, "it
+strikes me that we are to have no breakfast at all to-day. Here have I
+been holding my breath and tightening my belt, until I feel much more
+like a spider or a wasp than a--a--"
+
+"_Man_, Harry; out with it at once, don't be afraid," said Charley.
+
+"Well, no, I wasn't going to have said _that_ exactly, but I was going
+to have said a voyageur, only I recollected our doings this morning,
+and hesitated to take the name until I had won it."
+
+"It's well that you entertain so modest an opinion of yourself," said
+Mr. Park, who still smoked his pipe as if he were impressed with the
+idea that to stop for a moment would produce instant death. "I may tell
+you for your comfort, youngster, that we shan't breakfast till we reach
+yonder point."
+
+The shores of Lake Winnipeg are flat and low, and the point indicated
+by Mr. Park lay directly in the light of the sun, which now shone with
+such splendour in the cloudless sky, and flashed on the polished water,
+that it was with difficulty they could look towards the point of land.
+
+"Where is it?" asked Charley, shading his eyes with his hand; "I cannot
+make out anything at all."
+
+"Try again, my boy; there's nothing like practice."
+
+"Ah yes! I make it out now; a faint shadow just under the sun. Is that
+it?"
+
+"Ay, and we'll break our fast _there_."
+
+"I would like very much to break your head _here_," thought Charley,
+but he did not say it, as, besides being likely to produce unpleasant
+consequences, he felt that such a speech to an elderly gentleman would
+be highly improper; and Charley had _some_ respect for gray hairs for
+their own sake, whether the owner of them was a good man or a goose.
+
+"What shall we do, Harry? If I had only thought of keeping out a book."
+
+"I know what _I_ shall do," said Harry, with a resolute air: "I'll go
+and shoot!"
+
+"Shoot!" cried Charley. "You don't mean to say that you're going to
+waste your powder and shot by firing at the clouds! for unless you take
+_them_, I see nothing else here."
+
+"That's because you don't use your eyes," retorted Harry. "Will you
+just look at yonder rock ahead of us, and tell me what you see?"
+
+Charley looked earnestly at the rock, which to a cursory glance seemed
+as if composed of whiter stone on the top. "Gulls, I declare!" shouted
+Charley, at the same time jumping up in haste.
+
+Just then one of the gulls, probably a scout sent out to watch the
+approaching enemy, wheeled in a circle overhead. The two youths dragged
+their guns from beneath the thwarts of the boat, and rummaged about in
+great anxiety for shot-belts and powder-horns. At last they were found;
+and having loaded, they sat on the edge of the boat, looking out for
+game with as much--ay, with _more_ intense interest than a Blackfoot
+Indian would have watched for a fat buffalo cow.
+
+"There he goes," said Harry; "take the first shot, Charley."
+
+"Where? where is it?"
+
+"Right ahead. Look out!"
+
+As Harry spoke, a small white gull, with bright-red legs and beak, flew
+over the boat so close to them that, as the guide remarked, "he could
+see it wink!" Charley's equanimity, already pretty well disturbed, was
+entirely upset at the suddenness of the bird's appearance; for he had
+been gazing intently at the rock when his friend's exclamation drew his
+attention in time to see the gull within about four feet of his head.
+With a sudden "Oh!" Charley threw forward his gun, took a short,
+wavering aim, and blew the cock-tail feather out of Baptiste's hat;
+while the gull sailed tranquilly away, as much as to say, "If _that's_
+all you can do, there's no need for me to hurry!"
+
+"Confound the boy!" cried Mr. Park. "You'll be the death of someone
+yet; I'm convinced of that."
+
+"Parbleu! you may say that, c'est vrai," remarked the voyageur with a
+rueful gaze at his hat, which, besides having its ornamental feather
+shattered, was sadly cut up about the crown.
+
+The poor lad's face became much redder than the legs or beak of the
+gull as he sat down in confusion, which he sought to hide by busily
+reloading his gun; while the men indulged in a somewhat witty and
+sarcastic criticism of his powers of shooting, remarking, in flattering
+terms, on the precision of the shot that blew Baptiste's feather into
+atoms, and declaring that if every shot he fired was as truly aimed, he
+would certainly be the best in the country.
+
+Baptiste also came in for a share of their repartee. "It serves you
+right," said the guide, laughing, "for wearing such things on the
+voyage. You should put away such foppery till you return to the
+settlement, where there are _girls_ to admire you." (Baptiste had
+continued to wear the tall hat, ornamented with gold cords and tassels,
+with which he had left Red River).
+
+"Ah!" cried another, pulling vigorously at his oar, "I fear that Marie
+won't look at you, now that all your beauty's gone."
+
+"'Tis not quite gone," said a third; "there's all the brim and half a
+tassel left, besides the wreck of the remainder."
+
+"Oh, I can lend you a few fragments," retorted Baptiste, endeavouring
+to parry some of the thrusts. "They would improve _you_ vastly."
+
+"No, no, friend; gather them up and replace them: they will look more
+picturesque and becoming now. I believe if you had worn them much
+longer all the men in the boat would have fallen in love with you."
+
+"By St. Patrick," said Mike Brady, an Irishman who sat at the oar
+immediately behind the unfortunate Canadian, "there's more than enough
+o' rubbish scattered over mysilf nor would do to stuff a fither-bed
+with."
+
+As Mike spoke, he collected the fragments of feathers and ribbons with
+which the unlucky shot had strewn him, and placed them slyly on the top
+of the dilapidated hat, which Baptiste, after clearing away the wreck,
+had replaced on his head.
+
+"It's very purty," said Mike, as the action was received by the crew
+with a shout of merriment.
+
+Baptiste was waxing wrathful under this fire, when the general
+attention was drawn again towards Charley and his friend, who, having
+now got close to the rock, had quite forgotten their mishap in the
+excitement of expectation.
+
+This excitement in the shooting of such small game might perhaps
+surprise our readers, did we not acquaint them with the fact that
+neither of the boys had, up to that time, enjoyed much opportunity of
+shooting. It is true that Harry had once or twice borrowed the
+fowling-piece of the senior clerk, and had sallied forth with a beating
+heart to pursue the grouse which are found in the belt of woodland
+skirting the Assiniboine River near to Fort Garry. But these
+expeditions were of rare occurrence, and they had not sufficed to rub
+off much of the bounding excitement with which he loaded and fired at
+anything and everything that came within range of his gun. Charley, on
+the other hand, had never fired a shot before, except out of an old
+horse-pistol; having up to this period been busily engaged at school,
+except during the holidays, which he always spent in the society of his
+sister Kate, whose tastes were not such as were likely to induce him to
+take up the gun, even if he had possessed such a weapon. Just before
+leaving Red River, his father presented him with his own gun,
+remarking, as he did so, with a sigh, that _his_ day was past now; and
+adding that the gun was a good one for shot or ball, and if he
+(Charley) brought down _half_ as much game with it as he (Mr. Kennedy)
+had brought down in the course of his life, he might consider himself a
+crack shot undoubtedly.
+
+It was not surprising, therefore, that the two friends went nearly mad
+with excitation when the whole flock of gulls rose into the air like a
+white cloud, and sailed in endless circles and gyrations above and
+around their heads--flying so close at times that they might almost
+have been caught by the hand. Neither was it surprising that
+innumerable shots were fired, by both sportsmen, without a single bird
+being a whit the worse for it, or themselves much the better; the
+energetic efforts made to hit being rendered abortive by the very
+eagerness which caused them to miss. And this was the less
+extraordinary, too, when it is remembered that Harry in his haste
+loaded several times without shot, and Charley rendered the right
+barrel of his gun _hors de combat_ at last, by ramming down a charge of
+shot and omitting powder altogether, whereby he snapped and primed, and
+snapped and primed again, till he grew desperate, and then suspicious
+of the true cause, which he finally rectified with much difficulty.
+
+Frequently the gulls flew straight over the heads of the youths--which
+produced peculiar consequences, as in such cases they took aim while
+the birds were approaching; but being somewhat slow at taking aim, the
+gulls were almost perpendicularly above them ere they were ready to
+shoot, so that they were obliged to fire hastily in _hope_, feeling
+that they were losing their balance, or give up the chance altogether.
+
+Mr. Park sat grimly in his place all the while, enjoying the scene, and
+smoking.
+
+"Now then, Charley," said he, "take that fellow."
+
+"Which? where? Oh, if I could only get one!" said Charley, looking up
+eagerly at the screaming birds, at which he had been staring so long,
+in their varying and crossing flight, that his sight had become
+hopelessly unsteady.
+
+"There! Look sharp; fire away!"
+
+Bang went Charley's piece, as he spoke, at a gull which flew straight
+towards him, but so rapidly that it was directly above his head;
+indeed, he was leaning a little backwards at the moment, which caused
+him to miss again, while the recoil of the gun brought matters to a
+climax, by toppling him over into Mr. Park's lap, thereby smashing that
+gentleman's pipe to atoms. The fall accidentally exploded the second
+barrel, causing the butt to strike Charley in the pit of his
+stomach--as if to ram him well home into Mr. Park's open arms--and
+hitting with a stray shot a gull that was sailing high up in the sky in
+fancied security. It fell with a fluttering crash into the boat while
+the men were laughing at the accident.
+
+"Didn't I say so?" cried Mr. Park, wrathfully, as he pitched Charley
+out of his lap, and spat out the remnants of his broken pipe.
+
+Fortunately for all parties, at this moment the boat approached a spot
+on which the guide had resolved to land for breakfast; and seeing the
+unpleasant predicament into which poor Charley had fallen, he assumed
+the strong tones of command with which guides are frequently gifted,
+and called out,--
+
+"Ho, ho! a terre! a terre! to land! to land! Breakfast, my boys;
+breakfast!"--at the same time sweeping the boat's head shoreward, and
+running into a rocky bay, whose margin was fringed by a growth of small
+trees. Here, in a few minutes, they were joined by the other boats of
+the brigade, which had kept within sight of each other nearly the whole
+morning.
+
+While travelling through the wilds of North America in boats, voyageurs
+always make a point of landing to breakfast. Dinner is a meal with
+which they are unacquainted, at least on the voyage, and luncheon is
+likewise unknown. If a man feels hungry during the day, the
+pemmican-bag and its contents are there; he may pause in his work at
+any time, for a minute, to seize the axe and cut off a lump, which he
+may devour as he best can; but there is no going ashore--no resting for
+dinner. Two great meals are recognised, and the time allotted to their
+preparation and consumption held inviolable--breakfast and supper: the
+first varying between the hours of seven and nine in the morning; the
+second about sunset, at which time travellers usually encamp for the
+night. Of the two meals it would be difficult to say which is more
+agreeable. For our own part, we prefer the former. It is the meal to
+which a man addresses himself with peculiar gusto, especially if he has
+been astir three or four hours previously in the open air. It is the
+time of day, too, when the spirits are freshest and highest, animated
+by the prospect of the work, the difficulties, the pleasures, or the
+adventures of the day that has begun; and cheered by that cool, clear
+_buoyancy_ of Nature which belongs exclusively to the happy morning
+hours, and has led poets in all ages to compare these hours to the
+first sweet months of spring or the early years of childhood.
+
+Voyageurs, not less than poets, have felt the exhilarating influence of
+the young day, although they have lacked the power to tell it in
+sounding numbers; but where words were wanting, the sparkling eye, the
+beaming countenance, the light step, and hearty laugh, were more
+powerful exponents of the feelings within. Poet, and painter too, might
+have spent a profitable hour on the shores of that great sequestered
+lake, and as they watched the picturesque groups--clustering round the
+blazing fires, preparing their morning meal, smoking their pipes,
+examining and repairing the boats, or suning their stalwart limbs in
+wild, careless attitudes upon the greensward--might have found a
+subject worthy the most brilliant effusions of the pen, or the most
+graphic touches of the pencil.
+
+An hour sufficed for breakfast. While it was preparing, the two friends
+sauntered into the forest in search of game, in which they were
+unsuccessful; in fact, with the exception of the gulls before
+mentioned, there was not a feather to be seen--save, always, one or two
+whisky-johns.
+
+Whisky-johns are the most impudent, puffy, conceited little birds that
+exist. Not much larger in reality than sparrows, they nevertheless
+manage to swell out their feathers to such an extent that they appear
+to be as large as magpies, which they further resemble in their
+plumage. Go where you will in the woods of Rupert's Land, the instant
+that you light a fire two or three whisky-johns come down and sit
+beside you, on a branch, it may be, or on the ground, and generally so
+near that you cannot but wonder at their recklessness. There is a
+species of impudence which seems to be specially attached to little
+birds. In them it reaches the highest pitch of perfection. A bold,
+swelling, arrogant effrontery--a sort of stark, staring,
+self-complacent, comfortable, and yet innocent impertinence, which is
+at once irritating and amusing, aggravating and attractive, and which
+is exhibited in the greatest intensity in the whisky-john. He will jump
+down almost under your nose, and seize a fragment of biscuit or
+pemmican. He will go right into the pemmican-bag, when you are but a
+few paces off, and pilfer, as it were, at the fountain-head. Or if
+these resources are closed against him, he will sit on a twig, within
+an inch of your head, and look at you as only a whisky-john _can_ look.
+
+"I'll catch one of these rascals," said Harry, as he saw them jump
+unceremoniously into and out of the pemmican-bag.
+
+Going down to the boat, Harry hid himself under the tarpaulin, leaving
+a hole open near to the mouth of the bag. He had not remained more than
+a few minutes in this concealment when one of the birds flew down, and
+alighted on the edge of the boat. After a glance round to see that all
+was right, it jumped into the bag. A moment after, Harry, darting his
+hand through the aperture, grasped him round the neck and secured him.
+Poor whisky-john screamed and pecked ferociously, while Harry brought
+him in triumph to his friend; but so unremittingly did the bird scream
+that its captor was fain at last to let him off, the more especially as
+the cook came up at the moment and announced that breakfast was ready.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The storm.
+
+
+Two days after the events of the last chapter, the brigade was making
+one of the traverses which have already been noticed as of frequent
+occurrence in the great lakes. The morning was calm and sultry. A deep
+stillness pervaded Nature, which tended to produce a corresponding
+quiescence in the mind, and to fill it with those indescribably solemn
+feelings that frequently arise before a thunderstorm. Dark, lurid
+clouds hung overhead in gigantic masses, piled above each other like
+the battlements of a dark fortress, from whose ragged embrasures the
+artillery of heaven was about to play.
+
+"Shall we get over in time, Louis?" asked Mr. Park, as he turned to the
+guide, who sat holding the tiller with a firm grasp; while the men,
+aware of the necessity of reaching shelter ere the storm burst upon
+them, were bending to the oars with steady and sustained energy.
+
+"Perhaps," replied Louis, laconically.--"Pull, lads, pull! else you'll
+have to sleep in wet skins to-night."
+
+A low growl of distant thunder followed the guide's words, and the men
+pulled with additional energy; while the slow measured hiss of the
+water, and clank of oars, as they cut swiftly through the lake's clear
+surface, alone interrupted the dead silence that ensued.
+
+Charley and his friend conversed in low whispers; for there is a
+strange power in a thunder-storm, whether raging or about to break,
+that overawes the heart of man,--as if Nature's God were nearer then
+than at other times; as if He--whose voice, indeed, if listened to,
+speaks even in the slightest evolution of natural phenomena--were about
+to tread the visible earth with more than usual majesty, in the vivid
+glare of the lightning flash, and in the awful crash of thunder.
+
+"I don't know how it is, but I feel more like a coward," said Charley,
+"just before a thunderstorm than I think I should do in the arms of a
+polar bear. Do you feel queer, Harry?"
+
+"A little," replied Harry, in a low whisper, "and yet I'm not
+frightened. I can scarcely tell what I feel, but I'm certain it's not
+fear."
+
+"Well, I don't know," said Charley. "When father's black bull chased
+Kate and me in the prairies, and almost overtook us as we ran for the
+fence of the big field, I felt my heart leap to my mouth, and the blood
+rush to my cheeks, as I turned about and faced him, while Kate climbed
+the fence; but after she was over, I felt a wild sort of wickedness in
+me, as if I should like to tantalise and torment him,--and I felt
+altogether different from what I feel now while I look up at these
+black clouds. Isn't there something quite awful in them, Harry?"
+
+Ere Harry replied, a bright flash of lightning shot athwart the sky,
+followed by a loud roll of thunder, and in a moment the wind rushed,
+like a fiend set suddenly free, down upon the boats, tearing up the
+smooth surface of the water as it flew, and cutting it into gleaming
+white streaks. Fortunately the storm came down behind the boats, so
+that, after the first wild burst was over, they hoisted a small portion
+of their lug sails, and scudded rapidly before it.
+
+There was still a considerable portion of the traverse to cross, and
+the guide cast an anxious glance over his shoulder occasionally, as the
+dark waves began to rise, and their crests were cut into white foam by
+the increasing gale. Thunder roared in continued, successive peals, as
+if the heavens were breaking up, while rain descended in sheets. For a
+time the crews continued to ply their oars; but as the wind increased,
+these were rendered superfluous. They were taken in, therefore, and the
+men sought partial shelter under the tarpaulin; while Mr. Park and the
+two boys were covered, excepting their heads, by an oilcloth, which was
+always kept at hand in rainy weather.
+
+"What think you now, Louis?" said Mr. Park, resuming the pipe which the
+sudden outburst of the storm had caused him to forget. "Have we seen
+the worst of it?"
+
+Louis replied abruptly in the negative, and in a few seconds shouted
+loudly, "Look out, lads! here comes a squall. Stand by to let go the
+sheet there!"
+
+Mike Brady, happening to be near the sheet, seized hold of the rope,
+and prepared to let go, while the men rose, as if by instinct, and
+gazed anxiously at the approaching squall, which could be seen in the
+distance, extending along the horizon, like a bar of blackest ink,
+spotted with flakes of white. The guide sat with compressed lips, and
+motionless as a statue, guiding the boat as it bounded madly towards
+the land, which was now not more than half-a-mile distant.
+
+"Let go!" shouted the guide, in a voice that was heard loud and clear
+above the roar of the elements.
+
+"Ay, ay," replied the Irishman, untwisting the rope instantly, as with
+a sharp hiss the squall descended on the boat.
+
+At that moment the rope became entangled round one of the oars, and the
+gale burst with all its fury on the distended sail, burying the prow in
+the waves, which rushed inboard in a black volume, and in an instant
+half filled the boat.
+
+"Let go!" roared the guide again, in a voice of thunder; while Mike
+struggled with awkward energy to disentangle the rope.
+
+As he spoke, an Indian, who during the storm had been sitting beside
+the mast, gazing at the boiling water with a grave, contemplative
+aspect, sprang quickly forward, drew his knife, and with two blows (so
+rapidly delivered that they seemed but one) cut asunder first the sheet
+and then the halyards, which let the sail blow out and fall flat upon
+the boat. He was just in time. Another moment and the gushing water,
+which curled over the bow, would have filled them to the gunwale. As it
+was, the little vessel was so full of water that she lay like a log,
+while every toss of the waves sent an additional torrent into her.
+
+"Bail for your lives, lads!" cried Mr. Park, as he sprang forward, and,
+seizing a tin dish, began energetically to bail out the water.
+Following his example, the whole crew seized whatever came first to
+hand in the shape of dish or kettle, and began to bail. Charley and
+Harry Somerville acted a vigorous part on this occasion--the one with a
+bark dish (which had been originally made by the natives for the
+purpose of holding maple sugar), the other with his cap.
+
+For a time it seemed doubtful whether the curling waves should send
+most water _into_ the boat, or the crew should bail most _out_ of it.
+But the latter soon prevailed, and in a few minutes it was so far got
+under that three of the men were enabled to leave off bailing and reset
+the sail, while Louis Pettier returned to his post at the helm. At
+first the boat moved but slowly, owing to the weight of water in her;
+but as this gradually grew less, she increased her speed and neared the
+land.
+
+"Well done, Redfeather," said Mr. Park, addressing the Indian as he
+resumed his seat; "your knife did us good service that time, my fine
+fellow."
+
+Redfeather, who was the only pure native in the brigade, acknowledged
+the compliment with a smile.
+
+"_Ah, oui_," replied the guide, whose features had now lost their stern
+expression. "These Injins are always ready enough with their knives.
+It's not the first time my life has been saved by the knife of a
+red-skin."
+
+"Humph! bad luck to them," muttered Mike Brady; "it's not the first
+time that my windpipe has been pretty near spiflicated by the knives o'
+the redskins, the murtherin' varmints."
+
+As Mike gave vent to this malediction, the boat ran swiftly past a low
+rocky point, over which the surf was breaking wildly.
+
+"Down with the sail, Mike," cried the guide, at the same time putting
+the helm hard up. The boat flew round, obedient to the ruling power,
+made one last plunge as it left the rolling surf behind, and slid
+gently and smoothly into still water under the lee of the point.
+
+Here, in the snug shelter of a little bay, two of the other boats were
+found, with their prows already on the beach, and their crews actively
+employed in landing their goods, opening bales that had received damage
+from the water, and preparing the encampment; while ever and anon they
+paused a moment to watch the various boats as they flew before the
+gale, and one by one doubled the friendly promontory.
+
+If there is one thing that provokes a voyageur more than another, it is
+being wind-bound on the shores of a large lake. Rain or sleet, heat or
+cold, icicles forming on the oars, or a broiling sun glaring in a
+cloudless sky, the stings of sand-flies, or the sharp probes of a
+million musquitoes, he will bear with comparative indifference; but
+being detained by high wind for two, three, or four days
+together--lying inactively on shore, when everything else, it may be,
+is favourable: the sun bright, the sky blue, the air invigorating, and
+all but the wind propitious--is more than his philosophy can carry him
+through with equanimity. He grumbles at it; sometimes makes believe to
+laugh at it; very often, we are sorry to say, swears at it; does his
+best to sleep through it; but whatever he does, he does with a bad
+grace, because he's in a bad humour, and can't stand it.
+
+For the next three days this was the fate of our friends. Part of the
+time it rained, when the whole party slept as much as was possible, and
+then _endeavoured_ to sleep _more_ than was possible, under the shelter
+afforded by the spreading branches of the trees. Part of the time was
+fair, with occasional gleams of sunshine, when the men turned out to
+eat and smoke and gamble round the fires; and the two friends sauntered
+down to a sheltered place on the shore, sunned themselves in a warm
+nook among the rocks, while they gazed ruefully at the foaming billows,
+told endless stories of what they had done in time past, and equally
+endless _prospective_ adventures that they earnestly hoped should
+befall them in time to come.
+
+While they were thus engaged, Redfeather, the Indian who had cut the
+ropes so opportunely during the storm, walked down to the shore, and
+sitting down on a rock not far distant, fell apparently into a reverie.
+
+"I like that fellow," said Harry, pointing to the Indian.
+
+"So do I. He's a sharp, active man. Had it not been for him we should
+have had to swim for it."
+
+"Indeed, had it not been for him I should have had to sink for it,"
+said Harry, with a smile, "for I can't swim."
+
+"Ah, true, I forgot that. I wonder what the red-skin, as the guide
+calls him, is thinking about," added Charley in a musing tone.
+
+"Of home, perhaps, 'sweet home,'" said Harry, with a sigh. "Do you
+think much of home, Charley, now that you have left it?"
+
+Charley did not reply for a few seconds. He seemed to muse over the
+question.
+
+At last he said slowly--
+
+"Think of home? I think of little else when I am not talking with you,
+Harry. My dear mother is always in my thoughts, and my poor old father.
+Home? ay; and darling Kate, too, is at my elbow night and day, with the
+tears streaming from her eyes, and her ringlets scattered over my
+shoulder, as I saw her the day we parted, beckoning me back again, or
+reproaching me for having gone away--God bless her! Yes, I often, very
+often, think of home, Harry."
+
+Harry made no reply. His friend's words had directed his thoughts to a
+very different and far-distant scene--to another Kate, and another
+father and mother, who lived in a glen far away over the waters of the
+broad Atlantic. He thought of them as they used to be when he was one
+of the number, a unit in the beloved circle, whose absence would have
+caused a blank there. He thought of the kind voice that used to read
+the Word of God, and the tender kiss of his mother as they parted for
+the night. He thought of the dreary day when he left them all behind,
+and sailed away, in the midst of strangers, across the wide ocean to a
+strange land. He thought of them now--_without_ him--accustomed to his
+absence, and forgetful, perhaps, at times that he had once been there.
+As he thought of all this a tear rolled down his cheek, and when
+Charley looked up in his face, that tear-drop told plainly that he too
+thought sometimes of home.
+
+"Let us ask Redfeather to tell us something about the Indians," he said
+at length, rousing himself. "I have no doubt he has had many adventures
+in his life. Shall we, Charley?"
+
+"By all means--Ho, Redfeather; are you trying to stop the wind by
+looking it out of countenance?"
+
+The Indian rose and walked towards the spot where the boys lay.
+
+"What was Redfeather thinking about?" said Charley, adopting the
+somewhat pompous style of speech occasionally used by Indians. "Was he
+thinking of the white swan and his little ones in the prairie; or did
+he dream of giving his enemies a good licking the next time he meets
+them?"
+
+"Redfeather has no enemies," replied the Indian. "He was thinking of
+the great Manito, [Footnote: God.] who made the wild winds, and the
+great lakes, and the forest."
+
+"And pray, good Redfeather, what did your thoughts tell you?"
+
+"They told me that men are very weak, and very foolish, and wicked; and
+that Manito is very good and patient to let them live."
+
+"That is to say," cried Harry, who was surprised and a little nettled
+to hear what he called the heads of a sermon from a red-skin, "that
+_you_, being a man, are very weak, and very foolish, and wicked, and
+that Manito is very good and patient to let _you_ live?"
+
+"Good," said the Indian calmly; "that is what I mean."
+
+"Come, Redfeather," said Charley, laying his hand on the Indian's arm,
+"sit down beside us, and tell us some of your adventures. I know that
+you must have had plenty, and it's quite clear that we're not to get
+away from this place all day, so you've nothing better to do."
+
+The Indian readily assented, and began his story in English.
+
+Redfeather was one of the very few Indians who had acquired the power
+of speaking the English language. Having been, while a youth, brought
+much into contact with the fur-traders, and having been induced by them
+to enter their service for a time, he had picked up enough of English
+to make himself easily understood. Being engaged at a later period of
+life as a guide to one of the exploring parties sent out by the British
+Government to discover the famous North West Passage, he had learned to
+read and write, and had become so much accustomed to the habits and
+occupations of the "pale faces," that he spent more of his time, in one
+way or another, with them than in the society of his tribe, which dwelt
+in the thick woods bordering on one of the great prairies of the
+interior. He was about thirty years of age; had a tall, thin, but wiry
+and powerful frame; and was of a mild, retiring disposition. His face
+wore a habitually grave expression, verging towards melancholy;
+induced, probably, by the vicissitudes of a wild life (in which he had
+seen much of the rugged side of nature in men and things) acting upon a
+sensitive heart, and a naturally warm temperament. Redfeather, however,
+was by no means morose; and when seated along with his Canadian
+comrades round the camp fire, he listened with evidently genuine
+interest to their stories, and entered into the spirit of their jests.
+But he was always an auditor, and rarely took part in their
+conversations. He, was frequently consulted by the guide in matters of
+difficulty, and it was observed that the "red-skin's" opinion always
+carried much weight with it, although it was seldom given unless asked
+for. The men respected him much because he was a hard worker, obliging,
+and modest---three qualities that insure respect, whether found under a
+red skin or a white one.
+
+"I shall tell you," he began, in a soft, musing tone, as if he were
+wandering in memories of the past--"I shall tell you how it was that I
+came by the name of Redfeather."
+
+"Ah!" interrupted Charley, "I intended to ask you about that; you don't
+wear one."
+
+"I did once. My father was a great warrior in his tribe," continued the
+Indian; "and I was but a youth when I got the name.
+
+"My tribe was at war at the time with the Chipewyans, and one of our
+scouts having come in with the intelligence that a party of our enemies
+was in the neighbourhood, our warriors armed themselves to go in
+pursuit of them. I had been out once before with a war-party, but had
+not been successful, as the enemy's scouts gave notice of our approach
+in time to enable them to escape. At the time the information was
+brought to us, the young men of our village were amusing themselves
+with athletic games, and loud challenges were being given and accepted
+to wrestle, or race, or swim in the deep water of the river, which
+flowed calmly past the green bank on which our wigwams stood. On a bank
+near to us sat about a dozen of our women--some employed in ornamenting
+moccasins with coloured porcupine quills; others making rogans of bark
+for maple sugar, or nursing their young infants; while a few, chiefly
+the old women, grouped themselves together and kept up an incessant
+chattering, chiefly with reference to the doings of the young men.
+
+"Apart from these stood three or four of the principal men of our
+tribe, smoking their pipes, and although apparently engrossed in
+conversation, still evidently interested in what was going forward on
+the bank of the river.
+
+"Among the young men assembled there was one of about my own age, who
+had taken a violent dislike to me because the most beautiful girl in
+all the village preferred me before him. His name was Misconna. He was
+a hot-tempered, cruel youth; and although I endeavoured as much as
+possible to keep out of his way, he sought every opportunity of picking
+a quarrel with me. I had just been running a race along with several
+other youths, and although not the winner, I had kept ahead of Misconna
+all the distance. He now stood leaning against a tree, burning with
+rage and disappointment. I was sorry for this, because I bore him no
+ill-will, and if it had occurred to me at the time, I would have
+allowed him to pass me, since I was unable to gain the race at any rate.
+
+"'Dog!' he said at length, stepping forward and confronting me, 'will
+you wrestle?'
+
+"Just as he approached I had turned round to leave the place. Not
+wishing to have more to do with him, I pretended not to hear, and made
+a step or two towards the lodges. 'Dog,' he cried again, while his eyes
+flashed fiercely, as he grasped me by the arm, 'will you wrestle, or
+are you afraid? Has the brave boy's heart changed into that of a girl?'
+
+"'No, Misconna,' said I. 'You _know_ that I am not afraid; but I have
+no desire to quarrel with you.'
+
+"'You lie!' cried he, with a cold sneer,--'you are afraid; and see,' he
+added, pointing towards the women with a triumphant smile, 'the
+dark-eyed girl sees it and believes it too!'
+
+"I turned to look, and there I saw Wabisca gazing on me with a look of
+blank amazement. I could see, also, that several of the other women,
+and some of my companions, shared in her surprise.
+
+"With a burst of anger I turned round. 'No,' Misconna,' said I, 'I am
+_not_ afraid, as you shall find;' and springing upon him, I grasped him
+round the body. He was nearly, if not quite, as strong a youth as
+myself; but I was burning with indignation at the insolence of his
+conduct before so many of the women, which gave me more than usual
+energy. For several minutes we swayed to and fro, each endeavouring in
+vain to bend the other's back; but we were too well matched for this,
+and sought to accomplish our purpose by taking advantage of an
+unguarded movement. At last such a movement occurred. My adversary made
+a sudden and violent attempt to throw me to the left, hoping that an
+inequality in the ground would favour his effort. But he was mistaken.
+I had seen the danger and was prepared for it, so that the instant he
+attempted it I threw forward my right leg, and thrust him backwards
+with all my might. Misconna was quick in his motions. He saw my
+intention--too late, indeed, to prevent it altogether, but in time to
+throw back his left foot and stiffen his body till it felt like a block
+of stone. The effort was now entirely one of endurance. We stood each
+with his muscles strained to the utmost, without the slightest motion.
+At length I felt my adversary give way a little. Slight though the
+motion was, it instantly removed all doubt as to who should go down. My
+heart gave a bound of exaltation, and with the energy which such a
+feeling always inspires, I put forth all my strength, threw him heavily
+over on his back, and fell upon him.
+
+"A shout of applause from my comrades greeted me as I rose and left the
+ground; but at the same moment the attention of all was taken from
+myself and the baffled Misconna by the arrival of the scout, bringing
+us information that a party of Chipewyans were in the neighbourhood. In
+a moment all was bustle and preparation. An Indian war-party is soon
+got ready. Forty of our braves threw off the principal parts of their
+clothing; painted their faces with stripes of vermilion and charcoal;
+armed themselves with guns, bows, tomahawks and scalping knives, and in
+a few minutes left the camp in silence, and at a quick pace.
+
+"One or two of the youths who had been playing on the river's bank were
+permitted to accompany the party, and among these were Misconna and
+myself. As we passed a group of women, assembled to see us depart, I
+observed the girl who had caused so much jealousy between us. She cast
+down her eyes as we came up, and as we advanced close to the group she
+dropped a white feather, as if by accident. Stooping hastily down, I
+picked it up in passing, and stuck it in an ornamented band that bound
+my hair. As we hurried on I heard two or three old hags laugh, and say,
+with a sneer, 'His hand is as white as a feather: it has never seen
+blood.' The next moment we were hid in the forest, and pursued our
+rapid course in dead silence.
+
+"The country through which we passed was varied, extending in broken
+bits of open prairie, and partly covered with thick wood, yet not so
+thick as to offer any hindrance to our march. We walked in single file,
+each treading in his comrade's footsteps, while the band was headed by
+the scout who had brought the information. The principal chief of our
+tribe came next, and he was followed by the braves according to their
+age or influence. Misconna and I brought up the rear. The sun was just
+sinking as we left the belt of woodland in which our village stood,
+crossed over a short plain, descended a dark hollow, at the bottom of
+which the river flowed, and following its course for a considerable
+distance, turned off to the right and emerged upon a sweep of
+prairieland. Here the scout halted, and taking the chief and two or
+three braves aside, entered into earnest consultation with them.
+
+"What they said we could not hear; but as we stood leaning on our guns
+in the deep shade of the forest, we could observe by their animated
+gestures that they differed in opinion. We saw that the scout pointed
+several times to the moon, which was just rising above the treetops,
+and then to the distant horizon: but the chief shook his head, pointed
+to the woods, and seemed to be much in doubt, while the whole band
+watched his motions in deep silence but evident interest. At length
+they appeared to agree. The scout took his place at the head of the
+line, and we resumed our march, keeping close to the margin of the
+wood. It was perhaps three hours after this ere we again halted to hold
+another consultation. This time their deliberations were shorter. In a
+few seconds our chief himself took the lead, and turned into the woods,
+through which he guided us to a small fountain which bubbled up at the
+root of a birch tree, where there was a smooth green spot of level
+ground. Here we halted, and prepared to rest for an hour, at the end of
+which time the moon, which now shone bright and full in the clear sky,
+would be nearly down, and we could resume our march. We now sat down in
+a circle, and taking a hasty mouthful of dried meat, stretched
+ourselves on the ground with our arms beside us, while our chief kept
+watch, leaning against the birch tree. It seemed as if I had scarcely
+been asleep five minutes when I felt a light touch on my shoulder.
+Springing up, I found the whole party already astir, and in a few
+minutes more we were again hurrying onwards.
+
+"We travelled thus until a faint light in the east told us that the day
+was at hand, when the scout's steps became more cautious, and he paused
+to examine the ground frequently. At last we came to a place where the
+ground sank slightly, and at a distance of a hundred yards rose again,
+forming a low ridge which was crowned with small bushes. Here we came
+to a halt, and were told that our enemies were on the other side of
+that ridge; that they were about twenty in number, all Chipewyan
+warriors, with the exception of one paleface--a trapper, and his Indian
+wife. The scout had learned, while lying like a snake in the grass
+around their camp, that this man was merely travelling with them on his
+way to the Rocky Mountains, and that, as they were a war-party, he
+intended to leave them soon. On hearing this the warriors gave a grim
+smile, and our chief, directing the scout to fall behind, cautiously
+led the way to the top of the ridge. On reaching it we saw a valley of
+great extent, dotted with trees and shrubs, and watered by one of the
+many rivers that flow into the great Saskatchewan. It was nearly dark,
+however, and we could only get an indistinct view of the land. Far
+ahead of us, on the right bank of the stream, and close to its margin,
+we saw the faint red light of watch fires; which caused us some
+surprise, for watch-fires are never lighted by a war-party so near to
+an enemy's country. So we could only conjecture that they were quite
+ignorant of our being in that part of the country; which was, indeed,
+not unlikely, seeing that we had shifted our camp during the summer.
+
+"Our chief now made arrangements for the attack. We were directed to
+separate and approach individually as near to the camp as was possible
+without risk of discovery, and then, taking up an advantageous
+position, to await our chief's signal, which was to be the hooting of
+an owl. We immediately separated. My course lay along the banks of the
+stream, and as I strode rapidly along, listening to its low solemn
+murmur, which sounded clear and distinct in the stillness of a calm
+summer night, I could not help feeling as if it were reproaching me for
+the bloody work I was hastening to perform. Then the recollection of
+what the old woman said of me raised a desperate spirit in my heart.
+Remembering the white feather in my head, I grasped my gun and
+quickened my pace. As I neared the camp I went into the woods and
+climbed a low hillock to look out. I found that it still lay about five
+hundred yards distant, and that the greater part of the ground between
+it and the place where I stood was quite flat, and without cover of any
+kind. I therefore prepared to creep towards it, although the attempt
+was likely to be attended with great danger, for Chipewyans have quick
+ears and sharp eyes. Observing, however, that the river ran close past
+the camp, I determined to follow its course as before. In a few seconds
+more I came to a dark narrow gap where the river flowed between broken
+rocks, overhung by branches, and from which I could obtain a clear view
+of the camp within fifty yards of me. Examining the priming of my gun,
+I sat down on a rock to await the chief's signal.
+
+"It was evident from the careless manner in which the fires were
+placed, that no enemy was supposed to be near. From my concealment I
+could plainly distinguish ten or fifteen of the sleeping forms of our
+enemies, among which the trapper was conspicuous, from his superior
+bulk, and the reckless way in which his brawny arms were flung on the
+turf, while his right hand clutched his rifle. I could not but smile as
+I thought of the proud boldness of the pale-face--lying all exposed to
+view in the gray light of dawn while an Indian's rifle was so close at
+hand. One Indian kept watch, but he seemed more than half asleep. I had
+not sat more than a minute when my observations were interrupted by the
+cracking of a branch in the bushes near me. Starting up, I was about to
+bound into the underwood, when a figure sprang down the bank and
+rapidly approached me. My first impulse was to throw forward my gun,
+but a glance sufficed to show me that it was a woman.
+
+"'Wah!' I exclaimed, in surprise, as she hurried forward and laid her
+hand on my shoulder. She was dressed partly in the costume of the
+Indians, but wore a shawl on her shoulders and a handkerchief on her
+head that showed she had been in the settlements; and from the
+lightness of her skin and hair, I judged at once that she was the
+trapper's wife, of whom I had heard the scout speak.
+
+"'Has the light-hair got a medicine-bag, or does she speak with
+spirits, that she has found me so easily?'
+
+"The girl looked anxiously up in my face as if to read my thoughts, and
+then said, in a low voice,--
+
+"'No, I neither carry the medicine-bag nor hold palaver with spirits;
+but I do think the good Manito must have led me here. I wandered into
+the woods because I could not sleep, and I saw you pass. But tell me,'
+she added with still deeper anxiety, 'does the white-feather come
+alone? Does he approach _friends_ during the dark hours with a soft
+step like a fox?'
+
+"Feeling the necessity of detaining her until my comrades should have
+time to surround the camp, I said: 'The white-feather hunts far from
+his lands. He sees Indians whom he does not know, and must approach
+with a light step. Perhaps they are enemies.'
+
+"'Do Knisteneux hunt at night, prowling in the bed of a stream?' said
+the girl, still regarding me with a keen glance. 'Speak truth,
+stranger' (and she started suddenly back); 'in a moment I can alarm the
+camp with a cry, and if your tongue is forked--But I do not wish to
+bring enemies upon you, if they are indeed such. I am not one of them.
+My husband and I travel with them for a time. We do not desire to see
+blood. God knows,' she added in French, which seemed her native tongue,
+'I have seen enough of that already.'
+
+"As her earnest eyes looked into my face a sudden thought occurred to
+me. 'Go,' said I, hastily, 'tell your husband to leave the camp
+instantly and meet me here; and see that the Chipewyans do not observe
+your departure. Quick! his life and yours may depend on your speed.'
+
+"The girl instantly comprehended my meaning. In a moment she sprang up
+the bank; but as she did so the loud report of a gun was heard,
+followed by a yell, and the war-whoop of the Knisteneux rent the air as
+they rushed upon the devoted camp, sending arrows and bullets before
+them.
+
+"On the instant I sprang after the girl and grasped her by the arm.
+'Stay, white-cheek; it is too late now. You cannot save your husband,
+but I think he'll save himself. I saw him dive into the bushes like a
+cariboo. Hide yourself here; perhaps you may escape.'
+
+"The half-breed girl sank on a fallen tree with a deep groan, and
+clasped her hands convulsively before her eyes, while I bounded over
+the tree, intending to join my comrades in pursuing the enemy.
+
+"As I did so a shrill cry arose behind me, and looking back, I beheld
+the trapper's wife prostrate on the ground, and Misconna standing over
+her, his spear uplifted, and a fierce frown on his dark face.
+
+"'Hold!' I cried, rushing back and seizing his arm. 'Misconna did not
+come to kill _women_. She is not our enemy.'
+
+"'Does the young wrestler want _another_ wife?' he said, with a wild
+laugh, at the same time wrenching his arm from my gripe, and driving
+his spear through the fleshy part of the woman's breast and deep into
+the ground. A shriek rent the air as he drew it out again to repeat the
+thrust; but before he could do so, I struck him with the butt of my gun
+on the head. Staggering backwards, he fell heavily among the bushes. At
+this moment a second whoop rang out, and another of our band sprang
+from the thicket that surrounded us. Seeing no one but myself and the
+bleeding girl, he gave me a short glance of surprise, as if he wondered
+why I did not finish the work which he evidently supposed I had begun.
+
+"'Wah!' he exclaimed; and uttering another yell plunged his spear into
+the woman's breast, despite my efforts to prevent him--this time with
+more deadly effect, as the blood spouted from the wound, while she
+uttered a piercing scream, and twined her arms round my legs as I stood
+beside her, as if imploring for mercy. Poor girl! I saw that she was
+past my help. The wound was evidently mortal. Already the signs of
+death overspread her features, and I felt that a second blow would be
+one of mercy; so that when the Indian stooped and passed his long knife
+through her heart, I made but a feeble effort to prevent it. Just as
+the man rose, with the warm blood dripping from his keen blade, the
+sharp crack of a rifle was heard, and the Indian fell dead at my feet,
+shot through the forehead, while the trapper bounded into the open
+space, his massive frame quivering, and his sunburned face distorted
+with rage and horror. From the other side of the brake six of our band
+rushed forward and levelled their guns at him. For one moment the
+trapper paused to cast a glance at the mangled corpse of his wife, as
+if to make quite sure that she was dead; and then uttering a howl of
+despair, he hurled his axe with a giant's force at the Knisteneux, and
+disappeared over the precipitous bank of the stream.
+
+"So rapid was the action that the volley which immediately succeeded
+passed harmlessly over his head, while the Indians dashed forward in
+pursuit. At the same instant I myself was felled to the earth. The axe
+which the trapper had flung struck a tree in its flight, and as it
+glanced off the handle gave me a violent blow in passing. I fell
+stunned. As I did so my head alighted on the shoulder of the woman, and
+the last thing I felt, as my wandering senses forsook me, was her still
+warm blood flowing over my face and neck.
+
+"While this scene was going on, the yells and screams of the warriors
+in the camp became fainter and fainter as they pursued and fled through
+the woods. The whole band of Chipewyans was entirely routed, with the
+exception of four who escaped, and the trapper whose flight I have
+described; all the rest were slain, and their scalps hung at the belts
+of the victorious Knisteneux warriors, while only one of our party was
+killed.
+
+"Not more than a few minutes after receiving the blow that stunned me,
+I recovered, and rising as hastily as my scattered faculties would
+permit me, I staggered towards the camp, where I heard the shouts of
+our men as they collected the arms of their enemies. As I rose, the
+feather which Wabisca had dropped fell from my brow, and as I picked it
+up to replace it, I perceived that it was _red_, being entirely covered
+with the blood of the half-breed girl.
+
+"The place where Misconna had fallen was vacant as I passed, and I
+found him standing among his comrades round the camp fires, examining
+the guns and other articles which they had collected. He gave me a
+short glance of deep hatred as I passed, and turned his head hastily
+away. A few minutes sufficed to collect the spoils, and so rapidly had
+everything been done that the light of day was still faint as we
+silently returned on our track. We marched in the same order as before,
+Misconna and I bringing up the rear. As we passed near the place where
+the poor woman had been murdered, I felt a strong desire to return to
+the spot. I could not very well understand the feeling, but it lay so
+strong upon me that, when we reached the ridge where we first came in
+sight of the Chipewyan camp, I fell behind until my companions
+disappeared in the woods, and then ran swiftly back. Just as I was
+about to step beyond the circle of bushes that surrounded the spot, I
+saw that some one was there before me. It was a man, and as he advanced
+into the open space and the light fell on his face, I saw that it was
+the trapper. No doubt he had watched us off the ground, and then, when
+all was safe, returned to bury his wife. I crouched to watch him.
+Stepping slowly up to the body of his murdered wife, he stood beside it
+with his arms folded on his breast and quite motionless. His head hung
+down, for the heart of the white man was heavy, and I could see, as the
+light increased, that his brows were dark as the thunder-cloud, and the
+corners of his mouth twitched from a feeling that the Indian scorns to
+show. My heart is full of sorrow for him now" (Redfeather's voice sank
+as he spoke); "it was full of sorrow for him even _then_, when I was
+taught to think that pity for an enemy was unworthy of a brave. The
+trapper stood gazing very long. His wife was young; he could not leave
+her yet. At length a deep groan burst from his heart, as the waters of
+a great river, long held down, swell up in spring and burst the ice at
+last. Groan followed groan as the trapper still stood and pressed his
+arms on his broad breast, as if to crush the heart within. At last he
+slowly knelt beside her, bending more and more over the lifeless form,
+until he lay extended on the ground beside it, and twining his arms
+round the neck, he drew the cold cheek close to his, and pressed the
+blood-covered bosom tighter and tighter, while his form quivered with
+agony as he gave her a last, long embrace. Oh!" continued Redfeather,
+while his brow darkened, and his black eye flashed with an expression
+of fierceness that his young listeners had never seen before, "may the
+curse--" He paused. "God forgive them! How could they know better?
+
+"At length the trapper rose hastily. The expression of his brow was
+still the same, but his mouth was altered. The lips were pressed
+tightly like those of a brave when led to torture, and there was a
+fierce activity in his motions as he sprang down the bank and proceeded
+to dig a hole in the soft earth. For half an hour he laboured,
+shovelling away the earth with a large, flat stone; and carrying down
+the body, he buried it there, under the shadow of a willow. The trapper
+then shouldered his rifle and hurried away. On reaching the turn of the
+stream which shuts the little hollow out from view, he halted suddenly,
+gave one look into the prairie he was henceforth to tread alone, one
+short glance back, and then, raising both arms in the air, looked up
+into the sky, while he stretched himself to his full height. Even at
+that distance I could see the wild glare of his eye and the heaving of
+his breast. A moment after, and he was gone."
+
+"And did you never see him again?" inquired Harry Somerville, eagerly.
+
+"No, I never saw him more. Immediately afterwards I turned to rejoin my
+companions, whom I soon overtook, and entered our village along with
+them. I was regarded as a poor warrior, because I brought home no
+scalps, and ever afterwards I went by the name of _Redfeather_ in our
+tribe."
+
+"But are you still thought a poor warrior?" asked Charley, in some
+concern, as if he were jealous of the reputation of his new friend.
+
+The Indian smiled. "No," he said: "our village was twice attacked
+afterwards, and in defending it, Redfeather took many scalps. He was
+made a chief!"
+
+"Ah!" cried Charley, "I'm glad of that. And Wabisca, what came of her?
+Did Misconna get her?"
+
+"She is my wife," replied Redfeather.
+
+"Your wife! Why, I thought I heard the voyageurs call your wife the
+white swan."
+
+"Wabisca is _white_ in the language of the Knisteneux. She is beautiful
+in form, and my comrades call her the white swan."
+
+Redfeather said this with an air of gratified pride. He did not,
+perhaps, love his wife with more fervour than he would have done had he
+remained with his tribe; but Redfeather had associated a great deal
+with the traders, and he had imbibed much of that spirit which prompts
+"_white_ men" to treat their females with deference and respect--a
+feeling which is very foreign to an Indian's bosom. To do so was,
+besides, more congenial to his naturally unselfish and affectionate
+disposition, so that any flattering allusion to his partner was always
+received by him with immense gratification.
+
+"I'll pay you a visit some day, Redfeather, if I'm sent to any place
+within fifty miles of your tribe," said Charley with the air of one who
+had fully made up his mind.
+
+"And Misconna?" asked Harry.
+
+"Misconna is with his tribe," replied the Indian, and a frown
+overspread his features as he spoke; "but Redfeather has been following
+in the track of his white friends; he has not seen his nation for many
+moons."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+The canoe--Ascending the rapids--The portage--Deer shooting and life in
+the woods.
+
+
+We must now beg the patient reader to take a leap with us, not only
+through space, but also through time. We must pass over the events of
+the remainder of the journey along the shore of Lake Winnipeg.
+Unwilling though we are to omit anything in the history of our friends
+that would be likely to prove interesting, we think it wise not to run
+the risk of being tedious, or of dwelling too minutely on the details
+of scenes which recall powerfully the feelings and memories of bygone
+days to the writer, but may, nevertheless, appear somewhat flat to the
+reader.
+
+We shall not, therefore, enlarge at present on the arrival of the boats
+at Norway House, which lies at the north end of the lake, nor on what
+was said and done by our friends and by several other young comrades
+whom they found there. We shall not speak of the horror of Harry
+Somerville, and the extreme disappointment of his friend Charley
+Kennedy, when the former was told that instead of hunting grizzly bears
+up the Saskatchewan he was condemned to the desk again at York Fort,
+the depot on Hudson's Bay,--a low, swampy place near the sea-shore,
+where the goods for the interior are annually landed and the furs
+shipped for England, where the greater part of the summer and much of
+the winter is occupied by the clerks who may be doomed to vegetate
+there in making up the accounts of what is termed the Northern
+Department, and where the brigades converge from all the wide scattered
+and far-distant outposts, and the _ship_ from England--that great event
+of the year--arrives, keeping the place in a state of constant bustle
+and effervescence until autumn, when ship and brigades finally depart,
+leaving the residents (about thirty in number) shut up for eight long,
+dreary months of winter, with a tenantless wilderness around and behind
+them, and the wide, cold frozen sea before. This was among the first of
+Harry's disappointments. He suffered many afterwards, poor fellow!
+
+Neither shall we accompany Charley up the south branch of the
+Saskatchewan, where his utmost expectations in the way of hunting were
+more than realised, and where he became so accustomed to shooting ducks
+and geese, and bears and buffaloes, that he could not forbear smiling
+when he chanced to meet with a red-legged gull, and remembered how he
+and his friend Harry had comported themselves when they first met with
+these birds on the shores of Lake Winnipeg! We shall pass over all
+this, and the summer, autumn, and winter too, and leap at once into the
+spring of the following year.
+
+On a very bright, cheery morning of that spring a canoe might have been
+seen slowly ascending one of the numerous streams which meander through
+a richly-wooded fertile country, and mingle their waters with those of
+the Athabasca River, terminating their united career in a large lake of
+the same name. The canoe was small--one of the kind used by the natives
+while engaged in hunting, and capable of holding only two persons
+conveniently, with their baggage. To any one unacquainted with the
+nature and capabilities of a northern Indian canoe, the fragile, bright
+orange-coloured machine that was battling with the strong current of a
+rapid must indeed have appeared an unsafe and insignificant craft; but
+a more careful study of its performances in the rapid, and of the
+immense quantity of miscellaneous goods and chattels which were, at a
+later period of the day, disgorged from its interior, would have
+convinced the beholder that it was in truth the most convenient and
+serviceable craft that could be devised for the exigencies of such a
+country.
+
+True, it could only hold two men (it _might_ have taken three at a
+pinch), because men, and women too, are awkward, unyielding baggage,
+very difficult to stow compactly; but it is otherwise with tractable
+goods. The canoe is exceedingly thin, so that no space is taken up or
+rendered useless by its own structure, and there is no end to the
+amount of blankets, and furs, and coats, and paddles, and tent-covers,
+and dogs, and babies, that can be stowed away in its capacious
+interior. The canoe of which we are now writing contained two persons,
+whose active figures were thrown alternately into every graceful
+attitude of manly vigour, as with poles in hand they struggled to force
+their light craft against the boiling stream. One was a man apparently
+of about forty-five years of age. He was a square-shouldered, muscular
+man, and from the ruggedness of his general appearance, the soiled
+hunting-shirt that was strapped round his waist with a party-coloured
+worsted belt, the leather leggings, a good deal the worse for wear,
+together with the quiet, self-possessed glance of his gray eye, the
+compressed lip and the sunburned brow, it was evident that he was a
+hunter, and one who had seen rough work in his day. The expression of
+his face was pleasing, despite a look of habitual severity which sat
+upon it, and a deep scar which traversed his brow from the right temple
+to the top of his nose. It was difficult to tell to what country he
+belonged. His father was a Canadian, his mother a Scotchwoman. He was
+born in Canada, brought up in one of the Yankee settlements on the
+Missouri, and had, from a mere youth, spent his life as a hunter in the
+wilderness. He could speak English, French, or Indian with equal ease
+and fluency, but it would have been hard for anyone to say which of the
+three was his native tongue. The younger man, who occupied the stern of
+the canoe, acting the part of steersman, was quite a youth, apparently
+about seventeen, but tall and stout beyond his years, and deeply
+sunburned. Indeed, were it not for this fact, the unusual quantity of
+hair that hung in massive curls down his neck, and the voyageur
+costume, we should have recognised our young friend Charley Kennedy
+again more easily. Had any doubts remained in our mind, the shout of
+his merry voice would have scattered them at once.
+
+"Hold hard, Jacques," he cried, as the canoe trembled in the current,
+"one moment, till I get my pole fixed behind this rock. Now, then,
+shove ahead. Ah!" he exclaimed with chagrin, as the pole slipped on the
+treacherous bottom and the canoe whirled round.
+
+"Mind the rock," cried the bowsman, giving an energetic thrust with his
+pole, that sent the light bark into an eddy formed by a large rock
+which rose above the turbulent waters. Here it rested while Jacques and
+Charley raised themselves on their knees (travellers in small canoes
+always sit in a kneeling position) to survey the rapid.
+
+"It's too much for us, I fear, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, shading his
+brow with his horny hand. "I've paddled up it many a time alone, but
+never saw the water so big as now."
+
+"Humph! we shall have to make a portage then, I presume. Could we not
+give it one trial more? I think we might make a dash for the tail of
+that eddy, and then the stream above seems not quite so strong. Do you
+think so, Jacques?"
+
+Jacques was not the man to check a daring young spirit. His motto
+through life had ever been, "Never venture, never win"--a sentiment
+which his intercourse among fur-traders had taught him to embody in the
+pithy expression, "Never say die;" so that, although quite satisfied
+that the thing was impossible, he merely replied to his companion's
+speech by an assenting "Ho," and pushed out again into the stream. An
+energetic effort enabled them to gain the tail of the eddy spoken of,
+when Charley's pole snapped across, and, falling heavily on the
+gunwale, he would have upset the little craft had not Jacques, whose
+wits were habitually on the _qui vive_, thrown his own weight at the
+same moment on the opposite side, and counterbalanced Charley's slip.
+The action saved them a ducking; but the canoe, being left to its own
+devices for an instant, whirled off again into the stream, and before
+Charley could seize a paddle to prevent it, they were floating in the
+still water at the foot of the rapids.
+
+"Now isn't that a bore?" said Charley, with a comical look of
+disappointment at his companion.
+
+Jacques laughed.
+
+"It was well to _try_, master. I mind a young clerk who came into these
+parts the same year as I did, and _he_ seldom _tried_ anything. He
+couldn't abide canoes. He didn't want for courage neither; but he had a
+nat'ral dislike to them, I suppose, that he couldn't help, and never
+entered one except when he was obliged to do so. Well, one day he
+wounded a grizzly bear on the banks o' the Saskatchewan (mind the tail
+o' that rapid, Mr. Charles; we'll land t'other side o' yon rock). Well,
+the bear made after him, and he cut stick right away for the river,
+where there was a canoe hauled up on the bank. He didn't take time to
+put his rifle aboard, but dropped it on the gravel, crammed the canoe
+into the water and jumped in, almost driving his feet through its
+bottom as he did so, and then plumped down so suddenly, to prevent its
+capsizing, that he split it right across. By this time the bear was at
+his heels, and took the water like a duck. The poor clerk, in his
+hurry, swayed from side to side tryin' to prevent the canoe goin' over.
+But when he went to one side, he was so unused to it that he went too
+far, and had to jerk over to the other pretty sharp; and so he got
+worse and worse, until he heard the bear give a great snort beside him.
+Then he grabbed the paddle in desperation, but at the first dash he
+missed his stroke, and over he went. The current was pretty strong at
+the place, which was lucky for him, for it kept him down a bit, so that
+the bear didn't observe him for a little; and while it was pokin' away
+at the canoe, he was carried down stream like a log and stranded on a
+shallow. Jumping up he made tracks for the wood, and the bear (which
+had found out its mistake), after him; so he was obliged at last to
+take to a tree, where the beast watched him for a day and a night, till
+his friends, thinking that something must be wrong, sent out to look
+for him. (Steady, now, Mr. Charles; a little more to the right. That's
+it.) Now, if that young man had only ventured boldly into small canoes
+when he got the chance, he might have laughed at the grizzly and killed
+him too."
+
+As Jacques finished, the canoe glided into a quiet bay formed by an
+eddy of the rapid, where the still water was overhung with dense
+foliage.
+
+"Is the portage a long one?" asked Charley, as he stepped out on the
+bank, and helped to unload the canoe.
+
+"About half-a-mile," replied his companion. "We might make it shorter
+by poling up the last rapid; but it's stiff work, Mr. Charles, and
+we'll do the thing quicker and easier at one lift."
+
+The two travellers now proceeded to make a portage. They prepared to
+carry their canoe and baggage overland, so as to avoid a succession of
+rapids and waterfalls which intercepted their further progress.
+
+"Now, Jacques, up with it," said Charley, after the loading had been
+taken out and placed on the grassy bank.
+
+The hunter stooped, and seizing the canoe by its centre bar, lifted it
+out of the water, placed it on his shoulders, and walked off with it
+into the woods. This was not accomplished by the man's superior
+strength. Charley could have done it quite as well; and, indeed, the
+strong hunter could have carried a canoe twice the size with perfect
+ease. Immediately afterwards Charley followed with as much of the
+lading as he could carry, leaving enough on the bank to form another
+load.
+
+The banks of the river were steep--in some places so much so that
+Jacques found it a matter of no small difficulty to climb over the
+broken rocks with the unwieldy canoe on his back; the more so that the
+branches interlaced overhead so thickly as to present a strong barrier,
+through which the canoe had to be forced, at the risk of damaging its
+delicate bark covering. On reaching the comparatively level land above,
+however, there was more open space, and the hunter threaded his way
+among the tree stems more rapidly, making a detour occasionally to
+avoid a swamp or piece of broken ground; sometimes descending a deep
+gorge formed by a small tributary of the stream they were ascending,
+and which to an unpractised eye would have appeared almost impassable,
+even without the encumbrance of a canoe. But the said canoe never bore
+Jacques more gallantly or safely over the surges of lake or stream than
+did he bear _it_ through the intricate mazes of the forest; now diving
+down and disappearing altogether in the umbrageous foliage of a dell;
+anon reappearing on the other side and scrambling up the bank on
+all-fours, he and the canoe together looking like some frightful yellow
+reptile of antediluvian proportions; and then speeding rapidly forward
+over a level plain until he reached a sheet of still water above the
+rapids. Here he deposited his burden on the grass, and halting only for
+a few seconds to carry a few drops of the clear water to his lips,
+retraced his steps to bring over the remainder of the baggage. Soon
+afterwards Charley made his appearance on the spot where the canoe was
+left, and throwing down his load, seated himself on it and surveyed the
+prospect. Before him lay a reach of the stream which spread out so
+widely as to resemble a small lake, in whose clear, still bosom were
+reflected the overhanging foliage of graceful willows, and here and
+there the bright stem of a silver birch, whose light-green leaves
+contrasted well with scattered groups and solitary specimens of the
+spruce fir. Reeds and sedges grew in the water along the banks,
+rendering the junction of the land and the stream uncertain and
+confused. All this and a great deal more Charley noted at a glance; for
+the hundreds of beautiful and interesting objects in nature which take
+so long to describe even partially, and are feebly set forth after all
+even by the most graphic language, flash upon the eye in all their
+force and beauty, and are drunk in at once in a single glance.
+
+But Charley noted several objects floating on the water which we have
+not yet mentioned. These were five gray geese feeding among the rocks
+at a considerable distance off, and all unconscious of the presence of
+a human foe in their remote domains. The travellers had trusted very
+much to their guns and nets for food, having only a small quantity of
+pemmican in reserve, lest these should fail--an event which was not at
+all likely, as the country through which they passed was teeming with
+wild-fowl of all kinds, besides deer. These latter, however, were only
+shot when they came inadvertently within rifle range, as our voyageurs
+had a definite object in view, and could not afford to devote much of
+their time to the chase.
+
+During the day previous to that on which we have introduced them to our
+readers, Charley and his companion had been so much occupied in
+navigating their frail bark among a succession of rapids, that they had
+not attended to the replenishing of their larder, so that the geese
+which now showed themselves were looked upon by Charley with a longing
+eye. Unfortunately they were feeding on the opposite side of the river,
+and out of shot. But Charley was a hunter now, and knew how to overcome
+slight difficulties. He first cut down a pretty large and leafy branch
+of a tree, and placed it in the bow of the canoe in such a way as to
+hang down before it and form a perfect screen, through the interstices
+of which he could see the geese, while they could only see, what was to
+them no novelty, the branch of a tree floating down the stream. Having
+gently launched the canoe, Charley was soon close to the unsuspecting
+birds, from among which he selected one that appeared to be unusually
+complacent and self-satisfied, concluding at once, with an amount of
+wisdom that bespoke him a true philosopher, that such _must_ as a
+matter of course be the fattest.
+
+"Bang" went the gun, and immediately the sleek goose turned round upon
+its back and stretched out its feet towards the sky, waving them once
+or twice as if bidding adieu to its friends. The others thereupon took
+to flight, with such a deal of sputter and noise as made it quite
+apparent that their astonishment was unfeigned. Bang went the gun
+again, and down fell a second goose.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Jacques, throwing down the remainder of the cargo as
+Charley landed with his booty, "that's well. I was just thinking as I
+comed across that we should have to take to pemmican to-night."
+
+"Well, Jacques, and if we had, I'm sure an old hunter like you, who
+have roughed it so often, need not complain," said Charley, smiling.
+
+"As to that, master," replied Jacques, "I've roughed it often enough;
+and when it does come to a clear fix, I can eat my shoes without
+grumblin' as well as any man. But, you see, fresh meat is better than
+dried meat when it's to be had; and so I'm glad to see that you've been
+lucky, Mr. Charles."
+
+"To say truth, so am I; and these fellows are delightfully plump. But
+you spoke of eating your shoes, Jacques. When were you reduced to that
+direful extremity?"
+
+Jacques finished reloading the canoe while they conversed, and the two
+were seated in their places, and quietly but swiftly ascending the
+stream again, ere the hunter replied.
+
+"You've heerd of Sir John Franklin, I s'pose?" he inquired, after a
+minute's consideration.
+
+"Yes, often."
+
+"An' p'r'aps you've heerd tell of his first trip of discovery along the
+shores of the Polar Sea?"
+
+"Do you refer to the time when he was nearly starved to death, and when
+poor Hood was shot by the Indian?"
+
+"The same," said Jacques.
+
+"Oh, yes; I know all about that. Were you with them?" inquired Charley,
+in great surprise.
+
+"Why, no--not exactly _on_ the trip; but I was sent in winter with
+provisions to them--and much need they had of them, poor fellows! I
+found them tearing away at some old parchment skins that had lain under
+the snow all winter, and that an Injin's dog would ha' turned up his
+nose at--and they don't turn up their snouts at many things, I can tell
+ye. Well, after we had left all our provisions with them, we started
+for the fort again, just keepin' as much as would drive off starvation;
+for, you see, we thought that surely we would git something on the
+road. But neither hoof nor feather did we see all the way (I was
+travellin' with an Injin), and our grub was soon done, though we saved
+it up, and only took a mouthful or two the last three days. At last it
+was done, and we was pretty well used up, and the fort two days ahead
+of us. So says I to my comrade--who had been looking at me for some
+time as if he thought that a cut off my shoulder wouldn't be a bad
+thing--says I, 'Nipitabo, I'm afeard the shoes must go for it now;' so
+with that I pulls out a pair o' deerskin moccasins. 'They looks
+tender,' said I, trying to be cheerful. 'Wah!' said the Injin; and then
+I held them over the fire till they was done black, and Nipitabo ate
+one, and I ate the tother, with a lump o' snow to wash it down!"
+
+"It must have been rather dry eating," said Charley, laughing.
+
+"Rayther; but it was better than the Injin's leather breeches, which we
+took in hand next day. They was _uncommon_ tough, and very dirty,
+havin' been worn about a year and a half. Hows'ever, they kept us up;
+an' as we only ate the legs, he had the benefit o' the stump to arrive
+with at the fort next day."
+
+"What's yon ahead?" exclaimed Charley, pausing as he spoke, and shading
+his eyes with his hand.
+
+"It's uncommon like trees," said Jacques. "It's likely a tree that's
+been tumbled across the river; and from its appearance, I think we'll
+have to cut through it."
+
+"Cut through it!" exclaimed Charley; "if my sight is worth a gun-flint,
+we'll have to cut through a dozen trees."
+
+Charley was right. The river ahead of them became rapidly narrower; and
+either from the looseness of the surrounding soil, or the passing of a
+whirlwind, dozens of trees had been upset, and lay right across the
+narrow stream in terrible confusion. What made the thing worse was that
+the banks on either side, which were low and flat, were covered with
+such a dense thicket down to the water's edge, that the idea of making
+a portage to overcome the barrier seemed altogether hopeless.
+
+"Here's a pretty business, to be sure!" cried Charley, in great disgust.
+
+"Never say die, Mister Charles," replied Jacques, taking up the axe
+from the bottom of the canoe; "it's quite clear that cuttin' through
+the trees is easier than cuttin' through the bushes, so here goes."
+
+For fully three hours the travellers were engaged in cutting their way
+up the encumbered stream, during which time they did not advance three
+miles; and it was evening ere they broke down the last barrier and
+paddled out into a sheet of clear water again.
+
+"That'll prepare us for the geese, Jacques," said Charley, as he wiped
+the perspiration from his brow; "there's nothing like warm work for
+whetting the appetite, and making one sleep soundly."
+
+"That's true," replied the hunter, resuming his paddle. "I often wonder
+how them white-faced fellows in the settlements manage to keep body and
+soul together--a-sittin', as they do, all day in the house, and a-lyin'
+all night in a feather bed. For my part, rather than live as they do, I
+would cut my way up streams like them we've just passed every day and
+all day, and sleep on top of a flat rock o' nights, under the blue sky,
+all my life through."
+
+With this decided expression of his sentiments, the stout hunter
+steered the canoe up alongside of a huge flat rock, as if he were bent
+on giving a practical illustration of the latter part of his speech
+then and there.
+
+"We'd better camp now, Mister Charles; there's a portage o' two miles
+here, and it'll take us till sundown to get the canoe and things over."
+
+"Be it so," said Charley, landing. "Is there a good place at the other
+end to camp on?"
+
+"First-rate. It's smooth as a blanket on the turf, and a clear spring
+bubbling at the root of a wide tree that would keep off the rain if it
+was to come down like water-spouts."
+
+The spot on which the travellers encamped that evening overlooked one
+of those scenes in which vast extent, and rich, soft variety of natural
+objects, were united with much that was grand and savage. It filled the
+mind with the calm satisfaction that is experienced when one gazes on
+the wide lawns studded with noble trees; the spreading fields of waving
+grain that mingle with stream and copse, rock and dell, vineyard and
+garden, of the cultivated lands of civilized men; while it produced
+that exulting throb of freedom which stirs man's heart to its centre,
+when he casts a first glance over miles and miles of broad lands that
+are yet unowned, unclaimed; that yet lie in the unmutilated beauty with
+which the beneficent Creator originally clothed them--far away from the
+well-known scenes of man's checkered history; entirely devoid of those
+ancient monuments of man's power and skill that carry the mind back
+with feelings of awe to bygone ages, yet stamped with evidences of an
+antiquity more ancient still in the wild primeval forests, and the
+noble trees that have sprouted, and spread, and towered in their
+strength for centuries--trees that have fallen at their posts, while
+others took their place, and rose and fell as they did, like long-lived
+sentinels whose duty it was to keep perpetual guard over the vast
+solitudes of the great American Wilderness.
+
+The fire was lighted, and the canoe turned bottom up in front of it,
+under the branches of a spreading tree which stood on an eminence,
+whence was obtained a bird's-eye view of the noble scene. It was a flat
+valley, on either side of which rose two ranges of hills, which were
+clothed to the top with trees of various kinds, the plain of the valley
+itself being dotted with clumps of wood, among which the fresh green
+foliage of the plane tree and the silver-stemmed birch were
+conspicuous, giving an airy lightness to the scene and enhancing the
+picturesque effect of the dark pines. A small stream could be traced
+winding out and in among clumps of willows, reflecting their drooping
+boughs and the more sombre branches of the spruce fir and the straight
+larch, with which in many places its banks were shaded. Here and there
+were stretches of clearer ground where the green herbage of spring gave
+to it a lawn-like appearance, and the whole magnificent scene was
+bounded by blue hills that became fainter as they receded from the eye
+and mingled at last with the horizon. The sun had just set, and a rich
+glow of red bathed the whole scene, which was further enlivened by
+flocks of wild-fowls and herds of reindeer.
+
+These last soon drew Charley's attention from the contemplation of the
+scenery, and observing a deer feeding in an open space, towards which
+he could approach without coming between it and the wind, he ran for
+his gun and hurried into the woods while Jacques busied himself in
+arranging their blankets under the upturned canoe, and in preparing
+supper.
+
+Charley discovered soon after starting, what all hunters discover
+sooner or later--namely, that appearances are deceitful; for he no
+sooner reached the foot of the hill than he found, between him and the
+lawn-like country, an almost impenetrable thicket of underwood. Our
+young hero, however, was of that disposition which sticks at nothing,
+and instead of taking time to search for an opening, he took a race and
+sprang into the middle of it, in hopes of forcing his way through. His
+hopes were not disappointed. He got through--quite through--and
+alighted up to the armpits in a swamp, to the infinite consternation of
+a flock of teal ducks that were slumbering peacefully there with their
+heads under their wings, and had evidently gone to bed for the night.
+Fortunately he held his gun above the water and kept his balance, so
+that he was able to proceed with a dry charge, though with an
+uncommonly wet skin. Half-an-hour brought Charley within range, and
+watching patiently until the animal presented his side towards the
+place of his concealment, he fired and shot it through the heart.
+
+"Well done, Mister Charles," exclaimed Jacques, as the former staggered
+into camp with the reindeer on his shoulders. "A fat doe, too."
+
+"Ay," said Charley; "but she has cost me a wet skin. So pray, Jacques,
+rouse up the fire, and let's have supper as soon as you can."
+
+Jacques speedily skinned the deer, cut a couple of steaks from its
+flank, and placing them on wooden spikes, stuck them up to roast, while
+his young friend put on a dry shirt, and hung his coat before the
+blaze. The goose which had been shot earlier in the day was also
+plucked, split open, impaled in the same manner as the steaks, and set
+up to roast. By this time the shadows of night had deepened, and ere
+long all was shrouded in gloom, except the circle of ruddy light around
+the camp fire, in the centre of which Jacques and Charley sat, with the
+canoe at their backs, knives in their hands, and the two spits, on the
+top of which smoked their ample supper, planted in the ground before
+them.
+
+One by one the stars went out, until none were visible except the
+bright, beautiful morning star, as it rose higher and higher in the
+eastern sky. One by one the owls and the wolves, ill-omened birds and
+beasts of night, retired to rest in the dark recesses of the forest.
+Little by little, the gray dawn overspread the sky, and paled the
+lustre of the morning star, until it faded away altogether; and then
+Jacques awoke with a start, and throwing out his arm, brought it
+accidentally into violent contact with Charley's nose.
+
+This caused Charley to awake, not only with a start, but also with a
+roar, which brought them both suddenly into a sitting posture, in which
+they continued for some time in a state between sleeping and waking,
+their faces meanwhile expressive of mingled imbecility and extreme
+surprise. Bursting into a simultaneous laugh, which degenerated into a
+loud yawn, they sprang up, launched and reloaded their canoe, and
+resumed their journey.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+The Indian camp--The new outpost--Charley sent on a mission to the
+Indians.
+
+
+In the councils of the fur-traders, on the spring previous to that
+about which we are now writing, it had been decided to extend their
+operations a little in the lands that lie in central America, to the
+north of the Saskatchewan River; and in furtherance of that object, it
+had been intimated to the chief trader in charge of the district that
+an expedition should be set on foot, having for its object the
+examination of a territory into which they had not yet penetrated, and
+the establishment of an outpost therein. It was, furthermore, ordered
+that operations should be commenced at once, and that the choice of men
+to carry out the end in view was graciously left to the chief trader's
+well-known sagacity.
+
+Upon receiving this communication, the chief trader selected a
+gentleman named Mr. Whyte to lead the party; gave him a clerk and five
+men, provided him with a boat and a large supply of goods necessary for
+trade, implements requisite for building an establishment, and sent him
+off with a hearty shake of the hand and a recommendation to "go and
+prosper."
+
+Charles Kennedy spent part of the previous year at Rocky Mountain
+House, where he had shown so much energy in conducting the trade,
+especially what he called the "rough and tumble" part of it, that he
+was selected as the clerk to accompany Mr. Whyte to his new ground.
+After proceeding up many rivers, whose waters had seldom borne the
+craft of white men, and across innumerable lakes, the party reached a
+spot that presented so inviting an aspect that it was resolved to pitch
+their tent there for a time, and, if things in the way of trade and
+provision looked favourable, establish themselves altogether. The place
+was situated on the margin of a large lake, whose shores were covered
+with the most luxuriant verdure, and whose waters teemed with the
+finest fish, while the air was alive with wild-fowl, and the woods
+swarming with game. Here Mr. Whyte rested awhile; and having found
+everything to his satisfaction, he took his axe, selected a green lawn
+that commanded an extensive view of the lake, and going up to a tall
+larch, struck the steel into it, and thus put the first touch to an
+establishment which afterwards went by the name of Stoney Creek.
+
+A solitary Indian, whom they had met with on the way to their new home,
+had informed them that a large band of Knisteneux had lately migrated
+to a river about four days' journey beyond the lake at which they
+halted; and when the new fort was just beginning to spring up, our
+friend Charley and the interpreter, Jacques Caradoc, were ordered by
+Mr. Whyte to make a canoe, and then, embarking in it, to proceed to the
+Indian camp, to inform the natives of their rare good luck in having a
+band of white men come to settle near their lands to trade with them.
+The interpreter and Charley soon found birch bark, pine roots for
+sewing it, and gum for plastering the seams, wherewith they constructed
+the light machine whose progress we have partly traced in the last
+chapter, and which, on the following day at sunset, carried them to
+their journey's end.
+
+From some remarks made by the Indian who gave them information of the
+camp, Charley gathered that it was the tribe to which Redfeather
+belonged, and furthermore that Redfeather himself was there at the
+time; so that it was with feelings of no little interest that he saw
+the tops of the yellow tents embedded among the green trees, and soon
+afterwards beheld them and their picturesque owners reflected in the
+clear river, on whose banks the natives crowded to witness the arrival
+of the white men.
+
+Upon the greensward, and under the umbrageous shade of the forest
+trees, the tents were pitched to the number of perhaps eighteen or
+twenty, and the whole population, of whom very few were absent on the
+present occasion, might number a hundred--men, women, and children.
+They were dressed in habiliments formed chiefly of materials procured
+by themselves in the chase, but ornamented with cloth, beads, and silk
+thread, which showed that they had had intercourse with the fur-traders
+before now. The men wore leggings of deerskin, which reached more than
+half-way up the thigh, and were fastened to a leathern girdle strapped
+round the waist. A loose tunic or hunting-shirt of the same material
+covered the figure from the shoulders almost to the knees, and was
+confined round the middle by a belt--in some cases of worsted, in
+others of leather gaily ornamented with quills. Caps of various
+indescribable shapes, and made chiefly of skin, with the animal's tail
+left on by way of ornament, covered their heads, and moccasins for the
+feet completed their costume. These last may be simply described as
+leather mittens for the feet, without fingers, or rather toes. They
+were gaudily ornamented, as was almost every portion of costume, with
+porcupines' quills dyed with brilliant colours, and worked into
+fanciful, and in many cases extremely elegant, figures and designs; for
+North American Indians oftentimes display an amount of taste in the
+harmonious arrangement of colour that would astonish those who fancy
+that _education_ is absolutely necessary to the just appreciation of
+the beautiful.
+
+The women attired themselves in leggings and coats differing little
+from those of the men, except that the latter were longer, the sleeves
+detached from the body, and fastened on separately; while on their
+heads they wore caps, which hung down and covered their backs to the
+waist. These caps were of the simplest construction, being pieces of
+cloth cut into an oblong shape, and sewed together at one end. They
+were, however, richly ornamented with silk-work and beads.
+
+On landing, Charley and Jacques walked up to a tall, good-looking
+Indian, whom they judged from his demeanour, and the somewhat
+deferential regard paid to him by the others, to be one of the chief
+men of the little community.
+
+"Ho! what cheer?" said Jacques, taking him by the hand after the manner
+of Europeans, and accosting him with the phrase used by the fur-traders
+to the natives. The Indian returned the compliment in kind, and led the
+visitors to his tent, where he spread a buffalo robe for them on the
+ground, and begged them to be seated. A repast of dried meat and
+reindeer-tongues was then served, to which our friends did ample
+justice; while the women and children satisfied their curiosity by
+peering at them through chinks and holes in the tent. When they had
+finished, several of the principal men assembled, and the chief who had
+entertained them made a speech, to the effect that he was much
+gratified by the honour done to his people by the visit of his white
+brothers; that he hoped they would continue long at the camp to enjoy
+their hospitality; and that he would be glad to know what had brought
+them so far into the country of the red men.
+
+During the course of this speech the chief made eloquent allusion to
+all the good qualities supposed to belong to white men in general, and
+(he had no doubt) to the two white men before him in particular. He
+also boasted considerably of the prowess and bravery of himself and his
+tribe, launched a few sarcastic hits at his enemies, and wound up with
+a poetical hope that his guests might live for ever in these beautiful
+plains of bliss, where the sun never sets, and nothing goes wrong
+anywhere, and everything goes right at all times, and where,
+especially, the deer are outrageously fat, and always come out on
+purpose to be shot! During the course of these remarks his comrades
+signified their hearty concurrence to his sentiments, by giving vent to
+sundry low-toned "hums!" and "has!" and "wahs!" and "hos!" according to
+circumstances. After it was over Jacques rose, and addressing them in
+their own language, said,--
+
+"My Indian brethren are great. They are brave, and their fame has
+travelled far. Their deeds are known even so far as where the Great
+Salt Lake beats on the shore where the sun rises. They are not women,
+and when their enemies hear the sound of their name they grow pale;
+their hearts become like those of the reindeer. My brethren are famous,
+too, in the use of the snow-shoe, the snare, and the gun. The
+fur-traders know that they must build large stores when they come into
+their lands. They bring up much goods, because the young men are
+active, and require much. The silver fox and the marten are no longer
+safe when their traps and snares are set. Yes, they are good hunters:
+and we have now come to live among you" (Jacques changed his style as
+he came nearer to the point), "to trade with you, and to save you the
+trouble of making long journeys with your skins. A few days' distance
+from your wigwams we have pitched our tents. Our young men are even now
+felling the trees to build a house. Our nets are set, our hunters are
+prowling in the woods, our goods are ready, and my young master and I
+have come to smoke the pipe of friendship with you, and to invite you
+to come to trade with us."
+
+Having delivered this oration, Jacques sat down amid deep silence.
+Other speeches, of a highly satisfactory character, were then made,
+after which "the house adjourned," and the visitors, opening one of
+their packages, distributed a variety of presents to the delighted
+natives.
+
+Several times during the course of these proceedings, Charley's eyes
+wandered among the faces of his entertainers, in the hope of seeing
+Redfeather among them, but without success; and he began to fear that
+his friend was not with the tribe.
+
+"I say, Jacques," he said, as they left the tent, "ask whether a chief
+called Redfeather is here. I knew him of old, and half expected to find
+him at this place."
+
+The Indian to whom Jacques put the question replied that Redfeather was
+with them, but that he had gone out on a hunting expedition that
+morning, and might be absent a day or two.
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Charley, "I'm glad he's here. Come, now, let us take a
+walk in the wood; these good people stare at us as if we were ghosts."
+And taking Jacques's arm, he led him beyond the circuit of the camp,
+turned into a path which, winding among the thick underwood, speedily
+screened them from view, and led them into a sequestered glade, through
+which a rivulet trickled along its course, almost hid from view by the
+dense foliage and long grasses that overhung it.
+
+"What a delightful place to live in!" said Charley. "Do you ever think
+of building a hut in such a spot as this, Jacques, and settling down
+altogether?" Charley's thoughts reverted to his sister Kate when he
+said this.
+
+"Why, no," replied Jacques, in a pensive tone, as if the question had
+aroused some sorrowful recollections; "I can't say that I'd like to
+settle here _now_. There was a time when I thought nothin' could be
+better than to squat in the woods with one or two jolly comrades,
+and--" (Jacques sighed); "but times is changed now, master, and so is
+my mind. My chums are most of them dead or gone one way or other. No; I
+shouldn't care to squat alone."
+
+Charley thought of the hut _without_ Kate, and it seemed so desolate
+and dreary a dwelling, notwithstanding its beautiful situation, that he
+agreed with his companion that to "squat" _alone_ would never do at all.
+
+"No, man was not made to live alone," continued Jacques, pursuing the
+subject; "even the Injins draw together. I never knew but one as didn't
+like his fellows, and he's gone now, poor fellow. He cut his foot with
+an axe one day, while fellin' a tree. It was a bad cut; and havin'
+nobody to look after him, he half bled and half starved to death."
+
+"By the way, Jacques," said Charley, stepping over the clear brook, and
+following the track which led up the opposite bank, "what did you say
+to those red-skins? You made them a most eloquent speech apparently."
+
+"Why, as to that, I can't boast much of its eloquence, but I think it
+was clear enough. I told them that they were a great nation; for you
+see, Mr. Charles, the red men are just like the white in their fondness
+for butter; so I gave them some to begin with, though, for the matter
+o' that, I'm not overly fond o' givin' butter to any man, red or white.
+But I holds that it's as well always to fall in with the ways and
+customs o' the people a man happens to be among, so long as them ways
+and customs a'n't contrary to what's right. It makes them feel more
+kindly to you, and don't raise any onnecessary ill-will. However, the
+Knisteneux _are_ a brave race; and when I told them that the hearts of
+their enemies trembled when they heard of them, I told nothing but the
+truth; for the Chipewyans are a miserable set, and not much given to
+fighting."
+
+"Your principles on that point won't stand much sifting, I fear,"
+replied Charley: "according to your own showing, you would fall into
+the Chipewyan's way of glorifying themselves on account of their
+bravery, if you chanced to be dwelling among them, and yet you say they
+are not brave. That would not be sticking to truth, Jacques, would it?"
+
+"Well," replied Jacques with a smile, "perhaps not exactly, but I'm
+sure there could be small harm in helping the miserable objects to
+boast sometimes, for they've little else than boasting to comfort them."
+
+"And yet, Jacques, I cannot help feeling that truth is a grand, a
+glorious thing, that should not be trifled with even in small matters."
+
+Jacques opened his eyes a little. "Then do you think, master, that a
+man should _never_ tell a lie, no matter what fix he may be in?"
+
+"I think not, Jacques."
+
+The hunter paused a few minutes, and looked as if an unusual train of
+ideas had been raised in his mind by the turn their conversation had
+taken. Jacques was a man of no religion, and little morality, beyond
+what flowed from a naturally kind, candid disposition, and entertained
+the belief that the _end_, if a good one, always justifies the
+_means_--a doctrine which, had it been clearly exposed to him in all
+its bearings and results, would have been spurned by his
+straightforward nature with the indignant contempt that it merits.
+
+"Mr. Charles," he said at length, "I once travelled across the plains
+to the head waters of the Missouri with a party of six trappers. One
+night we came to a part of the plains which was very much broken up
+with wood here and there, and bein' a good place for water we camped.
+While the other lads were gettin' ready the supper, I started off to
+look for a deer, as we had been unlucky that day--we had shot nothin'.
+Well, about three miles from the camp I came upon a band o' somewhere
+about thirty Sieux (ill-looking, sneaking dogs they are, too!), and
+before I could whistle they rushed upon me, took away my rifle and
+hunting-knife, and were dancing round me like so many devils. At last a
+big black-lookin' thief stepped forward, and said in the Cree language,
+'White men seldom travel through this country alone; where are your
+comrades?' Now, thought I, here's a nice fix! If I pretend not to
+understand, they'll send out parties in all directions, and as sure as
+fate they'll find my companions in half-an-hour, and butcher them in
+cold blood (for, you see, we did not expect to find Sieux, or indeed
+any Injins, in them parts); so I made believe to be very narvous, and
+tried to tremble all over and look pale. Did you ever try to look pale
+and frighttened, Mr. Charles?"
+
+"I can't say that I ever did," said Charley, laughing.
+
+"You can't think how troublesome it is," continued Jacques, with a look
+of earnest simplicity. "I shook and trembled pretty well, but the more
+I tried to grow pale, the more I grew red in the face, and when I
+thought of the six broad-shouldered, raw-boned lads in the camp, and
+how easy they would have made these jumping villains fly like chaff if
+they only knew the fix I was in, I gave a frown that had well-nigh
+showed I was shamming. Hows'ever, what with shakin' a little more and
+givin' one or two most awful groans, I managed to deceive them. Then I
+said I was hunter to a party of white men that were travellin' from Red
+River to St. Louis, with all their goods, and wives, and children, and
+that they were away in the plains about a league off.
+
+"The big chap looked very hard into my face when I said this, to see if
+I was telling the truth; and I tried to make my teeth chatter, but it
+wouldn't do, so I took to groanin' very bad instead. But them Sieux are
+such awful liars nat'rally that they couldn't understand the signs of
+truth, even if they saw them. 'Whitefaced coward,' said he to me, 'tell
+me in what direction your people are.' At this I made believe not to
+understand; but the big chap flourished his knife before my face,
+called me a dog, and told me to point out the direction. I looked as
+simple as I could and said I would rather not. At this they laughed
+loudly and then gave a yell, and said if I didn't show them the
+direction they would roast me alive. So I pointed towards apart of the
+plains pretty wide o' the spot where our camp was. 'Now lead us to
+them,' said the big chap, givin' me a shove with the butt of his gun;
+'an' if you have told lies--'he gave the handle of his scalpin'-knife a
+slap, as much as to say he'd tickle up my liver with it. Well, away we
+went in silence, me thinkin' all the time how I was to get out o' the
+scrape. I led them pretty close past our camp, hopin' that the lads
+would hear us. I didn't dare to yell out, as that would have showed
+them there was somebody within hearin', and they would have made short
+work of me. Just as we came near the place where my companions lay, a
+prairie wolf sprang out from under a bush where it had been sleepin',
+so I gave a loud hurrah, and shied my cap at it. Giving a loud growl,
+the big Injin hit me over the head with his fist, and told me to keep
+silence. In a few minutes I heard the low, distant howl of a wolf. I
+recognised the voice of one of my comrades, and knew that they had seen
+us, and would be on our track soon. Watchin' my opportunity, and
+walkin' for a good bit as if I was awful tired--all but done up--to
+throw them off their guard, I suddenly tripped up the big chap as he
+was stepping over a small brook, and dived in among the bushes. In a
+moment a dozen bullets tore up the bark on the trees about me, and an
+arrow passed through my hair. The clump of wood into which I had dived
+was about half-a-mile long; and as I could run well (I've found in my
+experience that white men are more than a match for red-skins at their
+own work), I was almost out of range by the time I was forced to quit
+the cover and take to the plain. When the blackguards got out of the
+cover, too, and saw me cuttin' ahead like a deer, they gave a yell of
+disappointment, and sent another shower of arrows and bullets after me,
+some of which came nearer than was pleasant. I then headed for our camp
+with the whole pack screechin' at my heels. 'Yell away, you stupid
+sinners,' thought I; 'some of you shall pay for your music.' At that
+moment an arrow grazed my shoulder, and looking over it, I saw that the
+black fellow I had pitched into the water was far ahead of the rest,
+strainin' after me like mad, and every now and then stopping to try an
+arrow on me; so I kept a look-out, and when I saw him stop to draw, I
+stopped too, and dodged, so the arrows passed me, and then we took to
+our heels again. In this way I ran for dear life till I came up to the
+cover. As I came close up I saw our six fellows crouchin' in the
+bushes, and one o' them takin' aim almost straight for my face. 'Your
+day's come at last,' thought I, looking over my shoulder at the big
+Injin, who was drawing his bow again. Just then there was a sharp crack
+heard; a bullet whistled past my ear, and the big fellow fell like a
+stone, while my comrade stood coolly up to reload his rifle. The
+Injins, on seein' this, pulled up in a moment; and our lads stepping
+forward, delivered a volley that made three more o' them bite the dust.
+There would have been six in that fix, but, somehow or other, three of
+us pitched upon the same man, who was afterwards found with a bullet in
+each eye, and one through his heart. They didn't wait for more, but
+turned about and bolted like the wind. Now, Mr. Charles, if I had told
+the truth that time, we would have been all killed; and if I had simply
+said nothin' to their questions, they would have sent out to scour the
+country, and have found out the camp for sartin, so that the only way
+to escape was by tellin' them a heap o' downright lies."
+
+Charley looked very much perplexed at this.
+
+"You have indeed placed me in a difficulty. I know not what I would
+have done. I don't know even what I _ought to do_ under these
+circumstances. Difficulties may perplex me, and the force of
+circumstances might tempt me to do what I believed to be wrong. I am a
+sinner, Jacques, like other mortals, I know; but one thing I am quite
+sure of--namely, that when men speak it should _always_ be truth and
+_never_ falsehood."
+
+Jacques looked perplexed too. He was strongly impressed with the
+necessity of telling falsehoods in the circumstances in which he had
+been placed, as just related, while at the same time he felt deeply the
+grandeur and the power of Charley's last remark.
+
+"I should have been under the sod _now_," said he, "if I had not told a
+lie _then_. Is it better to die than to speak falsehood?"
+
+"Some men have thought so," replied Charley. "I acknowledge the
+difficulty of _your_ case and of all similar cases. I don't know what
+should be done, but I have read of a minister of the gospel whose
+people were very wicked and would not attend to his instructions,
+although they could not but respect himself, he was so consistent and
+Christianlike in his conduct. Persecution arose in the country where he
+lived, and men and women were cruelly murdered because of their
+religious belief. For a long time he was left unmolested, but one day a
+band of soldiers came to his house, and asked him whether he was a
+Papist or a Protestant (Papist, Jacques, being a man who has sold his
+liberty in religious matters to the Pope, and a Protestant being one
+who protests against such an ineffably silly and unmanly state of
+slavery). Well, his people urged the good old man to say he was a
+Papist, telling him that he would then be spared to live among them,
+and preach the true faith for many years perhaps. Now, if there was one
+thing that this old man would have toiled for and died for, it was that
+his people should become true Christians--and he told them so; 'but,'
+he added, 'I will not tell a lie to accomplish that end, my
+children--no, not even to save my life.' So he told the soldiers that
+he was a Protestant, and immediately they carried him away, and he was
+soon afterwards burned to death."
+
+"Well," said Jacques, "_he_ didn't gain much by sticking to the truth,
+I think."
+
+"I'm not so sure of _that_. The story goes on to say that he _rejoiced_
+that he had done so, and wouldn't draw back even when he was in the
+flames. But the point lies here, Jacques: so deep an impression did the
+old man's conduct make on his people, that from that day forward they
+were noted for their Christian life and conduct. They brought up their
+children with a deeper reverence for the truth than they would
+otherwise have done, always bearing in affectionate remembrance, and
+holding up to them as an example, the unflinching truthfulness of the
+good old man who was burned in the year of the terrible persecutions;
+and at last their influence and example had such an effect that the
+Protestant religion spread like wild-fire, far and wide around them, so
+that the very thing was accomplished for which the old pastor said he
+would have died--accomplished, too, very much in consequence of his
+death, and in a way and to an extent that very likely would not have
+been the case had he lived and preached among them for a hundred years."
+
+"I don't understand it, nohow," said Jacques; "it seems to me right
+both ways and wrong both ways, and all upside down every how."
+
+Charley smiled. "Your remark is about as clear as my head on the
+subject, Jacques; but I still remain convinced that truth is _right_
+and that falsehood is _wrong_, and that we should stick to the first
+through thick and thin."
+
+"I s'pose," remarked the hunter, who had walked along in deep
+cogitation, for the last five minutes, and had apparently come to some
+conclusion of profound depth and sagacity--"I s'pose that it's all
+human natur'; that some men takes to preachin' as Injins take to
+huntin', and that to understand sich things requires them to begin
+young,' and risk their lives in it, as I would in followin' up a
+grizzly she-bear with cubs."
+
+"Yonder is an illustration of one part of your remark. They begin
+_young_ enough, anyhow," said Charley, pointing as he spoke to an
+opening in the bushes, where a particularly small Indian boy stood in
+the act of discharging an arrow.
+
+The two men halted to watch his movements. According to a common custom
+among juvenile Indians during the warm months of the year, he was
+dressed in _nothing_ save a mere rag tied round his waist. His body was
+very brown, extremely round, fat, and wonderfully diminutive, while his
+little legs and arms were disproportionately small. He was so young as
+to be barely able to walk, and yet there he stood, his black eyes
+glittering with excitement, his tiny bow bent to its utmost, and a
+blunt-headed arrow about to be discharged at a squirrel, whose flight
+had been suddenly arrested by the unexpected apparition of Charley and
+Jacques. As he stood there for a single instant, perfectly motionless,
+he might have been mistaken for a grotesque statue of an Indian cupid.
+Taking advantage of the squirrel's pause the child let fly the arrow,
+hit it exactly on the point of the nose, and turned it over, dead--a
+consummation which he greeted with a rapid succession of frightful
+yells.
+
+"Cleverly done, my lad; you're a chip of the old block, I see," said
+Jacques, patting the child's head as he passed, and retraced his steps,
+with Charley, to the Indian camp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+The feast--Charley makes his first speech in public, and meets with an
+old friend--An evening in the grass.
+
+
+Savages, not less than civilized men, are fond of a good dinner. In
+saying this, we do not expect our reader to be overwhelmed with
+astonishment. He might have guessed as much; but when we state that
+savages, upon particular occasions, eat six dinners in one, and make it
+a point of honour to do so, we apprehend that we have thrown a slightly
+new light on an old subject. Doubtless there are men in civilised
+society who would do likewise if they could; but they cannot,
+fortunately, as great gastronomic powers are dependent on severe,
+healthful, and prolonged physical exertion. Therefore it is that in
+England we find men capable only of eating about two dinners at once,
+and suffering a good deal for it afterwards; while in the backwoods we
+see men consume a week's dinners in one, without any evil consequences
+following the act.
+
+The feast which was given by the Knisteneux in honour of the visit of
+our two friends was provided on a more moderate scale than usual, in
+order to accommodate the capacities of the "white men;" three days'
+allowance being cooked for each man. (Women are never admitted to the
+public feasts.) On the day preceding the ceremony, Charley and Jacques
+had received cards of invitation from the principal chief in the shape
+of two quills; similar invites being issued at the same time to all the
+braves. Jacques being accustomed to the doings of the Indians, and
+aware of the fact that whatever was provided for each man _must_ be
+eaten before he quitted the scene of operations, advised Charley to eat
+no breakfast, and to take a good walk as a preparative. Charley had
+strong faith, however, in his digestive powers, and felt much inclined,
+when morning came, to satisfy the cravings of his appetite as usual;
+but Jacques drew such a graphic picture of the work that lay before
+him, that he forbore to urge the matter, and went off to walk with a
+light step, and an uncomfortable feeling of vacuity about the region of
+the stomach.
+
+About noon, the chiefs and braves assembled in an open enclosure
+situated in an exposed place on the banks of the river, where the
+proceedings were watched by the women, children, and dogs. The oldest
+chief sat himself down on the turf at one end of the enclosure, with
+Jacques Caradoc on his right hand, and next to him Charley Kennedy, who
+had ornamented himself with a blue stripe painted down the middle of
+his nose, and a red bar across his chin. Charley's propensity for fun
+had led him thus to decorate his face, in spite of his companion's
+remonstrances,--urging, by way of excuse, that worthy's former
+argument, "that it was well to fall in with the ways o' the people a
+man happened to be among, so long as these ways and customs were not
+contrary to what was right." Now Charley was sure there was nothing
+wrong in his painting his nose sky blue, if he thought fit.
+
+Jacques thought it was absurd, and entertained the opinion that it
+would be more dignified to leave his face "its nat'ral colour."
+
+Charley didn't agree with him at all. He thought it would be paying the
+Indians a high compliment to follow their customs as far as possible,
+and said that, after all, his blue nose would not be very conspicuous,
+as he (Jacques) had told him that he would "look blue" at any rate when
+he saw the quantity of deer's meat he should have to devour.
+
+Jacques laughed at this, but suggested that the bar across his chin was
+_red_. Whereupon Charley said that he could easily neutralise that by
+putting a green star under each eye; and then uttered a fervent wish
+that his friend Harry Somerville could only see him in that guise.
+Finding him incorrigible, Jacques, who, notwithstanding his
+remonstrances, was more than half imbued with Charley's spirit, gave
+in, and accompanied him to the feast, himself decorated with the
+additional ornament of a red night-cap, to whose crown was attached a
+tuft of white feathers.
+
+A fire burned in the centre of the enclosure, round which the Indians
+seated themselves according to seniority, and with deep solemnity; for
+it is a trait in the Indian's character that all his ceremonies are
+performed with extreme gravity. Each man brought a dish or platter, and
+a wooden spoon.
+
+The old chief, whose hair was very gray, and his face covered with old
+wounds and scars, received either in war or in hunting, having seated
+himself, allowed a few minutes to elapse in silence, during which the
+company sat motionless, gazing at their plates as if they half expected
+them to become converted into beefsteaks. While they were seated thus,
+another party of Indians, who had been absent on a hunting expedition,
+strode rapidly but noiselessly into the enclosure, and seated
+themselves in the circle. One of these passed close to Charley, and in
+doing so stooped, took his hand, and pressed it. Charley looked up in
+surprise, and beheld the face of his old friend Redfeather, gazing at
+him with an expression in which were mingled affection, surprise, and
+amusement at the peculiar alteration in his visage.
+
+"Redfeather!" exclaimed Charlie, in delight, half rising, but the
+Indian pressed him down.
+
+"You must not rise," he whispered, and giving his hand another squeeze,
+passed round the circle, and took his place directly opposite.
+
+Having continued motionless for five minutes with becoming gravity, the
+company began operations by proceeding to smoke out of the sacred
+stem--a ceremony which precedes--all occasions of importance, and is
+conducted as follows:--The sacred stem is placed on two forked sticks
+to prevent its touching the ground, as that would be considered a great
+evil. A stone pipe is then filled with tobacco, by an attendant
+specially appointed to that office, and affixed to the stem, which is
+presented to the principal chief. That individual, with a gravity and
+_hauteur_ that is unsurpassed in the annals of pomposity, receives the
+pipe in both hands, blows a puff to the east (probably in consequence
+of its being the quarter whence the sun rises), and thereafter pays a
+similar mark of attention to the other three points. He then raises the
+pipe above his head, points and balances it in various directions (for
+what reason and with what end in view is best known to himself), and
+replaces it again on the forks. The company meanwhile observe his
+proceedings with sedate interest, evidently imbued with the idea that
+they are deriving from the ceremony a vast amount of edification--an
+idea which is helped out, doubtless, by the appearance of the women and
+children, who surround the enclosure, and gaze at the proceedings with
+looks of awe-struck seriousness that is quite solemnizing to behold.
+
+The chief then makes a speech relative to the circumstance which has
+called them together; and which is always more or less interlarded with
+boastful reference to his own deeds, past, present, and prospective,
+eulogistic remarks on those of his forefathers, and a general
+condemnation of all other Indian tribes whatever. These speeches are
+usually delivered with great animation, and contain much poetic
+allusion to the objects of nature that surround the homes of the
+savage. The speech being finished, the chief sits down amid a universal
+"Ho!" uttered by the company with an emphatic prolongation of the last
+letter--this syllable being the Indian substitute, we presume, for
+"rapturous applause."
+
+The chief who officiated on the present occasion, having accomplished
+the opening ceremonies thus far, sat down; while the pipe-bearer
+presented the sacred stem to the members of the company in succession,
+each of whom drew a few whiffs and mumbled a few words.
+
+"Do as you see the red-skins, Mr. Charles," whispered Jacques, while
+the pipe was going round.
+
+"That's impossible," replied Charley, in a tone that could not be heard
+except by his friend. "I couldn't make a face of hideous solemnity like
+that black thief opposite if I was to try ever so hard."
+
+"Don't let them think you're laughing at them," returned the hunter;
+"they would be ill-pleased if they thought so."
+
+"I'll try," said Charley, "but it is hard work, Jacques, to keep from
+laughing; I feel like a high-pressure steam-engine already. There's a
+woman standing out there with a little brown baby on her back; she has
+quite fascinated me; I can't keep my eyes off her, and if she goes on
+contorting her visage much longer, I feel that I shall give way."
+
+"Hush!"
+
+At this moment the pipe was presented to Charley, who put it to his
+lips, drew three whiffs, and returned it with a bland smile to the
+bearer.
+
+The smile was a very sweet one, for that was a peculiar trait in the
+native urbanity of Charley's disposition, and it would have gone far in
+civilized society to prepossess strangers in his favour; but it lowered
+him considerably in the estimation of his red friends, who entertained
+a wholesome feeling of contempt for any appearance of levity on high
+occasions. But Charley's face was of that agreeable stamp that, though
+gentle and bland when lighted up with a smile, is particularly
+masculine and manly in expression when in repose, and the frown that
+knit his brows when he observed the bad impression he had given almost
+reinstated him in their esteem. But his popularity became great, and
+the admiration of his swarthy friends greater, when he rose and made an
+eloquent speech in English, which Jacques translated into the Indian
+language.
+
+He told them, in reply to the chief's oration (wherein that warrior had
+complimented his pale-faced brothers on their numerous good qualities),
+that he was delighted and proud to meet with his Indian friends; that
+the object of his mission was to acquaint them with the fact that a new
+trading-fort was established not far off, by himself and his comrades,
+for their special benefit and behoof; that the stores were full of
+goods which he hoped they would soon obtain possession of, in exchange
+for furs; that he had travelled a great distance on purpose to see
+their land and ascertain its capabilities in the way of fur-bearing
+animals and game; that he had not been disappointed in his
+expectations, as he had found the animals to be as numerous as bees,
+the fish plentiful in the rivers and lakes, and the country at large a
+perfect paradise. He proceeded to tell them further that he expected
+they would justify the report he had heard of them, that they were a
+brave nation and good hunters, by bringing in large quantities of furs.
+
+Being strongly urged by Jacques to compliment them, on their various
+good qualities, Charley launched out into an extravagantly poetic vein,
+said that he had heard (but he hoped to have many opportunities of
+seeing it proved) that there was no nation under the sun equal to them
+in bravery, activity, and perseverance; that he had heard of men in
+olden times who made it their profession to fight with wild bulls for
+the amusement of their friends, but he had no doubt whatever their
+courage would be made conspicuous in the way of fighting wild bears and
+buffaloes, not for the amusement but the benefit of their wives and
+children (he might have added of the Hudson's Bay Company, but he
+didn't, supposing that that was self-evident, probably). He
+complimented them on the way in which they had conducted themselves in
+war in times past, comparing their stealthy approach to enemies' camps
+to the insidious snake that glides among the bushes, and darts
+unexpectedly on its prey; said that their eyes were sharp to follow the
+war-trail through the forest or over the dry sward of the prairie;
+their aim with gun or bow true and sure as the flight of the goose when
+it leaves the lands of the sun, and points its beak to the icy regions
+of the north; their war-whoops loud as the thunders of the cataract;
+and their sudden onset like the lightning flash that darts from the sky
+and scatters the stout oak in splinters on the plain.
+
+At this point Jacques expressed his satisfaction at the style in which
+his young friend was progressing.
+
+"That's your sort, Mr. Charles. Don't spare the butter; lay it on
+thick. You've not said too much yet, for they are a brave race, that's
+a fact, as I've good reason to know."
+
+Jacques, however, did not feel quite so well satisfied when Charley
+went on to tell them that although bravery in war was an admirable
+thing, war itself was a thing not at all to be desired, and should only
+be undertaken in case of necessity. He especially pointed out that
+there was not much glory to be earned in fighting against the
+Chipewyans, who, everybody knew, were a poor, timid set of people, whom
+they ought rather to pity than to destroy; and recommended them to
+devote themselves more to the chase than they had done in times past,
+and less to the prosecution of war in time to come.
+
+All this, and a great deal more, did Charley say, in a manner, and with
+a rapidity of utterance, that surprised himself, when he considered the
+fact that he had never adventured into the field of public speaking
+before. All this, and a great deal more--a very great deal more--did
+Jacques Caradoc interpret to the admiring Indians, who listened with
+the utmost gravity and profound attention, greeting the close with a
+very emphatic "Ho!"
+
+Jacques's translation was by no means perfect. Many of the flights into
+which Charley ventured, especially in regard to the manners and customs
+of the savages of ancient Greece and Rome, were quite incomprehensible
+to the worthy backwoodsman; but he invariably proceeded when Charley
+halted, giving a flight of his own when at a loss, varying and
+modifying when he thought it advisable, and altering, adding, or
+cutting off as he pleased.
+
+Several other chiefs addressed the assembly, and then dinner, if we may
+so call it, was served. In Charley's case it was breakfast; to the
+Indians it was breakfast, dinner, and supper in one. It consisted of a
+large platter of dried meat, reindeer tongues (considered a great
+delicacy), and marrow-bones.
+
+Notwithstanding the graphic power with which Jacques had prepared his
+young companion for this meal, Charley's heart sank when he beheld the
+mountain of boiled meat that was placed before him. He was ravenously
+hungry, it is true, but it was patent to his perception at a glance
+that no powers of gormandizing of which he was capable could enable him
+to consume the mass in the course of one day.
+
+Jacques observed his consternation, and was not a little entertained by
+it, although his face wore an expression of profound gravity while he
+proceeded to attack his own dish, which was equal to that of his friend.
+
+Before commencing, a small portion of meat was thrown into the fire as
+a sacrifice to the Great Master of Life.
+
+"How they do eat, to be sure!" whispered Charley to Jacques, after he
+had glanced in wonder at the circle of men who were devouring their
+food with the most extraordinary rapidity.
+
+"Why, you must know," replied Jacques, "that it's considered a point of
+honour to get it over soon, and the man that is done first gets most
+credit. But it's hard work" (he sighed, and paused a little to
+breathe), "and I've not got half through yet."
+
+"It's quite plain that I must lose credit with them, then, if it
+depends on my eating that. Tell me, Jacques, is there no way of escape?
+Must I sit here till it is all consumed?"
+
+"No doubt of it. Every bit that has been cooked must be crammed down
+our throats somehow or other." Charley heaved a deep sigh, and made
+another desperate attack on a large steak, while the Indians around him
+made considerable progress in reducing their respective mountains.
+
+Several times Charley and Redfeather exchanged glances as they paused
+in their labours.
+
+"I say, Jacques," said Charley, pulling up once more, "how do you get
+on? Pretty well stuffed by this time, I should imagine?"
+
+"Oh no! I've a good deal o' room yet."
+
+"I give in. Credit or disgrace, it's all one. I'll not make a pig of
+myself for any red-skin in the land."
+
+Jacques smiled.
+
+"See," continued Charley, "there's a fellow opposite who has devoured
+as much as would have served me for three days. I don't know whether
+it's imagination or not, but I do verily believe that he's _blacker_ in
+the face than when we sat down!"
+
+"Very likely," replied Jacques, wiping his lips, "Now I've done."
+
+"Done! you have left at least a third of your supply."
+
+"True, and I may as well tell you for your comfort that there is one
+way of escape open to you. It is a custom among these fellows, that
+when any one cannot gulp his share o' the prog, he may get help from
+any of his friends that can cram it down their throats; and as there
+are always such fellows among these Injins, they seldom have any
+difficulty."
+
+"A most convenient practice," replied Charley, "I'll adopt it at once."
+
+Charley turned to his next neighbour with the intent to beg of him to
+eat his remnant of the feast.
+
+"Bless my heart, Jacques, I've no chance with the fellow on my left
+hand; he's stuffed quite full already, and is not quite done with his
+own share."
+
+"Never fear," replied his friend, looking at the individual in
+question, who was languidly lifting a marrowbone to his lips; "he'll do
+it easy. I knows the gauge o' them chaps, and for all his sleepy looks
+just now he's game for a lot more."
+
+"Impossible," replied Charley, looking in despair at his unfinished
+viands and then at the Indian. A glance round the circle seemed further
+to convince him that if he did not eat it himself there were none of
+the party likely to do so.
+
+"You'll have to give him a good lump o' tobacco to do it, though; he
+won't undertake so much for a trifle, I can tell you." Jacques chuckled
+as he said this, and handed his own portion over to another Indian, who
+readily undertook to finish it for him.
+
+"He'll burst; I feel certain of that," said Charley, with a deep sigh,
+as he surveyed his friend on the left.
+
+At last he took courage to propose the thing to him, and just as the
+man finished the last morsel of his own repast, Charley placed his own
+plate before him, with a look that seemed to say, "Eat it, my friend,
+_if you can._"
+
+The Indian, much to his surprise, immediately commenced to it, and in
+less than half-an-hour the whole was disposed of.
+
+During this scene of gluttony, one of the chiefs entertained the
+assembly with a wild and most unmusical chant, to which he beat time on
+a sort of tambourine, while the women outside the enclosure beat a
+similar accompaniment.
+
+"I say, master," whispered Jacques, "it seems to my observation that
+the fellow you call Redfeather eats less than any Injin I ever saw. He
+has got a comrade to eat more than half his share; now that's strange."
+
+"It won't appear strange, Jacques, when I tell you that Redfeather has
+lived much more among white men than Indians during the last ten years;
+and although voyageurs eat an enormous quantity of food, they don't
+make it a point of honour, as these fellows seem to do, to eat much
+more than enough. Besides, Redfeather is a very different man from
+those around him; he has been partially educated by the missionaries on
+Playgreen Lake, and I think has a strong leaning towards them."
+
+While they were thus conversing in whispers, Redfeather rose, and
+holding forth his hand, delivered himself of the following oration:--
+
+"The time has come for Redfeather to speak. He has kept silence for
+many moons now, but his heart has been full of words. It is too full;
+he must speak now. Redfeather has fought with his tribe, and has been
+accounted a brave, and one who loves his people. This is true. He
+_does_ love, even more than they can understand. His friends know that
+he has never feared to face danger and death in their defence, and
+that, if it were necessary, he would do so still. But Redfeather is
+going to leave his people now. His heart is heavy at the thought.
+Perhaps many moons will come and go, many snows may fall and melt away,
+before he sees his people again; and it is this that makes him full of
+sorrow, it is this that makes his head to droop like the branches of
+the weeping willow."
+
+Redfeather paused at this point, but not a sound escaped from the
+listening circle: the Indians were evidently taken by surprise at this
+abrupt announcement. He proceeded:--
+
+"When Redfeather travelled not long since with the white men, he met
+with a pale-face who came from the other side of the Great Salt Lake
+towards the rising sun. This man was called by some of the people a
+missionary. He spoke wonderful things in the ear of Redfeather. He told
+him of things about the Great Spirit which he did not know before, and
+he asked Redfeather to go and help him to speak to the Indians about
+these strange things. Redfeather would not go. He loved his people too
+much, and he thought that the words of the missionary seemed
+foolishness. But he has thought much about it since. He does not
+understand the strange things that were told to him, and he has tried
+to forget them, but he cannot. He can get no rest. He hears strange
+sounds in the breeze that shakes the pine. He thinks that there are
+voices in the waterfall; the rivers seem to speak, Redfeather's spirit
+is vexed. The Great Spirit, perhaps, is talking to him. He has resolved
+to go to the dwelling of the missionary and stay with him."
+
+The Indian paused again, but still no sound escaped from his comrades.
+Dropping his voice to a soft plaintive tone, he continued--
+
+"But Redfeather loves his kindred. He desires very much that they
+should hear the things that the missionary said. He spoke of the happy
+hunting grounds to which the spirits of our fathers have gone, and said
+that we required a _guide_ to lead us there; that there was but one
+guide, whose name, he said, was Jesus. Redfeather would stay and hunt
+with his people, but his spirit is troubled; he cannot rest; he must
+go!"
+
+Redfeather sat down, and a long silence ensued. His words had evidently
+taken the whole party by surprise, although not a countenance there
+showed the smallest symptom of astonishment, except that of Charley
+Kennedy, whose intercourse with Indians had not yet been so great as to
+have taught him to conceal his feelings.
+
+At length the old chief rose, and after complimenting Redfeather on his
+bravery in general, and admitting that he had shown much love to his
+people on all occasions, went into the subject of his quitting them at
+some length. He reminded him that there were evil spirits as well as
+good; that it was not for him to say which kind had been troubling him,
+but that he ought to consider well before he went to live altogether
+with pale-faces. Several other speeches were made, some to the same
+effect, and others applauding his resolve. These latter had, perhaps,
+some idea that his bringing the pale-faced missionary among them would
+gratify their taste for the marvellous--a taste that is pretty strong
+in all uneducated minds.
+
+One man, however, was particularly urgent in endeavouring to dissuade
+him from his purpose. He was a tall, low-browed man; muscular and well
+built, but possessed of a most villainous expression of countenance.
+From a remark that fell from one of the company, Charley discovered
+that his name was Misconna, and so learned, to his surprise, that he
+was the very Indian mentioned by Redfeather as the man who had been his
+rival for the hand of Wabisca, and who had so cruelly killed the wife
+of the poor trapper the night on which the Chipewyan camp was attacked,
+and the people slaughtered.
+
+What reason Misconna had for objecting so strongly to Redfeather's
+leaving the community no one could tell, although some of those who
+knew his unforgiving nature suspected that he still entertained the
+hope of being able, some day or other, to weak his vengeance on his old
+rival. But whatever was his object, he failed in moving Redfeather's
+resolution; and it was at last admitted by the whole party that
+Redfeather was a "wise chief;" that he knew best what ought to be done
+under the circumstances, and it was hoped that his promised visit, in
+company with the missionary, would not be delayed many moons.
+
+That night, in the deep shadow of the trees, by the brook that murmured
+near the Indian camp, while the stars twinkled through the branches
+overhead, Charley introduced Redfeather to his friend Jacques Caradoc,
+and a friendship was struck up between the bold hunter and the red man
+that grew and strengthened as each successive day made them acquainted
+with their respective good qualities. In the same place, and with the
+same stars looking down upon them, it was further agreed that
+Redfeather should accompany his new friends, taking his wife along with
+him in another canoe, as far as their several routes led them in the
+same direction, which was about four or five days' journey; and that
+while the one party diverged towards the fort at Stoney Creek, the
+other should pursue its course to the missionary station on the shores
+of Lake Winnipeg.
+
+But there was a snake in the grass there that they little suspected.
+Misconna had crept through the bushes after them, with a degree of
+caution that might have baffled their vigilance, even had they
+suspected treason in a friendly camp. He lay listening intently to all
+their plans, and when they returned to their camp, he rose out from
+among the bushes, like a dark spirit of evil, clutched the handle of
+his scalping-knife, and gave utterance to a malicious growl; then,
+walking hastily after them, his dusky figure was soon concealed among
+the trees.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+The return--Narrow escape--A murderous attempt, which fails--And a
+discovery.
+
+
+All nature was joyous and brilliant, and bright and beautiful. Morning
+was still very young--about an hour old. Sounds of the most cheerful,
+light-hearted character floated over the waters and echoed through the
+woods, as birds and beasts hurried to and fro with all the bustling
+energy that betokened preparation and search for breakfast. Fish leaped
+in the pools with a rapidity that brought forcibly to mind that wise
+saying, "The more hurry, the less speed;" for they appeared constantly
+to miss their mark, although they jumped twice their own length out of
+the water in the effort.
+
+Ducks and geese sprang from their liquid beds with an amazing amount of
+unnecessary sputter, as if they had awakened to the sudden
+consciousness of being late for breakfast, then alighted in the water
+again with a _squash,_ on finding (probably) that it was too early for
+that meal, but, observing other flocks passing and re-passing on noisy
+wing, took to flight again, unable, apparently, to restrain their
+feelings of delight at the freshness of the morning air, the brightness
+of the rising sun, and the sweet perfume of the dewy verdure, as the
+mists cleared away over the tree-tops and lost themselves in the blue
+sky. Everything seemed instinct not only with life, but with a large
+amount of superabundant energy. Earth, air, sky, animal, vegetable, and
+mineral, solid and liquid, all were either actually in a state of
+lively exulting motion, or had a peculiarly sprightly look about them,
+as if nature had just burst out of prison _en masse_, and gone raving
+mad with joy.
+
+Such was the delectable state of things the morning on which two canoes
+darted from the camp of the Knisteneux, amid many expressions of
+goodwill. One canoe contained our two friends, Charley and Jacques; the
+other, Redfeather and his wife Wabisca.
+
+A few strokes of the paddle shot them out into the stream, which
+carried them rapidly away from the scene of their late festivities. In
+five minutes they swept round a point which shut them out from view,
+and they were swiftly descending those rapid rivers that had cost
+Charley and Jacques so much labour to ascend.
+
+"Look out for rocks ahead, Mr. Charles," cried Jacques, as he steered
+the light bark into the middle of a rapid, which they had avoided when
+ascending by making a portage. "Keep well to the left of yon swirl.
+_Parbleu_, if we touch the rock _there_ it'll be all over with us."
+
+"All right," was Charley's laconic reply. And so it proved, for their
+canoe, after getting fairly into the run of the rapid, was evidently
+under the complete command of its expert crew, and darted forward amid
+the foaming waters like a thing instinct with life. Now it careered and
+plunged over the waves where the rough bed of the stream made them more
+than usually turbulent. Anon it flew with increased rapidity through a
+narrow gap where the compressed water was smooth and black, but deep
+and powerful, rendering great care necessary to prevent the canoe's
+frail sides from being dashed on the rocks. Then it met a curling wave,
+into which it plunged like an impetuous charger, and was checked for a
+moment by its own violence. Presently an eddy threw the canoe a little
+out of its course, disconcerting Charley's intention of _shaving_ a
+rock, which lay in their track, so that he slightly grazed it in
+passing.
+
+"Ah, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, shaking his head, "that was not well
+done; an inch more would have sent us down the rapids like drowned
+cats."
+
+"True," replied Charley, somewhat crestfallen; "but you see the other
+inch was not lost, so we're not much the worse for it."
+
+"Well, after all, it was a ticklish bit, and I should have guessed that
+your experience was not up to it quite. I've seen many a man in my day
+who wouldn't ha' done it _half_ so slick, an' yet ha' thought no small
+beer of himself; so you needn't be ashamed, Mr. Charles. But Wabisca
+beats you for all that," continued the hunter, glancing hastily over
+his shoulder at Redfeather, who followed closely in their wake, he and
+his modest-looking wife guiding their little craft through the
+dangerous passages with the utmost _sangfroid_ and precision.
+
+"We've about run them all now," said Jacques, as they paddled over a
+sheet of still water which intervened between the rapid they had just
+descended and another which thundered about a hundred yards in advance.
+
+"I was so engrossed with the one we have just come down," said Charley,
+"that I quite forgot this one."
+
+"Quite right, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, in an approving tone, "quite
+right. I holds that a man should always attend to what he's at, an' to
+nothin' else. I've lived long in the woods now, and the fact becomes
+more and more sartin every day. I've know'd chaps, now, as timersome as
+settlement girls, that were always in such a mortal funk about what
+_was_ to happen, or _might_ happen, that they were never fit for
+anything that _did_ happen; always lookin' ahead, and never around
+them. Of coorse, I don't mean that a man shouldn't look ahead at all,
+but their great mistake was that they looked out too far ahead, and
+always kep' their eyes nailed there, just as if they had the fixin' o'
+everything, an' Providence had nothin' to do with it at all. I mind a
+Canadian o' that sort that travelled in company with me once. We were
+goin' just as we are now, Mr. Charles, two canoes of us; him and a
+comrade in one, and me and a comrade in t'other. One night we got to a
+lot o' rapids that came one after another for the matter o' three miles
+or thereabouts. They were all easy ones, however, except the last; but
+it _was_ a tickler, with a sharp turn o' the land that hid it from
+sight until ye were right into it, with a foamin' current, and a range
+o' ragged rocks that stood straight in front o' ye, like the teeth of a
+cross-cut saw. It was easy enough, however, if a man _knew_ it, and was
+a cool hand. Well, the _pauvre_ Canadian was in a terrible takin' about
+this shoot long afore he came to it. He had run it often enough in
+boats where he was one of a half-dozen men, and had nothin' to do but
+look on; but he had never _steered_ down it before. When he came to the
+top o' the rapids, his mind was so filled with this shoot that he
+couldn't attend to nothin', and scraped agin' a dozen rocks in almost
+smooth water, so that when he got a little more than half-way down, the
+canoe was as rickety as if it had just come off a six months' cruise.
+At last we came to the big rapid, and after we'd run down our canoe I
+climbed the bank to see them do it. Down they came, the poor Canadian
+white as a sheet, and his comrade, who was brave enough, but knew
+nothin' about light craft, not very comfortable. At first he could see
+nothin' for the point, but in another moment round they went, end on,
+for the big rocks. The Canadian gave a great yell when he saw them, and
+plunged at the paddle till I thought he'd have capsized altogether.
+They ran it well enough, straight between the rocks (more by good luck
+than good guidance), and sloped down to the smooth water below; but the
+canoe had got such a battering in the rapids above, where an Injin baby
+could have steered it in safety, that the last plunge shook it all to
+pieces. It opened up, and lay down flat on the water, while the two men
+fell right through the bottom, screechin' like mad, and rolling about
+among shreds o' birch bark!"
+
+While Jacques was thus descanting philosophically on his experience in
+time past, they had approached the head of the second rapid, and in
+accordance with the principles just enunciated, the stout backwoodsman
+gave his undivided attention to the work before him. The rapid was
+short and deep, so that little care was required in descending it,
+excepting at one point, where the stream rushed impetuously between two
+rocks about six yards asunder. Here it was requisite to keep the canoe
+as much in the middle of the stream as possible.
+
+Just as they began to feel the drag of the water, Redfeather was heard
+to shout in a loud warning tone, which caused Jacques and Charley to
+back their paddles hurriedly.
+
+"What can the Injin mean, I wonder?" said Jacques, in a perplexed tone.
+"He don't look like a man that would stop us at the top of a strong
+rapid for nothin'."
+
+"It's too late to do that now, whatever is his reason," said Charley,
+as he and his companion struggled in vain to paddle up stream.
+
+"It's no use, Mr. Charles; we must run it now--the current's too strong
+to make head against; besides, I do think the man has only seen a bear,
+or something o' that sort, for I see he's ashore, and jumpin' among the
+bushes like a cariboo."
+
+Saying this, they turned the canoe's head down stream again, and
+allowed it to drift, merely retarding its progress a little with the
+paddles.
+
+Suddenly Jacques uttered a sharp exclamation. "_Mon Dieu!_" said he,
+"it's plain enough now. Look there!"
+
+Jacques pointed as he spoke to the narrows to which they were now
+approaching with tremendous speed, which increased every instant. A
+heavy tree lay directly across the stream, reaching from rock to rock,
+and placed in such a way that it was impossible for a canoe to descend
+without being dashed in pieces against it. This was the more curious
+that no trees grew in the immediate vicinity, so that this one must
+have been designedly conveyed there.
+
+"There has been foul work here," said Jacques, in a deep tone. "We must
+dive, Mr. Charles; there's no chance any way else, and _that's_ but a
+poor one."
+
+This was true. The rocks on each side rose almost perpendicularly out
+of the water, so that it was utterly impossible to run ashore, and the
+only way of escape, as Jacques said, was by diving under the tree, a
+thing involving great risk, as the stream immediately below was broken
+by rocks, against which it dashed in foam, and through which the
+chances of steering one's way in safety by means of swimming were very
+slender indeed.
+
+Charley made no reply, but with tightly-compressed lips, and a look of
+stern resolution on his brow, threw off his coat, and hastily tied his
+belt tightly round his waist. The canoe was now sweeping forward with
+lightning speed; in a few minutes it would be dashed to pieces.
+
+At that moment a shout was heard in the woods, and Redfeather darting
+out, rushed over the ledge of rock on which one end of the tree rested,
+seized the trunk in his arms, and exerting all his strength, hurled it
+over into the river. In doing so he stumbled, and ere he could recover
+himself a branch caught him under the arm as the tree fell over, and
+dragged him into the boiling stream. This accident was probably the
+means of saving his life, for just as he fell the loud report of a gun
+rang through the woods, and a bullet passed through his cap. For a
+second or two both man and tree were lost in the foam, while the canoe
+dashed past in safety. The next instant Wabisca passed the narrows in
+her small craft, and steered for the tree. Redfeather, who had risen
+and sunk several times, saw her as she passed, and making a violent
+effort, he caught hold of the gunwale, and was carried down in safety.
+
+"I'll tell you what it is," said Jacques, as the party stood on a rock
+promontory after the events just narrated: "I would give a dollar to
+have that fellow's nose and the sights o' my rifle in a line at any
+distance short of two hundred yards."
+
+"It was Misconna," said Redfeather. "I did not see him, but there's not
+another man in the tribe that could do that."
+
+"I'm thankful we escaped, Jacques. I never felt so near death before,
+and had it not been for the timely aid of our friend here, it strikes
+me that our wild life would have come to an abrupt close.--God bless
+you, Redfeather," said Charley, taking the Indian's hand in both of his
+and kissing it.
+
+Charley's ebullition of feeling was natural. He had not yet become used
+to the dangers of the wilderness so as to treat them with indifference.
+Jacques, on the other hand, had risked his life so often that escape
+from danger was treated very much as a matter of course, and called
+forth little expression of feeling. Still, it must not be inferred from
+this that his nature had become callous. The backwoodsman's frame was
+hard and unyielding as iron, but his heart was as soft still as it was
+on the day on which he first donned the hunting-shirt, and there was
+much more of tenderness than met the eye in the squeeze that he gave
+Redfeather's hand on landing.
+
+As the four travellers encircled the fire that night, under the leafy
+branches of the forest, and smoked their pipes in concert, while
+Wabisca busied herself in clearing away the remnants of their evening
+meal, they waxed communicative, and stories, pathetic, comic, and
+tragic, followed each other in rapid succession.
+
+"Now, Redfeather," said Charley, while Jacques rose and went down to
+the luggage to get more tobacco, "tell Jacques about the way in which
+you got your name. I am sure he will feel deeply interested in that
+story--at least I am certain that Harry Somerville and I did when you
+told it to us the day we were wind-bound on Lake Winnipeg."
+
+Redfeather made no reply for a few seconds. "Will Mr. Charles speak for
+me?" he said at length. "His tongue is smooth and quick."
+
+"A doubtful kind of compliment," said Charley, laughing; "but I will,
+if you don't wish to tell it yourself."
+
+"And don't mention names. Do not let him know that you speak of me or
+my friends," said the Indian, in a low whisper, as Jacques returned and
+sat down by the fire again.
+
+Charley gave him a glance of surprise; but being prevented from asking
+questions, he nodded in reply, and proceeded to relate to his friend
+the story that has been recounted in a previous chapter. Redfeather
+leaned back against a tree, and appeared to listen intently.
+
+Charley's powers of description were by no means inconsiderable, and
+the backwoodsman's face assumed a look of good-humoured attention as
+the story proceeded. But when the narrator went on to tell of the
+meditated attack and the midnight march, his interest was aroused, the
+pipe which he had been smoking was allowed to go out, and he gazed at
+his young friend with the most earnest attention. It was evident that
+the hunter's spirit entered with deep sympathy into such scenes; and
+when Charley described the attack, and the death of the trapper's wife,
+Jacques seemed unable to restrain his feelings. He leaned his elbows on
+his knees, buried his face in his hands, and groaned aloud.
+
+"Mr. Charles," he said, in a deep voice, when the story was ended,
+"there are two men I would like to meet with in this world before I
+die. One is the young Injin who tried to save that girl's life, the
+other is the cowardly villain that took it. I don't mean the one who
+finished the bloody work: my rifle sent his accursed spirit to its own
+place--"
+
+"_Your_ rifle!" cried Charley, in amazement.
+
+"Ay, mine! It was _my_ wife who was butchered by these savage dogs on
+that dark night. Oh, what avails the strength o' that right arm!" said
+Jacques, bitterly, as he lifted up his clenched fist; "it was powerless
+to save _her_--the sweet girl who left her home and people to follow
+me, a rough hunter, through the lonesome wilderness!"
+
+He covered his face again, and groaned in agony of spirit, while his
+whole frame quivered with emotion.
+
+Jacques remained silent, and his sympathising friends refrained from
+intruding on a sorrow which they felt they had no power to relieve.
+
+At length he spoke. "Yes," said he, "I would give much to meet with the
+man who tried to save her. I saw him do it twice; but the devils about
+him were too eager to be balked of their prey."
+
+Charley and the Indian exchanged glances. "That Indian's name," said
+the former, "was _Redfeather!_"
+
+"What!" exclaimed the trapper, jumping to his feet, and grasping
+Redfeather, who had also risen, by the two shoulders, stared wildly in
+his face; "was it _you_ that did it?"
+
+Redfeather smiled, and held out his hand, which the other took and
+wrung with an energy that would have extorted a cry of pain from any
+one but an Indian. Then, dropping it suddenly and clinching his hands,
+he exclaimed,--
+
+"I said that I would like to meet the villain who killed her--yes, I
+said it in passion, when your words had roused all my old feelings
+again; but I am thankful--I bless God that I did not know this
+sooner--that you did not tell me of it when I was at the camp, for I
+verily believe that I would not only have fixed _him_, but half the
+warriors o' your tribe too, before they had settled _me!_"
+
+It need scarcely be added that the friendship which already subsisted
+between Jacques and Redfeather was now doubly cemented; nor will it
+create surprise when we say that the former, in the fulness of his
+heart, and from sheer inability to find adequate outlets for the
+expression of his feelings, offered Redfeather in succession all the
+articles of value he possessed, even to the much-loved rifle, and was
+seriously annoyed at their not being accepted. At last he finished off
+by assuring the Indian that he might look out for him soon at the
+missionary settlement, where he meant to stay with him evermore in the
+capacity of hunter, fisherman, and jack-of-all-trades to the whole clan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+The scene changes--Bachelor's Hall--A practical joke and its
+consequences--A snow-shoe walk at night in the forest.
+
+
+Leaving Charley to pursue his adventurous career among the Indians, we
+will introduce our reader to a new scene, and follow for a time the
+fortunes of our friend Harry Somerville. It will be remembered that we
+left him labouring under severe disappointment at the idea of having to
+spend a year, it might be many years, at the depot, and being condemned
+to the desk, instead of realising his fond dreams of bear-hunting and
+deer-stalking in the woods and prairies.
+
+It was now the autumn of Harry's second year at York Fort. This period
+of the year happens to be the busiest at the depot, in consequence of
+the preparation of the annual accounts for transmission to England, in
+the solitary ship which visits this lonely spot once a year; so that
+Harry was tied to his desk all day and the greater part of the night
+too, so that his spirits fell infinitely below zero, and he began to
+look on himself as the most miserable of mortals. His spirits rose,
+however, with amazing rapidity after the ship went away, and the "young
+gentlemen," as the clerks were styled _en masse_, were permitted to run
+wild in the swamps and woods for the three weeks succeeding that event.
+During this glimpse of sunshine they recruited their exhausted frames
+by paddling about all day in Indian canoes, or wandering through the
+marshes, sleeping at nights in tents or under the pine trees, and
+spreading dismay among the feathered tribes, of which there were
+immense numbers of all kinds. After this they returned to their regular
+work at the desk; but as this was not so severe as in summer, and was
+further lightened by Wednesdays and Saturdays being devoted entirely to
+recreation, Harry began to look on things in a less gloomy aspect, and
+at length regained his wonted cheerful spirits.
+
+Autumn passed away. The ducks and geese took their departure to more
+genial climes. The swamps froze up and became solid. Snow fell in great
+abundance, covering every vestige of vegetable nature, except the dark
+fir trees, that only helped to render the scenery more dreary, and
+winter settled down upon the land. Within the pickets of York Fort, the
+thirty or forty souls who lived there were actively employed in cutting
+their firewood, putting in double window-frames to keep out the severe
+cold, cutting tracks in the snow from one house to another, and
+otherwise preparing for a winter of eight months' duration, as cold as
+that of Nova Zembla, and in the course of which the only new faces they
+had any chance of seeing were those of the two men who conveyed the
+annual winter packet of letters from the next station. Outside of the
+fort, all was a wide, waste wilderness for _thousands_ of miles around.
+Deathlike stillness and solitude reigned everywhere, except when a
+covey of ptarmigan whirred like large snowflakes athwart the sky, or an
+arctic fox prowled stealthily through the woods in search of prey.
+
+As if in opposition to the gloom and stillness and solitude outside,
+the interior of the clerks' house presented a striking contrast of
+ruddy warmth, cheerful sounds, and bustling activity.
+
+It was evening; but although the sun had set, there was still
+sufficient daylight to render candles unnecessary, though not enough to
+prevent a bright glare from the stove in the centre of the hall taking
+full effect in the darkening chamber, and making it glow with fiery
+red. Harry Somerville sat in front, and full in the blaze of this
+stove, resting after the labours of the day; his arms crossed on his
+breast, his head a little to one side, as if in deep contemplation, as
+he gazed earnestly into the fire, and his chair tilted on its hind legs
+so as to balance with such nicety that a feather's weight additional
+outside its centre of gravity would have upset it. He had divested
+himself of his coat--a practice that prevailed among the young
+gentlemen when _at home_, as being free-and-easy as well as convenient.
+The doctor, a tall, broad-shouldered man, with red hair and whiskers,
+paced the room sedately, with a long pipe depending from his lips,
+which he removed occasionally to address a few remarks to the
+accountant, a stout, heavy man of about thirty, with a voice like a
+Stentor, eyes sharp and active as those of a ferret, and a tongue that
+moved with twice the ordinary amount of lingual rapidity. The doctor's
+remarks seemed to be particularly humorous, if one might judge from the
+peals of laughter with which they were received by the accountant, who
+stood with his back to the stove in such a position that, while it
+warmed him from his heels to his waist, he enjoyed the additional
+benefit of the pipe or chimney, which rose upwards, parallel with his
+spine, and, taking a sudden bend near the roof, passed over his
+head--thus producing a genial and equable warmth from top to toe.
+
+"Yes," said the doctor, "I left him hotly following up a rabbit-track,
+in the firm belief that it was that of a silver fox."
+
+"And did you not undeceive the greenhorn?" cried the accountant, with
+another shout of laughter.
+
+"Not I," replied the doctor. "I merely recommended him to keep his eye
+on the sun, lest he should lose his way, and hastened home; for it just
+occurred to me that I had forgotten to visit Louis Blanc, who cut his
+foot with an axe yesterday, and whose wound required redressing, so I
+left the poor youth to learn from experience."
+
+"Pray, who did you leave to that delightful fate?" asked Mr. Wilson,
+issuing from his bedroom, and approaching the stove.
+
+Mr. Wilson was a middle-aged, good-humoured, active man, who filled the
+onerous offices of superintendent of the men, trader of furs, seller of
+goods to the Indians, and general factotum.
+
+"Our friend Hamilton," answered the doctor, in reply to his question.
+"I think he is, without exception, the most egregious nincompoop I ever
+saw. Just as I passed the long swamp on my way home, I met him crashing
+through the bushes in hot pursuit of a rabbit, the track of which he
+mistook for a fox. Poor fellow! He had been out since breakfast, and
+only shot a brace of ptarmigan, although they are as thick as bees and
+quite tame. 'But then, do you see,' said he, in excuse, 'I'm so very
+shortsighted! Would you believe it, I've blown fifteen lumps of snow to
+atoms, in the belief that they were ptarmigan!' and then he rushed off
+again."
+
+"No doubt," said Mr. Wilson, smiling, "the lad is very green, but he's
+a good fellow for all that."
+
+"I'll answer for that," said the accountant; "I found him over at the
+men's houses this morning doing _your_ work for you, doctor."
+
+"How so?" inquired the disciple of AEsculapius.
+
+"Attending to your wounded man, Louis Blanc, to be sure; and he seemed
+to speak to him as wisely as if he had walked the hospitals, and
+regularly passed for an M.D."
+
+"Indeed!" said the doctor, with a mischievous grin. "Then I must pay
+him off for interfering with my patients."
+
+"Ah, doctor, you're too fond of practical jokes. You never let slip an
+opportunity of 'paying off' your friends for something or other. It's a
+bad habit. Practical jokes are very bad things--shockingly bad," said
+Mr. Wilson, as he put on his fur cap, and wound a thick shawl round his
+throat, preparatory to leaving the room.
+
+As Mr. Wilson gave utterance to this opinion, he passed Harry
+Somerville, who was still staring at the fire in deep mental
+abstraction, and, as he did so, gave his tilted chair a very slight
+push backwards with his finger--an action which caused Harry to toss up
+his legs, grasp convulsively with both hands at empty air, and fall
+with a loud noise and an angry yell to the ground, while his persecutor
+vanished from the scene.
+
+"O you outrageous villain!" cried Harry, shaking his fist at the door,
+as he slowly gathered himself up; "I might have expected that."
+
+"Quite so," said the doctor; "you might. It was very neatly done,
+undoubtedly. Wilson deserves credit for the way in which it was
+executed."
+
+"He deserves to be executed for doing it at all," replied Harry,
+rubbing his elbow as he resumed his seat.
+
+"Any bark knocked off?" inquired the accountant, as he took a piece of
+glowing charcoal from the stove wherewith to light his pipe. "Try a
+whiff, Harry. It's good for such things. Bruises, sores, contusions,
+sprains, rheumatic affections of the back and loins, carbuncles and
+earache--there's nothing that smoking won't cure; eh, doctor?"
+
+"Certainly. If applied inwardly, there's nothing so good for digestion
+when one doesn't require tonics--Try it, Harry; it will do you good, I
+assure you."
+
+"No, thank you," replied Harry; "I'll leave that to you and the
+chimney. I don't wish to make a soot-bag of my mouth. But tell me,
+doctor, what do you mean to do with that lump of snow there?"
+
+Harry pointed to a mass of snow, of about two feet square, which lay on
+the floor beside the door. It had been placed there by the doctor some
+time previously.
+
+"Do with it? Have patience, my friend, and you shall see. It is a
+little surprise I have in store for Hamilton."
+
+As he spoke, the door opened, and a short, square-built man rushed into
+the room, with a pistol in one hand and a bright little bullet in the
+other.
+
+"Hollo, skipper!" cried Harry, "what's the row?"
+
+"All right," cried the skipper; "here it is at last, solid as the fluke
+of an anchor. Toss me the powder-flask Harry; look sharp, else it'll
+melt."
+
+A powder-flask was immediately produced, from which the skipper hastily
+charged the pistol, and rammed down the shining bullet.
+
+"Now then," said he, "look out for squalls. Clear the decks there."
+
+And rushing to the door, he flung it open, took a steady aim at
+something outside, and fired.
+
+"Is the man mad?" said the accountant, as with a look of amazement he
+beheld the skipper spring through the doorway, and immediately return
+bearing in his arms a large piece of fir plank.
+
+"Not quite mad yet," he said, in reply, "but I've sent a ball of
+quicksilver through an inch plank, and that's not a thing to be done
+every day--even _here_, although it _is_ cold enough sometimes to
+freeze up one's very ideas."
+
+"Dear me," interrupted Harry Somerville, looking as if a new thought
+had struck him, "that must be it! I've no doubt that poor Hamilton's
+ideas are _frozen_, which accounts for the total absence of any
+indication of his possessing such things."
+
+"I observed," continued the skipper, not noticing the interruption,
+"that the glass was down at 45 degrees below zero this morning, and put
+out a bullet-mould full of mercury, and you see the result." As he
+spoke he held up the perforated plank in triumph.
+
+The skipper was a strange mixture of qualities. To a wild, off-hand,
+sailor-like hilarity of disposition in hours of leisure, he united a
+grave, stern energy of character while employed in the performance of
+his duties. Duty was always paramount with him. A smile could scarcely
+be extracted from him while it was in the course of performance. But
+the instant his work was done a new spirit seemed to take possession of
+the man. Fun, mischief of any kind, no matter how childish, he entered
+into with the greatest delight and enthusiasm. Among other
+peculiarities, he had become deeply imbued with a thirst for scientific
+knowledge, ever since he had acquired, with infinite labour, the small
+modicum of science necessary to navigation; and his doings in pursuit
+of statistical information relative to the weather, and the phenomena
+of nature generally, were very peculiar, and in some cases outrageous.
+His transaction with the quicksilver was in consequence of an eager
+desire to see that metal frozen (an effect which takes place when the
+spirit-of-wine thermometer falls to 39 degrees below zero of
+Fahrenheit), and a wish to be able to boast of having actually fired a
+mercurial bullet through an inch plank. Having made a careful note of
+the fact, with all the relative circumstances attending it, in a very
+much blotted book, which he denominated his scientific log, the worthy
+skipper threw off his coat, drew a chair to the stove, and prepared to
+regale himself with a pipe. As he glanced slowly round the room while
+thus engaged, his eye fell on the mass of snow before alluded to. On
+being informed by the doctor for what it was intended, he laid down his
+pipe and rose hastily from his chair.
+
+"You've not a moment to lose," said he. "As I came in at the gate just
+now, I saw Hamilton coming down the river on the ice, and he must be
+almost arrived now."
+
+"Up with it then," cried the doctor, seizing the snow, and lifting it
+to the top of the door. "Hand me those bits of stick, Harry; quick,
+man, stir your stumps.--Now then, skipper, fix them in so, while I hold
+this up."
+
+The skipper lent willing and effective aid, so that in a few minutes
+the snow was placed in such a position that upon the opening of the
+door it must inevitably fall on the head of the first person who should
+enter the room.
+
+"So," said the skipper, "that's rigged up in what I call ship-shape
+fashion."
+
+"True," remarked the doctor, eyeing the arrangement with a look of
+approval; "it will do, I think, admirably."
+
+"Don't you think, skipper," said Harry Somerville gravely, as he
+resumed his seat in front of the fire, "that it would be worth while to
+make a careful and minute entry in your private log of the manner in
+which it was put up, to be afterwards followed by an account of its
+effect? You might write an essay on it now, and call it the
+extraordinary effects of a fall of snow in latitude so and so, eh? What
+think you of it?"
+
+The skipper vouchsafed no reply, but made a significant gesture with
+his fist, which caused Harry to put himself in a posture of defence.
+
+At this moment footsteps were heard on the wooden platform in front of
+the building.
+
+Instantly all became silence and expectation in the hall as the result
+of the practical joke was about to be realised. Just then another step
+was heard on the platform, and it became evident that two persons were
+approaching the door.
+
+"Hope it'll be the right man," said the skipper, with a look savouring
+slightly of anxiety.
+
+As he spoke the door opened, and a foot crossed the threshold; the next
+instant the miniature avalanche descended on the head and shoulders of
+a man, who reeled forward from the weight of the blow, and, covered
+from head to foot with snow, fell to the ground amid shouts of laughter.
+
+With a convulsive stamp and shake, the prostrate figure sprang up and
+confronted the party. Had the cast-iron stove suddenly burst into
+atoms, and blown the roof off the house, it could scarcely have created
+greater consternation than that which filled the merry jesters when
+they beheld the visage of Mr. Rogan, the superintendent of the fort,
+red with passion and fringed with snow.
+
+"So," said he, stamping violently with his foot, partly from anger, and
+partly with a view of shaking off the unexpected covering, which stuck
+all over his dress in little patches, producing a somewhat piebald
+effect,--"so you are pleased to jest, gentlemen. Pray, who placed that
+piece of snow over the door?" Mr. Rogan glared fiercely round upon the
+culprits, who stood speechless before him.
+
+For a moment he stood silent, as if uncertain how to act; then turning
+short on his heel, he strode quickly out of the room, nearly
+overturning Mr. Hamilton, who at the same instant entered it, carrying
+his gun and snowshoes under his arm.
+
+"Dear me, what has happened?" he exclaimed, in a peculiarly gentle tone
+of voice, at the same time regarding the snow and the horror-stricken
+circle with a look of intense surprise.
+
+"You _see_ what has happened," replied Harry Somerville, who was the
+first to recover his composure; "I presume you intended to ask, 'What
+has _caused_ it to happen?' Perhaps the skipper will explain; it's
+beyond me, quite."
+
+Thus appealed to, that worthy cleared his throat, and said,--
+
+"Why, you see, Mr. Hamilton, a great phenomenon of meteorology has
+happened. We were all standing, you must know, at the open door, taking
+a squint at the weather, when our attention was attracted by a curious
+object that appeared in the sky, and seemed to be coming down at the
+rate of ten knots an hour, right end-on for the house. I had just time
+to cry, 'Clear out, lads,' when it came slap in through the doorway,
+and smashed to shivers there, where you see the fragments. In fact,
+it's a wonderful aerolite, and Mr. Rogan has just gone out with a lot
+of the bits in his pocket, to make a careful examination of them, and
+draw up a report for the Geological Society in London. I shouldn't
+wonder if he were to send off an express to-night; and maybe you will
+have to convey the news to headquarters, so you'd better go and see him
+about it soon."
+
+_Soft_ although Mr. Hamilton was supposed to be, he was not quite
+prepared to give credit to this explanation; but being of a peaceful
+disposition, and altogether unaccustomed to retort, he merely smiled
+his disbelief, as he proceeded to lay aside his fowling-piece, and
+divest himself of the voluminous out-of-door trappings with which he
+was clad. Mr. Hamilton was a tall, slender youth, of about nineteen. He
+had come out by the ship in autumn, and was spending his first winter
+at York Fort. Up to the period of his entering the Hudson's Bay
+Company's service, he had never been more than twenty miles from home,
+and having mingled little with the world, was somewhat unsophisticated,
+besides being by nature gentle and unassuming.
+
+Soon after this the man who acted as cook, waiter, and butler to the
+mess, entered, and said that Mr. Rogan desired to see the accountant
+immediately.
+
+"Who am I to say did it?" enquired that gentleman, as he rose to obey
+the summons.
+
+"Wouldn't it be a disinterested piece of kindness if you were to say it
+was yourself?" suggested the doctor.
+
+"Perhaps it would, but I won't," replied the accountant, as he made his
+exit.
+
+In about half-an-hour Mr. Rogan and the accountant re-entered the
+apartment. The former had quite regained his composure. He was
+naturally amiable; which happy disposition was indicated by a
+habitually cheerful look and smile.
+
+"Now, gentlemen," said he, "I find that this practical joke was not
+intended for me, and therefore look upon it as an unlucky accident; but
+I cannot too strongly express my dislike to practical jokes of all
+kinds. I have seen great evil, and some bloodshed, result from
+practical jokes; and I think that, being a sufferer in consequence of
+your fondness for them, I have a right to beg that you will abstain
+from such doings in future--at least from such jokes as involve risk to
+those who do not choose to enter into them."
+
+Having given vent to this speech, Mr. Rogan left his volatile friends
+to digest it at their leisure.
+
+"Serves us right," said the skipper, pacing up and down the room in a
+repentant frame of mind, with his thumbs hooked into the arm-holes of
+his vest.
+
+The doctor said nothing, but breathed hard and smoked vigorously.
+
+While we admit most thoroughly with Mr. Rogan that practical jokes are
+exceedingly bad, and productive frequently of far more evil than fun,
+we feel it our duty, as a faithful delineator of manners, customs, and
+character in these regions, to urge in palliation of the offence
+committed by the young gentlemen at York Fort, that they had really
+about as few amusements and sources of excitement as fall to the lot of
+any class of men. They were entirely dependent on their own unaided
+exertions, during eight or nine months of the year, for amusement or
+recreation of any kind. Their books were few in number, and soon read
+through. The desolate wilderness around afforded no incidents to form
+subjects of conversation further than the events of a day's shooting,
+which, being nearly similar every day, soon lost all interest. No
+newspapers came to tell of the doings of the busy world from which they
+were shut out, and nothing occurred to vary the dull routine of their
+life; so that it is not matter for wonder that they were driven to seek
+for relaxation and excitement occasionally in most outrageous and
+unnatural ways, and to indulge now and then in the perpetration of a
+practical joke.
+
+For some time after the rebuke administered by Mr. Rogan, silence
+reigned in _Bachelor's Hall_, as the clerks' house was termed. But at
+length symptoms of _ennui_ began to be displayed. The doctor yawned and
+lay down on his bed to enjoy an American newspaper about twelve months
+old. Harry Somerville sat down to reread a volume of Franklin's travels
+in the polar regions, which he had perused twice already. Mr. Hamilton
+busied himself in cleaning his fowling-piece; while the skipper
+conversed with Mr. Wilson, who was engaged in his room in adjusting an
+ivory head to a walking-stick. Mr. Wilson was a jack-of-all-trades, who
+could make shift, one way or other, to do _anything_. The accountant
+paced the uncarpeted floor in deep contemplation.
+
+At length he paused, and looked at Harry Somerville for some time.
+
+"What say you to a walk through the woods to North River, Harry?"
+
+"Ready," cried Harry, tossing down the book with a look of
+contempt--"ready for anything."
+
+"Will _you_ come, Hamilton?" added the accountant. Hamilton looked up
+in surprise.
+
+"You don't mean, surely, to take so long a walk in the dark, do you? It
+is snowing, too, very heavily, and I think you said that North River
+was five miles off, did you not?"
+
+"Of course I mean to walk in the dark," replied the accountant, "unless
+you can extemporize an artificial light for the occasion, or prevail on
+the moon to come out for my special benefit. As to snowing and a short
+tramp of five miles, why, the sooner you get to think of such things as
+_trifles_ the better, if you hope to be fit for anything in this
+country."
+
+"I _don't_ think much of them," replied Hamilton, softly and with a
+slight smile; "I only meant that such a walk was not very _attractive_
+so late in the evening."
+
+"Attractive!" shouted Harry Somerville from his bedroom, where he was
+equipping himself for the walk; "what can be more attractive than a
+sharp run of ten miles through the woods on a cool night to visit your
+traps, with the prospect of a silver fox or a wolf at the end of it,
+and an extra sound sleep as the result? Come, man, don't be soft; get
+ready, and go along with us."
+
+"Besides," added the accountant, "I don't mean to come back to-night.
+To-morrow, you know, is a holiday, so we can camp out in the snow after
+visiting the traps, have our supper, and start early in the morning to
+search for ptarmigan."
+
+"Well, I will go," said Hamilton, after this account of the pleasures
+that were to be expected; "I am exceedingly anxious to learn to shoot
+birds on the wing."
+
+"Bless me! have you not learned that yet!" asked the doctor, in
+affected surprise, as he sauntered out of his bedroom to relight his
+pipe.
+
+The various bedrooms in the clerks' house were ranged round the hall,
+having doors that opened directly into it, so that conversation carried
+on in a loud voice was heard in all the rooms at once, and was not
+infrequently sustained in elevated tones from different apartments,
+when the occupants were lounging, as they often did of an evening, in
+their beds.
+
+"No," said Hamilton, in reply to the doctor's question, "I have not
+learned yet, although there were a great many grouse in the part of
+Scotland where I was brought up. But my aunt, with whom I lived, was so
+fearful of my shooting either myself or someone else, and had such an
+aversion to firearms, that I determined to make her mind easy, by
+promising that I would never use them so long as I remained under her
+roof."
+
+"Quite right; very dutiful and proper," said the doctor, with a grave,
+patronising air.
+
+"Perhaps you'll fall in with more _fox_ tracks of the same sort as the
+one you gave chase to this morning," shouted the skipper, from Wilson's
+room.
+
+"Oh! there's hundreds of them out there," said the accountant; "so
+let's off at once."
+
+The trio now proceeded to equip themselves for the walk. Their costumes
+were peculiar, and merit description. As they were similar in the chief
+points, it will suffice to describe that of our friend Harry.
+
+On his head he wore a fur-cap made of otter-skin, with a flap on each
+side to cover the ears, the frost being so intense in these climates
+that without some such protection they would inevitably freeze and fall
+off.
+
+As the nose is constantly in use for the purposes of respiration, it is
+always left uncovered to fight with the cold as it best can; but it is
+a hard battle, and there is no doubt that, if it were possible, a nasal
+covering would be extremely pleasant. Indeed, several desperate efforts
+_have_ been made to construct some sort of nose-bag, but hitherto
+without success, owing to the uncomfortable fact that the breath
+issuing from that organ immediately freezes, and converts the covering
+into a bag of snow or ice, which is not agreeable. Round his neck Harry
+wound a thick shawl of such portentious dimensions that it entirely
+enveloped the neck and lower part of the face; thus the entire head
+was, as it were, eclipsed--the eyes, the nose, and the cheek-bones
+alone being visible. He then threw on a coat made of deer-skin, so
+prepared that it bore a slight resemblance to excessively coarse
+chamois leather. It was somewhat in the form of a long, wide surtout,
+overlapping very much in front, and confined closely to the figure by
+means of a scarlet worsted belt instead of buttons, and was ornamented
+round the foot by a number of cuts, which produced a fringe of little
+tails. Being lined with thick flannel, this portion of attire was
+rather heavy, but extremely necessary. A pair of blue cloth leggings,
+having a loose flap on the outside, were next drawn on over the
+trousers, as an additional protection to the knees. The feet, besides
+being portions of the body that are peculiarly susceptible of cold, had
+further to contend against the chafing of the lines which attach them
+to the snow-shoes, so that special care in their preparation for duty
+was necessary. First were put on a pair of blanketing or duffel socks,
+which were merely oblong in form, without sewing or making-up of any
+kind. These were wrapped round the feet, which were next thrust into a
+pair of made-up socks, of the same material, having ankle-pieces; above
+these were put _another_ pair, _without_ flaps for the ankles. Over all
+was drawn a pair of moccasins made of stout deer-skin, similar to that
+of the coat. Of course, the elegance of Harry's feet was entirely
+destroyed, and had he been met in this guise by any of his friends in
+the "old country," they would infallibly have come to the conclusion
+that he was afflicted with gout. Over his shoulders he slung a
+powder-horn and shot-pouch, the latter tastefully embroidered with dyed
+quill-work, A pair of deer-skin mittens, having a little bag for the
+thumb, and a large bag for the fingers, completed his costume.
+
+While the three were making ready, with a running accompaniment of
+grunts and groans at refractory pieces of apparel, the night without
+became darker, and the snow fell thicker, so that when they issued
+suddenly out of their warm abode, and emerged into the sharp frosty
+air, which blew the snow-drift into their eyes, they felt a momentary
+desire to give up the project and return to their comfortable quarters.
+
+"What a dismal-looking night it is!" said the accountant, as he led the
+way along the wooden platform towards the gate of the fort.
+
+"Very!" replied Hamilton, with an involuntary shudder.
+
+"Keep up your heart," said Harry, in a cheerful voice; "you've no
+notion how your mind will change on that point when you have walked a
+mile or so and got into a comfortable heat. I must confess, however,
+that a little moonshine would be an improvement," he added, on
+stumbling, for the third time, off the platform into the deep snow.
+
+"It is full moon just now," said the accountant, "and I think the
+clouds look as if they would break soon. At any rate, I've been at
+North River so often that I believe I could walk out there blindfold."
+
+As he spoke they passed the gate, and diverging to the right,
+proceeded, as well as the imperfect light permitted, along the footpath
+that led to the forest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+The walk continued--Frozen toes--An encampment in the snow.
+
+
+After quitting York Fort, the three friends followed the track leading
+to the spot where the winter's firewood was cut. Snow was still falling
+thickly, and it was with some difficulty that the accountant kept in
+the right direction. The night was excessively dark, while the dense
+fir forest, through which the narrow road ran, rendered the gloom if
+possible more intense.
+
+When they had proceeded about a mile, their leader suddenly came to a
+stand.
+
+"We must quit the track now," said he; "so get on your snow-shoes as
+fast as you can."
+
+Hitherto they had carried their snow-shoes under their arms, as the
+beaten track along which they travelled rendered them unnecessary; but
+now, having to leave the path and pursue the remainder of their journey
+through deep snow, they availed themselves of those useful machines, by
+means of which the inhabitants of this part of North America are
+enabled to journey over many miles of trackless wilderness, with nearly
+as much ease as a sportsman can traverse the moors in autumn, and that
+over snow so deep that one hour's walk through it _without_ such aids
+would completely exhaust the stoutest trapper, and advance him only a
+mile or so on his journey. In other words, to walk without snow-shoes
+would be utterly impossible, while to walk with them is easy and
+agreeable. They are not used after the manner of skates, with a
+_sliding_, but a _stepping_ action, and their sole use is to support
+the wearer on the top of snow, into which without them he would sink up
+to the waist. When we say that they support the wearer on the _top_ of
+the snow, of course we do not mean that they literally do not break the
+surface at all. But the depth to which they sink is comparatively
+trifling, and varies according to the state of the snow and the season
+of the year. In the woods they sink frequently about six inches,
+sometimes more, sometimes less, while on frozen rivers, where the snow
+is packed solid by the action of the wind, they sink only two or three
+inches, and sometimes so little as to render it preferable to walk
+without them altogether. Snow-shoes are made of a light, strong
+framework of wood, varying from three to six feet long by eighteen and
+twenty inches broad, tapering to a point before and behind, and turning
+up in front. Different tribes of Indians modify the form a little, but
+in all essential points they are the same. The framework is filled up
+with a netting of deer-skin threads, which unites lightness with great
+strength, and permits any snow that may chance to fall upon the netting
+to pass through it like a sieve.
+
+On the present occasion the snow, having recently fallen, was soft, and
+the walking, consequently, what is called heavy.
+
+"Come on," shouted the accountant, as he came to a stand for the third
+time within half-an-hour, to await the coming up of poor Hamilton, who,
+being rather awkward in snow-shoe walking even in daylight, found it
+nearly impossible in the dark.
+
+"Wait a little, please," replied a faint voice in the distance; "I've
+got among a quantity of willows, and find it very difficult to get on.
+I've been down twice al--"
+
+The sudden cessation of the voice, and a loud crash as of breaking
+branches, proved too clearly that our friend had accomplished his third
+fall.
+
+"There he goes again," exclaimed Harry Somerville, who came up at the
+moment. "I've helped him up once already. We'll never get to North
+River at this rate. What _is_ to be done?"
+
+"Let's see what has become of him this time, however," said the
+accountant, as he began to retrace his steps. "If I mistake not, he
+made rather a heavy plunge that time, judging from the sound."
+
+At that moment the clouds overhead broke, and a moonbeam shot down into
+the forest, throwing a pale light over the cold scene. A few steps
+brought Harry and the accountant to the spot whence the sound had
+proceeded, and a loud startling laugh rang through the night air, as
+the latter suddenly beheld poor Hamilton struggling, with his arms,
+head, and shoulders stuck into the snow, his snow-shoes twisted and
+sticking with the heels up and awry, in a sort of rampant confusion,
+and his gun buried to the locks beside him. Regaining one's
+perpendicular after a fall in deep snow, when the feet are encumbered
+by a pair of long snow-shoes, is by no means an easy thing to
+accomplish, in consequence of the impossibility of getting hold of
+anything solid on which to rest the hands. The depth is so great that
+the outstretched arms cannot find bottom, and every successive struggle
+only sinks the unhappy victim deeper down. Should no assistance be
+near, he will soon beat the snow to a solidity that will enable him to
+rise, but not in a very enviable or comfortable condition.
+
+"Give me a hand, Harry," gasped Hamilton, as he managed to twist his
+head upwards for a moment.
+
+"Here you are," cried Harry, holding out his hand and endeavouring to
+suppress his desire to laugh; "up with you," and in another moment the
+poor youth was upon his legs, with every fold and crevice about his
+person stuffed to repletion with snow.
+
+"Come, cheer up," cried the accountant, giving the youth a slap on the
+back; "there's nothing like experience--the proverb says that it even
+teaches fools, so you need not despair."
+
+Hamilton smiled as he endeavoured to shake off some of his white
+coating.
+
+"We'll be all right immediately," added Harry; "I see that the country
+ahead is more open, so the walking will be easier."
+
+"Oh, I wish that I had not come!" said Hamilton, sorrowfully, "because
+I am only detaining you. But perhaps I shall do better as we get on. At
+any rate, I cannot go back now, as I could never find the way."
+
+"Go back! of course not," said the accountant; "in a short time we
+shall get into the old woodcutters' track of last year, and although
+it's not beaten at all, yet it is pretty level and open, so that we
+shall get on famously."
+
+"Go on, then," sighed Hamilton.
+
+"Drive ahead," laughed Harry, and without further delay they resumed
+their march, which was soon rendered more cheerful as the clouds rolled
+away, the snow ceased to fall, and the bright full moon poured its rays
+down upon their path.
+
+For a long time they proceeded in silence, the muffled sound of the
+snow, as it sank beneath their regular footsteps, being the only
+interruption to the universal stillness around. There is something very
+solemnizing in a scene such as we are now describing--the calm
+tranquillity of the arctic night; the pure whiteness of the snowy
+carpet, which rendered the dark firs inky black by contrast; the clear,
+cold, starry sky, that glimmered behind the dark clouds, whose heavy
+masses, now rolling across the moon, partially obscured the landscape,
+and anon, passing slowly away, let a flood of light down upon the
+forest, which, penetrating between the thick branches, scattered the
+surface of the snow, as it were, with flakes of silver. Sleep has often
+been applied as a simile to nature in repose, but in this case death
+seemed more appropriate. So silent, so cold, so still was the scene,
+that it filled the mind with an indefinable feeling of dread, as if
+there was some mysterious danger near. Once or twice during their walk
+the three travellers paused to rest, but they spoke little, and in
+subdued voices, as if they feared to break the silence of the night.
+
+"It is strange," said Harry, in a low tone, as he walked beside
+Hamilton, "that such a scene as this always makes me think more than
+usual of home."
+
+"And yet it is natural," replied the other, "because it reminds us more
+forcibly than any other that we are in a foreign land--in the lonely
+wilderness--far away from home."
+
+Both Harry and Hamilton had been trained in families where the Almighty
+was feared and loved, and where their minds had been early led to
+reflect upon the Creator when regarding the works of His hand: their
+thoughts, therefore, naturally reverted to another home, compared with
+which this world is indeed a cold, lonely wilderness; but on such
+subjects they feared to converse, partly from a dread of the ridicule
+of reckless companions, partly from ignorance of each other's feelings
+on religious matters, and although their minds were busy, their tongues
+were silent.
+
+The ground over which the greater part of their path lay was a swamp,
+which, being now frozen, was a beautiful white plain, so that their
+advance was more rapid, until they approached the belt of woodland that
+skirts North River. Here they again encountered the heavy snow, which
+had been such a source of difficulty to Hamilton at setting out. He had
+profited by his former experience, however, and by the exercise of an
+excessive degree of caution managed to scramble through the woods
+tolerably well, emerging at last, along with his companions, on the
+bleak margin of what appeared to be the frozen sea.
+
+North River, at this place, is several miles broad, and the opposite
+shore is so low that the snow causes it to appear but a slight
+undulation of the frozen bed of the river. Indeed, it would not be
+distinguishable at all, were it not for the willow bushes and dwarf
+pines, whose tops, rising above the white garb of winter, indicate that
+_terra firma_ lies below.
+
+"What a cold, desolate-looking place!" said Hamilton, as the party
+stood still to recover breath before taking their way over the plain to
+the spot where the accountant's traps were set. "It looks much more
+like the frozen sea than a river."
+
+"It can scarcely be called a river at this place," remarked the
+accountant, "seeing that the water hereabouts is brackish, and the
+tides ebb and flow a good way up. In fact, this is the extreme mouth of
+North River, and if you turn your eyes a little to the right, towards
+yonder ice-hummock in the plain, you behold the frozen sea itself."
+
+"Where are your traps set?" inquired Harry.
+
+"Down in the hollow, behind yon point covered with brushwood."
+
+"Oh, we shall soon get to them then; come along," cried Harry.
+
+Harry was mistaken, however. He had not yet learned by experience the
+extreme difficulty of judging of distance in the uncertain light of
+night--a difficulty that was increased by the ignorance of the
+locality, and by the gleams of moonshine that shot through the driving
+clouds and threw confused fantastic shadows over the plain. The point
+which he had at first supposed was covered with low bushes, and about a
+hundred yards off, proved to be clad in reality with large bushes and
+small trees, and lay at a distance of two miles.
+
+"I think you have been mistaken in supposing the point so near, Harry,"
+said Hamilton, as he trudged on beside his friend.
+
+"A fact evident to the naked eye," replied Harry. "How do your feet
+stand it, eh? Beginning to lose bark yet?"
+
+Hamilton did not feel quite sure. "I think," said he softly, "that
+there is a blister under the big toe of my left foot. It feels very
+painful."
+
+"If you feel at all _uncertain_ about it, you may rest assured that
+there _is_ a blister. These things don't give much pain at first. I'm
+sorry to tell you, my dear fellow, that you'll be painfully aware of
+the fact to-morrow. However, don't distress yourself; it's a part of
+the experience that everyone goes through in this country. Besides,"
+said Harry smiling, "we can send to the fort for medical advice."
+
+"Don't bother the poor fellow, and hold your tongue. Harry," said the
+accountant, who now began to tread more cautiously as he approached the
+place where the traps were set.
+
+"How many traps have you?" inquired Harry in a low tone.
+
+"Three," replied the accountant.
+
+"Do you know I have a very strange feeling about my heels--or rather a
+want of feeling," said Hamilton, smiling dubiously.
+
+"A want of feeling! what do you mean?" cried the accountant, stopping
+suddenly and confronting his young friend.
+
+"Oh, I daresay it's nothing," he exclaimed, looking as if ashamed of
+having spoken of it; "only I feel exactly as if both my heels were cut
+off, and I were walking on tip-toe!"
+
+"Say you so? then right about wheel. Your heels are frozen, man, and
+you'll lose them if you don't look sharp."
+
+"Frozen!" cried Hamilton, with a look of incredulity.
+
+"Ay, frozen; and it's lucky you told me. I've a place up in the woods
+here, which I call my winter camp, where we can get you put to rights.
+But step out; the longer we are about it the worse for you."
+
+Harry Somerville was at first disposed to think that the accountant
+jested, but seeing that he turned his back towards his traps, and made
+for the nearest point of the thick woods with a stride that betokened
+thorough sincerity, he became anxious too, and followed as fast as
+possible.
+
+The place to which the accountant led his young friends was a group of
+fir trees which grew on a little knoll, that rose a few feet above the
+surrounding level country. At the foot of this hillock a small rivulet
+or burn ran in summer, but the only evidence of its presence now was
+the absence of willow bushes all along its covered narrow bed. A level
+tract was thus formed by nature, free from all underwood, and running
+inland about the distance of a mile, where it was lost in the swamp
+whence the stream issued. The wooded knoll or hillock lay at the mouth
+of this brook, and being the only elevated spot in the neighbourhood,
+besides having the largest trees growing on it, had been selected by
+the accountant as a convenient place for "camping out" on, when he
+visited his traps in winter, and happened to be either too late or
+disinclined to return home. Moreover, the spreading fir branches
+afforded an excellent shelter alike from wind and snow in the centre of
+the clump, while from the margin was obtained a partial view of the
+river and the sea beyond. Indeed, from this look-out there was a very
+fine prospect on clear winter nights of the white landscape, enlivened
+occasionally by groups of arctic foxes, which might be seen scampering
+about in sport, and gambolling among the hummocks of ice like young
+kittens.
+
+"Now we shall turn up here," said the accountant, as he walked a short
+way up the brook before mentioned, and halted in front of what appeared
+to be an impenetrable mass of bushes.
+
+"We shall have to cut our way, then," said Harry, looking to the right
+and left in the vain hope of discovering a place where, the bushes
+being less dense, they might effect an entrance into the knoll or grove.
+
+"Not so. I have taken care to make a passage into my winter camp,
+although it was only a whim, after all, to make a concealed entrance,
+seeing that no one ever passes this way except wolves and foxes, whose
+noses render the use of their eyes in most cases unnecessary."
+
+So saying, the accountant turned aside a thick branch, and disclosed a
+narrow track, into which he entered, followed by his two companions.
+
+A few minutes brought them to the centre of the knoll. Here they found
+a clear space of about twenty feet in diameter, round which the trees
+circled so thickly that in daylight nothing could be seen but
+tree-stems as far as the eye could penetrate, while overhead the broad
+flat branches of the firs, with their evergreen verdure, spread out and
+interlaced so thickly that very little light penetrated into the space
+below. Of course at night, even in moonlight, the place was pitch dark.
+Into this retreat the accountant led his companions, and bidding them
+stand still for a minute lest they should stumble into the fireplace,
+he proceeded to strike a light.
+
+Those who have never travelled in the wild parts of this world can form
+but a faint conception of the extraordinary and sudden change that is
+produced, not only in the scene, but in the mind of the beholder, when
+a blazing fire is lighted on a dark night. Before the fire is kindled,
+and you stand, perhaps (as Harry and his friend did on the present
+occasion) shivering in the cold, the heart sinks, and sad, gloomy
+thoughts arise, while your eye endeavours to pierce the thick darkness,
+which, if it succeeds in doing so, only adds to the effect by
+disclosing the pallid snow, the cold, chilling beams of the moon, the
+wide vista of savage scenery, the awe-inspiring solitudes that tell of
+your isolated condition, or stir up sad memories of other and
+far-distant scenes. But the moment the first spark of fire sends a
+fitful gleam of light upwards, these thoughts and feelings take wing
+and vanish. The indistinct scenery is rendered utterly invisible by the
+red light, which attracts and rivets the eye as if by a species of
+fascination. The deep shadows of the woods immediately around you grow
+deeper and blacker as the flames leap and sparkle upwards, causing the
+stems of the surrounding trees, and the foliage of the overhanging
+branches, to stand out in bold relief, bathed in a ruddy glow, which
+converts the forest chamber into a snug _home-like_ place, and fills
+the mind with agreeable, _home-like_ feelings and meditations. It
+seemed as if the spirit, in the one case, were set loose and
+etherealized to enable it to spread itself over the plains of cold,
+cheerless, illimitable space, and left to dwell upon objects too wide
+to grasp, too indistinct to comprehend; while, in the other, it is
+recalled and concentrated upon matters circumscribed and congenial,
+things of which it has long been cognizant, and which it can appreciate
+and enjoy without the effort of a thought.
+
+Some such thoughts and feelings passed rapidly through the minds of
+Harry and Hamilton, while the accountant struck a light and kindled a
+roaring fire of logs, which he had cut and arranged there on a previous
+occasion. In the middle of the space thus brilliantly illuminated, the
+snow had been cleared away till the moss was uncovered, thus leaving a
+hole of about ten feet in diameter. As the snow was quite four feet
+deep, the hole was surrounded with a pure white wall, whose height was
+further increased by the masses thrown out in the process of digging to
+nearly six feet. At one end of this space was the large fire which had
+just been kindled, and which, owing to the intense cold, only melted a
+very little of the snow in its immediate neighbourhood. At the other
+end lay a mass of flat pine branches, which were piled up so thickly as
+to form a pleasant elastic couch, the upper end being slightly raised
+so as to form a kind of bolster, while the lower extended almost into
+the fire. Indeed, the branches at the extremity were burnt quite brown,
+and some of them charred. Beside the bolster lay a small wooden box, a
+round tin kettle, an iron tea-kettle, two tin mugs, a hatchet, and a
+large bundle tied up in a green blanket. There were thus, as it were,
+two apartments, one within the other--namely, the outer one, whose
+walls were formed of tree-stems and thick darkness, and the ceiling of
+green boughs; and then the inner one, with walls of snow, that sparkled
+in the firelight as if set with precious stones, and a carpet of
+evergreen branches.
+
+Within this latter our three friends were soon actively employed. Poor
+Hamilton's moccasins were speedily removed, and his friends, going down
+on their knees, began to rub his feet with a degree of energy that
+induced him to beg for mercy.
+
+"Mercy!" exclaimed the accountant, without pausing for an instant;
+"faith, it's little mercy there would be in stopping just now.--Rub
+away, Harry. Don't give in. They're coming right at last."
+
+After a very severe rubbing, the heels began to show symptoms of
+returning vitality. They were then wrapped up in the folds of a thick
+blanket, and held sufficiently near to the fire to prevent any chance
+of the frost getting at them again.
+
+"Now, my boy," said the accountant, as he sat down to enjoy a pipe and
+rest himself on a blanket, which, along with the one wrapped round
+Hamilton's feet, had been extracted from the green bundle before
+mentioned--"now, my boy, you'll have to enjoy yourself here as you best
+can for an hour or two, while Harry and I visit the traps. Would you
+like supper before we go, or shall we have it on our return?"
+
+"Oh, I'll wait for it by all means till you return. I don't feel a bit
+hungry just now, and it will be much more cheerful to have it after all
+your work is over. Besides, I feel my feet too painful to enjoy it just
+now."
+
+"My poor fellow," said Harry, whose heart smote him for having been
+disposed at first to treat the thing lightly, "I'm really sorry for
+you. Would you not like me to stay with you?"
+
+"By no means," replied Hamilton quickly. "You can do nothing more for
+me, Harry; and I should be very sorry if you missed seeing the traps."
+
+"Oh, never mind the traps. I've seen traps, and set them too, fifty
+times before now. I'll stop with you, old boy, I will," said Harry
+doggedly, while he made arrangements to settle down for the evening.
+
+"Well, if _you_ won't go, I will," said Hamilton coolly, as he unwound
+the blanket from his feet and began to pull on his socks.
+
+"Bravo, my lad!" exclaimed the accountant, patting him approvingly on
+the back; "I didn't think you had half so much pluck in you. But it
+won't do, old fellow. You're in _my_ castle just now, and must obey
+orders. You couldn't walk half-a-mile for your life; so just be pleased
+to pull off your socks again. Besides, I want Harry to help me to carry
+up my foxes, if there are any;--so get ready, sirrah!"
+
+"Ay, ay, captain," cried Harry, with a laugh, while he sprang up and
+put on his snow-shoes.
+
+"You needn't bring your gun," said the accountant, shaking the ashes
+from his pipe as he prepared to depart, "but you may as well shove that
+axe into your belt; you may want it.--Now, mind, don't roast your
+feet," he added, turning to Hamilton.
+
+"Adieu!" cried Harry, with a nod and a smile, as he turned to go. "Take
+care the bears don't find you out."
+
+"No fear. Good-bye, Harry," replied Hamilton, as his two friends
+disappeared in the wood and left him to his solitary meditations.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+Shows how the accountant and Harry set their traps, and what came of it.
+
+
+The moon was still up, and the sky less overcast, when our amateur
+trappers quitted the encampment, and, descending to the mouth of the
+little brook, took their way over North River in the direction of the
+accountant's traps. Being somewhat fatigued both in mind and body by
+the unusual exertions of the night, neither of them spoke for some
+time, but continued to walk in silence, contemplatively gazing at their
+long shadows.
+
+"Did you ever trap a fox, Harry?" said the accountant at length.
+
+"Yes, I used to set traps at Red River; but the foxes there are not
+numerous, and are so closely watched by the dogs that they have become
+suspicious. I caught but few."
+
+"Then you know how to _set_ a trap?"
+
+"Oh, yes; I've set both steel and snow traps often. You've heard of old
+Labonte, who used to carry one of the winter packets from Red River
+until within a few years back?"
+
+"Yes, I've heard of him; his name is in my ledger--at least, if you
+mean Pierre Labonte, who came down last fall with the brigade."
+
+"The same. Well, he was a great friend of mine. His little cabin lay
+about two miles from Fort Garry, and after work was over in the office
+I used to go down to sit and chat with him by the fire, and many a time
+I have sat up half the night listening to him as he recounted his
+adventures. The old man never tired of relating them, and of smoking
+twist tobacco. Among other things, he set my mind upon trapping, by
+giving me an account of an expedition he made, when quite a youth, to
+the Rocky Mountains; so I got him to go into the woods and teach me how
+to set traps and snares, and I flatter myself he found me an apt pupil."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the accountant; "I have no doubt you do _flatter_
+yourself. But here we are. The traps are just beyond that mound; so
+look out, and don't stick your feet into them."
+
+"Hist!" exclaimed Harry, laying his hand suddenly on his companion's
+arm. "Do you see _that_?" pointing towards the place where the traps
+were said to be.
+
+"You have sharp eyes, younker. I _do_ see it, now that you point it
+out. It's a fox, and caught, too, as I'm a scrivener."
+
+"You're in luck to-night," exclaimed Harry, eagerly, "It's a _silver_
+fox. I see the white tip on its tail."
+
+"Nonsense," cried the accountant, hastening forward; "but we'll soon
+settle the point."
+
+Harry proved to be right. On reaching the spot they found a beautiful
+black fox, caught by the fore leg in a steel trap, and gazing at them
+with a look of terror.
+
+The skin of the silver fox--so called from a slight sprinkling of pure
+white hairs covering its otherwise jet-black body--is the most valuable
+fur obtained by the fur-traders, and fetches an enormous price in the
+British market, so much as thirty pounds sterling being frequently
+obtained for a single skin. The foxes vary in colour from jet black,
+which is the most valuable, to a light silvery hue, and are hailed as
+great prizes by the Indians and trappers when they are so fortunate as
+to catch them. They are not numerous, however, and being exceedingly
+wary and suspicious, are difficult to catch, ft may be supposed,
+therefore, that our friend the accountant ran to secure his prize with
+some eagerness.
+
+"Now, then, my beauty, don't shrink," he said, as the poor fox backed
+at his approach as far as the chain which fastened the trap to a log of
+wood, would permit, and then, standing at bay, showed a formidable row
+of teeth. That grin was its last; another moment, and the handle of the
+accountant's axe stretched it lifeless on the snow.
+
+"Isn't it a beauty!" cried he, surveying the animal with a look of
+triumphant pleasure; and then feeling as if he had compromised his
+dignity a little by betraying so much glee, he added, "But come now,
+Harry; we must see to the other traps. It's getting late."
+
+The others were soon visited; but no more foxes were caught. However,
+the accountant set them both off to see that all was right; and then
+readjusting one himself, told Harry to set the other, in order to clear
+himself of the charge of boasting.
+
+Harry, nothing loath, went down on his knees to do so.
+
+The steel trap used for catching foxes is of exactly the same form as
+the ordinary rat-trap, with this difference, that it has two springs
+instead of one, is considerably larger, and has no teeth, as these
+latter would only tend to spoil the skin. Owing to the strength of the
+springs, a pretty strong effort is required to set the trap, and,
+clumsy fellows frequently catch the tails of their coats or the ends of
+their belts, and not unfrequently the ends of their fingers, in their
+awkward attempts. Haying set it without any of the above untoward
+accidents occurring, Harry placed it gently on a hole which he had
+previously scraped--placing it in such a manner that the jaws and
+plate, or trigger, were a hair-breadth below the level of the snow.
+After this he spread over it a very thin sheet of paper, observing as
+he did so that hay or grass was preferable; but as there was none at
+hand, paper would do. Over this he sprinkled snow very lightly, until
+every vestige of the trap was concealed from view, and the whole was
+made quite level with the surrounding plain, so that even the
+accountant himself, after he had once removed his eyes from it, could
+not tell where it lay. Some chips of a frozen ptarmigan were then
+scattered around the spot, and a piece of wood left to mark its
+whereabouts. The bait is always scattered _round_ and not _on_ the
+trap, as the fox, in running from one piece to another, is almost
+certain to set his foot on it, and so get caught by the leg; whereas,
+were the bait placed _upon_ the trap, the fox would be apt to get
+caught, while in the act of eating, by the snout, which, being
+wedge-like in form, is easily dragged out of its gripe.
+
+"Now then, what say you to going farther out on the river, and making a
+snow trap for white foxes?" said the accountant. "We shall still have
+time to do so before the moon sets."
+
+"Agreed," cried Harry. "Come along."
+
+Without further parley they left the spot and stretched out towards the
+sea.
+
+The snow on the river was quite hard on its surface, so that snow-shoes
+being unnecessary, they carried them over their shoulders, and advanced
+much more rapidly. It is true that their road was a good deal broken,
+and jagged pieces of ice protruded their sharp corners so as to render
+a little attention necessary in walking; but one or two severe bumps on
+their toes made our friends sensitively alive to these minor dangers of
+the way.
+
+"There goes a pack of them!" exclaimed Harry, as a troop of white foxes
+scampered past, gambolling as they went, and, coming suddenly to a halt
+at a short distance, wheeled about and sat down on their haunches,
+apparently resolved to have a good look at the strangers who dared to
+venture into their wild domain.
+
+"Oh, they are the most stupid brutes alive," said the accountant, as he
+regarded the pack with a look of contempt. "I've seen one of them sit
+down and look at me while I set a trap right before his eyes; and I had
+not got a hundred yards from the spot when a yell informed me that the
+gentleman's curiosity had led him to put his foot right into it."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Harry. "I had no idea that they were so tame.
+Certainly no other kind of fox would do that."
+
+"No, that's certain. But these fellows have done it to me again and
+again. I shouldn't wonder if we got one to-night in the very same way.
+I'm sure, by the look of these rascals, that they would do anything of
+a reckless, stupid nature just now."
+
+"Had we not better make our trap here, then? There is a point, not
+fifty yards off, with trees on it large enough for our purpose."
+
+"Yes; it will do very well here. Now, then, to work. Go to the wood,
+Harry, and fetch a log or two, while I cut out the slabs." So saying,
+the accountant drew the axe which he always carried in his belt; and
+while Harry entered the wood and began to hew off the branch of a tree,
+he proceeded, as he had said, to "cut out the slabs." With the point of
+his knife he first of all marked out an oblong in the snow, then cut
+down three or four inches with the axe, and putting the handle under
+the cut, after the manner of a lever, detached a thick solid slab of
+about three inches thick, which, although not so hard as ice, was quite
+hard enough for the purpose for which it was intended. He then cut two
+similar slabs, and a smaller one, the same in thickness and breadth,
+but only half the length. Having accomplished this, he raised himself
+to rest a little, and observed that Harry approached, staggering under
+a load of wood, and that the foxes were still sitting on their
+haunches, gazing at him with a look of deep interest.
+
+"If I only had my gun here!" thought he. But not having it, he merely
+shook his fist at them, stooped down again, and resumed his work. With
+Harry's assistance the slabs were placed in such a way as to form a
+sort of box or house, having one end of it open. This was further
+plastered with soft snow at the joinings, and banked up in such a way
+that no animal could break into it easily--at least such an attempt
+would be so difficult as to make an entrance into the interior by the
+open side much more probable. When this was finished, they took the
+logs that Harry had cut and carried with so much difficulty from the
+wood, and began to lop off the smaller branches and twigs. One large
+log was placed across the opening of the trap, while the others were
+piled on one end of it so as to press it down with their weight. Three
+small pieces of stick were now prepared--two of them being about half a
+foot long, and the other about a foot. On the long piece of stick the
+breast of a ptarmigan was fixed as a bait, and two notches cut, the one
+at the end of it, the other about four or five inches further down. All
+was now ready to set the trap.
+
+"Raise the log now while I place the trigger," said Harry, kneeling
+down in front of the door, while the accountant, as directed, lifted up
+the log on which the others lay so as to allow his companion to
+introduce the bait-stick, in such a manner as to support it, while the
+slightest pull on the bait would set the stick with the notches free,
+and thus permit the log to fall on the back of the fox, whose effort to
+reach the bait would necessarily place him under it.
+
+While Harry was thus engaged, the accountant stood up and looked
+towards the foxes. They had approached so near in their curiosity, that
+he was induced to throw his axe frantically at the foremost of the
+pack. This set them galloping off, but they soon halted and sat down as
+before.
+
+"What aggravating brutes they are, to be sure!" said Harry, with a
+laugh, as his companion returned with the hatchet.
+
+"Humph! yes, but we'll be upsides with them yet. Come along into the
+wood, and I wager that in ten minutes we shall have one."
+
+They immediately hurried towards the wood, but had not walked fifty
+paces when they were startled by a loud yell behind them.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed the accountant, while he and Harry turned round
+with a start. "It cannot surely be possible that they have gone in
+already." A loud howl followed the remark, and the whole pack fled over
+the plain like snow-drift, and disappeared.
+
+"Ah, that's a pity! something must have scared them to make them take
+wing like that. However, we'll get one to-morrow for certain; so come
+along, lad, let us make for the camp."
+
+"Not so fast," replied the other; "if you hadn't pored over the big
+ledger till you were blind, you would see that there is _one_ prisoner
+already."
+
+This proved to be the case. On returning to the spot they found an
+arctic fox in his last gasp, lying flat on the snow, with the heavy log
+across his back, which seemed to be broken. A slight tap on the snout
+with the accountant's deadly axe-handle completed its destruction.
+
+"We're in luck to-night," cried Harry, as he kneeled again to reset the
+trap. "But after all these white brutes are worth very little; I fancy
+a hundred of their skins would not be worth the black one you got
+first."
+
+"Be quick, Harry; the moon is almost down, and poor Hamilton will think
+that the polar bears have got hold of us."
+
+"Ail right! Now then, step out," and glancing once more at the trap to
+see that all was properly arranged, the two friends once more turned
+their faces homewards, and travelled over the snow with rapid strides.
+
+The moon had just set, leaving the desolate scene in deep gloom, so
+that they could scarcely find their way to the forest; and when they
+did at last reach its shelter, the night became so intensely dark that
+they had almost to grope their way, and would certainly have lost it
+altogether were it not for the accountant's thorough knowledge of the
+locality. To add to their discomfort, as they stumbled on, snow began
+to fall, and ere long a pretty steady breeze of wind drove it sharply
+in their faces. However, this mattered but little, as they penetrated
+deeper in among the trees, which proved a complete shelter both from
+wind and snow. An hour's march brought them to the mouth of the brook,
+although half that time would have been sufficient had it been
+daylight, and a few minutes later they had the satisfaction of hearing
+Hamilton's voice hailing them as they pushed aside the bushes and
+sprang into the cheerful light of their encampment.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Harry, as he leaped into the space before the fire,
+and flung the two foxes at Hamilton's feet. "What do you think of
+_that_, old fellow? How are the heels? Rather sore, eh? Now for the
+kettle. Polly, put the kettle on; we'll all have--My eye! where's the
+kettle, Hamilton? have you eaten it?"
+
+"If you compose yourself a little, Harry, and look at the fire, you'll
+see it boiling there."
+
+"Man, what a chap you are for making unnecessary speeches! Couldn't you
+tell me to look at the fire without the preliminary piece of advice to
+_compose_ myself? Besides, you talk nonsense, for I'm composed already,
+of blood, bones, flesh, sinews, fat, and--"
+
+"Humbug!" interrupted the accountant. "Lend a hand to get supper, you
+young goose!"
+
+"And so," continued Harry, not noticing the interruption, "I cannot be
+expected, nor is it necessary, to _compose_ myself over again. But to
+be serious," he added, "it was very kind and considerate of you, Hammy,
+to put on the kettle, when your heels were in a manner uppermost."
+
+"Oh, it was nothing at all; my heels are much better, thank you, and it
+kept me from wearying."
+
+"Poor fellow!" said the accountant, while he busied himself in
+preparing their evening meal, "you must be quite ravenous by this
+time--at least _I_ am, which is the same thing."
+
+Supper was soon ready. It consisted of a large kettle of tea, a lump of
+pemmican, a handful of broken biscuit, and three ptarmigan--all of
+which were produced from the small wooden box which the accountant was
+wont to call his camp-larder. The ptarmigan had been shot two weeks
+before, and carefully laid up for future use; the intense frost being a
+sufficient guarantee for their preservation for many months, had that
+been desired.
+
+It would have done you good, reader (supposing you to be possessed of
+sympathetic feelings), to have witnessed those three nor'-westers
+enjoying their supper in the snowy camp. The fire had been replenished
+with logs, till it roared and crackled again, as if it were endued with
+a vicious spirit, and wished to set the very snow in flames. The walls
+shone like alabaster studded with diamonds, while the green boughs
+overhead and the stems around were of a deep red colour in the light of
+the fierce blaze. The tea-kettle hissed, fumed, and boiled over into
+the fire. A mass of pemmican simmered in the lid in front of it. Three
+pannikins of tea reposed on the green branches, their refreshing
+contents sending up little clouds of steam, while the ptarmigan, now
+split up, skewered, and roasted, were being heartily devoured by our
+three hungry friends.
+
+The pleasures that fall to the lot of man are transient. Doubtless they
+are numerous and oft recurring; still they are transient, and
+so--supper came to an end.
+
+"Now for a pipe," said the accountant, disposing his limbs at full
+length on a green blanket. "O thou precious weed, what should we do
+without thee!"
+
+"Smoke _tea_, to be sure," answered Harry.
+
+"Ah! true, it _is_ possible to exist on a pipe of tea-leaves for a
+time, but _only_ for a time. I tried it myself once, in desperation,
+when I ran short of tobacco on a journey, and found it execrable, but
+better than nothing."
+
+"Pity we can't join you in that." remarked Harry.
+
+"True; but perhaps since you cannot pipe, it might prove an agreeable
+diversification to dance."
+
+"Thank you, I'd rather not," said Harry; "and as for Hamilton, I'm
+convinced that _his_ mind is made up on the subject.--How go the heels
+now?"
+
+"Thank you, pretty well," he replied, reclining his head on the pine
+branches, and extending his smitten members towards the fire. "I think
+they will be quite well in the morning."
+
+"It is a curious thing," remarked the accountant, in a soliloquising
+tone, "that _soft_ fellows _never_ smoke!"
+
+"I beg your pardon," said Harry, "I've often seen hot loaves smoke, and
+they're soft enough fellows, in all conscience!"
+
+"Ah!" sighed the accountant, "that reminds me of poor Peterkin, who was
+_so_ soft that he went by the name of 'Butter.' Did you ever hear of
+what he did the summer before last with an Indian's head?"
+
+"No, never; what was it!"
+
+"I'll tell you the story," replied the accountant, drawing a few
+vigorous whiffs of smoke, to prevent his pipe going out while he spoke.
+
+As the story in question, however, depicts a new phase of society in
+the woods, it deserves a chapter to itself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+The accountant's story.
+
+
+"Spring had passed away, and York Fort was filled with all the bustle
+and activity of summer. Brigades came pouring in upon us with furs from
+the interior, and as every boat brought a C. T. or a clerk, our
+mess-table began to overflow.
+
+"You've not seen the summer mess-room filled yet, Hamilton. That's a
+treat in store for you."
+
+"It was pretty full last autumn, I think," suggested Hamilton, "at the
+time I arrived from England."
+
+"Full! why, man, it was getting to feel quite lonely at that time. I've
+seen more than fifty sit down to table there, and it was worth going
+fifty miles to hear the row they kicked up--telling stories without end
+(and sometimes without foundation) about their wild doings in the
+interior, where every man-jack of them having spent at least eight
+months almost in perfect solitude, they hadn't had a chance of letting
+their tongues go till they came down here. But to proceed. When the
+ship came out in the fall, she brought a batch of new clerks, and among
+them was this miserable chap Peterkin, whom we soon nicknamed _Butter_.
+He was the softest fellow I ever knew (far worse than you, Hamilton),
+and he hadn't been here a week before the wild blades from the
+interior, who were bursting with fun and mischief, began to play off
+all kinds of practical jokes upon him. The very first day he sat down
+at the mess-table, our worthy governor (who, you are aware, detests
+practical jokes) played him a trick, quite unintentionally, which
+raised a laugh against him for many a day. You know that old Mr. Rogan
+is rather absent at times; well, the first day that Peterkin came to
+mess (it was breakfast), the old governor asked him, in a patronizing
+sort of way, to sit at his right hand. Accordingly down he sat, and
+having never, I fancy, been away from his mother's apron-string before,
+he seemed to feel very uncomfortable, especially as he was regarded as
+a sort of novelty. The first thing he did was to capsize his plate into
+his lap, which set the youngsters at the lower end of the table into
+suppressed fits of laughter. However, he was eating the leg of a dry
+grouse at the time, so it didn't make much of a mess.
+
+"'Try some fish, Peterkin,' said Mr. Rogan kindly, seeing that the
+youth was ill at ease. 'That old grouse is tough enough to break your
+knife.'
+
+"'A very rough passage,' replied the youngster, whose mind was quite
+confused by hearing the captain of the ship, who sat next to him,
+giving to his next neighbour a graphic account of the voyage in a very
+loud key--'I mean, if you please, no, thank you,' he stammered,
+endeavouring to correct himself.
+
+"'Ah! a cup of tea perhaps.--Here, Anderson' (turning to the butler),
+'a cup of tea to Mr. Peterkin.'
+
+"The butler obeyed the order.
+
+"'And here, fill my cup,' said old Rogan, interrupting himself in an
+earnest conversation, into which he had plunged with the gentleman on
+his left hand. As he said this he lifted his cup to empty the slops,
+but without paying attention to what he was doing. As luck would have
+it, the slop-basin was not at hand, and Peterkin's cup _was_, so he
+emptied it innocently into that. Peterkin hadn't courage to arrest his
+hand, and when the deed was done he looked timidly round to see if the
+action had been observed. Nearly half the table had seen it, but they
+pretended ignorance of the thing so well that he thought no one had
+observed, and so went quietly on with his breakfast, and drank the tea!
+But I am wandering from my story. Well, about this time there was a
+young Indian who shot himself accidentally in the woods, and was
+brought to the fort to see if anything could be done for him. The
+doctor examined his wound, and found that the ball had passed through
+the upper part of his right arm and the middle of his right thigh,
+breaking the bone of the latter in its passage. It was an extraordinary
+shot for a man to put into himself, for it would have been next to
+impossible even for _another_ man to have done it, unless the Indian
+had been creeping on all fours. When he was able to speak, however, he
+explained the mystery. While running through a rough part of the wood
+after a wounded bird, he stumbled and fell on all fours. The gun, which
+he was carrying over his shoulder, holding it, as the Indians usually
+do, by the muzzle, flew forward, and turned right round as he fell, so
+that the mouth of it was presented towards him. Striking against the
+stem of a tree, it exploded and shot him through the arm and leg as
+described ere he had time to rise. A comrade carried him to his lodge,
+and his wife brought him in a canoe to the fort. For three or four days
+the doctor had hopes of him, but at last he began to sink, and died on
+the sixth day after his arrival. His wife and one or two friends buried
+him in our graveyard, which lies, as you know, on that lonely-looking
+point just below the powder-magazine. For several months previous to
+this our worthy doctor had been making strenuous efforts to get an
+Indian skull to send home to one of his medical friends, but without
+success. The Indians could not be prevailed upon to cut off the head of
+one of their dead countrymen for love or money, and the doctor had a
+dislike to the idea, I suppose, of killing one for himself; but now
+here was a golden opportunity. The Indian was buried near to the fort,
+and his relatives had gone away to their tents again. What was to
+prevent his being dug up? The doctor brooded over the thing for one
+hour and a half (being exactly the length of time required to smoke out
+his large Turkey pipe), and then sauntered into Wilson's room. Wilson
+was busy, as usual, at some of his mechanical contrivances.
+
+"Thrusting his hands deep into his breeches pockets, and seating
+himself on an old sea-chest, he began,--
+
+"'I say, Wilson, will you do me a favour?'
+
+"'That depends entirely on what the favour is,' he replied, without
+raising his head from his work.
+
+"'I want you to help me to cut off an Indian's head!'
+
+"' Then I _won't_ do you the favour. But pray, don't humbug me just
+now; I'm busy.'
+
+"'No; but I'm serious, and I can't get it done without help, and I know
+you're an obliging fellow. Besides, the savage is dead, and has no
+manner of use for his head now.'
+
+"Wilson turned round with a look of intelligence on hearing this.
+
+"'Ha!' he exclaimed, 'I see what you're up to; but I don't half like
+it. In the first place, his friends would be terribly cut up if they
+heard of it; and then I've no sort of aptitude for the work of a
+resurrectionist; and then, if it got wind, we should never hear the
+last of it; and then--'
+
+"'And then,' interrupted the doctor, 'it would be adding to the light
+of medical science, you unaspiring monster.'
+
+"'A light,' retorted Wilson, 'which, in passing through _some_ members
+of the medical profession, is totally absorbed, and reproduced in the
+shape of impenetrable darkness.'
+
+"'Now, don't object, my dear fellow; you _know_ you're going to do it,
+so don't coquette with me, but agree at once.'
+
+"'Well, I consent, upon one condition.'
+
+"'And what is that?'
+
+"'That you do not play any practical jokes on _me_ with the head when
+you have got it.'
+
+"'Agreed!' cried the doctor, laughing; 'I give you my word of honour.
+Now he has been buried three days already, so we must set about it at
+once. Fortunately the graveyard is composed of a sandy soil, so he'll
+keep for some time yet.
+
+"The two worthies then entered into a deep consultation as to how they
+were to set about this deed of darkness. It was arranged that Wilson
+should take his gun and sally forth a little before dark, as if he were
+bent on an hour's sport, and, not forgetting his game-bag, proceed to
+the graveyard, where the doctor engaged to meet him with a couple of
+spades and a dark lantern. Accordingly, next evening, Mr. Wilson, true
+to his promise, shouldered his gun and sallied forth.
+
+"It soon became an intensely dark night. Not a single star shone forth
+to illumine the track along which he stumbled. Everything around was
+silent and dark, and congenial with the work on which he was bent. But
+Wilson's heart beat a little more rapidly than usual. He is a bold
+enough man, as you know, but boldness goes for nothing when
+superstition comes into play. However, he trudged along fearlessly
+enough till he came to the thick woods just below the fort, into which
+he entered with something of a qualm. Scarcely had he set foot on the
+narrow track that leads to the graveyard, when he ran slap against the
+post that stands there, but which, in his trepidation, he had entirely
+forgotten. This quite upset the small amount of courage that remained,
+and he has since confessed that if he had not had the hope of meeting
+with the doctor in a few minutes, he would have turned round and fled
+at that moment.
+
+"Recovering a little from this accident, he hurried forward, but with
+more caution, for although the night seemed as dark as could possibly
+be while he was crossing the open country, it became speedily evident
+that there were several shades of darkness which he had not yet
+conceived. In a few minutes he came to the creek that runs past the
+graveyard, and here again his nerves got another shake; for slipping
+his foot while in the act of commencing the descent, he fell and rolled
+heavily to the bottom, making noise enough in his fall to scare away
+all the ghosts in the country. With a palpitating heart poor Wilson
+gathered himself up, and searched for his gun, which fortunately had
+not been injured, and then commenced to climb the opposite bank,
+starting at every twig that snapped under his feet. On reaching the
+level ground again he breathed a little more freely, and hurried
+forward with more speed than caution. Suddenly he came into violent
+contact with a figure, which uttered a loud growl as Wilson reeled
+backwards.
+
+"'Back, you monster,' he cried, with a hysterical yell, 'or I'll blow
+your brains out!'
+
+"'It's little good _that_ would do ye,' cried the doctor as he came
+forward. 'Why, you stupid, what did you take me for? You've nearly
+knocked out my brains as it is,' and the doctor rubbed his forehead
+ruefully.
+
+"'Oh, it's _you,_ doctor!' said Wilson, feeling as if a ton weight had
+been lifted off his heart; 'I verily thought it was the ghost of the
+poor fellow we're going to disturb. I do think you had better give it
+up. Mischief will come of it, you'll see.'
+
+"'Nonsense,' cried the doctor; 'don't be a goose, but let's to work at
+once. Why, I've got half the thing dug up already.' So saying, he led
+the way to the grave, in which there was a large opening. Setting the
+lantern down by the side of it, the two seized their spades and began
+to dig as if in earnest.
+
+"The fact is that the doctor was nearly as frightened as Wilson, and he
+afterwards confessed to me that it was an immense relief to him when he
+heard him fall down the bank of the creek, and knew by the growl he
+gave that it was he.
+
+"In about half-an-hour the doctor's spade struck upon the coffin lid,
+which gave forth a hollow sound.
+
+"'Now then, we're about done with it,' said he, standing up to wipe
+away the perspiration that trickled down his face. 'Take the axe and
+force up the lid, it's only fixed with common nails, while I--' He did
+not finish the sentence, but drew a large scalping-knife from a sheath
+which hung at his belt.
+
+"Wilson shuddered and obeyed. A good wrench caused the lid to start,
+and while he held it partially open the doctor inserted the knife. For
+five minutes he continued to twist and work with his arms, muttering
+between his teeth, every now and then, that he was a 'tough subject,'
+while the crackling of bones and other disagreeable sounds struck upon
+the horrified ears of his companion.
+
+"'All right,' he exclaimed at last, as he dragged a round object from
+the coffin and let down the lid with a bang, at the same time placing
+the savage's head with its ghastly features full in the blaze of the
+lantern.
+
+"'Now, then, close up,' said he, jumping out of the hole and shovelling
+in the earth.
+
+"In a few minutes they had filled the grave up and smoothed it down on
+the surface, and then, throwing the head into the game-bag, retraced
+their steps to the fort. Their nerves were by this time worked up to
+such a pitch of excitement, and their minds filled with such a degree
+of supernatural horror, that they tripped and stumbled over stumps and
+branches innumerable in their double-quick march. Neither would confess
+to the other, however, that he was afraid. They even attempted to pass
+a few facetious remarks as they hurried along, but it would not do, so
+they relapsed into silence till they came to the hollow beside the
+powder-magazine. Here the doctor's foot happening to slip, he suddenly
+grasped Wilson by the shoulder to support himself--a movement which,
+being unexpected, made his friend leap, as he afterwards expressed it,
+nearly out of his skin. This was almost too much for them. For a moment
+they looked at each other as well as the darkness would permit, when
+all at once a large stone, which the doctor's slip had overbalanced,
+fell down the bank and through the bushes with a loud crash. Nothing
+more was wanting. All further effort to disguise their feelings was
+dropped. Leaping the rail of the open field in a twinkling, they gave a
+simultaneous yell of consternation and fled to the fort like autumn
+leaves before the wind, never drawing breath till they were safe within
+the pickets."
+
+"But what has all this to do with Peterkin?" asked Harry, as the
+accountant paused to relight his pipe and toss a fresh log on the fire.
+
+"Have patience, lad; you shall hear."
+
+The accountant stirred the logs with his toe, drew a few whiffs to see
+that the pipe was properly ignited, and proceeded.
+
+"For a day or two after this, the doctor was observed to be often
+mysteriously engaged in an outhouse, of which he kept the key. By some
+means or other, the skipper, who is always up to mischief, managed to
+discover the secret. Watching where the doctor hid the key, he
+possessed himself of it one day, and sallied forth, bent on a lark of
+some kind or other, but without very well knowing what. Passing the
+kitchen, he observed Anderson, the butler, raking the fire out of the
+large oven which stands in the backyard.
+
+"'Baking again, Anderson?' said he in passing. 'You get soon through
+with a heavy cargo of bread just now.'
+
+"'Yes, sir; many mouths to feed, sir,' replied the butler, proceeding
+with his work.
+
+"The skipper sauntered on, and took the track which led to the
+boathouse, where he stood for some time in meditation. Casting up his
+eyes, he saw Peterkin in the distance, looking as if he didn't very
+well know what to do.
+
+"A sudden thought struck him. Pulling off his coat, he seized a mallet
+and a calking-chisel, and began to belabour the side of a boat as if
+his life depended on it. All at once he stopped and stood up, blowing
+with the exertion.
+
+"'Hollo, Peterkin!' he shouted, and waved his hand.
+
+"Peterkin hastened towards him.
+
+"'Well, sir' said he, 'do you wish to speak to me?'
+
+"'Yes,' replied the skipper, scratching his head, as if in great
+perplexity. 'I wish you to do me a favour, Peterkin, but I don't know
+very well how to ask you.'
+
+"'Oh, I shall be most happy,' said poor Butter eagerly, 'if I can be of
+any use to you.'
+
+"'I don't doubt your willingness,' replied the other; 'but then--the
+doctor, you see--the fact is, Peterkin, the doctor being called away to
+see a sick Indian, has intrusted me with a delicate piece of
+business--rather a nasty piece of business, I may say--which I promised
+to do for him. You must know that the Surgical Society of London has
+written to him, begging, as a great favour, that he would, if possible,
+procure them the skull of a native. After much trouble, he has
+succeeded in getting one, but is obliged to keep it a great secret,
+even from his fellow-clerks, lest it should get wind: for if the
+Indians heard of it they would be sure to kill him, and perhaps burn
+the fort too. Now I suppose you are aware that it is necessary to boil
+an Indian's head in order to get the flesh clean off the skull?'
+
+"'Yes; I have heard something of that sort from the students at
+college, who say that boiling brings flesh more easily away from the
+bone. But I don't know much about it,' replied Peterkin.
+
+"'Well,' continued the skipper, 'the doctor, who is fond of
+experiments, wishes to try whether _baking_ won't do better than
+_boiling_, and ordered the oven to be heated for that purpose this
+morning; but being called suddenly away, as I have said, he begged me
+to put the head into it as soon as it was ready. I agreed, quite
+forgetting at the time that I had to get this precious boat ready for
+sea this very afternoon. Now the oven is prepared, and I dare not leave
+my work; indeed, I doubt whether I shall have it quite ready and taut
+after all, and there's the oven cooling; so, if you don't help me, I'm
+a lost man.'
+
+"Having said this, the skipper looked as miserable as his jolly visage
+would permit, and rubbed his nose.
+
+"'Oh, I'll be happy to do it for you, although it is not an agreeable
+job,' replied Butter.
+
+"'That's right--that's friendly now!' exclaimed the skipper, as if
+greatly relieved. 'Give us your flipper, my lad;' and seizing
+Peterkin's hand, he wrung it affectionately. 'Now, here is the key of
+the outhouse; do it as quickly as you can, and don't let anyone see
+you. It's in a good cause, you know, but the results might be terrible
+if discovered.'
+
+"So saying, the skipper fell to hammering the boat again with
+surprising vigour till Butter was out of sight, and then resuming his
+coat, returned to the house.
+
+"An hour after this, Anderson went to take his loaves out of the oven;
+but he had no sooner taken down the door than a rich odour of cooked
+meat greeted his nostrils. Uttering a deep growl, the butler shouted
+out 'Sprat!'
+
+"Upon this, a very thin boy, with arms and legs like pipe stems, issued
+from the kitchen, and came timidly towards his master.
+
+"'Didn't I tell you, you young blackguard, that the grouse-pie was to
+be kept for Sunday? and there you've gone and put it to fire to-day.'
+
+"'The grouse-pie!' said the boy, in amazement.
+
+"'Yes, the grouse-pie,' retorted the indignant butler; and seizing the
+urchin by the neck, he held his head down to the mouth of the oven.
+
+"'Smell _that_, you villain! What did you mean by it, eh?'
+
+"'Oh, murder!' shouted the boy, as with a violent effort he freed
+himself, and ran shrieking into the house. "'Murder!' repeated Anderson
+in astonishment, while he stooped to look into the oven, where the
+first thing that met his gaze was a human head, whose ghastly visage
+and staring eyeballs worked and moved about under the influence of the
+heat as if it were alive.
+
+"With a yell that rung through the whole fort, the horrified butler
+rushed through the kitchen and out at the front door, where, as
+ill-luck would have it, Mr. Rogan happened to be standing at the
+moment. Pitching head first into the small of the old gentleman's back,
+he threw him off the platform and fell into his arms. Starting up in a
+moment, the governor dealt Anderson a cuff that sent him reeling
+towards the kitchen door again, on the steps of which he sat down, and
+began to sing out, 'Oh, murder, murder! the oven, the oven!' and not
+another word, bad, good, or indifferent, could be got out of him for
+the next half-hour, as he swayed himself to and fro and wrung his hands.
+
+"To make a long story short, Mr. Rogan went himself to the oven, and
+fished out the head, along with the loaves, which were, of course, all
+spoiled."
+
+"And what was the result?" enquired Harry.
+
+"Oh, there was a long investigation, and the skipper got a blowing-up,
+and the doctor a warning to let Indians' skulls lie at peace in their
+graves for the future, and poor Butter was sent to M'Kenzie's River as
+a punishment, for old Rogan could never be brought to believe that he
+hadn't been a willing tool in the skipper's hands; and Anderson lost
+his batch of bread and his oven, for it had to be pulled down and a new
+one built."
+
+"Humph! and I've no doubt the governor read you a pretty stiff lecture
+on practical joking."
+
+"He did," replied the accountant, laying aside his pipe and drawing the
+green blanket over him, while Harry piled several large logs on the
+fire.
+
+"Good-night," said the accountant.
+
+"Good-night," replied his companions; and in a few minutes more they
+were sound asleep in their snowy camp, while the huge fire continued,
+during the greater part of the night, to cast its light on their
+slumbering forms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+Ptarmigan-hunting--Hamilton's shooting powers severely tested--A
+snowstorm.
+
+
+At about four o'clock on the following morning, the sleepers were
+awakened by the cold, which had become very intense. The fire had
+burned down to a few embers, which merely emitted enough light to make
+darkness visible. Harry being the most active of the party, was the
+first to bestir himself. Raising himself on his elbow, while his teeth
+chattered and his limbs trembled with cold, he cast a woebegone and
+excessively sleepy glance towards the place where the fire had been;
+then he scratched his head slowly; then he stared at the fire again;
+then he languidly glanced at Hamilton's sleeping visage, and then he
+yawned. The accountant observed all this; for although he appeared to
+be buried in the depths of slumber, he was wide awake in reality, and
+moreover, intensely cold. The accountant, however, was sly--deep, as he
+would have said himself--and knew that Harry's active habits would
+induce him to rise, on awaking, and rekindle the fire,--an event which
+the accountant earnestly desired to see accomplished, but which he as
+earnestly resolved should not be performed by _him_. Indeed, it was
+with this end in view that he had given vent to the terrific snore
+which had aroused his young companion a little sooner than would have
+otherwise been the case.
+
+"My eye," exclaimed Harry, in an undertone, "how precious cold it is!"
+
+His eye making no reply to this remark, he arose, and going down on his
+hands and knees, began to coax the charcoal into a flame. By dint of
+severe blowing, he soon succeeded, and heaping on a quantity of small
+twigs, the fitful flame sprang up into a steady blaze. He then threw
+several heavy logs on the fire, and in a very short space of time
+restored it almost to its original vigour.
+
+"What an abominable row you are kicking up!" growled the accountant;
+"why, you would waken the seven sleepers. Oh! mending the fire," he
+added, in an altered tone: "ah! I'll excuse you, my boy, since that's
+what you're at."
+
+The accountant hereupon got up, along with Hamilton, who was now also
+awake, and the three spread their hands over the bright fire, and
+revolved their bodies before it, until they imbibed a satisfactory
+amount of heat. They were much too sleepy to converse, however, and
+contented themselves with a very brief enquiry as to the state of
+Hamilton's heels, which elicited the sleepy reply, "They feel quite
+well, thank you." In a short time, having become agreeably warm, they
+gave a simultaneous yawn, and lying down again, they fell into a sleep
+from which they did not awaken until the red winter sun shot its early
+rays over the arctic scenery.
+
+Once more Harry sprang up, and let his hand fall heavily on Hamilton's
+shoulder. Thus rudely assailed, that youth also sprang up, giving a
+shout, at the same time, that brought the accountant to his feet in an
+instant; and so, as if by an electric spark, the sleepers were
+simultaneously roused into a state of wide-awake activity.
+
+"How excessively hungry I feel! isn't it strange?" said Hamilton, as he
+assisted in rekindling the fire, while the accountant filled his pipe,
+and Harry stuffed the tea-kettle full of snow.
+
+"Strange!" cried Harry, as he placed the kettle on the fire--"strange
+to be hungry after a five miles' walk and a night in the snow? I would
+rather say it was strange if you were _not_ hungry. Throw on that
+billet, like a good fellow, and spit those grouse, while I cut some
+pemmican and prepare the tea."
+
+"How are the heels now, Hamilton?" asked the accountant, who divided
+his attention between his pipe and his snow-shoes, the lines of which
+required to be readjusted.
+
+"They appear to be as well as if nothing had happened to them," replied
+Hamilton: "I've been looking at them, and there is no mark whatever.
+They do not even feel tender."
+
+"Lucky for you, old boy, that they were taken in time, else you'd had
+another story to tell."
+
+"Do you mean to say that people's heels really freeze and fall off?"
+inquired the other, with a look of incredulity.
+
+"Soft, very soft and green," murmured Harry, in a low voice, while he
+continued his work of adding fresh snow to the kettle as the process of
+melting reduced its bulk.
+
+"I mean to say," replied the accountant, tapping the ashes out of his
+pipe, "that not only heels, but hands, feet, noses, and ears,
+frequently freeze, and often fall off in this country, as you will find
+by sad experience if you don't look after yourself a little better than
+you have done hitherto."
+
+One of the evil effects of the perpetual jesting that prevailed at York
+Fort was, that "soft" (in other words, straightforward, unsuspecting)
+youths had to undergo a long process of learning-by-experience: first,
+_believing_ everything, and then _doubting_ everything, ere they
+arrived at that degree of sophistication which enabled them to
+distinguish between truth and falsehood.
+
+Having reached the _doubting_ period in his training, Hamilton looked
+down and said nothing, at least with his mouth, though his eyes
+evidently remarked, "I don't believe you." In future years, however,
+the evidence of these same eyes convinced him that what the accountant
+said upon this occasion was but too true.
+
+Breakfast was a repetition of the supper of the previous evening.
+During its discussion they planned proceedings for the day.
+
+"My notion is," said the accountant, interrupting the flow of words
+ever and anon to chew the morsel with which his mouth was filled--"my
+notion is, that as it's a fine clear day we should travel five miles
+through the country parallel with North River. I know the ground, and
+can guide you easily to the spots where there are lots of willows, and
+therefore plenty of ptarmigan, seeing that they feed on willow tops;
+and the snow that fell last night will help us a little."
+
+"How will the snow help us?" inquired Hamilton.
+
+"By covering up all the old tracks, to be sure, and showing only the
+new ones."
+
+"Well, captain," said Harry, as he raised a can of tea to his lips, and
+nodded to Hamilton as if drinking his health, "go on with your
+proposals for the day. Five miles up the river to begin with, then--"
+
+"Then we'll pull up," continued the accountant; "make a fire, rest a
+bit, and eat a mouthful of pemmican; after which we'll strike across
+country for the southern woodcutters' track, and so home."
+
+"And how much will that be?"
+
+"About fifteen miles."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Harry; "pass the kettle, please. Thanks.--Do you think
+you're up to that, Hammy?"
+
+"I will try what I can do," replied Hamilton. "If the snow-shoes don't
+cause me to fall often, I think I shall stand the fatigue very well."
+
+"That's right," said the accountant; "'faint heart,' etc., you know. If
+you go on as you've begun, you'll be chosen to head the next expedition
+to the north pole."
+
+"Well," replied Hamilton, good-humouredly, "pray head the present
+expedition, and let us be gone."
+
+"Right!" ejaculated the accountant, rising. "I'll just put my odds and
+ends out of the reach of the foxes, and then we shall be off."
+
+In a few minutes everything was placed in security, guns loaded,
+snow-shoes put on, and the winter camp deserted. At first the walking
+was fatiguing, and poor Hamilton more than once took a sudden and
+eccentric plunge; but after getting beyond the wooded country, they
+found the snow much more compact, and their march, therefore, much more
+agreeable. On coming to the place where it was probable that they might
+fall in with ptarmigan, Hamilton became rather excited, and apt to
+imagine that little lumps of snow which hung upon the bushes here and
+there were birds.
+
+"There now," he cried, in an energetic and slightly positive tone, as
+another of these masses of snow suddenly met his eager eye--"that's
+one, I'm _quite_ sure."
+
+The accountant and Harry both stopped short on hearing this, and looked
+in the direction indicated.
+
+"Fire away, then, Hammy," said the former, endeavouring to suppress a
+smile.
+
+"But do you think it _really_ is one?" asked Hamilton, anxiously.
+
+"Well, I don't _see_ it exactly, but then, you know, I'm near-sighted."
+
+"Don't give him a chance of escape," cried Harry, seeing that his
+friend was undecided. "If you really do see a bird, you'd better shoot
+it, for they've got a strong propensity to take wing when disturbed."
+
+Thus admonished Hamilton raised his gun and took aim. Suddenly he
+lowered his piece again, and looking round at Harry, said in a low
+whisper,--
+
+"Oh, I should like _so_ much to shoot it while flying! Would it not be
+better to set it up first?"
+
+"By no means," answered the accountant. "'A bird in the hand,' etc.
+Take him as you find him--look sharp; he'll be off in a second."
+
+Again the gun was pointed, and, after some difficulty in taking aim,
+fired.
+
+"Ah, what a pity you've missed him!" shouted Harry,
+
+"But see, he's not off yet; how tame he is, to be sure! Give him the
+other barrel, Hammy."
+
+This piece of advice proved to be unnecessary. In his anxiety to get
+the bird, Hamilton had cocked both barrels, and while gazing, half in
+disappointment, half in surprise, at the supposed bird, his finger
+unintentionally pressed the second trigger. In a moment the piece
+exploded. Being accidentally aimed in the right direction, it blew the
+lump of snow to atoms, and at the same time hitting its owner on the
+chest with the butt, knocked him over flat upon his back.
+
+"What a gun it is, to be sure!" said Harry, with a roguish laugh, as he
+assisted the discomforted sportsman to rise; "it knocks over game with
+butt and muzzle at once."
+
+"Quite a rare instance of one butt knocking another down," added the
+accountant.
+
+At this moment a large flock of ptarmigan, startled by the double
+report, rose with a loud whirring noise about a hundred yards in
+advance, and after flying a short distance alighted.
+
+"There's real game at last, though," cried the accountant, as he
+hurried after the birds, followed closely by his young friends.
+
+They soon reached the spot where the flock had alighted, and after
+following up the tracks for a few yards further, set them up again. As
+the birds rose, the accountant fired and brought down two; Harry shot
+one and missed another; Hamilton being so nervously interested in the
+success of his comrades that he forgot to fire at all.
+
+"How stupid of me!" he exclaimed, while the others loaded their guns.
+
+"Never mind; better luck next time," said Harry, as they resumed their
+walk. "I saw the flock settle down about half-a-mile in advance of us;
+so step out."
+
+Another short walk brought the sportsmen again within range.
+
+"Go to the front, Hammy," said the accountant, "and take the first shot
+this time."
+
+Hamilton obeyed. He had scarcely made ten steps in advance, when a
+single bird, that seemed to have been separated from the others, ran
+suddenly out from under a bush, and stood stock-still, at a distance of
+a few yards, with its neck stretched out and its black eyes wide open,
+as if in astonishment.
+
+"Now then, you can't miss _that_."
+
+Hamilton was quite taken aback by the suddenness of this necessity for
+instantaneous action. Instead, therefore, of taking aim leisurely
+(seeing that he had abundant time to do so), he flew entirely to the
+opposite extreme, took no aim at all, and fired off both barrels at
+once, without putting the gun to his shoulder. The result of this was
+that the affrighted bird flew away unharmed, while Harry and the
+accountant burst spontaneously into fits of laughter.
+
+"How very provoking!" said the poor youth, with a dejected look.
+
+"Never mind--never say die--try again," said the accountant, on
+recovering his gravity. Having reloaded, they continued the pursuit.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed Harry, suddenly, "here are three dead birds.--I
+verily believe, Hamilton, that you have killed them all at one shot by
+accident."
+
+"Can it be possible?" exclaimed his friend, as with a look of amazement
+he regarded the birds.
+
+There was no doubt about the fact. There they lay, plump and still
+warm, with one or two drops of bright red blood upon their white
+plumage. Ptarmigan are almost pure white, so that it requires a
+practised eye to detect them, even at a distance of a few yards; and it
+would be almost impossible to hunt them without dogs, but for the
+tell-tale snow, in which their tracks are distinctly marked, enabling
+the sportsman to follow them up with unerring certainty. When Hamilton
+made his bad shot, neither he nor his companions observed a group of
+ptarmigan not more than fifty yards before them, their attention being
+riveted at the time on the solitary bird; and the gun happening to be
+directed towards them when it was fired, three were instantly and
+unwittingly placed _hors de combat_, while the others ran away. This
+the survivors frequently do when very tame, instead of taking wing.
+Thus it was that Hamilton, to his immense delight, made such a
+successful shot without being aware of it.
+
+Having bagged their game, the party proceeded on their way. Several
+large flocks of birds were raised, and the game-bags nearly filled,
+before reaching the spot where they intended to turn and bend their
+steps homewards. This induced them to give up the idea of going
+further; and it was fortunate they came to this resolution, for a storm
+was brewing, which in the eagerness of pursuit after game they had not
+noticed. Dark masses of leaden-coloured clouds were gathering in the
+sky overhead, and faint sighs of wind came, ever and anon, in fitful
+gusts from the north-west.
+
+Hurrying forward as quickly as possible, they now pursued their course
+in a direction which would enable them to cross the woodcutters' track.
+This they soon reached, and finding it pretty well beaten, were enabled
+to make more rapid progress. Fortunately the wind was blowing on their
+backs, otherwise they would have had to contend not only with its
+violence, but also with the snow-drift, which now whirled in bitter
+fury among the trees, or scoured like driving clouds over the plain.
+Under this aspect, the flat country over which they travelled seemed
+the perfection of bleak desolation. Their way, however, did not lie in
+a direct line. The track was somewhat tortuous, and gradually edged
+towards the north, until the wind blew nearly in their teeth. At this
+point, too, they came to a stretch of open ground which they had
+crossed at a point some miles further to the northward in their night
+march. Here the storm raged in all its fury, and as they looked out
+upon the plain, before quitting the shelter of the wood, they paused to
+tighten their belts and readjust their snow-shoe lines. The gale was so
+violent that the whole plain seemed tossed about like billows of the
+sea, as the drift rose and fell, curled, eddied, and dashed along, so
+that it was impossible to see more than half-a-dozen yards in advance.
+
+"Heaven preserve us from ever being caught in an exposed place on such
+a night as this!" said the accountant, as he surveyed the prospect
+before him. "Luckily the open country here is not more than a quarter
+of a mile broad, and even that little bit will try our wind somewhat."
+
+Hamilton and Harry seemed by their looks to say, "We could easily face
+even a stiffer breeze than that, if need be."
+
+"What should we do," inquired the former, "if the plain were five or
+six miles broad?"
+
+"Do? why, we should have to camp in the woods till it blew over, that's
+all," replied the accountant; "but seeing that we are not reduced to
+such a necessity just now, and that the day is drawing to a close, let
+us face it at once. I'll lead the way, and see that you follow close at
+my heels. Don't lose sight of me for a moment, and if you do by chance,
+give a shout; d'ye hear?"
+
+The two lads replied in the affirmative, and then bracing themselves up
+as if for a great effort, stepped vigorously out upon the plain, and
+were instantly swallowed up in clouds of snow. For half-an-hour or more
+they battled slowly against the howling storm, pressing forward for
+some minutes with heads down, as if _boring_ through it, then turning
+their backs to the blast for a few seconds' relief, but always keeping
+as close to each other as possible. At length the woods were gained; on
+entering which it was discovered that Hamilton was missing.
+
+"Hollo! where's Hamilton?" exclaimed Harry; "I saw him beside me not
+five minutes ago." The accountant gave a loud shout, but there was no
+reply. Indeed, nothing short of his own stentorian voice could have
+been heard at all amid the storm.
+
+"There's nothing for it," said Harry, "but to search at once, else
+he'll wander about and get lost." Saying this, he began to retrace his
+steps, just as a brief lull in the gale took place.
+
+"Hollo! don't you hear a cry, Harry?"
+
+At this moment there was another lull; the drift fell, and for an
+instant cleared away, revealing the bewildered Hamilton, not twenty
+yards off, standing, like a pillar of snow, in mute despair.
+
+Profiting by the glimpse, Harry rushed forward, caught him by the arm,
+and led him into the partial shelter of the forest.
+
+Nothing further befell them after this. Their route lay in shelter all
+the way to the fort. Poor Hamilton, it is true, took one or two of his
+occasional plunges by the way, but without any serious result--not even
+to the extent of stuffing his nose, ears, neck, mittens, pockets,
+gun-barrels, and everything else with snow, because, these being quite
+full and hard packed already, there was no room left for the addition
+of another particle.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+The winter packet--Harry hears from old friends, and wishes that he was
+with them.
+
+
+Letters from home! What a burst of sudden emotion--what a riot of
+conflicting feelings of dread and joy, expectation and anxiety--what a
+flood of old memories--what stirring up of almost forgotten
+associations these three words create in the hearts of those who dwell
+in distant regions of this earth, far, far away from kith and kin, from
+friends and acquaintances, from the much-loved scenes of childhood, and
+from _home_! Letters from home! How gratefully the sound falls upon
+ears that have been long unaccustomed to sounds and things connected
+with home, and so long accustomed to wild, savage sounds, that these
+have at length lost their novelty, and become everyday and commonplace,
+while the first have gradually grown strange and unwonted. For many
+long months home and all connected with it have become a dream of other
+days, and savage-land a present reality. The mind has by degrees become
+absorbed by surrounding objects--objects so utterly unassociated with
+or unsuggestive of any other land, that it involuntarily ceases to
+think of the scenes of childhood with the same feelings that it once
+did. As time rolls on, home assumes a misty, undefined character, as if
+it were not only distant in reality, but were also slowly retreating
+further and further away--growing gradually faint and dream-like,
+though not less dear, to the mental view.
+
+"Letters from home!" shouted Mr. Wilson, and the doctor, and the
+skipper, simultaneously, as the sportsmen, after dashing through the
+wild storm, at last reached the fort, and stumbled tumultuously into
+Bachelors' Hall.
+
+"What!--Where!--How!--You don't mean it!" they exclaimed, coming to a
+sudden stand, like three pillars of snow-clad astonishment.
+
+"Ay," replied the doctor, who affected to be quite cool upon all
+occasions, and rather cooler than usual if the occasion was more than
+ordinarily exciting--"ay, we _do_ mean it. Old Rogan has got the
+packet, and is even now disembowelling it."
+
+"More than that," interrupted the skipper, who sat smoking as usual by
+the stove, with his hands in his breeches pockets--"more than that, I
+saw him dissecting into the very marrow of the thing; so if we don't
+storm the old admiral in his cabin, he'll go to sleep over these prosy
+yarns that the governor-in-chief writes to him, and we'll have to
+whistle for our letters till midnight."
+
+The skipper's remark was interrupted by the opening of the outer door
+and the entrance of the butler. "Mr. Rogan wishes to see you, sir,"
+said that worthy to the accountant.
+
+"I'll be with him in a minute," he replied, as he threw off his capote
+and proceeded to unwind himself as quickly as his multitudinous haps
+would permit.
+
+By this time Harry Somerville and Hamilton were busily occupied in a
+similar manner, while a running fire of question and answer, jesting
+remark and bantering reply, was kept up between the young men, from
+their various apartments and the hall. The doctor was cool, as usual,
+and impudent. He had a habit of walking up and down while he smoked,
+and was thus enabled to look in upon the inmates of the several
+sleeping-rooms, and make his remarks in a quiet, sarcastic manner, the
+galling effect of which was heightened by his habit of pausing at the
+end of every two or three words, to emit a few puffs of smoke. Having
+exhausted a good deal of small talk in this way, and having, moreover,
+finished his pipe, the doctor went to the stove to refill and relight.
+
+"What a deal of trouble you do take to make yourself comfortable!" said
+he to the skipper, who sat with his chair tilted on its hind legs, and
+a pillow at his back.
+
+"No harm in that, doctor," replied the skipper, with a smile.
+
+"No harm, certainly, but it looks uncommonly lazy-like."
+
+"What does?"
+
+"Why, putting a pillow at your back, to be sure."
+
+The doctor was a full-fleshed, muscular man, and owing to this fact it
+mattered little to him whether his chair happened to be an easy one or
+not. As the skipper sometimes remarked, he carried padding always about
+with him; he was, therefore, a little apt to sneer at the attempts of
+his brethren to render the ill-shaped, wooden-bottomed chairs, with
+which the hall was ornamented, bearable.
+
+"Well, doctor," said the skipper, "I cannot see how you make me out
+lazy. Surely it is not an evidence of laziness, my endeavouring to
+render these instruments of torture less tormenting? Seeking to be
+comfortable, if it does not inconvenience anyone else, is not laziness.
+Why, what _is_ comfort?" The skipper began to wax philosophical at this
+point, and took the pipe from his mouth as he gravely propounded the
+momentous question. "What _is_ comfort? If I go out to camp in the
+woods, and after turning in find a sharp stump sticking into my ribs on
+one side, and a pine root driving in the small of my back on the other
+side, is _that_ comfort? Certainly not. And if I get up, seize a
+hatchet, level the stump, cut away the root, and spread pine brush over
+the place, am I to be called lazy for doing so? Or if I sit down on a
+chair, and on trying to lean back to rest myself find that the stupid
+lubber who made it has so constructed it that four small hard points
+alone touch my person--two being at the hip-joints and two at the
+shoulder-blades; and if to relieve such physical agony I jump up and
+clap a pillow at my back, am I to be called lazy for doing _that_?"
+
+"What a glorious entry that would make in the log!" said the doctor, in
+a low tone, soliloquizingly, as if he made the remark merely for his
+own satisfaction, while he tapped the ashes out of his pipe.
+
+The skipper looked as if he meditated a sharp reply; but his
+intentions, whatever they might have been, were interrupted by the
+opening of the door, and the entrance of the accountant, bearing under
+his arm a packet of letters.
+
+A general rush was made upon him, and in a few minutes a dead silence
+reigned in the hall, broken only at intervals by an exclamation of
+surprise or pathos, as the inmates, in the retirement of their separate
+apartments, perused letters from friends in the interior of the country
+and friends at home: letters that were old--some of them bearing dates
+many months back--and travel-stained, but new and fresh and cheering,
+nevertheless, to their owners, as the clear bright sun in winter or the
+verdant leaves in spring.
+
+Harry Somerville's letters were numerous and long. He had several from
+friends in Red River, besides one or two from other parts of the Indian
+country, and one--it was very thick and heavy--that bore the post-marks
+of Britain. It was late that night ere the last candle was extinguished
+in the hall, and it was late too before Harry Somerville ceased to
+peruse and re-peruse the long letter from home, and found time or
+inclination to devote to his other correspondents. Among the rest was a
+letter from his old friend and companion, Charley Kennedy, which ran as
+follows:--
+
+MY DEAR HARRY,--It really seems more than an age since I saw you. Your
+last epistle, written in the perturbation of mind consequent upon being
+doomed to spend another winter at York Fort, reached me only a few days
+ago, and filled me with pleasant recollections of other days. Oh! man,
+how much I wish that you were with me in this beautiful country! You
+are aware that I have been what they call "roughing it" since you and I
+parted on the shores of Lake Winnipeg; but, my dear fellow, the idea
+that most people have of what that phrase means is a very erroneous one
+indeed. "Roughing it," I certainly have been, inasmuch as I have been
+living on rough fare, associating with rough men, and sleeping on rough
+beds under the starry sky; but I assure you that all this is not half
+so rough upon the constitution as what they call leading an _easy
+life_, which is simply a life that makes a poor fellow stagnate, body
+and spirit, till the one comes to be unable to digest its food, and the
+other incompetent to jump at so much as half an idea. Anything but an
+easy life, to my mind. Ah! there's nothing like roughing it, Harry, my
+boy. Why, I am thriving on it--growing like a young walrus, eating like
+a Canadian voyageur, and sleeping like a top! This is a splendid
+country for sport, and as our _bourgeois_ [Footnote: The gentleman in
+charge of an establishment is always designated the bourgeois.] has
+taken it into his head that I am a good hand at making friends with the
+Indians, he has sent me out on several expeditions, and afforded me
+some famous opportunities of seeing life among the red-skins. There is
+a talk just now of establishing a new outpost in this district, so if I
+succeed in persuading the governor to let me accompany the party, I
+shall have something interesting to write about in my next letter. By
+the way, I wrote to you a month ago, by two Indians who said they were
+going to the missionary station at Norway House. Did you ever get it?
+There is a hunter here just now who goes by the name of Jacques
+Caradoc. He is a first-rater--can do anything, in a wild way, that lies
+within the power of mortal man, and is an inexhaustible
+anecdote-teller, in a quiet way. He and I have been out buffalo-hunting
+two or three times, and it would have done your heart good, Harry, my
+dear boy, to have seen us scouring over the prairie together on two
+big-boned Indian horses--regular trained buffalo-runners, that didn't
+need the spur to urge, nor the rein to guide them, when once they
+caught sight of the black cattle, and kept a sharp look-out for
+badger-holes, just as if they had been reasonable creatures. The first
+time I went out I had several rather ugly falls, owing to my
+inexperience. The fact is, that if a man has never run buffaloes
+before, he's sure to get one or two upsets, no matter how good a
+horseman he may be. And that monster Jacques, although he's the best
+fellow I ever met with for a hunting companion, always took occasion to
+grin at my mishaps, and gravely to read me a lecture to the effect that
+they were all owing to my own clumsiness or stupidity; which, you will
+acknowledge, was not calculated to restore my equanimity.
+
+The very first run we had cost me the entire skin of my nose, and
+converted that feature into a superb Roman for the next three weeks. It
+happened thus. Jacques and I were riding over the prairies in search of
+buffaloes. The place was interspersed with sundry knolls covered with
+trees, slips and belts of woodland, with ponds scattered among them,
+and open sweeps of the plain here and there; altogether a delightful
+country to ride through. It was a clear early morning, so that our
+horses were fresh and full of spirit. They knew, as well as we
+ourselves did, what we were out for, and it was no easy matter to
+restrain them. The one I rode was a great long-legged beast, as like as
+possible to that abominable kangaroo that nearly killed me at Red
+River; as for Jacques, he was mounted on a first-rate charger. I don't
+know how it is, but somehow or other everything about Jacques, or
+belonging to him, or in the remotest degree connected with him, is
+always first-rate! He generally owns a first-rate horse, and if he
+happens by any unlucky chance to be compelled to mount a bad one, it
+immediately becomes another animal. He seems to infuse some of his own
+wonderful spirit into it! Well, as Jacques and I curvetted along,
+skirting the low bushes at the edge of a wood, out burst a whole herd
+of buffaloes. Bang went Jacques's gun, almost before I had winked to
+make sure that I saw rightly, and down fell the fattest of them all,
+while the rest tossed up their tails, heels, and heads in one grand
+whirl of indignant amazement, and scoured away like the wind. In a
+moment our horses were at full stretch after them, on their _own_
+account entirely, and without any reference to _us_. When I recovered
+my self-possession a little, I threw forward my gun and fired; but
+owing to my endeavouring to hold the reins at the same time, I nearly
+blew off one of my horse's ears, and only knocked up the dust about six
+yards ahead of us! Of course Jacques could not let this pass unnoticed.
+He was sitting quietly loading his gun, as cool as a cucumber, while
+his horse was dashing forward at full stretch, with the reins hanging
+loosely on his neck.
+
+"Ah, Mister Charles," said he, with the least possible grin on his
+leathern visage, "that was not well done. You should never hold the
+reins when you fire, nor try to put the gun to your shoulder. It a'n't
+needful. The beast'll look arter itself, if it's a riglar
+buffalo-runner; any ways holdin' the reins is of no manner of use. I
+once know'd a gentleman that came out here to see the buffalo-huntin'.
+He was a good enough shot in his way, an' a first-rate rider. But he
+was full o' queer notions: he _would_ load his gun with the ramrod in
+the riglar way, instead o' doin' as we do, tumblin' in a drop powder,
+spittin' a ball out your mouth down the muzzle, and hittin' the stock
+on the pommel of the saddle to send it home. And he had them miserable
+things--the _somethin'_ 'cussion-caps, and used to fiddle away with
+them while we were knockin' over the cattle in all directions.
+Moreover, he had a notion that it was altogether wrong to let go his
+reins even for a moment, and so, what between the ramrod and the
+'cussion-caps and the reins, he was worse than the greenest clerk that
+ever came to the country. He gave it up in despair at last, after
+lamin' two horses, and finished off by runnin' after a big bull, that
+turned on him all of a suddent, crammed its head and horns into the
+side of his horse, and sent the poor fellow head over heels on the
+green grass. He wasn't much the worse for it, but his fine
+double-barrelled gun was twisted into a shape that would almost have
+puzzled an Injin to tell what it was." Well, Harry, all the time that
+Jacques was telling me this we were gaining on the buffaloes, and at
+last we got quite close to them, and as luck would have it, the very
+thing that happened to the amateur sportsman happened to me. I went
+madly after a big bull in spite of Jacques's remonstrances, and just as
+I got alongside of him up went his tail (a sure sign that his anger was
+roused), and round he came, head to the front, stiff as a rock; my poor
+charger's chest went right between his horns, and, as a matter of
+course, I continued the race upon _nothing_, head first, for a distance
+of about thirty yards, and brought up on the bridge of my nose. My poor
+dear father used to say I was a bull-headed rascal, and, upon my word,
+I believe he was more literally correct than he imagined; for although
+I fell with a fearful crash, head first, on the hard plain, I rose up
+immediately, and in a few minutes was able to resume the chase again.
+My horse was equally fortunate, for although thus brought to a sudden
+stand while at full gallop, he wheeled about, gave a contemptuous
+flourish with his heels, and cantered after Jacques, who soon caught
+him again. My head bothered me a good deal for some time after this
+accident, and swelled up till my eyes became almost undistinguishable;
+but a few weeks put me all right again. And who do you think this man
+Jacques is? You'd never guess. He's the trapper whom Redfeather told us
+of long ago, and whose wife was killed by the Indians. He and
+Redfeather have met, and are very fond of each other. How often in the
+midst of these wild excursions have my thoughts wandered to you, Harry!
+The fellows I meet with here are all kind-hearted, merry companions,
+but none like yourself. I sometimes say to Jacques, when we become
+communicative to each other beside the camp-fire, that my earthly
+felicity would be perfect if I had Harry Somerville here; and then I
+think of Kate, my sweet, loving sister Kate, and feel that, even
+although I had you with me, there would still be something wanting to
+make things perfect. Talking of Kate, by the way, I have received a
+letter from her, the first sheet of which, as it speaks of mutual Red
+River friends, I herewith enclose. Pray keep it safe, and return per
+first opportunity. We've loads of furs here and plenty of deerstalking,
+not to mention galloping on horseback on the plains in summer and
+dog-sledging in the winter. Alas! my poor friend, I fear that it is
+rather selfish in me to write so feelingly about my agreeable
+circumstances, when I know you are slowly dragging out your existence
+at that melancholy place York Fort; but believe me, I sympathize with
+you, and I hope earnestly that you will soon be appointed to more
+genial scenes. I have much, very much, to tell you yet, but am
+compelled to reserve it for a future epistle, as the packet which is to
+convey this is on the point of being closed.
+
+Adieu, my dear Harry, and wherever you may happen to pitch your tent,
+always bear in kindly remembrance your old friend,    CHARLES KENNEDY.
+
+The letter was finished, but Harry did not cease to hold intercourse
+with his friend. With his head resting on his two hands, and his elbows
+on the table, he sat long, silently gazing on the signature, while his
+mind revelled in the past, the present, and the future. He bounded over
+the wilderness that lay between him and the beautiful plains of the
+Saskatchewan. He seized Charley round the neck, and hugged and wrestled
+with him as in days of yore. He mounted an imaginary charger, and swept
+across the plains along with him; listened to anecdotes innumerable
+from Jacques, attacked thousands of buffaloes, singled out scores of
+wild bulls, pitched over horses' heads and alighted precisely on the
+bridge of his nose, always in close proximity to his old friend.
+Gradually his mind returned to its prison-house, and his eye fell on
+Kate's letter, which he picked up and began to read. It ran thus:--
+
+MY DEAR, DEAR, DARLING CHARLEY,--I cannot tell you how much my heart
+has yearned to see you, or hear from you, for many long, long months
+past. Your last delightful letter, which I treasure up as the most
+precious object I possess, has indeed explained to me how utterly
+impossible it was to have written a day sooner than you did; but that
+does not comfort me a bit, or make those weary packets more rapid and
+frequent in their movements, or the time that passes between the
+periods of hearing from you less dreary and anxious. God bless and
+protect you, my darling, in the midst of all the dangers that surround
+you. But I did not intend to begin this letter by murmuring, so pray
+forgive me, and I shall try to atone for it by giving you a minute
+account of everybody here about whom you are interested. Our beloved
+father and mother, I am thankful to say, are quite well. Papa has taken
+more than ever to smoking since you went away. He is seldom out of the
+summer-house in the garden now, where I very frequently go, and spend
+hours together in reading to and talking with him. He very often speaks
+of you, and I am certain that he misses you far more than we expected,
+although I think he cannot miss you nearly so much as I do. For some
+weeks past, indeed ever since we got your last letter, papa was engaged
+all the forenoon in some mysterious work, for he used to lock himself
+up in the summer-house--a thing he never did before. One day I went
+there at my usual time and instead of having to wait till he should
+unlock the door, I found it already open, and entered the room, which
+was so full of smoke that I could hardly see. I found papa writing at a
+small table, and the moment he heard my footstep he jumped up with a
+fierce frown, and shouted, "Who's there?" in that terrible voice that
+he used to speak in long ago when angry with his men, but which he has
+almost quite given up for some time past. He never speaks to me, as you
+know very well, but in the kindest tones, so you may imagine what a
+dreadful fright I got for a moment; but it was only for a moment,
+because the instant he saw that it was me his dear face changed, and he
+folded me in his arms, saying, "Ah, Kate, forgive me, my darling! I did
+not know it was you, and I thought I had locked the door, and was angry
+at being so unceremoniously interrupted." He then told me he was just
+finishing a letter of advice to you, and going up to the table, pushed
+the papers hurriedly into a drawer. As he did so, I guessed what had
+been his mysterious occupation, for he seemed to have covered _quires_
+of paper with the closest writing. Ah, Charley, you're a lucky fellow
+to be able to extort such long letters from our dear father. You know
+how difficult he finds it to write even the shortest note, and you
+remember his old favourite expression, "I would rather skin a wild
+buffalo bull alive than write a long letter." He deserves long ones in
+return, Charley; but I need not urge you on that score--you are an
+excellent correspondent. Mamma is able to go out every day now for a
+drive in the prairie. She was confined to the house for nearly three
+weeks last month, with some sort of illness that the doctor did not
+seem to understand, and at one time I was much frightened, and very,
+very anxious about her, she became so weak. It would have made your
+heart glad to have seen the tender way in which papa nursed her through
+the illness. I had fancied that he was the very last man in the world
+to make a sick-nurse, so bold and quick in his movements, and with such
+a loud, gruff voice--for it _is_ gruff, although very sweet at the same
+time. But the moment he began to tend mamma he spoke more softly even
+than dear Mr. Addison does, and he began to walk about the house on
+tiptoe, and persevered so long in this latter that all his moccasins
+began to be worn out at the toes, while the heels remained quite
+strong. I begged of him often not to take so much trouble, as _I_ was
+naturally the proper nurse for mamma; but he wouldn't hear of it, and
+insisted on carrying breakfast, dinner, and tea to her, besides giving
+her all her medicine. He was for ever making mistakes, however, much to
+his own sorrow, the darling man; and I had to watch him pretty closely,
+for more than once he has been on the point of giving mamma a glass of
+laudanum in mistake for a glass of port wine. I was a good deal
+frightened for him at first, as, before he became accustomed to the
+work, he tumbled over the chairs and tripped on the carpets while
+carrying trays with dinners and breakfasts, till I thought he would
+really injure himself at last, and then he was so terribly angry with
+himself at making such a noise and breaking the dishes--I think he has
+broken nearly an entire dinner and tea set of crockery. Poor George,
+the cook, has suffered most from these mishaps--for you know that dear
+papa cannot get angry without letting a _little_ of it out upon
+somebody; and whenever he broke a dish or let a tray fall, he used to
+rush into the kitchen, shake his fist in George's face, and ask him, in
+a fierce voice, what he meant by it. But he always got better in a few
+seconds, and finished off by telling him never to mind, that he was a
+good servant on the whole, and he wouldn't say any more about it just
+now, but he had better look sharp out and not do it again. I must say,
+in praise of George, that on such occasions he looked very sorry
+indeed, and said he hoped that he would always do his best to give him
+satisfaction. This was only proper in him, for he ought to be very
+thankful that our father restrains his anger so much; for you know he
+was rather violent _once_, and you've no idea, Charley, how great a
+restraint he now lays on himself. He seems to me quite like a lamb, and
+I am beginning to feel somehow as if we had been mistaken, and that he
+never was a passionate man at all. I think it is partly owing to dear
+Mr. Addison, who visits us very frequently now, and papa and he are
+often shut up together for many hours in the smoking-house. I was sure
+that papa would soon come to like him, for his religion is so free from
+everything like severity or affected solemnity. The cook, and Rosa, and
+my dog that you named Twist, are all quite well. The last has grown
+into a very large and beautiful animal, something like the stag-hound
+in the picture-book we used to study together long ago. He is
+exceedingly fond of me, and I feel him to be quite a protector. The
+cocks and hens, the cow and the old mare, are also in perfect health;
+so now, having told you a good deal about ourselves, I will give you a
+short account of the doings in the colony.
+
+First of all, your old friend Mr. Kipples is still alive and well, and
+so are all our old companions in the school. One or two of the latter
+have left, and young Naysmith has joined the Company's service. Betty
+Peters comes very often to see us, and she always asks for you with
+great earnestness. I think you have stolen the old woman's heart,
+Charley, for she speaks of you with great affection. Old Mr. Seaforth
+is still as vigorous as ever, dashing about the settlement on a
+high-mettled steed, just as if he were one of the youngest men in the
+colony. He nearly poisoned himself, poor man, a month ago, by taking a
+dose of some kind of medicine by mistake. I did not hear what it was,
+but I am told that the treatment was rather severe. Fortunately the
+doctor happened to be at home when he was sent for, else our old friend
+would, I fear, have died. As it was, the doctor cured him with great
+difficulty. He first gave him an emetic, then put mustard blisters to
+the soles of his feet, and afterwards lifted him into one of his own
+carts, without springs, in which he drove him for a long time over all
+the ploughed fields in the neighbourhood. If this is not an exaggerated
+account, Mr. Seaforth is certainly made of sterner stuff than most men.
+I was told a funny anecdote of him a few days ago, which I am sure you
+have never heard, otherwise you would have told it to me, for there
+used to be no secrets between us, Charley--alas! I have no one to
+confide in or advise with now that you are gone. You have often heard
+of the great flood; not Noah's one, but the flood that nearly swept
+away our settlement and did so much damage before you and I were born.
+Well, you recollect that people used to tell of the way in which the
+river rose after the breaking up of the ice, and how it soon overflowed
+all the low points, sweeping off everything in its course. Old Mr.
+Seaforth's house stood at that time on the little point, just beyond
+the curve of the river, at the foot of which our own house stands, and
+as the river continued to rise, Mr. Seaforth went about actively
+securing his property. At first he only thought of his boat and canoes,
+which, with the help of his son Peter and a Canadian, who happened at
+the time to be employed about the place, he dragged up and secured to
+an iron staple in the side of his house. Soon, however, he found that
+the danger was greater than at first he imagined. The point became
+completely covered with water, which brought down great numbers of
+_half_-drowned and _quite_-drowned cattle, pigs, and poultry, and
+stranded them at the garden fence, so that in a short time poor Mr.
+Seaforth could scarcely move about his overcrowded domains. On seeing
+this, he drove his own cattle to the highest land in his neighbourhood
+and hastened back to the house, intending to carry as much of the
+furniture as possible to the same place. But during his short absence
+the river had risen so rapidly that he was obliged to give up all
+thoughts of this, and think only of securing a few of his valuables.
+The bit of land round his dwelling was so thickly covered with the poor
+cows, sheep, and other animals, that he could scarcely make his way to
+the house, and you may fancy his consternation on reaching it to find
+that the water was more than knee-deep round the walls, while a few of
+the cows and a whole herd of pigs had burst open the door (no doubt
+accidentally) and coolly entered the dining-room, where they stood with
+drooping heads, very wet, and apparently very miserable. The Canadian
+was busy at the back of the house, loading the boat and canoe with
+everything he could lay hands on, and was not aware of the foreign
+invasion in front. Mr. Seaforth cared little for this, however, and
+began to collect all the things he held most valuable, and threw them
+to the man, who stowed them away in the boat. Peter had been left in
+charge of the cattle, so they had to work hard. While thus employed the
+water continued to rise with fearful rapidity, and rushed against the
+house like a mill-race, so that it soon became evident that the whole
+would ere long be swept away. Just as they finished loading the boat
+and canoes, the staple which held them gave way; in a moment they were
+swept into the middle of the river, and carried out of sight. The
+Canadian was in the boat at the time the staple broke, so that Mr.
+Seaforth was now left in a dwelling that bid fair to emulate Noah's ark
+in an hour or two, without a chance of escape, and with no better
+company than five black oxen, in the dining-room, besides three sheep
+that were now scarcely able to keep their heads above water, and three
+little pigs that were already drowned. The poor old man did his best to
+push out the intruders, but only succeeded in ejecting two sheep and an
+ox. All the others positively refused to go, so he was fain to let them
+stay. By shutting the outer door he succeeded in keeping out a great
+deal of water. Then he waded into the parlour, where he found some more
+little pigs, floating about and quite dead. Two, however, more
+adventurous than their comrades, had saved their lives by mounting
+first on a chair and then upon the table, where they were comfortably
+seated, gazing languidly at their mother, a very heavy fat sow, which
+sat, with what seemed an expression of settled despair, on the sofa. In
+a fit of wrath, Mr. Seaforth seized the young pigs and tossed them out
+of the window; whereupon the old one jumped down, and half-walking,
+half-swimming, made her way to her companions in the dining-room. The
+old gentleman now ascended to the garret, where from a small window he
+looked out upon the scene of devastation. His chief anxiety was about
+the foundation of the house, which, being made of a wooden framework,
+like almost all the others in the colony, would certainly float if the
+water rose much higher. His fears were better founded than the house.
+As he looked up the river, which had by this time overflowed all its
+banks, and was spreading over the plains, he saw a fresh burst of water
+coming down, which, when it dashed against his dwelling, forced it
+about two yards from its foundation. Suddenly he remembered that there
+were a large anchor and chain in the kitchen, both of which he had
+brought there one day, to serve as a sort of anvil when he wanted to do
+some blacksmith work. Hastening down, he fastened one end of the chain
+to the sofa, and cast the anchor out of the window. A few minutes
+afterwards another rush of water struck the building, which yielded to
+pressure, and swung slowly down until the anchor arrested its further
+progress. This was only for a few seconds, however. The chain was a
+slight one. It snapped, and the house swept majestically down the
+stream, while its terrified owner scrambled to the roof, which he found
+already in possession of his favourite cat. Here he had a clear view of
+his situation. The plains were converted into a lake, above whose
+surface rose trees and houses, several of which, like his own, were
+floating on the stream or stranded among shallows. Settlers were rowing
+about in boats and canoes in all directions, but although some of them
+noticed the poor man sitting beside his cat on the housetop, they were
+either too far off or had no time to render him assistance.
+
+For two days nothing was heard of old Mr. Seaforth. Indeed, the
+settlers had too much to do in saving themselves and their families to
+think of others; and it was not until the third day that people began
+to inquire about him. His son Peter had taken a canoe and made diligent
+search in all directions, but although he found the house sticking on a
+shallow point, neither his father nor the cat was on or in it. At last
+he was brought to the island, on which nearly half the colony had
+collected, by an Indian who had passed the house, and brought him away
+in his canoe, along with the old cat. Is he not a wonderful man, to
+have come through so much in his old age? and he is still so active and
+hearty! Mr. Swan of the mill is dead. He died of fever last week. Poor
+old Mr. Cordon is also gone. His end was very sad. About a month ago he
+ordered his horse and rode off, intending to visit Fort Garry. At the
+turn of the road, just above Grant's house, the horse suddenly swerved,
+and its rider was thrown to the ground. He did not live more than
+half-an-hour after it. Alas! how very sad to see a man, after escaping
+all the countless dangers of a long life in the woods (and his, you
+know, was a very adventurous one), thus cut violently down in his old
+age. O Charley, how little we know what is before us! How needful to
+have our peace made with God through Jesus Christ, so that we may be
+ready at any moment when our Father calls us away. There are many
+events of great interest that have occurred here since you left. You
+will be glad to hear the Jane Patterson is married to our excellent
+friend Mr. Cameron, who has taken up a store near to us, and intends to
+run a boat to York Fort next summer. There has been another marriage
+here which will cause you astonishment at least, if not pleasure. Old
+Mr. Peters has married Marie Peltier! What _could_ have possessed her
+to take such a husband? I cannot understand it. Just think of her,
+Charley, a girl of eighteen, with a husband of seventy-five!--
+
+       *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At this point the writing, which was very close and very small,
+terminated. Harry laid it down with a deep sigh, wishing much that
+Charley had thought it advisable to send him the second sheet also. As
+wishes and regrets on this point were equally unavailing, he
+endeavoured to continue it in imagination, and was soon as deeply
+absorbed in following Kate through the well-remembered scenes of Red
+River as he had been, a short time before, in roaming with her brother
+over the wide prairies of Saskatchewan. The increasing cold, however
+soon warned him that the night was far spent. He rose and went to the
+stove; but the fire had gone out, and the almost irresistible frost of
+these regions was already cooling everything in Bachelors' Hall down to
+the freezing-point. All his companions had put out their candles, and
+were busy, doubtless, dreaming of the friends whose letters had struck
+and reawakened the long-dormant chords that used to echo to the tones
+and scenes of other days. With a slight shiver, Harry returned to his
+apartment, and kneeled to thank God for protecting and preserving his
+absent friends, and especially for sending him "good news from a far
+land." The letter with the British post-marks on it was placed under
+his pillow. It occupied his waking and sleeping thoughts that night,
+and it was the first thing he thought of and reread on the following
+morning, and for many mornings afterwards. Only those can fully
+estimate the value of such letters who live in distant lands, where
+letters are few--very, very few--and far between.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+Changes--Harry and Hamilton find that variety is indeed charming--The
+latter astonishes the former considerably.
+
+
+Three months passed away, but the snow still lay deep and white and
+undiminished around York Fort. Winter--cold, silent, unyielding
+winter--still drew its white mantle closely round the lonely dwelling
+of the fur-traders of the Far North.
+
+Icicles hung, as they had done for months before, from the eaves of
+every house, from the tall black scaffold on which the great bell hung,
+and from the still taller erection that had been put up as an outlook
+for "_the ship_" in summer. At the present time it commanded a bleak
+view of the frozen sea. Snow covered every housetop, and hung in
+ponderous masses from their edges, as if it were about to fall; but it
+never fell--it hung there in the same position day after day, unmelted,
+unchanged. Snow covered the whole land, and the frozen river, the
+swamps, the sea-beach, and the sea itself, as far as the eye could
+reach, seemed like a pure white carpet. Snow lined the upper edge of
+every paling, filled up the key-hole of every door, embanked about half
+of every window, stuck in little knobs on the top of every picket, and
+clung in masses on every drooping branch of the pine trees in the
+forest. Frost--sharp, biting frost--solidified, surrounded, and
+pervaded everything. Mercury was congealed by it; vapour was condensed
+by it; iron was cooled by it until it could scarcely be touched without
+(as the men expressed it) "burning" the fingers. The water-jugs in
+Bachelors' Hall and the water-buckets were frozen by it, nearly to the
+bottom; though there was a good stove there, and the Hall was not
+_usually_ a cold place by any means. The breath of the inhabitants was
+congealed by it on the window-panes, until they had become coated with
+ice an inch thick. The breath of the men was rendered white and opaque
+by it, as they panted and hurried to and fro about their ordinary
+avocations; beating their gloved hands together, and stamping their
+well-wrapped-up feet on the hard-beaten snow to keep them warm. Old
+Bobin's nose seemed to be entirely shrivelled up into his face by it,
+as he drove his ox-cart to the river to fetch his daily supply of
+water. The only things that were not affected by it were the fires,
+which crackled and roared as if in laughter, and twisted and leaped as
+if in uncontrollable glee at the bare idea of John Frost acquiring, by
+any artifice whatever, the smallest possible influence over _them_!
+Three months had elapsed, but frost and snow, instead of abating, had
+gone on increasing and intensifying, deepening and extending its work,
+and riveting its chains. Winter--cold, silent, unyielding winter--still
+reigned at York Fort, as though it had made it a _sine qua non_ of its
+existence at all that it should reign there for ever!
+
+But although everything was thus wintry and cold, it was by no means
+cheerless or dreary. A bright sun shone in the blue heavens with an
+intenseness of brilliancy that was quite dazzling to the eyes, that
+elated the spirits, and caused man and beast to tread with a more
+elastic step than usual. Although the sun looked down upon the scene
+with an unclouded face, and found a mirror in every icicle and in every
+gem of hoar-frost with which the objects of nature were loaded, there
+was, however, no perceptible heat in his rays. They fell on the white
+earth with all the brightness of midsummer, but they fell powerless as
+moonbeams in the dead of winter.
+
+On the frozen river, just in front of the gate of the fort, a group of
+men and dogs were assembled. The dogs were four in number, harnessed to
+a small flat sledge of the slender kind used by Indians to drag their
+furs and provisions over the snow. The group of men was composed of Mr.
+Rogan and the inmates of Bachelors' Hall, one or two men who happened
+to be engaged there at the time in cutting a new water-hole in the ice,
+and an Indian, who, to judge from his carefully-adjusted costume, the
+snow-shoes on his feet, and the short whip in his hand, was the driver
+of the sledge, and was about to start on a journey. Harry Somerville
+and young Hamilton were also wrapped up more carefully than usual.
+
+"Good-bye, then, good-bye," said Mr. Rogan, advancing towards the
+Indian, who stood beside the leading dog, ready to start. "Take care of
+our young friends; they've not had much experience in travelling yet;
+and don't over drive your dogs. Treat them well, and they'll do more
+work. They're like men in that respect." Mr. Rogan shook the Indian by
+the hand, and the latter immediately flourished the whip and gave a
+shout, which the dogs no sooner heard than they uttered a simultaneous
+yell, sprang forward with a jerk, and scampered up the river, closely
+followed by their dark-skinned driver.
+
+"Now, lads, farewell," said the old gentleman, turning with a kindly
+smile to our two friends, who were shaking hands for the last time with
+their comrades. "I'm sorry you're going to leave us, my boys. You've
+done your duty well while here, and I would willingly have kept you a
+little longer with me, but our governor wills it otherwise. However, I
+trust that you'll be happy wherever you may be sent. Don't forget to
+write to me. God bless you. Farewell."
+
+Mr. Rogan shook them heartily by the hand, turned short round, and
+walked slowly up to his house, with an expression of sadness on his
+mild face; while Harry and Hamilton, having once more waved farewell to
+their friends, marched up the river side by side in silence. They
+followed the track left by the dog-sledge, which guided them with
+unerring certainty, although their Indian leader and his team were out
+of sight in advance.
+
+A week previous to this time an Indian arrived from the interior,
+bearing a letter from headquarters, which directed that Messrs.
+Somerville and Hamilton should be forthwith despatched on snow-shoes to
+Norway House. As this establishment is about three hundred miles from
+the sea-coast, the order involved a journey of nearly two weeks'
+duration through a country that was utterly destitute of inhabitants.
+On receiving a command from Mr. Rogan to prepare for an early start,
+Harry retired precipitately to his own room, and there, after cutting
+unheard of capers, and giving vent to sudden, incomprehensible shouts,
+all indicative of the highest state of delight, he condescended to tell
+his companions of his good fortune, and set about preparations without
+delay. Hamilton, on the contrary, gave his usual quiet smile on being
+informed of his destination, and returning somewhat pensively to
+Bachelors' Hall, proceeded leisurely to make the necessary arrangements
+for departure. As the time drew on, however, a perpetual flush on his
+countenance, and an unusual brilliancy about his eye, showed that he
+was not quite insensible to the pleasures of a change, and relished the
+idea more than he got credit for. The Indian who had brought the letter
+was ordered to hold himself in readiness to retrace his steps, and
+conduct the young men through the woods to Norway House, where they
+were to await further orders. A few days later the three travellers, as
+already related, set out on their journey.
+
+After walking a mile up the river, they passed a point of land which
+shut out the fort from view. Here they paused to take a last look, and
+then pressed forward in silence, the thoughts of each being busy with
+mingled recollections of their late home and anticipations of the
+future. After an hour's sharp walking they came in sight of the guide,
+and slackened their pace.
+
+"Well, Hamilton," said Harry, throwing off his reverie with a deep
+sigh, "are you glad to leave York Fort, or sorry?"
+
+"Glad, undoubtedly," replied Hamilton, "but sorry to part from our old
+companions there. I had no idea, Harry, that I loved them all so much.
+I feel as if I should be glad were the order for us to leave them
+countermanded even now."
+
+"That's the very thought," said Harry, "that was passing through my own
+brain when I spoke to you. Yet somehow I think I should feel uncommonly
+sorry after all if we were really sent back. There's a queer
+contradiction, Hammy: we're sorry and happy at the same time! If I were
+the skipper now, I would found a philosophical argument upon it."
+
+"Which the skipper would carry on with untiring vigour," said Hamilton,
+smiling, "and afterwards make an entry of in his log. But I think,
+Harry, that to feel the emotion of sorrow and joy at the same time is
+not such a contradiction as it at first appears."
+
+"Perhaps not," replied Harry; "but it seems very contradictory to _me_,
+and yet it's an evident fact, for I'm _very_ sorry to leave _them_, and
+I'm _very_ happy to have you for my companion here."
+
+"So am I, so am I," said the other heartily. "I would rather travel
+with you, Harry, than with any of our late companions, although I like
+them all very much."
+
+The two friends had grown, almost imperceptibly, in each other's esteem
+during their residence under the same roof, more than either of them
+would have believed possible. The gay, reckless hilarity of the one did
+not at first accord with the quiet gravity and, as his comrades styled
+it, _softness_ of the other. But character is frequently misjudged at
+first sight, and sometimes men who on a first acquaintance have felt
+repelled from each other have, on coming to know each other better,
+discovered traits and good qualities that ere long formed enduring
+bonds of sympathy, and have learned to love those whom at first they
+felt disposed to dislike or despise. Thus Harry soon came to know that
+what he at first thought and, along with his companions, called
+softness in Hamilton in reality gentleness of disposition and thorough
+good-nature, united in one who happened to be utterly unacquainted with
+the _knowing_ ways of this peculiarly sharp and clever world, while in
+the course of time new qualities showed themselves in a quiet,
+unobtrusive way that won upon his affections and raised his esteem. On
+the other hand, Hamilton found that although Harry was volatile, and
+possessed of an irresistible tendency to fun and mischief, he never by
+any chance gave way to anger, or allowed malice to enter into his
+practical jokes. Indeed, he often observed him to restrain his natural
+tendencies when they were at all likely to give pain, though Harry
+never dreamed that such efforts were known to any one but himself.
+Besides this, Harry was peculiarly _unselfish_, and when a man is
+possessed of this inestimable disposition, he is, not _quite_ but _very
+nearly_, perfect!
+
+After another pause, during which the party had left the open river and
+directed their course through the woods, where the depth of the snow
+obliged them to tread in each other's footsteps, Harry resumed the
+conversation.
+
+"You have not yet told me, by-the-by, what old Mr. Rogan said to you
+just before we started. Did he give you any hint as to where you might
+be sent to after reaching Norway House?"
+
+"No; he merely said he knew that clerks were wanted both for Mackenzie
+River and the Saskatchewan districts, but he did not know which I was
+destined for."
+
+"Hum! exactly what he said to me, with the slight addition that he
+strongly suspected that Mackenzie River would be my doom. Are you
+aware, Hammy my boy, that the Saskatchewan district is a sort of
+terrestrial paradise, and Mackenzie River equivalent to Botany Bay?"
+
+"I have heard as much during our conversations in Bachelors' Hall,
+but--Stop a bit, Harry; these snow-shoe lines of mine have got loosened
+with tearing through this deep snow and these shockingly thick bushes.
+There--they are right now; go on. I was going to say that I don't--oh!"
+
+This last exclamation was elicited from Hamilton by a sharp blow caused
+by a branch which, catching on part of Harry's dress as he plodded on
+in front, suddenly rebounded and struck him across the face. This is of
+common occurrence in travelling through the woods, especially to those
+who from inexperience walk too closely on the heels of their companions.
+
+"What's wrong now, Hammy?" inquired his friend, looking over his
+shoulder.
+
+"Oh, nothing worth mentioning--rather a sharp blow from a branch,
+that's all."
+
+"Well, proceed; you've interrupted yourself twice in what you were
+going to say. Perhaps it'll come out if you try it a third time."
+
+"I was merely going to say that I don't much care where I am sent to,
+so long as it is not to an outpost where I shall be all alone."
+
+"All very well, my friend; but seeing that outposts are, in comparison
+with principal forts, about a hundred to one, your chance of avoiding
+them is rather slight. However, our youth and want of experience is in
+our favour, as they like to send men who have seen some service to
+outposts. But I fear that, with such brilliant characters as you and I,
+Hammy, youth will only be an additional recommendation, and
+inexperience won't last long.--Hollo! what's going on yonder?"
+
+Harry pointed as he spoke to an open spot in the woods about a quarter
+of a mile in advance, where a dark object was seen lying on the snow,
+writhing about, now coiling into a lump, and anon extending itself like
+a huge snake in agony.
+
+As the two friends looked, a prolonged howl floated towards them.
+
+"Something wrong with the dogs, I declare!" cried Harry.
+
+"No doubt of it," replied his friend, hurrying forward, as they saw
+their Indian guide rise from the ground and flourish his whip
+energetically, while the howls rapidly increased.
+
+A few minutes brought them to the scene of action, where they found the
+dogs engaged in a fight among themselves, and the driver, in a state of
+vehement passion, alternately belabouring and trying to separate them.
+Dogs in these regions, like the dogs of all other regions, we suppose,
+are very much addicted to fighting--a propensity which becomes
+extremely unpleasant if indulged while the animals are in harness, as
+they then become peculiarly savage, probably from their being unable,
+like an ill-assorted pair in wedlock, to cut or break the ties that
+bind them. Moreover, they twist the traces into such an ingeniously
+complicated mass that it renders disentanglement almost impossible,
+even after exhaustion has reduced them to obedience. Besides this, they
+are so absorbed in worrying each other that for the time they are
+utterly regardless of their driver's lash or voice. This naturally
+makes the driver angry, and sometimes irascible men practise shameful
+cruelties on the poor dogs. When the two friends came up they found the
+Indian glaring at the animals, as they fought and writhed in the snow,
+with every lineament of his swarthy face distorted with passion, and
+panting from his late exertions. Suddenly he threw himself on the dogs
+again, and lashed them furiously with the whip. Finding that this had
+no effect, he twined the lash round his hand, and struck them violently
+over their heads and snouts with the handle; then falling down on his
+knees, he caught the most savage of the animals by the throat, and
+seizing its nose between his teeth almost bit it off. The appalling
+yell that followed this cruel act seemed to subdue the dogs, for they
+ceased to fight, and crouched, whining, in the snow.
+
+With a bound like a tiger young Hamilton sprang upon the guide, and
+seizing him by the throat, hurled him violently to the ground.
+"Scoundrel!" he cried, standing over the crestfallen Indian with
+flushed face and flashing eyes, "how dare you thus treat the creatures
+of God?"
+
+The young man would have spoken more, but his indignation was so fierce
+that it could not find vent in words. For a moment he raised his fist,
+as if he meditated dashing the Indian again to the ground as he slowly
+arose; then, as if changing his mind, he seized him by the back of the
+neck, thrust him towards the panting dogs, and stood in silence over
+him with the whip grasped firmly in his hand, while he disentangled the
+traces.
+
+This accomplished, Hamilton ordered him in a voice of suppressed anger
+to "go forward"--an order which the cowed guide promptly obeyed, and in
+a few minutes more the two friends were again alone.
+
+"Hamilton, my boy," exclaimed Harry, who up to this moment seemed to
+have been petrified, "you have perfectly amazed me! I'm utterly
+bewildered."
+
+"Indeed, I fear that I have been very violent," said Hamilton, blushing
+deeply.
+
+"Violent!" exclaimed his friend. "Why, man, I've completely mistaken
+your character. I--I--"
+
+"I hope not, Harry," said Hamilton, in a subdued tone; "I hope not.
+Believe me, I am not naturally violent. I should be very sorry were you
+to think so. Indeed, I never felt thus before, and now that it is over
+I am amazed at myself; but surely you'll admit that there was great
+provocation. Such terrible cruelty to--"
+
+"My dear fellow, you quite misunderstand me. I'm amazed at your pluck,
+your energy. _Soft_ indeed! we have been most egregiously mistaken.
+Provocation! I just think you had; my only sorrow is that you didn't
+give him a little more."
+
+"Come, come, Harry; I see you would be as cruel to him as he was to the
+poor dog. But let us press forward; it is already growing dark, and we
+must not let the fellow out of sight ahead of us."
+
+"_Allons donc_," cried Harry; and hastening their steps, they travelled
+silently and rapidly among the stems of the trees, while the shades of
+night gathered slowly round them.
+
+That night the three travellers encamped in the snow under the shelter
+of a spreading pine. The encampment was formed almost exactly in a
+similar manner to that in which they had slept on the night of their
+exploits at North River. They talked less, however, than on that
+occasion, and slept more soundly. Before retiring to rest, and while
+Harry was extended, half asleep and half awake, on his green blanket,
+enjoying the delightful repose that follows a hard day's march and a
+good supper, Hamilton drew near to the Indian, who sat sullenly smoking
+a little apart from the young men. Sitting down beside him, he
+administered a long rebuke in a low, grave tone of voice. Like rebukes
+generally, it had the effect of making the visage of the Indian still
+more sullen. But the young man did not appear to notice this; he still
+continued to talk. As he went on, the look grew less and less sullen,
+until it faded entirely away, and was succeeded by that grave, quiet,
+respectful expression peculiar to the face of the North American Indian.
+
+Day succeeded day, night followed night, and still found them plodding
+laboriously through the weary waste of snow, or encamping under the
+trees of the forest. The two friends went through all the varied stages
+of experience which are included in what is called "becoming used to
+the work," which is sometimes a modified meaning of the expression
+"used up." They started with a degree of vigour that one would have
+thought no amount of hard work could possibly abate. They became aware
+of the melancholy fact that fatigue unstrings the youngest and toughest
+sinews. They pressed on, however, from stern necessity, and found, to
+their delight, that young muscles recover their elasticity even in the
+midst of severe exertion. They still pressed on, and discovered, to
+their dismay, that this recovery was only temporary, and that the
+second state of exhaustion was infinitely worse than the first. Still
+they pressed on, and raised blisters on their feet and toes that caused
+them to limp wofully; then they learned that blisters break and take a
+long time to heal, and are much worse to walk upon during the healing
+process than they are at the commencement--at which time they
+innocently fancied that nothing could be more dreadful. Still they
+pressed on day after day, and found to their satisfaction that such
+things can be endured and overcome; that feet and toes can become hard
+like leather, that muscles can grow tough as india-rubber, and that
+spirits and energy can attain to a pitch of endurance which nothing
+within the compass of a day's march can by any possibility overcome.
+They found also, from experience, that their conversation changed, both
+in manner and subject, as they progressed on their journey. At first
+they conversed frequently and on various topics, chiefly on the
+probability of their being sent to pleasant places or the reverse. Then
+they spoke less frequently, and growled occasionally, as they advanced
+in the painful process of training. After that, as they began to get
+hardy, they talked of the trees, the snow, the ice, the tracks of wild
+animals they happened to cross, and the objects of nature generally
+that came under their observation. Then as their muscles hardened and
+their sinews grew tough, and the day's march at length became first a
+matter of indifference, and ultimately an absolute pleasure, they
+chatted cheerfully on any and every subject, or sang occasionally, when
+the sun shone out and cast an _appearance_ of warmth across their path.
+Thus onward they pressed, without halt or stay, day after day, through
+wood and brake, over river and lake, on ice and on snow, for miles and
+miles together, through the great, uninhabited, frozen wilderness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+Hopes and fears--An unexpected meeting--Philosophical talk between the
+hunter and the parson.
+
+
+On arriving at Norway House, Harry Somerville and his friend Hamilton
+found that they were to remain at that establishment during an
+indefinite period of time, until it should please those in whose hands
+their ultimate destination lay to direct them how and where to proceed.
+This was an unlooked-for trial of their patience; but after the first
+exclamation of disappointment, they made up their minds, like wise men,
+to think no more about it, but bide their time, and make the most of
+present circumstances.
+
+"You see," remarked Hamilton, as the two friends, after having had an
+audience of the gentleman in charge of the establishment, sauntered
+towards the rocks that overhang the margin of Playgreen Lake--"you see,
+it is of no use to fret about what we cannot possibly help. Nobody
+within three hundred miles of us knows where we are destined to spend
+next winter. Perhaps orders may come in a couple of weeks, perhaps in a
+couple of months, but they will certainly come at last. Anyhow, it is
+of no use thinking about it, so we had better forget it, and make the
+best of things as we find them."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Harry, "your advice is, that we should by all means be
+happy, and if we can't be happy, be as happy as we can. Is that it?"
+
+"Just so. That's it exactly."
+
+"Ho! But then you see, Hammy, you're a philosopher and I'm not, and
+that makes all the difference. I'm not given to anticipating evil, but
+I cannot help dreading that they will send me to some lonely, swampy,
+out-of-the-way hole, where there will be no society, no shooting, no
+riding, no work even to speak of--nothing, in fact, but the miserable
+satisfaction of being styled 'bourgeois' by five or six men, wretched
+outcasts like myself."
+
+"Come, Harry," cried Hamilton; "you are taking the very worst view of
+it. There certainly are plenty of such outposts in the country, but you
+know very well that young fellows like you are seldom sent to such
+places."
+
+"I don't know that," interrupted Harry. "There's young M'Andrew: he was
+sent to an outpost up the Mackenzie his second year in the service,
+where he was all but starved, and had to live for about two weeks on
+boiled parchment. Then there's poor Forrester: he was shipped off to a
+place--the name of which I never could remember--somewhere between the
+head-waters of the Athabasca Lake and the North Pole. To be sure, he
+had good shooting, I'm told, but he had only four labouring men to
+enjoy it with; and he has been there _ten_ years now, and he has more
+than once had to scrape the rocks of that detestable stuff called
+_tripe de roche_ to keep himself alive. And then there's----"
+
+"Very true," interrupted Hamilton. "Then there's your friend Charles
+Kennedy, whom you so often talk about, and many other young fellows we
+know, who have been sent to the Saskatchewan, and to the Columbia, and
+to Athabasca, and to a host of other capital places, where they have
+enough of society--male society, at least--and good sport."
+
+The young men had climbed a rocky eminence which commanded a view of
+the lake on the one side, and the fort, with its background of woods,
+on the other. Here they sat down on a stone, and continued for some
+time to admire the scene in silence.
+
+"Yes," said Harry, resuming the thread of discourse, "you are right: we
+have a good chance of seeing some pleasant parts of the country. But
+suspense is not pleasant. O man, if they would only send me up the
+Saskatchewan River! I've set my heart upon going there. I'm quite sure
+it's the very best place in the whole country."
+
+"You've told the truth that time, master," said a deep voice behind
+them.
+
+The young men turned quickly round. Close beside them, and leaning
+composedly on a long Indian fowling-piece, stood a tall,
+broad-shouldered, sun-burned man, apparently about forty years of age.
+He was dressed in the usual leathern hunting-coat, cloth leggings, fur
+cap, mittens, and moccasins that constitute the winter garb of a
+hunter; and had a grave, firm, but good-humoured expression of
+countenance.
+
+"You've told the truth that time, master," he repeated, without moving
+from his place. "The Saskatchewan _is_, to my mind, the best place in
+the whole country; and havin' seen a considerable deal o' places in my
+time, I can speak from experience."
+
+"Indeed, friend," said Harry, "I'm glad to hear you say so. Come, sit
+down beside us, and let's hear something about it."
+
+Thus invited, the hunter seated himself on a stone and laid his gun on
+the hollow of his left arm.
+
+"First of all, friend," continued Harry, "do you belong to the fort
+here?"
+
+"No," replied the man, "I'm staying here just now, but I don't belong
+to the place."
+
+"Where do you come from then, and what's your name?"
+
+"Why, I've comed d'rect from the Saskatchewan with a packet o' letters.
+I'm payin' a visit to the missionary village yonder"--the hunter
+pointed as he spoke across the lake--"and when the ice breaks up I
+shall get a canoe and return again."
+
+"And your name?"
+
+"Why, I've got four or five names. Somehow or other people have given
+me a nickname wherever I ha' chanced to go. But my true name, and the
+one I hail by just now, is Jacques Caradoc."
+
+"Jacques Caradoc!" exclaimed Harry, starting with surprise. "You knew a
+Charley Kennedy in the Saskatchewan, did you?"
+
+"That did I. As fine a lad as ever pulled a trigger."
+
+"Give us your hand, friend," exclaimed Harry, springing forward, and
+seizing the hunter's large, hard fist in both hands. "Why, man, Charley
+is my dearest friend, and I had a letter from him some time ago in
+which he speaks of you, and says you're one of the best fellows he ever
+met."
+
+"You don't say so," replied the hunter, returning Harry's grasp warmly,
+while his eyes sparkled with pleasure, and a quiet smile played at the
+corner of his mouth.
+
+"Yes I do," said Harry; "and I'm very nearly as glad to meet with you,
+friend Jacques, as I would be to meet with him. But come; it's cold
+work talking here. Let's go to my room; there's a fire in the
+stove.--Come along, Hammy;" and taking his new friend by the arm, he
+hurried him along to his quarters in the fort.
+
+Just as they were passing under the fort gate, a large mass of snow
+became detached from a housetop and fell heavily at their feet, passing
+within an inch of Hamilton's nose. The young man started back with an
+exclamation, and became very red in the face.
+
+"Hollo!" cried Harry, laughing, "got a fright, Hammy! That went so
+close to your chin that it almost saved you the trouble of shaving."
+
+"Yes; I got a little fright from the suddenness of it," said Hamilton
+quietly.
+
+"What do you think of my friend there?" said Harry to Jacques, in a low
+voice, pointing to Hamilton, who walked on in advance.
+
+"I've not seen much of him, master," replied the hunter. "Had I been
+asked the same question about the same lad twenty years agone, I should
+ha' said he was soft, and perhaps chicken-hearted. But I've learned
+from experience to judge better than I used to do. I niver thinks o'
+forming an opinion o' anyone till I geen them called to sudden action.
+It's astonishin' how some faint-hearted men will come to face a danger
+and put on an awful look o' courage if they only get warnin', but take
+them by surprise--that's the way to try them."
+
+"Well, Jacques, that is the very reason why I ask your opinion of
+Hamilton. He was pretty well taken by surprise that time, I think."
+
+"True, master; but _that_ kind of start don't prove much. Hows'ever, I
+don't think he's easy upset. He does _look_ uncommon soft, and his face
+grew red when the snow fell, but his eyebrow and his under lip showed
+that it wasn't from fear."
+
+During that afternoon and the greater part of that night the three
+friends continued in close conversation--Harry sitting in front of the
+stove, with his hands in his pockets, on a chair tilted as usual on its
+hind legs, and pouring out volleys of questions, which were pithily
+answered by the good-humoured, loquacious hunter, who sat behind the
+stove, resting his elbows on his knees, and smoking his much-loved
+pipe; while Hamilton reclined on Harry's bed, and listened with eager
+avidity to anecdotes and stories, which seemed, like the narrator's
+pipe, to be inexhaustible.
+
+"Good-night, Jacques, good-night," said Harry, as the latter rose at
+last to depart; "I'm delighted to have had a talk with you. You must
+come back to-morrow. I want to hear more about your friend Redfeather.
+Where did you say you left him?"
+
+"In the Saskatchewan, master. He said that he would wait there, as he'd
+heerd the missionary was comin' up to pay the Injins a visit."
+
+"By-the-by, you're going over to the missionary's place to-morrow, are
+you not?"
+
+"Yes, I am."
+
+"Ah, then, that'll do. I'll go over with you. How far off is it?"
+
+"Three miles or thereabouts."
+
+"Very good. Call in here as you pass, and my friend Hamilton and I will
+accompany you. Good-night."
+
+Jacques thrust his pipe into his bosom, held out his horny hand, and
+giving his young friends a hearty shake, turned and strode from the
+room.
+
+On the following day Jacques called according to promise, and the three
+friends set off together to visit the Indian village. This missionary
+station was under the management of a Wesleyan clergyman, Pastor Conway
+by name, an excellent man, of about forty-five years of age, with an
+energetic mind and body, a bald head, a mild, expressive countenance,
+and a robust constitution. He was admirably qualified for his position,
+having a natural aptitude for every sort of work that man is usually
+called on to perform. His chief care was for the instruction of the
+Indians, whom he had induced to settle around him, in the great and
+all-important truths of Christianity. He invented an alphabet, and
+taught them to write and read their own language. He commenced the
+laborious task of translating the Scriptures into the Cree language;
+and being an excellent musician, he instructed his converts to sing in
+parts the psalms and Wesleyan hymns, many of which are exceedingly
+beautiful. A school was also established and a church built under his
+superintendence, so that the natives assembled in an orderly way in a
+commodious sanctuary every Sabbath day to worship God; while the
+children were instructed, not only in the Scriptures, and made familiar
+with the narrative of the humiliation and exaltation of our blessed
+Saviour, but were also taught the elementary branches of a secular
+education. But good Pastor Conway's energy did not stop here. Nature
+had gifted him with that peculiar genius which is powerfully expressed
+in the term "a jack-of-all-trades." He could turn his hand to anything;
+and being, as we have said, an energetic man, he did turn his hand to
+almost everything. If anything happened to get broken, the pastor could
+either "mend it himself or direct how it was to be done. If a house was
+to be built for a new family of red men, who had never handled a saw or
+hammer in their lives, and had lived up to that time in tents, the
+pastor lent a hand to begin it, drew out the plan (not a very
+complicated thing certainly), set them fairly at work, and kept his eye
+on it until it was finished. In short, the worthy pastor was everything
+to everybody, "that by all means he might gain some."
+
+Under such management the village flourished as a matter of course,
+although it did not increase very rapidly owing to the almost
+unconquerable aversion of North American Indians to take up a settled
+habitation.
+
+It was to this little hamlet, then, that our three friends directed
+their steps. On arriving, they found Pastor Conway in a sort of
+workshop, giving directions to an Indian who stood with a
+soldering-iron in one hand and a sheet of tin in the other, which he
+was about to apply to a curious-looking half-finished machine that bore
+some resemblance to a canoe.
+
+"Ah, my friend Jacques!" he exclaimed as the hunter approached him,
+"the very man I wished to see. But I beg pardon, gentlemen,-strangers,
+I perceive. You are heartily welcome. It is seldom that I have the
+pleasure of seeing new friends in my wild dwelling. Pray come with me
+to my house."
+
+Pastor Conway shook hands with Harry and Hamilton with a degree of
+warmth that evinced the sincerity of his words. The young men thanked
+him and accepted the invitation.
+
+As they turned to quit the workshop, the pastor observed Jacques's eye
+fixed with a puzzled expression of countenance, on his canoe.
+
+"You have never seen anything like that before, I daresay?" said he,
+with a smile.
+
+"No, sir; I never did see such a queer machine afore."
+
+"It is a tin canoe, with which I hope to pass through many miles of
+country this spring, on my way to visit a tribe of Northern Indians,
+and it was about this very thing that I wanted to see you, my friend."
+
+Jacques made no reply, but cast a look savouring very slightly of
+contempt on the unfinished canoe as they turned and went away.
+
+The pastor's dwelling stood at one end of the village, a view of which
+it commanded from the back windows, while those in front overlooked the
+lake. It was pleasantly situated and pleasantly tenanted, for the
+pastor's wife was a cheerful, active little lady, like-minded with
+himself, and delighted to receive and entertain strangers. To her care
+Mr. Conway consigned the young men, after spending a short time in
+conversation with them; and then, requesting his wife to show them
+through the village, he took Jacques by the arm and sauntered out.
+
+"Come with me, Jacques," he began; "I have somewhat to say to you. I
+had not time to broach the subject when I met you at the Company's
+fort, and have been anxious to see you ever since. You tell me that you
+have met with my friend Redfeather."
+
+"Yes, sir; I spent a week or two with him last fall I found him stayin'
+with his tribe, and we started to come down here together."
+
+"Ah, that is the very point," exclaimed the pastor, "that I wish to
+inquire about. I firmly believe that God has opened that Indian's eyes
+to see the truth; and I fully expected from what he said when we last
+met, that he would have made up his mind to come and stay here."
+
+"As to what the Almighty has done to him," said Jacques, in a
+reverential tone of voice, "I don't pretend to know; he did for sartin
+speak, and act too, in a way that I never seed an Injin do before. But
+about his comin' here, sir, you were quite right: he did mean to come,
+and I've no doubt will come yet."
+
+"What prevented him coming with you, as you tell me he intended?"
+inquired the pastor.
+
+"Well, you see, sir, he and I and his squaw, as I said, set off to come
+here together: but when we got the length o' Edmonton House, we heerd
+that you were comin' up to pay a visit to the tribe to which Redfeather
+belongs; and so seem' that it was o' no use to come down hereaway just
+to turn about an' go up agin, he stopped there to wait for you, for he
+knew you would want him to interpret--"
+
+"Ay," interrupted the pastor, "that's true. I have two reasons for
+wishing to have him here. The primary one is, that he may get good to
+his immortal soul; and then he understands English so well that I want
+him to become my interpreter; for although I understand the Cree
+language pretty well now, I find it exceedingly difficult to explain
+the doctrines of the Bible to my people in it. But pardon me, I
+interrupted you."
+
+"I was only going to say," resumed Jacques, "that I made up my mind to
+stay with him; but they wanted a man to bring the winter packet here,
+so, as they pressed me very hard, an' I had nothin' particular to do, I
+'greed and came, though I would rather ha' stopped; for Redfeather an'
+I ha' struck up a friendship togither--a thing that I would never ha'
+thought it poss'ble for me to do with a red Injin."
+
+"And why not with a red Indian, friend?" inquired the pastor, while a
+shade of sadness passed over his mild features, as if unpleasant
+thoughts had been roused by the hunter's speech.
+
+"Well, it's not easy to say why," rejoined the other. "I've no
+partic'lar objection to the red-skins. There's only one man among them
+that I bears a grudge agin, and even that one I'd rayther avoid than
+otherwise."
+
+"But you should _forgive_ him, Jacques. The Bible tells us not only to
+bear our enemies no grudge, but to love them and to do them good."
+
+The hunter's brow darkened. "That's impossible, sir," he said; "I
+couldn't do _him_ a good turn if I was to try ever so hard. He may
+bless his stars that I don't want to do him mischief; but to _love
+him_, it's jist imposs'ble."
+
+"With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible," said
+the pastor solemnly.
+
+Jacques's naturally philosophic though untutored mind saw the force of
+this. He felt that God, who had formed his soul, his body, and the
+wonderfully complicated machinery and objects of nature, which were
+patent to his observant and reflective mind wherever he went, must of
+necessity be equally able to alter, influence, and remould them all
+according to His will. Common-sense was sufficient to teach him this;
+and the bold hunter exhibited no ordinary amount of common-sense in
+admitting the fact at once, although in the case under discussion (the
+loving of his enemy) it seemed utterly impossible to his feelings and
+experience. The frown, therefore, passed from his brow, while he said
+respectfully, "What you say, sir, is true; I believe though I can't
+_feel_ it. But I s'pose the reason I niver felt much drawn to the
+red-skins is, that all the time I lived in the settlements I was used
+to hear them called and treated as thievin' dogs, an 'when I com'd
+among them I didn't see much to alter my opinion. Here an' there I have
+found one or two honest Injins, an' Redfeather is as true as steel; but
+the most o' them are no better than they should be. I s'pose I don'
+think much o' them just because they are red-skins."
+
+"Ah, Jacques, you will excuse me if I say that there is not much sense
+in _that_ reason. An Indian cannot help being a red man any more than
+you can help being a white one, so that he ought not to be despised on
+that account. Besides, God made him what he is, and to despise the
+_work_ of God, or to undervalue it, is to despise God Himself. You may
+indeed despise, or rather abhor, the sins that red men are guilty of;
+but if you despise _them_ on this ground, you must much more despise
+white men, for _they_ are guilty of greater iniquities than Indians
+are. They have more knowledge, and are therefore more inexcusable when
+they sin; and anyone who has travelled much must be aware that, in
+regard to general wickedness, white men are at least quite as bad as
+Indians. Depend upon it, Jacques, that there will be Indians found in
+heaven at the last day as well as white men. God is no respecter of
+persons."
+
+"I niver thought much on that subject afore, sir," returned the hunter;
+"what you say seems reasonable enough. I'm sure an' sartin, any way,
+that if there's a red-skin in heaven at all, Redfeather will be there,
+an' I only hope that I may be there too to keep him company."
+
+"I hope so, my friend,", said the pastor earnestly; "I hope so too,
+with all my heart. And if you will accept of this little book, it will
+show you how to get there."
+
+The missionary drew a small, plainly-bound copy of the Bible from his
+pocket as he spoke, and presented it to Jacques, who received it with a
+smile, and thanked him, saying, at the same time, that he "was not much
+up to book-larnin', but he would read it with pleasure."
+
+"Now, Jacques," said the pastor, after a little further conversation on
+the subject of the Bible, in which he endeavoured to impress upon him
+the absolute necessity of being acquainted with the blessed truths
+which it contains--"now, Jacques, about my visit to the Indians. I
+intend, if the Almighty spares me, to embark in yon tin canoe that you
+found me engaged with, and, with six men to work it, proceed to the
+country of the Knisteneux Indians, visit their chief camp, and preach
+to them there as long as the weather will permit. When the season is
+pretty well advanced, and winter threatens to cut off my retreat, I
+shall re-embark in my canoe and return home. By this means I hope to be
+able to sow the good seed of Christian truths in the hearts of men who,
+as they will not come to this settlement, have no chance of being
+brought under the power of the Gospel by any other means."
+
+Jacques gave one of his quiet smiles on hearing this. "Right
+sir--right," he said, with some energy; "I have always thought,
+although I niver made bold to say it before, that there was not enough
+o' this sort o' thing. It has always seemed to me a kind o' madness
+(excuse my plainness o' speech, sir) in you pastors, thinkin' to make
+the red-skins come and settle round you like so many squaws, and dig up
+an' grub at the ground, when it's quite clear that their natur' and the
+natur' o' things about them meant them to be hunters. An' surely, since
+the Almighty made them hunters, He intended them to _be_ hunters, an'
+won't refuse to make them Christians on _that_ account. A red-skin's
+natur' is a huntin' natur', an' nothin' on arth 'll ever make it
+anything else.'
+
+"There is much truth in what you observe, friend," rejoined the pastor;
+"but you are not _altogether_ right. Their nature _may_ be changed,
+although certainly nothing on _earth_ will change it. Look at that
+frozen lake." He pointed to the wide field of thick snow-covered ice
+that stretched out for miles like a sheet of white marble before them.
+"Could anything on earth break up or sink or melt that?"
+
+"Nothin'," replied Jacques, laconically.
+
+"But the warm beams of yon glorious sun can do it," continued the
+pastor, pointing upwards as he spoke, "and do it effectually too; so
+that, although you can scarcely observe the process, it nevertheless
+turns the hard, thick, solid ice into limpid water at last. So is it in
+regard to man. Nothing on earth can change his heart, or alter his
+nature; but our Saviour, who is called the Sun of Righteousness, can.
+When He shines into a man's soul it melts. The old man becomes a little
+child, the wild savage a Christian. But I agree with you in thinking
+that we have not been sufficiently alive to the necessity of seeking to
+convert the Indians before trying to gather them round us. The one
+would follow as a natural consequence, I think, of the other, and it is
+owing to this conviction that I intend, as I have already said, to make
+a journey in spring to visit those who will not or cannot come to visit
+me. And now, what I want to ask is whether you will agree to accompany
+me as steersman and guide on my expedition."
+
+The hunter slowly shook his head. "I'm afeard not sir; I have already
+promised to take charge of a canoe for the Company. I would much rather
+go with you, but I must keep my word."
+
+"Certainly, Jacques, certainly; that settles the question You cannot go
+with me--unless--" the pastor paused as if in thought for a
+moment--"unless you can persuade them to let you off."
+
+"Well, sir, I can try," returned Jacques.
+
+"Do; and I need not say how happy I shall be if you succeed. Good-day,
+friend, good-bye." So saying, the missionary shook hands with the
+hunter and returned to his house, while Jacques wended his way to the
+village in search of Harry and Hamilton.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+Good news and romantic scenery--Bear-hunting and its results.
+
+
+Jaques failed in his attempt to break off his engagement with the
+fur-traders. The gentleman in charge of Norway House, albeit a
+good-natured, estimable man, was one who could not easily brook
+disappointment, especially in matters that involved the interests of
+the Hudson's Bay Company; so Jacques was obliged to hold to his
+compact, and the pastor had to search for another guide.
+
+Spring came, and with it the awakening (if we may use the expression)
+of the country from the long, lethargic sleep of winter. The sun burst
+forth with irresistible power, and melted all before it. Ice and snow
+quickly dissolved, and set free the waters of swamp and river, lake and
+sea, to leap and sparkle in their new-found liberty. Birds renewed
+their visits to the regions of the north; frogs, at last unfrozen,
+opened their leathern jaws to croak and whistle in the marshes; and men
+began their preparations for a summer campaign.
+
+At the commencement of the season an express arrived with letters from
+headquarters, which, among other matters of importance, directed that
+Messrs. Somerville and Hamilton should be despatched forthwith to the
+Saskatchewan district, where, on reaching Fort Pitt, they were to place
+themselves at the disposal of the gentleman in charge of the district.
+It need scarcely be added that the young men were overjoyed on
+receiving this almost unhoped-for intelligence, and that Harry
+expressed his satisfaction in his usual hilarious manner, asserting,
+somewhat profanely, in the excess of his glee, that the
+governor-in-chief of Rupert's Land was a "regular brick." Hamilton
+agreed to all his friend's remarks with a quiet smile, accompanied by a
+slight chuckle, and a somewhat desperate attempt at a caper, which
+attempt, bordering as it did on a region of buffoonery into which our
+quiet and gentlemanly friend had never dared hitherto to venture proved
+an awkward and utter failure. He felt this and blushed deeply.
+
+It was further arranged and agreed upon that the young men should
+accompany Jacques Caradoc in his canoe. Having become sufficiently
+expert canoemen to handle their paddles well, they scouted the idea of
+taking men with them, and resolved to launch boldly forth at once as
+_bona-fide_ voyageurs. To this arrangement Jacques, after one or two
+trials to test their skill, agreed; and very shortly after the arrival
+of the express, the trio set out on their voyage, amid the cheers and
+adieus of the entire population of Norway House, who were assembled on
+the end of the wooden wharf to witness their departure, and with whom
+they had managed during their short residence at that place, to become
+special favourites. A month later, the pastor of the Indian village,
+having procured a trusty guide, embarked in his tin canoe with a crew
+of six men, and followed in their track.
+
+In process of time spring merged into summer--a season mostly
+characterised in those climes by intense heat and innumerable clouds of
+musquitoes, whose vicious and incessant attacks render life, for the
+time being, a burden. Our three voyageurs, meanwhile, ascended the
+Saskatchewan, penetrating deeper each day into the heart of the North
+American continent. On arriving at Fort Pitt, they were graciously
+permitted to rest for three days, after which they were forwarded to
+another district, where fresh efforts were being made to extend the
+fur-trade into lands hitherto almost unvisited. This continuation of
+their travels was quite suited to the tastes and inclinations of Harry
+and Hamilton, and was hailed by them as an additional reason for
+self-gratulation. As for Jacques, he cared little to what part of the
+world he chanced to be sent. To hunt, to toil in rain and in sunshine,
+in heat and in cold, at the paddle or on the snow-shoe, was his
+vocation, and it mattered little to the bold hunter whether he plied it
+upon the plains of the Saskatchewan or among the woods of Athabasca.
+Besides, the companions of his travels were young, active, bold,
+adventurous, and therefore quite suited to his taste. Redfeather, too,
+his best and dearest friend, had been induced to return to his tribe
+for the purpose of mediating between some of the turbulent members of
+it and the white men who had gone to settle among them, so that the
+prospect of again associating with his red friend was an additional
+element in his satisfaction. As Charley Kennedy was also in this
+district, the hope of seeing him once more was a subject of such
+unbounded delight to Harry Somerville, and so, sympathetically, to
+young Hamilton, that it was with difficulty they could realize the full
+amount of their good fortune, or give adequate expression to their
+feelings. It is therefore probable that there never were three happier
+travellers than Jacques, Harry, and Hamilton, as they shouldered their
+guns and paddles, shook hands with the inmates of Fort Pitt, and with
+light steps and lighter hearts launched their canoe, turned their
+bronzed faces once more to the summer sun, and dipped their paddles
+again in the rippling waters of the Saskatchewan River.
+
+As their bark was exceedingly small, and burdened with but little
+lading, they resolved to abandon the usual route, and penetrate the
+wilderness through a maze of lakes and small rivers well known to their
+guide. By this arrangement they hoped to travel more speedily, and
+avoid navigating a long sweep of the river by making a number of
+portages; while, at the same time, the changeful nature of the route
+was likely to render it more interesting. From the fact of its being
+seldom traversed, it was also more likely that they should find a
+supply of game for the journey.
+
+Towards sunset, one fine day, about two weeks after their departure
+from Fort Pitt, our voyageurs paddled their canoe round a wooded point
+of land that jutted out from, and partly concealed, the mouth of a
+large river, down whose stream they had dropped leisurely during the
+last three days, and swept out upon the bosom of a large lake. This was
+one of those sheets of water which glitter in hundreds on the green
+bosom of America's forests, and are so numerous and comparatively
+insignificant as to be scarce distinguished by a name, unless when they
+lie directly in the accustomed route of the fur-traders. But although,
+in comparison with the freshwater oceans of the Far West, this lake was
+unnoticed and almost unknown, it would by no means have been regarded
+in such a light had it been transported to the plains of England. In
+regard to picturesque beauty, it was perhaps unsurpassed. It might be
+about six miles wide, and so long that the land at the farther end of
+it was faintly discernible on the horizon. Wooded hills, sloping gently
+down to the water's edge; jutting promontories, some rocky and barren,
+others more or less covered with trees; deep bays, retreating in some
+places into the dark recesses of a savage-looking gorge, in others into
+a distant meadow-like plain, bordered with a stripe of yellow sand;
+beautiful islands of various sizes, scattered along the shores as if
+nestling there for security, or standing barren and solitary in the
+centre of the lake, like bulwarks of the wilderness, some covered with
+luxuriant vegetation, others bald and grotesque in outline, and covered
+with gulls and other water-fowl,--this was the scene that broke upon
+the view of the travellers as they rounded the point, and, ceasing to
+paddle, gazed upon it long and in deep silence, their hands raised to
+shade their eyes from the sun's rays, which sparkled in the water, and
+fell, here in bright spots and broken patches, and there in yellow
+floods, upon the rocks, the trees, the forest glades and plains around
+them.
+
+"What a glorious scene!" murmured Hamilton, almost unconsciously.
+
+"A perfect paradise!" said Harry, with a long-drawn sigh of
+satisfaction.--"Why, Jacques, my friend, it's a matter of wonder to me
+that you, a free man, without relations or friends to curb you, or
+attract you to other parts of the world, should go boating and canoeing
+all over the country at the beck of the fur-traders, when you might
+come and pitch your tent here for ever!"
+
+"For ever!" echoed Jacques.
+
+"Well, I mean as long as you live in this world."
+
+"Ah, master," rejoined the guide, in a sad tone of voice, "it's just
+because I have neither kith nor kin nor friends to draw me to any
+partic'lar spot on arth, that I don't care to settle down in this one,
+beautiful though it be."
+
+"True, true," muttered Harry; "man's a gregarious animal, there's no
+doubt of that."
+
+"Anon?" exclaimed Jacques.
+
+"I meant to say that man naturally loves company," replied Harry,
+smiling.
+
+"An' yit I've seen some as didn't, master; though, to be sure, that was
+onnat'ral, and there's not many o' them, by good luck. Yes, man's fond
+o' seein' the face o' man."
+
+"And woman, too," interrupted Harry.--"Eh, Hamilton, what say you?--
+
+     'O woman, in our hours of ease,
+     Uncertain, coy, and hard to please,
+     When pain and anguish wring the brow,
+     A ministering angel thou.'
+
+Alas, Hammy! pain and anguish and every thing else may wring our
+unfortunate brows here long enough before woman, 'lovely woman,' will
+come to our aid. What a rare sight it would be, now, to see even an
+ordinary house-maid or cook out here! It would be good for sore eyes.
+It seems to me a sort of horrible untruth to say that I've not seen a
+woman since I left Red River; and yet its a frightful fact, for I don't
+count the copper-coloured nondescripts one meets with hereabouts to be
+women at all. I suppose they are, but they don't look like it."
+
+"Don't be a goose, Harry," said Hamilton.
+
+"Certainly not, my friend. If I were under the disagreeable necessity
+of being anything but what I am, I should rather be something that is
+not in the habit of being shot," replied the other, paddling with
+renewed vigour in order to get rid of some of the superabundant spirits
+that the beautiful scene and brilliant weather, acting on a young and
+ardent nature, had called forth.
+
+"Some of these same red-skins," remarked the guide, "are not such bad
+sort o' women, for all their ill looks. I've know'd more than one that
+was a first-rate wife an' a good mother, though it's true they had
+little edication beyond that o' the woods."
+
+"No doubt of it," replied Harry, laughing gaily. "How shall I keep the
+canoe's head, Jacques?"
+
+"Right away for the pint that lies jist between you an' the sun."
+
+"Yes; I give them all credit for being excellent wives and mothers,
+after a fashion," resumed Harry. "I've no wish to asperse the
+characters of the poor Indians; but you must know, Jacques, that
+they're very different from the women that I allude to and of whom
+Scott sung. His heroines were of a _very_ different stamp and colour!"
+
+"Did _he_ sing of niggers?" inquired Jacques, simply.
+
+"Of niggers!" shouted Harry, looking over his shoulder at Hamilton,
+with a broad grin; "no, Jacques, not exactly of niggers--"
+
+"Hist!" exclaimed the guide, with that peculiar subdued energy that at
+once indicates an unexpected discovery, and enjoins caution, while at
+the same moment, by a deep, powerful back-stroke of his paddle, he
+suddenly checked the rapid motion of the canoe.
+
+Harry and his friend glanced quickly over their shoulders with a look
+of surprise.
+
+"What's in the wind now?" whispered the former.
+
+"Stop paddling, masters, and look ahead at the rock yonder, jist under
+the tall cliff. There's a bear a-sittin' there, and if we can only get
+ashore afore he sees us, we're sartin sure of him."
+
+As the guide spoke, he slowly edged the canoe towards the shore, while
+the young men gazed with eager looks in the direction indicated, where
+they beheld what appeared to be the decayed stump of an old tree or a
+mass of brown rock. While they strained their eyes to see it more
+clearly, the object altered its form and position.
+
+"So it is," they exclaimed simultaneously, in a tone that was
+equivalent to the remark, "Now we believe, because we see it."
+
+In a few seconds the bow of the canoe touched the land, so lightly as
+to be quite inaudible, and Harry, stepping gently over the side, drew
+it forward a couple of feet, while his companions disembarked.
+
+"Now, Mister Harry," said the guide, as he slung a powder-horn and
+shot-belt over his shoulder, "we've no need to circumvent the beast,
+for he's circumvented himself."
+
+"How so?" inquired the other, drawing the shot from his fowling-piece,
+and substituting in its place a leaden bullet.
+
+Jacques led the way through the somewhat thinly scattered underwood as
+he replied, "You see, Mister Harry, the place where he's gone to sun
+hisself is just at the foot o' a sheer precipice, which runs round
+ahead of him and juts out into the water, so that he's got three ways
+to choose between. He must clamber up the precipice, which will take
+him some time, I guess, if he can do it at all; or he must take to the
+water, which he don't like, and won't do if he can help it; or he must
+run out the way he went in, but as we shall go to meet him by the same
+road, he'll have to break our ranks before he gains the woods, an'
+_that_'ll be no easy job."
+
+The party soon reached the narrow pass between the lake and the near
+end of the cliff, where they advanced with greater caution, and peeping
+over the low bushes, beheld Bruin, a large brown fellow, sitting on his
+haunches, and rocking himself slowly to and fro, as he gazed
+abstractedly at the water. He was scarcely within good shot, but the
+cover was sufficiently thick to admit of a nearer approach.
+
+"Now, Hamilton," said Harry, in a low whisper, "take the first shot. I
+killed the last one, so it's your turn this time."
+
+Hamilton hesitated, but could make no reasonable objection to this,
+although his unselfish nature prompted him to let his friend have the
+first chance. However, Jacques decided the matter by saying, in a tone
+that savoured strongly of command, although it was accompanied with a
+good-humoured smile,--
+
+"Go for'ard, young man; but you may as well put in the primin' first."
+
+Poor Hamilton hastily rectified this oversight with a deep blush, at
+the same time muttering that he never _would_ make a hunter; and then
+advanced cautiously through the bushes, slowly followed at a short
+distance by his companions.
+
+On reaching the bush within seventy yards of the bear, Hamilton pushed
+the twigs aside with the muzzle of his gun; his eye flashed and his
+courage mounted as he gazed at the truly formidable animal before him,
+and he felt more of the hunter's spirit within him at that moment than
+he would have believed possible a few minutes before. Unfortunately, a
+hunter's spirit does not necessarily imply a hunter's eye or hand.
+Having, with much care and long time, brought his piece to bear exactly
+where he supposed the brute's heart should be, he observed that the gun
+was on half-cock, by nearly breaking the trigger in his convulsive
+efforts to fire. By the time that this error was rectified, Bruin, who
+seemed to feel intuitively that some imminent danger threatened him,
+rose, and began to move about uneasily, which so alarmed the young
+hunter lest he should lose his shot that he took a hasty aim, fired,
+and _missed._ Harry asserted afterwards that he even missed the cliff!
+On hearing the loud report, which rolled in echoes along the precipice,
+Bruin started, and looking round with an undecided air, saw Harry step
+quietly from the bushes, and fire, sending a ball into his flank. This
+decided him. With a fierce growl of pain, he scampered towards the
+water; then changing his mind, he wheeled round, and dashed at the
+cliff, up which he scrambled with wonderful speed.
+
+"Come, Mister Hamilton, load again; quick, I'll have to do the job
+myself, I fear," said Jacques, as he leaned quietly on his long gun,
+and with a half-pitying smile watched the young man, who madly essayed
+to recharge his piece more rapidly than it was possible for mortal man
+to do. Meanwhile, Harry had reloaded and fired again; but owing to the
+perturbation of his young spirits, and the frantic efforts of the bear
+to escape, he missed. Another moment, and the animal would actually
+have reached the top, when Jacques hastily fired, and brought it
+tumbling down the precipice. Owing to the position of the animal at the
+time he fired, the wound was not mortal; and foreseeing that Bruin
+would now become the aggressor, the hunter began rapidly to reload, at
+the same time retreating with his companions, who in their excitement
+had forgotten to recharge their pieces. On reaching level ground, Bruin
+rose, shook himself, gave a yell of anger on beholding his enemies, and
+rushed at them.
+
+It was a fine sight to behold the bearing of Jacques at this critical
+juncture. Accustomed to bear-hunting from his youth, and utterly
+indifferent to consequences when danger became imminent, he saw at a
+glance the probabilities of the case. He knew exactly how long it would
+take him to load his gun, and regulated his pace so as not to interfere
+with that operation. His features wore their usual calm expression.
+Every motion of his hands was quick and sudden, yet not hurried, but
+performed in a way that led the beholder irresistibly to imagine that
+he would have done it even more rapidly if necessary. On reaching a
+ledge of rock that overhung the lake a few feet he paused and wheeled
+about; click went the dog-head, just as the bear rose to grapple with
+him; another moment, and a bullet passed through the brute's heart,
+while the bold hunter sprang lightly on one side, to avoid the dash of
+the falling animal. As he did so, young Hamilton, who had stood a
+little behind him with an uplifted axe, ready to finish the work should
+Jacques's fire prove ineffective, received Bruin in his arms, and
+tumbled along with him over the rock, headlong into the water, from
+which, however, he speedily arose unhurt, sputtering and coughing, and
+dragging the dead bear to the shore.
+
+"Well done, Hammy," shouted Harry, indulging in a prolonged peal of
+laughter when he ascertained that his friend's adventure had cost him
+nothing more than a ducking; "that was the most amicable, loving plunge
+I ever saw."
+
+"Better a cold bath in the arms of a dead bear than an embrace on dry
+land with a live one," retorted Hamilton, as he wrung the water out of
+his dripping garments.
+
+"Most true, O sagacious diver! But the sooner we get a fire made the
+better; so come along."
+
+While the two friends hastened up to the woods to kindle a fire,
+Jacques drew his hunting-knife, and, with doffed coat and upturned
+sleeves, was soon busily employed in divesting the bear of his natural
+garment. The carcass, being valueless in a country where game of a more
+palatable kind was plentiful, they left behind as a feast to the
+wolves. After this was accomplished and the clothes dried, they
+re-embarked, and resumed their journey, plying the paddles
+energetically in silence, as their adventure had occasioned a
+considerable loss of time.
+
+It was late, and the stars had looked down for a full hour into the
+profound depths of the now dark lake ere the party reached the ground
+at the other side of the point, on which Jacques had resolved to
+encamp. Being somewhat wearied, they spent but little time in
+discussing supper, and partook of that meal with a degree of energy
+that implied a sense of duty as well as of pleasure. Shortly after,
+they were buried in repose, under the scanty shelter of their canoe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+An unexpected meeting, and an unexpected deer-hunt--Arrival at the
+outpost--Disagreement with the natives--An enemy discovered, and a
+murder.
+
+
+Next morning they rose with the sun, and therefore also with the birds
+and beasts.
+
+A wide traverse of the lake now lay before them. This they crossed in
+about two hours, during which time they paddled unremittingly, as the
+sky looked rather lowering, and they were well aware of the danger of
+being caught in a storm in such an egg-shell craft as an Indian canoe.
+
+"We'll put in here now, Mister Harry," exclaimed Jacques, as the canoe
+entered the mouth of one of these small rivulets which are called in
+Scotland _burns_, and in America _creeks_; "it's like that your
+appetite is sharpened after a spell like that. Keep her head a little
+more to the left--straight for the p'int--so. It's likely we'll get
+some fish here if we set the net."
+
+"I say, Jacques, is yon a cloud or a wreath of smoke above the trees in
+the creek?" inquired Harry, pointing with his paddle towards the object
+referred to.
+
+"It's smoke, master; I've seed it for some time, and mayhap we'll find
+some Injins there who can give us news of the traders at Stoney Creek."
+
+"And pray, how far do you think we may now be from that place?"
+inquired Harry.
+
+"Forty miles, more or less."
+
+As he spoke the canoe entered the shallow water of the creek, and began
+to ascend the current of the stream, which at its mouth was so sluggish
+as to be scarcely perceptible to the eye. Not so, however, to the arms.
+The light bark, which while floating on the lake had glided buoyantly
+forward as if it were itself consenting to the motion, had now become
+apparently imbued with a spirit of contradiction, bounding convulsively
+forward at each stroke of the paddles, and perceptibly losing speed at
+each interval. Directing their course towards a flat rock on the left
+bank of the stream, they ran the prow out of the water and leaped
+ashore. As they did so the unexpected figure of a man issued from the
+bushes, and sauntered towards the spot. Harry and Hamilton advanced to
+meet him, while Jacques remained to unload the canoe. The stranger was
+habited in the usual dress of a hunter, and carried a fowling piece
+over his right shoulder. In general appearance he looked like an
+Indian; but though the face was burned by exposure to a hue that nearly
+equalled the red skins of the natives, a strong dash of pink in it, and
+the mass of fair hair that encircled it, proved that as Harry
+paradoxically expressed it, its owner was a _white_ man. He was young,
+considerably above the middle height, and apparently athletic. His
+address and language on approaching the young men put the question of
+his being a _white_ man beyond a doubt.
+
+"Good-morning, gentlemen," he began. "I presume that you are the party
+we have been expecting for some time past to reinforce our staff at
+Stoney Creek. Is it not so?"
+
+To this query young Somerville, who stood in advance of his friend,
+made no reply, but stepping hastily forward, laid a hand on each of the
+stranger's shoulders, and gazed earnestly into his face, exclaiming as
+he did so,--
+
+"Do my eyes deceive me? Is Charley Kennedy before me--or his ghost?"
+
+"What! eh," exclaimed the individual thus addressed, returning Harry's
+gripe and stare with interest, "is it possible? no--it cannot--Harry
+Somerville, my old, dear, unexpected friend!"--and pouring out broken
+sentences, abrupt ejaculations, and incoherent questions, to which
+neither vouchsafed replies, the two friends gazed at and walked round
+each other, shook hands, partially embraced, and committed sundry other
+extravagances, utterly unconscious of or indifferent to the fact that
+Hamilton was gazing at them, open-mouthed, in a species of stupor, and
+that Jacques was standing by, regarding them with a look of mingled
+amusement and satisfaction. The discovery of this latter personage was
+a source of renewed delight and astonishment to Charley, who was so
+much upset by the commotion of his spirits, in consequence of this, so
+to speak, double shot, that he became rambling and incoherent in his
+speech during the remainder of that day, and gave vent to frequent and
+sudden bursts of smothered enthusiasm, in which it would appear, from
+the occasional muttering of the names of Redfeather and Jacques, that
+he not only felicitated himself on his own good fortune, but also
+anticipated renewed pleasure in witnessing the joyful meeting of these
+two worthies ere long. In fact, this meeting did take place on the
+following day, when Redfeather, returning from a successful hunt, with
+part of a deer on his shoulders, entered Charley's tent, in which the
+travellers had spent the previous day and night, and discovered the
+guide gravely discussing a venison steak before the fire.
+
+It would be vain to attempt a description of all that the reunited
+friends said and did during the first twenty-four hours after their
+meeting: how they talked of old times, as they lay extended round the
+fire inside of Charley's tent, and recounted their adventures by flood
+and field since they last met; how they sometimes diverged into
+questions of speculative philosophy (as conversations _will_ often
+diverge, whether we wish it or not), and broke short off to make sudden
+inquiries after old friends; how this naturally led them to talk of new
+friends and new scenes, until they began to forecast their eyes a
+little into the future; and how, on feeling that this was an
+uncongenial theme under present circumstances, they reverted again to
+the past, and by a peculiar train of conversation--to retrace which
+were utterly impossible--they invariably arrived at _old_ times again.
+Having in course of the evening pretty well exhausted their powers,
+both mental and physical, they went to sleep on it, and resumed the
+colloquial _melange_ in the morning.
+
+"And now tell me, Charley, what you are doing in this uninhabited part
+of the world, so far from Stoney Creek," said Harry Somerville, as they
+assembled round the fire to breakfast.
+
+"That is soon explained," replied Charley. "My good friend and
+superior, Mr. Whyte, having got himself comfortably housed at Stoney
+Creek, thought it advisable to establish a sort of half outpost, half
+fishing-station about twenty miles below the new fort, and believing
+(very justly) that my talents lay a good deal in the way of fishing and
+shooting, sent me to superintend it during the summer months. I am,
+therefore, at present monarch of that notable establishment, which is
+not yet dignified with a name. Hearing that there were plenty of deer
+about twenty miles below my palace, I resolved the other day to gratify
+my love of sport, and at the same time procure some venison for Stoney
+Creek; accordingly, I took Redfeather with me, and--here I am."
+
+"Very good," said Harry; "and can you give us the least idea of what
+they are going to do with my friend Hamilton and me when they get us?"
+
+"Can't say. One of you, at any rate, will be kept at the creek, to
+assist Mr. Whyte; the other may, perhaps, be appointed to relieve me at
+the fishing for a time, while _I_ am sent off to push the trade in
+other quarters. But I'm only guessing. I don't know anything
+definitely, for Mr. Whyte is by no means communicative."
+
+"An' please, master," put in Jacques, "when do you mean to let us off
+from this place? I guess the bourgeois won't be over pleased if we
+waste time here."
+
+"We'll start this forenoon, Jacques. I and Redfeather shall go along
+with you, as I intended to take a run up to the creek about this time
+at any rate.--Have you the skins and dried meat packed, Redfeather?"
+
+To this the Indian replied in the affirmative, and the others having
+finished breakfast, the whole party rose to prepare for departure, and
+set about loading their canoes forthwith. An hour later they were again
+cleaving the waters of the lake, with this difference in arrangement,
+that Jacques was transferred to Redfeather's canoe, while Charley
+Kennedy took his place in the stern of that occupied by Harry and
+Hamilton.
+
+The establishment of which our friend Charley pronounced himself
+absolute monarch, and at which they arrived in the course of the same
+afternoon, consisted of two small log houses or huts, constructed in
+the rudest fashion, and without any attempt whatever at architectural
+embellishment. It was pleasantly situated on a small bay, whose
+northern extremity was sheltered from the arctic blast by a gentle
+rising ground clothed with wood. A miscellaneous collection of fishing
+apparatus lay scattered about in front of the buildings, and two men
+and an Indian woman were the inhabitants of the place; the king
+himself, when present, and his prime minister, Redfeather, being the
+remainder of the population.
+
+"Pleasant little kingdom that of yours, Charley," remarked Harry
+Somerville, as they passed the station.
+
+"Very," was the laconic reply.
+
+They had scarcely passed the place above a mile, when a canoe,
+containing a solitary Indian, was observed to shoot out from the shore
+and paddle hastily towards them. From this man they learned that a herd
+of deer was passing down towards the lake, and would be on its banks in
+a few minutes. He had been waiting their arrival when the canoes came
+in sight, and induced him to hurry out so as to give them warning.
+Having no time to lose, the whole party now paddled swiftly for the
+shore, and reached it just a few minutes before the branching antlers
+of the deer came in sight above the low bushes that skirted the wood.
+Harry Somerville embarked in the bow of the strange Indian's canoe, so
+as to lighten the other and enable all parties to have a fair chance.
+After snuffing the breeze for a few seconds, the foremost animal took
+the water, and commenced swimming towards the opposite shore of the
+lake, which at this particular spot was narrow. It was followed by
+seven others. After sufficient time was permitted to elapse to render
+their being cut off, in an attempt to return, quite certain, the three
+canoes darted from the shelter of the overhanging bushes, and sprang
+lightly over the water in pursuit.
+
+"Don't hurry, and strike sure," cried Jacques to his young friends, as
+they came up with the terrified deer that now swam for their lives.
+
+"Ay, ay," was the reply.
+
+In another moment they shot in among the struggling group. Harry
+Somerville stood up, and seizing the Indian's spear, prepared to
+strike, while his companions directed their course towards others of
+the herd. A few seconds sufficed to bring him up with it. Leaning
+backwards a little, so as to give additional force to the blow, he
+struck the spear deep into the animal's back. With a convulsive
+struggle, it ceased to swim, its head slowly sank, and in another
+second it lay dead upon the water. "Without waiting a moment, the
+Indian immediately directed the canoe towards another deer; while the
+remainder of the party, now considerably separated from each other,
+despatched the whole herd by means of axes and knives.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Jacques, as they towed their booty to the shore,
+"that's a good stock o' meat, Mister Charles. It will help to furnish
+the larder for the winter pretty well."
+
+"It was much wanted, Jacques: we've a good many mouths to feed, besides
+_treating_ the Indians now and then. And this fellow, I think, will
+claim the most of our hunt as his own. We should not have got the deer
+but for him."
+
+"True, true, Mister Charles. They belong to the red-skin by rights,
+that's sartin."
+
+After this exploit, another night was passed under the trees; and at
+noon on the day following they ran their canoe alongside the wooden
+wharf at Stoney Creek.
+
+"Good-day to you, gentlemen," said Mr. Whyte to Harry and Hamilton as
+they landed; "I've been looking out for you these two weeks past. Glad
+you've come at last, however. Plenty to do, and no time to lose. You
+have despatches, of course. Ah! that's right." (Harry drew a sealed
+packet from his bosom and presented it with a bow), "that's right. I
+must peruse these at once.--Mr. Kennedy, you will show these gentlemen
+their quarters. We dine in half-an-hour." So saying, Mr. Whyte thrust
+the packet into his pocket, and without further remark strode towards
+his dwelling; while Charley, as instructed, led his friends to their
+new residence--not forgetting, however, to charge Redfeather to see to
+the comfortable lodgment of Jacques Caradoc.
+
+"Now it strikes me," remarked Harry, as he sat down on the edge of
+Charley's bed and thrust his hands doggedly down into his pockets,
+while Hamilton tucked up his sleeves and assaulted a washhand-basin
+which stood on an unpainted wooden chair in a corner--"it strikes me
+that if _that's_ his usual style of behaviour, old Whyte is a pleasure
+that we didn't anticipate."
+
+"Don't judge from first impressions; they're often deceptive,"
+spluttered Hamilton, pausing in his ablutions to look at his friend
+through a mass of soap-suds--an act which afterwards caused him a good
+deal of pain and a copious flow of unbidden tears.
+
+"Right," exclaimed Charley, with an approving nod to Hamilton.--"You
+must not judge him prematurely, Harry. He's a good-hearted fellow at
+bottom; and if he once takes a liking for you, he'll go through fire
+and water to serve you, as I know from experience."
+
+"Which means to say _three_ things," replied the implacable Harry:
+"first, that for all his good-heartedness _at bottom,_ he never shows
+any of it _at top,_ and is therefore like unto truth, which is said to
+lie at the bottom of a well--so deep, in fact, that it is never got
+out, and so is of use to nobody; secondly, that he is possessed of that
+amount of affection which is common to all mankind (to a great extent
+even to brutes), which prompts a man to be reasonably attentive to his
+friends; and thirdly, that you, Master Kennedy, enjoy the peculiar
+privilege of being the friend of a two-legged polar bear!"
+
+"Were I not certain that you jest," retorted Kennedy, "I would compel
+you to apologize to me for insulting my friend, you rascal! But see,
+here's the cook coming to tell us that dinner waits. If you don't wish
+to see the teeth of the polar bear, I'd advise you to be smart."
+
+Thus admonished, Harry sprang up, plunged his hands and face in the
+basin and dried them, broke Charley's comb in attempting to pass it
+hastily through his hair, used his fingers savagely as a substitute,
+and overtook his companions just as they entered the mess-room.
+
+The establishment of Stoney Creek was comprised within two acres of
+ground. It consisted of eight or nine houses--three of which, however,
+alone met the eye on approaching by the lake. The "great" house, as it
+was termed, on account of its relative proportion to the other
+buildings, was a small edifice, built substantially but roughly of
+unsquared logs, partially whitewashed, roofed with shingles, and
+boasting six small windows in front, with a large door between them. On
+its east side, and at right angles to it, was a similar edifice, but
+smaller, having two doors instead of one, and four windows instead of
+six. This was the trading-shop and provision-store. Opposite to this
+was a twin building which contained the furs and a variety of
+miscellaneous stores. Thus were formed three sides of a square, from
+the centre of which rose a tall flagstaff. The buildings behind those
+just described were smaller and insignificant--the principal one being
+the house appropriated to the men; the others were mere sheds and
+workshops. Luxuriant forests ascended the slopes that rose behind and
+encircled this oasis on all sides, excepting in front, where the clear
+waters of the lake sparkled like a blue mirror.
+
+On the margin of this lake the new arrivals, left to enjoy themselves
+as they best might for a day or two, sauntered about and chatted to
+their heart's content of things past, present, and future.
+
+During these wanderings, Harry confessed that his opinion of Mr. Whyte
+had somewhat changed; that he believed a good deal of the first bad
+impressions was attributable to his cool, not to say impolite,
+reception of them; and that he thought things would go on much better
+with the Indians if he would only try to let some of his good qualities
+be seen through his exterior.
+
+An expression of sadness passed over Charley's face as his friend said
+this.
+
+"You are right in the last particular," he said, with a sigh. "Mr.
+Whyte is so rough and overbearing that the Indians are beginning to
+dislike him. Some of the more clear-sighted among them see that a good
+deal of this lies in mere manner, and have penetration enough to
+observe that in all his dealings with them he is straightforward and
+liberal; but there are a set of them who either don't see this, or are
+so indignant at the rough speeches he often makes, and the rough
+treatment he sometimes threatens, that they won't forgive him, but seem
+to be nursing their wrath. I sometimes wish he was sent to a district
+where the Indians and traders are, from habitual intercourse, more
+accustomed to each other's ways, and so less likely to quarrel."
+
+"Have the Indians, then, used any open threats?" asked Harry.
+
+"No, not exactly; but through an old man of the tribe, who is well
+affected towards us, I have learned that there is a party among them
+who seem bent on mischief."
+
+"Then we may expect a row some day or other. That's pleasant!--What
+think you, Hammy?" said Harry, turning to his friend.
+
+"I think that it would be anything but pleasant," he replied; "and I
+sincerely hope that we shall not have occasion for a row."
+
+"You're not afraid of a fight, are you, Hamilton?" asked Charley.
+
+The peculiarly bland smile with which Hamilton usually received any
+remark that savoured of banter overspread his features as Charley
+spoke, but he merely replied--
+
+"No, Charley, I'm not afraid."
+
+"Do you know any of the Indians who are so anxious to vent their spleen
+on our worthy bourgeois?" asked Harry, as he seated himself on a rocky
+eminence commanding a view of the richly-wooded slopes, dotted with
+huge masses of rock that had fallen from the beetling cliffs behind the
+creek.
+
+"Yes, I do," replied Charley; "and, by the way, one of them--the
+ringleader--is a man with whom you are acquainted, at least by name.
+You've heard of an Indian called Misconna?"
+
+"What!" exclaimed Harry, with a look of surprise; "you don't mean the
+blackguard mentioned by Redfeather, long ago, when he told us his story
+on the shores of Lake Winnipeg--the man who killed poor Jacques's young
+wife?"
+
+"The same," replied Charley.
+
+"And does Jacques know he is here?"
+
+"He does; but Jacques is a strange, unaccountable mortal. You remember
+that in the struggle described by Redfeather, the trapper and Misconna
+had neither of them seen each other, Redfeather having felled the
+latter before the former reached the scene of action--a scene which, he
+has since told me, he witnessed at a distance, while rushing to the
+rescue of his wife-so that Misconna is utterly ignorant of the fact
+that the husband of his victim is now so near him; indeed, he does not
+know that she had a husband at all. On the other hand, although Jacques
+is aware that his bitterest enemy is within rifle-range of him at this
+moment, he does not know him by sight; and this morning he came to me,
+begging that I would send Misconna on some expedition or other, just to
+keep him out of his way."
+
+"And do you intend to do so?"
+
+"I shall do my best," replied Charley; "but I cannot get him out of the
+way till to-morrow, as there is to be a gathering of Indians in the
+hall this very day, to have a palaver with Mr. Whyte about their
+grievances, and Misconna wouldn't miss that for a trifle. But Jacques
+won't be likely to recognise him among so many; and if he does, I rely
+with confidence on his powers of restraint and forbearance. By the
+way," he continued, glancing upwards, "it is past noon, and the Indians
+will have begun to assemble, so we had better hasten back, as we shall
+be expected to help in keeping order."
+
+So saying, he rose, and the young men returned to the fort. On reaching
+it they found the hall crowded with natives, who sat cross-legged
+around the walls, or stood in groups conversing in low tones, and to
+judge from the expression of their dark eyes and lowering brows, they
+were in extremely bad humour. They became silent and more respectful,
+however, in their demeanour when the young men entered the apartment
+and walked up to the fireplace, in which a small fire of wood burned on
+the hearth, more as a convenient means of rekindling the pipes of the
+Indians when they went out than as a means of heating the place.
+Jacques and Redfeather stood leaning against the wall near to it,
+engaged in a whispered conversation. Glancing round as he entered,
+Charley observed Misconna sitting a little apart by himself, and
+apparently buried in deep thought. He had scarcely perceived him, and
+nodded to several of his particular friends among the crowd, when a
+side-door opened, and Mr. Whyte, with an angry expression on his
+countenance, strode up to the fireplace, planted himself before it,
+with his legs apart and his hands behind him, while he silently
+surveyed the group.
+
+"So," he began, "you have asked to speak with me; well, here I am. What
+have you to say?"
+
+Mr. Whyte addressed the Indians in their native tongue, having, during
+a long residence in the country, learned to speak it as fluently as
+English.
+
+For some moments there was silence. Then an old chief--the same who had
+officiated at the feast described in a former chapter--rose, and
+standing forth into the middle of the room, made a long and grave
+oration, in which, besides a great deal that was bombastic, much that
+was irrelevant, and more that was utterly fabulous and nonsensical, he
+recounted the sorrows of himself and his tribe, concluding with a
+request that the great chief would take these things into
+consideration--the principal _"things"_ being that they did not get
+anything in the shape of gratuities, while it was notorious that the
+Indians in other districts did, and that they did not get enough of
+goods in advance, on credit of their future hunts.
+
+Mr. Whyte heard the old man to the end in silence: then, without
+altering his position, he looked round on the assembly with a frown,
+and said, "Now listen to me; I am a man of few words. I have told you
+over and over again, and I now repeat it, that you shall get no
+gratuities until you prove yourselves worthy of them. I shall not
+increase your advances by so much as half an inch of tobacco till your
+last year's debts are scored off, and you begin to show more activity
+in hunting and less disposition to grumble. Hitherto you have not
+brought in anything like the quantity of furs that the capabilities of
+the country led me to expect. You are lazy. Until you become better
+hunters you shall have no redress from me."
+
+As he finished, Mr. Whyte made a step towards the door by which he had
+entered, but was arrested by another chief, who requested to be heard.
+Resuming his place and attitude, Mr. Whyte listened with an expression
+of dogged determination, while guttural grunts of unequivocal
+dissatisfaction issued from the throats of several of the malcontents.
+The Indian proceeded to repeat a few of the remarks made by his
+predecessor, but more concisely, and wound up by explaining that the
+failure in the hunts of the previous year was owing to the will of the
+Great Manito, and not by any means on account of the supposed laziness
+of himself or his tribe.
+
+"That is false," said Mr. Whyte; "you know it is not true."
+
+As this was said, a murmur of anger ran round the apartment, which was
+interrupted by Misconna, who, apparently unable to restrain his
+passion, sprang into the middle of the room, and confronting Mr. Whyte,
+made a short and pithy speech, accompanied by violent gesticulation, in
+which he insinuated that if redress was not granted the white men would
+bitterly repent it.
+
+During his speech the Indians had risen to their feet and drawn closer
+together, while Jacques and the three young men drew near their
+superior. Redfeather remained apart, motionless, and with his eyes
+fixed on the ground.
+
+"And, pray, what dog--what miserable thieving cur are you, who dare to
+address me thus?" cried Mr. Whyte, as he strode, with flashing eyes, up
+to the enraged Indian.
+
+Misconna clinched his teeth, and his fingers worked convulsively about
+the handle of his knife, as he exclaimed, "I am no dog. The pale-faces
+are dogs. I am a great chief. My name is known among the braves of my
+tribe. It is Misconna--"
+
+As the name fell from his lips, Mr. Wiryte and Charley were suddenly
+dashed aside, and Jacques sprang towards the Indian, his face livid,
+his eyeballs almost bursting from their sockets, and his muscles rigid
+with passion. For an instant he regarded the savage intently as he
+shrank appalled before him; then his colossal fist fell like lightning,
+with the weight of a sledge-hammer, on Misconna's forehead, and drove
+him against the outer door, which, giving way before the violent shock,
+burst from its fastenings and hinges, and fell, along with the savage,
+with a loud crash to the ground.
+
+For an instant everyone stood aghast at this precipitate termination to
+the discussion, and then, springing forward in a body, with drawn
+knives, the Indians rushed upon the white men, who in a close phalanx,
+with such weapons as came first to hand, stood to receive them. At this
+moment Redfeather stepped forward unarmed between the belligerents,
+and, turning to the Indians, said--
+
+"Listen: Redfeather does not take the part of his white friends against
+his comrades. You know that he never failed you in the war-path, and he
+would not fail you now if your cause were just. But the eyes of his
+comrades are shut. Redfeather knows what they do not know. The white
+hunter" (pointing to Jacques) "is a friend of Redfeather. He is a
+friend of the Knisteneux. He did not strike because you disputed with
+his bourgeois; he struck because Misconna _is his mortal foe_. But the
+story is long. Redfeather will tell it at the council fire."
+
+"He is right," exclaimed Jacques, who had recovered his usual grave
+expression of countenance; "Redfeather is right. I bear you no
+ill-will, Injins, and I shall explain the thing myself at your council
+fire."
+
+As Jacques spoke the Indians sheathed their knives, and stood with
+frowning brows, as if uncertain what to do. The unexpected interference
+of their comrade-in-arms, coupled with his address and that of Jacques,
+had excited their curiosity. Perhaps the undaunted deportment of their
+opponents, who stood ready for the encounter with a look of stern
+determination, contributed a little to allay their resentment.
+
+While the two parties stood thus confronting each other, as if
+uncertain how to act, a loud report was heard just outside the doorway.
+In another moment Mr. Whyte fell heavily to the ground, shot through
+the heart.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+The chase--The fight--Retribution--Low spirits and good news.
+
+
+The tragical end of the consultation related in the last chapter had
+the effect of immediately reconciling the disputants. With the
+exception of four or five of the most depraved and discontented among
+them, the Indians bore no particular ill-will to the unfortunate
+principal of Stoney Creek; and although a good deal disappointed to
+find that he was a stern, unyielding trader, they had, in reality, no
+intention of coming to a serious rupture with him, much less of laying
+violent hands either upon master or men of the establishment.
+
+When, therefore, they beheld Mr. Whyte weltering in his blood at their
+feet, a sacrifice to the ungovernable passion of Misconna, who was by
+no means a favourite among his brethren, their temporary anger was
+instantly dissipated, and a feeling of deepest indignation roused in
+their bosoms against the miserable assassin who had perpetrated the
+base and cowardly murder. It was, therefore, with a yell of rage that
+several of the band, immediately after the victim fell, sprang into the
+woods in hot pursuit of him, whom they now counted their enemy. They
+were joined by several men belonging to the fort, who had hastened to
+the scene of action on hearing that the people in the hall were likely
+to come to blows. Redfeather was the first who had bounded like a deer
+into the woods in pursuit of the fugitive. Those who remained assisted
+Charley and his friends to convey the body of Mr. Whyte into an
+adjoining room, where they placed him on a bed. He was quite dead, the
+murderer's aim having been terribly true.
+
+Finding that he was past all human aid, the young men returned to the
+hall, which they entered just as Redfeather glided quickly through the
+open doorway, and, approaching the group, stood in silence beside them,
+with his arms folded on his breast.
+
+"You have something to tell, Redfeather," said Jacques, in a subdued
+tone, after regarding him a few seconds. "Is the scoundrel caught?"
+
+"Misconna's foot is swift," replied the Indian, "and the wood is thick.
+It is wasting time to follow him through the bushes."
+
+"What would you advise then?" exclaimed Charley, in a hurried voice. "I
+see that you have some plan to propose."
+
+"The wood is thick," answered Redfeather, "but the lake and the river
+are open. Let one party go by the lake, and one party by the river."
+
+"That's it, that's it, Injin," interrupted Jacques, energetically;
+"your wits are always jumpin'. By crosin' over to Duck River, we can
+start at a point five or six miles above the lower fall, an' as it's
+thereabouts he must cross, we'll be time enough to catch him. If he
+tries the lake, the other party'll fix him there; and he'll be soon
+poked up if he tries to hide in the bush."
+
+"Come, then; we'll all give chase at once," cried Charley, feeling a
+temporary relief in the prospect of energetic action from the
+depressing effects of the calamity that had so suddenly befallen him in
+the loss of his chief and friend.
+
+Little time was needed for preparation. Jacques, Charley, and Harry
+proceeded by the river; while Redfeather and Hamilton, with a couple of
+men, launched their canoe on the lake and set off in pursuit.
+
+Crossing the country for about a mile, Jacques led his party to the
+point on the Duck River to which he had previously referred. Here they
+found two canoes, into one of which the guide stepped with one of the
+men, a Canadian, who had accompanied them, while Harry and Charley
+embarked in the other. In a few minutes they were rapidly descending
+the stream.
+
+"How do you mean to act, Jacques?" inquired Charley, as he paddled
+alongside of the guide's canoe. "Is it not likely that Misconna may
+have crossed the river already? in which case we shall have no chance
+of catching him."
+
+"Niver fear," returned Jacques. "He must have longer legs than most men
+if he gets to the flat-rock fall before us, an' as that's the spot
+where he'll nat'rally cross the river, being the only straight line for
+the hills that escapes the bend o' the bay to the south o' Stoney
+Creek, we're pretty sartin to stop him there."
+
+"True; but that being, as you say, the _natural_ route, don't you think
+it likely he'll expect that it will be guarded, and avoid it
+accordingly?"
+
+"He _would_ do so, Mister Charles, if he thought we were _here_; but
+there are two reasons agin this. He thinks that he's got the start o'
+us, an' won't need to double by way o' deceivin' us; and then he knows
+that the whole tribe is after him, and consekintly won't take a long
+road when there's a short one, if he can help it. But here's the rock.
+Look out, Mister Charles. We'll have to run the fall, which isn't very
+big just now, and then hide in the bushes at the foot of it till the
+blackguard shows himself. Keep well to the right an' don't mind the big
+rock; the rush o' water takes you clear o' that without trouble."
+
+With this concluding piece of advice, he pointed to the fall, which
+plunged over a ledge of rock about half-a-mile ahead of them, and which
+was distinguishable by a small column of white spray that rose out of
+it. As Charley beheld it his spirits rose, and forgetting for a moment
+the circumstances that called him there, he cried out--
+
+"I'll run it before you, Jacques. Hurrah! Give way, Harry!" and in
+spite of a remonstrance from the guide, he shot the canoe ahead, gave
+vent to another reckless shout, and flew, rather than glided, down the
+stream. On seeing this, the guide held back, so as to give him
+sufficient time to take the plunge ere he followed. A few strokes
+brought Charley's canoe to the brink of the fall, and Harry was just in
+the act of raising himself in the bow to observe the position of the
+rocks, when a shout was heard on the bank close beside them. Looking up
+they beheld an Indian emerge from the forest, fit an arrow to his bow,
+and discharge it at them. The winged messenger was truly aimed; it
+whizzed through the air and transfixed Harry Somerville's left shoulder
+just at the moment they swept over the fall. The arrow completely
+incapacitated Harry from using his arm, so that the canoe, instead of
+being directed into the broad current, took a sudden turn, dashed in
+among a mass of broken rocks, between which the water foamed with
+violence, and upset. Here the canoe stuck fast, while its owners stood
+up to their waists in the water, struggling to set it free--an object
+which they were the more anxious to accomplish that its stern lay
+directly in the spot where Jacques would infallibly descend. The next
+instant their fears were realised. The second canoe glided over the
+cataract, dashed violently against the first, and upset, leaving
+Jacques and his man in a similar predicament. By their aid, however,
+the canoes were more easily righted, and embarking quickly they shot
+forth again, just as the Indian, who had been obliged to make a detour
+in order to get within range of their position, reappeared on the banks
+above, and sent another shaft after them--fortunately, however, without
+effect.
+
+"This is unfortunate," muttered Jacques, as the party landed and
+endeavoured to wring some of the water from their dripping clothes;
+"an' the worst of it is that our guns are useless after sich a duckin',
+an' the varmint knows that, an' will be down on us in a twinklin'."
+
+"But we are four to one," exclaimed Harry. "Surely we don't need to
+fear much from a single enemy."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the guide, as he examined the lock of his gun.
+"You've had little to do with Injins, that's plain, You may be sure
+he's not alone, an' the reptile has a bow with arrows enough to send us
+all on a pretty long journey. But we've the trees to dodge behind. If I
+only had _one_ dry charge!" and the disconcerted guide gave a look,
+half of perplexity, half of contempt, at the dripping gun.
+
+"Never mind," cried Charley; "we have our paddles. But I forgot, Harry,
+in all this confusion, that you are wounded, my poor fellow. We must
+have it examined before doing anything further."
+
+"Oh, it's nothing at all--a mere scratch, I think; at least I feel very
+little pain."
+
+As he spoke the twang of a bow was heard, and an arrow flew past
+Jacques's ear.
+
+"Ah, so soon!" exclaimed that worthy, with a look of surprise, as if he
+had unexpectedly met with an old friend. Stepping behind a tree, he
+motioned to his friends to do likewise; an example which they followed
+somewhat hastily on beholding the Indian who had wounded Harry step
+from the cover of the underwood and deliberately let fly another arrow,
+which passed through the hair of the Canadian they had brought with
+them.
+
+From the several trees behind which they had leaped for shelter they
+now perceived that the Indian with the bow was Misconna, and that he
+was accompanied by eight others, who appeared, however, to be totally
+unarmed; having, probably, been obliged to leave their weapons behind
+them, owing to the abruptness of their flight. Seeing that the white
+men were unable to use their guns, the Indians assembled in a group,
+and from the hasty and violent gesticulations of some of the party,
+especially of Misconna, it was evident that a speedy attack was
+intended.
+
+Observing this, Jacques coolly left the shelter of his tree, and going
+up to Charley, exclaimed, "Now, Mister Charles, I'm goin' to run away,
+so you'd better come along with me."
+
+"That I certainly will not. Why, what do you mean?" inquired the other,
+in astonishment.
+
+"I mean that these stupid red-skins can't make up their minds what to
+do, an' as I've no notion o' stoppin' here all day, I want to make them
+do what will suit us best. You see, if they scatter through the wood
+and attack us on all sides, they may give us a deal o' trouble, and git
+away after all; whereas, if we _run away_, they'll bolt after us in a
+body, and then we can take them in hand all at once, which'll be more
+comfortable-like, an' easier to manage."
+
+As Jacques spoke they were joined by Harry and the Canadian; and being
+observed by the Indians thus grouped together, another arrow was sent
+among them.
+
+"Now, follow me," said Jacques, turning round with a loud howl and
+running away. He was closely followed by the others. As the guide had
+predicted, the Indians no sooner observed this than they rushed after
+them in a body, uttering horrible yells.
+
+"Now, then; stop here; down with you."
+
+Jacques instantly crouched behind a bush, while each of the party did
+the same. In a moment the savages came shouting up, supposing the white
+men were still running on in advance. As the foremost, a tall, muscular
+fellow, with the agility of a panther, bounded over the bush behind
+which Jacques was concealed, he was met with a blow from the guide's
+fist, so powerfully delivered into the pit of his stomach that it sent
+him violently back into the bush, where he lay insensible. This event,
+of course, put a check upon the headlong pursuit of the others, who
+suddenly paused, like a group of infuriated tigers unexpectedly baulked
+of their prey. The hesitation, however, was but for a moment. Misconna,
+who was in advance, suddenly drew his bow again, and let fly an arrow
+at Jacques, which the latter dexterously avoided; and while his
+antagonist lowered his eyes for an instant to fit another arrow to the
+string, the guide, making use of his paddle as a sort of javelin, threw
+it with such force and precision that it struck Misconna directly
+between the eyes and felled him to the earth, In another instant the
+two parties rushed upon each other, and a general _melee_ ensued, in
+which the white men, being greatly superior to their adversaries in the
+use of their fists, soon proved themselves more than a match for them
+all although inferior in numbers. Charley's first antagonist, making an
+abortive attempt to grapple with him, received two rapid blows, one on
+the chest and the other on the nose, which knocked him over the bank
+into the river, while his conqueror sprang upon another Indian. Harry,
+having unfortunately selected the biggest savage of the band as his
+special property, rushed upon him and dealt him a vigorous blow on the
+head with his paddle.
+
+The weapon, however, was made of light wood, and, instead of felling
+him to the ground, broke into shivers. Springing upon each other they
+immediately engaged in a fierce struggle, in which poor Harry learned,
+when too late, that his wounded shoulder was almost powerless.
+Meanwhile, the Canadian having been assaulted by three Indians at once,
+floored one at the outset, and immediately began an impromptu war-dance
+round the other two, dealing them occasionally a kick or a blow, which
+would speedily have rendered them _hors de combat_, had they not
+succeeded in closing upon him, when all three fell heavily to the
+ground. Jacques and Charley having succeeded in overcoming their
+respective opponents, immediately hastened to his rescue. In the
+meantime, Harry and his foe had struggled to a considerable distance
+from the others, gradually edging towards the river's bank. Feeling
+faint from his wound, the former at length sank under the weight of his
+powerful antagonist, who endeavoured to thrust him over a kind of cliff
+which they had approached. He was on the point of accomplishing his
+purpose, when Charley and his friends perceived Harry's imminent
+danger, and rushed to the rescue. Quickly though they ran, however, it
+seemed likely that they would be too late. Harry's head already
+overhung the bank, and the Indian was endeavouring to loosen the gripe
+of the young man's hand from his throat, preparatory to tossing him
+over, when a wild cry rang through the forest, followed by the reports
+of a double-barrelled gun, fired in quick succession. Immediately
+after, young Hamilton bounded like a deer down the slope, seized the
+Indian by the legs, and tossed him over the cliff, where he turned a
+complete somersault in his descent, and fell with a sounding splash
+into the water.
+
+"Well done, cleverly done, lad!" cried Jacques, as he and the rest of
+the party came up and crowded round Harry, who lay in a state of
+partial stupor on the bank.
+
+At this moment Redfeather hastily but silently approached; his broad
+chest was heaving heavily, and his expanded nostrils quivering with the
+exertions he had made to reach the scene of action in time to succour
+his friends.
+
+"Thank God!" said Hamilton softly, as he kneeled beside Harry and
+supported his head, while Charley bathed his temples--"thank God that I
+have been in time! Fortunately I was walking by the river considerably
+in advance of Redfeather, who was bringing up the canoe, when I heard
+the sounds of the fray, and hastened to your aid."
+
+At this moment Harry opened his eyes, and saying faintly that he felt
+better, allowed himself to be raised to a sitting posture, while his
+coat was removed and his wound examined. It was found to be a deep
+flesh-wound in the shoulder, from which a fragment of the broken arrow
+still protruded.
+
+"It's a wonder to me, Mr. Harry, how ye held on to that big thief so
+long," muttered Jacques, as he drew out the splinter and bandaged up
+the shoulder. Having completed the surgical operation after a rough
+fashion, they collected the defeated Indians. Those of them that were
+able to walk were bound together by the wrists and marched off to the
+fort, under a guard which was strengthened by the arrival of several of
+the fur-traders, who had been in pursuit of the fugitives, and were
+attracted to the spot by the shouts of the combatants. Harry, and such
+of the party as were more or less severely injured, were placed in
+canoes and conveyed to Stoney Creek by the lake, into which Duck River
+runs at the distance of about half-a-mile from the spot on which the
+skirmish had taken place. Misconna was among the latter.
+
+On arriving at Stoney Creek, the canoe party found a large assemblage
+of the natives awaiting them on the wharf, and no sooner did Misconna
+land than they advanced to seize him.
+
+"Keep back, friends," cried Jacques, who perceived their intentions,
+and stepped hastily between them.--"Come here, lads," he continued,
+turning to his companions; "surround Misconna. He is _our_ prisoner,
+and must ha' fair justice done him, accordin' to white law."
+
+They fell back in silence on observing the guide's determined manner;
+but as they hurried the wretched culprit towards the house, one of the
+Indians pressed close upon their rear, and before anyone could prevent
+him, dashed his tomahawk into Misconna's brain. Seeing that the blow
+was mortal, the traders ceased to offer any further opposition; and the
+Indians rushing upon his body, bore it away amid shouts and yells of
+execration to their canoes, to one of which the body was fastened by a
+rope, and dragged through the water to point of land which jutted out
+into the lake near at hand. Here they lighted a fire and burned it to
+ashes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There seems to be a period in the history of every one when the fair
+aspect of this world is darkened--when everything, whether past,
+present, or future, assumes a hue of the deepest gloom; a period when,
+for the first time, the sun, which has shone in the mental firmament
+with more or less brilliancy from childhood upwards, entirely
+disappears behind a cloud of thick darkness, and leaves the soul in a
+state of deep melancholy; a time when feelings somewhat akin to despair
+pervade us, as we begin gradually to look upon the past as a bright,
+happy vision, out of which we have at last awakened to view the sad
+realities of the present, and look forward with sinking hope to the
+future. Various are the causes which produce this, and diverse the
+effects of it on differently constituted minds; but there are few, we
+apprehend, who have not passed through the cloud in one or other of its
+phases, and who do not feel that this _first_ period of prolonged
+sorrow is darker, and heavier, and worse to bear, than many of the more
+truly grievous afflictions that sooner or later fall to the lot of most
+men.
+
+Into a state of mind somewhat similar to that which we have endeavoured
+to describe, our friend Charley Kennedy fell immediately after the
+events just narrated. The sudden and awful death of his friend Mr.
+Whyte fell upon his young spirit, unaccustomed as he was to scenes of
+bloodshed and violence, with overwhelming power. From the depression,
+however, which naturally followed he would probably soon have rallied
+had not Harry Somerville's wound in the shoulder taken an unfavourable
+turn, and obliged him to remain for many weeks in bed, under the
+influence of a slow fever; so that Charley felt a desolation creeping
+over his soul that no effort he was capable of making could shake off.
+It is true he found both occupation and pleasure in attending upon his
+sick friend; but as Harry's illness rendered great quiet necessary, and
+as Hamilton had been sent to take charge of the fishing-station
+mentioned in a former chapter, Charley was obliged to indulge his
+gloomy reveries in silence. To add to his wretchedness he received a
+letter from Kate about a week after Mr. Whyte's burial, telling him of
+the death of his mother.
+
+Meanwhile, Redfeather and Jacques--both of whom at their young master's
+earnest solicitation, agreed to winter at Stoney Creek--cultivated each
+other's acquaintance sedulously. There were no books of any kind at the
+outpost, excepting three Bibles--one belonging to Charley, and one to
+Harry, the third being that which had been presented to Jacques by Mr.
+Conway the missionary. This single volume, however, proved to be an
+ample library to Jacques and his Indian friend. Neither of these sons
+of the forest was much accustomed to reading, and neither of them would
+have for a moment entertained the idea of taking to literature as a
+pastime; but Redfeather loved the Bible for the sake of the great
+truths which he discovered in its inspired pages, though much of what
+he read was to him mysterious and utterly incomprehensible. Jacques, on
+the other hand, read it, or listened to his friend, with that
+philosophic gravity of countenance and earnestness of purpose which he
+displayed in regard to everything; and deep, serious, and protracted
+were the discussions they entered into, as night after night they sat
+on a log, with the Bible spread out before them, and read by the light
+of the blazing fire in the men's house at Stoney Creek. Their
+intercourse, however, was brought to an abrupt conclusion by the
+unexpected arrival, one day, of Mr. Conway the missionary in his tin
+canoe. This gentleman's appearance was most welcome to all parties. It
+was like a bright ray of sunshine to Charley to meet with one who could
+fully sympathise with him in his present sorrowful frame of mind. It
+was an event of some consequence to Harry Somerville, inasmuch as it
+provided him with an amateur doctor who really understood somewhat of
+his physical complaint, and was able to pour balm, at once literally
+and spiritually, into his wounds. It was an event productive of the
+liveliest satisfaction to Redfeather, who now felt assured that his
+tribe would have those mysteries explained which he only imperfectly
+understood himself; and it was an event of much rejoicing to the
+Indians themselves, because their curiosity had been not a little
+roused by what they heard of the doings and sayings of the white
+missionary, who lived on the borders of the great lake. The only
+person, perhaps, on whom Mr. Conway's arrival acted with other than a
+pleasing influence was Jacques Caradoc. This worthy, although glad to
+meet with a man whom he felt inclined both to love and respect, was by
+no means gratified to find that his friend Redfeather had agreed to go
+with the missionary on his visit to the Indian tribe, and thereafter to
+accompany him to the settlement on Playgreen Lake. But with the
+stoicism that was natural to him, Jacques submitted to circumstances
+which he could not alter, and contented himself with assuring
+Redfeather that if he lived till next spring he would most certainly
+"make tracks for the great lake," and settle down at the missionary's
+station along with him. This promise was made at the end of the wharf
+of Stoney Creek the morning on which Mr. Conway and his party embarked
+in their tin canoe--the same tin canoe at which Jacques had curled his
+nose contemptuously when he saw it in process of being constructed, and
+at which he did not by any means curl it the less contemptuously now
+that he saw it finished. The little craft answered its purpose
+marvellously well, however, and bounded lightly away under the vigorous
+strokes of its crew, leaving Charley and Jacques on the pier gazing
+wistfully after their friends, and listening sadly to the echoes of
+their parting song as it floated more and more faintly over the lake.
+
+Winter came, but no ray of sunshine broke through the dark cloud that
+hung over Stoney Creek. Harry Somerville, instead of becoming better,
+grew worse and worse every day, so that when Charley despatched the
+winter packet, he represented the illness of his friend to the powers
+at headquarters as being of a nature that required serious and
+immediate attention and change of scene. But the word _immediate_ bears
+a slightly different signification in the backwoods to what it does in
+the lands of railroads and steamboats. The letter containing this hint
+took many weeks to traverse the waste wilderness to its destination;
+months passed before the reply was written, and many weeks more elapsed
+ere its contents were perused by Charley and his friend. When they did
+read it, however, the dark cloud that had hung over them so long burst
+at last; a ray of sunshine streamed down brightly upon their hearts,
+and never forsook them again, although it did lose a little of its
+brilliancy after the first flash. It was on a rich, dewy, cheerful
+morning in early spring when the packet arrived, and Charley led Harry,
+who was slowly recovering his wonted health and spirits, to their
+favourite rocky resting-place on the margin of the lake. Here he placed
+the letter in his friend's hand with a smile of genuine delight. It ran
+as follows:--
+
+MY DEAR SIR,--Your letter containing the account of Mr. Somerville's
+illness has been forwarded to me, and I am instructed to inform you
+that leave of absence for a short time has been granted to him. I have
+had a conversation with the doctor here, who advises me to recommend
+that, if your friend has no other summer residence in view, he should
+spend part of his time in Red River settlement. In the event of his
+agreeing to this, I would suggest that he should leave Stoney Creek
+with the first brigade in spring, or by express canoe if you think it
+advisable.--I am, etc.
+
+"Short but sweet--uncommonly sweet!" said Harry, as a deep flush of joy
+crimsoned his pale cheeks, while his own merry smile, that had been
+absent for many a weary day, returned once more to its old haunt, and
+danced round its accustomed dimples like a repentant wanderer who has
+been long absent from and has at last returned to his native home.
+
+"Sweet indeed!" echoed Charley. "But that's not all; here's another
+lump of sugar for you." So saying, he pulled a letter from his pocket,
+unfolded it slowly, spread it out on his knee, and, looking up at his
+expectant friend, winked.
+
+"Go on, Charley; pray don't tantalize me."
+
+"Tantalize you! My dear fellow, nothing is farther from my thoughts.
+Listen to this paragraph in my dear old father's letter:--
+
+"'So you see, my dear Charley, that we have managed to get you
+appointed to the charge of Lower Fort Garry, and as I hear that poor
+Harry Somerville is to get leave of absence, you had better bring him
+along with you. I need not add that my house is at his service as long
+as he may wish to remain in it.'
+
+"There! what think ye of that, my boy?" said Charley, as he folded the
+letter and returned it to his pocket.
+
+"I think," replied Harry, "that your father is a dear old gentleman,
+and I hope that you'll only be half as good when you come to his time
+of life; and I think I'm so happy to-day that I'll be able to walk
+without the assistance of your arm to-morrow; and I think we had better
+go back to the house now, for I feel, oddly enough, as tired as if I
+had had a long walk. Ah, Charley, my dear fellow, that letter will
+prove to be the best doctor I have had yet. But now tell me what you
+intend to do."
+
+Charley assisted his friend to rise, and led him slowly back to the
+house, as he replied,--
+
+"Do, my boy? that's soon said. I'll make things square and straight at
+Stoney Creek. I'll send for Hamilton and make him interim
+commander-in-chief. I'll write two letters--one to the gentleman in
+charge of the district, telling him of my movements; the other
+(containing a screed of formal instructions) to the miserable mortal
+who shall succeed me here. I'll take the best canoe in our store, load
+it with provisions, put you carefully in the middle of it, stick
+Jacques in the bow and myself in the stern, and start, two weeks hence,
+neck and crop, head over heels, through thick and thin, wet and dry,
+over portage, river, fall, and lake, for Red River settlement!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+Old friends and scenes--Coming events cast their shadows before.
+
+
+Mr. Kennedy, senior, was seated in his own comfortable arm-chair before
+the fire, in his own cheerful little parlour, in his own snug house, at
+Red River, with his own highly characteristic breakfast of buffalo
+steaks, tea, and pemmican before him, and his own beautiful,
+affectionate daughter Kate presiding over the tea-pot, and exercising
+unwarrantably despotic sway over a large gray cat, whose sole happiness
+seemed to consist in subjecting Mr. Kennedy to perpetual annoyance, and
+whose main object in life was to catch its master and mistress off
+their guard, that it might go quietly to the table, the meat-safe, or
+the pantry, and there--deliberately--steal!
+
+Kate had grown very much since we saw her last. She was quite a woman
+now, and well worthy of a minute description here; but we never could
+describe a woman to our own satisfaction. We have frequently tried and
+failed; so we substitute, in place, the remarks of Kate's friends and
+acquaintances about her--a criterion on which to form a judgment that
+is a pretty correct one, especially when the opinion pronounced happens
+to be favourable. Her father said she was an angel, and the only joy of
+his life. This latter expression, we may remark, was false; for Mr.
+Kennedy frequently said to Kate, confidentially, that Charley was a
+great happiness to him; and we are quite sure that the pipe had
+something to do with the felicity of his existence. But the old
+gentleman said that Kate was the _only_ joy of his life, and that is
+all we have to do with at present. Several ill-tempered old ladies in
+the settlement said that Miss Kennedy was really a quiet, modest
+girl--testimony this (considering the source whence it came) that was
+quite conclusive. Then old Mr. Grant remarked to old Mr. Kennedy, over
+a confidential pipe, that Kate was certainly, in his opinion, the most
+modest and the prettiest girl in Red River. Her old school companions
+called her a darling. Tom Whyte said "he never seed nothink like her
+nowhere." The clerks spoke of her in terms too glowing to remember; and
+the last arrival among them, the youngest, with the slang of the "old
+country" fresh on his lips, called her a _stunner!_ Even Mrs. Grant got
+up one of her half-expressed remarks about her, which everybody would
+have supposed to be quizzical in its nature, were it not for the
+frequent occurrence of the terms "good girl," "innocent creature,"
+which seemed to contradict that idea. There were also one or two
+hapless swains who said nothings, but what they _did_ and _looked_ was
+in itself unequivocal. They went quietly into a state of slow,
+drivelling imbecility whenever they happened to meet with Kate; looked
+as if they had become shockingly unwell, and were rather pleased than
+otherwise that their friends should think so too; and upon all and
+every occasion in which Kate was concerned, conducted themselves with
+an amount of insane stupidity (although sane enough at other times)
+that nothing could account for, save the idea that their admiration of
+her was inexpressible, and that _that_ was the most effective way in
+which they could express it.
+
+"Kate, my darling," said Mr. Kennedy, as he finished the last mouthful
+of tea, "wouldn't it be capital to get another letter from Charley?"
+
+"Yes, dear papa, it would indeed. But I am quite sure that the next
+time we shall hear from him will be when he arrives here, and makes the
+house ring with his own dear voice."
+
+"How so, girl?" said the old trader with a smile. It may as well be
+remarked here that the above opening of conversation was by no means
+new; it was stereotyped now. Ever since Charley had been appointed to
+the management of Lower Fort Garry, his father had been so engrossed by
+the idea, and spoke of it to Kate so frequently, that he had got into a
+way of feeling as if the event so much desired would happen in a few
+days, although he knew quite well that it could not, in the course of
+ordinary or extra-ordinary circumstances, occur in less than several
+months. However, as time rolled on he began regularly, every day or
+two, to ask Kate questions about Charley that she could not by any
+possibility answer, but which he knew from experience would lead her
+into a confabulation about his son, which helped a little to allay his
+impatience.
+
+"Why, you see, father," she replied, "it is three months since we got
+his last, and you know there has been no opportunity of forwarding
+letters from Stoney Creek since it was despatched. Now, the next
+opportunity that occurs-"
+
+"Mee-aow!" interrupted the cat, which had just finished two pats of
+fresh butter without being detected, and began, rather recklessly, to
+exult.
+
+"Hang that cat!" cried the old gentleman, angrily, "it'll be the death
+o' me yet;" and seizing the first thing that came to hand, which
+happened to be the loaf of bread, discharged it with such violence, and
+with so correct an aim, that it knocked, not only the cat, but the
+tea-pot and sugar-bowl also, off the table.
+
+"O dear papa!" exclaimed Kate.
+
+"Really, my dear," cried Mr. Kennedy, half angry and half ashamed, "we
+must get rid of that brute immediately. It has scarcely been a week
+here, and it has done more mischief already than a score of ordinary
+cats would have done in a twelvemonth."
+
+"But then the mice, papa--"
+
+"Well, but--but--oh, hang the mice!"
+
+"Yes; but how are we to catch them?" said Kate.
+
+At this moment the cook, who had heard the sound of breaking crockery,
+and judged it expedient that he should be present, opened the door.
+
+"How now, rascal!" exclaimed his master, striding up to him. "Did I
+ring for you, eh?"
+
+"No, sir; but--"
+
+"But! eh, but! no more 'buts,' you scoundrel, else I'll--"
+
+The motion of Mr. Kennedy's fist warned the cook to make a precipitate
+retreat, which he did at the same moment that the cat resolved to run
+for its life. This caused them to meet in the doorway, and making a
+compound entanglement with the mat, they both fell into the passage
+with a loud crash. Mr. Kennedy shut the door gently, and returned to
+his chair, patting Kate on the head as he passed.
+
+"Now, darling, go on with what you were saying; and don't mind the
+tea-pot--let it lie."
+
+"Well," resumed Kate, with a smile, "I was saying that the next
+opportunity Charley can have will be by the brigade in spring, which we
+expect to arrive here, you know, a month hence; but we won't get a
+letter by that, as I feel convinced that he and Harry will come by it
+themselves."
+
+"And the express canoe, Kate--the express canoe," said Mr. Kennedy,
+with a contortion of the left side of his head that was intended for a
+wink; "you know they got leave to come by express, Kate."
+
+"Oh, as to the express, father, I don't expect them to come by that, as
+poor Harry Somerville has been so ill that they would never think of
+venturing to subject him to all the discomforts, not to mention the
+dangers, of a canoe voyage."
+
+"I don't know that, lass--I don't know that," said Mr. Kennedy, giving
+another contortion with his left cheek. "In fact, I shouldn't wonder if
+they arrived this very day; and it's well to be on the look-out, so I'm
+off to the banks of the river, Kate." Saying this, the old gentleman
+threw on an old fur cap with the peak all awry, thrust his left hand
+into his right glove, put on the other with the back to the front and
+the thumb in the middle finger, and bustled out of the house, muttering
+as he went, "Yes, it's well to be on the look-out for him."
+
+Mr. Kennedy, however, was disappointed: Charley did not arrive that
+day, nor the next, nor the day after that. Nevertheless the old
+gentleman's faith each day remained as firm as on the day previous that
+Charley would arrive on that day "for certain." About a week after
+this, Mr. Kennedy put on his hat and gloves as usual, and sauntered
+down to the banks of the river, where his perseverance was rewarded by
+the sight of a small canoe rapidly approaching the landing-place. From
+the costume of the three men who propelled it, the cut of the canoe
+itself, the precision and energy of its movements, and several other
+minute points about it only apparent to the accustomed eye of a
+nor'-wester, he judged at once that this was a new arrival, and not
+merely one of the canoes belonging to the settlers, many of which might
+be seen passing up and down the river. As they drew near he fixed his
+eyes eagerly upon them.
+
+"Very odd," he exclaimed, while a shade of disappointment passed over
+his brow: "it ought to be him, but it's not like him; too
+big--different nose altogether. Don't know any of the three.
+Humph!--well, he's _sure_ to come to-morrow, at all events." Having
+come to the conclusion that it was not Charley's canoe, he wheeled
+sulkily round and sauntered back towards his house, intending to solace
+himself with a pipe. At that moment he heard a shout behind him, and
+ere he could well turn round to see whence it came, a young man bounded
+up the bank and seized him in his arms with a hug that threatened to
+dislocate his ribs. The old gentleman's first impulse was to bestow on
+his antagonist (for he verily believed him to be such) one of those
+vigorous touches with his clinched fist which in days of yore used to
+bring some of his disputes to a summary and effectual close; but his
+intention changed when the youth spoke.
+
+"Father, dear, dear father!" said Charley, as he loosened his grasp,
+and, still holding him by both hands, looked earnestly into his face
+with swimming eyes.
+
+Old Mr. Kennedy seemed to have lost his powers of speech. He gazed at
+his son for a few seconds in silence--then suddenly threw his arms
+around him and engaged in a species of wrestle which he intended for an
+embrace.
+
+"O Charley, my boy! you've come at last--God bless you! Let's look at
+you. Quite changed: six feet; no, not quite changed--the old nose;
+black as an Indian. O Charley, my dear boy! I've been waiting for you
+for months; why did you keep me so long, eh? Hang it, where's my
+handkerchief?" At this last exclamation Mr. Kennedy's feelings quite
+overcame him; his full heart overflowed at his eyes, so that when he
+tried to look at his son, Charley appeared partly magnified and partly
+broken up into fragments. Fumbling in his pocket for the missing
+handkerchief, which he did not find, he suddenly seized his fur cap, in
+a burst of exasperation, and wiped his eyes with that. Immediately
+after, forgetting that it was a cap he thrust it into his pocket.
+
+"Come, dear father," cried Charley, drawing the old man's arm through
+his, "let us go home. Is Kate there?"
+
+"Ay, ay," cried Mr. Kennedy, waving his hand as he was dragged away,
+and bestowing, quite unwittingly, a back-handed slap on the cheek to
+Harry Somerville--which nearly felled that youth to the ground. "Ay,
+ay! Kate, to be sure, darling. Yes, quite right, Charley; a
+pipe--that's it, my boy, let's have a pipe!" And thus, uttering
+coherent and broken sentences, he disappeared through the doorway with
+his long-lost and now recovered son.
+
+Meanwhile Harry and Jacques continued to pace quietly before the house,
+waiting patiently until the first ebullition of feeling, at the meeting
+of Charley with his father and sister, should be over. In a few minutes
+Charley ran out.
+
+"Hollo, Harry! come in, my boy; forgive my forgetfulness, but--"
+
+"My dear fellow," interrupted Harry, "what nonsense you are talking! Of
+course you forgot me, and everybody and everything on earth, just now;
+but have you seen Kate? is--"
+
+"Yes, yes," cried Charley, as he pushed his friend before him, and
+dragged Jacques after him into the parlour.--"Here's Harry, father, and
+Jacques.--You've heard of Jacques, Kate?"
+
+"Harry, my, dear boy;" cried Mr. Kennedy, seizing his young friend by
+the hand; "how are you, lad? Better, I hope."
+
+At that moment Mr. Kennedy's eye fell on Jacques, who stood in the
+doorway, cap in hand, with the usual quiet smile lighting up his
+countenance.
+
+"What! Jacques--Jacques Caradoc!" he cried, in astonishment.
+
+"The same, sir; you an' I have know'd each other afore now in the way
+o' trade," answered the hunter, as he grasped his old bourgeois by the
+hand and wrung it warmly. Mr. Kennedy, senior, was so overwhelmed by
+the combination of exciting influences to which he was now subjected,
+that he plunged his hand into his pocket for the handkerchief again,
+and pulled out the fur hat instead, which he flung angrily at the cat;
+then using the sleeve of his coat as a substitute, he proceeded to put
+a series of abrupt questions to Jacques and Charley simultaneously.
+
+In the meantime Harry went up to Kate and _stared_ at her. We do not
+mean to say that he was intentionally rude to her. No! He went towards
+her intending to shake hands, and renew acquaintance with his old
+companion; but the moment he caught sight of her he was struck not only
+dumb, but motionless. The odd part of it was that Kate, too, was
+affected in precisely the same way, and both of them exclaimed
+mentally, "Can it be possible?" Their lips, however, gave no utterance
+to the question. At length Kate recollected herself, and blushing
+deeply, held out her hand, as she said,--
+
+"Forgive me, Har--Mr. Somerville; I was so surprised at your altered
+appearance, I could scarcely believe that my old friend stood before
+me."
+
+Harry's cheeks crimsoned as he seized her hand and said: "Indeed,
+Ka--a--Miss--that is, in fact, I've been very ill, and doubtless have
+changed somewhat; but the very same thought struck me in regard to
+yourself, you are so--so--"
+
+Fortunately for Harry, who was gradually becoming more and more
+confused, to the amusement of Charley, who had closely observed the
+meeting of his friend and sister, Mr. Kennedy came up.
+
+"Eh! what's that? What did you say _struck_ you, Harry, my lad?"
+
+"_You_ did, father, on his arrival," replied Charley, with a broad
+grin, "and a very neat back-hander it was."
+
+"Nonsense, Charley," interrupted Harry, with a laugh.--"I was just
+saying, sir, that Miss Kennedy is so changed that I could hardly
+believe it to be herself."
+
+"And I had just paid Mr. Somerville the same compliment, papa," cried
+Kate, laughing and blushing simultaneously.
+
+Mr. Kennedy thrust his hands into his pockets, frowned portentously as
+he looked from one to the other, and said slowly, "_Miss_ Kennedy,
+_Mr._ Somerville!" then turning to his son, remarked, "That's something
+new, Charley, lad; that girl is _Miss_ Kennedy, and that youth there is
+_Mr._ Somerville!"
+
+Charley laughed loudly at this sally, especially when the old gentleman
+followed it up with a series of contortions of the left cheek, meant
+for violent winking.
+
+"Right, father, right; it won't do here. We don't know anybody but Kate
+and Harry in this house."
+
+Harry laughed in his own genuine style at this.
+
+"Well, Kate be it, with all my heart," said he; "but, really, at first
+she seemed so unlike the Kate of former days that I could not bring
+myself to call her so."
+
+"Humph!" said Mr. Kennedy. "But come, boys, with me to my smoking-room,
+and let's have a talk over a pipe, while Kate looks after dinner."
+Giving Charley another squeeze of the hand, and Harry a pat on the
+shoulder, the old gentleman put on his cap (with the peak behind), and
+led the way to his glass divan in the garden.
+
+It is perhaps unnecessary for us to say that Kate Kennedy and Harry
+Somerville had, within the last hour, fallen deeply, hopelessly,
+utterly, irrevocably, and totally in love with each other. They did not
+merely fall up to the ears in love. To say that they fell over head and
+ears in it would be, comparatively speaking, to say nothing. In fact,
+they did not fall into it at all. They went deliberately backwards,
+took a long race, sprang high into the air, turned completely round,
+and went down head first into the flood, descending to a depth utterly
+beyond the power of any deep-sea lead to fathom, or of any human mind
+adequately to appreciate. Up to that day Kate had thought of Harry as
+the hilarious youth who used to take every opportunity he could of
+escaping from the counting-room and hastening to spend the afternoon in
+rambling through the woods with her and Charley. But the instant she
+saw him a man, with a bright, cheerful countenance, on which rough
+living and exposure to frequent peril had stamped unmistakable lines of
+energy and decision, and to which recent illness had imparted a
+captivating touch of sadness--the moment she beheld this, and the
+undeniable scrap of whisker that graced his cheeks, and the slight
+_shade_ that rested on his upper lip, her heart leaped violently into
+her throat, where it stuck hard and fast, like a stranded ship on a
+lee-shore.
+
+In like manner, when Harry beheld his former friend a woman, with
+beaming eyes and clustering ringlets and--(there, we won't attempt
+it!)--in fact, surrounded by every nameless and namable grace that
+makes woman exasperatingly delightful, his heart performed the same
+eccentric movement, and he felt that his fate was sealed; that he had
+been sucked into a rapid which was too strong even for his expert and
+powerful arm to contend against, and that he must drift with the
+current now, _nolens volens_, and run it as he best could.
+
+When Kate retired to her sleeping-apartment that night, she endeavoured
+to comport herself in her usual manner; but all her efforts failed. She
+sat down on her bed, and remained motionless for half-an-hour; then she
+started and sighed deeply; then she smiled and opened her Bible, but
+forgot to read it; then she rose hastily, sighed again, took off her
+gown, hung it up on a peg, and returning to the dressing-table sat down
+on her best bonnet; then she cried a little, at which point the candle
+suddenly went out; so she gave a slight scream, and at last went to bed
+in the dark.
+
+Three hours afterwards, Harry Somerville, who had been enjoying a cigar
+and a chat with Charley and his father, rose, and bidding his friends
+good-night, retired to his chamber, where he flung himself down on a
+chair, thrust his hands into his pockets, stretched out his legs, gazed
+abstractedly before him, and exclaimed--"O Kate, my exquisite girl,
+you've floored me quite that!"
+
+As he continued to sit in silence, the gaze of affection gradually and
+slowly changed into a look of intense astonishment as he beheld the
+gray cat sitting comfortably on the table, and regarding him with a
+look of complacent interest, as if it thought Harry's style of
+addressing it was highly satisfactory--though rather unusual.
+
+"Brute!" exclaimed Harry, springing from his seat and darting towards
+it. But the cat was too well accustomed to old Mr. Kennedy's sudden
+onsets to be easily taken by surprise. With a bound it reached the
+floor, and took shelter under the bed, whence it was not ejected until
+Harry, having first thrown his shoes, soap, clothes-brush, and
+razor-strop at it, besides two or three books and several miscellaneous
+articles of toilet, at last opened the door (a thing, by the way, that
+people would do well always to remember before endeavouring to expel a
+cat from an impregnable position), and drew the bed into the middle of
+the room. Then, but not till then, it fled, with its back, its tail,
+its hair, its eyes--in short, its entire body--bristling in rampant
+indignation. Having dislodged the enemy, Harry replaced the bed, threw
+off his coat and waistcoat, untied his neckcloth, sat down on his chair
+again, and fell into a reverie; from which, after half-an-hour, he
+started, clasped his hands, stamped his foot, glared up at the ceiling,
+slapped his thigh, and exclaimed, in the voice of a hero, "Yes, I'll do
+it, or die!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+The first day at home--A gallop in the prairie, and its consequences.
+
+
+Next morning, as the quartette were at breakfast, Mr. Kennedy, senior,
+took occasion to propound to his son the plans he had laid down for
+them during the next week.
+
+"In the first place, Charley, my boy," said he, as well as a large
+mouthful of buffalo steak and potato would permit, "you must drive up
+to the fort and report yourself. Harry and I will go with you; and
+after we have paid our respects to old Grant (another cup of tea, Kate,
+my darling)--you recollect him, Charley, don't you?"
+
+"Yes, perfectly."
+
+"Well, then, after we've been to see him, we'll drive down the river,
+and call on our friends at the mill. Then we'll look in on the
+Thomsons; and give a call, in passing, on old Neverin--he's always out,
+so he'll be pleased to hear we were there, and it won't detain us.
+Then---"
+
+"But, dear father--excuse my interrupting you--Harry and I are very
+anxious to spend our first day at home entirely with you and Kate.
+Don't you think it would be more pleasant? and then, to-morrow--"
+
+"Now, Charley, this is too bad of you," said Mr. Kennedy, with a look
+of affected indignation: "no sooner have you come back than you're at
+your old tricks, opposing and thwarting your father's wishes."
+
+"Indeed, I do not wish to do so, father," replied Charley, with a
+smile; "but I thought that you would like my plan better yourself, and
+that it would afford us an opportunity of having a good long,
+satisfactory talk about all that concerns us, past, present, and
+future."
+
+"What a daring mind you have, Charley," said Harry, "to speak of
+cramming a _satisfactory_ talk of the past, the present, and the future
+all into _one_ day!"
+
+"Harry will take another cup of tea, Kate," said Charley, with an arch
+smile, as he went on,--
+
+"Besides, father, Jacques tells me that he means to go off immediately,
+to visit a number of his old voyageur friends in the settlement, and I
+cannot part with him till we have had one more canter together over the
+prairies. I want to show him to Kate, for he's a great original."
+
+"Oh, that _will_ be charming!" cried Kate. "I should like of all things
+to be introduced to the bold hunter.--Another cup of tea, Mr. S-Harry,
+I mean?"
+
+Harry started on being thus unexpectedly addressed. "Yes, if you
+please--that is--thank you--no, my cup's full already, Kate!"
+
+"Well, well," broke in Mr. Kennedy, senior, "I see you're all leagued
+against me, so I give in. But I shall not accompany you on your ride,
+as my bones are a little stiffer than they used to be" (the old
+gentleman sighed heavily), "and riding far knocks me up; but I've got
+business to attend to in my glass house which will occupy me till
+dinner-time."
+
+"If the business you speak of," began Charley, "is not incompatible
+with a cigar, I shall be happy to--"
+
+"Why, as to that, the business itself has special reference to tobacco,
+and, in fact, to nothing else; so come along, you young dog," and the
+old gentleman's cheek went into violent convulsions as he rose, put on
+his cap, with the peak very much over one eye, and went out in company
+with the young men.
+
+An hour afterwards four horses stood saddled and bridled in front of
+the house. Three belonged to Mr. Kennedy; the fourth had been borrowed
+from a neighbour as a mount for Jacques Caradoc. In a few minutes more
+Harry lifted Kate into the saddle, and having arranged her dress with a
+deal of unnecessary care, mounted his nag. At the same moment Charley
+and Jacques vaulted into their saddles, and the whole cavalcade
+galloped down the avenue that led to the prairie, followed by the
+admiring gaze of Mr. Kennedy, senior, who stood in the doorway of his
+mansion, his hands in his vest pockets, his head uncovered, and his
+happy visage smiling through a cloud of smoke that issued from his
+lips. He seemed the very personification of jovial good-humour, and
+what one might suppose Cupid would become were he permitted to grow
+old, dress recklessly, and take to smoking!
+
+The prairies were bright that morning, and surpassingly beautiful. The
+grass looked greener than usual, the dew-drops more brilliant as they
+sparkled on leaf and blade and branch in the rays of an unclouded sun.
+The turf felt springy, and the horses, which were first-rate animals,
+seemed to dance over it, scarce crushing the wild-flowers beneath their
+hoofs, as they galloped lightly on, imbued with the same joyous feeling
+that filled the hearts of their riders. The plains at this place were
+more picturesque than in other parts, their uniformity being broken up
+by numerous clumps of small trees and wild shrubbery, intermingled with
+lakes and ponds of all sizes, which filled the hollows for miles
+round--temporary sheets of water these, formed by the melting snow,
+that told of winter now past and gone. Additional animation and life
+was given to the scene by flocks of water-fowl, whose busy cry and
+cackle in the water, or whirring motion in the air, gave such an idea
+of joyousness in the brute creation as could not but strike a chord of
+sympathy in the heart of a man, and create a feeling of gratitude to
+the Maker of man and beast. Although brilliant and warm, the sun, at
+least during the first part of their ride, was by no means oppressive;
+so that the equestrians stretched out at full gallop for many miles
+over the prairie, round the lakes and through the bushes, ere their
+steeds showed the smallest symptoms of warmth.
+
+During the ride Kate took the lead, with Jacques on her left and Harry
+on her right, while Charley brought up the rear, and conversed in a
+loud key with all three. At length Kate began to think it was just
+possible the horses might be growing wearied with the slapping pace,
+and checked her steed; but this was not an easy matter, as the horse
+seemed to hold quite a contrary opinion, and showed a desire not only
+to continue but to increase its gallop--a propensity that induced Harry
+to lend his aid by grasping the rein and compelling the animal to walk.
+
+"That's a spirited horse, Kate," said Charley, as they ambled along;
+"have you had him long?"
+
+"No," replied Kate; "our father purchased him just a week before your
+arrival, thinking that you would likely want a charger now and then. I
+have only been on him once before.--Would he make a good
+buffalo-runner, Jacques?"
+
+"Yes, miss; he would make an uncommon good runner," answered the
+hunter, as he regarded the animal with a critical glance--"at least if
+he don't shy at a gunshot."
+
+"I never tried his nerves in that way," said Kate, with a smile;
+"perhaps he would shy at _that_. He has a good deal of spirit--oh, I do
+dislike a lazy horse, and I do delight in a spirited one!" Kate gave
+her horse a smart cut with the whip, half involuntarily, as she spoke.
+In a moment it reared almost perpendicularly, and then bounded forward;
+not, however, before Jacques's quick eye had observed the danger, and
+his ever-ready hand arrested its course.
+
+"Have a care, Miss Kate," he said, in a warning voice, while he gazed
+in the face of the excited girl with a look of undisguised admiration.
+"It don't do to wallop a skittish beast like that."
+
+"Never fear, Jacques," she replied, bending forward to pat her
+charger's arching neck; "see, he is becoming quite gentle again."
+
+"If he runs away, Kate, we won't be able to catch you again, for he's
+the best of the four, I think," said Harry, with an uneasy glance at
+the animal's flashing eye and expanded nostrils.
+
+"Ay, it's as well to keep the whip off him," said Jacques. "I know'd a
+young chap once in St. Louis who lost his sweetheart by usin' his whip
+too freely."
+
+"Indeed," cried Kate, with a merry laugh, as they emerged from one of
+the numerous thickets and rode out upon the open plain at a foot pace;
+"how was that, Jacques? Pray tell us the story."
+
+"As to that, there's little story about it," replied the hunter. "You
+see, Tim Roughead took arter his name, an' was always doin' some
+mischief or other, which more than once nigh cost him his life; for the
+young trappers that frequent St. Louis are not fellows to stand too
+much jokin', I can tell ye. Well, Tim fell in love with a gal there who
+had jilted about a dozen lads afore; an' bein' an oncommon handsome,
+strappin' fellow, she encouraged him a good deal. But Tim had a
+suspicion that Louise was rayther sweet on a young storekeeper's clerk
+there; so, bein' an off-hand sort o' critter, he went right up to the
+gal, and says to her, says he, 'Come, Louise, it's o' no use humbuggin'
+with _me_ any longer. If you like me, you like me; and if you don't
+like me, you don't. There's only two ways about it. Now, jist say the
+word at once, an' let's have an end on't. If you agree, I'll squat with
+you in whativer bit o' the States you like to name; if not, I'll bid
+you good-bye this blessed mornin', an' make tracks right away for the
+Rocky Mountains afore sundown. Ay or no, lass: which is't to be?'
+
+"Poor Louise was taken all aback by this, but she knew well that Tim
+was a man who never threatened in jest, an' moreover she wasn't quite
+sure o' the young clerk; so she agreed, an' Tim went off to settle with
+her father about the weddin'. Well, the day came, an' Tim, with a lot
+o' his comrades, mounted their horses, and rode off to the bride's
+house, which was a mile or two up the river out of the town. Just as
+they were startin', Tim's horse gave a plunge that well-nigh pitched
+him over its head, an' Tim came down on him with a cut o' his heavy
+whip that sounded like a pistol-shot. The beast was so mad at this that
+it gave a kind o' squeal an' another plunge that burst the girths. Tim
+brought the whip down on its flank again, which made it shoot forward
+like an arrow out of a bow, leavin' poor Tim on the ground. So slick
+did it fly away that it didn't even throw him on his back, but let him
+fall sittin'-wise, saddle and all, plump on the spot where he sprang
+from. Tim scratched his head an' grinned like a half-worried
+rattlesnake as his comrades almost rolled off their saddles with
+laughin'. But it was no laughin' job, for poor Tim's leg was doubled
+under him, an' broken across at the thigh. It was long before he was
+able to go about again, and when he did recover he found that Louise
+and the young clerk were spliced an' away to Kentucky."
+
+"So you see what are the probable consequences, Kate, if you use your
+whip so obstreperously again," cried Charley, pressing his horse into a
+canter.
+
+Just at that moment a rabbit sprang from under a bush and darted away
+before them. In an instant Harry Somerville gave a wild shout, and set
+off in pursuit. Whether it was the cry or the sudden flight of Harry's
+horse, we cannot tell, but the next instant Kate's charger performed an
+indescribable flourish with its hind legs, laid back its ears, took the
+bit between its teeth, and ran away. Jacques was on its heels
+instantly, and a few seconds afterwards Charley and Harry joined in the
+pursuit, but their utmost efforts failed to do more than enable them to
+keep their ground. Kate's horse was making for a dense thicket, into
+which it became evident they must certainly plunge. Harry and her
+brother trembled when they looked at it and realised her danger; even
+Jacques's face showed some symptoms of perturbation for a moment as he
+glanced before him in indecision. The expression vanished, however, in
+a few seconds, and his cheerful, self-possessed look returned, as he
+cried out,--"Pull the left rein hard, Miss Kate; try to edge up the
+slope."
+
+Kate heard the advice, and exerting all her strength, succeeded in
+turning her horse a little to the left, which caused him to ascend a
+gentle slope, at the top of which part of the thicket lay. She was
+closely followed by Harry and her brother, who urged their steeds madly
+forward in the hope of catching her rein, while Jacques diverged a
+little to the right. By this manoeuvre the latter hoped to gain on the
+runaway, as the ground along which he rode was comparatively level,
+with a short but steep ascent at the end of it, while that along which
+Kate flew like the wind was a regular ascent, that would prove very
+trying to her horse. At the margin of the thicket grew a row of high
+bushes, towards which they now galloped with frightful speed. As Kate
+came up to this natural fence, she observed the trapper approaching on
+the other side of it. Springing from his jaded steed, without
+attempting to check its pace, he leaped over the underwood like a stag
+just as the young girl cleared the bushes at a bound. Grasping the
+reins and checking the horse violently with one hand, he extended the
+other to Kate, who leaped unhesitatingly into his arms. At the same
+instant Charley cleared the bushes, and pulled sharply up; while
+Harry's horse, unable, owing to its speed, to take the leap, came
+crashing through them, and dashed his rider with stunning violence to
+the ground.
+
+Fortunately no bones were broken, and a draught of clear water, brought
+by Jacques from a neighbouring pond, speedily restored Harry's shaken
+faculties.
+
+"Now, Kate," said Charley, leading forward the horse which he had
+ridden, "I have changed saddles, as you see; this horse will suit you
+better, and I'll take the shine out of your charger on the way home."
+
+"Thank you, Charley," said Kate, with a smile. "I've quite recovered
+from my fright--if, indeed, it is worth calling by that name; but I
+fear that Harry has--"
+
+"Oh, I'm all right," cried Harry, advancing as he spoke to assist Kate
+in mounting. "I am ashamed to think that my wild cry was the cause of
+all this."
+
+In another minute they were again in their saddles, and turning their
+faces homeward, they swept over the plain at a steady gallop, fearing
+lest their accident should be the means of making Mr. Kennedy wait
+dinner for them. On arriving, they found the old gentleman engaged in
+an animated discussion with the cook about laying the table-cloth,
+which duty he had imposed on himself in Kate's absence.
+
+"Ah, Kate, my love," he cried, as they entered, "come here, lass, and
+mount guard. I've almost broke my heart in trying to convince that
+thick-headed goose that he can't set the table properly. Take it off my
+hands, like a good girl.--Charley, my boy, you'll be pleased to hear
+that your old friend Redfeather is here."
+
+"Redfeather, father!" exclaimed Charley, in surprise.
+
+"Yes; he and the parson, from the other end of Lake Winnipeg, arrived
+an hour ago in a tin kettle, and are now on their way to the upper
+fort."
+
+"That is, indeed, pleasant news; but I suspect that it will give much
+greater pleasure to our friend Jacques, who, I believe, would be glad
+to lay down his life for him, simply to prove his affection."
+
+"Well, well," said the old gentleman, knocking the ashes out of his
+pipe, and refilling it so as to be ready for an after-dinner smoke,
+"Redfeather has come, and the parson's come too; and I look upon it as
+quite miraculous that they have come, considering the _thing_ they came
+in. What they've come for is more than I can tell, but I suppose it's
+connected with church affairs.--Now then, Kate, what's come o' the
+dinner, Kate? Stir up that grampus of a cook! I half expect that he has
+boiled the cat for dinner, in his wrath, for it has been badgering him
+and me the whole morning.--Hollo, Harry, what's wrong?"
+
+The last exclamation was in consequence of an expression of pain which
+crossed Harry's face for a moment.
+
+"Nothing, nothing," replied Harry. "I've had a fall from my horse, and
+bruised my arm a little. But I'll see to it after dinner."
+
+"That you shall not," cried Mr Kennedy energetically, dragging his
+young friend into his bedroom. "Off with your coat, lad. Let's see it
+at once. Ay, ay," he continued, examining Harry's left arm, which was
+very much discoloured, and swelled from the elbow to the shoulder,
+"that's a severe thump, my boy. But it's nothing to speak of; only
+you'll have to submit to a sling for a day or two."
+
+"That's annoying, certainly, but I'm thankful it's no worse," remarked
+Harry, as Mr. Kennedy dressed the arm after his own fashion, and then
+returned with him to the dining-room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+Love--Old Mr. Kennedy puts his foot in it.
+
+
+One morning, about two weeks after Charley's arrival at Red River,
+Harry Somerville found himself alone in Mr. Kennedy's parlour. The old
+gentleman himself had just galloped away in the direction of the lower
+fort, to visit Charley, who was now formally installed there; Kate was
+busy in the kitchen giving directions about dinner; and Jacques was
+away with Redfeather, visiting his numerous friends in the settlement:
+so that, for the first time since his arrival, Harry found himself at
+the hour of ten in the morning utterly lone, and with nothing very
+definite to do. Of course, the two weeks that had elapsed were not
+without their signs and symptoms, their minor accidents and incidents,
+in regard to the subject that filled his thoughts. Harry had fifty
+times been tossed alternately from the height of hope to the depth of
+despair, from the extreme of felicity to the uttermost verge of sorrow,
+and he began seriously to reflect, when he remembered his desperate
+resolution on the first night of his arrival, that if he did not "do"
+he certainly would "die." This was quite a mistake, however, on Harry's
+part. Nobody ever did _die_ of unrequited love. Doubtless many people
+have hanged, drowned, and shot themselves because of it; but, generally
+speaking, if the patient can be kept from maltreating himself long
+enough, time will prove to be an infallible remedy. O youthful reader,
+lay this to heart: but pshaw! why do I waste ink on so hopeless a task?
+_Every_ one, we suppose, resolves once in a way to _die_ of love;
+so--die away, my young friends, only make sure that you don't _kill_
+yourselves, and I've no fear of the result.
+
+But to return. Kate, likewise, was similarly affected. She behaved like
+a perfect maniac--mentally, that is--and plunged herself,
+metaphorically, into such a succession of hot and cold baths, that it
+was quite a marvel how her spiritual constitution could stand it.
+
+But we were wrong in saying that Harry was _alone_ in the parlour. The
+gray cat was there. On a chair before the fire it sat, looking
+dishevelled and somewhat _blase,_ in consequence of the ill-treatment
+and worry to which it was continually subjected. After looking out of
+the window for a short time, Harry rose, and sitting down on a chair
+beside the cat, patted its head--a mark of attention it was evidently
+not averse to, but which it received, nevertheless, with marked
+suspicion, and some indications of being in a condition of armed
+neutrality. Just then the door opened, and Kate entered.
+
+"Excuse me, Harry, for leaving you alone," she said, "but I had to
+attend to several household matters. Do you feel inclined for a walk?"
+
+"I do indeed," replied Harry; "it is a charming day, and I am
+exceedingly anxious to see the bower that you have spoken to me about
+once or twice, and which Charley told me of long before I came here."
+
+"Oh, I shall take you to it with pleasure," replied Kate; "my dear
+father often goes there with me to smoke. If you will wait for two
+minutes I'll put on my bonnet," and she hastened to prepare herself for
+the walk, leaving Harry to caress the cat, which he did so
+energetically, when he thought of its young mistress, that it instantly
+declared war, and sprang from the chair with a remonstrative yell.
+
+On their way down to the bower, which was situated in a picturesque,
+retired spot on the river's bank about a mile below the house, Harry
+and Kate tried to converse on ordinary topics, but without success, and
+were at last almost reduced to silence. One subject alone filled their
+minds; all others were flat. Being sunk, as it were, in an ocean of
+love, they no sooner opened their lips to speak, than the waters rushed
+in, as a natural consequence, and nearly choked them. Had they but
+opened their mouths wide and boldly, they would have been pleasantly
+drowned together; but as it was, they lacked the requisite courage, and
+were fain to content themselves with an occasional frantic struggle to
+the surface, where they gasped a few words of uninteresting air, and
+sank again instantly.
+
+On arriving at the bower, however, and sitting down, Harry plucked up
+heart, and, heaving a deep sigh, said--
+
+"Kate, there is a subject about which I have long desired to speak to
+you-"
+
+Long as he had been desiring it, however, Kate thought it must have
+been nothing compared with the time that elapsed ere he said anything
+else; so she bent over a flower which she held in her hand, and said in
+a low voice, "Indeed, Harry, what is it?"
+
+Harry was desperate now. His usually flexible tongue was stiff as stone
+and dry as a bit of leather. He could no more give utterance to an
+intelligible idea than he could change himself into Mr. Kennedy's gray
+cat--a change that he would not have been unwilling to make at that
+moment. At last he seized his companion's hand, and exclaimed, with a
+burst of emotion that quite startled her,--
+
+"Kate, Kate! O dearest Kate, I love you! I _adore_ you! I--"
+
+At this point poor Harry's powers of speech again failed; so being
+utterly unable to express another idea, he suddenly threw his arms
+round her, and pressed her fervently to his bosom.
+
+Kate was taken quite aback by this summary method of coming to the
+point. Repulsing him energetically, she exclaimed, while she blushed
+crimson. "O Harry--Mr Somerville!" and burst into tears.
+
+Poor Harry stood before her for a moment, his head hanging down, and a
+deep blush of shame on his face.
+
+"O Kate," said he, in a deep tremulous voice, "forgive me; do--do
+forgive me! I knew not what I said. I scarce knew what I did" (here he
+seized her hand). "I know but one thing, Kate, and tell it you _will,_
+if it should cost me my life. I love you, Kate, to distraction, and I
+wish you to be my wife. I have been rude, very rude. Can you forgive
+me, Kate?"
+
+Now, this latter part of Harry's speech was particularly comical, the
+comicality of it lying in this, that while he spoke, he drew Kate
+gradually towards him, and at the very time when he gave utterance to
+the penitential remorse for his rudeness, Kate was infolded in a much
+more vigorous embrace than at the first; and what is more remarkable
+still, she laid her little head quietly on his shoulder, as if she had
+quite changed her mind in regard to what was and what was not rude, and
+rather enjoyed it than otherwise.
+
+While the lovers stood in this interesting position, it became apparent
+to Harry's olfactory nerves that the atmosphere was impregnated with
+tobacco smoke. Looking hastily up, he beheld an apparition that tended
+somewhat to increase the confusion of his faculties.
+
+In the opening of the bower stood Mr. Kennedy, senior, in a state of
+inexpressible amazement. We say inexpressible advisedly, because the
+extreme pitch of feeling which Mr. Kennedy experienced at what he
+beheld before him cannot possibly be expressed by human visage. As far
+as the countenance of man could do it, however, we believe the old
+gentleman's came pretty near the mark on this occasion. His hands were
+in his coat pockets, his body bent a little forward, his head and neck
+outstretched a little beyond it, his eyes almost starting from the
+sockets, and certainly the most prominent feature in his face: his
+teeth firmly clinched on his beloved pipe, and his lips expelling a
+multitude of little clouds so vigorously that one might have taken him
+for a sort of self-acting intelligent steam-gun that had resolved
+utterly to annihilate Kate and Harry at short range in the course of
+two minutes.
+
+When Kate saw her father she uttered a slight scream, covered her face
+with her hands, rushed from the bower, and disappeared in the wood.
+
+"So, young gentleman," began Mr. Kennedy, in a slow, deliberate tone of
+voice, while he removed the pipe from his mouth, clinched his fist, and
+confronted Harry, "you've been invited to my house as a guest, sir, and
+you seize the opportunity basely to insult my daughter!"
+
+"Stay, stay, my dear sir," interrupted Harry, laying his hand on the
+old man's shoulder and gazing earnestly into his face. "Oh, do not,
+even for a moment, imagine that I could be so base as to trifle with
+the affections of your daughter. I may have been presumptuous, hasty,
+foolish, mad if you will, but not base. God forbid that I should treat
+her with disrespect, even in thought! I love her, Mr. Kennedy, as I
+never loved before. I have asked her to be my wife, and--she--"
+
+"Whew!" whistled old Mr. Kennedy, replacing his pipe between his teeth,
+gazing abstractedly at the ground, and emitting clouds innumerable.
+After standing thus a few seconds, he turned his back slowly upon
+Harry, and smiled outrageously once or twice, winking at the same time,
+after his own fashion, at the river. Turning abruptly round, he
+regarded Harry with a look of affected dignity, and said, "Pray, sir,
+what did my daughter say to your very peculiar proposal?"
+
+"She said ye--ah! that is--she didn't exactly _say_ anything, but
+she--indeed I--"
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the old gentleman, deepening his frown as he
+regarded his young friend through the smoke. "In short, she said
+nothing, I suppose, but led you to infer, perhaps, that she would have
+said yes if I hadn't interrupted you."
+
+Harry blushed, and said nothing.
+
+"Now, sir," continued Mr. Kennedy, "don't you think that it would have
+been a polite piece of attention on your part to have asked _my_
+permission before you addressed my daughter on such a subject, eh?"
+
+"Indeed," said Harry, "I acknowledge that I have been hasty, but I must
+disclaim the charge of disrespect to you, sir. I had no intention
+whatever of broaching the subject to-day, but my feelings, unhappily,
+carried me away, and--and--in fact--"
+
+"Well, well, sir," interrupted Mr. Kennedy, with a look of offended
+dignity, "your feelings ought to be kept more under control. But come,
+sir, to my house. I must talk further with you on this subject. I must
+read you a lesson, sir--a lesson, humph! that you won't forget in a
+hurry."
+
+"But, my dear sir--" began Harry.
+
+"No more, sir--no more at present," cried the old gentleman, smoking
+violently as he pointed to the footpath that led to the house, "Lead
+the way, sir; I'll follow."
+
+The footpath, although wide enough to allow Kate and Harry to walk,
+beside each other, did not permit of two gentlemen doing so
+conveniently--a circumstance which proved a great relief to Mr.
+Kennedy, inasmuch as it enabled him, while walking behind his
+companion, to wink convulsively, smoke furiously, and punch his own
+ribs severely, by way of opening a few safety-valves to his glee,
+without which there is no saying what might have happened. He was
+nearly caught in these eccentricities more than once, however, as Harry
+turned half round with the intention of again attempting to exculpate
+himself--attempts which were as often met by a sudden start, a fierce
+frown, a burst of smoke, and a command to "go on." On approaching the
+house, the track became a broad road, affording Mr. Kennedy no excuse
+for walking in the rear, so that he was under the necessity of laying
+violent restraint on his feelings--a restraint which it was evident
+could not last long. At that moment, to his great relief, his eye
+suddenly fell on the gray cat, which happened to be reposing innocently
+on the doorstep.
+
+"_That's_ it! there's the whole cause of it at last!" cried Mr.
+Kennedy, in a perfect paroxysm of excitement, flinging his pipe
+violently at the unoffending victim as he rushed towards it. The pipe
+missed the cat, but went with a sharp crash through the parlour window,
+at which Charley was seated, while his father darted through the
+doorway, along the passage, and into the kitchen. Here the cat, having
+first capsized a pyramid of pans and kettles in its consternation, took
+refuge in an absolutely unassailable position. Seeing this, Mr. Kennedy
+violently discharged a pailful of water at the spot, strode rapidly to
+his own apartment, and locked himself in.
+
+"Dear me, Harry, what's wrong? my father seems unusually excited," said
+Charley, in some astonishment, as Harry entered the room, and flung
+himself on a chair with a look of chagrin.
+
+"It's difficult to say, Charley; the fact is, I've asked your sister
+Kate to be my wife, and your father seems to have gone mad with
+indignation."
+
+"Asked Kate to be your wife!" cried Charley, starting up, and regarding
+his friend with a look of amazement.
+
+"Yes, I have," replied Harry, with an air of offended dignity. "I know
+very well that I am unworthy of her, but I see no reason why you and
+your father should take such pains to make me feel it."
+
+"Unworthy of her, my dear fellow!" exclaimed Charley, grasping his hand
+and wringing it violently; "no doubt you are, and so is everybody, but
+you shall have her for all that, my boy. But tell me, Harry, have you
+spoken to Kate herself?"
+
+"Yes, I have."
+
+"And does she agree?"
+
+"Well, I think I may say she does."
+
+"Have you told my father that she does?"
+
+"Why, as to that," said Harry, with a perplexed smile, "he didn't need
+to be told; he made _himself_ pretty well aware of the facts of the
+case."
+
+"Ah! I'll soon settle _him_," cried Charley. "Keep your mind easy, old
+fellow; I'll very soon bring him round." With this assurance, Charley
+gave his friend's hand another shake that nearly wrenched the arm from
+his shoulder, and hastened out of the room in search of his refractory
+father.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+The course of true love, curiously enough, runs smooth for once; and
+the curtain falls.
+
+
+Time rolled on, and with it the sunbeams of summer went--the snowflakes
+of winter came. Needles of ice began to shoot across the surface of Red
+River, and gradually narrowed its bed. Crystalline trees formed upon
+the window-panes. Icicles depended from the eaves of the houses. Snow
+fell in abundance on the plains; liquid nature began rapidly to
+solidify, and not many weeks after the first frost made its appearance
+everything was (as the settlers expressed it) "hard and fast."
+
+Mr. Kennedy, senior, was in his parlour, with his back to a blazing
+wood-fire that seemed large enough to roast an ox whole. He was
+standing, moreover, in a semi-picturesque attitude, with his right hand
+in his breeches pocket and his left arm round Kate's waist. Kate was
+dressed in a gown that rivalled the snow itself in whiteness. One
+little gold clasp shone in her bosom; it was the only ornament she
+wore. Mr. Kennedy, too, had somewhat altered his style of costume. He
+wore a sky-blue, swallow-tailed coat, whose maker had flourished in
+London half-a-century before. It had a velvet collar about five inches
+deep, fitted uncommonly tight to the figure, and had a pair of bright
+brass buttons, very close together, situated half-a-foot above the
+wearer's natural waist. Besides this, he had on a canary-coloured vest,
+and a pair of white duck trousers, in the fob of which _evidently_
+reposed an immense gold watch of the olden time, with a bunch of seals
+that would have served very well as an anchor for a small boat.
+Although the dress was, on the whole, slightly comical, its owner, with
+his full, fat, broad figure, looked remarkably well in it, nevertheless.
+
+It was Kate's marriage-day, or rather marriage-evening; for the sun had
+set two hours ago, and the moon was now sailing in the frosty sky, its
+pale rays causing the whole country to shine with a clear, cold,
+silvery whiteness.
+
+The old gentleman had been for some time gazing in silent admiration on
+the fair brow and clustering ringlets of his daughter, when it suddenly
+occurred to him that the company would arrive in half-an-hour, and
+there were several things still to be attended to.
+
+"Hello, Kate!" he exclaimed, with a start, "we're forgetting ourselves.
+The candles are yet to light, and lots of other things to do." Saying
+this, he began to bustle about the room in a state of considerable
+agitation.
+
+"Oh, don't worry yourself, dear father!" cried Kate, running after him
+and catching him by the hand. "Miss Cookumwell and good Mrs.
+Taddipopple are arranging everything about tea and supper in the
+kitchen, and Tom Whyte has been kindly sent to us by Mr. Grant, with
+orders to make himself generally useful, so _he_ can light the candles
+in a few minutes, and you've nothing to do but to kiss me and receive
+the company." Kate pulled her father gently towards the fire again, and
+replaced his arm round her waist.
+
+"Receive company! Ah, Kate, my love, that's just what I know nothing
+about. If they'd let me receive them in my own way, I'd do it well
+enough; but that abominable Mrs. Taddi-what's her name-has quite addled
+my brains and driven me distracted with trying to get me to understand
+what she calls _etiquette_."
+
+Kate laughed, and said she didn't care _how_ he received them, as she
+was quite sure that, whichever way he did it, he would do it pleasantly
+and well.
+
+At that moment the door opened, and Tom Whyte entered. He was thinner,
+if possible, than he used to be, and considerably stiffer, and more
+upright.
+
+"Please, sir," said he, with a motion that made you expect to hear his
+back creak (it was intended for a bow)--"please, sir, can I do
+hanythink for yer?"
+
+"Yes, Tom, you can," replied Mr. Kennedy. "Light these candles, my man,
+and then go to the stable and see that everything there is arranged for
+putting up the horses. It will be pretty full to-night, Tom, and will
+require some management. Then, let me see--ah yes, bring me my pipe,
+Tom, my big meerschaum.--I'll sport that to-night in honour of you,
+Kate."
+
+"Please, sir," began Tom, with a slightly disconcerted air, "I'm
+afeared, sir, that--um--"
+
+"Well, Tom, what would you say? Go on."
+
+"The pipe, sir," said Tom, growing still more disconcerted--"says I to
+cook, says I, 'Cook, wot's been an' done it, d'ye think?' 'Dun know,
+Tom,' says he, 'but it's smashed, that's sartin. I think the gray
+cat--'"
+
+"What!" cried the old trader, in a voice of thunder, while a frown of
+the most portentous ferocity darkened his brow for an instant. It was
+only for an instant, however. Clearing his brow quickly, he said with a
+smile, "But it's your wedding-day, Kate, my darling. It won't do to
+blow up anybody to-day, not even the cat.--There, be off, Tom, and see
+to things. Look sharp! I hear sleigh-bells already."
+
+As he spoke Tom vanished perpendicularly, Kate hastened to her room,
+and the old gentleman himself went to the front door to receive his
+guests.
+
+The night was of that intensely calm and still character that
+invariably accompanies intense frost, so that the merry jingle of the
+sleigh-bells that struck on Mr. Kennedy's listening ear continued to
+sound, and grow louder as they drew near, for a considerable time ere
+the visitors arrived. Presently the dull, soft tramp of horses' hoofs
+was heard in the snow, and a well-known voice shouted out lustily, "Now
+then, Mactavish, keep to the left. Doesn't the road take a turn there?
+Mind the gap in the fence. That's old Kennedy's only fault. He'd rather
+risk breaking his friends' necks than mend his fences!"
+
+"All right, here we are," cried Mactavish, as the next instant two
+sleighs emerged out of the avenue into the moonlit space in front of
+the house, and dashed up to the door amid an immense noise and clatter
+of bells, harness, hoofs, snorting, and salutations.
+
+"Ah, Grant, my dear fellow!" cried Mr. Kennedy, springing to the sleigh
+and seizing his friend by the hand as he dragged him out. "This is kind
+of you to come early. And Mrs. Grant, too. Take care, my dear madam,
+step clear of the haps; now, then--cleverly done" (as Mrs. Grant
+tumbled into his arms in a confused heap). "Come along now; there's a
+capital fire in here.--Don't mind the horses, Mactavish--follow us, my
+lad; Tom Whyte will attend to them."
+
+Uttering such disjointed remarks, Mr. Kennedy led Mrs. Grant into the
+house, and made her over to Mrs. Taddipopple, who hurried her away to
+an inner apartment, while Mr. Kennedy conducted her spouse, along with
+Mactavish and our friend the head clerk at Fort Garry, into the parlour.
+
+"Harry, my dear fellow, I wish you joy," cried Mr. Grant, as the former
+grasped his hand. "Lucky dog you are. Where's Kate, eh? Not visible
+yet, I suppose."
+
+"No, not till the parson comes," interrupted Mr. Kennedy, convulsing
+his left cheek.--"Hollo, Charley, where are you? Ah! bring the cigars,
+Charley.--Sit down, gentlemen; make yourselves at home--I say, Mrs.
+Taddi--Taddi--oh, botheration--popple! that's it--your name, madam, is
+a puzzler-but-we'll need more chairs, I think. Fetch one or two, like a
+dear!"
+
+As he spoke the jingle of bells was heard outside, and Mr. Kennedy
+rushed to the door again.
+
+"Good-evening, Mr. Addison," said he, taking that gentleman warmly by
+the hand as he resigned the reins to Tom Whyte. "I am delighted to see
+you, sir (Look after the minister's mare, Tom), glad to see you, my
+dear sir. Some of my friends have come already. This way, Mr. Addison."
+
+The worthy clergyman responded to Mr. Kennedy's greeting in his own
+hearty manner, and followed him into the parlour, where the guests now
+began to assemble rapidly.
+
+"Father," cried Charley, catching his sire by the arm, "I've been
+looking for you everywhere, but you dance about like a
+will-o'-the-wisp. Do you know I've invited my friends Jacques and
+Redfeather to come to-night, and also Louis Peltier, the guide with
+whom I made my first trip. You recollect him, father?"
+
+"Ay, that do I, lad, and happy shall I be to see three such worthy men
+under my roof as guests on this night."
+
+"Yes, yes, I know that, father; but I don't see them here. Have they
+come yet?"
+
+"Can't say, boy. By the way, Pastor Conway is also coming, so we'll
+have a meeting between an Episcopalian and a Wesleyan. I sincerely
+trust that they won't fight!" As he said this the old gentleman grinned
+and threw his cheek into convulsions--an expression which was suddenly
+changed into one of confusion when he observed that Mr. Addison was
+standing close beside him, and had heard the remark.
+
+"Don't blush, my dear sir," said Mr. Addison, with a quiet smile, as he
+patted his friend on the shoulder. "You have too much reason, I am
+sorry to say, for expecting that clergymen of different denominations
+should look coldly on each other. There is far too much of this
+indifference and distrust among those who labour in different parts of
+the Lord's vineyard. But I trust you will find that my sympathies
+extend a little beyond the circle of my own particular body. Indeed,
+Mr. Conway is a particular friend of mine; so I assure you we won't
+fight."
+
+"Right, right" cried Mr. Kennedy, giving the clergy man an energetic
+grasp of the hand; "I like to hear you speak that way. I must confess
+that I've been a good deal surprised to observe, by what one reads in
+the old-country newspapers, as well as by what one sees even hereaway
+in the backwood settlements, how little interest clergymen show in the
+doings of those who don't happen to belong to their own particular
+sect; just as if a soul saved through the means of an Episcopalian was
+not of as much value as one saved by a Wesleyan, or a Presbyterian, or
+a Dissenter. Why, sir, it seems to me just as mean-spirited and selfish
+as if one of our chief factors was so entirely taken up with the doings
+and success of his own particular district that he didn't care a
+gun-flint for any other district in the Company's service."
+
+There was at least one man listening to these remarks whose naturally
+logical and liberal mind fully agreed with them. This was Jacques
+Caradoc, who had entered the room a few minutes before, in company with
+his friend Redfeather and Louis Peltier.
+
+"Right, sir! That's fact, straight up and down," said he, in an
+approving tone.
+
+"Ha! Jacques, my good fellow, is that you?--Redfeather, my friend, how
+are you?" said Mr. Kennedy, turning round and grasping a hand of
+each.--"Sit down there, Louis, beside Mrs.
+Taddi--eh?--ah!--popple.--Mr. Addison, this is Jacques Caradoc, the
+best and stoutest hunter between Hudson's Bay and Oregon."
+
+Jacques smiled and bowed modestly as Mr. Addison shook his hand. The
+worthy hunter did indeed at that moment look as if he fully merited Mr.
+Kennedy's eulogium. Instead of endeavouring to ape the gentleman, as
+many men in his rank of life would have been likely to do on an
+occasion like this, Jacques had not altered his costume a hair-breadth
+from what it usually was, excepting that some parts of it were quite
+new, and all of it faultlessly clean. He wore the usual capote, but it
+was his best one, and had been washed for the occasion. The scarlet
+belt and blue leggings were also as bright in colour as if they had
+been put on for the first time; and the moccasins, which fitted closely
+to his well-formed feet, were of the cleanest and brightest yellow
+leather, ornamented, as usual, in front. The collar of his blue-striped
+shirt was folded back a little more carefully than usual, exposing his
+sun-burned and muscular throat. In fact, he wanted nothing, save the
+hunting-knife, the rifle, and the powder-horn, to constitute him a
+perfect specimen of a thorough backwoodsman.
+
+Redfeather and Louis were similarly costumed, and a noble trio they
+looked as they sat modestly in a corner, talking to each other in
+whispers, and endeavouring, as much as possible, to curtail their
+colossal proportions.
+
+"Now, Harry," said Mr. Kennedy, in a hoarse whisper, at the same time
+winking vehemently, "we're about ready, lad. Where's Kate, eh? shall we
+send for her?"
+
+Harry blushed, and stammered out something that was wholly
+unintelligible, but which, nevertheless, seemed to afford infinite
+delight to the old gentleman, who chuckled and winked tremendously,
+gave his son-in-law a facetious poke in the ribs, and turning abruptly
+to Miss Cookumwell, said to that lady, "Now, Miss Cookumpopple, we're
+all ready. They seem to have had enough tea and trash; you'd better be
+looking after Kate, I think."
+
+Miss Cookumwell smiled, rose, and left the room to obey; Mrs.
+Taddipopple followed to help, and soon returned with Kate, whom they
+delivered up to her father at the door. Mr. Kennedy led her to the
+upper end of the room; Harry Somerville stood by her side, as if by
+magic; Mr. Addison dropped opportunely before them, as if from the
+clouds; there was an extraordinary and abrupt pause in the hum of
+conversation, and ere Kate was well aware of what was about to happen,
+she felt herself suddenly embraced by her husband, from whom she was
+thereafter violently torn and all but smothered by her sympathising
+friends.
+
+Poor Kate! she had gone through the ceremony almost
+mechanically--recklessly, we might be justified in saying; for not
+having raised her eyes off the floor from its commencement to its
+close, the man whom she accepted for better or for worse might have
+been Jacques or Redfeather for all that she knew.
+
+Immediately after this there was heard the sound of a fiddle, and an
+old Canadian was led to the upper end of the room, placed on a chair,
+and hoisted, by the powerful arms of Jacques and Louis, upon a table.
+In this conspicuous position the old man seemed to be quite at his
+ease. He spent a few minutes in bringing his instrument into perfect
+tune; then looking round with a mild, patronising glance to see that
+the dancers were ready, he suddenly struck up a Scotch reel with an
+amount of energy, precision, and spirit that might have shot a pang of
+jealousy through the heart of Neil Gow himself. The noise that
+instantly commenced, and was kept up from that moment, with but few
+intervals, during the whole evening, was of a kind that is never heard
+in fashionable drawing-rooms. Dancing in the backwood settlements _is_
+dancing. It is not walking; it is not sailing; it is not undulating; it
+is not sliding; no, it is _bona-fide_ dancing! It is the performance of
+intricate evolutions with the feet and legs that make one wink to look
+at; performed in good time too, and by people who look upon _all_ their
+muscles as being useful machines, not merely things of which a select
+few, that cannot be dispensed with, are brought into daily operation.
+Consequently the thing was done with an amount of vigour that was
+conducive to the health of performers, and productive of satisfaction
+to the eyes of beholders. When the evening wore on apace, however, and
+Jacques's modesty was so far overcome as to induce him to engage in a
+reel, along with his friend Louis Peltier, and two bouncing young
+ladies whose father had driven them twenty miles over the plains that
+day in order to attend the wedding of their dear friend and former
+playmate, Kate--when these four stood up, we say, and the fiddler
+played more energetically than ever, and the stout backwoodsmen began
+to warm and grow vigorous, until, in the midst of their tremendous
+leaps and rapid but well-timed motions, they looked like very giants
+amid their brethren, then it was that Harry, as he felt Kate's little
+hand pressing his arm, and observed her sparkling eyes gazing at the
+dancers in genuine admiration, began at last firmly to believe that the
+whole thing was a dream; and then it was that old Mr. Kennedy rejoiced
+to think that the house had been built under his own special
+directions, and he knew that it could not by any possibility be shaken
+to pieces.
+
+And well might Harry imagine that he dreamed; for besides the
+bewildering tendency of the almost too-good-to-be-true fact that Kate
+was really Mrs. Harry Somerville, the scene before him was a
+particularly odd and perplexing mixture of widely different elements,
+suggestive of new and old associations. The company was miscellaneous.
+There were retired old traders, whose lives from boyhood had been spent
+in danger, solitude, wild scenes and adventures, to which those of
+Robinson Crusoe are mere child's play. There were young girls, the
+daughters of these men, who had received good educations in the Red
+River academy, and a certain degree of polish which education always
+gives; a very _different_ polish, indeed, from that which the
+conventionalities and refinements of the Old World bestow, but not the
+less agreeable on that account--nay, we might even venture to say, all
+the _more_ agreeable on that account. There were Red Indians and
+clergymen; there were one or two ladies of a doubtful age, who had come
+out from the old country to live there, having found it no easy matter,
+poor things, to live at home; there were matrons whose absolute silence
+on every subject save "yes" or "no" showed that they had not been
+subjected to the refining influences of the academy, but whose hearty
+smiles and laughs of genuine good-nature proved that the storing of the
+brain has, after all, _very_ little to do with the best and deepest
+feelings of the heart. There were the tones of Scotch reels
+sounding--tones that brought Scotland vividly before the very eyes; and
+there were Canadian hunters and half-breed voyageurs, whose moccasins
+were more accustomed to the turf of the woods than the boards of a
+drawing-room, and whose speech and accents made Scotland vanish away
+altogether from the memory. There were old people and young folk; there
+were fat and lean, short and long. There were songs too--ballads of
+England, pathetic songs of Scotland, alternating with the French
+ditties of Canada, and the sweet, inexpressibly plaintive canoe-songs
+of the voyageur. There were strong contrasts in dress also: some wore
+the home-spun trousers of the settlement, a few the ornamented leggings
+of the hunter. Capotes were there--loose, flowing, and picturesque; and
+broad-cloth tail-coats were there, of the last century, tight-fitting,
+angular--in a word, detestable; verifying the truth of the proverb that
+extremes meet, by showing that the _cut_ which all the wisdom of
+tailors and scientific fops, after centuries of study, had laboriously
+wrought out and foisted upon the poor civilised world as perfectly
+sublime, appeared in the eyes of backwoodsmen and Indians utterly
+ridiculous. No wonder that Harry, under the circumstances, became
+quietly insane, and went about committing _nothing_ but mistakes the
+whole evening. No wonder that he emulated his father-in-law in abusing
+the gray cat, when he found it surreptitiously devouring part of the
+supper in an adjoining room; and no wonder that, when he rushed about
+vainly in search of Mrs. Taddipopple, to acquaint her with the cat's
+wickedness, he, at last, in desperation, laid violent hands on Miss
+Cookumwell, and addressed that excellent lady by the name of Mrs.
+Poppletaddy.
+
+Were we courageous enough to make the attempt, we would endeavour to
+describe that joyful evening from beginning to end. We would tell you
+how the company's spirits rose higher and higher, as each individual
+became more and more anxious to lend his or her aid in adding to the
+general hilarity; how old Mr. Kennedy nearly killed himself in his
+fruitless efforts to be everywhere, speak to everybody, and do
+everything at once, how Charley danced till he could scarcely speak,
+and then talked till he could hardly dance; and how the fiddler,
+instead of growing wearied, became gradually and continuously more
+powerful, until it seemed as if fifty fiddles were playing at one and
+the same time. We would tell you how Mr. Addison drew more than ever to
+Mr. Conway, and how the latter gentleman agreed to correspond regularly
+with the former thenceforth, in order that their interest in the great
+work each had in hand for the _same_ Master might be increased and kept
+up; how, in a spirit of recklessness (afterwards deeply repented of), a
+bashful young man was induced to sing a song which in the present
+mirthful state of the company ought to have been a humorous song, or a
+patriotic song, or a good, loud, inspiriting song, or _anything_, in
+short, but what it was--a slow, dull, sentimental song, about wasting
+gradually away in a sort of melancholy decay, on account of
+disappointed love, or some such trash, which was a false sentiment in
+itself, and certainly did not derive any additional tinge of
+truthfulness from a thin, weak voice, that was afflicted with chronic
+flatness, and _edged_ all its notes. Were we courageous enough to go
+on, we would further relate to you how during supper Mr. Kennedy
+senior, tried to make a speech, and broke down amid uproarious
+applause; how Mr. Kennedy, junior, got up thereafter--being urged
+thereto by his father, who said, with a convulsion of the cheek, "Get
+me out of the scrape, Charley, my boy"--and delivered an oration which
+did not display much power of concise elucidation, but was replete,
+nevertheless, with consummate impudence; how during this point in the
+proceedings the gray cat made a last desperate effort to purloin a cold
+chicken, which it had watched anxiously the whole evening, and was
+caught in the very act, nearly strangled, and flung out of the window,
+where it alighted in safety on the snow, and fled, a wiser, and, we
+trust, a better cat. We would recount all this to you, reader, and a
+great deal more besides; but we fear to try your patience, and we
+tremble violently, much more so, indeed, than you will believe, at the
+bare idea of waxing prosy.
+
+Suffice it to say that the party separated at an early hour--a good,
+sober, reasonable hour for such an occasion--somewhere before midnight.
+The horses were harnessed; the ladies were packed in the sleighs with
+furs so thick and plentiful as to defy the cold; the gentlemen seized
+their reins and cracked their whips; the horses snorted, plunged, and
+dashed away over the white plains in different directions, while the
+merry sleigh-bells sounded fainter and fainter in the frosty air. In
+half-an-hour the stars twinkled down on the still, cold scene, and
+threw a pale light on the now silent dwelling of the old fur-trader.
+
+       *       *      *       *       *       *       *
+
+Ere dropping the curtain over a picture in which we have sought
+faithfully to portray the prominent features of those wild regions that
+lie to the north of the Canadas, and in which we have endeavoured to
+describe some of the peculiarities of a class of men whose histories
+seldom meet the public eye, we feel tempted to add a few more touches
+to the sketch; we would fain trace a little farther the fortunes of one
+or two of the chief factors in our book. But this is not to be.
+
+Snowflakes and sunbeams came and went as in days gone by. Time rolled
+on, working many changes in its course, and among others consigning
+Harry Somerville to an important post in Red River colony, to the
+unutterable joy of Mr. Kennedy, senior, and of Kate. After much
+consideration and frequent consultation with Mr. Addison, Mr. Conway
+resolved to make another journey to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ
+to those Indian tribes that inhabit the regions beyond Athabasca; and
+being a man of great energy, he determined not to await the opening of
+the river navigation, but to undertake the first part of his expedition
+on snow-shoes. Jacques agreed to go with him as guide and hunter,
+Redfeather as interpreter. It was a bright, cold morning when he set
+out, accompanied part of the way by Charley Kennedy and Harry
+Somerville, whose hearts were heavy at the prospect of parting with the
+two men who had guided and protected them during their earliest
+experience of a voyageur's life, when, with hearts full to overflowing
+with romantic anticipations, they first dashed joyously into the almost
+untrodden wilderness.
+
+During their career in the woods together, the young men and the two
+hunters had become warmly attached to each other; and now that they
+were about to part--it might be for years, perhaps for ever--a feeling
+of sadness crept over them which they could not shake off, and which
+the promise given by Mr. Conway to revisit Red River on the following
+spring served but slightly to dispel.
+
+On arriving at the spot where they intended to bid their friends a last
+farewell, the two young men held out their hands in silence. Jacques
+grasped them warmly.
+
+"Mister Charles, Mister Harry," said he, in a deep, earnest voice, "the
+Almighty has guided us in safety for many a day when we travelled the
+woods together; for which praised be His Holy Name! May He guide and
+bless you still, and bring us together in this world again, if in His
+wisdom He see fit."
+
+There was no answer save a deeply-murmured "Amen." In another moment
+the travellers resumed their march. On reaching the summit of a slight
+eminence, where the prairies terminated and the woods began, they
+paused to wave a last adieu; then Jacques, putting himself at the head
+of the little party, plunged into the forest, and led them away towards
+the snowy regions of the Far North.
+
+
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Young Fur Traders, by R. M. Ballantyne
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Young Fur Traders, by R.M. Ballantyne
+#2 in our series by R.M. Ballantyne
+
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+Title: The Young Fur Traders
+
+Author: R.M. Ballantyne
+
+Release Date: August, 2004 [EBook #6357]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on December 1, 2002]
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+Edition: 10
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+Language: English
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+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG FUR TRADERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+THE YOUNG FUR-TRADERS.
+
+
+
+
+UNIFORM WITH THIS BOOK.
+
+_THE CORAL ISLAND. MARTIN RATTLER. UNCAVA._
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Pierre was standing over the great kettle. "_The Young
+Fur Traders_]" Frontispiece
+
+
+
+SNOWFLAKES AND SUNBEAMS; OR, THE YOUNG FUR-TRADERS
+
+A Tale of the Far North.
+
+
+BY ROBERT MICHAEL BALLANTYNE
+
+
+
+
+PEEFACE.
+
+In writing this book my desire has been to draw an exact copy of the
+picture which is indelibly stamped on my own memory. I have carefully
+avoided exaggeration in everything of importance. All the chief, and
+most of the minor incidents are facts. In regard to unimportant
+matters, I have taken the liberty of a novelist--not to colour too
+highly, or to invent improbabilities, but--to transpose time, place,
+and circumstance at pleasure; while, at the same time, I have
+endeavoured to convey to the reader's mind a truthful impression of
+the _general effect_--to use a painter's language--of the life and
+country of the Fur Trader.
+
+EDINBURGH, 1856.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I Plunges the reader into the middle of an arctic winter;
+conveys him into the heart of the wildernesses of North America; and
+introduces him to some of the principal personages of our tale
+
+CHAPTER II The old fur-trader endeavours to "fix" his son's "flint,"
+and finds the thing more difficult to do than he expected
+
+CHAPTER III The counting-room
+
+CHAPTER IV. A wolf-hunt in the prairies; Charley astonishes his
+father, and breaks in the "noo'oss" effectually
+
+CHAPTER V Peter Mactavish becomes an amateur doctor; Charley
+promulgates his views of things in general to Kate; and Kate waxes
+sagacious
+
+CHAPTER VI Spring and the voyageurs
+
+CHAPTER VII. The store
+
+CHAPTER VIII. Farewell to Kate; departure of the brigade; Charley
+becomes a voyageur
+
+CHAPTER IX. The voyage; the encampment; a surprise
+
+CHAPTER X. Varieties, vexations, and vicissitudes
+
+CHAPTER XI. Charley and Harry begin their sporting career without
+much success; Whisky-John catching
+
+CHAPTER XII. The storm
+
+CHAPTER XIII. The canoe; ascending the rapids; the portage; deer-
+shooting and life in the woods
+
+CHAPTER XIV. The Indian camp; the new outpost; Charley sent on a
+mission to the Indians
+
+CHAPTER XV. The feast; Charley makes his first speech in public;
+meets with an old friend; an evening in the grass
+
+CHAPTER XVI The return; narrow escape; a murderous attempt, which
+fails; and a discovery
+
+CHAPTER XVII The scene changes; Bachelors' Hall; a practical joke and
+its consequences; a snow-shoe walk at night in the forest
+
+CHAPTER XVIII The walk continued; frozen toes; an encampment in the
+snow
+
+CHAPTER XIX Shows how the accountant and Harry set their traps, and
+what came of it
+
+CHAPTER XX The accountant's story
+
+CHAPTER XXI Ptarmigan-hunting; Hamilton's shooting powers severely
+tested; a snow-storm
+
+CHAPTER XXII The winter packet; Harry hears from old friends, and
+wishes that he was with them CHAPTER XXIII Changes; Harry and
+Hamilton find that variety is indeed, charming; the latter astonishes
+the former considerably
+
+CHAPTER XXIV Hopes and fears; an unexpected meeting; philosophical
+talk between the hunter and the parson
+
+CHAPTER XXV Good news and romantic scenery; bear-hunting and its
+results
+
+CHAPTER XXVI An unexpected meeting, and an unexpected deer-hunt;
+arrival at the outpost; disagreement with the natives; an enemy
+discovered, and a murder
+
+CHAPTER XXVII The chase; the fight; retribution; low spirits and good
+news
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII Old friends and scenes; coming events cast their
+shadows before
+
+CHAPTER XXIX The first day at home; a gallop in the prairie, and its
+consequences
+
+CHAPTER XXX Love; old Mr. Kennedy puts his foot in it
+
+CHAPTER XXXI The course of true love, curiously enough, runs smooth
+for once; and the curtain falls
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+Plunges the reader into the middle of an Arctic winter; conveys him
+into the heart of the wildernesses of North America; and introduces
+him to some of the principal personages of our tale.
+
+
+Snowflakes and sunbeams, heat and cold, winter and summer, alternated
+with their wonted regularity for fifteen years in the wild regions of
+the Far North. During this space of time the hero of our tale
+sprouted from babyhood to boyhood, passed through the usual amount of
+accidents, ailments, and vicissitudes incidental to those periods of
+life, and finally entered upon that ambiguous condition that precedes
+early manhood.
+
+It was a clear, cold winter's day. The sunbeams of summer were long
+past, and snowflakes had fallen thickly on the banks of Red River.
+Charley sat on a lump of blue ice, his head drooping and his eyes
+bent on the snow at his feet with an expression of deep
+disconsolation.
+
+Kate reclined at Charley's side, looking wistfully up in his
+expressive face, as if to read the thoughts that were chasing each
+other through his mind, like the ever-varying clouds that floated in
+the winter sky above. It was quite evident to the most careless
+observer that, whatever might be the usual temperaments of the boy
+and girl, their present state of mind was not joyous, but on the
+contrary, very sad.
+
+"It won't do, sister Kate," said Charley. "I've tried him over and
+over again--I've implored, begged, and entreated him to let me go;
+but he won't, and I'm determined to run away, so there's an end of
+it!"
+
+As Charley gave utterance to this unalterable resolution, he rose
+from the bit of blue ice, and taking Kate by the hand, led her over
+the frozen river, climbed up the bank on the opposite side--an
+operation of some difficulty, owing to the snow, which had been
+drifted so deeply during a late storm that the usual track was almost
+obliterated--and turning into a path that lost itself among the
+willows, they speedily disappeared.
+
+As it is possible our reader may desire to know who Charley and Kate
+are, and the part of the world in which they dwell, we will interrupt
+the thread of our narrative to explain.
+
+In the very centre of the great continent of North America, far
+removed from the abodes of civilised men, and about twenty miles to
+the south of Lake Winnipeg, exists a colony composed of Indians,
+Scotsmen, and French-Canadians, which is known by the name of Red
+River Settlement. Red River differs from most colonies in more
+respects than one--the chief differences being, that whereas other
+colonies cluster on the sea-coast, this one lies many hundreds of
+miles in the interior of the country, and is surrounded by a
+wilderness; and while other colonies, acting on the Golden Rule,
+export their produce in return for goods imported, this of Red River
+imports a large quantity, and exports nothing, or next to nothing.
+Not but that it _might_ export, if it only had an outlet or a market;
+but being eight hundred miles removed from the sea, and five hundred
+miles from the nearest market, with a series of rivers, lakes,
+rapids, and cataracts separating from the one, and a wide sweep of
+treeless prairie dividing from the other, the settlers have long
+since come to the conclusion that they were born to consume their own
+produce, and so regulate the extent of their farming operations by
+the strength of their appetites. Of course, there are many of the
+necessaries, or at least the luxuries, of life which the colonists
+cannot grow--such as tea, coffee, sugar, coats, trousers, and shirts--
+and which, consequently, they procure from England, by means of the
+Hudson's Bay Fur Company's ships, which sail once a year from
+Gravesend, laden with supplies for the trade carried on with the
+Indians. And the bales containing these articles are conveyed in
+boats up the rivers, carried past the waterfalls and rapids overland
+on the shoulders of stalwart voyageurs, and finally landed at Red
+River, after a rough trip of many weeks' duration. The colony was
+founded in 1811, by the Earl of Selkirk, previously to which it had
+been a trading-post of the Fur Company. At the time of which we
+write, it contained about five thousand souls, and extended upwards
+of fifty miles along the Red and Assiniboine rivers, which streams
+supplied the settlers with a variety of excellent fish. The banks
+were clothed with fine trees; and immediately behind the settlement
+lay the great prairies, which extended in undulating waves--almost
+entirely devoid of shrub or tree--to the base of the Rocky Mountains.
+
+Although far removed from the civilised world, and containing within
+its precincts much that is savage and very little that is refined,
+Red River is quite a populous paradise, as compared with the
+desolate, solitary establishments of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company.
+These lonely dwellings of the trader are scattered far and wide over
+the whole continent--north, south, east, and west. Their population
+generally amounts to eight or ten men--seldom to thirty. They are
+planted in the thick of an uninhabited desert--their next neighbours
+being from two to five hundred miles off--their occasional visitors,
+bands of wandering Indians--and the sole object of their existence
+being to trade the furry hides of foxes, martens, beavers, badgers,
+bears, buffaloes, and wolves. It will not, then, be deemed a matter
+of wonder that the gentlemen who have charge of these establishments,
+and who, perchance, may have spent ten or twenty years in them,
+should look upon the colony of Red River as a species of Elysium, a
+sort of haven of rest, in which they may lay their weary heads, and
+spend the remainder of their days in peaceful felicity, free from the
+cares of a residence among wild beasts and wild men. Many of the
+retiring traders prefer casting their lot in Canada; but not a few of
+them _smoke_ out the remainder of their existence in this colony--
+especially those who, having left home as boys fifty or sixty years
+before, cannot reasonably expect to find the friends of their
+childhood where they left them, and cannot hope to remodel tastes and
+habits long nurtured in the backwoods so as to relish the manners and
+customs of civilised society.
+
+Such an one was old Frank Kennedy, who, sixty years before the date
+of our story, ran away from school in Scotland; got a severe
+thrashing from his father for so doing; and having no mother in whose
+sympathising bosom he could weep out his sorrow, ran away from home,
+went to sea, ran away from his ship while she lay at anchor in the
+harbour of New York, and after leading a wandering, unsettled life
+for several years, during which he had been alternately a clerk, a
+day-labourer, a store-keeper and a village schoolmaster, he wound up
+by entering the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, in which he
+obtained an insight into savage life, a comfortable fortune, besides
+a half-breed wife and a large family.
+
+Being a man of great energy and courage, and moreover possessed of a
+large, powerful frame, he was sent to one of the most distant posts
+on the Mackenzie River, as being admirably suited for the display of
+his powers both mental and physical. Here the small-pox broke out
+among the natives, and besides carrying off hundreds of these poor
+creatures, robbed Mr. Kennedy of all his children save two, Charles
+and Kate, whom we have already introduced to the reader.
+
+About the same time the council which is annually held at Red River
+in spring for the purpose of arranging the affairs of the country for
+the ensuing year thought proper to appoint Mr. Kennedy to a still
+more outlandish part of the country--as near, in fact, to the North
+Pole as it was possible for mortal man to live--and sent him an order
+to proceed to his destination without loss of time. On receiving this
+communication, Mr. Kennedy upset his chair, stamped his foot, ground
+his teeth, and vowed, in the hearing of his wife and children, that
+sooner than obey the mandate he would see the governors and council
+of Rupert's Land hanged, quartered, and boiled down into tallow!
+Ebullitions of this kind were peculiar to Frank Kennedy, and meant
+_nothing_. They were simply the safety-valves to his superabundant
+ire, and, like safety-valves in general, made much noise but did no
+damage. It was well, however, on such occasions to keep out of the
+old fur-trader's way; for he had an irresistible propensity to hit
+out at whatever stood before him, especially if the object stood on a
+level with his own eyes and wore whiskers. On second thoughts,
+however, he sat down before his writing-table, took a sheet of blue
+ruled foolscap paper, seized a quill which he had mended six months
+previously, at a time when he happened to be in high good-humour, and
+wrote as follows:--
+
+Letter
+
+To the Governor and Council of Rupert's Land, Fort Paskisegun
+ Red River Settlement. June 15, 18--.
+
+
+Gentlemen,--I have the honour to acknowledge receipt
+ of your favour of 26th April last, appointing me
+ to the charge of Peel's River, and directing me to strike
+ out new channels of trade in that quarter. In reply, I
+ have to state that I shall have the honour to fulfil your
+ instructions by taking my departure in a light canoe as
+ soon as possible. At the same time I beg humbly to
+ submit that the state of my health is such as to render
+ it expedient for me to retire from the service, and I herewith
+ beg to hand in my resignation. I shall hope to be
+ relieved early next spring.--I have the honour to be,
+ gentlemen, your most obedient, humble servant,
+
+
+       F. Kennedy.
+
+
+
+"There!" exclaimed the old gentleman, in a tone that would lead one
+to suppose he had signed the death-warrant, and so had irrevocably
+fixed the certain destruction, of the entire council--"there!" said
+he, rising from his chair, and sticking the quill into the ink-bottle
+with a _dab_ that split it up to the feather, and so rendered it
+_hors de combat_ for all time coming.
+
+To this letter the council gave a short reply, accepting his
+resignation, and appointing a successor. On the following spring old
+Mr. Kennedy embarked his wife and children in a bark canoe, and in
+process of time landed them safely in Red River Settlement. Here he
+purchased a house with six acres of land, in which he planted a
+variety of useful vegetables, and built a summer-house after the
+fashion of a conservatory, where he was wont to solace himself for
+hours together with a pipe, or rather with dozens of pipes, of
+Canadian twist tobacco.
+
+After this he put his two children to school. The settlement was at
+this time fortunate in having a most excellent academy, which was
+conducted by a very estimable man. Charles and Kate Kennedy, being
+obedient and clever, made rapid progress under his judicious
+management, and the only fault that he had to find with the young
+people was, that Kate was a little too quiet and fond of books, while
+Charley was a little too riotous and fond of fun.
+
+When Charles arrived at the age of fifteen and Kate attained to
+fourteen years, old Mr. Kennedy went into his conservatory, locked
+the door, sat down on an easy chair, filled a long clay pipe with his
+beloved tobacco, smoked vigorously for ten minutes, and fell fast
+asleep. In this condition he remained until the pipe fell from his
+lips and broke in fragments on the floor. He then rose, filled
+another pipe, and sat down to meditate on the subject that had
+brought him to his smoking apartment. "There's my wife," said he,
+looking at the bowl of his pipe, as if he were addressing himself to
+it, "she's getting too old to be looking after everything herself
+(_puff_), and Kate's getting too old to be humbugging any longer with
+books: besides, she ought to be at home learning to keep house, and
+help her mother, and cut the baccy (_puff_), and that young scamp
+Charley should be entering the service (_puff_). He's clever enough
+now to trade beaver and bears from the red-skins; besides, he's
+(_puff_) a young rascal, and I'll be bound does nothing but lead the
+other boys into (_puff_) mischief, although, to be sure, the master
+_does_ say he's the cleverest fellow in the school; but he must be
+reined up a bit now. I'll clap on a double curb and martingale. I'll
+get him a situation in the counting-room at the fort (_puff_), where
+he'll have his nose held tight to the grindstone. Yes, I'll fix both
+their flints to-morrow;" and old Mr. Kennedy gave vent to another
+puff so thick and long that it seemed as if all the previous puffs
+had concealed themselves up to this moment within his capacious
+chest, and rushed out at last in one thick and long-continued stream.
+
+By "fixing their flints" Mr. Kennedy meant to express the fact that
+he intended to place his children in an entirely new sphere of
+action, and with a view to this he ordered out his horse and cariole
+[Footnote: A sort of sleigh.] on the following morning, went up to
+the school, which was about ten miles distant from his abode, and
+brought his children home with him the same evening. Kate was now
+formally installed as housekeeper and tobacco-cutter; while Charley
+was told that his future destiny was to wield the quill in the
+service of the Hudson's Bay Company, and that he might take a week to
+think over it. Quiet, warm-hearted, affectionate Kate was overjoyed
+at the thought of being a help and comfort to her old father and
+mother; but reckless, joyous, good-humoured, hare-brained Charley was
+cast into the depths of despair at the idea of spending the livelong
+day, and day after day, for years it might be, on the top of a long-
+legged stool. In fact, poor Charley said that he "would rather become
+a buffalo than do it." Now this was very wrong of Charley, for, of
+course, he didn't _mean_ it. Indeed, it is too much a habit among
+little boys, ay, and among grown-up people, too, to say what they
+don't mean, as no doubt you are aware, dear reader, if you possess
+half the self-knowledge we give you credit for; and we cannot too
+strongly remonstrate with ourself and others against the practice--
+leading, as it does, to all sorts of absurd exaggerations, such as
+gravely asserting that we are "broiling hot" when we are simply
+"rather warm," or more than "half dead" with fatigue when we are
+merely "very tired." However, Charley _said_ that he would rather be
+"a buffalo than do it," and so we feel bound in honour to record the
+fact.
+
+Charley and Kate were warmly attached to each other. Moreover, they
+had been, ever since they could walk, in the habit of mingling their
+little joys and sorrows in each other's bosoms; and although, as
+years flew past, they gradually ceased to sob in each other's arms at
+every little mishap, they did not cease to interchange their inmost
+thoughts, and to mingle their tears when occasion called them forth.
+They knew the power, the inexpressible sweetness, of sympathy. They
+understood experimentally the comfort and joy that flow from
+obedience to that blessed commandment to "rejoice with those that do
+rejoice, and weep with those that weep." It was natural, therefore,
+that on Mr. Kennedy announcing his decrees, Charley and Kate should
+hasten to some retired spot where they could commune in solitude; the
+effect of which communing was to reduce them to a somewhat calmer and
+rather happy state of mind. Charley's sorrow was blunted by sympathy
+with Kate's joy, and Kate's joy was subdued by sympathy with
+Charley's sorrow; so that, after the first effervescing burst, they
+settled down into a calm and comfortable state of flatness, with very
+red eyes and exceedingly pensive minds. We must, however, do Charley
+the justice to say that the red eyes applied only to Kate; for
+although a tear or two could without much coaxing be induced to hop
+over his sun-burned cheek, he had got beyond that period of life when
+boys are addicted to (we must give the word, though not pretty,
+because it is eminently expressive) _blubbering_.
+
+A week later found Charley and his sister seated on the lump of blue
+ice where they were first introduced to the reader, and where Charley
+announced his unalterable resolve to run away, following it up with
+the statement that _that_ was "the end of it." He was quite mistaken,
+however, for that was by no means the end of it. In fact it was only
+the beginning of it, as we shall see hereafter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+The old fur-trader endeavours to "fix" his son's "flint," and finds
+the thing more difficult to do than he expected.
+
+
+Near the centre of the colony of Red River, the stream from which the
+settlement derives its name is joined by another, called the
+Assiniboine. About five or six hundred yards from the point where
+this union takes place, and on the banks of the latter stream, stands
+the Hudson's Bay Company's trading-post, Fort Garry. It is a massive
+square building of stone. Four high and thick walls enclose a space
+of ground on which are built six or eight wooden houses, some of
+which are used as dwellings for the servants of the Hudson's Bay
+Company, and others as stores, wherein are contained the furs, the
+provisions which are sent annually to various parts of the country,
+and the goods (such as cloth, guns, powder and shot, blankets, twine,
+axes, knives, etc., etc.) with which the fur-trade is carried on.
+Although Red River is a peaceful colony, and not at all likely to be
+assaulted by the poor Indians, it was, nevertheless, deemed prudent
+by the traders to make some show of power; and so at the corners of
+the fort four round bastions of a very imposing appearance were
+built, from the embrasures of which several large black-muzzled guns
+protruded. No one ever conceived the idea of firing these engines of
+war; and, indeed, it is highly probable that such an attempt would
+have been attended with consequences much more dreadful to those
+_behind_ than to those who might chance to be in front of the guns.
+Nevertheless they were imposing, and harmonised well with the flag-
+staff, which was the only other military symptom about the place.
+This latter was used on particular occasions, such as the arrival or
+departure of a brigade of boats, for the purpose of displaying the
+folds of a red flag on which were the letters H. B. C.
+
+The fort stood, as we have said, on the banks of the Assiniboine
+River, on the opposite side of which the land was somewhat wooded,
+though not heavily, with oak, maple, poplar, aspens, and willows;
+while at the back of the fort the great prairie rolled out like a
+green sea to the horizon, and far beyond that again to the base of
+the Rocky mountains. The plains at this time, however, were a sheet
+of unbroken snow, and the river a mass of solid ice.
+
+It was noon on the day following that on which our friend Charley had
+threatened rebellion, when a tall elderly man might have been seen
+standing at the back gate of Fort Garry, gazing wistfully out into
+the prairie in the direction of the lower part of the settlement. He
+was watching a small speck which moved rapidly over the snow in the
+direction of the fort.
+
+"It's very like our friend Frank Kennedy," said he to himself (at
+least we presume so, for there was no one else within earshot to whom
+he could have said it, except the door-post, which every one knows is
+proverbially a deaf subject). "No man in the settlement drives so
+furiously. I shouldn't wonder if he ran against the corner of the new
+fence now. Ha! just so--there he goes!"
+
+And truly the reckless driver did "go" just at that moment. He came
+up to the corner of the new fence, where the road took a rather
+abrupt turn, in a style that insured a capsize. In another second the
+spirited horse turned sharp round, the sleigh turned sharp over, and
+the occupant was pitched out at full length, while a black object,
+that might have been mistaken for his hat, rose from his side like a
+rocket, and, flying over him, landed on the snow several yards
+beyond. A faint shout was heard to float on the breeze as this
+catastrophe occurred, and the driver was seen to jump up and readjust
+himself in the cariole; while the other black object proved itself
+not to be a hat, by getting hastily up on a pair of legs, and
+scrambling back to the seat from which it had been so unceremoniously
+ejected.
+
+In a few minutes more the cheerful tinkling of the merry sleigh-bells
+was heard, and Frank Kennedy, accompanied by his hopeful son Charles,
+dashed up to the gate, and pulled up with a jerk.
+
+"Ha! Grant, my fine fellow, how are you?" exclaimed Mr. Kennedy,
+senior, as he disengaged himself from the heavy folds of the buffalo
+robe and shook the snow from his greatcoat. "Why on earth, man, don't
+you put up a sign-post and a board to warn travellers that you've
+been running out new fences and changing the road, eh?"
+
+"Why, my good friend," said Mr. Grant, smiling, "the fence and the
+road are of themselves pretty conclusive proof to most men that the
+road is changed; and, besides, we don't often have people driving
+round corners at full gallop; but--"
+
+"Hollo! Charley, you rascal," interrupted Mr. Kennedy--"here, take
+the mare to the stable, and don't drive her too fast. Mind, now, no
+going off upon the wrong road for the sake of a drive, you
+understand."
+
+"All right, father," exclaimed the boy, while a bright smile lit up
+his features and displayed two rows of white teeth: "I'll be
+particularly careful," and he sprang into the light vehicle, seized
+the reins, and with a sharp crack of the whip dashed down the road at
+a hard gallop.
+
+"He's a fine fellow that son of yours," said Mr. Grant, "and will
+make a first-rate fur-trader."
+
+"Pur-trader!" exclaimed Mr. Kennedy. "Just look at him! I'll be shot
+if he isn't thrashing the mare as if she were made of leather." The
+old man's ire was rising rapidly as he heard the whip crack every now
+and then, and saw the mare bound madly over the snow. "And see!" he
+continued, "I declare he _has_ taken the wrong turn after all."
+
+"True," said Mr. Grant: "he'll never reach the stable by that road;
+he's much more likely to visit the White-horse Plains. But come,
+friend, it's of no use fretting, Charley will soon tire of his ride;
+so come with me to my room and have a pipe before dinner."
+
+Old Mr. Kennedy gave a short groan of despair, shook his fist at the
+form of his retreating son, and accompanied his friend to the house.
+
+It must not be supposed that Frank Kennedy was very deeply offended
+with his son, although he did shower on him a considerable amount of
+abuse. On the contrary, he loved him very much. But it was the old
+man's nature to give way to little bursts of passion on almost every
+occasion in which his feelings were at all excited. These bursts,
+however, were like the little puffs that ripple the surface of the
+sea on a calm summer's day. They were over in a second, and left his
+good-humoured, rough, candid countenance in unruffled serenity.
+Charley knew this well, and loved his father tenderly, so that his
+conscience frequently smote him for raising his anger so often; and
+he over and over again promised his sister Kate to do his best to
+refrain from doing anything that was likely to annoy the old man in
+future. But, alas! Charley's resolves, like those of many other boys,
+were soon forgotten, and his father's equanimity was upset generally
+two or three times a day; but after the gust was over, the fur-trader
+would kiss his son, call him a "rascal," and send him off to fill and
+fetch his pipe.
+
+Mr. Grant, who was in charge of Fort Garry, led the way to his
+smoking apartment, where the two were soon seated in front of a
+roaring log-fire, emulating each other in the manufacture of smoke.
+
+"Well, Kennedy," said Mr. Grant, throwing himself back in his chair,
+elevating his chin, and emitting a long thin stream of white vapour
+from his lips, through which he gazed at his friend complacently--
+"well, Kennedy, to what fortunate chance am I indebted for this
+visit? It is not often that we have the pleasure of seeing you here."
+
+Mr. Kennedy created two large volumes of smoke, which, by means of a
+vigorous puff, he sent rolling over towards his friend, and said,
+"Charley."
+
+"And what of Charley?" said Mr. Grant with a smile, for he was well
+aware of the boy's propensity to fun, and of the father's desire to
+curb it.
+
+"The fact is," replied Kennedy, "that Charley must be broke. He's the
+wildest colt I ever had to tame, but I'll do it--I will--that's a
+fact."
+
+If Charley's subjugation had depended on the rapidity with which the
+little white clouds proceeded from his sire's mouth, there is no
+doubt that it would have been a "fact" in a very short time, for they
+rushed from him with the violence of a high wind. Long habit had made
+the old trader and his pipe not only inseparable companions, but part
+and parcel of each other--so intimately connected that a change in
+the one was sure to produce a sympathetic change in the other. In the
+present instance, the little clouds rapidly increased in size and
+number as the old gentleman thought on the obstinacy of his "colt."
+
+"Yes," he continued, after a moment's silence, "I've made up my mind
+to tame him, and I want _you_, Mr. Grant, to help me."
+
+Mr. Grant looked as if he would rather not undertake to lend his aid
+in a work that was evidently difficult; but being a good-natured man,
+he said, "And how, friend, can I assist in the operation?"
+
+"Well, you see, Charley's a good fellow at bottom, and a clever
+fellow too--at least so says the schoolmaster; though I must confess,
+that so far as my experience goes, he's only clever at finding out
+excuses for not doing what I want him to. But still I'm told he's
+clever, and can use his pen well; and I know for certain that he can
+use his tongue well. So I want to get him into the service, and have
+him placed in a situation where he shall have to stick to his desk
+all day. In fact, I want to have him broken into work; for you've no
+notion, sir, how that boy talks about bears and buffaloes and
+badgers, and life in the woods among the Indians. I do believe,"
+continued the old gentleman, waxing warm, "that he would willingly go
+into the woods to-morrow, if I would let him, and never show his nose
+in the settlement again. He's quite incorrigible. But I'll tame him
+yet--I will!"
+
+Mr. Kennedy followed this up with an indignant grunt, and a puff of
+smoke, so thick, and propelled with such vigour, that it rolled and
+curled in fantastic evolutions towards the ceiling, as if it were
+unable to control itself with delight at the absolute certainty of
+Charley being tamed at last.
+
+Mr. Grant, however, shook his head, and remained for five minutes in
+profound silence, during which time the two friends puffed in
+concert, until they began to grow quite indistinct and ghost-like in
+the thick atmosphere.
+
+At last he broke silence.
+
+"My opinion is that you're wrong, Mr. Kennedy. No doubt you know the
+disposition of your son better than I do; but even judging of it from
+what you have said, I'm quite sure that a sedentary life will ruin
+him."
+
+"Ruin him! Humbug!" said Kennedy, who never failed to express his
+opinion at the shortest notice and in the plainest language--a fact
+so well known by his friends that they had got into the habit of
+taking no notice of it. "Humbug!" he repeated, "perfect humbug! You
+don't mean to tell me that the way to break him in is to let him run
+loose and wild whenever and wherever he pleases?"
+
+"By no means. But you may rest assured that tying him down won't do
+it."
+
+"Nonsense!" said Mr. Kennedy testily; "don't tell me. Have I not
+broken in young colts by the score? and don't I know that the way to
+fix their flints is to clap on a good strong curb?"
+
+"If you had travelled farther south, friend," replied Mr. Grant, "you
+would have seen the Spaniards of Mexico break in their wild horses in
+a very different way; for after catching one with a lasso, a fellow
+gets on his back, and gives it the rein and the whip--ay, and the
+spur too; and before that race is over, there is no need for a curb."
+
+"What!" exclaimed Kennedy, "and do you mean to argue from that, that
+I should let Charley run--and _help_ him too? Send him off to the
+woods with gun and blanket, canoe and tent, all complete?" The old
+gentleman puffed a furious puff, and broke into a loud sarcastic
+laugh.
+
+"No, no," interrupted Mr. Grant; "I don't exactly mean that, but I
+think that you might give him his way for a year or so. He's a fine,
+active, generous fellow; and after the novelty wore off, he would be
+in a much better frame of mind to listen to your proposals. Besides"
+(and Mr. Grant smiled expressively), "Charley is somewhat like his
+father. He has got a will of his own; and if you do not give him his
+way, I very much fear that he'll--"
+
+"What?" inquired Mr. Kennedy abruptly.
+
+"Take it," said Mr. Grant.
+
+The puff that burst from Mr. Kennedy's lips on hearing this would
+have done credit to a thirty-six pounder.
+
+"Take it!" said he; "he'd _better_ not."
+
+The latter part of this speech was not in itself of a nature
+calculated to convey much; but the tone of the old trader's voice,
+the contraction of his eyebrows, and above all the overwhelming flow
+of cloudlets that followed, imparted to it a significance that
+induced the belief that Charley's taking his own way would be
+productive of more terrific consequences than it was in the power of
+the most highly imaginative man to conceive.
+
+"There's his sister Kate, now," continued the old gentleman; "she's
+as gentle and biddable as a lamb. I've only to say a word, and she's
+off like a shot to do my bidding; and she does it with such a sweet
+smile too." There was a touch of pathos in the old trader's voice as
+he said this. He was a man of strong feeling, and as impulsive in his
+tenderness as in his wrath. "But that rascal Charley," he continued,
+"is quite different. He's obstinate as a mule. To be sure, he has a
+good temper; and I must say for him he never goes into the sulks,
+which is a comfort, for of all things in the world sulking is the
+most childish and contemptible. He _generally_ does what I bid him,
+too. But he's _always_ getting into scrapes of one kind or other. And
+during the last week, notwithstanding all I can say to him, he won't
+admit that the best thing for him is to get a place in your counting-
+room, with the prospect of rapid promotion in the service. Very odd.
+I can't understand it at all;" and Mr. Kennedy heaved a deep sigh.
+
+"Did you ever explain to him the prospects that he would have in the
+situation you propose for him?" inquired Mr. Grant.
+
+"Can't say I ever did."
+
+"Did you ever point out the probable end of a life spent in the
+woods?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Nor suggest to him that the appointment to the office here would
+only be temporary, and to see how he got on in it?"
+
+"Certainly not."
+
+"Then, my dear sir, I'm not surprised that Charley rebels. You have
+left him to suppose that, once placed at the desk here, he is a
+prisoner for life. But see, there he is," said Mr. Grant, pointing as
+he spoke towards the subject of their conversation, who was passing
+the window at the moment; "let me call him, and I feel certain that
+he will listen to reason in a few minutes."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr. Kennedy, "you may try."
+
+In another minute Charley had been summoned, and was seated, cap in
+hand, near the door.
+
+"Charley, my boy," began Mr. Grant, standing with his back to the
+fire, his feet pretty wide apart, and his coat-tails under his arms--
+"Charley, my boy, your father has just been speaking of you. He is
+very anxious that you should enter the service of the Hudson's Bay
+Company; and as you are a clever boy and a good penman, we think that
+you would be likely to get on if placed for a year or so in our
+office here. I need scarcely point out to you, my boy, that in such a
+position you would be sure to obtain more rapid promotion than if you
+were placed in one of the distant outposts, where you would have very
+little to do, and perhaps little to eat, and no one to converse with
+except one or two men. Of course, we would merely place you here on
+trial, to see how you suited us; and if you prove steady and
+diligent, there is no saying how fast you might get on. Why, you
+might even come to fill my place in course of time. Come now,
+Charley, what think you of it?"
+
+Charley's eyes had been cast on the ground while Mr. Grant was
+speaking. He now raised them, looked at his father, then at his
+interrogator, and said,--
+
+"It is very kind of you both to be so anxious about my prospects. I
+thank you, indeed, very much; but I--a--"
+
+"Don't like the desk?" said his father, in an angry tone. "Is that
+it, eh?"
+
+Charley made no reply, but cast down his eyes again and smiled
+(Charley had a sweet smile, a peculiarly sweet, candid smile), as if
+he meant to say that his father had hit the nail quite on the top of
+the head that time, and no mistake.
+
+"But consider," resumed Mr. Grant, "although you might probably be
+pleased with an outpost life at first, you would be sure to grow
+weary of it after the novelty wore off, and then you would wish with
+all your heart to be back here again. Believe me, child, a trader's
+life is a very hard and not often a very satisfactory one--"
+
+"Ay," broke in the father, desirous, if possible, to help the
+argument, "and you'll find it a desperately wild, unsettled, roving
+sort of life, too, let me tell you! full of dangers both from wild
+beast and wild men--"
+
+"Hush!" interrupted Mr. Grant, observing that the boy's eyes kindled
+when his father spoke of a wild, roving life, and wild beasts.--"Your
+father does not mean that life at an outpost is wild and
+_interesting_ or _exciting_. He merely means that--a--it--"
+
+Mr. Grant could not very well explain what it was that Mr. Kennedy
+meant if he did not mean that, so he turned to him for help.
+
+"Exactly so," said that gentleman, taking a strong pull at the pipe
+for inspiration. "It's no ways interesting or exciting at all. It's
+slow, dull, and flat; a miserable sort of Robinson Crusoe life, with
+red Indians and starvation constantly staring you in the face--"
+
+"Besides," said Mr. Grant, again interrupting the somewhat
+unfortunate efforts of his friend, who seemed to have a happy
+facility in sending a brilliant dash of romantic allusion across the
+dark side of his picture--"besides, you'll not have opportunity to
+amuse yourself, or to read, as you'll have no books, and you'll have
+to work hard with your hands oftentimes, like your men--"
+
+"In fact," broke in the impatient father, resolved, apparently, to
+carry the point with a grand _coup_--"in fact, you'll have to rough
+it, as I did, when I went up the Mackenzie River district, where I
+was sent to establish a new post, and had to travel for weeks and
+weeks through a wild country, where none of us had ever been before;
+where we shot our own meat, caught our own fish, and built our own
+house--and were very near being murdered by the Indians; though, to
+be sure, afterwards they became the most civil fellows in the
+country, and brought us plenty of skins. Ay, lad, you'll repent of
+your obstinacy when you come to have to hunt your own dinner, as I've
+done many a day up the Saskatchewan, where I've had to fight with
+red-skins and grizzly bears and to chase the buffaloes over miles and
+miles of prairie on rough-going nags till my bones ached and I scarce
+knew whether I sat on--"
+
+"Oh," exclaimed Charley, starting to his feet, while his eyes flashed
+and his chest heaved with emotion, "that's the place for me, father!--
+Do, please, Mr. Grant send me there, and I'll work for you with all
+my might!"
+
+Frank Kennedy was not a man to stand this unexpected miscarriage of
+his eloquence with equanimity. His first action was to throw his pipe
+at the head of his enthusiastic boy; without worse effect, however,
+than smashing it to atoms on the opposite wall. He then started up
+and rushed towards his son, who, being near the door, retreated
+precipitately and vanished.
+
+"So," said Mr. Grant, not very sure whether to laugh or be angry at
+the result of their united efforts, "you've settled the question now,
+at all events."
+
+Frank Kennedy said nothing, but filled another pipe, sat doggedly
+down in front of the fire, and speedily enveloped himself, and his
+friend, and all that the room contained, in thick, impenetrable
+clouds of smoke.
+
+Meanwhile his worthy son rushed off in a state of great glee. He had
+often heard the voyageurs of Red River dilate on the delights of
+roughing it in the woods, and his heart had bounded as they spoke of
+dangers encountered and overcome among the rapids of the Far North,
+or with the bears and bison-bulls of the prairie, but never till now
+had he heard his father corroborate their testimony by a recital of
+his own actual experience; and although the old gentleman's intention
+was undoubtedly to damp the boy's spirit, his eloquence had exactly
+the opposite effect--so that it was with a hop and a shout that he
+burst into the counting-room, with the occupants of which Charley was
+a special favourite.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+The Counting-room.
+
+
+Everyone knows the general appearance of a counting-room. There are
+one or two peculiar features about such apartments that are quite
+unmistakable and very characteristic; and the counting-room at Fort
+Garry, although many hundred miles distant from other specimens of
+its race, and, from the peculiar circumstances of its position, not
+therefore likely to bear them much resemblance, possessed one or two
+features of similarity, in the shape of two large desks and several
+very tall stools, besides sundry ink-bottles, rulers, books, and
+sheets of blotting-paper. But there were other implements there,
+savouring strongly of the backwoods and savage life, which merit more
+particular notice.
+
+The room itself was small, and lighted by two little windows, which
+opened into the courtyard. The entire apartment was made of wood. The
+floor was of unpainted fir boards. The walls were of the same
+material, painted blue from the floor upwards to about three feet,
+where the blue was unceremoniously stopped short by a stripe of
+bright red, above which the somewhat fanciful decorator had laid on a
+coat of pale yellow; and the ceiling, by way of variety, was of a
+deep ochre. As the occupants of Red River office were, however,
+addicted to the use of tobacco and tallow candles, the original
+colour of the ceiling had vanished entirely, and that of the walls
+had considerably changed.
+
+There were three doors in the room (besides the door of entrance),
+each opening into another apartment, where the three clerks were wont
+to court the favour of Morpheus after the labours of the day. No
+carpets graced the floors of any of these rooms, and with the
+exception of the paint aforementioned, no ornament whatever broke the
+pleasing uniformity of the scene. This was compensated, however, to
+some extent by several scarlet sashes, bright-coloured shot-belts,
+and gay portions of winter costume peculiar to the country, which
+depended from sundry nails in the bedroom walls; and as the three
+doors always stood open, these objects, together with one or two
+fowling-pieces and canoe-paddles, formed quite a brilliant and highly
+suggestive background to the otherwise sombre picture. A large open
+fireplace stood in one corner of the room, devoid of a grate, and so
+constructed that large logs of wood might be piled up on end to any
+extent. And really the fires made in this manner, and in this
+individual fireplace, were exquisite beyond description. A wood-fire
+is a particularly cheerful thing. Those who have never seen one can
+form but a faint idea of its splendour; especially on a sharp winter
+night in the arctic regions, where the thermometer falls to forty
+degrees below zero, without inducing the inhabitants to suppose that
+the world has reached its conclusion. The billets are usually piled
+up on end, so that the flames rise and twine round them with a fierce
+intensity that causes them to crack and sputter cheerfully, sending
+innumerable sparks of fire into the room, and throwing out a rich
+glow of brilliant light that warms a man even to look at it, and
+renders candles quite unnecessary.
+
+The clerks who inhabited this counting-room were, like itself,
+peculiar. There were three--corresponding to the bedrooms. The senior
+was a tall, broad-shouldered, muscular man--a Scotchman--very good-
+humoured, yet a man whose under lip met the upper with that peculiar
+degree of precision that indicated the presence of other qualities
+besides that of good-humour. He was book-keeper and accountant, and
+managed the affairs intrusted to his care with the same dogged
+perseverance with which he would have led an expedition of discovery
+to the North Pole. He was thirty or thereabouts.
+
+The second was a small man--also a Scotchman. It is curious to note
+how numerous Scotchmen are in the wilds of North America. This
+specimen was diminutive and sharp. Moreover, he played the flute--an
+accomplishment of which he was so proud that he ordered out from
+England a flute of ebony, so elaborately enriched with silver keys
+that one's fingers ached to behold it. This beautiful instrument,
+like most other instruments of a delicate nature, found the climate
+too much for its constitution, and, soon after the winter began,
+split from top to bottom. Peter Mactavish, however, was a genius by
+nature, and a mechanical genius by tendency; so that, instead of
+giving way to despair, he laboriously bound the flute together with
+waxed thread, which, although it could not restore it to its pristine
+elegance, enabled him to play with great effect sundry doleful airs,
+whose influence, when performed at night, usually sent his companions
+to sleep, or, failing this, drove them to distraction.
+
+The third inhabitant of the office was a ruddy, smooth-chinned youth
+of about fourteen, who had left home seven months before, in the hope
+of gratifying a desire to lead a wild life, which he had entertained
+ever since he read "Jack the Giant Killer," and found himself most
+unexpectedly fastened, during the greater part of each day, to a
+stool. His name was Harry Somerville, and a fine, cheerful little
+fellow he was, full of spirits, and curiously addicted to poking and
+arranging the fire at least every ten minutes--a propensity which
+tested the forbearance of the senior clerk rather severely, and would
+have surprised any one not aware of poor Harry's incurable antipathy
+to the desk, and the yearning desire with which he longed for
+physical action.
+
+Harry was busily engaged with the refractory fire when Charley, as
+stated at the conclusion of the last chapter, burst into the room.
+
+"Hollo!" he exclaimed, suspending his operations for a moment,
+"what's up?"
+
+"Nothing," said Charley, "but father's temper, that's all. He gave me
+a splendid description of his life in the woods, and then threw his
+pipe at me because I admired it too much."
+
+"Ho!" exclaimed Harry, making a vigorous thrust at the fire, "then
+you've no chance now."
+
+"No chance! what do you mean?"
+
+"Only that we are to have a wolf-hunt in the plains to-morrow; and if
+you've aggravated your father, he'll be taking you home to-night,
+that's all."
+
+"Oh! no fear of that," said Charley, with a look that seemed to imply
+that there was very great fear of "that"--much more, in fact, than he
+was willing to admit even to himself. "My dear old father never keeps
+his anger long. I'm sure that he'll be all right again in half-an-
+hour."
+
+"Hope so, but doubt it I do," said Harry, making another deadly poke
+at the fire, and returning, with a deep sigh, to his stool.
+
+"Would you like to go with us, Charley?" said the senior clerk,
+laying down his pen and turning round on his chair (the senior clerk
+never sat on a stool) with a benign smile.
+
+"Oh, very, very much indeed," cried Charley; "but even should father
+agree to stay all night at the fort, I have no horse, and I'm sure he
+would not let me have the mare after what I did to-day."
+
+"Do you think he's not open to persuasion?" said the senior clerk.
+
+"No, I'm sure he's not."
+
+"Well, well, it don't much signify; perhaps we can mount you."
+(Charley's face brightened.) "Go," he continued, addressing Harry
+Somerville--"go, tell Tom Whyte I wish to speak to him."
+
+Harry sprang from his stool with a suddenness and vigour that might
+have justified the belief that he had been fixed to it by means of a
+powerful spring, which had been set free with a sharp recoil, and
+shot him out at the door, for he disappeared in a trice. In a few
+minutes he returned, followed by the groom Tom Whyte.
+
+"Tom," said the senior clerk, "do you think we could manage to mount
+Charley to-morrow?"
+
+"Why, sir, I don't think as how we could. There ain't an 'oss in the
+stable except them wot's required and them wot's badly."
+
+"Couldn't he have the brown pony?" suggested the senior clerk.
+
+Tom Whyte was a cockney and an old soldier, and stood so bolt upright
+that it seemed quite a marvel how the words ever managed to climb up
+the steep ascent of his throat, and turn the corner so as to get out
+at his mouth. Perhaps this was the cause of his speaking on all
+occasions with great deliberation and slowness.
+
+"Why, you see, sir," he replied, "the brown pony's got cut under the
+fetlock of the right hind leg; and I 'ad 'im down to L'Esperance the
+smith's, sir, to look at 'im, sir; and he says to me, says he 'That
+don't look well, that 'oss don't,'--and he's a knowing feller, sir,
+is L'Esperance though he _is_ an 'alf-breed--"
+
+"Never mind what he said, Tom," interrupted the senior clerk; "is the
+pony fit for use? that's the question."
+
+"No, sir, 'e hain't."
+
+"And the black mare, can he not have that?"
+
+"No, sir; Mr. Grant is to ride 'er to-morrow."
+
+"That's unfortunate," said the senior clerk.--"I fear, Charley, that
+you'll need to ride behind Harry on his gray pony. It wouldn't
+improve his speed, to be sure, having two on his back; but then he's
+so like a pig in his movements at any rate, I don't think it would
+spoil his pace much."
+
+"Could he not try the new horse?" he continued, turning to the groom.
+
+"The noo 'oss, sir! he might as well try to ride a mad buffalo bull,
+sir. He's quite a young colt, sir, only 'alf broke--kicks like a
+windmill, sir, and's got an 'ead like a steam-engine; 'e couldn't
+'old 'im in no'ow, sir. I 'ad 'im down to the smith 'tother day, sir,
+an' says 'e to me, says 'e, 'That's a screamer, that is.' 'Yes,' says
+I, 'that his a fact.' 'Well,' says 'e--"
+
+"Hang the smith!" cried the senior clerk, losing all patience; "can't
+you answer me without so much talk? Is the horse too wild to ride?"
+
+"Yes, sir, 'e is" said the groom, with a look of slightly offended
+dignity, and drawing himself up--if we may use such an expression to
+one who was always drawn up to such an extent that he seemed to be
+just balanced on his heels, and required only a gentle push to lay
+him flat on his back.
+
+"Oh, I have it!" cried Peter Mactavish, who had been standing during
+the conversation with his back to the fire, and a short pipe in his
+mouth: "John Fowler, the miller, has just purchased a new pony. I'm
+told it's an old buffalo-runner, and I'm certain he would lend it to
+Charley at once."
+
+"The very thing," said the senior clerk.--"Run, Tom; give the miller
+my compliments, and beg the loan of his horse for Charley Kennedy.--I
+think he knows you, Charley?"
+
+The dinner-bell rang as the groom departed, and the clerks prepared
+for their mid-day meal.
+
+The Senior clerk's order to _"run"_ was a mere form of speech,
+intended to indicate that haste was desirable. No man imagined for a
+moment that Tom Whyte could, by any possibility, _run_. He hadn't run
+since he was dismissed from the army, twenty years before, for
+incurable drunkenness; and most of Tom's friend's entertained the
+belief that if he ever attempted to run he would crack all over, and
+go to pieces like a disentombed Egyptian mummy. Tom therefore walked
+off to the row of buildings inhabited by the men, where he sat down
+on a bench in front of his bed, and proceeded leisurely to fill his
+pipe.
+
+The room in which he sat was a fair specimen of the dwellings devoted
+to the _employes_ of the Hudson's Bay Company throughout the country.
+It was large, and low in the roof, built entirely of wood, which was
+unpainted; a matter, however, of no consequence, as, from long
+exposure to dust and tobacco smoke, the floor, walls, and ceiling had
+become one deep, uniform brown. The men's beds were constructed after
+the fashion of berths on board ship, being wooden boxes ranged in
+tiers round the room. Several tables and benches were strewn
+miscellaneously about the floor, in the centre of which stood a large
+double iron stove, with the word _"Carron"_ stamped on it. This
+served at once for cooking and warming the place. Numerous guns,
+axes, and canoe-paddles hung round the walls or were piled in
+corners, and the rafters sustained a miscellaneous mass of materials,
+the more conspicuous among which were snow-shoes, dog-sledges, axe-
+handles, and nets.
+
+Having filled and lighted his pipe, Tom Whyte thrust his hands into
+his deerskin mittens, and sauntered off to perform his errand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+A wolf-hunt in the prairies--Charley astonishes his father, and
+breaks in the "noo 'oss" effectually.
+
+During the long winter that reigns in the northern regions of
+America, the thermometer ranges, for many months together, from zero
+down to 20, 30, and 40 degrees _below_ it. In different parts of the
+country the intensity of the frost varies a little, but not
+sufficiently to make any appreciable change in one's sensation of
+cold. At York Fort, on the shores of Hudson's Bay, where the winter
+is eight months long, the spirit-of-wine (mercury being useless in so
+cold a climate) sometimes falls so low as 50 degrees below zero; and
+away in the regions of Great Bear Lake it has been known to fall
+considerably lower than 60 degrees below zero of Fahrenheit. Cold of
+such intensity, of course, produces many curious and interesting
+effects, which, although scarcely noticed by the inhabitants, make a
+strong impression upon the minds of those who visit the country for
+the first time. A youth goes out to walk on one of the first sharp,
+frosty mornings. His locks are brown and his face ruddy. In half-an-
+hour he returns with his face blue, his nose frost-bitten, and his
+locks _white_--the latter effect being produced by his breath
+congealing on his hair and breast, until both are covered with hoar-
+frost. Perhaps he is of a sceptical nature, prejudiced it may be, in
+favour of old habits and customs; so that, although told by those who
+ought to know that it is absolutely necessary to wear moccasins in
+winter, he prefers the leather boots to which he has been accustomed
+at home, and goes out with them accordingly In a few minutes the feet
+begin to lose sensation. First the toes, as far as feeling goes,
+vanish; then the heels depart, and he feels the extraordinary and
+peculiar and altogether disagreeable sensation of one who has had his
+heels and toes amputated, and is walking about on his insteps. Soon,
+however, these also fade away, and the unhappy youth rushes
+frantically home on the stumps of his ankle-bones--at least so it
+appears to him, and so in reality it would turn out to be if he did
+not speedily rub the benumbed appendages into vitality again.
+
+The whole country during this season is buried in snow, and the
+prairies of Red River present the appearance of a sea of the purest
+white for five or six months of the year. Impelled by hunger, troops
+of prairie wolves prowl round the settlement, safe from the assault
+of man in consequence of their light weight permitting them to
+scamper away on the surface of the snow, into which man or horse,
+from their greater weight, would sink, so as to render pursuit either
+fearfully laborious or altogether impossible. In spring, however,
+when the first thaws begin to take place, and commence that
+delightful process of disruption which introduces this charming
+season of the year, the relative position of wolf and man is
+reversed. The snow becomes suddenly soft, so that the short legs of
+the wolf, sinking deep into it, fail to reach the solid ground below,
+and he is obliged to drag heavily along; while the long legs of the
+horse enable him to plunge through and dash aside the snow at a rate
+which, although not very fleet, is sufficient nevertheless to
+overtake the chase and give his rider a chance of shooting it. The
+inhabitants of Red River are not much addicted to this sport, but the
+gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Service sometimes practise it; and it
+was to a hunt of this description that our young friend Charley
+Kennedy was now so anxious to go.
+
+The morning was propitious. The sun blazed in dazzling splendour in a
+sky of deep unclouded blue, while the white prairie glittered as if
+it were a sea of diamonds rolling out in an unbroken sheet from the
+walls of the fort to the horizon, and on looking at which one
+experienced all the pleasurable feelings of being out on a calm day
+on the wide, wide sea, without the disagreeable consequence of being
+very, very sick.
+
+The thermometer stood at 39 deg. in the shade, and  "everythin_k_" as Tom
+Whyte emphatically expressed it, "looked like a runnin' of right away
+into slush." That unusual sound, the trickling of water, so
+inexpressibly grateful to the ears of those who dwell in frosty
+climes, was heard all around, as the heavy masses of snow on the
+housetops sent a few adventurous drops gliding down the icicles which
+depended from the eaves and gables; and there was a balmy softness in
+the air that told of coming spring. Nature, in fact, seemed to have
+wakened from her long nap, and was beginning to think of getting up.
+Like people, however, who venture to delay so long as to _think_
+about it, Nature frequently turns round and goes to sleep again in
+her icy cradle for a few weeks after the first awakening.
+
+The scene in the court-yard of Fort Garry harmonised with the
+cheerful spirit of the morning. Tom Whyte, with that upright
+solemnity which constituted one of his characteristic features, was
+standing in the centre of a group of horses, whose energy he
+endeavoured to restrain with the help of a small Indian boy, to whom
+meanwhile he imparted a variety of useful and otherwise unattainable
+information.
+
+"You see, Joseph," said he to the urchin, who gazed gravely in his
+face with a pair of very large and dark eyes, "ponies is often
+skittish. Keason why one should be, an' another not, I can't
+comprehend. P'r'aps it's nat'ral, p'r'aps not, but howsomediver so
+'tis; an' if it's more nor above the likes o' _me_, Joseph, you
+needn't be suprised that it's somethink haltogether beyond _you_."
+
+It will not surprise the reader to be told that Joseph made no reply
+to this speech, having a very imperfect acquaintance with the English
+language, especially the peculiar dialect of that tongue in which Tom
+Whyte was wont to express his ideas, when he had any.
+
+He merely gave a grunt, and continued to gaze at Tom's fishy eyes,
+which were about as interesting as the face to which they belonged,
+and _that_ might have been mistaken for almost anything.
+
+"Yes, Joseph," he continued, "that's a fact. There's the noo brown
+o'ss now, _it's_ a skittish 'un. And there's Mr. Kennedy's gray mare,
+wot's a standin' of beside me, she ain't skittish a bit, though she's
+plenty of spirit, and wouldn't care hanythink for a five-barred gate.
+Now, wot I want to know is, wot's the reason why?"
+
+We fear that the reason why, however interesting it might prove to
+naturalists, must remain a profound secret for ever; for just as the
+groom was about to entertain Joseph with one of his theories on the
+point, Charley Kennedy and Harry Somerville hastily approached.
+
+"Ho, Tom!" exclaimed the former, "have you got the miller's pony for
+me?"
+
+"Why, no, sir; 'e 'adn't got his shoes on, sir, last night--"
+
+"Oh, bother his shoes!" said Charley, in a voice of great
+disappointment. "Why didn't you bring him up without shoes, man, eh?"
+
+"Well, sir, the miller said 'e'd get 'em put on early this mornin',
+an' I 'xpect 'e'll be 'ere in 'alf-a-hour at farthest, sir."
+
+"Oh, very well," replied Charley, much relieved, but still a little
+nettled at the bare possibility of being late.--"Come along, Harry;
+let's go and meet him. He'll be long enough of coming if we don't go
+to poke him up a bit."
+
+"You'd better wait," called out the groom, as the boys hastened away.
+"If you go by the river, he'll p'r'aps come by the plains; and if you
+go by the plains, he'll p'r'aps come by the river."
+
+Charley and Harry stopped and looked at each other. Then they looked
+at the groom, and as their eyes surveyed his solemn, cadaverous
+countenance, which seemed a sort of bad caricature of the long
+visages of the horses that stood around him, they burst into a
+simultaneous and prolonged laugh.
+
+"He's a clever old lamp-post," said Harry at last: "we had better
+remain, Charley."
+
+"You see," continued Tom Whyte, "the pony's 'oofs is in an 'orrible
+state. Last night w'en I see'd 'im I said to the miller, says I,
+'John, I'll take 'im down to the smith d'rectly.' 'Very good,' said
+John. So I 'ad him down to the smith--"
+
+The remainder of Tom's speech was cut short by one of those
+unforeseen operations of the laws of nature which are peculiar to
+arctic climates. During the long winter repeated falls of snow cover
+the housetops with white mantles upwards of a foot thick, which
+become gradually thicker and more consolidated as winter advances. In
+spring the suddenness of the thaw loosens these from the sloping
+roofs, and precipitates them in masses to the ground. These miniature
+avalanches are dangerous, people having been seriously injured and
+sometimes killed by them. Now it happened that a very large mass of
+snow, which lay on and partly depended from the roof of the house
+near to which the horses were standing, gave way, and just at that
+critical point in Tom Whyte's speech when he "'ad 'im down to the
+smith," fell with a stunning crash on the back of Mr. Kennedy's gray
+mare. The mare was not "skittish"--by no means--according to Tom's
+idea, but it would have been more than an ordinary mare to have stood
+the sudden descent of half-a-ton of snow without _some_ symptoms of
+consciousness. No sooner did it feel the blow than it sent both heels
+with a bang against the wooden store, by way of preliminary movement,
+and then rearing up with a wild snort, it sprang over Tom Whyte's
+head, jerked the reins from his hand, and upset him in the snow. Poor
+Tom never _bent_ to anything. The military despotism under which he
+had been reared having substituted a touch of the cap for a bow,
+rendered it unnecessary to bend; prolonged drill, laziness, and
+rheumatism made it at last impossible. When he stood up, he did so
+after the manner of a pillar; when he sat down, he broke across at
+two points, much in the way in which a foot-rule would have done had
+_it_ felt disposed to sit down; and when he fell, he came down like
+an overturned lamp-post. On the present occasion Tom became
+horizontal in a moment, and from his unfortunate propensity to fall
+straight, his head, reaching much farther than might have been
+expected, came into violent contact with the small Indian boy, who
+fell flat likewise, letting go the reins of the horses, which latter
+no sooner felt themselves free than they fled, curvetting and
+snorting round the court, with reins and manes flying in rare
+confusion.
+
+The two boys, who could scarce stand for laughing, ran to the gates
+of the fort to prevent the chargers getting free, and in a short time
+they were again secured, although evidently much elated in spirit.
+
+A few minutes after this Mr. Grant issued from the principal house
+leaning on Mr. Kennedy's arm, and followed by the senior clerk, Peter
+Mactavish, and one or two friends who had come to take part in the
+wolf-hunt. They were all armed with double or single barrelled guns
+or pistols, according to their several fancies. The two elderly
+gentlemen alone entered upon the scene without any more deadly
+weapons than their heavy riding-whips. Young Harry Somerville, who
+had been strongly advised not to take a gun lest he should shoot
+himself or his horse or his companions, was content to take the field
+with a small pocket-pistol, which he crammed to the muzzle with a
+compound of ball and swan-shot.
+
+"It won't do," said Mr. Grant, in an earnest voice, to his friend, as
+they walked towards the horses--"it won't do to check him too
+abruptly, my dear sir."
+
+It was evident that they were recurring to the subject of
+conversation of the previous day, and it was also evident that the
+father's wrath was in that very uncertain state when a word or look
+can throw it into violent agitation.
+
+"Just permit me," continued Mr. Grant, "to get him sent to the
+Saskatchewan or Athabasca for a couple of years. By that time he'll
+have had enough of a rough life, and be only too glad to get a berth
+at headquarters. If you thwart him now, I feel convinced that he'll
+break through all restraint."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr. Kennedy, with a frown--"Come here, Charley,"
+he said, as the boy approached with a disappointed look to tell of
+his failure in getting a horse; "I've been talking with Mr. Grant
+again about this business, and he says he can easily get you into the
+counting-room here for a year, so you'll make arrangements--"
+
+The old gentleman paused. He was going to have followed his wonted
+course by _commanding_ instantaneous obedience; but as his eye fell
+upon the honest, open, though disappointed face of his son, a gush of
+tenderness filled his heart. Laying his hand upon Charley's head, he
+said, in a kind but abrupt tone, "There now, Charley, my boy, make up
+your mind to give in with a good grace. It'll only be hard work for a
+year or two, and then plain sailing after that, Charley!"
+
+Charley's clear blue eyes filled with tears as the accents of
+kindness fell upon his ear.
+
+It is strange that men should frequently be so blind to the potent
+influence of kindness. Independently of the Divine authority, which
+assures us that "a soft answer turneth away wrath," and that "_love_
+is the fulfilling of the law," who has not, in the course of his
+experience, felt the overwhelming power of a truly affectionate word;
+not a word which possesses merely an affectionate signification, but
+a word spoken with a gush of tenderness, where love rolls in the
+tone, and beams in the eye, and revels in every wrinkle of the face?
+And how much more powerfully does such a word or look or tone strike
+home to the heart if uttered by one whose lips are not much
+accustomed to the formation of honeyed words or sweet sentences! Had
+Mr. Kennedy, senior, known more of this power, and put it more
+frequently to the proof, we venture to affirm that Mr. Kennedy,
+junior, would have _allowed_ his _"flint to be fixed"_ (as his father
+pithily expressed it) long ago.
+
+Ere Charley could reply to the question, Mr. Grant's voice, pitched
+in an elevated key, interrupted them.
+
+"Eh! what?" said that gentleman to Tom Whyte. "No horse for Charley!
+How's that?"
+
+"No, sir," said Tom.
+
+"Where's the brown pony?" said Mr. Grant, abruptly.
+
+"Cut 'is fetlock, sir," said Tom, slowly.
+
+"And the new horse?"
+
+"'Tan't 'alf broke yet, sir."
+
+"Ah! that's bad.--It wouldn't do to take an unbroken charger,
+Charley; for although you are a pretty good rider, you couldn't
+manage him, I fear. Let me see."
+
+"Please, sir," said the groom, touching his hat, "I've borrowed the
+miller's pony for 'im, and 'e's sure to be 'ere in 'alf-a-hour at
+farthest."
+
+"Oh, that'll do," said Mr. Grant; "you can soon overtake us. We shall
+ride slowly out, straight into the prairie, and Harry will remain
+behind to keep you company."
+
+So saying, Mr. Grant mounted his horse and rode out at the back gate,
+followed by the whole cavalcade.
+
+"Now this is too bad!" said Charley, looking with a very perplexed
+air at his companion. "What's to be done?"
+
+Harry evidently did not know what was to be done, and made no
+difficulty of saying so in a very sympathising tone. Moreover, he
+begged Charley very earnestly to take _his_ pony, but this the other
+would not hear of; so they came to the conclusion that there was
+nothing for it but to wait as patiently as possible for the arrival
+of the expected horse. In the meantime Harry proposed a saunter in
+the field adjoining the fort. Charley assented, and the two friends
+walked away, leading the gray pony along with them.
+
+To the right of Fort Garry was a small enclosure, at the extreme end
+of which commences a growth of willows and underwood, which gradually
+increases in size till it becomes a pretty thick belt of woodland,
+skirting up the river for many miles. Here stood the stable belonging
+to the establishment; and as the boys passed it, Charley suddenly
+conceived a strong desire to see the renowned "noo 'oss," which Tom
+Whyte had said was only "'alf broke;" so he turned the key, opened
+the door, and went in.
+
+There was nothing _very_ peculiar about this horse, excepting that
+his legs seemed rather long for his body, and upon a closer
+examination, there was a noticeable breadth of nostril and a latent
+fire in his eye, indicating a good deal of spirit, which, like
+Charley's own, required taming.
+
+"Oh" said Charley," what a splendid fellow! I say, Harry, I'll go out
+with _him."_
+
+"You'd better not."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Why? just because if you do Mr. Grant will be down upon you, and
+your father won't be very well pleased."
+
+"Nonsense," cried Charley. "Father didn't say I wasn't to take him. I
+don't think he'd care much. He's not afraid of my breaking my neck.
+And then, Mr. Grant seemed to be only afraid of my being run off
+with--not of his horse being hurt. Here goes for it!" In another
+moment Charley had him saddled and bridled, and led him out into the
+yard.
+
+"Why, I declare, he's quite quiet; just like a lamb," said Harry, in
+surprise.
+
+"So he is," replied Charley. "He's a capital charger; and even if he
+does bolt, he can't run five hundred miles at a stretch. If I turn
+his head to the prairies, the Rocky Mountains are the first things
+that will bring him up. So let him run if he likes, I don't care a
+fig." And springing lightly into the saddle, he cantered out of the
+yard, followed by his friend.
+
+The young horse was a well-formed, showy animal, with a good deal of
+bone--perhaps too much for elegance. He was of a beautiful dark
+brown, and carried a high head and tail, with a high-stepping gait,
+that gave him a noble appearance. As Charley cantered along at a
+steady pace, he could discover no symptoms of the refractory spirit
+which had been ascribed to him.
+
+"Let us strike out straight for the horizon now," said Harry, after
+they had galloped half-a-mile or so along the beaten track. "See,
+here are the tracks of our friends." Turning sharp round as he spoke,
+he leaped his pony over the heap that lined the road, and galloped
+away through the soft snow.
+
+At this point the young horse began to show his evil spirit. Instead
+of following the other, he suddenly halted and began to back.
+
+"Hollo, Harry!" exclaimed Charley; "hold on a bit. Here's this
+monster begun his tricks."
+
+"Hit him a crack with the whip," shouted Harry.
+
+Charley acted upon the advice, which had the effect of making the
+horse shake his head with a sharp snort, and back more vigorously
+than ever.
+
+"There, my fine fellow, quiet now," said Charley, in a soothing tone,
+patting the horse's neck. "It's a comfort to know you can't go far in
+_that_ direction, anyhow!" he added, as he glanced over his shoulder,
+and saw an immense drift behind.
+
+He was right. In a few minutes the horse backed into the snow-drift.
+Finding his hind-quarters imprisoned by a power that was too much
+even for _his_ obstinacy to overcome, he gave another snort and a
+heavy plunge, which almost unseated his young rider.
+
+"Hold on fast," cried Harry, who had now come up.
+
+"No fear," cried Charley, as he clinched his teeth and gathered the
+reins more firmly.--"Now for it, you young villain!" and raising his
+whip, he brought it down with a heavy slash on the horse's flank.
+
+Had the snow-drift been a cannon, and the horse a bombshell, he could
+scarcely have sprung from it with greater velocity. One bound landed
+him on the road; another cleared it; and, in a second more, he
+stretched out at full speed--his ears flat on his neck, mane and tail
+flying in the wind, and the bit tight between his teeth.
+
+"Well done," cried Harry, as he passed. "You're off now, old fellow;
+good-bye."
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Charley, in reply, leaving his cap in the snow as a
+parting souvenir; while, seeing that it was useless to endeavour to
+check his steed, he became quite wild with excitement; gave him the
+rein; flourished his whip; and flew over the white plains, casting up
+the snow in clouds behind him like a hurricane.
+
+While this little escapade was being enacted by the boys, the hunters
+were riding leisurely out upon the snowy sea in search of a wolf.
+
+Words cannot convey to you, dear reader, an adequate conception of
+the peculiar fascination, the exhilarating splendour of the scene by
+which our hunters were surrounded. Its beauty lay not in variety of
+feature in the landscape, for there was none. One vast sheet of white
+alone met the view, bounded all round by the blue circle of the sky,
+and broken, in one or two places, by a patch or two of willows,
+which, rising on the plain, appeared like little islands in a frozen
+sea. It was the glittering sparkle of the snow in the bright
+sunshine; the dreamy haziness of the atmosphere, mingling earth and
+sky as in a halo of gold; the first taste, the first _smell_ of
+spring after a long winter, bursting suddenly upon the senses, like
+the unexpected visit of a long-absent, much-loved, and almost-
+forgotten friend; the soft, warm feeling of the south wind, bearing
+on its wings the balmy influences of sunny climes, and recalling
+vividly the scenes, the pleasures, the bustling occupations of
+summer. It was this that caused the hunters' hearts to leap within
+them as they rode along--that induced old Mr. Kennedy to forget his
+years, and shout as he had been wont to do in days gone by, when he
+used to follow the track of the elk or hunt the wild buffalo; and it
+was this that made the otherwise monotonous prairies, on this
+particular clay, so charming.
+
+The party had wandered about without discovering anything that bore
+the smallest resemblance to a wolf, for upwards of an hour; Fort
+Garry had fallen astern (to use a nautical phrase) until it had
+become a mere speck on the horizon, and vanished altogether; Peter
+Mactavish had twice given a false alarm, in the eagerness of his
+spirit, and had three times plunged his horse up to the girths in a
+snow-drift; the senior clerk was waxing impatient, and the horses
+restive, when a sudden "Hollo!" from Mr. Grant brought the whole
+cavalcade to a stand.
+
+The object which drew his attention, and to which he directed the
+anxious eyes of his friends was a small speck, rather triangular in
+form, which overtopped a little willow bush not more than five or six
+hundred yards distant.
+
+"There he is!" exclaimed Mr. Grant. "That's a fact," cried Mr.
+Kennedy; and both gentlemen, instantaneously giving a shout, bounded
+towards the object; not, however, before the senior clerk, who was
+mounted on a fleet and strong horse, had taken the lead by six yards.
+A moment afterwards the speck rose up and discovered itself to be a
+veritable wolf. Moreover, he condescended to show his teeth, and
+then, conceiving it probable that his enemies were too numerous for
+him, he turned suddenly round and fled away. For ten minutes or so
+the chase was kept up at full speed, and as the snow happened to be
+shallow at the starting-point, the wolf kept well ahead of its
+pursuers--indeed, distanced them a little. But soon the snow became
+deeper, and the wolf plunged heavily, and the horses gained
+considerably. Although to the eye the prairies seemed to be a uniform
+level, there were numerous slight undulations, in which drifts of
+some depth had collected. Into one of these the wolf now plunged and
+laboured slowly through it. But so deep was the snow that the horses
+almost stuck fast. A few minutes, however, brought them out, and Mr.
+Grant and Mr. Kennedy, who had kept close to each other during the
+run, pulled up for a moment on the summit of a ridge to breathe their
+panting steeds.
+
+"What can that be?" exclaimed the former, pointing with his whip to a
+distant object which was moving rapidly over the plain.
+
+"Eh! what--where?" said Mr. Kennedy, shading his eyes with his hand,
+and peering in the direction indicated. "Why, that's another wolf,
+isn't it? No; it runs too fast for that."
+
+"Strange," said his friend; "what _can_ it be?"
+
+"If I hadn't seen every beast in the country," remarked Mr. Kennedy,
+"and didn't know that there are no such animals north of the equator,
+I should say it was a mad dromedary mounted by a ring-tailed roarer."
+
+"It can't be surely--not possible!" exclaimed Mr. Grant. "It's not
+Charley on the new horse!"
+
+Mr. Grant said this with an air of vexation that annoyed his friend a
+little. He would not have much minded Charley's taking a horse
+without leave, no matter how wild it might be; but he did not at all
+relish the idea of making an apology for his son's misconduct, and
+for the moment did not exactly know what to say. As usual in such a
+dilemma, the old man took refuge in a towering passion, gave his
+steed a sharp cut with the whip, and galloped forward to meet the
+delinquent.
+
+We are not acquainted with the general appearance of a "ring-tailed
+roarer;" in fact, we have grave doubts as to whether such an animal
+exists at all; but if it does, and is particularly wild, dishevelled,
+and fierce in deportment, there is no doubt whatever that when Mr.
+Kennedy applied the name to his hopeful son, the application was
+singularly powerful and appropriate.
+
+Charley had had a long run since we last saw him. After describing a
+wide curve, in which his charger displayed a surprising aptitude for
+picking out the ground that was least covered with snow, he headed
+straight for the fort again at the same pace at which he had started.
+At first Charley tried every possible method to check him, but in
+vain; so he gave it up, resolving to enjoy the race, since he could
+not prevent it. The young horse seemed to be made of lightning, with
+bones and muscles of brass; for he bounded untiringly forward for
+miles, tossing his head and snorting in his wild career. But Charley
+was a good horseman, and did not mind _that_ much, being quite
+satisfied that the horse _was_ a horse and not a spirit, and that
+therefore he could not run for ever. At last he approached the party,
+in search of which he had originally set out. His eyes dilated and
+his colour heightened as he beheld the wolf running directly towards
+him. Fumbling hastily for the pistol which he had borrowed from his
+friend Harry, he drew it from his pocket, and prepared to give the
+animal a shot in passing. Just at that moment the wolf caught sight
+of this new enemy in advance, and diverged suddenly to the left,
+plunging into a drift in his confusion, and so enabling the senior
+clerk to overtake him, and send an ounce of heavy shot into his side,
+which turned him over quite dead. The shot, however had a double
+effect. At that instant Charley swept past; and his mettlesome steed
+swerved as it heard the loud report of the gun, thereby almost
+unhorsing his rider, and causing him unintentionally to discharge the
+conglomerate of bullets and swan-shot into the flank of Peter
+Mactavish's horse--fortunately at a distance which rendered the shot
+equivalent to a dozen very sharp and particularly stinging blows. On
+receiving this unexpected salute, the astonished charger reared
+convulsively, and fell back upon his rider, who was thereby buried
+deep in the snow, not a vestige of him being left, no more than if he
+had never existed at all. Indeed, for a moment it seemed to be
+doubtful whether poor Peter _did_ exist or not, until a sudden
+upheaving of the snow took place, and his dishevelled head appeared,
+with the eyes and mouth wide open, bearing on them an expression of
+mingled horror and amazement. Meanwhile the second shot acted like a
+spur on the young horse, which flew past Mr. Kennedy like a
+whirlwind.
+
+"Stop, you young scoundrel!" he shouted, shaking his fist at Charley
+as he passed.
+
+Charley was past stopping, either by inclination or ability. This
+sudden and unexpected accumulation of disasters was too much for him.
+As he passed his sire, with his brown curls streaming straight out
+behind, and his eyes flashing with excitement, his teeth clinched,
+and his horse tearing along more like an incarnate fiend than an
+animal, a spirit of combined recklessness, consternation,
+indignation, and glee took possession of him. He waved his whip
+wildly over his head, brought it down with a stinging cut on the
+horse's neck, and uttered a shout of defiance that threw completely
+into the shade the loudest war-whoop that was ever uttered by the
+brazen lungs of the wildest savage between Hudson's Bay and Oregon.
+Seeing and hearing this, old Mr. Kennedy wheeled about and dashed off
+in pursuit with much greater energy than he had displayed in chase of
+the wolf.
+
+The race bid fair to be a long one, for the young horse was strong in
+wind and limb; and the gray mare, though decidedly not "the better
+horse," was much fresher than the other.
+
+The hunters, who were now joined by Harry Somerville, did not feel it
+incumbent on them to follow this new chase; so they contented
+themselves with watching their flight towards the fort, while they
+followed at a more leisurely pace.
+
+Meanwhile Charley rapidly neared Fort Garry, and now began to wonder
+whether the stable door was open, and if so, whether it were better
+for him to take his chance of getting his neck broken, or to throw
+himself into the next snow-drift that presented itself.
+
+He had not to remain long in suspense. The wooden fence that enclosed
+the stable-yard lay before him. It was between four and five feet
+high, with a beaten track running along the outside, and a deep snow-
+drift on the other. Charley felt that the young horse had made up his
+mind to leap this. As he did not at the moment see that there was
+anything better to be done, he prepared for it. As the horse bent on
+his haunches to spring, he gave him a smart cut with the whip, went
+over like a rocket, and plunged up to the neck in the snow-drift;
+which brought his career to an abrupt conclusion. The sudden stoppage
+of the horse was _one_ thing, but the arresting of Master Charley was
+_another_ and quite a different thing. The instant his charger
+landed, he left the saddle like a harlequin, described an extensive
+curve in the air, and fell head foremost into the drift, above which
+his boots and three inches of his legs alone remained to tell the
+tale.
+
+On witnessing this climax, Mr. Kennedy, senior, pulled up,
+dismounted, and ran--with an expression of some anxiety on his
+countenance--to the help of his son, while Tom Whyte came out of the
+stable just in time to receive the "noo 'oss" as he floundered out of
+the snow.
+
+"I believe," said the groom, as he surveyed the trembling charger,
+"that your son has broke the noo 'oss, sir, better nor I could 'ave
+done myself."
+
+"I believe that my son has broken his neck," said Mr. Kennedy
+wrathfully. "Come here and help me to dig him out."
+
+In a few minutes Charley was dug out, in a state of insensibility,
+and carried up to the fort, where he was laid on a bed, and
+restoratives actively applied for his recovery.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Peter Mactavish becomes an amateur doctor; Charley promulgates his
+views of tilings in general to Kate; and Kate waxes sagacious.
+
+
+Shortly after the catastrophe just related, Charley opened his eyes
+to consciousness, and aroused himself out of a prolonged fainting
+fit, under the combined influence of a strong constitution and the
+medical treatment of his friends.
+
+Medical treatment in the wilds of North America, by the way, is very
+original in its character, and is founded on principles so vague that
+no one has ever been found capable of stating them clearly. Owing to
+the stubborn fact that there are no doctors in the country, men have
+been thrown upon their own resources, and as a natural consequence
+_every_ man is a doctor. True, there _are_ two, it may be three, real
+doctors in the Hudson's Bay Company's employment; but as one of these
+is resident on the shores of Hudson's Bay, another in Oregon, and a
+third in Red River Settlement, they are not considered available for
+every case of emergency that may chance to occur in the hundreds of
+little outposts, scattered far and wide over the whole continent of
+North America, with miles and miles of primeval wilderness between
+each. We do not think, therefore, that when we say there are _no_
+doctors in the country, we use a culpable amount of exaggeration.
+
+If a man gets ill, he goes on till he gets better; and if he doesn't
+get better, he dies. To avert such an undesirable consummation,
+desperate and random efforts are made in an amateur way. The old
+proverb that "extremes meet" is verified. And in a land where no
+doctors are to be had for love or money, doctors meet you at every
+turn, ready to practise on everything, with anything, and all for
+nothing, on the shortest possible notice. As maybe supposed, the
+practice is novel, and not unfrequently extremely wild. Tooth-drawing
+is considered child's play--mere blacksmith's work; bleeding is a
+general remedy for everything, when all else fails; castor-oil, Epsom
+salts, and emetics are the three keynotes, the foundations, and the
+copestones of the system.
+
+In Red River there is only one _genuine_ doctor; and as the
+settlement is fully sixty miles long, he has enough to do, and cannot
+always be found when wanted, so that Charley had to rest content with
+amateur treatment in the meantime. Peter Mactavish was the first to
+try his powers. He was aware that laudanum had the effect of
+producing sleep, and seeing that Charley looked somewhat sleepy after
+recovering consciousness, he thought it advisable to help out that
+propensity to slumber, and went to the medicine-chest, whence he
+extracted a small phial of tincture of rhubarb, the half of which he
+emptied into a wine-glass, under the impression that it was laudanum,
+and poured down Charley's throat! The poor boy swallowed a little,
+and sputtered the remainder over the bedclothes. It may be remarked
+here that Mactavish was a wild, happy, half-mad sort of fellow--
+wonderfully erudite in regard to some things, and profoundly ignorant
+in regard to others. Medicine, it need scarcely be added, was not his
+_forte_. Having accomplished this feat to his satisfaction, he sat
+down to watch by the bedside of his friend. Peter had taken this
+opportunity to indulge in a little private practice just after
+several of the other gentlemen had left the office, under the
+impression that Charley had better remain quiet for a short time.
+
+"Well, Peter," whispered Mr. Kennedy, senior, putting his head in at
+the door (it was Harry's room in which Charley lay), "how is he now?"
+
+"Oh! doing capitally," replied Peter, in a hoarse whisper, at the
+same time rising and entering the office, while he gently closed the
+door behind him. "I gave him a small dose of physic, which I think
+has done mm good. He's sleeping like a top now."
+
+Mr. Kennedy frowned slightly, and made one or two remarks in
+reference to physic which were not calculated to gratify the ears of
+a physician.
+
+"What did you give him?" he inquired abruptly.
+
+"Only a little laudanum."
+
+"_Only,_ indeed! it's all trash together, and that's the worst kind
+of trash you could have given him. Humph!" and the old gentleman
+jerked his shoulders testily.
+
+"How much did yon give him?" said the senior clerk, who had entered
+the apartment with Harry a few minutes before.
+
+"Not quite a wineglassful," replied Peter, somewhat subdued.
+
+"A what!" cried the father, starting from his chair as if he had
+received an electric shock, and rushing into the adjoining room, up
+and down which he raved in a state of distraction, being utterly
+ignorant of what should be done under the circumstances.
+
+Poor Harry Somerville fell rather than leaped off his stool, and
+dashed into the bedroom, where old Mr. Kennedy was occupied in
+alternately heaping unutterable abuse on the head of Peter Mactavish,
+and imploring him to advise what was best to be done. But Peter knew
+not. He could only make one or two insane proposals to roll Charley
+about the floor, and see if _that_ would do him any good; while Harry
+suggested in desperation that he should be hung by the heels, and
+perhaps it would run out!
+
+Meanwhile the senior clerk seized his hat, with the intention of
+going in search of Tom Whyte, and rushed out at the door; which he
+had no sooner done than he found himself tightly embraced in the arms
+of that worthy, who happened to be entering at the moment, and who,
+in consequence of the sudden onset, was pinned up against the wall of
+the porch.
+
+"Oh, my buzzum!" exclaimed Tom, laying his hand on his breast;
+"you've a'most bu'st me, sir. W'at's wrong, sir?"
+
+"Go for the doctor, Tom, quick! run like the wind. Take the freshest
+horse; fly, Tom, Charley's poisoned--laudanum; quick!"
+
+"'Eavens an' 'arth!" ejaculated the groom, wheeling round, and
+stalking rapidly off to the stable like a pair of insane compasses,
+while the senior clerk returned to the bedroom, where he found Mr.
+Kennedy still raving, Peter Mactavish still aghast and deadly pale,
+and Harry Somerville staring like a maniac at his young friend, as if
+he expected every moment to see him explode, although, to all
+appearance, he was sleeping soundly, and comfortably too,
+notwithstanding the noise that was going on around him. Suddenly
+Harry's eye rested on the label of the half-empty phial, and he
+uttered a loud, prolonged cheer.
+
+"It's only tincture of--"
+
+"Wild cats and furies!" cried Mr. Kennedy, turning sharply round and
+seizing Harry by the collar, "why d'you kick up such a row, eh?"
+
+"It's only tincture of rhubarb," repeated the boy, disengaging
+himself and holding up the phial triumphantly.
+
+"So it is, I declare," exclaimed Mr. Kennedy, in a tone that
+indicated intense relief of mind; while Peter Mactavish uttered a
+sigh so deep that one might suppose a burden of innumerable tons
+weight had just been removed from his breast.
+
+Charley had been roused from his slumbers by this last ebullition;
+but on being told what had caused it, he turned languidly round on
+his pillow and went to sleep again, while his friends departed and
+left him to repose.
+
+Tom Whyte failed to find the doctor. The servant told him that her
+master had been suddenly called to set a broken leg that morning for
+a trapper who lived ten miles _down_ the river, and on his return had
+found a man waiting with a horse and cariole, who carried him
+violently away to see his wife, who had been taken suddenly ill at a
+house twenty miles _up_ the river, and so she didn't expect him back
+that night.
+
+"An' where has 'e been took to?" inquired Tom.
+
+She couldn't tell; she knew it was somewhere about the White-horse
+Plains, but she didn't know more than that.
+
+"Did 'e not say w'en 'e'd be home?"
+
+"No, he didn't."
+
+"Oh dear!" said Tom, rubbing his long nose in great perplexity. "It's
+an 'orrible case o' sudden and onexpected pison."
+
+She was sorry for it, but couldn't help that; and thereupon, bidding
+him good-morning, shut the door.
+
+Tom's wits had come to that condition which just precedes "giving it
+up" as hopeless, when it occurred to him that he was not far from old
+Mr. Kennedy's residence; so he stepped into the cariole again and
+drove thither. On his arrival he threw poor Mrs. Kennedy and Kate
+into great consternation by his exceedingly graphic, and more than
+slightly exaggerated, account of what had brought him in search of
+the doctor. At first Mrs. Kennedy resolved to go up to Fort Garry
+immediately, but Kate persuaded her to remain at home, by pointing
+out that she could herself go, and if anything very serious had
+occurred (which she didn't believe), Mr. Kennedy could come down for
+her immediately, while she (Kate) could remain to nurse her brother.
+
+In a few minutes Kate and Tom were seated side by side in the little
+cariole, driving swiftly up the frozen river; and two hours later the
+former was seated by her brother's bedside, watching him as he slept
+with a look of tender affection and solicitude.
+
+Rousing himself from his slumbers, Charley looked vacantly round the
+room.
+
+"Have you slept well, darling?" inquired Kate, laying her hand
+lightly on his forehead.
+
+"Slept--eh! oh yes. I've slept. I say, Kate, what a precious bump I
+came down on my head, to be sure!"
+
+"Hush, Charley!" said Kate, perceiving that he was becoming
+energetic. "Father said you were to keep quiet--and so do I," she
+added, with a frown." Shut your eyes, sir, and go to sleep."
+
+Charley complied by shutting his eyes, and opening his mouth, and
+uttering a succession of deep snores.
+
+"Now, you bad boy," said Kate, "why _won't_ you try to rest?"
+
+"Because, Kate, dear/' said Charley, opening his eyes again--"because
+I feel as if I had slept a week at least; and not being one of the
+seven sleepers, I don't think it necessary to do more in that way
+just now. Besides, my sweet but particularly wicked sister, I wish
+just at this moment to have a talk with you."
+
+"But are you sure it won't do you harm to talk? do you feel quite
+strong enough?"
+
+"Quite: Sampson was a mere infant compared to me."
+
+"Oh, don't talk nonsense, Charley dear, and keep your hands quiet,
+and don't lift the clothes with your knees in that way, else I'll go
+away and leave you."
+
+"Very well, my pet; if you do, I'll get up and dress and follow you,
+that's all! But come, Kate, tell me first of all how it was that I
+got pitched off that long-legged rhinoceros, and who it was that
+picked me up, and why wasn't I killed, and how did I come here; for
+my head is sadly confused, and I scarcely recollect anything that has
+happened; and before commencing your discourse, Kate, please hand me
+a glass of water, for my mouth is as dry as a whistle."
+
+Kate handed him a glass of water, smoothed his pillow, brushed the
+curls gently off his forehead, and sat down on the bedside.
+
+"Thank you, Kate; now go on."
+
+"Well, you see," she began--
+
+"Pardon me, dearest," interrupted Charley, "if you would please to
+look at me you would observe that my two eyes are tightly closed, so
+that I don't _see_ at all."
+
+"Well, then, you must understand--"
+
+"Must I? Oh!--"
+
+"That after that wicked horse leaped with you over the stable fence,
+you were thrown high into the air, and turning completely round, fell
+head foremost into the snow, and your poor head went through the top
+of an old cask that had been buried there all winter."
+
+"Dear me!" ejaculated Charley; "did anyone see me, Kate?"
+
+"Oh yes."
+
+"Who?" asked Charley, somewhat anxiously; "not Mrs. Grant, I hope?
+for if she did she'd never let me hear the last of it."
+
+"No; only our father, who was chasing you at the time," replied Kate,
+with a merry laugh.
+
+"And no one else?"
+
+"No--oh yes, by-the-by, Tom Whyte was there too."
+
+"Oh, he's nobody. Go on."
+
+"But tell me, Charley, why do you care about Mrs. Grant seeing you?"
+
+"Oh! no reason at all, only she's such an abominable quiz."
+
+We must guard the reader here against the supposition that Mrs. Grant
+was a quiz of the ordinary kind. She was by no means a sprightly,
+clever woman, rather fond of a joke than otherwise, as the term might
+lead you to suppose. Her corporeal frame was very large, excessively
+fat, and remarkably unwieldy; being an appropriate casket in which to
+enshrine a mind of the heaviest and most sluggish nature. She spoke
+little, ate largely, and slept much--the latter recreation being very
+frequently enjoyed in a large arm-chair of a peculiar kind. It had
+been a water-butt, which her ingenious husband had cut half-way down
+the middle, then half-way across, and in the angle thus formed fixed
+a bottom, which, together with the back, he padded with tow, and
+covered the whole with a mantle of glaring bed-curtain chintz, whose
+pattern alternated in stripes of sky-blue and china roses, with
+broken fragments of the rainbow between. Notwithstanding her
+excessive slowness, however, Mrs, Grant was fond of taking a firm
+hold of anything or any circumstance in the character or affairs of
+her friends, and twitting them thereupon in a grave but persevering
+manner that was exceedingly irritating. No one could ever ascertain
+whether Mrs. Grant did this in a sly way or not, as her visage never
+expressed anything except unalterable good-humour. She was a good
+wife and an affectionate mother; had a family of ten children, and
+could boast of never having had more than one quarrel with her
+husband. This disagreement was occasioned by a rather awkward
+mischance. One day, not long after her last baby was born, Mrs. Grant
+waddled towards her tub with the intention of enjoying her accustomed
+siesta. A few minutes previously, her seventh child, which was just
+able to walk, had scrambled up into the seat and fallen fast asleep
+there. As has been already said, Mrs. Grant's intellect was never
+very bright, and at this particular time she was rather drowsy, so
+that she did not observe the child, and on reaching her chair, turned
+round preparatory to letting herself plump into it. She always
+_plumped_ into her chair. Her muscles were too soft to lower her
+gently down into it. Invariably on reaching a certain point they
+ceased to act, and let her down with a crash. She had just reached
+this point, and her baby's hopes and prospects were on the eve of
+being cruelly crushed for ever, when Mr. Grant noticed the impending
+calamity. He had no time to warn her, for she had already passed the
+point at which her powers of muscular endurance terminated; so
+grasping the chair, he suddenly withdrew it with such force that the
+baby rolled off upon the floor like a hedgehog, straightened out
+flat, and gave vent to an outrageous roar, while its horror-struck
+mother came to the ground with a sound resembling the fall of an
+enormous sack of wool. Although the old lady could not see exactly
+that there was anything very blameworthy in her husband's conduct on
+this occasion, yet her nerves had received so severe a shock that she
+refused to be comforted for two entire days.
+
+But to return from this digression. After Charley had two or three
+times recommended Kate (who was a little inclined to be quizzical) to
+proceed, she continued,--
+
+"Well, then you were carried up here by father and Tom Whyte, and put
+to bed, and after a good deal of rubbing and rough treatment you were
+got round. Then Peter Mactavish nearly poisoned you, but fortunately
+he was such a goose that he did not think of reading the label of the
+phial, and so gave you a dose of tincture of rhubarb instead of
+laudanum as he had intended; and then father flew into a passion, and
+Tom Whyte was sent to fetch the doctor, and couldn't find him; but
+fortunately he found me, which was much better, I think, and brought
+me up here. And so here I am, and here I intend to remain."
+
+"And so that's the end of it. Well, Kate, I'm very glad it was no
+worse."
+
+"And I am very _thankful_" said Kate, with emphasis on the word,
+"that it's no worse."
+
+"Oh, well, you know, Kate, I _meant_ that, of course."
+
+"But you did not _say_ it," replied his sister earnestly.
+
+"To be sure not," said Charley gaily; "it would be absurd to be
+always making solemn speeches, and things of that sort, every time
+one has a little accident."
+
+"True, Charley; but when one has a very serious accident, and escapes
+unhurt, don't you think that _then_ it would be--"
+
+"Oh yes, to be sure," interrupted Charley, who still strove to turn
+Kate from her serious frame of mind; "but sister dear, how could I
+possibly _say_ I was thankful with my head crammed into an old cask
+and my feet pointing up to the blue sky, eh?"
+
+Kate smiled at this, and laid her hand on his arm, while she bent
+over the pillow and looked tenderly into his eyes.
+
+"O my darling Charley, you are disposed to jest about it; but I
+cannot tell you how my heart trembled this morning when I heard from
+Tom Whyte of what had happened. As we drove up to the fort, I thought
+how terrible it would have been if you had been killed; and then the
+happy days we have spent together rushed into my mind, and I thought
+of the willow creek where we used to fish for gold eyes, and the spot
+in the woods where we have so often chased the little birds, and the
+lake in the prairies where we used to go in spring to watch the
+water-fowl sporting in the sunshine. When I recalled these things,
+Charley, and thought of you as dead, I felt as if I should die too.
+And when I came here and found that my fears were needless, that you
+were alive and safe, and almost well, I felt thankful--yes, very,
+very thankful--to God for sparing your life, my dear, dear Charley."
+And Kate laid her head on his bosom and sobbed, when she thought of
+what might have been, as if her very heart would break.
+
+Charley's disposition to levity entirely vanished while his sister
+spoke; and twining his tough little arm round her neck, he pressed
+her fervently to his heart.
+
+"Bless you, Kate," he said at length. "I am indeed thankful to God,
+not only for sparing my life, but for giving me such a darling sister
+to live for. But now, Kate, tell me, what do you think of father's
+determination to have me placed in the office here?"
+
+"Indeed, I think it's very hard. Oh, I do wish _so_ much that I could
+do it for you," said Kate with a sigh.
+
+"Do _what_ for me?" asked Charley.
+
+"Why, the office work," said Kate.
+
+"Tuts! fiddlesticks! But isn't it, now, really a _very_ hard case?"
+
+"Indeed it is; but, then, what can you do?"
+
+"Do?" said Charley impatiently; "run away to be sure."
+
+"Oh, don't speak of that!" said Kate anxiously. "You know it will
+kill our beloved mother; and then it would grieve father very much."
+
+"Well, father don't care much about grieving me, when he hunted me
+down like a wolf till I nearly broke my neck."
+
+"Now, Charley, you must not speak so. Father loves you tenderly,
+although he _is_ a little rough at times. If you only heard how
+kindly he speaks of you to our mother when you are away, you could
+not think of giving him so much pain. And then the Bible says,
+'Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the
+land which the Lord thy God giveth thee;' and as God speaks in the
+Bible, _surely_ we should pay attention to it!"
+
+Charley was silent for a few seconds; then heaving a deep sigh, he
+said,--
+
+"Well, I believe you're right, Kate; but then, what am I to do? If I
+don't run away, I must live, like poor Harry Somerville, on a long-
+legged stool; and if I do _that_, I'll--I'll--"
+
+As Charley spoke, the door opened, and his father entered.
+
+"Well, my boy," said he, seating himself on the bedside and taking
+his son's hand, "how goes it now? Head getting all right again? I
+fear that Kate has been talking too much to you.--Is it so, you
+little chatterbox?"
+
+Mr. Kennedy parted Kate's clustering ringlets and kissed her
+forehead.
+
+Charley assured his father that he was almost well, and much the
+better of having Kate to tend him. In fact, he felt so much revived
+that he said he would get up and go out for a walk.
+
+"Had I not better tell Tom Whyte to saddle the young horse for you?"
+said his father, half ironically. "No, no, boy; lie still where you
+are to-day, and get up if you feel better to-morrow. In the meantime,
+I've come to say good-bye, as I intend to go home to relieve your
+mother's anxiety about you. I'll see you again, probably, the day
+after to-morrow. Hark you, boy; I've been talking your affairs over
+again with Mr. Grant, and we've come to the conclusion to give you a
+run in the woods for a time. You'll have to be ready to start early
+in spring with the first brigades for the north. So adieu!"
+
+Mr. Kennedy patted him on the head, and hastily left the room.
+
+A burning blush of shame arose on Charley's cheek as he recollected
+his late remarks about his father; and then, recalling the purport of
+his last words, he sent forth an exulting shout as he thought of the
+coming spring.
+
+"Well now, Charley," said Kate, with an arch smile, "let us talk
+seriously over your arrangements for running away."
+
+Charley replied by seizing the pillow and throwing it at his sister's
+head; but being accustomed to such eccentricities, she anticipated
+the movement and evaded the blow.
+
+"Ah, Charley," cried Kate, laughing, "you mustn't let your hand get
+out of practice! That was a shockingly bad shot for a man thirsting
+to become a bear and buffalo hunter!"
+
+"I'll make my fortune at once," cried Charley, as Kate replaced the
+pillow, "build a wooden castle on the shores of Great Bear Lake, take
+you to keep house for me, and when I'm out hunting you'll fish for
+whales in the lake; and we'll live there to a good old age; so good-
+night, Kate dear, and go to bed."
+
+Kate laughed, gave her brother a parting kiss, and left him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+Spring and the voyageurs.
+
+
+Winter, with its snow and its ice: winter, with its sharp winds and
+white drifts; winter, with its various characteristic occupations and
+employments, is past, and it is spring now.
+
+The sun no longer glitters on fields of white; the woodman's axe is
+no longer heard hacking the oaken billets, to keep alive the roaring
+fires. That inexpressibly cheerful sound the merry chime of sleigh-
+bells, that tells more of winter than all other sounds together, is
+no longer heard on the bosom of Red River; for the sleighs are thrown
+aside as useless lumber--carts and gigs have supplanted them. The old
+Canadian, who used to drive the ox with its water-barrel to the ice-
+hole for his daily supply, has substituted a small cart with wheels
+for the old sleigh that used to glide so smoothly over the snow, and
+_grit_ so sharply on it in the more than usually frosty mornings in
+the days gone by. The trees have lost their white patches, and the
+clumps of willows, that used to look like islands in the prairie,
+have disappeared, as the carpeting that gave them prominence has
+dissolved. The aspect of everything in the isolated settlement has
+changed. The winter is gone, and spring--bright, beautiful, hilarious
+spring--has come again.
+
+By those who have never known an arctic winter, the delights of an
+arctic spring can never, we fear, be fully appreciated or understood.
+Contrast is one of its strongest elements; indeed, we might say,
+_the_ element which gives to all the others peculiar zest. Life in
+the arctic regions is like one of Turner's pictures, in which the
+lights are strong, the shadows deep, and the _tout ensemble_ hazy and
+romantic. So cold and prolonged is the winter, that the first mild
+breath of spring breaks on the senses like a zephyr from the plains
+of Paradise. Everything bursts suddenly into vigorous life, after the
+long, death-like sleep of Nature; as little children burst into the
+romping gaieties of a new day, after the deep repose of a long and
+tranquil night. The snow melts, the ice breaks up, and rushes in
+broken masses, heaving and tossing in the rising floods, that grind
+and whirl them into the ocean, or into those great fresh-water lakes
+that vie with ocean itself in magnitude and grandeur. The buds come
+out and the leaves appear, clothing all nature with a bright
+refreshing green, which derives additional brilliancy from sundry
+patches of snow, that fill the deep creeks and hollows everywhere,
+and form ephemeral fountains whose waters continue to supply a
+thousand rills for many a long day, until the fierce glare of the
+summer sun prevails at last and melts them all away.
+
+Red River flows on now to mix its long-pent-up waters with Lake
+Winnipeg. Boats are seen rowing about upon its waters, as the
+settlers travel from place to place; and wooden canoes, made of the
+hollowed-out trunks of large trees, shoot across from shore to shore--
+these canoes being a substitute for bridges, of which there are
+none, although the settlement lies on both sides of the river. Birds
+have now entered upon the scene, their wild cries and ceaseless
+flight adding to it a cheerful activity. Ground squirrels pop up out
+of their holes to bask their round, fat, beautifully-striped little
+bodies in the sun, or to gaze in admiration at the farmer, as he
+urges a pair of _very_ slow-going oxen, that drag the plough at a
+pace which induces one to believe that the wide field _may_ possibly
+be ploughed up by the end of next year. Frogs whistle in the marshy
+grounds so loudly that men new to the country believe they are being
+regaled by the songs of millions of birds. There is no mistake about
+their _whistle_. It is not merely _like_ a whistle, but it _is_ a
+whistle, shrill and continuous; and as the swamps swarm with these
+creatures, the song never ceases for a moment, although each
+individual frog creates only _one_ little gush of music, composed of
+half-a-dozen trills, and then stops a moment for breath before
+commencing the second bar. Bull-frogs, too, though not so numerous,
+help to vary the sound by croaking vociferously, as if they
+understood the value of bass, and were glad of having an opportunity
+to join in the universal hum of life and joy which rises everywhere,
+from the river and the swamp, the forest and the prairie, to welcome
+back the spring.
+
+Such was the state of things in Red River one beautiful morning in
+April, when a band of voyageurs lounged in scattered groups about the
+front gate of Fort Garry. They were as fine a set of picturesque,
+manly fellows as one could desire to see. Their mode of life rendered
+them healthy, hardy, arid good-humoured, with a strong dash of
+recklessness--perhaps too much of it--in some of the younger men.
+Being descended, generally, from French-Canadian sires and Indian
+mothers, they united some of the good and not a few of the bad
+qualities of both, mentally as well as physically--combining the
+light, gay-hearted spirit and full, muscular frame of the Canadian
+with the fierce passions and active habits of the Indian. And this
+wildness of disposition was not a little fostered by the nature of
+their usual occupations. They were employed during a great part of
+the year in navigating the Hudson's Bay Company's boats, laden with
+furs and goods, through the labyrinth of rivers and lakes that stud
+and intersect the whole continent, or they were engaged in pursuit of
+the bisons, [Footnote: These animals are always called buffaloes by
+American hunters and fur-traders.] which roam the prairies in vast
+herds.
+
+They were dressed in the costume of the country: most of them wore
+light-blue cloth capotes, girded tightly round them', by scarlet or
+crimson worsted belts. Some of them had blue and others scarlet cloth
+leggings, ornamented more or less with stained porcupine quills,
+coloured silk, or variegated beads; while some might be seen clad in
+the leathern coats of winter--deer-skin dressed like chamois leather,
+fringed all round with little tails, and ornamented much in the same
+way as those already described. The heavy winter moccasins and duffel
+socks, which gave to their feet the appearance of being afflicted
+with gout, were now replaced by moccasins of a lighter and more
+elegant character, having no socks below, and fitting tightly to the
+feet like gloves. Some wore hats similar to those made of silk or
+beaver which are worn by ourselves in Britain, but so bedizened with
+scarlet cock-tail feathers, and silver cords and tassels, as to leave
+the original form of the head-dress a matter of great uncertainty.
+These hats, however, are only used on high occasions, and chiefly by
+the fops. Most of the men wore coarse blue cloth caps with peaks, and
+not a few discarded head-pieces altogether, under the impression,
+apparently, that nature had supplied a covering which was in itself
+sufficient. These costumes varied not only in character but in
+quality, according to the circumstances of the wearer; some being
+highly ornamental and mended--evincing the felicity of the owner in
+the possession of a good wife--while others were soiled and torn, or
+but slightly ornamented. The voyageurs were collected, as we have
+said, in groups. Here stood a dozen of the youngest--consequently the
+most noisy and showily dressed--laughing loudly, gesticulating
+violently, and bragging tremendously. Near to them were collected a
+number of sterner spirits--men of middle age, with all the energy,
+and muscle, and bone of youth, but without its swaggering hilarity;
+men whose powers and nerves had been tried over and over again amid
+the stirring scenes of a voyageur's life; men whose heads were cool,
+and eyes sharp, and hands ready and powerful, in the mad whirl of
+boiling rapids, in the sudden attack of wild beast and hostile man,
+or in the unexpected approach of any danger; men who, having been
+well tried, needed not to boast, and who, having carried off
+triumphantly their respective brides many years ago, needed not to
+decorate their persons with the absurd finery that characterised
+their younger brethren. They were comparatively few in number, but
+they composed a sterling band, of which every man was a hero. Among
+them were those who occupied the high positions of bowman and
+steersman, and when we tell the reader that on these two men
+frequently hangs the safety of a boat, with all its crew and lading,
+it will be easily understood how needful it is that they should be
+men of iron nerve and strength of mind.
+
+Boat-travelling in those regions is conducted in a way that would
+astonish most people who dwell in the civilised quarters of the
+globe. The country being intersected in all directions by great lakes
+and rivers, these have been adopted as the most convenient highways
+along which to convey the supplies and bring back the furs from
+outposts. Rivers in America, however, as in other parts of the world,
+are distinguished by sudden ebullitions and turbulent points of
+character, in the shape of rapids, falls, and cataracts, up and down
+which neither men nor boats can by any possibility go with impunity;
+consequently, on arriving at such obstructions, the cargoes are
+carried overland to navigable water above or below the falls (as the
+case may be), then the boats are dragged over and launched, again
+reloaded, and the travellers proceed. This operation is called
+"making a portage;" and as these portages vary from twelve yards to
+twelve miles in length, it may be readily conceived that a voyageur's
+life is not an easy one by any means.
+
+This, however, is only one of his difficulties. Rapids occur which
+are not so dangerous as to make a "portage" necessary, but are
+sufficiently turbulent to render the descent of them perilous. In
+such cases, the boats, being lightened of part of their cargo, are
+_run_ down, and frequently they descend with full cargoes and crews.
+It is then that the whole management of each boat devolves upon its
+bowman and steersman. The rest of the crew, or _middlemen_ as they
+are called, merely sit still and look on, or give a stroke with their
+oars if required; while the steersman, with powerful sweeps of his
+heavy oar, directs the flying boat as it bounds from surge to surge
+like a thing of life; and the bowman stands erect in front to assist
+in directing his comrade at the stern, having a strong and long pole
+in his hands, with which, ever and anon, he violently forces the
+boat's head away from sunken rocks, against which it might otherwise
+strike and be stove in, capsized, or seriously damaged.
+
+Besides the groups already enumerated, there were one or two others,
+composed of grave, elderly men, whose wrinkled brows, gray hairs, and
+slow, quiet step, showed that the strength of their days was past;
+although their upright figures and warm brown complexions gave
+promise of their living to see many summers still. These were the
+principal steersmen and old guides--men of renown, to whom the others
+bowed as oracles or looked up to as fathers; men whose youth and
+manhood had been spent in roaming the trackless wilderness, and who
+were, therefore, eminently qualified to guide brigades through the
+length and breadth of the land; men whose power of threading their
+way among the perplexing intricacies of the forest had become a
+second nature, a kind of instinct, that was as sure of attaining its
+end as the instinct of the feathered tribes, which brings the
+swallow, after a long absence, with unerring certainty back to its
+former haunts again in spring.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+The store.
+
+
+At whatever establishment in the fur-trader's dominions you may
+chance to alight you will find a particular building which is
+surrounded by a halo of interest; towards which there seems to be a
+general leaning on the part of everybody, especially of the Indians;
+and with which are connected, in the minds of all, the most stirring
+reminiscences and pleasing associations.
+
+This is the trading-store. It is always recognisable, if natives are
+in the neighbourhood, by the bevy of red men that cluster round it,
+awaiting the coming of the storekeeper or the trader with that stoic
+patience which is peculiar to Indians. It may be further recognised,
+by a close observer, by the soiled condition of its walls occasioned
+by loungers rubbing their backs perpetually against it, and the
+peculiar dinginess round the keyhole, caused by frequent applications
+of the key, which renders it conspicuous beyond all its comrades.
+Here is contained that which makes the red man's life enjoyable; that
+which causes his heart to leap, and induces him to toil for months
+and months together in the heat of summer and amid the frost and snow
+of winter; that which _actually_ accomplishes, what music is _said_
+to achieve, the "soothing of the savage breast:" in short, here are
+stored up blankets, guns, powder, shot, kettles, axes, and knives;
+twine for nets, vermilion for war-paint, fishhooks and scalping-
+knives, capotes, cloth, beads, needles, and a host of miscellaneous
+articles, much too numerous to mention. Here, also occur periodical
+scenes of bustle and excitement, when bands of natives arrive from
+distant hunting-grounds, laden with rich furs, which are speedily
+transferred to the Hudson's Bay Company's stores in exchange for the
+goods aforementioned. And many a tough wrangle has the trader on such
+occasions with sharp natives, who might have graduated in
+Billingsgate, so close are they at a bargain. Here, too, voyageurs
+are supplied with an equivalent for their wages, part in advance, if
+they desire it (and they generally do desire it), and part at the
+conclusion of their long and arduous voyages.
+
+It is to one of these stores, reader, that we wish to introduce you
+now, that you may witness the men of the North brigade receive their
+advances.
+
+The store at Fort Garry stands on the right of the fort, as you enter
+by the front gate. Its interior resembles that of the other stores in
+the country, being only a little larger. A counter encloses a space
+sufficiently wide to admit a dozen men, and serves to keep back those
+who are more eager than the rest. Inside this counter, at the time we
+write of, stood our friend, Peter Mactavish, who was the presiding
+genius of the scene.
+
+"Shut the door now, and lock it," said Peter, in an authoritative
+tone, after eight or ten young voyageurs had crushed into the space
+in front of the counter. "I'll not supply you with so much as an
+ounce of tobacco if you let in another man."
+
+Peter needed not to repeat the command. Three or four stalwart
+shoulders were applied to the door, which shut with a bang like a
+cannon-shot, and the key was turned.
+
+"Come now, Antoine," began the trader, "we've lots to do, and not
+much time to do it in, so pray look sharp."
+
+Antoine, however, was not to be urged on so easily. He had been
+meditating deeply all the morning on what he should purchase.
+Moreover, he had a sweetheart, and of course he had to buy something
+for her before setting out on his travels. Besides, Antoine was six
+feet high, and broad shouldered, and well made, with a dark face and
+glossy black hair; and he entertained a notion that there were one or
+two points in his costume which required to be carefully rectified,
+ere he could consider that he had attained to perfection: so he
+brushed the long hair off his forehead, crossed his arms, and gazed
+around him.
+
+"Come now, Antoine," said Peter, throwing a green blanket at him; "I
+know you want _that_ to begin with. What's the use of thinking so
+long about it, eh? And _that_, too," he added, throwing him a blue
+cloth capote. "Anything else?"
+
+"Oui, oui, monsieur," cried Antoine, as he disengaged himself from
+the folds of the coat which Peter had thrown over his head. "Tabac,
+monsieur, tabac!"
+
+"Oh, to be sure," cried Peter. "I might have guessed that _that_ was
+uppermost in your mind. Well, how much will you have?" Peter began to
+unwind the fragrant weed off a coil of most appalling size and
+thickness, which looked like a snake of endless length. "Will that
+do?" and he flourished about four feet of the snake before the eyes
+of the voyageur.
+
+Antoine accepted the quantity, and young Harry Somerville entered the
+articles against him in a book.
+
+"Anything more, Antoine?" said the trader. "Ah, some beads and silks,
+eh? Oho, Antoine!--By the way, Louis, have you seen Annette lately?"
+
+Peter turned to another voyageur when he put this question, and the
+voyageur gave a broad grin as he replied in the affirmative, while
+Antoine looked a little confused. He did not care much, however, for
+jesting. So, after getting one or two more articles--not forgetting
+half-a-dozen clay pipes, and a few yards of gaudy calico, which
+called forth from Peter a second reference to Annette--he bundled up
+his goods, and made way for another comrade.
+
+Louis Peltier, one of the principal guides, and a man of importance
+therefore, now stood forward. He was probably about forty-five years
+of age; had a plain, olive-coloured countenance, surrounded by a mass
+of long jet-black hair, which he inherited, along with a pair of
+dark, piercing eyes, from his Indian mother; and a robust, heavy, yet
+active frame, which bore a strong resemblance to what his Canadian
+father's had been many years before. His arms, in particular, were of
+herculean mould, with large swelling veins and strongly-marked
+muscles. They seemed, in fact, just formed for the purpose of pulling
+the heavy sweep of an inland boat among strong rapids. His face
+combined an expression of stern resolution with great good-humour;
+and truly his countenance did not belie him, for he was known among
+his comrades as the most courageous and at the same time the most
+peaceable man in the settlement. Louis Peltier was singular in
+possessing the latter quality, for assuredly the half-breeds,
+whatever other good points they boast, cannot lay claim to very
+gentle or dove-like dispositions. His grey capote and blue leggings
+were decorated with no unusual ornaments, and the scarlet belt which
+encircled his massive figure was the only bit of colour he displayed.
+
+The younger men fell respectfully into the rear as Louis stepped
+forward and begged pardon for coming so early in the day. "Mais,
+monsieur," he said, "I have to look after the boats to-day, and get
+them ready for a start to-morrow."
+
+Peter Mactavish gave Louis a hearty shake of the hand before
+proceeding to supply his wants, which were simple and moderate,
+excepting in the article of _tabac_, in the use of which he was _im_-
+moderate, being an inveterate smoker; so that a considerable portion
+of the snake had to be uncoiled for his benefit.
+
+"Fond as ever of smoking, Louis?" said Peter Mactavish, as he handed
+him the coil.
+
+"Oui, monsieur--very fond," answered the guide, smelling the weed.
+"Ah, this is very good. I must take a good supply this voyage,
+because I lost the half of my roll last year;" and the guide gave a
+sigh as he thought of the overwhelming bereavement.
+
+"Lost the half of it, Louis!" said Mactavish. "Why, how was that? You
+must have lost _more_ than half your spirits with it!"
+
+"Ah, oui, I lost _all_ my spirits, and my comrade Francois at the
+same time!"
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed the clerk, bustling about the store while the
+guide continued to talk.
+
+"Oui, monsieur, oui. I lost _him_, and my tabac, and my spirits, and
+very nearly my life, all in one moment!"
+
+"Why, how came that about?" said Peter, pausing in his work, and
+laying a handful of pipes on the counter.
+
+"Ah, monsieur, it was very sad (merci, monsieur, merci; thirty pipes,
+if you please), and I thought at the time that I should give up my
+voyageur life, and remain altogether in the settlement with my old
+woman. Mais, monsieur, that was not possible. When I spoke of it to
+my old woman, she called _me_ an old woman; and you know, monsieur,
+that _two_ old women never could live together in peace for twelve
+months under the same roof. So here I am, you see, ready again for
+the voyage."
+
+The voyageurs, who had drawn round Louis when he alluded to an
+anecdote which they had often heard before, but were never weary of
+hearing over again, laughed loudly at this sally, and urged the guide
+to relate the story to "_monsieur_" who, nothing loath to suspend his
+operations for a little, leaned his arms on the counter and said--
+
+"Tell us all about it, Louis; I am anxious to know how you managed to
+come by so many losses all at one time."
+
+"Bien, monsieur, I shall soon relate it, for the story is very
+short."
+
+Harry Somerville, who was entering the pipes in Louis's account, had
+just set down the figures "30" when Louis cleared his throat to
+begin. Not having the mental fortitude to finish the line, he dropped
+his pen, sprang off his stool, which he upset in so doing, jumped up,
+sitting-ways, upon the counter, and gazed with breathless interest
+into the guide's face as he spoke.
+
+"It was on a cold, wet afternoon," said Louis, "that we were
+descending the Hill River, at a part of the rapids where there is a
+sharp bend in the stream, and two or three great rocks that stand up
+in front of the water, as it plunges over a ledge, as if they were
+put there a purpose to catch it, and split it up into foam, or to
+stop the boats and canoes that try to run the rapids, and cut them up
+into splinters. It was an ugly place, monsieur, I can tell you; and
+though I've run it again and again, I always hold my breath tighter
+when we get to the top, and breathe freer when we get to the bottom.
+Well, there was a chum of mine at the bow, Francois by name, and a
+fine fellow he was as I ever came across. He used to sleep with me at
+night under the same blanket, although it was somewhat inconvenient;
+for being as big as myself and a stone heavier, it was all we could
+do to make the blanket cover us. However, he and I were great
+friends, and we managed it somehow. Well, he was at the bow when we
+took the rapids, and a first-rate bowman he made. His pole was twice
+as long and twice as thick as any other pole in the boat, and he
+twisted it about just like a fiddlestick. I remember well the night
+before we came to the rapids, as he was sitting by the fire, which
+was blazing up among the pine-branches that overhung us, he said that
+he wanted a good pole for the rapids next day; and with that he
+jumped up, laid hold of an axe, and went back into the woods a bit to
+get one. When he returned, he brought a young tree on his shoulder,
+which he began to strip of its branches, and bark. 'Louis, says he,
+'this is hot work; give us a pipe.' So I rummaged about for some
+tobacco, but found there was none left in my bag; so I went to my kit
+and got out my roll, about three fathoms or so, and cutting half of
+it off, I went to the fire and twisted it round his neck by way of a
+joke, and he said he'd wear it as a necklace all night, and so he
+did, too, and forgot to take it off in the morning; and when we came
+near the rapids I couldn't get at my bag to stow it away, so says I,
+'Francois, you'll have to run with it on, for I can't stop to stow it
+now.' 'All right,' says he, 'go ahead;' and just as he said it, we
+came in sight of the first run, foaming and boiling like a kettle of
+robbiboo. 'Take care, lads,' I cried, and the next moment we were
+dashing down towards the bend in the river. As we came near to the
+shoot, I saw Francois standing up on the gunwale to get a better view
+of the rocks ahead, and every now and then giving me a signal with
+his hand how to steer; suddenly he gave a shout, and plunged his long
+pole into the water, to fend off from a rock which a swirl in the
+stream had concealed. For a second or two his pole bent like a
+willow, and we could feel the heavy boat jerk off a little with the
+tremendous strain, but all at once the pole broke off short with a
+crack, Francois' heels made a flourish in the air, and then he
+disappeared head foremost into the foaming water, with my tobacco
+coiled round his neck! As we flew past the place, one of his arms
+appeared, and I made a grab at it, and caught him by the sleeve; but
+the effort upset myself and over I went too. Fortunately, however,
+one of my men caught me by the foot, and held on like a vice; but the
+force of the current tore Francois' sleeve out of my grasp, and I was
+dragged into the boat again just in time to see my comrade's legs and
+arms going like the sails of a windmill, as he rolled over several
+times and disappeared. Well, we put ashore the moment we got into
+still water, and then five or six of us started off on foot to look
+for Francois. After half-an-hour's search, we found him pitched upon
+a flat rock in the middle of the stream like a bit of driftwood, We
+immediately waded out to the rock and brought him ashore, where we
+lighted a fire, took off all his clothes, and rubbed him till he
+began to show signs of life again. But you may judge, mes garcons, of
+my misery when I found that the coil of tobacco was gone. It had come
+off his neck during his struggles, and there wasn't a vestige of it
+left, except a bright red mark on the throat, where it had nearly
+strangled him. When he began to recover, he put his hand up to his
+neck as if feeling for something, and muttered faintly, 'The tabac.'
+'Ah, morbleu!' said I, 'you may say that! Where is it?' Well, we soon
+brought him round, but he had swallowed so much water that it damaged
+his lungs, and we had to leave him at the next post we came to; and
+so I lost my friend too."
+
+"Did Francois get better?" said Charley Kennedy, in a voice of great
+concern.
+
+Charley had entered the store by another door, just as the guide
+began his story, and had listened to it unobserved with breathless
+interest.
+
+"Recover! Oh oui, monsieur, he soon got well again.'
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad," cried Charley.
+
+"But I lost him for that voyage," added the guide; "and I lost my
+tabac for ever."
+
+"You must take better care of it this time, Louis," said Peter
+Mactavish, as he resumed his work.
+
+"That I shall, monsieur," replied Louis, shouldering his goods and
+quitting the store, while a short, slim, active little Canadian took
+his place.
+
+"Now, then, Baptiste," said Mactavish," you want a-"
+
+"Blanket, monsieur,"
+
+"Good. And--"
+
+"A capote, monsieur."
+
+"And--"
+
+"An axe--"
+
+"Stop, stop!" shouted Harry Somerville from his desk. "Here's an
+entry in Louis's account that I can't make out--30 something or
+other; what can it have been?"
+
+"How often," said Mactavish, going up to him with a look of
+annoyance--"how often have I told you, Mr. Somerville, not to leave
+an entry half-finished on any account!"
+
+"I didn't know that I left it so," said Harry, twisting his features,
+and scratching his head in great perplexity. "What _can_ it have
+been? 30--30--not blankets, eh?" (Harry was becoming banteringly
+bitter.) "He couldn't have got thirty guns, could he? or thirty
+knives, or thirty copper kettles?"
+
+"Perhaps it was thirty pounds of tea," suggested Charley.
+
+"No doubt it was thirty _pipes_," said Peter Mactavish.
+
+"Oh, that was it!" cried Harry, "that was it! thirty pipes, to be
+sure. What an ass I am!"
+
+"And pray what is _that_?" said Mactavish, pointing sarcastically to
+an entry in the previous account--"_5 yards of superfine Annette_.
+Really, Mr. Somerville, I wish you would pay more attention to your
+work and less to the conversation."
+
+"Oh dear!" cried Harry, becoming almost hysterical under the combined
+effects of chagrin at making so many mistakes, and suppressed
+merriment at the idea of selling Annettes by the yard. "Oh, dear me--
+"
+
+Harry could say no more, but stuffed his handkerchief into his mouth
+and turned away.
+
+"Well, sir," said the offended Peter, "when you have laughed to your
+entire satisfaction, we will go on with our work, if you please."
+
+"All right," cried Harry, suppressing his feelings with a strong
+effort; "what next?"
+
+Just then a tall, raw-boned man entered the store, and rudely
+thrusting Baptiste aside, asked if he could get his supplies now.
+
+"No," said Mactavish, sharply; "you'll take your turn like the rest."
+
+The new-comer was a native of Orkney, a country from which, and the
+neighbouring islands, the Fur Company almost exclusively recruits its
+staff of labourers. These men are steady, useful servants, although
+inclined to be slow and lazy _at first_; but they soon get used to
+the country, and rapidly improve under the example of the active
+Canadians and half-breeds with whom they associate; some of them are
+the best servants the Company possess. Hugh Mathison, however, was a
+very bad specimen of the race, being rough and coarse in his manners,
+and very lazy withal. Upon receiving the trader's answer, Hugh turned
+sulkily on his heel and strode towards the door. Now, it happened
+that Baptiste's bundle lay just behind him, and on turning to leave
+the place, he tripped over it and stumbled, whereat the voyageurs
+burst into an ironical laugh (for Hugh was not a favourite).
+
+"Confound your trash!" he cried, giving the little bundle a kick that
+scattered everything over the floor.
+
+"Crapaud!" said Baptiste, between his set teeth, while his eyes
+flashed angrily, and he stood up before Hugh with clinched fists,
+"what mean you by that, eh?"
+
+The big Scotchman held his little opponent in contempt; so that,
+instead of putting himself on the defensive, he leaned his back
+against the door, thrust his hands into his pockets, and requested to
+know "what that was to him."
+
+Baptiste was not a man of many words, and this reply, coupled with
+the insolent sneer with which it was uttered, caused him to plant a
+sudden and well-directed blow on the point of Hugh's nose, which
+flattened it on his face, and brought the back of his head into
+violent contact with the door.
+
+"Well done!" shouted the men; "bravo, Baptiste! _Regardez le nez, mes
+enfants!_"
+
+"Hold!" cried Mactavish, vaulting the counter, and intercepting Hugh,
+as he rushed upon his antagonist; "no fighting here, you blackguards!
+If you want to do _that,_ go outside the fort;" and Peter, opening
+the door, thrust the Orkneyman out.
+
+In the meantime, Baptiste gathered up his goods and left the store,
+in company with several of his friends, vowing that he would wreak
+his vengeance on the "gros chien" before the sun should set.
+
+He had not long to wait, however, for just outside the gate he found
+Hugh, still smarting under the pain and indignity of the blow, and
+ready to pounce upon him like a cat on a mouse.
+
+Baptiste instantly threw down his bundle, and prepared for battle by
+discarding his coat.
+
+Every nation has its own peculiar method of fighting, and its own
+ideas of what is honourable and dishonourable in combat. The English,
+as everyone knows, have particularly stringent rules regarding the
+part of the body which may or may not be hit with propriety, and
+count it foul disgrace to strike a man when he is down, although, by
+some strange perversity of reasoning, they deem it right and fair to
+_fall_ upon him while in this helpless condition, and burst him if
+possible. The Scotchman has less of the science, and we are half
+inclined to believe that he would go the length of kicking a fallen
+opponent; but on this point we are not quite positive. In regard to
+the style adopted by the half-breeds, however, we have no doubt. They
+fight _any_ way and _every_ way, without reference to rules at all;
+and really, although we may bring ourselves into contempt by
+admitting the fact, we think they are quite right. No doubt the best
+course of action is _not_ to fight; but if a man does find it
+_necessary_ to do so, surely the wisest plan is to get it over at
+once (as the dentist suggested to his timorous patient), and to do it
+in the most effectual manner.
+
+Be this as it may, Baptiste flew at Hugh, and alighted upon him, not
+head first, or fist first, or feet first, or _anything_ first, but
+altogether--in a heap as it were; fist, feet, knees, nails, and
+teeth, all taking effect at one and the same time, with a force so
+irresistible that the next moment they both rolled in the dust
+together.
+
+For a minute or so they struggled and kicked like a couple of
+serpents, and then, bounding to their feet again, they began to
+perform a war-dance round each other, revolving their fists at the
+same time in, we presume, the most approved fashion. Owing to his
+bulk and natural laziness, which rendered jumping about like a jack-
+in-the-box impossible, Hugh Mathison preferred to stand on the
+defensive; while his lighter opponent, giving way to the natural bent
+of his mercurial temperament and corporeal predilections, comported
+himself in a manner that cannot be likened to anything mortal or
+immortal, human or inhuman, unless it be to an insane cat, whose
+veins ran wild-fire instead of blood. Or perhaps we might liken him
+to that ingenious piece of firework called a zigzag cracker, which
+explodes with unexpected and repeated suddenness, changing its
+position in a most perplexing manner at every crack. Baptiste, after
+the first onset, danced backwards with surprising lightness, glaring
+at his adversary the while, and rapidly revolving his fists as before
+mentioned; then a terrific yell was heard; his head, arms, and legs
+became a sort of whirling conglomerate; the spot on which he danced
+was suddenly vacant, and at the same moment Mathison received a bite,
+a scratch, a dab on the nose, and a kick on the stomach all at once.
+Feeling that it was impossible to plant a well-directed blow on such
+an assailant, he waited for the next onslaught; and the moment he saw
+the explosive object flying through the air towards him, he met it
+with a crack of his heavy fist, which, happening to take effect in
+the middle of the chest, drove it backwards with about as much
+velocity as it had approached, and poor Baptiste measured his length
+on the ground.
+
+"Oh, pauvre chien!" cried the spectators, "c'est fini!" "Not yet,"
+cried Baptiste, as he sprang with a scream to his feet again, and
+began his dance with redoubled energy, just as if all that had gone
+before was a mere sketch--a sort of playful rehearsal, as it were, of
+what was now to follow. At this moment Hugh stumbled over a canoe-
+paddle, and fell headlong into Baptiste's arms, as he was in the very
+act of making one of his violent descents. This unlooked-for
+occurrence brought them both to a sudden pause, partly from necessity
+and partly from surprise. Out of this state Baptiste recovered first,
+and taking advantage of the accident, threw Mathison heavily to the
+ground. He rose quickly, however, and renewed the light with
+freshened vigour.
+
+Just at this moment a passionate growl was heard, and old Mr. Kennedy
+rushed out of the fort in a towering rage.
+
+Now Mr. Kennedy had no reason whatever for being angry. He was only a
+visitor at the fort, and so had no concern in the behaviour of those
+connected with it. He was not even in the Company's service now, and
+could not, therefore, lay claim, as one of its officers, to any right
+to interfere with its men. But Mr. Kennedy never acted much from
+reason; impulse was generally his guiding-star. He had, moreover,
+been an absolute monarch, and a commander of men, for many years past
+in his capacity of fur-trader. Being, as we have said, a powerful,
+fiery man, he had ruled very much by means of brute force--a species
+of suasion, by the way, which is too common among many of the
+gentlemen (?) in the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company. On
+hearing, therefore, that the men were fighting in front of the fort,
+Mr. Kennedy rushed out in a towering rage.
+
+"Oh, you precious blackguards!" he cried, running up to the
+combatants, while with flashing eyes he gazed first at one and then
+at the other, as if uncertain on which to launch his ire. "Have you
+no place in the world to fight but _here_? eh, blackguards?"
+
+"O monsieur," said Baptiste, lowering his hands, and assuming that
+politeness of demeanour which seems inseparable from French blood,
+however much mixed with baser fluid, "I was just giving _that dog_ a
+thrashing, monsieur."
+
+"Go!" cried Mr. Kennedy in a voice of thunder, turning to Hugh, who
+still stood in a pugilistic attitude, with very little respect in his
+looks.
+
+Hugh hesitated to obey the order; but Mr. Kennedy continued to
+advance, grinding his teeth and working his fingers convulsively, as
+if he longed to lay violent hold of the Orkneyman's swelled nose; so
+he retreated in his uncertainty, but still with his face to the foe.
+As has been already said, the Assiniboine River flows within a
+hundred yards of the gate of Fort Garry. The two men, in their
+combat, had approached pretty near to the bank, at a place where it
+descends somewhat precipitately into the stream. It was towards this
+bank that Hugh Mathison was now retreating, crab fashion, followed by
+Mr. Kennedy, and both of them so taken up with each other that
+neither perceived the fact until Hugh's heel struck against a stone
+just at the moment that Mr. Kennedy raised his clenched fist in a
+threatening attitude. The effect of this combination was to pitch the
+poor man head over heels down the bank, into a row of willow bushes,
+through which, as he rolled with great speed, he went with a loud
+crash, and shot head first, like a startled alligator, into the
+water, amid a roar of laughter from his comrades and the people
+belonging to the fort; most of whom, attracted by the fight, were now
+assembled on the banks of the river.
+
+Mr. Kennedy's wrath vanished immediately, and he joined in the
+laughter; but his face instantly changed when he beheld Hugh
+sputtering in deep water, and heard some one say that he could not
+swim.
+
+"What! can't swim?" he exclaimed, running down the bank to the edge
+of the water. Baptiste was before him, however. In a moment he
+plunged in up to the neck, stretched forth his arm, grasped Hugh by
+the hair, and dragged him to the land.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Farewell to Kate--Departure of the brigade--Charley becomes a
+voyageur.
+
+
+On the following day at noon, the spot on which the late combat had
+taken place became the theatre of a stirring and animated scene. Fort
+Garry, and the space between it and the river, swarmed with
+voyageurs, dressed in their cleanest, newest, and most brilliant
+costume. The large boats for the north, six in number, lay moored to
+the river's bank, laden with bales of furs, and ready to start on
+their long voyage. Young men, who had never been on the road before,
+stood with animated looks watching the operations of the guides as
+they passed critical examination upon their boats, overhauled the
+oars to see that they were in good condition, or with crooked knives
+(a species of instrument in the use of which voyageurs and natives
+are very expert) polished off the top of a mast, the blade of an oar,
+or the handle of a tiller. Old men, who had passed their lives in
+similar occupations, looked on in silence--some standing with their
+heads bent on their bosoms, and an expression of sadness about their
+faces, as if the scene recalled some mournful event of their early
+life, or possibly reminded them of wild, joyous scenes of other days,
+when the blood coursed warmly in their young veins, and the strong
+muscles sprang lightly to obey their will; when the work they had to
+do was hard, and the sleep that followed it was sound--scenes and
+days that were now gone by for ever. Others reclined against the
+wooden fence, their arms crossed, their thin white hair waving gently
+in the breeze, and a kind smile playing on their sunburned faces, as
+they observed the swagger and coxcombry of the younger men, or
+watched the gambols of several dark-eyed little children--embryo
+buffalo-hunters and voyageurs--whose mothers had brought them to the
+fort to get a last kiss from papa, and witness the departure of the
+boats.
+
+Several tender scenes were going on in out-of-the-way places--in
+angles of the walls and bastions, or behind the gates-between
+youthful couples about to be separated for a season. Interesting
+scenes these of pathos and pleasantry--a combination of soft glances
+and affectionate fervent assurances; alternate embraces (that were
+_apparently_ received with reluctance, but _actually_ with delight,
+and proffers of pieces of calico and beads and other trinkets
+(received both _apparently_ and _actually_ with extreme satisfaction)
+as souvenirs of happy days that were past), and pledges of unalterable
+constancy and bright hope in days that were yet to come.
+
+A little apart from the others, a youth and a girl might be seen
+sauntering slowly towards the copse beyond the stable. These were
+Charley Kennedy and his sister Kate, who had retired from the
+bustling scene to take a last short walk together, ere they
+separated, it might be for years, perhaps for ever! Charley held
+Kate's hand, while her sweet little head rested on his shoulder.
+
+"O Charley, Charley, my own dear, darling Charley, I'm quite
+miserable, and you ought not to go away; it's very wrong, and I don't
+mind a bit what you say, I shall die if you leave me!" And Kate
+pressed him tightly to her heart, and sobbed in the depth of her woe.
+"Now, Kate, my darling, don't go on so! You know I can't help it--"
+
+"I _don't_ know," cried Kate, interrupting him, and speaking
+vehemently--" I don't know, and I don't believe, and I don't care for
+anything at all; it's very hard-hearted of you, and wrong, and not
+right, and I'm just quite wretched!"
+
+Poor Kate was undoubtedly speaking the absolute truth; for a more
+disconsolate and wretched look of woebegone misery was never seen on
+so sweet and tender and lovable a little face before. Her blue eyes
+swam in two lakes of pure crystal, that overflowed continually; her
+mouth, which was usually round, had become an elongated oval; and her
+nut-brown hair fell in dishevelled masses over her soft cheeks.
+
+"O Charley," she continued, "why _won't_ you stay?"
+
+"Listen to me, dearest Kate," said Charley, in a very husky voice.
+"It's too late to draw back now, even if I wished to do so; and you
+don't consider, darling, that I'll be back again soon. Besides, I'm a
+man now, Kate, and I must make my own bread. Who ever heard of a man
+being supported by his old father."
+
+"Well, but can't you do that here?"
+
+"No, don't interrupt me, Kate," said Charley, kissing her forehead;
+"I'm quite satisfied with _two short_ legs, and have no desire
+whatever to make my bread on the top of _three long_ ones. Besides,
+you know I can write to you."
+
+"But you won't; you'll forget."
+
+"No, indeed, I will not. I'll write you long letters about all that I
+see and do; and you shall write long letters to me about--"
+
+"Stop, Charley," cried Kate; "I won't listen to you. I hate to think
+of it."
+
+And her tears burst forth again with fresh violence. This time
+Charley's heart sank too. The lump in his throat all but choked him;
+so he was fain to lay his head upon Kate's heaving bosom, and weep
+along with her.
+
+For a few minutes they remained silent, when a slight rustling in the
+bushes was heard. In another moment a tall, broad-shouldered,
+gentlemanly man, dressed in black, stood before them. Charley and
+Kate, on seeing this personage, arose, and wiping the tears from
+their eyes, gave a sad smile as they shook hands with their
+clergyman.
+
+"My poor children," said Mr. Addison, affectionately, "I know well
+why your hearts are sad. May God bless and comfort you! I saw you
+enter the wood, and came to bid you farewell, Charley, my dear boy,
+as I shall not have another opportunity of doing so."
+
+"O dear Mr. Addison," cried Kate, grasping his hand in both of hers,
+and gazing imploringly up at him through a perfect wilderness of
+ringlets and tears, "do prevail upon Charley to stay at home; please
+do!"
+
+Mr. Addison could scarcely help smiling at the poor girl's extreme
+earnestness.
+
+"I fear, my sweet child, that it is too late now to attempt to
+dissuade Charley. Besides, he goes with the consent of his father;
+and I am inclined to think that a change of life for a _short_ time
+may do him good. Come, Kate, cheer up! Charley will return to us
+again ere long, improved, I trust, both physically and mentally."
+
+Kate did _not_ cheer up, but she dried her eyes, and endeavoured to
+look more composed; while Mr. Addison took Charley by the hand, and,
+as they walked slowly through the wood, gave him much earnest advice
+and counsel.
+
+The clergyman's manner was peculiar. With a large, warm, generous
+heart, he possessed an enthusiastic nature, a quick, brusque manner,
+and a loud voice, which, when his spirit was influenced by the strong
+emotions of pity or anxiety for the souls of his flock, sunk into a
+deep soft bass of the most thrilling earnestness. He belonged to the
+Church of England, but conducted service very much in the
+Presbyterian form, as being more suited to his mixed congregation.
+After a long conversation with Charley, he concluded by saying--
+
+"I do not care to say much to you about being kind and obliging to
+all whom you may meet with during your travels, nor about the dangers
+to which you will be exposed by being thrown into the company of wild
+and reckless, perhaps very wicked, men. There is but _one_ incentive
+to every good, and _one_ safeguard against all evil, my boy, and that
+is the love of God. You may perhaps forget much that I have said to
+you; but remember this, Charley, if you would be happy in this world,
+and have a good hope for the next, centre your heart's affection on
+our blessed Lord Jesus Christ; for believe me, boy, _His_ heart's
+affection is centred upon you."
+
+As Mr. Addison spoke, a loud hello from Mr. Kennedy apprised them
+that their time was exhausted, and that the boats were ready to
+start. Charley sprang towards Kate, locked her in a long, passionate
+embrace, and then, forgetting Mr. Addison altogether in his haste,
+ran out of the wood, and hastened towards the scene of departure.
+
+"Good-bye, Charley!" cried Harry Somerville, running up to his friend
+and giving him a warm grasp of the hand. "Don't forget me, Charley. I
+wish I were going with you, with all my heart; but I'm an unlucky
+dog. Good-bye." The senior clerk and Peter Mactavish had also a
+kindly word and a cheerful farewell for him as he hurried past.
+
+"Good-bye, Charley, my lad!" said old Mr. Kennedy, in an
+_excessively_ loud voice, as if by such means he intended to crush
+back some unusual but very powerful feelings that had a peculiar
+influence on a certain lump in his throat. "Good-bye, my lad; don't
+forget to write to your old--Hang it!" said the old man, brushing his
+coat-sleeve somewhat violently across his eyes, and turning abruptly
+round as Charley left him and sprang into the boat--"I say, Grant, I--
+I--What are you staring at, eh?" The latter part of his speech was
+addressed, in an angry tone, to an innocent voyageur, who happened
+accidentally to confront him at the moment.
+
+"Come along, Kennedy," said Mr. Grant, interposing, and grasping his
+excited friend by the arm--"come with me."
+
+"Ah, to be sure!--yes," said he, looking over his shoulder and waving
+a last adieu to Charley, "Good-bye, God bless you, my dear boy!--I
+say, Grant, come along; quick, man, and let's have a pipe--yes, let's
+have a pipe." Mr. Kennedy, essaying once more to crush back his
+rebellious feelings, strode rapidly up the bank, and entering the
+house, sought to overwhelm his sorrow in smoke: in which attempt he
+failed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+The voyage--The encampment--A surprise.
+
+
+It was a fine sight to see the boats depart for the north. It was a
+thrilling, heart-stirring sight to behold these picturesque, athletic
+men, on receiving the word of command from their guides, spring
+lightly into the long, heavy boats; to see them let the oars fall
+into the water with a loud splash, and then, taking their seats, give
+way with a will, knowing that the eyes of friends and sweethearts and
+rivals were bent earnestly upon them. It was a splendid sight to see
+boat after boat shoot out from the landing-place, and cut through the
+calm bosom of the river, as the men bent their sturdy backs until the
+thick oars creaked and groaned on the gunwales and flashed in the
+stream, more and more vigorously at each successive stroke, until
+their friends on the bank, who were anxious to see the last of them,
+had to run faster and faster in order to keep up with them, as the
+rowers warmed at their work, and made the water gurgle at the bows--
+their bright blue and scarlet and white trappings reflected in the
+dark waters in broken masses of colour, streaked with long lines of
+shining ripples, as if they floated on a lake of liquid rainbows. And
+it was a glorious thing to hear the wild, plaintive song, led by one
+clear, sonorous voice, that rang out full and strong in the still
+air, while at the close of every two lines the whole brigade burst
+into a loud, enthusiastic chorus, that rolled far and wide over the
+smooth waters--telling of their approach to settlers beyond the reach
+of vision in advance, and floating faintly back, a last farewell, to
+the listening ears of fathers, mothers, wives, and sisters left
+behind. And it was interesting to observe how, as the rushing boats
+sped onwards past the cottages on shore, groups of men and women and
+children stood before the open doors and waved adieu, while ever and
+anon a solitary voice rang louder than the others in the chorus, and
+a pair of dark eyes grew brighter as a voyageur swept past his home,
+and recognised his little ones screaming farewell, and seeking to
+attract their _sire's_ attention by tossing their chubby arms or
+flourishing round their heads the bright vermilion blades of canoe-
+paddles. It was interesting, too, to hear the men shout as they ran a
+small rapid which occurs about the lower part of the settlement, and
+dashed in full career up to the Lower Fort--which stands about twenty
+miles down the river from Fort Garry--and then sped onward again with
+unabated energy, until they passed the Indian settlement, with its
+scattered wooden buildings and its small church; passed the last
+cottage on the bank; passed the low swampy land at the river's mouth;
+and emerged at last as evening closed, upon the wide, calm, sea-like
+bosom of Lake Winnipeg.
+
+Charley saw and heard all this during the whole of that long,
+exciting afternoon, and as he heard and saw it his heart swelled as
+if it would burst its prison-bars, his voice rang out wildly in the
+choruses, regardless alike of tune and time, and his spirit boiled
+within him as he quaffed the first sweet draught of a rover's life--a
+life in the woods, the wild, free, enchanting woods, where all
+appeared in _his_ eyes bright, and sunny, and green, and beautiful!
+
+As the sun's last rays sunk in the west, and the clouds, losing their
+crimson hue, began gradually to fade into gray, the boats' heads were
+turned landward. In a few seconds they grounded on a low point,
+covered with small trees and bushes which stretched out into the
+lake. Here Louis Peltier had resolved to bivouac for the night.
+
+"Now then, mes garcons," he exclaimed, leaping ashore, and helping to
+drag the boat a little way on to the beach, "vite, vite! a terre, a
+terre!--Take the kettle, Pierre, and let's have supper."
+
+Pierre needed no second bidding. He grasped a large tin kettle and an
+axe, with which he hurried into a clump of trees. Laying down the
+kettle, which he had previously filled with water from the lake, he
+singled out a dead tree, and with three powerful blows of his axe,
+brought it to the ground. A few additional strokes cut it up into
+logs, varying from three to five feet in length, which he piled
+together, first placing a small bundle of dry grass and twigs beneath
+them, and a few splinters of wood which he cut from off one of the
+logs. Having accomplished this, Pierre took a flint and steel out of
+a gaily ornamented pouch which depended from his waist, and which
+went by the name of a fire-bag in consequence of its containing the
+implements for procuring that element. It might have been as
+appropriately named tobacco-box or smoking-bag, however, seeing that
+such things had more to do with it, if possible, than fire. Having
+struck a spark, which he took captive by means of a piece of tinder,
+he placed in the centre of a very dry handful of soft grass, and
+whirled it rapidly round his head, thereby producing a current of
+air, which blew the spark into a flame; which when applied, lighted
+the grass and twigs; and so, in a few minutes, a blazing fire roared
+up among the trees--spouted volumes of sparks into the air, like a
+gigantic squib, which made it quite a marvel that all the bushes in
+the neighbourhood were not burnt up at once--glared out red and
+fierce upon the rippling water, until it became, as it were, red-hot
+in the neighbourhood of the boats, and caused the night to become
+suddenly darker by contrast; the night reciprocating the compliment,
+as it grew later, by causing the space around the fire to glow
+brighter and brighter, until it became a brilliant chamber,
+surrounded by walls of the blackest ebony.
+
+While Pierre was thus engaged there were at least ten voyageurs
+similarly occupied. Ten steels were made instrumental in creating ten
+sparks, which were severally captured by ten pieces of tinder, and
+whirled round by ten lusty arms, until ten flames were produced, and
+ten fires sprang up and flared wildly on the busy scene that had a
+few hours before been so calm, so solitary, and so peaceful, bathed
+in the soft beams of the setting sun.
+
+In less than half-an-hour the several camps were completed, the
+kettles boiling over the fires, the men smoking in every variety of
+attitude, and talking loudly. It was a cheerful scene; and so Charley
+thought as he reclined in his canvas tent, the opening of which faced
+the fire, and enabled him to see all that was going on.
+
+Pierre was standing over the great kettle, dancing round it, and
+making sudden plunges with a stick into it, in the desperate effort
+to stir its boiling contents--desperate, because the fire was very
+fierce and large, and the flames seem to take a fiendish pleasure in
+leaping up suddenly just under Pierre's nose, thereby endangering his
+beard, or shooting out between his legs and licking round them at
+most unexpected moments, when the light wind ought to have been
+blowing them quite in the opposite direction; and then, as he danced
+round to the other side to avoid them, wheeling about and roaring
+viciously in his face, until it seemed as if the poor man would be
+roasted long before the supper was boiled. Indeed, what between the
+ever-changing and violent flames, the rolling smoke, the steam from
+the kettle, the showering sparks, and the man's own wild grimaces and
+violent antics, Pierre seemed to Charley like a raging demon, who
+danced not only round, but above, and on, and through, and _in_ the
+flames, as if they were his natural element, in which he took special
+delight.
+
+Quite close to the tent the massive form of Louis the guide lay
+extended, his back supported by the stump of a tree, his eyes
+blinking sleepily at the blaze, and his beloved pipe hanging from his
+lips, while wreaths of smoke encircled his head. Louis's day's work
+was done. Few could do a better; and when his work was over, Louis
+always acted on the belief that his position and his years entitled
+him to rest, and took things very easy in consequence.
+
+Six of the boat's crew sat in a semicircle beside the guide and
+fronting the fire, each paying particular attention to his pipe, and
+talking between the puffs to anyone who chose to listen.
+
+Suddenly Pierre vanished into the smoke and flames altogether, whence
+in another moment he issued, bearing in his hand the large tin
+kettle, which he deposited triumphantly at the feet of his comrades.
+
+"Now, then," cried Pierre.
+
+It was unnecessary to have said even that much by way of invitation.
+Voyageurs do not require to have their food pressed upon them after a
+hard day's work. Indeed it was as much as they could do to refrain
+from laying violent hands on the kettle long before their worthy cook
+considered its contents sufficiently done.
+
+Charley sat in company with Mr. Park--a chief factor, on his way to
+Norway House. Gibault, one of the men who acted as their servant, had
+placed a kettle of hot tea before them, which, with several slices of
+buffalo tongue, a lump of pemmican, and some hard biscuit and butter,
+formed their evening meal. Indeed, we may add that these viands,
+during a great part of the voyage, constituted their every meal. In
+fact, they had no variety in their fare, except a wild duck or two
+now and then, and a goose when they chanced to shoot one.
+
+Charley sipped a pannikin of tea as he reclined on his blanket, and
+being somewhat fatigued in consequence of his exertions and
+excitement during the day, said nothing. Mr. Park, for the same
+reasons, besides being naturally taciturn, was equally mute, so they
+both enjoyed in silence the spectacle of the men eating their supper.
+And it _was_ a sight worth seeing.
+
+Their food consisted of robbiboo, a compound of flour, pemmican, and
+water, boiled to the consistency of very thick soup. Though not a
+species of food that would satisfy the fastidious taste of an
+epicure, robbiboo is, nevertheless, very wholesome, exceedingly
+nutritious, and withal palatable. Pemmican, its principal component,
+is made of buffalo flesh, which fully equals (some think greatly
+excels) beef. The recipe for making it is as follows:-First, kill
+your buffalo--a matter of considerable difficulty, by the way, as
+doing so requires you to travel to the buffalo-grounds, to arm
+yourself with a gun, and mount a horse, on which you have to gallop,
+perhaps, several miles over rough ground and among badger-holes at
+the imminent risk of breaking your neck. Then you have to run up
+alongside of a buffalo and put a ball through his heart, which, apart
+from the murderous nature of the action, is a difficult thing to do.
+But we will suppose that you have killed your buffalo. Then you must
+skin him; then cut him up, and slice the flesh into layers, which
+must be dried in the sun. At this stage of the process you have
+produced a substance which in the fur countries goes by the name of
+dried meat, and is largely used as an article of food. As its name
+implies, it is very dry, and it is also very tough, and very
+undesirable if one can manage to procure anything better. But to
+proceed. Having thus prepared dried meat, lay a quantity of it on a
+flat stone, and take another stone, with which pound it into shreds.
+You must then take the animal's hide, while it is yet new, and make
+bags of it about two feet and a half long by a foot and a half broad.
+Into this put the pounded meat loosely. Melt the fat of your buffalo
+over a fire, and when quite liquid pour it into the bag until full;
+mix the contents well together; sew the whole up before it cools, and
+you have a bag of pemmican of about ninety pounds weight. This forms
+the chief food of the voyageur, in consequence of its being the
+largest possible quantity of sustenance compressed into the smallest
+possible space, and in an extremely convenient, portable shape. It
+will keep fresh for years, and has been much used, in consequence, by
+the heroes of arctic discovery, in their perilous journeys along the
+shores of the frozen sea.
+
+The voyageurs used no plate. Men who travel in these countries become
+independent of many things that are supposed to be necessary here.
+They sat in a circle round the kettle, each man armed with a large
+wooden or pewter spoon, with which he ladled the robbiboo down his
+capacious throat, in a style that not only caused Charley to laugh,
+but afterwards threw him into a deep reverie on the powers of
+appetite in general, and the strength of voyageur stomachs in
+particular.
+
+At first the keen edge of appetite induced the men to eat in silence;
+but as the contents of the kettle began to get low, their tongues
+loosened, and at last, when the kettles were emptied and the pipes
+filled, fresh logs thrown on the fires, and their limbs stretched out
+around them, the babel of English, French, and Indian that arose was
+quite overwhelming. The middle-aged men told long stories of what
+they _had_ done; the young men boasted of what they _meant_ to do;
+while the more aged smiled, nodded, smoked their pipes, put in a word
+or two as occasion offered, and listened. While they conversed the
+quick ears of one of the men of Charley's camp detected some unusual
+sound.
+
+"Hist!" said he, turning his head aside slightly, in a listening
+attitude, while his comrades suddenly ceased their noisy laugh.
+
+"Do ducks travel in canoes hereabouts?" said the man, after a
+moment's silence; "for, if not, there's someone about to pay us a
+visit. I would wager my best gun that I hear the stroke of paddles."
+
+"If your ears had been sharper, Francois, you might have heard them
+some time ago," said the guide, shaking the ashes out of his pipe and
+refilling it for the third time.
+
+"Ah, Louis, I do not pretend to such sharp ears as you possess, nor
+to such sharp wit either. But who do you think can be _en route_ so
+late?"
+
+"That my wit does not enable me to divine," said Louis; "but if you
+have any faith in the sharpness of your eyes, I would recommend you
+to go to the beach and see, as the best and shortest way of finding
+out."
+
+By this time the men had risen, and were peering out into the gloom
+in the direction whence the sound came, while one or two sauntered
+down to the margin of the lake to meet the new-comers.
+
+"Who can it be, I wonder?" said Charley, who had left the tent, and
+was now standing beside the guide.
+
+"Difficult to say, monsieur. Perhaps Injins, though I thought there
+were none here just now. But I'm not surprised that we've attracted
+_something_ to us. Livin' creeturs always come nat'rally to the
+light, and there's plenty of fire on the point to-night."
+
+"Rather more than enough," replied Charley, abruptly, as a slight
+motion of wind sent the flames curling round his head and singed off
+his eye-lashes. "Why, Louis, it's my firm belief that if I ever get
+to the end of this journey, I'll not have a hair left on my head."
+
+Louis smiled.
+
+"O monsieur, you will learn to _observe_ things before you have been
+long in the wilderness. If you _will_ edge round to leeward of the
+fire, you can't expect it to respect you."
+
+Just at this moment a loud hurrah rang through the copse, and Harry
+Somerville sprang over the fire into the arms of Charley, who
+received him with a hug and a look of unutterable amazement.
+
+"Charley, my boy!"
+
+"Harry Somerville, I declare!"
+
+For at least five minutes Charley could not recover his composure
+sufficiently to _declare_ anything else, but stood with open mouth
+and eyes, and elevated eyebrows, looking at his young friend, who
+capered and danced round the fire in a manner that threw the cook's
+performances in that line quite into the shade, while he continued
+all the time to shout fragments of sentences that were quite
+unintelligible to anyone. It was evident that Harry was in a state of
+immense delight at something unknown save to himself, but which, in
+the course of a few minutes, was revealed to his wondering friends.
+
+"Charley, I'm _going!_ hurrah!" and he leaped about in a manner that
+induced Charley to say he would not only be going but very soon
+_gone_, if he did not keep further away from the fire.
+
+"Yes, Charley, I'm going with you! I upset the stool, tilted the ink-
+bottle over the invoice-book, sent the poker almost through the back
+of the fireplace, and smashed Tom Whyte's best whip on the back of
+the 'noo 'oss' as I galloped him over the plains for the last time:
+all for joy, because I'm going with you, Charley, my darling!"
+
+Here Harry suddenly threw his arms round his friend's neck,
+meditating an embrace. As both boys were rather fond of using their
+muscles violently, the embrace degenerated into a wrestle, which
+caused them to threaten complete destruction to the fire as they
+staggered in front of it, and ended in their tumbling against the
+tent and nearly breaking its poles and fastenings, to the horror and
+indignation of Mr. Park, who was smoking his pipe within, quietly
+waiting till Harry's superabundant glee was over, that he might get
+an explanation of his unexpected arrival among them.
+
+"Ah, they will be good voyageurs!" cried one of the men, as he looked
+on at this scene.
+
+"Oui, oui! good boys, active lads," replied the others, laughing. The
+two boys rose hastily.
+
+"Yes," cried Harry, breathless, but still excited, "I'm going all the
+way, and a great deal farther. I'm going to hunt buffaloes in the
+Saskatchewan, and grizzly bears in the--the--in fact everywhere! I'm
+going down the Mackenzie River--I'm going _mad_, I believe;" and
+Harry gave another caper and another shout, and tossed his cap high
+into the air. Having been recklessly tossed, it came down into the
+fire. When it went in, it was dark blue; but when Harry dashed into
+the flames in consternation to save it, it came out of a rich brown
+colour.
+
+"Now, youngster," said Mr. Park, "when you've done capering, I should
+like to ask you one or two questions. What brought you here?"
+
+"A canoe," said Harry, inclined to be impudent.
+
+"Oh, and pray for what _purpose_ have you come here?"
+
+"These are my credentials," handing him a letter.
+
+Mr. Park opened the note and read.
+
+"Ah! oh! Saskatchewan--hum--yes--outpost--wild boy--just so--keep him
+at it--ay, fit for nothing else. So," said Mr. Park, folding the
+paper, "I find that Mr. Grant has sent you to take the place of a
+young gentleman we expected to pick up at Norway House, but who is
+required elsewhere; and that he wishes you to see a good deal of
+rough life--to be made a trader of, in fact. Is that your desire?"
+
+"That's the very ticket!" replied Harry, scarcely able to restrain
+his delight at the prospect.
+
+"Well, then, you had better get supper and turn in, for you'll have
+to begin your new life by rising at three o'clock to-morrow morning.
+Have you got a tent?"
+
+"Yes," said Harry, pointing to his canoe, which had been brought to
+the fire and turned bottom up by the two Indians to whom it belonged,
+and who were reclining under its shelter enjoying their pipes, and
+watching with looks of great gravity the doings of Harry and his
+friend.
+
+"_That_ will return whence it came to-morrow. Have you no other?"
+
+"Oh yes," said Harry, pointing to the overhanging branches of a
+willow close at hand, "lots more."
+
+Mr. Park smiled grimly, and, turning on his heel, re-entered the tent
+and continued his pipe, while Harry flung himself down beside Charley
+under the bark canoe.
+
+This species of "tent" is, however, by no means a perfect one. An
+Indian canoe is seldom three feet broad--frequently much narrower--so
+that it only affords shelter for the body as far down as the waist,
+leaving the extremities exposed. True, one _may_ double up as nearly
+as possible into half one's length, but this is not a desirable
+position to maintain throughout an entire night. Sometimes, when the
+weather is _very_ bad, an additional protection is procured by
+leaning several poles against the bottom of the canoe, on the weather
+side, in such a way as to slope considerably over the front; and over
+these are spread pieces of birch bark or branches and moss, so as to
+form a screen, which is an admirable shelter. But this involves too
+much time and labour to be adopted during a voyage, and is only done
+when the travellers are under the necessity of remaining for some
+time in one place.
+
+The canoe in which Harry arrived was a pretty large one, and looked
+so comfortable when arranged for the night that Charley resolved to
+abandon his own tent and Mr. Park's society, and sleep with his
+friend.
+
+"I'll sleep with you, Harry, my boy," said he, after Harry had
+explained to him in detail the cause of his being sent away from Red
+River; which was no other than that a young gentleman, as Mr. Park
+said, who _was_ to have gone, had been ordered elsewhere.
+
+"That's right, Charley; spread out our blankets, while I get some
+supper, like a good fellow." Harry went in search of the kettle while
+his friend prepared their bed. First, he examined the ground on which
+the canoe lay, and found that the two Indians had already taken
+possession of the only level places under it. "Humph!" he ejaculated,
+half inclined to rouse them up, but immediately dismissed the idea as
+unworthy of a voyageur. Besides, Charley was an amiable, unselfish
+fellow, and would rather have lain on the top of a dozen stumps than
+have made himself comfortable at the expense of anyone else.
+
+He paused a moment to consider. On one side was a hollow "that" (as
+he soliloquised to himself) "would break the back of a buffalo." On
+the other side were a dozen little stumps surrounding three very
+prominent ones, that threatened destruction to the ribs of anyone who
+should venture to lie there. But Charley did not pause to consider
+long. Seizing his axe, he laid about him vigorously with the head of
+it, and in a few seconds destroyed all the stumps, which he carefully
+collected, and, along with some loose moss and twigs, put into the
+hollow, and so filled it up. Having improved things thus far, he rose
+and strode out of the circle of light into the wood. In a few minutes
+he reappeared, bearing a young spruce fir tree on his shoulder, which
+with the axe he stripped of its branches. These branches were flat in
+form, and elastic--admirably adapted for making a bed on; and when
+Charley spread them out under the canoe in a pile of about four
+inches in depth by four feet broad and six feet long, the stumps and
+the hollow were overwhelmed altogether. He then ran to Mr. Park's
+tent, and fetched thence a small flat bundle covered with oilcloth
+and tied with a rope. Opening this, he tossed out its contents, which
+were two large and very thick blankets--one green, the other white; a
+particularly minute feather pillow, a pair of moccasins, a broken
+comb, and a bit of soap. Then he opened a similar bundle containing
+Harry's bed, which he likewise tossed out; and then kneeling down, he
+spread the two white blankets on the top of the branches, the two
+green blankets above these, and the two pillows at the top, as far
+under the shelter of the canoe as he could push them. Having
+completed the whole in a manner that would have done credit to a
+chambermaid, he continued to sit on his knees, with his hands in his
+pockets, smiling complacently, and saying, "Capital--first-rate!"
+
+"Here we are, Charley. Have a second supper--do!"
+
+Harry placed the smoking kettle by the head of the bed, and squatting
+down beside it, began to eat as only a boy _can_ eat who has had
+nothing since breakfast.
+
+Charley attacked the kettle too--as he said, "out of sympathy,"
+although he "wasn't hungry a bit." And really, for a man who was not
+hungry, and had supped half-an-hour before, the appetite of
+_sympathy_ was wonderfully strong.
+
+But Harry's powers of endurance were now exhausted. He had spent a
+long day of excessive fatigue and excitement, and having wound it up
+with a heavy supper, sleep began to assail him with a fell ferocity
+that nothing could resist. He yawned once or twice, and sat on the
+bed blinking unmeaningly at the fire, as if he had something to say
+to it which he could not recollect just then. He nodded violently,
+much to his own surprise, once or twice, and began to address remarks
+to the kettle instead of to his friend. "I say, Charley, this won't
+do. I'm off to bed!" and suiting the action to the word, he took off
+his coat and placed it on his pillow. He then removed his moccasins,
+which were wet, and put on a dry pair; and this being all that is
+ever done in the way of preparation before going to bed in the woods,
+he lay down and pulled the green blankets over him.
+
+Before doing so, however, Harry leaned his head on his hands and
+prayed. This was the one link left of the chain of habit with which
+he had left home. Until the period of his departure for the wild
+scenes of the Northwest, Harry had lived in a quiet, happy home in
+the West Highlands of Scotland, where he had been surrounded by the
+benign influences of a family the members of which were united by the
+sweet bonds of Christian love--bonds which were strengthened by the
+additional tie of amiability of disposition. From childhood he had
+been accustomed to the routine of a pious and well-regulated
+household, where the Bible was perused and spoken of with an interest
+that indicated a genuine hungering and thirsting after righteousness,
+and where the name of JESUS sounded often and sweetly on the ear.
+Under such training, Harry, though naturally of a wild, volatile
+disposition, was deeply and irresistibly impressed with a reverence
+for sacred things, which, now that he was thousands of miles away
+from his peaceful home, clung to him with the force of old habit and
+association, despite the jeers of comrades and the evil influences
+and ungodliness by which he was surrounded. It is true that he was
+not altogether unhurt by the withering indifference to God that he
+beheld on all sides. Deep impression is not renewal of heart. But
+early training in the path of Christian love saved him many a deadly
+fall. It guarded him from many of the grosser sins, into which other
+boys, who had merely broken away from the _restraints_ of home too
+easily fell. It twined round him--as the ivy encircles the oak--with
+a soft, tender, but powerful grasp, that held him back when he was
+tempted to dash aside all restraint; and held him up when, in the
+weakness of human nature, he was about to fall. It exerted its benign
+sway over him in the silence of night, when his thoughts reverted to
+home, and during his waking hours, when he wandered from scene to
+scene in the wide wilderness; and in after years, when sin prevailed,
+and intercourse with rough men had worn off much of at least the
+superficial amiability of his character, and to some extent blunted
+the finer feelings of his nature, it clung faintly to him still, in
+the memory of his mother's gentle look and tender voice, and never
+forsook him altogether. Home had a blessed and powerful influence on
+Harry. May God bless such homes, where the ruling power is _love!_
+God bless and multiply such homes in the earth! Were there more of
+them there would be fewer heart-broken mothers to weep over the
+memory of the blooming, manly boys they sent away to foreign climes--
+with trembling hearts but high hopes--and never saw them more. They
+were vessels launched upon the troubled sea of time, with stout
+timbers, firm masts, and gallant sails--with all that was necessary
+above and below, from stem to stern, for battling with the billows of
+adverse fortune, for stemming the tide of opposition, for riding the
+storms of persecution, or bounding with a press of canvas before the
+gales of prosperity; but without the rudder--without the guiding
+principle that renders the great power of plank and sail and mast
+available; with which the vessel moves obedient to the owner's will,
+without which it drifts about with every current, and sails along
+with every shifting wind that blows. Yes, may the best blessings of
+prosperity and peace rest on such families, whose bread, cast
+continually on the waters, returns to them after many days.
+
+After Harry had lain down, Charley, who did not feel inclined for
+repose, sauntered to the margin of the lake, and sat down upon a
+rock.
+
+It was a beautiful, calm evening. The moon shone faintly through a
+mass of heavy clouds, casting a pale light on the waters of Lake
+Winnipeg, which stretched, without a ripple, out to the distant
+horizon. The great fresh-water lakes of America bear a strong
+resemblance to the sea. In storms the waves rise mountains high, and
+break with heavy, sullen roar upon a beach composed in many places of
+sand and pebbles; while they are so large that one not only looks out
+to a straight horizon, but may even sail _out of sight of land_
+altogether.
+
+As Charley sat resting his head on his hand, and listening to the
+soft hiss that the ripples made upon the beach, he felt all the
+solemnising influence that steals irresistibly over the mind as we
+sit on a still night gazing out upon the moonlit sea. His thoughts
+were sad; for he thought of Kate, and his mother and father, and the
+home he was now leaving. He remembered all that he had ever done to
+injure or annoy the dear ones he was leaving; and it is strange how
+much alive our consciences become when we are unexpectedly or
+suddenly removed from those with whom we have lived and held daily
+intercourse. How bitterly we reproach ourselves for harsh words,
+unkind actions; and how intensely we long for one word more with
+them, one fervent embrace, to prove at once that all we have ever
+said or done was not _meant_ ill, and, at any rate, is deeply,
+sincerely repented of now! As Charley looked up into the starry sky,
+his mind recurred to the parting words of Mr. Addison. With uplifted
+hands and a full heart, he prayed that God would bless, for Jesus'
+sake, the beloved ones in Red River, but especially Kate; for whether
+he prayed or meditated, Charley's thoughts _always_ ended with Kate.
+
+A black cloud passed across the moon, and reminded him that but a few
+hours of the night remained; so hastening up to the camp again, he
+lay gently down beside his friend, and drew the green blanket over
+him.
+
+In the camp all was silent. The men had chosen their several beds
+according to fancy, under the shadow of a bush or tree. The fires had
+burned low--so low that it was with difficulty Charley, as he lay,
+could discern the recumbent forms of the men, whose presence was
+indicated by the deep, soft, regular breathing of tired but, healthy
+constitutions. Sometimes a stray moonbeam shot through the leaves and
+branches, and cast a ghost-like, flickering light over the scene,
+which ever and anon was rendered more mysterious by a red flare of
+the fire as an ember fell, blazed up for an instant, and left all
+shrouded in greater darkness than before.
+
+At first Charley continued his sad thoughts, staring all the while at
+the red embers of the expiring fire; but soon his eyes began to
+blink, and the stumps of trees began to assume the form of voyageurs,
+and voyageurs to look like stumps of trees. Then a moonbeam darted
+in, and Mr. Addison stood on the other side of the fire. At this
+sight Charley started, and Mr. Addison disappeared, while the boy
+smiled to think how he had been dreaming while only half asleep. Then
+Kate appeared, and seemed to smile on him; but another ember fell,
+and another red flame sprang up, and put her to flight too. Then a
+low sigh of wind rustled through the branches, and Charley felt sure
+that he saw Kate again coming through the woods, singing the low,
+soft tune that she was so fond of singing, because it was his own
+favourite air. But soon the air ceased; the fire faded away; so did
+the trees, and the sleeping voyageurs; Kate last of all dissolved,
+and Charley sank into a deep, untroubled slumber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+Varieties, vexations, and vicissitudes.
+
+
+Life is checkered--there is no doubt about that; whatever doubts a
+man may entertain upon other subjects, he can have none upon this, we
+feel quite certain. In fact, so true is it that we would not for a
+moment have drawn the reader's attention to it here, were it not that
+our experience of life in the backwoods corroborates the truth; and
+truth, however well corroborated, is none the worse of getting a
+little additional testimony now and then in this sceptical
+generation.
+
+Life is checkered, then, undoubtedly. And life in the backwoods
+strengthens the proverb, for it is a peculiarly striking and
+remarkable specimen of life's variegated character.
+
+There is a difference between sailing smoothly along the shores of
+Lake Winnipeg with favouring breezes, and being tossed on its surging
+billows by the howling of a nor'-west wind, that threatens
+destruction to the boat, or forces it to seek shelter on the shore.
+This difference is one of the checkered scenes of which we write, and
+one that was experienced by the brigade more than once during its
+passage across the lake.
+
+Since we are dealing in truisms, it may not, perhaps, be out of place
+here to say that going to bed at night is not by any means getting up
+in the morning; at least so several of our friends found to be the
+case when the deep sonorous voice of Louis Peltier sounded through
+the camp on the following morning, just as a very faint, scarcely
+perceptible, light tinged the eastern sky.
+
+"Leve, leve, leve!" he cried, "leve, leve, mes enfants!"
+
+Some of Louis's _infants_ replied to the summons in a way that would
+have done credit to a harlequin. One or two active little Canadians,
+on hearing the cry of the awful word _leve_, rose to their feet with
+a quick bound, as if they had been keeping up an appearance of sleep
+as a sort of practical joke all night, on purpose to be ready to leap
+as the first sound fell from the guide's lips. Others lay still, in
+the same attitude in which they had fallen asleep, having made up
+their minds, apparently, to lie there in spite of all the guides in
+the world. Not a few got slowly into the sitting position, their hair
+dishevelled, their caps awry, their eyes alternately winking very
+hard and staring awfully in the vain effort to keep open, and their
+whole physiognomy wearing an expression of blank stupidity that is
+peculiar to man when engaged in that struggle which occurs each
+morning as he endeavours to disconnect and shake off the entanglement
+of nightly dreams and the realities of the breaking day. Throughout
+the whole camp there was a low, muffled sound, as of men moving
+lazily, with broken whispers and disjointed sentences uttered in very
+deep, hoarse tones, mingled with confused, unearthly noises, which,
+upon consideration, sounded like prolonged yawns. Gradually these
+sounds increased, for the guide's _leve_ is inexorable, and the
+voyageur's fate inevitable.
+
+"Oh dear!--yei a--a--ow" (yawning); "hang your _leve!_"
+
+"Oui, vraiment--yei a-a----ow--morbleu!"
+
+"Eh, what's that? Oh, misere!"
+
+"Tare an' ages!" (from an Irishman), "an' I had only got to slaape
+yit! but--yei a--a----ow!"
+
+French and Irish yawns are very similar, the only difference being,
+that whereas the Frenchman finishes the yawn resignedly, and springs
+to his legs, the Irishman finishes it with an energetic gasp, as if
+he were hurling it remonstratively into the face of Fate, turns round
+again and shuts his eyes doggedly--a piece of bravado which he knows
+is useless and of very short duration.
+
+"Leve! leve!! leve!!!" There was no mistake this time in the tones of
+Louis's voice. "Embark, embark! vite, vite!"
+
+The subdued sounds of rousing broke into a loud buzz of active
+preparation, as the men busied themselves in bundling up blankets,
+carrying down camp-kettles to the lake, launching the boats, kicking
+up lazy comrades, stumbling over and swearing at fallen trees which
+were not visible in the cold, uncertain light of the early dawn,
+searching hopelessly, among a tangled conglomeration of leaves and
+broken branches and crushed herbage, for lost pipes and missing
+tobacco-pouches.
+
+"Hollo!" exclaimed Harry Somerville, starting suddenly from his
+sleeping posture, and unintentionally cramming his elbow into
+Charley's mouth, "I declare they're all up and nearly ready to
+start."
+
+"That's no reason," replied Charley, "why you should knock out all my
+front teeth, is it?"
+
+Just then Mr. Park issued from his tent, dressed and ready to step
+into his boat. He first gave a glance round the camp to see that all
+the men were moving, then he looked up through the trees to ascertain
+the present state and, if possible, the future prospects of the
+weather. Having come to a satisfactory conclusion on that head, he
+drew forth his pipe and began to fill it, when his eye fell on the
+two boys, who were still sitting up in their lairs, and staring
+idiotically at the place where the fire had been, as if the white
+ashes, half-burned logs, and bits of charcoal were a sight of the
+most novel and interesting character, that filled them with intense
+amazement.
+
+Mr. Park could scarce forbear smiling.
+
+"Hollo, youngsters, precious voyageurs _you'll_ make, to be sure, if
+this is the way you're going to begin. Don't you see that the things
+are all aboard, and we'll be ready to start in five minutes, and you
+sitting there with your neckcloths off?"
+
+Mr. Park gave a slight sneer when he spoke of _neckcloths_, as if he
+thought, in the first place, that they were quite superfluous
+portions of attire, and in the second place, that having once put
+them on, the taking of them off at night was a piece of effeminacy
+altogether unworthy of a Nor'-wester.
+
+Charley and Harry needed no second rebuke. It flashed instantly upon
+them that sleeping comfortably under their blankets when the men were
+bustling about the camp was extremely inconsistent with the heroic
+resolves of the previous day. They sprang up, rolled their blankets
+in the oil-cloths, which they fastened tightly with ropes; tied the
+neckcloths, held in such contempt by Mr. Park, in a twinkling; threw
+on their coats, and in less than five minutes were ready to embark.
+They then found that they might have done things more leisurely, as
+the crews had not yet got all their traps on board; so they began to
+look around them, and discovered that each had omitted to pack up a
+blanket.
+
+Very much crestfallen at their stupidity, they proceeded to untie the
+bundles again, when it became apparent to the eyes of Charley that
+his friend had put on his capote inside out; which had a peculiarly
+ragged and grotesque effect. These mistakes were soon rectified, and
+shouldering their beds, they carried them down to the boat and tossed
+them in. Meanwhile Mr. Park, who had been watching the movements of
+the boys with a peculiar smile, that filled them with confusion, went
+round the different camps to see that nothing was left behind. The
+men were all in their places with oars ready, and the boats floating
+on the calm water, a yard or two from shore, with the exception of
+the guide's boat, the stern of which still rested on the sand
+awaiting Mr. Park.
+
+"Who does this belong to?" shouted that gentleman, holding up a cloth
+cap, part of which was of a mottled brown and part deep blue.
+
+Harry instantly tore the covering from his head, and discovered that
+among his numerous mistakes he had put on the head-dress of one of
+the Indians who had brought him to the camp. To do him justice the
+cap was not unlike his own, excepting that it was a little more
+mottled and dirty in colour, besides being decorated with a gaudy but
+very much crushed and broken feather.
+
+"You had better change with our friend here, I think," said Mr. Park,
+grinning from ear to ear, as he tossed the cap to its owner, while
+Harry handed the other to the Indian, amid the laughter of the crew.
+
+"Never mind, boy," added Mr. Park, in an encouraging tone, "you'll
+make a voyageur yet.--Now then, lads, give way;" and with a nod to
+the Indians, who stood on the shore watching their departure, the
+trader sprang into the boat and took his place beside the two boys.
+
+"Ho! sing, mes garcons," cried the guide, seizing the massive sweep
+and directing the boat out to sea.
+
+At this part of the lake there occurs a deep bay or inlet, to save
+rounding which travellers usually strike straight across from point
+to point, making what is called in voyageur parlance a _traverse_.
+These traverses are subjects of considerable anxiety and frequently
+of delay to travellers, being sometimes of considerable extent,
+varying from four to five, and in such immense seas as Lake Superior,
+to fourteen miles. With boats, indeed, there is little to fear, as
+the inland craft of the fur-traders can stand a heavy sea, and often
+ride out a pretty severe storm; but it is far otherwise with the bark
+canoes that are often used in travelling. These frail craft can stand
+very little sea--their frames being made of thin flat slips of wood
+and sheets of bark, not more than a quarter of an inch thick, which
+are sewed together with the fibrous roots of the pine (called by the
+natives _wattape_), and rendered water-tight by means of melted gum.
+Although light and buoyant, therefore, and extremely useful in a
+country where portages are numerous, they require very tender usage;
+and when a traverse has to be made, the guides have always a grave
+consultation, with some of the most sagacious among the men, as to
+the probability of the wind rising or falling--consultations which
+are more or less marked by anxiety and tediousness in proportion to
+the length of the traverse, the state of the weather and the courage
+or timidity of the guides.
+
+On the present occasion there was no consultation, as has been
+already seen. The traverse was a short one, the morning fine, and the
+boats good. A warm glow began to overspread the horizon, giving
+promise of a splendid day, as the numerous oars dipped with a plash
+and a loud hiss into the water, and sent the boats leaping forth upon
+the white wave.
+
+"Sing, sing!" cried the guide again, and clearing his throat, he
+began the beautiful quick-tuned canoe-song "Rose Blanche," to which
+the men chorused with such power of lungs that a family of plovers,
+which up to that time had stood in mute astonishment on a sandy
+point, tumbled precipitately into the water, from which they rose
+with a shrill, inexpressibly wild, plaintive cry, and fled screaming
+away to a more secure refuge among the reeds and sedges of a swamp. A
+number of ducks too, awakened by the unwonted sound, shot suddenly
+out from the concealment of their night's bivouac with erect heads
+and startled looks, sputtered heavily over the surface of their
+liquid bed, and rising into the air, flew in a wide circuit, with
+whistling wings, away from the scene of so much uproar and confusion.
+
+The rough voices of the men grew softer and softer as the two Indians
+listened to the song of their departing friends, mellowing down and
+becoming more harmonious and more plaintive as the distance
+increased, and the boats grew smaller and smaller, until they were
+lost in the blaze of light that now bathed both water and sky in the
+eastern horizon, and began rapidly to climb the zenith, while the
+sweet tones became less and less audible as they floated faintly
+across the still water, and melted at last into the deep silence of
+the wilderness.
+
+The two Indians still stood with downcast heads and listening ears,
+as if they loved the last echo of the dying music, while their grave,
+statue-like forms added to rather than detracted from, the solitude
+of the deserted scene.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Charley and Harry begin their sporting career without much success--
+Whisky-john catching.
+
+
+The place in the boats usually allotted to gentlemen in the Company's
+service while travelling is the stern. Here the lading is so arranged
+as to form a pretty level hollow, where the flat bundles containing
+their blankets are placed, and a couch is thus formed that rivals
+Eastern effeminacy in luxuriance. There are occasions, however, when
+this couch is converted into a bed, not of thorns exactly, but of
+corners; and really it would be hard to say which of the two is the
+more disagreeable. Should the men be careless in arranging the cargo,
+the inevitable consequence is that "monsieur" will find the leg of an
+iron stove, the sharp edge of a keg, or the corner of a wooden box
+occupying the place where his ribs should be. So common, however, is
+this occurrence that the clerks usually superintend the arrangements
+themselves, and so secure comfort.
+
+On a couch, then, of this kind Charley and Harry now found themselves
+constrained to sit all morning--sometimes asleep, occasionally awake,
+and always earnestly desiring that it was time to put ashore for
+breakfast, as they had now travelled for four hours without halt,
+except twice for about five minutes, to let the men light their
+pipes.
+
+"Charley," said Harry Somerville to his friend, who sat beside him,
+"it strikes me that we are to have no breakfast at all to-day. Here
+have I been holding my breath and tightening my belt, until I feel
+much more like a spider or a wasp than a--a--"
+
+"_Man_, Harry; out with it at once, don't be afraid," said Charley.
+
+"Well, no, I wasn't going to have said _that_ exactly, but I was
+going to have said a voyageur, only I recollected our doings this
+morning, and hesitated to take the name until I had won it."
+
+"It's well that you entertain so modest an opinion of yourself," said
+Mr. Park, who still smoked his pipe as if he were impressed with the
+idea that to stop for a moment would produce instant death. "I may
+tell you for your comfort, youngster, that we shan't breakfast till
+we reach yonder point."
+
+The shores of Lake Winnipeg are flat and low, and the point indicated
+by Mr. Park lay directly in the light of the sun, which now shone
+with such splendour in the cloudless sky, and flashed on the polished
+water, that it was with difficulty they could look towards the point
+of land.
+
+"Where is it?" asked Charley, shading his eyes with his hand; "I
+cannot make out anything at all."
+
+"Try again, my boy; there's nothing like practice."
+
+"Ah yes! I make it out now; a faint shadow just under the sun. Is
+that it?"
+
+"Ay, and we'll break our fast _there_."
+
+"I would like very much to break your head _here_," thought Charley,
+but he did not say it, as, besides being likely to produce unpleasant
+consequences, he felt that such a speech to an elderly gentleman
+would be highly improper; and Charley had _some_ respect for gray
+hairs for their own sake, whether the owner of them was a good man or
+a goose.
+
+"What shall we do, Harry? If I had only thought of keeping out a
+book."
+
+"I know what _I_ shall do," said Harry, with a resolute air: "I'll go
+and shoot!"
+
+"Shoot!" cried Charley. "You don't mean to say that you're going to
+waste your powder and shot by firing at the clouds! for unless you
+take _them_, I see nothing else here."
+
+"That's because you don't use your eyes," retorted Harry. "Will you
+just look at yonder rock ahead of us, and tell me what you see?"
+
+Charley looked earnestly at the rock, which to a cursory glance
+seemed as if composed of whiter stone on the top. "Gulls, I declare!"
+shouted Charley, at the same time jumping up in haste.
+
+Just then one of the gulls, probably a scout sent out to watch the
+approaching enemy, wheeled in a circle overhead. The two youths
+dragged their guns from beneath the thwarts of the boat, and rummaged
+about in great anxiety for shot-belts and powder-horns. At last they
+were found; and having loaded, they sat on the edge of the boat,
+looking out for game with as much--ay, with _more_ intense interest
+than a Blackfoot Indian would have watched for a fat buffalo cow.
+
+"There he goes," said Harry; "take the first shot, Charley."
+
+"Where? where is it?"
+
+"Right ahead. Look out!"
+
+As Harry spoke, a small white gull, with bright-red legs and beak,
+flew over the boat so close to them that, as the guide remarked, "he
+could see it wink!" Charley's equanimity, already pretty well
+disturbed, was entirely upset at the suddenness of the bird's
+appearance; for he had been gazing intently at the rock when his
+friend's exclamation drew his attention in time to see the gull
+within about four feet of his head. With a sudden "Oh!" Charley threw
+forward his gun, took a short, wavering aim, and blew the cock-tail
+feather out of Baptiste's hat; while the gull sailed tranquilly away,
+as much as to say, "If _that's_ all you can do, there's no need for
+me to hurry!"
+
+"Confound the boy!" cried Mr. Park. "You'll be the death of someone
+yet; I'm convinced of that."
+
+"Parbleu! you may say that, c'est vrai," remarked the voyageur with a
+rueful gaze at his hat, which, besides having its ornamental feather
+shattered, was sadly cut up about the crown.
+
+The poor lad's face became much redder than the legs or beak of the
+gull as he sat down in confusion, which he sought to hide by busily
+reloading his gun; while the men indulged in a somewhat witty and
+sarcastic criticism of his powers of shooting, remarking, in
+flattering terms, on the precision of the shot that blew Baptiste's
+feather into atoms, and declaring that if every shot he fired was as
+truly aimed, he would certainly be the best in the country.
+
+Baptiste also came in for a share of their repartee. "It serves you
+right," said the guide, laughing, "for wearing such things on the
+voyage. You should put away such foppery till you return to the
+settlement, where there are _girls_ to admire you." (Baptiste had
+continued to wear the tall hat, ornamented with gold cords and
+tassels, with which he had left Red River).
+
+"Ah!" cried another, pulling vigorously at his oar, "I fear that
+Marie won't look at you, now that all your beauty's gone."
+
+"'Tis not quite gone," said a third; "there's all the brim and half a
+tassel left, besides the wreck of the remainder."
+
+"Oh, I can lend you a few fragments," retorted Baptiste, endeavouring
+to parry some of the thrusts. "They would improve _you_ vastly."
+
+"No, no, friend; gather them up and replace them: they will look more
+picturesque and becoming now. I believe if you had worn them much
+longer all the men in the boat would have fallen in love with you."
+
+"By St. Patrick," said Mike Brady, an Irishman who sat at the oar
+immediately behind the unfortunate Canadian, "there's more than
+enough o' rubbish scattered over mysilf nor would do to stuff a
+fither-bed with."
+
+As Mike spoke, he collected the fragments of feathers and ribbons
+with which the unlucky shot had strewn him, and placed them slyly on
+the top of the dilapidated hat, which Baptiste, after clearing away
+the wreck, had replaced on his head.
+
+"It's very purty," said Mike, as the action was received by the crew
+with a shout of merriment.
+
+Baptiste was waxing wrathful under this fire, when the general
+attention was drawn again towards Charley and his friend, who, having
+now got close to the rock, had quite forgotten their mishap in the
+excitement of expectation.
+
+This excitement in the shooting of such small game might perhaps
+surprise our readers, did we not acquaint them with the fact that
+neither of the boys had, up to that time, enjoyed much opportunity of
+shooting. It is true that Harry had once or twice borrowed the
+fowling-piece of the senior clerk, and had sallied forth with a
+beating heart to pursue the grouse which are found in the belt of
+woodland skirting the Assiniboine River near to Fort Garry. But these
+expeditions were of rare occurrence, and they had not sufficed to rub
+off much of the bounding excitement with which he loaded and fired at
+anything and everything that came within range of his gun. Charley,
+on the other hand, had never fired a shot before, except out of an
+old horse-pistol; having up to this period been busily engaged at
+school, except during the holidays, which he always spent in the
+society of his sister Kate, whose tastes were not such as were likely
+to induce him to take up the gun, even if he had possessed such a
+weapon. Just before leaving Red River, his father presented him with
+his own gun, remarking, as he did so, with a sigh, that _his_ day was
+past now; and adding that the gun was a good one for shot or ball,
+and if he (Charley) brought down _half_ as much game with it as he
+(Mr. Kennedy) had brought down in the course of his life, he might
+consider himself a crack shot undoubtedly.
+
+It was not surprising, therefore, that the two friends went nearly
+mad with excitation when the whole flock of gulls rose into the air
+like a white cloud, and sailed in endless circles and gyrations above
+and around their heads--flying so close at times that they might
+almost have been caught by the hand. Neither was it surprising that
+innumerable shots were fired, by both sportsmen, without a single
+bird being a whit the worse for it, or themselves much the better;
+the energetic efforts made to hit being rendered abortive by the very
+eagerness which caused them to miss. And this was the less
+extraordinary, too, when it is remembered that Harry in his haste
+loaded several times without shot, and Charley rendered the right
+barrel of his gun _hors de combat_ at last, by ramming down a charge
+of shot and omitting powder altogether, whereby he snapped and
+primed, and snapped and primed again, till he grew desperate, and
+then suspicious of the true cause, which he finally rectified with
+much difficulty.
+
+Frequently the gulls flew straight over the heads of the youths--
+which produced peculiar consequences, as in such cases they took aim
+while the birds were approaching; but being somewhat slow at taking
+aim, the gulls were almost perpendicularly above them ere they were
+ready to shoot, so that they were obliged to fire hastily in _hope_,
+feeling that they were losing their balance, or give up the chance
+altogether.
+
+Mr. Park sat grimly in his place all the while, enjoying the scene,
+and smoking.
+
+"Now then, Charley," said he, "take that fellow."
+
+"Which? where? Oh, if I could only get one!" said Charley, looking up
+eagerly at the screaming birds, at which he had been staring so long,
+in their varying and crossing flight, that his sight had become
+hopelessly unsteady.
+
+"There! Look sharp; fire away!"
+
+Bang went Charley's piece, as he spoke, at a gull which flew straight
+towards him, but so rapidly that it was directly above his head;
+indeed, he was leaning a little backwards at the moment, which caused
+him to miss again, while the recoil of the gun brought matters to a
+climax, by toppling him over into Mr. Park's lap, thereby smashing
+that gentleman's pipe to atoms. The fall accidentally exploded the
+second barrel, causing the butt to strike Charley in the pit of his
+stomach--as if to ram him well home into Mr. Park's open arms--and
+hitting with a stray shot a gull that was sailing high up in the sky
+in fancied security. It fell with a fluttering crash into the boat
+while the men were laughing at the accident.
+
+"Didn't I say so?" cried Mr. Park, wrathfully, as he pitched Charley
+out of his lap, and spat out the remnants of his broken pipe.
+
+Fortunately for all parties, at this moment the boat approached a
+spot on which the guide had resolved to land for breakfast; and
+seeing the unpleasant predicament into which poor Charley had fallen,
+he assumed the strong tones of command with which guides are
+frequently gifted, and called out,--
+
+"Ho, ho! a terre! a terre! to land! to land! Breakfast, my boys;
+breakfast!"--at the same time sweeping the boat's head shoreward, and
+running into a rocky bay, whose margin was fringed by a growth of
+small trees. Here, in a few minutes, they were joined by the other
+boats of the brigade, which had kept within sight of each other
+nearly the whole morning.
+
+While travelling through the wilds of North America in boats,
+voyageurs always make a point of landing to breakfast. Dinner is a
+meal with which they are unacquainted, at least on the voyage, and
+luncheon is likewise unknown. If a man feels hungry during the day,
+the pemmican-bag and its contents are there; he may pause in his work
+at any time, for a minute, to seize the axe and cut off a lump, which
+he may devour as he best can; but there is no going ashore--no
+resting for dinner. Two great meals are recognised, and the time
+allotted to their preparation and consumption held inviolable--
+breakfast and supper: the first varying between the hours of seven
+and nine in the morning; the second about sunset, at which time
+travellers usually encamp for the night. Of the two meals it would be
+difficult to say which is more agreeable. For our own part, we prefer
+the former. It is the meal to which a man addresses himself with
+peculiar gusto, especially if he has been astir three or four hours
+previously in the open air. It is the time of day, too, when the
+spirits are freshest and highest, animated by the prospect of the
+work, the difficulties, the pleasures, or the adventures of the day
+that has begun; and cheered by that cool, clear _buoyancy_ of Nature
+which belongs exclusively to the happy morning hours, and has led
+poets in all ages to compare these hours to the first sweet months of
+spring or the early years of childhood.
+
+Voyageurs, not less than poets, have felt the exhilarating influence
+of the young day, although they have lacked the power to tell it in
+sounding numbers; but where words were wanting, the sparkling eye,
+the beaming countenance, the light step, and hearty laugh, were more
+powerful exponents of the feelings within. Poet, and painter too,
+might have spent a profitable hour on the shores of that great
+sequestered lake, and as they watched the picturesque groups--
+clustering round the blazing fires, preparing their morning meal,
+smoking their pipes, examining and repairing the boats, or suning
+their stalwart limbs in wild, careless attitudes upon the greensward--
+might have found a subject worthy the most brilliant effusions of
+the pen, or the most graphic touches of the pencil.
+
+An hour sufficed for breakfast. While it was preparing, the two
+friends sauntered into the forest in search of game, in which they
+were unsuccessful; in fact, with the exception of the gulls before
+mentioned, there was not a feather to be seen--save, always, one or
+two whisky-johns.
+
+Whisky-johns are the most impudent, puffy, conceited little birds
+that exist. Not much larger in reality than sparrows, they
+nevertheless manage to swell out their feathers to such an extent
+that they appear to be as large as magpies, which they further
+resemble in their plumage. Go where you will in the woods of Rupert's
+Land, the instant that you light a fire two or three whisky-johns
+come down and sit beside you, on a branch, it may be, or on the
+ground, and generally so near that you cannot but wonder at their
+recklessness. There is a species of impudence which seems to be
+specially attached to little birds. In them it reaches the highest
+pitch of perfection. A bold, swelling, arrogant effrontery--a sort of
+stark, staring, self-complacent, comfortable, and yet innocent
+impertinence, which is at once irritating and amusing, aggravating
+and attractive, and which is exhibited in the greatest intensity in
+the whisky-john. He will jump down almost under your nose, and seize
+a fragment of biscuit or pemmican. He will go right into the
+pemmican-bag, when you are but a few paces off, and pilfer, as it
+were, at the fountain-head. Or if these resources are closed against
+him, he will sit on a twig, within an inch of your head, and look at
+you as only a whisky-john _can_ look.
+
+"I'll catch one of these rascals," said Harry, as he saw them jump
+unceremoniously into and out of the pemmican-bag.
+
+Going down to the boat, Harry hid himself under the tarpaulin,
+leaving a hole open near to the mouth of the bag. He had not remained
+more than a few minutes in this concealment when one of the birds
+flew down, and alighted on the edge of the boat. After a glance round
+to see that all was right, it jumped into the bag. A moment after,
+Harry, darting his hand through the aperture, grasped him round the
+neck and secured him. Poor whisky-john screamed and pecked
+ferociously, while Harry brought him in triumph to his friend; but so
+unremittingly did the bird scream that its captor was fain at last to
+let him off, the more especially as the cook came up at the moment
+and announced that breakfast was ready.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The storm.
+
+
+Two days after the events of the last chapter, the brigade was making
+one of the traverses which have already been noticed as of frequent
+occurrence in the great lakes. The morning was calm and sultry. A
+deep stillness pervaded Nature, which tended to produce a
+corresponding quiescence in the mind, and to fill it with those
+indescribably solemn feelings that frequently arise before a
+thunderstorm. Dark, lurid clouds hung overhead in gigantic masses,
+piled above each other like the battlements of a dark fortress, from
+whose ragged embrasures the artillery of heaven was about to play.
+
+"Shall we get over in time, Louis?" asked Mr. Park, as he turned to
+the guide, who sat holding the tiller with a firm grasp; while the
+men, aware of the necessity of reaching shelter ere the storm burst
+upon them, were bending to the oars with steady and sustained energy.
+
+"Perhaps," replied Louis, laconically.--"Pull, lads, pull! else
+you'll have to sleep in wet skins to-night."
+
+A low growl of distant thunder followed the guide's words, and the
+men pulled with additional energy; while the slow measured hiss of
+the water, and clank of oars, as they cut swiftly through the lake's
+clear surface, alone interrupted the dead silence that ensued.
+
+Charley and his friend conversed in low whispers; for there is a
+strange power in a thunder-storm, whether raging or about to break,
+that overawes the heart of man,--as if Nature's God were nearer then
+than at other times; as if He--whose voice, indeed, if listened to,
+speaks even in the slightest evolution of natural phenomena--were
+about to tread the visible earth with more than usual majesty, in the
+vivid glare of the lightning flash, and in the awful crash of
+thunder.
+
+"I don't know how it is, but I feel more like a coward," said
+Charley, "just before a thunderstorm than I think I should do in the
+arms of a polar bear. Do you feel queer, Harry?"
+
+"A little," replied Harry, in a low whisper. "and yet I'm not
+frightened. I can scarcely tell what I feel, but I'm certain it's not
+fear."
+
+"Well, I don't know," said Charley. "When father's black bull chased
+Kate and me in the prairies, and almost overtook us as we ran for the
+fence of the big field, I felt my heart leap to my mouth, and the
+blood rush to my cheeks, as I turned about and faced him, while Kate
+climbed the fence; but after she was over, I felt a wild sort of
+wickedness in me, as if I should like to tantalise and torment him,--
+and I felt altogether different from what I feel now while I look up
+at these black clouds. Isn't there something quite awful in them,
+Harry?"
+
+Ere Harry replied, a bright flash of lightning shot athwart the sky,
+followed by a loud roll of thunder, and in a moment the wind rushed,
+like a fiend set suddenly free, down upon the boats, tearing up the
+smooth surface of the water as it flew, and cutting it into gleaming
+white streaks. Fortunately the storm came down behind the boats, so
+that, after the first wild burst was over, they hoisted a small
+portion of their lug sails, and scudded rapidly before it.
+
+There was still a considerable portion of the traverse to cross, and
+the guide cast an anxious glance over his shoulder occasionally, as
+the dark waves began to rise, and their crests were cut into white
+foam by the increasing gale. Thunder roared in continued, successive
+peals, as if the heavens were breaking up, while rain descended in
+sheets. For a time the crews continued to ply their oars; but as the
+wind increased, these were rendered superfluous. They were taken in,
+therefore, and the men sought partial shelter under the tarpaulin;
+while Mr. Park and the two boys were covered, excepting their heads,
+by an oilcloth, which was always kept at hand in rainy weather.
+
+"What think you now, Louis?" said Mr. Park, resuming the pipe which
+the sudden outburst of the storm had caused him to forget. "Have we
+seen the worst of it?"
+
+Louis replied abruptly in the negative, and in a few seconds shouted
+loudly, "Look out, lads! here comes a squall. Stand by to let go the
+sheet there!"
+
+Mike Brady, happening to be near the sheet, seized hold of the rope,
+and prepared to let go, while the men rose, as if by instinct, and
+gazed anxiously at the approaching squall, which could be seen in the
+distance, extending along the horizon, like a bar of blackest ink,
+spotted with flakes of white. The guide sat with compressed lips, and
+motionless as a statue, guiding the boat as it bounded madly towards
+the land, which was now not more than half-a-mile distant.
+
+"Let go!" shouted the guide, in a voice that was heard loud and clear
+above the roar of the elements.
+
+"Ay, ay," replied the Irishman, untwisting the rope instantly, as
+with a sharp hiss the squall descended on the boat.
+
+At that moment the rope became entangled round one of the oars, and
+the gale burst with all its fury on the distended sail, burying the
+prow in the waves, which rushed inboard in a black volume, and in an
+instant half filled the boat.
+
+"Let go!" roared the guide again, in a voice of thunder; while Mike
+struggled with awkward energy to disentangle the rope.
+
+As he spoke, an Indian, who during the storm had been sitting beside
+the mast, gazing at the boiling water with a grave, contemplative
+aspect, sprang quickly forward, drew his knife, and with two blows
+(so rapidly delivered that they seemed but one) cut asunder first the
+sheet and then the halyards, which let the sail blow out and fall
+flat upon the boat. He was just in time. Another moment and the
+gushing water, which curled over the bow, would have filled them to
+the gunwale. As it was, the little vessel was so full of water that
+she lay like a log, while every toss of the waves sent an additional
+torrent into her.
+
+"Bail for your lives, lads!" cried Mr, Park, as he sprang forward,
+and, seizing a tin dish, began energetically to bail out the water.
+Following his example, the whole crew seized whatever came first to
+hand in the shape of dish or kettle, and began to bail. Charley and
+Harry Somerville acted a vigorous part on this occasion--the one with
+a bark dish (which had been originally made by the natives for the
+purpose of holding maple sugar), the other with his cap.
+
+For a time it seemed doubtful whether the curling waves should send
+most water _into_ the boat, or the crew should bail most _out_ of it.
+But the latter soon prevailed, and in a few minutes it was so far got
+under that three of the men were enabled to leave off bailing and
+reset the sail, while Louis Pettier returned to his post at the helm.
+At first the boat moved but slowly, owing to the weight of water in
+her; but as this gradually grew less, she increased her speed and
+neared the land.
+
+"Well done, Redfeather," said Mr. Park, addressing the Indian as he
+resumed his seat; "your knife did us good service that time, my fine
+fellow."
+
+Redfeather, who was the only pure native in the brigade, acknowledged
+the compliment with a smile.
+
+"_Ah, oui_," replied the guide, whose features had now lost their
+stern expression. "These Injins are always ready enough with their
+knives. It's not the first time my life has been saved by the knife
+of a red-skin."
+
+"Humph! bad luck to them," muttered Mike Brady; "it's not the first
+time that my windpipe has been pretty near spiflicated by the knives
+o' the redskins, the murtherin' varmints."
+
+As Mike gave vent to this malediction, the boat ran swiftly past a
+low rocky point, over which the surf was breaking wildly.
+
+"Down with the sail, Mike," cried the guide, at the same time putting
+the helm hard up. The boat flew round, obedient to the ruling power,
+made one last plunge as it left the rolling surf behind, and slid
+gently and smoothly into still water under the lee of the point.
+
+Here, in the snug shelter of a little bay, two of the other boats
+were found, with their prows already on the beach, and their crews
+actively employed in landing their goods, opening bales that had
+received damage from the water, and preparing the encampment; while
+ever and anon they paused a moment to watch the various boats as they
+flew before the gale, and one by one doubled the friendly promontory.
+
+If there is one thing that provokes a voyageur more than another, it
+is being wind-bound on the shores of a large lake. Rain or sleet,
+heat or cold, icicles forming on the oars, or a broiling sun glaring
+in a cloudless sky, the stings of sand-flies, or the sharp probes of
+a million musquitoes, he will bear with comparative indifference; but
+being detained by high wind for two, three, or four days together--
+lying inactively on shore, when everything else, it may be, is
+favourable: the sun bright, the sky blue, the air invigorating, and
+all but the wind propitious--is more than his philosophy can carry
+him through with equanimity. He grumbles at it; sometimes makes
+believe to laugh at it; very often, we are sorry to say, swears at
+it; does his best to sleep through it; but whatever he does, he does
+with a bad grace, because he's in a bad humour, and can't stand it.
+
+For the next three days this was the fate of our friends. Part of the
+time it rained, when the whole party slept as much as was possible,
+and then _endeavoured_ to sleep _more_ than was possible, under the
+shelter afforded by the spreading branches of the trees. Part of the
+time was fair, with occasional gleams of sunshine, when the men
+turned out to eat and smoke and gamble round the fires; and the two
+friends sauntered down to a sheltered place on the shore, sunned
+themselves in a warm nook among the rocks, while they gazed ruefully
+at the foaming billows, told endless stories of what they had done in
+time past, and equally endless _prospective_ adventures that they
+earnestly hoped should befall them in time to come.
+
+While they were thus engaged, Redfeather, the Indian who had cut the
+ropes so opportunely during the storm, walked down to the shore, and
+sitting down on a rock not far distant, fell apparently into a
+reverie.
+
+"I like that fellow," said Harry, pointing to the Indian.
+
+"So do I. He's a sharp, active man. Had it not been for him we should
+have had to swim for it."
+
+"Indeed, had it not been for him I should have had to sink for it,"
+said Harry, with a smile, "for I can't swim."
+
+"Ah, true, I forgot that. I wonder what the red-skin, as the guide
+calls him, is thinking about," added Charley in a musing tone.
+
+"Of home, perhaps, 'sweet home,'" said Harry, with a sigh. "Do you
+think much of home, Charley, now that you have left it?"
+
+Charley did not reply for a few seconds. He seemed to muse over the
+question.
+
+At last he said slowly--
+
+"Think of home? I think of little else when I am not talking with
+you, Harry. My dear mother is always in my thoughts, and my poor old
+father. Home? ay; and darling Kate, too, is at my elbow night and
+day, with the tears streaming from her eyes, and her ringlets
+scattered over my shoulder, as I saw her the day we parted, beckoning
+me back again, or reproaching me for having gone away--God bless her!
+Yes, I often, very often, think of home, Harry."
+
+Harry made no reply. His friend's words had directed his thoughts to
+a very different and far-distant scene--to another Kate, and another
+father and mother, who lived in a glen far away over the waters of
+the broad Atlantic. He thought of them as they used to be when he was
+one of the number, a unit in the beloved circle, whose absence would
+have caused a blank there. He thought of the kind voice that used to
+read the Word of God, and the tender kiss of his mother as they
+parted for the night. He thought of the dreary day when he left them
+all behind, and sailed away, in the midst of strangers, across the
+wide ocean to a strange land. He thought of them now--_without_ him--
+accustomed to his absence, and forgetful, perhaps, at times that he
+had once been there. As he thought of all this a tear rolled down his
+cheek, and when Charley looked up in his face, that tear-drop told
+plainly that he too thought sometimes of home.
+
+"Let us ask Redfeather to tell us something about the Indians," he
+said at length, rousing himself. "I have no doubt he has had many
+adventures in his life. Shall we, Charley?"
+
+"By all means--Ho, Redfeather; are you trying to stop the wind by
+looking it out of countenance?"
+
+The Indian rose and walked towards the spot where the boys lay.
+
+"What was Redfeather thinking about?" said Charley, adopting the
+somewhat pompous style of speech occasionally used by Indians. "Was
+he thinking of the white swan and his little ones in the prairie; or
+did he dream of giving his enemies a good licking the next time he
+meets them?"
+
+"Redfeather has no enemies," replied the Indian. "He was thinking of
+the great Manito, [Footnote: God.] who made the wild winds, and the
+great lakes, and the forest."
+
+"And pray, good Redfeather, what did your thoughts tell you?"
+
+"They told me that men are very weak, and very foolish, and wicked;
+and that Manito is very good and patient to let them live."
+
+"That is to say," cried Harry, who was surprised and a little nettled
+to hear what he called the heads of a sermon from a red-skin, "that
+_you_, being a man, are very weak, and very foolish, and wicked, and
+that Manito is very good and patient to let _you_ live?"
+
+"Good," said the Indian calmly; "that is what I mean."
+
+"Come, Redfeather," said Charley, laying his hand on the Indian's
+arm, "sit down beside us, and tell us some of your adventures. I know
+that you must have had plenty, and it's quite clear that we're not to
+get away from this place all day, so you've nothing better to do."
+
+The Indian readily assented, and began his story in English.
+
+Redfeather was one of the very few Indians who had acquired the power
+of speaking the English language. Having been, while a youth, brought
+much into contact with the fur-traders, and having been induced by
+them to enter their service for a time, he had picked up enough of
+English to make himself easily understood. Being engaged at a later
+period of life as a guide to one of the exploring parties sent out by
+the British Government to discover the famous North West Passage, he
+had learned to read and write, and had become so much accustomed to
+the habits and occupations of the "pale faces," that he spent more of
+his time, in one way or another, with them than in the society of his
+tribe, which dwelt in the thick woods bordering on one of the great
+prairies of the interior. He was about thirty years of age; had a
+tall, thin, but wiry and powerful frame; and was of a mild, retiring
+disposition. His face wore a habitually grave expression, verging
+towards melancholy; induced, probably, by the vicissitudes of a wild
+life (in which he had seen much of the rugged side of nature in men
+and things) acting upon a sensitive heart, and a naturally warm
+temperament. Redfeather, however, was by no means morose; and when
+seated along with his Canadian comrades round the camp fire, he
+listened with evidently genuine interest to their stories, and
+entered into the spirit of their jests. But he was always an auditor,
+and rarely took part in their conversations. He, was frequently
+consulted by the guide in matters of difficulty, and it was observed
+that the "red-skin's" opinion always carried much weight with it,
+although it was seldom given unless asked for. The men respected him
+much because he was a hard worker, obliging, and modest---three
+qualities that insure respect, whether found under a red skin or a
+white one.
+
+"I shall tell you," he began, in a soft, musing tone, as if he were
+wandering in memories of the past--"I shall tell you how it was that
+I came by the name of Redfeather."
+
+"Ah!" interrupted Charley, "I intended to ask you about that; you
+don't wear one."
+
+"I did once. My father was a great warrior in his tribe," continued
+the Indian; "and I was but a youth when I got the name.
+
+"My tribe was at war at the time with the Chipewyans, and one of our
+scouts having come in with the intelligence that a party of our
+enemies was in the neighbourhood, our warriors armed themselves to go
+in pursuit of them. I had been out once before with a war-party, but
+had not been successful, as the enemy's scouts gave notice of our
+approach in time to enable them to escape. At the time the
+information was brought to us, the young men of our village were
+amusing themselves with athletic games, and loud challenges were
+being given and accepted to wrestle, or race, or swim in the deep
+water of the river, which flowed calmly past the green bank on which
+our wigwams stood. On a bank near to us sat about a dozen of our
+women--some employed in ornamenting moccasins with coloured porcupine
+quills; others making rogans of bark for maple sugar, or nursing
+their young infants; while a few, chiefly the old women, grouped
+themselves together and kept up an incessant chattering, chiefly with
+reference to the doings of the young men.
+
+"Apart from these stood three or four of the principal men of our
+tribe, smoking their pipes, and although apparently engrossed in
+conversation, still evidently interested in what was going forward on
+the bank of the river.
+
+"Among the young men assembled there was one of about my own age, who
+had taken a violent dislike to me because the most beautiful girl in
+all the village preferred me before him. His name was Misconna. He
+was a hot-tempered, cruel youth; and although I endeavoured as much
+as possible to keep out of his way, he sought every opportunity of
+picking a quarrel with me. I had just been running a race along with
+several other youths, and although not the winner, I had kept ahead
+of Misconna all the distance. He now stood leaning against a tree,
+burning with rage and disappointment. I was sorry for this, because I
+bore him no ill-will, and if it had occurred to me at the time, I
+would have allowed him to pass me, since I was unable to gain the
+race at any rate.
+
+"'Dog!' he said at length, stepping forward and confronting me, 'will
+you wrestle?'
+
+"Just as he approached I had turned round to leave the place. Not
+wishing to have more to do with him, I pretended not to hear, and
+made a step or two towards the lodges. 'Dog,' he cried again, while
+his eyes flashed fiercely, as he grasped me by the arm, 'will you
+wrestle, or are you afraid? Has the brave boy's heart changed into
+that of a girl?'
+
+"'No, Misconna,' said I. 'You _know_ that I am not afraid; but I have
+no desire to quarrel with you.'
+
+"'You lie!' cried he, with a cold sneer,--'you are afraid; and see,'
+he added, pointing towards the women with a triumphant smile, 'the
+dark-eyed girl sees it and believes it too!'
+
+"I turned to look, and there I saw Wabisca gazing on me with a look
+of blank amazement. I could see, also, that several of the other
+women, and some of my companions, shared in her surprise.
+
+"With a burst of anger I turned round. 'No,' Misconna,' said I, 'I am
+_not_ afraid, as you shall find;' and springing upon him, I grasped
+him round the body. He was nearly, if not quite, as strong a youth as
+myself; but I was burning with indignation at the insolence of his
+conduct before so many of the women, which gave me more than usual
+energy. For several minutes we swayed to and fro, each endeavouring
+in vain to bend the other's back; but we were too well matched for
+this, and sought to accomplish our purpose by taking advantage of an
+unguarded movement. At last such a movement occurred. My adversary
+made a sudden and violent attempt to throw me to the left, hoping
+that an inequality in the ground would favour his effort. But he was
+mistaken. I had seen the danger and was prepared for it, so that the
+instant he attempted it I threw forward my right leg, and thrust him
+backwards with all my might. Misconna was quick in his motions. He
+saw my intention--too late, indeed, to prevent it altogether, but in
+time to throw back his left foot and stiffen his body till it felt
+like a block of stone. The effort was now entirely one of endurance.
+We stood each with his muscles strained to the utmost, without the
+slightest motion. At length I felt my adversary give way a little.
+Slight though the motion was, it instantly removed all doubt as to
+who should go down. My heart gave a bound of exaltation, and with the
+energy which such a feeling always inspires, I put forth all my
+strength, threw him heavily over on his back, and fell upon him.
+
+"A shout of applause from my comrades greeted me as I rose and left
+the ground; but at the same moment the attention of all was taken
+from myself and the baffled Misconna by the arrival of the scout,
+bringing us information that a party of Chipewyans were in the
+neighbourhood. In a moment all was bustle and preparation. An Indian
+war-party is soon got ready. Forty of our braves threw off the
+principal parts of their clothing; painted their faces with stripes
+of vermilion and charcoal; armed themselves with guns, bows,
+tomahawks and scalping knives, and in a few minutes left the camp in
+silence, and at a quick pace.
+
+"One or two of the youths who had been playing on the river's bank
+were permitted to accompany the party, and among these were Misconna
+and myself. As we passed a group of women, assembled to see us
+depart, I observed the girl who had caused so much jealousy between
+us. She cast down her eyes as we came up, and as we advanced close to
+the group she dropped a white feather, as if by accident. Stooping
+hastily down, I picked it up in passing, and stuck it in an
+ornamented band that bound my hair. As we hurried on I heard two or
+three old hags laugh, and say, with a sneer, 'His hand is as white as
+a feather: it has never seen blood.' The next moment we were hid in
+the forest, and pursued our rapid course in dead silence.
+
+"The country through which we passed was varied, extending in broken
+bits of open prairie, and partly covered with thick wood, yet not so
+thick as to offer any hindrance to our march. We walked in single
+file, each treading in his comrade's footsteps, while the band was
+headed by the scout who had brought the information. The principal
+chief of our tribe came next, and he was followed by the braves
+according to their age or influence. Misconna and I brought up the
+rear. The sun was just sinking as we left the belt of woodland in
+which our village stood, crossed over a short plain, descended a dark
+hollow, at the bottom of which the river flowed, and following its
+course for a considerable distance, turned off to the right and
+emerged upon a sweep of prairieland. Here the scout halted, and
+taking the chief and two or three braves aside, entered into earnest
+consultation with them.
+
+"What they said we could not hear; but as we stood leaning on our
+guns in the deep shade of the forest, we could observe by their
+animated gestures that they differed in opinion. We saw that the
+scout pointed several times to the moon, which was just rising above
+the treetops, and then to the distant horizon: but the chief shook
+his head, pointed to the woods, and seemed to be much in doubt, while
+the whole band watched his motions in deep silence but evident
+interest. At length they appeared to agree. The scout took his place
+at the head of the line, and we resumed our march, keeping close to
+the margin of the wood. It was perhaps three hours after this ere we
+again halted to hold another consultation. This time their
+deliberations were shorter. In a few seconds our chief himself took
+the lead, and turned into the woods, through which he guided us to a
+small fountain which bubbled up at the root of a birch tree, where
+there was a smooth green spot of level ground. Here we halted, and
+prepared to rest for an hour, at the end of which time the moon,
+which now shone bright and full in the clear sky, would be nearly
+down, and we could resume our march. We now sat down in a circle, and
+taking a hasty mouthful of dried meat, stretched ourselves on the
+ground with our arms beside us, while our chief kept watch, leaning
+against the birch tree. It seemed as if I had scarcely been asleep
+five minutes when I felt a light touch on my shoulder. Springing up,
+I found the whole party already astir, and in a few minutes more we
+were again hurrying onwards.
+
+"We travelled thus until a faint light in the east told us that the
+day was at hand, when the scout's steps became more cautious, and he
+paused to examine the ground frequently. At last we came to a place
+where the ground sank slightly, and at a distance of a hundred yards
+rose again, forming a low ridge which was crowned with small bushes.
+Here we came to a halt, and were told that our enemies were on the
+other side of that ridge; that they were about twenty in number, all
+Chipewyan warriors, with the exception of one paleface--a trapper,
+and his Indian wife. The scout had learned, while lying like a snake
+in the grass around their camp, that this man was merely travelling
+with them on his way to the Rocky Mountains, and that, as they were a
+war-party, he intended to leave them soon. On hearing this the
+warriors gave a grim smile, and our chief, directing the scout to
+fall behind, cautiously led the way to the top of the ridge. On
+reaching it we saw a valley of great extent, dotted with trees and
+shrubs, and watered by one of the many rivers that flow into the
+great Saskatchewan. It was nearly dark, however, and we could only
+get an indistinct view of the land. Far ahead of us, on the right
+bank of the stream, and close to its margin, we saw the faint red
+light of watch fires; which caused us some surprise, for watch-fires
+are never lighted by a war-party so near to an enemy's country. So we
+could only conjecture that they were quite ignorant of our being in
+that part of the country; which was, indeed, not unlikely, seeing
+that we had shifted our camp during the summer.
+
+"Our chief now made arrangements for the attack. We were directed to
+separate and approach individually as near to the camp as was
+possible without risk of discovery, and then, taking up an
+advantageous position, to await our chief's signal, which was to be
+the hooting of an owl. We immediately separated. My course lay along
+the banks of the stream, and as I strode rapidly along, listening to
+its low solemn murmur, which sounded clear and distinct in the
+stillness of a calm summer night, I could not help feeling as if it
+were reproaching me for the bloody work I was hastening to perform.
+Then the recollection of what the old woman said of me raised a
+desperate spirit in my heart. Remembering the white feather in my
+head, I grasped my gun and quickened my pace. As I neared the camp I
+went into the woods and climbed a low hillock to look out. I found
+that it still lay about five hundred yards distant, and that the
+greater part of the ground between it and the place where I stood was
+quite flat, and without cover of any kind. I therefore prepared to
+creep towards it, although the attempt was likely to be attended with
+great danger, for Chipewyans have quick ears and sharp eyes.
+Observing, however, that the river ran close past the camp, I
+determined to follow its course as before. In a few seconds more I
+came to a dark narrow gap where the river flowed between broken
+rocks, overhung by branches, and from which I could obtain a clear
+view of the camp within fifty yards of me. Examining the priming of
+my gun, I sat down on a rock to await the chief's signal.
+
+"It was evident from the careless manner in which the fires were
+placed, that no enemy was supposed to be near. From my concealment I
+could plainly distinguish ten or fifteen of the sleeping forms of our
+enemies, among which the trapper was conspicuous, from his superior
+bulk, and the reckless way in which his brawny arms were flung on the
+turf, while his right hand clutched his rifle. I could not but smile
+as I thought of the proud boldness of the pale-face--lying all
+exposed to view in the gray light of dawn while an Indian's rifle was
+so close at hand. One Indian kept watch, but he seemed more than half
+asleep. I had not sat more than a minute when my observations were
+interrupted by the cracking of a branch in the bushes near me.
+Starting up, I was about to bound into the underwood, when a figure
+sprang down the bank and rapidly approached me. My first impulse was
+to throw forward my gun, but a glance sufficed to show me that it was
+a woman.
+
+"'Wah!' I exclaimed, in surprise, as she hurried forward and laid her
+hand on my shoulder. She was dressed partly in the costume of the
+Indians, but wore a shawl on her shoulders and a handkerchief on her
+head that showed she had been in the settlements; and from the
+lightness of her skin and hair, I judged at once that she was the
+trapper's wife, of whom I had heard the scout speak.
+
+"'Has the light-hair got a medicine-bag, or does she speak with
+spirits, that she has found me so easily?'
+
+"The girl looked anxiously up in my face as if to read my thoughts,
+and then said, in a low voice,--
+
+"'No, I neither carry the medicine-bag nor hold palaver with spirits;
+but I do think the good Manito must have led me here. I wandered into
+the woods because I could not sleep, and I saw you pass. But tell
+me,' she added with still deeper anxiety, 'does the white-feather
+come alone? Does he approach _friends_ during the dark hours with a
+soft step like a fox?'
+
+"Feeling the necessity of detaining her until my comrades should have
+time to surround the camp, I said: 'The white-feather hunts far from
+his lands. He sees Indians whom he does not know, and must approach
+with a light step. Perhaps they are enemies.'
+
+"'Do Knisteneux hunt at night, prowling in the bed of a stream?' said
+the girl, still regarding me with a keen glance. 'Speak truth,
+stranger' (and she started suddenly back); 'in a moment I can alarm
+the camp with a cry, and if your tongue is forked--But I do not wish
+to bring enemies upon you, if they are indeed such. I am not one of
+them. My husband and I travel with them for a time. We do not desire
+to see blood. God knows,' she added in French, which seemed her
+native tongue, 'I have seen enough of that already.'
+
+"As her earnest eyes looked into my face a sudden thought occurred to
+me. 'Go,' said I, hastily, 'tell your husband to leave the camp
+instantly and meet me here; and see that the Chipewyans do not
+observe your departure. Quick! his life and yours may depend on your
+speed.'
+
+"The girl instantly comprehended my meaning. In a moment she sprang
+up the bank; but as she did so the loud report of a gun was heard,
+followed by a yell, and the war-whoop of the Knisteneux rent the air
+as they rushed upon the devoted camp, sending arrows and bullets
+before them.
+
+"On the instant I sprang after the girl and grasped her by the arm.
+'Stay, white-cheek; it is too late now. You cannot save your husband,
+but I think he'll save himself. I saw him dive into the bushes like a
+cariboo. Hide yourself here; perhaps you may escape.'
+
+"The half-breed girl sank on a fallen tree with a deep groan, and
+clasped her hands convulsively before her eyes, while I bounded over
+the tree, intending to join my comrades in pursuing the enemy.
+
+"As I did so a shrill cry arose behind me, and looking back, I beheld
+the trapper's wife prostrate on the ground, and Misconna standing
+over her, his spear uplifted, and a fierce frown on his dark face.
+
+"'Hold!' I cried, rushing back and seizing his arm. 'Misconna did not
+come to kill _women_. She is not our enemy.'
+
+"'Does the young wrestler want _another_ wife?' he said, with a wild
+laugh, at the same time wrenching his arm from my gripe, and driving
+his spear through the fleshy part of the woman's breast and deep into
+the ground. A shriek rent the air as he drew it out again to repeat
+the thrust; but before he could do so, I struck him with the butt of
+my gun on the head. Staggering backwards, he fell heavily among the
+bushes. At this moment a second whoop rang out, and another of our
+band sprang from the thicket that surrounded us. Seeing no one but
+myself and the bleeding girl, he gave me a short glance of surprise,
+as if he wondered why I did not finish the work which he evidently
+supposed I had begun.
+
+"'Wah!' he exclaimed; and uttering another yell plunged his spear
+into the woman's breast, despite my efforts to prevent him--this time
+with more deadly effect, as the blood spouted from the wound, while
+she uttered a piercing scream, and twined her arms round my legs as I
+stood beside her, as if imploring for mercy. Poor girl! I saw that
+she was past my help. The wound was evidently mortal. Already the
+signs of death overspread her features, and I felt that a second blow
+would be one of mercy; so that when the Indian stooped and passed his
+long knife through her heart, I made but a feeble effort to prevent
+it. Just as the man rose, with the warm blood dripping from his keen
+blade, the sharp crack of a rifle was heard, and the Indian fell dead
+at my feet, shot through the forehead, while the trapper bounded into
+the open space, his massive frame quivering, and his sunburned face
+distorted with rage and horror. From the other side of the brake six
+of our band rushed forward and levelled their guns at him. For one
+moment the trapper paused to cast a glance at the mangled corpse of
+his wife, as if to make quite sure that she was dead; and then
+uttering a howl of despair, he hurled his axe with a giant's force at
+the Knisteneux, and disappeared over the precipitous bank of the
+stream.
+
+"So rapid was the action that the volley which immediately succeeded
+passed harmlessly over his head, while the Indians dashed forward in
+pursuit. At the same instant I myself was felled to the earth. The
+axe which the trapper had flung struck a tree in its flight, and as
+it glanced off the handle gave me a violent blow in passing. I fell
+stunned. As I did so my head alighted on the shoulder of the woman,
+and the last thing I felt, as my wandering senses forsook me, was her
+still warm blood flowing over my face and neck.
+
+"While this scene was going on, the yells and screams of the warriors
+in the camp became fainter and fainter as they pursued and fled
+through the woods. The whole band of Chipewyans was entirely routed,
+with the exception of four who escaped, and the trapper whose flight
+I have described; all the rest were slain, and their scalps hung at
+the belts of the victorious Knisteneux warriors, while only one of
+our party was killed.
+
+"Not more than a few minutes after receiving the blow that stunned
+me, I recovered, and rising as hastily as my scattered faculties
+would permit me, I staggered towards the camp, where I heard the
+shouts of our men as they collected the arms of their enemies. As I
+rose, the feather which Wabisca had dropped fell from my brow, and as
+I picked it up to replace it, I perceived that it was _red_, being
+entirely covered with the blood of the half-breed girl.
+
+"The place where Misconna had fallen was vacant as I passed, and I
+found him standing among his comrades round the camp fires, examining
+the guns and other articles which they had collected. He gave me a
+short glance of deep hatred as I passed, and turned his head hastily
+away. A few minutes sufficed to collect the spoils, and so rapidly
+had everything been done that the light of day was still faint as we
+silently returned on our track. We marched in the same order as
+before, Misconna and I bringing up the rear. As we passed near the
+place where the poor woman had been murdered, I felt a strong desire
+to return to the spot. I could not very well understand the feeling,
+but it lay so strong upon me that, when we reached the ridge where we
+first came in sight of the Chipewyan camp, I fell behind until my
+companions disappeared in the woods, and then ran swiftly back. Just
+as I was about to step beyond the circle of bushes that surrounded
+the spot, I saw that some one was there before me. It was a man, and
+as he advanced into the open space and the light fell on his face, I
+saw that it was the trapper. No doubt he had watched us off the
+ground, and then, when all was safe, returned to bury his wife. I
+crouched to watch him. Stepping slowly up to the body of his murdered
+wife, he stood beside it with his arms folded on his breast and quite
+motionless. His head hung down, for the heart of the white man was
+heavy, and I could see, as the light increased, that his brows were
+dark as the thunder-cloud, and the corners of his mouth twitched from
+a feeling that the Indian scorns to show. My heart is full of sorrow
+for him now" (Redfeather's voice sank as he spoke); "it was full of
+sorrow for him even _then_, when I was taught to think that pity for
+an enemy was unworthy of a brave. The trapper stood gazing very long.
+His wife was young; he could not leave her yet. At length a deep
+groan burst from his heart, as the waters of a great river, long held
+down, swell up in spring and burst the ice at last. Groan followed
+groan as the trapper still stood and pressed his arms on his broad
+breast, as if to crush the heart within. At last he slowly knelt
+beside her, bending more and more over the lifeless form, until he
+lay extended on the ground beside it, and twining his arms round the
+neck, he drew the cold cheek close to his, and pressed the blood-
+covered bosom tighter and tighter, while his form quivered with agony
+as he gave her a last, long embrace. Oh!" continued Redfeather, while
+his brow darkened, and his black eye flashed with an expression of
+fierceness that his young listeners had never seen before, "may the
+curse--" He paused. "God forgive them! How could they know better?
+
+"At length the trapper rose hastily. The expression of his brow was
+still the same, but his mouth was altered. The lips were pressed
+tightly like those of a brave when led to torture, and there was a
+fierce activity in his motions as he sprang down the bank and
+proceeded to dig a hole in the soft earth. For half an hour he
+laboured, shovelling away the earth with a large, flat stone; and
+carrying down the body, he buried it there, under the shadow of a
+willow. The trapper then shouldered his rifle and hurried away. On
+reaching the turn of the stream which shuts the little hollow out
+from view, he halted suddenly, gave one look into the prairie he was
+henceforth to tread alone, one short glance back, and then, raising
+both arms in the air, looked up into the sky, while he stretched
+himself to his full height. Even at that distance I could see the
+wild glare of his eye and the heaving of his breast. A moment after,
+and he was gone."
+
+"And did you never see him again?" inquired Harry Somerville,
+eagerly.
+
+"No, I never saw him more. Immediately afterwards I turned to rejoin
+my companions, whom I soon overtook, and entered our village along
+with them. I was regarded as a poor warrior, because I brought home
+no scalps, and ever afterwards I went by the name of _Redfeather_ in
+our tribe."
+
+"But are you still thought a poor warrior?" asked Charley, in some
+concern, as if he were jealous of the reputation of his new friend.
+
+The Indian smiled. "No," he said: "our village was twice attacked
+afterwards, and in defending it, Redfeather took many scalps. He was
+made a chief!"
+
+"Ah!" cried Charley, "I'm glad of that. And Wabisca, what came of
+her? Did Misconna get her?"
+
+"She is my wife," replied Redfeather.
+
+"Your wife! Why, I thought I heard the voyageurs call your wife the
+white swan."
+
+"Wabisca is _white_ in the language of the Knisteneux. She is
+beautiful in form, and my comrades call her the white swan."
+
+Redfeather said this with an air of gratified pride. He did not,
+perhaps, love his wife with more fervour than he would have done had
+he remained with his tribe; but Redfeather had associated a great
+deal with the traders, and he had imbibed much of that spirit which
+prompts "_white_ men" to treat their females with deference and
+respect--a feeling which is very foreign to an Indian's bosom. To do
+so was, besides, more congenial to his naturally unselfish and
+affectionate disposition, so that any flattering allusion to his
+partner was always received by him with immense gratification.
+
+"I'll pay you a visit some day, Redfeather, if I'm sent to any place
+within fifty miles of your tribe," said Charley with the air of one
+who had fully made up his mind.
+
+"And Misconna?" asked Harry.
+
+"Misconna is with his tribe," replied the Indian, and a frown
+overspread his features as he spoke; "but Redfeather has been
+following in the track of his white friends; he has not seen his
+nation for many moons."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+The canoe--Ascending the rapids--The portage--Deer shooting and life
+in the woods.
+
+
+We must now beg the patient reader to take a leap with us, not only
+through space, but also through time. We must pass over the events of
+the remainder of the journey along the shore of Lake Winnipeg.
+Unwilling though we are to omit anything in the history of our
+friends that would be likely to prove interesting, we think it wise
+not to run the risk of being tedious, or of dwelling too minutely on
+the details of scenes which recall powerfully the feelings and
+memories of bygone days to the writer, but may, nevertheless, appear
+somewhat flat to the reader.
+
+We shall not, therefore, enlarge at present on the arrival of the
+boats at Norway House, which lies at the north end of the lake, nor
+on what was said and done by our friends and by several other young
+comrades whom they found there. We shall not speak of the horror of
+Harry Somerville, and the extreme disappointment of his friend
+Charley Kennedy, when the former was told that instead of hunting
+grizzly bears up the Saskatchewan he was condemned to the desk again
+at York Fort, the depot on Hudson's Bay,--a low, swampy place near
+the sea-shore, where the goods for the interior are annually landed
+and the furs shipped for England, where the greater part of the
+summer and much of the winter is occupied by the clerks who may be
+doomed to vegetate there in making up the accounts of what is termed
+the Northern Department, and where the brigades converge from all the
+wide scattered and far-distant outposts, and the _ship_ from England--
+that great event of the year--arrives, keeping the place in a state
+of constant bustle and effervescence until autumn, when ship and
+brigades finally depart, leaving the residents (about thirty in
+number) shut up for eight long, dreary months of winter, with a
+tenantless wilderness around and behind them, and the wide, cold
+frozen sea before. This was among the first of Harry's
+disappointments. He suffered many afterwards, poor fellow!
+
+Neither shall we accompany Charley up the south branch of the
+Saskatchewan, where his utmost expectations in the way of hunting
+were more than realised, and where he became so accustomed to
+shooting ducks and geese, and bears and buffaloes, that he could not
+forbear smiling when he chanced to meet with a red-legged gull, and
+remembered how he and his friend Harry had comported themselves when
+they first met with these birds on the shores of Lake Winnipeg! We
+shall pass over all this, and the summer, autumn, and winter too, and
+leap at once into the spring of the following year.
+
+On a very bright, cheery morning of that spring a canoe might have
+been seen slowly ascending one of the numerous streams which meander
+through a richly-wooded fertile country, and mingle their waters with
+those of the Athabasca River, terminating their united career in a
+large lake of the same name. The canoe was small--one of the kind
+used by the natives while engaged in hunting, and capable of holding
+only two persons conveniently, with their baggage. To any one
+unacquainted with the nature and capabilities of a northern Indian
+canoe, the fragile, bright orange-coloured machine that was battling
+with the strong current of a rapid must indeed have appeared an
+unsafe and insignificant craft; but a more careful study of its
+performances in the rapid, and of the immense quantity of
+miscellaneous goods and chattels which were, at a later period of the
+day, disgorged from its interior, would have convinced the beholder
+that it was in truth the most convenient and serviceable craft that
+could be devised for the exigencies of such a country.
+
+True, it could only hold two men (it _might_ have taken three at a
+pinch), because men, and women too, are awkward, unyielding baggage,
+very difficult to stow compactly; but it is otherwise with tractable
+goods. The canoe is exceedingly thin, so that no space is taken up or
+rendered useless by its own structure, and there is no end to the
+amount of blankets, and furs, and coats, and paddles, and tent-
+covers, and dogs, and babies, that can be stowed away in its
+capacious interior. The canoe of which we are now writing contained
+two persons, whose active figures were thrown alternately into every
+graceful attitude of manly vigour, as with poles in hand they
+struggled to force their light craft against the boiling stream. One
+was a man apparently of about forty-five years of age. He was a
+square-shouldered, muscular man, and from the ruggedness of his
+general appearance, the soiled hunting-shirt that was strapped round
+his waist with a party-coloured worsted belt, the leather leggings, a
+good deal the worse for wear, together with the quiet, self-possessed
+glance of his gray eye, the compressed lip and the sunburned brow, it
+was evident that he was a hunter, and one who had seen rough work in
+his day. The expression of his face was pleasing, despite a look of
+habitual severity which sat upon it, and a deep scar which traversed
+his brow from the right temple to the top of his nose. It was
+difficult to tell to what country he belonged. His father was a
+Canadian, his mother a Scotchwoman. He was born in Canada, brought up
+in one of the Yankee settlements on the Missouri, and had, from a
+mere youth, spent his life as a hunter in the wilderness. He could
+speak English, French, or Indian with equal ease and fluency, but it
+would have been hard for anyone to say which of the three was his
+native tongue. The younger man, who occupied the stern of the canoe,
+acting the part of steersman, was quite a youth, apparently about
+seventeen, but tall and stout beyond his years, and deeply sunburned.
+Indeed, were it not for this fact, the unusual quantity of hair that
+hung in massive curls down his neck, and the voyageur costume, we
+should have recognised our young friend Charley Kennedy again more
+easily. Had any doubts remained in our mind, the shout of his merry
+voice would have scattered them at once.
+
+"Hold hard, Jacques," he cried, as the canoe trembled in the current,
+"one moment, till I get my pole fixed behind this rock. Now, then,
+shove ahead. Ah!" he exclaimed with chagrin, as the pole slipped on
+the treacherous bottom and the canoe whirled round.
+
+"Mind the rock," cried the bowsman, giving an energetic thrust with
+his pole, that sent the light bark into an eddy formed by a large
+rock which rose above the turbulent waters. Here it rested while
+Jacques and Charley raised themselves on their knees (travellers in
+small canoes always sit in a kneeling position) to survey the rapid.
+
+"It's too much for us, I fear, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, shading
+his brow with his horny hand. "I've paddled up it many a time alone,
+but never saw the water so big as now."
+
+"Humph! we shall have to make a portage then, I presume. Could we not
+give it one trial more? I think we might make a dash for the tail of
+that eddy, and then the stream above seems not quite so strong. Do
+you think so, Jacques?"
+
+Jacques was not the man to check a daring young spirit. His motto
+through life had ever been, "Never venture, never win"--a sentiment
+which his intercourse among fur-traders had taught him to embody in
+the pithy expression, "Never say die;" so that, although quite
+satisfied that the thing was impossible, he merely replied to his
+companion's speech by an assenting "Ho," and pushed out again into
+the stream. An energetic effort enabled them to gain the tail of the
+eddy spoken of, when Charley's pole snapped across, and, falling
+heavily on the gunwale, he would have upset the little craft had not
+Jacques, whose wits were habitually on the _qui vive_, thrown his own
+weight at the same moment on the opposite side, and counterbalanced
+Charley's slip. The action saved them a ducking; but the canoe, being
+left to its own devices for an instant, whirled off again into the
+stream, and before Charley could seize a paddle to prevent it, they
+were floating in the still water at the foot of the rapids.
+
+"Now isn't that a bore?" said Charley, with a comical look of
+disappointment at his companion.
+
+Jacques laughed.
+
+"It was well to _try_, master. I mind a young clerk who came into
+these parts the same year as I did, and _he_ seldom _tried_ anything.
+He couldn't abide canoes. He didn't want for courage neither; but he
+had a nat'ral dislike to them, I suppose, that he couldn't help, and
+never entered one except when he was obliged to do so. Well, one day
+he wounded a grizzly bear on the banks o' the Saskatchewan (mind the
+tail o' that rapid, Mr. Charles; we'll land t'other side o' yon
+rock). Well, the bear made after him, and he cut stick right away for
+the river, where there was a canoe hauled up on the bank. He didn't
+take time to put his rifle aboard, but dropped it on the gravel,
+crammed the canoe into the water and jumped in, almost driving his
+feet through its bottom as he did so, and then plumped down so
+suddenly, to prevent its capsizing, that he split it right across. By
+this time the bear was at his heels, and took the water like a duck.
+The poor clerk, in his hurry, swayed from side to side tryin' to
+prevent the canoe goin' over. But when he went to one side, he was so
+unused to it that he went too far, and had to jerk over to the other
+pretty sharp; and so he got worse and worse, until he heard the bear
+give a great snort beside him. Then he grabbed the paddle in
+desperation, but at the first dash he missed his stroke, and over he
+went. The current was pretty strong at the place, which was lucky for
+him, for it kept him down a bit, so that the bear didn't observe him
+for a little; and while it was pokin' away at the canoe, he was
+carried down stream like a log and stranded on a shallow. Jumping up
+he made tracks for the wood, and the bear (which had found out its
+mistake), after him; so he was obliged at last to take to a tree,
+where the beast watched him for a day and a night, till his friends,
+thinking that something must be wrong, sent out to look for him.
+(Steady, now, Mr. Charles; a little more to the right. That's it.)
+Now, if that young man had only ventured boldly into small canoes
+when he got the chance, he might have laughed at the grizzly and
+killed him too."
+
+As Jacques finished, the canoe glided into a quiet bay formed by an
+eddy of the rapid, where the still water was overhung with dense
+foliage.
+
+"Is the portage a long one?" asked Charley, as he stepped out on the
+bank, and helped to unload the canoe.
+
+"About half-a-mile," replied his companion. "We might make it shorter
+by poling up the last rapid; but it's stiff work, Mr. Charles, and
+we'll do the thing quicker and easier at one lift."
+
+The two travellers now proceeded to make a portage. They prepared to
+carry their canoe and baggage overland, so as to avoid a succession
+of rapids and waterfalls which intercepted their further progress.
+
+"Now, Jacques, up with it," said Charley, after the loading had been
+taken out and placed on the grassy bank.
+
+The hunter stooped, and seizing the canoe by its centre bar, lifted
+it out of the water, placed it on his shoulders, and walked off with
+it into the woods. This was not accomplished by the man's superior
+strength. Charley could have done it quite as well; and, indeed, the
+strong hunter could have carried a canoe twice the size with perfect
+ease. Immediately afterwards Charley followed with as much of the
+lading as he could carry, leaving enough on the bank to form another
+load.
+
+The banks of the river were steep--in some places so much so that
+Jacques found it a matter of no small difficulty to climb over the
+broken rocks with the unwieldy canoe on his back; the more so that
+the branches interlaced overhead so thickly as to present a strong
+barrier, through which the canoe had to be forced, at the risk of
+damaging its delicate bark covering. On reaching the comparatively
+level land above, however, there was more open space, and the hunter
+threaded his way among the tree stems more rapidly, making a detour
+occasionally to avoid a swamp or piece of broken ground; sometimes
+descending a deep gorge formed by a small tributary of the stream
+they were ascending, and which to an unpractised eye would have
+appeared almost impassable, even without the encumbrance of a canoe.
+But the said canoe never bore Jacques more gallantly or safely over
+the surges of lake or stream than did he bear _it_ through the
+intricate mazes of the forest; now diving down and disappearing
+altogether in the umbrageous foliage of a dell; anon reappearing on
+the other side and scrambling up the bank on all-fours, he and the
+canoe together looking like some frightful yellow reptile of
+antediluvian proportions; and then speeding rapidly forward over a
+level plain until he reached a sheet of still water above the rapids.
+Here he deposited his burden on the grass, and halting only for a few
+seconds to carry a few drops of the clear water to his lips, retraced
+his steps to bring over the remainder of the baggage. Soon afterwards
+Charley made his appearance on the spot where the canoe was left, and
+throwing down his load, seated himself on it and surveyed the
+prospect. Before him lay a reach of the stream which spread out so
+widely as to resemble a small lake, in whose clear, still bosom were
+reflected the overhanging foliage of graceful willows, and here and
+there the bright stem of a silver birch, whose light-green leaves
+contrasted well with scattered groups and solitary specimens of the
+spruce fir. Reeds and sedges grew in the water along the banks,
+rendering the junction of the land and the stream uncertain and
+confused. All this and a great deal more Charley noted at a glance;
+for the hundreds of beautiful and interesting objects in nature which
+take so long to describe even partially, and are feebly set forth
+after all even by the most graphic language, flash upon the eye in
+all their force and beauty, and are drunk in at once in a single
+glance.
+
+But Charley noted several objects floating on the water which we have
+not yet mentioned. These were five gray geese feeding among the rocks
+at a considerable distance off, and all unconscious of the presence
+of a human foe in their remote domains. The travellers had trusted
+very much to their guns and nets for food, having only a small
+quantity of pemmican in reserve, lest these should fail--an event
+which was not at all likely, as the country through which they passed
+was teeming with wild-fowl of all kinds, besides deer. These latter,
+however, were only shot when they came inadvertently within rifle
+range, as our voyageurs had a definite object in view, and could not
+afford to devote much of their time to the chase.
+
+During the day previous to that on which we have introduced them to
+our readers, Charley and his companion had been so much occupied in
+navigating their frail bark among a succession of rapids, that they
+had not attended to the replenishing of their larder, so that the
+geese which now showed themselves were looked upon by Charley with a
+longing eye. Unfortunately they were feeding on the opposite side of
+the river, and out of shot. But Charley was a hunter now, and knew
+how to overcome slight difficulties. He first cut down a pretty large
+and leafy branch of a tree, and placed it in the bow of the canoe in
+such a way as to hang down before it and form a perfect screen,
+through the interstices of which he could see the geese, while they
+could only see, what was to them no novelty, the branch of a tree
+floating down the stream. Having gently launched the canoe, Charley
+was soon close to the unsuspecting birds, from among which he
+selected one that appeared to be unusually complacent and self-
+satisfied, concluding at once, with an amount of wisdom that bespoke
+him a true philosopher, that such _must_ as a matter of course be the
+fattest.
+
+"Bang" went the gun, and immediately the sleek goose turned round
+upon its back and stretched out its feet towards the sky, waving them
+once or twice as if bidding adieu to its friends. The others
+thereupon took to flight, with such a deal of sputter and noise as
+made it quite apparent that their astonishment was unfeigned. Bang
+went the gun again, and down fell a second goose.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Jacques, throwing down the remainder of the cargo as
+Charley landed with his booty, "that's well. I was just thinking as I
+comed across that we should have to take to pemmican to-night."
+
+"Well, Jacques, and if we had, I'm sure an old hunter like you, who
+have roughed it so often, need not complain," said Charley, smiling.
+
+"As to that, master," replied Jacques, "I've roughed it often enough;
+and when it does come to a clear fix, I can eat my shoes without
+grumblin' as well as any man. But, you see, fresh meat is better than
+dried meat when it's to be had; and so I'm glad to see that you've
+been lucky, Mr. Charles."
+
+"To say truth, so am I; and these fellows are delightfully plump. But
+you spoke of eating your shoes, Jacques. When were you reduced to
+that direful extremity?"
+
+Jacques finished reloading the canoe while they conversed, and the
+two were seated in their places, and quietly but swiftly ascending
+the stream again, ere the hunter replied.
+
+"You've heerd of Sir John Franklin, I s'pose?" he inquired, after a
+minute's consideration.
+
+"Yes, often."
+
+"An' p'r'aps you've heerd tell of his first trip of discovery along
+the shores of the Polar Sea?"
+
+"Do you refer to the time when he was nearly starved to death, and
+when poor Hood was shot by the Indian?"
+
+"The same," said Jacques.
+
+"Oh, yes; I know all about that. Were you with them?" inquired
+Charley, in great surprise.
+
+"Why, no--not exactly _on_ the trip; but I was sent in winter with
+provisions to them--and much need they had of them, poor fellows! I
+found them tearing away at some old parchment skins that had lain
+under the snow all winter, and that an Injin's dog would ha' turned
+up his nose at--and they don't turn up their snouts at many things, I
+can tell ye. Well, after we had left all our provisions with them, we
+started for the fort again, just keepin' as much as would drive off
+starvation; for, you see, we thought that surely we would git
+something on the road. But neither hoof nor feather did we see all
+the way (I was travellin' with an Injin), and our grub was soon done,
+though we saved it up, and only took a mouthful or two the last three
+days. At last it was done, and we was pretty well used up, and the
+fort two days ahead of us. So says I to my comrade--who had been
+looking at me for some time as if he thought that a cut off my
+shoulder wouldn't be a bad thing--says I, 'Nipitabo, I'm afeard the
+shoes must go for it now;' so with that I pulls out a pair o'
+deerskin moccasins. 'They looks tender,' said I, trying to be
+cheerful. 'Wah!' said the Injin; and then I held them over the fire
+till they was done black, and Nipitabo ate one, and I ate the tother,
+with a lump o' snow to wash it down!"
+
+"It must have been rather dry eating," said Charley, laughing.
+
+"Rayther; but it was better than the Injin's leather breeches, which
+we took in hand next day. They was _uncommon_ tough, and very dirty,
+havin' been worn about a year and a half. Hows'ever, they kept us up;
+an' as we only ate the legs, he had the benefit o' the stump to
+arrive with at the fort next day."
+
+"What's yon ahead?" exclaimed Charley, pausing as he spoke, and
+shading his eyes with his hand.
+
+"It's uncommon like trees," said Jacques. "It's likely a tree that's
+been tumbled across the river; and from its appearance, I think we'll
+have to cut through it."
+
+"Cut through it!" exclaimed Charley; "if my sight is worth a gun-
+flint, we'll have to cut through a dozen trees."
+
+Charley was right. The river ahead of them became rapidly narrower;
+and either from the looseness of the surrounding soil, or the passing
+of a whirlwind, dozens of trees had been upset, and lay right across
+the narrow stream in terrible confusion. What made the thing worse
+was that the banks on either side, which were low and flat, were
+covered with such a dense thicket down to the water's edge, that the
+idea of making a portage to overcome the barrier seemed altogether
+hopeless.
+
+"Here's a pretty business, to be sure!" cried Charley, in great
+disgust.
+
+"Never say die, Mister Charles," replied Jacques, taking up the axe
+from the bottom of the canoe; "it's quite clear that cuttin' through
+the trees is easier than cuttin' through the bushes, so here goes."
+
+For fully three hours the travellers were engaged in cutting their
+way up the encumbered stream, during which time they did not advance
+three miles; and it was evening ere they broke down the last barrier
+and paddled out into a sheet of clear water again.
+
+"That'll prepare us for the geese, Jacques," said Charley, as he
+wiped the perspiration from his brow; "there's nothing like warm work
+for whetting the appetite, and making one sleep soundly."
+
+"That's true," replied the hunter, resuming his paddle. "I often
+wonder how them white-faced fellows in the settlements manage to keep
+body and soul together--a-sittin', as they do, all day in the house,
+and a-lyin' all night in a feather bed. For my part, rather than live
+as they do, I would cut my way up streams like them we've just passed
+every day and all day, and sleep on top of a flat rock o' nights,
+under the blue sky, all my life through."
+
+With this decided expression of his sentiments, the stout hunter
+steered the canoe up alongside of a huge flat rock, as if he were
+bent on giving a practical illustration of the latter part of his
+speech then and there.
+
+"We'd better camp now, Mister Charles; there's a portage o' two miles
+here, and it'll take us till sundown to get the canoe and things
+over."
+
+"Be it so," said Charley, landing. "Is there a good place at the
+other end to camp on?"
+
+"First-rate. It's smooth as a blanket on the turf, and a clear spring
+bubbling at the root of a wide tree that would keep off the rain if
+it was to come down like water-spouts."
+
+The spot on which the travellers encamped that evening overlooked one
+of those scenes in which vast extent, and rich, soft variety of
+natural objects, were united with much that was grand and savage. It
+filled the mind with the calm satisfaction that is experienced when
+one gazes on the wide lawns studded with noble trees; the spreading
+fields of waving grain that mingle with stream and copse, rock and
+dell, vineyard and garden, of the cultivated lands of civilized men;
+while it produced that exulting throb of freedom which stirs man's
+heart to its centre, when he casts a first glance over miles and
+miles of broad lands that are yet unowned, unclaimed; that yet lie in
+the unmutilated beauty with which the beneficent Creator originally
+clothed them--far away from the well-known scenes of man's checkered
+history; entirely devoid of those ancient monuments of man's power
+and skill that carry the mind back with feelings of awe to bygone
+ages, yet stamped with evidences of an antiquity more ancient still
+in the wild primeval forests, and the noble trees that have sprouted,
+and spread, and towered in their strength for centuries--trees that
+have fallen at their posts, while others took their place, and rose
+and fell as they did, like long-lived sentinels whose duty it was to
+keep perpetual guard over the vast solitudes of the great American
+Wilderness.
+
+The fire was lighted, and the canoe turned bottom up in front of it,
+under the branches of a spreading tree which stood on an eminence,
+whence was obtained a bird's-eye view of the noble scene. It was a
+flat valley, on either side of which rose two ranges of hills, which
+were clothed to the top with trees of various kinds, the plain of the
+valley itself being dotted with clumps of wood, among which the fresh
+green foliage of the plane tree and the silver-stemmed birch were
+conspicuous, giving an airy lightness to the scene and enhancing the
+picturesque effect of the dark pines. A small stream could be traced
+winding out and in among clumps of willows, reflecting their drooping
+boughs and the more sombre branches of the spruce fir and the
+straight larch, with which in many places its banks were shaded. Here
+and there were stretches of clearer ground where the green herbage of
+spring gave to it a lawn-like appearance, and the whole magnificent
+scene was bounded by blue hills that became fainter as they receded
+from the eye and mingled at last with the horizon. The sun had just
+set, and a rich glow of red bathed the whole scene, which was further
+enlivened by flocks of wild-fowls and herds of reindeer.
+
+These last soon drew Charley's attention from the contemplation of
+the scenery, and observing a deer feeding in an open space, towards
+which he could approach without coming between it and the wind, he
+ran for his gun and hurried into the woods while Jacques busied
+himself in arranging their blankets under the upturned canoe, and in
+preparing supper.
+
+Charley discovered soon after starting, what all hunters discover
+sooner or later--namely, that appearances are deceitful; for he no
+sooner reached the foot of the hill than he found, between him and
+the lawn-like country, an almost impenetrable thicket of underwood.
+Our young hero, however, was of that disposition which sticks at
+nothing, and instead of taking time to search for an opening, he took
+a race and sprang into the middle of it, in hopes of forcing his way
+through. His hopes were not disappointed. He got through--quite
+through--and alighted up to the armpits in a swamp, to the infinite
+consternation of a flock of teal ducks that were slumbering
+peacefully there with their heads under their wings, and had
+evidently gone to bed for the night. Fortunately he held his gun
+above the water and kept his balance, so that he was able to proceed
+with a dry charge, though with an uncommonly wet skin. Half-an-hour
+brought Charley within range, and watching patiently until the animal
+presented his side towards the place of his concealment, he fired and
+shot it through the heart.
+
+"Well done, Mister Charles," exclaimed Jacques, as the former
+staggered into camp with the reindeer on his shoulders. "A fat doe,
+too."
+
+"Ay," said Charley; "but she has cost me a wet skin. So pray,
+Jacques, rouse up the fire, and let's have supper as soon as you
+can."
+
+Jacques speedily skinned the deer, cut a couple of steaks from its
+flank, and placing them on wooden spikes, stuck them up to roast,
+while his young friend put on a dry shirt, and hung his coat before
+the blaze. The goose which had been shot earlier in the day was also
+plucked, split open, impaled in the same manner as the steaks, and
+set up to roast. By this time the shadows of night had deepened, and
+ere long all was shrouded in gloom, except the circle of ruddy light
+around the camp fire, in the centre of which Jacques and Charley sat,
+with the canoe at their backs, knives in their hands, and the two
+spits, on the top of which smoked their ample supper, planted in the
+ground before them.
+
+One by one the stars went out, until none were visible except the
+bright, beautiful morning star, as it rose higher and higher in the
+eastern sky. One by one the owls and the wolves, ill-omened birds and
+beasts of night, retired to rest in the dark recesses of the forest.
+Little by little, the gray dawn overspread the sky, and paled the
+lustre of the morning star, until it faded away altogether; and then
+Jacques awoke with a start, and throwing out his arm, brought it
+accidentally into violent contact with Charley's nose.
+
+This caused Charley to awake, not only with a start, but also with a
+roar, which brought them both suddenly into a sitting posture, in
+which they continued for some time in a state between sleeping and
+waking, their faces meanwhile expressive of mingled imbecility and
+extreme surprise. Bursting into a simultaneous laugh, which
+degenerated into a loud yawn, they sprang up, launched and reloaded
+their canoe, and resumed their journey.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+The Indian camp--The new outpost--Charley sent on a mission to the
+Indians.
+
+
+In the councils of the fur-traders, on the spring previous to that
+about which we are now writing, it had been decided to extend their
+operations a little in the lands that lie in central America, to the
+north of the Saskatchewan River; and in furtherance of that object,
+it had been intimated to the chief trader in charge of the district
+that an expedition should be set on foot, having for its object the
+examination of a territory into which they had not yet penetrated,
+and the establishment of an outpost therein. It was, furthermore,
+ordered that operations should be commenced at once, and that the
+choice of men to carry out the end in view was graciously left to the
+chief trader's well-known sagacity.
+
+Upon receiving this communication, the chief trader selected a
+gentleman named Mr. Whyte to lead the party; gave him a clerk and
+five men, provided him with a boat and a large supply of goods
+necessary for trade, implements requisite for building an
+establishment, and sent him off with a hearty shake of the hand and a
+recommendation to "go and prosper."
+
+Charles Kennedy spent part of the previous year at Rocky Mountain
+House, where he had shown so much energy in conducting the trade,
+especially what he called the "rough and tumble" part of it, that he
+was selected as the clerk to accompany Mr. Whyte to his new ground.
+After proceeding up many rivers, whose waters had seldom borne the
+craft of white men, and across innumerable lakes, the party reached a
+spot that presented so inviting an aspect that it was resolved to
+pitch their tent there for a time, and, if things in the way of trade
+and provision looked favourable, establish themselves altogether. The
+place was situated on the margin of a large lake, whose shores were
+covered with the most luxuriant verdure, and whose waters teemed with
+the finest fish, while the air was alive with wild-fowl, and the
+woods swarming with game. Here Mr. Whyte rested awhile; and having
+found everything to his satisfaction, he took his axe, selected a
+green lawn that commanded an extensive view of the lake, and going up
+to a tall larch, struck the steel into it, and thus put the first
+touch to an establishment which afterwards went by the name of Stoney
+Creek.
+
+A solitary Indian, whom they had met with on the way to their new
+home, had informed them that a large band of Knisteneux had lately
+migrated to a river about four days' journey beyond the lake at which
+they halted; and when the new fort was just beginning to spring up,
+our friend Charley and the interpreter, Jacques Caradoc, were ordered
+by Mr. Whyte to make a canoe, and then, embarking in it, to proceed
+to the Indian camp, to inform the natives of their rare good luck in
+having a band of white men come to settle near their lands to trade
+with them. The interpreter and Charley soon found birch bark, pine
+roots for sewing it, and gum for plastering the seams, wherewith they
+constructed the light machine whose progress we have partly traced in
+the last chapter, and which, on the following day at sunset, carried
+them to their journey's end.
+
+From some remarks made by the Indian who gave them information of the
+camp, Charley gathered that it was the tribe to which Redfeather
+belonged, and furthermore that Redfeather himself was there at the
+time; so that it was with feelings of no little interest that he saw
+the tops of the yellow tents embedded among the green trees, and soon
+afterwards beheld them and their picturesque owners reflected in the
+clear river, on whose banks the natives crowded to witness the
+arrival of the white men.
+
+Upon the greensward, and under the umbrageous shade of the forest
+trees, the tents were pitched to the number of perhaps eighteen or
+twenty, and the whole population, of whom very few were absent on the
+present occasion, might number a hundred--men, women, and children.
+They were dressed in habiliments formed chiefly of materials procured
+by themselves in the chase, but ornamented with cloth, beads, and
+silk thread, which showed that they had had intercourse with the fur-
+traders before now. The men wore leggings of deerskin, which reached
+more than half-way up the thigh, and were fastened to a leathern
+girdle strapped round the waist. A loose tunic or hunting-shirt of
+the same material covered the figure from the shoulders almost to the
+knees, and was confined round the middle by a belt--in some cases of
+worsted, in others of leather gaily ornamented with quills. Caps of
+various indescribable shapes, and made chiefly of skin, with the
+animal's tail left on by way of ornament, covered their heads, and
+moccasins for the feet completed their costume. These last may be
+simply described as leather mittens for the feet, without fingers, or
+rather toes. They were gaudily ornamented, as was almost every
+portion of costume, with porcupines' quills dyed with brilliant
+colours, and worked into fanciful, and in many cases extremely
+elegant, figures and designs; for North American Indians oftentimes
+display an amount of taste in the harmonious arrangement of colour
+that would astonish those who fancy that _education_ is absolutely
+necessary to the just appreciation of the beautiful.
+
+The women attired themselves in leggings and coats differing little
+from those of the men, except that the latter were longer, the
+sleeves detached from the body, and fastened on separately; while on
+their heads they wore caps, which hung down and covered their backs
+to the waist. These caps were of the simplest construction, being
+pieces of cloth cut into an oblong shape, and sewed together at one
+end. They were, however, richly ornamented with silk-work and beads.
+
+On landing, Charley and Jacques walked up to a tall, good-looking
+Indian, whom they judged from his demeanour, and the somewhat
+deferential regard paid to him by the others, to be one of the chief
+men of the little community.
+
+"Ho! what cheer?" said Jacques, taking him by the hand after the
+manner of Europeans, and accosting him with the phrase used by the
+fur-traders to the natives. The Indian returned the compliment in
+kind, and led the visitors to his tent, where he spread a buffalo
+robe for them on the ground, and begged them to be seated. A repast
+of dried meat and reindeer-tongues was then served, to which our
+friends did ample justice; while the women and children satisfied
+their curiosity by peering at them through chinks and holes in the
+tent. When they had finished, several of the principal men assembled,
+and the chief who had entertained them made a speech, to the effect
+that he was much gratified by the honour done to his people by the
+visit of his white brothers; that he hoped they would continue long
+at the camp to enjoy their hospitality; and that he would be glad to
+know what had brought them so far into the country of the red men.
+
+During the course of this speech the chief made eloquent allusion to
+all the good qualities supposed to belong to white men in general,
+and (he had no doubt) to the two white men before him in particular.
+He also boasted considerably of the prowess and bravery of himself
+and his tribe, launched a few sarcastic hits at his enemies, and
+wound up with a poetical hope that his guests might live for ever in
+these beautiful plains of bliss, where the sun never sets, and
+nothing goes wrong anywhere, and everything goes right at all times,
+and where, especially, the deer are outrageously fat, and always come
+out on purpose to be shot! During the course of these remarks his
+comrades signified their hearty concurrence to his sentiments, by
+giving vent to sundry low-toned "hums!" and "has!" and "wahs!" and
+"hos!" according to circumstances. After it was over Jacques rose,
+and addressing them in their own language, said,--
+
+"My Indian brethren are great. They are brave, and their fame has
+travelled far. Their deeds are known even so far as where the Great
+Salt Lake beats on the shore where the sun rises. They are not women,
+and when their enemies hear the sound of their name they grow pale;
+their hearts become like those of the reindeer. My brethren are
+famous, too, in the use of the snow-shoe, the snare, and the gun. The
+fur-traders know that they must build large stores when they come
+into their lands. They bring up much goods, because the young men are
+active, and require much. The silver fox and the marten are no longer
+safe when their traps and snares are set. Yes, they are good hunters:
+and we have now come to live among you" (Jacques changed his style as
+he came nearer to the point), "to trade with you, and to save you the
+trouble of making long journeys with your skins. A few days' distance
+from your wigwams we have pitched our tents. Our young men are even
+now felling the trees to build a house. Our nets are set, our hunters
+are prowling in the woods, our goods are ready, and my young master
+and I have come to smoke the pipe of friendship with you, and to
+invite you to come to trade with us."
+
+Having delivered this oration, Jacques sat down amid deep silence.
+Other speeches, of a highly satisfactory character, were then made,
+after which "the house adjourned," and the visitors, opening one of
+their packages, distributed a variety of presents to the delighted
+natives.
+
+Several times during the course of these proceedings, Charley's eyes
+wandered among the faces of his entertainers, in the hope of seeing
+Redfeather among them, but without success; and he began to fear that
+his friend was not with the tribe.
+
+"I say, Jacques," he said, as they left the tent, "ask whether a
+chief called Redfeather is here. I knew him of old, and half expected
+to find him at this place."
+
+The Indian to whom Jacques put the question replied that Redfeather
+was with them, but that he had gone out on a hunting expedition that
+morning, and might be absent a day or two.
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Charley, "I'm glad he's here. Come, now, let us take
+a walk in the wood; these good people stare at us as if we were
+ghosts." And taking Jacques's arm, he led him beyond the circuit of
+the camp, turned into a path which, winding among the thick
+underwood, speedily screened them from view, and led them into a
+sequestered glade, through which a rivulet trickled along its course,
+almost hid from view by the dense foliage and long grasses that
+overhung it.
+
+"What a delightful place to live in!" said Charley. "Do you ever
+think of building a hut in such a spot as this, Jacques, and settling
+down altogether?" Charley's thoughts reverted to his sister Kate when
+he said this.
+
+"Why, no," replied Jacques, in a pensive tone, as if the question had
+aroused some sorrowful recollections; "I can't say that I'd like to
+settle here _now_. There was a time when I thought nothin' could be
+better than to squat in the woods with one or two jolly comrades,
+and--"(Jacques sighed); "but times is changed now, master, and so is
+my mind. My chums are most of them dead or gone one way or other. No;
+I shouldn't care to squat alone."
+
+Charley thought of the hut _without_ Kate, and it seemed so desolate
+and dreary a dwelling, notwithstanding its beautiful situation, that
+he agreed with his companion that to "squat" _alone_ would never do
+at all.
+
+"No, man was not made to live alone," continued Jacques, pursuing the
+subject; "even the Injins draw together. I never knew but one as
+didn't like his fellows, and he's gone now, poor fellow. He cut his
+foot with an axe one day, while fellin' a tree. It was a bad cut; and
+havin' nobody to look after him, he half bled and half starved to
+death."
+
+"By the way, Jacques," said Charley, stepping over the clear brook,
+and following the track which led up the opposite bank, "what did you
+say to those red-skins? You made them a most eloquent speech
+apparently."
+
+"Why, as to that, I can't boast much of its eloquence, but I think it
+was clear enough. I told them that they were a great nation; for you
+see, Mr. Charles, the red men are just like the white in their
+fondness for butter; so I gave them some to begin with, though, for
+the matter o' that, I'm not overly fond o' givin' butter to any man,
+red or white. But I holds that it's as well always to fall in with
+the ways and customs o' the people a man happens to be among, so long
+as them ways and customs a'n't contrary to what's right. It makes
+them feel more kindly to you, and don't raise any onnecessary ill-
+will. However, the Knisteneux _are_ a brave race; and when I told
+them that the hearts of their enemies trembled when they heard of
+them, I told nothing but the truth; for the Chipewyans are a
+miserable set, and not much given to fighting."
+
+"Your principles on that point won't stand much sifting, I fear,"
+replied Charley: "according to your own showing, you would fall into
+the Chipewyan's way of glorifying themselves on account of their
+bravery, if you chanced to be dwelling among them, and yet you say
+they are not brave. That would not be sticking to truth, Jacques,
+would it?"
+
+"Well," replied Jacques with a smile, "perhaps not exactly, but I'm
+sure there could be small harm in helping the miserable objects to
+boast sometimes, for they've little else than boasting to comfort
+them."
+
+"And yet, Jacques, I cannot help feeling that truth is a grand, a
+glorious thing, that should not be trifled with even in small
+matters."
+
+Jacques opened his eyes a little. "Then do you think, master, that a
+man should _never_ tell a lie, no matter what fix he may be in?"
+
+"I think not, Jacques."
+
+The hunter paused a few minutes, and looked as if an unusual train of
+ideas had been raised in his mind by the turn their conversation had
+taken. Jacques was a man of no religion, and little morality, beyond
+what flowed from a naturally kind, candid disposition, and
+entertained the belief that the _end_, if a good one, always
+justifies the _means_--a doctrine which, had it been clearly exposed
+to him in all its bearings and results, would have been spurned by
+his straightforward nature with the indignant contempt that it
+merits.
+
+"Mr. Charles," he said at length, "I once travelled across the plains
+to the head waters of the Missouri with a party of six trappers. One
+night we came to a part of the plains which was very much broken up
+with wood here and there, and bein' a good place for water we camped.
+While the other lads were gettin' ready the supper, I started off to
+look for a deer, as we had been unlucky that day--we had shot
+nothin'. Well, about three miles from the camp I came upon a band o'
+somewhere about thirty Sieux (ill-looking, sneaking dogs they are,
+too!), and before I could whistle they rushed upon me, took away my
+rifle and hunting-knife, and were dancing round me like so many
+devils. At last a big black-lookin' thief stepped forward, and said
+in the Cree language, 'White men seldom travel through this country
+alone; where are your comrades?' Now, thought I, here's a nice fix!
+If I pretend not to understand, they'll send out parties in all
+directions, and as sure as fate they'll find my companions in half-
+an-hour, and butcher them in cold blood (for, you see, we did not
+expect to find Sieux, or indeed any Injins, in them parts); so I made
+believe to be very narvous, and tried to tremble all over and look
+pale. Did you ever try to look pale and frighttened, Mr. Charles?"
+
+"I can't say that I ever did," said Charley, laughing.
+
+"You can't think how troublesome it is," continued Jacques, with a
+look of earnest simplicity. "I shook and trembled pretty well, but
+the more I tried to grow pale, the more I grew red in the face, and
+when I thought of the six broad-shouldered, raw-boned lads in the
+camp, and how easy they would have made these jumping villains fly
+like chaff if they only knew the fix I was in, I gave a frown that
+had well-nigh showed I was shamming. Hows'ever, what with shakin' a
+little more and givin' one or two most awful groans, I managed to
+deceive them. Then I said I was hunter to a party of white men that
+were travellin' from Red River to St. Louis, with all their goods,
+and wives, and children, and that they were away in the plains about
+a league off.
+
+"The big chap looked very hard into my face when I said this, to see
+if I was telling the truth; and I tried to make my teeth chatter, but
+it wouldn't do, so I took to groanin' very bad instead. But them
+Sieux are such awful liars nat'rally that they couldn't understand
+the signs of truth, even if they saw them. 'Whitefaced coward,' said
+he to me, 'tell me in what direction your people are.' At this I made
+believe not to understand; but the big chap flourished his knife
+before my face, called me a dog, and told me to point out the
+direction. I looked as simple as I could and said I would rather not.
+At this they laughed loudly and then gave a yell, and said if I
+didn't show them the direction they would roast me alive. So I
+pointed towards apart of the plains pretty wide o' the spot where our
+camp was. 'Now lead us to them,' said the big chap, givin' me a shove
+with the butt of his gun; 'an' if you have told lies--'he gave the
+handle of his scalpin'-knife a slap, as much as to say he'd tickle up
+my liver with it. Well, away we went in silence, me thinkin' all the
+time how I was to get out o' the scrape. I led them pretty close past
+our camp, hopin' that the lads would hear us. I didn't dare to yell
+out, as that would have showed them there was somebody within
+hearin', and they would have made short work of me. Just as we came
+near the place where my companions lay, a prairie wolf sprang out
+from under a bush where it had been sleepin', so I gave a loud
+hurrah, and shied my cap at it. Giving a loud growl, the big Injin
+hit me over the head with his fist, and told me to keep silence. In a
+few minutes I heard the low, distant howl of a wolf. I recognised the
+voice of one of my comrades, and knew that they had seen us, and
+would be on our track soon. Watchin' my opportunity, and walkin' for
+a good bit as if I was awful tired--all but done up--to throw them
+off their guard, I suddenly tripped up the big chap as he was
+stepping over a small brook, and dived in among the bushes. In a
+moment a dozen bullets tore up the bark on the trees about me, and an
+arrow passed through my hair. The clump of wood into which I had
+dived was about half-a-mile long; and as I could run well (I've found
+in my experience that white men are more than a match for red-skins
+at their own work), I was almost out of range by the time I was
+forced to quit the cover and take to the plain. When the blackguards
+got out of the cover, too, and saw me cuttin' ahead like a deer, they
+gave a yell of disappointment, and sent another shower of arrows and
+bullets after me, some of which came nearer than was pleasant. I then
+headed for our camp with the whole pack screechin' at my heels. 'Yell
+away, you stupid sinners,' thought I; 'some of you shall pay for your
+music.' At that moment an arrow grazed my shoulder, and looking over
+it, I saw that the black fellow I had pitched into the water was far
+ahead of the rest, strainin' after me like mad, and every now and
+then stopping to try an arrow on me; so I kept a look-out, and when I
+saw him stop to draw, I stopped too, and dodged, so the arrows passed
+me, and then we took to our heels again. In this way I ran for dear
+life till I came up to the cover. As I came close up I saw our six
+fellows crouchin' in the bushes, and one o' them takin' aim almost
+straight for my face. 'Your day's come at last,' thought I, looking
+over my shoulder at the big Injin, who was drawing his bow again.
+Just then there was a sharp crack heard; a bullet whistled past my
+ear, and the big fellow fell like a stone, while my comrade stood
+coolly up to reload his rifle. The Injins, on seein' this, pulled up
+in a moment; and our lads stepping forward, delivered a volley that
+made three more o' them bite the dust. There would have been six in
+that fix, but, somehow or other, three of us pitched upon the same
+man, who was afterwards found with a bullet in each eye, and one
+through his heart. They didn't wait for more, but turned about and
+bolted like the wind. Now, Mr. Charles, if I had told the truth that
+time, we would have been all killed; and if I had simply said nothin'
+to their questions, they would have sent out to scour the country,
+and have found out the camp for sartin, so that the only way to
+escape was by tellin' them a heap o' downright lies."
+
+Charley looked very much perplexed at this.
+
+"You have indeed placed me in a difficulty. I know not what I would
+have done. I don't know even what I _ought to do_ under these
+circumstances. Difficulties may perplex me, and the force of
+circumstances might tempt me to do what I believed to be wrong. I am
+a sinner, Jacques, like other mortals, I know; but one thing I am
+quite sure of--namely, that when men speak it should _always_ be
+truth and _never_ falsehood."
+
+Jacques looked perplexed too. He was strongly impressed with the
+necessity of telling falsehoods in the circumstances in which he had
+been placed, as just related, while at the same time he felt deeply
+the grandeur and the power of Charley's last remark.
+
+"I should have been under the sod _now_," said he, "if I had not told
+a lie _then_. Is it better to die than to speak falsehood?"
+
+"Some men have thought so," replied Charley. "I acknowledge the
+difficulty of _your_ case and of all similar cases. I don't know what
+should be done, but I have read of a minister of the gospel whose
+people were very wicked and would not attend to his instructions,
+although they could not but respect himself, he was so consistent and
+Christianlike in his conduct. Persecution arose in the country where
+he lived, and men and women were cruelly murdered because of their
+religious belief. For a long time he was left unmolested, but one day
+a band of soldiers came to his house, and asked him whether he was a
+Papist or a Protestant (Papist, Jacques, being a man who has sold his
+liberty in religious matters to the Pope, and a Protestant being one
+who protests against such an ineffably silly and unmanly state of
+slavery). Well, his people urged the good old man to say he was a
+Papist, telling him that he would then be spared to live among them,
+and preach the true faith for many years perhaps. Now, if there was
+one thing that this old man would have toiled for and died for, it
+was that his people should become true Christians--and he told them
+so; 'but,' he added, 'I will not tell a lie to accomplish that end,
+my children--no, not even to save my life.' So he told the soldiers
+that he was a Protestant, and immediately they carried him away, and
+he was soon afterwards burned to death."
+
+"Well," said Jacques, "_he_ didn't gain much by sticking to the
+truth, I think."
+
+"I'm not so sure of _that_. The story goes on to say that he
+_rejoiced_ that he had done so, and wouldn't draw back even when he
+was in the flames. But the point lies here, Jacques: so deep an
+impression did the old man's conduct make on his people, that from
+that day forward they were noted for their Christian life and
+conduct. They brought up their children with a deeper reverence for
+the truth than they would otherwise have done, always bearing in
+affectionate remembrance, and holding up to them as an example, the
+unflinching truthfulness of the good old man who was burned in the
+year of the terrible persecutions; and at last their influence and
+example had such an effect that the Protestant religion spread like
+wild-fire, far and wide around them, so that the very thing was
+accomplished for which the old pastor said he would have died--
+accomplished, too, very much in consequence of his death, and in a
+way and to an extent that very likely would not have been the case
+had he lived and preached among them for a hundred years."
+
+"I don't understand it, nohow," said Jacques; "it seems to me right
+both ways and wrong both ways, and all upside down every how."
+
+Charley smiled. "Your remark is about as clear as my head on the
+subject, Jacques; but I still remain convinced that truth is _right_
+and that falsehood is _wrong_, and that we should stick to the first
+through thick and thin."
+
+"I s'pose," remarked the hunter, who had walked along in deep
+cogitation, for the last five minutes, and had apparently come to
+some conclusion of profound depth and sagacity--"I s'pose that it's
+all human natur'; that some men takes to preachin' as Injins take to
+huntin', and that to understand sich things requires them to begin
+young,' and risk their lives in it, as I would in followin' up a
+grizzly she-bear with cubs."
+
+"Yonder is an illustration of one part of your remark. They begin
+_young_ enough, anyhow," said Charley, pointing as he spoke to an
+opening in the bushes, where a particularly small Indian boy stood in
+the act of discharging an arrow.
+
+The two men halted to watch his movements. According to a common
+custom among juvenile Indians during the warm months of the year, he
+was dressed in _nothing_ save a mere rag tied round his waist. His
+body was very brown, extremely round, fat, and wonderfully
+diminutive, while his little legs and arms were disproportionately
+small. He was so young as to be barely able to walk, and yet there he
+stood, his black eyes glittering with excitement, his tiny bow bent
+to its utmost, and a blunt-headed arrow about to be discharged at a
+squirrel, whose flight had been suddenly arrested by the unexpected
+apparition of Charley and Jacques. As he stood there for a single
+instant, perfectly motionless, he might have been mistaken for a
+grotesque statue of an Indian cupid. Taking advantage of the
+squirrel's pause the child let fly the arrow, hit it exactly on the
+point of the nose, and turned it over, dead--a consummation which he
+greeted with a rapid succession of frightful yells.
+
+"Cleverly done, my lad; you're a chip of the old block, I see," said
+Jacques, patting the child's head as he passed, and retraced his
+steps, with Charley, to the Indian camp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+The feast--Charley makes his first speech in public, and meets with
+an old friend--An evening in the grass.
+
+
+Savages, not less than civilized men, are fond of a good dinner. In
+saying this, we do not expect our reader to be overwhelmed with
+astonishment. He might have guessed as much; but when we state that
+savages, upon particular occasions, eat six dinners in one, and make
+it a point of honour to do so, we apprehend that we have thrown a
+slightly new light on an old subject. Doubtless there are men in
+civilised society who would do likewise if they could; but they
+cannot, fortunately, as great gastronomic powers are dependent on
+severe, healthful, and prolonged physical exertion. Therefore it is
+that in England we find men capable only of eating about two dinners
+at once, and suffering a good deal for it afterwards; while in the
+backwoods we see men consume a week's dinners in one, without any
+evil consequences following the act.
+
+The feast which was given by the Knisteneux in honour of the visit of
+our two friends was provided on a more moderate scale than usual, in
+order to accommodate the capacities of the "white men;" three days'
+allowance being cooked for each man. (Women are never admitted to the
+public feasts.) On the day preceding the ceremony, Charley and
+Jacques had received cards of invitation from the principal chief in
+the shape of two quills; similar invites being issued at the same
+time to all the braves. Jacques being accustomed to the doings of the
+Indians, and aware of the fact that whatever was provided for each
+man _must_ be eaten before he quitted the scene of operations,
+advised Charley to eat no breakfast, and to take a good walk as a
+preparative. Charley had strong faith, however, in his digestive
+powers, and felt much inclined, when morning came, to satisfy the
+cravings of his appetite as usual; but Jacques drew such a graphic
+picture of the work that lay before him, that he forbore to urge the
+matter, and went off to walk with a light step, and an uncomfortable
+feeling of vacuity about the region of the stomach.
+
+About noon, the chiefs and braves assembled in an open enclosure
+situated in an exposed place on the banks of the river, where the
+proceedings were watched by the women, children, and dogs. The oldest
+chief sat himself down on the turf at one end of the enclosure, with
+Jacques Caradoc on his right hand, and next to him Charley Kennedy,
+who had ornamented himself with a blue stripe painted down the middle
+of his nose, and a red bar across his chin. Charley's propensity for
+fun had led him thus to decorate his face, in spite of his
+companion's remonstrances,--urging, by way of excuse, that worthy's
+former argument, "that it was well to fall in with the ways o' the
+people a man happened to be among, so long as these ways and customs
+were not contrary to what was right." Now Charley was sure there was
+nothing wrong in his painting his nose sky blue, if he thought fit.
+
+Jacques thought it was absurd, and entertained the opinion that it
+would be more dignified to leave his face "its nat'ral colour."
+
+Charley didn't agree with him at all. He thought it would be paying
+the Indians a high compliment to follow their customs as far as
+possible, and said that, after all, his blue nose would not be very
+conspicuous, as he (Jacques) had told him that he would "look blue"
+at any rate when he saw the quantity of deer's meat he should have to
+devour.
+
+Jacques laughed at this, but suggested that the bar across his chin
+was _red_. Whereupon Charley said that he could easily neutralise
+that by putting a green star under each eye; and then uttered a
+fervent wish that his friend Harry Somerville could only see him in
+that guise. Finding him incorrigible, Jacques, who, notwithstanding
+his remonstrances, was more than half imbued with Charley's spirit,
+gave in, and accompanied him to the feast, himself decorated with the
+additional ornament of a red night-cap, to whose crown was attached a
+tuft of white feathers.
+
+A fire burned in the centre of the enclosure, round which the Indians
+seated themselves according to seniority, and with deep solemnity;
+for it is a trait in the Indian's character that all his ceremonies
+are performed with extreme gravity. Each man brought a dish or
+platter, and a wooden spoon.
+
+The old chief, whose hair was very gray, and his face covered with
+old wounds and scars, received either in war or in hunting, having
+seated himself, allowed a few minutes to elapse in silence, during
+which the company sat motionless, gazing at their plates as if they
+half expected them to become converted into beefsteaks. While they
+were seated thus, another party of Indians, who had been absent on a
+hunting expedition, strode rapidly but noiselessly into the
+enclosure, and seated themselves in the circle. One of these passed
+close to Charley, and in doing so stooped, took his hand, and pressed
+it. Charley looked up in surprise, and beheld the face of his old
+friend Redfeather, gazing at him with an expression in which were
+mingled affection, surprise, and amusement at the peculiar alteration
+in his visage.
+
+"Redfeather!" exclaimed Charlie, in delight, half rising, but the
+Indian pressed him down.
+
+"You must not rise," he whispered, and giving his hand another
+squeeze, passed round the circle, and took his place directly
+opposite.
+
+Having continued motionless for five minutes with becoming gravity,
+the company began operations by proceeding to smoke out of the sacred
+stem--a ceremony which precedes--all occasions of importance, and is
+conducted as follows:--The sacred stem is placed on two forked sticks
+to prevent its touching the ground, as that would be considered a
+great evil. A stone pipe is then filled with tobacco, by an attendant
+specially appointed to that office, and affixed to the stem, which is
+presented to the principal chief. That individual, with a gravity and
+_hauteur_ that is unsurpassed in the annals of pomposity, receives
+the pipe in both hands, blows a puff to the east (probably in
+consequence of its being the quarter whence the sun rises), and
+thereafter pays a similar mark of attention to the other three
+points. He then raises the pipe above his head, points and balances
+it in various directions (for what reason and with what end in view
+is best known to himself), and replaces it again on the forks. The
+company meanwhile observe his proceedings with sedate interest,
+evidently imbued with the idea that they are deriving from the
+ceremony a vast amount of edification--an idea which is helped out,
+doubtless, by the appearance of the women and children, who surround
+the enclosure, and gaze at the proceedings with looks of awe-struck
+seriousness that is quite solemnizing to behold.
+
+The chief then makes a speech relative to the circumstance which has
+called them together; and which is always more or less interlarded
+with boastful reference to his own deeds, past, present, and
+prospective, eulogistic remarks on those of his forefathers, and a
+general condemnation of all other Indian tribes whatever. These
+speeches are usually delivered with great animation, and contain much
+poetic allusion to the objects of nature that surround the homes of
+the savage. The speech being finished, the chief sits down amid a
+universal "Ho!" uttered by the company with an emphatic prolongation
+of the last letter--this syllable being the Indian substitute, we
+presume, for "rapturous applause."
+
+The chief who officiated on the present occasion, having accomplished
+the opening ceremonies thus far, sat down; while the pipe-bearer
+presented the sacred stem to the members of the company in
+succession, each of whom drew a few whiffs and mumbled a few words.
+
+"Do as you see the red-skins, Mr. Charles," whispered Jacques, while
+the pipe was going round.
+
+"That's impossible," replied Charley, in a tone that could not be
+heard except by his friend. "I couldn't make a face of hideous
+solemnity like that black thief opposite if I was to try ever so
+hard."
+
+"Don't let them think you're laughing at them," returned the hunter;
+"they would be ill-pleased if they thought so."
+
+"I'll try," said Charley, "but it is hard work, Jacques, to keep from
+laughing; I feel like a high-pressure steam-engine already. There's a
+woman standing out there with a little brown baby on her back; she
+has quite fascinated me; I can't keep my eyes off her, and if she
+goes on contorting her visage much longer, I feel that I shall give
+way."
+
+"Hush!"
+
+At this moment the pipe was presented to Charley, who put it to his
+lips, drew three whiffs, and returned it with a bland smile to the
+bearer.
+
+The smile was a very sweet one, for that was a peculiar trait in the
+native urbanity of Charley's disposition, and it would have gone far
+in civilized society to prepossess strangers in his favour; but it
+lowered him considerably in the estimation of his red friends, who
+entertained a wholesome feeling of contempt for any appearance of
+levity on high occasions. But Charley's face was of that agreeable
+stamp that, though gentle and bland when lighted up with a smile, is
+particularly masculine and manly in expression when in repose, and
+the frown that knit his brows when he observed the bad impression he
+had given almost reinstated him in their esteem. But his popularity
+became great, and the admiration of his swarthy friends greater, when
+he rose and made an eloquent speech in English, which Jacques
+translated into the Indian language.
+
+He told them, in reply to the chief's oration (wherein that warrior
+had complimented his pale-faced brothers on their numerous good
+qualities), that he was delighted and proud to meet with his Indian
+friends; that the object of his mission was to acquaint them with the
+fact that a new trading-fort was established not far off, by himself
+and his comrades, for their special benefit and behoof; that the
+stores were full of goods which he hoped they would soon obtain
+possession of, in exchange for furs; that he had travelled a great
+distance on purpose to see their land and ascertain its capabilities
+in the way of fur-bearing animals and game; that he had not been
+disappointed in his expectations, as he had found the animals to be
+as numerous as bees, the fish plentiful in the rivers and lakes, and
+the country at large a perfect paradise. He proceeded to tell them
+further that he expected they would justify the report he had heard
+of them, that they were a brave nation and good hunters, by bringing
+in large quantities of furs.
+
+Being strongly urged by Jacques to compliment them, on their various
+good qualities, Charley launched out into an extravagantly poetic
+vein, said that he had heard (but he hoped to have many opportunities
+of seeing it proved) that there was no nation under the sun equal to
+them in bravery, activity, and perseverance; that he had heard of men
+in olden times who made it their profession to fight with wild bulls
+for the amusement of their friends, but he had no doubt whatever
+their courage would be made conspicuous in the way of fighting wild
+bears and buffaloes, not for the amusement but the benefit of their
+wives and children (he might have added of the Hudson's Bay Company,
+but he didn't, supposing that that was self-evident, probably). He
+complimented them on the way in which they had conducted themselves
+in war in times past, comparing their stealthy approach to enemies'
+camps to the insidious snake that glides among the bushes, and darts
+unexpectedly on its prey; said that their eyes were sharp to follow
+the war-trail through the forest or over the dry sward of the
+prairie; their aim with gun or bow true and sure as the flight of the
+goose when it leaves the lands of the sun, and points its beak to the
+icy regions of the north; their war-whoops loud as the thunders of
+the cataract; and their sudden onset like the lightning flash that
+darts from the sky and scatters the stout oak in splinters on the
+plain.
+
+At this point Jacques expressed his satisfaction at the style in
+which his young friend was progressing.
+
+"That's your sort, Mr. Charles. Don't spare the butter; lay it on
+thick. You've not said too much yet, for they are a brave race,
+that's a fact, as I've good reason to know."
+
+Jacques, however, did not feel quite so well satisfied when Charley
+went on to tell them that although bravery in war was an admirable
+thing, war itself was a thing not at all to be desired, and should
+only be undertaken in case of necessity. He especially pointed out
+that there was not much glory to be earned in fighting against the
+Chipewyans, who, everybody knew, were a poor, timid set of people,
+whom they ought rather to pity than to destroy; and recommended them
+to devote themselves more to the chase than they had done in times
+past, and less to the prosecution of war in time to come.
+
+All this, and a great deal more, did Charley say, in a manner, and
+with a rapidity of utterance, that surprised himself, when he
+considered the fact that he had never adventured into the field of
+public speaking before. All this, and a great deal more--a very great
+deal more--did Jacques Caradoc interpret to the admiring Indians, who
+listened with the utmost gravity and profound attention, greeting the
+close with a very emphatic "Ho!"
+
+Jacques's translation was by no means perfect. Many of the flights
+into which Charley ventured, especially in regard to the manners and
+customs of the savages of ancient Greece and Rome, were quite
+incomprehensible to the worthy backwoodsman; but he invariably
+proceeded when Charley halted, giving a flight of his own when at a
+loss, varying and modifying when he thought it advisable, and
+altering, adding, or cutting off as he pleased.
+
+Several other chiefs addressed the assembly, and then dinner, if we
+may so call it, was served. In Charley's case it was breakfast; to
+the Indians it was breakfast, dinner, and supper in one. It consisted
+of a large platter of dried meat, reindeer tongues (considered a
+great delicacy), and marrow-bones.
+
+Notwithstanding the graphic power with which Jacques had prepared his
+young companion for this meal, Charley's heart sank when he beheld
+the mountain of boiled meat that was placed before him. He was
+ravenously hungry, it is true, but it was patent to his perception at
+a glance that no powers of gormandizing of which he was capable could
+enable him to consume the mass in the course of one day.
+
+Jacques observed his consternation, and was not a little entertained
+by it, although his face wore an expression of profound gravity while
+he proceeded to attack his own dish, which was equal to that of his
+friend.
+
+Before commencing, a small portion of meat was thrown into the fire
+as a sacrifice to the Great Master of Life.
+
+"How they do eat, to be sure!" whispered Charley to Jacques, after he
+had glanced in wonder at the circle of men who were devouring their
+food with the most extraordinary rapidity.
+
+"Why, you must know," replied Jacques, "that it's considered a point
+of honour to get it over soon, and the man that is done first gets
+most credit. But it's hard work" (he sighed, and paused a little to
+breathe), "and I've not got half through yet."
+
+"It's quite plain that I must lose credit with them, then, if it
+depends on my eating that. Tell me, Jacques, is there no way of
+escape? Must I sit here till it is all consumed?"
+
+"No doubt of it. Every bit that has been cooked must be crammed down
+our throats somehow or other." Charley heaved a deep sigh, and made
+another desperate attack on a large steak, while the Indians around
+him made considerable progress in reducing their respective
+mountains.
+
+Several times Charley and Redfeather exchanged glances as they paused
+in their labours.
+
+"I say, Jacques," said Charley, pulling up once more, "how do you get
+on? Pretty well stuffed by this time, I should imagine?"
+
+"Oh no! I've a good deal o' room yet."
+
+"I give in. Credit or disgrace, it's all one. I'll not make a pig of
+myself for any red-skin in the land."
+
+Jacques smiled.
+
+"See," continued Charley, "there's a fellow opposite who has devoured
+as much as would have served me for three days. I don't know whether
+it's imagination or not, but I do verily believe that he's _blacker_
+in the face than when we sat down!"
+
+"Very likely," replied Jacques, wiping his lips, "Now I've done."
+
+"Done! you have left at least a third of your supply."
+
+"True, and I may as well tell you for your comfort that there is one
+way of escape open to you. It is a custom among these fellows, that
+when any one cannot gulp his share o' the prog, he may get help from
+any of his friends that can cram it down their throats; and as there
+are always such fellows among these Injins, they seldom have any
+difficulty."
+
+"A most convenient practice," replied Charley, "I'll adopt it at
+once."
+
+Charley turned to his next neighbour with the intent to beg of him to
+eat his remnant of the feast.
+
+"Bless my heart, Jacques, I've no chance with the fellow on my left
+hand; he's stuffed quite full already, and is not quite done with his
+own share."
+
+"Never fear," replied his friend, looking at the individual in
+question, who was languidly lifting a marrowbone to his lips; "he'll
+do it easy. I knows the gauge o' them chaps, and for all his sleepy
+looks just now he's game for a lot more."
+
+"Impossible," replied Charley, looking in despair at his unfinished
+viands and then at the Indian. A glance round the circle seemed
+further to convince him that if he did not eat it himself there were
+none of the party likely to do so.
+
+"You'll have to give him a good lump o' tobacco to do it, though; he
+won't undertake so much for a trifle, I can tell you." Jacques
+chuckled as he said this, and handed his own portion over to another
+Indian, who readily undertook to finish it for him.
+
+"He'll burst; I feel certain of that," said Charley, with a deep
+sigh, as he surveyed his friend on the left.
+
+At last he took courage to propose the thing to him, and just as the
+man finished the last morsel of his own repast, Charley placed his
+own plate before him, with a look that seemed to say, "Eat it, my
+friend, _if you can._"
+
+The Indian, much to his surprise, immediately commenced to it, and in
+less than half-an-hour the whole was disposed of.
+
+During this scene of gluttony, one of the chiefs entertained the
+assembly with a wild and most unmusical chant, to which he beat time
+on a sort of tambourine, while the women outside the enclosure beat a
+similar accompaniment.
+
+"I say, master," whispered Jacques, "it seems to my observation that
+the fellow you call Redfeather eats less than any Injin I ever saw.
+He has got a comrade to eat more than half his share; now that's
+strange."
+
+"It won't appear strange, Jacques, when I tell you that Redfeather
+has lived much more among white men than Indians during the last ten
+years; and although voyageurs eat an enormous quantity of food, they
+don't make it a point of honour, as these fellows seem to do, to eat
+much more than enough. Besides, Redfeather is a very different man
+from those around him; he has been partially educated by the
+missionaries on Playgreen Lake, and I think has a strong leaning
+towards them."
+
+While they were thus conversing in whispers, Redfeather rose, and
+holding forth his hand, delivered himself of the following oration:--
+
+"The time has come for Redfeather to speak. He has kept silence for
+many moons now, but his heart has been full of words. It is too full;
+he must speak now. Redfeather has fought with his tribe, and has been
+accounted a brave, and one who loves his people. This is true. He
+_does_ love, even more than they can understand. His friends know
+that he has never feared to face danger and death in their defence,
+and that, if it were necessary, he would do so still. But Redfeather
+is going to leave his people now. His heart is heavy at the thought.
+Perhaps many moons will come and go, many snows may fall and melt
+away, before he sees his people again; and it is this that makes him
+full of sorrow, it is this that makes his head to droop like the
+branches of the weeping willow."
+
+Redfeather paused at this point, but not a sound escaped from the
+listening circle: the Indians were evidently taken by surprise at
+this abrupt announcement. He proceeded:--
+
+"When Redfeather travelled not long since with the white men, he met
+with a pale-face who came from the other side of the Great Salt Lake
+towards the rising sun. This man was called by some of the people a
+missionary. He spoke wonderful things in the ear of Redfeather. He
+told him of things about the Great Spirit which he did not know
+before, and he asked Redfeather to go and help him to speak to the
+Indians about these strange things. Redfeather would not go. He loved
+his people too much, and he thought that the words of the missionary
+seemed foolishness. But he has thought much about it since. He does
+not understand the strange things that were told to him, and he has
+tried to forget them, but he cannot. He can get no rest. He hears
+strange sounds in the breeze that shakes the pine. He thinks that
+there are voices in the waterfall; the rivers seem to speak,
+Redfeather's spirit is vexed. The Great Spirit, perhaps, is talking
+to him. He has resolved to go to the dwelling of the missionary and
+stay with him."
+
+The Indian paused again, but still no sound escaped from his
+comrades. Dropping his voice to a soft plaintive tone, he continued--
+
+"But Redfeather loves his kindred. He desires very much that they
+should hear the things that the missionary said. He spoke of the
+happy hunting grounds to which the spirits of our fathers have gone,
+and said that we required a _guide_ to lead us there; that there was
+but one guide, whose name, he said, was Jesus. Redfeather would stay
+and hunt with his people, but his spirit is troubled; he cannot rest;
+he must go!"
+
+Redfeather sat down, and a long silence ensued. His words had
+evidently taken the whole party by surprise, although not a
+countenance there showed the smallest symptom of astonishment, except
+that of Charley Kennedy, whose intercourse with Indians had not yet
+been so great as to have taught him to conceal his feelings.
+
+At length the old chief rose, and after complimenting Redfeather on
+his bravery in general, and admitting that he had shown much love to
+his people on all occasions, went into the subject of his quitting
+them at some length. He reminded him that there were evil spirits as
+well as good; that it was not for him to say which kind had been
+troubling him, but that he ought to consider well before he went to
+live altogether with pale-faces. Several other speeches were made,
+some to the same effect, and others applauding his resolve. These
+latter had, perhaps, some idea that his bringing the pale-faced
+missionary among them would gratify their taste for the marvellous--a
+taste that is pretty strong in all uneducated minds.
+
+One man, however, was particularly urgent in endeavouring to dissuade
+him from his purpose. He was a tall, low-browed man; muscular and
+well built, but possessed of a most villainous expression of
+countenance. From a remark that fell from one of the company, Charley
+discovered that his name was Misconna, and so learned, to his
+surprise, that he was the very Indian mentioned by Redfeather as the
+man who had been his rival for the hand of Wabisca, and who had so
+cruelly killed the wife of the poor trapper the night on which the
+Chipewyan camp was attacked, and the people slaughtered.
+
+What reason Misconna had for objecting so strongly to Redfeather's
+leaving the community no one could tell, although some of those who
+knew his unforgiving nature suspected that he still entertained the
+hope of being able, some day or other, to weak his vengeance on his
+old rival. But whatever was his object, he failed in moving
+Redfeather's resolution; and it was at last admitted by the whole
+party that Redfeather was a "wise chief;" that he knew best what
+ought to be done under the circumstances, and it was hoped that his
+promised visit, in company with the missionary, would not be delayed
+many moons.
+
+That night, in the deep shadow of the trees, by the brook that
+murmured near the Indian camp, while the stars twinkled through the
+branches overhead, Charley introduced Redfeather to his friend
+Jacques Caradoc, and a friendship was struck up between the bold
+hunter and the red man that grew and strengthened as each successive
+day made them acquainted with their respective good qualities. In the
+same place, and with the same stars looking down upon them, it was
+further agreed that Redfeather should accompany his new friends,
+taking his wife along with him in another canoe, as far as their
+several routes led them in the same direction, which was about four
+or five days' journey; and that while the one party diverged towards
+the fort at Stoney Creek, the other should pursue its course to the
+missionary station on the shores of Lake Winnipeg.
+
+But there was a snake in the grass there that they little suspected.
+Misconna had crept through the bushes after them, with a degree of
+caution that might have baffled their vigilance, even had they
+suspected treason in a friendly camp. He lay listening intently to
+all their plans, and when they returned to their camp, he rose out
+from among the bushes, like a dark spirit of evil, clutched the
+handle of his scalping-knife, and gave utterance to a malicious
+growl; then, walking hastily after them, his dusky figure was soon
+concealed among the trees.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+The return--Narrow escape--A murderous attempt, which fails--And a
+discovery.
+
+
+All nature was joyous and brilliant, and bright and beautiful.
+Morning was still very young--about an hour old. Sounds of the most
+cheerful, light-hearted character floated over the waters and echoed
+through the woods, as birds and beasts hurried to and fro with all
+the bustling energy that betokened preparation and search for
+breakfast. Fish leaped in the pools with a rapidity that brought
+forcibly to mind that wise saying, "The more hurry, the less speed;"
+for they appeared constantly to miss their mark, although they jumped
+twice their own length out of the water in the effort.
+
+Ducks and geese sprang from their liquid beds with an amazing amount
+of unnecessary sputter, as if they had awakened to the sudden
+consciousness of being late for breakfast, then alighted in the water
+again with a _squash,_ on finding (probably) that it was too early
+for that meal, but, observing other flocks passing and re-passing on
+noisy wing, took to flight again, unable, apparently, to restrain
+their feelings of delight at the freshness of the morning air, the
+brightness of the rising sun, and the sweet perfume of the dewy
+verdure, as the mists cleared away over the tree-tops and lost
+themselves in the blue sky. Everything seemed instinct not only with
+life, but with a large amount of superabundant energy. Earth, air,
+sky, animal, vegetable, and mineral, solid and liquid, all were
+either actually in a state of lively exulting motion, or had a
+peculiarly sprightly look about them, as if nature had just burst out
+of prison _en masse_, and gone raving mad with joy.
+
+Such was the delectable state of things the morning on which two
+canoes darted from the camp of the Knisteneux, amid many expressions
+of goodwill. One canoe contained our two friends, Charley and
+Jacques; the other, Redfeather and his wife Wabisca.
+
+A few strokes of the paddle shot them out into the stream, which
+carried them rapidly away from the scene of their late festivities.
+In five minutes they swept round a point which shut them out from
+view, and they were swiftly descending those rapid rivers that had
+cost Charley and Jacques so much labour to ascend.
+
+"Look out for rocks ahead, Mr. Charles," cried Jacques, as he steered
+the light bark into the middle of a rapid, which they had avoided
+when ascending by making a portage. "Keep well to the left of yon
+swirl. _Parbleu_, if we touch the rock _there_ it'll be all over with
+us."
+
+"All right," was Charley's laconic reply. And so it proved, for their
+canoe, after getting fairly into the run of the rapid, was evidently
+under the complete command of its expert crew, and darted forward
+amid the foaming waters like a thing instinct with life. Now it
+careered and plunged over the waves where the rough bed of the stream
+made them more than usually turbulent. Anon it flew with increased
+rapidity through a narrow gap where the compressed water was smooth
+and black, but deep and powerful, rendering great care necessary to
+prevent the canoe's frail sides from being dashed on the rocks. Then
+it met a curling wave, into which it plunged like an impetuous
+charger, and was checked for a moment by its own violence. Presently
+an eddy threw the canoe a little out of its course, disconcerting
+Charley's intention of _shaving_ a rock, which lay in their track, so
+that he slightly grazed it in passing.
+
+"Ah, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, shaking his head, "that was not well
+done; an inch more would have sent us down the rapids like drowned
+cats."
+
+"True," replied Charley, somewhat crestfallen; "but you see the other
+inch was not lost, so we're not much the worse for it."
+
+"Well, after all, it was a ticklish bit, and I should have guessed
+that your experience was not up to it quite. I've seen many a man in
+my day who wouldn't ha' done it _half_ so slick, an' yet ha' thought
+no small beer of himself; so you needn't be ashamed, Mr. Charles. But
+Wabisca beats you for all that," continued the hunter, glancing
+hastily over his shoulder at Redfeather, who followed closely in
+their wake, he and his modest-looking wife guiding their little craft
+through the dangerous passages with the utmost _sangfroid_ and
+precision.
+
+"We've about run them all now," said Jacques, as they paddled over a
+sheet of still water which intervened between the rapid they had just
+descended and another which thundered about a hundred yards in
+advance.
+
+"I was so engrossed with the one we have just come down," said
+Charley, "that I quite forgot this one."
+
+"Quite right, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, in an approving tone,
+"quite right. I holds that a man should always attend to what he's
+at, an' to nothin' else. I've lived long in the woods now, and the
+fact becomes more and more sartin every day. I've know'd chaps, now,
+as timersome as settlement girls, that were always in such a mortal
+funk about what _was_ to happen, or _might_ happen, that they were
+never fit for anything that _did_ happen; always lookin' ahead, and
+never around them. Of coorse, I don't mean that a man shouldn't look
+ahead at all, but their great mistake was that they looked out too
+far ahead, and always kep' their eyes nailed there, just as if they
+had the fixin' o' everything, an' Providence had nothin' to do with
+it at all. I mind a Canadian o' that sort that travelled in company
+with me once. We were goin' just as we are now, Mr. Charles, two
+canoes of us; him and a comrade in one, and me and a comrade in
+t'other. One night we got to a lot o' rapids that came one after
+another for the matter o' three miles or thereabouts. They were all
+easy ones, however, except the last; but it _was_ a tickler, with a
+sharp turn o' the land that hid it from sight until ye were right
+into it, with a foamin' current, and a range o' ragged rocks that
+stood straight in front o' ye, like the teeth of a cross-cut saw. It
+was easy enough, however, if a man _knew_ it, and was a cool hand.
+Well, the _pauvre_ Canadian was in a terrible takin' about this shoot
+long afore he came to it. He had run it often enough in boats where
+he was one of a half-dozen men, and had nothin' to do but look on;
+but he had never _steered_ down it before. When he came to the top o'
+the rapids, his mind was so filled with this shoot that he couldn't
+attend to nothin', and scraped agin' a dozen rocks in almost smooth
+water, so that when he got a little more than half-way down, the
+canoe was as rickety as if it had just come off a six months' cruise.
+At last we came to the big rapid, and after we'd run down our canoe I
+climbed the bank to see them do it. Down they came, the poor Canadian
+white as a sheet, and his comrade, who was brave enough, but knew
+nothin' about light craft, not very comfortable. At first he could
+see nothin' for the point, but in another moment round they went, end
+on, for the big rocks. The Canadian gave a great yell when he saw
+them, and plunged at the paddle till I thought he'd have capsized
+altogether. They ran it well enough, straight between the rocks (more
+by good luck than good guidance), and sloped down to the smooth water
+below; but the canoe had got such a battering in the rapids above,
+where an Injin baby could have steered it in safety, that the last
+plunge shook it all to pieces. It opened up, and lay down flat on the
+water, while the two men fell right through the bottom, screechin'
+like mad, and rolling about among shreds o' birch bark!"
+
+While Jacques was thus descanting philosophically on his experience
+in time past, they had approached the head of the second rapid, and
+in accordance with the principles just enunciated, the stout
+backwoodsman gave his undivided attention to the work before him. The
+rapid was short and deep, so that little care was required in
+descending it, excepting at one point, where the stream rushed
+impetuously between two rocks about six yards asunder. Here it was
+requisite to keep the canoe as much in the middle of the stream as
+possible.
+
+Just as they began to feel the drag of the water, Redfeather was
+heard to shout in a loud warning tone, which caused Jacques and
+Charley to back their paddles hurriedly.
+
+"What can the Injin mean, I wonder?" said Jacques, in a perplexed
+tone. "He don't look like a man that would stop us at the top of a
+strong rapid for nothin'."
+
+"It's too late to do that now, whatever is his reason," said Charley,
+as he and his companion struggled in vain to paddle up stream.
+
+"It's no use, Mr. Charles; we must run it now--the current's too
+strong to make head against; besides, I do think the man has only
+seen a bear, or something o' that sort, for I see he's ashore, and
+jumpin' among the bushes like a cariboo."
+
+Saying this, they turned the canoe's head down stream again, and
+allowed it to drift, merely retarding its progress a little with the
+paddles.
+
+Suddenly Jacques uttered a sharp exclamation. "_Mon Dieu!_" said he,
+"it's plain enough now. Look there!"
+
+Jacques pointed as he spoke to the narrows to which they were now
+approaching with tremendous speed, which increased every instant. A
+heavy tree lay directly across the stream, reaching from rock to
+rock, and placed in such a way that it was impossible for a canoe to
+descend without being dashed in pieces against it. This was the more
+curious that no trees grew in the immediate vicinity, so that this
+one must have been designedly conveyed there.
+
+"There has been foul work here," said Jacques, in a deep tone. "We
+must dive, Mr. Charles; there's no chance any way else, and _that's_
+but a poor one."
+
+This was true. The rocks on each side rose almost perpendicularly out
+of the water, so that it was utterly impossible to run ashore, and
+the only way of escape, as Jacques said, was by diving under the
+tree, a thing involving great risk, as the stream immediately below
+was broken by rocks, against which it dashed in foam, and through
+which the chances of steering one's way in safety by means of
+swimming were very slender indeed.
+
+Charley made no reply, but with tightly-compressed lips, and a look
+of stern resolution on his brow, threw off his coat, and hastily tied
+his belt tightly round his waist. The canoe was now sweeping forward
+with lightning speed; in a few minutes it would be dashed to pieces.
+
+At that moment a shout was heard in the woods, and Redfeather darting
+out, rushed over the ledge of rock on which one end of the tree
+rested, seized the trunk in his arms, and exerting all his strength,
+hurled it over into the river. In doing so he stumbled, and ere he
+could recover himself a branch caught him under the arm as the tree
+fell over, and dragged him into the boiling stream. This accident was
+probably the means of saving his life, for just as he fell the loud
+report of a gun rang through the woods, and a bullet passed through
+his cap. For a second or two both man and tree were lost in the foam,
+while the canoe dashed past in safety. The next instant Wabisca
+passed the narrows in her small craft, and steered for the tree.
+Redfeather, who had risen and sunk several times, saw her as she
+passed, and making a violent effort, he caught hold of the gunwale,
+and was carried down in safety.
+
+"I'll tell you what it is," said Jacques, as the party stood on a
+rock promontory after the events just narrated: "I would give a
+dollar to have that fellow's nose and the sights o' my rifle in a
+line at any distance short of two hundred yards."
+
+"It was Misconna," said Redfeather. "I did not see him, but there's
+not another man in the tribe that could do that."
+
+"I'm thankful we escaped, Jacques. I never felt so near death before,
+and had it not been for the timely aid of our friend here, it strikes
+me that our wild life would have come to an abrupt close.--God bless
+you, Redfeather," said Charley, taking the Indian's hand in both of
+his and kissing it.
+
+Charley's ebullition of feeling was natural. He had not yet become
+used to the dangers of the wilderness so as to treat them with
+indifference. Jacques, on the other hand, had risked his life so
+often that escape from danger was treated very much as a matter of
+course, and called forth little expression of feeling. Still, it must
+not be inferred from this that his nature had become callous. The
+backwoodsman's frame was hard and unyielding as iron, but his heart
+was as soft still as it was on the day on which he first donned the
+hunting-shirt, and there was much more of tenderness than met the eye
+in the squeeze that he gave Redfeather's hand on landing.
+
+As the four travellers encircled the fire that night, under the leafy
+branches of the forest, and smoked their pipes in concert, while
+Wabisca busied herself in clearing away the remnants of their evening
+meal, they waxed communicative, and stories, pathetic, comic, and
+tragic, followed each other in rapid succession.
+
+"Now, Redfeather," said Charley, while Jacques rose and went down to
+the luggage to get more tobacco, "tell Jacques about the way in which
+you got your name. I am sure he will feel deeply interested in that
+story--at least I am certain that Harry Somerville and I did when you
+told it to us the day we were wind-bound on Lake Winnipeg."
+
+Redfeather made no reply for a few seconds. "Will Mr. Charles speak
+for me?" he said at length. "His tongue is smooth and quick."
+
+"A doubtful kind of compliment," said Charley, laughing; "but I will,
+if you don't wish to tell it yourself."
+
+"And don't mention names. Do not let him know that you speak of me or
+my friends," said the Indian, in a low whisper, as Jacques returned
+and sat down by the fire again.
+
+Charley gave him a glance of surprise; but being prevented from
+asking questions, he nodded in reply, and proceeded to relate to his
+friend the story that has been recounted in a previous chapter.
+Redfeather leaned back against a tree, and appeared to listen
+intently.
+
+Charley's powers of description were by no means inconsiderable, and
+the backwoodsman's face assumed a look of good-humoured attention as
+the story proceeded. But when the narrator went on to tell of the
+meditated attack and the midnight march, his interest was aroused,
+the pipe which he had been smoking was allowed to go out, and he
+gazed at his young friend with the most earnest attention. It was
+evident that the hunter's spirit entered with deep sympathy into such
+scenes; and when Charley described the attack, and the death of the
+trapper's wife, Jacques seemed unable to restrain his feelings. He
+leaned his elbows on his knees, buried his face in his hands, and
+groaned aloud.
+
+"Mr. Charles," he said, in a deep voice, when the story was ended,
+"there are two men I would like to meet with in this world before I
+die. One is the young Injin who tried to save that girl's life, the
+other is the cowardly villain that took it. I don't mean the one who
+finished the bloody work: my rifle sent his accursed spirit to its
+own place--"
+
+"_Your_ rifle!" cried Charley, in amazement.
+
+"Ay, mine! It was _my_ wife who was butchered by these savage dogs on
+that dark night. Oh, what avails the strength o' that right arm!"
+said Jacques, bitterly, as he lifted up his clenched fist; "it was
+powerless to save _her_--the sweet girl who left her home and people
+to follow me, a rough hunter, through the lonesome wilderness!"
+
+He covered his face again, and groaned in agony of spirit, while his
+whole frame quivered with emotion.
+
+Jacques remained silent, and his sympathising friends refrained from
+intruding on a sorrow which they felt they had no power to relieve.
+
+At length he spoke. "Yes," said he, "I would give much to meet with
+the man who tried to save her. I saw him do it twice; but the devils
+about him were too eager to be balked of their prey."
+
+Charley and the Indian exchanged glances. "That Indian's name," said
+the former, "was _Redfeather!_"
+
+"What!" exclaimed the trapper, jumping to his feet, and grasping
+Redfeather, who had also risen, by the two shoulders, stared wildly
+in his face; "was it _you_ that did it?"
+
+Redfeather smiled, and held out his hand, which the other took and
+wrung with an energy that would have extorted a cry of pain from any
+one but an Indian. Then, dropping it suddenly and clinching his
+hands, he exclaimed,--
+
+"I said that I would like to meet the villain who killed her--yes, I
+said it in passion, when your words had roused all my old feelings
+again; but I am thankful--I bless God that I did not know this
+sooner--that you did not tell me of it when I was at the camp, for I
+verily believe that I would not only have fixed _him_, but half the
+warriors o' your tribe too, before they had settled _me!_"
+
+It need scarcely be added that the friendship which already subsisted
+between Jacques and Redfeather was now doubly cemented; nor will it
+create surprise when we say that the former, in the fulness of his
+heart, and from sheer inability to find adequate outlets for the
+expression of his feelings, offered Redfeather in succession all the
+articles of value he possessed, even to the much-loved rifle, and was
+seriously annoyed at their not being accepted. At last he finished
+off by assuring the Indian that he might look out for him soon at the
+missionary settlement, where he meant to stay with him evermore in
+the capacity of hunter, fisherman, and jack-of-all-trades to the
+whole clan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+The scene changes--Bachelor's Hall--A practical joke and its
+consequences--A snow-shoe walk at night in the forest.
+
+
+Leaving Charley to pursue his adventurous career among the Indians,
+we will introduce our reader to a new scene, and follow for a time
+the fortunes of our friend Harry Somerville. It will be remembered
+that we left him labouring under severe disappointment at the idea of
+having to spend a year, it might be many years, at the depot, and
+being condemned to the desk, instead of realising his fond dreams of
+bear-hunting and deer-stalking in the woods and prairies.
+
+It was now the autumn of Harry's second year at York Fort. This
+period of the year happens to be the busiest at the depot, in
+consequence of the preparation of the annual accounts for
+transmission to England, in the solitary ship which visits this
+lonely spot once a year; so that Harry was tied to his desk all day
+and the greater part of the night too, so that his spirits fell
+infinitely below zero, and he began to look on himself as the most
+miserable of mortals. His spirits rose, however, with amazing
+rapidity after the ship went away, and the "young gentlemen," as the
+clerks were styled _en masse_, were permitted to run wild in the
+swamps and woods for the three weeks succeeding that event. During
+this glimpse of sunshine they recruited their exhausted frames by
+paddling about all day in Indian canoes, or wandering through the
+marshes, sleeping at nights in tents or under the pine trees, and
+spreading dismay among the feathered tribes, of which there were
+immense numbers of all kinds. After this they returned to their
+regular work at the desk; but as this was not so severe as in summer,
+and was further lightened by Wednesdays and Saturdays being devoted
+entirely to recreation, Harry began to look on things in a less
+gloomy aspect, and at length regained his wonted cheerful spirits.
+
+Autumn passed away. The ducks and geese took their departure to more
+genial climes. The swamps froze up and became solid. Snow fell in
+great abundance, covering every vestige of vegetable nature, except
+the dark fir trees, that only helped to render the scenery more
+dreary, and winter settled down upon the land. Within the pickets of
+York Fort, the thirty or forty souls who lived there were actively
+employed in cutting their firewood, putting in double window-frames
+to keep out the severe cold, cutting tracks in the snow from one
+house to another, and otherwise preparing for a winter of eight
+months' duration, as cold as that of Nova Zembla, and in the course
+of which the only new faces they had any chance of seeing were those
+of the two men who conveyed the annual winter packet of letters from
+the next station. Outside of the fort, all was a wide, waste
+wilderness for _thousands_ of miles around. Deathlike stillness and
+solitude reigned everywhere, except when a covey of ptarmigan whirred
+like large snowflakes athwart the sky, or an arctic fox prowled
+stealthily through the woods in search of prey.
+
+As if in opposition to the gloom and stillness and solitude outside,
+the interior of the clerks' house presented a striking contrast of
+ruddy warmth, cheerful sounds, and bustling activity.
+
+It was evening; but although the sun had set, there was still
+sufficient daylight to render candles unnecessary, though not enough
+to prevent a bright glare from the stove in the centre of the hall
+taking full effect in the darkening chamber, and making it glow with
+fiery red. Harry Somerville sat in front, and full in the blaze of
+this stove, resting after the labours of the day; his arms crossed on
+his breast, his head a little to one side, as if in deep
+contemplation, as he gazed earnestly into the fire, and his chair
+tilted on its hind legs so as to balance with such nicety that a
+feather's weight additional outside its centre of gravity would have
+upset it. He had divested himself of his coat--a practice that
+prevailed among the young gentlemen when _at home_, as being free-
+and-easy as well as convenient. The doctor, a tall, broad-shouldered
+man, with red hair and whiskers, paced the room sedately, with a long
+pipe depending from his lips, which he removed occasionally to
+address a few remarks to the accountant, a stout, heavy man of about
+thirty, with a voice like a Stentor, eyes sharp and active as those
+of a ferret, and a tongue that moved with twice the ordinary amount
+of lingual rapidity. The doctor's remarks seemed to be particularly
+humorous, if one might judge from the peals of laughter with which
+they were received by the accountant, who stood with his back to the
+stove in such a position that, while it warmed him from his heels to
+his waist, he enjoyed the additional benefit of the pipe or chimney,
+which rose upwards, parallel with his spine, and, taking a sudden
+bend near the roof, passed over his head--thus producing a genial and
+equable warmth from top to toe.
+
+"Yes," said the doctor, "I left him hotly following up a rabbit-
+track, in the firm belief that it was that of a silver fox."
+
+"And did you not undeceive the greenhorn?" cried the accountant, with
+another shout of laughter.
+
+"Not I," replied the doctor. "I merely recommended him to keep his
+eye on the sun, lest he should lose his way, and hastened home; for
+it just occurred to me that I had forgotten to visit Louis Blanc, who
+cut his foot with an axe yesterday, and whose wound required
+redressing, so I left the poor youth to learn from experience."
+
+"Pray, who did you leave to that delightful fate?" asked Mr. Wilson,
+issuing from his bedroom, and approaching the stove.
+
+Mr. Wilson was a middle-aged, good-humoured, active man, who filled
+the onerous offices of superintendent of the men, trader of furs,
+seller of goods to the Indians, and general factotum.
+
+"Our friend Hamilton," answered the doctor, in reply to his question.
+"I think he is, without exception, the most egregious nincompoop I
+ever saw. Just as I passed the long swamp on my way home, I met him
+crashing through the bushes in hot pursuit of a rabbit, the track of
+which he mistook for a fox. Poor fellow! He had been out since
+breakfast, and only shot a brace of ptarmigan, although they are as
+thick as bees and quite tame. 'But then, do you see,' said he, in
+excuse, 'I'm so very shortsighted! Would you believe it, I've blown
+fifteen lumps of snow to atoms, in the belief that they were
+ptarmigan!' and then he rushed off again."
+
+"No doubt," said Mr. Wilson, smiling, "the lad is very green, but
+he's a good fellow for all that."
+
+"I'll answer for that," said the accountant; "I found him over at the
+men's houses this morning doing _your_ work for you, doctor."
+
+"How so?" inquired the disciple of AEsculapius.
+
+"Attending to your wounded man, Louis Blanc, to be sure; and he
+seemed to speak to him as wisely as if he had walked the hospitals,
+and regularly passed for an M.D."
+
+"Indeed!" said the doctor, with a mischievous grin. "Then I must pay
+him off for interfering with my patients."
+
+"Ah, doctor, you're too fond of practical jokes. You never let slip
+an opportunity of 'paying off' your friends for something or other.
+It's a bad habit. Practical jokes are very bad things--shockingly
+bad," said Mr. Wilson, as he put on his fur cap, and wound a thick
+shawl round his throat, preparatory to leaving the room.
+
+As Mr. Wilson gave utterance to this opinion, he passed Harry
+Somerville, who was still staring at the fire in deep mental
+abstraction, and, as he did so, gave his tilted chair a very slight
+push backwards with his finger--an action which caused Harry to toss
+up his legs, grasp convulsively with both hands at empty air, and
+fall with a loud noise and an angry yell to the ground, while his
+persecutor vanished from the scene.
+
+"O you outrageous villain!" cried Harry, shaking his fist at the
+door, as he slowly gathered himself up; "I might have expected that."
+
+"Quite so," said the doctor; "you might. It was very neatly done,
+undoubtedly. Wilson deserves credit for the way in which it was
+executed."
+
+"He deserves to be executed for doing it at all," replied Harry,
+rubbing his elbow as he resumed his seat.
+
+"Any bark knocked off?" inquired the accountant, as he took a piece
+of glowing charcoal from the stove wherewith to light his pipe. "Try
+a whiff, Harry. It's good for such things. Bruises, sores,
+contusions, sprains, rheumatic affections of the back and loins,
+carbuncles and earache--there's nothing that smoking won't cure; eh,
+doctor?"
+
+"Certainly. If applied inwardly, there's nothing so good for
+digestion when one doesn't require tonics--Try it, Harry; it will do
+you good, I assure you."
+
+"No, thank you," replied Harry; "I'll leave that to you and the
+chimney. I don't wish to make a soot-bag of my mouth. But tell me,
+doctor, what do you mean to do with that lump of snow there?"
+
+Harry pointed to a mass of snow, of about two feet square, which lay
+on the floor beside the door. It had been placed there by the doctor
+some time previously.
+
+"Do with it? Have patience, my friend, and you shall see. It is a
+little surprise I have in store for Hamilton."
+
+As he spoke, the door opened, and a short, square-built man rushed
+into the room, with a pistol in one hand and a bright little bullet
+in the other.
+
+"Hollo, skipper!" cried Harry, "what's the row?"
+
+"All right," cried the skipper; "here it is at last, solid as the
+fluke of an anchor. Toss me the powder-flask Harry; look sharp, else
+it'll melt."
+
+A powder-flask was immediately produced, from which the skipper
+hastily charged the pistol, and rammed down the shining bullet.
+
+"Now then," said he, "look out for squalls. Clear the decks there."
+
+And rushing to the door, he flung it open, took a steady aim at
+something outside, and fired.
+
+"Is the man mad?" said the accountant, as with a look of amazement he
+beheld the skipper spring through the doorway, and immediately return
+bearing in his arms a large piece of fir plank.
+
+"Not quite mad yet," he said, in reply, "but I've sent a ball of
+quicksilver through an inch plank, and that's not a thing to be done
+every day--even _here_, although it _is_ cold enough sometimes to
+freeze up one's very ideas."
+
+"Dear me," interrupted Harry Somerville, looking as if a new thought
+had struck him, "that must be it! I've no doubt that poor Hamilton's
+ideas are _frozen_, which accounts for the total absence of any
+indication of his possessing such things."
+
+"I observed," continued the skipper, not noticing the interruption,
+"that the glass was down at 45 degrees below zero this morning, and
+put out a bullet-mould full of mercury, and you see the result." As
+he spoke he held up the perforated plank in triumph.
+
+The skipper was a strange mixture of qualities. To a wild, off-hand,
+sailor-like hilarity of disposition in hours of leisure, he united a
+grave, stern energy of character while employed in the performance of
+his duties. Duty was always paramount with him. A smile could
+scarcely be extracted from him while it was in the course of
+performance. But the instant his work was done a new spirit seemed to
+take possession of the man. Fun, mischief of any kind, no matter how
+childish, he entered into with the greatest delight and enthusiasm.
+Among other peculiarities, he had become deeply imbued with a thirst
+for scientific knowledge, ever since he had acquired, with infinite
+labour, the small modicum of science necessary to navigation; and his
+doings in pursuit of statistical information relative to the weather,
+and the phenomena of nature generally, were very peculiar, and in
+some cases outrageous. His transaction with the quicksilver was in
+consequence of an eager desire to see that metal frozen (an effect
+which takes place when the spirit-of-wine thermometer falls to 39
+degrees below zero of Fahrenheit), and a wish to be able to boast of
+having actually fired a mercurial bullet through an inch plank.
+Having made a careful note of the fact, with all the relative
+circumstances attending it, in a very much blotted book, which he
+denominated his scientific log, the worthy skipper threw off his
+coat, drew a chair to the stove, and prepared to regale himself with
+a pipe. As he glanced slowly round the room while thus engaged, his
+eye fell on the mass of snow before alluded to. On being informed by
+the doctor for what it was intended, he laid down his pipe and rose
+hastily from his chair.
+
+"You've not a moment to lose," said he. "As I came in at the gate
+just now, I saw Hamilton coming down the river on the ice, and he
+must be almost arrived now."
+
+"Up with it then," cried the doctor, seizing the snow, and lifting it
+to the top of the door." Hand me those bits of stick, Harry; quick,
+man, stir your stumps.--Now then, skipper, fix them in so, while I
+hold this up."
+
+The skipper lent willing and effective aid, so that in a few minutes
+the snow was placed in such a position that upon the opening of the
+door it must inevitably fall on the head of the first person who
+should enter the room.
+
+"So," said the skipper, "that's rigged up in what I call ship-shape
+fashion."
+
+"True," remarked the doctor, eyeing the arrangement with a look of
+approval; "it will do, I think, admirably."
+
+"Don't you think, skipper," said Harry Somerville gravely, as he
+resumed his seat in front of the fire, "that it would be worth while
+to make a careful and minute entry in your private log of the manner
+in which it was put up, to be afterwards followed by an account of
+its effect? You might write an essay on it now, and call it the
+extraordinary effects of a fall of snow in latitude so and so, eh?
+What think you of it?"
+
+The skipper vouchsafed no reply, but made a significant gesture with
+his fist, which caused Harry to put himself in a posture of defence.
+
+At this moment footsteps were heard on the wooden platform in front
+of the building.
+
+Instantly all became silence and expectation in the hall as the
+result of the practical joke was about to be realised. Just then
+another step was heard on the platform, and it became evident that
+two persons were approaching the door.
+
+"Hope it'll be the right man," said the skipper, with a look
+savouring slightly of anxiety.
+
+As he spoke the door opened, and a foot crossed the threshold; the
+next instant the miniature avalanche descended on the head and
+shoulders of a man, who reeled forward from the weight of the blow,
+and, covered from head to foot with snow, fell to the ground amid
+shouts of laughter.
+
+With a convulsive stamp and shake, the prostrate figure sprang up and
+confronted the party. Had the cast-iron stove suddenly burst into
+atoms, and blown the roof off the house, it could scarcely have
+created greater consternation than that which filled the merry
+jesters when they beheld the visage of Mr. Rogan, the superintendent
+of the fort, red with passion and fringed with snow.
+
+"So," said he, stamping violently with his foot, partly from anger,
+and partly with a view of shaking off the unexpected covering, which
+stuck all over his dress in little patches, producing a somewhat
+piebald effect,--"so you are pleased to jest, gentlemen. Pray, who
+placed that piece of snow over the door?" Mr. Rogan glared fiercely
+round upon the culprits, who stood speechless before him.
+
+For a moment he stood silent, as if uncertain how to act; then
+turning short on his heel, he strode quickly out of the room, nearly
+overturning Mr. Hamilton, who at the same instant entered it,
+carrying his gun and snowshoes under his arm.
+
+"Dear me, what has happened?" he exclaimed, in a peculiarly gentle
+tone of voice, at the same time regarding the snow and the horror-
+stricken circle with a look of intense surprise.
+
+"You _see_ what has happened," replied Harry Somerville, who was the
+first to recover his composure; "I presume you intended to ask, 'What
+has _caused_ it to happen?' Perhaps the skipper will explain; it's
+beyond me, quite."
+
+Thus appealed to, that worthy cleared his throat, and said,--
+
+"Why, you see, Mr. Hamilton, a great phenomenon of meteorology has
+happened. We were all standing, you must know, at the open door,
+taking a squint at the weather, when our attention was attracted by a
+curious object that appeared in the sky, and seemed to be coming down
+at the rate of ten knots an hour, right end-on for the house. I had
+just time to cry, 'Clear out, lads,' when it came slap in through the
+doorway, and smashed to shivers there, where you see the fragments.
+In fact, it's a wonderful aerolite, and Mr. Rogan has just gone out
+with a lot of the bits in his pocket, to make a careful examination
+of them, and draw up a report for the Geological Society in London. I
+shouldn't wonder if he were to send off an express to-night; and
+maybe you will have to convey the news to headquarters, so you'd
+better go and see him about it soon."
+
+_Soft_ although Mr. Hamilton was supposed to be, he was not quite
+prepared to give credit to this explanation; but being of a peaceful
+disposition, and altogether unaccustomed to retort, he merely smiled
+his disbelief, as he proceeded to lay aside his fowling-piece, and
+divest himself of the voluminous out-of-door trappings with which he
+was clad. Mr. Hamilton was a tall, slender youth, of about nineteen.
+He had come out by the ship in autumn, and was spending his first
+winter at York Fort. Up to the period of his entering the Hudson's
+Bay Company's service, he had never been more than twenty miles from
+home, and having mingled little with the world, was somewhat
+unsophisticated, besides being by nature gentle and unassuming.
+
+Soon after this the man who acted as cook, waiter, and butler to the
+mess, entered, and said that Mr. Rogan desired to see the accountant
+immediately.
+
+"Who am I to say did it?" enquired that gentleman, as he rose to obey
+the summons.
+
+"Wouldn't it be a disinterested piece of kindness if you were to say
+it was yourself?" suggested the doctor.
+
+"Perhaps it would, but I won't," replied the accountant, as he made
+his exit.
+
+In about half-an-hour Mr. Rogan and the accountant re-entered the
+apartment. The former had quite regained his composure. He was
+naturally amiable; which happy disposition was indicated by a
+habitually cheerful look and smile.
+
+"Now, gentlemen," said he, "I find that this practical joke was not
+intended for me, and therefore look upon it as an unlucky accident;
+but I cannot too strongly express my dislike to practical jokes of
+all kinds. I have seen great evil, and some bloodshed, result from
+practical jokes; and I think that, being a sufferer in consequence of
+your fondness for them, I have a right to beg that you will abstain
+from such doings in future--at least from such jokes as involve risk
+to those who do not choose to enter into them."
+
+Having given vent to this speech, Mr. Rogan left his volatile friends
+to digest it at their leisure.
+
+"Serves us right," said the skipper, pacing up and down the room in a
+repentant frame of mind, with his thumbs hooked into the arm-holes of
+his vest.
+
+The doctor said nothing, but breathed hard and smoked vigorously.
+
+While we admit most thoroughly with Mr. Rogan that practical jokes
+are exceedingly bad, and productive frequently of far more evil than
+fun, we feel it our duty, as a faithful delineator of manners,
+customs, and character in these regions, to urge in palliation of the
+offence committed by the young gentlemen at York Fort, that they had
+really about as few amusements and sources of excitement as fall to
+the lot of any class of men. They were entirely dependent on their
+own unaided exertions, during eight or nine months of the year, for
+amusement or recreation of any kind. Their books were few in number,
+and soon read through. The desolate wilderness around afforded no
+incidents to form subjects of conversation further than the events of
+a day's shooting, which, being nearly similar every day, soon lost
+all interest. No newspapers came to tell of the doings of the busy
+world from which they were shut out, and nothing occurred to vary the
+dull routine of their life; so that it is not matter for wonder that
+they were driven to seek for relaxation and excitement occasionally
+in most outrageous and unnatural ways, and to indulge now and then in
+the perpetration of a practical joke.
+
+For some time after the rebuke administered by Mr. Rogan, silence
+reigned in _Bachelor's Hall_, as the clerks' house was termed. But at
+length symptoms of _ennui_ began to be displayed. The doctor yawned
+and lay down on his bed to enjoy an American newspaper about twelve
+months old. Harry Somerville sat down to reread a volume of
+Franklin's travels in the polar regions, which he had perused twice
+already. Mr. Hamilton busied himself in cleaning his fowling-piece;
+while the skipper conversed with Mr. Wilson, who was engaged in his
+room in adjusting an ivory head to a walking-stick. Mr. Wilson was a
+jack-of-all-trades, who could make shift, one way or other, to do
+_anything_. The accountant paced the uncarpeted floor in deep
+contemplation.
+
+At length he paused, and looked at Harry Somerville for some time.
+
+"What say you to a walk through the woods to North River, Harry?"
+
+"Ready," cried Harry, tossing down the book with a look of contempt--
+"ready for anything."
+
+"Will _you_ come, Hamilton?" added the accountant. Hamilton looked up
+in surprise.
+
+"You don't mean, surely, to take so long a walk in the dark, do you?
+It is snowing, too, very heavily, and I think you said that North
+River was five miles off, did you not?"
+
+"Of course I mean to walk in the dark," replied the accountant,
+"unless you can extemporize an artificial light for the occasion, or
+prevail on the moon to come out for my special benefit. As to snowing
+and a short tramp of five miles, why, the sooner you get to think of
+such things as _trifles_ the better, if you hope to be fit for
+anything in this country."
+
+"I _don't_ think much of them," replied Hamilton, softly and with a
+slight smile; "I only meant that such a walk was not very
+_attractive_ so late in the evening."
+
+"Attractive!" shouted Harry Somerville from his bedroom, where he was
+equipping himself for the walk; "what can be more attractive than a
+sharp run of ten miles through the woods on a cool night to visit
+your traps, with the prospect of a silver fox or a wolf at the end of
+it, and an extra sound sleep as the result? Come, man, don't be soft;
+get ready, and go along with us."
+
+"Besides," added the accountant, "I don't mean to come back to-night.
+To-morrow, you know, is a holiday, so we can camp out in the snow
+after visiting the traps, have our supper, and start early in the
+morning to search for ptarmigan."
+
+"Well, I will go," said Hamilton, after this account of the pleasures
+that were to be expected; "I am exceedingly anxious to learn to shoot
+birds on the wing."
+
+"Bless me! have you not learned that yet!" asked the doctor, in
+affected surprise, as he sauntered out of his bedroom to relight his
+pipe.
+
+The various bedrooms in the clerks' house were ranged round the hall,
+having doors that opened directly into it, so that conversation
+carried on in a loud voice was heard in all the rooms at once, and
+was not infrequently sustained in elevated tones from different
+apartments, when the occupants were lounging, as they often did of an
+evening, in their beds.
+
+"No," said Hamilton, in reply to the doctor's question, "I have not
+learned yet, although there were a great many grouse in the part of
+Scotland where I was brought up. But my aunt, with whom I lived, was
+so fearful of my shooting either myself or someone else, and had such
+an aversion to firearms, that I determined to make her mind easy, by
+promising that I would never use them so long as I remained under her
+roof."
+
+"Quite right; very dutiful and proper," said the doctor, with a
+grave, patronising air.
+
+"Perhaps you'll fall in with more _fox_ tracks of the same sort as
+the one you gave chase to this morning," shouted the skipper, from
+Wilson's room.
+
+"Oh! there's hundreds of them out there," said the accountant; "so
+let's off at once."
+
+The trio now proceeded to equip themselves for the walk. Their
+costumes were peculiar, and merit description. As they were similar
+in the chief points, it will suffice to describe that of our friend
+Harry.
+
+On his head he wore a fur-cap made of otter-skin, with a flap on each
+side to cover the ears, the frost being so intense in these climates
+that without some such protection they would inevitably freeze and
+fall off.
+
+As the nose is constantly in use for the purposes of respiration, it
+is always left uncovered to fight with the cold as it best can; but
+it is a hard battle, and there is no doubt that, if it were possible,
+a nasal covering would be extremely pleasant. Indeed, several
+desperate efforts _have_ been made to construct some sort of nose-
+bag, but hitherto without success, owing to the uncomfortable fact
+that the breath issuing from that organ immediately freezes, and
+converts the covering into a bag of snow or ice, which is not
+agreeable. Round his neck Harry wound a thick shawl of such
+portentious dimensions that it entirely enveloped the neck and lower
+part of the face; thus the entire head was, as it were, eclipsed--the
+eyes, the nose, and the cheek-bones alone being visible. He then
+threw on a coat made of deer-skin, so prepared that it bore a slight
+resemblance to excessively coarse chamois leather. It was somewhat in
+the form of a long, wide surtout, overlapping very much in front, and
+confined closely to the figure by means of a scarlet worsted belt
+instead of buttons, and was ornamented round the foot by a number of
+cuts, which produced a fringe of little tails. Being lined with thick
+flannel, this portion of attire was rather heavy, but extremely
+necessary. A pair of blue cloth leggings, having a loose flap on the
+outside, were next drawn on over the trousers, as an additional
+protection to the knees. The feet, besides being portions of the body
+that are peculiarly susceptible of cold, had further to contend
+against the chafing of the lines which attach them to the snow-shoes,
+so that special care in their preparation for duty was necessary.
+First were put on a pair of blanketing or duffel socks, which were
+merely oblong in form, without sewing or making-up of any kind. These
+were wrapped round the feet, which were next thrust into a pair of
+made-up socks, of the same material, having ankle-pieces; above these
+were put _another_ pair, _without_ flaps for the ankles. Over all was
+drawn a pair of moccasins made of stout deer-skin, similar to that of
+the coat. Of course, the elegance of Harry's feet was entirely
+destroyed, and had he been met in this guise by any of his friends in
+the "old country," they would infallibly have come to the conclusion
+that he was afflicted with gout. Over his shoulders he slung a
+powder-horn and shot-pouch, the latter tastefully embroidered with
+dyed quill-work, A pair of deer-skin mittens, having a little bag for
+the thumb, and a large bag for the fingers, completed his costume.
+
+While the three were making ready, with a running accompaniment of
+grunts and groans at refractory pieces of apparel, the night without
+became darker, and the snow fell thicker, so that when they issued
+suddenly out of their warm abode, and emerged into the sharp frosty
+air, which blew the snow-drift into their eyes, they felt a momentary
+desire to give up the project and return to their comfortable
+quarters.
+
+"What a dismal-looking night it is!" said the accountant, as he led
+the way along the wooden platform towards the gate of the fort.
+
+"Very!" replied Hamilton, with an involuntary shudder.
+
+"Keep up your heart," said Harry, in a cheerful voice; "you've no
+notion how your mind will change on that point when you have walked a
+mile or so and got into a comfortable heat. I must confess, however,
+that a little moonshine would be an improvement," he added, on
+stumbling, for the third time, off the platform into the deep snow.
+
+"It is full moon just now," said the accountant, "and I think the
+clouds look as if they would break soon. At any rate, I've been at
+North River so often that I believe I could walk out there
+blindfold."
+
+As he spoke they passed the gate, and diverging to the right,
+proceeded, as well as the imperfect light permitted, along the
+footpath that led to the forest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+The walk continued--Frozen toes--An encampment in the snow.
+
+
+After quitting York Fort, the three friends followed the track
+leading to the spot where the winter's firewood was cut. Snow was
+still falling thickly, and it was with some difficulty that the
+accountant kept in the right direction. The night was excessively
+dark, while the dense fir forest, through which the narrow road ran,
+rendered the gloom if possible more intense.
+
+When they had proceeded about a mile, their leader suddenly came to a
+stand.
+
+"We must quit the track now," said he; "so get on your snow-shoes as
+fast as you can."
+
+Hitherto they had carried their snow-shoes under their arms, as the
+beaten track along which they travelled rendered them unnecessary;
+but now, having to leave the path and pursue the remainder of their
+journey through deep snow, they availed themselves of those useful
+machines, by means of which the inhabitants of this part of North
+America are enabled to journey over many miles of trackless
+wilderness, with nearly as much ease as a sportsman can traverse the
+moors in autumn, and that over snow so deep that one hour's walk
+through it _without_ such aids would completely exhaust the stoutest
+trapper, and advance him only a mile or so on his journey. In other
+words, to walk without snow-shoes would be utterly impossible, while
+to walk with them is easy and agreeable. They are not used after the
+manner of skates, with a _sliding_, but a _stepping_ action, and
+their sole use is to support the wearer on the top of snow, into
+which without them he would sink up to the waist. When we say that
+they support the wearer on the _top_ of the snow, of course we do not
+mean that they literally do not break the surface at all. But the
+depth to which they sink is comparatively trifling, and varies
+according to the state of the snow and the season of the year. In the
+woods they sink frequently about six inches, sometimes more,
+sometimes less, while on frozen rivers, where the snow is packed
+solid by the action of the wind, they sink only two or three inches,
+and sometimes so little as to render it preferable to walk without
+them altogether. Snow-shoes are made of a light, strong framework of
+wood, varying from three to six feet long by eighteen and twenty
+inches broad, tapering to a point before and behind, and turning up
+in front. Different tribes of Indians modify the form a little, but
+in all essential points they are the same. The framework is filled up
+with a netting of deer-skin threads, which unites lightness with
+great strength, and permits any snow that may chance to fall upon the
+netting to pass through it like a sieve.
+
+On the present occasion the snow, having recently fallen, was soft,
+and the walking, consequently, what is called heavy.
+
+"Come on," shouted the accountant, as he came to a stand for the
+third time within half-an-hour, to await the coming up of poor
+Hamilton, who, being rather awkward in snow-shoe walking even in
+daylight, found it nearly impossible in the dark.
+
+"Wait a little, please," replied a faint voice in the distance; "I've
+got among a quantity of willows, and find it very difficult to get
+on. I've been down twice al--"
+
+The sudden cessation of the voice, and a loud crash as of breaking
+branches, proved too clearly that our friend had accomplished his
+third fall.
+
+"There he goes again," exclaimed Harry Somerville, who came up at the
+moment. "I've helped him up once already. We'll never get to North
+River at this rate. What _is_ to be done?"
+
+"Let's see what has become of him this time, however," said the
+accountant, as he began to retrace his steps. "If I mistake not, he
+made rather a heavy plunge that time, judging from the sound."
+
+At that moment the clouds overhead broke, and a moonbeam shot down
+into the forest, throwing a pale light over the cold scene. A few
+steps brought Harry and the accountant to the spot whence the sound
+had proceeded, and a loud startling laugh rang through the night air,
+as the latter suddenly beheld poor Hamilton struggling, with his
+arms, head, and shoulders stuck into the snow, his snow-shoes twisted
+and sticking with the heels up and awry, in a sort of rampant
+confusion, and his gun buried to the locks beside him. Regaining
+one's perpendicular after a fall in deep snow, when the feet are
+encumbered by a pair of long snow-shoes, is by no means an easy thing
+to accomplish, in consequence of the impossibility of getting hold of
+anything solid on which to rest the hands. The depth is so great that
+the outstretched arms cannot find bottom, and every successive
+struggle only sinks the unhappy victim deeper down. Should no
+assistance be near, he will soon beat the snow to a solidity that
+will enable him to rise, but not in a very enviable or comfortable
+condition.
+
+"Give me a hand, Harry," gasped Hamilton, as he managed to twist his
+head upwards for a moment.
+
+"Here you are," cried Harry, holding out his hand and endeavouring to
+suppress his desire to laugh; "up with you," and in another moment
+the poor youth was upon his legs, with every fold and crevice about
+his person stuffed to repletion with snow.
+
+"Come, cheer up," cried the accountant, giving the youth a slap on
+the back; "there's nothing like experience--the proverb says that it
+even teaches fools, so you need not despair."
+
+Hamilton smiled as he endeavoured to shake off some of his white
+coating.
+
+"We'll be all right immediately," added Harry; "I see that the
+country ahead is more open, so the walking will be easier."
+
+"Oh, I wish that I had not come!" said Hamilton, sorrowfully,
+"because I am only detaining you. But perhaps I shall do better as we
+get on. At any rate, I cannot go back now, as I could never find the
+way."
+
+"Go back! of course not," said the accountant; "in a short time we
+shall get into the old woodcutters' track of last year, and although
+it's not beaten at all, yet it is pretty level and open, so that we
+shall get on famously."
+
+"Go on, then," sighed Hamilton.
+
+"Drive ahead," laughed Harry, and without further delay they resumed
+their march, which was soon rendered more cheerful as the clouds
+rolled away, the snow ceased to fall, and the bright full moon poured
+its rays down upon their path.
+
+For a long time they proceeded in silence, the muffled sound of the
+snow, as it sank beneath their regular footsteps, being the only
+interruption to the universal stillness around. There is something
+very solemnizing in a scene such as we are now describing--the calm
+tranquillity of the arctic night; the pure whiteness of the snowy
+carpet, which rendered the dark firs inky black by contrast; the
+clear, cold, starry sky, that glimmered behind the dark clouds, whose
+heavy masses, now rolling across the moon, partially obscured the
+landscape, and anon, passing slowly away, let a flood of light down
+upon the forest, which, penetrating between the thick branches,
+scattered the surface of the snow, as it were, with flakes of silver.
+Sleep has often been applied as a simile to nature in repose, but in
+this case death seemed more appropriate. So silent, so cold, so still
+was the scene, that it filled the mind with an indefinable feeling of
+dread, as if there was some mysterious danger near. Once or twice
+during their walk the three travellers paused to rest, but they spoke
+little, and in subdued voices, as if they feared to break the silence
+of the night.
+
+"It is strange," said Harry, in a low tone, as he walked beside
+Hamilton, "that such a scene as this always makes me think more than
+usual of home."
+
+"And yet it is natural," replied the other, "because it reminds us
+more forcibly than any other that we are in a foreign land--in the
+lonely wilderness--far away from home."
+
+Both Harry and Hamilton had been trained in families where the
+Almighty was feared and loved, and where their minds had been early
+led to reflect upon the Creator when regarding the works of His hand:
+their thoughts, therefore, naturally reverted to another home,
+compared with which this world is indeed a cold, lonely wilderness;
+but on such subjects they feared to converse, partly from a dread of
+the ridicule of reckless companions, partly from ignorance of each
+other's feelings on religious matters, and although their minds were
+busy, their tongues were silent.
+
+The ground over which the greater part of their path lay was a swamp,
+which, being now frozen, was a beautiful white plain, so that their
+advance was more rapid, until they approached the belt of woodland
+that skirts North River. Here they again encountered the heavy snow,
+which had been such a source of difficulty to Hamilton at setting
+out. He had profited by his former experience, however, and by the
+exercise of an excessive degree of caution managed to scramble
+through the woods tolerably well, emerging at last, along with his
+companions, on the bleak margin of what appeared to be the frozen
+sea.
+
+North River, at this place, is several miles broad, and the opposite
+shore is so low that the snow causes it to appear but a slight
+undulation of the frozen bed of the river. Indeed, it would not be
+distinguishable at all, were it not for the willow bushes and dwarf
+pines, whose tops, rising above the white garb of winter, indicate
+that _terra firma_ lies below.
+
+"What a cold, desolate-looking place!" said Hamilton, as the party
+stood still to recover breath before taking their way over the plain
+to the spot where the accountant's traps were set. "It looks much
+more like the frozen sea than a river."
+
+"It can scarcely be called a river at this place," remarked the
+accountant, "seeing that the water hereabouts is brackish, and the
+tides ebb and flow a good way up. In fact, this is the extreme mouth
+of North River, and if you turn your eyes a little to the right,
+towards yonder ice-hummock in the plain, you behold the frozen sea
+itself."
+
+"Where are your traps set?" inquired Harry.
+
+"Down in the hollow, behind yon point covered with brushwood."
+
+"Oh, we shall soon get to them then; come along," cried Harry.
+
+Harry was mistaken, however. He had not yet learned by experience the
+extreme difficulty of judging of distance in the uncertain light of
+night--a difficulty that was increased by the ignorance of the
+locality, and by the gleams of moonshine that shot through the
+driving clouds and threw confused fantastic shadows over the plain.
+The point which he had at first supposed was covered with low bushes,
+and about a hundred yards off, proved to be clad in reality with
+large bushes and small trees, and lay at a distance of two miles.
+
+"I think you have been mistaken in supposing the point so near,
+Harry," said Hamilton, as he trudged on beside his friend.
+
+"A fact evident to the naked eye," replied Harry. "How do your feet
+stand it, eh? Beginning to lose bark yet?"
+
+Hamilton did not feel quite sure. "I think," said he softly, "that
+there is a blister under the big toe of my left foot. It feels very
+painful."
+
+"If you feel at all _uncertain_ about it, you may rest assured that
+there _is_ a blister. These things don't give much pain at first. I'm
+sorry to tell you, my dear fellow, that you'll be painfully aware of
+the fact to-morrow. However, don't distress yourself; it's a part of
+the experience that everyone goes through in this country. Besides,"
+said Harry smiling, "we can send to the fort for medical advice."
+
+"Don't bother the poor fellow, and hold your tongue. Harry," said the
+accountant, who now began to tread more cautiously as he approached
+the place where the traps were set.
+
+"How many traps have you?" inquired Harry in a low tone.
+
+"Three," replied the accountant.
+
+"Do you know I have a very strange feeling about my heels--or rather
+a want of feeling," said Hamilton, smiling dubiously.
+
+"A want of feeling! what do you mean?" cried the accountant, stopping
+suddenly and confronting his young friend.
+
+"Oh, I daresay it's nothing," he exclaimed, looking as if ashamed of
+having spoken of it; "only I feel exactly as if both my heels were
+cut off, and I were walking on tip-toe!"
+
+"Say you so? then right about wheel. Your heels are frozen, man, and
+you'll lose them if you don't look sharp."
+
+"Frozen!" cried Hamilton, with a look of incredulity.
+
+"Ay, frozen; and it's lucky you told me. I've a place up in the woods
+here, which I call my winter camp, where we can get you put to
+rights. But step out; the longer we are about it the worse for you."
+
+Harry Somerville was at first disposed to think that the accountant
+jested, but seeing that he turned his back towards his traps, and
+made for the nearest point of the thick woods with a stride that
+betokened thorough sincerity, he became anxious too, and followed as
+fast as possible.
+
+The place to which the accountant led his young friends was a group
+of fir trees which grew on a little knoll, that rose a few feet above
+the surrounding level country. At the foot of this hillock a small
+rivulet or burn ran in summer, but the only evidence of its presence
+now was the absence of willow bushes all along its covered narrow
+bed. A level tract was thus formed by nature, free from all
+underwood, and running inland about the distance of a mile, where it
+was lost in the swamp whence the stream issued. The wooded knoll or
+hillock lay at the mouth of this brook, and being the only elevated
+spot in the neighbourhood, besides having the largest trees growing
+on it, had been selected by the accountant as a convenient place for
+"camping out" on, when he visited his traps in winter, and happened
+to be either too late or disinclined to return home. Moreover, the
+spreading fir branches afforded an excellent shelter alike from wind
+and snow in the centre of the clump, while from the margin was
+obtained a partial view of the river and the sea beyond. Indeed, from
+this look-out there was a very fine prospect on clear winter nights
+of the white landscape, enlivened occasionally by groups of arctic
+foxes, which might be seen scampering about in sport, and gambolling
+among the hummocks of ice like young kittens.
+
+"Now we shall turn up here," said the accountant, as he walked a
+short way up the brook before mentioned, and halted in front of what
+appeared to be an impenetrable mass of bushes.
+
+"We shall have to cut our way, then," said Harry, looking to the
+right and left in the vain hope of discovering a place where, the
+bushes being less dense, they might effect an entrance into the knoll
+or grove.
+
+"Not so. I have taken care to make a passage into my winter camp,
+although it was only a whim, after all, to make a concealed entrance,
+seeing that no one ever passes this way except wolves and foxes,
+whose noses render the use of their eyes in most cases unnecessary."
+
+So saying, the accountant turned aside a thick branch, and disclosed
+a narrow track, into which he entered, followed by his two
+companions.
+
+A few minutes brought them to the centre of the knoll. Here they
+found a clear space of about twenty feet in diameter, round which the
+trees circled so thickly that in daylight nothing could be seen but
+tree-stems as far as the eye could penetrate, while overhead the
+broad flat branches of the firs, with their evergreen verdure, spread
+out and interlaced so thickly that very little light penetrated into
+the space below. Of course at night, even in moonlight, the place was
+pitch dark. Into this retreat the accountant led his companions, and
+bidding them stand still for a minute lest they should stumble into
+the fireplace, he proceeded to strike a light.
+
+Those who have never travelled in the wild parts of this world can
+form but a faint conception of the extraordinary and sudden change
+that is produced, not only in the scene, but in the mind of the
+beholder, when a blazing fire is lighted on a dark night. Before the
+fire is kindled, and you stand, perhaps (as Harry and his friend did
+on the present occasion) shivering in the cold, the heart sinks, and
+sad, gloomy thoughts arise, while your eye endeavours to pierce the
+thick darkness, which, if it succeeds in doing so, only adds to the
+effect by disclosing the pallid snow, the cold, chilling beams of the
+moon, the wide vista of savage scenery, the awe-inspiring solitudes
+that tell of your isolated condition, or stir up sad memories of
+other and far-distant scenes. But the moment the first spark of fire
+sends a fitful gleam of light upwards, these thoughts and feelings
+take wing and vanish. The indistinct scenery is rendered utterly
+invisible by the red light, which attracts and rivets the eye as if
+by a species of fascination. The deep shadows of the woods
+immediately around you grow deeper and blacker as the flames leap and
+sparkle upwards, causing the stems of the surrounding trees, and the
+foliage of the overhanging branches, to stand out in bold relief,
+bathed in a ruddy glow, which converts the forest chamber into a snug
+_home-like_ place, and fills the mind with agreeable, _home-like_
+feelings and meditations. It seemed as if the spirit, in the one
+case, were set loose and etherealized to enable it to spread itself
+over the plains of cold, cheerless, illimitable space, and left to
+dwell upon objects too wide to grasp, too indistinct to comprehend;
+while, in the other, it is recalled and concentrated upon matters
+circumscribed and congenial, things of which it has long been
+cognizant, and which it can appreciate and enjoy without the effort
+of a thought.
+
+Some such thoughts and feelings passed rapidly through the minds of
+Harry and Hamilton, while the accountant struck a light and kindled a
+roaring fire of logs, which he had cut and arranged there on a
+previous occasion. In the middle of the space thus brilliantly
+illuminated, the snow had been cleared away till the moss was
+uncovered, thus leaving a hole of about ten feet in diameter. As the
+snow was quite four feet deep, the hole was surrounded with a pure
+white wall, whose height was further increased by the masses thrown
+out in the process of digging to nearly six feet. At one end of this
+space was the large fire which had just been kindled, and which,
+owing to the intense cold, only melted a very little of the snow in
+its immediate neighbourhood. At the other end lay a mass of flat pine
+branches, which were piled up so thickly as to form a pleasant
+elastic couch, the upper end being slightly raised so as to form a
+kind of bolster, while the lower extended almost into the fire.
+Indeed, the branches at the extremity were burnt quite brown, and
+some of them charred. Beside the bolster lay a small wooden box, a
+round tin kettle, an iron tea-kettle, two tin mugs, a hatchet, and a
+large bundle tied up in a green blanket. There were thus, as it were,
+two apartments, one within the other--namely, the outer one, whose
+walls were formed of tree-stems and thick darkness, and the ceiling
+of green boughs; and then the inner one, with walls of snow, that
+sparkled in the firelight as if set with precious stones, and a
+carpet of evergreen branches.
+
+Within this latter our three friends were soon actively employed.
+Poor Hamilton's moccasins were speedily removed, and his friends,
+going down on their knees, began to rub his feet with a degree of
+energy that induced him to beg for mercy.
+
+"Mercy!" exclaimed the accountant, without pausing for an instant;
+"faith, it's little mercy there would be in stopping just now.--Rub
+away, Harry. Don't give in. They're coming right at last."
+
+After a very severe rubbing, the heels began to show symptoms of
+returning vitality. They were then wrapped up in the folds of a thick
+blanket, and held sufficiently near to the fire to prevent any chance
+of the frost getting at them again.
+
+"Now, my boy," said the accountant, as he sat down to enjoy a pipe
+and rest himself on a blanket, which, along with the one wrapped
+round Hamilton's feet, had been extracted from the green bundle
+before mentioned--"now, my boy, you'll have to enjoy yourself here as
+you best can for an hour or two, while Harry and I visit the traps.
+Would you like supper before we go, or shall we have it on our
+return?"
+
+"Oh, I'll wait for it by all means till you return. I don't feel a
+bit hungry just now, and it will be much more cheerful to have it
+after all your work is over. Besides, I feel my feet too painful to
+enjoy it just now."
+
+"My poor fellow," said Harry, whose heart smote him for having been
+disposed at first to treat the thing lightly, "I'm really sorry for
+you. Would you not like me to stay with you?"
+
+"By no means," replied Hamilton quickly. "You can do nothing more for
+me, Harry; and I should be very sorry if you missed seeing the
+traps."
+
+"Oh, never mind the traps. I've seen traps, and set them too, fifty
+times before now. I'll stop with you, old boy, I will," said Harry
+doggedly, while he made arrangements to settle down for the evening.
+
+"Well, if _you_ won't go, I will," said Hamilton coolly, as he
+unwound the blanket from his feet and began to pull on his socks.
+
+"Bravo, my lad!" exclaimed the accountant, patting him approvingly on
+the back; "I didn't think you had half so much pluck in you. But it
+won't do, old fellow. You're in _my_ castle just now, and must obey
+orders. You couldn't walk half-a-mile for your life; so just be
+pleased to pull off your socks again. Besides, I want Harry to help
+me to carry up my foxes, if there are any;--so get ready, sirrah!"
+
+"Ay, ay, captain," cried Harry, with a laugh, while he sprang up and
+put on his snow-shoes.
+
+"You needn't bring your gun," said the accountant, shaking the ashes
+from his pipe as he prepared to depart, "but you may as well shove
+that axe into your belt; you may want it.--Now, mind, don't roast
+your feet," he added, turning to Hamilton.
+
+"Adieu!" cried Harry, with a nod and a smile, as he turned to go.
+"Take care the bears don't find you out."
+
+"No fear. Good-bye, Harry," replied Hamilton, as his two friends
+disappeared in the wood and left him to his solitary meditations.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+Shows how the accountant and Harry set their traps, and what came of
+it.
+
+
+The moon was still up, and the sky less overcast, when our amateur
+trappers quitted the encampment, and, descending to the mouth of the
+little brook, took their way over North River in the direction of the
+accountant's traps. Being somewhat fatigued both in mind and body by
+the unusual exertions of the night, neither of them spoke for some
+time, but continued to walk in silence, contemplatively gazing at
+their long shadows.
+
+"Did you ever trap a fox, Harry?" said the accountant at length.
+
+"Yes, I used to set traps at Red River; but the foxes there are not
+numerous, and are so closely watched by the dogs that they have
+become suspicious. I caught but few."
+
+"Then you know how to _set_ a trap?"
+
+"Oh, yes; I've set both steel and snow traps often. You've heard of
+old Labonte, who used to carry one of the winter packets from Red
+River until within a few years back?"
+
+"Yes, I've heard of him; his name is in my ledger--at least, if you
+mean Pierre Labonte, who came down last fall with the brigade."
+
+"The same. Well, he was a great friend of mine. His little cabin lay
+about two miles from Fort Garry, and after work was over in the
+office I used to go down to sit and chat with him by the fire, and
+many a time I have sat up half the night listening to him as he
+recounted his adventures. The old man never tired of relating them,
+and of smoking twist tobacco. Among other things, he set my mind upon
+trapping, by giving me an account of an expedition he made, when
+quite a youth, to the Rocky Mountains; so I got him to go into the
+woods and teach me how to set traps and snares, and I flatter myself
+he found me an apt pupil."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the accountant; "I have no doubt you do _flatter_
+yourself. But here we are. The traps are just beyond that mound; so
+look out, and don't stick your feet into them."
+
+"Hist!" exclaimed Harry, laying his hand suddenly on his companion's
+arm. "Do you see _that_?" pointing towards the place where the traps
+were said to be.
+
+"You have sharp eyes, younker. I _do_ see it, now that you point it
+out. It's a fox, and caught, too, as I'm a scrivener."
+
+"You're in luck to-night," exclaimed Harry, eagerly, "It's a _silver_
+fox. I see the white tip on its tail."
+
+"Nonsense," cried the accountant, hastening forward; "but we'll soon
+settle the point."
+
+Harry proved to be right. On reaching the spot they found a beautiful
+black fox, caught by the fore leg in a steel trap, and gazing at them
+with a look of terror.
+
+The skin of the silver fox--so called from a slight sprinkling of
+pure white hairs covering its otherwise jet-black body--is the most
+valuable fur obtained by the fur-traders, and fetches an enormous
+price in the British market, so much as thirty pounds sterling being
+frequently obtained for a single skin. The foxes vary in colour from
+jet black, which is the most valuable, to a light silvery hue, and
+are hailed as great prizes by the Indians and trappers when they are
+so fortunate as to catch them. They are not numerous, however, and
+being exceedingly wary and suspicious, are difficult to catch, ft may
+be supposed, therefore, that our friend the accountant ran to secure
+his prize with some eagerness.
+
+"Now, then, my beauty, don't shrink," he said, as the poor fox backed
+at his approach as far as the chain which fastened the trap to a log
+of wood, would permit, and then, standing at bay, showed a formidable
+row of teeth. That grin was its last; another moment, and the handle
+of the accountant's axe stretched it lifeless on the snow.
+
+"Isn't it a beauty!" cried he, surveying the animal with a look of
+triumphant pleasure; and then feeling as if he had compromised his
+dignity a little by betraying so much glee, he added, "But come now,
+Harry; we must see to the other traps. It's getting late."
+
+The others were soon visited; but no more foxes were caught. However,
+the accountant set them both off to see that all was right; and then
+readjusting one himself, told Harry to set the other, in order to
+clear himself of the charge of boasting.
+
+Harry, nothing loath, went down on his knees to do so.
+
+The steel trap used for catching foxes is of exactly the same form as
+the ordinary rat-trap, with this difference, that it has two springs
+instead of one, is considerably larger, and has no teeth, as these
+latter would only tend to spoil the skin. Owing to the strength of
+the springs, a pretty strong effort is required to set the trap, and,
+clumsy fellows frequently catch the tails of their coats or the ends
+of their belts, and not unfrequently the ends of their fingers, in
+their awkward attempts. Haying set it without any of the above
+untoward accidents occurring, Harry placed it gently on a hole which
+he had previously scraped--placing it in such a manner that the jaws
+and plate, or trigger, were a hair-breadth below the level of the
+snow. After this he spread over it a very thin sheet of paper,
+observing as he did so that hay or grass was preferable; but as there
+was none at hand, paper would do. Over this he sprinkled snow very
+lightly, until every vestige of the trap was concealed from view, and
+the whole was made quite level with the surrounding plain, so that
+even the accountant himself, after he had once removed his eyes from
+it, could not tell where it lay. Some chips of a frozen ptarmigan
+were then scattered around the spot, and a piece of wood left to mark
+its whereabouts. The bait is always scattered _round_ and not _on_
+the trap, as the fox, in running from one piece to another, is almost
+certain to set his foot on it, and so get caught by the leg; whereas,
+were the bait placed _upon_ the trap, the fox would be apt to get
+caught, while in the act of eating, by the snout, which, being wedge-
+like in form, is easily dragged out of its gripe.
+
+"Now then, what say you to going farther out on the river, and making
+a snow trap for white foxes?" said the accountant. "We shall still
+have time to do so before the moon sets."
+
+"Agreed," cried Harry. "Come along."
+
+Without further parley they left the spot and stretched out towards
+the sea.
+
+The snow on the river was quite hard on its surface, so that snow-
+shoes being unnecessary, they carried them over their shoulders, and
+advanced much more rapidly. It is true that their road was a good
+deal broken, and jagged pieces of ice protruded their sharp corners
+so as to render a little attention necessary in walking; but one or
+two severe bumps on their toes made our friends sensitively alive to
+these minor dangers of the way.
+
+"There goes a pack of them!" exclaimed Harry, as a troop of white
+foxes scampered past, gambolling as they went, and, coming suddenly
+to a halt at a short distance, wheeled about and sat down on their
+haunches, apparently resolved to have a good look at the strangers
+who dared to venture into their wild domain.
+
+"Oh, they are the most stupid brutes alive," said the accountant, as
+he regarded the pack with a look of contempt. "I've seen one of them
+sit down and look at me while I set a trap right before his eyes; and
+I had not got a hundred yards from the spot when a yell informed me
+that the gentleman's curiosity had led him to put his foot right into
+it."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Harry. "I had no idea that they were so tame.
+Certainly no other kind of fox would do that."
+
+"No, that's certain. But these fellows have done it to me again and
+again. I shouldn't wonder if we got one to-night in the very same
+way. I'm sure, by the look of these rascals, that they would do
+anything of a reckless, stupid nature just now."
+
+"Had we not better make our trap here, then? There is a point, not
+fifty yards off, with trees on it large enough for our purpose."
+
+"Yes; it will do very well here. Now, then, to work. Go to the wood,
+Harry, and fetch a log or two, while I cut out the slabs." So saying,
+the accountant drew the axe which he always carried in his belt; and
+while Harry entered the wood and began to hew off the branch of a
+tree, he proceeded, as he had said, to "cut out the slabs." With the
+point of his knife he first of all marked out an oblong in the snow,
+then cut down three or four inches with the axe, and putting the
+handle under the cut, after the manner of a lever, detached a thick
+solid slab of about three inches thick, which, although not so hard
+as ice, was quite hard enough for the purpose for which it was
+intended. He then cut two similar slabs, and a smaller one, the same
+in thickness and breadth, but only half the length. Having
+accomplished this, he raised himself to rest a little, and observed
+that Harry approached, staggering under a load of wood, and that the
+foxes were still sitting on their haunches, gazing at him with a look
+of deep interest.
+
+"If I only had my gun here!" thought he. But not having it, he merely
+shook his fist at them, stooped down again, and resumed his work.
+With Harry's assistance the slabs were placed in such a way as to
+form a sort of box or house, having one end of it open. This was
+further plastered with soft snow at the joinings, and banked up in
+such a way that no animal could break into it easily--at least such
+an attempt would be so difficult as to make an entrance into the
+interior by the open side much more probable. When this was finished,
+they took the logs that Harry had cut and carried with so much
+difficulty from the wood, and began to lop off the smaller branches
+and twigs. One large log was placed across the opening of the trap,
+while the others were piled on one end of it so as to press it down
+with their weight. Three small pieces of stick were now prepared--two
+of them being about half a foot long, and the other about a foot. On
+the long piece of stick the breast of a ptarmigan was fixed as a
+bait, and two notches cut, the one at the end of it, the other about
+four or five inches further down. All was now ready to set the trap.
+
+"Raise the log now while I place the trigger," said Harry, kneeling
+down in front of the door, while the accountant, as directed, lifted
+up the log on which the others lay so as to allow his companion to
+introduce the bait-stick, in such a manner as to support it, while
+the slightest pull on the bait would set the stick with the notches
+free, and thus permit the log to fall on the back of the fox, whose
+effort to reach the bait would necessarily place him under it.
+
+While Harry was thus engaged, the accountant stood up and looked
+towards the foxes. They had approached so near in their curiosity,
+that he was induced to throw his axe frantically at the foremost of
+the pack. This set them galloping off, but they soon halted and sat
+down as before.
+
+"What aggravating brutes they are, to be sure!" said Harry, with a
+laugh, as his companion returned with the hatchet.
+
+"Humph! yes, but we'll be upsides with them yet. Come along into the
+wood, and I wager that in ten minutes we shall have one."
+
+They immediately hurried towards the wood, but had not walked fifty
+paces when they were startled by a loud yell behind them.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed the accountant, while he and Harry turned round
+with a start. "It cannot surely be possible that they have gone in
+already." A loud howl followed the remark, and the whole pack fled
+over the plain like snow-drift, and disappeared.
+
+"Ah, that's a pity! something must have scared them to make them take
+wing like that. However, we'll get one to-morrow for certain; so come
+along, lad, let us make for the camp."
+
+"Not so fast," replied the other; "if you hadn't pored over the big
+ledger till you were blind, you would see that there is _one_
+prisoner already."
+
+This proved to be the case. On returning to the spot they found an
+arctic fox in his last gasp, lying flat on the snow, with the heavy
+log across his back, which seemed to be broken. A slight tap on the
+snout with the accountant's deadly axe-handle completed its
+destruction.
+
+"We're in luck to-night," cried Harry, as he kneeled again to reset
+the trap. "But after all these white brutes are worth very little; I
+fancy a hundred of their skins would not be worth the black one you
+got first."
+
+"Be quick, Harry; the moon is almost down, and poor Hamilton will
+think that the polar bears have got hold of us."
+
+"Ail right! Now then, step out," and glancing once more at the trap
+to see that all was properly arranged, the two friends once more
+turned their faces homewards, and travelled over the snow with rapid
+strides.
+
+The moon had just set, leaving the desolate scene in deep gloom, so
+that they could scarcely find their way to the forest; and when they
+did at last reach its shelter, the night became so intensely dark
+that they had almost to grope their way, and would certainly have
+lost it altogether were it not for the accountant's thorough
+knowledge of the locality. To add to their discomfort, as they
+stumbled on, snow began to fall, and ere long a pretty steady breeze
+of wind drove it sharply in their faces. However, this mattered but
+little, as they penetrated deeper in among the trees, which proved a
+complete shelter both from wind and snow. An hour's march brought
+them to the mouth of the brook, although half that time would have
+been sufficient had it been daylight, and a few minutes later they
+had the satisfaction of hearing Hamilton's voice hailing them as they
+pushed aside the bushes and sprang into the cheerful light of their
+encampment.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Harry, as he leaped into the space before the fire,
+and flung the two foxes at Hamilton's feet. "What do you think of
+_that_, old fellow? How are the heels? Rather sore, eh? Now for the
+kettle. Polly, put the kettle on; we'll all have--My eye! where's
+the kettle, Hamilton? have you eaten it?"
+
+"If you compose yourself a little, Harry, and look at the fire,
+you'll see it boiling there."
+
+"Man, what a chap you are for making unnecessary speeches! Couldn't
+you tell me to look at the fire without the preliminary piece of
+advice to _compose_ myself? Besides, you talk nonsense, for I'm
+composed already, of blood, bones, flesh, sinews, fat, and--"
+
+"Humbug!" interrupted the accountant. "Lend a hand to get supper, you
+young goose!"
+
+"And so," continued Harry, not noticing the interruption, "I cannot
+be expected, nor is it necessary, to _compose_ myself over again. But
+to be serious," he added, "it was very kind and considerate of you,
+Hammy, to put on the kettle, when your heels were in a manner
+uppermost."
+
+"Oh, it was nothing at all; my heels are much better, thank you, and
+it kept me from wearying."
+
+"Poor fellow!" said the accountant, while he busied himself in
+preparing their evening meal, "you must be quite ravenous by this
+time--at least _I_ am, which is the same thing."
+
+Supper was soon ready. It consisted of a large kettle of tea, a lump
+of pemmican, a handful of broken biscuit, and three ptarmigan--all of
+which were produced from the small wooden box which the accountant
+was wont to call his camp-larder. The ptarmigan had been shot two
+weeks before, and carefully laid up for future use; the intense frost
+being a sufficient guarantee for their preservation for many months,
+had that been desired.
+
+It would have done you good, reader (supposing you to be possessed of
+sympathetic feelings), to have witnessed those three nor'-westers
+enjoying their supper in the snowy camp. The fire had been
+replenished with logs, till it roared and crackled again, as if it
+were endued with a vicious spirit, and wished to set the very snow in
+flames. The walls shone like alabaster studded with diamonds, while
+the green boughs overhead and the stems around were of a deep red
+colour in the light of the fierce blaze. The tea-kettle hissed,
+fumed, and boiled over into the fire. A mass of pemmican simmered in
+the lid in front of it. Three pannikins of tea reposed on the green
+branches, their refreshing contents sending up little clouds of
+steam, while the ptarmigan, now split up, skewered, and roasted, were
+being heartily devoured by our three hungry friends.
+
+The pleasures that fall to the lot of man are transient. Doubtless
+they are numerous and oft recurring; still they are transient, and
+so--supper came to an end.
+
+"Now for a pipe," said the accountant, disposing his limbs at full
+length on a green blanket. "O thou precious weed, what should we do
+without thee!"
+
+"Smoke _tea_, to be sure," answered Harry.
+
+"Ah! true, it _is_ possible to exist on a pipe of tea-leaves for a
+time, but _only_ for a time. I tried it myself once, in desperation,
+when I ran short of tobacco on a journey, and found it execrable, but
+better than nothing."
+
+"Pity we can't join you in that." remarked Harry.
+
+"True; but perhaps since you cannot pipe, it might prove an agreeable
+diversification to dance."
+
+"Thank you, I'd rather not," said Harry; "and as for Hamilton, I'm
+convinced that _his_ mind is made up on the subject.--How go the
+heels now?"
+
+"Thank you, pretty well," he replied, reclining his head on the pine
+branches, and extending his smitten members towards the fire. "I
+think they will be quite well in the morning."
+
+"It is a curious thing," remarked the accountant, in a soliloquising
+tone, "that _soft_ fellows _never_ smoke!"
+
+"I beg your pardon," said Harry, "I've often seen hot loaves smoke,
+and they're soft enough fellows, in all conscience!"
+
+"Ah!" sighed the accountant, "that reminds me of poor Peterkin, who
+was _so_ soft that he went by the name of 'Butter.' Did you ever hear
+of what he did the summer before last with an Indian's head?"
+
+"No, never; what was it!"
+
+"I'll tell you the story," replied the accountant, drawing a few
+vigorous whiffs of smoke, to prevent his pipe going out while he
+spoke.
+
+As the story in question, however, depicts a new phase of society in
+the woods, it deserves a chapter to itself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+The accountant's story.
+
+
+"Spring had passed away, and York Fort was filled with all the bustle
+and activity of summer. Brigades came pouring in upon us with furs
+from the interior, and as every boat brought a C. T. or a clerk, our
+mess-table began to overflow.
+
+"You've not seen the summer mess-room filled yet, Hamilton. That's a
+treat in store for you."
+
+"It was pretty full last autumn, I think," suggested Hamilton, "at
+the time I arrived from England."
+
+"Full! why, man, it was getting to feel quite lonely at that time.
+I've seen more than fifty sit down to table there, and it was worth
+going fifty miles to hear the row they kicked up--telling stories
+without end (and sometimes without foundation) about their wild
+doings in the interior, where every man-jack of them having spent at
+least eight months almost in perfect solitude, they hadn't had a
+chance of letting their tongues go till they came down here. But to
+proceed. When the ship came out in the fall, she brought a batch of
+new clerks, and among them was this miserable chap Peterkin, whom we
+soon nicknamed _Butter_. He was the softest fellow I ever knew (far
+worse than you, Hamilton), and he hadn't been here a week before the
+wild blades from the interior, who were bursting with fun and
+mischief, began to play off all kinds of practical jokes upon him.
+The very first day he sat down at the mess-table, our worthy governor
+(who, you are aware, detests practical jokes) played him a trick,
+quite unintentionally, which raised a laugh against him for many a
+day. You know that old Mr. Rogan is rather absent at times; well, the
+first day that Peterkin came to mess (it was breakfast), the old
+governor asked him, in a patronizing sort of way, to sit at his right
+hand. Accordingly down he sat, and having never, I fancy, been away
+from his mother's apron-string before, he seemed to feel very
+uncomfortable, especially as he was regarded as a sort of novelty.
+The first thing he did was to capsize his plate into his lap, which
+set the youngsters at the lower end of the table into suppressed fits
+of laughter. However, he was eating the leg of a dry grouse at the
+time, so it didn't make much of a mess.
+
+"'Try some fish, Peterkin,' said Mr. Rogan kindly, seeing that the
+youth was ill at ease. 'That old grouse is tough enough to break your
+knife.'
+
+"'A very rough passage,' replied the youngster, whose mind was quite
+confused by hearing the captain of the ship, who sat next to him,
+giving to his next neighbour a graphic account of the voyage in a
+very loud key--'I mean, if you please, no, thank you,' he stammered,
+endeavouring to correct himself.
+
+"'Ah! a cup of tea perhaps.--Here, Anderson' (turning to the butler),
+'a cup of tea to Mr. Peterkin.'
+
+"The butler obeyed the order.
+
+"'And here, fill my cup,' said old Rogan, interrupting himself in an
+earnest conversation, into which he had plunged with the gentleman on
+his left hand. As he said this he lifted his cup to empty the slops,
+but without paying attention to what he was doing. As luck would have
+it, the slop-basin was not at hand, and Peterkin's cup _was_, so he
+emptied it innocently into that. Peterkin hadn't courage to arrest
+his hand, and when the deed was done he looked timidly round to see
+if the action had been observed. Nearly half the table had seen it,
+but they pretended ignorance of the thing so well that he thought no
+one had observed, and so went quietly on with his breakfast, and
+drank the tea! But I am wandering from my story. Well, about this
+time there was a young Indian who shot himself accidentally in the
+woods, and was brought to the fort to see if anything could be done
+for him. The doctor examined his wound, and found that the ball had
+passed through the upper part of his right arm and the middle of his
+right thigh, breaking the bone of the latter in its passage. It was
+an extraordinary shot for a man to put into himself, for it would
+have been next to impossible even for _another_ man to have done it,
+unless the Indian had been creeping on all fours. When he was able to
+speak, however, he explained the mystery. While running through a
+rough part of the wood after a wounded bird, he stumbled and fell on
+all fours. The gun, which he was carrying over his shoulder, holding
+it, as the Indians usually do, by the muzzle, flew forward, and
+turned right round as he fell, so that the mouth of it was presented
+towards him. Striking against the stem of a tree, it exploded and
+shot him through the arm and leg as described ere he had time to
+rise. A comrade carried him to his lodge, and his wife brought him in
+a canoe to the fort. For three or four days the doctor had hopes of
+him, but at last he began to sink, and died on the sixth day after
+his arrival. His wife and one or two friends buried him in our
+graveyard, which lies, as you know, on that lonely-looking point just
+below the powder-magazine. For several months previous to this our
+worthy doctor had been making strenuous efforts to get an Indian
+skull to send home to one of his medical friends, but without
+success. The Indians could not be prevailed upon to cut off the head
+of one of their dead countrymen for love or money, and the doctor had
+a dislike to the idea, I suppose, of killing one for himself; but now
+here was a golden opportunity. The Indian was buried near to the
+fort, and his relatives had gone away to their tents again. What was
+to prevent his being dug up? The doctor brooded over the thing for
+one hour and a half (being exactly the length of time required to
+smoke out his large Turkey pipe), and then sauntered into Wilson's
+room. Wilson was busy, as usual, at some of his mechanical
+contrivances.
+
+"Thrusting his hands deep into his breeches pockets, and seating
+himself on an old sea-chest, he began,--
+
+"'I say, Wilson, will you do me a favour?'
+
+"'That depends entirely on what the favour is,' he replied, without
+raising his head from his work.
+
+"'I want you to help me to cut off an Indian's head!'
+
+"' Then I _won't_ do you the favour. But pray, don't humbug me just
+now; I'm busy.'
+
+"'No; but I'm serious, and I can't get it done without help, and I
+know you're an obliging fellow. Besides, the savage is dead, and has
+no manner of use for his head now.'
+
+"Wilson turned round with a look of intelligence on hearing this.
+
+"'Ha!' he exclaimed, 'I see what you're up to; but I don't half like
+it. In the first place, his friends would be terribly cut up if they
+heard of it; and then I've no sort of aptitude for the work of a
+resurrectionist; and then, if it got wind, we should never hear the
+last of it; and then--'
+
+"'And then,' interrupted the doctor, 'it would be adding to the light
+of medical science, you unaspiring monster.'
+
+"'A light,' retorted Wilson, 'which, in passing through _some_
+members of the medical profession, is totally absorbed, and
+reproduced in the shape of impenetrable darkness.'
+
+"'Now, don't object, my dear fellow; you _know_ you're going to do
+it, so don't coquette with me, but agree at once.'
+
+"'Well, I consent, upon one condition.'
+
+"'And what is that?'
+
+"'That you do not play any practical jokes on _me_ with the head when
+you have got it.'
+
+"'Agreed!' cried the doctor, laughing; 'I give you my word of honour.
+Now he has been buried three days already, so we must set about it at
+once. Fortunately the graveyard is composed of a sandy soil, so he'll
+keep for some time yet.
+
+"The two worthies then entered into a deep consultation as to how
+they were to set about this deed of darkness. It was arranged that
+Wilson should take his gun and sally forth a little before dark, as
+if he were bent on an hour's sport, and, not forgetting his game-bag,
+proceed to the graveyard, where the doctor engaged to meet him with a
+couple of spades and a dark lantern. Accordingly, next evening, Mr.
+Wilson, true to his promise, shouldered his gun and sallied forth.
+
+"It soon became an intensely dark night. Not a single star shone
+forth to illumine the track along which he stumbled. Everything
+around was silent and dark, and congenial with the work on which he
+was bent. But Wilson's heart beat a little more rapidly than usual.
+He is a bold enough man, as you know, but boldness goes for nothing
+when superstition comes into play. However, he trudged along
+fearlessly enough till he came to the thick woods just below the
+fort, into which he entered with something of a qualm. Scarcely had
+he set foot on the narrow track that leads to the graveyard, when he
+ran slap against the post that stands there, but which, in his
+trepidation, he had entirely forgotten. This quite upset the small
+amount of courage that remained, and he has since confessed that if
+he had not had the hope of meeting with the doctor in a few minutes,
+he would have turned round and fled at that moment.
+
+"Recovering a little from this accident, he hurried forward, but with
+more caution, for although the night seemed as dark as could possibly
+be while he was crossing the open country, it became speedily evident
+that there were several shades of darkness which he had not yet
+conceived. In a few minutes he came to the creek that runs past the
+graveyard, and here again his nerves got another shake; for slipping
+his foot while in the act of commencing the descent, he fell and
+rolled heavily to the bottom, making noise enough in his fall to
+scare away all the ghosts in the country. With a palpitating heart
+poor Wilson gathered himself up, and searched for his gun, which
+fortunately had not been injured, and then commenced to climb the
+opposite bank, starting at every twig that snapped under his feet. On
+reaching the level ground again he breathed a little more freely, and
+hurried forward with more speed than caution. Suddenly he came into
+violent contact with a figure, which uttered a loud growl as Wilson
+reeled backwards.
+
+"'Back, you monster,' he cried, with a hysterical yell, 'or I'll blow
+your brains out!'
+
+"'It's little good _that_ would do ye,' cried the doctor as he came
+forward. 'Why, you stupid, what did you take me for? You've nearly
+knocked out my brains as it is,' and the doctor rubbed his forehead
+ruefully.
+
+"'Oh, it's _you,_ doctor!' said Wilson, feeling as if a ton weight
+had been lifted off his heart; 'I verily thought it was the ghost of
+the poor fellow we're going to disturb. I do think you had better
+give it up. Mischief will come of it, you'll see.'
+
+"'Nonsense,' cried the doctor; 'don't be a goose, but let's to work
+at once. Why, I've got half the thing dug up already.' So saying, he
+led the way to the grave, in which there was a large opening. Setting
+the lantern down by the side of it, the two seized their spades and
+began to dig as if in earnest.
+
+"The fact is that the doctor was nearly as frightened as Wilson, and
+he afterwards confessed to me that it was an immense relief to him
+when he heard him fall down the bank of the creek, and knew by the
+growl he gave that it was he.
+
+"In about half-an-hour the doctor's spade struck upon the coffin lid,
+which gave forth a hollow sound.
+
+"'Now then, we're about done with it,' said he, standing up to wipe
+away the perspiration that trickled down his face. 'Take the axe and
+force up the lid, it's only fixed with common nails, while I--' He
+did not finish the sentence, but drew a large scalping-knife from a
+sheath which hung at his belt.
+
+"Wilson shuddered and obeyed. A good wrench caused the lid to start,
+and while he held it partially open the doctor inserted the knife.
+For five minutes he continued to twist and work with his arms,
+muttering between his teeth, every now and then, that he was a 'tough
+subject,' while the crackling of bones and other disagreeable sounds
+struck upon the horrified ears of his companion.
+
+"'All right,' he exclaimed at last, as he dragged a round object from
+the coffin and let down the lid with a bang, at the same time placing
+the savage's head with its ghastly features full in the blaze of the
+lantern.
+
+"'Now, then, close up,' said he, jumping out of the hole and
+shovelling in the earth.
+
+"In a few minutes they had filled the grave up and smoothed it down
+on the surface, and then, throwing the head into the game-bag,
+retraced their steps to the fort. Their nerves were by this time
+worked up to such a pitch of excitement, and their minds filled with
+such a degree of supernatural horror, that they tripped and stumbled
+over stumps and branches innumerable in their double-quick march.
+Neither would confess to the other, however, that he was afraid. They
+even attempted to pass a few facetious remarks as they hurried along,
+but it would not do, so they relapsed into silence till they came to
+the hollow beside the powder-magazine. Here the doctor's foot
+happening to slip, he suddenly grasped Wilson by the shoulder to
+support himself--a movement which, being unexpected, made his friend
+leap, as he afterwards expressed it, nearly out of his skin. This was
+almost too much for them. For a moment they looked at each other as
+well as the darkness would permit, when all at once a large stone,
+which the doctor's slip had overbalanced, fell down the bank and
+through the bushes with a loud crash. Nothing more was wanting. All
+further effort to disguise their feelings was dropped. Leaping the
+rail of the open field in a twinkling, they gave a simultaneous yell
+of consternation and fled to the fort like autumn leaves before the
+wind, never drawing breath till they were safe within the pickets."
+
+"But what has all this to do with Peterkin?" asked Harry, as the
+accountant paused to relight his pipe and toss a fresh log on the
+fire.
+
+"Have patience, lad; you shall hear."
+
+The accountant stirred the logs with his toe, drew a few whiffs to
+see that the pipe was properly ignited, and proceeded.
+
+"For a day or two after this, the doctor was observed to be often
+mysteriously engaged in an outhouse, of which he kept the key. By
+some means or other, the skipper, who is always up to mischief,
+managed to discover the secret. Watching where the doctor hid the
+key, he possessed himself of it one day, and sallied forth, bent on a
+lark of some kind or other, but without very well knowing what.
+Passing the kitchen, he observed Anderson, the butler, raking the
+fire out of the large oven which stands in the backyard.
+
+"'Baking again, Anderson?' said he in passing. 'You get soon through
+with a heavy cargo of bread just now.'
+
+"'Yes, sir; many mouths to feed, sir,' replied the butler, proceeding
+with his work.
+
+"The skipper sauntered on, and took the track which led to the
+boathouse, where he stood for some time in meditation. Casting up his
+eyes, he saw Peterkin in the distance, looking as if he didn't very
+well know what to do.
+
+"A sudden thought struck him. Pulling off his coat, he seized a
+mallet and a calking-chisel, and began to belabour the side of a boat
+as if his life depended on it. All at once he stopped and stood up,
+blowing with the exertion.
+
+"'Hollo, Peterkin!' he shouted, and waved his hand.
+
+"Peterkin hastened towards him.
+
+"'Well, sir' said he, 'do you wish to speak to me?'
+
+"'Yes,' replied the skipper, scratching his head, as if in great
+perplexity. 'I wish you to do me a favour, Peterkin, but I don't know
+very well how to ask you.'
+
+"'Oh, I shall be most happy,' said poor Butter eagerly, 'if I can be
+of any use to you.'
+
+"'I don't doubt your willingness,' replied the other; 'but then--the
+doctor, you see--the fact is, Peterkin, the doctor being called away
+to see a sick Indian, has intrusted me with a delicate piece of
+business--rather a nasty piece of business, I may say--which I
+promised to do for him. You must know that the Surgical Society of
+London has written to him, begging, as a great favour, that he would,
+if possible, procure them the skull of a native. After much trouble,
+he has succeeded in getting one, but is obliged to keep it a great
+secret, even from his fellow-clerks, lest it should get wind: for if
+the Indians heard of it they would be sure to kill him, and perhaps
+burn the fort too. Now I suppose you are aware that it is necessary
+to boil an Indian's head in order to get the flesh clean off the
+skull?'
+
+"'Yes; I have heard something of that sort from the students at
+college, who say that boiling brings flesh more easily away from the
+bone. But I don't know much about it,' replied Peterkin.
+
+"'Well,' continued the skipper, 'the doctor, who is fond of
+experiments, wishes to try whether _baking_ won't do better than
+_boiling_, and ordered the oven to be heated for that purpose this
+morning; but being called suddenly away, as I have said, he begged me
+to put the head into it as soon as it was ready. I agreed, quite
+forgetting at the time that I had to get this precious boat ready for
+sea this very afternoon. Now the oven is prepared, and I dare not
+leave my work; indeed, I doubt whether I shall have it quite ready
+and taut after all, and there's the oven cooling; so, if you don't
+help me, I'm a lost man.'
+
+"Having said this, the skipper looked as miserable as his jolly
+visage would permit, and rubbed his nose.
+
+"'Oh, I'll be happy to do it for you, although it is not an agreeable
+job,' replied Butter.
+
+"'That's right--that's friendly now!' exclaimed the skipper, as if
+greatly relieved. 'Give us your flipper, my lad;' and seizing
+Peterkin's hand, he wrung it affectionately. 'Now, here is the key of
+the outhouse; do it as quickly as you can, and don't let anyone see
+you. It's in a good cause, you know, but the results might be
+terrible if discovered.'
+
+"So saying, the skipper fell to hammering the boat again with
+surprising vigour till Butter was out of sight, and then resuming his
+coat, returned to the house.
+
+"An hour after this, Anderson went to take his loaves out of the
+oven; but he had no sooner taken down the door than a rich odour of
+cooked meat greeted his nostrils. Uttering a deep growl, the butler
+shouted out 'Sprat!'
+
+"Upon this, a very thin boy, with arms and legs like pipe stems,
+issued from the kitchen, and came timidly towards his master.
+
+"'Didn't I tell you, you young blackguard, that the grouse-pie was to
+be kept for Sunday? and there you've gone and put it to fire to-day.'
+
+"'The grouse-pie!' said the boy, in amazement.
+
+"'Yes, the grouse-pie,' retorted the indignant butler; and seizing
+the urchin by the neck, he held his head down to the mouth of the
+oven.
+
+"'Smell _that_, you villain! What did you mean by it, eh?'
+
+"'Oh, murder!' shouted the boy, as with a violent effort he freed
+himself, and ran shrieking into the house. "'Murder!' repeated
+Anderson in astonishment, while he stooped to look into the oven,
+where the first thing that met his gaze was a human head, whose
+ghastly visage and staring eyeballs worked and moved about under the
+influence of the heat as if it were alive.
+
+"With a yell that rung through the whole fort, the horrified butler
+rushed through the kitchen and out at the front door, where, as ill-
+luck would have it, Mr. Rogan happened to be standing at the moment.
+Pitching head first into the small of the old gentleman's back, he
+threw him off the platform and fell into his arms. Starting up in a
+moment, the governor dealt Anderson a cuff that sent him reeling
+towards the kitchen door again, on the steps of which he sat down,
+and began to sing out, 'Oh, murder, murder! the oven, the oven!' and
+not another word, bad, good, or indifferent, could be got out of him
+for the next half-hour, as he swayed himself to and fro and wrung his
+hands.
+
+"To make a long story short, Mr. Rogan went himself to the oven, and
+fished out the head, along with the loaves, which were, of course,
+all spoiled."
+
+"And what was the result?" enquired Harry.
+
+"Oh, there was a long investigation, and the skipper got a blowing-
+up, and the doctor a warning to let Indians' skulls lie at peace in
+their graves for the future, and poor Butter was sent to M'Kenzie's
+River as a punishment, for old Rogan could never be brought to
+believe that he hadn't been a willing tool in the skipper's hands;
+and Anderson lost his batch of bread and his oven, for it had to be
+pulled down and a new one built."
+
+"Humph! and I've no doubt the governor read you a pretty stiff
+lecture on practical joking."
+
+"He did," replied the accountant, laying aside his pipe and drawing
+the green blanket over him, while Harry piled several large logs on
+the fire.
+
+"Good-night," said the accountant.
+
+"Good-night," replied his companions; and in a few minutes more they
+were sound asleep in their snowy camp, while the huge fire continued,
+during the greater part of the night, to cast its light on their
+slumbering forms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+Ptarmigan-hunting--Hamilton's shooting powers severely tested--A
+snowstorm.
+
+
+At about four o'clock on the following morning, the sleepers were
+awakened by the cold, which had become very intense. The fire had
+burned down to a few embers, which merely emitted enough light to
+make darkness visible. Harry being the most active of the party, was
+the first to bestir himself. Raising himself on his elbow, while his
+teeth chattered and his limbs trembled with cold, he cast a woebegone
+and excessively sleepy glance towards the place where the fire had
+been; then he scratched his head slowly; then he stared at the fire
+again; then he languidly glanced at Hamilton's sleeping visage, and
+then he yawned. The accountant observed all this; for although he
+appeared to be buried in the depths of slumber, he was wide awake in
+reality, and moreover, intensely cold. The accountant, however, was
+sly--deep, as he would have said himself--and knew that Harry's
+active habits would induce him to rise, on awaking, and rekindle the
+fire,--an event which the accountant earnestly desired to see
+accomplished, but which he as earnestly resolved should not be
+performed by _him_. Indeed, it was with this end in view that he had
+given vent to the terrific snore which had aroused his young
+companion a little sooner than would have otherwise been the case.
+
+"My eye," exclaimed Harry, in an undertone, "how precious cold it
+is!"
+
+His eye making no reply to this remark, he arose, and going down on
+his hands and knees, began to coax the charcoal into a flame. By dint
+of severe blowing, he soon succeeded, and heaping on a quantity of
+small twigs, the fitful flame sprang up into a steady blaze. He then
+threw several heavy logs on the fire, and in a very short space of
+time restored it almost to its original vigour.
+
+"What an abominable row you are kicking up!" growled the accountant;
+"why, you would waken the seven sleepers. Oh! mending the fire," he
+added, in an altered tone: "ah! I'll excuse you, my boy, since that's
+what you're at."
+
+The accountant hereupon got up, along with Hamilton, who was now also
+awake, and the three spread their hands over the bright fire, and
+revolved their bodies before it, until they imbibed a satisfactory
+amount of heat. They were much too sleepy to converse, however, and
+contented themselves with a very brief enquiry as to the state of
+Hamilton's heels, which elicited the sleepy reply, "They feel quite
+well, thank you." In a short time, having become agreeably warm, they
+gave a simultaneous yawn, and lying down again, they fell into a
+sleep from which they did not awaken until the red winter sun shot
+its early rays over the arctic scenery.
+
+Once more Harry sprang up, and let his hand fall heavily on
+Hamilton's shoulder. Thus rudely assailed, that youth also sprang up,
+giving a shout, at the same time, that brought the accountant to his
+feet in an instant; and so, as if by an electric spark, the sleepers
+were simultaneously roused into a state of wide-awake activity.
+
+"How excessively hungry I feel! isn't it strange?" said Hamilton, as
+he assisted in rekindling the fire, while the accountant filled his
+pipe, and Harry stuffed the tea-kettle full of snow.
+
+"Strange!" cried Harry, as he placed the kettle on the fire--"strange
+to be hungry after a five miles' walk and a night in the snow? I
+would rather say it was strange if you were _not_ hungry. Throw on
+that billet, like a good fellow, and spit those grouse, while I cut
+some pemmican and prepare the tea."
+
+"How are the heels now, Hamilton?" asked the accountant, who divided
+his attention between his pipe and his snow-shoes, the lines of which
+required to be readjusted.
+
+"They appear to be as well as if nothing had happened to them,"
+replied Hamilton: "I've been looking at them, and there is no mark
+whatever. They do not even feel tender."
+
+"Lucky for you, old boy, that they were taken in time, else you'd had
+another story to tell."
+
+"Do you mean to say that people's heels really freeze and fall off?"
+inquired the other, with a look of incredulity.
+
+"Soft, very soft and green," murmured Harry, in a low voice, while he
+continued his work of adding fresh snow to the kettle as the process
+of melting reduced its bulk.
+
+"I mean to say," replied the accountant, tapping the ashes out of his
+pipe, "that not only heels, but hands, feet, noses, and ears,
+frequently freeze, and often fall off in this country, as you will
+find by sad experience if you don't look after yourself a little
+better than you have done hitherto."
+
+One of the evil effects of the perpetual jesting that prevailed at
+York Fort was, that "soft" (in other words, straightforward,
+unsuspecting) youths had to undergo a long process of learning-by-
+experience: first, _believing_ everything, and then _doubting_
+everything, ere they arrived at that degree of sophistication which
+enabled them to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
+
+Having reached the _doubting_ period in his training, Hamilton looked
+down and said nothing, at least with his mouth, though his eyes
+evidently remarked, "I don't believe you." In future years, however,
+the evidence of these same eyes convinced him that what the
+accountant said upon this occasion was but too true.
+
+Breakfast was a repetition of the supper of the previous evening.
+During its discussion they planned proceedings for the day.
+
+"My notion is," said the accountant, interrupting the flow of words
+ever and anon to chew the morsel with which his mouth was filled--"my
+notion is, that as it's a fine clear day we should travel five miles
+through the country parallel with North River. I know the ground, and
+can guide you easily to the spots where there are lots of willows,
+and therefore plenty of ptarmigan, seeing that they feed on willow
+tops; and the snow that fell last night will help us a little."
+
+"How will the snow help us?" inquired Hamilton.
+
+"By covering up all the old tracks, to be sure, and showing only the
+new ones."
+
+"Well, captain," said Harry, as he raised a can of tea to his lips,
+and nodded to Hamilton as if drinking his health, "go on with your
+proposals for the day. Five miles up the river to begin with, then--"
+
+"Then we'll pull up," continued the accountant; "make a fire, rest a
+bit, and eat a mouthful of pemmican; after which we'll strike across
+country for the southern woodcutters' track, and so home."
+
+"And how much will that be?"
+
+"About fifteen miles."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Harry; "pass the kettle, please. Thanks.--Do you
+think you're up to that, Hammy?"
+
+"I will try what I can do," replied Hamilton. "If the snow-shoes
+don't cause me to fall often, I think I shall stand the fatigue very
+well."
+
+"That's right," said the accountant; "'faint heart,' etc., you know.
+If you go on as you've begun, you'll be chosen to head the next
+expedition to the north pole."
+
+"Well," replied Hamilton, good-humouredly, "pray head the present
+expedition, and let us be gone."
+
+"Right!" ejaculated the accountant, rising. "I'll just put my odds
+and ends out of the reach of the foxes, and then we shall be off."
+
+In a few minutes everything was placed in security, guns loaded,
+snow-shoes put on, and the winter camp deserted. At first the walking
+was fatiguing, and poor Hamilton more than once took a sudden and
+eccentric plunge; but after getting beyond the wooded country, they
+found the snow much more compact, and their march, therefore, much
+more agreeable. On coming to the place where it was probable that
+they might fall in with ptarmigan, Hamilton became rather excited,
+and apt to imagine that little lumps of snow which hung upon the
+bushes here and there were birds.
+
+"There now," he cried, in an energetic and slightly positive tone, as
+another of these masses of snow suddenly met his eager eye--"that's
+one, I'm _quite_ sure."
+
+The accountant and Harry both stopped short on hearing this, and
+looked in the direction indicated.
+
+"Fire away, then, Hammy," said the former, endeavouring to suppress a
+smile.
+
+"But do you think it _really_ is one?" asked Hamilton, anxiously.
+
+"Well, I don't _see_ it exactly, but then, you know, I'm near-
+sighted."
+
+"Don't give him a chance of escape," cried Harry, seeing that his
+friend was undecided. "If you really do see a bird, you'd better
+shoot it, for they've got a strong propensity to take wing when
+disturbed."
+
+Thus admonished Hamilton raised his gun and took aim. Suddenly he
+lowered his piece again, and looking round at Harry, said in a low
+whisper,--
+
+"Oh, I should like _so_ much to shoot it while flying! Would it not
+be better to set it up first?"
+
+"By no means," answered the accountant. "'A bird in the hand,' etc.
+Take him as you find him--look sharp; he'll be off in a second."
+
+Again the gun was pointed, and, after some difficulty in taking aim,
+fired.
+
+"Ah, what a pity you've missed him!" shouted Harry,
+
+"But see, he's not off yet; how tame he is, to be sure! Give him the
+other barrel, Hammy."
+
+This piece of advice proved to be unnecessary. In his anxiety to get
+the bird, Hamilton had cocked both barrels, and while gazing, half in
+disappointment, half in surprise, at the supposed bird, his finger
+unintentionally pressed the second trigger. In a moment the piece
+exploded. Being accidentally aimed in the right direction, it blew
+the lump of snow to atoms, and at the same time hitting its owner on
+the chest with the butt, knocked him over flat upon his back.
+
+"What a gun it is, to be sure!" said Harry, with a roguish laugh, as
+he assisted the discomforted sportsman to rise; "it knocks over game
+with butt and muzzle at once."
+
+"Quite a rare instance of one butt knocking another down," added the
+accountant.
+
+At this moment a large flock of ptarmigan, startled by the double
+report, rose with a loud whirring noise about a hundred yards in
+advance, and after flying a short distance alighted.
+
+"There's real game at last, though," cried the accountant, as he
+hurried after the birds, followed closely by his young friends.
+
+They soon reached the spot where the flock had alighted, and after
+following up the tracks for a few yards further, set them up again.
+As the birds rose, the accountant fired and brought down two; Harry
+shot one and missed another; Hamilton being so nervously interested
+in the success of his comrades that he forgot to fire at all.
+
+"How stupid of me!" he exclaimed, while the others loaded their guns.
+
+"Never mind; better luck next time," said Harry, as they resumed
+their walk. "I saw the flock settle down about half-a-mile in advance
+of us; so step out."
+
+Another short walk brought the sportsmen again within range.
+
+"Go to the front, Hammy," said the accountant, "and take the first
+shot this time."
+
+Hamilton obeyed. He had scarcely made ten steps in advance, when a
+single bird, that seemed to have been separated from the others, ran
+suddenly out from under a bush, and stood stock-still, at a distance
+of a few yards, with its neck stretched out and its black eyes wide
+open, as if in astonishment.
+
+"Now then, you can't miss _that_."
+
+Hamilton was quite taken aback by the suddenness of this necessity
+for instantaneous action. Instead, therefore, of taking aim leisurely
+(seeing that he had abundant time to do so), he flew entirely to the
+opposite extreme, took no aim at all, and fired off both barrels at
+once, without putting the gun to his shoulder. The result of this was
+that the affrighted bird flew away unharmed, while Harry and the
+accountant burst spontaneously into fits of laughter.
+
+"How very provoking!" said the poor youth, with a dejected look.
+
+"Never mind--never say die--try again," said the accountant, on
+recovering his gravity. Having reloaded, they continued the pursuit.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed Harry, suddenly, "here are three dead birds.--I
+verily believe, Hamilton, that you have killed them all at one shot
+by accident."
+
+"Can it be possible?" exclaimed his friend, as with a look of
+amazement he regarded the birds.
+
+There was no doubt about the fact. There they lay, plump and still
+warm, with one or two drops of bright red blood upon their white
+plumage. Ptarmigan are almost pure white, so that it requires a
+practised eye to detect them, even at a distance of a few yards; and
+it would be almost impossible to hunt them without dogs, but for the
+tell-tale snow, in which their tracks are distinctly marked, enabling
+the sportsman to follow them up with unerring certainty. When
+Hamilton made his bad shot, neither he nor his companions observed a
+group of ptarmigan not more than fifty yards before them, their
+attention being riveted at the time on the solitary bird; and the gun
+happening to be directed towards them when it was fired, three were
+instantly and unwittingly placed _hors de combat_, while the others
+ran away. This the survivors frequently do when very tame, instead of
+taking wing. Thus it was that Hamilton, to his immense delight, made
+such a successful shot without being aware of it.
+
+Having bagged their game, the party proceeded on their way. Several
+large flocks of birds were raised, and the game-bags nearly filled,
+before reaching the spot where they intended to turn and bend their
+steps homewards. This induced them to give up the idea of going
+further; and it was fortunate they came to this resolution, for a
+storm was brewing, which in the eagerness of pursuit after game they
+had not noticed. Dark masses of leaden-coloured clouds were gathering
+in the sky overhead, and faint sighs of wind came, ever and anon, in
+fitful gusts from the north-west.
+
+Hurrying forward as quickly as possible, they now pursued their
+course in a direction which would enable them to cross the
+woodcutters' track. This they soon reached, and finding it pretty
+well beaten, were enabled to make more rapid progress. Fortunately
+the wind was blowing on their backs, otherwise they would have had to
+contend not only with its violence, but also with the snow-drift,
+which now whirled in bitter fury among the trees, or scoured like
+driving clouds over the plain. Under this aspect, the flat country
+over which they travelled seemed the perfection of bleak desolation.
+Their way, however, did not lie in a direct line. The track was
+somewhat tortuous, and gradually edged towards the north, until the
+wind blew nearly in their teeth. At this point, too, they came to a
+stretch of open ground which they had crossed at a point some miles
+further to the northward in their night march. Here the storm raged
+in all its fury, and as they looked out upon the plain, before
+quitting the shelter of the wood, they paused to tighten their belts
+and readjust their snow-shoe lines. The gale was so violent that the
+whole plain seemed tossed about like billows of the sea, as the drift
+rose and fell, curled, eddied, and dashed along, so that it was
+impossible to see more than half-a-dozen yards in advance.
+
+"Heaven preserve us from ever being caught in an exposed place on
+such a night as this!" said the accountant, as he surveyed the
+prospect before him. "Luckily the open country here is not more than
+a quarter of a mile broad, and even that little bit will try our wind
+somewhat."
+
+Hamilton and Harry seemed by their looks to say, "We could easily
+face even a stiffer breeze than that, if need be."
+
+"What should we do," inquired the former, "if the plain were five or
+six miles broad?"
+
+"Do? why, we should have to camp in the woods till it blew over,
+that's all," replied the accountant; "but seeing that we are not
+reduced to such a necessity just now, and that the day is drawing to
+a close, let us face it at once. I'll lead the way, and see that you
+follow close at my heels. Don't lose sight of me for a moment, and if
+you do by chance, give a shout; d'ye hear?"
+
+The two lads replied in the affirmative, and then bracing themselves
+up as if for a great effort, stepped vigorously out upon the plain,
+and were instantly swallowed up in clouds of snow. For half-an-hour
+or more they battled slowly against the howling storm, pressing
+forward for some minutes with heads down, as if _boring_ through it,
+then turning their backs to the blast for a few seconds' relief, but
+always keeping as close to each other as possible. At length the
+woods were gained; on entering which it was discovered that Hamilton
+was missing.
+
+"Hollo! where's Hamilton?" exclaimed Harry; "I saw him beside me not
+five minutes ago." The accountant gave a loud shout, but there was no
+reply. Indeed, nothing short of his own stentorian voice could have
+been heard at all amid the storm.
+
+"There's nothing for it," said Harry, "but to search at once, else
+he'll wander about and get lost." Saying this, he began to retrace
+his steps, just as a brief lull in the gale took place.
+
+"Hollo! don't you hear a cry, Harry?"
+
+At this moment there was another lull; the drift fell, and for an
+instant cleared away, revealing the bewildered Hamilton, not twenty
+yards off, standing, like a pillar of snow, in mute despair.
+
+Profiting by the glimpse, Harry rushed forward, caught him by the
+arm, and led him into the partial shelter of the forest.
+
+Nothing further befell them after this. Their route lay in shelter
+all the way to the fort. Poor Hamilton, it is true, took one or two
+of his occasional plunges by the way, but without any serious result--
+not even to the extent of stuffing his nose, ears, neck, mittens,
+pockets, gun-barrels, and everything else with snow, because, these
+being quite full and hard packed already, there was no room left for
+the addition of another particle.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+The winter packet--Harry hears from old friends, and wishes that he
+was with them.
+
+
+Letters from home! What a burst of sudden emotion--what a riot of
+conflicting feelings of dread and joy, expectation and anxiety--what
+a flood of old memories--what stirring up of almost forgotten
+associations these three words create in the hearts of those who
+dwell in distant regions of this earth, far, far away from kith and
+kin, from friends and acquaintances, from the much-loved scenes of
+childhood, and from _home_! Letters from home! How gratefully the
+sound falls upon ears that have been long unaccustomed to sounds and
+things connected with home, and so long accustomed to wild, savage
+sounds, that these have at length lost their novelty, and become
+everyday and commonplace, while the first have gradually grown
+strange and unwonted. For many long months home and all connected
+with it have become a dream of other days, and savage-land a present
+reality. The mind has by degrees become absorbed by surrounding
+objects--objects so utterly unassociated with or unsuggestive of any
+other land, that it involuntarily ceases to think of the scenes of
+childhood with the same feelings that it once did. As time rolls on,
+home assumes a misty, undefined character, as if it were not only
+distant in reality, but were also slowly retreating further and
+further away--growing gradually faint and dream-like, though not less
+dear, to the mental view.
+
+"Letters from home!" shouted Mr. Wilson, and the doctor, and the
+skipper, simultaneously, as the sportsmen, after dashing through the
+wild storm, at last reached the fort, and stumbled tumultuously into
+Bachelors' Hall.
+
+"What!--Where!--How!--You don't mean it!" they exclaimed, coming to a
+sudden stand, like three pillars of snow-clad astonishment.
+
+"Ay," replied the doctor, who affected to be quite cool upon all
+occasions, and rather cooler than usual if the occasion was more than
+ordinarily exciting--"ay, we _do_ mean it. Old Rogan has got the
+packet, and is even now disembowelling it."
+
+"More than that," interrupted the skipper, who sat smoking as usual
+by the stove, with his hands in his breeches pockets--"more than
+that, I saw him dissecting into the very marrow of the thing; so if
+we don't storm the old admiral in his cabin, he'll go to sleep over
+these prosy yarns that the governor-in-chief writes to him, and we'll
+have to whistle for our letters till midnight."
+
+The skipper's remark was interrupted by the opening of the outer door
+and the entrance of the butler. "Mr. Rogan wishes to see you, sir,"
+said that worthy to the accountant.
+
+"I'll be with him in a minute," he replied, as he threw off his
+capote and proceeded to unwind himself as quickly as his
+multitudinous haps would permit.
+
+By this time Harry Somerville and Hamilton were busily occupied in a
+similar manner, while a running fire of question and answer, jesting
+remark and bantering reply, was kept up between the young men, from
+their various apartments and the hall. The doctor was cool, as usual,
+and impudent. He had a habit of walking up and down while he smoked,
+and was thus enabled to look in upon the inmates of the several
+sleeping-rooms, and make his remarks in a quiet, sarcastic manner,
+the galling effect of which was heightened by his habit of pausing at
+the end of every two or three words, to emit a few puffs of smoke.
+Having exhausted a good deal of small talk in this way, and having,
+moreover, finished his pipe, the doctor went to the stove to refill
+and relight.
+
+"What a deal of trouble you do take to make yourself comfortable!"
+said he to the skipper, who sat with his chair tilted on its hind
+legs, and a pillow at his back.
+
+"No harm in that, doctor," replied the skipper, with a smile.
+
+"No harm, certainly, but it looks uncommonly lazy-like."
+
+"What does?"
+
+"Why, putting a pillow at your back, to be sure."
+
+The doctor was a full-fleshed, muscular man, and owing to this fact
+it mattered little to him whether his chair happened to be an easy
+one or not. As the skipper sometimes remarked, he carried padding
+always about with him; he was, therefore, a little apt to sneer at
+the attempts of his brethren to render the ill-shaped, wooden-
+bottomed chairs, with which the hall was ornamented, bearable.
+
+"Well, doctor," said the skipper, "I cannot see how you make me out
+lazy. Surely it is not an evidence of laziness, my endeavouring to
+render these instruments of torture less tormenting? Seeking to be
+comfortable, if it does not inconvenience anyone else, is not
+laziness. Why, what _is_ comfort?" The skipper began to wax
+philosophical at this point, and took the pipe from his mouth as he
+gravely propounded the momentous question. "What _is_ comfort? If I
+go out to camp in the woods, and after turning in find a sharp stump
+sticking into my ribs on one side, and a pine root driving in the
+small of my back on the other side, is _that_ comfort? Certainly not.
+And if I get up, seize a hatchet, level the stump, cut away the root,
+and spread pine brush over the place, am I to be called lazy for
+doing so? Or if I sit down on a chair, and on trying to lean back to
+rest myself find that the stupid lubber who made it has so
+constructed it that four small hard points alone touch my person--two
+being at the hip-joints and two at the shoulder-blades; and if to
+relieve such physical agony I jump up and clap a pillow at my back,
+am I to be called lazy for doing _that_?"
+
+"What a glorious entry that would make in the log!" said the doctor,
+in a low tone, soliloquizingly, as if he made the remark merely for
+his own satisfaction, while he tapped the ashes out of his pipe.
+
+The skipper looked as if he meditated a sharp reply; but his
+intentions, whatever they might have been, were interrupted by the
+opening of the door, and the entrance of the accountant, bearing
+under his arm a packet of letters.
+
+A general rush was made upon him, and in a few minutes a dead silence
+reigned in the hall, broken only at intervals by an exclamation of
+surprise or pathos, as the inmates, in the retirement of their
+separate apartments, perused letters from friends in the interior of
+the country and friends at home: letters that were old--some of them
+bearing dates many months back--and travel-stained, but new and fresh
+and cheering, nevertheless, to their owners, as the clear bright sun
+in winter or the verdant leaves in spring.
+
+Harry Somerville's letters were numerous and long. He had several
+from friends in Red River, besides one or two from other parts of the
+Indian country, and one--it was very thick and heavy--that bore the
+post-marks of Britain. It was late that night ere the last candle was
+extinguished in the hall, and it was late too before Harry Somerville
+ceased to peruse and re-peruse the long letter from home, and found
+time or inclination to devote to his other correspondents. Among the
+rest was a letter from his old friend and companion, Charley Kennedy,
+which ran as follows:--
+
+MY DEAR HARRY,--It really seems more than an age since I saw you.
+Your last epistle, written in the perturbation of mind consequent
+upon being doomed to spend another winter at York Fort, reached me
+only a few days ago, and filled me with pleasant recollections of
+other days. Oh! man, how much I wish that you were with me in this
+beautiful country! You are aware that I have been what they call
+"roughing it" since you and I parted on the shores of Lake Winnipeg;
+but, my dear fellow, the idea that most people have of what that
+phrase means is a very erroneous one indeed. "Roughing it," I
+certainly have been, inasmuch as I have been living on rough fare,
+associating with rough men, and sleeping on rough beds under the
+starry sky; but I assure you that all this is not half so rough upon
+the constitution as what they call leading an _easy life_, which is
+simply a life that makes a poor fellow stagnate, body and spirit,
+till the one comes to be unable to digest its food, and the other
+incompetent to jump at so much as half an idea. Anything but an easy
+life, to my mind. Ah! there's nothing like roughing it, Harry, my
+boy. Why, I am thriving on it--growing like a young walrus, eating
+like a Canadian voyageur, and sleeping like a top! This is a splendid
+country for sport, and as our _bourgeois_ [Footnote: The gentleman in
+charge of an establishment is always designated the bourgeois.] has
+taken it into his head that I am a good hand at making friends with
+the Indians, he has sent me out on several expeditions, and afforded
+me some famous opportunities of seeing life among the red-skins.
+There is a talk just now of establishing a new outpost in this
+district, so if I succeed in persuading the governor to let me
+accompany the party, I shall have something interesting to write
+about in my next letter. By the way, I wrote to you a month ago, by
+two Indians who said they were going to the missionary station at
+Norway House. Did you ever get it? There is a hunter here just now
+who goes by the name of Jacques Caradoc. He is a first-rater--can do
+anything, in a wild way, that lies within the power of mortal man,
+and is an inexhaustible anecdote-teller, in a quiet way. He and I
+have been out buffalo-hunting two or three times, and it would have
+done your heart good, Harry, my dear boy, to have seen us scouring
+over the prairie together on two big-boned Indian horses--regular
+trained buffalo-runners, that didn't need the spur to urge, nor the
+rein to guide them, when once they caught sight of the black cattle,
+and kept a sharp look-out for badger-holes, just as if they had been
+reasonable creatures. The first time I went out I had several rather
+ugly falls, owing to my inexperience. The fact is, that if a man has
+never run buffaloes before, he's sure to get one or two upsets, no
+matter how good a horseman he may be. And that monster Jacques,
+although he's the best fellow I ever met with for a hunting
+companion, always took occasion to grin at my mishaps, and gravely to
+read me a lecture to the effect that they were all owing to my own
+clumsiness or stupidity; which, you will acknowledge, was not
+calculated to restore my equanimity.
+
+The very first run we had cost me the entire skin of my nose, and
+converted that feature into a superb Roman for the next three weeks.
+It happened thus. Jacques and I were riding over the prairies in
+search of buffaloes. The place was interspersed with sundry knolls
+covered with trees, slips and belts of woodland, with ponds scattered
+among them, and open sweeps of the plain here and there; altogether a
+delightful country to ride through. It was a clear early morning, so
+that our horses were fresh and full of spirit. They knew, as well as
+we ourselves did, what we were out for, and it was no easy matter to
+restrain them. The one I rode was a great long-legged beast, as like
+as possible to that abominable kangaroo that nearly killed me at Red
+River; as for Jacques, he was mounted on a first-rate charger. I
+don't know how it is, but somehow or other everything about Jacques,
+or belonging to him, or in the remotest degree connected with him, is
+always first-rate! He generally owns a first-rate horse, and if he
+happens by any unlucky chance to be compelled to mount a bad one, it
+immediately becomes another animal. He seems to infuse some of his
+own wonderful spirit into it! Well, as Jacques and I curvetted along,
+skirting the low bushes at the edge of a wood, out burst a whole herd
+of buffaloes. Bang went Jacques's gun, almost before I had winked to
+make sure that I saw rightly, and down fell the fattest of them all,
+while the rest tossed up their tails, heels, and heads in one grand
+whirl of indignant amazement, and scoured away like the wind. In a
+moment our horses were at full stretch after them, on their _own_
+account entirely, and without any reference to _us_. When I recovered
+my self-possession a little, I threw forward my gun and fired; but
+owing to my endeavouring to hold the reins at the same time, I nearly
+blew off one of my horse's ears, and only knocked up the dust about
+six yards ahead of us! Of course Jacques could not let this pass
+unnoticed. He was sitting quietly loading his gun, as cool as a
+cucumber, while his horse was dashing forward at full stretch, with
+the reins hanging loosely on his neck.
+
+"Ah, Mister Charles," said he, with the least possible grin on his
+leathern visage, "that was not well done. You should never hold the
+reins when you fire, nor try to put the gun to your shoulder. It
+a'n't needful. The beast'll look arter itself, if it's a riglar
+buffalo-runner; any ways holdin' the reins is of no manner of use. I
+once know'd a gentleman that came out here to see the buffalo-
+huntin'. He was a good enough shot in his way, an' a first-rate
+rider. But he was full o' queer notions: he _would_ load his gun with
+the ramrod in the riglar way, instead o' doin' as we do, tumblin' in
+a drop powder, spittin' a ball out your mouth down the muzzle, and
+hittin' the stock on the pommel of the saddle to send it home. And he
+had them miserable things--the _somethin'_ 'cussion-caps, and used to
+fiddle away with them while we were knockin' over the cattle in all
+directions. Moreover, he had a notion that it was altogether wrong to
+let go his reins even for a moment, and so, what between the ramrod
+and the 'cussion-caps and the reins, he was worse than the greenest
+clerk that ever came to the country. He gave it up in despair at
+last, after lamin' two horses, and finished off by runnin' after a
+big bull, that turned on him all of a suddent, crammed its head and
+horns into the side of his horse, and sent the poor fellow head over
+heels on the green grass. He wasn't much the worse for it, but his
+fine double-barrelled gun was twisted into a shape that would almost
+have puzzled an Injin to tell what it was." Well, Harry, all the time
+that Jacques was telling me this we were gaining on the buffaloes,
+and at last we got quite close to them, and as luck would have it,
+the very thing that happened to the amateur sportsman happened to me.
+I went madly after a big bull in spite of Jacques's remonstrances,
+and just as I got alongside of him up went his tail (a sure sign that
+his anger was roused), and round he came, head to the front, stiff as
+a rock; my poor charger's chest went right between his horns, and, as
+a matter of course, I continued the race upon _nothing_, head first,
+for a distance of about thirty yards, and brought up on the bridge of
+my nose. My poor dear father used to say I was a bull-headed rascal,
+and, upon my word, I believe he was more literally correct than he
+imagined; for although I fell with a fearful crash, head first, on
+the hard plain, I rose up immediately, and in a few minutes was able
+to resume the chase again. My horse was equally fortunate, for
+although thus brought to a sudden stand while at full gallop, he
+wheeled about, gave a contemptuous flourish with his heels, and
+cantered after Jacques, who soon caught him again. My head bothered
+me a good deal for some time after this accident, and swelled up till
+my eyes became almost undistinguishable; but a few weeks put me all
+right again. And who do you think this man Jacques is? You'd never
+guess. He's the trapper whom Redfeather told us of long ago, and
+whose wife was killed by the Indians. He and Redfeather have met, and
+are very fond of each other. How often in the midst of these wild
+excursions have my thoughts wandered to you, Harry! The fellows I
+meet with here are all kind-hearted, merry companions, but none like
+yourself. I sometimes say to Jacques, when we become communicative to
+each other beside the camp-fire, that my earthly felicity would be
+perfect if I had Harry Somerville here; and then I think of Kate, my
+sweet, loving sister Kate, and feel that, even although I had you
+with me, there would still be something wanting to make things
+perfect. Talking of Kate, by the way, I have received a letter from
+her, the first sheet of which, as it speaks of mutual Red River
+friends, I herewith enclose. Pray keep it safe, and return per first
+opportunity. We've loads of furs here and plenty of deerstalking, not
+to mention galloping on horseback on the plains in summer and dog-
+sledging in the winter. Alas! my poor friend, I fear that it is
+rather selfish in me to write so feelingly about my agreeable
+circumstances, when I know you are slowly dragging out your existence
+at that melancholy place York Fort; but believe me, I sympathize with
+you, and I hope earnestly that you will soon be appointed to more
+genial scenes. I have much, very much, to tell you yet, but am
+compelled to reserve it for a future epistle, as the packet which is
+to convey this is on the point of being closed.
+
+Adieu, my dear Harry, and wherever you may happen to pitch your tent,
+always bear in kindly remembrance your old friend,    CHARLES
+KENNEDY.
+
+The letter was finished, but Harry did not cease to hold intercourse
+with his friend. With his head resting on his two hands, and his
+elbows on the table, he sat long, silently gazing on the signature,
+while his mind revelled in the past, the present, and the future. He
+bounded over the wilderness that lay between him and the beautiful
+plains of the Saskatchewan. He seized Charley round the neck, and
+hugged and wrestled with him as in days of yore. He mounted an
+imaginary charger, and swept across the plains along with him;
+listened to anecdotes innumerable from Jacques, attacked thousands of
+buffaloes, singled out scores of wild bulls, pitched over horses'
+heads and alighted precisely on the bridge of his nose, always in
+close proximity to his old friend. Gradually his mind returned to its
+prison-house, and his eye fell on Kate's letter, which he picked up
+and began to read. It ran thus:--
+
+MY DEAR, DEAR, DARLING CHARLEY,--I cannot tell you how much my heart
+has yearned to see you, or hear from you, for many long, long months
+past. Your last delightful letter, which I treasure up as the most
+precious object I possess, has indeed explained to me how utterly
+impossible it was to have written a day sooner than you did; but that
+does not comfort me a bit, or make those weary packets more rapid and
+frequent in their movements, or the time that passes between the
+periods of hearing from you less dreary and anxious. God bless and
+protect you, my darling, in the midst of all the dangers that
+surround you. But I did not intend to begin this letter by murmuring,
+so pray forgive me, and I shall try to atone for it by giving you a
+minute account of everybody here about whom you are interested. Our
+beloved father and mother, I am thankful to say, are quite well. Papa
+has taken more than ever to smoking since you went away. He is seldom
+out of the summer-house in the garden now, where I very frequently
+go, and spend hours together in reading to and talking with him. He
+very often speaks of you, and I am certain that he misses you far
+more than we expected, although I think he cannot miss you nearly so
+much as I do. For some weeks past, indeed ever since we got your last
+letter, papa was engaged all the forenoon in some mysterious work,
+for he used to lock himself up in the summer-house--a thing he never
+did before. One day I went there at my usual time and instead of
+having to wait till he should unlock the door, I found it already
+open, and entered the room, which was so full of smoke that I could
+hardly see. I found papa writing at a small table, and the moment he
+heard my footstep he jumped up with a fierce frown, and shouted,
+"Who's there?" in that terrible voice that he used to speak in long
+ago when angry with his men, but which he has almost quite given up
+for some time past. He never speaks to me, as you know very well, but
+in the kindest tones, so you may imagine what a dreadful fright I got
+for a moment; but it was only for a moment, because the instant he
+saw that it was me his dear face changed, and he folded me in his
+arms, saying, "Ah, Kate, forgive me, my darling! I did not know it
+was you, and I thought I had locked the door, and was angry at being
+so unceremoniously interrupted." He then told me he was just
+finishing a letter of advice to you, and going up to the table,
+pushed the papers hurriedly into a drawer. As he did so, I guessed
+what had been his mysterious occupation, for he seemed to have
+covered _quires_ of paper with the closest writing. Ah, Charley,
+you're a lucky fellow to be able to extort such long letters from our
+dear father. You know how difficult he finds it to write even the
+shortest note, and you remember his old favourite expression, "I
+would rather skin a wild buffalo bull alive than write a long
+letter." He deserves long ones in return, Charley; but I need not
+urge you on that score--you are an excellent correspondent. Mamma is
+able to go out every day now for a drive in the prairie. She was
+confined to the house for nearly three weeks last month, with some
+sort of illness that the doctor did not seem to understand, and at
+one time I was much frightened, and very, very anxious about her, she
+became so weak. It would have made your heart glad to have seen the
+tender way in which papa nursed her through the illness. I had
+fancied that he was the very last man in the world to make a sick-
+nurse, so bold and quick in his movements, and with such a loud,
+gruff voice--for it _is_ gruff, although very sweet at the same time.
+But the moment he began to tend mamma he spoke more softly even than
+dear Mr. Addison does, and he began to walk about the house on
+tiptoe, and persevered so long in this latter that all his moccasins
+began to be worn out at the toes, while the heels remained quite
+strong. I begged of him often not to take so much trouble, as _I_ was
+naturally the proper nurse for mamma; but he wouldn't hear of it, and
+insisted on carrying breakfast, dinner, and tea to her, besides
+giving her all her medicine. He was for ever making mistakes,
+however, much to his own sorrow, the darling man; and I had to watch
+him pretty closely, for more than once he has been on the point of
+giving mamma a glass of laudanum in mistake for a glass of port wine.
+I was a good deal frightened for him at first, as, before he became
+accustomed to the work, he tumbled over the chairs and tripped on the
+carpets while carrying trays with dinners and breakfasts, till I
+thought he would really injure himself at last, and then he was so
+terribly angry with himself at making such a noise and breaking the
+dishes--I think he has broken nearly an entire dinner and tea set of
+crockery. Poor George, the cook, has suffered most from these
+mishaps--for you know that dear papa cannot get angry without letting
+a _little_ of it out upon somebody; and whenever he broke a dish or
+let a tray fall, he used to rush into the kitchen, shake his fist in
+George's face, and ask him, in a fierce voice, what he meant by it.
+But he always got better in a few seconds, and finished off by
+telling him never to mind, that he was a good servant on the whole,
+and he wouldn't say any more about it just now, but he had better
+look sharp out and not do it again. I must say, in praise of George,
+that on such occasions he looked very sorry indeed, and said he hoped
+that he would always do his best to give him satisfaction. This was
+only proper in him, for he ought to be very thankful that our father
+restrains his anger so much; for you know he was rather violent
+_once_, and you've no idea, Charley, how great a restraint he now
+lays on himself. He seems to me quite like a lamb, and I am beginning
+to feel somehow as if we had been mistaken, and that he never was a
+passionate man at all. I think it is partly owing to dear Mr.
+Addison, who visits us very frequently now, and papa and he are often
+shut up together for many hours in the smoking-house. I was sure that
+papa would soon come to like him, for his religion is so free from
+everything like severity or affected solemnity. The cook, and Rosa,
+and my dog that you named Twist, are all quite well. The last has
+grown into a very large and beautiful animal, something like the
+stag-hound in the picture-book we used to study together long ago. He
+is exceedingly fond of me, and I feel him to be quite a protector.
+The cocks and hens, the cow and the old mare, are also in perfect
+health; so now, having told you a good deal about ourselves, i will
+give you a short account of the doings in the colony.
+
+First of all, your old friend Mr. Kipples is still alive and well,
+and so are all our old companions in the school. One or two of the
+latter have left, and young Naysmith has joined the Company's
+service. Betty Peters comes very often to see us, and she always asks
+for you with great earnestness. I think you have stolen the old
+woman's heart, Charley, for she speaks of you with great affection.
+Old Mr. Seaforth is still as vigorous as ever, dashing about the
+settlement on a high-mettled steed, just as if he were one of the
+youngest men in the colony. He nearly poisoned himself, poor man, a
+month ago, by taking a dose of some kind of medicine by mistake. I
+did not hear what it was, but I am told that the treatment was rather
+severe. Fortunately the doctor happened to be at home when he was
+sent for, else our old friend would, I fear, have died. As it was,
+the doctor cured him with great difficulty. He first gave him an
+emetic, then put mustard blisters to the soles of his feet, and
+afterwards lifted him into one of his own carts, without springs, in
+which he drove him for a long time over all the ploughed fields in
+the neighbourhood. If this is not an exaggerated account, Mr.
+Seaforth is certainly made of sterner stuff than most men. I was told
+a funny anecdote of him a few days ago, which I am sure you have
+never heard, otherwise you would have told it to me, for there used
+to be no secrets between us, Charley--alas! I have no one to confide
+in or advise with now that you are gone. You have often heard of the
+great flood; not Noah's one, but the flood that nearly swept away our
+settlement and did so much damage before you and I were born. Well,
+you recollect that people used to tell of the way in which the river
+rose after the breaking up of the ice, and how it soon overflowed all
+the low points, sweeping off everything in its course. Old Mr.
+Seaforth's house stood at that time on the little point, just beyond
+the curve of the river, at the foot of which our own house stands,
+and as the river continued to rise, Mr. Seaforth went about actively
+securing his property. At first he only thought of his boat and
+canoes, which, with the help of his son Peter and a Canadian, who
+happened at the time to be employed about the place, he dragged up
+and secured to an iron staple in the side of his house. Soon,
+however, he found that the danger was greater than at first he
+imagined. The point became completely covered with water, which
+brought down great numbers of _half_-drowned and _quite_-drowned
+cattle, pigs, and poultry, and stranded them at the garden fence, so
+that in a short time poor Mr. Seaforth could scarcely move about his
+overcrowded domains. On seeing this, he drove his own cattle to the
+highest land in his neighbourhood and hastened back to the house,
+intending to carry as much of the furniture as possible to the same
+place. But during his short absence the river had risen so rapidly
+that he was obliged to give up all thoughts of this, and think only
+of securing a few of his valuables. The bit of land round his
+dwelling was so thickly covered with the poor cows, sheep, and other
+animals, that he could scarcely make his way to the house, and you
+may fancy his consternation on reaching it to find that the water was
+more than knee-deep round the walls, while a few of the cows and a
+whole herd of pigs had burst open the door (no doubt accidentally)
+and coolly entered the dining-room, where they stood with drooping
+heads, very wet, and apparently very miserable. The Canadian was busy
+at the back of the house, loading the boat and canoe with everything
+he could lay hands on, and was not aware of the foreign invasion in
+front. Mr. Seaforth cared little for this, however, and began to
+collect all the things he held most valuable, and threw them to the
+man, who stowed them away in the boat. Peter had been left in charge
+of the cattle, so they had to work hard. While thus employed the
+water continued to rise with fearful rapidity, and rushed against the
+house like a mill-race, so that it soon became evident that the whole
+would ere long be swept away. Just as they finished loading the boat
+and canoes, the staple which held them gave way; in a moment they
+were swept into the middle of the river, and carried out of sight.
+The Canadian was in the boat at the time the staple broke, so that
+Mr. Seaforth was now left in a dwelling that bid fair to emulate
+Noah's ark in an hour or two, without a chance of escape, and with no
+better company than five black oxen, in the dining-room, besides
+three sheep that were now scarcely able to keep their heads above
+water, and three little pigs that were already drowned. The poor old
+man did his best to push out the intruders, but only succeeded in
+ejecting two sheep and an ox. All the others positively refused to
+go, so he was fain to let them stay. By shutting the outer door he
+succeeded in keeping out a great deal of water. Then he waded into
+the parlour, where he found some more little pigs, floating about and
+quite dead. Two, however, more adventurous than their comrades, had
+saved their lives by mounting first on a chair and then upon the
+table, where they were comfortably seated, gazing languidly at their
+mother, a very heavy fat sow, which sat, with what seemed an
+expression of settled despair, on the sofa. In a fit of wrath, Mr.
+Seaforth seized the young pigs and tossed them out of the window;
+whereupon the old one jumped down, and half-walking, half-swimming,
+made her way to her companions in the dining-room. The old gentleman
+now ascended to the garret, where from a small window he looked out
+upon the scene of devastation. His chief anxiety was about the
+foundation of the house, which, being made of a wooden framework,
+like almost all the others in the colony, would certainly float if
+the water rose much higher. His fears were better founded than the
+house. As he looked up the river, which had by this time overflowed
+all its banks, and was spreading over the plains, he saw a fresh
+burst of water coming down, which, when it dashed against his
+dwelling, forced it about two yards from its foundation. Suddenly he
+remembered that there were a large anchor and chain in the kitchen,
+both of which he had brought there one day, to serve as a sort of
+anvil when he wanted to do some blacksmith work. Hastening down, he
+fastened one end of the chain to the sofa, and cast the anchor out of
+the window. A few minutes afterwards another rush of water struck the
+building, which yielded to pressure, and swung slowly down until the
+anchor arrested its further progress. This was only for a few
+seconds, however. The chain was a slight one. It snapped, and the
+house swept majestically down the stream, while its terrified owner
+scrambled to the roof, which he found already in possession of his
+favourite cat. Here he had a clear view of his situation. The plains
+were converted into a lake, above whose surface rose trees and
+houses, several of which, like his own, were floating on the stream
+or stranded among shallows. Settlers were rowing about in boats and
+canoes in all directions, but although some of them noticed the poor
+man sitting beside his cat on the housetop, they were either too far
+off or had no time to render him assistance.
+
+For two days nothing was heard of old Mr. Seaforth. Indeed, the
+settlers had too much to do in saving themselves and their families
+to think of others; and it was not until the third day that people
+began to inquire about him. His son Peter had taken a canoe and made
+diligent search in all directions, but although he found the house
+sticking on a shallow point, neither his father nor the cat was on or
+in it. At last he was brought to the island, on which nearly half the
+colony had collected, by an Indian who had passed the house, and
+brought him away in his canoe, along with the old cat. Is he not a
+wonderful man, to have come through so much in his old age? and he is
+still so active and hearty! Mr. Swan of the mill is dead. He died of
+fever last week. Poor old Mr. Cordon is also gone. His end was very
+sad. About a month ago he ordered his horse and rode off, intending
+to visit Fort Garry. At the turn of the road, just above Grant's
+house, the horse suddenly swerved, and its rider was thrown to the
+ground. He did not live more than half-an-hour after it. Alas! how
+very sad to see a man, after escaping all the countless dangers of a
+long life in the woods (and his, you know, was a very adventurous
+one), thus cut violently down in his old age. O Charley, how little
+we know what is before us! How needful to have our peace made with
+God through Jesus Christ, so that we may be ready at any moment when
+our Father calls us away. There are many events of great interest
+that have occurred here since you left. You will be glad to hear the
+Jane Patterson is married to our excellent friend Mr. Cameron, who
+has taken up a store near to us, and intends to run a boat to York
+Fort next summer. There has been another marriage here which will
+cause you astonishment at least, if not pleasure. Old Mr. Peters has
+married Marie Peltier! What _could_ have possessed her to take such a
+husband? I cannot understand it. Just think of her, Charley, a girl
+of eighteen, with a husband of seventy-five!--
+
+       *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At this point the writing, which was very close and very small,
+terminated. Harry laid it down with a deep sigh, wishing much that
+Charley had thought it advisable to send him the second sheet also.
+As wishes and regrets on this point were equally unavailing, he
+endeavoured to continue it in imagination, and was soon as deeply
+absorbed in following Kate through the well-remembered scenes of Red
+River as he had been, a short time before, in roaming with her
+brother over the wide prairies of Saskatchewan. The increasing cold,
+however soon warned him that the night was far spent. He rose and
+went to the stove; but the fire had gone out, and the almost
+irresistible frost of these regions was already cooling everything in
+Bachelors' Hall down to the freezing-point. All his companions had
+put out their candles, and were busy, doubtless, dreaming of the
+friends whose letters had struck and reawakened the long-dormant
+chords that used to echo to the tones and scenes of other days. With
+a slight shiver, Harry returned to his apartment, and kneeled to
+thank God for protecting and preserving his absent friends, and
+especially for sending him "good news from a far land." The letter
+with the British post-marks on it was placed under his pillow. It
+occupied his waking and sleeping thoughts that night, and it was the
+first thing he thought of and reread on the following morning, and
+for many mornings afterwards. Only those can fully estimate the value
+of such letters who live in distant lands, where letters are few--
+very, very few--and far between.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+Changes--Harry and Hamilton find that variety is indeed charming--The
+latter astonishes the former considerably.
+
+
+Three months passed away, but the snow still lay deep and white and
+undiminished around York Fort. Winter--cold, silent, unyielding
+winter--still drew its white mantle closely round the lonely dwelling
+of the fur-traders of the Far North.
+
+Icicles hung, as they had done for months before, from the eaves of
+every house, from the tall black scaffold on which the great bell
+hung, and from the still taller erection that had been put up as an
+outlook for "_the ship_" in summer. At the present time it commanded
+a bleak view of the frozen sea. Snow covered every housetop, and hung
+in ponderous masses from their edges, as if it were about to fall;
+but it never fell--it hung there in the same position day after day,
+unmelted, unchanged. Snow covered the whole land, and the frozen
+river, the swamps, the sea-beach, and the sea itself, as far as the
+eye could reach, seemed like a pure white carpet. Snow lined the
+upper edge of every paling, filled up the key-hole of every door,
+embanked about half of every window, stuck in little knobs on the top
+of every picket, and clung in masses on every drooping branch of the
+pine trees in the forest. Frost--sharp, biting frost--solidified,
+surrounded, and pervaded everything. Mercury was congealed by it;
+vapour was condensed by it; iron was cooled by it until it could
+scarcely be touched without (as the men expressed it) "burning" the
+fingers. The water-jugs in Bachelors' Hall and the water-buckets were
+frozen by it, nearly to the bottom; though there was a good stove
+there, and the Hall was not _usually_ a cold place by any means. The
+breath of the inhabitants was congealed by it on the window-panes,
+until they had become coated with ice an inch thick. The breath of
+the men was rendered white and opaque by it, as they panted and
+hurried to and fro about their ordinary avocations; beating their
+gloved hands together, and stamping their well-wrapped-up feet on the
+hard-beaten snow to keep them warm. Old Bobin's nose seemed to be
+entirely shrivelled up into his face by it, as he drove his ox-cart
+to the river to fetch his daily supply of water. The only things that
+were not affected by it were the fires, which crackled and roared as
+if in laughter, and twisted and leaped as if in uncontrollable glee
+at the bare idea of John Frost acquiring, by any artifice whatever,
+the smallest possible influence over _them_! Three months had
+elapsed, but frost and snow, instead of abating, had gone on
+increasing and intensifying, deepening and extending its work, and
+riveting its chains. Winter--cold, silent, unyielding winter--still
+reigned at York Fort, as though it had made it a _sine qua non_ of
+its existence at all that it should reign there for ever!
+
+But although everything was thus wintry and cold, it was by no means
+cheerless or dreary. A bright sun shone in the blue heavens with an
+intenseness of brilliancy that was quite dazzling to the eyes, that
+elated the spirits, and caused man and beast to tread with a more
+elastic step than usual. Although the sun looked down upon the scene
+with an unclouded face, and found a mirror in every icicle and in
+every gem of hoar-frost with which the objects of nature were loaded,
+there was, however, no perceptible heat in his rays. They fell on the
+white earth with all the brightness of midsummer, but they fell
+powerless as moonbeams in the dead of winter.
+
+On the frozen river, just in front of the gate of the fort, a group
+of men and dogs were assembled. The dogs were four in number,
+harnessed to a small flat sledge of the slender kind used by Indians
+to drag their furs and provisions over the snow. The group of men was
+composed of Mr. Rogan and the inmates of Bachelors' Hall, one or two
+men who happened to be engaged there at the time in cutting a new
+water-hole in the ice, and an Indian, who, to judge from his
+carefully-adjusted costume, the snow-shoes on his feet, and the short
+whip in his hand, was the driver of the sledge, and was about to
+start on a journey. Harry Somerville and young Hamilton were also
+wrapped up more carefully than usual.
+
+"Good-bye, then, good-bye," said Mr. Rogan, advancing towards the
+Indian, who stood beside the leading dog, ready to start. "Take care
+of our young friends; they've not had much experience in travelling
+yet; and don't over drive your dogs. Treat them well, and they'll do
+more work. They're like men in that respect." Mr. Rogan shook the
+Indian by the hand, and the latter immediately flourished the whip
+and gave a shout, which the dogs no sooner heard than they uttered a
+simultaneous yell, sprang forward with a jerk, and scampered up the
+river, closely followed by their dark-skinned driver.
+
+"Now, lads, farewell," said the old gentleman, turning with a kindly
+smile to our two friends, who were shaking hands for the last time
+with their comrades. "I'm sorry you're going to leave us, my boys.
+You've done your duty well while here, and I would willingly have
+kept you a little longer with me, but our governor wills it
+otherwise. However, I trust that you'll be happy wherever you may be
+sent. Don't forget to write to me. God bless you. Farewell."
+
+Mr. Rogan shook them heartily by the hand, turned short round, and
+walked slowly up to his house, with an expression of sadness on his
+mild face; while Harry and Hamilton, having once more waved farewell
+to their friends, marched up the river side by side in silence. They
+followed the track left by the dog-sledge, which guided them with
+unerring certainty, although their Indian leader and his team were
+out of sight in advance.
+
+A week previous to this time an Indian arrived from the interior,
+bearing a letter from headquarters, which directed that Messrs.
+Somerville and Hamilton should be forthwith despatched on snow-shoes
+to Norway House. As this establishment is about three hundred miles
+from the sea-coast, the order involved a journey of nearly two weeks'
+duration through a country that was utterly destitute of inhabitants.
+On receiving a command from Mr. Rogan to prepare for an early start,
+Harry retired precipitately to his own room, and there, after cutting
+unheard of capers, and giving vent to sudden, incomprehensible
+shouts, all indicative of the highest state of delight, he
+condescended to tell his companions of his good fortune, and set
+about preparations without delay. Hamilton, on the contrary, gave his
+usual quiet smile on being informed of his destination, and returning
+somewhat pensively to Bachelors' Hall, proceeded leisurely to make
+the necessary arrangements for departure. As the time drew on,
+however, a perpetual flush on his countenance, and an unusual
+brilliancy about his eye, showed that he was not quite insensible to
+the pleasures of a change, and relished the idea more than he got
+credit for. The Indian who had brought the letter was ordered to hold
+himself in readiness to retrace his steps, and conduct the young men
+through the woods to Norway House, where they were to await further
+orders. A few days later the three travellers, as already related,
+set out on their journey.
+
+After walking a mile up the river, they passed a point of land which
+shut out the fort from view. Here they paused to take a last look,
+and then pressed forward in silence, the thoughts of each being busy
+with mingled recollections of their late home and anticipations of
+the future. After an hour's sharp walking they came in sight of the
+guide, and slackened their pace.
+
+"Well, Hamilton," said Harry, throwing off his reverie with a deep
+sigh, "are you glad to leave York Fort, or sorry?"
+
+"Glad, undoubtedly," replied Hamilton, "but sorry to part from our
+old companions there. I had no idea, Harry, that I loved them all so
+much. I feel as if I should be glad were the order for us to leave
+them countermanded even now."
+
+"That's the very thought," said Harry, "that was passing through my
+own brain when I spoke to you. Yet somehow I think I should feel
+uncommonly sorry after all if we were really sent back. There's a
+queer contradiction, Hammy: we're sorry and happy at the same time!
+If I were the skipper now, I would found a philosophical argument
+upon it."
+
+"Which the skipper would carry on with untiring vigour," said
+Hamilton, smiling, "and afterwards make an entry of in his log. But I
+think, Harry, that to feel the emotion of sorrow and joy at the same
+time is not such a contradiction as it at first appears."
+
+"Perhaps not," replied Harry; "but it seems very contradictory to
+_me_, and yet it's an evident fact, for I'm _very_ sorry to leave
+_them_, and I'm _very_ happy to have you for my companion here."
+
+"So am I, so am I," said the other heartily. "I would rather travel
+with you, Harry, than with any of our late companions, although I
+like them all very much."
+
+The two friends had grown, almost imperceptibly, in each other's
+esteem during their residence under the same roof, more than either
+of them would have believed possible. The gay, reckless hilarity of
+the one did not at first accord with the quiet gravity and, as his
+comrades styled it, _softness_ of the other. But character is
+frequently misjudged at first sight, and sometimes men who on a first
+acquaintance have felt repelled from each other have, on coming to
+know each other better, discovered traits and good qualities that ere
+long formed enduring bonds of sympathy, and have learned to love
+those whom at first they felt disposed to dislike or despise. Thus
+Harry soon came to know that what he at first thought and, along with
+his companions, called softness in Hamilton in reality gentleness of
+disposition and thorough good-nature, united in one who happened to
+be utterly unacquainted with the _knowing_ ways of this peculiarly
+sharp and clever world, while in the course of time new qualities
+showed themselves in a quiet, unobtrusive way that won upon his
+affections and raised his esteem. On the other hand, Hamilton found
+that although Harry was volatile, and possessed of an irresistible
+tendency to fun and mischief, he never by any chance gave way to
+anger, or allowed malice to enter into his practical jokes. Indeed,
+he often observed him to restrain his natural tendencies when they
+were at all likely to give pain, though Harry never dreamed that such
+efforts were known to any one but himself. Besides this, Harry was
+peculiarly _unselfish_, and when a man is possessed of this
+inestimable disposition, he is, not _quite_ but _very nearly_,
+perfect!
+
+After another pause, during which the party had left the open river
+and directed their course through the woods, where the depth of the
+snow obliged them to tread in each other's footsteps, Harry resumed
+the conversation.
+
+"You have not yet told me, by-the-by, what old Mr. Rogan said to you
+just before we started. Did he give you any hint as to where you
+might be sent to after reaching Norway House?"
+
+"No; he merely said he knew that clerks were wanted both for
+Mackenzie River and the Saskatchewan districts, but he did not know
+which I was destined for."
+
+"Hum! exactly what he said to me, with the slight addition that he
+strongly suspected that Mackenzie River would be my doom. Are you
+aware, Hammy my boy, that the Saskatchewan district is a sort of
+terrestrial paradise, and Mackenzie River equivalent to Botany Bay?"
+
+"I have heard as much during our conversations in Bachelors' Hall,
+but--Stop a bit, Harry; these snow-shoe lines of mine have got
+loosened with tearing through this deep snow and these shockingly
+thick bushes. There--they are right now; go on. I was going to say
+that I don't--oh!"
+
+This last exclamation was elicited from Hamilton by a sharp blow
+caused by a branch which, catching on part of Harry's dress as he
+plodded on in front, suddenly rebounded and struck him across the
+face. This is of common occurrence in travelling through the woods,
+especially to those who from inexperience walk too closely on the
+heels of their companions.
+
+"What's wrong now, Hammy?" inquired his friend, looking over his
+shoulder.
+
+"Oh, nothing worth mentioning--rather a sharp blow from a branch,
+that's all."
+
+"Well, proceed; you've interrupted yourself twice in what you were
+going to say. Perhaps it'll come out if you try it a third time."
+
+"I was merely going to say that I don't much care where I am sent to,
+so long as it is not to an outpost where I shall be all alone."
+
+"All very well, my friend; but seeing that outposts are, in
+comparison with principal forts, about a hundred to one, your chance
+of avoiding them is rather slight. However, our youth and want of
+experience is in our favour, as they like to send men who have seen
+some service to outposts. But I fear that, with such brilliant
+characters as you and I, Hammy, youth will only be an additional
+recommendation, and inexperience won't last long.--Hollo! what's
+going on yonder?"
+
+Harry pointed as he spoke to an open spot in the woods about a
+quarter of a mile in advance, where a dark object was seen lying on
+the snow, writhing about, now coiling into a lump, and anon extending
+itself like a huge snake in agony.
+
+As the two friends looked, a prolonged howl floated towards them.
+
+"Something wrong with the dogs, I declare!" cried Harry.
+
+"No doubt of it," replied his friend, hurrying forward, as they saw
+their Indian guide rise from the ground and flourish his whip
+energetically, while the howls rapidly increased.
+
+A few minutes brought them to the scene of action, where they found
+the dogs engaged in a fight among themselves, and the driver, in a
+state of vehement passion, alternately belabouring and trying to
+separate them. Dogs in these regions, like the dogs of all other
+regions, we suppose, are very much addicted to fighting--a propensity
+which becomes extremely unpleasant if indulged while the animals are
+in harness, as they then become peculiarly savage, probably from
+their being unable, like an ill-assorted pair in wedlock, to cut or
+break the ties that bind them. Moreover, they twist the traces into
+such an ingeniously complicated mass that it renders disentanglement
+almost impossible, even after exhaustion has reduced them to
+obedience. Besides this, they are so absorbed in worrying each other
+that for the time they are utterly regardless of their driver's lash
+or voice. This naturally makes the driver angry, and sometimes
+irascible men practise shameful cruelties on the poor dogs. When the
+two friends came up they found the Indian glaring at the animals, as
+they fought and writhed in the snow, with every lineament of his
+swarthy face distorted with passion, and panting from his late
+exertions. Suddenly he threw himself on the dogs again, and lashed
+them furiously with the whip. Finding that this had no effect, he
+twined the lash round his hand, and struck them violently over their
+heads and snouts with the handle; then falling down on his knees, he
+caught the most savage of the animals by the throat, and seizing its
+nose between his teeth almost bit it off. The appalling yell that
+followed this cruel act seemed to subdue the dogs, for they ceased to
+fight, and crouched, whining, in the snow.
+
+With a bound like a tiger young Hamilton sprang upon the guide, and
+seizing him by the throat, hurled him violently to the ground.
+"Scoundrel!" he cried, standing over the crestfallen Indian with
+flushed face and flashing eyes, "how dare you thus treat the
+creatures of God?"
+
+The young man would have spoken more, but his indignation was so
+fierce that it could not find vent in words. For a moment he raised
+his fist, as if he meditated dashing the Indian again to the ground
+as he slowly arose; then, as if changing his mind, he seized him by
+the back of the neck, thrust him towards the panting dogs, and stood
+in silence over him with the whip grasped firmly in his hand, while
+he disentangled the traces.
+
+This accomplished, Hamilton ordered him in a voice of suppressed
+anger to "go forward"--an order which the cowed guide promptly
+obeyed, and in a few minutes more the two friends were again alone.
+
+"Hamilton, my boy," exclaimed Harry, who up to this moment seemed to
+have been petrified, "you have perfectly amazed me! I'm utterly
+bewildered."
+
+"Indeed, I fear that I have been very violent," said Hamilton,
+blushing deeply.
+
+"Violent!" exclaimed his friend. "Why, man, I've completely mistaken
+your character. I--I--"
+
+"I hope not, Harry," said Hamilton, in a subdued tone; "I hope not.
+Believe me, I am not naturally violent. I should be very sorry were
+you to think so. Indeed, I never felt thus before, and now that it is
+over I am amazed at myself; but surely you'll admit that there was
+great provocation. Such terrible cruelty to--"
+
+"My dear fellow, you quite misunderstand me. I'm amazed at your
+pluck, your energy. _Soft_ indeed! we have been most egregiously
+mistaken. Provocation! I just think you had; my only sorrow is that
+you didn't give him a little more."
+
+"Come, come, Harry; I see you would be as cruel to him as he was to
+the poor dog. But let us press forward; it is already growing dark,
+and we must not let the fellow out of sight ahead of us."
+
+"_Allons donc_," cried Harry; and hastening their steps, they
+travelled silently and rapidly among the stems of the trees, while
+the shades of night gathered slowly round them.
+
+That night the three travellers encamped in the snow under the
+shelter of a spreading pine. The encampment was formed almost exactly
+in a similar manner to that in which they had slept on the night of
+their exploits at North River. They talked less, however, than on
+that occasion, and slept more soundly. Before retiring to rest, and
+while Harry was extended, half asleep and half awake, on his green
+blanket, enjoying the delightful repose that follows a hard day's
+march and a good supper, Hamilton drew near to the Indian, who sat
+sullenly smoking a little apart from the young men. Sitting down
+beside him, he administered a long rebuke in a low, grave tone of
+voice. Like rebukes generally, it had the effect of making the visage
+of the Indian still more sullen. But the young man did not appear to
+notice this; he still continued to talk. As he went on, the look grew
+less and less sullen, until it faded entirely away, and was succeeded
+by that grave, quiet, respectful expression peculiar to the face of
+the North American Indian.
+
+Day succeeded day, night followed night, and still found them
+plodding laboriously through the weary waste of snow, or encamping
+under the trees of the forest. The two friends went through all the
+varied stages of experience which are included in what is called
+"becoming used to the work," which is sometimes a modified meaning of
+the expression "used up." They started with a degree of vigour that
+one would have thought no amount of hard work could possibly abate.
+They became aware of the melancholy fact that fatigue unstrings the
+youngest and toughest sinews. They pressed on, however, from stern
+necessity, and found, to their delight, that young muscles recover
+their elasticity even in the midst of severe exertion. They still
+pressed on, and discovered, to their dismay, that this recovery was
+only temporary, and that the second state of exhaustion was
+infinitely worse than the first. Still they pressed on, and raised
+blisters on their feet and toes that caused them to limp wofully;
+then they learned that blisters break and take a long time to heal,
+and are much worse to walk upon during the healing process than they
+are at the commencement--at which time they innocently fancied that
+nothing could be more dreadful. Still they pressed on day after day,
+and found to their satisfaction that such things can be endured and
+overcome; that feet and toes can become hard like leather, that
+muscles can grow tough as india-rubber, and that spirits and energy
+can attain to a pitch of endurance which nothing within the compass
+of a day's march can by any possibility overcome. They found also,
+from experience, that their conversation changed, both in manner and
+subject, as they progressed on their journey. At first they conversed
+frequently and on various topics, chiefly on the probability of their
+being sent to pleasant places or the reverse. Then they spoke less
+frequently, and growled occasionally, as they advanced in the painful
+process of training. After that, as they began to get hardy, they
+talked of the trees, the snow, the ice, the tracks of wild animals
+they happened to cross, and the objects of nature generally that came
+under their observation. Then as their muscles hardened and their
+sinews grew tough, and the day's march at length became first a
+matter of indifference, and ultimately an absolute pleasure, they
+chatted cheerfully on any and every subject, or sang occasionally,
+when the sun shone out and cast an _appearance_ of warmth across
+their path. Thus onward they pressed, without halt or stay, day after
+day, through wood and brake, over river and lake, on ice and on snow,
+for miles and miles together, through the great, uninhabited, frozen
+wilderness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+Hopes and fears--An unexpected meeting--Philosophical talk between
+the hunter and the parson.
+
+
+On arriving at Norway House, Harry Somerville and his friend Hamilton
+found that they were to remain at that establishment during an
+indefinite period of time, until it should please those in whose
+hands their ultimate destination lay to direct them how and where to
+proceed. This was an unlooked-for trial of their patience; but after
+the first exclamation of disappointment, they made up their minds,
+like wise men, to think no more about it, but bide their time, and
+make the most of present circumstances.
+
+"You see," remarked Hamilton, as the two friends, after having had an
+audience of the gentleman in charge of the establishment, sauntered
+towards the rocks that overhang the margin of Playgreen Lake--"you
+see, it is of no use to fret about what we cannot possibly help.
+Nobody within three hundred miles of us knows where we are destined
+to spend next winter. Perhaps orders may come in a couple of weeks,
+perhaps in a couple of months, but they will certainly come at last.
+Anyhow, it is of no use thinking about it, so we had better forget
+it, and make the best of things as we find them."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Harry, "your advice is, that we should by all means
+be happy, and if we can't be happy, be as happy as we can. Is that
+it?"
+
+"Just so. That's it exactly."
+
+"Ho! But then you see, Hammy, you're a philosopher and I'm not, and
+that makes all the difference. I'm not given to anticipating evil,
+but I cannot help dreading that they will send me to some lonely,
+swampy, out-of-the-way hole, where there will be no society, no
+shooting, no riding, no work even to speak of--nothing, in fact, but
+the miserable satisfaction of being styled 'bourgeois' by five or six
+men, wretched outcasts like myself,"
+
+"Come, Harry," cried Hamilton; "you are taking the very worst view of
+it. There certainly are plenty of such outposts in the country, but
+you know very well that young fellows like you are seldom sent to
+such places."
+
+"I don't know that," interrupted Harry. "There's young M'Andrew: he
+was sent to an outpost up the Mackenzie his second year in the
+service, where he was all but starved, and had to live for about two
+weeks on boiled parchment. Then there's poor Forrester: he was
+shipped off to a place--the name of which I never could remember--
+somewhere between the head-waters of the Athabasca Lake and the North
+Pole. To be sure, he had good shooting, I'm told, but he had only
+four labouring men to enjoy it with; and he has been there _ten_
+years now, and he has more than once had to scrape the rocks of that
+detestable stuff called _tripe de roche_ to keep himself alive. And
+then there's----"
+
+"Very true," interrupted Hamilton. "Then there's your friend Charles
+Kennedy, whom you so often talk about, and many other young fellows
+we know, who have been sent to the Saskatchewan, and to the Columbia,
+and to Athabasca, and to a host of other capital places, where they
+have enough of society--male society, at least--and good sport."
+
+The young men had climbed a rocky eminence which commanded a view of
+the lake on the one side, and the fort, with its background of woods,
+on the other. Here they sat down on a stone, and continued for some
+time to admire the scene in silence.
+
+"Yes," said Harry, resuming the thread of discourse, "you are right:
+we have a good chance of seeing some pleasant parts of the country.
+But suspense is not pleasant. O man, if they would only send me up
+the Saskatchewan River! I've set my heart upon going there. I'm quite
+sure it's the very best place in the whole country."
+
+"You've told the truth that time, master," said a deep voice behind
+them.
+
+The young men turned quickly round. Close beside them, and leaning
+composedly on a long Indian fowling-piece, stood a tall, broad-
+shouldered, sun-burned man, apparently about forty years of age. He
+was dressed in the usual leathern hunting-coat, cloth leggings, fur
+cap, mittens, and moccasins that constitute the winter garb of a
+hunter; and had a grave, firm, but good-humoured expression of
+countenance.
+
+"You've told the truth that time, master," he repeated, without
+moving from his place. "The Saskatchewan _is_, to my mind, the best
+place in the whole country; and havin' seen a considerable deal o'
+places in my time, I can speak from experience."
+
+"Indeed, friend," said Harry, "I'm glad to hear you say so. Come, sit
+down beside us, and let's hear something about it."
+
+Thus invited, the hunter seated himself on a stone and laid his gun
+on the hollow of his left arm.
+
+"First of all, friend," continued Harry, "do you belong to the fort
+here?"
+
+"No," replied the man, "I'm staying here just now, but I don't belong
+to the place."
+
+"Where do you come from then, and what's your name?"
+
+"Why, I've comed d'rect from the Saskatchewan with a packet o'
+letters. I'm payin' a visit to the missionary village yonder"--the
+hunter pointed as he spoke across the lake--"and when the ice breaks
+up I shall get a canoe and return again."
+
+"And your name?"
+
+"Why, I've got four or five names. Somehow or other people have given
+me a nickname wherever I ha' chanced to go. But my true name, and the
+one I hail by just now, is Jacques Caradoc."
+
+"Jacques Caradoc!" exclaimed Harry, starting with surprise. "You knew
+a Charley Kennedy in the Saskatchewan, did you?"
+
+"That did I. As fine a lad as ever pulled a trigger."
+
+"Give us your hand, friend," exclaimed Harry, springing forward, and
+seizing the hunter's large, hard fist in both hands. "Why, man,
+Charley is my dearest friend, and I had a letter from him some time
+ago in which he speaks of you, and says you're one of the best
+fellows he ever met."
+
+"You don't say so," replied the hunter, returning Harry's grasp
+warmly, while his eyes sparkled with pleasure, and a quiet smile
+played at the corner of his mouth.
+
+"Yes I do," said Harry; "and I'm very nearly as glad to meet with
+you, friend Jacques, as I would be to meet with him. But come; it's
+cold work talking here. Let's go to my room; there's a fire in the
+stove.--Come along, Hammy;" and taking his new friend by the arm, he
+hurried him along to his quarters in the fort.
+
+Just as they were passing under the fort gate, a large mass of snow
+became detached from a housetop and fell heavily at their feet,
+passing within an inch of Hamilton's nose. The young man started back
+with an exclamation, and became very red in the face.
+
+"Hollo!" cried Harry, laughing, "got a fright, Hammy! That went so
+close to your chin that it almost saved you the trouble of shaving."
+
+"Yes; I got a little fright from the suddenness of it," said Hamilton
+quietly.
+
+"What do you think of my friend there?" said Harry to Jacques, in a
+low voice, pointing to Hamilton, who walked on in advance.
+
+"I've not seen much of him, master," replied the hunter. "Had I been
+asked the same question about the same lad twenty years agone, I
+should ha' said he was soft, and perhaps chicken-hearted. But I've
+learned from experience to judge better than I used to do. I niver
+thinks o' forming an opinion o' anyone till I geen them called to
+sudden action. It's astonishin' how some faint-hearted men will come
+to face a danger and put on an awful look o' courage if they only get
+warnin', but take them by surprise--that's the way to try them."
+
+"Well, Jacques, that is the very reason why I ask your opinion of
+Hamilton. He was pretty well taken by surprise that time, I think."
+
+"True, master; but _that_ kind of start don't prove much. Hows'ever,
+I don't think he's easy upset. He does _look_ uncommon soft, and his
+face grew red when the snow fell, but his eyebrow and his under lip
+showed that it wasn't from fear."
+
+During that afternoon and the greater part of that night the three
+friends continued in close conversation--Harry sitting in front of
+the stove, with his hands in his pockets, on a chair tilted as usual
+on its hind legs, and pouring out volleys of questions, which were
+pithily answered by the good-humoured, loquacious hunter, who sat
+behind the stove, resting his elbows on his knees, and smoking his
+much-loved pipe; while Hamilton reclined on Harry's bed, and listened
+with eager avidity to anecdotes and stories, which seemed, like the
+narrator's pipe, to be inexhaustible.
+
+"Good-night, Jacques, good-night," said Harry, as the latter rose at
+last to depart; "I'm delighted to have had a talk with you. You must
+come back to-morrow. I want to hear more about your friend
+Redfeather. Where did you say you left him?"
+
+"In the Saskatchewan, master. He said that he would wait there, as
+he'd heerd the missionary was comin' up to pay the Injins a visit."
+
+"By-the-by, you're going over to the missionary's place to-morrow,
+are you not?"
+
+"Yes, I am."
+
+"Ah, then, that'll do. I'll go over with you. How far off is it?"
+
+"Three miles or thereabouts."
+
+"Very good. Call in here as you pass, and my friend Hamilton and I
+will accompany you. Good-night."
+
+Jacques thrust his pipe into his bosom, held out his horny hand, and
+giving his young friends a hearty shake, turned and strode from the
+room.
+
+On the following day Jacques called according to promise, and the
+three friends set off together to visit the Indian village. This
+missionary station was under the management of a Wesleyan clergyman,
+Pastor Conway by name, an excellent man, of about forty-five years of
+age, with an energetic mind and body, a bald head, a mild, expressive
+countenance, and a robust constitution. He was admirably qualified
+for his position, having a natural aptitude for every sort of work
+that man is usually called on to perform. His chief care was for the
+instruction of the Indians, whom he had induced to settle around him,
+in the great and all-important truths of Christianity. He invented an
+alphabet, and taught them to write and read their own language. He
+commenced the laborious task of translating the Scriptures into the
+Cree language; and being an excellent musician, he instructed his
+converts to sing in parts the psalms and Wesleyan hymns, many of
+which are exceedingly beautiful. A school was also established and a
+church built under his superintendence, so that the natives assembled
+in an orderly way in a commodious sanctuary every Sabbath day to
+worship God; while the children were instructed, not only in the
+Scriptures, and made familiar with the narrative of the humiliation
+and exaltation of our blessed Saviour, but were also taught the
+elementary branches of a secular education. But good Pastor Conway's
+energy did not stop here. Nature had gifted him with that peculiar
+genius which is powerfully expressed in the term "a jack-of-all-
+trades." He could turn his hand to anything; and being, as we have
+said, an energetic man, he did turn his hand to almost everything. If
+anything happened to get broken, the pastor could either "mend it
+himself or direct how it was to be done. If a house was to be built
+for a new family of red men, who had never handled a saw or hammer in
+their lives, and had lived up to that time in tents, the pastor lent
+a hand to begin it, drew out the plan (not a very complicated thing
+certainly), set them fairly at work, and kept his eye on it until it
+was finished. In short, the worthy pastor was everything to
+everybody, "that by all means he might gain some."
+
+Under such management the village flourished as a matter of course,
+although it did not increase very rapidly owing to the almost
+unconquerable aversion of North American Indians to take up a settled
+habitation.
+
+It was to this little hamlet, then, that our three friends directed
+their steps. On arriving, they found Pastor Conway in a sort of
+workshop, giving directions to an Indian who stood with a soldering-
+iron in one hand and a sheet of tin in the other, which he was about
+to apply to a curious-looking half-finished machine that bore some
+resemblance to a canoe.
+
+"Ah, my friend Jacques!" he exclaimed as the hunter approached him,
+"the very man I wished to see. But I beg pardon, gentlemen,-
+strangers, I perceive. You are heartily welcome. It is seldom that I
+have the pleasure of seeing new friends in my wild dwelling. Pray
+come with me to my house."
+
+Pastor Conway shook hands with Harry and Hamilton with a degree of
+warmth that evinced the sincerity of his words. The young men thanked
+him and accepted the invitation.
+
+As they turned to quit the workshop, the pastor observed Jacques's
+eye fixed with a puzzled expression of countenance, on his canoe.
+
+"You have never seen anything like that before, I daresay?" said he,
+with a smile.
+
+"No, sir; I never did see such a queer machine afore."
+
+"It is a tin canoe, with which I hope to pass through many miles of
+country this spring, on my way to visit a tribe of Northern Indians,
+and it was about this very thing that I wanted to see you, my
+friend."
+
+Jacques made no reply, but cast a look savouring very slightly of
+contempt on the unfinished canoe as they turned and went away.
+
+The pastor's dwelling stood at one end of the village, a view of
+which it commanded from the back windows, while those in front
+overlooked the lake. It was pleasantly situated and pleasantly
+tenanted, for the pastor's wife was a cheerful, active little lady,
+like-minded with himself, and delighted to receive and entertain
+strangers. To her care Mr. Conway consigned the young men, after
+spending a short time in conversation with them; and then, requesting
+his wife to show them through the village, he took Jacques by the arm
+and sauntered out,
+
+"Come with me, Jacques," he began; "I have somewhat to say to you. I
+had not time to broach the subject when I met you at the Company's
+fort, and have been anxious to see you ever since. You tell me that
+you have met with my friend Redfeather."
+
+"Yes, sir; I spent a week or two with him last fall I found him
+stayin' with his tribe, and we started to come down here together."
+
+"Ah, that is the very point," exclaimed the pastor, that I wish to
+inquire about. I firmly believe that God has opened that Indian's
+eyes to see the truth; and I fully expected from what he said when we
+last met, that he would have made up his mind to come and stay here."
+
+"As to what the Almighty has done to him," said Jacques, in a
+reverential tone of voice, "I don't pretend to know; he did for
+sartin speak, and act too, in a way that I never seed an Injin do
+before. But about his comin' here, sir, you were quite right: he did
+mean to come, and I've no doubt will come yet."
+
+"What prevented him coming with you, as you tell me he intended?"
+inquired the pastor.
+
+"Well, you see, sir, he and I and his squaw, as I said, set off to
+come here together: but when we got the length o' Edmonton House, we
+heerd that you were comin' up to pay a visit to the tribe to which
+Redfeather belongs; and so seem' that it was o' no use to come down
+hereaway just to turn about an' go up agin, he stopped there to wait
+for you, for he knew you would want him to interpret--"
+
+"Ay," interrupted the pastor, "that's true. I have two reasons for
+wishing to have him here. The primary one is, that he may get good to
+his immortal soul; and then he understands English so well that I
+want him to become my interpreter; for although I understand the Cree
+language pretty well now, I find it exceedingly difficult to explain
+the doctrines of the Bible to my people in it. But pardon me, I
+interrupted you."
+
+"I was only going to say," resumed Jacques, "that I made up my mind
+to stay with him; but they wanted a man to bring the winter packet
+here, so, as they pressed me very hard, an' I had nothin' particular
+to do, I 'greed and came, though I would rather ha' stopped; for
+Redfeather an' I ha' struck up a friendship togither--a thing that I
+would never ha' thought it poss'ble for me to do with a red Injin."
+
+"And why not with a red Indian, friend?" inquired the pastor, while a
+shade of sadness passed over his mild features, as if unpleasant
+thoughts had been roused by the hunter's speech.
+
+"Well, it's not easy to say why," rejoined the other. "I've no
+partic'lar objection to the red-skins. There's only one man among
+them that I bears a grudge agin, and even that one I'd rayther avoid
+than otherwise."
+
+"But you should _forgive_ him, Jacques. The Bible tells us not only
+to bear our enemies no grudge, but to love them and to do them good."
+
+The hunter's brow darkened. "That's impossible, sir," he said; "I
+couldn't do _him_ a good turn if I was to try ever so hard. He may
+bless his stars that I don't want to do him mischief; but to _love
+him_, it's jist imposs'ble."
+
+"With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible,"
+said the pastor solemnly.
+
+Jacques's naturally philosophic though untutored mind saw the force
+of this. He felt that God, who had formed his soul, his body, and the
+wonderfully complicated machinery and objects of nature, which were
+patent to his observant and reflective mind wherever he went, must of
+necessity be equally able to alter, influence, and remould them all
+according to His will. Common-sense was sufficient to teach him this;
+and the bold hunter exhibited no ordinary amount of common-sense in
+admitting the fact at once, although in the case under discussion
+(the loving of his enemy) it seemed utterly impossible to his
+feelings and experience. The frown, therefore, passed from his brow,
+while he said respectfully, "What you say, sir, is true; I believe
+though I can't _feel_ it. But I s'pose the reason I niver felt much
+drawn to the red-skins is, that all the time I lived in the
+settlements I was used to hear them called and treated as thievin'
+dogs, an 'when I com'd among them I didn't see much to alter my
+opinion. Here an' there I have found one or two honest Injins, an'
+Redfeather is as true as steel; but the most o' them are no better
+than they should be. I s'pose I don' think much o' them just because
+they are red-skins."
+
+"Ah, Jacques, you will excuse me if I say that there is not much
+sense in _that_ reason. An Indian cannot help being a red man any
+more than you can help being a white one, so that he ought not to be
+despised on that account. Besides, God made him what he is, and to
+despise the _work_ of God, or to undervalue it, is to despise God
+Himself. You may indeed despise, or rather abhor, the sins that red
+men are guilty of; but if you despise _them_ on this ground, you must
+much more despise white men, for _they_ are guilty of greater
+iniquities than Indians are. They have more knowledge, and are
+therefore more inexcusable when they sin; and anyone who has
+travelled much must be aware that, in regard to general wickedness,
+white men are at least quite as bad as Indians. Depend upon it,
+Jacques, that there will be Indians found in heaven at the last day
+as well as white men. God is no respecter of persons."
+
+"I niver thought much on that subject afore, sir," returned the
+hunter; "what you say seems reasonable enough. I'm sure an' sartin,
+any way, that if there's a red-skin in heaven at all, Redfeather will
+be there, an' I only hope that I may be there too to keep him
+company."
+
+"I hope so, my friend,", said the pastor earnestly; "I hope so too,
+with all my heart. And if you will accept of this little book, it
+will show you how to get there."
+
+The missionary drew a small, plainly-bound copy of the Bible from his
+pocket as he spoke, and presented it to Jacques, who received it with
+a smile, and thanked him, saying, at the same time, that he "was not
+much up to book-larnin', but he would read it with pleasure."
+
+"Now, Jacques," said the pastor, after a little further conversation
+on the subject of the Bible, in which he endeavoured to impress upon
+him the absolute necessity of being acquainted with the blessed
+truths which it contains--"now, Jacques, about my visit to the
+Indians. I intend, if the Almighty spares me, to embark in yon tin
+canoe that you found me engaged with, and, with six men to work it,
+proceed to the country of the Knisteneux Indians, visit their chief
+camp, and preach to them there as long as the weather will permit.
+When the season is pretty well advanced, and winter threatens to cut
+off my retreat, I shall re-embark in my canoe and return home. By
+this means I hope to be able to sow the good seed of Christian truths
+in the hearts of men who, as they will not come to this settlement,
+have no chance of being brought under the power of the Gospel by any
+other means."
+
+Jacques gave one of his quiet smiles on hearing this. "Right sir--
+right," he said, with some energy; "I have always thought, although I
+niver made bold to say it before, that there was not enough o' this
+sort o' thing. It has always seemed to me a kind o' madness (excuse
+my plainness o' speech, sir) in you pastors, thinkin' to make the
+red-skins come and settle round you like so many squaws, and dig up
+an' grub at the ground, when it's quite clear that their natur' and
+the natur' o' things about them meant them to be hunters. An' surely,
+since the Almighty made them hunters, He intended them to _be_
+hunters, an' won't refuse to make them Christians on _that_ account.
+A red-skin's natur' is a huntin' natur', an' nothin' on arth 'll ever
+make it anything else.'
+
+"There is much truth in what you observe, friend," rejoined the
+pastor; "but you are not _altogether_ right. Their nature _may_ be
+changed, although certainly nothing on _earth_ will change it. Look
+at that frozen lake." He pointed to the wide field of thick snow-
+covered ice that stretched out for miles like a sheet of white marble
+before them. "Could anything on earth break up or sink or melt that?"
+
+"Nothin'," replied Jacques, laconically.
+
+"But the warm beams of yon glorious sun can do it," continued the
+pastor, pointing upwards as he spoke, "and do it effectually too; so
+that, although you can scarcely observe the process, it nevertheless
+turns the hard, thick, solid ice into limpid water at last. So is it
+in regard to man. Nothing on earth can change his heart, or alter his
+nature; but our Saviour, who is called the Sun of Righteousness, can.
+When He shines into a man's soul it melts. The old man becomes a
+little child, the wild savage a Christian. But I agree with you in
+thinking that we have not been sufficiently alive to the necessity of
+seeking to convert the Indians before trying to gather them round us.
+The one would follow as a natural consequence, I think, of the other,
+and it is owing to this conviction that I intend, as I have already
+said, to make a journey in spring to visit those who will not or
+cannot come to visit me. And now, what I want to ask is whether you
+will agree to accompany me as steersman and guide on my expedition."
+
+The hunter slowly shook his head. "I'm afeard not sir; I have already
+promised to take charge of a canoe for the Company. I would much
+rather go with you, but I must keep my word."
+
+"Certainly, Jacques, certainly; that settles the question You cannot
+go with me--unless--" the pastor paused as if in thought for a
+moment--"unless you can persuade them to let you off."
+
+"Well, sir, I can try," returned Jacques.
+
+"Do; and I need not say how happy I shall be if you succeed. Good-
+day, friend, good-bye." So saying, the missionary shook hands with
+the hunter and returned to his house, while Jacques wended his way to
+the village in search of Harry and Hamilton.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+Good news and romantic scenery--Bear-hunting and its results.
+
+
+Jaques failed in his attempt to break off his engagement with the
+fur-traders. The gentleman in charge of Norway House, albeit a good-
+natured, estimable man, was one who could not easily brook
+disappointment, especially in matters that involved the interests of
+the Hudson's Bay Company; so Jacques was obliged to hold to his
+compact, and the pastor had to search for another guide.
+
+Spring came, and with it the awakening (if we may use the expression)
+of the country from the long, lethargic sleep of winter. The sun
+burst forth with irresistible power, and melted all before it. Ice
+and snow quickly dissolved, and set free the waters of swamp and
+river, lake and sea, to leap and sparkle in their new-found liberty.
+Birds renewed their visits to the regions of the north; frogs, at
+last unfrozen, opened their leathern jaws to croak and whistle in the
+marshes; and men began their preparations for a summer campaign.
+
+At the commencement of the season an express arrived with letters
+from headquarters, which, among other matters of importance, directed
+that Messrs. Somerville and Hamilton should be despatched forthwith
+to the Saskatchewan district, where, on reaching Fort Pitt, they were
+to place themselves at the disposal of the gentleman in charge of the
+district. It need scarcely be added that the young men were overjoyed
+on receiving this almost unhoped-for intelligence, and that Harry
+expressed his satisfaction in his usual hilarious manner, asserting,
+somewhat profanely, in the excess of his glee, that the governor-in-
+chief of Rupert's Land was a "regular brick." Hamilton agreed to all
+his friend's remarks with a quiet smile, accompanied by a slight
+chuckle, and a somewhat desperate attempt at a caper, which attempt,
+bordering as it did on a region of buffoonery into which our quiet
+and gentlemanly friend had never dared hitherto to venture proved an
+awkward and utter failure. He felt this and blushed deeply.
+
+It was further arranged and agreed upon that the young men should
+accompany Jacques Caradoc in his canoe. Having become sufficiently
+expert canoemen to handle their paddles well, they scouted the idea
+of taking men with them, and resolved to launch boldly forth at once
+as _bona-fide_ voyageurs. To this arrangement Jacques, after one or
+two trials to test their skill, agreed; and very shortly after the
+arrival of the express, the trio set out on their voyage, amid the
+cheers and adieus of the entire population of Norway House, who were
+assembled on the end of the wooden wharf to witness their departure,
+and with whom they had managed during their short residence at that
+place, to become special favourites. A month later, the pastor of the
+Indian village, having procured a trusty guide, embarked in his tin
+canoe with a crew of six men, and followed in their track.
+
+In process of time spring merged into summer--a season mostly
+characterised in those climes by intense heat and innumerable clouds
+of musquitoes, whose vicious and incessant attacks render life, for
+the time being, a burden. Our three voyageurs, meanwhile, ascended
+the Saskatchewan, penetrating deeper each day into the heart of the
+North American continent. On arriving at Fort Pitt, they were
+graciously permitted to rest for three days, after which they were
+forwarded to another district, where fresh efforts were being made to
+extend the fur-trade into lands hitherto almost unvisited. This
+continuation of their travels was quite suited to the tastes and
+inclinations of Harry and Hamilton, and was hailed by them as an
+additional reason for self-gratulation. As for Jacques, he cared
+little to what part of the world he chanced to be sent. To hunt, to
+toil in rain and in sunshine, in heat and in cold, at the paddle or
+on the snow-shoe, was his vocation, and it mattered little to the
+bold hunter whether he plied it upon the plains of the Saskatchewan
+or among the woods of Athabasca. Besides, the companions of his
+travels were young, active, bold, adventurous, and therefore quite
+suited to his taste. Redfeather, too, his best and dearest friend,
+had been induced to return to his tribe for the purpose of mediating
+between some of the turbulent members of it and the white men who had
+gone to settle among them, so that the prospect of again associating
+with his red friend was an additional element in his satisfaction. As
+Charley Kennedy was also in this district, the hope of seeing him
+once more was a subject of such unbounded delight to Harry
+Somerville, and so, sympathetically, to young Hamilton, that it was
+with difficulty they could realize the full amount of their good
+fortune, or give adequate expression to their feelings. It is
+therefore probable that there never were three happier travellers
+than Jacques, Harry, and Hamilton, as they shouldered their guns and
+paddles, shook hands with the inmates of Fort Pitt, and with light
+steps and lighter hearts launched their canoe, turned their bronzed
+faces once more to the summer sun, and dipped their paddles again in
+the rippling waters of the Saskatchewan River.
+
+As their bark was exceedingly small, and burdened with but little
+lading, they resolved to abandon the usual route, and penetrate the
+wilderness through a maze of lakes and small rivers well known to
+their guide. By this arrangement they hoped to travel more speedily,
+and avoid navigating a long sweep of the river by making a number of
+portages; while, at the same time, the changeful nature of the route
+was likely to render it more interesting. From the fact of its being
+seldom traversed, it was also more likely that they should find a
+supply of game for the journey.
+
+Towards sunset, one fine day, about two weeks after their departure
+from Fort Pitt, our voyageurs paddled their canoe round a wooded
+point of land that jutted out from, and partly concealed, the mouth
+of a large river, down whose stream they had dropped leisurely during
+the last three days, and swept out upon the bosom of a large lake.
+This was one of those sheets of water which glitter in hundreds on
+the green bosom of America's forests, and are so numerous and
+comparatively insignificant as to be scarce distinguished by a name,
+unless when they lie directly in the accustomed route of the fur-
+traders. But although, in comparison with the freshwater oceans of
+the Far West, this lake was unnoticed and almost unknown, it would by
+no means have been regarded in such a light had it been transported
+to the plains of England. In regard to picturesque beauty, it was
+perhaps unsurpassed. It might be about six miles wide, and so long
+that the land at the farther end of it was faintly discernible on the
+horizon. Wooded hills, sloping gently down to the water's edge;
+jutting promontories, some rocky and barren, others more or less
+covered with trees; deep bays, retreating in some places into the
+dark recesses of a savage-looking gorge, in others into a distant
+meadow-like plain, bordered with a stripe of yellow sand; beautiful
+islands of various sizes, scattered along the shores as if nestling
+there for security, or standing barren and solitary in the centre of
+the lake, like bulwarks of the wilderness, some covered with
+luxuriant vegetation, others bald and grotesque in outline, and
+covered with gulls and other water-fowl,--this was the scene that
+broke upon the view of the travellers as they rounded the point, and,
+ceasing to paddle, gazed upon it long and in deep silence, their
+hands raised to shade their eyes from the sun's rays, which sparkled
+in the water, and fell, here in bright spots and broken patches, and
+there in yellow floods, upon the rocks, the trees, the forest glades
+and plains around them.
+
+"What a glorious scene!" murmured Hamilton, almost unconsciously.
+
+"A perfect paradise!" said Harry, with a long-drawn sigh of
+satisfaction.--"Why, Jacques, my friend, it's a matter of wonder to
+me that you, a free man, without relations or friends to curb you, or
+attract you to other parts of the world, should go boating and
+canoeing all over the country at the beck of the fur-traders, when
+you might come and pitch your tent here for ever!"
+
+"For ever!" echoed Jacques.
+
+"Well, I mean as long as you live in this world."
+
+"Ah, master," rejoined the guide, in a sad tone of voice, "it's just
+because I have neither kith nor kin nor friends to draw me to any
+partic'lar spot on arth, that I don't care to settle down in this
+one, beautiful though it be."
+
+"True, true," muttered Harry; "man's a gregarious animal, there's no
+doubt of that."
+
+"Anon?" exclaimed Jacques.
+
+"I meant to say that man naturally loves company," replied Harry,
+smiling.
+
+"An' yit I've seen some as didn't, master; though, to be sure, that
+was onnat'ral, and there's not many o' them, by good luck. Yes, man's
+fond o' seein' the face o' man."
+
+"And woman, too," interrupted Harry.--"Eh, Hamilton, what say you?--
+
+     'O woman, in our hours of ease,
+     Uncertain, coy, and hard to please,
+     When pain and anguish wring the brow,
+     A ministering angel thou.'
+
+Alas, Hammy! pain and anguish and every thing else may wring our
+unfortunate brows here long enough before woman, 'lovely woman,' will
+come to our aid. What a rare sight it would be, now, to see even an
+ordinary house-maid or cook out here! It would be good for sore eyes.
+It seems to me a sort of horrible untruth to say that I've not seen a
+woman since I left Red River; and yet its a frightful fact, for I
+don't count the copper-coloured nondescripts one meets with
+hereabouts to be women at all. I suppose they are, but they don't
+look like it."
+
+"Don't be a goose, Harry," said Hamilton.
+
+"Certainly not, my friend. If I were under the disagreeable necessity
+of being anything but what I am, I should rather be something that is
+not in the habit of being shot," replied the other, paddling with
+renewed vigour in order to get rid of some of the superabundant
+spirits that the beautiful scene and brilliant weather, acting on a
+young and ardent nature, had called forth.
+
+"Some of these same red-skins," remarked the guide, "are not such bad
+sort o' women, for all their ill looks. I've know'd more than one
+that was a first-rate wife an' a good mother, though it's true they
+had little edication beyond that o' the woods."
+
+"No doubt of it," replied Harry, laughing gaily. "How shall I keep
+the canoe's head, Jacques?"
+
+"Right away for the pint that lies jist between you an' the sun."
+
+"Yes; I give them all credit for being excellent wives and mothers,
+after a fashion," resumed Harry. "I've no wish to asperse the
+characters of the poor Indians; but you must know, Jacques, that
+they're very different from the women that I allude to and of whom
+Scott sung. His heroines were of a _very_ different stamp and
+colour!"
+
+"Did _he_ sing of niggers?" inquired Jacques, simply.
+
+"Of niggers!" shouted Harry, looking over his shoulder at Hamilton,
+with a broad grin; "no, Jacques, not exactly of niggers--"
+
+"Hist!" exclaimed the guide, with that peculiar subdued energy that
+at once indicates an unexpected discovery, and enjoins caution, while
+at the same moment, by a deep, powerful back-stroke of his paddle, he
+suddenly checked the rapid motion of the canoe.
+
+Harry and his friend glanced quickly over their shoulders with a look
+of surprise.
+
+"What's in the wind now?" whispered the former.
+
+"Stop paddling, masters, and look ahead at the rock yonder, jist
+under the tall cliff. There's a bear a-sittin' there, and if we can
+only get ashore afore he sees us, we're sartin sure of him."
+
+As the guide spoke, he slowly edged the canoe towards the shore,
+while the young men gazed with eager looks in the direction
+indicated, where they beheld what appeared to be the decayed stump of
+an old tree or a mass of brown rock. While they strained their eyes
+to see it more clearly, the object altered its form and position.
+
+"So it is," they exclaimed simultaneously, in a tone that was
+equivalent to the remark, "Now we believe, because we see it."
+
+In a few seconds the bow of the canoe touched the land, so lightly as
+to be quite inaudible, and Harry, stepping gently over the side, drew
+it forward a couple of feet, while his companions disembarked.
+
+"Now, Mister Harry," said the guide, as he slung a powder-horn and
+shot-belt over his shoulder, "we've no need to circumvent the beast,
+for he's circumvented himself."
+
+"How so?" inquired the other, drawing the shot from his fowling-
+piece, and substituting in its place a leaden bullet.
+
+Jacques led the way through the somewhat thinly scattered underwood
+as he replied, "You see, Mister Harry, the place where he's gone to
+sun hisself is just at the foot o' a sheer precipice, which runs
+round ahead of him and juts out into the water, so that he's got
+three ways to choose between. He must clamber up the precipice, which
+will take him some time, I guess, if he can do it at all; or he must
+take to the water, which he don't like, and won't do if he can help
+it; or he must run out the way he went in, but as we shall go to meet
+him by the same road, he'll have to break our ranks before he gains
+the woods, an' _that_'ll be no easy job."
+
+The party soon reached the narrow pass between the lake and the near
+end of the cliff, where they advanced with greater caution, and
+peeping over the low bushes, beheld Bruin, a large brown fellow,
+sitting on his haunches, and rocking himself slowly to and fro, as he
+gazed abstractedly at the water. He was scarcely within good shot,
+but the cover was sufficiently thick to admit of a nearer approach.
+
+"Now, Hamilton," said Harry, in a low whisper, "take the first shot.
+I killed the last one, so it's your turn this time."
+
+Hamilton hesitated, but could make no reasonable objection to this,
+although his unselfish nature prompted him to let his friend have the
+first chance. However, Jacques decided the matter by saying, in a
+tone that savoured strongly of command, although it was accompanied
+with a good-humoured smile,--
+
+"Go for'ard, young man; but you may as well put in the primin'
+first."
+
+Poor Hamilton hastily rectified this oversight with a deep blush, at
+the same time muttering that he never _would_ make a hunter; and then
+advanced cautiously through the bushes, slowly followed at a short
+distance by his companions.
+
+On reaching the bush within seventy yards of the bear, Hamilton
+pushed the twigs aside with the muzzle of his gun; his eye flashed
+and his courage mounted as he gazed at the truly formidable animal
+before him, and he felt more of the hunter's spirit within him at
+that moment than he would have believed possible a few minutes
+before. Unfortunately, a hunter's spirit does not necessarily imply a
+hunter's eye or hand. Having, with much care and long time, brought
+his piece to bear exactly where he supposed the brute's heart should
+be, he observed that the gun was on half-cock, by nearly breaking the
+trigger in his convulsive efforts to fire. By the time that this
+error was rectified, Bruin, who seemed to feel intuitively that some
+imminent danger threatened him, rose, and began to move about
+uneasily, which so alarmed the young hunter lest he should lose his
+shot that he took a hasty aim, fired, and _missed._ Harry asserted
+afterwards that he even missed the cliff! On hearing the loud report,
+which rolled in echoes along the precipice, Bruin started, and
+looking round with an undecided air, saw Harry step quietly from the
+bushes, and fire, sending a ball into his flank. This decided him.
+With a fierce growl of pain, he scampered towards the water; then
+changing his mind, he wheeled round, and dashed at the cliff, up
+which he scrambled with wonderful speed.
+
+"Come, Mister Hamilton, load again; quick, I'll have to do the job
+myself, I fear," said Jacques, as he leaned quietly on his long gun,
+and with a half-pitying smile watched the young man, who madly
+essayed to recharge his piece more rapidly than it was possible for
+mortal man to do. Meanwhile, Harry had reloaded and fired again; but
+owing to the perturbation of his young spirits, and the frantic
+efforts of the bear to escape, he missed. Another moment, and the
+animal would actually have reached the top, when Jacques hastily
+fired, and brought it tumbling down the precipice. Owing to the
+position of the animal at the time he fired, the wound was not
+mortal; and foreseeing that Bruin would now become the aggressor, the
+hunter began rapidly to reload, at the same time retreating with his
+companions, who in their excitement had forgotten to recharge their
+pieces. On reaching level ground, Bruin rose, shook himself, gave a
+yell of anger on beholding his enemies, and rushed at them.
+
+It was a fine sight to behold the bearing of Jacques at this critical
+juncture. Accustomed to bear-hunting from his youth, and utterly
+indifferent to consequences when danger became imminent, he saw at a
+glance the probabilities of the case. He knew exactly how long it
+would take him to load his gun, and regulated his pace so as not to
+interfere with that operation. His features wore their usual calm
+expression. Every motion of his hands was quick and sudden, yet not
+hurried, but performed in a way that led the beholder irresistibly to
+imagine that he would have done it even more rapidly if necessary. On
+reaching a ledge of rock that overhung the lake a few feet he paused
+and wheeled about; click went the dog-head, just as the bear rose to
+grapple with him; another moment, and a bullet passed through the
+brute's heart, while the bold hunter sprang lightly on one side, to
+avoid the dash of the falling animal. As he did so, young Hamilton,
+who had stood a little behind him with an uplifted axe, ready to
+finish the work should Jacques's fire prove ineffective, received
+Bruin in his arms, and tumbled along with him over the rock, headlong
+into the water, from which, however, he speedily arose unhurt,
+sputtering and coughing, and dragging the dead bear to the shore.
+
+"Well done, Hammy," shouted Harry, indulging in a prolonged peal of
+laughter when he ascertained that his friend's adventure had cost him
+nothing more than a ducking; "that was the most amicable, loving
+plunge I ever saw."
+
+"Better a cold bath in the arms of a dead bear than an embrace on dry
+land with a live one," retorted Hamilton, as he wrung the water out
+of his dripping garments.
+
+"Most true, O sagacious diver! But the sooner we get a fire made the
+better; so come along."
+
+While the two friends hastened up to the woods to kindle a fire,
+Jacques drew his hunting-knife, and, with doffed coat and upturned
+sleeves, was soon busily employed in divesting the bear of his
+natural garment. The carcass, being valueless in a country where game
+of a more palatable kind was plentiful, they left behind as a feast
+to the wolves. After this was accomplished and the clothes dried,
+they re-embarked, and resumed their journey, plying the paddles
+energetically in silence, as their adventure had occasioned a
+considerable loss of time.
+
+It was late, and the stars had looked down for a full hour into the
+profound depths of the now dark lake ere the party reached the ground
+at the other side of the point, on which Jacques had resolved to
+encamp. Being somewhat wearied, they spent but little time in
+discussing supper, and partook of that meal with a degree of energy
+that implied a sense of duty as well as of pleasure. Shortly after,
+they were buried in repose, under the scanty shelter of their canoe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+An unexpected meeting, and an unexpected deer-hunt--Arrival at the
+outpost--Disagreement with the natives--An enemy discovered, and a
+murder.
+
+
+Next morning they rose with the sun, and therefore also with the
+birds and beasts.
+
+A wide traverse of the lake now lay before them. This they crossed in
+about two hours, during which time they paddled unremittingly, as the
+sky looked rather lowering, and they were well aware of the danger of
+being caught in a storm in such an egg-shell craft as an Indian
+canoe.
+
+"We'll put in here now, Mister Harry," exclaimed Jacques, as the
+canoe entered the mouth of one of these small rivulets which are
+called in Scotland _burns_, and in America _creeks_; "it's like that
+your appetite is sharpened after a spell like that. Keep her head a
+little more to the left--straight for the p'int--so. It's likely
+we'll get some fish here if we set the net."
+
+"I say, Jacques, is yon a cloud or a wreath of smoke above the trees
+in the creek?" inquired Harry, pointing with his paddle towards the
+object referred to.
+
+"It's smoke, master; I've seed it for some time, and mayhap we'll
+find some Injins there who can give us news of the traders at Stoney
+Creek."
+
+"And pray, how far do you think we may now be from that place?"
+inquired Harry.
+
+"Forty miles, more or less."
+
+As he spoke the canoe entered the shallow water of the creek, and
+began to ascend the current of the stream, which at its mouth was so
+sluggish as to be scarcely perceptible to the eye. Not so, however,
+to the arms. The light bark, which while floating on the lake had
+glided buoyantly forward as if it were itself consenting to the
+motion, had now become apparently imbued with a spirit of
+contradiction, bounding convulsively forward at each stroke of the
+paddles, and perceptibly losing speed at each interval. Directing
+their course towards a flat rock on the left bank of the stream, they
+ran the prow out of the water and leaped ashore. As they did so the
+unexpected figure of a man issued from the bushes, and sauntered
+towards the spot. Harry and Hamilton advanced to meet him, while
+Jacques remained to unload the canoe. The stranger was habited in the
+usual dress of a hunter, and carried a fowling piece over his right
+shoulder. In general appearance he looked like an Indian; but though
+the face was burned by exposure to a hue that nearly equalled the red
+skins of the natives, a strong dash of pink in it, and the mass of
+fair hair that encircled it, proved that as Harry paradoxically
+expressed it, its owner was a _white_ man. He was young, considerably
+above the middle height, and apparently athletic. His address and
+language on approaching the young men put the question of his being a
+_white_ man beyond a doubt.
+
+"Good-morning, gentlemen," he began. "I presume that you are the
+party we have been expecting for some time past to reinforce our
+staff at Stoney Creek. Is it not so?"
+
+To this query young Somerville, who stood in advance of his friend,
+made no reply, but stepping hastily forward, laid a hand on each of
+the stranger's shoulders, and gazed earnestly into his face,
+exclaiming as he did so,--
+
+"Do my eyes deceive me? Is Charley Kennedy before me--or his ghost?"
+
+"What! eh," exclaimed the individual thus addressed, returning
+Harry's gripe and stare with interest, "is it possible? no--it
+cannot--Harry Somerville, my old, dear, unexpected friend!"--and
+pouring out broken sentences, abrupt ejaculations, and incoherent
+questions, to which neither vouchsafed replies, the two friends gazed
+at and walked round each other, shook hands, partially embraced, and
+committed sundry other extravagances, utterly unconscious of or
+indifferent to the fact that Hamilton was gazing at them, open-
+mouthed, in a species of stupor, and that Jacques was standing by,
+regarding them with a look of mingled amusement and satisfaction. The
+discovery of this latter personage was a source of renewed delight
+and astonishment to Charley, who was so much upset by the commotion
+of his spirits, in consequence of this, so to speak, double shot,
+that he became rambling and incoherent in his speech during the
+remainder of that day, and gave vent to frequent and sudden bursts of
+smothered enthusiasm, in which it would appear, from the occasional
+muttering of the names of Redfeather and Jacques, that he not only
+felicitated himself on his own good fortune, but also anticipated
+renewed pleasure in witnessing the joyful meeting of these two
+worthies ere long. In fact, this meeting did take place on the
+following day, when Redfeather, returning from a successful hunt,
+with part of a deer on his shoulders, entered Charley's tent, in
+which the travellers had spent the previous day and night, and
+discovered the guide gravely discussing a venison steak before the
+fire.
+
+It would be vain to attempt a description of all that the reunited
+friends said and did during the first twenty-four hours after their
+meeting: how they talked of old times, as they lay extended round the
+fire inside of Charley's tent, and recounted their adventures by
+flood and field since they last met; how they sometimes diverged into
+questions of speculative philosophy (as conversations _will_ often
+diverge, whether we wish it or not), and broke short off to make
+sudden inquiries after old friends; how this naturally led them to
+talk of new friends and new scenes, until they began to forecast
+their eyes a little into the future; and how, on feeling that this
+was an uncongenial theme under present circumstances, they reverted
+again to the past, and by a peculiar train of conversation--to
+retrace which were utterly impossible--they invariably arrived at
+_old_ times again. Having in course of the evening pretty well
+exhausted their powers, both mental and physical, they went to sleep
+on it, and resumed the colloquial _melange_ in the morning.
+
+"And now tell me, Charley, what you are doing in this uninhabited
+part of the world, so far from Stoney Creek," said Harry Somerville,
+as they assembled round the fire to breakfast.
+
+"That is soon explained," replied Charley. "My good friend and
+superior, Mr. Whyte, having got himself comfortably housed at Stoney
+Creek, thought it advisable to establish a sort of half outpost, half
+fishing-station about twenty miles below the new fort, and believing
+(very justly) that my talents lay a good deal in the way of fishing
+and shooting, sent me to superintend it during the summer months. I
+am, therefore, at present monarch of that notable establishment,
+which is not yet dignified with a name. Hearing that there were
+plenty of deer about twenty miles below my palace, I resolved the
+other day to gratify my love of sport, and at the same time procure
+some venison for Stoney Creek; accordingly, I took Redfeather with
+me, and--here I am."
+
+"Very good," said Harry; "and can you give us the least idea of what
+they are going to do with my friend Hamilton and me when they get
+us?"
+
+"Can't say. One of you, at any rate, will be kept at the creek, to
+assist Mr. Whyte; the other may, perhaps, be appointed to relieve me
+at the fishing for a time, while _I_ am sent off to push the trade in
+other quarters. But I'm only guessing. I don't know anything
+definitely, for Mr. Whyte is by no means communicative."
+
+"An' please, master," put in Jacques, "when do you mean to let us off
+from this place? I guess the bourgeois won't be over pleased if we
+waste time here."
+
+"We'll start this forenoon, Jacques. I and Redfeather shall go along
+with you, as I intended to take a run up to the creek about this time
+at any rate.--Have you the skins and dried meat packed, Redfeather?"
+
+To this the Indian replied in the affirmative, and the others having
+finished breakfast, the whole party rose to prepare for departure,
+and set about loading their canoes forthwith. An hour later they were
+again cleaving the waters of the lake, with this difference in
+arrangement, that Jacques was transferred to Redfeather's canoe,
+while Charley Kennedy took his place in the stern of that occupied by
+Harry and Hamilton.
+
+The establishment of which our friend Charley pronounced himself
+absolute monarch, and at which they arrived in the course of the same
+afternoon, consisted of two small log houses or huts, constructed in
+the rudest fashion, and without any attempt whatever at architectural
+embellishment. It was pleasantly situated on a small bay, whose
+northern extremity was sheltered from the arctic blast by a gentle
+rising ground clothed with wood. A miscellaneous collection of
+fishing apparatus lay scattered about in front of the buildings, and
+two men and an Indian woman were the inhabitants of the place; the
+king himself, when present, and his prime minister, Redfeather, being
+the remainder of the population.
+
+"Pleasant little kingdom that of yours, Charley," remarked Harry
+Somerville, as they passed the station.
+
+"Very," was the laconic reply.
+
+They had scarcely passed the place above a mile, when a canoe,
+containing a solitary Indian, was observed to shoot out from the
+shore and paddle hastily towards them. From this man they learned
+that a herd of deer was passing down towards the lake, and would be
+on its banks in a few minutes. He had been waiting their arrival when
+the canoes came in sight, and induced him to hurry out so as to give
+them warning. Having no time to lose, the whole party now paddled
+swiftly for the shore, and reached it just a few minutes before the
+branching antlers of the deer came in sight above the low bushes that
+skirted the wood. Harry Somerville embarked in the bow of the strange
+Indian's canoe, so as to lighten the other and enable all parties to
+have a fair chance. After snuffing the breeze for a few seconds, the
+foremost animal took the water, and commenced swimming towards the
+opposite shore of the lake, which at this particular spot was narrow.
+It was followed by seven others. After sufficient time was permitted
+to elapse to render their being cut off, in an attempt to return,
+quite certain, the three canoes darted from the shelter of the
+overhanging bushes, and sprang lightly over the water in pursuit.
+
+"Don't hurry, and strike sure," cried Jacques to his young friends,
+as they came up with the terrified deer that now swam for their
+lives.
+
+"Ay, ay," was the reply.
+
+In another moment they shot in among the struggling group. Harry
+Somerville stood up, and seizing the Indian's spear, prepared to
+strike, while his companions directed their course towards others of
+the herd. A few seconds sufficed to bring him up with it. Leaning
+backwards a little, so as to give additional force to the blow, he
+struck the spear deep into the animal's back. With a convulsive
+struggle, it ceased to swim, its head slowly sank, and in another
+second it lay dead upon the water. "Without waiting a moment, the
+Indian immediately directed the canoe towards another deer; while the
+remainder of the party, now considerably separated from each other,
+despatched the whole herd by means of axes and knives.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Jacques, as they towed their booty to the shore,
+"that's a good stock o' meat, Mister Charles. It will help to furnish
+the larder for the winter pretty well."
+
+"It was much wanted, Jacques: we've a good many mouths to feed,
+besides _treating_ the Indians now and then. And this fellow, I
+think, will claim the most of our hunt as his own. We should not have
+got the deer but for him."
+
+"True, true, Mister Charles. They belong to the red-skin by rights,
+that's sartin."
+
+After this exploit, another night was passed under the trees; and at
+noon on the day following they ran their canoe alongside the wooden
+wharf at Stoney Creek.
+
+"Good-day to you, gentlemen," said Mr. Whyte to Harry and Hamilton as
+they landed; "I've been looking out for you these two weeks past.
+Glad you've come at last, however. Plenty to do, and no time to lose.
+You have despatches, of course. Ah! that's right." (Harry drew a
+sealed packet from his bosom and presented it with a bow), "that's
+right. I must peruse these at once.--Mr. Kennedy, you will show these
+gentlemen their quarters. We dine in half-an-hour." So saying, Mr.
+Whyte thrust the packet into his pocket, and without further remark
+strode towards his dwelling; while Charley, as instructed, led his
+friends to their new residence--not forgetting, however, to charge
+Redfeather to see to the comfortable lodgment of Jacques Caradoc.
+
+"Now it strikes me," remarked Harry, as he sat down on the edge of
+Charley's bed and thrust his hands doggedly down into his pockets,
+while Hamilton tucked up his sleeves and assaulted a washhand-basin
+which stood on an unpainted wooden chair in a corner--"it strikes me
+that if _that's_ his usual style of behaviour, old Whyte is a
+pleasure that we didn't anticipate."
+
+"Don't judge from first impressions; they're often deceptive,"
+spluttered Hamilton, pausing in his ablutions to look at his friend
+through a mass of soap-suds--an act which afterwards caused him a
+good deal of pain and a copious flow of unbidden tears.
+
+"Right," exclaimed Charley, with an approving nod to Hamilton.--"You
+must not judge him prematurely, Harry. He's a good-hearted fellow at
+bottom; and if he once takes a liking for you, he'll go through fire
+and water to serve you, as I know from experience."
+
+"Which means to say _three_ things," replied the implacable Harry:
+"first, that for all his good-heartedness _at bottom,_ he never shows
+any of it _at top,_ and is therefore like unto truth, which is said
+to lie at the bottom of a well--so deep, in fact, that it is never
+got out, and so is of use to nobody; secondly, that he is possessed
+of that amount of affection which is common to all mankind (to a
+great extent even to brutes), which prompts a man to be reasonably
+attentive to his friends; and thirdly, that you, Master Kennedy,
+enjoy the peculiar privilege of being the friend of a two-legged
+polar bear!"
+
+"Were I not certain that you jest," retorted Kennedy, "I would compel
+you to apologize to me for insulting my friend, you rascal! But see,
+here's the cook coming to tell us that dinner waits. If you don't
+wish to see the teeth of the polar bear^ I'd advise you to be smart."
+
+Thus admonished, Harry sprang up, plunged his hands and face in the
+basin and dried them, broke Charley's comb in attempting to pass it
+hastily through his hair, used his fingers savagely as a substitute,
+and overtook his companions just as they entered the mess-room.
+
+The establishment of Stoney Creek was comprised within two acres of
+ground. It consisted of eight or nine houses--three of which,
+however, alone met the eye on approaching by the lake. The "great"
+house, as it was termed, on account of its relative proportion to the
+other buildings, was a small edifice, built substantially but roughly
+of unsquared logs, partially whitewashed, roofed with shingles, and
+boasting six small windows in front, with a large door between them.
+On its east side, and at right angles to it, was a similar edifice,
+but smaller, having two doors instead of one, and four windows
+instead of six. This was the trading-shop and provision-store.
+Opposite to this was a twin building which contained the furs and a
+variety of miscellaneous stores. Thus were formed three sides of a
+square, from the centre of which rose a tall flagstaff. The buildings
+behind those just described were smaller and insignificant--the
+principal one being the house appropriated to the men; the others
+were mere sheds and workshops. Luxuriant forests ascended the slopes
+that rose behind and encircled this oasis on all sides, excepting in
+front, where the clear waters of the lake sparkled like a blue
+mirror.
+
+On the margin of this lake the new arrivals, left to enjoy themselves
+as they best might for a day or two, sauntered about and chatted to
+their heart's content of things past, present, and future.
+
+During these wanderings, Harry confessed that his opinion of Mr.
+Whyte had somewhat changed; that he believed a good deal of the first
+bad impressions was attributable to his cool, not to say impolite,
+reception of them; and that he thought things would go on much better
+with the Indians if he would only try to let some of his good
+qualities be seen through his exterior.
+
+An expression of sadness passed over Charley's face as his friend
+said this.
+
+"You are right in the last particular," he said, with a sigh. "Mr.
+Whyte is so rough and overbearing that the Indians are beginning to
+dislike him. Some of the more clear-sighted among them see that a
+good deal of this lies in mere manner, and have penetration enough to
+observe that in all his dealings with them he is straightforward and
+liberal; but there are a set of them who either don't see this, or
+are so indignant at the rough speeches he often makes, and the rough
+treatment he sometimes threatens, that they won't forgive him, but
+seem to be nursing their wrath. I sometimes wish he was sent to a
+district where the Indians and traders are, from habitual
+intercourse, more accustomed to each other's ways, and so less likely
+to quarrel."
+
+"Have the Indians, then, used any open threats?" asked Harry.
+
+"No, not exactly; but through an old man of the tribe, who is well
+affected towards us, I have learned that there is a party among them
+who seem bent on mischief."
+
+"Then we may expect a row some day or other. That's pleasant!--What
+think you, Hammy?" said Harry, turning to his friend.
+
+"I think that it would be anything but pleasant," he replied; "and I
+sincerely hope that we shall not have occasion for a row."
+
+"You're not afraid of a fight, are you, Hamilton?" asked Charley.
+
+The peculiarly bland smile with which Hamilton usually received any
+remark that savoured of banter overspread his features as Charley
+spoke, but he merely replied--
+
+"No, Charley, I'm not afraid."
+
+"Do you know any of the Indians who are so anxious to vent their
+spleen on our worthy bourgeois?" asked Harry, as he seated himself on
+a rocky eminence commanding a view of the richly-wooded slopes,
+dotted with huge masses of rock that had fallen from the beetling
+cliffs behind the creek.
+
+"Yes, I do," replied Charley; "and, by the way, one of them--the
+ringleader--is a man with whom you are acquainted, at least by name.
+You've heard of an Indian called Misconna?"
+
+"What!" exclaimed Harry, with a look of surprise; "you don't mean the
+blackguard mentioned by Redfeather, long ago, when he told us his
+story on the shores of Lake Winnipeg--the man who killed poor
+Jacques's young wife?"
+
+"The same," replied Charley.
+
+"And does Jacques know he is here?"
+
+"He does; but Jacques is a strange, unaccountable mortal. You
+remember that in the struggle described by Redfeather, the trapper
+and Misconna had neither of them seen each other, Redfeather having
+felled the latter before the former reached the scene of action--a
+scene which, he has since told me, he witnessed at a distance, while
+rushing to the rescue of his wife-so that Misconna is utterly
+ignorant of the fact that the husband of his victim is now so near
+him; indeed, he does not know that she had a husband at all. On the
+other hand, although Jacques is aware that his bitterest enemy is
+within rifle-range of him at this moment, he does not know him by
+sight; and this morning he came to me, begging that I would send
+Misconna on some expedition or other, just to keep him out of his
+way."
+
+"And do you intend to do so?"
+
+"I shall do my best," replied Charley; "but I cannot get him out of
+the way till to-morrow, as there is to be a gathering of Indians in
+the hall this very day, to have a palaver with Mr. Whyte about their
+grievances, and Misconna wouldn't miss that for a trifle. But Jacques
+won't be likely to recognise him among so many; and if he does, I
+rely with confidence on his powers of restraint and forbearance. By
+the way," he continued, glancing upwards, "it is past noon, and the
+Indians will have begun to assemble, so we had better hasten back, as
+we shall be expected to help in keeping order."
+
+So saying, he rose, and the young men returned to the fort. On
+reaching it they found the hall crowded with natives, who sat cross-
+legged around the walls, or stood in groups conversing in low tones,
+and to judge from the expression of their dark eyes and lowering
+brows, they were in extremely bad humour. They became silent and more
+respectful, however, in their demeanour when the young men entered
+the apartment and walked up to the fireplace, in which a small fire
+of wood burned on the hearth, more as a convenient means of
+rekindling the pipes of the Indians when they went out than as a
+means of heating the place. Jacques and Redfeather stood leaning
+against the wall near to it, engaged in a whispered conversation.
+Glancing round as he entered, Charley observed Misconna sitting a
+little apart by himself, and apparently buried in deep thought. He
+had scarcely perceived him, and nodded to several of his particular
+friends among the crowd, when a side-door opened, and Mr. Whyte, with
+an angry expression on his countenance, strode up to the fireplace,
+planted himself before it, with his legs apart and his hands behind
+him, while he silently surveyed the group.
+
+"So," he began, "you have asked to speak with me; well, here I am.
+What have you to say?"
+
+Mr. Whyte addressed the Indians in their native tongue, having,
+during a long residence in the country, learned to speak it as
+fluently as English.
+
+For some moments there was silence. Then an old chief--the same who
+had officiated at the feast described in a former chapter--rose, and
+standing forth into the middle of the room, made a long and grave
+oration, in which, besides a great deal that was bombastic, much that
+was irrelevant, and more that was utterly fabulous and nonsensical,
+he recounted the sorrows of himself and his tribe, concluding with a
+request that the great chief would take these things into
+consideration--the principal _"things"_ being that they did not get
+anything in the shape of gratuities, while it was notorious that the
+Indians in other districts did, and that they did not get enough of
+goods in advance, on credit of their future hunts.
+
+Mr. Whyte heard the old man to the end in silence: then, without
+altering his position, he looked round on the assembly with a frown,
+and said, "Now listen to me; I am a man of few words. I have told you
+over and over again, and I now repeat it, that you shall get no
+gratuities until you prove yourselves worthy of them. I shall not
+increase your advances by so much as half an inch of tobacco till
+your last year's debts are scored off, and you begin to show more
+activity in hunting and less disposition to grumble. Hitherto you
+have not brought in anything like the quantity of furs that the
+capabilities of the country led me to expect. You are lazy. Until you
+become better hunters you shall have no redress from me."
+
+As he finished, Mr. Whyte made a step towards the door by which he
+had entered, but was arrested by another chief, who requested to be
+heard. Resuming his place and attitude, Mr. Whyte listened with an
+expression of dogged determination, while guttural grunts of
+unequivocal dissatisfaction issued from the throats of several of the
+malcontents. The Indian proceeded to repeat a few of the remarks made
+by his predecessor, but more concisely, and wound up by explaining
+that the failure in the hunts of the previous year was owing to the
+will of the Great Manito, and not by any means on account of the
+supposed laziness of himself or his tribe.
+
+"That is false," said Mr. Whyte; "you know it is not true."
+
+As this was said, a murmur of anger ran round the apartment, which
+was interrupted by Misconna, who, apparently unable to restrain his
+passion, sprang into the middle of the room, and confronting Mr.
+Whyte, made a short and pithy speech, accompanied by violent
+gesticulation, in which he insinuated that if redress was not granted
+the white men would bitterly repent it.
+
+During his speech the Indians had risen to their feet and drawn
+closer together, while Jacques and the three young men drew near
+their superior. Redfeather remained apart, motionless, and with his
+eyes fixed on the ground.
+
+"And, pray, what dog--what miserable thieving cur are you, who dare
+to address me thus?" cried Mr. Whyte, as he strode, with flashing
+eyes, up to the enraged Indian.
+
+Misconna clinched his teeth, and his fingers worked convulsively
+about the handle of his knife, as he exclaimed, "I am no dog. The
+pale-faces are dogs. I am a great chief. My name is known among the
+braves of my tribe. It is Misconna--"
+
+As the name fell from his lips, Mr. Wiryte and Charley were suddenly
+dashed aside, and Jacques sprang towards the Indian, his face livid,
+his eyeballs almost bursting from their sockets, and his muscles
+rigid with passion. For an instant he regarded the savage intently as
+he shrank appalled before him; then his colossal fist fell like
+lightning, with the weight of a sledge-hammer, on Misconna's
+forehead, and drove him against the outer door, which, giving way
+before the violent shock, burst from its fastenings and hinges, and
+fell, along with the savage, with a loud crash to the ground.
+
+For an instant everyone stood aghast at this precipitate termination
+to the discussion, and then, springing forward in a body, with drawn
+knives, the Indians rushed upon the white men, who in a close
+phalanx, with such weapons as came first to hand, stood to receive
+them. At this moment Redfeather stepped forward unarmed between the
+belligerents, and, turning to the Indians, said--
+
+"Listen: Redfeather does not take the part of his white friends
+against his comrades. You know that he never failed you in the war-
+path, and he would not fail you now if your cause were just. But the
+eyes of his comrades are shut. Redfeather knows what they do not
+know. The white hunter" (pointing to Jacques) "is a friend of
+Redfeather. He is a friend of the Knisteneux. He did not strike
+because you disputed with his bourgeois; he struck because Misconna
+_is his mortal foe_. But the story is long. Redfeather will tell it
+at the council fire."
+
+"He is right," exclaimed Jacques, who had recovered his usual grave
+expression of countenance; "Redfeather is right. I bear you no ill-
+will, Injins, and I shall explain the thing myself at your council
+fire."
+
+As Jacques spoke the Indians sheathed their knives, and stood with
+frowning brows, as if uncertain what to do. The unexpected
+interference of their comrade-in-arms, coupled with his address and
+that of Jacques, had excited their curiosity. Perhaps the undaunted
+deportment of their opponents, who stood ready for the encounter with
+a look of stern determination, contributed a little to allay their
+resentment.
+
+While the two parties stood thus confronting each other, as if
+uncertain how to act, a loud report was heard just outside the
+doorway. In another moment Mr. Whyte fell heavily to the ground, shot
+through the heart.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+The chase--The fight--Retribution--Low spirits and good news.
+
+
+The tragical end of the consultation related in the last chapter had
+the effect of immediately reconciling the disputants. With the
+exception of four or five of the most depraved and discontented among
+them, the Indians bore no particular ill-will to the unfortunate
+principal of Stoney Creek; and although a good deal disappointed to
+find that he was a stern, unyielding trader, they had, in reality, no
+intention of coming to a serious rupture with him, much less of
+laying violent hands either upon master or men of the establishment.
+
+When, therefore, they beheld Mr. Whyte weltering in his blood at
+their feet, a sacrifice to the ungovernable passion of Misconna, who
+was by no means a favourite among his brethren, their temporary anger
+was instantly dissipated, and a feeling of deepest indignation roused
+in their bosoms against the miserable assassin who had perpetrated
+the base and cowardly murder. It was, therefore, with a yell of rage
+that several of the band, immediately after the victim fell, sprang
+into the woods in hot pursuit of him, whom they now counted their
+enemy. They were joined by several men belonging to the fort, who had
+hastened to the scene of action on hearing that the people in the
+hall were likely to come to blows. Redfeather was the first who had
+bounded like a deer into the woods in pursuit of the fugitive. Those
+who remained assisted Charley and his friends to convey the body of
+Mr. Whyte into an adjoining room, where they placed him on a bed. He
+was quite dead, the murderer's aim having been terribly true.
+
+Finding that he was past all human aid, the young men returned to the
+hall, which they entered just as Redfeather glided quickly through
+the open doorway, and, approaching the group, stood in silence beside
+them, with his arms folded on his breast.
+
+"You have something to tell, Redfeather," said Jacques, in a subdued
+tone, after regarding him a few seconds. "Is the scoundrel caught?"
+
+"Misconna's foot is swift," replied the Indian, "and the wood is
+thick. It is wasting time to follow him through the bushes."
+
+"What would you advise then?" exclaimed Charley, in a hurried voice.
+"I see that you have some plan to propose."
+
+"The wood is thick," answered Redfeather, "but the lake and the river
+are open. Let one party go by the lake, and one party by the river."
+
+"That's it, that's it, Injin," interrupted Jacques, energetically;
+"your wits are always jumpin'. By crosin' over to Duck River, we can
+start at a point five or six miles above the lower fall, an' as it's
+thereabouts he must cross, we'll be time enough to catch him. If he
+tries the lake, the other party'll fix him there; and he'll be soon
+poked up if he tries to hide in the bush."
+
+"Come, then; we'll all give chase at once," cried Charley, feeling a
+temporary relief in the prospect of energetic action from the
+depressing effects of the calamity that had so suddenly befallen him
+in the loss of his chief and friend.
+
+Little time was needed for preparation. Jacques, Charley, and Harry
+proceeded by the river; while Redfeather and Hamilton, with a couple
+of men, launched their canoe on the lake and set off in pursuit.
+
+Crossing the country for about a mile, Jacques led his party to the
+point on the Duck River to which he had previously referred. Here
+they found two canoes, into one of which the guide stepped with one
+of the men, a Canadian, who had accompanied them, while Harry and
+Charley embarked in the other. In a few minutes they were rapidly
+descending the stream.
+
+"How do you mean to act, Jacques?" inquired Charley, as he paddled
+alongside of the guide's canoe. "Is it not likely that Misconna may
+have crossed the river already? in which case we shall have no chance
+of catching him."
+
+"Niver fear," returned Jacques. "He must have longer legs than most
+men if he gets to the flat-rock fall before us, an' as that's the
+spot where he'll nat'rally cross the river, being the only straight
+line for the hills that escapes the bend o' the bay to the south o'
+Stoney Creek, we're pretty sartin to stop him there."
+
+"True; but that being, as you say, the _natural_ route, don't you
+think it likely he'll expect that it will be guarded, and avoid it
+accordingly?"
+
+"He _would_ do so, Mister Charles, if he thought we were _here_; but
+there are two reasons agin this. He thinks that he's got the start o'
+us, an' won't need to double by way o' deceivin' us; and then he
+knows that the whole tribe is after him, and consekintly won't take a
+long road when there's a short one, if he can help it. But here's the
+rock. Look out, Mister Charles. We'll have to run the fall, which
+isn't very big just now, and then hide in the bushes at the foot of
+it till the blackguard shows himself. Keep well to the right an'
+don't mind the big rock; the rush o' water takes you clear o' that
+without trouble."
+
+With this concluding piece of advice, he pointed to the fall, which
+plunged over a ledge of rock about half-a-mile ahead of them, and
+which was distinguishable by a small column of white spray that rose
+out of it. As Charley beheld it his spirits rose, and forgetting for
+a moment the circumstances that called him there, he cried out--
+
+"I'll run it before you, Jacques. Hurrah! Give way, Harry!" and in
+spite of a remonstrance from the guide, he shot the canoe ahead, gave
+vent to another reckless shout, and flew, rather than glided, down
+the stream. On seeing this, the guide held back, so as to give him
+sufficient time to take the plunge ere he followed. A few strokes
+brought Charley's canoe to the brink of the fall, and Harry was just
+in the act of raising himself in the bow to observe the position of
+the rocks, when a shout was heard on the bank close beside them.
+Looking up they beheld an Indian emerge from the forest, fit an arrow
+to his bow, and discharge it at them. The winged messenger was truly
+aimed; it whizzed through the air and transfixed Harry Somerville's
+left shoulder just at the moment they swept over the fall. The arrow
+completely incapacitated Harry from using his arm, so that the canoe,
+instead of being directed into the broad current, took a sudden turn,
+dashed in among a mass of broken rocks, between which the water
+foamed with violence, and upset. Here the canoe stuck fast, while its
+owners stood up to their waists in the water, struggling to set it
+free--an object which they were the more anxious to accomplish that
+its stern lay directly in the spot where Jacques would infallibly
+descend. The next instant their fears were realised. The second canoe
+glided over the cataract, dashed violently against the first, and
+upset, leaving Jacques and his man in a similar predicament. By their
+aid, however, the canoes were more easily righted, and embarking
+quickly they shot forth again, just as the Indian, who had been
+obliged to make a detour in order to get within range of their
+position, reappeared on the banks above, and sent another shaft after
+them--fortunately, however, without effect.
+
+"This is unfortunate," muttered Jacques, as the party landed and
+endeavoured to wring some of the water from their dripping clothes;
+"an' the worst of it is that our guns are useless after sich a
+duckin', an' the varmint knows that, an' will be down on us in a
+twinklin'."
+
+"But we are four to one," exclaimed Harry. "Surely we don't need to
+fear much from a single enemy."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the guide, as he examined the lock of his gun.
+"You've had little to do with Injins, that's plain, You may be sure
+he's not alone, an' the reptile has a bow with arrows enough to send
+us all on a pretty long journey. But we've the trees to dodge behind.
+If I only had _one_ dry charge!" and the disconcerted guide gave a
+look, half of perplexity, half of contempt, at the dripping gun.
+
+"Never mind," cried Charley; "we have our paddles. But I forgot,
+Harry, in all this confusion, that you are wounded, my poor fellow.
+We must have it examined before doing anything further."
+
+"Oh, it's nothing at all--a mere scratch, I think; at least I feel
+very little pain."
+
+As he spoke the twang of a bow was heard, and an arrow flew past
+Jacques's ear.
+
+"Ah, so soon!" exclaimed that worthy, with a look of surprise, as if
+he had unexpectedly met with an old friend. Stepping behind a tree,
+he motioned to his friends to do likewise; an example which they
+followed somewhat hastily on beholding the Indian who had wounded
+Harry step from the cover of the underwood and deliberately let fly
+another arrow, which passed through the hair of the Canadian they had
+brought with them.
+
+From the several trees behind which they had leaped for shelter they
+now perceived that the Indian with the bow was Misconna, and that he
+was accompanied by eight others, who appeared, however, to be totally
+unarmed; having, probably, been obliged to leave their weapons behind
+them, owing to the abruptness of their flight. Seeing that the white
+men were unable to use their guns, the Indians assembled in a group,
+and from the hasty and violent gesticulations of some of the party,
+especially of Misconna, it was evident that a speedy attack was
+intended.
+
+Observing this, Jacques coolly left the shelter of his tree, and
+going up to Charley, exclaimed, "Now, Mister Charles, I'm goin' to
+run away, so you'd better come along with me."
+
+"That I certainly will not. Why, what do you mean?" inquired the
+other, in astonishment.
+
+"I mean that these stupid red-skins can't make up their minds what to
+do, an' as I've no notion o' stoppin' here all day, I want to make
+them do what will suit us best. You see, if they scatter through the
+wood and attack us on all sides, they may give us a deal o' trouble,
+and git away after all; whereas, if we _run away_, they'll bolt after
+us in a body, and then we can take them in hand all at once, which'll
+be more comfortable-like, an' easier to manage."
+
+As Jacques spoke they were joined by Harry and the Canadian; and
+being observed by the Indians thus grouped together, another arrow
+was sent among them.
+
+"Now, follow me," said Jacques, turning round with a loud howl and
+running away. He was closely followed by the others. As the guide had
+predicted, the Indians no sooner observed this than they rushed after
+them in a body, uttering horrible yells.
+
+"Now, then; stop here; down with you."
+
+Jacques instantly crouched behind a bush, while each of the party did
+the same. In a moment the savages came shouting up, supposing the
+white men were still running on in advance. As the foremost, a tall,
+muscular fellow, with the agility of a panther, bounded over the bush
+behind which Jacques was concealed, he was met with a blow from the
+guide's fist, so powerfully delivered into the pit of his stomach
+that it sent him violently back into the bush, where he lay
+insensible. This event, of course, put a check upon the headlong
+pursuit of the others, who suddenly paused, like a group of
+infuriated tigers unexpectedly baulked of their prey. The hesitation,
+however, was but for a moment. Misconna, who was in advance, suddenly
+drew his bow again, and let fly an arrow at Jacques, which the latter
+dexterously avoided; and while his antagonist lowered his eyes for an
+instant to fit another arrow to the string, the guide, making use of
+his paddle as a sort of javelin, threw it with such force and
+precision that it struck Misconna directly between the eyes and
+felled him to the earth, In another instant the two parties rushed
+upon each other, and a general _melee_ ensued, in which the white
+men, being greatly superior to their adversaries in the use of their
+fists, soon proved themselves more than a match for them all although
+inferior in numbers. Charley's first antagonist, making an abortive
+attempt to grapple with him, received two rapid blows, one on the
+chest and the other on the nose, which knocked him over the bank into
+the river, while his conqueror sprang upon another Indian. Harry,
+having unfortunately selected the biggest savage of the band as his
+special property, rushed upon him and dealt him a vigorous blow on
+the head with his paddle.
+
+The weapon, however, was made of light wood, and, instead of felling
+him to the ground, broke into shivers. Springing upon each other they
+immediately engaged in a fierce struggle, in which poor Harry
+learned, when too late, that his wounded shoulder was almost
+powerless. Meanwhile, the Canadian having been assaulted by three
+Indians at once, floored one at the outset, and immediately began an
+impromptu war-dance round the other two, dealing them occasionally a
+kick or a blow, which would speedily have rendered them _hors de
+combat_, had they not succeeded in closing upon him, when all three
+fell heavily to the ground. Jacques and Charley having succeeded in
+overcoming their respective opponents, immediately hastened to his
+rescue. In the meantime, Harry and his foe had struggled to a
+considerable distance from the others, gradually edging towards the
+river's bank. Feeling faint from his wound, the former at length sank
+under the weight of his powerful antagonist, who endeavoured to
+thrust him over a kind of cliff which they had approached. He was on
+the point of accomplishing his purpose, when Charley and his friends
+perceived Harry's imminent danger, and rushed to the rescue. Quickly
+though they ran, however, it seemed likely that they would be too
+late. Harry's head already overhung the bank, and the Indian was
+endeavouring to loosen the gripe of the young man's hand from his
+throat, preparatory to tossing him over, when a wild cry rang through
+the forest, followed by the reports of a double-barrelled gun, fired
+in quick succession. Immediately after, young Hamilton bounded like a
+deer down the slope, seized the Indian by the legs, and tossed him
+over the cliff, where he turned a complete somersault in his descent,
+and fell with a sounding splash into the water.
+
+"Well done, cleverly done, lad!" cried Jacques, as he and the rest of
+the party came up and crowded round Harry, who lay in a state of
+partial stupor on the bank.
+
+At this moment Redfeather hastily but silently approached; his broad
+chest was heaving heavily, and his expanded nostrils quivering with
+the exertions he had made to reach the scene of action in time to
+succour his friends.
+
+"Thank God!" said Hamilton softly, as he kneeled beside Harry and
+supported his head, while Charley bathed his temples--"thank God that
+I have been in time! Fortunately I was walking by the river
+considerably in advance of Redfeather, who was bringing up the canoe,
+when I heard the sounds of the fray, and hastened to your aid."
+
+At this moment Harry opened his eyes, and saying faintly that he felt
+better, allowed himself to be raised to a sitting posture, while his
+coat was removed and his wound examined. It was found to be a deep
+flesh-wound in the shoulder, from which a fragment of the broken
+arrow still protruded.
+
+"It's a wonder to me, Mr. Harry, how ye held on to that big thief so
+long," muttered Jacques, as he drew out the splinter and bandaged up
+the shoulder. Having completed the surgical operation after a rough
+fashion, they collected the defeated Indians. Those of them that were
+able to walk were bound together by the wrists and marched off to the
+fort, under a guard which was strengthened by the arrival of several
+of the fur-traders, who had been in pursuit of the fugitives, and
+were attracted to the spot by the shouts of the combatants. Harry,
+and such of the party as were more or less severely injured, were
+placed in canoes and conveyed to Stoney Creek by the lake, into which
+Duck River runs at the distance of about half-a-mile from the spot on
+which the skirmish had taken place. Misconna was among the latter.
+
+On arriving at Stoney Creek, the canoe party found a large assemblage
+of the natives awaiting them on the wharf, and no sooner did Misconna
+land than they advanced to seize him.
+
+"Keep back, friends," cried Jacques, who perceived their intentions,
+and stepped hastily between them.--"Come here, lads," he continued,
+turning to his companions; "surround Misconna. He is _our_ prisoner,
+and must ha' fair justice done him, accordin' to white law."
+
+They fell back in silence on observing the guide's determined manner;
+but as they hurried the wretched culprit towards the house, one of
+the Indians pressed close upon their rear, and before anyone could
+prevent him, dashed his tomahawk into Misconna's brain. Seeing that
+the blow was mortal, the traders ceased to offer any further
+opposition; and the Indians rushing upon his body, bore it away amid
+shouts and yells of execration to their canoes, to one of which the
+body was fastened by a rope, and dragged through the water to point
+of land which jutted out into the lake near at hand. Here they
+lighted a fire and burned it to ashes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There seems to be a period in the history of every one when the fair
+aspect of this world is darkened--when everything, whether past,
+present, or future, assumes a hue of the deepest gloom; a period
+when, for the first time, the sun, which has shone in the mental
+firmament with more or less brilliancy from childhood upwards,
+entirely disappears behind a cloud of thick darkness, and leaves the
+soul in a state of deep melancholy; a time when feelings somewhat
+akin to despair pervade us, as we begin gradually to look upon the
+past as a bright, happy vision, out of which we have at last awakened
+to view the sad realities of the present, and look forward with
+sinking hope to the future. Various are the causes which produce
+this, and diverse the effects of it on differently constituted minds;
+but there are few, we apprehend, who have not passed through the
+cloud in one or other of its phases, and who do not feel that this
+_first_ period of prolonged sorrow is darker, and heavier, and worse
+to bear, than many of the more truly grievous afflictions that sooner
+or later fall to the lot of most men.
+
+Into a state of mind somewhat similar to that which we have
+endeavoured to describe, our friend Charley Kennedy fell immediately
+after the events just narrated. The sudden and awful death of his
+friend Mr. Whyte fell upon his young spirit, unaccustomed as he was
+to scenes of bloodshed and violence, with overwhelming power. From
+the depression, however, which naturally followed he would probably
+soon have rallied had not Harry Somerville's wound in the shoulder
+taken an unfavourable turn, and obliged him to remain for many weeks
+in bed, under the influence of a slow fever; so that Charley felt a
+desolation creeping over his soul that no effort he was capable of
+making could shake off. It is true he found both occupation and
+pleasure in attending upon his sick friend; but as Harry's illness
+rendered great quiet necessary, and as Hamilton had been sent to take
+charge of the fishing-station mentioned in a former chapter, Charley
+was obliged to indulge his gloomy reveries in silence. To add to his
+wretchedness he received a letter from Kate about a week after Mr.
+Whyte's burial, telling him of the death of his mother.
+
+Meanwhile, Redfeather and Jacques--both of whom at their young
+master's earnest solicitation, agreed to winter at Stoney Creek--
+cultivated each other's acquaintance sedulously. There were no books
+of any kind at the outpost, excepting three Bibles--one belonging to
+Charley, and one to Harry, the third being that which had been
+presented to Jacques by Mr. Conway the missionary. This single
+volume, however, proved to be an ample library to Jacques and his
+Indian friend. Neither of these sons of the forest was much
+accustomed to reading, and neither of them would have for a moment
+entertained the idea of taking to literature as a pastime; but
+Redfeather loved the Bible for the sake of the great truths which he
+discovered in its inspired pages, though much of what he read was to
+him mysterious and utterly incomprehensible. Jacques, on the other
+hand, read it, or listened to his friend, with that philosophic
+gravity of countenance and earnestness of purpose which he displayed
+in regard to everything; and deep, serious, and protracted were the
+discussions they entered into, as night after night they sat on a
+log, with the Bible spread out before them, and read by the light of
+the blazing fire in the men's house at Stoney Creek. Their
+intercourse, however, was brought to an abrupt conclusion by the
+unexpected arrival, one day, of Mr. Conway the missionary in his tin
+canoe. This gentleman's appearance was most welcome to all parties.
+It was like a bright ray of sunshine to Charley to meet with one who
+could fully sympathise with him in his present sorrowful frame of
+mind. It was an event of some consequence to Harry Somerville,
+inasmuch as it provided him with an amateur doctor who really
+understood somewhat of his physical complaint, and was able to pour
+balm, at once literally and spiritually, into his wounds. It was an
+event productive of the liveliest satisfaction to Redfeather, who now
+felt assured that his tribe would have those mysteries explained
+which he only imperfectly understood himself; and it was an event of
+much rejoicing to the Indians themselves, because their curiosity had
+been not a little roused by what they heard of the doings and sayings
+of the white missionary, who lived on the borders of the great lake.
+The only person, perhaps, on whom Mr. Conway's arrival acted with
+other than a pleasing influence was Jacques Caradoc. This worthy,
+although glad to meet with a man whom he felt inclined both to love
+and respect, was by no means gratified to find that his friend
+Redfeather had agreed to go with the missionary on his visit to the
+Indian tribe, and thereafter to accompany him to the settlement on
+Playgreen Lake. But with the stoicism that was natural to him,
+Jacques submitted to circumstances which he could not alter, and
+contented himself with assuring Redfeather that if he lived till next
+spring he would most certainly "make tracks for the great lake," and
+settle down at the missionary's station along with him. This promise
+was made at the end of the wharf of Stoney Creek the morning on which
+Mr. Conway and his party embarked in their tin canoe--the same tin
+canoe at which Jacques had curled his nose contemptuously when he saw
+it in process of being constructed, and at which he did not by any
+means curl it the less contemptuously now that he saw it finished.
+The little craft answered its purpose marvellously well, however, and
+bounded lightly away under the vigorous strokes of its crew, leaving
+Charley and Jacques on the pier gazing wistfully after their friends,
+and listening sadly to the echoes of their parting song as it floated
+more and more faintly over the lake.
+
+Winter came, but no ray of sunshine broke through the dark cloud that
+hung over Stoney Creek. Harry Somerville, instead of becoming better,
+grew worse and worse every day, so that when Charley despatched the
+winter packet, he represented the illness of his friend to the powers
+at headquarters as being of a nature that required serious and
+immediate attention and change of scene. But the word _immediate_
+bears a slightly different signification in the backwoods to what it
+does in the lands of railroads and steamboats. The letter containing
+this hint took many weeks to traverse the waste wilderness to its
+destination; months passed before the reply was written, and many
+weeks more elapsed ere its contents were perused by Charley and his
+friend. When they did read it, however, the dark cloud that had hung
+over them so long burst at last; a ray of sunshine streamed down
+brightly upon their hearts, and never forsook them again, although it
+did lose a little of its brilliancy after the first flash. It was on
+a rich, dewy, cheerful morning in early spring when the packet
+arrived, and Charley led Harry, who was slowly recovering his wonted
+health and spirits, to their favourite rocky resting-place on the
+margin of the lake. Here he placed the letter in his friend's hand
+with a smile of genuine delight. It ran as follows:--
+
+MY DEAR SIR,--Your letter containing the account of Mr. Somerville's
+illness has been forwarded to me, and I am instructed to inform you
+that leave of absence for a short time has been granted to him. I
+have had a conversation with the doctor here, who advises me to
+recommend that, if your friend has no other summer residence in view,
+he should spend part of his time in Red River settlement. In the
+event of his agreeing to this, I would suggest that he should leave
+Stoney Creek with the first brigade in spring, or by express canoe if
+you think it advisable.--I am, etc.
+
+"Short but sweet--uncommonly sweet!" said Harry, as a deep flush of
+joy crimsoned his pale cheeks, while his own merry smile, that had
+been absent for many a weary day, returned once more to its old
+haunt, and danced round its accustomed dimples like a repentant
+wanderer who has been long absent from and has at last returned to
+his native home.
+
+"Sweet indeed!" echoed Charley. "But that's not all; here's another
+lump of sugar for you." So saying, he pulled a letter from his
+pocket, unfolded it slowly, spread it out on his knee, and, looking
+up at his expectant friend, winked.
+
+"Go on, Charley; pray don't tantalize me."
+
+"Tantalize you! My dear fellow, nothing is farther from my thoughts.
+Listen to this paragraph in my dear old father's letter:--
+
+"'So you see, my dear Charley, that we have managed to get you
+appointed to the charge of Lower Fort Garry, and as I hear that poor
+Harry Somerville is to get leave of absence, you had better bring him
+along with you. I need not add that my house is at his service as
+long as he may wish to remain in it.'
+
+"There! what think ye of that, my boy?" said Charley, as he folded
+the letter and returned it to his pocket.
+
+"I think," replied Harry, "that your father is a dear old gentleman,
+and I hope that you'll only be half as good when you come to his time
+of life; and I think I'm so happy to-day that I'll be able to walk
+without the assistance of your arm to-morrow; and I think we had
+better go back to the house now, for I feel, oddly enough, as tired
+as if I had had a long walk. Ah, Charley, my dear fellow, that letter
+will prove to be the best doctor I have had yet. But now tell me what
+you intend to do."
+
+Charley assisted his friend to rise, and led him slowly back to the
+house, as he replied,--
+
+"Do, my boy? that's soon said. I'll make things square and straight
+at Stoney Creek. I'll send for Hamilton and make him interim
+commander-in-chief. I'll write two letters--one to the gentleman in
+charge of the district, telling him of my movements; the other
+(containing a screed of formal instructions) to the miserable mortal
+who shall succeed me here. I'll take the best canoe in our store,
+load it with provisions, put you carefully in the middle of it, stick
+Jacques in the bow and myself in the stern, and start, two weeks
+hence, neck and crop, head over heels, through thick and thin, wet
+and dry, over portage, river, fall, and lake, for Red River
+settlement!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+Old friends and scenes--Coming events cast their shadows before.
+
+
+Mr. Kennedy, senior, was seated in his own comfortable arm-chair
+before the fire, in his own cheerful little parlour, in his own snug
+house, at Red River, with his own highly characteristic breakfast of
+buffalo steaks, tea, and pemmican before him, and his own beautiful,
+affectionate daughter Kate presiding over the tea-pot, and exercising
+unwarrantably despotic sway over a large gray cat, whose sole
+happiness seemed to consist in subjecting Mr. Kennedy to perpetual
+annoyance, and whose main object in life was to catch its master and
+mistress off their guard, that it might go quietly to the table, the
+meat-safe, or the pantry, and there--deliberately--steal!
+
+Kate had grown very much since we saw her last. She was quite a woman
+now, and well worthy of a minute description here; but we never could
+describe a woman to our own satisfaction. We have frequently tried
+and failed; so we substitute, in place, the remarks of Kate's friends
+and acquaintances about her--a criterion on which to form a judgment
+that is a pretty correct one, especially when the opinion pronounced
+happens to be favourable. Her father said she was an angel, and the
+only joy of his life. This latter expression, we may remark, was
+false; for Mr. Kennedy frequently said to Kate, confidentially, that
+Charley was a great happiness to him; and we are quite sure that the
+pipe had something to do with the felicity of his existence. But the
+old gentleman said that Kate was the _only_ joy of his life, and that
+is all we have to do with at present. Several ill-tempered old ladies
+in the settlement said that Miss Kennedy was really a quiet, modest
+girl--testimony this (considering the source whence it came) that was
+quite conclusive. Then old Mr. Grant remarked to old Mr. Kennedy,
+over a confidential pipe, that Kate was certainly, in his opinion,
+the most modest and the prettiest girl in Red River. Her old school
+companions called her a darling. Tom Whyte said "he never seed
+nothink like her nowhere." The clerks spoke of her in terms too
+glowing to remember; and the last arrival among them, the youngest,
+with the slang of the "old country" fresh on his lips, called her a
+_stunner!_ Even Mrs. Grant got up one of her half-expressed remarks
+about her, which everybody would have supposed to be quizzical in its
+nature, were it not for the frequent occurrence of the terms "good
+girl," "innocent creature," which seemed to contradict that idea.
+There were also one or two hapless swains who said nothings, but what
+they _did_ and _looked_ was in itself unequivocal. They went quietly
+into a state of slow, drivelling imbecility whenever they happened to
+meet with Kate; looked as if they had become shockingly unwell, and
+were rather pleased than otherwise that their friends should think so
+too; and upon all and every occasion in which Kate was concerned,
+conducted themselves with an amount of insane stupidity (although
+sane enough at other times) that nothing could account for, save the
+idea that their admiration of her was inexpressible, and that _that_
+was the most effective way in which they could express it.
+
+"Kate, my darling," said Mr. Kennedy, as he finished the last
+mouthful of tea, "wouldn't it be capital to get another letter from
+Charley?"
+
+"Yes, dear papa, it would indeed. But I am quite sure that the next
+time we shall hear from him will be when he arrives here, and makes
+the house ring with his own dear voice."
+
+"How so, girl?" said the old trader with a smile. It may as well be
+remarked here that the above opening of conversation was by no means
+new; it was stereotyped now. Ever since Charley had been appointed to
+the management of Lower Fort Garry, his father had been so engrossed
+by the idea, and spoke of it to Kate so frequently, that he had got
+into a way of feeling as if the event so much desired would happen in
+a few days, although he knew quite well that it could not, in the
+course of ordinary or extra-ordinary circumstances, occur in less
+than several months. However, as time rolled on he began regularly,
+every day or two, to ask Kate questions about Charley that she could
+not by any possibility answer, but which he knew from experience
+would lead her into a confabulation about his son, which helped a
+little to allay his impatience.
+
+"Why, you see, father," she replied, "it is three months since we got
+his last, and you know there has been no opportunity of forwarding
+letters from Stoney Creek since it was despatched. Now, the next
+opportunity that occurs-"
+
+"Mee-aow!" interrupted the cat, which had just finished two pats of
+fresh butter without being detected, and began, rather recklessly, to
+exult.
+
+"Hang that cat!" cried the old gentleman, angrily, "it'll be the
+death o' me yet;" and seizing the first thing that came to hand,
+which happened to be the loaf of bread, discharged it with such
+violence, and with so correct an aim, that it knocked, not only the
+cat, but the tea-pot and sugar-bowl also, off the table.
+
+"O dear papa!" exclaimed Kate.
+
+"Really, my dear," cried Mr. Kennedy, half angry and half ashamed,"
+we must get rid of that brute immediately. It has scarcely been a
+week here, and it has done more mischief already than a score of
+ordinary cats would have done in a twelvemonth."
+
+"But then the mice, papa--"
+
+"Well, but--but--oh, hang the mice!"
+
+"Yes; but how are we to catch them?" said Kate.
+
+At this moment the cook, who had heard the sound of breaking
+crockery, and judged it expedient that he should be present, opened
+the door.
+
+"How now, rascal!" exclaimed his master, striding up to him. "Did I
+ring for you, eh?"
+
+"No, sir; but--"
+
+"But! eh, but! no more 'buts,' you scoundrel, else I'll--"
+
+The motion of Mr. Kennedy's fist warned the cook to make a
+precipitate retreat, which he did at the same moment that the cat
+resolved to run for its life. This caused them to meet in the
+doorway, and making a compound entanglement with the mat, they both
+fell into the passage with a loud crash. Mr. Kennedy shut the door
+gently, and returned to his chair, patting Kate on the head as he
+passed.
+
+"Now, darling, go on with what you were saying; and don't mind the
+tea-pot--let it lie."
+
+"Well," resumed Kate, with a smile, "I was saying that the next
+opportunity Charley can have will be by the brigade in spring, which
+we expect to arrive here, you know, a month hence; but we won't get a
+letter by that, as I feel convinced that he and Harry will come by it
+themselves."
+
+"And the express canoe, Kate--the express canoe," said Mr. Kennedy,
+with a contortion of the left side of his head that was intended for
+a wink; "you know they got leave to come by express, Kate."
+
+"Oh, as to the express, father, I don't expect them to come by that,
+as poor Harry Somerville has been so ill that they would never think
+of venturing to subject him to all the discomforts, not to mention
+the dangers, of a canoe voyage."
+
+"I don't know that, lass--I don't know that," said Mr. Kennedy,
+giving another contortion with his left cheek. "In fact, I shouldn't
+wonder if they arrived this very day; and it's well to be on the
+look-out, so I'm off to the banks of the river, Kate. "Saying this,
+the old gentleman threw on an old fur cap with the peak all awry,
+thrust his left hand into his right glove, put on the other with the
+back to the front and the thumb in the middle finger, and bustled out
+of the house, muttering as he went, "Yes, it's well to be on the
+look-out for him."
+
+Mr. Kennedy, however, was disappointed: Charley did not arrive that
+day, nor the next, nor the day after that. Nevertheless the old
+gentleman's faith each day remained as firm as on the day previous
+that Charley would arrive on that day "for certain." About a week
+after this, Mr. Kennedy put on his hat and gloves as usual, and
+sauntered down to the banks of the river, where his perseverance was
+rewarded by the sight of a small canoe rapidly approaching the
+landing-place. From the costume of the three men who propelled it,
+the cut of the canoe itself, the precision and energy of its
+movements, and several other minute points about it only apparent to
+the accustomed eye of a nor'-wester, he judged at once that this was
+a new arrival, and not merely one of the canoes belonging to the
+settlers, many of which might be seen passing up and down the river.
+As they drew near he fixed his eyes eagerly upon them.
+
+"Very odd," he exclaimed, while a shade of disappointment passed over
+his brow: "it ought to be him, but it's not like him; too big--
+different nose altogether. Don't know any of the three. Humph!--well,
+he's _sure to come to-morrow, at all events." Having come to the
+conclusion that it was not Charley's canoe, he wheeled sulkily round
+and sauntered back towards his house, intending to solace himself
+with a pipe. At that moment he heard a shout behind him, and ere he
+could well turn round to see whence it came, a young man bounded up
+the bank and seized him in his arms with a hug that threatened to
+dislocate his ribs. The old gentleman's first impulse was to bestow
+on his antagonist (for he verily believed him to be such) one of
+those vigorous touches with his clinched fist which in days of yore
+used to bring some of his disputes to a summary and effectual close;
+but his intention changed when the youth spoke.
+
+"Father, dear, dear father!" said Charley, as he loosened his grasp,
+and, still holding him by both hands, looked earnestly into his face
+with swimming eyes.
+
+Old Mr. Kennedy seemed to have lost his powers of speech. He gazed at
+his son for a few seconds in silence--then suddenly threw his arms
+around him and engaged in a species of wrestle which he intended for
+an embrace.
+
+"O Charley, my boy! "you've come at last--God bless you! Let's look
+at you. Quite changed: six feet; no, not quite changed--the old nose;
+black as an Indian. O Charley, my dear boy! I've been waiting for you
+for months; why did you keep me so long, eh? Hang it, where's my
+handkerchief?" At tis last exclamation Mr. Kennedy's feelings quite
+overcame him; his full heart overflowed at his eyes, so that when he
+tried to look at his son, Charley appeared partly magnified and
+partly broken up into fragments. Fumbling in his pocket for the
+missing handkerchief, which he did not find, he suddenly seized his
+fur cap, in a burst of exasperation, and wiped his eyes with that.
+Immediately after, forgetting that it _was a cap he thrust it into
+his pocket.
+
+"Come, dear father," cried Charley, drawing the old man's arm through
+his, "let us go home. Is Kate there?"
+
+"Ay, ay," cried Mr. Kennedy, waving his hand as he was dragged away,
+and bestowing, quite unwittingly, a back-handed slap on the cheek to
+Harry Somerville--which nearly felled that youth to the ground. "Ay,
+ay! Kate, to be sure, darling. Yes, quite right, Charley; a pipe--
+that's it, my boy, let's have a pipe!" And thus, uttering coherent
+and broken sentences, he disappeared through the doorway with his
+long-lost and now recovered son.
+
+Meanwhile Harry and Jacques continued to pace quietly before the
+house, waiting patiently until the first ebullition of feeling, at
+the meeting of Charley with his father and sister, should be over. In
+a few minutes Charley ran out.
+
+"Hollo, Harry! come in, my boy; forgive my forgetfulness, but--"
+
+"My dear fellow," interrupted Harry, "what nonsense you are talking!
+Of course you forgot me, and everybody and everything on earth, just
+now; but have you seen Kate? is--"
+
+"Yes, yes," cried Charley, as he pushed his friend before him, and
+dragged Jacques after him into the parlour.--"Here's Harry, father,
+and Jacques.--You've heard of Jacques, Kate?"
+
+"Harry, my, dear boy;" cried Mr. Kennedy, seizing his young friend by
+the hand; "how are you, lad? Better, I hope."
+
+At that moment Mr. Kennedy's eye fell on Jacques, who stood in the
+doorway, cap in hand, with the usual quiet smile lighting up his
+countenance.
+
+"What! Jacques--Jacques Caradoc!" he cried, in astonishment.
+
+"The same, sir; you an' I have know'd each other afore now in the way
+o' trade," answered the hunter, as he grasped his old bourgeois by
+the hand and wrung it warmly. Mr. Kennedy, senior, was so overwhelmed
+by the combination of exciting influences to which he was now
+subjected, that he plunged his hand into his pocket for the
+handkerchief again, and pulled out the fur hat instead, which he
+flung angrily at the cat; then using the sleeve of his coat as a
+substitute, he proceeded to put a series of abrupt questions to
+Jacques and Charley simultaneously.
+
+In the meantime Harry went up to Kate and _stared_ at her. We do not
+mean to say that he was intentionally rude to her. No! He went
+towards her intending to shake hands, and renew acquaintance with his
+old companion; but the moment he caught sight of her he was struck
+not only dumb, but motionless. The odd part of it was that Kate, too,
+was affected in precisely the same way, and both of them exclaimed
+mentally, "Can it be possible?" Their lips, however, gave no
+utterance to the question. At length Kate recollected herself, and
+blushing deeply, held out her hand, as she said,--
+
+"Forgive me, Har--Mr. Somerville; I was so surprised at your altered
+appearance, I could scarcely believe that my old friend stood before
+me."
+
+Harry's cheeks crimsoned as he seized her hand and said: "Indeed,
+Ka--a--Miss--that is, in fact, I've been very ill, and doubtless have
+changed somewhat; but the very same thought struck me in regard to
+yourself, you are so--so--"
+
+Fortunately for Harry, who was gradually becoming more and more
+confused, to the amusement of Charley, who had closely observed the
+meeting of his friend and sister, Mr. Kennedy came up.
+
+"Eh! what's that? What did you say _struck_ you, Harry, my lad?"
+
+"_You_ did, father, on his arrival," replied Charley, with a broad
+grin, "and a very neat back-hander it was."
+
+"Nonsense, Charley," interrupted Harry, with a laugh.--"I was just
+saying, sir, that Miss Kennedy is so changed that I could hardly
+believe it to be herself."
+
+"And I had just paid Mr. Somerville the same compliment, papa," cried
+Kate, laughing and blushing simultaneously.
+
+Mr. Kennedy thrust his hands into his pockets, frowned portentously
+as he looked from one to the other, and said slowly, "_Miss_ Kennedy,
+_Mr._ Somerville!" then turning to his son, remarked, "That's
+something new, Charley, lad; that girl is _Miss_ Kennedy, and that
+youth there is _Mr._ Somerville!"
+
+Charley laughed loudly at this sally, especially when the old
+gentleman followed it up with a series of contortions of the left
+cheek, meant for violent winking.
+
+"Right, father, right; it won't do here. We don't know anybody but
+Kate and Harry in this house."
+
+Harry laughed in his own genuine style at this.
+
+"Well, Kate be it, with all my heart," said he; "but, really, at
+first she seemed so unlike the Kate of former days that I could not
+bring myself to call her so."
+
+"Humph!" said Mr. Kennedy. "But come, boys, with me to my smoking-
+room, and let's have a talk over a pipe, while Kate looks after
+dinner." Giving Charley another squeeze of the hand, and Harry a pat
+on the shoulder, the old gentleman put on his cap (with the peak
+behind), and led the way to his glass divan in the garden.
+
+It is perhaps unnecessary for us to say that Kate Kennedy and Harry
+Somerville had, within the last hour, fallen deeply, hopelessly,
+utterly, irrevocably, and totally in love with each other. They did
+not merely fall up to the ears in love. To say that they fell over
+head and ears in it would be, comparatively speaking, to say nothing.
+In fact, they did not fall into it at all. They went deliberately
+backwards, took a long race, sprang high into the air, turned
+completely round, and went down head first into the flood, descending
+to a depth utterly beyond the power of any deep-sea lead to fathom,
+or of any human mind adequately to appreciate. Up to that day Kate
+had thought of Harry as the hilarious youth who used to take every
+opportunity he could of escaping from the counting-room and hastening
+to spend the afternoon in rambling through the woods with her and
+Charley. But the instant she saw him a man, with a bright, cheerful
+countenance, on which rough living and exposure to frequent peril had
+stamped unmistakable lines of energy and decision, and to which
+recent illness had imparted a captivating touch of sadness--the
+moment she beheld this, and the undeniable scrap of whisker that
+graced his cheeks, and the slight _shade_ that rested on his upper
+lip, her heart leaped violently into her throat, where it stuck hard
+and fast, like a stranded ship on a lee-shore.
+
+In like manner, when Harry beheld his former friend a woman, with
+beaming eyes and clustering ringlets and--(there, we won't attempt
+it!)--in fact, surrounded by every nameless and namable grace that
+makes woman exasperatingly delightful, his heart performed the same
+eccentric movement, and he felt that his fate was sealed; that he had
+been sucked into a rapid which was too strong even for his expert and
+powerful arm to contend against, and that he must drift with the
+current now, _nolens volens, and run it as he best could.
+
+When Kate retired to her sleeping-apartment that night, she
+endeavoured to comport herself in her usual manner; but all her
+efforts failed. She sat down on her bed, and remained motionless for
+half-an-hour; then she started and sighed deeply; then she smiled and
+opened her Bible, but forgot to read it; then she rose hastily,
+sighed again, took off her gown, hung it up on a peg, and returning
+to the dressing-table sat down on her best bonnet; then she cried a
+little, at which point the candle suddenly went out; so she gave a
+slight scream, and at last went to bed in the dark.
+
+Three hours afterwards, Harry Somerville, who had been enjoying a
+cigar and a chat with Charley and his father, rose, and bidding his
+friends good-night, retired to his chamber, where he flung himself
+down on a chair, thrust his hands into his pockets, stretched out his
+legs, gazed abstractedly before him, and exclaimed--"O Kate, my
+exquisite girl, you've floored me quite that!"
+
+As he continued to sit in silence, the gaze of affection gradually
+and slowly changed into a look of intense astonishment as he beheld
+the gray cat sitting comfortably on the table, and regarding him with
+a look of complacent interest, as if it thought Harry's style of
+addressing it was highly satisfactory--though rather unusual.
+
+"Brute!" exclaimed Harry, springing from his seat and darting towards
+it. But the cat was too well accustomed to old Mr. Kennedy's sudden
+onsets to be easily taken by surprise. With a bound it reached the
+floor, and took shelter under the bed, whence it was not ejected
+until Harry, having first thrown his shoes, soap, clothes-brush, and
+razor-strop at it, besides two or three books and several
+miscellaneous articles of toilet, at last opened the door (a thing,
+by the way, that people would do well always to remember before
+endeavouring to expel a cat from an impregnable position), and drew
+the bed into the middle of the room. Then, but not till then, it
+fled, with its back, its tail, its hair, its eyes--in short, its
+entire body--bristling in rampant indignation. Having dislodged the
+enemy, Harry replaced the bed, threw off his coat and waistcoat,
+untied his neckcloth, sat down on his chair again, and fell into a
+reverie; from which, after half-an-hour, he started, clasped his
+hands, stamped his foot, glared up at the ceiling, slapped his thigh,
+and exclaimed, in the voice of a hero, "Yes, I'll do it, or die!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+The first day at home--A gallop in the prairie, and its consequences.
+
+
+Next morning, as the quartette were at breakfast, Mr. Kennedy,
+senior, took occasion to propound to his son the plans he had laid
+down for them during the next week.
+
+"In the first place, Charley, my boy," said he, as well as a large
+mouthful of buffalo steak and potato would permit, "you must drive up
+to the fort and report yourself. Harry and I will go with you; and
+after we have paid our respects to old Grant (another cup of tea,
+Kate, my darling)--you recollect him, Charley, don't you?"
+
+"Yes, perfectly."
+
+"Well, then, after we've been to see him, we'll drive down the river,
+and call on our friends at the mill. Then we'll look in on the
+Thomsons; and give a call, in passing, on old Neverin--he's always
+out, so he'll be pleased to hear we were there, and it won't detain
+us. Then---"
+
+"But, dear father--excuse my interrupting you--Harry and I are very
+anxious to spend our first day at home entirely with you and Kate.
+Don't you think it would be more pleasant? and then, to-morrow--"
+
+"Now, Charley, this is too bad of you," said Mr. Kennedy, with a look
+of affected indignation: "no sooner have you come back than you're at
+your old tricks, opposing and thwarting your father's wishes."
+
+"Indeed, I do not wish to do so, father," replied Charley, with a
+smile; "but I thought that you would like my plan better yourself,
+and that it would afford us an opportunity of having a good long,
+satisfactory talk about all that concerns us, past, present, and
+future."
+
+"What a daring mind you have, Charley," said Harry, "to speak of
+cramming a _satisfactory_ talk of the past, the present, and the
+future all into _one_ day!"
+
+"Harry will take another cup of tea, Kate," said Charley, with an
+arch smile, as he went on,--
+
+"Besides, father, Jacques tells me that he means to go off
+immediately, to visit a number of his old voyageur friends in the
+settlement, and I cannot part with him till we have had one more
+canter together over the prairies. I want to show him to Kate, for
+he's a great original."
+
+"Oh, that _will_ be charming!" cried Kate. "I should like of all
+things to be introduced to the bold hunter.--Another cup of tea, Mr.
+S-Harry, I mean?"
+
+Harry started on being thus unexpectedly addressed. "Yes, if you
+please--that is--thank you--no, my cup's full already, Kate!"
+
+"Well, well," broke in Mr. Kennedy, senior, "I see you're all leagued
+against me, so I give in. But I shall not accompany you on your ride,
+as my bones are a little stiffer than they used to be" (the old
+gentleman sighed heavily), "and riding far knocks me up; but I've got
+business to attend to in my glass house which will occupy me till
+dinner-time."
+
+"If the business you speak of," began Charley, "is not incompatible
+with a cigar, I shall be happy to--"
+
+"Why, as to that, the business itself has special reference to
+tobacco, and, in fact, to nothing else; so come along, you young
+dog," and the old gentleman's cheek went into violent convulsions as
+he rose, put on his cap, with the peak very much over one eye, and
+went out in company with the young men.
+
+An hour afterwards four horses stood saddled and bridled in front of
+the house. Three belonged to Mr. Kennedy; the fourth had been
+borrowed from a neighbour as a mount for Jacques Caradoc. In a few
+minutes more Harry lifted Kate into the saddle, and having arranged
+her dress with a deal of unnecessary care, mounted his nag. At the
+same moment Charley and Jacques vaulted into their saddles, and the
+whole cavalcade galloped down the avenue that led to the prairie,
+followed by the admiring gaze of Mr. Kennedy, senior, who stood in
+the doorway of his mansion, his hands in his vest pockets, his head
+uncovered, and his happy visage smiling through a cloud of smoke that
+issued from his lips. He seemed the very personification of jovial
+good-humour, and what one might suppose Cupid would become were he
+permitted to grow old, dress recklessly, and take to smoking!
+
+The prairies were bright that morning, and surpassingly beautiful.
+The grass looked greener than usual, the dew-drops more brilliant as
+they sparkled on leaf and blade and branch in the rays of an
+unclouded sun. The turf felt springy, and the horses, which were
+first-rate animals, seemed to dance over it, scarce crushing the
+wild-flowers beneath their hoofs, as they galloped lightly on, imbued
+with the same joyous feeling that filled the hearts of their riders.
+The plains at this place were more picturesque than in other parts,
+their uniformity being broken up by numerous clumps of small trees
+and wild shrubbery, intermingled with lakes and ponds of all sizes,
+which filled the hollows for miles round--temporary sheets of water
+these, formed by the melting snow, that told of winter now past and
+gone. Additional animation and life was given to the scene by flocks
+of water-fowl, whose busy cry and cackle in the water, or whirring
+motion in the air, gave such an idea of joyousness in the brute
+creation as could not but strike a chord of sympathy in the heart of
+a man, and create a feeling of gratitude to the Maker of man and
+beast. Although brilliant and warm, the sun, at least during the
+first part of their ride, was by no means oppressive; so that the
+equestrians stretched out at full gallop for many miles over the
+prairie, round the lakes and through the bushes, ere their steeds
+showed the smallest symptoms of warmth.
+
+During the ride Kate took the lead, with Jacques on her left and
+Harry on her right, while Charley brought up the rear, and conversed
+in a loud key with all three. At length Kate began to think it was
+just possible the horses might be growing wearied with the slapping
+pace, and checked her steed; but this was not an easy matter, as the
+horse seemed to hold quite a contrary opinion, and showed a desire
+not only to continue but to increase its gallop--a propensity that
+induced Harry to lend his aid by grasping the rein and compelling the
+animal to walk.
+
+"That's a spirited horse, Kate," said Charley, as they ambled along;
+"have you had him long?"
+
+"No," replied Kate; "our father purchased him just a week before your
+arrival, thinking that you would likely want a charger now and then.
+I have only been on him once before.--Would he make a good buffalo-
+runner, Jacques?"
+
+"Yes, miss; he would make an uncommon good runner," answered the
+hunter, as he regarded the animal with a critical glance--"at least
+if he don't shy at a gunshot."
+
+"I never tried his nerves in that way," said Kate, with a smile;
+"perhaps he would shy at _that_. He has a good deal of spirit--oh, I
+do dislike a lazy horse, and I do delight in a spirited one!" Kate
+gave her horse a smart cut with the whip, half involuntarily, as she
+spoke. In a moment it reared almost perpendicularly, and then bounded
+forward; not, however, before Jacques's quick eye had observed the
+danger, and his ever-ready hand arrested its course.
+
+"Have a care, Miss Kate," he said, in a warning voice, while he gazed
+in the face of the excited girl with a look of undisguised
+admiration. "It don't do to wallop a skittish beast like that."
+
+"Never fear, Jacques," she replied, bending forward to pat her
+charger's arching neck; "see, he is becoming quite gentle again."
+
+"If he runs away, Kate, we won't be able to catch you again, for he's
+the best of the four, I think," said Harry, with an uneasy glance at
+the animal's flashing eye and expanded nostrils.
+
+"Ay, it's as well to keep the whip off him," said Jacques. "I know'd
+a young chap once in St. Louis who lost his sweetheart by usin' his
+whip too freely."
+
+"Indeed," cried Kate, with a merry laugh, as they emerged from one of
+the numerous thickets and rode out upon the open plain at a foot
+pace; "how was that, Jacques? Pray tell us the story."
+
+"As to that, there's little story about it," replied the hunter. "You
+see, Tim Roughead took arter his name, an' was always doin' some
+mischief or other, which more than once nigh cost him his life; for
+the young trappers that frequent St. Louis are not fellows to stand
+too much jokin', I can tell ye. Well, Tim fell in love with a gal
+there who had jilted about a dozen lads afore; an' bein' an oncommon
+handsome, strappin' fellow, she encouraged him a good deal. But Tim
+had a suspicion that Louise was rayther sweet on a young
+storekeeper's clerk there; so, bein' an off-hand sort o' critter, he
+went right up to the gal, and says to her, says he, 'Come, Louise,
+it's o' no use humbuggin' with _me_ any longer. If you like me, you
+like me; and if you don't like me, you don't. There's only two ways
+about it. Now, jist say the word at once, an' let's have an end on't.
+If you agree, I'll squat with you in whativer bit o' the States you
+like to name; if not, I'll bid you good-bye this blessed mornin', an'
+make tracks right away for the Rocky Mountains afore sundown. Ay or
+no, lass: which is't to be?'
+
+"Poor Louise was taken all aback by this, but she knew well that Tim
+was a man who never threatened in jest, an' moreover she wasn't quite
+sure o' the young clerk; so she agreed, an' Tim went off to settle
+with her father about the weddin'. Well, the day came, an' Tim, with
+a lot o' his comrades, mounted their horses, and rode off to the
+bride's house, which was a mile or two up the river out of the town.
+Just as they were startin', Tim's horse gave a plunge that well-nigh
+pitched him over its head, an' Tim came down on him with a cut o' his
+heavy whip that sounded like a pistol-shot. The beast was so mad at
+this that it gave a kind o' squeal an' another plunge that burst the
+girths. Tim brought the whip down on its flank again, which made it
+shoot forward like an arrow out of a bow, leavin' poor Tim on the
+ground. So slick did it fly away that it didn't even throw him on his
+back, but let him fall sittin'-wise, saddle and all, plump on the
+spot where he sprang from. Tim scratched his head an' grinned like a
+half-worried rattlesnake as his comrades almost rolled off their
+saddles with laughin'. But it was no laughin' job, for poor Tim's leg
+was doubled under him, an' broken across at the thigh. It was long
+before he was able to go about again, and when he did recover he
+found that Louise and the young clerk were spliced an' away to
+Kentucky."
+
+"So you see what are the probable consequences, Kate, if you use your
+whip so obstreperously again," cried Charley, pressing his horse into
+a canter.
+
+Just at that moment a rabbit sprang from under a bush and darted away
+before them. In an instant Harry Somerville gave a wild shout, and
+set off in pursuit. Whether it was the cry or the sudden flight of
+Harry's horse, we cannot tell, but the next instant Kate's charger
+performed an indescribable flourish with its hind legs, laid back its
+ears, took the bit between its teeth, and ran away. Jacques was on
+its heels instantly, and a few seconds afterwards Charley and Harry
+joined in the pursuit, but their utmost efforts failed to do more
+than enable them to keep their ground. Kate's horse was making for a
+dense thicket, into which it became evident they must certainly
+plunge. Harry and her brother trembled when they looked at it and
+realised her danger; even Jacques's face showed some symptoms of
+perturbation for a moment as he glanced before him in indecision. The
+expression vanished, however, in a few seconds, and his cheerful,
+self-possessed look returned, as he cried out,--"Pull the left rein
+hard, Miss Kate; try to edge up the slope."
+
+Kate heard the advice, and exerting all her strength, succeeded in
+turning her horse a little to the left, which caused him to ascend a
+gentle slope, at the top of which part of the thicket lay. She was
+closely followed by Harry and her brother, who urged their steeds
+madly forward in the hope of catching her rein, while Jacques
+diverged a little to the right. By this manoeuvre the latter hoped to
+gain on the runaway, as the ground along which he rode was
+comparatively level, with a short but steep ascent at the end of it,
+while that along which Kate flew like the wind was a regular ascent,
+that would prove very trying to her horse. At the margin of the
+thicket grew a row of high bushes, towards which they now galloped
+with frightful speed. As Kate came up to this natural fence, she
+observed the trapper approaching on the other side of it. Springing
+from his jaded steed, without attempting to check its pace, he leaped
+over the underwood like a stag just as the young girl cleared the
+bushes at a bound. Grasping the reins and checking the horse
+violently with one hand, he extended the other to Kate, who leaped
+unhesitatingly into his arms. At the same instant Charley cleared the
+bushes, and pulled sharply up; while Harry's horse, unable, owing to
+its speed, to take the leap, came crashing through them, and dashed
+his rider with stunning violence to the ground.
+
+Fortunately no bones were broken, and a draught of clear water,
+brought by Jacques from a neighbouring pond, speedily restored
+Harry's shaken faculties.
+
+"Now, Kate," said Charley, leading forward the horse which he had
+ridden, "I have changed saddles, as you see; this horse will suit you
+better, and I'll take the shine out of your charger on the way home."
+
+"Thank you, Charley," said Kate, with a smile. "I've quite recovered
+from my fright--if, indeed, it is worth calling by that name; but I
+fear that Harry has--"
+
+"Oh, I'm all right," cried Harry, advancing as he spoke to assist
+Kate in mounting. "I am ashamed to think that my wild cry was the
+cause of all this."
+
+In another minute they were again in their saddles, and turning their
+faces homeward, they swept over the plain at a steady gallop, fearing
+lest their accident should be the means of making Mr. Kennedy wait
+dinner for them. On arriving, they found the old gentleman engaged in
+an animated discussion with the cook about laying the table-cloth,
+which duty he had imposed on himself in Kate's absence.
+
+"Ah, Kate, my love," he cried, as they entered, "come here, lass, and
+mount guard. I've almost broke my heart in trying to convince that
+thick-headed goose that he can't set the table properly. Take it off
+my hands, like a good girl.--Charley, my boy, you'll be pleased to
+hear that your old friend Redfeather is here."
+
+"Redfeather, father!" exclaimed Charley, in surprise.
+
+"Yes; he and the parson, from the other end of Lake Winnipeg, arrived
+an hour ago in a tin kettle, and are now on their way to the upper
+fort."
+
+"That is, indeed, pleasant news; but I suspect that it will give much
+greater pleasure to our friend Jacques, who, I believe, would be glad
+to lay down his life for him, simply to prove his affection."
+
+"Well, well," said the old gentleman, knocking the ashes out of his
+pipe, and refilling it so as to be ready for an after-dinner smoke,
+"Redfeather has come, and the parson's come too; and I look upon it
+as quite miraculous that they have come, considering the _thing_ they
+came in. What they've come for is more than I can tell, but I suppose
+it's connected with church affairs.--Now then, Kate, what's come o'
+the dinner, Kate? Stir up that grampus of a cook! I half expect that
+he has boiled the cat for dinner, in his wrath, for it has been
+badgering him and me the whole morning.--Hollo, Harry, what's wrong?"
+
+The last exclamation was in consequence of an expression of pain
+which crossed Harry's face for a moment.
+
+"Nothing, nothing," replied Harry. "I've had a fall from my horse,
+and bruised my arm a little. But I'll see to it after dinner."
+
+"That you shall not," cried Mr Kennedy energetically, dragging his
+young friend into his bedroom. "Off with your coat, lad. Let's see it
+at once. Ay, ay," he continued, examining Harry's left arm, which was
+very much discoloured, and swelled from the elbow to the shoulder,
+"that's a severe thump, my boy. But it's nothing to speak of; only
+you'll have to submit to a sling for a day or two,"
+
+"That's annoying, certainly, but I'm thankful it's no worse,"
+remarked Harry, as Mr. Kennedy dressed the arm after his own fashion,
+and then returned with him to the dining-room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+Love--Old Mr. Kennedy puts his foot in it.
+
+
+One morning, about two weeks after Charley's arrival at Red River,
+Harry Somerville found himself alone in Mr. Kennedy's parlour. The
+old gentleman himself had just galloped away in the direction of the
+lower fort, to visit Charley, who was now formally installed there;
+Kate was busy in the kitchen giving directions about dinner; and
+Jacques was away with Redfeather, visiting his numerous friends in
+the settlement: so that, for the first time since his arrival, Harry
+found himself at the hour of ten in the morning utterly lone, and
+with nothing very definite to do. Of course, the two weeks that had
+elapsed were not without their signs and symptoms, their minor
+accidents and incidents, in regard to the subject that filled his
+thoughts. Harry had fifty times been tossed alternately from the
+height of hope to the depth of despair, from the extreme of felicity
+to the uttermost verge of sorrow, and he began seriously to reflect,
+when he remembered his desperate resolution on the first night of his
+arrival, that if he did not "do" he certainly would "die." This was
+quite a mistake, however, on Harry's part. Nobody ever did _die_ of
+unrequited love. Doubtless many people have hanged, drowned, and shot
+themselves because of it; but, generally speaking, if the patient can
+be kept from maltreating himself long enough, time will prove to be
+an infallible remedy. O youthful reader, lay this to heart: but
+pshaw! why do I waste ink on so hopeless a task? _Every_ one, we
+suppose, resolves once in a way to _die_ of love; so--die away, my
+young friends, only make sure that you don't _kill_ yourselves, and
+I've no fear of the result.
+
+But to return. Kate, likewise, was similarly affected. She behaved
+like a perfect maniac--mentally, that is--and plunged herself,
+metaphorically, into such a succession of hot and cold baths, that it
+was quite a marvel how her spiritual constitution could stand it.
+
+But we were wrong in saying that Harry was _alone_ in the parlour.
+The gray cat was there. On a chair before the fire it sat, looking
+dishevelled and somewhat _blase,_ in consequence of the ill-treatment
+and worry to which it was continually subjected. After looking out of
+the window for a short time, Harry rose, and sitting down on a chair
+beside the cat, patted its head--a mark of attention it was evidently
+not averse to, but which it received, nevertheless, with marked
+suspicion, and some indications of being in a condition of armed
+neutrality. Just then the door opened, and Kate entered.
+
+"Excuse me, Harry, for leaving you alone," she said, "but I had to
+attend to several household matters. Do you feel inclined for a
+walk?"
+
+"I do indeed," replied Harry; "it is a charming day, and I am
+exceedingly anxious to see the bower that you have spoken to me about
+once or twice, and which Charley told me of long before I came here."
+
+"Oh, I shall take you to it with pleasure," replied Kate; "my dear
+father often goes there with me to smoke. If you will wait for two
+minutes I'll put on my bonnet," and she hastened to prepare herself
+for the walk, leaving Harry to caress the cat, which he did so
+energetically, when he thought of its young mistress, that it
+instantly declared war, and sprang from the chair with a
+remonstrative yell.
+
+On their way down to the bower, which was situated in a picturesque,
+retired spot on the river's bank about a mile below the house, Harry
+and Kate tried to converse on ordinary topics, but without success,
+and were at last almost reduced to silence. One subject alone filled
+their minds; all others were flat. Being sunk, as it were, in an
+ocean of love, they no sooner opened their lips to speak, than the
+waters rushed in, as a natural consequence, and nearly choked them.
+Had they but opened their mouths wide and boldly, they would have
+been pleasantly drowned together; but as it was, they lacked the
+requisite courage, and were fain to content themselves with an
+occasional frantic struggle to the surface, where they gasped a few
+words of uninteresting air, and sank again instantly.
+
+On arriving at the bower, however, and sitting down, Harry plucked up
+heart, and, heaving a deep sigh, said--
+
+"Kate, there is a subject about which I have long desired to speak to
+you-"
+
+Long as he had been desiring it, however, Kate thought it must have
+been nothing compared with the time that elapsed ere he said anything
+else; so she bent over a flower which she held in her hand, and said
+in a low voice, "Indeed, Harry, what is it?"
+
+Harry was desperate now. His usually flexible tongue was stiff as
+stone and dry as a bit of leather. He could no more give utterance to
+an intelligible idea than he could change himself into Mr. Kennedy's
+gray cat--a change that he would not have been unwilling to make at
+that moment. At last he seized his companion's hand, and exclaimed,
+with a burst of emotion that quite startled her,--
+
+"Kate, Kate! O dearest Kate, I love you! I _adore_ you! I--"
+
+At this point poor Harry's powers of speech again failed; so being
+utterly unable to express another idea, he suddenly threw his arms
+round her, and pressed her fervently to his bosom.
+
+Kate was taken quite aback by this summary method of coming to the
+point. Repulsing him energetically, she exclaimed, while she blushed
+crimson. "O Harry--Mr Somerville!" and burst into tears.
+
+Poor Harry stood before her for a moment, his head hanging down, and
+a deep blush of shame on his face.
+
+"O Kate," said he, in a deep tremulous voice, "forgive me; do--do
+forgive me! I knew not what I said. I scarce knew what I did" (here
+he seized her hand). "I know but one thing, Kate, and tell it you
+_will,_ if it should cost me my life. I love you, Kate, to
+distraction, and I wish you to be my wife. I have been rude, very
+rude. Can you forgive me, Kate?"
+
+Now, this latter part of Harry's speech was particularly comical,
+the comicality of it lying in this, that while he spoke, he drew Kate
+gradually towards him, and at the very time when he gave utterance to
+the penitential remorse for his rudeness, Kate was infolded in a much
+more vigorous embrace than at the first; and what is more remarkable
+still, she laid her little head quietly on his shoulder, as if she
+had quite changed her mind in regard to what was and what was not
+rude, and rather enjoyed it than otherwise.
+
+While the lovers stood in this interesting position, it became
+apparent to Harry's olfactory nerves that the atmosphere was
+impregnated with tobacco smoke. Looking hastily up, he beheld an
+apparition that tended somewhat to increase the confusion of his
+faculties.
+
+In the opening of the bower stood Mr. Kennedy, senior, in a state of
+inexpressible amazement. We say inexpressible advisedly, because the
+extreme pitch of feeling which Mr. Kennedy experienced at what he
+beheld before him cannot possibly be expressed by human visage. As
+far as the countenance of man could do it, however, we believe the
+old gentleman's came pretty near the mark on this occasion. His hands
+were in his coat pockets, his body bent a little forward, his head
+and neck outstretched a little beyond it, his eyes almost starting
+from the sockets, and certainly the most prominent feature in his
+face: his teeth firmly clinched on his beloved pipe, and his lips
+expelling a multitude of little clouds so vigorously that one might
+have taken him for a sort of self-acting intelligent steam-gun that
+had resolved utterly to annihilate Kate and Harry at short range in
+the course of two minutes.
+
+When Kate saw her father she uttered a slight scream, covered her
+face with her hands, rushed from the bower, and disappeared in the
+wood.
+
+"So, young gentleman," began Mr. Kennedy, in a slow, deliberate tone
+of voice, while he removed the pipe from his mouth, clinched his
+fist, and confronted Harry, "you've been invited to my house as a
+guest, sir, and you seize the opportunity basely to insult my
+daughter!"
+
+"Stay, stay, my dear sir," interrupted Harry, laying his hand on the
+old man's shoulder and gazing earnestly into his face. "Oh, do not,
+even for a moment, imagine that I could be so base as to trifle with
+the affections of your daughter. I may have been presumptuous, hasty,
+foolish, mad if you will, but not base. God forbid that I should
+treat her with disrespect, even in thought! I love her, Mr. Kennedy,
+as I never loved before. I have asked her to be my wife, and--she--"
+
+"Whew!" whistled old Mr. Kennedy, replacing his pipe between his
+teeth, gazing abstractedly at the ground, and emitting clouds
+innumerable. After standing thus a few seconds, he turned his back
+slowly upon Harry, and smiled outrageously once or twice, winking at
+the same time, after his own fashion, at the river. Turning abruptly
+round, he regarded Harry with a look of affected dignity, and said,
+"Pray, sir, what did my daughter say to your very peculiar proposal?"
+
+"She said ye--ah! that is--she didn't exactly _say_ anything, but
+she--indeed I--"
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the old gentleman, deepening his frown as he
+regarded his young friend through the smoke. "In short, she said
+nothing, I suppose, but led you to infer, perhaps, that she would
+have said yes if I hadn't interrupted you."
+
+Harry blushed, and said nothing.
+
+"Now, sir," continued Mr, Kennedy, "don't you think that it would
+have been a polite piece of attention on your part to have asked _my_
+permission before you addressed my daughter on such a subject, eh?"
+
+"Indeed," said Harry, "I acknowledge that I have been hasty, but I
+must disclaim the charge of disrespect to you, sir. I had no
+intention whatever of broaching the subject to-day, but my feelings,
+unhappily, carried me away, and--and--in fact--"
+
+"Well, well, sir," interrupted Mr. Kennedy, with a look of offended
+dignity, "your feelings ought to be kept more under control. But
+come, sir, to my house. I must talk further with you on this subject.
+I must read you a lesson, sir--a lesson, humph! that you won't forget
+in a hurry."
+
+"But, my dear sir--" began Harry.
+
+"No more, sir--no more at present," cried the old gentleman, smoking
+violently as he pointed to the footpath that led to the house, "Lead
+the way, sir; I'll follow."
+
+The footpath, although wide enough to allow Kate and Harry to walk,
+beside each other, did not permit of two gentlemen doing so
+conveniently--a circumstance which proved a great relief to Mr.
+Kennedy, inasmuch as it enabled him, while walking behind his
+companion, to wink convulsively, smoke furiously, and punch his own
+ribs severely, by way of opening a few safety-valves to his glee,
+without which there is no saying what might have happened. He was
+nearly caught in these eccentricities more than once, however, as
+Harry turned half round with the intention of again attempting to
+exculpate himself--attempts which were as often met by a sudden
+start, a fierce frown, a burst of smoke, and a command to "go on." On
+approaching the house, the track became a broad road, affording Mr.
+Kennedy no excuse for walking in the rear, so that he was under the
+necessity of laying violent restraint on his feelings--a restraint
+which it was evident could not last long. At that moment, to his
+great relief, his eye suddenly fell on the gray cat, which happened
+to be reposing innocently on the doorstep.
+
+"_That's_ it! there's the whole cause of it at last!" cried Mr.
+Kennedy, in a perfect paroxysm of excitement, flinging his pipe
+violently at the unoffending victim as he rushed towards it. The pipe
+missed the cat, but went with a sharp crash through the parlour
+window, at which Charley was seated, while his father darted through
+the doorway, along the passage, and into the kitchen. Here the cat,
+having first capsized a pyramid of pans and kettles in its
+consternation, took refuge in an absolutely unassailable position.
+Seeing this, Mr. Kennedy violently discharged a pailful of water at
+the spot, strode rapidly to his own apartment, and locked himself in.
+
+"Dear me, Harry, what's wrong? my father seems unusually excited,"
+said Charley, in some astonishment, as Harry entered the room, and
+flung himself on a chair with a look of chagrin.
+
+"It's difficult to say, Charley; the fact is, I've asked your sister
+Kate to be my wife, and your father seems to have gone mad with
+indignation."
+
+"Asked Kate to be your wife!" cried Charley, starting up, and
+regarding his friend with a look of amazement.
+
+"Yes, I have," replied Harry, with an air of offended dignity. "I
+know very well that I am unworthy of her, but I see no reason why you
+and your father should take such pains to make me feel it."
+
+"Unworthy of her, my dear fellow!" exclaimed Charley, grasping his
+hand and wringing it violently; "no doubt you are, and so is
+everybody, but you shall have her for all that, my boy. But tell me,
+Harry, have you spoken to Kate herself?"
+
+"Yes, I have."
+
+"And does she agree?"
+
+"Well, I think I may say she does."
+
+"Have you told my father that she does?"
+
+"Why, as to that," said Harry, with a perplexed smile, "he didn't
+need to be told; he made _himself_ pretty well aware of the facts of
+the case."
+
+"Ah! I'll soon settle _him_," cried Charley. "Keep your mind easy,
+old fellow; I'll very soon bring him round." With this assurance,
+Charley gave his friend's hand another shake that nearly wrenched the
+arm from his shoulder, and hastened out of the room in search of his
+refractory father.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+The course of true love, curiously enough, runs smooth for once; and
+the curtain falls.
+
+
+Time rolled on, and with it the sunbeams of summer went--the
+snowflakes of winter came. Needles of ice began to shoot across the
+surface of Red River, and gradually narrowed its bed. Crystalline
+trees formed upon the window-panes. Icicles depended from the eaves
+of the houses. Snow fell in abundance on the plains; liquid nature
+began rapidly to solidify, and not many weeks after the first frost
+made its appearance everything was (as the settlers expressed it)
+"hard and fast."
+
+Mr. Kennedy, senior, was in his parlour, with his back to a blazing
+wood-fire that seemed large enough to roast an ox whole. He was
+standing, moreover, in a semi-picturesque attitude, with his right
+hand in his breeches pocket and his left arm round Kate's waist. Kate
+was dressed in a gown that rivalled the snow itself in whiteness. One
+little gold clasp shone in her bosom; it was the only ornament she
+wore. Mr. Kennedy, too, had somewhat altered his style of costume. He
+wore a sky-blue, swallow-tailed coat, whose maker had flourished in
+London half-a-century before. It had a velvet collar about five
+inches deep, fitted uncommonly tight to the figure, and had a pair of
+bright brass buttons, very close together, situated half-a-foot above
+the wearer's natural waist. Besides this, he had on a canary-coloured
+vest, and a pair of white duck trousers, in the fob of which
+_evidently_ reposed an immense gold watch of the olden time, with a
+bunch of seals that would have served very well as an anchor for a
+small boat. Although the dress was, on the whole, slightly comical,
+its owner, with his full, fat, broad figure, looked remarkably well
+in it, nevertheless.
+
+It was Kate's marriage-day, or rather marriage-evening; for the sun
+had set two hours ago, and the moon was now sailing in the frosty
+sky, its pale rays causing the whole country to shine with a clear,
+cold, silvery whiteness.
+
+The old gentleman had been for some time gazing in silent admiration
+on the fair brow and clustering ringlets of his daughter, when it
+suddenly occurred to him that the company would arrive in half-an-
+hour, and there were several things still to be attended to.
+
+"Hello, Kate!" he exclaimed, with a start, "we're forgetting
+ourselves. The candles are yet to light, and lots of other things to
+do." Saying this, he began to bustle about the room in a state of
+considerable agitation.
+
+"Oh, don't worry yourself, dear father!" cried Kate, running after
+him and catching him by the hand. "Miss Cookumwell and good Mrs.
+Taddipopple are arranging everything about tea and supper in the
+kitchen, and Tom Whyte has been kindly sent to us by Mr. Grant, with
+orders to make himself generally useful, so _he_ can light the
+candles in a few minutes, and you've nothing to do but to kiss me and
+receive the company." Kate pulled her father gently towards the fire
+again, and replaced his arm round her waist.
+
+"Receive company! Ah, Kate, my love, that's just what I know nothing
+about. If they'd let me receive them in my own way, I'd do it well
+enough; but that abominable Mrs. Taddi-what's her name-has quite
+addled my brains and driven me distracted with trying to get me to
+understand what she calls _etiquette_."
+
+Kate laughed, and said she didn't care _how_ he received them, as she
+was quite sure that, whichever way he did it, he would do it
+pleasantly and well.
+
+At that moment the door opened, and Tom Whyte entered. He was
+thinner, if possible, than he used to be, and considerably stiffer,
+and more upright.
+
+"Please, sir," said he, with a motion that made you expect to hear
+his back creak (it was intended for a bow)--"please, sir, can I do
+hanythink for yer?"
+
+"Yes, Tom, you can," replied Mr. Kennedy. "Light these candles, my
+man, and then go to the stable and see that everything there is
+arranged for putting up the horses. It will be pretty full to-night,
+Tom, and will require some management. Then, let me see--ah yes,
+bring me my pipe, Tom, my big meerschaum.--I'll sport that to-night
+in honour of you, Kate."
+
+"Please, sir," began Tom, with a slightly disconcerted air, "I'm
+afeared, sir, that--um--"
+
+"Well, Tom, what would you say? Go on."
+
+"The pipe, sir," said Tom, growing still more disconcerted--"says I
+to cook, says I, 'Cook, wot's been an' done it, d'ye think?' 'Dun
+know, Tom,' says he, 'but it's smashed, that's sartin. I think the
+gray cat--'"
+
+"What!" cried the old trader, in a voice of thunder, while a frown of
+the most portentous ferocity darkened his brow for an instant. It was
+only for an instant, however. Clearing his brow quickly, he said with
+a smile, "But it's your wedding-day, Kate, my darling. It won't do to
+blow up anybody to-day, not even the cat.--There, be off, Tom, and
+see to things. Look sharp! I hear sleigh-bells already."
+
+As he spoke Tom vanished perpendicularly, Kate hastened to her room,
+and the old gentleman himself went to the front door to receive his
+guests.
+
+The night was of that intensely calm and still character that
+invariably accompanies intense frost, so that the merry jingle of the
+sleigh-bells that struck on Mr. Kennedy's listening ear continued to
+sound, and grow louder as they drew near, for a considerable time ere
+the visitors arrived. Presently the dull, soft tramp of horses' hoofs
+was heard in the snow, and a well-known voice shouted out lustily,
+"Now then, Mactavish, keep to the left. Doesn't the road take a turn
+there? Mind the gap in the fence. That's old Kennedy's only fault.
+He'd rather risk breaking his friends' necks than mend his fences!"
+
+"All right, here we are," cried Mactavish, as the next instant two
+sleighs emerged out of the avenue into the moonlit space in front of
+the house, and dashed up to the door amid an immense noise and
+clatter of bells, harness, hoofs, snorting, and salutations.
+
+"Ah, Grant, my dear fellow!" cried Mr. Kennedy, springing to the
+sleigh and seizing his friend by the hand as he dragged him out.
+"This is kind of you to come early. And Mrs. Grant, too. Take care,
+my dear madam, step clear of the haps; now, then--cleverly done" (as
+Mrs. Grant tumbled into his arms in a confused heap). "Come along
+now; there's a capital fire in here.--Don't mind the horses,
+Mactavish--follow us, my lad; Tom Whyte will attend to them."
+
+Uttering such disjointed remarks, Mr. Kennedy led Mrs. Grant into the
+house, and made her over to Mrs. Taddipopple, who hurried her away to
+an inner apartment, while Mr. Kennedy conducted her spouse, along
+with Mactavish and our friend the head clerk at Fort Garry, into the
+parlour.
+
+"Harry, my dear fellow, I wish you joy," cried Mr. Grant, as the
+former grasped his hand. "Lucky dog you are. Where's Kate, eh? Not
+visible yet, I suppose."
+
+"No, not till the parson comes," interrupted Mr. Kennedy, convulsing
+his left cheek.--"Hollo, Charley, where are you? Ah! bring the
+cigars, Charley.--Sit down, gentlemen; make yourselves at home--I
+say, Mrs. Taddi--Taddi--oh, botheration--popple! that's it--your
+name, madam, is a puzzler-but-we'll need more chairs, I think. Fetch
+one or two, like a dear!"
+
+As he spoke the jingle of bells was heard outside, and Mr. Kennedy
+rushed to the door again.
+
+"Good-evening, Mr. Addison," said he, taking that gentleman warmly by
+the hand as he resigned the reins to Tom Whyte. "I am delighted to
+see you, sir (Look after the minister's mare, Tom), glad to see you,
+my dear sir. Some of my friends have come already. This way, Mr,
+Addison."
+
+The worthy clergyman responded to Mr. Kennedy's greeting in his own
+hearty manner, and followed him into the parlour, where the guests
+now began to assemble rapidly.
+
+"Father," cried Charley, catching his sire by the arm, "I've been
+looking for you everywhere, but you dance about like a will-o'-the-
+wisp. Do you know I've invited my friends Jacques and Redfeather to
+come to-night, and also Louis Peltier, the guide with whom I made my
+first trip. You recollect him, father?"
+
+"Ay, that do I, lad, and happy shall I be to see three such worthy
+men under my roof as guests on this night."
+
+"Yes, yes, I know that, father; but I don't see them here. Have they
+come yet?"
+
+"Can't say, boy. By the way, Pastor Conway is also coming, so we'll
+have a meeting between an Episcopalian and a Wesleyan. I sincerely
+trust that they won't fight!" As he said this the old gentleman
+grinned and threw his cheek into convulsions--an expression which was
+suddenly changed into one of confusion when he observed that Mr.
+Addison was standing close beside him, and had heard the remark.
+
+"Don't blush, my dear sir," said Mr. Addison, with a quiet smile, as
+he patted his friend on the shoulder. "You have too much reason, I am
+sorry to say, for expecting that clergymen of different denominations
+should look coldly on each other. There is far too much of this
+indifference and distrust among those who labour in different parts
+of the Lord's vineyard. But I trust you will find that my sympathies
+extend a little beyond the circle of my own particular body. Indeed,
+Mr. Conway is a particular friend of mine; so I assure you we won't
+fight."
+
+"Right, right" cried Mr. Kennedy, giving the clergy man an energetic
+grasp of the hand; "I like to hear you speak that way. I must confess
+that I've been a good deal surprised to observe, by what one reads in
+the old-country newspapers, as well as by what one sees even hereaway
+in the backwood settlements, how little interest clergymen show in
+the doings of those who don't happen to belong to their own
+particular sect; just as if a soul saved through the means of an
+Episcopalian was not of as much value as one saved by a Wesleyan, or
+a Presbyterian, or a Dissenter. Why, sir, it seems to me just as
+mean-spirited and selfish as if one of our chief factors was so
+entirely taken up with the doings and success of his own particular
+district that he didn't care a gun-flint for any other district in
+the Company's service."
+
+There was at least one man listening to these remarks whose naturally
+logical and liberal mind fully agreed with them. This was Jacques
+Caradoc, who had entered the room a few minutes before, in company
+with his friend Redfeather and Louis Peltier.
+
+"Right, sir! That's fact, straight up and down," said he, in an
+approving tone.
+
+"Ha! Jacques, my good fellow, is that you?--Redfeather, my friend,
+how are you?" said Mr. Kennedy, turning round and grasping a hand of
+each.--"Sit down there, Louis, beside Mrs. Taddi--eh?--ah!--popple.--
+Mr. Addison, this is Jacques Caradoc, the best and stoutest hunter
+between Hudson's Bay and Oregon."
+
+Jacques smiled and bowed modestly as Mr. Addison shook his hand. The
+worthy hunter did indeed at that moment look as if he fully merited
+Mr. Kennedy's eulogium. Instead of endeavouring to ape the gentleman,
+as many men in his rank of life would have been likely to do on an
+occasion like this, Jacques had not altered his costume a hair-
+breadth from what it usually was, excepting that some parts of it
+were quite new, and all of it faultlessly clean. He wore the usual
+capote, but it was his best one, and had been washed for the
+occasion. The scarlet belt and blue leggings were also as bright in
+colour as if they had been put on for the first time; and the
+moccasins, which fitted closely to his well-formed feet, were of the
+cleanest and brightest yellow leather, ornamented, as usual, in
+front. The collar of his blue-striped shirt was folded back a little
+more carefully than usual, exposing his sun-burned and muscular
+throat. In fact, he wanted nothing, save the hunting-knife, the
+rifle, and the powder-horn, to constitute him a perfect specimen of a
+thorough backwoodsman.
+
+Redfeather and Louis were similarly costumed, and a noble trio they
+looked as they sat modestly in a corner, talking to each other in
+whispers, and endeavouring, as much as possible, to curtail their
+colossal proportions.
+
+"Now, Harry," said Mr. Kennedy, in a hoarse whisper, at the same time
+winking vehemently, "we're about ready, lad. Where's Kate, eh? shall
+we send for her?"
+
+Harry blushed, and stammered out something that was wholly
+unintelligible, but which, nevertheless, seemed to afford infinite
+delight to the old gentleman, who chuckled and winked tremendously,
+gave his son-in-law a facetious poke in the ribs, and turning
+abruptly to Miss Cookumwell, said to that lady, "Now, Miss
+Cookumpopple, we're all ready. They seem to have had enough tea and
+trash; you'd better be looking after Kate, I think."
+
+Miss Cookumwell smiled, rose, and left the room to obey; Mrs.
+Taddipopple followed to help, and soon returned with Kate, whom they
+delivered up to her father at the door. Mr. Kennedy led her to the
+upper end of the room; Harry Somerville stood by her side, as if by
+magic; Mr. Addison dropped opportunely before them, as if from the
+clouds; there was an extraordinary and abrupt pause in the hum of
+conversation, and ere Kate was well aware of what was about to
+happen, she felt herself suddenly embraced by her husband, from whom
+she was thereafter violently torn and all but smothered by her
+sympathising friends.
+
+Poor Kate! she had gone through the ceremony almost mechanically--
+recklessly, we might be justified in saying; for not having raised
+her eyes off the floor from its commencement to its close, the man
+whom she accepted for better or for worse might have been Jacques or
+Redfeather for all that she knew.
+
+Immediately after this there was heard the sound of a fiddle, and an
+old Canadian was led to the upper end of the room, placed on a chair,
+and hoisted, by the powerful arms of Jacques and Louis, upon a table.
+In this conspicuous position the old man seemed to be quite at his
+ease. He spent a few minutes in bringing his instrument into perfect
+tune; then looking round with a mild, patronising glance to see that
+the dancers were ready, he suddenly struck up a Scotch reel with an
+amount of energy, precision, and spirit that might have shot a pang
+of jealousy through the heart of Neil Gow himself. The noise that
+instantly commenced, and was kept up from that moment, with but few
+intervals, during the whole evening, was of a kind that is never
+heard in fashionable drawing-rooms. Dancing in the backwood
+settlements _is_ dancing. It is not walking; it is not sailing; it is
+not undulating; it is not sliding; no, it is _bona-fide_ dancing! It
+is the performance of intricate evolutions with the feet and legs
+that make one wink to look at; performed in good time too, and by
+people who look upon _all_ their muscles as being useful machines,
+not merely things of which a select few, that cannot be dispensed
+with, are brought into daily operation. Consequently the thing was
+done with an amount of vigour that was conducive to the health of
+performers, and productive of satisfaction to the eyes of beholders.
+When the evening wore on apace, however, and Jacques's modesty was so
+far overcome as to induce him to engage in a reel, along with his
+friend Louis Peltier, and two bouncing young ladies whose father had
+driven them twenty miles over the plains that day in order to attend
+the wedding of their dear friend and former playmate, Kate--when
+these four stood up, we say, and the fiddler played more
+energetically than ever, and the stout backwoodsmen began to warm and
+grow vigorous, until, in the midst of their tremendous leaps and
+rapid but well-timed motions, they looked like very giants amid their
+brethren, then it was that Harry, as he felt Kate's little hand
+pressing his arm, and observed her sparkling eyes gazing at the
+dancers in genuine admiration, began at last firmly to believe that
+the whole thing was a dream; and then it was that old Mr. Kennedy
+rejoiced to think that the house had been built under his own special
+directions, and he knew that it could not by any possibility be
+shaken to pieces.
+
+And well might Harry imagine that he dreamed; for besides the
+bewildering tendency of the almost too-good-to-be-true fact that
+Kate was really Mrs. Harry Somerville, the scene before him was a
+particularly odd and perplexing mixture of widely different elements,
+suggestive of new and old associations. The company was
+miscellaneous. There were retired old traders, whose lives from
+boyhood had been spent in danger, solitude, wild scenes and
+adventures, to which those of Robinson Crusoe are mere child's play.
+There were young girls, the daughters of these men, who had received
+good educations in the Red River academy, and a certain degree of
+polish which education always gives; a very _different_ polish,
+indeed, from that which the conventionalities and refinements of the
+Old World bestow, but not the less agreeable on that account--nay, we
+might even venture to say, all the _more_ agreeable on that account.
+There were Red Indians and clergymen; there were one or two ladies of
+a doubtful age, who had come out from the old country to live there,
+having found it no easy matter, poor things, to live at home; there
+were matrons whose absolute silence on every subject save "yes" or
+"no" showed that they had not been subjected to the refining
+influences of the academy, but whose hearty smiles and laughs of
+genuine good-nature proved that the storing of the brain has, after
+all, _very_ little to do with the best and deepest feelings of the
+heart. There were the tones of Scotch reels sounding--tones that
+brought Scotland vividly before the very eyes; and there were
+Canadian hunters and half-breed voyageurs, whose moccasins were more
+accustomed to the turf of the woods than the boards of a drawing-
+room, and whose speech and accents made Scotland vanish away
+altogether from the memory. There were old people and young folk;
+there were fat and lean, short and long. There were songs too--
+ballads of England, pathetic songs of Scotland, alternating with the
+French ditties of Canada, and the sweet, inexpressibly plaintive
+canoe-songs of the voyageur. There were strong contrasts in dress
+also: some wore the home-spun trousers of the settlement, a few the
+ornamented leggings of the hunter. Capotes were there--loose,
+flowing, and picturesque; and broad-cloth tail-coats were there, of
+the last century, tight-fitting, angular--in a word, detestable;
+verifying the truth of the proverb that extremes meet, by showing
+that the _cut_ which all the wisdom of tailors and scientific fops,
+after centuries of study, had laboriously wrought out and foisted
+upon the poor civilised world as perfectly sublime, appeared in the
+eyes of backwoodsmen and Indians utterly ridiculous. No wonder that
+Harry, under the circumstances, became quietly insane, and went about
+committing _nothing_ but mistakes the whole evening. No wonder that
+he emulated his father-in-law in abusing the gray cat, when he found
+it surreptitiously devouring part of the supper in an adjoining room;
+and no wonder that, when he rushed about vainly in search of Mrs.
+Taddipopple, to acquaint her with the cat's wickedness, he, at last,
+in desperation, laid violent hands on Miss Cookumwell, and addressed
+that excellent lady by the name of Mrs. Poppletaddy.
+
+Were we courageous enough to make the attempt, we would endeavour to
+describe that joyful evening from beginning to end. We would tell you
+how the company's spirits rose higher and higher, as each individual
+became more and more anxious to lend his or her aid in adding to the
+general hilarity; how old Mr. Kennedy nearly killed himself in his
+fruitless efforts to be everywhere, speak to everybody, and do
+everything at once, how Charley danced till he could scarcely speak,
+and then talked till he could hardly dance; and how the fiddler,
+instead of growing wearied, became gradually and continuously more
+powerful, until it seemed as if fifty fiddles were playing at one and
+the same time. We would tell you how Mr. Addison drew more than ever
+to Mr. Conway, and how the latter gentleman agreed to correspond
+regularly with the former thenceforth, in order that their interest
+in the great work each had in hand for the _same_ Master might be
+increased and kept up; how, in a spirit of recklessness (afterwards
+deeply repented of), a bashful young man was induced to sing a song
+which in the present mirthful state of the company ought to have been
+a humorous song, or a patriotic song, or a good, loud, inspiriting
+song, or _anything_, in short, but what it was--a slow, dull,
+sentimental song, about wasting gradually away in a sort of
+melancholy decay, on account of disappointed love, or some such
+trash, which was a false sentiment in itself, and certainly did not
+derive any additional tinge of truthfulness from a thin, weak voice,
+that was afflicted with chronic flatness, and _edged_ all its notes.
+Were we courageous enough to go on, we would further relate to you
+how during supper Mr. Kennedy senior, tried to make a speech, and
+broke down amid uproarious applause; how Mr. Kennedy, junior, got up
+thereafter--being urged thereto by his father, who said, with a
+convulsion of the cheek, "Get me out of the scrape, Charley, my boy"
+--and delivered an oration which did not display much power of concise
+elucidation, but was replete, nevertheless, with consummate
+impudence; how during this point in the proceedings the gray cat made
+a last desperate effort to purloin a cold chicken, which it had
+watched anxiously the whole evening, and was caught in the very act,
+nearly strangled, and flung out of the window, where it alighted in
+safety on the snow, and fled, a wiser, and, we trust, a better cat.
+We would recount all this to you, reader, and a great deal more
+besides; but we fear to try your patience, and we tremble violently,
+much more so, indeed, than you will believe, at the bare idea of
+waxing prosy.
+
+Suffice it to say that the party separated at an early hour--a good,
+sober, reasonable hour for such an occasion--somewhere before
+midnight. The horses were harnessed; the ladies were packed in the
+sleighs with furs so thick and plentiful as to defy the cold; the
+gentlemen seized their reins and cracked their whips; the horses
+snorted, plunged, and dashed away over the white plains in different
+directions, while the merry sleigh-bells sounded fainter and fainter
+in the frosty air. In half-an-hour the stars twinkled down on the
+still, cold scene, and threw a pale light on the now silent dwelling
+of the old fur-trader.
+
+       *       *      *       *       *       *       *
+
+Ere dropping the curtain over a picture in which we have sought
+faithfully to portray the prominent features of those wild regions
+that lie to the north of the Canadas, and in which we have
+endeavoured to describe some of the peculiarities of a class of men
+whose histories seldom meet the public eye, we feel tempted to add a
+few more touches to the sketch; we would fain trace a little farther
+the fortunes of one or two of the chief factors in our book. But this
+is not to be.
+
+Snowflakes and sunbeams came and went as in days gone by. Time rolled
+on, working many changes in its course, and among others consigning
+Harry Somerville to an important post in Red River colony, to the
+unutterable joy of Mr. Kennedy, senior, and of Kate. After much
+consideration and frequent consultation with Mr. Addison, Mr. Conway
+resolved to make another journey to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ
+to those Indian tribes that inhabit the regions beyond Athabasca; and
+being a man of great energy, he determined not to await the opening
+of the river navigation, but to undertake the first part of his
+expedition on snow-shoes. Jacques agreed to go with him as guide and
+hunter, Redfeather as interpreter. It was a bright, cold morning when
+he set out, accompanied part of the way by Charley Kennedy and Harry
+Somerville, whose hearts were heavy at the prospect of parting with
+the two men who had guided and protected them during their earliest
+experience of a voyageur's life, when, with hearts full to
+overflowing with romantic anticipations, they first dashed joyously
+into the almost untrodden wilderness.
+
+During their career in the woods together, the young men and the two
+hunters had become warmly attached to each other; and now that they
+were about to part--it might be for years, perhaps for ever--a
+feeling of sadness crept over them which they could not shake off,
+and which the promise given by Mr. Conway to revisit Red River on the
+following spring served but slightly to dispel.
+
+On arriving at the spot where they intended to bid their friends a
+last farewell, the two young men held out their hands in silence.
+Jacques grasped them warmly.
+
+"Mister Charles, Mister Harry," said he, in a deep, earnest voice,
+"the Almighty has guided us in safety for many a day when we
+travelled the woods together; for which praised be His Holy Name! May
+He guide and bless you still, and bring us together in this world
+again, if in His wisdom He see fit."
+
+There was no answer save a deeply-murmured "Amen." In another moment
+the travellers resumed their march. On reaching the summit of a
+slight eminence, where the prairies terminated and the woods began,
+they paused to wave a last adieu; then Jacques, putting himself at
+the head of the little party, plunged into the forest, and led them
+away towards the snowy regions of the Far North.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Young Fur Traders, by R.M. Ballantyne
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Young Fur Traders, by R.M. Ballantyne
+#2 in our series by R.M. Ballantyne
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+Title: The Young Fur Traders
+
+Author: R.M. Ballantyne
+
+Release Date: August, 2004 [EBook #6357]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on December 1, 2002]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG FUR TRADERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+THE YOUNG FUR-TRADERS.
+
+
+
+
+UNIFORM WITH THIS BOOK.
+
+_THE CORAL ISLAND. MARTIN RATTLER. UNCAVA._
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Pierre was standing over the great kettle. "_The Young
+Fur Traders_]" Frontispiece
+
+
+
+SNOWFLAKES AND SUNBEAMS; OR, THE YOUNG FUR-TRADERS
+
+A Tale of the Far North.
+
+
+BY ROBERT MICHAEL BALLANTYNE
+
+
+
+
+PEEFACE.
+
+In writing this book my desire has been to draw an exact copy of the
+picture which is indelibly stamped on my own memory. I have carefully
+avoided exaggeration in everything of importance. All the chief, and
+most of the minor incidents are facts. In regard to unimportant
+matters, I have taken the liberty of a novelist--not to colour too
+highly, or to invent improbabilities, but--to transpose time, place,
+and circumstance at pleasure; while, at the same time, I have
+endeavoured to convey to the reader's mind a truthful impression of
+the _general effect_--to use a painter's language--of the life and
+country of the Fur Trader.
+
+EDINBURGH, 1856.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I Plunges the reader into the middle of an arctic winter;
+conveys him into the heart of the wildernesses of North America; and
+introduces him to some of the principal personages of our tale
+
+CHAPTER II The old fur-trader endeavours to "fix" his son's "flint,"
+and finds the thing more difficult to do than he expected
+
+CHAPTER III The counting-room
+
+CHAPTER IV. A wolf-hunt in the prairies; Charley astonishes his
+father, and breaks in the "noo'oss" effectually
+
+CHAPTER V Peter Mactavish becomes an amateur doctor; Charley
+promulgates his views of things in general to Kate; and Kate waxes
+sagacious
+
+CHAPTER VI Spring and the voyageurs
+
+CHAPTER VII. The store
+
+CHAPTER VIII. Farewell to Kate; departure of the brigade; Charley
+becomes a voyageur
+
+CHAPTER IX. The voyage; the encampment; a surprise
+
+CHAPTER X. Varieties, vexations, and vicissitudes
+
+CHAPTER XI. Charley and Harry begin their sporting career without
+much success; Whisky-John catching
+
+CHAPTER XII. The storm
+
+CHAPTER XIII. The canoe; ascending the rapids; the portage; deer-
+shooting and life in the woods
+
+CHAPTER XIV. The Indian camp; the new outpost; Charley sent on a
+mission to the Indians
+
+CHAPTER XV. The feast; Charley makes his first speech in public;
+meets with an old friend; an evening in the grass
+
+CHAPTER XVI The return; narrow escape; a murderous attempt, which
+fails; and a discovery
+
+CHAPTER XVII The scene changes; Bachelors' Hall; a practical joke and
+its consequences; a snow-shoe walk at night in the forest
+
+CHAPTER XVIII The walk continued; frozen toes; an encampment in the
+snow
+
+CHAPTER XIX Shows how the accountant and Harry set their traps, and
+what came of it
+
+CHAPTER XX The accountant's story
+
+CHAPTER XXI Ptarmigan-hunting; Hamilton's shooting powers severely
+tested; a snow-storm
+
+CHAPTER XXII The winter packet; Harry hears from old friends, and
+wishes that he was with them CHAPTER XXIII Changes; Harry and
+Hamilton find that variety is indeed, charming; the latter astonishes
+the former considerably
+
+CHAPTER XXIV Hopes and fears; an unexpected meeting; philosophical
+talk between the hunter and the parson
+
+CHAPTER XXV Good news and romantic scenery; bear-hunting and its
+results
+
+CHAPTER XXVI An unexpected meeting, and an unexpected deer-hunt;
+arrival at the outpost; disagreement with the natives; an enemy
+discovered, and a murder
+
+CHAPTER XXVII The chase; the fight; retribution; low spirits and good
+news
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII Old friends and scenes; coming events cast their
+shadows before
+
+CHAPTER XXIX The first day at home; a gallop in the prairie, and its
+consequences
+
+CHAPTER XXX Love; old Mr. Kennedy puts his foot in it
+
+CHAPTER XXXI The course of true love, curiously enough, runs smooth
+for once; and the curtain falls
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+Plunges the reader into the middle of an Arctic winter; conveys him
+into the heart of the wildernesses of North America; and introduces
+him to some of the principal personages of our tale.
+
+
+Snowflakes and sunbeams, heat and cold, winter and summer, alternated
+with their wonted regularity for fifteen years in the wild regions of
+the Far North. During this space of time the hero of our tale
+sprouted from babyhood to boyhood, passed through the usual amount of
+accidents, ailments, and vicissitudes incidental to those periods of
+life, and finally entered upon that ambiguous condition that precedes
+early manhood.
+
+It was a clear, cold winter's day. The sunbeams of summer were long
+past, and snowflakes had fallen thickly on the banks of Red River.
+Charley sat on a lump of blue ice, his head drooping and his eyes
+bent on the snow at his feet with an expression of deep
+disconsolation.
+
+Kate reclined at Charley's side, looking wistfully up in his
+expressive face, as if to read the thoughts that were chasing each
+other through his mind, like the ever-varying clouds that floated in
+the winter sky above. It was quite evident to the most careless
+observer that, whatever might be the usual temperaments of the boy
+and girl, their present state of mind was not joyous, but on the
+contrary, very sad.
+
+"It won't do, sister Kate," said Charley. "I've tried him over and
+over again--I've implored, begged, and entreated him to let me go;
+but he won't, and I'm determined to run away, so there's an end of
+it!"
+
+As Charley gave utterance to this unalterable resolution, he rose
+from the bit of blue ice, and taking Kate by the hand, led her over
+the frozen river, climbed up the bank on the opposite side--an
+operation of some difficulty, owing to the snow, which had been
+drifted so deeply during a late storm that the usual track was almost
+obliterated--and turning into a path that lost itself among the
+willows, they speedily disappeared.
+
+As it is possible our reader may desire to know who Charley and Kate
+are, and the part of the world in which they dwell, we will interrupt
+the thread of our narrative to explain.
+
+In the very centre of the great continent of North America, far
+removed from the abodes of civilised men, and about twenty miles to
+the south of Lake Winnipeg, exists a colony composed of Indians,
+Scotsmen, and French-Canadians, which is known by the name of Red
+River Settlement. Red River differs from most colonies in more
+respects than one--the chief differences being, that whereas other
+colonies cluster on the sea-coast, this one lies many hundreds of
+miles in the interior of the country, and is surrounded by a
+wilderness; and while other colonies, acting on the Golden Rule,
+export their produce in return for goods imported, this of Red River
+imports a large quantity, and exports nothing, or next to nothing.
+Not but that it _might_ export, if it only had an outlet or a market;
+but being eight hundred miles removed from the sea, and five hundred
+miles from the nearest market, with a series of rivers, lakes,
+rapids, and cataracts separating from the one, and a wide sweep of
+treeless prairie dividing from the other, the settlers have long
+since come to the conclusion that they were born to consume their own
+produce, and so regulate the extent of their farming operations by
+the strength of their appetites. Of course, there are many of the
+necessaries, or at least the luxuries, of life which the colonists
+cannot grow--such as tea, coffee, sugar, coats, trousers, and shirts--
+and which, consequently, they procure from England, by means of the
+Hudson's Bay Fur Company's ships, which sail once a year from
+Gravesend, laden with supplies for the trade carried on with the
+Indians. And the bales containing these articles are conveyed in
+boats up the rivers, carried past the waterfalls and rapids overland
+on the shoulders of stalwart voyageurs, and finally landed at Red
+River, after a rough trip of many weeks' duration. The colony was
+founded in 1811, by the Earl of Selkirk, previously to which it had
+been a trading-post of the Fur Company. At the time of which we
+write, it contained about five thousand souls, and extended upwards
+of fifty miles along the Red and Assiniboine rivers, which streams
+supplied the settlers with a variety of excellent fish. The banks
+were clothed with fine trees; and immediately behind the settlement
+lay the great prairies, which extended in undulating waves--almost
+entirely devoid of shrub or tree--to the base of the Rocky Mountains.
+
+Although far removed from the civilised world, and containing within
+its precincts much that is savage and very little that is refined,
+Red River is quite a populous paradise, as compared with the
+desolate, solitary establishments of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company.
+These lonely dwellings of the trader are scattered far and wide over
+the whole continent--north, south, east, and west. Their population
+generally amounts to eight or ten men--seldom to thirty. They are
+planted in the thick of an uninhabited desert--their next neighbours
+being from two to five hundred miles off--their occasional visitors,
+bands of wandering Indians--and the sole object of their existence
+being to trade the furry hides of foxes, martens, beavers, badgers,
+bears, buffaloes, and wolves. It will not, then, be deemed a matter
+of wonder that the gentlemen who have charge of these establishments,
+and who, perchance, may have spent ten or twenty years in them,
+should look upon the colony of Red River as a species of Elysium, a
+sort of haven of rest, in which they may lay their weary heads, and
+spend the remainder of their days in peaceful felicity, free from the
+cares of a residence among wild beasts and wild men. Many of the
+retiring traders prefer casting their lot in Canada; but not a few of
+them _smoke_ out the remainder of their existence in this colony--
+especially those who, having left home as boys fifty or sixty years
+before, cannot reasonably expect to find the friends of their
+childhood where they left them, and cannot hope to remodel tastes and
+habits long nurtured in the backwoods so as to relish the manners and
+customs of civilised society.
+
+Such an one was old Frank Kennedy, who, sixty years before the date
+of our story, ran away from school in Scotland; got a severe
+thrashing from his father for so doing; and having no mother in whose
+sympathising bosom he could weep out his sorrow, ran away from home,
+went to sea, ran away from his ship while she lay at anchor in the
+harbour of New York, and after leading a wandering, unsettled life
+for several years, during which he had been alternately a clerk, a
+day-labourer, a store-keeper and a village schoolmaster, he wound up
+by entering the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, in which he
+obtained an insight into savage life, a comfortable fortune, besides
+a half-breed wife and a large family.
+
+Being a man of great energy and courage, and moreover possessed of a
+large, powerful frame, he was sent to one of the most distant posts
+on the Mackenzie River, as being admirably suited for the display of
+his powers both mental and physical. Here the small-pox broke out
+among the natives, and besides carrying off hundreds of these poor
+creatures, robbed Mr. Kennedy of all his children save two, Charles
+and Kate, whom we have already introduced to the reader.
+
+About the same time the council which is annually held at Red River
+in spring for the purpose of arranging the affairs of the country for
+the ensuing year thought proper to appoint Mr. Kennedy to a still
+more outlandish part of the country--as near, in fact, to the North
+Pole as it was possible for mortal man to live--and sent him an order
+to proceed to his destination without loss of time. On receiving this
+communication, Mr. Kennedy upset his chair, stamped his foot, ground
+his teeth, and vowed, in the hearing of his wife and children, that
+sooner than obey the mandate he would see the governors and council
+of Rupert's Land hanged, quartered, and boiled down into tallow!
+Ebullitions of this kind were peculiar to Frank Kennedy, and meant
+_nothing_. They were simply the safety-valves to his superabundant
+ire, and, like safety-valves in general, made much noise but did no
+damage. It was well, however, on such occasions to keep out of the
+old fur-trader's way; for he had an irresistible propensity to hit
+out at whatever stood before him, especially if the object stood on a
+level with his own eyes and wore whiskers. On second thoughts,
+however, he sat down before his writing-table, took a sheet of blue
+ruled foolscap paper, seized a quill which he had mended six months
+previously, at a time when he happened to be in high good-humour, and
+wrote as follows:--
+
+Letter
+
+To the Governor and Council of Rupert's Land, Fort Paskisegun
+ Red River Settlement. June 15, 18--.
+
+
+Gentlemen,--I have the honour to acknowledge receipt
+ of your favour of 26th April last, appointing me
+ to the charge of Peel's River, and directing me to strike
+ out new channels of trade in that quarter. In reply, I
+ have to state that I shall have the honour to fulfil your
+ instructions by taking my departure in a light canoe as
+ soon as possible. At the same time I beg humbly to
+ submit that the state of my health is such as to render
+ it expedient for me to retire from the service, and I herewith
+ beg to hand in my resignation. I shall hope to be
+ relieved early next spring.--I have the honour to be,
+ gentlemen, your most obedient, humble servant,
+
+
+       F. Kennedy.
+
+
+
+"There!" exclaimed the old gentleman, in a tone that would lead one
+to suppose he had signed the death-warrant, and so had irrevocably
+fixed the certain destruction, of the entire council--"there!" said
+he, rising from his chair, and sticking the quill into the ink-bottle
+with a _dab_ that split it up to the feather, and so rendered it
+_hors de combat_ for all time coming.
+
+To this letter the council gave a short reply, accepting his
+resignation, and appointing a successor. On the following spring old
+Mr. Kennedy embarked his wife and children in a bark canoe, and in
+process of time landed them safely in Red River Settlement. Here he
+purchased a house with six acres of land, in which he planted a
+variety of useful vegetables, and built a summer-house after the
+fashion of a conservatory, where he was wont to solace himself for
+hours together with a pipe, or rather with dozens of pipes, of
+Canadian twist tobacco.
+
+After this he put his two children to school. The settlement was at
+this time fortunate in having a most excellent academy, which was
+conducted by a very estimable man. Charles and Kate Kennedy, being
+obedient and clever, made rapid progress under his judicious
+management, and the only fault that he had to find with the young
+people was, that Kate was a little too quiet and fond of books, while
+Charley was a little too riotous and fond of fun.
+
+When Charles arrived at the age of fifteen and Kate attained to
+fourteen years, old Mr. Kennedy went into his conservatory, locked
+the door, sat down on an easy chair, filled a long clay pipe with his
+beloved tobacco, smoked vigorously for ten minutes, and fell fast
+asleep. In this condition he remained until the pipe fell from his
+lips and broke in fragments on the floor. He then rose, filled
+another pipe, and sat down to meditate on the subject that had
+brought him to his smoking apartment. "There's my wife," said he,
+looking at the bowl of his pipe, as if he were addressing himself to
+it, "she's getting too old to be looking after everything herself
+(_puff_), and Kate's getting too old to be humbugging any longer with
+books: besides, she ought to be at home learning to keep house, and
+help her mother, and cut the baccy (_puff_), and that young scamp
+Charley should be entering the service (_puff_). He's clever enough
+now to trade beaver and bears from the red-skins; besides, he's
+(_puff_) a young rascal, and I'll be bound does nothing but lead the
+other boys into (_puff_) mischief, although, to be sure, the master
+_does_ say he's the cleverest fellow in the school; but he must be
+reined up a bit now. I'll clap on a double curb and martingale. I'll
+get him a situation in the counting-room at the fort (_puff_), where
+he'll have his nose held tight to the grindstone. Yes, I'll fix both
+their flints to-morrow;" and old Mr. Kennedy gave vent to another
+puff so thick and long that it seemed as if all the previous puffs
+had concealed themselves up to this moment within his capacious
+chest, and rushed out at last in one thick and long-continued stream.
+
+By "fixing their flints" Mr. Kennedy meant to express the fact that
+he intended to place his children in an entirely new sphere of
+action, and with a view to this he ordered out his horse and cariole
+[Footnote: A sort of sleigh.] on the following morning, went up to
+the school, which was about ten miles distant from his abode, and
+brought his children home with him the same evening. Kate was now
+formally installed as housekeeper and tobacco-cutter; while Charley
+was told that his future destiny was to wield the quill in the
+service of the Hudson's Bay Company, and that he might take a week to
+think over it. Quiet, warm-hearted, affectionate Kate was overjoyed
+at the thought of being a help and comfort to her old father and
+mother; but reckless, joyous, good-humoured, hare-brained Charley was
+cast into the depths of despair at the idea of spending the livelong
+day, and day after day, for years it might be, on the top of a long-
+legged stool. In fact, poor Charley said that he "would rather become
+a buffalo than do it." Now this was very wrong of Charley, for, of
+course, he didn't _mean_ it. Indeed, it is too much a habit among
+little boys, ay, and among grown-up people, too, to say what they
+don't mean, as no doubt you are aware, dear reader, if you possess
+half the self-knowledge we give you credit for; and we cannot too
+strongly remonstrate with ourself and others against the practice--
+leading, as it does, to all sorts of absurd exaggerations, such as
+gravely asserting that we are "broiling hot" when we are simply
+"rather warm," or more than "half dead" with fatigue when we are
+merely "very tired." However, Charley _said_ that he would rather be
+"a buffalo than do it," and so we feel bound in honour to record the
+fact.
+
+Charley and Kate were warmly attached to each other. Moreover, they
+had been, ever since they could walk, in the habit of mingling their
+little joys and sorrows in each other's bosoms; and although, as
+years flew past, they gradually ceased to sob in each other's arms at
+every little mishap, they did not cease to interchange their inmost
+thoughts, and to mingle their tears when occasion called them forth.
+They knew the power, the inexpressible sweetness, of sympathy. They
+understood experimentally the comfort and joy that flow from
+obedience to that blessed commandment to "rejoice with those that do
+rejoice, and weep with those that weep." It was natural, therefore,
+that on Mr. Kennedy announcing his decrees, Charley and Kate should
+hasten to some retired spot where they could commune in solitude; the
+effect of which communing was to reduce them to a somewhat calmer and
+rather happy state of mind. Charley's sorrow was blunted by sympathy
+with Kate's joy, and Kate's joy was subdued by sympathy with
+Charley's sorrow; so that, after the first effervescing burst, they
+settled down into a calm and comfortable state of flatness, with very
+red eyes and exceedingly pensive minds. We must, however, do Charley
+the justice to say that the red eyes applied only to Kate; for
+although a tear or two could without much coaxing be induced to hop
+over his sun-burned cheek, he had got beyond that period of life when
+boys are addicted to (we must give the word, though not pretty,
+because it is eminently expressive) _blubbering_.
+
+A week later found Charley and his sister seated on the lump of blue
+ice where they were first introduced to the reader, and where Charley
+announced his unalterable resolve to run away, following it up with
+the statement that _that_ was "the end of it." He was quite mistaken,
+however, for that was by no means the end of it. In fact it was only
+the beginning of it, as we shall see hereafter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+The old fur-trader endeavours to "fix" his son's "flint," and finds
+the thing more difficult to do than he expected.
+
+
+Near the centre of the colony of Red River, the stream from which the
+settlement derives its name is joined by another, called the
+Assiniboine. About five or six hundred yards from the point where
+this union takes place, and on the banks of the latter stream, stands
+the Hudson's Bay Company's trading-post, Fort Garry. It is a massive
+square building of stone. Four high and thick walls enclose a space
+of ground on which are built six or eight wooden houses, some of
+which are used as dwellings for the servants of the Hudson's Bay
+Company, and others as stores, wherein are contained the furs, the
+provisions which are sent annually to various parts of the country,
+and the goods (such as cloth, guns, powder and shot, blankets, twine,
+axes, knives, etc., etc.) with which the fur-trade is carried on.
+Although Red River is a peaceful colony, and not at all likely to be
+assaulted by the poor Indians, it was, nevertheless, deemed prudent
+by the traders to make some show of power; and so at the corners of
+the fort four round bastions of a very imposing appearance were
+built, from the embrasures of which several large black-muzzled guns
+protruded. No one ever conceived the idea of firing these engines of
+war; and, indeed, it is highly probable that such an attempt would
+have been attended with consequences much more dreadful to those
+_behind_ than to those who might chance to be in front of the guns.
+Nevertheless they were imposing, and harmonised well with the flag-
+staff, which was the only other military symptom about the place.
+This latter was used on particular occasions, such as the arrival or
+departure of a brigade of boats, for the purpose of displaying the
+folds of a red flag on which were the letters H. B. C.
+
+The fort stood, as we have said, on the banks of the Assiniboine
+River, on the opposite side of which the land was somewhat wooded,
+though not heavily, with oak, maple, poplar, aspens, and willows;
+while at the back of the fort the great prairie rolled out like a
+green sea to the horizon, and far beyond that again to the base of
+the Rocky mountains. The plains at this time, however, were a sheet
+of unbroken snow, and the river a mass of solid ice.
+
+It was noon on the day following that on which our friend Charley had
+threatened rebellion, when a tall elderly man might have been seen
+standing at the back gate of Fort Garry, gazing wistfully out into
+the prairie in the direction of the lower part of the settlement. He
+was watching a small speck which moved rapidly over the snow in the
+direction of the fort.
+
+"It's very like our friend Frank Kennedy," said he to himself (at
+least we presume so, for there was no one else within earshot to whom
+he could have said it, except the door-post, which every one knows is
+proverbially a deaf subject). "No man in the settlement drives so
+furiously. I shouldn't wonder if he ran against the corner of the new
+fence now. Ha! just so--there he goes!"
+
+And truly the reckless driver did "go" just at that moment. He came
+up to the corner of the new fence, where the road took a rather
+abrupt turn, in a style that insured a capsize. In another second the
+spirited horse turned sharp round, the sleigh turned sharp over, and
+the occupant was pitched out at full length, while a black object,
+that might have been mistaken for his hat, rose from his side like a
+rocket, and, flying over him, landed on the snow several yards
+beyond. A faint shout was heard to float on the breeze as this
+catastrophe occurred, and the driver was seen to jump up and readjust
+himself in the cariole; while the other black object proved itself
+not to be a hat, by getting hastily up on a pair of legs, and
+scrambling back to the seat from which it had been so unceremoniously
+ejected.
+
+In a few minutes more the cheerful tinkling of the merry sleigh-bells
+was heard, and Frank Kennedy, accompanied by his hopeful son Charles,
+dashed up to the gate, and pulled up with a jerk.
+
+"Ha! Grant, my fine fellow, how are you?" exclaimed Mr. Kennedy,
+senior, as he disengaged himself from the heavy folds of the buffalo
+robe and shook the snow from his greatcoat. "Why on earth, man, don't
+you put up a sign-post and a board to warn travellers that you've
+been running out new fences and changing the road, eh?"
+
+"Why, my good friend," said Mr. Grant, smiling, "the fence and the
+road are of themselves pretty conclusive proof to most men that the
+road is changed; and, besides, we don't often have people driving
+round corners at full gallop; but--"
+
+"Hollo! Charley, you rascal," interrupted Mr. Kennedy--"here, take
+the mare to the stable, and don't drive her too fast. Mind, now, no
+going off upon the wrong road for the sake of a drive, you
+understand."
+
+"All right, father," exclaimed the boy, while a bright smile lit up
+his features and displayed two rows of white teeth: "I'll be
+particularly careful," and he sprang into the light vehicle, seized
+the reins, and with a sharp crack of the whip dashed down the road at
+a hard gallop.
+
+"He's a fine fellow that son of yours," said Mr. Grant, "and will
+make a first-rate fur-trader."
+
+"Pur-trader!" exclaimed Mr. Kennedy. "Just look at him! I'll be shot
+if he isn't thrashing the mare as if she were made of leather." The
+old man's ire was rising rapidly as he heard the whip crack every now
+and then, and saw the mare bound madly over the snow. "And see!" he
+continued, "I declare he _has_ taken the wrong turn after all."
+
+"True," said Mr. Grant: "he'll never reach the stable by that road;
+he's much more likely to visit the White-horse Plains. But come,
+friend, it's of no use fretting, Charley will soon tire of his ride;
+so come with me to my room and have a pipe before dinner."
+
+Old Mr. Kennedy gave a short groan of despair, shook his fist at the
+form of his retreating son, and accompanied his friend to the house.
+
+It must not be supposed that Frank Kennedy was very deeply offended
+with his son, although he did shower on him a considerable amount of
+abuse. On the contrary, he loved him very much. But it was the old
+man's nature to give way to little bursts of passion on almost every
+occasion in which his feelings were at all excited. These bursts,
+however, were like the little puffs that ripple the surface of the
+sea on a calm summer's day. They were over in a second, and left his
+good-humoured, rough, candid countenance in unruffled serenity.
+Charley knew this well, and loved his father tenderly, so that his
+conscience frequently smote him for raising his anger so often; and
+he over and over again promised his sister Kate to do his best to
+refrain from doing anything that was likely to annoy the old man in
+future. But, alas! Charley's resolves, like those of many other boys,
+were soon forgotten, and his father's equanimity was upset generally
+two or three times a day; but after the gust was over, the fur-trader
+would kiss his son, call him a "rascal," and send him off to fill and
+fetch his pipe.
+
+Mr. Grant, who was in charge of Fort Garry, led the way to his
+smoking apartment, where the two were soon seated in front of a
+roaring log-fire, emulating each other in the manufacture of smoke.
+
+"Well, Kennedy," said Mr. Grant, throwing himself back in his chair,
+elevating his chin, and emitting a long thin stream of white vapour
+from his lips, through which he gazed at his friend complacently--
+"well, Kennedy, to what fortunate chance am I indebted for this
+visit? It is not often that we have the pleasure of seeing you here."
+
+Mr. Kennedy created two large volumes of smoke, which, by means of a
+vigorous puff, he sent rolling over towards his friend, and said,
+"Charley."
+
+"And what of Charley?" said Mr. Grant with a smile, for he was well
+aware of the boy's propensity to fun, and of the father's desire to
+curb it.
+
+"The fact is," replied Kennedy, "that Charley must be broke. He's the
+wildest colt I ever had to tame, but I'll do it--I will--that's a
+fact."
+
+If Charley's subjugation had depended on the rapidity with which the
+little white clouds proceeded from his sire's mouth, there is no
+doubt that it would have been a "fact" in a very short time, for they
+rushed from him with the violence of a high wind. Long habit had made
+the old trader and his pipe not only inseparable companions, but part
+and parcel of each other--so intimately connected that a change in
+the one was sure to produce a sympathetic change in the other. In the
+present instance, the little clouds rapidly increased in size and
+number as the old gentleman thought on the obstinacy of his "colt."
+
+"Yes," he continued, after a moment's silence, "I've made up my mind
+to tame him, and I want _you_, Mr. Grant, to help me."
+
+Mr. Grant looked as if he would rather not undertake to lend his aid
+in a work that was evidently difficult; but being a good-natured man,
+he said, "And how, friend, can I assist in the operation?"
+
+"Well, you see, Charley's a good fellow at bottom, and a clever
+fellow too--at least so says the schoolmaster; though I must confess,
+that so far as my experience goes, he's only clever at finding out
+excuses for not doing what I want him to. But still I'm told he's
+clever, and can use his pen well; and I know for certain that he can
+use his tongue well. So I want to get him into the service, and have
+him placed in a situation where he shall have to stick to his desk
+all day. In fact, I want to have him broken into work; for you've no
+notion, sir, how that boy talks about bears and buffaloes and
+badgers, and life in the woods among the Indians. I do believe,"
+continued the old gentleman, waxing warm, "that he would willingly go
+into the woods to-morrow, if I would let him, and never show his nose
+in the settlement again. He's quite incorrigible. But I'll tame him
+yet--I will!"
+
+Mr. Kennedy followed this up with an indignant grunt, and a puff of
+smoke, so thick, and propelled with such vigour, that it rolled and
+curled in fantastic evolutions towards the ceiling, as if it were
+unable to control itself with delight at the absolute certainty of
+Charley being tamed at last.
+
+Mr. Grant, however, shook his head, and remained for five minutes in
+profound silence, during which time the two friends puffed in
+concert, until they began to grow quite indistinct and ghost-like in
+the thick atmosphere.
+
+At last he broke silence.
+
+"My opinion is that you're wrong, Mr. Kennedy. No doubt you know the
+disposition of your son better than I do; but even judging of it from
+what you have said, I'm quite sure that a sedentary life will ruin
+him."
+
+"Ruin him! Humbug!" said Kennedy, who never failed to express his
+opinion at the shortest notice and in the plainest language--a fact
+so well known by his friends that they had got into the habit of
+taking no notice of it. "Humbug!" he repeated, "perfect humbug! You
+don't mean to tell me that the way to break him in is to let him run
+loose and wild whenever and wherever he pleases?"
+
+"By no means. But you may rest assured that tying him down won't do
+it."
+
+"Nonsense!" said Mr. Kennedy testily; "don't tell me. Have I not
+broken in young colts by the score? and don't I know that the way to
+fix their flints is to clap on a good strong curb?"
+
+"If you had travelled farther south, friend," replied Mr. Grant, "you
+would have seen the Spaniards of Mexico break in their wild horses in
+a very different way; for after catching one with a lasso, a fellow
+gets on his back, and gives it the rein and the whip--ay, and the
+spur too; and before that race is over, there is no need for a curb."
+
+"What!" exclaimed Kennedy, "and do you mean to argue from that, that
+I should let Charley run--and _help_ him too? Send him off to the
+woods with gun and blanket, canoe and tent, all complete?" The old
+gentleman puffed a furious puff, and broke into a loud sarcastic
+laugh.
+
+"No, no," interrupted Mr. Grant; "I don't exactly mean that, but I
+think that you might give him his way for a year or so. He's a fine,
+active, generous fellow; and after the novelty wore off, he would be
+in a much better frame of mind to listen to your proposals. Besides"
+(and Mr. Grant smiled expressively), "Charley is somewhat like his
+father. He has got a will of his own; and if you do not give him his
+way, I very much fear that he'll--"
+
+"What?" inquired Mr. Kennedy abruptly.
+
+"Take it," said Mr. Grant.
+
+The puff that burst from Mr. Kennedy's lips on hearing this would
+have done credit to a thirty-six pounder.
+
+"Take it!" said he; "he'd _better_ not."
+
+The latter part of this speech was not in itself of a nature
+calculated to convey much; but the tone of the old trader's voice,
+the contraction of his eyebrows, and above all the overwhelming flow
+of cloudlets that followed, imparted to it a significance that
+induced the belief that Charley's taking his own way would be
+productive of more terrific consequences than it was in the power of
+the most highly imaginative man to conceive.
+
+"There's his sister Kate, now," continued the old gentleman; "she's
+as gentle and biddable as a lamb. I've only to say a word, and she's
+off like a shot to do my bidding; and she does it with such a sweet
+smile too." There was a touch of pathos in the old trader's voice as
+he said this. He was a man of strong feeling, and as impulsive in his
+tenderness as in his wrath. "But that rascal Charley," he continued,
+"is quite different. He's obstinate as a mule. To be sure, he has a
+good temper; and I must say for him he never goes into the sulks,
+which is a comfort, for of all things in the world sulking is the
+most childish and contemptible. He _generally_ does what I bid him,
+too. But he's _always_ getting into scrapes of one kind or other. And
+during the last week, notwithstanding all I can say to him, he won't
+admit that the best thing for him is to get a place in your counting-
+room, with the prospect of rapid promotion in the service. Very odd.
+I can't understand it at all;" and Mr. Kennedy heaved a deep sigh.
+
+"Did you ever explain to him the prospects that he would have in the
+situation you propose for him?" inquired Mr. Grant.
+
+"Can't say I ever did."
+
+"Did you ever point out the probable end of a life spent in the
+woods?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Nor suggest to him that the appointment to the office here would
+only be temporary, and to see how he got on in it?"
+
+"Certainly not."
+
+"Then, my dear sir, I'm not surprised that Charley rebels. You have
+left him to suppose that, once placed at the desk here, he is a
+prisoner for life. But see, there he is," said Mr. Grant, pointing as
+he spoke towards the subject of their conversation, who was passing
+the window at the moment; "let me call him, and I feel certain that
+he will listen to reason in a few minutes."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr. Kennedy, "you may try."
+
+In another minute Charley had been summoned, and was seated, cap in
+hand, near the door.
+
+"Charley, my boy," began Mr. Grant, standing with his back to the
+fire, his feet pretty wide apart, and his coat-tails under his arms--
+"Charley, my boy, your father has just been speaking of you. He is
+very anxious that you should enter the service of the Hudson's Bay
+Company; and as you are a clever boy and a good penman, we think that
+you would be likely to get on if placed for a year or so in our
+office here. I need scarcely point out to you, my boy, that in such a
+position you would be sure to obtain more rapid promotion than if you
+were placed in one of the distant outposts, where you would have very
+little to do, and perhaps little to eat, and no one to converse with
+except one or two men. Of course, we would merely place you here on
+trial, to see how you suited us; and if you prove steady and
+diligent, there is no saying how fast you might get on. Why, you
+might even come to fill my place in course of time. Come now,
+Charley, what think you of it?"
+
+Charley's eyes had been cast on the ground while Mr. Grant was
+speaking. He now raised them, looked at his father, then at his
+interrogator, and said,--
+
+"It is very kind of you both to be so anxious about my prospects. I
+thank you, indeed, very much; but I--a--"
+
+"Don't like the desk?" said his father, in an angry tone. "Is that
+it, eh?"
+
+Charley made no reply, but cast down his eyes again and smiled
+(Charley had a sweet smile, a peculiarly sweet, candid smile), as if
+he meant to say that his father had hit the nail quite on the top of
+the head that time, and no mistake.
+
+"But consider," resumed Mr. Grant, "although you might probably be
+pleased with an outpost life at first, you would be sure to grow
+weary of it after the novelty wore off, and then you would wish with
+all your heart to be back here again. Believe me, child, a trader's
+life is a very hard and not often a very satisfactory one--"
+
+"Ay," broke in the father, desirous, if possible, to help the
+argument, "and you'll find it a desperately wild, unsettled, roving
+sort of life, too, let me tell you! full of dangers both from wild
+beast and wild men--"
+
+"Hush!" interrupted Mr. Grant, observing that the boy's eyes kindled
+when his father spoke of a wild, roving life, and wild beasts.--"Your
+father does not mean that life at an outpost is wild and
+_interesting_ or _exciting_. He merely means that--a--it--"
+
+Mr. Grant could not very well explain what it was that Mr. Kennedy
+meant if he did not mean that, so he turned to him for help.
+
+"Exactly so," said that gentleman, taking a strong pull at the pipe
+for inspiration. "It's no ways interesting or exciting at all. It's
+slow, dull, and flat; a miserable sort of Robinson Crusoe life, with
+red Indians and starvation constantly staring you in the face--"
+
+"Besides," said Mr. Grant, again interrupting the somewhat
+unfortunate efforts of his friend, who seemed to have a happy
+facility in sending a brilliant dash of romantic allusion across the
+dark side of his picture--"besides, you'll not have opportunity to
+amuse yourself, or to read, as you'll have no books, and you'll have
+to work hard with your hands oftentimes, like your men--"
+
+"In fact," broke in the impatient father, resolved, apparently, to
+carry the point with a grand _coup_--"in fact, you'll have to rough
+it, as I did, when I went up the Mackenzie River district, where I
+was sent to establish a new post, and had to travel for weeks and
+weeks through a wild country, where none of us had ever been before;
+where we shot our own meat, caught our own fish, and built our own
+house--and were very near being murdered by the Indians; though, to
+be sure, afterwards they became the most civil fellows in the
+country, and brought us plenty of skins. Ay, lad, you'll repent of
+your obstinacy when you come to have to hunt your own dinner, as I've
+done many a day up the Saskatchewan, where I've had to fight with
+red-skins and grizzly bears and to chase the buffaloes over miles and
+miles of prairie on rough-going nags till my bones ached and I scarce
+knew whether I sat on--"
+
+"Oh," exclaimed Charley, starting to his feet, while his eyes flashed
+and his chest heaved with emotion, "that's the place for me, father!--
+Do, please, Mr. Grant send me there, and I'll work for you with all
+my might!"
+
+Frank Kennedy was not a man to stand this unexpected miscarriage of
+his eloquence with equanimity. His first action was to throw his pipe
+at the head of his enthusiastic boy; without worse effect, however,
+than smashing it to atoms on the opposite wall. He then started up
+and rushed towards his son, who, being near the door, retreated
+precipitately and vanished.
+
+"So," said Mr. Grant, not very sure whether to laugh or be angry at
+the result of their united efforts, "you've settled the question now,
+at all events."
+
+Frank Kennedy said nothing, but filled another pipe, sat doggedly
+down in front of the fire, and speedily enveloped himself, and his
+friend, and all that the room contained, in thick, impenetrable
+clouds of smoke.
+
+Meanwhile his worthy son rushed off in a state of great glee. He had
+often heard the voyageurs of Red River dilate on the delights of
+roughing it in the woods, and his heart had bounded as they spoke of
+dangers encountered and overcome among the rapids of the Far North,
+or with the bears and bison-bulls of the prairie, but never till now
+had he heard his father corroborate their testimony by a recital of
+his own actual experience; and although the old gentleman's intention
+was undoubtedly to damp the boy's spirit, his eloquence had exactly
+the opposite effect--so that it was with a hop and a shout that he
+burst into the counting-room, with the occupants of which Charley was
+a special favourite.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+The Counting-room.
+
+
+Everyone knows the general appearance of a counting-room. There are
+one or two peculiar features about such apartments that are quite
+unmistakable and very characteristic; and the counting-room at Fort
+Garry, although many hundred miles distant from other specimens of
+its race, and, from the peculiar circumstances of its position, not
+therefore likely to bear them much resemblance, possessed one or two
+features of similarity, in the shape of two large desks and several
+very tall stools, besides sundry ink-bottles, rulers, books, and
+sheets of blotting-paper. But there were other implements there,
+savouring strongly of the backwoods and savage life, which merit more
+particular notice.
+
+The room itself was small, and lighted by two little windows, which
+opened into the courtyard. The entire apartment was made of wood. The
+floor was of unpainted fir boards. The walls were of the same
+material, painted blue from the floor upwards to about three feet,
+where the blue was unceremoniously stopped short by a stripe of
+bright red, above which the somewhat fanciful decorator had laid on a
+coat of pale yellow; and the ceiling, by way of variety, was of a
+deep ochre. As the occupants of Red River office were, however,
+addicted to the use of tobacco and tallow candles, the original
+colour of the ceiling had vanished entirely, and that of the walls
+had considerably changed.
+
+There were three doors in the room (besides the door of entrance),
+each opening into another apartment, where the three clerks were wont
+to court the favour of Morpheus after the labours of the day. No
+carpets graced the floors of any of these rooms, and with the
+exception of the paint aforementioned, no ornament whatever broke the
+pleasing uniformity of the scene. This was compensated, however, to
+some extent by several scarlet sashes, bright-coloured shot-belts,
+and gay portions of winter costume peculiar to the country, which
+depended from sundry nails in the bedroom walls; and as the three
+doors always stood open, these objects, together with one or two
+fowling-pieces and canoe-paddles, formed quite a brilliant and highly
+suggestive background to the otherwise sombre picture. A large open
+fireplace stood in one corner of the room, devoid of a grate, and so
+constructed that large logs of wood might be piled up on end to any
+extent. And really the fires made in this manner, and in this
+individual fireplace, were exquisite beyond description. A wood-fire
+is a particularly cheerful thing. Those who have never seen one can
+form but a faint idea of its splendour; especially on a sharp winter
+night in the arctic regions, where the thermometer falls to forty
+degrees below zero, without inducing the inhabitants to suppose that
+the world has reached its conclusion. The billets are usually piled
+up on end, so that the flames rise and twine round them with a fierce
+intensity that causes them to crack and sputter cheerfully, sending
+innumerable sparks of fire into the room, and throwing out a rich
+glow of brilliant light that warms a man even to look at it, and
+renders candles quite unnecessary.
+
+The clerks who inhabited this counting-room were, like itself,
+peculiar. There were three--corresponding to the bedrooms. The senior
+was a tall, broad-shouldered, muscular man--a Scotchman--very good-
+humoured, yet a man whose under lip met the upper with that peculiar
+degree of precision that indicated the presence of other qualities
+besides that of good-humour. He was book-keeper and accountant, and
+managed the affairs intrusted to his care with the same dogged
+perseverance with which he would have led an expedition of discovery
+to the North Pole. He was thirty or thereabouts.
+
+The second was a small man--also a Scotchman. It is curious to note
+how numerous Scotchmen are in the wilds of North America. This
+specimen was diminutive and sharp. Moreover, he played the flute--an
+accomplishment of which he was so proud that he ordered out from
+England a flute of ebony, so elaborately enriched with silver keys
+that one's fingers ached to behold it. This beautiful instrument,
+like most other instruments of a delicate nature, found the climate
+too much for its constitution, and, soon after the winter began,
+split from top to bottom. Peter Mactavish, however, was a genius by
+nature, and a mechanical genius by tendency; so that, instead of
+giving way to despair, he laboriously bound the flute together with
+waxed thread, which, although it could not restore it to its pristine
+elegance, enabled him to play with great effect sundry doleful airs,
+whose influence, when performed at night, usually sent his companions
+to sleep, or, failing this, drove them to distraction.
+
+The third inhabitant of the office was a ruddy, smooth-chinned youth
+of about fourteen, who had left home seven months before, in the hope
+of gratifying a desire to lead a wild life, which he had entertained
+ever since he read "Jack the Giant Killer," and found himself most
+unexpectedly fastened, during the greater part of each day, to a
+stool. His name was Harry Somerville, and a fine, cheerful little
+fellow he was, full of spirits, and curiously addicted to poking and
+arranging the fire at least every ten minutes--a propensity which
+tested the forbearance of the senior clerk rather severely, and would
+have surprised any one not aware of poor Harry's incurable antipathy
+to the desk, and the yearning desire with which he longed for
+physical action.
+
+Harry was busily engaged with the refractory fire when Charley, as
+stated at the conclusion of the last chapter, burst into the room.
+
+"Hollo!" he exclaimed, suspending his operations for a moment,
+"what's up?"
+
+"Nothing," said Charley, "but father's temper, that's all. He gave me
+a splendid description of his life in the woods, and then threw his
+pipe at me because I admired it too much."
+
+"Ho!" exclaimed Harry, making a vigorous thrust at the fire, "then
+you've no chance now."
+
+"No chance! what do you mean?"
+
+"Only that we are to have a wolf-hunt in the plains to-morrow; and if
+you've aggravated your father, he'll be taking you home to-night,
+that's all."
+
+"Oh! no fear of that," said Charley, with a look that seemed to imply
+that there was very great fear of "that"--much more, in fact, than he
+was willing to admit even to himself. "My dear old father never keeps
+his anger long. I'm sure that he'll be all right again in half-an-
+hour."
+
+"Hope so, but doubt it I do," said Harry, making another deadly poke
+at the fire, and returning, with a deep sigh, to his stool.
+
+"Would you like to go with us, Charley?" said the senior clerk,
+laying down his pen and turning round on his chair (the senior clerk
+never sat on a stool) with a benign smile.
+
+"Oh, very, very much indeed," cried Charley; "but even should father
+agree to stay all night at the fort, I have no horse, and I'm sure he
+would not let me have the mare after what I did to-day."
+
+"Do you think he's not open to persuasion?" said the senior clerk.
+
+"No, I'm sure he's not."
+
+"Well, well, it don't much signify; perhaps we can mount you."
+(Charley's face brightened.) "Go," he continued, addressing Harry
+Somerville--"go, tell Tom Whyte I wish to speak to him."
+
+Harry sprang from his stool with a suddenness and vigour that might
+have justified the belief that he had been fixed to it by means of a
+powerful spring, which had been set free with a sharp recoil, and
+shot him out at the door, for he disappeared in a trice. In a few
+minutes he returned, followed by the groom Tom Whyte.
+
+"Tom," said the senior clerk, "do you think we could manage to mount
+Charley to-morrow?"
+
+"Why, sir, I don't think as how we could. There ain't an 'oss in the
+stable except them wot's required and them wot's badly."
+
+"Couldn't he have the brown pony?" suggested the senior clerk.
+
+Tom Whyte was a cockney and an old soldier, and stood so bolt upright
+that it seemed quite a marvel how the words ever managed to climb up
+the steep ascent of his throat, and turn the corner so as to get out
+at his mouth. Perhaps this was the cause of his speaking on all
+occasions with great deliberation and slowness.
+
+"Why, you see, sir," he replied, "the brown pony's got cut under the
+fetlock of the right hind leg; and I 'ad 'im down to L'Esperance the
+smith's, sir, to look at 'im, sir; and he says to me, says he 'That
+don't look well, that 'oss don't,'--and he's a knowing feller, sir,
+is L'Esperance though he _is_ an 'alf-breed--"
+
+"Never mind what he said, Tom," interrupted the senior clerk; "is the
+pony fit for use? that's the question."
+
+"No, sir, 'e hain't."
+
+"And the black mare, can he not have that?"
+
+"No, sir; Mr. Grant is to ride 'er to-morrow."
+
+"That's unfortunate," said the senior clerk.--"I fear, Charley, that
+you'll need to ride behind Harry on his gray pony. It wouldn't
+improve his speed, to be sure, having two on his back; but then he's
+so like a pig in his movements at any rate, I don't think it would
+spoil his pace much."
+
+"Could he not try the new horse?" he continued, turning to the groom.
+
+"The noo 'oss, sir! he might as well try to ride a mad buffalo bull,
+sir. He's quite a young colt, sir, only 'alf broke--kicks like a
+windmill, sir, and's got an 'ead like a steam-engine; 'e couldn't
+'old 'im in no'ow, sir. I 'ad 'im down to the smith 'tother day, sir,
+an' says 'e to me, says 'e, 'That's a screamer, that is.' 'Yes,' says
+I, 'that his a fact.' 'Well,' says 'e--"
+
+"Hang the smith!" cried the senior clerk, losing all patience; "can't
+you answer me without so much talk? Is the horse too wild to ride?"
+
+"Yes, sir, 'e is" said the groom, with a look of slightly offended
+dignity, and drawing himself up--if we may use such an expression to
+one who was always drawn up to such an extent that he seemed to be
+just balanced on his heels, and required only a gentle push to lay
+him flat on his back.
+
+"Oh, I have it!" cried Peter Mactavish, who had been standing during
+the conversation with his back to the fire, and a short pipe in his
+mouth: "John Fowler, the miller, has just purchased a new pony. I'm
+told it's an old buffalo-runner, and I'm certain he would lend it to
+Charley at once."
+
+"The very thing," said the senior clerk.--"Run, Tom; give the miller
+my compliments, and beg the loan of his horse for Charley Kennedy.--I
+think he knows you, Charley?"
+
+The dinner-bell rang as the groom departed, and the clerks prepared
+for their mid-day meal.
+
+The Senior clerk's order to _"run"_ was a mere form of speech,
+intended to indicate that haste was desirable. No man imagined for a
+moment that Tom Whyte could, by any possibility, _run_. He hadn't run
+since he was dismissed from the army, twenty years before, for
+incurable drunkenness; and most of Tom's friend's entertained the
+belief that if he ever attempted to run he would crack all over, and
+go to pieces like a disentombed Egyptian mummy. Tom therefore walked
+off to the row of buildings inhabited by the men, where he sat down
+on a bench in front of his bed, and proceeded leisurely to fill his
+pipe.
+
+The room in which he sat was a fair specimen of the dwellings devoted
+to the _employés_ of the Hudson's Bay Company throughout the country.
+It was large, and low in the roof, built entirely of wood, which was
+unpainted; a matter, however, of no consequence, as, from long
+exposure to dust and tobacco smoke, the floor, walls, and ceiling had
+become one deep, uniform brown. The men's beds were constructed after
+the fashion of berths on board ship, being wooden boxes ranged in
+tiers round the room. Several tables and benches were strewn
+miscellaneously about the floor, in the centre of which stood a large
+double iron stove, with the word _"Carron"_ stamped on it. This
+served at once for cooking and warming the place. Numerous guns,
+axes, and canoe-paddles hung round the walls or were piled in
+corners, and the rafters sustained a miscellaneous mass of materials,
+the more conspicuous among which were snow-shoes, dog-sledges, axe-
+handles, and nets.
+
+Having filled and lighted his pipe, Tom Whyte thrust his hands into
+his deerskin mittens, and sauntered off to perform his errand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+A wolf-hunt in the prairies--Charley astonishes his father, and
+breaks in the "noo 'oss" effectually.
+
+During the long winter that reigns in the northern regions of
+America, the thermometer ranges, for many months together, from zero
+down to 20, 30, and 40 degrees _below_ it. In different parts of the
+country the intensity of the frost varies a little, but not
+sufficiently to make any appreciable change in one's sensation of
+cold. At York Fort, on the shores of Hudson's Bay, where the winter
+is eight months long, the spirit-of-wine (mercury being useless in so
+cold a climate) sometimes falls so low as 50 degrees below zero; and
+away in the regions of Great Bear Lake it has been known to fall
+considerably lower than 60 degrees below zero of Fahrenheit. Cold of
+such intensity, of course, produces many curious and interesting
+effects, which, although scarcely noticed by the inhabitants, make a
+strong impression upon the minds of those who visit the country for
+the first time. A youth goes out to walk on one of the first sharp,
+frosty mornings. His locks are brown and his face ruddy. In half-an-
+hour he returns with his face blue, his nose frost-bitten, and his
+locks _white_--the latter effect being produced by his breath
+congealing on his hair and breast, until both are covered with hoar-
+frost. Perhaps he is of a sceptical nature, prejudiced it may be, in
+favour of old habits and customs; so that, although told by those who
+ought to know that it is absolutely necessary to wear moccasins in
+winter, he prefers the leather boots to which he has been accustomed
+at home, and goes out with them accordingly In a few minutes the feet
+begin to lose sensation. First the toes, as far as feeling goes,
+vanish; then the heels depart, and he feels the extraordinary and
+peculiar and altogether disagreeable sensation of one who has had his
+heels and toes amputated, and is walking about on his insteps. Soon,
+however, these also fade away, and the unhappy youth rushes
+frantically home on the stumps of his ankle-bones--at least so it
+appears to him, and so in reality it would turn out to be if he did
+not speedily rub the benumbed appendages into vitality again.
+
+The whole country during this season is buried in snow, and the
+prairies of Red River present the appearance of a sea of the purest
+white for five or six months of the year. Impelled by hunger, troops
+of prairie wolves prowl round the settlement, safe from the assault
+of man in consequence of their light weight permitting them to
+scamper away on the surface of the snow, into which man or horse,
+from their greater weight, would sink, so as to render pursuit either
+fearfully laborious or altogether impossible. In spring, however,
+when the first thaws begin to take place, and commence that
+delightful process of disruption which introduces this charming
+season of the year, the relative position of wolf and man is
+reversed. The snow becomes suddenly soft, so that the short legs of
+the wolf, sinking deep into it, fail to reach the solid ground below,
+and he is obliged to drag heavily along; while the long legs of the
+horse enable him to plunge through and dash aside the snow at a rate
+which, although not very fleet, is sufficient nevertheless to
+overtake the chase and give his rider a chance of shooting it. The
+inhabitants of Red River are not much addicted to this sport, but the
+gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Service sometimes practise it; and it
+was to a hunt of this description that our young friend Charley
+Kennedy was now so anxious to go.
+
+The morning was propitious. The sun blazed in dazzling splendour in a
+sky of deep unclouded blue, while the white prairie glittered as if
+it were a sea of diamonds rolling out in an unbroken sheet from the
+walls of the fort to the horizon, and on looking at which one
+experienced all the pleasurable feelings of being out on a calm day
+on the wide, wide sea, without the disagreeable consequence of being
+very, very sick.
+
+The thermometer stood at 39° in the shade, and  "everythin_k_" as Tom
+Whyte emphatically expressed it, "looked like a runnin' of right away
+into slush." That unusual sound, the trickling of water, so
+inexpressibly grateful to the ears of those who dwell in frosty
+climes, was heard all around, as the heavy masses of snow on the
+housetops sent a few adventurous drops gliding down the icicles which
+depended from the eaves and gables; and there was a balmy softness in
+the air that told of coming spring. Nature, in fact, seemed to have
+wakened from her long nap, and was beginning to think of getting up.
+Like people, however, who venture to delay so long as to _think_
+about it, Nature frequently turns round and goes to sleep again in
+her icy cradle for a few weeks after the first awakening.
+
+The scene in the court-yard of Fort Garry harmonised with the
+cheerful spirit of the morning. Tom Whyte, with that upright
+solemnity which constituted one of his characteristic features, was
+standing in the centre of a group of horses, whose energy he
+endeavoured to restrain with the help of a small Indian boy, to whom
+meanwhile he imparted a variety of useful and otherwise unattainable
+information.
+
+"You see, Joseph," said he to the urchin, who gazed gravely in his
+face with a pair of very large and dark eyes, "ponies is often
+skittish. Keason why one should be, an' another not, I can't
+comprehend. P'r'aps it's nat'ral, p'r'aps not, but howsomediver so
+'tis; an' if it's more nor above the likes o' _me_, Joseph, you
+needn't be suprised that it's somethink haltogether beyond _you_."
+
+It will not surprise the reader to be told that Joseph made no reply
+to this speech, having a very imperfect acquaintance with the English
+language, especially the peculiar dialect of that tongue in which Tom
+Whyte was wont to express his ideas, when he had any.
+
+He merely gave a grunt, and continued to gaze at Tom's fishy eyes,
+which were about as interesting as the face to which they belonged,
+and _that_ might have been mistaken for almost anything.
+
+"Yes, Joseph," he continued, "that's a fact. There's the noo brown
+o'ss now, _it's_ a skittish 'un. And there's Mr. Kennedy's gray mare,
+wot's a standin' of beside me, she ain't skittish a bit, though she's
+plenty of spirit, and wouldn't care hanythink for a five-barred gate.
+Now, wot I want to know is, wot's the reason why?"
+
+We fear that the reason why, however interesting it might prove to
+naturalists, must remain a profound secret for ever; for just as the
+groom was about to entertain Joseph with one of his theories on the
+point, Charley Kennedy and Harry Somerville hastily approached.
+
+"Ho, Tom!" exclaimed the former, "have you got the miller's pony for
+me?"
+
+"Why, no, sir; 'e 'adn't got his shoes on, sir, last night--"
+
+"Oh, bother his shoes!" said Charley, in a voice of great
+disappointment. "Why didn't you bring him up without shoes, man, eh?"
+
+"Well, sir, the miller said 'e'd get 'em put on early this mornin',
+an' I 'xpect 'e'll be 'ere in 'alf-a-hour at farthest, sir."
+
+"Oh, very well," replied Charley, much relieved, but still a little
+nettled at the bare possibility of being late.--"Come along, Harry;
+let's go and meet him. He'll be long enough of coming if we don't go
+to poke him up a bit."
+
+"You'd better wait," called out the groom, as the boys hastened away.
+"If you go by the river, he'll p'r'aps come by the plains; and if you
+go by the plains, he'll p'r'aps come by the river."
+
+Charley and Harry stopped and looked at each other. Then they looked
+at the groom, and as their eyes surveyed his solemn, cadaverous
+countenance, which seemed a sort of bad caricature of the long
+visages of the horses that stood around him, they burst into a
+simultaneous and prolonged laugh.
+
+"He's a clever old lamp-post," said Harry at last: "we had better
+remain, Charley."
+
+"You see," continued Tom Whyte, "the pony's 'oofs is in an 'orrible
+state. Last night w'en I see'd 'im I said to the miller, says I,
+'John, I'll take 'im down to the smith d'rectly.' 'Very good,' said
+John. So I 'ad him down to the smith--"
+
+The remainder of Tom's speech was cut short by one of those
+unforeseen operations of the laws of nature which are peculiar to
+arctic climates. During the long winter repeated falls of snow cover
+the housetops with white mantles upwards of a foot thick, which
+become gradually thicker and more consolidated as winter advances. In
+spring the suddenness of the thaw loosens these from the sloping
+roofs, and precipitates them in masses to the ground. These miniature
+avalanches are dangerous, people having been seriously injured and
+sometimes killed by them. Now it happened that a very large mass of
+snow, which lay on and partly depended from the roof of the house
+near to which the horses were standing, gave way, and just at that
+critical point in Tom Whyte's speech when he "'ad 'im down to the
+smith," fell with a stunning crash on the back of Mr. Kennedy's gray
+mare. The mare was not "skittish"--by no means--according to Tom's
+idea, but it would have been more than an ordinary mare to have stood
+the sudden descent of half-a-ton of snow without _some_ symptoms of
+consciousness. No sooner did it feel the blow than it sent both heels
+with a bang against the wooden store, by way of preliminary movement,
+and then rearing up with a wild snort, it sprang over Tom Whyte's
+head, jerked the reins from his hand, and upset him in the snow. Poor
+Tom never _bent_ to anything. The military despotism under which he
+had been reared having substituted a touch of the cap for a bow,
+rendered it unnecessary to bend; prolonged drill, laziness, and
+rheumatism made it at last impossible. When he stood up, he did so
+after the manner of a pillar; when he sat down, he broke across at
+two points, much in the way in which a foot-rule would have done had
+_it_ felt disposed to sit down; and when he fell, he came down like
+an overturned lamp-post. On the present occasion Tom became
+horizontal in a moment, and from his unfortunate propensity to fall
+straight, his head, reaching much farther than might have been
+expected, came into violent contact with the small Indian boy, who
+fell flat likewise, letting go the reins of the horses, which latter
+no sooner felt themselves free than they fled, curvetting and
+snorting round the court, with reins and manes flying in rare
+confusion.
+
+The two boys, who could scarce stand for laughing, ran to the gates
+of the fort to prevent the chargers getting free, and in a short time
+they were again secured, although evidently much elated in spirit.
+
+A few minutes after this Mr. Grant issued from the principal house
+leaning on Mr. Kennedy's arm, and followed by the senior clerk, Peter
+Mactavish, and one or two friends who had come to take part in the
+wolf-hunt. They were all armed with double or single barrelled guns
+or pistols, according to their several fancies. The two elderly
+gentlemen alone entered upon the scene without any more deadly
+weapons than their heavy riding-whips. Young Harry Somerville, who
+had been strongly advised not to take a gun lest he should shoot
+himself or his horse or his companions, was content to take the field
+with a small pocket-pistol, which he crammed to the muzzle with a
+compound of ball and swan-shot.
+
+"It won't do," said Mr. Grant, in an earnest voice, to his friend, as
+they walked towards the horses--"it won't do to check him too
+abruptly, my dear sir."
+
+It was evident that they were recurring to the subject of
+conversation of the previous day, and it was also evident that the
+father's wrath was in that very uncertain state when a word or look
+can throw it into violent agitation.
+
+"Just permit me," continued Mr. Grant, "to get him sent to the
+Saskatchewan or Athabasca for a couple of years. By that time he'll
+have had enough of a rough life, and be only too glad to get a berth
+at headquarters. If you thwart him now, I feel convinced that he'll
+break through all restraint."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated Mr. Kennedy, with a frown--"Come here, Charley,"
+he said, as the boy approached with a disappointed look to tell of
+his failure in getting a horse; "I've been talking with Mr. Grant
+again about this business, and he says he can easily get you into the
+counting-room here for a year, so you'll make arrangements--"
+
+The old gentleman paused. He was going to have followed his wonted
+course by _commanding_ instantaneous obedience; but as his eye fell
+upon the honest, open, though disappointed face of his son, a gush of
+tenderness filled his heart. Laying his hand upon Charley's head, he
+said, in a kind but abrupt tone, "There now, Charley, my boy, make up
+your mind to give in with a good grace. It'll only be hard work for a
+year or two, and then plain sailing after that, Charley!"
+
+Charley's clear blue eyes filled with tears as the accents of
+kindness fell upon his ear.
+
+It is strange that men should frequently be so blind to the potent
+influence of kindness. Independently of the Divine authority, which
+assures us that "a soft answer turneth away wrath," and that "_love_
+is the fulfilling of the law," who has not, in the course of his
+experience, felt the overwhelming power of a truly affectionate word;
+not a word which possesses merely an affectionate signification, but
+a word spoken with a gush of tenderness, where love rolls in the
+tone, and beams in the eye, and revels in every wrinkle of the face?
+And how much more powerfully does such a word or look or tone strike
+home to the heart if uttered by one whose lips are not much
+accustomed to the formation of honeyed words or sweet sentences! Had
+Mr. Kennedy, senior, known more of this power, and put it more
+frequently to the proof, we venture to affirm that Mr. Kennedy,
+junior, would have _allowed_ his _"flint to be fixed"_ (as his father
+pithily expressed it) long ago.
+
+Ere Charley could reply to the question, Mr. Grant's voice, pitched
+in an elevated key, interrupted them.
+
+"Eh! what?" said that gentleman to Tom Whyte. "No horse for Charley!
+How's that?"
+
+"No, sir," said Tom.
+
+"Where's the brown pony?" said Mr. Grant, abruptly.
+
+"Cut 'is fetlock, sir," said Tom, slowly.
+
+"And the new horse?"
+
+"'Tan't 'alf broke yet, sir."
+
+"Ah! that's bad.--It wouldn't do to take an unbroken charger,
+Charley; for although you are a pretty good rider, you couldn't
+manage him, I fear. Let me see."
+
+"Please, sir," said the groom, touching his hat, "I've borrowed the
+miller's pony for 'im, and 'e's sure to be 'ere in 'alf-a-hour at
+farthest."
+
+"Oh, that'll do," said Mr. Grant; "you can soon overtake us. We shall
+ride slowly out, straight into the prairie, and Harry will remain
+behind to keep you company."
+
+So saying, Mr. Grant mounted his horse and rode out at the back gate,
+followed by the whole cavalcade.
+
+"Now this is too bad!" said Charley, looking with a very perplexed
+air at his companion. "What's to be done?"
+
+Harry evidently did not know what was to be done, and made no
+difficulty of saying so in a very sympathising tone. Moreover, he
+begged Charley very earnestly to take _his_ pony, but this the other
+would not hear of; so they came to the conclusion that there was
+nothing for it but to wait as patiently as possible for the arrival
+of the expected horse. In the meantime Harry proposed a saunter in
+the field adjoining the fort. Charley assented, and the two friends
+walked away, leading the gray pony along with them.
+
+To the right of Fort Garry was a small enclosure, at the extreme end
+of which commences a growth of willows and underwood, which gradually
+increases in size till it becomes a pretty thick belt of woodland,
+skirting up the river for many miles. Here stood the stable belonging
+to the establishment; and as the boys passed it, Charley suddenly
+conceived a strong desire to see the renowned "noo 'oss," which Tom
+Whyte had said was only "'alf broke;" so he turned the key, opened
+the door, and went in.
+
+There was nothing _very_ peculiar about this horse, excepting that
+his legs seemed rather long for his body, and upon a closer
+examination, there was a noticeable breadth of nostril and a latent
+fire in his eye, indicating a good deal of spirit, which, like
+Charley's own, required taming.
+
+"Oh" said Charley," what a splendid fellow! I say, Harry, I'll go out
+with _him."_
+
+"You'd better not."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Why? just because if you do Mr. Grant will be down upon you, and
+your father won't be very well pleased."
+
+"Nonsense," cried Charley. "Father didn't say I wasn't to take him. I
+don't think he'd care much. He's not afraid of my breaking my neck.
+And then, Mr. Grant seemed to be only afraid of my being run off
+with--not of his horse being hurt. Here goes for it!" In another
+moment Charley had him saddled and bridled, and led him out into the
+yard.
+
+"Why, I declare, he's quite quiet; just like a lamb," said Harry, in
+surprise.
+
+"So he is," replied Charley. "He's a capital charger; and even if he
+does bolt, he can't run five hundred miles at a stretch. If I turn
+his head to the prairies, the Rocky Mountains are the first things
+that will bring him up. So let him run if he likes, I don't care a
+fig." And springing lightly into the saddle, he cantered out of the
+yard, followed by his friend.
+
+The young horse was a well-formed, showy animal, with a good deal of
+bone--perhaps too much for elegance. He was of a beautiful dark
+brown, and carried a high head and tail, with a high-stepping gait,
+that gave him a noble appearance. As Charley cantered along at a
+steady pace, he could discover no symptoms of the refractory spirit
+which had been ascribed to him.
+
+"Let us strike out straight for the horizon now," said Harry, after
+they had galloped half-a-mile or so along the beaten track. "See,
+here are the tracks of our friends." Turning sharp round as he spoke,
+he leaped his pony over the heap that lined the road, and galloped
+away through the soft snow.
+
+At this point the young horse began to show his evil spirit. Instead
+of following the other, he suddenly halted and began to back.
+
+"Hollo, Harry!" exclaimed Charley; "hold on a bit. Here's this
+monster begun his tricks."
+
+"Hit him a crack with the whip," shouted Harry.
+
+Charley acted upon the advice, which had the effect of making the
+horse shake his head with a sharp snort, and back more vigorously
+than ever.
+
+"There, my fine fellow, quiet now," said Charley, in a soothing tone,
+patting the horse's neck. "It's a comfort to know you can't go far in
+_that_ direction, anyhow!" he added, as he glanced over his shoulder,
+and saw an immense drift behind.
+
+He was right. In a few minutes the horse backed into the snow-drift.
+Finding his hind-quarters imprisoned by a power that was too much
+even for _his_ obstinacy to overcome, he gave another snort and a
+heavy plunge, which almost unseated his young rider.
+
+"Hold on fast," cried Harry, who had now come up.
+
+"No fear," cried Charley, as he clinched his teeth and gathered the
+reins more firmly.--"Now for it, you young villain!" and raising his
+whip, he brought it down with a heavy slash on the horse's flank.
+
+Had the snow-drift been a cannon, and the horse a bombshell, he could
+scarcely have sprung from it with greater velocity. One bound landed
+him on the road; another cleared it; and, in a second more, he
+stretched out at full speed--his ears flat on his neck, mane and tail
+flying in the wind, and the bit tight between his teeth.
+
+"Well done," cried Harry, as he passed. "You're off now, old fellow;
+good-bye."
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Charley, in reply, leaving his cap in the snow as a
+parting souvenir; while, seeing that it was useless to endeavour to
+check his steed, he became quite wild with excitement; gave him the
+rein; flourished his whip; and flew over the white plains, casting up
+the snow in clouds behind him like a hurricane.
+
+While this little escapade was being enacted by the boys, the hunters
+were riding leisurely out upon the snowy sea in search of a wolf.
+
+Words cannot convey to you, dear reader, an adequate conception of
+the peculiar fascination, the exhilarating splendour of the scene by
+which our hunters were surrounded. Its beauty lay not in variety of
+feature in the landscape, for there was none. One vast sheet of white
+alone met the view, bounded all round by the blue circle of the sky,
+and broken, in one or two places, by a patch or two of willows,
+which, rising on the plain, appeared like little islands in a frozen
+sea. It was the glittering sparkle of the snow in the bright
+sunshine; the dreamy haziness of the atmosphere, mingling earth and
+sky as in a halo of gold; the first taste, the first _smell_ of
+spring after a long winter, bursting suddenly upon the senses, like
+the unexpected visit of a long-absent, much-loved, and almost-
+forgotten friend; the soft, warm feeling of the south wind, bearing
+on its wings the balmy influences of sunny climes, and recalling
+vividly the scenes, the pleasures, the bustling occupations of
+summer. It was this that caused the hunters' hearts to leap within
+them as they rode along--that induced old Mr. Kennedy to forget his
+years, and shout as he had been wont to do in days gone by, when he
+used to follow the track of the elk or hunt the wild buffalo; and it
+was this that made the otherwise monotonous prairies, on this
+particular clay, so charming.
+
+The party had wandered about without discovering anything that bore
+the smallest resemblance to a wolf, for upwards of an hour; Fort
+Garry had fallen astern (to use a nautical phrase) until it had
+become a mere speck on the horizon, and vanished altogether; Peter
+Mactavish had twice given a false alarm, in the eagerness of his
+spirit, and had three times plunged his horse up to the girths in a
+snow-drift; the senior clerk was waxing impatient, and the horses
+restive, when a sudden "Hollo!" from Mr. Grant brought the whole
+cavalcade to a stand.
+
+The object which drew his attention, and to which he directed the
+anxious eyes of his friends was a small speck, rather triangular in
+form, which overtopped a little willow bush not more than five or six
+hundred yards distant.
+
+"There he is!" exclaimed Mr. Grant. "That's a fact," cried Mr.
+Kennedy; and both gentlemen, instantaneously giving a shout, bounded
+towards the object; not, however, before the senior clerk, who was
+mounted on a fleet and strong horse, had taken the lead by six yards.
+A moment afterwards the speck rose up and discovered itself to be a
+veritable wolf. Moreover, he condescended to show his teeth, and
+then, conceiving it probable that his enemies were too numerous for
+him, he turned suddenly round and fled away. For ten minutes or so
+the chase was kept up at full speed, and as the snow happened to be
+shallow at the starting-point, the wolf kept well ahead of its
+pursuers--indeed, distanced them a little. But soon the snow became
+deeper, and the wolf plunged heavily, and the horses gained
+considerably. Although to the eye the prairies seemed to be a uniform
+level, there were numerous slight undulations, in which drifts of
+some depth had collected. Into one of these the wolf now plunged and
+laboured slowly through it. But so deep was the snow that the horses
+almost stuck fast. A few minutes, however, brought them out, and Mr.
+Grant and Mr. Kennedy, who had kept close to each other during the
+run, pulled up for a moment on the summit of a ridge to breathe their
+panting steeds.
+
+"What can that be?" exclaimed the former, pointing with his whip to a
+distant object which was moving rapidly over the plain.
+
+"Eh! what--where?" said Mr. Kennedy, shading his eyes with his hand,
+and peering in the direction indicated. "Why, that's another wolf,
+isn't it? No; it runs too fast for that."
+
+"Strange," said his friend; "what _can_ it be?"
+
+"If I hadn't seen every beast in the country," remarked Mr. Kennedy,
+"and didn't know that there are no such animals north of the equator,
+I should say it was a mad dromedary mounted by a ring-tailed roarer."
+
+"It can't be surely--not possible!" exclaimed Mr. Grant. "It's not
+Charley on the new horse!"
+
+Mr. Grant said this with an air of vexation that annoyed his friend a
+little. He would not have much minded Charley's taking a horse
+without leave, no matter how wild it might be; but he did not at all
+relish the idea of making an apology for his son's misconduct, and
+for the moment did not exactly know what to say. As usual in such a
+dilemma, the old man took refuge in a towering passion, gave his
+steed a sharp cut with the whip, and galloped forward to meet the
+delinquent.
+
+We are not acquainted with the general appearance of a "ring-tailed
+roarer;" in fact, we have grave doubts as to whether such an animal
+exists at all; but if it does, and is particularly wild, dishevelled,
+and fierce in deportment, there is no doubt whatever that when Mr.
+Kennedy applied the name to his hopeful son, the application was
+singularly powerful and appropriate.
+
+Charley had had a long run since we last saw him. After describing a
+wide curve, in which his charger displayed a surprising aptitude for
+picking out the ground that was least covered with snow, he headed
+straight for the fort again at the same pace at which he had started.
+At first Charley tried every possible method to check him, but in
+vain; so he gave it up, resolving to enjoy the race, since he could
+not prevent it. The young horse seemed to be made of lightning, with
+bones and muscles of brass; for he bounded untiringly forward for
+miles, tossing his head and snorting in his wild career. But Charley
+was a good horseman, and did not mind _that_ much, being quite
+satisfied that the horse _was_ a horse and not a spirit, and that
+therefore he could not run for ever. At last he approached the party,
+in search of which he had originally set out. His eyes dilated and
+his colour heightened as he beheld the wolf running directly towards
+him. Fumbling hastily for the pistol which he had borrowed from his
+friend Harry, he drew it from his pocket, and prepared to give the
+animal a shot in passing. Just at that moment the wolf caught sight
+of this new enemy in advance, and diverged suddenly to the left,
+plunging into a drift in his confusion, and so enabling the senior
+clerk to overtake him, and send an ounce of heavy shot into his side,
+which turned him over quite dead. The shot, however had a double
+effect. At that instant Charley swept past; and his mettlesome steed
+swerved as it heard the loud report of the gun, thereby almost
+unhorsing his rider, and causing him unintentionally to discharge the
+conglomerate of bullets and swan-shot into the flank of Peter
+Mactavish's horse--fortunately at a distance which rendered the shot
+equivalent to a dozen very sharp and particularly stinging blows. On
+receiving this unexpected salute, the astonished charger reared
+convulsively, and fell back upon his rider, who was thereby buried
+deep in the snow, not a vestige of him being left, no more than if he
+had never existed at all. Indeed, for a moment it seemed to be
+doubtful whether poor Peter _did_ exist or not, until a sudden
+upheaving of the snow took place, and his dishevelled head appeared,
+with the eyes and mouth wide open, bearing on them an expression of
+mingled horror and amazement. Meanwhile the second shot acted like a
+spur on the young horse, which flew past Mr. Kennedy like a
+whirlwind.
+
+"Stop, you young scoundrel!" he shouted, shaking his fist at Charley
+as he passed.
+
+Charley was past stopping, either by inclination or ability. This
+sudden and unexpected accumulation of disasters was too much for him.
+As he passed his sire, with his brown curls streaming straight out
+behind, and his eyes flashing with excitement, his teeth clinched,
+and his horse tearing along more like an incarnate fiend than an
+animal, a spirit of combined recklessness, consternation,
+indignation, and glee took possession of him. He waved his whip
+wildly over his head, brought it down with a stinging cut on the
+horse's neck, and uttered a shout of defiance that threw completely
+into the shade the loudest war-whoop that was ever uttered by the
+brazen lungs of the wildest savage between Hudson's Bay and Oregon.
+Seeing and hearing this, old Mr. Kennedy wheeled about and dashed off
+in pursuit with much greater energy than he had displayed in chase of
+the wolf.
+
+The race bid fair to be a long one, for the young horse was strong in
+wind and limb; and the gray mare, though decidedly not "the better
+horse," was much fresher than the other.
+
+The hunters, who were now joined by Harry Somerville, did not feel it
+incumbent on them to follow this new chase; so they contented
+themselves with watching their flight towards the fort, while they
+followed at a more leisurely pace.
+
+Meanwhile Charley rapidly neared Fort Garry, and now began to wonder
+whether the stable door was open, and if so, whether it were better
+for him to take his chance of getting his neck broken, or to throw
+himself into the next snow-drift that presented itself.
+
+He had not to remain long in suspense. The wooden fence that enclosed
+the stable-yard lay before him. It was between four and five feet
+high, with a beaten track running along the outside, and a deep snow-
+drift on the other. Charley felt that the young horse had made up his
+mind to leap this. As he did not at the moment see that there was
+anything better to be done, he prepared for it. As the horse bent on
+his haunches to spring, he gave him a smart cut with the whip, went
+over like a rocket, and plunged up to the neck in the snow-drift;
+which brought his career to an abrupt conclusion. The sudden stoppage
+of the horse was _one_ thing, but the arresting of Master Charley was
+_another_ and quite a different thing. The instant his charger
+landed, he left the saddle like a harlequin, described an extensive
+curve in the air, and fell head foremost into the drift, above which
+his boots and three inches of his legs alone remained to tell the
+tale.
+
+On witnessing this climax, Mr. Kennedy, senior, pulled up,
+dismounted, and ran--with an expression of some anxiety on his
+countenance--to the help of his son, while Tom Whyte came out of the
+stable just in time to receive the "noo 'oss" as he floundered out of
+the snow.
+
+"I believe," said the groom, as he surveyed the trembling charger,
+"that your son has broke the noo 'oss, sir, better nor I could 'ave
+done myself."
+
+"I believe that my son has broken his neck," said Mr. Kennedy
+wrathfully. "Come here and help me to dig him out."
+
+In a few minutes Charley was dug out, in a state of insensibility,
+and carried up to the fort, where he was laid on a bed, and
+restoratives actively applied for his recovery.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Peter Mactavish becomes an amateur doctor; Charley promulgates his
+views of tilings in general to Kate; and Kate waxes sagacious.
+
+
+Shortly after the catastrophe just related, Charley opened his eyes
+to consciousness, and aroused himself out of a prolonged fainting
+fit, under the combined influence of a strong constitution and the
+medical treatment of his friends.
+
+Medical treatment in the wilds of North America, by the way, is very
+original in its character, and is founded on principles so vague that
+no one has ever been found capable of stating them clearly. Owing to
+the stubborn fact that there are no doctors in the country, men have
+been thrown upon their own resources, and as a natural consequence
+_every_ man is a doctor. True, there _are_ two, it may be three, real
+doctors in the Hudson's Bay Company's employment; but as one of these
+is resident on the shores of Hudson's Bay, another in Oregon, and a
+third in Red River Settlement, they are not considered available for
+every case of emergency that may chance to occur in the hundreds of
+little outposts, scattered far and wide over the whole continent of
+North America, with miles and miles of primeval wilderness between
+each. We do not think, therefore, that when we say there are _no_
+doctors in the country, we use a culpable amount of exaggeration.
+
+If a man gets ill, he goes on till he gets better; and if he doesn't
+get better, he dies. To avert such an undesirable consummation,
+desperate and random efforts are made in an amateur way. The old
+proverb that "extremes meet" is verified. And in a land where no
+doctors are to be had for love or money, doctors meet you at every
+turn, ready to practise on everything, with anything, and all for
+nothing, on the shortest possible notice. As maybe supposed, the
+practice is novel, and not unfrequently extremely wild. Tooth-drawing
+is considered child's play--mere blacksmith's work; bleeding is a
+general remedy for everything, when all else fails; castor-oil, Epsom
+salts, and emetics are the three keynotes, the foundations, and the
+copestones of the system.
+
+In Red River there is only one _genuine_ doctor; and as the
+settlement is fully sixty miles long, he has enough to do, and cannot
+always be found when wanted, so that Charley had to rest content with
+amateur treatment in the meantime. Peter Mactavish was the first to
+try his powers. He was aware that laudanum had the effect of
+producing sleep, and seeing that Charley looked somewhat sleepy after
+recovering consciousness, he thought it advisable to help out that
+propensity to slumber, and went to the medicine-chest, whence he
+extracted a small phial of tincture of rhubarb, the half of which he
+emptied into a wine-glass, under the impression that it was laudanum,
+and poured down Charley's throat! The poor boy swallowed a little,
+and sputtered the remainder over the bedclothes. It may be remarked
+here that Mactavish was a wild, happy, half-mad sort of fellow--
+wonderfully erudite in regard to some things, and profoundly ignorant
+in regard to others. Medicine, it need scarcely be added, was not his
+_forte_. Having accomplished this feat to his satisfaction, he sat
+down to watch by the bedside of his friend. Peter had taken this
+opportunity to indulge in a little private practice just after
+several of the other gentlemen had left the office, under the
+impression that Charley had better remain quiet for a short time.
+
+"Well, Peter," whispered Mr. Kennedy, senior, putting his head in at
+the door (it was Harry's room in which Charley lay), "how is he now?"
+
+"Oh! doing capitally," replied Peter, in a hoarse whisper, at the
+same time rising and entering the office, while he gently closed the
+door behind him. "I gave him a small dose of physic, which I think
+has done mm good. He's sleeping like a top now."
+
+Mr. Kennedy frowned slightly, and made one or two remarks in
+reference to physic which were not calculated to gratify the ears of
+a physician.
+
+"What did you give him?" he inquired abruptly.
+
+"Only a little laudanum."
+
+"_Only,_ indeed! it's all trash together, and that's the worst kind
+of trash you could have given him. Humph!" and the old gentleman
+jerked his shoulders testily.
+
+"How much did yon give him?" said the senior clerk, who had entered
+the apartment with Harry a few minutes before.
+
+"Not quite a wineglassful," replied Peter, somewhat subdued.
+
+"A what!" cried the father, starting from his chair as if he had
+received an electric shock, and rushing into the adjoining room, up
+and down which he raved in a state of distraction, being utterly
+ignorant of what should be done under the circumstances.
+
+Poor Harry Somerville fell rather than leaped off his stool, and
+dashed into the bedroom, where old Mr. Kennedy was occupied in
+alternately heaping unutterable abuse on the head of Peter Mactavish,
+and imploring him to advise what was best to be done. But Peter knew
+not. He could only make one or two insane proposals to roll Charley
+about the floor, and see if _that_ would do him any good; while Harry
+suggested in desperation that he should be hung by the heels, and
+perhaps it would run out!
+
+Meanwhile the senior clerk seized his hat, with the intention of
+going in search of Tom Whyte, and rushed out at the door; which he
+had no sooner done than he found himself tightly embraced in the arms
+of that worthy, who happened to be entering at the moment, and who,
+in consequence of the sudden onset, was pinned up against the wall of
+the porch.
+
+"Oh, my buzzum!" exclaimed Tom, laying his hand on his breast;
+"you've a'most bu'st me, sir. W'at's wrong, sir?"
+
+"Go for the doctor, Tom, quick! run like the wind. Take the freshest
+horse; fly, Tom, Charley's poisoned--laudanum; quick!"
+
+"'Eavens an' 'arth!" ejaculated the groom, wheeling round, and
+stalking rapidly off to the stable like a pair of insane compasses,
+while the senior clerk returned to the bedroom, where he found Mr.
+Kennedy still raving, Peter Mactavish still aghast and deadly pale,
+and Harry Somerville staring like a maniac at his young friend, as if
+he expected every moment to see him explode, although, to all
+appearance, he was sleeping soundly, and comfortably too,
+notwithstanding the noise that was going on around him. Suddenly
+Harry's eye rested on the label of the half-empty phial, and he
+uttered a loud, prolonged cheer.
+
+"It's only tincture of--"
+
+"Wild cats and furies!" cried Mr. Kennedy, turning sharply round and
+seizing Harry by the collar, "why d'you kick up such a row, eh?"
+
+"It's only tincture of rhubarb," repeated the boy, disengaging
+himself and holding up the phial triumphantly.
+
+"So it is, I declare," exclaimed Mr. Kennedy, in a tone that
+indicated intense relief of mind; while Peter Mactavish uttered a
+sigh so deep that one might suppose a burden of innumerable tons
+weight had just been removed from his breast.
+
+Charley had been roused from his slumbers by this last ebullition;
+but on being told what had caused it, he turned languidly round on
+his pillow and went to sleep again, while his friends departed and
+left him to repose.
+
+Tom Whyte failed to find the doctor. The servant told him that her
+master had been suddenly called to set a broken leg that morning for
+a trapper who lived ten miles _down_ the river, and on his return had
+found a man waiting with a horse and cariole, who carried him
+violently away to see his wife, who had been taken suddenly ill at a
+house twenty miles _up_ the river, and so she didn't expect him back
+that night.
+
+"An' where has 'e been took to?" inquired Tom.
+
+She couldn't tell; she knew it was somewhere about the White-horse
+Plains, but she didn't know more than that.
+
+"Did 'e not say w'en 'e'd be home?"
+
+"No, he didn't."
+
+"Oh dear!" said Tom, rubbing his long nose in great perplexity. "It's
+an 'orrible case o' sudden and onexpected pison."
+
+She was sorry for it, but couldn't help that; and thereupon, bidding
+him good-morning, shut the door.
+
+Tom's wits had come to that condition which just precedes "giving it
+up" as hopeless, when it occurred to him that he was not far from old
+Mr. Kennedy's residence; so he stepped into the cariole again and
+drove thither. On his arrival he threw poor Mrs. Kennedy and Kate
+into great consternation by his exceedingly graphic, and more than
+slightly exaggerated, account of what had brought him in search of
+the doctor. At first Mrs. Kennedy resolved to go up to Fort Garry
+immediately, but Kate persuaded her to remain at home, by pointing
+out that she could herself go, and if anything very serious had
+occurred (which she didn't believe), Mr. Kennedy could come down for
+her immediately, while she (Kate) could remain to nurse her brother.
+
+In a few minutes Kate and Tom were seated side by side in the little
+cariole, driving swiftly up the frozen river; and two hours later the
+former was seated by her brother's bedside, watching him as he slept
+with a look of tender affection and solicitude.
+
+Rousing himself from his slumbers, Charley looked vacantly round the
+room.
+
+"Have you slept well, darling?" inquired Kate, laying her hand
+lightly on his forehead.
+
+"Slept--eh! oh yes. I've slept. I say, Kate, what a precious bump I
+came down on my head, to be sure!"
+
+"Hush, Charley!" said Kate, perceiving that he was becoming
+energetic. "Father said you were to keep quiet--and so do I," she
+added, with a frown." Shut your eyes, sir, and go to sleep."
+
+Charley complied by shutting his eyes, and opening his mouth, and
+uttering a succession of deep snores.
+
+"Now, you bad boy," said Kate, "why _won't_ you try to rest?"
+
+"Because, Kate, dear/' said Charley, opening his eyes again--"because
+I feel as if I had slept a week at least; and not being one of the
+seven sleepers, I don't think it necessary to do more in that way
+just now. Besides, my sweet but particularly wicked sister, I wish
+just at this moment to have a talk with you."
+
+"But are you sure it won't do you harm to talk? do you feel quite
+strong enough?"
+
+"Quite: Sampson was a mere infant compared to me."
+
+"Oh, don't talk nonsense, Charley dear, and keep your hands quiet,
+and don't lift the clothes with your knees in that way, else I'll go
+away and leave you."
+
+"Very well, my pet; if you do, I'll get up and dress and follow you,
+that's all! But come, Kate, tell me first of all how it was that I
+got pitched off that long-legged rhinoceros, and who it was that
+picked me up, and why wasn't I killed, and how did I come here; for
+my head is sadly confused, and I scarcely recollect anything that has
+happened; and before commencing your discourse, Kate, please hand me
+a glass of water, for my mouth is as dry as a whistle."
+
+Kate handed him a glass of water, smoothed his pillow, brushed the
+curls gently off his forehead, and sat down on the bedside.
+
+"Thank you, Kate; now go on."
+
+"Well, you see," she began--
+
+"Pardon me, dearest," interrupted Charley, "if you would please to
+look at me you would observe that my two eyes are tightly closed, so
+that I don't _see_ at all."
+
+"Well, then, you must understand--"
+
+"Must I? Oh!--"
+
+"That after that wicked horse leaped with you over the stable fence,
+you were thrown high into the air, and turning completely round, fell
+head foremost into the snow, and your poor head went through the top
+of an old cask that had been buried there all winter."
+
+"Dear me!" ejaculated Charley; "did anyone see me, Kate?"
+
+"Oh yes."
+
+"Who?" asked Charley, somewhat anxiously; "not Mrs. Grant, I hope?
+for if she did she'd never let me hear the last of it."
+
+"No; only our father, who was chasing you at the time," replied Kate,
+with a merry laugh.
+
+"And no one else?"
+
+"No--oh yes, by-the-by, Tom Whyte was there too."
+
+"Oh, he's nobody. Go on."
+
+"But tell me, Charley, why do you care about Mrs. Grant seeing you?"
+
+"Oh! no reason at all, only she's such an abominable quiz."
+
+We must guard the reader here against the supposition that Mrs. Grant
+was a quiz of the ordinary kind. She was by no means a sprightly,
+clever woman, rather fond of a joke than otherwise, as the term might
+lead you to suppose. Her corporeal frame was very large, excessively
+fat, and remarkably unwieldy; being an appropriate casket in which to
+enshrine a mind of the heaviest and most sluggish nature. She spoke
+little, ate largely, and slept much--the latter recreation being very
+frequently enjoyed in a large arm-chair of a peculiar kind. It had
+been a water-butt, which her ingenious husband had cut half-way down
+the middle, then half-way across, and in the angle thus formed fixed
+a bottom, which, together with the back, he padded with tow, and
+covered the whole with a mantle of glaring bed-curtain chintz, whose
+pattern alternated in stripes of sky-blue and china roses, with
+broken fragments of the rainbow between. Notwithstanding her
+excessive slowness, however, Mrs, Grant was fond of taking a firm
+hold of anything or any circumstance in the character or affairs of
+her friends, and twitting them thereupon in a grave but persevering
+manner that was exceedingly irritating. No one could ever ascertain
+whether Mrs. Grant did this in a sly way or not, as her visage never
+expressed anything except unalterable good-humour. She was a good
+wife and an affectionate mother; had a family of ten children, and
+could boast of never having had more than one quarrel with her
+husband. This disagreement was occasioned by a rather awkward
+mischance. One day, not long after her last baby was born, Mrs. Grant
+waddled towards her tub with the intention of enjoying her accustomed
+siesta. A few minutes previously, her seventh child, which was just
+able to walk, had scrambled up into the seat and fallen fast asleep
+there. As has been already said, Mrs. Grant's intellect was never
+very bright, and at this particular time she was rather drowsy, so
+that she did not observe the child, and on reaching her chair, turned
+round preparatory to letting herself plump into it. She always
+_plumped_ into her chair. Her muscles were too soft to lower her
+gently down into it. Invariably on reaching a certain point they
+ceased to act, and let her down with a crash. She had just reached
+this point, and her baby's hopes and prospects were on the eve of
+being cruelly crushed for ever, when Mr. Grant noticed the impending
+calamity. He had no time to warn her, for she had already passed the
+point at which her powers of muscular endurance terminated; so
+grasping the chair, he suddenly withdrew it with such force that the
+baby rolled off upon the floor like a hedgehog, straightened out
+flat, and gave vent to an outrageous roar, while its horror-struck
+mother came to the ground with a sound resembling the fall of an
+enormous sack of wool. Although the old lady could not see exactly
+that there was anything very blameworthy in her husband's conduct on
+this occasion, yet her nerves had received so severe a shock that she
+refused to be comforted for two entire days.
+
+But to return from this digression. After Charley had two or three
+times recommended Kate (who was a little inclined to be quizzical) to
+proceed, she continued,--
+
+"Well, then you were carried up here by father and Tom Whyte, and put
+to bed, and after a good deal of rubbing and rough treatment you were
+got round. Then Peter Mactavish nearly poisoned you, but fortunately
+he was such a goose that he did not think of reading the label of the
+phial, and so gave you a dose of tincture of rhubarb instead of
+laudanum as he had intended; and then father flew into a passion, and
+Tom Whyte was sent to fetch the doctor, and couldn't find him; but
+fortunately he found me, which was much better, I think, and brought
+me up here. And so here I am, and here I intend to remain."
+
+"And so that's the end of it. Well, Kate, I'm very glad it was no
+worse."
+
+"And I am very _thankful_" said Kate, with emphasis on the word,
+"that it's no worse."
+
+"Oh, well, you know, Kate, I _meant_ that, of course."
+
+"But you did not _say_ it," replied his sister earnestly.
+
+"To be sure not," said Charley gaily; "it would be absurd to be
+always making solemn speeches, and things of that sort, every time
+one has a little accident."
+
+"True, Charley; but when one has a very serious accident, and escapes
+unhurt, don't you think that _then_ it would be--"
+
+"Oh yes, to be sure," interrupted Charley, who still strove to turn
+Kate from her serious frame of mind; "but sister dear, how could I
+possibly _say_ I was thankful with my head crammed into an old cask
+and my feet pointing up to the blue sky, eh?"
+
+Kate smiled at this, and laid her hand on his arm, while she bent
+over the pillow and looked tenderly into his eyes.
+
+"O my darling Charley, you are disposed to jest about it; but I
+cannot tell you how my heart trembled this morning when I heard from
+Tom Whyte of what had happened. As we drove up to the fort, I thought
+how terrible it would have been if you had been killed; and then the
+happy days we have spent together rushed into my mind, and I thought
+of the willow creek where we used to fish for gold eyes, and the spot
+in the woods where we have so often chased the little birds, and the
+lake in the prairies where we used to go in spring to watch the
+water-fowl sporting in the sunshine. When I recalled these things,
+Charley, and thought of you as dead, I felt as if I should die too.
+And when I came here and found that my fears were needless, that you
+were alive and safe, and almost well, I felt thankful--yes, very,
+very thankful--to God for sparing your life, my dear, dear Charley."
+And Kate laid her head on his bosom and sobbed, when she thought of
+what might have been, as if her very heart would break.
+
+Charley's disposition to levity entirely vanished while his sister
+spoke; and twining his tough little arm round her neck, he pressed
+her fervently to his heart.
+
+"Bless you, Kate," he said at length. "I am indeed thankful to God,
+not only for sparing my life, but for giving me such a darling sister
+to live for. But now, Kate, tell me, what do you think of father's
+determination to have me placed in the office here?"
+
+"Indeed, I think it's very hard. Oh, I do wish _so_ much that I could
+do it for you," said Kate with a sigh.
+
+"Do _what_ for me?" asked Charley.
+
+"Why, the office work," said Kate.
+
+"Tuts! fiddlesticks! But isn't it, now, really a _very_ hard case?"
+
+"Indeed it is; but, then, what can you do?"
+
+"Do?" said Charley impatiently; "run away to be sure."
+
+"Oh, don't speak of that!" said Kate anxiously. "You know it will
+kill our beloved mother; and then it would grieve father very much."
+
+"Well, father don't care much about grieving me, when he hunted me
+down like a wolf till I nearly broke my neck."
+
+"Now, Charley, you must not speak so. Father loves you tenderly,
+although he _is_ a little rough at times. If you only heard how
+kindly he speaks of you to our mother when you are away, you could
+not think of giving him so much pain. And then the Bible says,
+'Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the
+land which the Lord thy God giveth thee;' and as God speaks in the
+Bible, _surely_ we should pay attention to it!"
+
+Charley was silent for a few seconds; then heaving a deep sigh, he
+said,--
+
+"Well, I believe you're right, Kate; but then, what am I to do? If I
+don't run away, I must live, like poor Harry Somerville, on a long-
+legged stool; and if I do _that_, I'll--I'll--"
+
+As Charley spoke, the door opened, and his father entered.
+
+"Well, my boy," said he, seating himself on the bedside and taking
+his son's hand, "how goes it now? Head getting all right again? I
+fear that Kate has been talking too much to you.--Is it so, you
+little chatterbox?"
+
+Mr. Kennedy parted Kate's clustering ringlets and kissed her
+forehead.
+
+Charley assured his father that he was almost well, and much the
+better of having Kate to tend him. In fact, he felt so much revived
+that he said he would get up and go out for a walk.
+
+"Had I not better tell Tom Whyte to saddle the young horse for you?"
+said his father, half ironically. "No, no, boy; lie still where you
+are to-day, and get up if you feel better to-morrow. In the meantime,
+I've come to say good-bye, as I intend to go home to relieve your
+mother's anxiety about you. I'll see you again, probably, the day
+after to-morrow. Hark you, boy; I've been talking your affairs over
+again with Mr. Grant, and we've come to the conclusion to give you a
+run in the woods for a time. You'll have to be ready to start early
+in spring with the first brigades for the north. So adieu!"
+
+Mr. Kennedy patted him on the head, and hastily left the room.
+
+A burning blush of shame arose on Charley's cheek as he recollected
+his late remarks about his father; and then, recalling the purport of
+his last words, he sent forth an exulting shout as he thought of the
+coming spring.
+
+"Well now, Charley," said Kate, with an arch smile, "let us talk
+seriously over your arrangements for running away."
+
+Charley replied by seizing the pillow and throwing it at his sister's
+head; but being accustomed to such eccentricities, she anticipated
+the movement and evaded the blow.
+
+"Ah, Charley," cried Kate, laughing, "you mustn't let your hand get
+out of practice! That was a shockingly bad shot for a man thirsting
+to become a bear and buffalo hunter!"
+
+"I'll make my fortune at once," cried Charley, as Kate replaced the
+pillow, "build a wooden castle on the shores of Great Bear Lake, take
+you to keep house for me, and when I'm out hunting you'll fish for
+whales in the lake; and we'll live there to a good old age; so good-
+night, Kate dear, and go to bed."
+
+Kate laughed, gave her brother a parting kiss, and left him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+Spring and the voyageurs.
+
+
+Winter, with its snow and its ice: winter, with its sharp winds and
+white drifts; winter, with its various characteristic occupations and
+employments, is past, and it is spring now.
+
+The sun no longer glitters on fields of white; the woodman's axe is
+no longer heard hacking the oaken billets, to keep alive the roaring
+fires. That inexpressibly cheerful sound the merry chime of sleigh-
+bells, that tells more of winter than all other sounds together, is
+no longer heard on the bosom of Red River; for the sleighs are thrown
+aside as useless lumber--carts and gigs have supplanted them. The old
+Canadian, who used to drive the ox with its water-barrel to the ice-
+hole for his daily supply, has substituted a small cart with wheels
+for the old sleigh that used to glide so smoothly over the snow, and
+_grit_ so sharply on it in the more than usually frosty mornings in
+the days gone by. The trees have lost their white patches, and the
+clumps of willows, that used to look like islands in the prairie,
+have disappeared, as the carpeting that gave them prominence has
+dissolved. The aspect of everything in the isolated settlement has
+changed. The winter is gone, and spring--bright, beautiful, hilarious
+spring--has come again.
+
+By those who have never known an arctic winter, the delights of an
+arctic spring can never, we fear, be fully appreciated or understood.
+Contrast is one of its strongest elements; indeed, we might say,
+_the_ element which gives to all the others peculiar zest. Life in
+the arctic regions is like one of Turner's pictures, in which the
+lights are strong, the shadows deep, and the _tout ensemble_ hazy and
+romantic. So cold and prolonged is the winter, that the first mild
+breath of spring breaks on the senses like a zephyr from the plains
+of Paradise. Everything bursts suddenly into vigorous life, after the
+long, death-like sleep of Nature; as little children burst into the
+romping gaieties of a new day, after the deep repose of a long and
+tranquil night. The snow melts, the ice breaks up, and rushes in
+broken masses, heaving and tossing in the rising floods, that grind
+and whirl them into the ocean, or into those great fresh-water lakes
+that vie with ocean itself in magnitude and grandeur. The buds come
+out and the leaves appear, clothing all nature with a bright
+refreshing green, which derives additional brilliancy from sundry
+patches of snow, that fill the deep creeks and hollows everywhere,
+and form ephemeral fountains whose waters continue to supply a
+thousand rills for many a long day, until the fierce glare of the
+summer sun prevails at last and melts them all away.
+
+Red River flows on now to mix its long-pent-up waters with Lake
+Winnipeg. Boats are seen rowing about upon its waters, as the
+settlers travel from place to place; and wooden canoes, made of the
+hollowed-out trunks of large trees, shoot across from shore to shore--
+these canoes being a substitute for bridges, of which there are
+none, although the settlement lies on both sides of the river. Birds
+have now entered upon the scene, their wild cries and ceaseless
+flight adding to it a cheerful activity. Ground squirrels pop up out
+of their holes to bask their round, fat, beautifully-striped little
+bodies in the sun, or to gaze in admiration at the farmer, as he
+urges a pair of _very_ slow-going oxen, that drag the plough at a
+pace which induces one to believe that the wide field _may_ possibly
+be ploughed up by the end of next year. Frogs whistle in the marshy
+grounds so loudly that men new to the country believe they are being
+regaled by the songs of millions of birds. There is no mistake about
+their _whistle_. It is not merely _like_ a whistle, but it _is_ a
+whistle, shrill and continuous; and as the swamps swarm with these
+creatures, the song never ceases for a moment, although each
+individual frog creates only _one_ little gush of music, composed of
+half-a-dozen trills, and then stops a moment for breath before
+commencing the second bar. Bull-frogs, too, though not so numerous,
+help to vary the sound by croaking vociferously, as if they
+understood the value of bass, and were glad of having an opportunity
+to join in the universal hum of life and joy which rises everywhere,
+from the river and the swamp, the forest and the prairie, to welcome
+back the spring.
+
+Such was the state of things in Red River one beautiful morning in
+April, when a band of voyageurs lounged in scattered groups about the
+front gate of Fort Garry. They were as fine a set of picturesque,
+manly fellows as one could desire to see. Their mode of life rendered
+them healthy, hardy, arid good-humoured, with a strong dash of
+recklessness--perhaps too much of it--in some of the younger men.
+Being descended, generally, from French-Canadian sires and Indian
+mothers, they united some of the good and not a few of the bad
+qualities of both, mentally as well as physically--combining the
+light, gay-hearted spirit and full, muscular frame of the Canadian
+with the fierce passions and active habits of the Indian. And this
+wildness of disposition was not a little fostered by the nature of
+their usual occupations. They were employed during a great part of
+the year in navigating the Hudson's Bay Company's boats, laden with
+furs and goods, through the labyrinth of rivers and lakes that stud
+and intersect the whole continent, or they were engaged in pursuit of
+the bisons, [Footnote: These animals are always called buffaloes by
+American hunters and fur-traders.] which roam the prairies in vast
+herds.
+
+They were dressed in the costume of the country: most of them wore
+light-blue cloth capotes, girded tightly round them', by scarlet or
+crimson worsted belts. Some of them had blue and others scarlet cloth
+leggings, ornamented more or less with stained porcupine quills,
+coloured silk, or variegated beads; while some might be seen clad in
+the leathern coats of winter--deer-skin dressed like chamois leather,
+fringed all round with little tails, and ornamented much in the same
+way as those already described. The heavy winter moccasins and duffel
+socks, which gave to their feet the appearance of being afflicted
+with gout, were now replaced by moccasins of a lighter and more
+elegant character, having no socks below, and fitting tightly to the
+feet like gloves. Some wore hats similar to those made of silk or
+beaver which are worn by ourselves in Britain, but so bedizened with
+scarlet cock-tail feathers, and silver cords and tassels, as to leave
+the original form of the head-dress a matter of great uncertainty.
+These hats, however, are only used on high occasions, and chiefly by
+the fops. Most of the men wore coarse blue cloth caps with peaks, and
+not a few discarded head-pieces altogether, under the impression,
+apparently, that nature had supplied a covering which was in itself
+sufficient. These costumes varied not only in character but in
+quality, according to the circumstances of the wearer; some being
+highly ornamental and mended--evincing the felicity of the owner in
+the possession of a good wife--while others were soiled and torn, or
+but slightly ornamented. The voyageurs were collected, as we have
+said, in groups. Here stood a dozen of the youngest--consequently the
+most noisy and showily dressed--laughing loudly, gesticulating
+violently, and bragging tremendously. Near to them were collected a
+number of sterner spirits--men of middle age, with all the energy,
+and muscle, and bone of youth, but without its swaggering hilarity;
+men whose powers and nerves had been tried over and over again amid
+the stirring scenes of a voyageur's life; men whose heads were cool,
+and eyes sharp, and hands ready and powerful, in the mad whirl of
+boiling rapids, in the sudden attack of wild beast and hostile man,
+or in the unexpected approach of any danger; men who, having been
+well tried, needed not to boast, and who, having carried off
+triumphantly their respective brides many years ago, needed not to
+decorate their persons with the absurd finery that characterised
+their younger brethren. They were comparatively few in number, but
+they composed a sterling band, of which every man was a hero. Among
+them were those who occupied the high positions of bowman and
+steersman, and when we tell the reader that on these two men
+frequently hangs the safety of a boat, with all its crew and lading,
+it will be easily understood how needful it is that they should be
+men of iron nerve and strength of mind.
+
+Boat-travelling in those regions is conducted in a way that would
+astonish most people who dwell in the civilised quarters of the
+globe. The country being intersected in all directions by great lakes
+and rivers, these have been adopted as the most convenient highways
+along which to convey the supplies and bring back the furs from
+outposts. Rivers in America, however, as in other parts of the world,
+are distinguished by sudden ebullitions and turbulent points of
+character, in the shape of rapids, falls, and cataracts, up and down
+which neither men nor boats can by any possibility go with impunity;
+consequently, on arriving at such obstructions, the cargoes are
+carried overland to navigable water above or below the falls (as the
+case may be), then the boats are dragged over and launched, again
+reloaded, and the travellers proceed. This operation is called
+"making a portage;" and as these portages vary from twelve yards to
+twelve miles in length, it may be readily conceived that a voyageur's
+life is not an easy one by any means.
+
+This, however, is only one of his difficulties. Rapids occur which
+are not so dangerous as to make a "portage" necessary, but are
+sufficiently turbulent to render the descent of them perilous. In
+such cases, the boats, being lightened of part of their cargo, are
+_run_ down, and frequently they descend with full cargoes and crews.
+It is then that the whole management of each boat devolves upon its
+bowman and steersman. The rest of the crew, or _middlemen_ as they
+are called, merely sit still and look on, or give a stroke with their
+oars if required; while the steersman, with powerful sweeps of his
+heavy oar, directs the flying boat as it bounds from surge to surge
+like a thing of life; and the bowman stands erect in front to assist
+in directing his comrade at the stern, having a strong and long pole
+in his hands, with which, ever and anon, he violently forces the
+boat's head away from sunken rocks, against which it might otherwise
+strike and be stove in, capsized, or seriously damaged.
+
+Besides the groups already enumerated, there were one or two others,
+composed of grave, elderly men, whose wrinkled brows, gray hairs, and
+slow, quiet step, showed that the strength of their days was past;
+although their upright figures and warm brown complexions gave
+promise of their living to see many summers still. These were the
+principal steersmen and old guides--men of renown, to whom the others
+bowed as oracles or looked up to as fathers; men whose youth and
+manhood had been spent in roaming the trackless wilderness, and who
+were, therefore, eminently qualified to guide brigades through the
+length and breadth of the land; men whose power of threading their
+way among the perplexing intricacies of the forest had become a
+second nature, a kind of instinct, that was as sure of attaining its
+end as the instinct of the feathered tribes, which brings the
+swallow, after a long absence, with unerring certainty back to its
+former haunts again in spring.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+The store.
+
+
+At whatever establishment in the fur-trader's dominions you may
+chance to alight you will find a particular building which is
+surrounded by a halo of interest; towards which there seems to be a
+general leaning on the part of everybody, especially of the Indians;
+and with which are connected, in the minds of all, the most stirring
+reminiscences and pleasing associations.
+
+This is the trading-store. It is always recognisable, if natives are
+in the neighbourhood, by the bevy of red men that cluster round it,
+awaiting the coming of the storekeeper or the trader with that stoic
+patience which is peculiar to Indians. It may be further recognised,
+by a close observer, by the soiled condition of its walls occasioned
+by loungers rubbing their backs perpetually against it, and the
+peculiar dinginess round the keyhole, caused by frequent applications
+of the key, which renders it conspicuous beyond all its comrades.
+Here is contained that which makes the red man's life enjoyable; that
+which causes his heart to leap, and induces him to toil for months
+and months together in the heat of summer and amid the frost and snow
+of winter; that which _actually_ accomplishes, what music is _said_
+to achieve, the "soothing of the savage breast:" in short, here are
+stored up blankets, guns, powder, shot, kettles, axes, and knives;
+twine for nets, vermilion for war-paint, fishhooks and scalping-
+knives, capotes, cloth, beads, needles, and a host of miscellaneous
+articles, much too numerous to mention. Here, also occur periodical
+scenes of bustle and excitement, when bands of natives arrive from
+distant hunting-grounds, laden with rich furs, which are speedily
+transferred to the Hudson's Bay Company's stores in exchange for the
+goods aforementioned. And many a tough wrangle has the trader on such
+occasions with sharp natives, who might have graduated in
+Billingsgate, so close are they at a bargain. Here, too, voyageurs
+are supplied with an equivalent for their wages, part in advance, if
+they desire it (and they generally do desire it), and part at the
+conclusion of their long and arduous voyages.
+
+It is to one of these stores, reader, that we wish to introduce you
+now, that you may witness the men of the North brigade receive their
+advances.
+
+The store at Fort Garry stands on the right of the fort, as you enter
+by the front gate. Its interior resembles that of the other stores in
+the country, being only a little larger. A counter encloses a space
+sufficiently wide to admit a dozen men, and serves to keep back those
+who are more eager than the rest. Inside this counter, at the time we
+write of, stood our friend, Peter Mactavish, who was the presiding
+genius of the scene.
+
+"Shut the door now, and lock it," said Peter, in an authoritative
+tone, after eight or ten young voyageurs had crushed into the space
+in front of the counter. "I'll not supply you with so much as an
+ounce of tobacco if you let in another man."
+
+Peter needed not to repeat the command. Three or four stalwart
+shoulders were applied to the door, which shut with a bang like a
+cannon-shot, and the key was turned.
+
+"Come now, Antoine," began the trader, "we've lots to do, and not
+much time to do it in, so pray look sharp."
+
+Antoine, however, was not to be urged on so easily. He had been
+meditating deeply all the morning on what he should purchase.
+Moreover, he had a sweetheart, and of course he had to buy something
+for her before setting out on his travels. Besides, Antoine was six
+feet high, and broad shouldered, and well made, with a dark face and
+glossy black hair; and he entertained a notion that there were one or
+two points in his costume which required to be carefully rectified,
+ere he could consider that he had attained to perfection: so he
+brushed the long hair off his forehead, crossed his arms, and gazed
+around him.
+
+"Come now, Antoine," said Peter, throwing a green blanket at him; "I
+know you want _that_ to begin with. What's the use of thinking so
+long about it, eh? And _that_, too," he added, throwing him a blue
+cloth capote. "Anything else?"
+
+"Oui, oui, monsieur," cried Antoine, as he disengaged himself from
+the folds of the coat which Peter had thrown over his head. "Tabac,
+monsieur, tabac!"
+
+"Oh, to be sure," cried Peter. "I might have guessed that _that_ was
+uppermost in your mind. Well, how much will you have?" Peter began to
+unwind the fragrant weed off a coil of most appalling size and
+thickness, which looked like a snake of endless length. "Will that
+do?" and he flourished about four feet of the snake before the eyes
+of the voyageur.
+
+Antoine accepted the quantity, and young Harry Somerville entered the
+articles against him in a book.
+
+"Anything more, Antoine?" said the trader. "Ah, some beads and silks,
+eh? Oho, Antoine!--By the way, Louis, have you seen Annette lately?"
+
+Peter turned to another voyageur when he put this question, and the
+voyageur gave a broad grin as he replied in the affirmative, while
+Antoine looked a little confused. He did not care much, however, for
+jesting. So, after getting one or two more articles--not forgetting
+half-a-dozen clay pipes, and a few yards of gaudy calico, which
+called forth from Peter a second reference to Annette--he bundled up
+his goods, and made way for another comrade.
+
+Louis Peltier, one of the principal guides, and a man of importance
+therefore, now stood forward. He was probably about forty-five years
+of age; had a plain, olive-coloured countenance, surrounded by a mass
+of long jet-black hair, which he inherited, along with a pair of
+dark, piercing eyes, from his Indian mother; and a robust, heavy, yet
+active frame, which bore a strong resemblance to what his Canadian
+father's had been many years before. His arms, in particular, were of
+herculean mould, with large swelling veins and strongly-marked
+muscles. They seemed, in fact, just formed for the purpose of pulling
+the heavy sweep of an inland boat among strong rapids. His face
+combined an expression of stern resolution with great good-humour;
+and truly his countenance did not belie him, for he was known among
+his comrades as the most courageous and at the same time the most
+peaceable man in the settlement. Louis Peltier was singular in
+possessing the latter quality, for assuredly the half-breeds,
+whatever other good points they boast, cannot lay claim to very
+gentle or dove-like dispositions. His grey capote and blue leggings
+were decorated with no unusual ornaments, and the scarlet belt which
+encircled his massive figure was the only bit of colour he displayed.
+
+The younger men fell respectfully into the rear as Louis stepped
+forward and begged pardon for coming so early in the day. "Mais,
+monsieur," he said, "I have to look after the boats to-day, and get
+them ready for a start to-morrow."
+
+Peter Mactavish gave Louis a hearty shake of the hand before
+proceeding to supply his wants, which were simple and moderate,
+excepting in the article of _tabac_, in the use of which he was _im_-
+moderate, being an inveterate smoker; so that a considerable portion
+of the snake had to be uncoiled for his benefit.
+
+"Fond as ever of smoking, Louis?" said Peter Mactavish, as he handed
+him the coil.
+
+"Oui, monsieur--very fond," answered the guide, smelling the weed.
+"Ah, this is very good. I must take a good supply this voyage,
+because I lost the half of my roll last year;" and the guide gave a
+sigh as he thought of the overwhelming bereavement.
+
+"Lost the half of it, Louis!" said Mactavish. "Why, how was that? You
+must have lost _more_ than half your spirits with it!"
+
+"Ah, oui, I lost _all_ my spirits, and my comrade François at the
+same time!"
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed the clerk, bustling about the store while the
+guide continued to talk.
+
+"Oui, monsieur, oui. I lost _him_, and my tabac, and my spirits, and
+very nearly my life, all in one moment!"
+
+"Why, how came that about?" said Peter, pausing in his work, and
+laying a handful of pipes on the counter.
+
+"Ah, monsieur, it was very sad (merci, monsieur, merci; thirty pipes,
+if you please), and I thought at the time that I should give up my
+voyageur life, and remain altogether in the settlement with my old
+woman. Mais, monsieur, that was not possible. When I spoke of it to
+my old woman, she called _me_ an old woman; and you know, monsieur,
+that _two_ old women never could live together in peace for twelve
+months under the same roof. So here I am, you see, ready again for
+the voyage."
+
+The voyageurs, who had drawn round Louis when he alluded to an
+anecdote which they had often heard before, but were never weary of
+hearing over again, laughed loudly at this sally, and urged the guide
+to relate the story to "_monsieur_" who, nothing loath to suspend his
+operations for a little, leaned his arms on the counter and said--
+
+"Tell us all about it, Louis; I am anxious to know how you managed to
+come by so many losses all at one time."
+
+"Bien, monsieur, I shall soon relate it, for the story is very
+short."
+
+Harry Somerville, who was entering the pipes in Louis's account, had
+just set down the figures "30" when Louis cleared his throat to
+begin. Not having the mental fortitude to finish the line, he dropped
+his pen, sprang off his stool, which he upset in so doing, jumped up,
+sitting-ways, upon the counter, and gazed with breathless interest
+into the guide's face as he spoke.
+
+"It was on a cold, wet afternoon," said Louis, "that we were
+descending the Hill River, at a part of the rapids where there is a
+sharp bend in the stream, and two or three great rocks that stand up
+in front of the water, as it plunges over a ledge, as if they were
+put there a purpose to catch it, and split it up into foam, or to
+stop the boats and canoes that try to run the rapids, and cut them up
+into splinters. It was an ugly place, monsieur, I can tell you; and
+though I've run it again and again, I always hold my breath tighter
+when we get to the top, and breathe freer when we get to the bottom.
+Well, there was a chum of mine at the bow, Francois by name, and a
+fine fellow he was as I ever came across. He used to sleep with me at
+night under the same blanket, although it was somewhat inconvenient;
+for being as big as myself and a stone heavier, it was all we could
+do to make the blanket cover us. However, he and I were great
+friends, and we managed it somehow. Well, he was at the bow when we
+took the rapids, and a first-rate bowman he made. His pole was twice
+as long and twice as thick as any other pole in the boat, and he
+twisted it about just like a fiddlestick. I remember well the night
+before we came to the rapids, as he was sitting by the fire, which
+was blazing up among the pine-branches that overhung us, he said that
+he wanted a good pole for the rapids next day; and with that he
+jumped up, laid hold of an axe, and went back into the woods a bit to
+get one. When he returned, he brought a young tree on his shoulder,
+which he began to strip of its branches, and bark. 'Louis, says he,
+'this is hot work; give us a pipe.' So I rummaged about for some
+tobacco, but found there was none left in my bag; so I went to my kit
+and got out my roll, about three fathoms or so, and cutting half of
+it off, I went to the fire and twisted it round his neck by way of a
+joke, and he said he'd wear it as a necklace all night, and so he
+did, too, and forgot to take it off in the morning; and when we came
+near the rapids I couldn't get at my bag to stow it away, so says I,
+'Francois, you'll have to run with it on, for I can't stop to stow it
+now.' 'All right,' says he, 'go ahead;' and just as he said it, we
+came in sight of the first run, foaming and boiling like a kettle of
+robbiboo. 'Take care, lads,' I cried, and the next moment we were
+dashing down towards the bend in the river. As we came near to the
+shoot, I saw Francois standing up on the gunwale to get a better view
+of the rocks ahead, and every now and then giving me a signal with
+his hand how to steer; suddenly he gave a shout, and plunged his long
+pole into the water, to fend off from a rock which a swirl in the
+stream had concealed. For a second or two his pole bent like a
+willow, and we could feel the heavy boat jerk off a little with the
+tremendous strain, but all at once the pole broke off short with a
+crack, Francois' heels made a flourish in the air, and then he
+disappeared head foremost into the foaming water, with my tobacco
+coiled round his neck! As we flew past the place, one of his arms
+appeared, and I made a grab at it, and caught him by the sleeve; but
+the effort upset myself and over I went too. Fortunately, however,
+one of my men caught me by the foot, and held on like a vice; but the
+force of the current tore Francois' sleeve out of my grasp, and I was
+dragged into the boat again just in time to see my comrade's legs and
+arms going like the sails of a windmill, as he rolled over several
+times and disappeared. Well, we put ashore the moment we got into
+still water, and then five or six of us started off on foot to look
+for Francois. After half-an-hour's search, we found him pitched upon
+a flat rock in the middle of the stream like a bit of driftwood, We
+immediately waded out to the rock and brought him ashore, where we
+lighted a fire, took off all his clothes, and rubbed him till he
+began to show signs of life again. But you may judge, mes garçons, of
+my misery when I found that the coil of tobacco was gone. It had come
+off his neck during his struggles, and there wasn't a vestige of it
+left, except a bright red mark on the throat, where it had nearly
+strangled him. When he began to recover, he put his hand up to his
+neck as if feeling for something, and muttered faintly, 'The tabac.'
+'Ah, morbleu!' said I, 'you may say that! Where is it?' Well, we soon
+brought him round, but he had swallowed so much water that it damaged
+his lungs, and we had to leave him at the next post we came to; and
+so I lost my friend too."
+
+"Did Francois get better?" said Charley Kennedy, in a voice of great
+concern.
+
+Charley had entered the store by another door, just as the guide
+began his story, and had listened to it unobserved with breathless
+interest.
+
+"Recover! Oh oui, monsieur, he soon got well again.'
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad," cried Charley.
+
+"But I lost him for that voyage," added the guide; "and I lost my
+tabac for ever."
+
+"You must take better care of it this time, Louis," said Peter
+Mactavish, as he resumed his work.
+
+"That I shall, monsieur," replied Louis, shouldering his goods and
+quitting the store, while a short, slim, active little Canadian took
+his place.
+
+"Now, then, Baptiste," said Mactavish," you want a-"
+
+"Blanket, monsieur,"
+
+"Good. And--"
+
+"A capote, monsieur."
+
+"And--"
+
+"An axe--"
+
+"Stop, stop!" shouted Harry Somerville from his desk. "Here's an
+entry in Louis's account that I can't make out--30 something or
+other; what can it have been?"
+
+"How often," said Mactavish, going up to him with a look of
+annoyance--"how often have I told you, Mr. Somerville, not to leave
+an entry half-finished on any account!"
+
+"I didn't know that I left it so," said Harry, twisting his features,
+and scratching his head in great perplexity. "What _can_ it have
+been? 30--30--not blankets, eh?" (Harry was becoming banteringly
+bitter.) "He couldn't have got thirty guns, could he? or thirty
+knives, or thirty copper kettles?"
+
+"Perhaps it was thirty pounds of tea," suggested Charley.
+
+"No doubt it was thirty _pipes_," said Peter Mactavish.
+
+"Oh, that was it!" cried Harry, "that was it! thirty pipes, to be
+sure. What an ass I am!"
+
+"And pray what is _that_?" said Mactavish, pointing sarcastically to
+an entry in the previous account--"_5 yards of superfine Annette_.
+Really, Mr. Somerville, I wish you would pay more attention to your
+work and less to the conversation."
+
+"Oh dear!" cried Harry, becoming almost hysterical under the combined
+effects of chagrin at making so many mistakes, and suppressed
+merriment at the idea of selling Annettes by the yard. "Oh, dear me--
+"
+
+Harry could say no more, but stuffed his handkerchief into his mouth
+and turned away.
+
+"Well, sir," said the offended Peter, "when you have laughed to your
+entire satisfaction, we will go on with our work, if you please."
+
+"All right," cried Harry, suppressing his feelings with a strong
+effort; "what next?"
+
+Just then a tall, raw-boned man entered the store, and rudely
+thrusting Baptiste aside, asked if he could get his supplies now.
+
+"No," said Mactavish, sharply; "you'll take your turn like the rest."
+
+The new-comer was a native of Orkney, a country from which, and the
+neighbouring islands, the Fur Company almost exclusively recruits its
+staff of labourers. These men are steady, useful servants, although
+inclined to be slow and lazy _at first_; but they soon get used to
+the country, and rapidly improve under the example of the active
+Canadians and half-breeds with whom they associate; some of them are
+the best servants the Company possess. Hugh Mathison, however, was a
+very bad specimen of the race, being rough and coarse in his manners,
+and very lazy withal. Upon receiving the trader's answer, Hugh turned
+sulkily on his heel and strode towards the door. Now, it happened
+that Baptiste's bundle lay just behind him, and on turning to leave
+the place, he tripped over it and stumbled, whereat the voyageurs
+burst into an ironical laugh (for Hugh was not a favourite).
+
+"Confound your trash!" he cried, giving the little bundle a kick that
+scattered everything over the floor.
+
+"Crapaud!" said Baptiste, between his set teeth, while his eyes
+flashed angrily, and he stood up before Hugh with clinched fists,
+"what mean you by that, eh?"
+
+The big Scotchman held his little opponent in contempt; so that,
+instead of putting himself on the defensive, he leaned his back
+against the door, thrust his hands into his pockets, and requested to
+know "what that was to him."
+
+Baptiste was not a man of many words, and this reply, coupled with
+the insolent sneer with which it was uttered, caused him to plant a
+sudden and well-directed blow on the point of Hugh's nose, which
+flattened it on his face, and brought the back of his head into
+violent contact with the door.
+
+"Well done!" shouted the men; "bravo, Baptiste! _Regardez le nez, mes
+enfants!_"
+
+"Hold!" cried Mactavish, vaulting the counter, and intercepting Hugh,
+as he rushed upon his antagonist; "no fighting here, you blackguards!
+If you want to do _that,_ go outside the fort;" and Peter, opening
+the door, thrust the Orkneyman out.
+
+In the meantime, Baptiste gathered up his goods and left the store,
+in company with several of his friends, vowing that he would wreak
+his vengeance on the "gros chien" before the sun should set.
+
+He had not long to wait, however, for just outside the gate he found
+Hugh, still smarting under the pain and indignity of the blow, and
+ready to pounce upon him like a cat on a mouse.
+
+Baptiste instantly threw down his bundle, and prepared for battle by
+discarding his coat.
+
+Every nation has its own peculiar method of fighting, and its own
+ideas of what is honourable and dishonourable in combat. The English,
+as everyone knows, have particularly stringent rules regarding the
+part of the body which may or may not be hit with propriety, and
+count it foul disgrace to strike a man when he is down, although, by
+some strange perversity of reasoning, they deem it right and fair to
+_fall_ upon him while in this helpless condition, and burst him if
+possible. The Scotchman has less of the science, and we are half
+inclined to believe that he would go the length of kicking a fallen
+opponent; but on this point we are not quite positive. In regard to
+the style adopted by the half-breeds, however, we have no doubt. They
+fight _any_ way and _every_ way, without reference to rules at all;
+and really, although we may bring ourselves into contempt by
+admitting the fact, we think they are quite right. No doubt the best
+course of action is _not_ to fight; but if a man does find it
+_necessary_ to do so, surely the wisest plan is to get it over at
+once (as the dentist suggested to his timorous patient), and to do it
+in the most effectual manner.
+
+Be this as it may, Baptiste flew at Hugh, and alighted upon him, not
+head first, or fist first, or feet first, or _anything_ first, but
+altogether--in a heap as it were; fist, feet, knees, nails, and
+teeth, all taking effect at one and the same time, with a force so
+irresistible that the next moment they both rolled in the dust
+together.
+
+For a minute or so they struggled and kicked like a couple of
+serpents, and then, bounding to their feet again, they began to
+perform a war-dance round each other, revolving their fists at the
+same time in, we presume, the most approved fashion. Owing to his
+bulk and natural laziness, which rendered jumping about like a jack-
+in-the-box impossible, Hugh Mathison preferred to stand on the
+defensive; while his lighter opponent, giving way to the natural bent
+of his mercurial temperament and corporeal predilections, comported
+himself in a manner that cannot be likened to anything mortal or
+immortal, human or inhuman, unless it be to an insane cat, whose
+veins ran wild-fire instead of blood. Or perhaps we might liken him
+to that ingenious piece of firework called a zigzag cracker, which
+explodes with unexpected and repeated suddenness, changing its
+position in a most perplexing manner at every crack. Baptiste, after
+the first onset, danced backwards with surprising lightness, glaring
+at his adversary the while, and rapidly revolving his fists as before
+mentioned; then a terrific yell was heard; his head, arms, and legs
+became a sort of whirling conglomerate; the spot on which he danced
+was suddenly vacant, and at the same moment Mathison received a bite,
+a scratch, a dab on the nose, and a kick on the stomach all at once.
+Feeling that it was impossible to plant a well-directed blow on such
+an assailant, he waited for the next onslaught; and the moment he saw
+the explosive object flying through the air towards him, he met it
+with a crack of his heavy fist, which, happening to take effect in
+the middle of the chest, drove it backwards with about as much
+velocity as it had approached, and poor Baptiste measured his length
+on the ground.
+
+"Oh, pauvre chien!" cried the spectators, "c'est fini!" "Not yet,"
+cried Baptiste, as he sprang with a scream to his feet again, and
+began his dance with redoubled energy, just as if all that had gone
+before was a mere sketch--a sort of playful rehearsal, as it were, of
+what was now to follow. At this moment Hugh stumbled over a canoe-
+paddle, and fell headlong into Baptiste's arms, as he was in the very
+act of making one of his violent descents. This unlooked-for
+occurrence brought them both to a sudden pause, partly from necessity
+and partly from surprise. Out of this state Baptiste recovered first,
+and taking advantage of the accident, threw Mathison heavily to the
+ground. He rose quickly, however, and renewed the light with
+freshened vigour.
+
+Just at this moment a passionate growl was heard, and old Mr. Kennedy
+rushed out of the fort in a towering rage.
+
+Now Mr. Kennedy had no reason whatever for being angry. He was only a
+visitor at the fort, and so had no concern in the behaviour of those
+connected with it. He was not even in the Company's service now, and
+could not, therefore, lay claim, as one of its officers, to any right
+to interfere with its men. But Mr. Kennedy never acted much from
+reason; impulse was generally his guiding-star. He had, moreover,
+been an absolute monarch, and a commander of men, for many years past
+in his capacity of fur-trader. Being, as we have said, a powerful,
+fiery man, he had ruled very much by means of brute force--a species
+of suasion, by the way, which is too common among many of the
+gentlemen (?) in the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company. On
+hearing, therefore, that the men were fighting in front of the fort,
+Mr. Kennedy rushed out in a towering rage.
+
+"Oh, you precious blackguards!" he cried, running up to the
+combatants, while with flashing eyes he gazed first at one and then
+at the other, as if uncertain on which to launch his ire. "Have you
+no place in the world to fight but _here_? eh, blackguards?"
+
+"O monsieur," said Baptiste, lowering his hands, and assuming that
+politeness of demeanour which seems inseparable from French blood,
+however much mixed with baser fluid, "I was just giving _that dog_ a
+thrashing, monsieur."
+
+"Go!" cried Mr. Kennedy in a voice of thunder, turning to Hugh, who
+still stood in a pugilistic attitude, with very little respect in his
+looks.
+
+Hugh hesitated to obey the order; but Mr. Kennedy continued to
+advance, grinding his teeth and working his fingers convulsively, as
+if he longed to lay violent hold of the Orkneyman's swelled nose; so
+he retreated in his uncertainty, but still with his face to the foe.
+As has been already said, the Assiniboine River flows within a
+hundred yards of the gate of Fort Garry. The two men, in their
+combat, had approached pretty near to the bank, at a place where it
+descends somewhat precipitately into the stream. It was towards this
+bank that Hugh Mathison was now retreating, crab fashion, followed by
+Mr. Kennedy, and both of them so taken up with each other that
+neither perceived the fact until Hugh's heel struck against a stone
+just at the moment that Mr. Kennedy raised his clenched fist in a
+threatening attitude. The effect of this combination was to pitch the
+poor man head over heels down the bank, into a row of willow bushes,
+through which, as he rolled with great speed, he went with a loud
+crash, and shot head first, like a startled alligator, into the
+water, amid a roar of laughter from his comrades and the people
+belonging to the fort; most of whom, attracted by the fight, were now
+assembled on the banks of the river.
+
+Mr. Kennedy's wrath vanished immediately, and he joined in the
+laughter; but his face instantly changed when he beheld Hugh
+sputtering in deep water, and heard some one say that he could not
+swim.
+
+"What! can't swim?" he exclaimed, running down the bank to the edge
+of the water. Baptiste was before him, however. In a moment he
+plunged in up to the neck, stretched forth his arm, grasped Hugh by
+the hair, and dragged him to the land.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Farewell to Kate--Departure of the brigade--Charley becomes a
+voyageur.
+
+
+On the following day at noon, the spot on which the late combat had
+taken place became the theatre of a stirring and animated scene. Fort
+Garry, and the space between it and the river, swarmed with
+voyageurs, dressed in their cleanest, newest, and most brilliant
+costume. The large boats for the north, six in number, lay moored to
+the river's bank, laden with bales of furs, and ready to start on
+their long voyage. Young men, who had never been on the road before,
+stood with animated looks watching the operations of the guides as
+they passed critical examination upon their boats, overhauled the
+oars to see that they were in good condition, or with crooked knives
+(a species of instrument in the use of which voyageurs and natives
+are very expert) polished off the top of a mast, the blade of an oar,
+or the handle of a tiller. Old men, who had passed their lives in
+similar occupations, looked on in silence--some standing with their
+heads bent on their bosoms, and an expression of sadness about their
+faces, as if the scene recalled some mournful event of their early
+life, or possibly reminded them of wild, joyous scenes of other days,
+when the blood coursed warmly in their young veins, and the strong
+muscles sprang lightly to obey their will; when the work they had to
+do was hard, and the sleep that followed it was sound--scenes and
+days that were now gone by for ever. Others reclined against the
+wooden fence, their arms crossed, their thin white hair waving gently
+in the breeze, and a kind smile playing on their sunburned faces, as
+they observed the swagger and coxcombry of the younger men, or
+watched the gambols of several dark-eyed little children--embryo
+buffalo-hunters and voyageurs--whose mothers had brought them to the
+fort to get a last kiss from papa, and witness the departure of the
+boats.
+
+Several tender scenes were going on in out-of-the-way places--in
+angles of the walls and bastions, or behind the gates-between
+youthful couples about to be separated for a season. Interesting
+scenes these of pathos and pleasantry--a combination of soft glances
+and affectionate fervent assurances; alternate embraces (that were
+_apparently_ received with reluctance, but _actually_ with delight,
+and proffers of pieces of calico and beads and other trinkets
+(received both _apparently_ and _actually_ with extreme satisfaction)
+as souvenirs of happy days that were past), and pledges of unalterable
+constancy and bright hope in days that were yet to come.
+
+A little apart from the others, a youth and a girl might be seen
+sauntering slowly towards the copse beyond the stable. These were
+Charley Kennedy and his sister Kate, who had retired from the
+bustling scene to take a last short walk together, ere they
+separated, it might be for years, perhaps for ever! Charley held
+Kate's hand, while her sweet little head rested on his shoulder.
+
+"O Charley, Charley, my own dear, darling Charley, I'm quite
+miserable, and you ought not to go away; it's very wrong, and I don't
+mind a bit what you say, I shall die if you leave me!" And Kate
+pressed him tightly to her heart, and sobbed in the depth of her woe.
+"Now, Kate, my darling, don't go on so! You know I can't help it--"
+
+"I _don't_ know," cried Kate, interrupting him, and speaking
+vehemently--" I don't know, and I don't believe, and I don't care for
+anything at all; it's very hard-hearted of you, and wrong, and not
+right, and I'm just quite wretched!"
+
+Poor Kate was undoubtedly speaking the absolute truth; for a more
+disconsolate and wretched look of woebegone misery was never seen on
+so sweet and tender and lovable a little face before. Her blue eyes
+swam in two lakes of pure crystal, that overflowed continually; her
+mouth, which was usually round, had become an elongated oval; and her
+nut-brown hair fell in dishevelled masses over her soft cheeks.
+
+"O Charley," she continued, "why _won't_ you stay?"
+
+"Listen to me, dearest Kate," said Charley, in a very husky voice.
+"It's too late to draw back now, even if I wished to do so; and you
+don't consider, darling, that I'll be back again soon. Besides, I'm a
+man now, Kate, and I must make my own bread. Who ever heard of a man
+being supported by his old father."
+
+"Well, but can't you do that here?"
+
+"No, don't interrupt me, Kate," said Charley, kissing her forehead;
+"I'm quite satisfied with _two short_ legs, and have no desire
+whatever to make my bread on the top of _three long_ ones. Besides,
+you know I can write to you."
+
+"But you won't; you'll forget."
+
+"No, indeed, I will not. I'll write you long letters about all that I
+see and do; and you shall write long letters to me about--"
+
+"Stop, Charley," cried Kate; "I won't listen to you. I hate to think
+of it."
+
+And her tears burst forth again with fresh violence. This time
+Charley's heart sank too. The lump in his throat all but choked him;
+so he was fain to lay his head upon Kate's heaving bosom, and weep
+along with her.
+
+For a few minutes they remained silent, when a slight rustling in the
+bushes was heard. In another moment a tall, broad-shouldered,
+gentlemanly man, dressed in black, stood before them. Charley and
+Kate, on seeing this personage, arose, and wiping the tears from
+their eyes, gave a sad smile as they shook hands with their
+clergyman.
+
+"My poor children," said Mr. Addison, affectionately, "I know well
+why your hearts are sad. May God bless and comfort you! I saw you
+enter the wood, and came to bid you farewell, Charley, my dear boy,
+as I shall not have another opportunity of doing so."
+
+"O dear Mr. Addison," cried Kate, grasping his hand in both of hers,
+and gazing imploringly up at him through a perfect wilderness of
+ringlets and tears, "do prevail upon Charley to stay at home; please
+do!"
+
+Mr. Addison could scarcely help smiling at the poor girl's extreme
+earnestness.
+
+"I fear, my sweet child, that it is too late now to attempt to
+dissuade Charley. Besides, he goes with the consent of his father;
+and I am inclined to think that a change of life for a _short_ time
+may do him good. Come, Kate, cheer up! Charley will return to us
+again ere long, improved, I trust, both physically and mentally."
+
+Kate did _not_ cheer up, but she dried her eyes, and endeavoured to
+look more composed; while Mr. Addison took Charley by the hand, and,
+as they walked slowly through the wood, gave him much earnest advice
+and counsel.
+
+The clergyman's manner was peculiar. With a large, warm, generous
+heart, he possessed an enthusiastic nature, a quick, brusque manner,
+and a loud voice, which, when his spirit was influenced by the strong
+emotions of pity or anxiety for the souls of his flock, sunk into a
+deep soft bass of the most thrilling earnestness. He belonged to the
+Church of England, but conducted service very much in the
+Presbyterian form, as being more suited to his mixed congregation.
+After a long conversation with Charley, he concluded by saying--
+
+"I do not care to say much to you about being kind and obliging to
+all whom you may meet with during your travels, nor about the dangers
+to which you will be exposed by being thrown into the company of wild
+and reckless, perhaps very wicked, men. There is but _one_ incentive
+to every good, and _one_ safeguard against all evil, my boy, and that
+is the love of God. You may perhaps forget much that I have said to
+you; but remember this, Charley, if you would be happy in this world,
+and have a good hope for the next, centre your heart's affection on
+our blessed Lord Jesus Christ; for believe me, boy, _His_ heart's
+affection is centred upon you."
+
+As Mr. Addison spoke, a loud hello from Mr. Kennedy apprised them
+that their time was exhausted, and that the boats were ready to
+start. Charley sprang towards Kate, locked her in a long, passionate
+embrace, and then, forgetting Mr. Addison altogether in his haste,
+ran out of the wood, and hastened towards the scene of departure.
+
+"Good-bye, Charley!" cried Harry Somerville, running up to his friend
+and giving him a warm grasp of the hand. "Don't forget me, Charley. I
+wish I were going with you, with all my heart; but I'm an unlucky
+dog. Good-bye." The senior clerk and Peter Mactavish had also a
+kindly word and a cheerful farewell for him as he hurried past.
+
+"Good-bye, Charley, my lad!" said old Mr. Kennedy, in an
+_excessively_ loud voice, as if by such means he intended to crush
+back some unusual but very powerful feelings that had a peculiar
+influence on a certain lump in his throat. "Good-bye, my lad; don't
+forget to write to your old--Hang it!" said the old man, brushing his
+coat-sleeve somewhat violently across his eyes, and turning abruptly
+round as Charley left him and sprang into the boat--"I say, Grant, I--
+I--What are you staring at, eh?" The latter part of his speech was
+addressed, in an angry tone, to an innocent voyageur, who happened
+accidentally to confront him at the moment.
+
+"Come along, Kennedy," said Mr. Grant, interposing, and grasping his
+excited friend by the arm--"come with me."
+
+"Ah, to be sure!--yes," said he, looking over his shoulder and waving
+a last adieu to Charley, "Good-bye, God bless you, my dear boy!--I
+say, Grant, come along; quick, man, and let's have a pipe--yes, let's
+have a pipe." Mr. Kennedy, essaying once more to crush back his
+rebellious feelings, strode rapidly up the bank, and entering the
+house, sought to overwhelm his sorrow in smoke: in which attempt he
+failed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+The voyage--The encampment--A surprise.
+
+
+It was a fine sight to see the boats depart for the north. It was a
+thrilling, heart-stirring sight to behold these picturesque, athletic
+men, on receiving the word of command from their guides, spring
+lightly into the long, heavy boats; to see them let the oars fall
+into the water with a loud splash, and then, taking their seats, give
+way with a will, knowing that the eyes of friends and sweethearts and
+rivals were bent earnestly upon them. It was a splendid sight to see
+boat after boat shoot out from the landing-place, and cut through the
+calm bosom of the river, as the men bent their sturdy backs until the
+thick oars creaked and groaned on the gunwales and flashed in the
+stream, more and more vigorously at each successive stroke, until
+their friends on the bank, who were anxious to see the last of them,
+had to run faster and faster in order to keep up with them, as the
+rowers warmed at their work, and made the water gurgle at the bows--
+their bright blue and scarlet and white trappings reflected in the
+dark waters in broken masses of colour, streaked with long lines of
+shining ripples, as if they floated on a lake of liquid rainbows. And
+it was a glorious thing to hear the wild, plaintive song, led by one
+clear, sonorous voice, that rang out full and strong in the still
+air, while at the close of every two lines the whole brigade burst
+into a loud, enthusiastic chorus, that rolled far and wide over the
+smooth waters--telling of their approach to settlers beyond the reach
+of vision in advance, and floating faintly back, a last farewell, to
+the listening ears of fathers, mothers, wives, and sisters left
+behind. And it was interesting to observe how, as the rushing boats
+sped onwards past the cottages on shore, groups of men and women and
+children stood before the open doors and waved adieu, while ever and
+anon a solitary voice rang louder than the others in the chorus, and
+a pair of dark eyes grew brighter as a voyageur swept past his home,
+and recognised his little ones screaming farewell, and seeking to
+attract their _sire's_ attention by tossing their chubby arms or
+flourishing round their heads the bright vermilion blades of canoe-
+paddles. It was interesting, too, to hear the men shout as they ran a
+small rapid which occurs about the lower part of the settlement, and
+dashed in full career up to the Lower Fort--which stands about twenty
+miles down the river from Fort Garry--and then sped onward again with
+unabated energy, until they passed the Indian settlement, with its
+scattered wooden buildings and its small church; passed the last
+cottage on the bank; passed the low swampy land at the river's mouth;
+and emerged at last as evening closed, upon the wide, calm, sea-like
+bosom of Lake Winnipeg.
+
+Charley saw and heard all this during the whole of that long,
+exciting afternoon, and as he heard and saw it his heart swelled as
+if it would burst its prison-bars, his voice rang out wildly in the
+choruses, regardless alike of tune and time, and his spirit boiled
+within him as he quaffed the first sweet draught of a rover's life--a
+life in the woods, the wild, free, enchanting woods, where all
+appeared in _his_ eyes bright, and sunny, and green, and beautiful!
+
+As the sun's last rays sunk in the west, and the clouds, losing their
+crimson hue, began gradually to fade into gray, the boats' heads were
+turned landward. In a few seconds they grounded on a low point,
+covered with small trees and bushes which stretched out into the
+lake. Here Louis Peltier had resolved to bivouac for the night.
+
+"Now then, mes garçons," he exclaimed, leaping ashore, and helping to
+drag the boat a little way on to the beach, "vite, vite! à terre, à
+terre!--Take the kettle, Pierre, and let's have supper."
+
+Pierre needed no second bidding. He grasped a large tin kettle and an
+axe, with which he hurried into a clump of trees. Laying down the
+kettle, which he had previously filled with water from the lake, he
+singled out a dead tree, and with three powerful blows of his axe,
+brought it to the ground. A few additional strokes cut it up into
+logs, varying from three to five feet in length, which he piled
+together, first placing a small bundle of dry grass and twigs beneath
+them, and a few splinters of wood which he cut from off one of the
+logs. Having accomplished this, Pierre took a flint and steel out of
+a gaily ornamented pouch which depended from his waist, and which
+went by the name of a fire-bag in consequence of its containing the
+implements for procuring that element. It might have been as
+appropriately named tobacco-box or smoking-bag, however, seeing that
+such things had more to do with it, if possible, than fire. Having
+struck a spark, which he took captive by means of a piece of tinder,
+he placed in the centre of a very dry handful of soft grass, and
+whirled it rapidly round his head, thereby producing a current of
+air, which blew the spark into a flame; which when applied, lighted
+the grass and twigs; and so, in a few minutes, a blazing fire roared
+up among the trees--spouted volumes of sparks into the air, like a
+gigantic squib, which made it quite a marvel that all the bushes in
+the neighbourhood were not burnt up at once--glared out red and
+fierce upon the rippling water, until it became, as it were, red-hot
+in the neighbourhood of the boats, and caused the night to become
+suddenly darker by contrast; the night reciprocating the compliment,
+as it grew later, by causing the space around the fire to glow
+brighter and brighter, until it became a brilliant chamber,
+surrounded by walls of the blackest ebony.
+
+While Pierre was thus engaged there were at least ten voyageurs
+similarly occupied. Ten steels were made instrumental in creating ten
+sparks, which were severally captured by ten pieces of tinder, and
+whirled round by ten lusty arms, until ten flames were produced, and
+ten fires sprang up and flared wildly on the busy scene that had a
+few hours before been so calm, so solitary, and so peaceful, bathed
+in the soft beams of the setting sun.
+
+In less than half-an-hour the several camps were completed, the
+kettles boiling over the fires, the men smoking in every variety of
+attitude, and talking loudly. It was a cheerful scene; and so Charley
+thought as he reclined in his canvas tent, the opening of which faced
+the fire, and enabled him to see all that was going on.
+
+Pierre was standing over the great kettle, dancing round it, and
+making sudden plunges with a stick into it, in the desperate effort
+to stir its boiling contents--desperate, because the fire was very
+fierce and large, and the flames seem to take a fiendish pleasure in
+leaping up suddenly just under Pierre's nose, thereby endangering his
+beard, or shooting out between his legs and licking round them at
+most unexpected moments, when the light wind ought to have been
+blowing them quite in the opposite direction; and then, as he danced
+round to the other side to avoid them, wheeling about and roaring
+viciously in his face, until it seemed as if the poor man would be
+roasted long before the supper was boiled. Indeed, what between the
+ever-changing and violent flames, the rolling smoke, the steam from
+the kettle, the showering sparks, and the man's own wild grimaces and
+violent antics, Pierre seemed to Charley like a raging demon, who
+danced not only round, but above, and on, and through, and _in_ the
+flames, as if they were his natural element, in which he took special
+delight.
+
+Quite close to the tent the massive form of Louis the guide lay
+extended, his back supported by the stump of a tree, his eyes
+blinking sleepily at the blaze, and his beloved pipe hanging from his
+lips, while wreaths of smoke encircled his head. Louis's day's work
+was done. Few could do a better; and when his work was over, Louis
+always acted on the belief that his position and his years entitled
+him to rest, and took things very easy in consequence.
+
+Six of the boat's crew sat in a semicircle beside the guide and
+fronting the fire, each paying particular attention to his pipe, and
+talking between the puffs to anyone who chose to listen.
+
+Suddenly Pierre vanished into the smoke and flames altogether, whence
+in another moment he issued, bearing in his hand the large tin
+kettle, which he deposited triumphantly at the feet of his comrades.
+
+"Now, then," cried Pierre.
+
+It was unnecessary to have said even that much by way of invitation.
+Voyageurs do not require to have their food pressed upon them after a
+hard day's work. Indeed it was as much as they could do to refrain
+from laying violent hands on the kettle long before their worthy cook
+considered its contents sufficiently done.
+
+Charley sat in company with Mr. Park--a chief factor, on his way to
+Norway House. Gibault, one of the men who acted as their servant, had
+placed a kettle of hot tea before them, which, with several slices of
+buffalo tongue, a lump of pemmican, and some hard biscuit and butter,
+formed their evening meal. Indeed, we may add that these viands,
+during a great part of the voyage, constituted their every meal. In
+fact, they had no variety in their fare, except a wild duck or two
+now and then, and a goose when they chanced to shoot one.
+
+Charley sipped a pannikin of tea as he reclined on his blanket, and
+being somewhat fatigued in consequence of his exertions and
+excitement during the day, said nothing. Mr. Park, for the same
+reasons, besides being naturally taciturn, was equally mute, so they
+both enjoyed in silence the spectacle of the men eating their supper.
+And it _was_ a sight worth seeing.
+
+Their food consisted of robbiboo, a compound of flour, pemmican, and
+water, boiled to the consistency of very thick soup. Though not a
+species of food that would satisfy the fastidious taste of an
+epicure, robbiboo is, nevertheless, very wholesome, exceedingly
+nutritious, and withal palatable. Pemmican, its principal component,
+is made of buffalo flesh, which fully equals (some think greatly
+excels) beef. The recipe for making it is as follows:-First, kill
+your buffalo--a matter of considerable difficulty, by the way, as
+doing so requires you to travel to the buffalo-grounds, to arm
+yourself with a gun, and mount a horse, on which you have to gallop,
+perhaps, several miles over rough ground and among badger-holes at
+the imminent risk of breaking your neck. Then you have to run up
+alongside of a buffalo and put a ball through his heart, which, apart
+from the murderous nature of the action, is a difficult thing to do.
+But we will suppose that you have killed your buffalo. Then you must
+skin him; then cut him up, and slice the flesh into layers, which
+must be dried in the sun. At this stage of the process you have
+produced a substance which in the fur countries goes by the name of
+dried meat, and is largely used as an article of food. As its name
+implies, it is very dry, and it is also very tough, and very
+undesirable if one can manage to procure anything better. But to
+proceed. Having thus prepared dried meat, lay a quantity of it on a
+flat stone, and take another stone, with which pound it into shreds.
+You must then take the animal's hide, while it is yet new, and make
+bags of it about two feet and a half long by a foot and a half broad.
+Into this put the pounded meat loosely. Melt the fat of your buffalo
+over a fire, and when quite liquid pour it into the bag until full;
+mix the contents well together; sew the whole up before it cools, and
+you have a bag of pemmican of about ninety pounds weight. This forms
+the chief food of the voyageur, in consequence of its being the
+largest possible quantity of sustenance compressed into the smallest
+possible space, and in an extremely convenient, portable shape. It
+will keep fresh for years, and has been much used, in consequence, by
+the heroes of arctic discovery, in their perilous journeys along the
+shores of the frozen sea.
+
+The voyageurs used no plate. Men who travel in these countries become
+independent of many things that are supposed to be necessary here.
+They sat in a circle round the kettle, each man armed with a large
+wooden or pewter spoon, with which he ladled the robbiboo down his
+capacious throat, in a style that not only caused Charley to laugh,
+but afterwards threw him into a deep reverie on the powers of
+appetite in general, and the strength of voyageur stomachs in
+particular.
+
+At first the keen edge of appetite induced the men to eat in silence;
+but as the contents of the kettle began to get low, their tongues
+loosened, and at last, when the kettles were emptied and the pipes
+filled, fresh logs thrown on the fires, and their limbs stretched out
+around them, the babel of English, French, and Indian that arose was
+quite overwhelming. The middle-aged men told long stories of what
+they _had_ done; the young men boasted of what they _meant_ to do;
+while the more aged smiled, nodded, smoked their pipes, put in a word
+or two as occasion offered, and listened. While they conversed the
+quick ears of one of the men of Charley's camp detected some unusual
+sound.
+
+"Hist!" said he, turning his head aside slightly, in a listening
+attitude, while his comrades suddenly ceased their noisy laugh.
+
+"Do ducks travel in canoes hereabouts?" said the man, after a
+moment's silence; "for, if not, there's someone about to pay us a
+visit. I would wager my best gun that I hear the stroke of paddles."
+
+"If your ears had been sharper, François, you might have heard them
+some time ago," said the guide, shaking the ashes out of his pipe and
+refilling it for the third time.
+
+"Ah, Louis, I do not pretend to such sharp ears as you possess, nor
+to such sharp wit either. But who do you think can be _en route_ so
+late?"
+
+"That my wit does not enable me to divine," said Louis; "but if you
+have any faith in the sharpness of your eyes, I would recommend you
+to go to the beach and see, as the best and shortest way of finding
+out."
+
+By this time the men had risen, and were peering out into the gloom
+in the direction whence the sound came, while one or two sauntered
+down to the margin of the lake to meet the new-comers.
+
+"Who can it be, I wonder?" said Charley, who had left the tent, and
+was now standing beside the guide.
+
+"Difficult to say, monsieur. Perhaps Injins, though I thought there
+were none here just now. But I'm not surprised that we've attracted
+_something_ to us. Livin' creeturs always come nat'rally to the
+light, and there's plenty of fire on the point to-night."
+
+"Rather more than enough," replied Charley, abruptly, as a slight
+motion of wind sent the flames curling round his head and singed off
+his eye-lashes. "Why, Louis, it's my firm belief that if I ever get
+to the end of this journey, I'll not have a hair left on my head."
+
+Louis smiled.
+
+"O monsieur, you will learn to _observe_ things before you have been
+long in the wilderness. If you _will_ edge round to leeward of the
+fire, you can't expect it to respect you."
+
+Just at this moment a loud hurrah rang through the copse, and Harry
+Somerville sprang over the fire into the arms of Charley, who
+received him with a hug and a look of unutterable amazement.
+
+"Charley, my boy!"
+
+"Harry Somerville, I declare!"
+
+For at least five minutes Charley could not recover his composure
+sufficiently to _declare_ anything else, but stood with open mouth
+and eyes, and elevated eyebrows, looking at his young friend, who
+capered and danced round the fire in a manner that threw the cook's
+performances in that line quite into the shade, while he continued
+all the time to shout fragments of sentences that were quite
+unintelligible to anyone. It was evident that Harry was in a state of
+immense delight at something unknown save to himself, but which, in
+the course of a few minutes, was revealed to his wondering friends.
+
+"Charley, I'm _going!_ hurrah!" and he leaped about in a manner that
+induced Charley to say he would not only be going but very soon
+_gone_, if he did not keep further away from the fire.
+
+"Yes, Charley, I'm going with you! I upset the stool, tilted the ink-
+bottle over the invoice-book, sent the poker almost through the back
+of the fireplace, and smashed Tom Whyte's best whip on the back of
+the 'noo 'oss' as I galloped him over the plains for the last time:
+all for joy, because I'm going with you, Charley, my darling!"
+
+Here Harry suddenly threw his arms round his friend's neck,
+meditating an embrace. As both boys were rather fond of using their
+muscles violently, the embrace degenerated into a wrestle, which
+caused them to threaten complete destruction to the fire as they
+staggered in front of it, and ended in their tumbling against the
+tent and nearly breaking its poles and fastenings, to the horror and
+indignation of Mr. Park, who was smoking his pipe within, quietly
+waiting till Harry's superabundant glee was over, that he might get
+an explanation of his unexpected arrival among them.
+
+"Ah, they will be good voyageurs!" cried one of the men, as he looked
+on at this scene.
+
+"Oui, oui! good boys, active lads," replied the others, laughing. The
+two boys rose hastily.
+
+"Yes," cried Harry, breathless, but still excited, "I'm going all the
+way, and a great deal farther. I'm going to hunt buffaloes in the
+Saskatchewan, and grizzly bears in the--the--in fact everywhere! I'm
+going down the Mackenzie River--I'm going _mad_, I believe;" and
+Harry gave another caper and another shout, and tossed his cap high
+into the air. Having been recklessly tossed, it came down into the
+fire. When it went in, it was dark blue; but when Harry dashed into
+the flames in consternation to save it, it came out of a rich brown
+colour.
+
+"Now, youngster," said Mr. Park, "when you've done capering, I should
+like to ask you one or two questions. What brought you here?"
+
+"A canoe," said Harry, inclined to be impudent.
+
+"Oh, and pray for what _purpose_ have you come here?"
+
+"These are my credentials," handing him a letter.
+
+Mr. Park opened the note and read.
+
+"Ah! oh! Saskatchewan--hum--yes--outpost--wild boy--just so--keep him
+at it--ay, fit for nothing else. So," said Mr. Park, folding the
+paper, "I find that Mr. Grant has sent you to take the place of a
+young gentleman we expected to pick up at Norway House, but who is
+required elsewhere; and that he wishes you to see a good deal of
+rough life--to be made a trader of, in fact. Is that your desire?"
+
+"That's the very ticket!" replied Harry, scarcely able to restrain
+his delight at the prospect.
+
+"Well, then, you had better get supper and turn in, for you'll have
+to begin your new life by rising at three o'clock to-morrow morning.
+Have you got a tent?"
+
+"Yes," said Harry, pointing to his canoe, which had been brought to
+the fire and turned bottom up by the two Indians to whom it belonged,
+and who were reclining under its shelter enjoying their pipes, and
+watching with looks of great gravity the doings of Harry and his
+friend.
+
+"_That_ will return whence it came to-morrow. Have you no other?"
+
+"Oh yes," said Harry, pointing to the overhanging branches of a
+willow close at hand, "lots more."
+
+Mr. Park smiled grimly, and, turning on his heel, re-entered the tent
+and continued his pipe, while Harry flung himself down beside Charley
+under the bark canoe.
+
+This species of "tent" is, however, by no means a perfect one. An
+Indian canoe is seldom three feet broad--frequently much narrower--so
+that it only affords shelter for the body as far down as the waist,
+leaving the extremities exposed. True, one _may_ double up as nearly
+as possible into half one's length, but this is not a desirable
+position to maintain throughout an entire night. Sometimes, when the
+weather is _very_ bad, an additional protection is procured by
+leaning several poles against the bottom of the canoe, on the weather
+side, in such a way as to slope considerably over the front; and over
+these are spread pieces of birch bark or branches and moss, so as to
+form a screen, which is an admirable shelter. But this involves too
+much time and labour to be adopted during a voyage, and is only done
+when the travellers are under the necessity of remaining for some
+time in one place.
+
+The canoe in which Harry arrived was a pretty large one, and looked
+so comfortable when arranged for the night that Charley resolved to
+abandon his own tent and Mr. Park's society, and sleep with his
+friend.
+
+"I'll sleep with you, Harry, my boy," said he, after Harry had
+explained to him in detail the cause of his being sent away from Red
+River; which was no other than that a young gentleman, as Mr. Park
+said, who _was_ to have gone, had been ordered elsewhere.
+
+"That's right, Charley; spread out our blankets, while I get some
+supper, like a good fellow." Harry went in search of the kettle while
+his friend prepared their bed. First, he examined the ground on which
+the canoe lay, and found that the two Indians had already taken
+possession of the only level places under it. "Humph!" he ejaculated,
+half inclined to rouse them up, but immediately dismissed the idea as
+unworthy of a voyageur. Besides, Charley was an amiable, unselfish
+fellow, and would rather have lain on the top of a dozen stumps than
+have made himself comfortable at the expense of anyone else.
+
+He paused a moment to consider. On one side was a hollow "that" (as
+he soliloquised to himself) "would break the back of a buffalo." On
+the other side were a dozen little stumps surrounding three very
+prominent ones, that threatened destruction to the ribs of anyone who
+should venture to lie there. But Charley did not pause to consider
+long. Seizing his axe, he laid about him vigorously with the head of
+it, and in a few seconds destroyed all the stumps, which he carefully
+collected, and, along with some loose moss and twigs, put into the
+hollow, and so filled it up. Having improved things thus far, he rose
+and strode out of the circle of light into the wood. In a few minutes
+he reappeared, bearing a young spruce fir tree on his shoulder, which
+with the axe he stripped of its branches. These branches were flat in
+form, and elastic--admirably adapted for making a bed on; and when
+Charley spread them out under the canoe in a pile of about four
+inches in depth by four feet broad and six feet long, the stumps and
+the hollow were overwhelmed altogether. He then ran to Mr. Park's
+tent, and fetched thence a small flat bundle covered with oilcloth
+and tied with a rope. Opening this, he tossed out its contents, which
+were two large and very thick blankets--one green, the other white; a
+particularly minute feather pillow, a pair of moccasins, a broken
+comb, and a bit of soap. Then he opened a similar bundle containing
+Harry's bed, which he likewise tossed out; and then kneeling down, he
+spread the two white blankets on the top of the branches, the two
+green blankets above these, and the two pillows at the top, as far
+under the shelter of the canoe as he could push them. Having
+completed the whole in a manner that would have done credit to a
+chambermaid, he continued to sit on his knees, with his hands in his
+pockets, smiling complacently, and saying, "Capital--first-rate!"
+
+"Here we are, Charley. Have a second supper--do!"
+
+Harry placed the smoking kettle by the head of the bed, and squatting
+down beside it, began to eat as only a boy _can_ eat who has had
+nothing since breakfast.
+
+Charley attacked the kettle too--as he said, "out of sympathy,"
+although he "wasn't hungry a bit." And really, for a man who was not
+hungry, and had supped half-an-hour before, the appetite of
+_sympathy_ was wonderfully strong.
+
+But Harry's powers of endurance were now exhausted. He had spent a
+long day of excessive fatigue and excitement, and having wound it up
+with a heavy supper, sleep began to assail him with a fell ferocity
+that nothing could resist. He yawned once or twice, and sat on the
+bed blinking unmeaningly at the fire, as if he had something to say
+to it which he could not recollect just then. He nodded violently,
+much to his own surprise, once or twice, and began to address remarks
+to the kettle instead of to his friend. "I say, Charley, this won't
+do. I'm off to bed!" and suiting the action to the word, he took off
+his coat and placed it on his pillow. He then removed his moccasins,
+which were wet, and put on a dry pair; and this being all that is
+ever done in the way of preparation before going to bed in the woods,
+he lay down and pulled the green blankets over him.
+
+Before doing so, however, Harry leaned his head on his hands and
+prayed. This was the one link left of the chain of habit with which
+he had left home. Until the period of his departure for the wild
+scenes of the Northwest, Harry had lived in a quiet, happy home in
+the West Highlands of Scotland, where he had been surrounded by the
+benign influences of a family the members of which were united by the
+sweet bonds of Christian love--bonds which were strengthened by the
+additional tie of amiability of disposition. From childhood he had
+been accustomed to the routine of a pious and well-regulated
+household, where the Bible was perused and spoken of with an interest
+that indicated a genuine hungering and thirsting after righteousness,
+and where the name of JESUS sounded often and sweetly on the ear.
+Under such training, Harry, though naturally of a wild, volatile
+disposition, was deeply and irresistibly impressed with a reverence
+for sacred things, which, now that he was thousands of miles away
+from his peaceful home, clung to him with the force of old habit and
+association, despite the jeers of comrades and the evil influences
+and ungodliness by which he was surrounded. It is true that he was
+not altogether unhurt by the withering indifference to God that he
+beheld on all sides. Deep impression is not renewal of heart. But
+early training in the path of Christian love saved him many a deadly
+fall. It guarded him from many of the grosser sins, into which other
+boys, who had merely broken away from the _restraints_ of home too
+easily fell. It twined round him--as the ivy encircles the oak--with
+a soft, tender, but powerful grasp, that held him back when he was
+tempted to dash aside all restraint; and held him up when, in the
+weakness of human nature, he was about to fall. It exerted its benign
+sway over him in the silence of night, when his thoughts reverted to
+home, and during his waking hours, when he wandered from scene to
+scene in the wide wilderness; and in after years, when sin prevailed,
+and intercourse with rough men had worn off much of at least the
+superficial amiability of his character, and to some extent blunted
+the finer feelings of his nature, it clung faintly to him still, in
+the memory of his mother's gentle look and tender voice, and never
+forsook him altogether. Home had a blessed and powerful influence on
+Harry. May God bless such homes, where the ruling power is _love!_
+God bless and multiply such homes in the earth! Were there more of
+them there would be fewer heart-broken mothers to weep over the
+memory of the blooming, manly boys they sent away to foreign climes--
+with trembling hearts but high hopes--and never saw them more. They
+were vessels launched upon the troubled sea of time, with stout
+timbers, firm masts, and gallant sails--with all that was necessary
+above and below, from stem to stern, for battling with the billows of
+adverse fortune, for stemming the tide of opposition, for riding the
+storms of persecution, or bounding with a press of canvas before the
+gales of prosperity; but without the rudder--without the guiding
+principle that renders the great power of plank and sail and mast
+available; with which the vessel moves obedient to the owner's will,
+without which it drifts about with every current, and sails along
+with every shifting wind that blows. Yes, may the best blessings of
+prosperity and peace rest on such families, whose bread, cast
+continually on the waters, returns to them after many days.
+
+After Harry had lain down, Charley, who did not feel inclined for
+repose, sauntered to the margin of the lake, and sat down upon a
+rock.
+
+It was a beautiful, calm evening. The moon shone faintly through a
+mass of heavy clouds, casting a pale light on the waters of Lake
+Winnipeg, which stretched, without a ripple, out to the distant
+horizon. The great fresh-water lakes of America bear a strong
+resemblance to the sea. In storms the waves rise mountains high, and
+break with heavy, sullen roar upon a beach composed in many places of
+sand and pebbles; while they are so large that one not only looks out
+to a straight horizon, but may even sail _out of sight of land_
+altogether.
+
+As Charley sat resting his head on his hand, and listening to the
+soft hiss that the ripples made upon the beach, he felt all the
+solemnising influence that steals irresistibly over the mind as we
+sit on a still night gazing out upon the moonlit sea. His thoughts
+were sad; for he thought of Kate, and his mother and father, and the
+home he was now leaving. He remembered all that he had ever done to
+injure or annoy the dear ones he was leaving; and it is strange how
+much alive our consciences become when we are unexpectedly or
+suddenly removed from those with whom we have lived and held daily
+intercourse. How bitterly we reproach ourselves for harsh words,
+unkind actions; and how intensely we long for one word more with
+them, one fervent embrace, to prove at once that all we have ever
+said or done was not _meant_ ill, and, at any rate, is deeply,
+sincerely repented of now! As Charley looked up into the starry sky,
+his mind recurred to the parting words of Mr. Addison. With uplifted
+hands and a full heart, he prayed that God would bless, for Jesus'
+sake, the beloved ones in Red River, but especially Kate; for whether
+he prayed or meditated, Charley's thoughts _always_ ended with Kate.
+
+A black cloud passed across the moon, and reminded him that but a few
+hours of the night remained; so hastening up to the camp again, he
+lay gently down beside his friend, and drew the green blanket over
+him.
+
+In the camp all was silent. The men had chosen their several beds
+according to fancy, under the shadow of a bush or tree. The fires had
+burned low--so low that it was with difficulty Charley, as he lay,
+could discern the recumbent forms of the men, whose presence was
+indicated by the deep, soft, regular breathing of tired but, healthy
+constitutions. Sometimes a stray moonbeam shot through the leaves and
+branches, and cast a ghost-like, flickering light over the scene,
+which ever and anon was rendered more mysterious by a red flare of
+the fire as an ember fell, blazed up for an instant, and left all
+shrouded in greater darkness than before.
+
+At first Charley continued his sad thoughts, staring all the while at
+the red embers of the expiring fire; but soon his eyes began to
+blink, and the stumps of trees began to assume the form of voyageurs,
+and voyageurs to look like stumps of trees. Then a moonbeam darted
+in, and Mr. Addison stood on the other side of the fire. At this
+sight Charley started, and Mr. Addison disappeared, while the boy
+smiled to think how he had been dreaming while only half asleep. Then
+Kate appeared, and seemed to smile on him; but another ember fell,
+and another red flame sprang up, and put her to flight too. Then a
+low sigh of wind rustled through the branches, and Charley felt sure
+that he saw Kate again coming through the woods, singing the low,
+soft tune that she was so fond of singing, because it was his own
+favourite air. But soon the air ceased; the fire faded away; so did
+the trees, and the sleeping voyageurs; Kate last of all dissolved,
+and Charley sank into a deep, untroubled slumber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+Varieties, vexations, and vicissitudes.
+
+
+Life is checkered--there is no doubt about that; whatever doubts a
+man may entertain upon other subjects, he can have none upon this, we
+feel quite certain. In fact, so true is it that we would not for a
+moment have drawn the reader's attention to it here, were it not that
+our experience of life in the backwoods corroborates the truth; and
+truth, however well corroborated, is none the worse of getting a
+little additional testimony now and then in this sceptical
+generation.
+
+Life is checkered, then, undoubtedly. And life in the backwoods
+strengthens the proverb, for it is a peculiarly striking and
+remarkable specimen of life's variegated character.
+
+There is a difference between sailing smoothly along the shores of
+Lake Winnipeg with favouring breezes, and being tossed on its surging
+billows by the howling of a nor'-west wind, that threatens
+destruction to the boat, or forces it to seek shelter on the shore.
+This difference is one of the checkered scenes of which we write, and
+one that was experienced by the brigade more than once during its
+passage across the lake.
+
+Since we are dealing in truisms, it may not, perhaps, be out of place
+here to say that going to bed at night is not by any means getting up
+in the morning; at least so several of our friends found to be the
+case when the deep sonorous voice of Louis Peltier sounded through
+the camp on the following morning, just as a very faint, scarcely
+perceptible, light tinged the eastern sky.
+
+"Lève, lève, lève!" he cried, "lève, lève, mes enfants!"
+
+Some of Louis's _infants_ replied to the summons in a way that would
+have done credit to a harlequin. One or two active little Canadians,
+on hearing the cry of the awful word _lève_, rose to their feet with
+a quick bound, as if they had been keeping up an appearance of sleep
+as a sort of practical joke all night, on purpose to be ready to leap
+as the first sound fell from the guide's lips. Others lay still, in
+the same attitude in which they had fallen asleep, having made up
+their minds, apparently, to lie there in spite of all the guides in
+the world. Not a few got slowly into the sitting position, their hair
+dishevelled, their caps awry, their eyes alternately winking very
+hard and staring awfully in the vain effort to keep open, and their
+whole physiognomy wearing an expression of blank stupidity that is
+peculiar to man when engaged in that struggle which occurs each
+morning as he endeavours to disconnect and shake off the entanglement
+of nightly dreams and the realities of the breaking day. Throughout
+the whole camp there was a low, muffled sound, as of men moving
+lazily, with broken whispers and disjointed sentences uttered in very
+deep, hoarse tones, mingled with confused, unearthly noises, which,
+upon consideration, sounded like prolonged yawns. Gradually these
+sounds increased, for the guide's _lève_ is inexorable, and the
+voyageur's fate inevitable.
+
+"Oh dear!--yei a--a--ow" (yawning); "hang your _lève!_"
+
+"Oui, vraiment--yei a-a----ow--morbleu!"
+
+"Eh, what's that? Oh, misère!"
+
+"Tare an' ages!" (from an Irishman), "an' I had only got to slaape
+yit! but--yei a--a----ow!"
+
+French and Irish yawns are very similar, the only difference being,
+that whereas the Frenchman finishes the yawn resignedly, and springs
+to his legs, the Irishman finishes it with an energetic gasp, as if
+he were hurling it remonstratively into the face of Fate, turns round
+again and shuts his eyes doggedly--a piece of bravado which he knows
+is useless and of very short duration.
+
+"Lève! lève!! lève!!!" There was no mistake this time in the tones of
+Louis's voice. "Embark, embark! vite, vite!"
+
+The subdued sounds of rousing broke into a loud buzz of active
+preparation, as the men busied themselves in bundling up blankets,
+carrying down camp-kettles to the lake, launching the boats, kicking
+up lazy comrades, stumbling over and swearing at fallen trees which
+were not visible in the cold, uncertain light of the early dawn,
+searching hopelessly, among a tangled conglomeration of leaves and
+broken branches and crushed herbage, for lost pipes and missing
+tobacco-pouches.
+
+"Hollo!" exclaimed Harry Somerville, starting suddenly from his
+sleeping posture, and unintentionally cramming his elbow into
+Charley's mouth, "I declare they're all up and nearly ready to
+start."
+
+"That's no reason," replied Charley, "why you should knock out all my
+front teeth, is it?"
+
+Just then Mr. Park issued from his tent, dressed and ready to step
+into his boat. He first gave a glance round the camp to see that all
+the men were moving, then he looked up through the trees to ascertain
+the present state and, if possible, the future prospects of the
+weather. Having come to a satisfactory conclusion on that head, he
+drew forth his pipe and began to fill it, when his eye fell on the
+two boys, who were still sitting up in their lairs, and staring
+idiotically at the place where the fire had been, as if the white
+ashes, half-burned logs, and bits of charcoal were a sight of the
+most novel and interesting character, that filled them with intense
+amazement.
+
+Mr. Park could scarce forbear smiling.
+
+"Hollo, youngsters, precious voyageurs _you'll_ make, to be sure, if
+this is the way you're going to begin. Don't you see that the things
+are all aboard, and we'll be ready to start in five minutes, and you
+sitting there with your neckcloths off?"
+
+Mr. Park gave a slight sneer when he spoke of _neckcloths_, as if he
+thought, in the first place, that they were quite superfluous
+portions of attire, and in the second place, that having once put
+them on, the taking of them off at night was a piece of effeminacy
+altogether unworthy of a Nor'-wester.
+
+Charley and Harry needed no second rebuke. It flashed instantly upon
+them that sleeping comfortably under their blankets when the men were
+bustling about the camp was extremely inconsistent with the heroic
+resolves of the previous day. They sprang up, rolled their blankets
+in the oil-cloths, which they fastened tightly with ropes; tied the
+neckcloths, held in such contempt by Mr. Park, in a twinkling; threw
+on their coats, and in less than five minutes were ready to embark.
+They then found that they might have done things more leisurely, as
+the crews had not yet got all their traps on board; so they began to
+look around them, and discovered that each had omitted to pack up a
+blanket.
+
+Very much crestfallen at their stupidity, they proceeded to untie the
+bundles again, when it became apparent to the eyes of Charley that
+his friend had put on his capote inside out; which had a peculiarly
+ragged and grotesque effect. These mistakes were soon rectified, and
+shouldering their beds, they carried them down to the boat and tossed
+them in. Meanwhile Mr. Park, who had been watching the movements of
+the boys with a peculiar smile, that filled them with confusion, went
+round the different camps to see that nothing was left behind. The
+men were all in their places with oars ready, and the boats floating
+on the calm water, a yard or two from shore, with the exception of
+the guide's boat, the stern of which still rested on the sand
+awaiting Mr. Park.
+
+"Who does this belong to?" shouted that gentleman, holding up a cloth
+cap, part of which was of a mottled brown and part deep blue.
+
+Harry instantly tore the covering from his head, and discovered that
+among his numerous mistakes he had put on the head-dress of one of
+the Indians who had brought him to the camp. To do him justice the
+cap was not unlike his own, excepting that it was a little more
+mottled and dirty in colour, besides being decorated with a gaudy but
+very much crushed and broken feather.
+
+"You had better change with our friend here, I think," said Mr. Park,
+grinning from ear to ear, as he tossed the cap to its owner, while
+Harry handed the other to the Indian, amid the laughter of the crew.
+
+"Never mind, boy," added Mr. Park, in an encouraging tone, "you'll
+make a voyageur yet.--Now then, lads, give way;" and with a nod to
+the Indians, who stood on the shore watching their departure, the
+trader sprang into the boat and took his place beside the two boys.
+
+"Ho! sing, mes garçons," cried the guide, seizing the massive sweep
+and directing the boat out to sea.
+
+At this part of the lake there occurs a deep bay or inlet, to save
+rounding which travellers usually strike straight across from point
+to point, making what is called in voyageur parlance a _traverse_.
+These traverses are subjects of considerable anxiety and frequently
+of delay to travellers, being sometimes of considerable extent,
+varying from four to five, and in such immense seas as Lake Superior,
+to fourteen miles. With boats, indeed, there is little to fear, as
+the inland craft of the fur-traders can stand a heavy sea, and often
+ride out a pretty severe storm; but it is far otherwise with the bark
+canoes that are often used in travelling. These frail craft can stand
+very little sea--their frames being made of thin flat slips of wood
+and sheets of bark, not more than a quarter of an inch thick, which
+are sewed together with the fibrous roots of the pine (called by the
+natives _wattape_), and rendered water-tight by means of melted gum.
+Although light and buoyant, therefore, and extremely useful in a
+country where portages are numerous, they require very tender usage;
+and when a traverse has to be made, the guides have always a grave
+consultation, with some of the most sagacious among the men, as to
+the probability of the wind rising or falling--consultations which
+are more or less marked by anxiety and tediousness in proportion to
+the length of the traverse, the state of the weather and the courage
+or timidity of the guides.
+
+On the present occasion there was no consultation, as has been
+already seen. The traverse was a short one, the morning fine, and the
+boats good. A warm glow began to overspread the horizon, giving
+promise of a splendid day, as the numerous oars dipped with a plash
+and a loud hiss into the water, and sent the boats leaping forth upon
+the white wave.
+
+"Sing, sing!" cried the guide again, and clearing his throat, he
+began the beautiful quick-tuned canoe-song "Rose Blanche," to which
+the men chorused with such power of lungs that a family of plovers,
+which up to that time had stood in mute astonishment on a sandy
+point, tumbled precipitately into the water, from which they rose
+with a shrill, inexpressibly wild, plaintive cry, and fled screaming
+away to a more secure refuge among the reeds and sedges of a swamp. A
+number of ducks too, awakened by the unwonted sound, shot suddenly
+out from the concealment of their night's bivouac with erect heads
+and startled looks, sputtered heavily over the surface of their
+liquid bed, and rising into the air, flew in a wide circuit, with
+whistling wings, away from the scene of so much uproar and confusion.
+
+The rough voices of the men grew softer and softer as the two Indians
+listened to the song of their departing friends, mellowing down and
+becoming more harmonious and more plaintive as the distance
+increased, and the boats grew smaller and smaller, until they were
+lost in the blaze of light that now bathed both water and sky in the
+eastern horizon, and began rapidly to climb the zenith, while the
+sweet tones became less and less audible as they floated faintly
+across the still water, and melted at last into the deep silence of
+the wilderness.
+
+The two Indians still stood with downcast heads and listening ears,
+as if they loved the last echo of the dying music, while their grave,
+statue-like forms added to rather than detracted from, the solitude
+of the deserted scene.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Charley and Harry begin their sporting career without much success--
+Whisky-john catching.
+
+
+The place in the boats usually allotted to gentlemen in the Company's
+service while travelling is the stern. Here the lading is so arranged
+as to form a pretty level hollow, where the flat bundles containing
+their blankets are placed, and a couch is thus formed that rivals
+Eastern effeminacy in luxuriance. There are occasions, however, when
+this couch is converted into a bed, not of thorns exactly, but of
+corners; and really it would be hard to say which of the two is the
+more disagreeable. Should the men be careless in arranging the cargo,
+the inevitable consequence is that "monsieur" will find the leg of an
+iron stove, the sharp edge of a keg, or the corner of a wooden box
+occupying the place where his ribs should be. So common, however, is
+this occurrence that the clerks usually superintend the arrangements
+themselves, and so secure comfort.
+
+On a couch, then, of this kind Charley and Harry now found themselves
+constrained to sit all morning--sometimes asleep, occasionally awake,
+and always earnestly desiring that it was time to put ashore for
+breakfast, as they had now travelled for four hours without halt,
+except twice for about five minutes, to let the men light their
+pipes.
+
+"Charley," said Harry Somerville to his friend, who sat beside him,
+"it strikes me that we are to have no breakfast at all to-day. Here
+have I been holding my breath and tightening my belt, until I feel
+much more like a spider or a wasp than a--a--"
+
+"_Man_, Harry; out with it at once, don't be afraid," said Charley.
+
+"Well, no, I wasn't going to have said _that_ exactly, but I was
+going to have said a voyageur, only I recollected our doings this
+morning, and hesitated to take the name until I had won it."
+
+"It's well that you entertain so modest an opinion of yourself," said
+Mr. Park, who still smoked his pipe as if he were impressed with the
+idea that to stop for a moment would produce instant death. "I may
+tell you for your comfort, youngster, that we shan't breakfast till
+we reach yonder point."
+
+The shores of Lake Winnipeg are flat and low, and the point indicated
+by Mr. Park lay directly in the light of the sun, which now shone
+with such splendour in the cloudless sky, and flashed on the polished
+water, that it was with difficulty they could look towards the point
+of land.
+
+"Where is it?" asked Charley, shading his eyes with his hand; "I
+cannot make out anything at all."
+
+"Try again, my boy; there's nothing like practice."
+
+"Ah yes! I make it out now; a faint shadow just under the sun. Is
+that it?"
+
+"Ay, and we'll break our fast _there_."
+
+"I would like very much to break your head _here_," thought Charley,
+but he did not say it, as, besides being likely to produce unpleasant
+consequences, he felt that such a speech to an elderly gentleman
+would be highly improper; and Charley had _some_ respect for gray
+hairs for their own sake, whether the owner of them was a good man or
+a goose.
+
+"What shall we do, Harry? If I had only thought of keeping out a
+book."
+
+"I know what _I_ shall do," said Harry, with a resolute air: "I'll go
+and shoot!"
+
+"Shoot!" cried Charley. "You don't mean to say that you're going to
+waste your powder and shot by firing at the clouds! for unless you
+take _them_, I see nothing else here."
+
+"That's because you don't use your eyes," retorted Harry. "Will you
+just look at yonder rock ahead of us, and tell me what you see?"
+
+Charley looked earnestly at the rock, which to a cursory glance
+seemed as if composed of whiter stone on the top. "Gulls, I declare!"
+shouted Charley, at the same time jumping up in haste.
+
+Just then one of the gulls, probably a scout sent out to watch the
+approaching enemy, wheeled in a circle overhead. The two youths
+dragged their guns from beneath the thwarts of the boat, and rummaged
+about in great anxiety for shot-belts and powder-horns. At last they
+were found; and having loaded, they sat on the edge of the boat,
+looking out for game with as much--ay, with _more_ intense interest
+than a Blackfoot Indian would have watched for a fat buffalo cow.
+
+"There he goes," said Harry; "take the first shot, Charley."
+
+"Where? where is it?"
+
+"Right ahead. Look out!"
+
+As Harry spoke, a small white gull, with bright-red legs and beak,
+flew over the boat so close to them that, as the guide remarked, "he
+could see it wink!" Charley's equanimity, already pretty well
+disturbed, was entirely upset at the suddenness of the bird's
+appearance; for he had been gazing intently at the rock when his
+friend's exclamation drew his attention in time to see the gull
+within about four feet of his head. With a sudden "Oh!" Charley threw
+forward his gun, took a short, wavering aim, and blew the cock-tail
+feather out of Baptiste's hat; while the gull sailed tranquilly away,
+as much as to say, "If _that's_ all you can do, there's no need for
+me to hurry!"
+
+"Confound the boy!" cried Mr. Park. "You'll be the death of someone
+yet; I'm convinced of that."
+
+"Parbleu! you may say that, c'est vrai," remarked the voyageur with a
+rueful gaze at his hat, which, besides having its ornamental feather
+shattered, was sadly cut up about the crown.
+
+The poor lad's face became much redder than the legs or beak of the
+gull as he sat down in confusion, which he sought to hide by busily
+reloading his gun; while the men indulged in a somewhat witty and
+sarcastic criticism of his powers of shooting, remarking, in
+flattering terms, on the precision of the shot that blew Baptiste's
+feather into atoms, and declaring that if every shot he fired was as
+truly aimed, he would certainly be the best in the country.
+
+Baptiste also came in for a share of their repartee. "It serves you
+right," said the guide, laughing, "for wearing such things on the
+voyage. You should put away such foppery till you return to the
+settlement, where there are _girls_ to admire you." (Baptiste had
+continued to wear the tall hat, ornamented with gold cords and
+tassels, with which he had left Red River).
+
+"Ah!" cried another, pulling vigorously at his oar, "I fear that
+Marie won't look at you, now that all your beauty's gone."
+
+"'Tis not quite gone," said a third; "there's all the brim and half a
+tassel left, besides the wreck of the remainder."
+
+"Oh, I can lend you a few fragments," retorted Baptiste, endeavouring
+to parry some of the thrusts. "They would improve _you_ vastly."
+
+"No, no, friend; gather them up and replace them: they will look more
+picturesque and becoming now. I believe if you had worn them much
+longer all the men in the boat would have fallen in love with you."
+
+"By St. Patrick," said Mike Brady, an Irishman who sat at the oar
+immediately behind the unfortunate Canadian, "there's more than
+enough o' rubbish scattered over mysilf nor would do to stuff a
+fither-bed with."
+
+As Mike spoke, he collected the fragments of feathers and ribbons
+with which the unlucky shot had strewn him, and placed them slyly on
+the top of the dilapidated hat, which Baptiste, after clearing away
+the wreck, had replaced on his head.
+
+"It's very purty," said Mike, as the action was received by the crew
+with a shout of merriment.
+
+Baptiste was waxing wrathful under this fire, when the general
+attention was drawn again towards Charley and his friend, who, having
+now got close to the rock, had quite forgotten their mishap in the
+excitement of expectation.
+
+This excitement in the shooting of such small game might perhaps
+surprise our readers, did we not acquaint them with the fact that
+neither of the boys had, up to that time, enjoyed much opportunity of
+shooting. It is true that Harry had once or twice borrowed the
+fowling-piece of the senior clerk, and had sallied forth with a
+beating heart to pursue the grouse which are found in the belt of
+woodland skirting the Assiniboine River near to Fort Garry. But these
+expeditions were of rare occurrence, and they had not sufficed to rub
+off much of the bounding excitement with which he loaded and fired at
+anything and everything that came within range of his gun. Charley,
+on the other hand, had never fired a shot before, except out of an
+old horse-pistol; having up to this period been busily engaged at
+school, except during the holidays, which he always spent in the
+society of his sister Kate, whose tastes were not such as were likely
+to induce him to take up the gun, even if he had possessed such a
+weapon. Just before leaving Red River, his father presented him with
+his own gun, remarking, as he did so, with a sigh, that _his_ day was
+past now; and adding that the gun was a good one for shot or ball,
+and if he (Charley) brought down _half_ as much game with it as he
+(Mr. Kennedy) had brought down in the course of his life, he might
+consider himself a crack shot undoubtedly.
+
+It was not surprising, therefore, that the two friends went nearly
+mad with excitation when the whole flock of gulls rose into the air
+like a white cloud, and sailed in endless circles and gyrations above
+and around their heads--flying so close at times that they might
+almost have been caught by the hand. Neither was it surprising that
+innumerable shots were fired, by both sportsmen, without a single
+bird being a whit the worse for it, or themselves much the better;
+the energetic efforts made to hit being rendered abortive by the very
+eagerness which caused them to miss. And this was the less
+extraordinary, too, when it is remembered that Harry in his haste
+loaded several times without shot, and Charley rendered the right
+barrel of his gun _hors de combat_ at last, by ramming down a charge
+of shot and omitting powder altogether, whereby he snapped and
+primed, and snapped and primed again, till he grew desperate, and
+then suspicious of the true cause, which he finally rectified with
+much difficulty.
+
+Frequently the gulls flew straight over the heads of the youths--
+which produced peculiar consequences, as in such cases they took aim
+while the birds were approaching; but being somewhat slow at taking
+aim, the gulls were almost perpendicularly above them ere they were
+ready to shoot, so that they were obliged to fire hastily in _hope_,
+feeling that they were losing their balance, or give up the chance
+altogether.
+
+Mr. Park sat grimly in his place all the while, enjoying the scene,
+and smoking.
+
+"Now then, Charley," said he, "take that fellow."
+
+"Which? where? Oh, if I could only get one!" said Charley, looking up
+eagerly at the screaming birds, at which he had been staring so long,
+in their varying and crossing flight, that his sight had become
+hopelessly unsteady.
+
+"There! Look sharp; fire away!"
+
+Bang went Charley's piece, as he spoke, at a gull which flew straight
+towards him, but so rapidly that it was directly above his head;
+indeed, he was leaning a little backwards at the moment, which caused
+him to miss again, while the recoil of the gun brought matters to a
+climax, by toppling him over into Mr. Park's lap, thereby smashing
+that gentleman's pipe to atoms. The fall accidentally exploded the
+second barrel, causing the butt to strike Charley in the pit of his
+stomach--as if to ram him well home into Mr. Park's open arms--and
+hitting with a stray shot a gull that was sailing high up in the sky
+in fancied security. It fell with a fluttering crash into the boat
+while the men were laughing at the accident.
+
+"Didn't I say so?" cried Mr. Park, wrathfully, as he pitched Charley
+out of his lap, and spat out the remnants of his broken pipe.
+
+Fortunately for all parties, at this moment the boat approached a
+spot on which the guide had resolved to land for breakfast; and
+seeing the unpleasant predicament into which poor Charley had fallen,
+he assumed the strong tones of command with which guides are
+frequently gifted, and called out,--
+
+"Ho, ho! à terre! à terre! to land! to land! Breakfast, my boys;
+breakfast!"--at the same time sweeping the boat's head shoreward, and
+running into a rocky bay, whose margin was fringed by a growth of
+small trees. Here, in a few minutes, they were joined by the other
+boats of the brigade, which had kept within sight of each other
+nearly the whole morning.
+
+While travelling through the wilds of North America in boats,
+voyageurs always make a point of landing to breakfast. Dinner is a
+meal with which they are unacquainted, at least on the voyage, and
+luncheon is likewise unknown. If a man feels hungry during the day,
+the pemmican-bag and its contents are there; he may pause in his work
+at any time, for a minute, to seize the axe and cut off a lump, which
+he may devour as he best can; but there is no going ashore--no
+resting for dinner. Two great meals are recognised, and the time
+allotted to their preparation and consumption held inviolable--
+breakfast and supper: the first varying between the hours of seven
+and nine in the morning; the second about sunset, at which time
+travellers usually encamp for the night. Of the two meals it would be
+difficult to say which is more agreeable. For our own part, we prefer
+the former. It is the meal to which a man addresses himself with
+peculiar gusto, especially if he has been astir three or four hours
+previously in the open air. It is the time of day, too, when the
+spirits are freshest and highest, animated by the prospect of the
+work, the difficulties, the pleasures, or the adventures of the day
+that has begun; and cheered by that cool, clear _buoyancy_ of Nature
+which belongs exclusively to the happy morning hours, and has led
+poets in all ages to compare these hours to the first sweet months of
+spring or the early years of childhood.
+
+Voyageurs, not less than poets, have felt the exhilarating influence
+of the young day, although they have lacked the power to tell it in
+sounding numbers; but where words were wanting, the sparkling eye,
+the beaming countenance, the light step, and hearty laugh, were more
+powerful exponents of the feelings within. Poet, and painter too,
+might have spent a profitable hour on the shores of that great
+sequestered lake, and as they watched the picturesque groups--
+clustering round the blazing fires, preparing their morning meal,
+smoking their pipes, examining and repairing the boats, or suning
+their stalwart limbs in wild, careless attitudes upon the greensward--
+might have found a subject worthy the most brilliant effusions of
+the pen, or the most graphic touches of the pencil.
+
+An hour sufficed for breakfast. While it was preparing, the two
+friends sauntered into the forest in search of game, in which they
+were unsuccessful; in fact, with the exception of the gulls before
+mentioned, there was not a feather to be seen--save, always, one or
+two whisky-johns.
+
+Whisky-johns are the most impudent, puffy, conceited little birds
+that exist. Not much larger in reality than sparrows, they
+nevertheless manage to swell out their feathers to such an extent
+that they appear to be as large as magpies, which they further
+resemble in their plumage. Go where you will in the woods of Rupert's
+Land, the instant that you light a fire two or three whisky-johns
+come down and sit beside you, on a branch, it may be, or on the
+ground, and generally so near that you cannot but wonder at their
+recklessness. There is a species of impudence which seems to be
+specially attached to little birds. In them it reaches the highest
+pitch of perfection. A bold, swelling, arrogant effrontery--a sort of
+stark, staring, self-complacent, comfortable, and yet innocent
+impertinence, which is at once irritating and amusing, aggravating
+and attractive, and which is exhibited in the greatest intensity in
+the whisky-john. He will jump down almost under your nose, and seize
+a fragment of biscuit or pemmican. He will go right into the
+pemmican-bag, when you are but a few paces off, and pilfer, as it
+were, at the fountain-head. Or if these resources are closed against
+him, he will sit on a twig, within an inch of your head, and look at
+you as only a whisky-john _can_ look.
+
+"I'll catch one of these rascals," said Harry, as he saw them jump
+unceremoniously into and out of the pemmican-bag.
+
+Going down to the boat, Harry hid himself under the tarpaulin,
+leaving a hole open near to the mouth of the bag. He had not remained
+more than a few minutes in this concealment when one of the birds
+flew down, and alighted on the edge of the boat. After a glance round
+to see that all was right, it jumped into the bag. A moment after,
+Harry, darting his hand through the aperture, grasped him round the
+neck and secured him. Poor whisky-john screamed and pecked
+ferociously, while Harry brought him in triumph to his friend; but so
+unremittingly did the bird scream that its captor was fain at last to
+let him off, the more especially as the cook came up at the moment
+and announced that breakfast was ready.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The storm.
+
+
+Two days after the events of the last chapter, the brigade was making
+one of the traverses which have already been noticed as of frequent
+occurrence in the great lakes. The morning was calm and sultry. A
+deep stillness pervaded Nature, which tended to produce a
+corresponding quiescence in the mind, and to fill it with those
+indescribably solemn feelings that frequently arise before a
+thunderstorm. Dark, lurid clouds hung overhead in gigantic masses,
+piled above each other like the battlements of a dark fortress, from
+whose ragged embrasures the artillery of heaven was about to play.
+
+"Shall we get over in time, Louis?" asked Mr. Park, as he turned to
+the guide, who sat holding the tiller with a firm grasp; while the
+men, aware of the necessity of reaching shelter ere the storm burst
+upon them, were bending to the oars with steady and sustained energy.
+
+"Perhaps," replied Louis, laconically.--"Pull, lads, pull! else
+you'll have to sleep in wet skins to-night."
+
+A low growl of distant thunder followed the guide's words, and the
+men pulled with additional energy; while the slow measured hiss of
+the water, and clank of oars, as they cut swiftly through the lake's
+clear surface, alone interrupted the dead silence that ensued.
+
+Charley and his friend conversed in low whispers; for there is a
+strange power in a thunder-storm, whether raging or about to break,
+that overawes the heart of man,--as if Nature's God were nearer then
+than at other times; as if He--whose voice, indeed, if listened to,
+speaks even in the slightest evolution of natural phenomena--were
+about to tread the visible earth with more than usual majesty, in the
+vivid glare of the lightning flash, and in the awful crash of
+thunder.
+
+"I don't know how it is, but I feel more like a coward," said
+Charley, "just before a thunderstorm than I think I should do in the
+arms of a polar bear. Do you feel queer, Harry?"
+
+"A little," replied Harry, in a low whisper. "and yet I'm not
+frightened. I can scarcely tell what I feel, but I'm certain it's not
+fear."
+
+"Well, I don't know," said Charley. "When father's black bull chased
+Kate and me in the prairies, and almost overtook us as we ran for the
+fence of the big field, I felt my heart leap to my mouth, and the
+blood rush to my cheeks, as I turned about and faced him, while Kate
+climbed the fence; but after she was over, I felt a wild sort of
+wickedness in me, as if I should like to tantalise and torment him,--
+and I felt altogether different from what I feel now while I look up
+at these black clouds. Isn't there something quite awful in them,
+Harry?"
+
+Ere Harry replied, a bright flash of lightning shot athwart the sky,
+followed by a loud roll of thunder, and in a moment the wind rushed,
+like a fiend set suddenly free, down upon the boats, tearing up the
+smooth surface of the water as it flew, and cutting it into gleaming
+white streaks. Fortunately the storm came down behind the boats, so
+that, after the first wild burst was over, they hoisted a small
+portion of their lug sails, and scudded rapidly before it.
+
+There was still a considerable portion of the traverse to cross, and
+the guide cast an anxious glance over his shoulder occasionally, as
+the dark waves began to rise, and their crests were cut into white
+foam by the increasing gale. Thunder roared in continued, successive
+peals, as if the heavens were breaking up, while rain descended in
+sheets. For a time the crews continued to ply their oars; but as the
+wind increased, these were rendered superfluous. They were taken in,
+therefore, and the men sought partial shelter under the tarpaulin;
+while Mr. Park and the two boys were covered, excepting their heads,
+by an oilcloth, which was always kept at hand in rainy weather.
+
+"What think you now, Louis?" said Mr. Park, resuming the pipe which
+the sudden outburst of the storm had caused him to forget. "Have we
+seen the worst of it?"
+
+Louis replied abruptly in the negative, and in a few seconds shouted
+loudly, "Look out, lads! here comes a squall. Stand by to let go the
+sheet there!"
+
+Mike Brady, happening to be near the sheet, seized hold of the rope,
+and prepared to let go, while the men rose, as if by instinct, and
+gazed anxiously at the approaching squall, which could be seen in the
+distance, extending along the horizon, like a bar of blackest ink,
+spotted with flakes of white. The guide sat with compressed lips, and
+motionless as a statue, guiding the boat as it bounded madly towards
+the land, which was now not more than half-a-mile distant.
+
+"Let go!" shouted the guide, in a voice that was heard loud and clear
+above the roar of the elements.
+
+"Ay, ay," replied the Irishman, untwisting the rope instantly, as
+with a sharp hiss the squall descended on the boat.
+
+At that moment the rope became entangled round one of the oars, and
+the gale burst with all its fury on the distended sail, burying the
+prow in the waves, which rushed inboard in a black volume, and in an
+instant half filled the boat.
+
+"Let go!" roared the guide again, in a voice of thunder; while Mike
+struggled with awkward energy to disentangle the rope.
+
+As he spoke, an Indian, who during the storm had been sitting beside
+the mast, gazing at the boiling water with a grave, contemplative
+aspect, sprang quickly forward, drew his knife, and with two blows
+(so rapidly delivered that they seemed but one) cut asunder first the
+sheet and then the halyards, which let the sail blow out and fall
+flat upon the boat. He was just in time. Another moment and the
+gushing water, which curled over the bow, would have filled them to
+the gunwale. As it was, the little vessel was so full of water that
+she lay like a log, while every toss of the waves sent an additional
+torrent into her.
+
+"Bail for your lives, lads!" cried Mr, Park, as he sprang forward,
+and, seizing a tin dish, began energetically to bail out the water.
+Following his example, the whole crew seized whatever came first to
+hand in the shape of dish or kettle, and began to bail. Charley and
+Harry Somerville acted a vigorous part on this occasion--the one with
+a bark dish (which had been originally made by the natives for the
+purpose of holding maple sugar), the other with his cap.
+
+For a time it seemed doubtful whether the curling waves should send
+most water _into_ the boat, or the crew should bail most _out_ of it.
+But the latter soon prevailed, and in a few minutes it was so far got
+under that three of the men were enabled to leave off bailing and
+reset the sail, while Louis Pettier returned to his post at the helm.
+At first the boat moved but slowly, owing to the weight of water in
+her; but as this gradually grew less, she increased her speed and
+neared the land.
+
+"Well done, Redfeather," said Mr. Park, addressing the Indian as he
+resumed his seat; "your knife did us good service that time, my fine
+fellow."
+
+Redfeather, who was the only pure native in the brigade, acknowledged
+the compliment with a smile.
+
+"_Ah, oui_," replied the guide, whose features had now lost their
+stern expression. "These Injins are always ready enough with their
+knives. It's not the first time my life has been saved by the knife
+of a red-skin."
+
+"Humph! bad luck to them," muttered Mike Brady; "it's not the first
+time that my windpipe has been pretty near spiflicated by the knives
+o' the redskins, the murtherin' varmints."
+
+As Mike gave vent to this malediction, the boat ran swiftly past a
+low rocky point, over which the surf was breaking wildly.
+
+"Down with the sail, Mike," cried the guide, at the same time putting
+the helm hard up. The boat flew round, obedient to the ruling power,
+made one last plunge as it left the rolling surf behind, and slid
+gently and smoothly into still water under the lee of the point.
+
+Here, in the snug shelter of a little bay, two of the other boats
+were found, with their prows already on the beach, and their crews
+actively employed in landing their goods, opening bales that had
+received damage from the water, and preparing the encampment; while
+ever and anon they paused a moment to watch the various boats as they
+flew before the gale, and one by one doubled the friendly promontory.
+
+If there is one thing that provokes a voyageur more than another, it
+is being wind-bound on the shores of a large lake. Rain or sleet,
+heat or cold, icicles forming on the oars, or a broiling sun glaring
+in a cloudless sky, the stings of sand-flies, or the sharp probes of
+a million musquitoes, he will bear with comparative indifference; but
+being detained by high wind for two, three, or four days together--
+lying inactively on shore, when everything else, it may be, is
+favourable: the sun bright, the sky blue, the air invigorating, and
+all but the wind propitious--is more than his philosophy can carry
+him through with equanimity. He grumbles at it; sometimes makes
+believe to laugh at it; very often, we are sorry to say, swears at
+it; does his best to sleep through it; but whatever he does, he does
+with a bad grace, because he's in a bad humour, and can't stand it.
+
+For the next three days this was the fate of our friends. Part of the
+time it rained, when the whole party slept as much as was possible,
+and then _endeavoured_ to sleep _more_ than was possible, under the
+shelter afforded by the spreading branches of the trees. Part of the
+time was fair, with occasional gleams of sunshine, when the men
+turned out to eat and smoke and gamble round the fires; and the two
+friends sauntered down to a sheltered place on the shore, sunned
+themselves in a warm nook among the rocks, while they gazed ruefully
+at the foaming billows, told endless stories of what they had done in
+time past, and equally endless _prospective_ adventures that they
+earnestly hoped should befall them in time to come.
+
+While they were thus engaged, Redfeather, the Indian who had cut the
+ropes so opportunely during the storm, walked down to the shore, and
+sitting down on a rock not far distant, fell apparently into a
+reverie.
+
+"I like that fellow," said Harry, pointing to the Indian.
+
+"So do I. He's a sharp, active man. Had it not been for him we should
+have had to swim for it."
+
+"Indeed, had it not been for him I should have had to sink for it,"
+said Harry, with a smile, "for I can't swim."
+
+"Ah, true, I forgot that. I wonder what the red-skin, as the guide
+calls him, is thinking about," added Charley in a musing tone.
+
+"Of home, perhaps, 'sweet home,'" said Harry, with a sigh. "Do you
+think much of home, Charley, now that you have left it?"
+
+Charley did not reply for a few seconds. He seemed to muse over the
+question.
+
+At last he said slowly--
+
+"Think of home? I think of little else when I am not talking with
+you, Harry. My dear mother is always in my thoughts, and my poor old
+father. Home? ay; and darling Kate, too, is at my elbow night and
+day, with the tears streaming from her eyes, and her ringlets
+scattered over my shoulder, as I saw her the day we parted, beckoning
+me back again, or reproaching me for having gone away--God bless her!
+Yes, I often, very often, think of home, Harry."
+
+Harry made no reply. His friend's words had directed his thoughts to
+a very different and far-distant scene--to another Kate, and another
+father and mother, who lived in a glen far away over the waters of
+the broad Atlantic. He thought of them as they used to be when he was
+one of the number, a unit in the beloved circle, whose absence would
+have caused a blank there. He thought of the kind voice that used to
+read the Word of God, and the tender kiss of his mother as they
+parted for the night. He thought of the dreary day when he left them
+all behind, and sailed away, in the midst of strangers, across the
+wide ocean to a strange land. He thought of them now--_without_ him--
+accustomed to his absence, and forgetful, perhaps, at times that he
+had once been there. As he thought of all this a tear rolled down his
+cheek, and when Charley looked up in his face, that tear-drop told
+plainly that he too thought sometimes of home.
+
+"Let us ask Redfeather to tell us something about the Indians," he
+said at length, rousing himself. "I have no doubt he has had many
+adventures in his life. Shall we, Charley?"
+
+"By all means--Ho, Redfeather; are you trying to stop the wind by
+looking it out of countenance?"
+
+The Indian rose and walked towards the spot where the boys lay.
+
+"What was Redfeather thinking about?" said Charley, adopting the
+somewhat pompous style of speech occasionally used by Indians. "Was
+he thinking of the white swan and his little ones in the prairie; or
+did he dream of giving his enemies a good licking the next time he
+meets them?"
+
+"Redfeather has no enemies," replied the Indian. "He was thinking of
+the great Manito, [Footnote: God.] who made the wild winds, and the
+great lakes, and the forest."
+
+"And pray, good Redfeather, what did your thoughts tell you?"
+
+"They told me that men are very weak, and very foolish, and wicked;
+and that Manito is very good and patient to let them live."
+
+"That is to say," cried Harry, who was surprised and a little nettled
+to hear what he called the heads of a sermon from a red-skin, "that
+_you_, being a man, are very weak, and very foolish, and wicked, and
+that Manito is very good and patient to let _you_ live?"
+
+"Good," said the Indian calmly; "that is what I mean."
+
+"Come, Redfeather," said Charley, laying his hand on the Indian's
+arm, "sit down beside us, and tell us some of your adventures. I know
+that you must have had plenty, and it's quite clear that we're not to
+get away from this place all day, so you've nothing better to do."
+
+The Indian readily assented, and began his story in English.
+
+Redfeather was one of the very few Indians who had acquired the power
+of speaking the English language. Having been, while a youth, brought
+much into contact with the fur-traders, and having been induced by
+them to enter their service for a time, he had picked up enough of
+English to make himself easily understood. Being engaged at a later
+period of life as a guide to one of the exploring parties sent out by
+the British Government to discover the famous North West Passage, he
+had learned to read and write, and had become so much accustomed to
+the habits and occupations of the "pale faces," that he spent more of
+his time, in one way or another, with them than in the society of his
+tribe, which dwelt in the thick woods bordering on one of the great
+prairies of the interior. He was about thirty years of age; had a
+tall, thin, but wiry and powerful frame; and was of a mild, retiring
+disposition. His face wore a habitually grave expression, verging
+towards melancholy; induced, probably, by the vicissitudes of a wild
+life (in which he had seen much of the rugged side of nature in men
+and things) acting upon a sensitive heart, and a naturally warm
+temperament. Redfeather, however, was by no means morose; and when
+seated along with his Canadian comrades round the camp fire, he
+listened with evidently genuine interest to their stories, and
+entered into the spirit of their jests. But he was always an auditor,
+and rarely took part in their conversations. He, was frequently
+consulted by the guide in matters of difficulty, and it was observed
+that the "red-skin's" opinion always carried much weight with it,
+although it was seldom given unless asked for. The men respected him
+much because he was a hard worker, obliging, and modest---three
+qualities that insure respect, whether found under a red skin or a
+white one.
+
+"I shall tell you," he began, in a soft, musing tone, as if he were
+wandering in memories of the past--"I shall tell you how it was that
+I came by the name of Redfeather."
+
+"Ah!" interrupted Charley, "I intended to ask you about that; you
+don't wear one."
+
+"I did once. My father was a great warrior in his tribe," continued
+the Indian; "and I was but a youth when I got the name.
+
+"My tribe was at war at the time with the Chipewyans, and one of our
+scouts having come in with the intelligence that a party of our
+enemies was in the neighbourhood, our warriors armed themselves to go
+in pursuit of them. I had been out once before with a war-party, but
+had not been successful, as the enemy's scouts gave notice of our
+approach in time to enable them to escape. At the time the
+information was brought to us, the young men of our village were
+amusing themselves with athletic games, and loud challenges were
+being given and accepted to wrestle, or race, or swim in the deep
+water of the river, which flowed calmly past the green bank on which
+our wigwams stood. On a bank near to us sat about a dozen of our
+women--some employed in ornamenting moccasins with coloured porcupine
+quills; others making rogans of bark for maple sugar, or nursing
+their young infants; while a few, chiefly the old women, grouped
+themselves together and kept up an incessant chattering, chiefly with
+reference to the doings of the young men.
+
+"Apart from these stood three or four of the principal men of our
+tribe, smoking their pipes, and although apparently engrossed in
+conversation, still evidently interested in what was going forward on
+the bank of the river.
+
+"Among the young men assembled there was one of about my own age, who
+had taken a violent dislike to me because the most beautiful girl in
+all the village preferred me before him. His name was Misconna. He
+was a hot-tempered, cruel youth; and although I endeavoured as much
+as possible to keep out of his way, he sought every opportunity of
+picking a quarrel with me. I had just been running a race along with
+several other youths, and although not the winner, I had kept ahead
+of Misconna all the distance. He now stood leaning against a tree,
+burning with rage and disappointment. I was sorry for this, because I
+bore him no ill-will, and if it had occurred to me at the time, I
+would have allowed him to pass me, since I was unable to gain the
+race at any rate.
+
+"'Dog!' he said at length, stepping forward and confronting me, 'will
+you wrestle?'
+
+"Just as he approached I had turned round to leave the place. Not
+wishing to have more to do with him, I pretended not to hear, and
+made a step or two towards the lodges. 'Dog,' he cried again, while
+his eyes flashed fiercely, as he grasped me by the arm, 'will you
+wrestle, or are you afraid? Has the brave boy's heart changed into
+that of a girl?'
+
+"'No, Misconna,' said I. 'You _know_ that I am not afraid; but I have
+no desire to quarrel with you.'
+
+"'You lie!' cried he, with a cold sneer,--'you are afraid; and see,'
+he added, pointing towards the women with a triumphant smile, 'the
+dark-eyed girl sees it and believes it too!'
+
+"I turned to look, and there I saw Wabisca gazing on me with a look
+of blank amazement. I could see, also, that several of the other
+women, and some of my companions, shared in her surprise.
+
+"With a burst of anger I turned round. 'No,' Misconna,' said I, 'I am
+_not_ afraid, as you shall find;' and springing upon him, I grasped
+him round the body. He was nearly, if not quite, as strong a youth as
+myself; but I was burning with indignation at the insolence of his
+conduct before so many of the women, which gave me more than usual
+energy. For several minutes we swayed to and fro, each endeavouring
+in vain to bend the other's back; but we were too well matched for
+this, and sought to accomplish our purpose by taking advantage of an
+unguarded movement. At last such a movement occurred. My adversary
+made a sudden and violent attempt to throw me to the left, hoping
+that an inequality in the ground would favour his effort. But he was
+mistaken. I had seen the danger and was prepared for it, so that the
+instant he attempted it I threw forward my right leg, and thrust him
+backwards with all my might. Misconna was quick in his motions. He
+saw my intention--too late, indeed, to prevent it altogether, but in
+time to throw back his left foot and stiffen his body till it felt
+like a block of stone. The effort was now entirely one of endurance.
+We stood each with his muscles strained to the utmost, without the
+slightest motion. At length I felt my adversary give way a little.
+Slight though the motion was, it instantly removed all doubt as to
+who should go down. My heart gave a bound of exaltation, and with the
+energy which such a feeling always inspires, I put forth all my
+strength, threw him heavily over on his back, and fell upon him.
+
+"A shout of applause from my comrades greeted me as I rose and left
+the ground; but at the same moment the attention of all was taken
+from myself and the baffled Misconna by the arrival of the scout,
+bringing us information that a party of Chipewyans were in the
+neighbourhood. In a moment all was bustle and preparation. An Indian
+war-party is soon got ready. Forty of our braves threw off the
+principal parts of their clothing; painted their faces with stripes
+of vermilion and charcoal; armed themselves with guns, bows,
+tomahawks and scalping knives, and in a few minutes left the camp in
+silence, and at a quick pace.
+
+"One or two of the youths who had been playing on the river's bank
+were permitted to accompany the party, and among these were Misconna
+and myself. As we passed a group of women, assembled to see us
+depart, I observed the girl who had caused so much jealousy between
+us. She cast down her eyes as we came up, and as we advanced close to
+the group she dropped a white feather, as if by accident. Stooping
+hastily down, I picked it up in passing, and stuck it in an
+ornamented band that bound my hair. As we hurried on I heard two or
+three old hags laugh, and say, with a sneer, 'His hand is as white as
+a feather: it has never seen blood.' The next moment we were hid in
+the forest, and pursued our rapid course in dead silence.
+
+"The country through which we passed was varied, extending in broken
+bits of open prairie, and partly covered with thick wood, yet not so
+thick as to offer any hindrance to our march. We walked in single
+file, each treading in his comrade's footsteps, while the band was
+headed by the scout who had brought the information. The principal
+chief of our tribe came next, and he was followed by the braves
+according to their age or influence. Misconna and I brought up the
+rear. The sun was just sinking as we left the belt of woodland in
+which our village stood, crossed over a short plain, descended a dark
+hollow, at the bottom of which the river flowed, and following its
+course for a considerable distance, turned off to the right and
+emerged upon a sweep of prairieland. Here the scout halted, and
+taking the chief and two or three braves aside, entered into earnest
+consultation with them.
+
+"What they said we could not hear; but as we stood leaning on our
+guns in the deep shade of the forest, we could observe by their
+animated gestures that they differed in opinion. We saw that the
+scout pointed several times to the moon, which was just rising above
+the treetops, and then to the distant horizon: but the chief shook
+his head, pointed to the woods, and seemed to be much in doubt, while
+the whole band watched his motions in deep silence but evident
+interest. At length they appeared to agree. The scout took his place
+at the head of the line, and we resumed our march, keeping close to
+the margin of the wood. It was perhaps three hours after this ere we
+again halted to hold another consultation. This time their
+deliberations were shorter. In a few seconds our chief himself took
+the lead, and turned into the woods, through which he guided us to a
+small fountain which bubbled up at the root of a birch tree, where
+there was a smooth green spot of level ground. Here we halted, and
+prepared to rest for an hour, at the end of which time the moon,
+which now shone bright and full in the clear sky, would be nearly
+down, and we could resume our march. We now sat down in a circle, and
+taking a hasty mouthful of dried meat, stretched ourselves on the
+ground with our arms beside us, while our chief kept watch, leaning
+against the birch tree. It seemed as if I had scarcely been asleep
+five minutes when I felt a light touch on my shoulder. Springing up,
+I found the whole party already astir, and in a few minutes more we
+were again hurrying onwards.
+
+"We travelled thus until a faint light in the east told us that the
+day was at hand, when the scout's steps became more cautious, and he
+paused to examine the ground frequently. At last we came to a place
+where the ground sank slightly, and at a distance of a hundred yards
+rose again, forming a low ridge which was crowned with small bushes.
+Here we came to a halt, and were told that our enemies were on the
+other side of that ridge; that they were about twenty in number, all
+Chipewyan warriors, with the exception of one paleface--a trapper,
+and his Indian wife. The scout had learned, while lying like a snake
+in the grass around their camp, that this man was merely travelling
+with them on his way to the Rocky Mountains, and that, as they were a
+war-party, he intended to leave them soon. On hearing this the
+warriors gave a grim smile, and our chief, directing the scout to
+fall behind, cautiously led the way to the top of the ridge. On
+reaching it we saw a valley of great extent, dotted with trees and
+shrubs, and watered by one of the many rivers that flow into the
+great Saskatchewan. It was nearly dark, however, and we could only
+get an indistinct view of the land. Far ahead of us, on the right
+bank of the stream, and close to its margin, we saw the faint red
+light of watch fires; which caused us some surprise, for watch-fires
+are never lighted by a war-party so near to an enemy's country. So we
+could only conjecture that they were quite ignorant of our being in
+that part of the country; which was, indeed, not unlikely, seeing
+that we had shifted our camp during the summer.
+
+"Our chief now made arrangements for the attack. We were directed to
+separate and approach individually as near to the camp as was
+possible without risk of discovery, and then, taking up an
+advantageous position, to await our chief's signal, which was to be
+the hooting of an owl. We immediately separated. My course lay along
+the banks of the stream, and as I strode rapidly along, listening to
+its low solemn murmur, which sounded clear and distinct in the
+stillness of a calm summer night, I could not help feeling as if it
+were reproaching me for the bloody work I was hastening to perform.
+Then the recollection of what the old woman said of me raised a
+desperate spirit in my heart. Remembering the white feather in my
+head, I grasped my gun and quickened my pace. As I neared the camp I
+went into the woods and climbed a low hillock to look out. I found
+that it still lay about five hundred yards distant, and that the
+greater part of the ground between it and the place where I stood was
+quite flat, and without cover of any kind. I therefore prepared to
+creep towards it, although the attempt was likely to be attended with
+great danger, for Chipewyans have quick ears and sharp eyes.
+Observing, however, that the river ran close past the camp, I
+determined to follow its course as before. In a few seconds more I
+came to a dark narrow gap where the river flowed between broken
+rocks, overhung by branches, and from which I could obtain a clear
+view of the camp within fifty yards of me. Examining the priming of
+my gun, I sat down on a rock to await the chief's signal.
+
+"It was evident from the careless manner in which the fires were
+placed, that no enemy was supposed to be near. From my concealment I
+could plainly distinguish ten or fifteen of the sleeping forms of our
+enemies, among which the trapper was conspicuous, from his superior
+bulk, and the reckless way in which his brawny arms were flung on the
+turf, while his right hand clutched his rifle. I could not but smile
+as I thought of the proud boldness of the pale-face--lying all
+exposed to view in the gray light of dawn while an Indian's rifle was
+so close at hand. One Indian kept watch, but he seemed more than half
+asleep. I had not sat more than a minute when my observations were
+interrupted by the cracking of a branch in the bushes near me.
+Starting up, I was about to bound into the underwood, when a figure
+sprang down the bank and rapidly approached me. My first impulse was
+to throw forward my gun, but a glance sufficed to show me that it was
+a woman.
+
+"'Wah!' I exclaimed, in surprise, as she hurried forward and laid her
+hand on my shoulder. She was dressed partly in the costume of the
+Indians, but wore a shawl on her shoulders and a handkerchief on her
+head that showed she had been in the settlements; and from the
+lightness of her skin and hair, I judged at once that she was the
+trapper's wife, of whom I had heard the scout speak.
+
+"'Has the light-hair got a medicine-bag, or does she speak with
+spirits, that she has found me so easily?'
+
+"The girl looked anxiously up in my face as if to read my thoughts,
+and then said, in a low voice,--
+
+"'No, I neither carry the medicine-bag nor hold palaver with spirits;
+but I do think the good Manito must have led me here. I wandered into
+the woods because I could not sleep, and I saw you pass. But tell
+me,' she added with still deeper anxiety, 'does the white-feather
+come alone? Does he approach _friends_ during the dark hours with a
+soft step like a fox?'
+
+"Feeling the necessity of detaining her until my comrades should have
+time to surround the camp, I said: 'The white-feather hunts far from
+his lands. He sees Indians whom he does not know, and must approach
+with a light step. Perhaps they are enemies.'
+
+"'Do Knisteneux hunt at night, prowling in the bed of a stream?' said
+the girl, still regarding me with a keen glance. 'Speak truth,
+stranger' (and she started suddenly back); 'in a moment I can alarm
+the camp with a cry, and if your tongue is forked--But I do not wish
+to bring enemies upon you, if they are indeed such. I am not one of
+them. My husband and I travel with them for a time. We do not desire
+to see blood. God knows,' she added in French, which seemed her
+native tongue, 'I have seen enough of that already.'
+
+"As her earnest eyes looked into my face a sudden thought occurred to
+me. 'Go,' said I, hastily, 'tell your husband to leave the camp
+instantly and meet me here; and see that the Chipewyans do not
+observe your departure. Quick! his life and yours may depend on your
+speed.'
+
+"The girl instantly comprehended my meaning. In a moment she sprang
+up the bank; but as she did so the loud report of a gun was heard,
+followed by a yell, and the war-whoop of the Knisteneux rent the air
+as they rushed upon the devoted camp, sending arrows and bullets
+before them.
+
+"On the instant I sprang after the girl and grasped her by the arm.
+'Stay, white-cheek; it is too late now. You cannot save your husband,
+but I think he'll save himself. I saw him dive into the bushes like a
+cariboo. Hide yourself here; perhaps you may escape.'
+
+"The half-breed girl sank on a fallen tree with a deep groan, and
+clasped her hands convulsively before her eyes, while I bounded over
+the tree, intending to join my comrades in pursuing the enemy.
+
+"As I did so a shrill cry arose behind me, and looking back, I beheld
+the trapper's wife prostrate on the ground, and Misconna standing
+over her, his spear uplifted, and a fierce frown on his dark face.
+
+"'Hold!' I cried, rushing back and seizing his arm. 'Misconna did not
+come to kill _women_. She is not our enemy.'
+
+"'Does the young wrestler want _another_ wife?' he said, with a wild
+laugh, at the same time wrenching his arm from my gripe, and driving
+his spear through the fleshy part of the woman's breast and deep into
+the ground. A shriek rent the air as he drew it out again to repeat
+the thrust; but before he could do so, I struck him with the butt of
+my gun on the head. Staggering backwards, he fell heavily among the
+bushes. At this moment a second whoop rang out, and another of our
+band sprang from the thicket that surrounded us. Seeing no one but
+myself and the bleeding girl, he gave me a short glance of surprise,
+as if he wondered why I did not finish the work which he evidently
+supposed I had begun.
+
+"'Wah!' he exclaimed; and uttering another yell plunged his spear
+into the woman's breast, despite my efforts to prevent him--this time
+with more deadly effect, as the blood spouted from the wound, while
+she uttered a piercing scream, and twined her arms round my legs as I
+stood beside her, as if imploring for mercy. Poor girl! I saw that
+she was past my help. The wound was evidently mortal. Already the
+signs of death overspread her features, and I felt that a second blow
+would be one of mercy; so that when the Indian stooped and passed his
+long knife through her heart, I made but a feeble effort to prevent
+it. Just as the man rose, with the warm blood dripping from his keen
+blade, the sharp crack of a rifle was heard, and the Indian fell dead
+at my feet, shot through the forehead, while the trapper bounded into
+the open space, his massive frame quivering, and his sunburned face
+distorted with rage and horror. From the other side of the brake six
+of our band rushed forward and levelled their guns at him. For one
+moment the trapper paused to cast a glance at the mangled corpse of
+his wife, as if to make quite sure that she was dead; and then
+uttering a howl of despair, he hurled his axe with a giant's force at
+the Knisteneux, and disappeared over the precipitous bank of the
+stream.
+
+"So rapid was the action that the volley which immediately succeeded
+passed harmlessly over his head, while the Indians dashed forward in
+pursuit. At the same instant I myself was felled to the earth. The
+axe which the trapper had flung struck a tree in its flight, and as
+it glanced off the handle gave me a violent blow in passing. I fell
+stunned. As I did so my head alighted on the shoulder of the woman,
+and the last thing I felt, as my wandering senses forsook me, was her
+still warm blood flowing over my face and neck.
+
+"While this scene was going on, the yells and screams of the warriors
+in the camp became fainter and fainter as they pursued and fled
+through the woods. The whole band of Chipewyans was entirely routed,
+with the exception of four who escaped, and the trapper whose flight
+I have described; all the rest were slain, and their scalps hung at
+the belts of the victorious Knisteneux warriors, while only one of
+our party was killed.
+
+"Not more than a few minutes after receiving the blow that stunned
+me, I recovered, and rising as hastily as my scattered faculties
+would permit me, I staggered towards the camp, where I heard the
+shouts of our men as they collected the arms of their enemies. As I
+rose, the feather which Wabisca had dropped fell from my brow, and as
+I picked it up to replace it, I perceived that it was _red_, being
+entirely covered with the blood of the half-breed girl.
+
+"The place where Misconna had fallen was vacant as I passed, and I
+found him standing among his comrades round the camp fires, examining
+the guns and other articles which they had collected. He gave me a
+short glance of deep hatred as I passed, and turned his head hastily
+away. A few minutes sufficed to collect the spoils, and so rapidly
+had everything been done that the light of day was still faint as we
+silently returned on our track. We marched in the same order as
+before, Misconna and I bringing up the rear. As we passed near the
+place where the poor woman had been murdered, I felt a strong desire
+to return to the spot. I could not very well understand the feeling,
+but it lay so strong upon me that, when we reached the ridge where we
+first came in sight of the Chipewyan camp, I fell behind until my
+companions disappeared in the woods, and then ran swiftly back. Just
+as I was about to step beyond the circle of bushes that surrounded
+the spot, I saw that some one was there before me. It was a man, and
+as he advanced into the open space and the light fell on his face, I
+saw that it was the trapper. No doubt he had watched us off the
+ground, and then, when all was safe, returned to bury his wife. I
+crouched to watch him. Stepping slowly up to the body of his murdered
+wife, he stood beside it with his arms folded on his breast and quite
+motionless. His head hung down, for the heart of the white man was
+heavy, and I could see, as the light increased, that his brows were
+dark as the thunder-cloud, and the corners of his mouth twitched from
+a feeling that the Indian scorns to show. My heart is full of sorrow
+for him now" (Redfeather's voice sank as he spoke); "it was full of
+sorrow for him even _then_, when I was taught to think that pity for
+an enemy was unworthy of a brave. The trapper stood gazing very long.
+His wife was young; he could not leave her yet. At length a deep
+groan burst from his heart, as the waters of a great river, long held
+down, swell up in spring and burst the ice at last. Groan followed
+groan as the trapper still stood and pressed his arms on his broad
+breast, as if to crush the heart within. At last he slowly knelt
+beside her, bending more and more over the lifeless form, until he
+lay extended on the ground beside it, and twining his arms round the
+neck, he drew the cold cheek close to his, and pressed the blood-
+covered bosom tighter and tighter, while his form quivered with agony
+as he gave her a last, long embrace. Oh!" continued Redfeather, while
+his brow darkened, and his black eye flashed with an expression of
+fierceness that his young listeners had never seen before, "may the
+curse--" He paused. "God forgive them! How could they know better?
+
+"At length the trapper rose hastily. The expression of his brow was
+still the same, but his mouth was altered. The lips were pressed
+tightly like those of a brave when led to torture, and there was a
+fierce activity in his motions as he sprang down the bank and
+proceeded to dig a hole in the soft earth. For half an hour he
+laboured, shovelling away the earth with a large, flat stone; and
+carrying down the body, he buried it there, under the shadow of a
+willow. The trapper then shouldered his rifle and hurried away. On
+reaching the turn of the stream which shuts the little hollow out
+from view, he halted suddenly, gave one look into the prairie he was
+henceforth to tread alone, one short glance back, and then, raising
+both arms in the air, looked up into the sky, while he stretched
+himself to his full height. Even at that distance I could see the
+wild glare of his eye and the heaving of his breast. A moment after,
+and he was gone."
+
+"And did you never see him again?" inquired Harry Somerville,
+eagerly.
+
+"No, I never saw him more. Immediately afterwards I turned to rejoin
+my companions, whom I soon overtook, and entered our village along
+with them. I was regarded as a poor warrior, because I brought home
+no scalps, and ever afterwards I went by the name of _Redfeather_ in
+our tribe."
+
+"But are you still thought a poor warrior?" asked Charley, in some
+concern, as if he were jealous of the reputation of his new friend.
+
+The Indian smiled. "No," he said: "our village was twice attacked
+afterwards, and in defending it, Redfeather took many scalps. He was
+made a chief!"
+
+"Ah!" cried Charley, "I'm glad of that. And Wabisca, what came of
+her? Did Misconna get her?"
+
+"She is my wife," replied Redfeather.
+
+"Your wife! Why, I thought I heard the voyageurs call your wife the
+white swan."
+
+"Wabisca is _white_ in the language of the Knisteneux. She is
+beautiful in form, and my comrades call her the white swan."
+
+Redfeather said this with an air of gratified pride. He did not,
+perhaps, love his wife with more fervour than he would have done had
+he remained with his tribe; but Redfeather had associated a great
+deal with the traders, and he had imbibed much of that spirit which
+prompts "_white_ men" to treat their females with deference and
+respect--a feeling which is very foreign to an Indian's bosom. To do
+so was, besides, more congenial to his naturally unselfish and
+affectionate disposition, so that any flattering allusion to his
+partner was always received by him with immense gratification.
+
+"I'll pay you a visit some day, Redfeather, if I'm sent to any place
+within fifty miles of your tribe," said Charley with the air of one
+who had fully made up his mind.
+
+"And Misconna?" asked Harry.
+
+"Misconna is with his tribe," replied the Indian, and a frown
+overspread his features as he spoke; "but Redfeather has been
+following in the track of his white friends; he has not seen his
+nation for many moons."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+The canoe--Ascending the rapids--The portage--Deer shooting and life
+in the woods.
+
+
+We must now beg the patient reader to take a leap with us, not only
+through space, but also through time. We must pass over the events of
+the remainder of the journey along the shore of Lake Winnipeg.
+Unwilling though we are to omit anything in the history of our
+friends that would be likely to prove interesting, we think it wise
+not to run the risk of being tedious, or of dwelling too minutely on
+the details of scenes which recall powerfully the feelings and
+memories of bygone days to the writer, but may, nevertheless, appear
+somewhat flat to the reader.
+
+We shall not, therefore, enlarge at present on the arrival of the
+boats at Norway House, which lies at the north end of the lake, nor
+on what was said and done by our friends and by several other young
+comrades whom they found there. We shall not speak of the horror of
+Harry Somerville, and the extreme disappointment of his friend
+Charley Kennedy, when the former was told that instead of hunting
+grizzly bears up the Saskatchewan he was condemned to the desk again
+at York Fort, the depot on Hudson's Bay,--a low, swampy place near
+the sea-shore, where the goods for the interior are annually landed
+and the furs shipped for England, where the greater part of the
+summer and much of the winter is occupied by the clerks who may be
+doomed to vegetate there in making up the accounts of what is termed
+the Northern Department, and where the brigades converge from all the
+wide scattered and far-distant outposts, and the _ship_ from England--
+that great event of the year--arrives, keeping the place in a state
+of constant bustle and effervescence until autumn, when ship and
+brigades finally depart, leaving the residents (about thirty in
+number) shut up for eight long, dreary months of winter, with a
+tenantless wilderness around and behind them, and the wide, cold
+frozen sea before. This was among the first of Harry's
+disappointments. He suffered many afterwards, poor fellow!
+
+Neither shall we accompany Charley up the south branch of the
+Saskatchewan, where his utmost expectations in the way of hunting
+were more than realised, and where he became so accustomed to
+shooting ducks and geese, and bears and buffaloes, that he could not
+forbear smiling when he chanced to meet with a red-legged gull, and
+remembered how he and his friend Harry had comported themselves when
+they first met with these birds on the shores of Lake Winnipeg! We
+shall pass over all this, and the summer, autumn, and winter too, and
+leap at once into the spring of the following year.
+
+On a very bright, cheery morning of that spring a canoe might have
+been seen slowly ascending one of the numerous streams which meander
+through a richly-wooded fertile country, and mingle their waters with
+those of the Athabasca River, terminating their united career in a
+large lake of the same name. The canoe was small--one of the kind
+used by the natives while engaged in hunting, and capable of holding
+only two persons conveniently, with their baggage. To any one
+unacquainted with the nature and capabilities of a northern Indian
+canoe, the fragile, bright orange-coloured machine that was battling
+with the strong current of a rapid must indeed have appeared an
+unsafe and insignificant craft; but a more careful study of its
+performances in the rapid, and of the immense quantity of
+miscellaneous goods and chattels which were, at a later period of the
+day, disgorged from its interior, would have convinced the beholder
+that it was in truth the most convenient and serviceable craft that
+could be devised for the exigencies of such a country.
+
+True, it could only hold two men (it _might_ have taken three at a
+pinch), because men, and women too, are awkward, unyielding baggage,
+very difficult to stow compactly; but it is otherwise with tractable
+goods. The canoe is exceedingly thin, so that no space is taken up or
+rendered useless by its own structure, and there is no end to the
+amount of blankets, and furs, and coats, and paddles, and tent-
+covers, and dogs, and babies, that can be stowed away in its
+capacious interior. The canoe of which we are now writing contained
+two persons, whose active figures were thrown alternately into every
+graceful attitude of manly vigour, as with poles in hand they
+struggled to force their light craft against the boiling stream. One
+was a man apparently of about forty-five years of age. He was a
+square-shouldered, muscular man, and from the ruggedness of his
+general appearance, the soiled hunting-shirt that was strapped round
+his waist with a party-coloured worsted belt, the leather leggings, a
+good deal the worse for wear, together with the quiet, self-possessed
+glance of his gray eye, the compressed lip and the sunburned brow, it
+was evident that he was a hunter, and one who had seen rough work in
+his day. The expression of his face was pleasing, despite a look of
+habitual severity which sat upon it, and a deep scar which traversed
+his brow from the right temple to the top of his nose. It was
+difficult to tell to what country he belonged. His father was a
+Canadian, his mother a Scotchwoman. He was born in Canada, brought up
+in one of the Yankee settlements on the Missouri, and had, from a
+mere youth, spent his life as a hunter in the wilderness. He could
+speak English, French, or Indian with equal ease and fluency, but it
+would have been hard for anyone to say which of the three was his
+native tongue. The younger man, who occupied the stern of the canoe,
+acting the part of steersman, was quite a youth, apparently about
+seventeen, but tall and stout beyond his years, and deeply sunburned.
+Indeed, were it not for this fact, the unusual quantity of hair that
+hung in massive curls down his neck, and the voyageur costume, we
+should have recognised our young friend Charley Kennedy again more
+easily. Had any doubts remained in our mind, the shout of his merry
+voice would have scattered them at once.
+
+"Hold hard, Jacques," he cried, as the canoe trembled in the current,
+"one moment, till I get my pole fixed behind this rock. Now, then,
+shove ahead. Ah!" he exclaimed with chagrin, as the pole slipped on
+the treacherous bottom and the canoe whirled round.
+
+"Mind the rock," cried the bowsman, giving an energetic thrust with
+his pole, that sent the light bark into an eddy formed by a large
+rock which rose above the turbulent waters. Here it rested while
+Jacques and Charley raised themselves on their knees (travellers in
+small canoes always sit in a kneeling position) to survey the rapid.
+
+"It's too much for us, I fear, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, shading
+his brow with his horny hand. "I've paddled up it many a time alone,
+but never saw the water so big as now."
+
+"Humph! we shall have to make a portage then, I presume. Could we not
+give it one trial more? I think we might make a dash for the tail of
+that eddy, and then the stream above seems not quite so strong. Do
+you think so, Jacques?"
+
+Jacques was not the man to check a daring young spirit. His motto
+through life had ever been, "Never venture, never win"--a sentiment
+which his intercourse among fur-traders had taught him to embody in
+the pithy expression, "Never say die;" so that, although quite
+satisfied that the thing was impossible, he merely replied to his
+companion's speech by an assenting "Ho," and pushed out again into
+the stream. An energetic effort enabled them to gain the tail of the
+eddy spoken of, when Charley's pole snapped across, and, falling
+heavily on the gunwale, he would have upset the little craft had not
+Jacques, whose wits were habitually on the _qui vive_, thrown his own
+weight at the same moment on the opposite side, and counterbalanced
+Charley's slip. The action saved them a ducking; but the canoe, being
+left to its own devices for an instant, whirled off again into the
+stream, and before Charley could seize a paddle to prevent it, they
+were floating in the still water at the foot of the rapids.
+
+"Now isn't that a bore?" said Charley, with a comical look of
+disappointment at his companion.
+
+Jacques laughed.
+
+"It was well to _try_, master. I mind a young clerk who came into
+these parts the same year as I did, and _he_ seldom _tried_ anything.
+He couldn't abide canoes. He didn't want for courage neither; but he
+had a nat'ral dislike to them, I suppose, that he couldn't help, and
+never entered one except when he was obliged to do so. Well, one day
+he wounded a grizzly bear on the banks o' the Saskatchewan (mind the
+tail o' that rapid, Mr. Charles; we'll land t'other side o' yon
+rock). Well, the bear made after him, and he cut stick right away for
+the river, where there was a canoe hauled up on the bank. He didn't
+take time to put his rifle aboard, but dropped it on the gravel,
+crammed the canoe into the water and jumped in, almost driving his
+feet through its bottom as he did so, and then plumped down so
+suddenly, to prevent its capsizing, that he split it right across. By
+this time the bear was at his heels, and took the water like a duck.
+The poor clerk, in his hurry, swayed from side to side tryin' to
+prevent the canoe goin' over. But when he went to one side, he was so
+unused to it that he went too far, and had to jerk over to the other
+pretty sharp; and so he got worse and worse, until he heard the bear
+give a great snort beside him. Then he grabbed the paddle in
+desperation, but at the first dash he missed his stroke, and over he
+went. The current was pretty strong at the place, which was lucky for
+him, for it kept him down a bit, so that the bear didn't observe him
+for a little; and while it was pokin' away at the canoe, he was
+carried down stream like a log and stranded on a shallow. Jumping up
+he made tracks for the wood, and the bear (which had found out its
+mistake), after him; so he was obliged at last to take to a tree,
+where the beast watched him for a day and a night, till his friends,
+thinking that something must be wrong, sent out to look for him.
+(Steady, now, Mr. Charles; a little more to the right. That's it.)
+Now, if that young man had only ventured boldly into small canoes
+when he got the chance, he might have laughed at the grizzly and
+killed him too."
+
+As Jacques finished, the canoe glided into a quiet bay formed by an
+eddy of the rapid, where the still water was overhung with dense
+foliage.
+
+"Is the portage a long one?" asked Charley, as he stepped out on the
+bank, and helped to unload the canoe.
+
+"About half-a-mile," replied his companion. "We might make it shorter
+by poling up the last rapid; but it's stiff work, Mr. Charles, and
+we'll do the thing quicker and easier at one lift."
+
+The two travellers now proceeded to make a portage. They prepared to
+carry their canoe and baggage overland, so as to avoid a succession
+of rapids and waterfalls which intercepted their further progress.
+
+"Now, Jacques, up with it," said Charley, after the loading had been
+taken out and placed on the grassy bank.
+
+The hunter stooped, and seizing the canoe by its centre bar, lifted
+it out of the water, placed it on his shoulders, and walked off with
+it into the woods. This was not accomplished by the man's superior
+strength. Charley could have done it quite as well; and, indeed, the
+strong hunter could have carried a canoe twice the size with perfect
+ease. Immediately afterwards Charley followed with as much of the
+lading as he could carry, leaving enough on the bank to form another
+load.
+
+The banks of the river were steep--in some places so much so that
+Jacques found it a matter of no small difficulty to climb over the
+broken rocks with the unwieldy canoe on his back; the more so that
+the branches interlaced overhead so thickly as to present a strong
+barrier, through which the canoe had to be forced, at the risk of
+damaging its delicate bark covering. On reaching the comparatively
+level land above, however, there was more open space, and the hunter
+threaded his way among the tree stems more rapidly, making a detour
+occasionally to avoid a swamp or piece of broken ground; sometimes
+descending a deep gorge formed by a small tributary of the stream
+they were ascending, and which to an unpractised eye would have
+appeared almost impassable, even without the encumbrance of a canoe.
+But the said canoe never bore Jacques more gallantly or safely over
+the surges of lake or stream than did he bear _it_ through the
+intricate mazes of the forest; now diving down and disappearing
+altogether in the umbrageous foliage of a dell; anon reappearing on
+the other side and scrambling up the bank on all-fours, he and the
+canoe together looking like some frightful yellow reptile of
+antediluvian proportions; and then speeding rapidly forward over a
+level plain until he reached a sheet of still water above the rapids.
+Here he deposited his burden on the grass, and halting only for a few
+seconds to carry a few drops of the clear water to his lips, retraced
+his steps to bring over the remainder of the baggage. Soon afterwards
+Charley made his appearance on the spot where the canoe was left, and
+throwing down his load, seated himself on it and surveyed the
+prospect. Before him lay a reach of the stream which spread out so
+widely as to resemble a small lake, in whose clear, still bosom were
+reflected the overhanging foliage of graceful willows, and here and
+there the bright stem of a silver birch, whose light-green leaves
+contrasted well with scattered groups and solitary specimens of the
+spruce fir. Reeds and sedges grew in the water along the banks,
+rendering the junction of the land and the stream uncertain and
+confused. All this and a great deal more Charley noted at a glance;
+for the hundreds of beautiful and interesting objects in nature which
+take so long to describe even partially, and are feebly set forth
+after all even by the most graphic language, flash upon the eye in
+all their force and beauty, and are drunk in at once in a single
+glance.
+
+But Charley noted several objects floating on the water which we have
+not yet mentioned. These were five gray geese feeding among the rocks
+at a considerable distance off, and all unconscious of the presence
+of a human foe in their remote domains. The travellers had trusted
+very much to their guns and nets for food, having only a small
+quantity of pemmican in reserve, lest these should fail--an event
+which was not at all likely, as the country through which they passed
+was teeming with wild-fowl of all kinds, besides deer. These latter,
+however, were only shot when they came inadvertently within rifle
+range, as our voyageurs had a definite object in view, and could not
+afford to devote much of their time to the chase.
+
+During the day previous to that on which we have introduced them to
+our readers, Charley and his companion had been so much occupied in
+navigating their frail bark among a succession of rapids, that they
+had not attended to the replenishing of their larder, so that the
+geese which now showed themselves were looked upon by Charley with a
+longing eye. Unfortunately they were feeding on the opposite side of
+the river, and out of shot. But Charley was a hunter now, and knew
+how to overcome slight difficulties. He first cut down a pretty large
+and leafy branch of a tree, and placed it in the bow of the canoe in
+such a way as to hang down before it and form a perfect screen,
+through the interstices of which he could see the geese, while they
+could only see, what was to them no novelty, the branch of a tree
+floating down the stream. Having gently launched the canoe, Charley
+was soon close to the unsuspecting birds, from among which he
+selected one that appeared to be unusually complacent and self-
+satisfied, concluding at once, with an amount of wisdom that bespoke
+him a true philosopher, that such _must_ as a matter of course be the
+fattest.
+
+"Bang" went the gun, and immediately the sleek goose turned round
+upon its back and stretched out its feet towards the sky, waving them
+once or twice as if bidding adieu to its friends. The others
+thereupon took to flight, with such a deal of sputter and noise as
+made it quite apparent that their astonishment was unfeigned. Bang
+went the gun again, and down fell a second goose.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Jacques, throwing down the remainder of the cargo as
+Charley landed with his booty, "that's well. I was just thinking as I
+comed across that we should have to take to pemmican to-night."
+
+"Well, Jacques, and if we had, I'm sure an old hunter like you, who
+have roughed it so often, need not complain," said Charley, smiling.
+
+"As to that, master," replied Jacques, "I've roughed it often enough;
+and when it does come to a clear fix, I can eat my shoes without
+grumblin' as well as any man. But, you see, fresh meat is better than
+dried meat when it's to be had; and so I'm glad to see that you've
+been lucky, Mr. Charles."
+
+"To say truth, so am I; and these fellows are delightfully plump. But
+you spoke of eating your shoes, Jacques. When were you reduced to
+that direful extremity?"
+
+Jacques finished reloading the canoe while they conversed, and the
+two were seated in their places, and quietly but swiftly ascending
+the stream again, ere the hunter replied.
+
+"You've heerd of Sir John Franklin, I s'pose?" he inquired, after a
+minute's consideration.
+
+"Yes, often."
+
+"An' p'r'aps you've heerd tell of his first trip of discovery along
+the shores of the Polar Sea?"
+
+"Do you refer to the time when he was nearly starved to death, and
+when poor Hood was shot by the Indian?"
+
+"The same," said Jacques.
+
+"Oh, yes; I know all about that. Were you with them?" inquired
+Charley, in great surprise.
+
+"Why, no--not exactly _on_ the trip; but I was sent in winter with
+provisions to them--and much need they had of them, poor fellows! I
+found them tearing away at some old parchment skins that had lain
+under the snow all winter, and that an Injin's dog would ha' turned
+up his nose at--and they don't turn up their snouts at many things, I
+can tell ye. Well, after we had left all our provisions with them, we
+started for the fort again, just keepin' as much as would drive off
+starvation; for, you see, we thought that surely we would git
+something on the road. But neither hoof nor feather did we see all
+the way (I was travellin' with an Injin), and our grub was soon done,
+though we saved it up, and only took a mouthful or two the last three
+days. At last it was done, and we was pretty well used up, and the
+fort two days ahead of us. So says I to my comrade--who had been
+looking at me for some time as if he thought that a cut off my
+shoulder wouldn't be a bad thing--says I, 'Nipitabo, I'm afeard the
+shoes must go for it now;' so with that I pulls out a pair o'
+deerskin moccasins. 'They looks tender,' said I, trying to be
+cheerful. 'Wah!' said the Injin; and then I held them over the fire
+till they was done black, and Nipitabo ate one, and I ate the tother,
+with a lump o' snow to wash it down!"
+
+"It must have been rather dry eating," said Charley, laughing.
+
+"Rayther; but it was better than the Injin's leather breeches, which
+we took in hand next day. They was _uncommon_ tough, and very dirty,
+havin' been worn about a year and a half. Hows'ever, they kept us up;
+an' as we only ate the legs, he had the benefit o' the stump to
+arrive with at the fort next day."
+
+"What's yon ahead?" exclaimed Charley, pausing as he spoke, and
+shading his eyes with his hand.
+
+"It's uncommon like trees," said Jacques. "It's likely a tree that's
+been tumbled across the river; and from its appearance, I think we'll
+have to cut through it."
+
+"Cut through it!" exclaimed Charley; "if my sight is worth a gun-
+flint, we'll have to cut through a dozen trees."
+
+Charley was right. The river ahead of them became rapidly narrower;
+and either from the looseness of the surrounding soil, or the passing
+of a whirlwind, dozens of trees had been upset, and lay right across
+the narrow stream in terrible confusion. What made the thing worse
+was that the banks on either side, which were low and flat, were
+covered with such a dense thicket down to the water's edge, that the
+idea of making a portage to overcome the barrier seemed altogether
+hopeless.
+
+"Here's a pretty business, to be sure!" cried Charley, in great
+disgust.
+
+"Never say die, Mister Charles," replied Jacques, taking up the axe
+from the bottom of the canoe; "it's quite clear that cuttin' through
+the trees is easier than cuttin' through the bushes, so here goes."
+
+For fully three hours the travellers were engaged in cutting their
+way up the encumbered stream, during which time they did not advance
+three miles; and it was evening ere they broke down the last barrier
+and paddled out into a sheet of clear water again.
+
+"That'll prepare us for the geese, Jacques," said Charley, as he
+wiped the perspiration from his brow; "there's nothing like warm work
+for whetting the appetite, and making one sleep soundly."
+
+"That's true," replied the hunter, resuming his paddle. "I often
+wonder how them white-faced fellows in the settlements manage to keep
+body and soul together--a-sittin', as they do, all day in the house,
+and a-lyin' all night in a feather bed. For my part, rather than live
+as they do, I would cut my way up streams like them we've just passed
+every day and all day, and sleep on top of a flat rock o' nights,
+under the blue sky, all my life through."
+
+With this decided expression of his sentiments, the stout hunter
+steered the canoe up alongside of a huge flat rock, as if he were
+bent on giving a practical illustration of the latter part of his
+speech then and there.
+
+"We'd better camp now, Mister Charles; there's a portage o' two miles
+here, and it'll take us till sundown to get the canoe and things
+over."
+
+"Be it so," said Charley, landing. "Is there a good place at the
+other end to camp on?"
+
+"First-rate. It's smooth as a blanket on the turf, and a clear spring
+bubbling at the root of a wide tree that would keep off the rain if
+it was to come down like water-spouts."
+
+The spot on which the travellers encamped that evening overlooked one
+of those scenes in which vast extent, and rich, soft variety of
+natural objects, were united with much that was grand and savage. It
+filled the mind with the calm satisfaction that is experienced when
+one gazes on the wide lawns studded with noble trees; the spreading
+fields of waving grain that mingle with stream and copse, rock and
+dell, vineyard and garden, of the cultivated lands of civilized men;
+while it produced that exulting throb of freedom which stirs man's
+heart to its centre, when he casts a first glance over miles and
+miles of broad lands that are yet unowned, unclaimed; that yet lie in
+the unmutilated beauty with which the beneficent Creator originally
+clothed them--far away from the well-known scenes of man's checkered
+history; entirely devoid of those ancient monuments of man's power
+and skill that carry the mind back with feelings of awe to bygone
+ages, yet stamped with evidences of an antiquity more ancient still
+in the wild primeval forests, and the noble trees that have sprouted,
+and spread, and towered in their strength for centuries--trees that
+have fallen at their posts, while others took their place, and rose
+and fell as they did, like long-lived sentinels whose duty it was to
+keep perpetual guard over the vast solitudes of the great American
+Wilderness.
+
+The fire was lighted, and the canoe turned bottom up in front of it,
+under the branches of a spreading tree which stood on an eminence,
+whence was obtained a bird's-eye view of the noble scene. It was a
+flat valley, on either side of which rose two ranges of hills, which
+were clothed to the top with trees of various kinds, the plain of the
+valley itself being dotted with clumps of wood, among which the fresh
+green foliage of the plane tree and the silver-stemmed birch were
+conspicuous, giving an airy lightness to the scene and enhancing the
+picturesque effect of the dark pines. A small stream could be traced
+winding out and in among clumps of willows, reflecting their drooping
+boughs and the more sombre branches of the spruce fir and the
+straight larch, with which in many places its banks were shaded. Here
+and there were stretches of clearer ground where the green herbage of
+spring gave to it a lawn-like appearance, and the whole magnificent
+scene was bounded by blue hills that became fainter as they receded
+from the eye and mingled at last with the horizon. The sun had just
+set, and a rich glow of red bathed the whole scene, which was further
+enlivened by flocks of wild-fowls and herds of reindeer.
+
+These last soon drew Charley's attention from the contemplation of
+the scenery, and observing a deer feeding in an open space, towards
+which he could approach without coming between it and the wind, he
+ran for his gun and hurried into the woods while Jacques busied
+himself in arranging their blankets under the upturned canoe, and in
+preparing supper.
+
+Charley discovered soon after starting, what all hunters discover
+sooner or later--namely, that appearances are deceitful; for he no
+sooner reached the foot of the hill than he found, between him and
+the lawn-like country, an almost impenetrable thicket of underwood.
+Our young hero, however, was of that disposition which sticks at
+nothing, and instead of taking time to search for an opening, he took
+a race and sprang into the middle of it, in hopes of forcing his way
+through. His hopes were not disappointed. He got through--quite
+through--and alighted up to the armpits in a swamp, to the infinite
+consternation of a flock of teal ducks that were slumbering
+peacefully there with their heads under their wings, and had
+evidently gone to bed for the night. Fortunately he held his gun
+above the water and kept his balance, so that he was able to proceed
+with a dry charge, though with an uncommonly wet skin. Half-an-hour
+brought Charley within range, and watching patiently until the animal
+presented his side towards the place of his concealment, he fired and
+shot it through the heart.
+
+"Well done, Mister Charles," exclaimed Jacques, as the former
+staggered into camp with the reindeer on his shoulders. "A fat doe,
+too."
+
+"Ay," said Charley; "but she has cost me a wet skin. So pray,
+Jacques, rouse up the fire, and let's have supper as soon as you
+can."
+
+Jacques speedily skinned the deer, cut a couple of steaks from its
+flank, and placing them on wooden spikes, stuck them up to roast,
+while his young friend put on a dry shirt, and hung his coat before
+the blaze. The goose which had been shot earlier in the day was also
+plucked, split open, impaled in the same manner as the steaks, and
+set up to roast. By this time the shadows of night had deepened, and
+ere long all was shrouded in gloom, except the circle of ruddy light
+around the camp fire, in the centre of which Jacques and Charley sat,
+with the canoe at their backs, knives in their hands, and the two
+spits, on the top of which smoked their ample supper, planted in the
+ground before them.
+
+One by one the stars went out, until none were visible except the
+bright, beautiful morning star, as it rose higher and higher in the
+eastern sky. One by one the owls and the wolves, ill-omened birds and
+beasts of night, retired to rest in the dark recesses of the forest.
+Little by little, the gray dawn overspread the sky, and paled the
+lustre of the morning star, until it faded away altogether; and then
+Jacques awoke with a start, and throwing out his arm, brought it
+accidentally into violent contact with Charley's nose.
+
+This caused Charley to awake, not only with a start, but also with a
+roar, which brought them both suddenly into a sitting posture, in
+which they continued for some time in a state between sleeping and
+waking, their faces meanwhile expressive of mingled imbecility and
+extreme surprise. Bursting into a simultaneous laugh, which
+degenerated into a loud yawn, they sprang up, launched and reloaded
+their canoe, and resumed their journey.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+The Indian camp--The new outpost--Charley sent on a mission to the
+Indians.
+
+
+In the councils of the fur-traders, on the spring previous to that
+about which we are now writing, it had been decided to extend their
+operations a little in the lands that lie in central America, to the
+north of the Saskatchewan River; and in furtherance of that object,
+it had been intimated to the chief trader in charge of the district
+that an expedition should be set on foot, having for its object the
+examination of a territory into which they had not yet penetrated,
+and the establishment of an outpost therein. It was, furthermore,
+ordered that operations should be commenced at once, and that the
+choice of men to carry out the end in view was graciously left to the
+chief trader's well-known sagacity.
+
+Upon receiving this communication, the chief trader selected a
+gentleman named Mr. Whyte to lead the party; gave him a clerk and
+five men, provided him with a boat and a large supply of goods
+necessary for trade, implements requisite for building an
+establishment, and sent him off with a hearty shake of the hand and a
+recommendation to "go and prosper."
+
+Charles Kennedy spent part of the previous year at Rocky Mountain
+House, where he had shown so much energy in conducting the trade,
+especially what he called the "rough and tumble" part of it, that he
+was selected as the clerk to accompany Mr. Whyte to his new ground.
+After proceeding up many rivers, whose waters had seldom borne the
+craft of white men, and across innumerable lakes, the party reached a
+spot that presented so inviting an aspect that it was resolved to
+pitch their tent there for a time, and, if things in the way of trade
+and provision looked favourable, establish themselves altogether. The
+place was situated on the margin of a large lake, whose shores were
+covered with the most luxuriant verdure, and whose waters teemed with
+the finest fish, while the air was alive with wild-fowl, and the
+woods swarming with game. Here Mr. Whyte rested awhile; and having
+found everything to his satisfaction, he took his axe, selected a
+green lawn that commanded an extensive view of the lake, and going up
+to a tall larch, struck the steel into it, and thus put the first
+touch to an establishment which afterwards went by the name of Stoney
+Creek.
+
+A solitary Indian, whom they had met with on the way to their new
+home, had informed them that a large band of Knisteneux had lately
+migrated to a river about four days' journey beyond the lake at which
+they halted; and when the new fort was just beginning to spring up,
+our friend Charley and the interpreter, Jacques Caradoc, were ordered
+by Mr. Whyte to make a canoe, and then, embarking in it, to proceed
+to the Indian camp, to inform the natives of their rare good luck in
+having a band of white men come to settle near their lands to trade
+with them. The interpreter and Charley soon found birch bark, pine
+roots for sewing it, and gum for plastering the seams, wherewith they
+constructed the light machine whose progress we have partly traced in
+the last chapter, and which, on the following day at sunset, carried
+them to their journey's end.
+
+From some remarks made by the Indian who gave them information of the
+camp, Charley gathered that it was the tribe to which Redfeather
+belonged, and furthermore that Redfeather himself was there at the
+time; so that it was with feelings of no little interest that he saw
+the tops of the yellow tents embedded among the green trees, and soon
+afterwards beheld them and their picturesque owners reflected in the
+clear river, on whose banks the natives crowded to witness the
+arrival of the white men.
+
+Upon the greensward, and under the umbrageous shade of the forest
+trees, the tents were pitched to the number of perhaps eighteen or
+twenty, and the whole population, of whom very few were absent on the
+present occasion, might number a hundred--men, women, and children.
+They were dressed in habiliments formed chiefly of materials procured
+by themselves in the chase, but ornamented with cloth, beads, and
+silk thread, which showed that they had had intercourse with the fur-
+traders before now. The men wore leggings of deerskin, which reached
+more than half-way up the thigh, and were fastened to a leathern
+girdle strapped round the waist. A loose tunic or hunting-shirt of
+the same material covered the figure from the shoulders almost to the
+knees, and was confined round the middle by a belt--in some cases of
+worsted, in others of leather gaily ornamented with quills. Caps of
+various indescribable shapes, and made chiefly of skin, with the
+animal's tail left on by way of ornament, covered their heads, and
+moccasins for the feet completed their costume. These last may be
+simply described as leather mittens for the feet, without fingers, or
+rather toes. They were gaudily ornamented, as was almost every
+portion of costume, with porcupines' quills dyed with brilliant
+colours, and worked into fanciful, and in many cases extremely
+elegant, figures and designs; for North American Indians oftentimes
+display an amount of taste in the harmonious arrangement of colour
+that would astonish those who fancy that _education_ is absolutely
+necessary to the just appreciation of the beautiful.
+
+The women attired themselves in leggings and coats differing little
+from those of the men, except that the latter were longer, the
+sleeves detached from the body, and fastened on separately; while on
+their heads they wore caps, which hung down and covered their backs
+to the waist. These caps were of the simplest construction, being
+pieces of cloth cut into an oblong shape, and sewed together at one
+end. They were, however, richly ornamented with silk-work and beads.
+
+On landing, Charley and Jacques walked up to a tall, good-looking
+Indian, whom they judged from his demeanour, and the somewhat
+deferential regard paid to him by the others, to be one of the chief
+men of the little community.
+
+"Ho! what cheer?" said Jacques, taking him by the hand after the
+manner of Europeans, and accosting him with the phrase used by the
+fur-traders to the natives. The Indian returned the compliment in
+kind, and led the visitors to his tent, where he spread a buffalo
+robe for them on the ground, and begged them to be seated. A repast
+of dried meat and reindeer-tongues was then served, to which our
+friends did ample justice; while the women and children satisfied
+their curiosity by peering at them through chinks and holes in the
+tent. When they had finished, several of the principal men assembled,
+and the chief who had entertained them made a speech, to the effect
+that he was much gratified by the honour done to his people by the
+visit of his white brothers; that he hoped they would continue long
+at the camp to enjoy their hospitality; and that he would be glad to
+know what had brought them so far into the country of the red men.
+
+During the course of this speech the chief made eloquent allusion to
+all the good qualities supposed to belong to white men in general,
+and (he had no doubt) to the two white men before him in particular.
+He also boasted considerably of the prowess and bravery of himself
+and his tribe, launched a few sarcastic hits at his enemies, and
+wound up with a poetical hope that his guests might live for ever in
+these beautiful plains of bliss, where the sun never sets, and
+nothing goes wrong anywhere, and everything goes right at all times,
+and where, especially, the deer are outrageously fat, and always come
+out on purpose to be shot! During the course of these remarks his
+comrades signified their hearty concurrence to his sentiments, by
+giving vent to sundry low-toned "hums!" and "has!" and "wahs!" and
+"hos!" according to circumstances. After it was over Jacques rose,
+and addressing them in their own language, said,--
+
+"My Indian brethren are great. They are brave, and their fame has
+travelled far. Their deeds are known even so far as where the Great
+Salt Lake beats on the shore where the sun rises. They are not women,
+and when their enemies hear the sound of their name they grow pale;
+their hearts become like those of the reindeer. My brethren are
+famous, too, in the use of the snow-shoe, the snare, and the gun. The
+fur-traders know that they must build large stores when they come
+into their lands. They bring up much goods, because the young men are
+active, and require much. The silver fox and the marten are no longer
+safe when their traps and snares are set. Yes, they are good hunters:
+and we have now come to live among you" (Jacques changed his style as
+he came nearer to the point), "to trade with you, and to save you the
+trouble of making long journeys with your skins. A few days' distance
+from your wigwams we have pitched our tents. Our young men are even
+now felling the trees to build a house. Our nets are set, our hunters
+are prowling in the woods, our goods are ready, and my young master
+and I have come to smoke the pipe of friendship with you, and to
+invite you to come to trade with us."
+
+Having delivered this oration, Jacques sat down amid deep silence.
+Other speeches, of a highly satisfactory character, were then made,
+after which "the house adjourned," and the visitors, opening one of
+their packages, distributed a variety of presents to the delighted
+natives.
+
+Several times during the course of these proceedings, Charley's eyes
+wandered among the faces of his entertainers, in the hope of seeing
+Redfeather among them, but without success; and he began to fear that
+his friend was not with the tribe.
+
+"I say, Jacques," he said, as they left the tent, "ask whether a
+chief called Redfeather is here. I knew him of old, and half expected
+to find him at this place."
+
+The Indian to whom Jacques put the question replied that Redfeather
+was with them, but that he had gone out on a hunting expedition that
+morning, and might be absent a day or two.
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Charley, "I'm glad he's here. Come, now, let us take
+a walk in the wood; these good people stare at us as if we were
+ghosts." And taking Jacques's arm, he led him beyond the circuit of
+the camp, turned into a path which, winding among the thick
+underwood, speedily screened them from view, and led them into a
+sequestered glade, through which a rivulet trickled along its course,
+almost hid from view by the dense foliage and long grasses that
+overhung it.
+
+"What a delightful place to live in!" said Charley. "Do you ever
+think of building a hut in such a spot as this, Jacques, and settling
+down altogether?" Charley's thoughts reverted to his sister Kate when
+he said this.
+
+"Why, no," replied Jacques, in a pensive tone, as if the question had
+aroused some sorrowful recollections; "I can't say that I'd like to
+settle here _now_. There was a time when I thought nothin' could be
+better than to squat in the woods with one or two jolly comrades,
+and--"(Jacques sighed); "but times is changed now, master, and so is
+my mind. My chums are most of them dead or gone one way or other. No;
+I shouldn't care to squat alone."
+
+Charley thought of the hut _without_ Kate, and it seemed so desolate
+and dreary a dwelling, notwithstanding its beautiful situation, that
+he agreed with his companion that to "squat" _alone_ would never do
+at all.
+
+"No, man was not made to live alone," continued Jacques, pursuing the
+subject; "even the Injins draw together. I never knew but one as
+didn't like his fellows, and he's gone now, poor fellow. He cut his
+foot with an axe one day, while fellin' a tree. It was a bad cut; and
+havin' nobody to look after him, he half bled and half starved to
+death."
+
+"By the way, Jacques," said Charley, stepping over the clear brook,
+and following the track which led up the opposite bank, "what did you
+say to those red-skins? You made them a most eloquent speech
+apparently."
+
+"Why, as to that, I can't boast much of its eloquence, but I think it
+was clear enough. I told them that they were a great nation; for you
+see, Mr. Charles, the red men are just like the white in their
+fondness for butter; so I gave them some to begin with, though, for
+the matter o' that, I'm not overly fond o' givin' butter to any man,
+red or white. But I holds that it's as well always to fall in with
+the ways and customs o' the people a man happens to be among, so long
+as them ways and customs a'n't contrary to what's right. It makes
+them feel more kindly to you, and don't raise any onnecessary ill-
+will. However, the Knisteneux _are_ a brave race; and when I told
+them that the hearts of their enemies trembled when they heard of
+them, I told nothing but the truth; for the Chipewyans are a
+miserable set, and not much given to fighting."
+
+"Your principles on that point won't stand much sifting, I fear,"
+replied Charley: "according to your own showing, you would fall into
+the Chipewyan's way of glorifying themselves on account of their
+bravery, if you chanced to be dwelling among them, and yet you say
+they are not brave. That would not be sticking to truth, Jacques,
+would it?"
+
+"Well," replied Jacques with a smile, "perhaps not exactly, but I'm
+sure there could be small harm in helping the miserable objects to
+boast sometimes, for they've little else than boasting to comfort
+them."
+
+"And yet, Jacques, I cannot help feeling that truth is a grand, a
+glorious thing, that should not be trifled with even in small
+matters."
+
+Jacques opened his eyes a little. "Then do you think, master, that a
+man should _never_ tell a lie, no matter what fix he may be in?"
+
+"I think not, Jacques."
+
+The hunter paused a few minutes, and looked as if an unusual train of
+ideas had been raised in his mind by the turn their conversation had
+taken. Jacques was a man of no religion, and little morality, beyond
+what flowed from a naturally kind, candid disposition, and
+entertained the belief that the _end_, if a good one, always
+justifies the _means_--a doctrine which, had it been clearly exposed
+to him in all its bearings and results, would have been spurned by
+his straightforward nature with the indignant contempt that it
+merits.
+
+"Mr. Charles," he said at length, "I once travelled across the plains
+to the head waters of the Missouri with a party of six trappers. One
+night we came to a part of the plains which was very much broken up
+with wood here and there, and bein' a good place for water we camped.
+While the other lads were gettin' ready the supper, I started off to
+look for a deer, as we had been unlucky that day--we had shot
+nothin'. Well, about three miles from the camp I came upon a band o'
+somewhere about thirty Sieux (ill-looking, sneaking dogs they are,
+too!), and before I could whistle they rushed upon me, took away my
+rifle and hunting-knife, and were dancing round me like so many
+devils. At last a big black-lookin' thief stepped forward, and said
+in the Cree language, 'White men seldom travel through this country
+alone; where are your comrades?' Now, thought I, here's a nice fix!
+If I pretend not to understand, they'll send out parties in all
+directions, and as sure as fate they'll find my companions in half-
+an-hour, and butcher them in cold blood (for, you see, we did not
+expect to find Sieux, or indeed any Injins, in them parts); so I made
+believe to be very narvous, and tried to tremble all over and look
+pale. Did you ever try to look pale and frighttened, Mr. Charles?"
+
+"I can't say that I ever did," said Charley, laughing.
+
+"You can't think how troublesome it is," continued Jacques, with a
+look of earnest simplicity. "I shook and trembled pretty well, but
+the more I tried to grow pale, the more I grew red in the face, and
+when I thought of the six broad-shouldered, raw-boned lads in the
+camp, and how easy they would have made these jumping villains fly
+like chaff if they only knew the fix I was in, I gave a frown that
+had well-nigh showed I was shamming. Hows'ever, what with shakin' a
+little more and givin' one or two most awful groans, I managed to
+deceive them. Then I said I was hunter to a party of white men that
+were travellin' from Red River to St. Louis, with all their goods,
+and wives, and children, and that they were away in the plains about
+a league off.
+
+"The big chap looked very hard into my face when I said this, to see
+if I was telling the truth; and I tried to make my teeth chatter, but
+it wouldn't do, so I took to groanin' very bad instead. But them
+Sieux are such awful liars nat'rally that they couldn't understand
+the signs of truth, even if they saw them. 'Whitefaced coward,' said
+he to me, 'tell me in what direction your people are.' At this I made
+believe not to understand; but the big chap flourished his knife
+before my face, called me a dog, and told me to point out the
+direction. I looked as simple as I could and said I would rather not.
+At this they laughed loudly and then gave a yell, and said if I
+didn't show them the direction they would roast me alive. So I
+pointed towards apart of the plains pretty wide o' the spot where our
+camp was. 'Now lead us to them,' said the big chap, givin' me a shove
+with the butt of his gun; 'an' if you have told lies--'he gave the
+handle of his scalpin'-knife a slap, as much as to say he'd tickle up
+my liver with it. Well, away we went in silence, me thinkin' all the
+time how I was to get out o' the scrape. I led them pretty close past
+our camp, hopin' that the lads would hear us. I didn't dare to yell
+out, as that would have showed them there was somebody within
+hearin', and they would have made short work of me. Just as we came
+near the place where my companions lay, a prairie wolf sprang out
+from under a bush where it had been sleepin', so I gave a loud
+hurrah, and shied my cap at it. Giving a loud growl, the big Injin
+hit me over the head with his fist, and told me to keep silence. In a
+few minutes I heard the low, distant howl of a wolf. I recognised the
+voice of one of my comrades, and knew that they had seen us, and
+would be on our track soon. Watchin' my opportunity, and walkin' for
+a good bit as if I was awful tired--all but done up--to throw them
+off their guard, I suddenly tripped up the big chap as he was
+stepping over a small brook, and dived in among the bushes. In a
+moment a dozen bullets tore up the bark on the trees about me, and an
+arrow passed through my hair. The clump of wood into which I had
+dived was about half-a-mile long; and as I could run well (I've found
+in my experience that white men are more than a match for red-skins
+at their own work), I was almost out of range by the time I was
+forced to quit the cover and take to the plain. When the blackguards
+got out of the cover, too, and saw me cuttin' ahead like a deer, they
+gave a yell of disappointment, and sent another shower of arrows and
+bullets after me, some of which came nearer than was pleasant. I then
+headed for our camp with the whole pack screechin' at my heels. 'Yell
+away, you stupid sinners,' thought I; 'some of you shall pay for your
+music.' At that moment an arrow grazed my shoulder, and looking over
+it, I saw that the black fellow I had pitched into the water was far
+ahead of the rest, strainin' after me like mad, and every now and
+then stopping to try an arrow on me; so I kept a look-out, and when I
+saw him stop to draw, I stopped too, and dodged, so the arrows passed
+me, and then we took to our heels again. In this way I ran for dear
+life till I came up to the cover. As I came close up I saw our six
+fellows crouchin' in the bushes, and one o' them takin' aim almost
+straight for my face. 'Your day's come at last,' thought I, looking
+over my shoulder at the big Injin, who was drawing his bow again.
+Just then there was a sharp crack heard; a bullet whistled past my
+ear, and the big fellow fell like a stone, while my comrade stood
+coolly up to reload his rifle. The Injins, on seein' this, pulled up
+in a moment; and our lads stepping forward, delivered a volley that
+made three more o' them bite the dust. There would have been six in
+that fix, but, somehow or other, three of us pitched upon the same
+man, who was afterwards found with a bullet in each eye, and one
+through his heart. They didn't wait for more, but turned about and
+bolted like the wind. Now, Mr. Charles, if I had told the truth that
+time, we would have been all killed; and if I had simply said nothin'
+to their questions, they would have sent out to scour the country,
+and have found out the camp for sartin, so that the only way to
+escape was by tellin' them a heap o' downright lies."
+
+Charley looked very much perplexed at this.
+
+"You have indeed placed me in a difficulty. I know not what I would
+have done. I don't know even what I _ought to do_ under these
+circumstances. Difficulties may perplex me, and the force of
+circumstances might tempt me to do what I believed to be wrong. I am
+a sinner, Jacques, like other mortals, I know; but one thing I am
+quite sure of--namely, that when men speak it should _always_ be
+truth and _never_ falsehood."
+
+Jacques looked perplexed too. He was strongly impressed with the
+necessity of telling falsehoods in the circumstances in which he had
+been placed, as just related, while at the same time he felt deeply
+the grandeur and the power of Charley's last remark.
+
+"I should have been under the sod _now_," said he, "if I had not told
+a lie _then_. Is it better to die than to speak falsehood?"
+
+"Some men have thought so," replied Charley. "I acknowledge the
+difficulty of _your_ case and of all similar cases. I don't know what
+should be done, but I have read of a minister of the gospel whose
+people were very wicked and would not attend to his instructions,
+although they could not but respect himself, he was so consistent and
+Christianlike in his conduct. Persecution arose in the country where
+he lived, and men and women were cruelly murdered because of their
+religious belief. For a long time he was left unmolested, but one day
+a band of soldiers came to his house, and asked him whether he was a
+Papist or a Protestant (Papist, Jacques, being a man who has sold his
+liberty in religious matters to the Pope, and a Protestant being one
+who protests against such an ineffably silly and unmanly state of
+slavery). Well, his people urged the good old man to say he was a
+Papist, telling him that he would then be spared to live among them,
+and preach the true faith for many years perhaps. Now, if there was
+one thing that this old man would have toiled for and died for, it
+was that his people should become true Christians--and he told them
+so; 'but,' he added, 'I will not tell a lie to accomplish that end,
+my children--no, not even to save my life.' So he told the soldiers
+that he was a Protestant, and immediately they carried him away, and
+he was soon afterwards burned to death."
+
+"Well," said Jacques, "_he_ didn't gain much by sticking to the
+truth, I think."
+
+"I'm not so sure of _that_. The story goes on to say that he
+_rejoiced_ that he had done so, and wouldn't draw back even when he
+was in the flames. But the point lies here, Jacques: so deep an
+impression did the old man's conduct make on his people, that from
+that day forward they were noted for their Christian life and
+conduct. They brought up their children with a deeper reverence for
+the truth than they would otherwise have done, always bearing in
+affectionate remembrance, and holding up to them as an example, the
+unflinching truthfulness of the good old man who was burned in the
+year of the terrible persecutions; and at last their influence and
+example had such an effect that the Protestant religion spread like
+wild-fire, far and wide around them, so that the very thing was
+accomplished for which the old pastor said he would have died--
+accomplished, too, very much in consequence of his death, and in a
+way and to an extent that very likely would not have been the case
+had he lived and preached among them for a hundred years."
+
+"I don't understand it, nohow," said Jacques; "it seems to me right
+both ways and wrong both ways, and all upside down every how."
+
+Charley smiled. "Your remark is about as clear as my head on the
+subject, Jacques; but I still remain convinced that truth is _right_
+and that falsehood is _wrong_, and that we should stick to the first
+through thick and thin."
+
+"I s'pose," remarked the hunter, who had walked along in deep
+cogitation, for the last five minutes, and had apparently come to
+some conclusion of profound depth and sagacity--"I s'pose that it's
+all human natur'; that some men takes to preachin' as Injins take to
+huntin', and that to understand sich things requires them to begin
+young,' and risk their lives in it, as I would in followin' up a
+grizzly she-bear with cubs."
+
+"Yonder is an illustration of one part of your remark. They begin
+_young_ enough, anyhow," said Charley, pointing as he spoke to an
+opening in the bushes, where a particularly small Indian boy stood in
+the act of discharging an arrow.
+
+The two men halted to watch his movements. According to a common
+custom among juvenile Indians during the warm months of the year, he
+was dressed in _nothing_ save a mere rag tied round his waist. His
+body was very brown, extremely round, fat, and wonderfully
+diminutive, while his little legs and arms were disproportionately
+small. He was so young as to be barely able to walk, and yet there he
+stood, his black eyes glittering with excitement, his tiny bow bent
+to its utmost, and a blunt-headed arrow about to be discharged at a
+squirrel, whose flight had been suddenly arrested by the unexpected
+apparition of Charley and Jacques. As he stood there for a single
+instant, perfectly motionless, he might have been mistaken for a
+grotesque statue of an Indian cupid. Taking advantage of the
+squirrel's pause the child let fly the arrow, hit it exactly on the
+point of the nose, and turned it over, dead--a consummation which he
+greeted with a rapid succession of frightful yells.
+
+"Cleverly done, my lad; you're a chip of the old block, I see," said
+Jacques, patting the child's head as he passed, and retraced his
+steps, with Charley, to the Indian camp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+The feast--Charley makes his first speech in public, and meets with
+an old friend--An evening in the grass.
+
+
+Savages, not less than civilized men, are fond of a good dinner. In
+saying this, we do not expect our reader to be overwhelmed with
+astonishment. He might have guessed as much; but when we state that
+savages, upon particular occasions, eat six dinners in one, and make
+it a point of honour to do so, we apprehend that we have thrown a
+slightly new light on an old subject. Doubtless there are men in
+civilised society who would do likewise if they could; but they
+cannot, fortunately, as great gastronomic powers are dependent on
+severe, healthful, and prolonged physical exertion. Therefore it is
+that in England we find men capable only of eating about two dinners
+at once, and suffering a good deal for it afterwards; while in the
+backwoods we see men consume a week's dinners in one, without any
+evil consequences following the act.
+
+The feast which was given by the Knisteneux in honour of the visit of
+our two friends was provided on a more moderate scale than usual, in
+order to accommodate the capacities of the "white men;" three days'
+allowance being cooked for each man. (Women are never admitted to the
+public feasts.) On the day preceding the ceremony, Charley and
+Jacques had received cards of invitation from the principal chief in
+the shape of two quills; similar invites being issued at the same
+time to all the braves. Jacques being accustomed to the doings of the
+Indians, and aware of the fact that whatever was provided for each
+man _must_ be eaten before he quitted the scene of operations,
+advised Charley to eat no breakfast, and to take a good walk as a
+preparative. Charley had strong faith, however, in his digestive
+powers, and felt much inclined, when morning came, to satisfy the
+cravings of his appetite as usual; but Jacques drew such a graphic
+picture of the work that lay before him, that he forbore to urge the
+matter, and went off to walk with a light step, and an uncomfortable
+feeling of vacuity about the region of the stomach.
+
+About noon, the chiefs and braves assembled in an open enclosure
+situated in an exposed place on the banks of the river, where the
+proceedings were watched by the women, children, and dogs. The oldest
+chief sat himself down on the turf at one end of the enclosure, with
+Jacques Caradoc on his right hand, and next to him Charley Kennedy,
+who had ornamented himself with a blue stripe painted down the middle
+of his nose, and a red bar across his chin. Charley's propensity for
+fun had led him thus to decorate his face, in spite of his
+companion's remonstrances,--urging, by way of excuse, that worthy's
+former argument, "that it was well to fall in with the ways o' the
+people a man happened to be among, so long as these ways and customs
+were not contrary to what was right." Now Charley was sure there was
+nothing wrong in his painting his nose sky blue, if he thought fit.
+
+Jacques thought it was absurd, and entertained the opinion that it
+would be more dignified to leave his face "its nat'ral colour."
+
+Charley didn't agree with him at all. He thought it would be paying
+the Indians a high compliment to follow their customs as far as
+possible, and said that, after all, his blue nose would not be very
+conspicuous, as he (Jacques) had told him that he would "look blue"
+at any rate when he saw the quantity of deer's meat he should have to
+devour.
+
+Jacques laughed at this, but suggested that the bar across his chin
+was _red_. Whereupon Charley said that he could easily neutralise
+that by putting a green star under each eye; and then uttered a
+fervent wish that his friend Harry Somerville could only see him in
+that guise. Finding him incorrigible, Jacques, who, notwithstanding
+his remonstrances, was more than half imbued with Charley's spirit,
+gave in, and accompanied him to the feast, himself decorated with the
+additional ornament of a red night-cap, to whose crown was attached a
+tuft of white feathers.
+
+A fire burned in the centre of the enclosure, round which the Indians
+seated themselves according to seniority, and with deep solemnity;
+for it is a trait in the Indian's character that all his ceremonies
+are performed with extreme gravity. Each man brought a dish or
+platter, and a wooden spoon.
+
+The old chief, whose hair was very gray, and his face covered with
+old wounds and scars, received either in war or in hunting, having
+seated himself, allowed a few minutes to elapse in silence, during
+which the company sat motionless, gazing at their plates as if they
+half expected them to become converted into beefsteaks. While they
+were seated thus, another party of Indians, who had been absent on a
+hunting expedition, strode rapidly but noiselessly into the
+enclosure, and seated themselves in the circle. One of these passed
+close to Charley, and in doing so stooped, took his hand, and pressed
+it. Charley looked up in surprise, and beheld the face of his old
+friend Redfeather, gazing at him with an expression in which were
+mingled affection, surprise, and amusement at the peculiar alteration
+in his visage.
+
+"Redfeather!" exclaimed Charlie, in delight, half rising, but the
+Indian pressed him down.
+
+"You must not rise," he whispered, and giving his hand another
+squeeze, passed round the circle, and took his place directly
+opposite.
+
+Having continued motionless for five minutes with becoming gravity,
+the company began operations by proceeding to smoke out of the sacred
+stem--a ceremony which precedes--all occasions of importance, and is
+conducted as follows:--The sacred stem is placed on two forked sticks
+to prevent its touching the ground, as that would be considered a
+great evil. A stone pipe is then filled with tobacco, by an attendant
+specially appointed to that office, and affixed to the stem, which is
+presented to the principal chief. That individual, with a gravity and
+_hauteur_ that is unsurpassed in the annals of pomposity, receives
+the pipe in both hands, blows a puff to the east (probably in
+consequence of its being the quarter whence the sun rises), and
+thereafter pays a similar mark of attention to the other three
+points. He then raises the pipe above his head, points and balances
+it in various directions (for what reason and with what end in view
+is best known to himself), and replaces it again on the forks. The
+company meanwhile observe his proceedings with sedate interest,
+evidently imbued with the idea that they are deriving from the
+ceremony a vast amount of edification--an idea which is helped out,
+doubtless, by the appearance of the women and children, who surround
+the enclosure, and gaze at the proceedings with looks of awe-struck
+seriousness that is quite solemnizing to behold.
+
+The chief then makes a speech relative to the circumstance which has
+called them together; and which is always more or less interlarded
+with boastful reference to his own deeds, past, present, and
+prospective, eulogistic remarks on those of his forefathers, and a
+general condemnation of all other Indian tribes whatever. These
+speeches are usually delivered with great animation, and contain much
+poetic allusion to the objects of nature that surround the homes of
+the savage. The speech being finished, the chief sits down amid a
+universal "Ho!" uttered by the company with an emphatic prolongation
+of the last letter--this syllable being the Indian substitute, we
+presume, for "rapturous applause."
+
+The chief who officiated on the present occasion, having accomplished
+the opening ceremonies thus far, sat down; while the pipe-bearer
+presented the sacred stem to the members of the company in
+succession, each of whom drew a few whiffs and mumbled a few words.
+
+"Do as you see the red-skins, Mr. Charles," whispered Jacques, while
+the pipe was going round.
+
+"That's impossible," replied Charley, in a tone that could not be
+heard except by his friend. "I couldn't make a face of hideous
+solemnity like that black thief opposite if I was to try ever so
+hard."
+
+"Don't let them think you're laughing at them," returned the hunter;
+"they would be ill-pleased if they thought so."
+
+"I'll try," said Charley, "but it is hard work, Jacques, to keep from
+laughing; I feel like a high-pressure steam-engine already. There's a
+woman standing out there with a little brown baby on her back; she
+has quite fascinated me; I can't keep my eyes off her, and if she
+goes on contorting her visage much longer, I feel that I shall give
+way."
+
+"Hush!"
+
+At this moment the pipe was presented to Charley, who put it to his
+lips, drew three whiffs, and returned it with a bland smile to the
+bearer.
+
+The smile was a very sweet one, for that was a peculiar trait in the
+native urbanity of Charley's disposition, and it would have gone far
+in civilized society to prepossess strangers in his favour; but it
+lowered him considerably in the estimation of his red friends, who
+entertained a wholesome feeling of contempt for any appearance of
+levity on high occasions. But Charley's face was of that agreeable
+stamp that, though gentle and bland when lighted up with a smile, is
+particularly masculine and manly in expression when in repose, and
+the frown that knit his brows when he observed the bad impression he
+had given almost reinstated him in their esteem. But his popularity
+became great, and the admiration of his swarthy friends greater, when
+he rose and made an eloquent speech in English, which Jacques
+translated into the Indian language.
+
+He told them, in reply to the chief's oration (wherein that warrior
+had complimented his pale-faced brothers on their numerous good
+qualities), that he was delighted and proud to meet with his Indian
+friends; that the object of his mission was to acquaint them with the
+fact that a new trading-fort was established not far off, by himself
+and his comrades, for their special benefit and behoof; that the
+stores were full of goods which he hoped they would soon obtain
+possession of, in exchange for furs; that he had travelled a great
+distance on purpose to see their land and ascertain its capabilities
+in the way of fur-bearing animals and game; that he had not been
+disappointed in his expectations, as he had found the animals to be
+as numerous as bees, the fish plentiful in the rivers and lakes, and
+the country at large a perfect paradise. He proceeded to tell them
+further that he expected they would justify the report he had heard
+of them, that they were a brave nation and good hunters, by bringing
+in large quantities of furs.
+
+Being strongly urged by Jacques to compliment them, on their various
+good qualities, Charley launched out into an extravagantly poetic
+vein, said that he had heard (but he hoped to have many opportunities
+of seeing it proved) that there was no nation under the sun equal to
+them in bravery, activity, and perseverance; that he had heard of men
+in olden times who made it their profession to fight with wild bulls
+for the amusement of their friends, but he had no doubt whatever
+their courage would be made conspicuous in the way of fighting wild
+bears and buffaloes, not for the amusement but the benefit of their
+wives and children (he might have added of the Hudson's Bay Company,
+but he didn't, supposing that that was self-evident, probably). He
+complimented them on the way in which they had conducted themselves
+in war in times past, comparing their stealthy approach to enemies'
+camps to the insidious snake that glides among the bushes, and darts
+unexpectedly on its prey; said that their eyes were sharp to follow
+the war-trail through the forest or over the dry sward of the
+prairie; their aim with gun or bow true and sure as the flight of the
+goose when it leaves the lands of the sun, and points its beak to the
+icy regions of the north; their war-whoops loud as the thunders of
+the cataract; and their sudden onset like the lightning flash that
+darts from the sky and scatters the stout oak in splinters on the
+plain.
+
+At this point Jacques expressed his satisfaction at the style in
+which his young friend was progressing.
+
+"That's your sort, Mr. Charles. Don't spare the butter; lay it on
+thick. You've not said too much yet, for they are a brave race,
+that's a fact, as I've good reason to know."
+
+Jacques, however, did not feel quite so well satisfied when Charley
+went on to tell them that although bravery in war was an admirable
+thing, war itself was a thing not at all to be desired, and should
+only be undertaken in case of necessity. He especially pointed out
+that there was not much glory to be earned in fighting against the
+Chipewyans, who, everybody knew, were a poor, timid set of people,
+whom they ought rather to pity than to destroy; and recommended them
+to devote themselves more to the chase than they had done in times
+past, and less to the prosecution of war in time to come.
+
+All this, and a great deal more, did Charley say, in a manner, and
+with a rapidity of utterance, that surprised himself, when he
+considered the fact that he had never adventured into the field of
+public speaking before. All this, and a great deal more--a very great
+deal more--did Jacques Caradoc interpret to the admiring Indians, who
+listened with the utmost gravity and profound attention, greeting the
+close with a very emphatic "Ho!"
+
+Jacques's translation was by no means perfect. Many of the flights
+into which Charley ventured, especially in regard to the manners and
+customs of the savages of ancient Greece and Rome, were quite
+incomprehensible to the worthy backwoodsman; but he invariably
+proceeded when Charley halted, giving a flight of his own when at a
+loss, varying and modifying when he thought it advisable, and
+altering, adding, or cutting off as he pleased.
+
+Several other chiefs addressed the assembly, and then dinner, if we
+may so call it, was served. In Charley's case it was breakfast; to
+the Indians it was breakfast, dinner, and supper in one. It consisted
+of a large platter of dried meat, reindeer tongues (considered a
+great delicacy), and marrow-bones.
+
+Notwithstanding the graphic power with which Jacques had prepared his
+young companion for this meal, Charley's heart sank when he beheld
+the mountain of boiled meat that was placed before him. He was
+ravenously hungry, it is true, but it was patent to his perception at
+a glance that no powers of gormandizing of which he was capable could
+enable him to consume the mass in the course of one day.
+
+Jacques observed his consternation, and was not a little entertained
+by it, although his face wore an expression of profound gravity while
+he proceeded to attack his own dish, which was equal to that of his
+friend.
+
+Before commencing, a small portion of meat was thrown into the fire
+as a sacrifice to the Great Master of Life.
+
+"How they do eat, to be sure!" whispered Charley to Jacques, after he
+had glanced in wonder at the circle of men who were devouring their
+food with the most extraordinary rapidity.
+
+"Why, you must know," replied Jacques, "that it's considered a point
+of honour to get it over soon, and the man that is done first gets
+most credit. But it's hard work" (he sighed, and paused a little to
+breathe), "and I've not got half through yet."
+
+"It's quite plain that I must lose credit with them, then, if it
+depends on my eating that. Tell me, Jacques, is there no way of
+escape? Must I sit here till it is all consumed?"
+
+"No doubt of it. Every bit that has been cooked must be crammed down
+our throats somehow or other." Charley heaved a deep sigh, and made
+another desperate attack on a large steak, while the Indians around
+him made considerable progress in reducing their respective
+mountains.
+
+Several times Charley and Redfeather exchanged glances as they paused
+in their labours.
+
+"I say, Jacques," said Charley, pulling up once more, "how do you get
+on? Pretty well stuffed by this time, I should imagine?"
+
+"Oh no! I've a good deal o' room yet."
+
+"I give in. Credit or disgrace, it's all one. I'll not make a pig of
+myself for any red-skin in the land."
+
+Jacques smiled.
+
+"See," continued Charley, "there's a fellow opposite who has devoured
+as much as would have served me for three days. I don't know whether
+it's imagination or not, but I do verily believe that he's _blacker_
+in the face than when we sat down!"
+
+"Very likely," replied Jacques, wiping his lips, "Now I've done."
+
+"Done! you have left at least a third of your supply."
+
+"True, and I may as well tell you for your comfort that there is one
+way of escape open to you. It is a custom among these fellows, that
+when any one cannot gulp his share o' the prog, he may get help from
+any of his friends that can cram it down their throats; and as there
+are always such fellows among these Injins, they seldom have any
+difficulty."
+
+"A most convenient practice," replied Charley, "I'll adopt it at
+once."
+
+Charley turned to his next neighbour with the intent to beg of him to
+eat his remnant of the feast.
+
+"Bless my heart, Jacques, I've no chance with the fellow on my left
+hand; he's stuffed quite full already, and is not quite done with his
+own share."
+
+"Never fear," replied his friend, looking at the individual in
+question, who was languidly lifting a marrowbone to his lips; "he'll
+do it easy. I knows the gauge o' them chaps, and for all his sleepy
+looks just now he's game for a lot more."
+
+"Impossible," replied Charley, looking in despair at his unfinished
+viands and then at the Indian. A glance round the circle seemed
+further to convince him that if he did not eat it himself there were
+none of the party likely to do so.
+
+"You'll have to give him a good lump o' tobacco to do it, though; he
+won't undertake so much for a trifle, I can tell you." Jacques
+chuckled as he said this, and handed his own portion over to another
+Indian, who readily undertook to finish it for him.
+
+"He'll burst; I feel certain of that," said Charley, with a deep
+sigh, as he surveyed his friend on the left.
+
+At last he took courage to propose the thing to him, and just as the
+man finished the last morsel of his own repast, Charley placed his
+own plate before him, with a look that seemed to say, "Eat it, my
+friend, _if you can._"
+
+The Indian, much to his surprise, immediately commenced to it, and in
+less than half-an-hour the whole was disposed of.
+
+During this scene of gluttony, one of the chiefs entertained the
+assembly with a wild and most unmusical chant, to which he beat time
+on a sort of tambourine, while the women outside the enclosure beat a
+similar accompaniment.
+
+"I say, master," whispered Jacques, "it seems to my observation that
+the fellow you call Redfeather eats less than any Injin I ever saw.
+He has got a comrade to eat more than half his share; now that's
+strange."
+
+"It won't appear strange, Jacques, when I tell you that Redfeather
+has lived much more among white men than Indians during the last ten
+years; and although voyageurs eat an enormous quantity of food, they
+don't make it a point of honour, as these fellows seem to do, to eat
+much more than enough. Besides, Redfeather is a very different man
+from those around him; he has been partially educated by the
+missionaries on Playgreen Lake, and I think has a strong leaning
+towards them."
+
+While they were thus conversing in whispers, Redfeather rose, and
+holding forth his hand, delivered himself of the following oration:--
+
+"The time has come for Redfeather to speak. He has kept silence for
+many moons now, but his heart has been full of words. It is too full;
+he must speak now. Redfeather has fought with his tribe, and has been
+accounted a brave, and one who loves his people. This is true. He
+_does_ love, even more than they can understand. His friends know
+that he has never feared to face danger and death in their defence,
+and that, if it were necessary, he would do so still. But Redfeather
+is going to leave his people now. His heart is heavy at the thought.
+Perhaps many moons will come and go, many snows may fall and melt
+away, before he sees his people again; and it is this that makes him
+full of sorrow, it is this that makes his head to droop like the
+branches of the weeping willow."
+
+Redfeather paused at this point, but not a sound escaped from the
+listening circle: the Indians were evidently taken by surprise at
+this abrupt announcement. He proceeded:--
+
+"When Redfeather travelled not long since with the white men, he met
+with a pale-face who came from the other side of the Great Salt Lake
+towards the rising sun. This man was called by some of the people a
+missionary. He spoke wonderful things in the ear of Redfeather. He
+told him of things about the Great Spirit which he did not know
+before, and he asked Redfeather to go and help him to speak to the
+Indians about these strange things. Redfeather would not go. He loved
+his people too much, and he thought that the words of the missionary
+seemed foolishness. But he has thought much about it since. He does
+not understand the strange things that were told to him, and he has
+tried to forget them, but he cannot. He can get no rest. He hears
+strange sounds in the breeze that shakes the pine. He thinks that
+there are voices in the waterfall; the rivers seem to speak,
+Redfeather's spirit is vexed. The Great Spirit, perhaps, is talking
+to him. He has resolved to go to the dwelling of the missionary and
+stay with him."
+
+The Indian paused again, but still no sound escaped from his
+comrades. Dropping his voice to a soft plaintive tone, he continued--
+
+"But Redfeather loves his kindred. He desires very much that they
+should hear the things that the missionary said. He spoke of the
+happy hunting grounds to which the spirits of our fathers have gone,
+and said that we required a _guide_ to lead us there; that there was
+but one guide, whose name, he said, was Jesus. Redfeather would stay
+and hunt with his people, but his spirit is troubled; he cannot rest;
+he must go!"
+
+Redfeather sat down, and a long silence ensued. His words had
+evidently taken the whole party by surprise, although not a
+countenance there showed the smallest symptom of astonishment, except
+that of Charley Kennedy, whose intercourse with Indians had not yet
+been so great as to have taught him to conceal his feelings.
+
+At length the old chief rose, and after complimenting Redfeather on
+his bravery in general, and admitting that he had shown much love to
+his people on all occasions, went into the subject of his quitting
+them at some length. He reminded him that there were evil spirits as
+well as good; that it was not for him to say which kind had been
+troubling him, but that he ought to consider well before he went to
+live altogether with pale-faces. Several other speeches were made,
+some to the same effect, and others applauding his resolve. These
+latter had, perhaps, some idea that his bringing the pale-faced
+missionary among them would gratify their taste for the marvellous--a
+taste that is pretty strong in all uneducated minds.
+
+One man, however, was particularly urgent in endeavouring to dissuade
+him from his purpose. He was a tall, low-browed man; muscular and
+well built, but possessed of a most villainous expression of
+countenance. From a remark that fell from one of the company, Charley
+discovered that his name was Misconna, and so learned, to his
+surprise, that he was the very Indian mentioned by Redfeather as the
+man who had been his rival for the hand of Wabisca, and who had so
+cruelly killed the wife of the poor trapper the night on which the
+Chipewyan camp was attacked, and the people slaughtered.
+
+What reason Misconna had for objecting so strongly to Redfeather's
+leaving the community no one could tell, although some of those who
+knew his unforgiving nature suspected that he still entertained the
+hope of being able, some day or other, to weak his vengeance on his
+old rival. But whatever was his object, he failed in moving
+Redfeather's resolution; and it was at last admitted by the whole
+party that Redfeather was a "wise chief;" that he knew best what
+ought to be done under the circumstances, and it was hoped that his
+promised visit, in company with the missionary, would not be delayed
+many moons.
+
+That night, in the deep shadow of the trees, by the brook that
+murmured near the Indian camp, while the stars twinkled through the
+branches overhead, Charley introduced Redfeather to his friend
+Jacques Caradoc, and a friendship was struck up between the bold
+hunter and the red man that grew and strengthened as each successive
+day made them acquainted with their respective good qualities. In the
+same place, and with the same stars looking down upon them, it was
+further agreed that Redfeather should accompany his new friends,
+taking his wife along with him in another canoe, as far as their
+several routes led them in the same direction, which was about four
+or five days' journey; and that while the one party diverged towards
+the fort at Stoney Creek, the other should pursue its course to the
+missionary station on the shores of Lake Winnipeg.
+
+But there was a snake in the grass there that they little suspected.
+Misconna had crept through the bushes after them, with a degree of
+caution that might have baffled their vigilance, even had they
+suspected treason in a friendly camp. He lay listening intently to
+all their plans, and when they returned to their camp, he rose out
+from among the bushes, like a dark spirit of evil, clutched the
+handle of his scalping-knife, and gave utterance to a malicious
+growl; then, walking hastily after them, his dusky figure was soon
+concealed among the trees.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+The return--Narrow escape--A murderous attempt, which fails--And a
+discovery.
+
+
+All nature was joyous and brilliant, and bright and beautiful.
+Morning was still very young--about an hour old. Sounds of the most
+cheerful, light-hearted character floated over the waters and echoed
+through the woods, as birds and beasts hurried to and fro with all
+the bustling energy that betokened preparation and search for
+breakfast. Fish leaped in the pools with a rapidity that brought
+forcibly to mind that wise saying, "The more hurry, the less speed;"
+for they appeared constantly to miss their mark, although they jumped
+twice their own length out of the water in the effort.
+
+Ducks and geese sprang from their liquid beds with an amazing amount
+of unnecessary sputter, as if they had awakened to the sudden
+consciousness of being late for breakfast, then alighted in the water
+again with a _squash,_ on finding (probably) that it was too early
+for that meal, but, observing other flocks passing and re-passing on
+noisy wing, took to flight again, unable, apparently, to restrain
+their feelings of delight at the freshness of the morning air, the
+brightness of the rising sun, and the sweet perfume of the dewy
+verdure, as the mists cleared away over the tree-tops and lost
+themselves in the blue sky. Everything seemed instinct not only with
+life, but with a large amount of superabundant energy. Earth, air,
+sky, animal, vegetable, and mineral, solid and liquid, all were
+either actually in a state of lively exulting motion, or had a
+peculiarly sprightly look about them, as if nature had just burst out
+of prison _en masse_, and gone raving mad with joy.
+
+Such was the delectable state of things the morning on which two
+canoes darted from the camp of the Knisteneux, amid many expressions
+of goodwill. One canoe contained our two friends, Charley and
+Jacques; the other, Redfeather and his wife Wabisca.
+
+A few strokes of the paddle shot them out into the stream, which
+carried them rapidly away from the scene of their late festivities.
+In five minutes they swept round a point which shut them out from
+view, and they were swiftly descending those rapid rivers that had
+cost Charley and Jacques so much labour to ascend.
+
+"Look out for rocks ahead, Mr. Charles," cried Jacques, as he steered
+the light bark into the middle of a rapid, which they had avoided
+when ascending by making a portage. "Keep well to the left of yon
+swirl. _Parbleu_, if we touch the rock _there_ it'll be all over with
+us."
+
+"All right," was Charley's laconic reply. And so it proved, for their
+canoe, after getting fairly into the run of the rapid, was evidently
+under the complete command of its expert crew, and darted forward
+amid the foaming waters like a thing instinct with life. Now it
+careered and plunged over the waves where the rough bed of the stream
+made them more than usually turbulent. Anon it flew with increased
+rapidity through a narrow gap where the compressed water was smooth
+and black, but deep and powerful, rendering great care necessary to
+prevent the canoe's frail sides from being dashed on the rocks. Then
+it met a curling wave, into which it plunged like an impetuous
+charger, and was checked for a moment by its own violence. Presently
+an eddy threw the canoe a little out of its course, disconcerting
+Charley's intention of _shaving_ a rock, which lay in their track, so
+that he slightly grazed it in passing.
+
+"Ah, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, shaking his head, "that was not well
+done; an inch more would have sent us down the rapids like drowned
+cats."
+
+"True," replied Charley, somewhat crestfallen; "but you see the other
+inch was not lost, so we're not much the worse for it."
+
+"Well, after all, it was a ticklish bit, and I should have guessed
+that your experience was not up to it quite. I've seen many a man in
+my day who wouldn't ha' done it _half_ so slick, an' yet ha' thought
+no small beer of himself; so you needn't be ashamed, Mr. Charles. But
+Wabisca beats you for all that," continued the hunter, glancing
+hastily over his shoulder at Redfeather, who followed closely in
+their wake, he and his modest-looking wife guiding their little craft
+through the dangerous passages with the utmost _sangfroid_ and
+precision.
+
+"We've about run them all now," said Jacques, as they paddled over a
+sheet of still water which intervened between the rapid they had just
+descended and another which thundered about a hundred yards in
+advance.
+
+"I was so engrossed with the one we have just come down," said
+Charley, "that I quite forgot this one."
+
+"Quite right, Mr. Charles," said Jacques, in an approving tone,
+"quite right. I holds that a man should always attend to what he's
+at, an' to nothin' else. I've lived long in the woods now, and the
+fact becomes more and more sartin every day. I've know'd chaps, now,
+as timersome as settlement girls, that were always in such a mortal
+funk about what _was_ to happen, or _might_ happen, that they were
+never fit for anything that _did_ happen; always lookin' ahead, and
+never around them. Of coorse, I don't mean that a man shouldn't look
+ahead at all, but their great mistake was that they looked out too
+far ahead, and always kep' their eyes nailed there, just as if they
+had the fixin' o' everything, an' Providence had nothin' to do with
+it at all. I mind a Canadian o' that sort that travelled in company
+with me once. We were goin' just as we are now, Mr. Charles, two
+canoes of us; him and a comrade in one, and me and a comrade in
+t'other. One night we got to a lot o' rapids that came one after
+another for the matter o' three miles or thereabouts. They were all
+easy ones, however, except the last; but it _was_ a tickler, with a
+sharp turn o' the land that hid it from sight until ye were right
+into it, with a foamin' current, and a range o' ragged rocks that
+stood straight in front o' ye, like the teeth of a cross-cut saw. It
+was easy enough, however, if a man _knew_ it, and was a cool hand.
+Well, the _pauvre_ Canadian was in a terrible takin' about this shoot
+long afore he came to it. He had run it often enough in boats where
+he was one of a half-dozen men, and had nothin' to do but look on;
+but he had never _steered_ down it before. When he came to the top o'
+the rapids, his mind was so filled with this shoot that he couldn't
+attend to nothin', and scraped agin' a dozen rocks in almost smooth
+water, so that when he got a little more than half-way down, the
+canoe was as rickety as if it had just come off a six months' cruise.
+At last we came to the big rapid, and after we'd run down our canoe I
+climbed the bank to see them do it. Down they came, the poor Canadian
+white as a sheet, and his comrade, who was brave enough, but knew
+nothin' about light craft, not very comfortable. At first he could
+see nothin' for the point, but in another moment round they went, end
+on, for the big rocks. The Canadian gave a great yell when he saw
+them, and plunged at the paddle till I thought he'd have capsized
+altogether. They ran it well enough, straight between the rocks (more
+by good luck than good guidance), and sloped down to the smooth water
+below; but the canoe had got such a battering in the rapids above,
+where an Injin baby could have steered it in safety, that the last
+plunge shook it all to pieces. It opened up, and lay down flat on the
+water, while the two men fell right through the bottom, screechin'
+like mad, and rolling about among shreds o' birch bark!"
+
+While Jacques was thus descanting philosophically on his experience
+in time past, they had approached the head of the second rapid, and
+in accordance with the principles just enunciated, the stout
+backwoodsman gave his undivided attention to the work before him. The
+rapid was short and deep, so that little care was required in
+descending it, excepting at one point, where the stream rushed
+impetuously between two rocks about six yards asunder. Here it was
+requisite to keep the canoe as much in the middle of the stream as
+possible.
+
+Just as they began to feel the drag of the water, Redfeather was
+heard to shout in a loud warning tone, which caused Jacques and
+Charley to back their paddles hurriedly.
+
+"What can the Injin mean, I wonder?" said Jacques, in a perplexed
+tone. "He don't look like a man that would stop us at the top of a
+strong rapid for nothin'."
+
+"It's too late to do that now, whatever is his reason," said Charley,
+as he and his companion struggled in vain to paddle up stream.
+
+"It's no use, Mr. Charles; we must run it now--the current's too
+strong to make head against; besides, I do think the man has only
+seen a bear, or something o' that sort, for I see he's ashore, and
+jumpin' among the bushes like a cariboo."
+
+Saying this, they turned the canoe's head down stream again, and
+allowed it to drift, merely retarding its progress a little with the
+paddles.
+
+Suddenly Jacques uttered a sharp exclamation. "_Mon Dieu!_" said he,
+"it's plain enough now. Look there!"
+
+Jacques pointed as he spoke to the narrows to which they were now
+approaching with tremendous speed, which increased every instant. A
+heavy tree lay directly across the stream, reaching from rock to
+rock, and placed in such a way that it was impossible for a canoe to
+descend without being dashed in pieces against it. This was the more
+curious that no trees grew in the immediate vicinity, so that this
+one must have been designedly conveyed there.
+
+"There has been foul work here," said Jacques, in a deep tone. "We
+must dive, Mr. Charles; there's no chance any way else, and _that's_
+but a poor one."
+
+This was true. The rocks on each side rose almost perpendicularly out
+of the water, so that it was utterly impossible to run ashore, and
+the only way of escape, as Jacques said, was by diving under the
+tree, a thing involving great risk, as the stream immediately below
+was broken by rocks, against which it dashed in foam, and through
+which the chances of steering one's way in safety by means of
+swimming were very slender indeed.
+
+Charley made no reply, but with tightly-compressed lips, and a look
+of stern resolution on his brow, threw off his coat, and hastily tied
+his belt tightly round his waist. The canoe was now sweeping forward
+with lightning speed; in a few minutes it would be dashed to pieces.
+
+At that moment a shout was heard in the woods, and Redfeather darting
+out, rushed over the ledge of rock on which one end of the tree
+rested, seized the trunk in his arms, and exerting all his strength,
+hurled it over into the river. In doing so he stumbled, and ere he
+could recover himself a branch caught him under the arm as the tree
+fell over, and dragged him into the boiling stream. This accident was
+probably the means of saving his life, for just as he fell the loud
+report of a gun rang through the woods, and a bullet passed through
+his cap. For a second or two both man and tree were lost in the foam,
+while the canoe dashed past in safety. The next instant Wabisca
+passed the narrows in her small craft, and steered for the tree.
+Redfeather, who had risen and sunk several times, saw her as she
+passed, and making a violent effort, he caught hold of the gunwale,
+and was carried down in safety.
+
+"I'll tell you what it is," said Jacques, as the party stood on a
+rock promontory after the events just narrated: "I would give a
+dollar to have that fellow's nose and the sights o' my rifle in a
+line at any distance short of two hundred yards."
+
+"It was Misconna," said Redfeather. "I did not see him, but there's
+not another man in the tribe that could do that."
+
+"I'm thankful we escaped, Jacques. I never felt so near death before,
+and had it not been for the timely aid of our friend here, it strikes
+me that our wild life would have come to an abrupt close.--God bless
+you, Redfeather," said Charley, taking the Indian's hand in both of
+his and kissing it.
+
+Charley's ebullition of feeling was natural. He had not yet become
+used to the dangers of the wilderness so as to treat them with
+indifference. Jacques, on the other hand, had risked his life so
+often that escape from danger was treated very much as a matter of
+course, and called forth little expression of feeling. Still, it must
+not be inferred from this that his nature had become callous. The
+backwoodsman's frame was hard and unyielding as iron, but his heart
+was as soft still as it was on the day on which he first donned the
+hunting-shirt, and there was much more of tenderness than met the eye
+in the squeeze that he gave Redfeather's hand on landing.
+
+As the four travellers encircled the fire that night, under the leafy
+branches of the forest, and smoked their pipes in concert, while
+Wabisca busied herself in clearing away the remnants of their evening
+meal, they waxed communicative, and stories, pathetic, comic, and
+tragic, followed each other in rapid succession.
+
+"Now, Redfeather," said Charley, while Jacques rose and went down to
+the luggage to get more tobacco, "tell Jacques about the way in which
+you got your name. I am sure he will feel deeply interested in that
+story--at least I am certain that Harry Somerville and I did when you
+told it to us the day we were wind-bound on Lake Winnipeg."
+
+Redfeather made no reply for a few seconds. "Will Mr. Charles speak
+for me?" he said at length. "His tongue is smooth and quick."
+
+"A doubtful kind of compliment," said Charley, laughing; "but I will,
+if you don't wish to tell it yourself."
+
+"And don't mention names. Do not let him know that you speak of me or
+my friends," said the Indian, in a low whisper, as Jacques returned
+and sat down by the fire again.
+
+Charley gave him a glance of surprise; but being prevented from
+asking questions, he nodded in reply, and proceeded to relate to his
+friend the story that has been recounted in a previous chapter.
+Redfeather leaned back against a tree, and appeared to listen
+intently.
+
+Charley's powers of description were by no means inconsiderable, and
+the backwoodsman's face assumed a look of good-humoured attention as
+the story proceeded. But when the narrator went on to tell of the
+meditated attack and the midnight march, his interest was aroused,
+the pipe which he had been smoking was allowed to go out, and he
+gazed at his young friend with the most earnest attention. It was
+evident that the hunter's spirit entered with deep sympathy into such
+scenes; and when Charley described the attack, and the death of the
+trapper's wife, Jacques seemed unable to restrain his feelings. He
+leaned his elbows on his knees, buried his face in his hands, and
+groaned aloud.
+
+"Mr. Charles," he said, in a deep voice, when the story was ended,
+"there are two men I would like to meet with in this world before I
+die. One is the young Injin who tried to save that girl's life, the
+other is the cowardly villain that took it. I don't mean the one who
+finished the bloody work: my rifle sent his accursed spirit to its
+own place--"
+
+"_Your_ rifle!" cried Charley, in amazement.
+
+"Ay, mine! It was _my_ wife who was butchered by these savage dogs on
+that dark night. Oh, what avails the strength o' that right arm!"
+said Jacques, bitterly, as he lifted up his clenched fist; "it was
+powerless to save _her_--the sweet girl who left her home and people
+to follow me, a rough hunter, through the lonesome wilderness!"
+
+He covered his face again, and groaned in agony of spirit, while his
+whole frame quivered with emotion.
+
+Jacques remained silent, and his sympathising friends refrained from
+intruding on a sorrow which they felt they had no power to relieve.
+
+At length he spoke. "Yes," said he, "I would give much to meet with
+the man who tried to save her. I saw him do it twice; but the devils
+about him were too eager to be balked of their prey."
+
+Charley and the Indian exchanged glances. "That Indian's name," said
+the former, "was _Redfeather!_"
+
+"What!" exclaimed the trapper, jumping to his feet, and grasping
+Redfeather, who had also risen, by the two shoulders, stared wildly
+in his face; "was it _you_ that did it?"
+
+Redfeather smiled, and held out his hand, which the other took and
+wrung with an energy that would have extorted a cry of pain from any
+one but an Indian. Then, dropping it suddenly and clinching his
+hands, he exclaimed,--
+
+"I said that I would like to meet the villain who killed her--yes, I
+said it in passion, when your words had roused all my old feelings
+again; but I am thankful--I bless God that I did not know this
+sooner--that you did not tell me of it when I was at the camp, for I
+verily believe that I would not only have fixed _him_, but half the
+warriors o' your tribe too, before they had settled _me!_"
+
+It need scarcely be added that the friendship which already subsisted
+between Jacques and Redfeather was now doubly cemented; nor will it
+create surprise when we say that the former, in the fulness of his
+heart, and from sheer inability to find adequate outlets for the
+expression of his feelings, offered Redfeather in succession all the
+articles of value he possessed, even to the much-loved rifle, and was
+seriously annoyed at their not being accepted. At last he finished
+off by assuring the Indian that he might look out for him soon at the
+missionary settlement, where he meant to stay with him evermore in
+the capacity of hunter, fisherman, and jack-of-all-trades to the
+whole clan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+The scene changes--Bachelor's Hall--A practical joke and its
+consequences--A snow-shoe walk at night in the forest.
+
+
+Leaving Charley to pursue his adventurous career among the Indians,
+we will introduce our reader to a new scene, and follow for a time
+the fortunes of our friend Harry Somerville. It will be remembered
+that we left him labouring under severe disappointment at the idea of
+having to spend a year, it might be many years, at the depot, and
+being condemned to the desk, instead of realising his fond dreams of
+bear-hunting and deer-stalking in the woods and prairies.
+
+It was now the autumn of Harry's second year at York Fort. This
+period of the year happens to be the busiest at the depot, in
+consequence of the preparation of the annual accounts for
+transmission to England, in the solitary ship which visits this
+lonely spot once a year; so that Harry was tied to his desk all day
+and the greater part of the night too, so that his spirits fell
+infinitely below zero, and he began to look on himself as the most
+miserable of mortals. His spirits rose, however, with amazing
+rapidity after the ship went away, and the "young gentlemen," as the
+clerks were styled _en masse_, were permitted to run wild in the
+swamps and woods for the three weeks succeeding that event. During
+this glimpse of sunshine they recruited their exhausted frames by
+paddling about all day in Indian canoes, or wandering through the
+marshes, sleeping at nights in tents or under the pine trees, and
+spreading dismay among the feathered tribes, of which there were
+immense numbers of all kinds. After this they returned to their
+regular work at the desk; but as this was not so severe as in summer,
+and was further lightened by Wednesdays and Saturdays being devoted
+entirely to recreation, Harry began to look on things in a less
+gloomy aspect, and at length regained his wonted cheerful spirits.
+
+Autumn passed away. The ducks and geese took their departure to more
+genial climes. The swamps froze up and became solid. Snow fell in
+great abundance, covering every vestige of vegetable nature, except
+the dark fir trees, that only helped to render the scenery more
+dreary, and winter settled down upon the land. Within the pickets of
+York Fort, the thirty or forty souls who lived there were actively
+employed in cutting their firewood, putting in double window-frames
+to keep out the severe cold, cutting tracks in the snow from one
+house to another, and otherwise preparing for a winter of eight
+months' duration, as cold as that of Nova Zembla, and in the course
+of which the only new faces they had any chance of seeing were those
+of the two men who conveyed the annual winter packet of letters from
+the next station. Outside of the fort, all was a wide, waste
+wilderness for _thousands_ of miles around. Deathlike stillness and
+solitude reigned everywhere, except when a covey of ptarmigan whirred
+like large snowflakes athwart the sky, or an arctic fox prowled
+stealthily through the woods in search of prey.
+
+As if in opposition to the gloom and stillness and solitude outside,
+the interior of the clerks' house presented a striking contrast of
+ruddy warmth, cheerful sounds, and bustling activity.
+
+It was evening; but although the sun had set, there was still
+sufficient daylight to render candles unnecessary, though not enough
+to prevent a bright glare from the stove in the centre of the hall
+taking full effect in the darkening chamber, and making it glow with
+fiery red. Harry Somerville sat in front, and full in the blaze of
+this stove, resting after the labours of the day; his arms crossed on
+his breast, his head a little to one side, as if in deep
+contemplation, as he gazed earnestly into the fire, and his chair
+tilted on its hind legs so as to balance with such nicety that a
+feather's weight additional outside its centre of gravity would have
+upset it. He had divested himself of his coat--a practice that
+prevailed among the young gentlemen when _at home_, as being free-
+and-easy as well as convenient. The doctor, a tall, broad-shouldered
+man, with red hair and whiskers, paced the room sedately, with a long
+pipe depending from his lips, which he removed occasionally to
+address a few remarks to the accountant, a stout, heavy man of about
+thirty, with a voice like a Stentor, eyes sharp and active as those
+of a ferret, and a tongue that moved with twice the ordinary amount
+of lingual rapidity. The doctor's remarks seemed to be particularly
+humorous, if one might judge from the peals of laughter with which
+they were received by the accountant, who stood with his back to the
+stove in such a position that, while it warmed him from his heels to
+his waist, he enjoyed the additional benefit of the pipe or chimney,
+which rose upwards, parallel with his spine, and, taking a sudden
+bend near the roof, passed over his head--thus producing a genial and
+equable warmth from top to toe.
+
+"Yes," said the doctor, "I left him hotly following up a rabbit-
+track, in the firm belief that it was that of a silver fox."
+
+"And did you not undeceive the greenhorn?" cried the accountant, with
+another shout of laughter.
+
+"Not I," replied the doctor. "I merely recommended him to keep his
+eye on the sun, lest he should lose his way, and hastened home; for
+it just occurred to me that I had forgotten to visit Louis Blanc, who
+cut his foot with an axe yesterday, and whose wound required
+redressing, so I left the poor youth to learn from experience."
+
+"Pray, who did you leave to that delightful fate?" asked Mr. Wilson,
+issuing from his bedroom, and approaching the stove.
+
+Mr. Wilson was a middle-aged, good-humoured, active man, who filled
+the onerous offices of superintendent of the men, trader of furs,
+seller of goods to the Indians, and general factotum.
+
+"Our friend Hamilton," answered the doctor, in reply to his question.
+"I think he is, without exception, the most egregious nincompoop I
+ever saw. Just as I passed the long swamp on my way home, I met him
+crashing through the bushes in hot pursuit of a rabbit, the track of
+which he mistook for a fox. Poor fellow! He had been out since
+breakfast, and only shot a brace of ptarmigan, although they are as
+thick as bees and quite tame. 'But then, do you see,' said he, in
+excuse, 'I'm so very shortsighted! Would you believe it, I've blown
+fifteen lumps of snow to atoms, in the belief that they were
+ptarmigan!' and then he rushed off again."
+
+"No doubt," said Mr. Wilson, smiling, "the lad is very green, but
+he's a good fellow for all that."
+
+"I'll answer for that," said the accountant; "I found him over at the
+men's houses this morning doing _your_ work for you, doctor."
+
+"How so?" inquired the disciple of Æsculapius.
+
+"Attending to your wounded man, Louis Blanc, to be sure; and he
+seemed to speak to him as wisely as if he had walked the hospitals,
+and regularly passed for an M.D."
+
+"Indeed!" said the doctor, with a mischievous grin. "Then I must pay
+him off for interfering with my patients."
+
+"Ah, doctor, you're too fond of practical jokes. You never let slip
+an opportunity of 'paying off' your friends for something or other.
+It's a bad habit. Practical jokes are very bad things--shockingly
+bad," said Mr. Wilson, as he put on his fur cap, and wound a thick
+shawl round his throat, preparatory to leaving the room.
+
+As Mr. Wilson gave utterance to this opinion, he passed Harry
+Somerville, who was still staring at the fire in deep mental
+abstraction, and, as he did so, gave his tilted chair a very slight
+push backwards with his finger--an action which caused Harry to toss
+up his legs, grasp convulsively with both hands at empty air, and
+fall with a loud noise and an angry yell to the ground, while his
+persecutor vanished from the scene.
+
+"O you outrageous villain!" cried Harry, shaking his fist at the
+door, as he slowly gathered himself up; "I might have expected that."
+
+"Quite so," said the doctor; "you might. It was very neatly done,
+undoubtedly. Wilson deserves credit for the way in which it was
+executed."
+
+"He deserves to be executed for doing it at all," replied Harry,
+rubbing his elbow as he resumed his seat.
+
+"Any bark knocked off?" inquired the accountant, as he took a piece
+of glowing charcoal from the stove wherewith to light his pipe. "Try
+a whiff, Harry. It's good for such things. Bruises, sores,
+contusions, sprains, rheumatic affections of the back and loins,
+carbuncles and earache--there's nothing that smoking won't cure; eh,
+doctor?"
+
+"Certainly. If applied inwardly, there's nothing so good for
+digestion when one doesn't require tonics--Try it, Harry; it will do
+you good, I assure you."
+
+"No, thank you," replied Harry; "I'll leave that to you and the
+chimney. I don't wish to make a soot-bag of my mouth. But tell me,
+doctor, what do you mean to do with that lump of snow there?"
+
+Harry pointed to a mass of snow, of about two feet square, which lay
+on the floor beside the door. It had been placed there by the doctor
+some time previously.
+
+"Do with it? Have patience, my friend, and you shall see. It is a
+little surprise I have in store for Hamilton."
+
+As he spoke, the door opened, and a short, square-built man rushed
+into the room, with a pistol in one hand and a bright little bullet
+in the other.
+
+"Hollo, skipper!" cried Harry, "what's the row?"
+
+"All right," cried the skipper; "here it is at last, solid as the
+fluke of an anchor. Toss me the powder-flask Harry; look sharp, else
+it'll melt."
+
+A powder-flask was immediately produced, from which the skipper
+hastily charged the pistol, and rammed down the shining bullet.
+
+"Now then," said he, "look out for squalls. Clear the decks there."
+
+And rushing to the door, he flung it open, took a steady aim at
+something outside, and fired.
+
+"Is the man mad?" said the accountant, as with a look of amazement he
+beheld the skipper spring through the doorway, and immediately return
+bearing in his arms a large piece of fir plank.
+
+"Not quite mad yet," he said, in reply, "but I've sent a ball of
+quicksilver through an inch plank, and that's not a thing to be done
+every day--even _here_, although it _is_ cold enough sometimes to
+freeze up one's very ideas."
+
+"Dear me," interrupted Harry Somerville, looking as if a new thought
+had struck him, "that must be it! I've no doubt that poor Hamilton's
+ideas are _frozen_, which accounts for the total absence of any
+indication of his possessing such things."
+
+"I observed," continued the skipper, not noticing the interruption,
+"that the glass was down at 45 degrees below zero this morning, and
+put out a bullet-mould full of mercury, and you see the result." As
+he spoke he held up the perforated plank in triumph.
+
+The skipper was a strange mixture of qualities. To a wild, off-hand,
+sailor-like hilarity of disposition in hours of leisure, he united a
+grave, stern energy of character while employed in the performance of
+his duties. Duty was always paramount with him. A smile could
+scarcely be extracted from him while it was in the course of
+performance. But the instant his work was done a new spirit seemed to
+take possession of the man. Fun, mischief of any kind, no matter how
+childish, he entered into with the greatest delight and enthusiasm.
+Among other peculiarities, he had become deeply imbued with a thirst
+for scientific knowledge, ever since he had acquired, with infinite
+labour, the small modicum of science necessary to navigation; and his
+doings in pursuit of statistical information relative to the weather,
+and the phenomena of nature generally, were very peculiar, and in
+some cases outrageous. His transaction with the quicksilver was in
+consequence of an eager desire to see that metal frozen (an effect
+which takes place when the spirit-of-wine thermometer falls to 39
+degrees below zero of Fahrenheit), and a wish to be able to boast of
+having actually fired a mercurial bullet through an inch plank.
+Having made a careful note of the fact, with all the relative
+circumstances attending it, in a very much blotted book, which he
+denominated his scientific log, the worthy skipper threw off his
+coat, drew a chair to the stove, and prepared to regale himself with
+a pipe. As he glanced slowly round the room while thus engaged, his
+eye fell on the mass of snow before alluded to. On being informed by
+the doctor for what it was intended, he laid down his pipe and rose
+hastily from his chair.
+
+"You've not a moment to lose," said he. "As I came in at the gate
+just now, I saw Hamilton coming down the river on the ice, and he
+must be almost arrived now."
+
+"Up with it then," cried the doctor, seizing the snow, and lifting it
+to the top of the door." Hand me those bits of stick, Harry; quick,
+man, stir your stumps.--Now then, skipper, fix them in so, while I
+hold this up."
+
+The skipper lent willing and effective aid, so that in a few minutes
+the snow was placed in such a position that upon the opening of the
+door it must inevitably fall on the head of the first person who
+should enter the room.
+
+"So," said the skipper, "that's rigged up in what I call ship-shape
+fashion."
+
+"True," remarked the doctor, eyeing the arrangement with a look of
+approval; "it will do, I think, admirably."
+
+"Don't you think, skipper," said Harry Somerville gravely, as he
+resumed his seat in front of the fire, "that it would be worth while
+to make a careful and minute entry in your private log of the manner
+in which it was put up, to be afterwards followed by an account of
+its effect? You might write an essay on it now, and call it the
+extraordinary effects of a fall of snow in latitude so and so, eh?
+What think you of it?"
+
+The skipper vouchsafed no reply, but made a significant gesture with
+his fist, which caused Harry to put himself in a posture of defence.
+
+At this moment footsteps were heard on the wooden platform in front
+of the building.
+
+Instantly all became silence and expectation in the hall as the
+result of the practical joke was about to be realised. Just then
+another step was heard on the platform, and it became evident that
+two persons were approaching the door.
+
+"Hope it'll be the right man," said the skipper, with a look
+savouring slightly of anxiety.
+
+As he spoke the door opened, and a foot crossed the threshold; the
+next instant the miniature avalanche descended on the head and
+shoulders of a man, who reeled forward from the weight of the blow,
+and, covered from head to foot with snow, fell to the ground amid
+shouts of laughter.
+
+With a convulsive stamp and shake, the prostrate figure sprang up and
+confronted the party. Had the cast-iron stove suddenly burst into
+atoms, and blown the roof off the house, it could scarcely have
+created greater consternation than that which filled the merry
+jesters when they beheld the visage of Mr. Rogan, the superintendent
+of the fort, red with passion and fringed with snow.
+
+"So," said he, stamping violently with his foot, partly from anger,
+and partly with a view of shaking off the unexpected covering, which
+stuck all over his dress in little patches, producing a somewhat
+piebald effect,--"so you are pleased to jest, gentlemen. Pray, who
+placed that piece of snow over the door?" Mr. Rogan glared fiercely
+round upon the culprits, who stood speechless before him.
+
+For a moment he stood silent, as if uncertain how to act; then
+turning short on his heel, he strode quickly out of the room, nearly
+overturning Mr. Hamilton, who at the same instant entered it,
+carrying his gun and snowshoes under his arm.
+
+"Dear me, what has happened?" he exclaimed, in a peculiarly gentle
+tone of voice, at the same time regarding the snow and the horror-
+stricken circle with a look of intense surprise.
+
+"You _see_ what has happened," replied Harry Somerville, who was the
+first to recover his composure; "I presume you intended to ask, 'What
+has _caused_ it to happen?' Perhaps the skipper will explain; it's
+beyond me, quite."
+
+Thus appealed to, that worthy cleared his throat, and said,--
+
+"Why, you see, Mr. Hamilton, a great phenomenon of meteorology has
+happened. We were all standing, you must know, at the open door,
+taking a squint at the weather, when our attention was attracted by a
+curious object that appeared in the sky, and seemed to be coming down
+at the rate of ten knots an hour, right end-on for the house. I had
+just time to cry, 'Clear out, lads,' when it came slap in through the
+doorway, and smashed to shivers there, where you see the fragments.
+In fact, it's a wonderful aërolite, and Mr. Rogan has just gone out
+with a lot of the bits in his pocket, to make a careful examination
+of them, and draw up a report for the Geological Society in London. I
+shouldn't wonder if he were to send off an express to-night; and
+maybe you will have to convey the news to headquarters, so you'd
+better go and see him about it soon."
+
+_Soft_ although Mr. Hamilton was supposed to be, he was not quite
+prepared to give credit to this explanation; but being of a peaceful
+disposition, and altogether unaccustomed to retort, he merely smiled
+his disbelief, as he proceeded to lay aside his fowling-piece, and
+divest himself of the voluminous out-of-door trappings with which he
+was clad. Mr. Hamilton was a tall, slender youth, of about nineteen.
+He had come out by the ship in autumn, and was spending his first
+winter at York Fort. Up to the period of his entering the Hudson's
+Bay Company's service, he had never been more than twenty miles from
+home, and having mingled little with the world, was somewhat
+unsophisticated, besides being by nature gentle and unassuming.
+
+Soon after this the man who acted as cook, waiter, and butler to the
+mess, entered, and said that Mr. Rogan desired to see the accountant
+immediately.
+
+"Who am I to say did it?" enquired that gentleman, as he rose to obey
+the summons.
+
+"Wouldn't it be a disinterested piece of kindness if you were to say
+it was yourself?" suggested the doctor.
+
+"Perhaps it would, but I won't," replied the accountant, as he made
+his exit.
+
+In about half-an-hour Mr. Rogan and the accountant re-entered the
+apartment. The former had quite regained his composure. He was
+naturally amiable; which happy disposition was indicated by a
+habitually cheerful look and smile.
+
+"Now, gentlemen," said he, "I find that this practical joke was not
+intended for me, and therefore look upon it as an unlucky accident;
+but I cannot too strongly express my dislike to practical jokes of
+all kinds. I have seen great evil, and some bloodshed, result from
+practical jokes; and I think that, being a sufferer in consequence of
+your fondness for them, I have a right to beg that you will abstain
+from such doings in future--at least from such jokes as involve risk
+to those who do not choose to enter into them."
+
+Having given vent to this speech, Mr. Rogan left his volatile friends
+to digest it at their leisure.
+
+"Serves us right," said the skipper, pacing up and down the room in a
+repentant frame of mind, with his thumbs hooked into the arm-holes of
+his vest.
+
+The doctor said nothing, but breathed hard and smoked vigorously.
+
+While we admit most thoroughly with Mr. Rogan that practical jokes
+are exceedingly bad, and productive frequently of far more evil than
+fun, we feel it our duty, as a faithful delineator of manners,
+customs, and character in these regions, to urge in palliation of the
+offence committed by the young gentlemen at York Fort, that they had
+really about as few amusements and sources of excitement as fall to
+the lot of any class of men. They were entirely dependent on their
+own unaided exertions, during eight or nine months of the year, for
+amusement or recreation of any kind. Their books were few in number,
+and soon read through. The desolate wilderness around afforded no
+incidents to form subjects of conversation further than the events of
+a day's shooting, which, being nearly similar every day, soon lost
+all interest. No newspapers came to tell of the doings of the busy
+world from which they were shut out, and nothing occurred to vary the
+dull routine of their life; so that it is not matter for wonder that
+they were driven to seek for relaxation and excitement occasionally
+in most outrageous and unnatural ways, and to indulge now and then in
+the perpetration of a practical joke.
+
+For some time after the rebuke administered by Mr. Rogan, silence
+reigned in _Bachelor's Hall_, as the clerks' house was termed. But at
+length symptoms of _ennui_ began to be displayed. The doctor yawned
+and lay down on his bed to enjoy an American newspaper about twelve
+months old. Harry Somerville sat down to reread a volume of
+Franklin's travels in the polar regions, which he had perused twice
+already. Mr. Hamilton busied himself in cleaning his fowling-piece;
+while the skipper conversed with Mr. Wilson, who was engaged in his
+room in adjusting an ivory head to a walking-stick. Mr. Wilson was a
+jack-of-all-trades, who could make shift, one way or other, to do
+_anything_. The accountant paced the uncarpeted floor in deep
+contemplation.
+
+At length he paused, and looked at Harry Somerville for some time.
+
+"What say you to a walk through the woods to North River, Harry?"
+
+"Ready," cried Harry, tossing down the book with a look of contempt--
+"ready for anything."
+
+"Will _you_ come, Hamilton?" added the accountant. Hamilton looked up
+in surprise.
+
+"You don't mean, surely, to take so long a walk in the dark, do you?
+It is snowing, too, very heavily, and I think you said that North
+River was five miles off, did you not?"
+
+"Of course I mean to walk in the dark," replied the accountant,
+"unless you can extemporize an artificial light for the occasion, or
+prevail on the moon to come out for my special benefit. As to snowing
+and a short tramp of five miles, why, the sooner you get to think of
+such things as _trifles_ the better, if you hope to be fit for
+anything in this country."
+
+"I _don't_ think much of them," replied Hamilton, softly and with a
+slight smile; "I only meant that such a walk was not very
+_attractive_ so late in the evening."
+
+"Attractive!" shouted Harry Somerville from his bedroom, where he was
+equipping himself for the walk; "what can be more attractive than a
+sharp run of ten miles through the woods on a cool night to visit
+your traps, with the prospect of a silver fox or a wolf at the end of
+it, and an extra sound sleep as the result? Come, man, don't be soft;
+get ready, and go along with us."
+
+"Besides," added the accountant, "I don't mean to come back to-night.
+To-morrow, you know, is a holiday, so we can camp out in the snow
+after visiting the traps, have our supper, and start early in the
+morning to search for ptarmigan."
+
+"Well, I will go," said Hamilton, after this account of the pleasures
+that were to be expected; "I am exceedingly anxious to learn to shoot
+birds on the wing."
+
+"Bless me! have you not learned that yet!" asked the doctor, in
+affected surprise, as he sauntered out of his bedroom to relight his
+pipe.
+
+The various bedrooms in the clerks' house were ranged round the hall,
+having doors that opened directly into it, so that conversation
+carried on in a loud voice was heard in all the rooms at once, and
+was not infrequently sustained in elevated tones from different
+apartments, when the occupants were lounging, as they often did of an
+evening, in their beds.
+
+"No," said Hamilton, in reply to the doctor's question, "I have not
+learned yet, although there were a great many grouse in the part of
+Scotland where I was brought up. But my aunt, with whom I lived, was
+so fearful of my shooting either myself or someone else, and had such
+an aversion to firearms, that I determined to make her mind easy, by
+promising that I would never use them so long as I remained under her
+roof."
+
+"Quite right; very dutiful and proper," said the doctor, with a
+grave, patronising air.
+
+"Perhaps you'll fall in with more _fox_ tracks of the same sort as
+the one you gave chase to this morning," shouted the skipper, from
+Wilson's room.
+
+"Oh! there's hundreds of them out there," said the accountant; "so
+let's off at once."
+
+The trio now proceeded to equip themselves for the walk. Their
+costumes were peculiar, and merit description. As they were similar
+in the chief points, it will suffice to describe that of our friend
+Harry.
+
+On his head he wore a fur-cap made of otter-skin, with a flap on each
+side to cover the ears, the frost being so intense in these climates
+that without some such protection they would inevitably freeze and
+fall off.
+
+As the nose is constantly in use for the purposes of respiration, it
+is always left uncovered to fight with the cold as it best can; but
+it is a hard battle, and there is no doubt that, if it were possible,
+a nasal covering would be extremely pleasant. Indeed, several
+desperate efforts _have_ been made to construct some sort of nose-
+bag, but hitherto without success, owing to the uncomfortable fact
+that the breath issuing from that organ immediately freezes, and
+converts the covering into a bag of snow or ice, which is not
+agreeable. Round his neck Harry wound a thick shawl of such
+portentious dimensions that it entirely enveloped the neck and lower
+part of the face; thus the entire head was, as it were, eclipsed--the
+eyes, the nose, and the cheek-bones alone being visible. He then
+threw on a coat made of deer-skin, so prepared that it bore a slight
+resemblance to excessively coarse chamois leather. It was somewhat in
+the form of a long, wide surtout, overlapping very much in front, and
+confined closely to the figure by means of a scarlet worsted belt
+instead of buttons, and was ornamented round the foot by a number of
+cuts, which produced a fringe of little tails. Being lined with thick
+flannel, this portion of attire was rather heavy, but extremely
+necessary. A pair of blue cloth leggings, having a loose flap on the
+outside, were next drawn on over the trousers, as an additional
+protection to the knees. The feet, besides being portions of the body
+that are peculiarly susceptible of cold, had further to contend
+against the chafing of the lines which attach them to the snow-shoes,
+so that special care in their preparation for duty was necessary.
+First were put on a pair of blanketing or duffel socks, which were
+merely oblong in form, without sewing or making-up of any kind. These
+were wrapped round the feet, which were next thrust into a pair of
+made-up socks, of the same material, having ankle-pieces; above these
+were put _another_ pair, _without_ flaps for the ankles. Over all was
+drawn a pair of moccasins made of stout deer-skin, similar to that of
+the coat. Of course, the elegance of Harry's feet was entirely
+destroyed, and had he been met in this guise by any of his friends in
+the "old country," they would infallibly have come to the conclusion
+that he was afflicted with gout. Over his shoulders he slung a
+powder-horn and shot-pouch, the latter tastefully embroidered with
+dyed quill-work, A pair of deer-skin mittens, having a little bag for
+the thumb, and a large bag for the fingers, completed his costume.
+
+While the three were making ready, with a running accompaniment of
+grunts and groans at refractory pieces of apparel, the night without
+became darker, and the snow fell thicker, so that when they issued
+suddenly out of their warm abode, and emerged into the sharp frosty
+air, which blew the snow-drift into their eyes, they felt a momentary
+desire to give up the project and return to their comfortable
+quarters.
+
+"What a dismal-looking night it is!" said the accountant, as he led
+the way along the wooden platform towards the gate of the fort.
+
+"Very!" replied Hamilton, with an involuntary shudder.
+
+"Keep up your heart," said Harry, in a cheerful voice; "you've no
+notion how your mind will change on that point when you have walked a
+mile or so and got into a comfortable heat. I must confess, however,
+that a little moonshine would be an improvement," he added, on
+stumbling, for the third time, off the platform into the deep snow.
+
+"It is full moon just now," said the accountant, "and I think the
+clouds look as if they would break soon. At any rate, I've been at
+North River so often that I believe I could walk out there
+blindfold."
+
+As he spoke they passed the gate, and diverging to the right,
+proceeded, as well as the imperfect light permitted, along the
+footpath that led to the forest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+The walk continued--Frozen toes--An encampment in the snow.
+
+
+After quitting York Fort, the three friends followed the track
+leading to the spot where the winter's firewood was cut. Snow was
+still falling thickly, and it was with some difficulty that the
+accountant kept in the right direction. The night was excessively
+dark, while the dense fir forest, through which the narrow road ran,
+rendered the gloom if possible more intense.
+
+When they had proceeded about a mile, their leader suddenly came to a
+stand.
+
+"We must quit the track now," said he; "so get on your snow-shoes as
+fast as you can."
+
+Hitherto they had carried their snow-shoes under their arms, as the
+beaten track along which they travelled rendered them unnecessary;
+but now, having to leave the path and pursue the remainder of their
+journey through deep snow, they availed themselves of those useful
+machines, by means of which the inhabitants of this part of North
+America are enabled to journey over many miles of trackless
+wilderness, with nearly as much ease as a sportsman can traverse the
+moors in autumn, and that over snow so deep that one hour's walk
+through it _without_ such aids would completely exhaust the stoutest
+trapper, and advance him only a mile or so on his journey. In other
+words, to walk without snow-shoes would be utterly impossible, while
+to walk with them is easy and agreeable. They are not used after the
+manner of skates, with a _sliding_, but a _stepping_ action, and
+their sole use is to support the wearer on the top of snow, into
+which without them he would sink up to the waist. When we say that
+they support the wearer on the _top_ of the snow, of course we do not
+mean that they literally do not break the surface at all. But the
+depth to which they sink is comparatively trifling, and varies
+according to the state of the snow and the season of the year. In the
+woods they sink frequently about six inches, sometimes more,
+sometimes less, while on frozen rivers, where the snow is packed
+solid by the action of the wind, they sink only two or three inches,
+and sometimes so little as to render it preferable to walk without
+them altogether. Snow-shoes are made of a light, strong framework of
+wood, varying from three to six feet long by eighteen and twenty
+inches broad, tapering to a point before and behind, and turning up
+in front. Different tribes of Indians modify the form a little, but
+in all essential points they are the same. The framework is filled up
+with a netting of deer-skin threads, which unites lightness with
+great strength, and permits any snow that may chance to fall upon the
+netting to pass through it like a sieve.
+
+On the present occasion the snow, having recently fallen, was soft,
+and the walking, consequently, what is called heavy.
+
+"Come on," shouted the accountant, as he came to a stand for the
+third time within half-an-hour, to await the coming up of poor
+Hamilton, who, being rather awkward in snow-shoe walking even in
+daylight, found it nearly impossible in the dark.
+
+"Wait a little, please," replied a faint voice in the distance; "I've
+got among a quantity of willows, and find it very difficult to get
+on. I've been down twice al--"
+
+The sudden cessation of the voice, and a loud crash as of breaking
+branches, proved too clearly that our friend had accomplished his
+third fall.
+
+"There he goes again," exclaimed Harry Somerville, who came up at the
+moment. "I've helped him up once already. We'll never get to North
+River at this rate. What _is_ to be done?"
+
+"Let's see what has become of him this time, however," said the
+accountant, as he began to retrace his steps. "If I mistake not, he
+made rather a heavy plunge that time, judging from the sound."
+
+At that moment the clouds overhead broke, and a moonbeam shot down
+into the forest, throwing a pale light over the cold scene. A few
+steps brought Harry and the accountant to the spot whence the sound
+had proceeded, and a loud startling laugh rang through the night air,
+as the latter suddenly beheld poor Hamilton struggling, with his
+arms, head, and shoulders stuck into the snow, his snow-shoes twisted
+and sticking with the heels up and awry, in a sort of rampant
+confusion, and his gun buried to the locks beside him. Regaining
+one's perpendicular after a fall in deep snow, when the feet are
+encumbered by a pair of long snow-shoes, is by no means an easy thing
+to accomplish, in consequence of the impossibility of getting hold of
+anything solid on which to rest the hands. The depth is so great that
+the outstretched arms cannot find bottom, and every successive
+struggle only sinks the unhappy victim deeper down. Should no
+assistance be near, he will soon beat the snow to a solidity that
+will enable him to rise, but not in a very enviable or comfortable
+condition.
+
+"Give me a hand, Harry," gasped Hamilton, as he managed to twist his
+head upwards for a moment.
+
+"Here you are," cried Harry, holding out his hand and endeavouring to
+suppress his desire to laugh; "up with you," and in another moment
+the poor youth was upon his legs, with every fold and crevice about
+his person stuffed to repletion with snow.
+
+"Come, cheer up," cried the accountant, giving the youth a slap on
+the back; "there's nothing like experience--the proverb says that it
+even teaches fools, so you need not despair."
+
+Hamilton smiled as he endeavoured to shake off some of his white
+coating.
+
+"We'll be all right immediately," added Harry; "I see that the
+country ahead is more open, so the walking will be easier."
+
+"Oh, I wish that I had not come!" said Hamilton, sorrowfully,
+"because I am only detaining you. But perhaps I shall do better as we
+get on. At any rate, I cannot go back now, as I could never find the
+way."
+
+"Go back! of course not," said the accountant; "in a short time we
+shall get into the old woodcutters' track of last year, and although
+it's not beaten at all, yet it is pretty level and open, so that we
+shall get on famously."
+
+"Go on, then," sighed Hamilton.
+
+"Drive ahead," laughed Harry, and without further delay they resumed
+their march, which was soon rendered more cheerful as the clouds
+rolled away, the snow ceased to fall, and the bright full moon poured
+its rays down upon their path.
+
+For a long time they proceeded in silence, the muffled sound of the
+snow, as it sank beneath their regular footsteps, being the only
+interruption to the universal stillness around. There is something
+very solemnizing in a scene such as we are now describing--the calm
+tranquillity of the arctic night; the pure whiteness of the snowy
+carpet, which rendered the dark firs inky black by contrast; the
+clear, cold, starry sky, that glimmered behind the dark clouds, whose
+heavy masses, now rolling across the moon, partially obscured the
+landscape, and anon, passing slowly away, let a flood of light down
+upon the forest, which, penetrating between the thick branches,
+scattered the surface of the snow, as it were, with flakes of silver.
+Sleep has often been applied as a simile to nature in repose, but in
+this case death seemed more appropriate. So silent, so cold, so still
+was the scene, that it filled the mind with an indefinable feeling of
+dread, as if there was some mysterious danger near. Once or twice
+during their walk the three travellers paused to rest, but they spoke
+little, and in subdued voices, as if they feared to break the silence
+of the night.
+
+"It is strange," said Harry, in a low tone, as he walked beside
+Hamilton, "that such a scene as this always makes me think more than
+usual of home."
+
+"And yet it is natural," replied the other, "because it reminds us
+more forcibly than any other that we are in a foreign land--in the
+lonely wilderness--far away from home."
+
+Both Harry and Hamilton had been trained in families where the
+Almighty was feared and loved, and where their minds had been early
+led to reflect upon the Creator when regarding the works of His hand:
+their thoughts, therefore, naturally reverted to another home,
+compared with which this world is indeed a cold, lonely wilderness;
+but on such subjects they feared to converse, partly from a dread of
+the ridicule of reckless companions, partly from ignorance of each
+other's feelings on religious matters, and although their minds were
+busy, their tongues were silent.
+
+The ground over which the greater part of their path lay was a swamp,
+which, being now frozen, was a beautiful white plain, so that their
+advance was more rapid, until they approached the belt of woodland
+that skirts North River. Here they again encountered the heavy snow,
+which had been such a source of difficulty to Hamilton at setting
+out. He had profited by his former experience, however, and by the
+exercise of an excessive degree of caution managed to scramble
+through the woods tolerably well, emerging at last, along with his
+companions, on the bleak margin of what appeared to be the frozen
+sea.
+
+North River, at this place, is several miles broad, and the opposite
+shore is so low that the snow causes it to appear but a slight
+undulation of the frozen bed of the river. Indeed, it would not be
+distinguishable at all, were it not for the willow bushes and dwarf
+pines, whose tops, rising above the white garb of winter, indicate
+that _terra firma_ lies below.
+
+"What a cold, desolate-looking place!" said Hamilton, as the party
+stood still to recover breath before taking their way over the plain
+to the spot where the accountant's traps were set. "It looks much
+more like the frozen sea than a river."
+
+"It can scarcely be called a river at this place," remarked the
+accountant, "seeing that the water hereabouts is brackish, and the
+tides ebb and flow a good way up. In fact, this is the extreme mouth
+of North River, and if you turn your eyes a little to the right,
+towards yonder ice-hummock in the plain, you behold the frozen sea
+itself."
+
+"Where are your traps set?" inquired Harry.
+
+"Down in the hollow, behind yon point covered with brushwood."
+
+"Oh, we shall soon get to them then; come along," cried Harry.
+
+Harry was mistaken, however. He had not yet learned by experience the
+extreme difficulty of judging of distance in the uncertain light of
+night--a difficulty that was increased by the ignorance of the
+locality, and by the gleams of moonshine that shot through the
+driving clouds and threw confused fantastic shadows over the plain.
+The point which he had at first supposed was covered with low bushes,
+and about a hundred yards off, proved to be clad in reality with
+large bushes and small trees, and lay at a distance of two miles.
+
+"I think you have been mistaken in supposing the point so near,
+Harry," said Hamilton, as he trudged on beside his friend.
+
+"A fact evident to the naked eye," replied Harry. "How do your feet
+stand it, eh? Beginning to lose bark yet?"
+
+Hamilton did not feel quite sure. "I think," said he softly, "that
+there is a blister under the big toe of my left foot. It feels very
+painful."
+
+"If you feel at all _uncertain_ about it, you may rest assured that
+there _is_ a blister. These things don't give much pain at first. I'm
+sorry to tell you, my dear fellow, that you'll be painfully aware of
+the fact to-morrow. However, don't distress yourself; it's a part of
+the experience that everyone goes through in this country. Besides,"
+said Harry smiling, "we can send to the fort for medical advice."
+
+"Don't bother the poor fellow, and hold your tongue. Harry," said the
+accountant, who now began to tread more cautiously as he approached
+the place where the traps were set.
+
+"How many traps have you?" inquired Harry in a low tone.
+
+"Three," replied the accountant.
+
+"Do you know I have a very strange feeling about my heels--or rather
+a want of feeling," said Hamilton, smiling dubiously.
+
+"A want of feeling! what do you mean?" cried the accountant, stopping
+suddenly and confronting his young friend.
+
+"Oh, I daresay it's nothing," he exclaimed, looking as if ashamed of
+having spoken of it; "only I feel exactly as if both my heels were
+cut off, and I were walking on tip-toe!"
+
+"Say you so? then right about wheel. Your heels are frozen, man, and
+you'll lose them if you don't look sharp."
+
+"Frozen!" cried Hamilton, with a look of incredulity.
+
+"Ay, frozen; and it's lucky you told me. I've a place up in the woods
+here, which I call my winter camp, where we can get you put to
+rights. But step out; the longer we are about it the worse for you."
+
+Harry Somerville was at first disposed to think that the accountant
+jested, but seeing that he turned his back towards his traps, and
+made for the nearest point of the thick woods with a stride that
+betokened thorough sincerity, he became anxious too, and followed as
+fast as possible.
+
+The place to which the accountant led his young friends was a group
+of fir trees which grew on a little knoll, that rose a few feet above
+the surrounding level country. At the foot of this hillock a small
+rivulet or burn ran in summer, but the only evidence of its presence
+now was the absence of willow bushes all along its covered narrow
+bed. A level tract was thus formed by nature, free from all
+underwood, and running inland about the distance of a mile, where it
+was lost in the swamp whence the stream issued. The wooded knoll or
+hillock lay at the mouth of this brook, and being the only elevated
+spot in the neighbourhood, besides having the largest trees growing
+on it, had been selected by the accountant as a convenient place for
+"camping out" on, when he visited his traps in winter, and happened
+to be either too late or disinclined to return home. Moreover, the
+spreading fir branches afforded an excellent shelter alike from wind
+and snow in the centre of the clump, while from the margin was
+obtained a partial view of the river and the sea beyond. Indeed, from
+this look-out there was a very fine prospect on clear winter nights
+of the white landscape, enlivened occasionally by groups of arctic
+foxes, which might be seen scampering about in sport, and gambolling
+among the hummocks of ice like young kittens.
+
+"Now we shall turn up here," said the accountant, as he walked a
+short way up the brook before mentioned, and halted in front of what
+appeared to be an impenetrable mass of bushes.
+
+"We shall have to cut our way, then," said Harry, looking to the
+right and left in the vain hope of discovering a place where, the
+bushes being less dense, they might effect an entrance into the knoll
+or grove.
+
+"Not so. I have taken care to make a passage into my winter camp,
+although it was only a whim, after all, to make a concealed entrance,
+seeing that no one ever passes this way except wolves and foxes,
+whose noses render the use of their eyes in most cases unnecessary."
+
+So saying, the accountant turned aside a thick branch, and disclosed
+a narrow track, into which he entered, followed by his two
+companions.
+
+A few minutes brought them to the centre of the knoll. Here they
+found a clear space of about twenty feet in diameter, round which the
+trees circled so thickly that in daylight nothing could be seen but
+tree-stems as far as the eye could penetrate, while overhead the
+broad flat branches of the firs, with their evergreen verdure, spread
+out and interlaced so thickly that very little light penetrated into
+the space below. Of course at night, even in moonlight, the place was
+pitch dark. Into this retreat the accountant led his companions, and
+bidding them stand still for a minute lest they should stumble into
+the fireplace, he proceeded to strike a light.
+
+Those who have never travelled in the wild parts of this world can
+form but a faint conception of the extraordinary and sudden change
+that is produced, not only in the scene, but in the mind of the
+beholder, when a blazing fire is lighted on a dark night. Before the
+fire is kindled, and you stand, perhaps (as Harry and his friend did
+on the present occasion) shivering in the cold, the heart sinks, and
+sad, gloomy thoughts arise, while your eye endeavours to pierce the
+thick darkness, which, if it succeeds in doing so, only adds to the
+effect by disclosing the pallid snow, the cold, chilling beams of the
+moon, the wide vista of savage scenery, the awe-inspiring solitudes
+that tell of your isolated condition, or stir up sad memories of
+other and far-distant scenes. But the moment the first spark of fire
+sends a fitful gleam of light upwards, these thoughts and feelings
+take wing and vanish. The indistinct scenery is rendered utterly
+invisible by the red light, which attracts and rivets the eye as if
+by a species of fascination. The deep shadows of the woods
+immediately around you grow deeper and blacker as the flames leap and
+sparkle upwards, causing the stems of the surrounding trees, and the
+foliage of the overhanging branches, to stand out in bold relief,
+bathed in a ruddy glow, which converts the forest chamber into a snug
+_home-like_ place, and fills the mind with agreeable, _home-like_
+feelings and meditations. It seemed as if the spirit, in the one
+case, were set loose and etherealized to enable it to spread itself
+over the plains of cold, cheerless, illimitable space, and left to
+dwell upon objects too wide to grasp, too indistinct to comprehend;
+while, in the other, it is recalled and concentrated upon matters
+circumscribed and congenial, things of which it has long been
+cognizant, and which it can appreciate and enjoy without the effort
+of a thought.
+
+Some such thoughts and feelings passed rapidly through the minds of
+Harry and Hamilton, while the accountant struck a light and kindled a
+roaring fire of logs, which he had cut and arranged there on a
+previous occasion. In the middle of the space thus brilliantly
+illuminated, the snow had been cleared away till the moss was
+uncovered, thus leaving a hole of about ten feet in diameter. As the
+snow was quite four feet deep, the hole was surrounded with a pure
+white wall, whose height was further increased by the masses thrown
+out in the process of digging to nearly six feet. At one end of this
+space was the large fire which had just been kindled, and which,
+owing to the intense cold, only melted a very little of the snow in
+its immediate neighbourhood. At the other end lay a mass of flat pine
+branches, which were piled up so thickly as to form a pleasant
+elastic couch, the upper end being slightly raised so as to form a
+kind of bolster, while the lower extended almost into the fire.
+Indeed, the branches at the extremity were burnt quite brown, and
+some of them charred. Beside the bolster lay a small wooden box, a
+round tin kettle, an iron tea-kettle, two tin mugs, a hatchet, and a
+large bundle tied up in a green blanket. There were thus, as it were,
+two apartments, one within the other--namely, the outer one, whose
+walls were formed of tree-stems and thick darkness, and the ceiling
+of green boughs; and then the inner one, with walls of snow, that
+sparkled in the firelight as if set with precious stones, and a
+carpet of evergreen branches.
+
+Within this latter our three friends were soon actively employed.
+Poor Hamilton's moccasins were speedily removed, and his friends,
+going down on their knees, began to rub his feet with a degree of
+energy that induced him to beg for mercy.
+
+"Mercy!" exclaimed the accountant, without pausing for an instant;
+"faith, it's little mercy there would be in stopping just now.--Rub
+away, Harry. Don't give in. They're coming right at last."
+
+After a very severe rubbing, the heels began to show symptoms of
+returning vitality. They were then wrapped up in the folds of a thick
+blanket, and held sufficiently near to the fire to prevent any chance
+of the frost getting at them again.
+
+"Now, my boy," said the accountant, as he sat down to enjoy a pipe
+and rest himself on a blanket, which, along with the one wrapped
+round Hamilton's feet, had been extracted from the green bundle
+before mentioned--"now, my boy, you'll have to enjoy yourself here as
+you best can for an hour or two, while Harry and I visit the traps.
+Would you like supper before we go, or shall we have it on our
+return?"
+
+"Oh, I'll wait for it by all means till you return. I don't feel a
+bit hungry just now, and it will be much more cheerful to have it
+after all your work is over. Besides, I feel my feet too painful to
+enjoy it just now."
+
+"My poor fellow," said Harry, whose heart smote him for having been
+disposed at first to treat the thing lightly, "I'm really sorry for
+you. Would you not like me to stay with you?"
+
+"By no means," replied Hamilton quickly. "You can do nothing more for
+me, Harry; and I should be very sorry if you missed seeing the
+traps."
+
+"Oh, never mind the traps. I've seen traps, and set them too, fifty
+times before now. I'll stop with you, old boy, I will," said Harry
+doggedly, while he made arrangements to settle down for the evening.
+
+"Well, if _you_ won't go, I will," said Hamilton coolly, as he
+unwound the blanket from his feet and began to pull on his socks.
+
+"Bravo, my lad!" exclaimed the accountant, patting him approvingly on
+the back; "I didn't think you had half so much pluck in you. But it
+won't do, old fellow. You're in _my_ castle just now, and must obey
+orders. You couldn't walk half-a-mile for your life; so just be
+pleased to pull off your socks again. Besides, I want Harry to help
+me to carry up my foxes, if there are any;--so get ready, sirrah!"
+
+"Ay, ay, captain," cried Harry, with a laugh, while he sprang up and
+put on his snow-shoes.
+
+"You needn't bring your gun," said the accountant, shaking the ashes
+from his pipe as he prepared to depart, "but you may as well shove
+that axe into your belt; you may want it.--Now, mind, don't roast
+your feet," he added, turning to Hamilton.
+
+"Adieu!" cried Harry, with a nod and a smile, as he turned to go.
+"Take care the bears don't find you out."
+
+"No fear. Good-bye, Harry," replied Hamilton, as his two friends
+disappeared in the wood and left him to his solitary meditations.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+Shows how the accountant and Harry set their traps, and what came of
+it.
+
+
+The moon was still up, and the sky less overcast, when our amateur
+trappers quitted the encampment, and, descending to the mouth of the
+little brook, took their way over North River in the direction of the
+accountant's traps. Being somewhat fatigued both in mind and body by
+the unusual exertions of the night, neither of them spoke for some
+time, but continued to walk in silence, contemplatively gazing at
+their long shadows.
+
+"Did you ever trap a fox, Harry?" said the accountant at length.
+
+"Yes, I used to set traps at Red River; but the foxes there are not
+numerous, and are so closely watched by the dogs that they have
+become suspicious. I caught but few."
+
+"Then you know how to _set_ a trap?"
+
+"Oh, yes; I've set both steel and snow traps often. You've heard of
+old Labonté, who used to carry one of the winter packets from Red
+River until within a few years back?"
+
+"Yes, I've heard of him; his name is in my ledger--at least, if you
+mean Pierre Labonté, who came down last fall with the brigade."
+
+"The same. Well, he was a great friend of mine. His little cabin lay
+about two miles from Fort Garry, and after work was over in the
+office I used to go down to sit and chat with him by the fire, and
+many a time I have sat up half the night listening to him as he
+recounted his adventures. The old man never tired of relating them,
+and of smoking twist tobacco. Among other things, he set my mind upon
+trapping, by giving me an account of an expedition he made, when
+quite a youth, to the Rocky Mountains; so I got him to go into the
+woods and teach me how to set traps and snares, and I flatter myself
+he found me an apt pupil."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the accountant; "I have no doubt you do _flatter_
+yourself. But here we are. The traps are just beyond that mound; so
+look out, and don't stick your feet into them."
+
+"Hist!" exclaimed Harry, laying his hand suddenly on his companion's
+arm. "Do you see _that_?" pointing towards the place where the traps
+were said to be.
+
+"You have sharp eyes, younker. I _do_ see it, now that you point it
+out. It's a fox, and caught, too, as I'm a scrivener."
+
+"You're in luck to-night," exclaimed Harry, eagerly, "It's a _silver_
+fox. I see the white tip on its tail."
+
+"Nonsense," cried the accountant, hastening forward; "but we'll soon
+settle the point."
+
+Harry proved to be right. On reaching the spot they found a beautiful
+black fox, caught by the fore leg in a steel trap, and gazing at them
+with a look of terror.
+
+The skin of the silver fox--so called from a slight sprinkling of
+pure white hairs covering its otherwise jet-black body--is the most
+valuable fur obtained by the fur-traders, and fetches an enormous
+price in the British market, so much as thirty pounds sterling being
+frequently obtained for a single skin. The foxes vary in colour from
+jet black, which is the most valuable, to a light silvery hue, and
+are hailed as great prizes by the Indians and trappers when they are
+so fortunate as to catch them. They are not numerous, however, and
+being exceedingly wary and suspicious, are difficult to catch, ft may
+be supposed, therefore, that our friend the accountant ran to secure
+his prize with some eagerness.
+
+"Now, then, my beauty, don't shrink," he said, as the poor fox backed
+at his approach as far as the chain which fastened the trap to a log
+of wood, would permit, and then, standing at bay, showed a formidable
+row of teeth. That grin was its last; another moment, and the handle
+of the accountant's axe stretched it lifeless on the snow.
+
+"Isn't it a beauty!" cried he, surveying the animal with a look of
+triumphant pleasure; and then feeling as if he had compromised his
+dignity a little by betraying so much glee, he added, "But come now,
+Harry; we must see to the other traps. It's getting late."
+
+The others were soon visited; but no more foxes were caught. However,
+the accountant set them both off to see that all was right; and then
+readjusting one himself, told Harry to set the other, in order to
+clear himself of the charge of boasting.
+
+Harry, nothing loath, went down on his knees to do so.
+
+The steel trap used for catching foxes is of exactly the same form as
+the ordinary rat-trap, with this difference, that it has two springs
+instead of one, is considerably larger, and has no teeth, as these
+latter would only tend to spoil the skin. Owing to the strength of
+the springs, a pretty strong effort is required to set the trap, and,
+clumsy fellows frequently catch the tails of their coats or the ends
+of their belts, and not unfrequently the ends of their fingers, in
+their awkward attempts. Haying set it without any of the above
+untoward accidents occurring, Harry placed it gently on a hole which
+he had previously scraped--placing it in such a manner that the jaws
+and plate, or trigger, were a hair-breadth below the level of the
+snow. After this he spread over it a very thin sheet of paper,
+observing as he did so that hay or grass was preferable; but as there
+was none at hand, paper would do. Over this he sprinkled snow very
+lightly, until every vestige of the trap was concealed from view, and
+the whole was made quite level with the surrounding plain, so that
+even the accountant himself, after he had once removed his eyes from
+it, could not tell where it lay. Some chips of a frozen ptarmigan
+were then scattered around the spot, and a piece of wood left to mark
+its whereabouts. The bait is always scattered _round_ and not _on_
+the trap, as the fox, in running from one piece to another, is almost
+certain to set his foot on it, and so get caught by the leg; whereas,
+were the bait placed _upon_ the trap, the fox would be apt to get
+caught, while in the act of eating, by the snout, which, being wedge-
+like in form, is easily dragged out of its gripe.
+
+"Now then, what say you to going farther out on the river, and making
+a snow trap for white foxes?" said the accountant. "We shall still
+have time to do so before the moon sets."
+
+"Agreed," cried Harry. "Come along."
+
+Without further parley they left the spot and stretched out towards
+the sea.
+
+The snow on the river was quite hard on its surface, so that snow-
+shoes being unnecessary, they carried them over their shoulders, and
+advanced much more rapidly. It is true that their road was a good
+deal broken, and jagged pieces of ice protruded their sharp corners
+so as to render a little attention necessary in walking; but one or
+two severe bumps on their toes made our friends sensitively alive to
+these minor dangers of the way.
+
+"There goes a pack of them!" exclaimed Harry, as a troop of white
+foxes scampered past, gambolling as they went, and, coming suddenly
+to a halt at a short distance, wheeled about and sat down on their
+haunches, apparently resolved to have a good look at the strangers
+who dared to venture into their wild domain.
+
+"Oh, they are the most stupid brutes alive," said the accountant, as
+he regarded the pack with a look of contempt. "I've seen one of them
+sit down and look at me while I set a trap right before his eyes; and
+I had not got a hundred yards from the spot when a yell informed me
+that the gentleman's curiosity had led him to put his foot right into
+it."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Harry. "I had no idea that they were so tame.
+Certainly no other kind of fox would do that."
+
+"No, that's certain. But these fellows have done it to me again and
+again. I shouldn't wonder if we got one to-night in the very same
+way. I'm sure, by the look of these rascals, that they would do
+anything of a reckless, stupid nature just now."
+
+"Had we not better make our trap here, then? There is a point, not
+fifty yards off, with trees on it large enough for our purpose."
+
+"Yes; it will do very well here. Now, then, to work. Go to the wood,
+Harry, and fetch a log or two, while I cut out the slabs." So saying,
+the accountant drew the axe which he always carried in his belt; and
+while Harry entered the wood and began to hew off the branch of a
+tree, he proceeded, as he had said, to "cut out the slabs." With the
+point of his knife he first of all marked out an oblong in the snow,
+then cut down three or four inches with the axe, and putting the
+handle under the cut, after the manner of a lever, detached a thick
+solid slab of about three inches thick, which, although not so hard
+as ice, was quite hard enough for the purpose for which it was
+intended. He then cut two similar slabs, and a smaller one, the same
+in thickness and breadth, but only half the length. Having
+accomplished this, he raised himself to rest a little, and observed
+that Harry approached, staggering under a load of wood, and that the
+foxes were still sitting on their haunches, gazing at him with a look
+of deep interest.
+
+"If I only had my gun here!" thought he. But not having it, he merely
+shook his fist at them, stooped down again, and resumed his work.
+With Harry's assistance the slabs were placed in such a way as to
+form a sort of box or house, having one end of it open. This was
+further plastered with soft snow at the joinings, and banked up in
+such a way that no animal could break into it easily--at least such
+an attempt would be so difficult as to make an entrance into the
+interior by the open side much more probable. When this was finished,
+they took the logs that Harry had cut and carried with so much
+difficulty from the wood, and began to lop off the smaller branches
+and twigs. One large log was placed across the opening of the trap,
+while the others were piled on one end of it so as to press it down
+with their weight. Three small pieces of stick were now prepared--two
+of them being about half a foot long, and the other about a foot. On
+the long piece of stick the breast of a ptarmigan was fixed as a
+bait, and two notches cut, the one at the end of it, the other about
+four or five inches further down. All was now ready to set the trap.
+
+"Raise the log now while I place the trigger," said Harry, kneeling
+down in front of the door, while the accountant, as directed, lifted
+up the log on which the others lay so as to allow his companion to
+introduce the bait-stick, in such a manner as to support it, while
+the slightest pull on the bait would set the stick with the notches
+free, and thus permit the log to fall on the back of the fox, whose
+effort to reach the bait would necessarily place him under it.
+
+While Harry was thus engaged, the accountant stood up and looked
+towards the foxes. They had approached so near in their curiosity,
+that he was induced to throw his axe frantically at the foremost of
+the pack. This set them galloping off, but they soon halted and sat
+down as before.
+
+"What aggravating brutes they are, to be sure!" said Harry, with a
+laugh, as his companion returned with the hatchet.
+
+"Humph! yes, but we'll be upsides with them yet. Come along into the
+wood, and I wager that in ten minutes we shall have one."
+
+They immediately hurried towards the wood, but had not walked fifty
+paces when they were startled by a loud yell behind them.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed the accountant, while he and Harry turned round
+with a start. "It cannot surely be possible that they have gone in
+already." A loud howl followed the remark, and the whole pack fled
+over the plain like snow-drift, and disappeared.
+
+"Ah, that's a pity! something must have scared them to make them take
+wing like that. However, we'll get one to-morrow for certain; so come
+along, lad, let us make for the camp."
+
+"Not so fast," replied the other; "if you hadn't pored over the big
+ledger till you were blind, you would see that there is _one_
+prisoner already."
+
+This proved to be the case. On returning to the spot they found an
+arctic fox in his last gasp, lying flat on the snow, with the heavy
+log across his back, which seemed to be broken. A slight tap on the
+snout with the accountant's deadly axe-handle completed its
+destruction.
+
+"We're in luck to-night," cried Harry, as he kneeled again to reset
+the trap. "But after all these white brutes are worth very little; I
+fancy a hundred of their skins would not be worth the black one you
+got first."
+
+"Be quick, Harry; the moon is almost down, and poor Hamilton will
+think that the polar bears have got hold of us."
+
+"Ail right! Now then, step out," and glancing once more at the trap
+to see that all was properly arranged, the two friends once more
+turned their faces homewards, and travelled over the snow with rapid
+strides.
+
+The moon had just set, leaving the desolate scene in deep gloom, so
+that they could scarcely find their way to the forest; and when they
+did at last reach its shelter, the night became so intensely dark
+that they had almost to grope their way, and would certainly have
+lost it altogether were it not for the accountant's thorough
+knowledge of the locality. To add to their discomfort, as they
+stumbled on, snow began to fall, and ere long a pretty steady breeze
+of wind drove it sharply in their faces. However, this mattered but
+little, as they penetrated deeper in among the trees, which proved a
+complete shelter both from wind and snow. An hour's march brought
+them to the mouth of the brook, although half that time would have
+been sufficient had it been daylight, and a few minutes later they
+had the satisfaction of hearing Hamilton's voice hailing them as they
+pushed aside the bushes and sprang into the cheerful light of their
+encampment.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Harry, as he leaped into the space before the fire,
+and flung the two foxes at Hamilton's feet. "What do you think of
+_that_, old fellow? How are the heels? Rather sore, eh? Now for the
+kettle. Polly, put the kettle on; we'll all have--My eye! where's
+the kettle, Hamilton? have you eaten it?"
+
+"If you compose yourself a little, Harry, and look at the fire,
+you'll see it boiling there."
+
+"Man, what a chap you are for making unnecessary speeches! Couldn't
+you tell me to look at the fire without the preliminary piece of
+advice to _compose_ myself? Besides, you talk nonsense, for I'm
+composed already, of blood, bones, flesh, sinews, fat, and--"
+
+"Humbug!" interrupted the accountant. "Lend a hand to get supper, you
+young goose!"
+
+"And so," continued Harry, not noticing the interruption, "I cannot
+be expected, nor is it necessary, to _compose_ myself over again. But
+to be serious," he added, "it was very kind and considerate of you,
+Hammy, to put on the kettle, when your heels were in a manner
+uppermost."
+
+"Oh, it was nothing at all; my heels are much better, thank you, and
+it kept me from wearying."
+
+"Poor fellow!" said the accountant, while he busied himself in
+preparing their evening meal, "you must be quite ravenous by this
+time--at least _I_ am, which is the same thing."
+
+Supper was soon ready. It consisted of a large kettle of tea, a lump
+of pemmican, a handful of broken biscuit, and three ptarmigan--all of
+which were produced from the small wooden box which the accountant
+was wont to call his camp-larder. The ptarmigan had been shot two
+weeks before, and carefully laid up for future use; the intense frost
+being a sufficient guarantee for their preservation for many months,
+had that been desired.
+
+It would have done you good, reader (supposing you to be possessed of
+sympathetic feelings), to have witnessed those three nor'-westers
+enjoying their supper in the snowy camp. The fire had been
+replenished with logs, till it roared and crackled again, as if it
+were endued with a vicious spirit, and wished to set the very snow in
+flames. The walls shone like alabaster studded with diamonds, while
+the green boughs overhead and the stems around were of a deep red
+colour in the light of the fierce blaze. The tea-kettle hissed,
+fumed, and boiled over into the fire. A mass of pemmican simmered in
+the lid in front of it. Three pannikins of tea reposed on the green
+branches, their refreshing contents sending up little clouds of
+steam, while the ptarmigan, now split up, skewered, and roasted, were
+being heartily devoured by our three hungry friends.
+
+The pleasures that fall to the lot of man are transient. Doubtless
+they are numerous and oft recurring; still they are transient, and
+so--supper came to an end.
+
+"Now for a pipe," said the accountant, disposing his limbs at full
+length on a green blanket. "O thou precious weed, what should we do
+without thee!"
+
+"Smoke _tea_, to be sure," answered Harry.
+
+"Ah! true, it _is_ possible to exist on a pipe of tea-leaves for a
+time, but _only_ for a time. I tried it myself once, in desperation,
+when I ran short of tobacco on a journey, and found it execrable, but
+better than nothing."
+
+"Pity we can't join you in that." remarked Harry.
+
+"True; but perhaps since you cannot pipe, it might prove an agreeable
+diversification to dance."
+
+"Thank you, I'd rather not," said Harry; "and as for Hamilton, I'm
+convinced that _his_ mind is made up on the subject.--How go the
+heels now?"
+
+"Thank you, pretty well," he replied, reclining his head on the pine
+branches, and extending his smitten members towards the fire. "I
+think they will be quite well in the morning."
+
+"It is a curious thing," remarked the accountant, in a soliloquising
+tone, "that _soft_ fellows _never_ smoke!"
+
+"I beg your pardon," said Harry, "I've often seen hot loaves smoke,
+and they're soft enough fellows, in all conscience!"
+
+"Ah!" sighed the accountant, "that reminds me of poor Peterkin, who
+was _so_ soft that he went by the name of 'Butter.' Did you ever hear
+of what he did the summer before last with an Indian's head?"
+
+"No, never; what was it!"
+
+"I'll tell you the story," replied the accountant, drawing a few
+vigorous whiffs of smoke, to prevent his pipe going out while he
+spoke.
+
+As the story in question, however, depicts a new phase of society in
+the woods, it deserves a chapter to itself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+The accountant's story.
+
+
+"Spring had passed away, and York Fort was filled with all the bustle
+and activity of summer. Brigades came pouring in upon us with furs
+from the interior, and as every boat brought a C. T. or a clerk, our
+mess-table began to overflow.
+
+"You've not seen the summer mess-room filled yet, Hamilton. That's a
+treat in store for you."
+
+"It was pretty full last autumn, I think," suggested Hamilton, "at
+the time I arrived from England."
+
+"Full! why, man, it was getting to feel quite lonely at that time.
+I've seen more than fifty sit down to table there, and it was worth
+going fifty miles to hear the row they kicked up--telling stories
+without end (and sometimes without foundation) about their wild
+doings in the interior, where every man-jack of them having spent at
+least eight months almost in perfect solitude, they hadn't had a
+chance of letting their tongues go till they came down here. But to
+proceed. When the ship came out in the fall, she brought a batch of
+new clerks, and among them was this miserable chap Peterkin, whom we
+soon nicknamed _Butter_. He was the softest fellow I ever knew (far
+worse than you, Hamilton), and he hadn't been here a week before the
+wild blades from the interior, who were bursting with fun and
+mischief, began to play off all kinds of practical jokes upon him.
+The very first day he sat down at the mess-table, our worthy governor
+(who, you are aware, detests practical jokes) played him a trick,
+quite unintentionally, which raised a laugh against him for many a
+day. You know that old Mr. Rogan is rather absent at times; well, the
+first day that Peterkin came to mess (it was breakfast), the old
+governor asked him, in a patronizing sort of way, to sit at his right
+hand. Accordingly down he sat, and having never, I fancy, been away
+from his mother's apron-string before, he seemed to feel very
+uncomfortable, especially as he was regarded as a sort of novelty.
+The first thing he did was to capsize his plate into his lap, which
+set the youngsters at the lower end of the table into suppressed fits
+of laughter. However, he was eating the leg of a dry grouse at the
+time, so it didn't make much of a mess.
+
+"'Try some fish, Peterkin,' said Mr. Rogan kindly, seeing that the
+youth was ill at ease. 'That old grouse is tough enough to break your
+knife.'
+
+"'A very rough passage,' replied the youngster, whose mind was quite
+confused by hearing the captain of the ship, who sat next to him,
+giving to his next neighbour a graphic account of the voyage in a
+very loud key--'I mean, if you please, no, thank you,' he stammered,
+endeavouring to correct himself.
+
+"'Ah! a cup of tea perhaps.--Here, Anderson' (turning to the butler),
+'a cup of tea to Mr. Peterkin.'
+
+"The butler obeyed the order.
+
+"'And here, fill my cup,' said old Rogan, interrupting himself in an
+earnest conversation, into which he had plunged with the gentleman on
+his left hand. As he said this he lifted his cup to empty the slops,
+but without paying attention to what he was doing. As luck would have
+it, the slop-basin was not at hand, and Peterkin's cup _was_, so he
+emptied it innocently into that. Peterkin hadn't courage to arrest
+his hand, and when the deed was done he looked timidly round to see
+if the action had been observed. Nearly half the table had seen it,
+but they pretended ignorance of the thing so well that he thought no
+one had observed, and so went quietly on with his breakfast, and
+drank the tea! But I am wandering from my story. Well, about this
+time there was a young Indian who shot himself accidentally in the
+woods, and was brought to the fort to see if anything could be done
+for him. The doctor examined his wound, and found that the ball had
+passed through the upper part of his right arm and the middle of his
+right thigh, breaking the bone of the latter in its passage. It was
+an extraordinary shot for a man to put into himself, for it would
+have been next to impossible even for _another_ man to have done it,
+unless the Indian had been creeping on all fours. When he was able to
+speak, however, he explained the mystery. While running through a
+rough part of the wood after a wounded bird, he stumbled and fell on
+all fours. The gun, which he was carrying over his shoulder, holding
+it, as the Indians usually do, by the muzzle, flew forward, and
+turned right round as he fell, so that the mouth of it was presented
+towards him. Striking against the stem of a tree, it exploded and
+shot him through the arm and leg as described ere he had time to
+rise. A comrade carried him to his lodge, and his wife brought him in
+a canoe to the fort. For three or four days the doctor had hopes of
+him, but at last he began to sink, and died on the sixth day after
+his arrival. His wife and one or two friends buried him in our
+graveyard, which lies, as you know, on that lonely-looking point just
+below the powder-magazine. For several months previous to this our
+worthy doctor had been making strenuous efforts to get an Indian
+skull to send home to one of his medical friends, but without
+success. The Indians could not be prevailed upon to cut off the head
+of one of their dead countrymen for love or money, and the doctor had
+a dislike to the idea, I suppose, of killing one for himself; but now
+here was a golden opportunity. The Indian was buried near to the
+fort, and his relatives had gone away to their tents again. What was
+to prevent his being dug up? The doctor brooded over the thing for
+one hour and a half (being exactly the length of time required to
+smoke out his large Turkey pipe), and then sauntered into Wilson's
+room. Wilson was busy, as usual, at some of his mechanical
+contrivances.
+
+"Thrusting his hands deep into his breeches pockets, and seating
+himself on an old sea-chest, he began,--
+
+"'I say, Wilson, will you do me a favour?'
+
+"'That depends entirely on what the favour is,' he replied, without
+raising his head from his work.
+
+"'I want you to help me to cut off an Indian's head!'
+
+"' Then I _won't_ do you the favour. But pray, don't humbug me just
+now; I'm busy.'
+
+"'No; but I'm serious, and I can't get it done without help, and I
+know you're an obliging fellow. Besides, the savage is dead, and has
+no manner of use for his head now.'
+
+"Wilson turned round with a look of intelligence on hearing this.
+
+"'Ha!' he exclaimed, 'I see what you're up to; but I don't half like
+it. In the first place, his friends would be terribly cut up if they
+heard of it; and then I've no sort of aptitude for the work of a
+resurrectionist; and then, if it got wind, we should never hear the
+last of it; and then--'
+
+"'And then,' interrupted the doctor, 'it would be adding to the light
+of medical science, you unaspiring monster.'
+
+"'A light,' retorted Wilson, 'which, in passing through _some_
+members of the medical profession, is totally absorbed, and
+reproduced in the shape of impenetrable darkness.'
+
+"'Now, don't object, my dear fellow; you _know_ you're going to do
+it, so don't coquette with me, but agree at once.'
+
+"'Well, I consent, upon one condition.'
+
+"'And what is that?'
+
+"'That you do not play any practical jokes on _me_ with the head when
+you have got it.'
+
+"'Agreed!' cried the doctor, laughing; 'I give you my word of honour.
+Now he has been buried three days already, so we must set about it at
+once. Fortunately the graveyard is composed of a sandy soil, so he'll
+keep for some time yet.
+
+"The two worthies then entered into a deep consultation as to how
+they were to set about this deed of darkness. It was arranged that
+Wilson should take his gun and sally forth a little before dark, as
+if he were bent on an hour's sport, and, not forgetting his game-bag,
+proceed to the graveyard, where the doctor engaged to meet him with a
+couple of spades and a dark lantern. Accordingly, next evening, Mr.
+Wilson, true to his promise, shouldered his gun and sallied forth.
+
+"It soon became an intensely dark night. Not a single star shone
+forth to illumine the track along which he stumbled. Everything
+around was silent and dark, and congenial with the work on which he
+was bent. But Wilson's heart beat a little more rapidly than usual.
+He is a bold enough man, as you know, but boldness goes for nothing
+when superstition comes into play. However, he trudged along
+fearlessly enough till he came to the thick woods just below the
+fort, into which he entered with something of a qualm. Scarcely had
+he set foot on the narrow track that leads to the graveyard, when he
+ran slap against the post that stands there, but which, in his
+trepidation, he had entirely forgotten. This quite upset the small
+amount of courage that remained, and he has since confessed that if
+he had not had the hope of meeting with the doctor in a few minutes,
+he would have turned round and fled at that moment.
+
+"Recovering a little from this accident, he hurried forward, but with
+more caution, for although the night seemed as dark as could possibly
+be while he was crossing the open country, it became speedily evident
+that there were several shades of darkness which he had not yet
+conceived. In a few minutes he came to the creek that runs past the
+graveyard, and here again his nerves got another shake; for slipping
+his foot while in the act of commencing the descent, he fell and
+rolled heavily to the bottom, making noise enough in his fall to
+scare away all the ghosts in the country. With a palpitating heart
+poor Wilson gathered himself up, and searched for his gun, which
+fortunately had not been injured, and then commenced to climb the
+opposite bank, starting at every twig that snapped under his feet. On
+reaching the level ground again he breathed a little more freely, and
+hurried forward with more speed than caution. Suddenly he came into
+violent contact with a figure, which uttered a loud growl as Wilson
+reeled backwards.
+
+"'Back, you monster,' he cried, with a hysterical yell, 'or I'll blow
+your brains out!'
+
+"'It's little good _that_ would do ye,' cried the doctor as he came
+forward. 'Why, you stupid, what did you take me for? You've nearly
+knocked out my brains as it is,' and the doctor rubbed his forehead
+ruefully.
+
+"'Oh, it's _you,_ doctor!' said Wilson, feeling as if a ton weight
+had been lifted off his heart; 'I verily thought it was the ghost of
+the poor fellow we're going to disturb. I do think you had better
+give it up. Mischief will come of it, you'll see.'
+
+"'Nonsense,' cried the doctor; 'don't be a goose, but let's to work
+at once. Why, I've got half the thing dug up already.' So saying, he
+led the way to the grave, in which there was a large opening. Setting
+the lantern down by the side of it, the two seized their spades and
+began to dig as if in earnest.
+
+"The fact is that the doctor was nearly as frightened as Wilson, and
+he afterwards confessed to me that it was an immense relief to him
+when he heard him fall down the bank of the creek, and knew by the
+growl he gave that it was he.
+
+"In about half-an-hour the doctor's spade struck upon the coffin lid,
+which gave forth a hollow sound.
+
+"'Now then, we're about done with it,' said he, standing up to wipe
+away the perspiration that trickled down his face. 'Take the axe and
+force up the lid, it's only fixed with common nails, while I--' He
+did not finish the sentence, but drew a large scalping-knife from a
+sheath which hung at his belt.
+
+"Wilson shuddered and obeyed. A good wrench caused the lid to start,
+and while he held it partially open the doctor inserted the knife.
+For five minutes he continued to twist and work with his arms,
+muttering between his teeth, every now and then, that he was a 'tough
+subject,' while the crackling of bones and other disagreeable sounds
+struck upon the horrified ears of his companion.
+
+"'All right,' he exclaimed at last, as he dragged a round object from
+the coffin and let down the lid with a bang, at the same time placing
+the savage's head with its ghastly features full in the blaze of the
+lantern.
+
+"'Now, then, close up,' said he, jumping out of the hole and
+shovelling in the earth.
+
+"In a few minutes they had filled the grave up and smoothed it down
+on the surface, and then, throwing the head into the game-bag,
+retraced their steps to the fort. Their nerves were by this time
+worked up to such a pitch of excitement, and their minds filled with
+such a degree of supernatural horror, that they tripped and stumbled
+over stumps and branches innumerable in their double-quick march.
+Neither would confess to the other, however, that he was afraid. They
+even attempted to pass a few facetious remarks as they hurried along,
+but it would not do, so they relapsed into silence till they came to
+the hollow beside the powder-magazine. Here the doctor's foot
+happening to slip, he suddenly grasped Wilson by the shoulder to
+support himself--a movement which, being unexpected, made his friend
+leap, as he afterwards expressed it, nearly out of his skin. This was
+almost too much for them. For a moment they looked at each other as
+well as the darkness would permit, when all at once a large stone,
+which the doctor's slip had overbalanced, fell down the bank and
+through the bushes with a loud crash. Nothing more was wanting. All
+further effort to disguise their feelings was dropped. Leaping the
+rail of the open field in a twinkling, they gave a simultaneous yell
+of consternation and fled to the fort like autumn leaves before the
+wind, never drawing breath till they were safe within the pickets."
+
+"But what has all this to do with Peterkin?" asked Harry, as the
+accountant paused to relight his pipe and toss a fresh log on the
+fire.
+
+"Have patience, lad; you shall hear."
+
+The accountant stirred the logs with his toe, drew a few whiffs to
+see that the pipe was properly ignited, and proceeded.
+
+"For a day or two after this, the doctor was observed to be often
+mysteriously engaged in an outhouse, of which he kept the key. By
+some means or other, the skipper, who is always up to mischief,
+managed to discover the secret. Watching where the doctor hid the
+key, he possessed himself of it one day, and sallied forth, bent on a
+lark of some kind or other, but without very well knowing what.
+Passing the kitchen, he observed Anderson, the butler, raking the
+fire out of the large oven which stands in the backyard.
+
+"'Baking again, Anderson?' said he in passing. 'You get soon through
+with a heavy cargo of bread just now.'
+
+"'Yes, sir; many mouths to feed, sir,' replied the butler, proceeding
+with his work.
+
+"The skipper sauntered on, and took the track which led to the
+boathouse, where he stood for some time in meditation. Casting up his
+eyes, he saw Peterkin in the distance, looking as if he didn't very
+well know what to do.
+
+"A sudden thought struck him. Pulling off his coat, he seized a
+mallet and a calking-chisel, and began to belabour the side of a boat
+as if his life depended on it. All at once he stopped and stood up,
+blowing with the exertion.
+
+"'Hollo, Peterkin!' he shouted, and waved his hand.
+
+"Peterkin hastened towards him.
+
+"'Well, sir' said he, 'do you wish to speak to me?'
+
+"'Yes,' replied the skipper, scratching his head, as if in great
+perplexity. 'I wish you to do me a favour, Peterkin, but I don't know
+very well how to ask you.'
+
+"'Oh, I shall be most happy,' said poor Butter eagerly, 'if I can be
+of any use to you.'
+
+"'I don't doubt your willingness,' replied the other; 'but then--the
+doctor, you see--the fact is, Peterkin, the doctor being called away
+to see a sick Indian, has intrusted me with a delicate piece of
+business--rather a nasty piece of business, I may say--which I
+promised to do for him. You must know that the Surgical Society of
+London has written to him, begging, as a great favour, that he would,
+if possible, procure them the skull of a native. After much trouble,
+he has succeeded in getting one, but is obliged to keep it a great
+secret, even from his fellow-clerks, lest it should get wind: for if
+the Indians heard of it they would be sure to kill him, and perhaps
+burn the fort too. Now I suppose you are aware that it is necessary
+to boil an Indian's head in order to get the flesh clean off the
+skull?'
+
+"'Yes; I have heard something of that sort from the students at
+college, who say that boiling brings flesh more easily away from the
+bone. But I don't know much about it,' replied Peterkin.
+
+"'Well,' continued the skipper, 'the doctor, who is fond of
+experiments, wishes to try whether _baking_ won't do better than
+_boiling_, and ordered the oven to be heated for that purpose this
+morning; but being called suddenly away, as I have said, he begged me
+to put the head into it as soon as it was ready. I agreed, quite
+forgetting at the time that I had to get this precious boat ready for
+sea this very afternoon. Now the oven is prepared, and I dare not
+leave my work; indeed, I doubt whether I shall have it quite ready
+and taut after all, and there's the oven cooling; so, if you don't
+help me, I'm a lost man.'
+
+"Having said this, the skipper looked as miserable as his jolly
+visage would permit, and rubbed his nose.
+
+"'Oh, I'll be happy to do it for you, although it is not an agreeable
+job,' replied Butter.
+
+"'That's right--that's friendly now!' exclaimed the skipper, as if
+greatly relieved. 'Give us your flipper, my lad;' and seizing
+Peterkin's hand, he wrung it affectionately. 'Now, here is the key of
+the outhouse; do it as quickly as you can, and don't let anyone see
+you. It's in a good cause, you know, but the results might be
+terrible if discovered.'
+
+"So saying, the skipper fell to hammering the boat again with
+surprising vigour till Butter was out of sight, and then resuming his
+coat, returned to the house.
+
+"An hour after this, Anderson went to take his loaves out of the
+oven; but he had no sooner taken down the door than a rich odour of
+cooked meat greeted his nostrils. Uttering a deep growl, the butler
+shouted out 'Sprat!'
+
+"Upon this, a very thin boy, with arms and legs like pipe stems,
+issued from the kitchen, and came timidly towards his master.
+
+"'Didn't I tell you, you young blackguard, that the grouse-pie was to
+be kept for Sunday? and there you've gone and put it to fire to-day.'
+
+"'The grouse-pie!' said the boy, in amazement.
+
+"'Yes, the grouse-pie,' retorted the indignant butler; and seizing
+the urchin by the neck, he held his head down to the mouth of the
+oven.
+
+"'Smell _that_, you villain! What did you mean by it, eh?'
+
+"'Oh, murder!' shouted the boy, as with a violent effort he freed
+himself, and ran shrieking into the house. "'Murder!' repeated
+Anderson in astonishment, while he stooped to look into the oven,
+where the first thing that met his gaze was a human head, whose
+ghastly visage and staring eyeballs worked and moved about under the
+influence of the heat as if it were alive.
+
+"With a yell that rung through the whole fort, the horrified butler
+rushed through the kitchen and out at the front door, where, as ill-
+luck would have it, Mr. Rogan happened to be standing at the moment.
+Pitching head first into the small of the old gentleman's back, he
+threw him off the platform and fell into his arms. Starting up in a
+moment, the governor dealt Anderson a cuff that sent him reeling
+towards the kitchen door again, on the steps of which he sat down,
+and began to sing out, 'Oh, murder, murder! the oven, the oven!' and
+not another word, bad, good, or indifferent, could be got out of him
+for the next half-hour, as he swayed himself to and fro and wrung his
+hands.
+
+"To make a long story short, Mr. Rogan went himself to the oven, and
+fished out the head, along with the loaves, which were, of course,
+all spoiled."
+
+"And what was the result?" enquired Harry.
+
+"Oh, there was a long investigation, and the skipper got a blowing-
+up, and the doctor a warning to let Indians' skulls lie at peace in
+their graves for the future, and poor Butter was sent to M'Kenzie's
+River as a punishment, for old Rogan could never be brought to
+believe that he hadn't been a willing tool in the skipper's hands;
+and Anderson lost his batch of bread and his oven, for it had to be
+pulled down and a new one built."
+
+"Humph! and I've no doubt the governor read you a pretty stiff
+lecture on practical joking."
+
+"He did," replied the accountant, laying aside his pipe and drawing
+the green blanket over him, while Harry piled several large logs on
+the fire.
+
+"Good-night," said the accountant.
+
+"Good-night," replied his companions; and in a few minutes more they
+were sound asleep in their snowy camp, while the huge fire continued,
+during the greater part of the night, to cast its light on their
+slumbering forms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+Ptarmigan-hunting--Hamilton's shooting powers severely tested--A
+snowstorm.
+
+
+At about four o'clock on the following morning, the sleepers were
+awakened by the cold, which had become very intense. The fire had
+burned down to a few embers, which merely emitted enough light to
+make darkness visible. Harry being the most active of the party, was
+the first to bestir himself. Raising himself on his elbow, while his
+teeth chattered and his limbs trembled with cold, he cast a woebegone
+and excessively sleepy glance towards the place where the fire had
+been; then he scratched his head slowly; then he stared at the fire
+again; then he languidly glanced at Hamilton's sleeping visage, and
+then he yawned. The accountant observed all this; for although he
+appeared to be buried in the depths of slumber, he was wide awake in
+reality, and moreover, intensely cold. The accountant, however, was
+sly--deep, as he would have said himself--and knew that Harry's
+active habits would induce him to rise, on awaking, and rekindle the
+fire,--an event which the accountant earnestly desired to see
+accomplished, but which he as earnestly resolved should not be
+performed by _him_. Indeed, it was with this end in view that he had
+given vent to the terrific snore which had aroused his young
+companion a little sooner than would have otherwise been the case.
+
+"My eye," exclaimed Harry, in an undertone, "how precious cold it
+is!"
+
+His eye making no reply to this remark, he arose, and going down on
+his hands and knees, began to coax the charcoal into a flame. By dint
+of severe blowing, he soon succeeded, and heaping on a quantity of
+small twigs, the fitful flame sprang up into a steady blaze. He then
+threw several heavy logs on the fire, and in a very short space of
+time restored it almost to its original vigour.
+
+"What an abominable row you are kicking up!" growled the accountant;
+"why, you would waken the seven sleepers. Oh! mending the fire," he
+added, in an altered tone: "ah! I'll excuse you, my boy, since that's
+what you're at."
+
+The accountant hereupon got up, along with Hamilton, who was now also
+awake, and the three spread their hands over the bright fire, and
+revolved their bodies before it, until they imbibed a satisfactory
+amount of heat. They were much too sleepy to converse, however, and
+contented themselves with a very brief enquiry as to the state of
+Hamilton's heels, which elicited the sleepy reply, "They feel quite
+well, thank you." In a short time, having become agreeably warm, they
+gave a simultaneous yawn, and lying down again, they fell into a
+sleep from which they did not awaken until the red winter sun shot
+its early rays over the arctic scenery.
+
+Once more Harry sprang up, and let his hand fall heavily on
+Hamilton's shoulder. Thus rudely assailed, that youth also sprang up,
+giving a shout, at the same time, that brought the accountant to his
+feet in an instant; and so, as if by an electric spark, the sleepers
+were simultaneously roused into a state of wide-awake activity.
+
+"How excessively hungry I feel! isn't it strange?" said Hamilton, as
+he assisted in rekindling the fire, while the accountant filled his
+pipe, and Harry stuffed the tea-kettle full of snow.
+
+"Strange!" cried Harry, as he placed the kettle on the fire--"strange
+to be hungry after a five miles' walk and a night in the snow? I
+would rather say it was strange if you were _not_ hungry. Throw on
+that billet, like a good fellow, and spit those grouse, while I cut
+some pemmican and prepare the tea."
+
+"How are the heels now, Hamilton?" asked the accountant, who divided
+his attention between his pipe and his snow-shoes, the lines of which
+required to be readjusted.
+
+"They appear to be as well as if nothing had happened to them,"
+replied Hamilton: "I've been looking at them, and there is no mark
+whatever. They do not even feel tender."
+
+"Lucky for you, old boy, that they were taken in time, else you'd had
+another story to tell."
+
+"Do you mean to say that people's heels really freeze and fall off?"
+inquired the other, with a look of incredulity.
+
+"Soft, very soft and green," murmured Harry, in a low voice, while he
+continued his work of adding fresh snow to the kettle as the process
+of melting reduced its bulk.
+
+"I mean to say," replied the accountant, tapping the ashes out of his
+pipe, "that not only heels, but hands, feet, noses, and ears,
+frequently freeze, and often fall off in this country, as you will
+find by sad experience if you don't look after yourself a little
+better than you have done hitherto."
+
+One of the evil effects of the perpetual jesting that prevailed at
+York Fort was, that "soft" (in other words, straightforward,
+unsuspecting) youths had to undergo a long process of learning-by-
+experience: first, _believing_ everything, and then _doubting_
+everything, ere they arrived at that degree of sophistication which
+enabled them to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
+
+Having reached the _doubting_ period in his training, Hamilton looked
+down and said nothing, at least with his mouth, though his eyes
+evidently remarked, "I don't believe you." In future years, however,
+the evidence of these same eyes convinced him that what the
+accountant said upon this occasion was but too true.
+
+Breakfast was a repetition of the supper of the previous evening.
+During its discussion they planned proceedings for the day.
+
+"My notion is," said the accountant, interrupting the flow of words
+ever and anon to chew the morsel with which his mouth was filled--"my
+notion is, that as it's a fine clear day we should travel five miles
+through the country parallel with North River. I know the ground, and
+can guide you easily to the spots where there are lots of willows,
+and therefore plenty of ptarmigan, seeing that they feed on willow
+tops; and the snow that fell last night will help us a little."
+
+"How will the snow help us?" inquired Hamilton.
+
+"By covering up all the old tracks, to be sure, and showing only the
+new ones."
+
+"Well, captain," said Harry, as he raised a can of tea to his lips,
+and nodded to Hamilton as if drinking his health, "go on with your
+proposals for the day. Five miles up the river to begin with, then--"
+
+"Then we'll pull up," continued the accountant; "make a fire, rest a
+bit, and eat a mouthful of pemmican; after which we'll strike across
+country for the southern woodcutters' track, and so home."
+
+"And how much will that be?"
+
+"About fifteen miles."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Harry; "pass the kettle, please. Thanks.--Do you
+think you're up to that, Hammy?"
+
+"I will try what I can do," replied Hamilton. "If the snow-shoes
+don't cause me to fall often, I think I shall stand the fatigue very
+well."
+
+"That's right," said the accountant; "'faint heart,' etc., you know.
+If you go on as you've begun, you'll be chosen to head the next
+expedition to the north pole."
+
+"Well," replied Hamilton, good-humouredly, "pray head the present
+expedition, and let us be gone."
+
+"Right!" ejaculated the accountant, rising. "I'll just put my odds
+and ends out of the reach of the foxes, and then we shall be off."
+
+In a few minutes everything was placed in security, guns loaded,
+snow-shoes put on, and the winter camp deserted. At first the walking
+was fatiguing, and poor Hamilton more than once took a sudden and
+eccentric plunge; but after getting beyond the wooded country, they
+found the snow much more compact, and their march, therefore, much
+more agreeable. On coming to the place where it was probable that
+they might fall in with ptarmigan, Hamilton became rather excited,
+and apt to imagine that little lumps of snow which hung upon the
+bushes here and there were birds.
+
+"There now," he cried, in an energetic and slightly positive tone, as
+another of these masses of snow suddenly met his eager eye--"that's
+one, I'm _quite_ sure."
+
+The accountant and Harry both stopped short on hearing this, and
+looked in the direction indicated.
+
+"Fire away, then, Hammy," said the former, endeavouring to suppress a
+smile.
+
+"But do you think it _really_ is one?" asked Hamilton, anxiously.
+
+"Well, I don't _see_ it exactly, but then, you know, I'm near-
+sighted."
+
+"Don't give him a chance of escape," cried Harry, seeing that his
+friend was undecided. "If you really do see a bird, you'd better
+shoot it, for they've got a strong propensity to take wing when
+disturbed."
+
+Thus admonished Hamilton raised his gun and took aim. Suddenly he
+lowered his piece again, and looking round at Harry, said in a low
+whisper,--
+
+"Oh, I should like _so_ much to shoot it while flying! Would it not
+be better to set it up first?"
+
+"By no means," answered the accountant. "'A bird in the hand,' etc.
+Take him as you find him--look sharp; he'll be off in a second."
+
+Again the gun was pointed, and, after some difficulty in taking aim,
+fired.
+
+"Ah, what a pity you've missed him!" shouted Harry,
+
+"But see, he's not off yet; how tame he is, to be sure! Give him the
+other barrel, Hammy."
+
+This piece of advice proved to be unnecessary. In his anxiety to get
+the bird, Hamilton had cocked both barrels, and while gazing, half in
+disappointment, half in surprise, at the supposed bird, his finger
+unintentionally pressed the second trigger. In a moment the piece
+exploded. Being accidentally aimed in the right direction, it blew
+the lump of snow to atoms, and at the same time hitting its owner on
+the chest with the butt, knocked him over flat upon his back.
+
+"What a gun it is, to be sure!" said Harry, with a roguish laugh, as
+he assisted the discomforted sportsman to rise; "it knocks over game
+with butt and muzzle at once."
+
+"Quite a rare instance of one butt knocking another down," added the
+accountant.
+
+At this moment a large flock of ptarmigan, startled by the double
+report, rose with a loud whirring noise about a hundred yards in
+advance, and after flying a short distance alighted.
+
+"There's real game at last, though," cried the accountant, as he
+hurried after the birds, followed closely by his young friends.
+
+They soon reached the spot where the flock had alighted, and after
+following up the tracks for a few yards further, set them up again.
+As the birds rose, the accountant fired and brought down two; Harry
+shot one and missed another; Hamilton being so nervously interested
+in the success of his comrades that he forgot to fire at all.
+
+"How stupid of me!" he exclaimed, while the others loaded their guns.
+
+"Never mind; better luck next time," said Harry, as they resumed
+their walk. "I saw the flock settle down about half-a-mile in advance
+of us; so step out."
+
+Another short walk brought the sportsmen again within range.
+
+"Go to the front, Hammy," said the accountant, "and take the first
+shot this time."
+
+Hamilton obeyed. He had scarcely made ten steps in advance, when a
+single bird, that seemed to have been separated from the others, ran
+suddenly out from under a bush, and stood stock-still, at a distance
+of a few yards, with its neck stretched out and its black eyes wide
+open, as if in astonishment.
+
+"Now then, you can't miss _that_."
+
+Hamilton was quite taken aback by the suddenness of this necessity
+for instantaneous action. Instead, therefore, of taking aim leisurely
+(seeing that he had abundant time to do so), he flew entirely to the
+opposite extreme, took no aim at all, and fired off both barrels at
+once, without putting the gun to his shoulder. The result of this was
+that the affrighted bird flew away unharmed, while Harry and the
+accountant burst spontaneously into fits of laughter.
+
+"How very provoking!" said the poor youth, with a dejected look.
+
+"Never mind--never say die--try again," said the accountant, on
+recovering his gravity. Having reloaded, they continued the pursuit.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed Harry, suddenly, "here are three dead birds.--I
+verily believe, Hamilton, that you have killed them all at one shot
+by accident."
+
+"Can it be possible?" exclaimed his friend, as with a look of
+amazement he regarded the birds.
+
+There was no doubt about the fact. There they lay, plump and still
+warm, with one or two drops of bright red blood upon their white
+plumage. Ptarmigan are almost pure white, so that it requires a
+practised eye to detect them, even at a distance of a few yards; and
+it would be almost impossible to hunt them without dogs, but for the
+tell-tale snow, in which their tracks are distinctly marked, enabling
+the sportsman to follow them up with unerring certainty. When
+Hamilton made his bad shot, neither he nor his companions observed a
+group of ptarmigan not more than fifty yards before them, their
+attention being riveted at the time on the solitary bird; and the gun
+happening to be directed towards them when it was fired, three were
+instantly and unwittingly placed _hors de combat_, while the others
+ran away. This the survivors frequently do when very tame, instead of
+taking wing. Thus it was that Hamilton, to his immense delight, made
+such a successful shot without being aware of it.
+
+Having bagged their game, the party proceeded on their way. Several
+large flocks of birds were raised, and the game-bags nearly filled,
+before reaching the spot where they intended to turn and bend their
+steps homewards. This induced them to give up the idea of going
+further; and it was fortunate they came to this resolution, for a
+storm was brewing, which in the eagerness of pursuit after game they
+had not noticed. Dark masses of leaden-coloured clouds were gathering
+in the sky overhead, and faint sighs of wind came, ever and anon, in
+fitful gusts from the north-west.
+
+Hurrying forward as quickly as possible, they now pursued their
+course in a direction which would enable them to cross the
+woodcutters' track. This they soon reached, and finding it pretty
+well beaten, were enabled to make more rapid progress. Fortunately
+the wind was blowing on their backs, otherwise they would have had to
+contend not only with its violence, but also with the snow-drift,
+which now whirled in bitter fury among the trees, or scoured like
+driving clouds over the plain. Under this aspect, the flat country
+over which they travelled seemed the perfection of bleak desolation.
+Their way, however, did not lie in a direct line. The track was
+somewhat tortuous, and gradually edged towards the north, until the
+wind blew nearly in their teeth. At this point, too, they came to a
+stretch of open ground which they had crossed at a point some miles
+further to the northward in their night march. Here the storm raged
+in all its fury, and as they looked out upon the plain, before
+quitting the shelter of the wood, they paused to tighten their belts
+and readjust their snow-shoe lines. The gale was so violent that the
+whole plain seemed tossed about like billows of the sea, as the drift
+rose and fell, curled, eddied, and dashed along, so that it was
+impossible to see more than half-a-dozen yards in advance.
+
+"Heaven preserve us from ever being caught in an exposed place on
+such a night as this!" said the accountant, as he surveyed the
+prospect before him. "Luckily the open country here is not more than
+a quarter of a mile broad, and even that little bit will try our wind
+somewhat."
+
+Hamilton and Harry seemed by their looks to say, "We could easily
+face even a stiffer breeze than that, if need be."
+
+"What should we do," inquired the former, "if the plain were five or
+six miles broad?"
+
+"Do? why, we should have to camp in the woods till it blew over,
+that's all," replied the accountant; "but seeing that we are not
+reduced to such a necessity just now, and that the day is drawing to
+a close, let us face it at once. I'll lead the way, and see that you
+follow close at my heels. Don't lose sight of me for a moment, and if
+you do by chance, give a shout; d'ye hear?"
+
+The two lads replied in the affirmative, and then bracing themselves
+up as if for a great effort, stepped vigorously out upon the plain,
+and were instantly swallowed up in clouds of snow. For half-an-hour
+or more they battled slowly against the howling storm, pressing
+forward for some minutes with heads down, as if _boring_ through it,
+then turning their backs to the blast for a few seconds' relief, but
+always keeping as close to each other as possible. At length the
+woods were gained; on entering which it was discovered that Hamilton
+was missing.
+
+"Hollo! where's Hamilton?" exclaimed Harry; "I saw him beside me not
+five minutes ago." The accountant gave a loud shout, but there was no
+reply. Indeed, nothing short of his own stentorian voice could have
+been heard at all amid the storm.
+
+"There's nothing for it," said Harry, "but to search at once, else
+he'll wander about and get lost." Saying this, he began to retrace
+his steps, just as a brief lull in the gale took place.
+
+"Hollo! don't you hear a cry, Harry?"
+
+At this moment there was another lull; the drift fell, and for an
+instant cleared away, revealing the bewildered Hamilton, not twenty
+yards off, standing, like a pillar of snow, in mute despair.
+
+Profiting by the glimpse, Harry rushed forward, caught him by the
+arm, and led him into the partial shelter of the forest.
+
+Nothing further befell them after this. Their route lay in shelter
+all the way to the fort. Poor Hamilton, it is true, took one or two
+of his occasional plunges by the way, but without any serious result--
+not even to the extent of stuffing his nose, ears, neck, mittens,
+pockets, gun-barrels, and everything else with snow, because, these
+being quite full and hard packed already, there was no room left for
+the addition of another particle.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+The winter packet--Harry hears from old friends, and wishes that he
+was with them.
+
+
+Letters from home! What a burst of sudden emotion--what a riot of
+conflicting feelings of dread and joy, expectation and anxiety--what
+a flood of old memories--what stirring up of almost forgotten
+associations these three words create in the hearts of those who
+dwell in distant regions of this earth, far, far away from kith and
+kin, from friends and acquaintances, from the much-loved scenes of
+childhood, and from _home_! Letters from home! How gratefully the
+sound falls upon ears that have been long unaccustomed to sounds and
+things connected with home, and so long accustomed to wild, savage
+sounds, that these have at length lost their novelty, and become
+everyday and commonplace, while the first have gradually grown
+strange and unwonted. For many long months home and all connected
+with it have become a dream of other days, and savage-land a present
+reality. The mind has by degrees become absorbed by surrounding
+objects--objects so utterly unassociated with or unsuggestive of any
+other land, that it involuntarily ceases to think of the scenes of
+childhood with the same feelings that it once did. As time rolls on,
+home assumes a misty, undefined character, as if it were not only
+distant in reality, but were also slowly retreating further and
+further away--growing gradually faint and dream-like, though not less
+dear, to the mental view.
+
+"Letters from home!" shouted Mr. Wilson, and the doctor, and the
+skipper, simultaneously, as the sportsmen, after dashing through the
+wild storm, at last reached the fort, and stumbled tumultuously into
+Bachelors' Hall.
+
+"What!--Where!--How!--You don't mean it!" they exclaimed, coming to a
+sudden stand, like three pillars of snow-clad astonishment.
+
+"Ay," replied the doctor, who affected to be quite cool upon all
+occasions, and rather cooler than usual if the occasion was more than
+ordinarily exciting--"ay, we _do_ mean it. Old Rogan has got the
+packet, and is even now disembowelling it."
+
+"More than that," interrupted the skipper, who sat smoking as usual
+by the stove, with his hands in his breeches pockets--"more than
+that, I saw him dissecting into the very marrow of the thing; so if
+we don't storm the old admiral in his cabin, he'll go to sleep over
+these prosy yarns that the governor-in-chief writes to him, and we'll
+have to whistle for our letters till midnight."
+
+The skipper's remark was interrupted by the opening of the outer door
+and the entrance of the butler. "Mr. Rogan wishes to see you, sir,"
+said that worthy to the accountant.
+
+"I'll be with him in a minute," he replied, as he threw off his
+capote and proceeded to unwind himself as quickly as his
+multitudinous haps would permit.
+
+By this time Harry Somerville and Hamilton were busily occupied in a
+similar manner, while a running fire of question and answer, jesting
+remark and bantering reply, was kept up between the young men, from
+their various apartments and the hall. The doctor was cool, as usual,
+and impudent. He had a habit of walking up and down while he smoked,
+and was thus enabled to look in upon the inmates of the several
+sleeping-rooms, and make his remarks in a quiet, sarcastic manner,
+the galling effect of which was heightened by his habit of pausing at
+the end of every two or three words, to emit a few puffs of smoke.
+Having exhausted a good deal of small talk in this way, and having,
+moreover, finished his pipe, the doctor went to the stove to refill
+and relight.
+
+"What a deal of trouble you do take to make yourself comfortable!"
+said he to the skipper, who sat with his chair tilted on its hind
+legs, and a pillow at his back.
+
+"No harm in that, doctor," replied the skipper, with a smile.
+
+"No harm, certainly, but it looks uncommonly lazy-like."
+
+"What does?"
+
+"Why, putting a pillow at your back, to be sure."
+
+The doctor was a full-fleshed, muscular man, and owing to this fact
+it mattered little to him whether his chair happened to be an easy
+one or not. As the skipper sometimes remarked, he carried padding
+always about with him; he was, therefore, a little apt to sneer at
+the attempts of his brethren to render the ill-shaped, wooden-
+bottomed chairs, with which the hall was ornamented, bearable.
+
+"Well, doctor," said the skipper, "I cannot see how you make me out
+lazy. Surely it is not an evidence of laziness, my endeavouring to
+render these instruments of torture less tormenting? Seeking to be
+comfortable, if it does not inconvenience anyone else, is not
+laziness. Why, what _is_ comfort?" The skipper began to wax
+philosophical at this point, and took the pipe from his mouth as he
+gravely propounded the momentous question. "What _is_ comfort? If I
+go out to camp in the woods, and after turning in find a sharp stump
+sticking into my ribs on one side, and a pine root driving in the
+small of my back on the other side, is _that_ comfort? Certainly not.
+And if I get up, seize a hatchet, level the stump, cut away the root,
+and spread pine brush over the place, am I to be called lazy for
+doing so? Or if I sit down on a chair, and on trying to lean back to
+rest myself find that the stupid lubber who made it has so
+constructed it that four small hard points alone touch my person--two
+being at the hip-joints and two at the shoulder-blades; and if to
+relieve such physical agony I jump up and clap a pillow at my back,
+am I to be called lazy for doing _that_?"
+
+"What a glorious entry that would make in the log!" said the doctor,
+in a low tone, soliloquizingly, as if he made the remark merely for
+his own satisfaction, while he tapped the ashes out of his pipe.
+
+The skipper looked as if he meditated a sharp reply; but his
+intentions, whatever they might have been, were interrupted by the
+opening of the door, and the entrance of the accountant, bearing
+under his arm a packet of letters.
+
+A general rush was made upon him, and in a few minutes a dead silence
+reigned in the hall, broken only at intervals by an exclamation of
+surprise or pathos, as the inmates, in the retirement of their
+separate apartments, perused letters from friends in the interior of
+the country and friends at home: letters that were old--some of them
+bearing dates many months back--and travel-stained, but new and fresh
+and cheering, nevertheless, to their owners, as the clear bright sun
+in winter or the verdant leaves in spring.
+
+Harry Somerville's letters were numerous and long. He had several
+from friends in Red River, besides one or two from other parts of the
+Indian country, and one--it was very thick and heavy--that bore the
+post-marks of Britain. It was late that night ere the last candle was
+extinguished in the hall, and it was late too before Harry Somerville
+ceased to peruse and re-peruse the long letter from home, and found
+time or inclination to devote to his other correspondents. Among the
+rest was a letter from his old friend and companion, Charley Kennedy,
+which ran as follows:--
+
+MY DEAR HARRY,--It really seems more than an age since I saw you.
+Your last epistle, written in the perturbation of mind consequent
+upon being doomed to spend another winter at York Fort, reached me
+only a few days ago, and filled me with pleasant recollections of
+other days. Oh! man, how much I wish that you were with me in this
+beautiful country! You are aware that I have been what they call
+"roughing it" since you and I parted on the shores of Lake Winnipeg;
+but, my dear fellow, the idea that most people have of what that
+phrase means is a very erroneous one indeed. "Roughing it," I
+certainly have been, inasmuch as I have been living on rough fare,
+associating with rough men, and sleeping on rough beds under the
+starry sky; but I assure you that all this is not half so rough upon
+the constitution as what they call leading an _easy life_, which is
+simply a life that makes a poor fellow stagnate, body and spirit,
+till the one comes to be unable to digest its food, and the other
+incompetent to jump at so much as half an idea. Anything but an easy
+life, to my mind. Ah! there's nothing like roughing it, Harry, my
+boy. Why, I am thriving on it--growing like a young walrus, eating
+like a Canadian voyageur, and sleeping like a top! This is a splendid
+country for sport, and as our _bourgeois_ [Footnote: The gentleman in
+charge of an establishment is always designated the bourgeois.] has
+taken it into his head that I am a good hand at making friends with
+the Indians, he has sent me out on several expeditions, and afforded
+me some famous opportunities of seeing life among the red-skins.
+There is a talk just now of establishing a new outpost in this
+district, so if I succeed in persuading the governor to let me
+accompany the party, I shall have something interesting to write
+about in my next letter. By the way, I wrote to you a month ago, by
+two Indians who said they were going to the missionary station at
+Norway House. Did you ever get it? There is a hunter here just now
+who goes by the name of Jacques Caradoc. He is a first-rater--can do
+anything, in a wild way, that lies within the power of mortal man,
+and is an inexhaustible anecdote-teller, in a quiet way. He and I
+have been out buffalo-hunting two or three times, and it would have
+done your heart good, Harry, my dear boy, to have seen us scouring
+over the prairie together on two big-boned Indian horses--regular
+trained buffalo-runners, that didn't need the spur to urge, nor the
+rein to guide them, when once they caught sight of the black cattle,
+and kept a sharp look-out for badger-holes, just as if they had been
+reasonable creatures. The first time I went out I had several rather
+ugly falls, owing to my inexperience. The fact is, that if a man has
+never run buffaloes before, he's sure to get one or two upsets, no
+matter how good a horseman he may be. And that monster Jacques,
+although he's the best fellow I ever met with for a hunting
+companion, always took occasion to grin at my mishaps, and gravely to
+read me a lecture to the effect that they were all owing to my own
+clumsiness or stupidity; which, you will acknowledge, was not
+calculated to restore my equanimity.
+
+The very first run we had cost me the entire skin of my nose, and
+converted that feature into a superb Roman for the next three weeks.
+It happened thus. Jacques and I were riding over the prairies in
+search of buffaloes. The place was interspersed with sundry knolls
+covered with trees, slips and belts of woodland, with ponds scattered
+among them, and open sweeps of the plain here and there; altogether a
+delightful country to ride through. It was a clear early morning, so
+that our horses were fresh and full of spirit. They knew, as well as
+we ourselves did, what we were out for, and it was no easy matter to
+restrain them. The one I rode was a great long-legged beast, as like
+as possible to that abominable kangaroo that nearly killed me at Red
+River; as for Jacques, he was mounted on a first-rate charger. I
+don't know how it is, but somehow or other everything about Jacques,
+or belonging to him, or in the remotest degree connected with him, is
+always first-rate! He generally owns a first-rate horse, and if he
+happens by any unlucky chance to be compelled to mount a bad one, it
+immediately becomes another animal. He seems to infuse some of his
+own wonderful spirit into it! Well, as Jacques and I curvetted along,
+skirting the low bushes at the edge of a wood, out burst a whole herd
+of buffaloes. Bang went Jacques's gun, almost before I had winked to
+make sure that I saw rightly, and down fell the fattest of them all,
+while the rest tossed up their tails, heels, and heads in one grand
+whirl of indignant amazement, and scoured away like the wind. In a
+moment our horses were at full stretch after them, on their _own_
+account entirely, and without any reference to _us_. When I recovered
+my self-possession a little, I threw forward my gun and fired; but
+owing to my endeavouring to hold the reins at the same time, I nearly
+blew off one of my horse's ears, and only knocked up the dust about
+six yards ahead of us! Of course Jacques could not let this pass
+unnoticed. He was sitting quietly loading his gun, as cool as a
+cucumber, while his horse was dashing forward at full stretch, with
+the reins hanging loosely on his neck.
+
+"Ah, Mister Charles," said he, with the least possible grin on his
+leathern visage, "that was not well done. You should never hold the
+reins when you fire, nor try to put the gun to your shoulder. It
+a'n't needful. The beast'll look arter itself, if it's a riglar
+buffalo-runner; any ways holdin' the reins is of no manner of use. I
+once know'd a gentleman that came out here to see the buffalo-
+huntin'. He was a good enough shot in his way, an' a first-rate
+rider. But he was full o' queer notions: he _would_ load his gun with
+the ramrod in the riglar way, instead o' doin' as we do, tumblin' in
+a drop powder, spittin' a ball out your mouth down the muzzle, and
+hittin' the stock on the pommel of the saddle to send it home. And he
+had them miserable things--the _somethin'_ 'cussion-caps, and used to
+fiddle away with them while we were knockin' over the cattle in all
+directions. Moreover, he had a notion that it was altogether wrong to
+let go his reins even for a moment, and so, what between the ramrod
+and the 'cussion-caps and the reins, he was worse than the greenest
+clerk that ever came to the country. He gave it up in despair at
+last, after lamin' two horses, and finished off by runnin' after a
+big bull, that turned on him all of a suddent, crammed its head and
+horns into the side of his horse, and sent the poor fellow head over
+heels on the green grass. He wasn't much the worse for it, but his
+fine double-barrelled gun was twisted into a shape that would almost
+have puzzled an Injin to tell what it was." Well, Harry, all the time
+that Jacques was telling me this we were gaining on the buffaloes,
+and at last we got quite close to them, and as luck would have it,
+the very thing that happened to the amateur sportsman happened to me.
+I went madly after a big bull in spite of Jacques's remonstrances,
+and just as I got alongside of him up went his tail (a sure sign that
+his anger was roused), and round he came, head to the front, stiff as
+a rock; my poor charger's chest went right between his horns, and, as
+a matter of course, I continued the race upon _nothing_, head first,
+for a distance of about thirty yards, and brought up on the bridge of
+my nose. My poor dear father used to say I was a bull-headed rascal,
+and, upon my word, I believe he was more literally correct than he
+imagined; for although I fell with a fearful crash, head first, on
+the hard plain, I rose up immediately, and in a few minutes was able
+to resume the chase again. My horse was equally fortunate, for
+although thus brought to a sudden stand while at full gallop, he
+wheeled about, gave a contemptuous flourish with his heels, and
+cantered after Jacques, who soon caught him again. My head bothered
+me a good deal for some time after this accident, and swelled up till
+my eyes became almost undistinguishable; but a few weeks put me all
+right again. And who do you think this man Jacques is? You'd never
+guess. He's the trapper whom Redfeather told us of long ago, and
+whose wife was killed by the Indians. He and Redfeather have met, and
+are very fond of each other. How often in the midst of these wild
+excursions have my thoughts wandered to you, Harry! The fellows I
+meet with here are all kind-hearted, merry companions, but none like
+yourself. I sometimes say to Jacques, when we become communicative to
+each other beside the camp-fire, that my earthly felicity would be
+perfect if I had Harry Somerville here; and then I think of Kate, my
+sweet, loving sister Kate, and feel that, even although I had you
+with me, there would still be something wanting to make things
+perfect. Talking of Kate, by the way, I have received a letter from
+her, the first sheet of which, as it speaks of mutual Red River
+friends, I herewith enclose. Pray keep it safe, and return per first
+opportunity. We've loads of furs here and plenty of deerstalking, not
+to mention galloping on horseback on the plains in summer and dog-
+sledging in the winter. Alas! my poor friend, I fear that it is
+rather selfish in me to write so feelingly about my agreeable
+circumstances, when I know you are slowly dragging out your existence
+at that melancholy place York Fort; but believe me, I sympathize with
+you, and I hope earnestly that you will soon be appointed to more
+genial scenes. I have much, very much, to tell you yet, but am
+compelled to reserve it for a future epistle, as the packet which is
+to convey this is on the point of being closed.
+
+Adieu, my dear Harry, and wherever you may happen to pitch your tent,
+always bear in kindly remembrance your old friend,    CHARLES
+KENNEDY.
+
+The letter was finished, but Harry did not cease to hold intercourse
+with his friend. With his head resting on his two hands, and his
+elbows on the table, he sat long, silently gazing on the signature,
+while his mind revelled in the past, the present, and the future. He
+bounded over the wilderness that lay between him and the beautiful
+plains of the Saskatchewan. He seized Charley round the neck, and
+hugged and wrestled with him as in days of yore. He mounted an
+imaginary charger, and swept across the plains along with him;
+listened to anecdotes innumerable from Jacques, attacked thousands of
+buffaloes, singled out scores of wild bulls, pitched over horses'
+heads and alighted precisely on the bridge of his nose, always in
+close proximity to his old friend. Gradually his mind returned to its
+prison-house, and his eye fell on Kate's letter, which he picked up
+and began to read. It ran thus:--
+
+MY DEAR, DEAR, DARLING CHARLEY,--I cannot tell you how much my heart
+has yearned to see you, or hear from you, for many long, long months
+past. Your last delightful letter, which I treasure up as the most
+precious object I possess, has indeed explained to me how utterly
+impossible it was to have written a day sooner than you did; but that
+does not comfort me a bit, or make those weary packets more rapid and
+frequent in their movements, or the time that passes between the
+periods of hearing from you less dreary and anxious. God bless and
+protect you, my darling, in the midst of all the dangers that
+surround you. But I did not intend to begin this letter by murmuring,
+so pray forgive me, and I shall try to atone for it by giving you a
+minute account of everybody here about whom you are interested. Our
+beloved father and mother, I am thankful to say, are quite well. Papa
+has taken more than ever to smoking since you went away. He is seldom
+out of the summer-house in the garden now, where I very frequently
+go, and spend hours together in reading to and talking with him. He
+very often speaks of you, and I am certain that he misses you far
+more than we expected, although I think he cannot miss you nearly so
+much as I do. For some weeks past, indeed ever since we got your last
+letter, papa was engaged all the forenoon in some mysterious work,
+for he used to lock himself up in the summer-house--a thing he never
+did before. One day I went there at my usual time and instead of
+having to wait till he should unlock the door, I found it already
+open, and entered the room, which was so full of smoke that I could
+hardly see. I found papa writing at a small table, and the moment he
+heard my footstep he jumped up with a fierce frown, and shouted,
+"Who's there?" in that terrible voice that he used to speak in long
+ago when angry with his men, but which he has almost quite given up
+for some time past. He never speaks to me, as you know very well, but
+in the kindest tones, so you may imagine what a dreadful fright I got
+for a moment; but it was only for a moment, because the instant he
+saw that it was me his dear face changed, and he folded me in his
+arms, saying, "Ah, Kate, forgive me, my darling! I did not know it
+was you, and I thought I had locked the door, and was angry at being
+so unceremoniously interrupted." He then told me he was just
+finishing a letter of advice to you, and going up to the table,
+pushed the papers hurriedly into a drawer. As he did so, I guessed
+what had been his mysterious occupation, for he seemed to have
+covered _quires_ of paper with the closest writing. Ah, Charley,
+you're a lucky fellow to be able to extort such long letters from our
+dear father. You know how difficult he finds it to write even the
+shortest note, and you remember his old favourite expression, "I
+would rather skin a wild buffalo bull alive than write a long
+letter." He deserves long ones in return, Charley; but I need not
+urge you on that score--you are an excellent correspondent. Mamma is
+able to go out every day now for a drive in the prairie. She was
+confined to the house for nearly three weeks last month, with some
+sort of illness that the doctor did not seem to understand, and at
+one time I was much frightened, and very, very anxious about her, she
+became so weak. It would have made your heart glad to have seen the
+tender way in which papa nursed her through the illness. I had
+fancied that he was the very last man in the world to make a sick-
+nurse, so bold and quick in his movements, and with such a loud,
+gruff voice--for it _is_ gruff, although very sweet at the same time.
+But the moment he began to tend mamma he spoke more softly even than
+dear Mr. Addison does, and he began to walk about the house on
+tiptoe, and persevered so long in this latter that all his moccasins
+began to be worn out at the toes, while the heels remained quite
+strong. I begged of him often not to take so much trouble, as _I_ was
+naturally the proper nurse for mamma; but he wouldn't hear of it, and
+insisted on carrying breakfast, dinner, and tea to her, besides
+giving her all her medicine. He was for ever making mistakes,
+however, much to his own sorrow, the darling man; and I had to watch
+him pretty closely, for more than once he has been on the point of
+giving mamma a glass of laudanum in mistake for a glass of port wine.
+I was a good deal frightened for him at first, as, before he became
+accustomed to the work, he tumbled over the chairs and tripped on the
+carpets while carrying trays with dinners and breakfasts, till I
+thought he would really injure himself at last, and then he was so
+terribly angry with himself at making such a noise and breaking the
+dishes--I think he has broken nearly an entire dinner and tea set of
+crockery. Poor George, the cook, has suffered most from these
+mishaps--for you know that dear papa cannot get angry without letting
+a _little_ of it out upon somebody; and whenever he broke a dish or
+let a tray fall, he used to rush into the kitchen, shake his fist in
+George's face, and ask him, in a fierce voice, what he meant by it.
+But he always got better in a few seconds, and finished off by
+telling him never to mind, that he was a good servant on the whole,
+and he wouldn't say any more about it just now, but he had better
+look sharp out and not do it again. I must say, in praise of George,
+that on such occasions he looked very sorry indeed, and said he hoped
+that he would always do his best to give him satisfaction. This was
+only proper in him, for he ought to be very thankful that our father
+restrains his anger so much; for you know he was rather violent
+_once_, and you've no idea, Charley, how great a restraint he now
+lays on himself. He seems to me quite like a lamb, and I am beginning
+to feel somehow as if we had been mistaken, and that he never was a
+passionate man at all. I think it is partly owing to dear Mr.
+Addison, who visits us very frequently now, and papa and he are often
+shut up together for many hours in the smoking-house. I was sure that
+papa would soon come to like him, for his religion is so free from
+everything like severity or affected solemnity. The cook, and Rosa,
+and my dog that you named Twist, are all quite well. The last has
+grown into a very large and beautiful animal, something like the
+stag-hound in the picture-book we used to study together long ago. He
+is exceedingly fond of me, and I feel him to be quite a protector.
+The cocks and hens, the cow and the old mare, are also in perfect
+health; so now, having told you a good deal about ourselves, i will
+give you a short account of the doings in the colony.
+
+First of all, your old friend Mr. Kipples is still alive and well,
+and so are all our old companions in the school. One or two of the
+latter have left, and young Naysmith has joined the Company's
+service. Betty Peters comes very often to see us, and she always asks
+for you with great earnestness. I think you have stolen the old
+woman's heart, Charley, for she speaks of you with great affection.
+Old Mr. Seaforth is still as vigorous as ever, dashing about the
+settlement on a high-mettled steed, just as if he were one of the
+youngest men in the colony. He nearly poisoned himself, poor man, a
+month ago, by taking a dose of some kind of medicine by mistake. I
+did not hear what it was, but I am told that the treatment was rather
+severe. Fortunately the doctor happened to be at home when he was
+sent for, else our old friend would, I fear, have died. As it was,
+the doctor cured him with great difficulty. He first gave him an
+emetic, then put mustard blisters to the soles of his feet, and
+afterwards lifted him into one of his own carts, without springs, in
+which he drove him for a long time over all the ploughed fields in
+the neighbourhood. If this is not an exaggerated account, Mr.
+Seaforth is certainly made of sterner stuff than most men. I was told
+a funny anecdote of him a few days ago, which I am sure you have
+never heard, otherwise you would have told it to me, for there used
+to be no secrets between us, Charley--alas! I have no one to confide
+in or advise with now that you are gone. You have often heard of the
+great flood; not Noah's one, but the flood that nearly swept away our
+settlement and did so much damage before you and I were born. Well,
+you recollect that people used to tell of the way in which the river
+rose after the breaking up of the ice, and how it soon overflowed all
+the low points, sweeping off everything in its course. Old Mr.
+Seaforth's house stood at that time on the little point, just beyond
+the curve of the river, at the foot of which our own house stands,
+and as the river continued to rise, Mr. Seaforth went about actively
+securing his property. At first he only thought of his boat and
+canoes, which, with the help of his son Peter and a Canadian, who
+happened at the time to be employed about the place, he dragged up
+and secured to an iron staple in the side of his house. Soon,
+however, he found that the danger was greater than at first he
+imagined. The point became completely covered with water, which
+brought down great numbers of _half_-drowned and _quite_-drowned
+cattle, pigs, and poultry, and stranded them at the garden fence, so
+that in a short time poor Mr. Seaforth could scarcely move about his
+overcrowded domains. On seeing this, he drove his own cattle to the
+highest land in his neighbourhood and hastened back to the house,
+intending to carry as much of the furniture as possible to the same
+place. But during his short absence the river had risen so rapidly
+that he was obliged to give up all thoughts of this, and think only
+of securing a few of his valuables. The bit of land round his
+dwelling was so thickly covered with the poor cows, sheep, and other
+animals, that he could scarcely make his way to the house, and you
+may fancy his consternation on reaching it to find that the water was
+more than knee-deep round the walls, while a few of the cows and a
+whole herd of pigs had burst open the door (no doubt accidentally)
+and coolly entered the dining-room, where they stood with drooping
+heads, very wet, and apparently very miserable. The Canadian was busy
+at the back of the house, loading the boat and canoe with everything
+he could lay hands on, and was not aware of the foreign invasion in
+front. Mr. Seaforth cared little for this, however, and began to
+collect all the things he held most valuable, and threw them to the
+man, who stowed them away in the boat. Peter had been left in charge
+of the cattle, so they had to work hard. While thus employed the
+water continued to rise with fearful rapidity, and rushed against the
+house like a mill-race, so that it soon became evident that the whole
+would ere long be swept away. Just as they finished loading the boat
+and canoes, the staple which held them gave way; in a moment they
+were swept into the middle of the river, and carried out of sight.
+The Canadian was in the boat at the time the staple broke, so that
+Mr. Seaforth was now left in a dwelling that bid fair to emulate
+Noah's ark in an hour or two, without a chance of escape, and with no
+better company than five black oxen, in the dining-room, besides
+three sheep that were now scarcely able to keep their heads above
+water, and three little pigs that were already drowned. The poor old
+man did his best to push out the intruders, but only succeeded in
+ejecting two sheep and an ox. All the others positively refused to
+go, so he was fain to let them stay. By shutting the outer door he
+succeeded in keeping out a great deal of water. Then he waded into
+the parlour, where he found some more little pigs, floating about and
+quite dead. Two, however, more adventurous than their comrades, had
+saved their lives by mounting first on a chair and then upon the
+table, where they were comfortably seated, gazing languidly at their
+mother, a very heavy fat sow, which sat, with what seemed an
+expression of settled despair, on the sofa. In a fit of wrath, Mr.
+Seaforth seized the young pigs and tossed them out of the window;
+whereupon the old one jumped down, and half-walking, half-swimming,
+made her way to her companions in the dining-room. The old gentleman
+now ascended to the garret, where from a small window he looked out
+upon the scene of devastation. His chief anxiety was about the
+foundation of the house, which, being made of a wooden framework,
+like almost all the others in the colony, would certainly float if
+the water rose much higher. His fears were better founded than the
+house. As he looked up the river, which had by this time overflowed
+all its banks, and was spreading over the plains, he saw a fresh
+burst of water coming down, which, when it dashed against his
+dwelling, forced it about two yards from its foundation. Suddenly he
+remembered that there were a large anchor and chain in the kitchen,
+both of which he had brought there one day, to serve as a sort of
+anvil when he wanted to do some blacksmith work. Hastening down, he
+fastened one end of the chain to the sofa, and cast the anchor out of
+the window. A few minutes afterwards another rush of water struck the
+building, which yielded to pressure, and swung slowly down until the
+anchor arrested its further progress. This was only for a few
+seconds, however. The chain was a slight one. It snapped, and the
+house swept majestically down the stream, while its terrified owner
+scrambled to the roof, which he found already in possession of his
+favourite cat. Here he had a clear view of his situation. The plains
+were converted into a lake, above whose surface rose trees and
+houses, several of which, like his own, were floating on the stream
+or stranded among shallows. Settlers were rowing about in boats and
+canoes in all directions, but although some of them noticed the poor
+man sitting beside his cat on the housetop, they were either too far
+off or had no time to render him assistance.
+
+For two days nothing was heard of old Mr. Seaforth. Indeed, the
+settlers had too much to do in saving themselves and their families
+to think of others; and it was not until the third day that people
+began to inquire about him. His son Peter had taken a canoe and made
+diligent search in all directions, but although he found the house
+sticking on a shallow point, neither his father nor the cat was on or
+in it. At last he was brought to the island, on which nearly half the
+colony had collected, by an Indian who had passed the house, and
+brought him away in his canoe, along with the old cat. Is he not a
+wonderful man, to have come through so much in his old age? and he is
+still so active and hearty! Mr. Swan of the mill is dead. He died of
+fever last week. Poor old Mr. Cordon is also gone. His end was very
+sad. About a month ago he ordered his horse and rode off, intending
+to visit Fort Garry. At the turn of the road, just above Grant's
+house, the horse suddenly swerved, and its rider was thrown to the
+ground. He did not live more than half-an-hour after it. Alas! how
+very sad to see a man, after escaping all the countless dangers of a
+long life in the woods (and his, you know, was a very adventurous
+one), thus cut violently down in his old age. O Charley, how little
+we know what is before us! How needful to have our peace made with
+God through Jesus Christ, so that we may be ready at any moment when
+our Father calls us away. There are many events of great interest
+that have occurred here since you left. You will be glad to hear the
+Jane Patterson is married to our excellent friend Mr. Cameron, who
+has taken up a store near to us, and intends to run a boat to York
+Fort next summer. There has been another marriage here which will
+cause you astonishment at least, if not pleasure. Old Mr. Peters has
+married Marie Peltier! What _could_ have possessed her to take such a
+husband? I cannot understand it. Just think of her, Charley, a girl
+of eighteen, with a husband of seventy-five!--
+
+       *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At this point the writing, which was very close and very small,
+terminated. Harry laid it down with a deep sigh, wishing much that
+Charley had thought it advisable to send him the second sheet also.
+As wishes and regrets on this point were equally unavailing, he
+endeavoured to continue it in imagination, and was soon as deeply
+absorbed in following Kate through the well-remembered scenes of Red
+River as he had been, a short time before, in roaming with her
+brother over the wide prairies of Saskatchewan. The increasing cold,
+however soon warned him that the night was far spent. He rose and
+went to the stove; but the fire had gone out, and the almost
+irresistible frost of these regions was already cooling everything in
+Bachelors' Hall down to the freezing-point. All his companions had
+put out their candles, and were busy, doubtless, dreaming of the
+friends whose letters had struck and reawakened the long-dormant
+chords that used to echo to the tones and scenes of other days. With
+a slight shiver, Harry returned to his apartment, and kneeled to
+thank God for protecting and preserving his absent friends, and
+especially for sending him "good news from a far land." The letter
+with the British post-marks on it was placed under his pillow. It
+occupied his waking and sleeping thoughts that night, and it was the
+first thing he thought of and reread on the following morning, and
+for many mornings afterwards. Only those can fully estimate the value
+of such letters who live in distant lands, where letters are few--
+very, very few--and far between.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+Changes--Harry and Hamilton find that variety is indeed charming--The
+latter astonishes the former considerably.
+
+
+Three months passed away, but the snow still lay deep and white and
+undiminished around York Fort. Winter--cold, silent, unyielding
+winter--still drew its white mantle closely round the lonely dwelling
+of the fur-traders of the Far North.
+
+Icicles hung, as they had done for months before, from the eaves of
+every house, from the tall black scaffold on which the great bell
+hung, and from the still taller erection that had been put up as an
+outlook for "_the ship_" in summer. At the present time it commanded
+a bleak view of the frozen sea. Snow covered every housetop, and hung
+in ponderous masses from their edges, as if it were about to fall;
+but it never fell--it hung there in the same position day after day,
+unmelted, unchanged. Snow covered the whole land, and the frozen
+river, the swamps, the sea-beach, and the sea itself, as far as the
+eye could reach, seemed like a pure white carpet. Snow lined the
+upper edge of every paling, filled up the key-hole of every door,
+embanked about half of every window, stuck in little knobs on the top
+of every picket, and clung in masses on every drooping branch of the
+pine trees in the forest. Frost--sharp, biting frost--solidified,
+surrounded, and pervaded everything. Mercury was congealed by it;
+vapour was condensed by it; iron was cooled by it until it could
+scarcely be touched without (as the men expressed it) "burning" the
+fingers. The water-jugs in Bachelors' Hall and the water-buckets were
+frozen by it, nearly to the bottom; though there was a good stove
+there, and the Hall was not _usually_ a cold place by any means. The
+breath of the inhabitants was congealed by it on the window-panes,
+until they had become coated with ice an inch thick. The breath of
+the men was rendered white and opaque by it, as they panted and
+hurried to and fro about their ordinary avocations; beating their
+gloved hands together, and stamping their well-wrapped-up feet on the
+hard-beaten snow to keep them warm. Old Bobin's nose seemed to be
+entirely shrivelled up into his face by it, as he drove his ox-cart
+to the river to fetch his daily supply of water. The only things that
+were not affected by it were the fires, which crackled and roared as
+if in laughter, and twisted and leaped as if in uncontrollable glee
+at the bare idea of John Frost acquiring, by any artifice whatever,
+the smallest possible influence over _them_! Three months had
+elapsed, but frost and snow, instead of abating, had gone on
+increasing and intensifying, deepening and extending its work, and
+riveting its chains. Winter--cold, silent, unyielding winter--still
+reigned at York Fort, as though it had made it a _sine qua non_ of
+its existence at all that it should reign there for ever!
+
+But although everything was thus wintry and cold, it was by no means
+cheerless or dreary. A bright sun shone in the blue heavens with an
+intenseness of brilliancy that was quite dazzling to the eyes, that
+elated the spirits, and caused man and beast to tread with a more
+elastic step than usual. Although the sun looked down upon the scene
+with an unclouded face, and found a mirror in every icicle and in
+every gem of hoar-frost with which the objects of nature were loaded,
+there was, however, no perceptible heat in his rays. They fell on the
+white earth with all the brightness of midsummer, but they fell
+powerless as moonbeams in the dead of winter.
+
+On the frozen river, just in front of the gate of the fort, a group
+of men and dogs were assembled. The dogs were four in number,
+harnessed to a small flat sledge of the slender kind used by Indians
+to drag their furs and provisions over the snow. The group of men was
+composed of Mr. Rogan and the inmates of Bachelors' Hall, one or two
+men who happened to be engaged there at the time in cutting a new
+water-hole in the ice, and an Indian, who, to judge from his
+carefully-adjusted costume, the snow-shoes on his feet, and the short
+whip in his hand, was the driver of the sledge, and was about to
+start on a journey. Harry Somerville and young Hamilton were also
+wrapped up more carefully than usual.
+
+"Good-bye, then, good-bye," said Mr. Rogan, advancing towards the
+Indian, who stood beside the leading dog, ready to start. "Take care
+of our young friends; they've not had much experience in travelling
+yet; and don't over drive your dogs. Treat them well, and they'll do
+more work. They're like men in that respect." Mr. Rogan shook the
+Indian by the hand, and the latter immediately flourished the whip
+and gave a shout, which the dogs no sooner heard than they uttered a
+simultaneous yell, sprang forward with a jerk, and scampered up the
+river, closely followed by their dark-skinned driver.
+
+"Now, lads, farewell," said the old gentleman, turning with a kindly
+smile to our two friends, who were shaking hands for the last time
+with their comrades. "I'm sorry you're going to leave us, my boys.
+You've done your duty well while here, and I would willingly have
+kept you a little longer with me, but our governor wills it
+otherwise. However, I trust that you'll be happy wherever you may be
+sent. Don't forget to write to me. God bless you. Farewell."
+
+Mr. Rogan shook them heartily by the hand, turned short round, and
+walked slowly up to his house, with an expression of sadness on his
+mild face; while Harry and Hamilton, having once more waved farewell
+to their friends, marched up the river side by side in silence. They
+followed the track left by the dog-sledge, which guided them with
+unerring certainty, although their Indian leader and his team were
+out of sight in advance.
+
+A week previous to this time an Indian arrived from the interior,
+bearing a letter from headquarters, which directed that Messrs.
+Somerville and Hamilton should be forthwith despatched on snow-shoes
+to Norway House. As this establishment is about three hundred miles
+from the sea-coast, the order involved a journey of nearly two weeks'
+duration through a country that was utterly destitute of inhabitants.
+On receiving a command from Mr. Rogan to prepare for an early start,
+Harry retired precipitately to his own room, and there, after cutting
+unheard of capers, and giving vent to sudden, incomprehensible
+shouts, all indicative of the highest state of delight, he
+condescended to tell his companions of his good fortune, and set
+about preparations without delay. Hamilton, on the contrary, gave his
+usual quiet smile on being informed of his destination, and returning
+somewhat pensively to Bachelors' Hall, proceeded leisurely to make
+the necessary arrangements for departure. As the time drew on,
+however, a perpetual flush on his countenance, and an unusual
+brilliancy about his eye, showed that he was not quite insensible to
+the pleasures of a change, and relished the idea more than he got
+credit for. The Indian who had brought the letter was ordered to hold
+himself in readiness to retrace his steps, and conduct the young men
+through the woods to Norway House, where they were to await further
+orders. A few days later the three travellers, as already related,
+set out on their journey.
+
+After walking a mile up the river, they passed a point of land which
+shut out the fort from view. Here they paused to take a last look,
+and then pressed forward in silence, the thoughts of each being busy
+with mingled recollections of their late home and anticipations of
+the future. After an hour's sharp walking they came in sight of the
+guide, and slackened their pace.
+
+"Well, Hamilton," said Harry, throwing off his reverie with a deep
+sigh, "are you glad to leave York Fort, or sorry?"
+
+"Glad, undoubtedly," replied Hamilton, "but sorry to part from our
+old companions there. I had no idea, Harry, that I loved them all so
+much. I feel as if I should be glad were the order for us to leave
+them countermanded even now."
+
+"That's the very thought," said Harry, "that was passing through my
+own brain when I spoke to you. Yet somehow I think I should feel
+uncommonly sorry after all if we were really sent back. There's a
+queer contradiction, Hammy: we're sorry and happy at the same time!
+If I were the skipper now, I would found a philosophical argument
+upon it."
+
+"Which the skipper would carry on with untiring vigour," said
+Hamilton, smiling, "and afterwards make an entry of in his log. But I
+think, Harry, that to feel the emotion of sorrow and joy at the same
+time is not such a contradiction as it at first appears."
+
+"Perhaps not," replied Harry; "but it seems very contradictory to
+_me_, and yet it's an evident fact, for I'm _very_ sorry to leave
+_them_, and I'm _very_ happy to have you for my companion here."
+
+"So am I, so am I," said the other heartily. "I would rather travel
+with you, Harry, than with any of our late companions, although I
+like them all very much."
+
+The two friends had grown, almost imperceptibly, in each other's
+esteem during their residence under the same roof, more than either
+of them would have believed possible. The gay, reckless hilarity of
+the one did not at first accord with the quiet gravity and, as his
+comrades styled it, _softness_ of the other. But character is
+frequently misjudged at first sight, and sometimes men who on a first
+acquaintance have felt repelled from each other have, on coming to
+know each other better, discovered traits and good qualities that ere
+long formed enduring bonds of sympathy, and have learned to love
+those whom at first they felt disposed to dislike or despise. Thus
+Harry soon came to know that what he at first thought and, along with
+his companions, called softness in Hamilton in reality gentleness of
+disposition and thorough good-nature, united in one who happened to
+be utterly unacquainted with the _knowing_ ways of this peculiarly
+sharp and clever world, while in the course of time new qualities
+showed themselves in a quiet, unobtrusive way that won upon his
+affections and raised his esteem. On the other hand, Hamilton found
+that although Harry was volatile, and possessed of an irresistible
+tendency to fun and mischief, he never by any chance gave way to
+anger, or allowed malice to enter into his practical jokes. Indeed,
+he often observed him to restrain his natural tendencies when they
+were at all likely to give pain, though Harry never dreamed that such
+efforts were known to any one but himself. Besides this, Harry was
+peculiarly _unselfish_, and when a man is possessed of this
+inestimable disposition, he is, not _quite_ but _very nearly_,
+perfect!
+
+After another pause, during which the party had left the open river
+and directed their course through the woods, where the depth of the
+snow obliged them to tread in each other's footsteps, Harry resumed
+the conversation.
+
+"You have not yet told me, by-the-by, what old Mr. Rogan said to you
+just before we started. Did he give you any hint as to where you
+might be sent to after reaching Norway House?"
+
+"No; he merely said he knew that clerks were wanted both for
+Mackenzie River and the Saskatchewan districts, but he did not know
+which I was destined for."
+
+"Hum! exactly what he said to me, with the slight addition that he
+strongly suspected that Mackenzie River would be my doom. Are you
+aware, Hammy my boy, that the Saskatchewan district is a sort of
+terrestrial paradise, and Mackenzie River equivalent to Botany Bay?"
+
+"I have heard as much during our conversations in Bachelors' Hall,
+but--Stop a bit, Harry; these snow-shoe lines of mine have got
+loosened with tearing through this deep snow and these shockingly
+thick bushes. There--they are right now; go on. I was going to say
+that I don't--oh!"
+
+This last exclamation was elicited from Hamilton by a sharp blow
+caused by a branch which, catching on part of Harry's dress as he
+plodded on in front, suddenly rebounded and struck him across the
+face. This is of common occurrence in travelling through the woods,
+especially to those who from inexperience walk too closely on the
+heels of their companions.
+
+"What's wrong now, Hammy?" inquired his friend, looking over his
+shoulder.
+
+"Oh, nothing worth mentioning--rather a sharp blow from a branch,
+that's all."
+
+"Well, proceed; you've interrupted yourself twice in what you were
+going to say. Perhaps it'll come out if you try it a third time."
+
+"I was merely going to say that I don't much care where I am sent to,
+so long as it is not to an outpost where I shall be all alone."
+
+"All very well, my friend; but seeing that outposts are, in
+comparison with principal forts, about a hundred to one, your chance
+of avoiding them is rather slight. However, our youth and want of
+experience is in our favour, as they like to send men who have seen
+some service to outposts. But I fear that, with such brilliant
+characters as you and I, Hammy, youth will only be an additional
+recommendation, and inexperience won't last long.--Hollo! what's
+going on yonder?"
+
+Harry pointed as he spoke to an open spot in the woods about a
+quarter of a mile in advance, where a dark object was seen lying on
+the snow, writhing about, now coiling into a lump, and anon extending
+itself like a huge snake in agony.
+
+As the two friends looked, a prolonged howl floated towards them.
+
+"Something wrong with the dogs, I declare!" cried Harry.
+
+"No doubt of it," replied his friend, hurrying forward, as they saw
+their Indian guide rise from the ground and flourish his whip
+energetically, while the howls rapidly increased.
+
+A few minutes brought them to the scene of action, where they found
+the dogs engaged in a fight among themselves, and the driver, in a
+state of vehement passion, alternately belabouring and trying to
+separate them. Dogs in these regions, like the dogs of all other
+regions, we suppose, are very much addicted to fighting--a propensity
+which becomes extremely unpleasant if indulged while the animals are
+in harness, as they then become peculiarly savage, probably from
+their being unable, like an ill-assorted pair in wedlock, to cut or
+break the ties that bind them. Moreover, they twist the traces into
+such an ingeniously complicated mass that it renders disentanglement
+almost impossible, even after exhaustion has reduced them to
+obedience. Besides this, they are so absorbed in worrying each other
+that for the time they are utterly regardless of their driver's lash
+or voice. This naturally makes the driver angry, and sometimes
+irascible men practise shameful cruelties on the poor dogs. When the
+two friends came up they found the Indian glaring at the animals, as
+they fought and writhed in the snow, with every lineament of his
+swarthy face distorted with passion, and panting from his late
+exertions. Suddenly he threw himself on the dogs again, and lashed
+them furiously with the whip. Finding that this had no effect, he
+twined the lash round his hand, and struck them violently over their
+heads and snouts with the handle; then falling down on his knees, he
+caught the most savage of the animals by the throat, and seizing its
+nose between his teeth almost bit it off. The appalling yell that
+followed this cruel act seemed to subdue the dogs, for they ceased to
+fight, and crouched, whining, in the snow.
+
+With a bound like a tiger young Hamilton sprang upon the guide, and
+seizing him by the throat, hurled him violently to the ground.
+"Scoundrel!" he cried, standing over the crestfallen Indian with
+flushed face and flashing eyes, "how dare you thus treat the
+creatures of God?"
+
+The young man would have spoken more, but his indignation was so
+fierce that it could not find vent in words. For a moment he raised
+his fist, as if he meditated dashing the Indian again to the ground
+as he slowly arose; then, as if changing his mind, he seized him by
+the back of the neck, thrust him towards the panting dogs, and stood
+in silence over him with the whip grasped firmly in his hand, while
+he disentangled the traces.
+
+This accomplished, Hamilton ordered him in a voice of suppressed
+anger to "go forward"--an order which the cowed guide promptly
+obeyed, and in a few minutes more the two friends were again alone.
+
+"Hamilton, my boy," exclaimed Harry, who up to this moment seemed to
+have been petrified, "you have perfectly amazed me! I'm utterly
+bewildered."
+
+"Indeed, I fear that I have been very violent," said Hamilton,
+blushing deeply.
+
+"Violent!" exclaimed his friend. "Why, man, I've completely mistaken
+your character. I--I--"
+
+"I hope not, Harry," said Hamilton, in a subdued tone; "I hope not.
+Believe me, I am not naturally violent. I should be very sorry were
+you to think so. Indeed, I never felt thus before, and now that it is
+over I am amazed at myself; but surely you'll admit that there was
+great provocation. Such terrible cruelty to--"
+
+"My dear fellow, you quite misunderstand me. I'm amazed at your
+pluck, your energy. _Soft_ indeed! we have been most egregiously
+mistaken. Provocation! I just think you had; my only sorrow is that
+you didn't give him a little more."
+
+"Come, come, Harry; I see you would be as cruel to him as he was to
+the poor dog. But let us press forward; it is already growing dark,
+and we must not let the fellow out of sight ahead of us."
+
+"_Allons donc_," cried Harry; and hastening their steps, they
+travelled silently and rapidly among the stems of the trees, while
+the shades of night gathered slowly round them.
+
+That night the three travellers encamped in the snow under the
+shelter of a spreading pine. The encampment was formed almost exactly
+in a similar manner to that in which they had slept on the night of
+their exploits at North River. They talked less, however, than on
+that occasion, and slept more soundly. Before retiring to rest, and
+while Harry was extended, half asleep and half awake, on his green
+blanket, enjoying the delightful repose that follows a hard day's
+march and a good supper, Hamilton drew near to the Indian, who sat
+sullenly smoking a little apart from the young men. Sitting down
+beside him, he administered a long rebuke in a low, grave tone of
+voice. Like rebukes generally, it had the effect of making the visage
+of the Indian still more sullen. But the young man did not appear to
+notice this; he still continued to talk. As he went on, the look grew
+less and less sullen, until it faded entirely away, and was succeeded
+by that grave, quiet, respectful expression peculiar to the face of
+the North American Indian.
+
+Day succeeded day, night followed night, and still found them
+plodding laboriously through the weary waste of snow, or encamping
+under the trees of the forest. The two friends went through all the
+varied stages of experience which are included in what is called
+"becoming used to the work," which is sometimes a modified meaning of
+the expression "used up." They started with a degree of vigour that
+one would have thought no amount of hard work could possibly abate.
+They became aware of the melancholy fact that fatigue unstrings the
+youngest and toughest sinews. They pressed on, however, from stern
+necessity, and found, to their delight, that young muscles recover
+their elasticity even in the midst of severe exertion. They still
+pressed on, and discovered, to their dismay, that this recovery was
+only temporary, and that the second state of exhaustion was
+infinitely worse than the first. Still they pressed on, and raised
+blisters on their feet and toes that caused them to limp wofully;
+then they learned that blisters break and take a long time to heal,
+and are much worse to walk upon during the healing process than they
+are at the commencement--at which time they innocently fancied that
+nothing could be more dreadful. Still they pressed on day after day,
+and found to their satisfaction that such things can be endured and
+overcome; that feet and toes can become hard like leather, that
+muscles can grow tough as india-rubber, and that spirits and energy
+can attain to a pitch of endurance which nothing within the compass
+of a day's march can by any possibility overcome. They found also,
+from experience, that their conversation changed, both in manner and
+subject, as they progressed on their journey. At first they conversed
+frequently and on various topics, chiefly on the probability of their
+being sent to pleasant places or the reverse. Then they spoke less
+frequently, and growled occasionally, as they advanced in the painful
+process of training. After that, as they began to get hardy, they
+talked of the trees, the snow, the ice, the tracks of wild animals
+they happened to cross, and the objects of nature generally that came
+under their observation. Then as their muscles hardened and their
+sinews grew tough, and the day's march at length became first a
+matter of indifference, and ultimately an absolute pleasure, they
+chatted cheerfully on any and every subject, or sang occasionally,
+when the sun shone out and cast an _appearance_ of warmth across
+their path. Thus onward they pressed, without halt or stay, day after
+day, through wood and brake, over river and lake, on ice and on snow,
+for miles and miles together, through the great, uninhabited, frozen
+wilderness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+Hopes and fears--An unexpected meeting--Philosophical talk between
+the hunter and the parson.
+
+
+On arriving at Norway House, Harry Somerville and his friend Hamilton
+found that they were to remain at that establishment during an
+indefinite period of time, until it should please those in whose
+hands their ultimate destination lay to direct them how and where to
+proceed. This was an unlooked-for trial of their patience; but after
+the first exclamation of disappointment, they made up their minds,
+like wise men, to think no more about it, but bide their time, and
+make the most of present circumstances.
+
+"You see," remarked Hamilton, as the two friends, after having had an
+audience of the gentleman in charge of the establishment, sauntered
+towards the rocks that overhang the margin of Playgreen Lake--"you
+see, it is of no use to fret about what we cannot possibly help.
+Nobody within three hundred miles of us knows where we are destined
+to spend next winter. Perhaps orders may come in a couple of weeks,
+perhaps in a couple of months, but they will certainly come at last.
+Anyhow, it is of no use thinking about it, so we had better forget
+it, and make the best of things as we find them."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Harry, "your advice is, that we should by all means
+be happy, and if we can't be happy, be as happy as we can. Is that
+it?"
+
+"Just so. That's it exactly."
+
+"Ho! But then you see, Hammy, you're a philosopher and I'm not, and
+that makes all the difference. I'm not given to anticipating evil,
+but I cannot help dreading that they will send me to some lonely,
+swampy, out-of-the-way hole, where there will be no society, no
+shooting, no riding, no work even to speak of--nothing, in fact, but
+the miserable satisfaction of being styled 'bourgeois' by five or six
+men, wretched outcasts like myself,"
+
+"Come, Harry," cried Hamilton; "you are taking the very worst view of
+it. There certainly are plenty of such outposts in the country, but
+you know very well that young fellows like you are seldom sent to
+such places."
+
+"I don't know that," interrupted Harry. "There's young M'Andrew: he
+was sent to an outpost up the Mackenzie his second year in the
+service, where he was all but starved, and had to live for about two
+weeks on boiled parchment. Then there's poor Forrester: he was
+shipped off to a place--the name of which I never could remember--
+somewhere between the head-waters of the Athabasca Lake and the North
+Pole. To be sure, he had good shooting, I'm told, but he had only
+four labouring men to enjoy it with; and he has been there _ten_
+years now, and he has more than once had to scrape the rocks of that
+detestable stuff called _tripe de roche_ to keep himself alive. And
+then there's----"
+
+"Very true," interrupted Hamilton. "Then there's your friend Charles
+Kennedy, whom you so often talk about, and many other young fellows
+we know, who have been sent to the Saskatchewan, and to the Columbia,
+and to Athabasca, and to a host of other capital places, where they
+have enough of society--male society, at least--and good sport."
+
+The young men had climbed a rocky eminence which commanded a view of
+the lake on the one side, and the fort, with its background of woods,
+on the other. Here they sat down on a stone, and continued for some
+time to admire the scene in silence.
+
+"Yes," said Harry, resuming the thread of discourse, "you are right:
+we have a good chance of seeing some pleasant parts of the country.
+But suspense is not pleasant. O man, if they would only send me up
+the Saskatchewan River! I've set my heart upon going there. I'm quite
+sure it's the very best place in the whole country."
+
+"You've told the truth that time, master," said a deep voice behind
+them.
+
+The young men turned quickly round. Close beside them, and leaning
+composedly on a long Indian fowling-piece, stood a tall, broad-
+shouldered, sun-burned man, apparently about forty years of age. He
+was dressed in the usual leathern hunting-coat, cloth leggings, fur
+cap, mittens, and moccasins that constitute the winter garb of a
+hunter; and had a grave, firm, but good-humoured expression of
+countenance.
+
+"You've told the truth that time, master," he repeated, without
+moving from his place. "The Saskatchewan _is_, to my mind, the best
+place in the whole country; and havin' seen a considerable deal o'
+places in my time, I can speak from experience."
+
+"Indeed, friend," said Harry, "I'm glad to hear you say so. Come, sit
+down beside us, and let's hear something about it."
+
+Thus invited, the hunter seated himself on a stone and laid his gun
+on the hollow of his left arm.
+
+"First of all, friend," continued Harry, "do you belong to the fort
+here?"
+
+"No," replied the man, "I'm staying here just now, but I don't belong
+to the place."
+
+"Where do you come from then, and what's your name?"
+
+"Why, I've comed d'rect from the Saskatchewan with a packet o'
+letters. I'm payin' a visit to the missionary village yonder"--the
+hunter pointed as he spoke across the lake--"and when the ice breaks
+up I shall get a canoe and return again."
+
+"And your name?"
+
+"Why, I've got four or five names. Somehow or other people have given
+me a nickname wherever I ha' chanced to go. But my true name, and the
+one I hail by just now, is Jacques Caradoc."
+
+"Jacques Caradoc!" exclaimed Harry, starting with surprise. "You knew
+a Charley Kennedy in the Saskatchewan, did you?"
+
+"That did I. As fine a lad as ever pulled a trigger."
+
+"Give us your hand, friend," exclaimed Harry, springing forward, and
+seizing the hunter's large, hard fist in both hands. "Why, man,
+Charley is my dearest friend, and I had a letter from him some time
+ago in which he speaks of you, and says you're one of the best
+fellows he ever met."
+
+"You don't say so," replied the hunter, returning Harry's grasp
+warmly, while his eyes sparkled with pleasure, and a quiet smile
+played at the corner of his mouth.
+
+"Yes I do," said Harry; "and I'm very nearly as glad to meet with
+you, friend Jacques, as I would be to meet with him. But come; it's
+cold work talking here. Let's go to my room; there's a fire in the
+stove.--Come along, Hammy;" and taking his new friend by the arm, he
+hurried him along to his quarters in the fort.
+
+Just as they were passing under the fort gate, a large mass of snow
+became detached from a housetop and fell heavily at their feet,
+passing within an inch of Hamilton's nose. The young man started back
+with an exclamation, and became very red in the face.
+
+"Hollo!" cried Harry, laughing, "got a fright, Hammy! That went so
+close to your chin that it almost saved you the trouble of shaving."
+
+"Yes; I got a little fright from the suddenness of it," said Hamilton
+quietly.
+
+"What do you think of my friend there?" said Harry to Jacques, in a
+low voice, pointing to Hamilton, who walked on in advance.
+
+"I've not seen much of him, master," replied the hunter. "Had I been
+asked the same question about the same lad twenty years agone, I
+should ha' said he was soft, and perhaps chicken-hearted. But I've
+learned from experience to judge better than I used to do. I niver
+thinks o' forming an opinion o' anyone till I geen them called to
+sudden action. It's astonishin' how some faint-hearted men will come
+to face a danger and put on an awful look o' courage if they only get
+warnin', but take them by surprise--that's the way to try them."
+
+"Well, Jacques, that is the very reason why I ask your opinion of
+Hamilton. He was pretty well taken by surprise that time, I think."
+
+"True, master; but _that_ kind of start don't prove much. Hows'ever,
+I don't think he's easy upset. He does _look_ uncommon soft, and his
+face grew red when the snow fell, but his eyebrow and his under lip
+showed that it wasn't from fear."
+
+During that afternoon and the greater part of that night the three
+friends continued in close conversation--Harry sitting in front of
+the stove, with his hands in his pockets, on a chair tilted as usual
+on its hind legs, and pouring out volleys of questions, which were
+pithily answered by the good-humoured, loquacious hunter, who sat
+behind the stove, resting his elbows on his knees, and smoking his
+much-loved pipe; while Hamilton reclined on Harry's bed, and listened
+with eager avidity to anecdotes and stories, which seemed, like the
+narrator's pipe, to be inexhaustible.
+
+"Good-night, Jacques, good-night," said Harry, as the latter rose at
+last to depart; "I'm delighted to have had a talk with you. You must
+come back to-morrow. I want to hear more about your friend
+Redfeather. Where did you say you left him?"
+
+"In the Saskatchewan, master. He said that he would wait there, as
+he'd heerd the missionary was comin' up to pay the Injins a visit."
+
+"By-the-by, you're going over to the missionary's place to-morrow,
+are you not?"
+
+"Yes, I am."
+
+"Ah, then, that'll do. I'll go over with you. How far off is it?"
+
+"Three miles or thereabouts."
+
+"Very good. Call in here as you pass, and my friend Hamilton and I
+will accompany you. Good-night."
+
+Jacques thrust his pipe into his bosom, held out his horny hand, and
+giving his young friends a hearty shake, turned and strode from the
+room.
+
+On the following day Jacques called according to promise, and the
+three friends set off together to visit the Indian village. This
+missionary station was under the management of a Wesleyan clergyman,
+Pastor Conway by name, an excellent man, of about forty-five years of
+age, with an energetic mind and body, a bald head, a mild, expressive
+countenance, and a robust constitution. He was admirably qualified
+for his position, having a natural aptitude for every sort of work
+that man is usually called on to perform. His chief care was for the
+instruction of the Indians, whom he had induced to settle around him,
+in the great and all-important truths of Christianity. He invented an
+alphabet, and taught them to write and read their own language. He
+commenced the laborious task of translating the Scriptures into the
+Cree language; and being an excellent musician, he instructed his
+converts to sing in parts the psalms and Wesleyan hymns, many of
+which are exceedingly beautiful. A school was also established and a
+church built under his superintendence, so that the natives assembled
+in an orderly way in a commodious sanctuary every Sabbath day to
+worship God; while the children were instructed, not only in the
+Scriptures, and made familiar with the narrative of the humiliation
+and exaltation of our blessed Saviour, but were also taught the
+elementary branches of a secular education. But good Pastor Conway's
+energy did not stop here. Nature had gifted him with that peculiar
+genius which is powerfully expressed in the term "a jack-of-all-
+trades." He could turn his hand to anything; and being, as we have
+said, an energetic man, he did turn his hand to almost everything. If
+anything happened to get broken, the pastor could either "mend it
+himself or direct how it was to be done. If a house was to be built
+for a new family of red men, who had never handled a saw or hammer in
+their lives, and had lived up to that time in tents, the pastor lent
+a hand to begin it, drew out the plan (not a very complicated thing
+certainly), set them fairly at work, and kept his eye on it until it
+was finished. In short, the worthy pastor was everything to
+everybody, "that by all means he might gain some."
+
+Under such management the village flourished as a matter of course,
+although it did not increase very rapidly owing to the almost
+unconquerable aversion of North American Indians to take up a settled
+habitation.
+
+It was to this little hamlet, then, that our three friends directed
+their steps. On arriving, they found Pastor Conway in a sort of
+workshop, giving directions to an Indian who stood with a soldering-
+iron in one hand and a sheet of tin in the other, which he was about
+to apply to a curious-looking half-finished machine that bore some
+resemblance to a canoe.
+
+"Ah, my friend Jacques!" he exclaimed as the hunter approached him,
+"the very man I wished to see. But I beg pardon, gentlemen,-
+strangers, I perceive. You are heartily welcome. It is seldom that I
+have the pleasure of seeing new friends in my wild dwelling. Pray
+come with me to my house."
+
+Pastor Conway shook hands with Harry and Hamilton with a degree of
+warmth that evinced the sincerity of his words. The young men thanked
+him and accepted the invitation.
+
+As they turned to quit the workshop, the pastor observed Jacques's
+eye fixed with a puzzled expression of countenance, on his canoe.
+
+"You have never seen anything like that before, I daresay?" said he,
+with a smile.
+
+"No, sir; I never did see such a queer machine afore."
+
+"It is a tin canoe, with which I hope to pass through many miles of
+country this spring, on my way to visit a tribe of Northern Indians,
+and it was about this very thing that I wanted to see you, my
+friend."
+
+Jacques made no reply, but cast a look savouring very slightly of
+contempt on the unfinished canoe as they turned and went away.
+
+The pastor's dwelling stood at one end of the village, a view of
+which it commanded from the back windows, while those in front
+overlooked the lake. It was pleasantly situated and pleasantly
+tenanted, for the pastor's wife was a cheerful, active little lady,
+like-minded with himself, and delighted to receive and entertain
+strangers. To her care Mr. Conway consigned the young men, after
+spending a short time in conversation with them; and then, requesting
+his wife to show them through the village, he took Jacques by the arm
+and sauntered out,
+
+"Come with me, Jacques," he began; "I have somewhat to say to you. I
+had not time to broach the subject when I met you at the Company's
+fort, and have been anxious to see you ever since. You tell me that
+you have met with my friend Redfeather."
+
+"Yes, sir; I spent a week or two with him last fall I found him
+stayin' with his tribe, and we started to come down here together."
+
+"Ah, that is the very point," exclaimed the pastor, that I wish to
+inquire about. I firmly believe that God has opened that Indian's
+eyes to see the truth; and I fully expected from what he said when we
+last met, that he would have made up his mind to come and stay here."
+
+"As to what the Almighty has done to him," said Jacques, in a
+reverential tone of voice, "I don't pretend to know; he did for
+sartin speak, and act too, in a way that I never seed an Injin do
+before. But about his comin' here, sir, you were quite right: he did
+mean to come, and I've no doubt will come yet."
+
+"What prevented him coming with you, as you tell me he intended?"
+inquired the pastor.
+
+"Well, you see, sir, he and I and his squaw, as I said, set off to
+come here together: but when we got the length o' Edmonton House, we
+heerd that you were comin' up to pay a visit to the tribe to which
+Redfeather belongs; and so seem' that it was o' no use to come down
+hereaway just to turn about an' go up agin, he stopped there to wait
+for you, for he knew you would want him to interpret--"
+
+"Ay," interrupted the pastor, "that's true. I have two reasons for
+wishing to have him here. The primary one is, that he may get good to
+his immortal soul; and then he understands English so well that I
+want him to become my interpreter; for although I understand the Cree
+language pretty well now, I find it exceedingly difficult to explain
+the doctrines of the Bible to my people in it. But pardon me, I
+interrupted you."
+
+"I was only going to say," resumed Jacques, "that I made up my mind
+to stay with him; but they wanted a man to bring the winter packet
+here, so, as they pressed me very hard, an' I had nothin' particular
+to do, I 'greed and came, though I would rather ha' stopped; for
+Redfeather an' I ha' struck up a friendship togither--a thing that I
+would never ha' thought it poss'ble for me to do with a red Injin."
+
+"And why not with a red Indian, friend?" inquired the pastor, while a
+shade of sadness passed over his mild features, as if unpleasant
+thoughts had been roused by the hunter's speech.
+
+"Well, it's not easy to say why," rejoined the other. "I've no
+partic'lar objection to the red-skins. There's only one man among
+them that I bears a grudge agin, and even that one I'd rayther avoid
+than otherwise."
+
+"But you should _forgive_ him, Jacques. The Bible tells us not only
+to bear our enemies no grudge, but to love them and to do them good."
+
+The hunter's brow darkened. "That's impossible, sir," he said; "I
+couldn't do _him_ a good turn if I was to try ever so hard. He may
+bless his stars that I don't want to do him mischief; but to _love
+him_, it's jist imposs'ble."
+
+"With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible,"
+said the pastor solemnly.
+
+Jacques's naturally philosophic though untutored mind saw the force
+of this. He felt that God, who had formed his soul, his body, and the
+wonderfully complicated machinery and objects of nature, which were
+patent to his observant and reflective mind wherever he went, must of
+necessity be equally able to alter, influence, and remould them all
+according to His will. Common-sense was sufficient to teach him this;
+and the bold hunter exhibited no ordinary amount of common-sense in
+admitting the fact at once, although in the case under discussion
+(the loving of his enemy) it seemed utterly impossible to his
+feelings and experience. The frown, therefore, passed from his brow,
+while he said respectfully, "What you say, sir, is true; I believe
+though I can't _feel_ it. But I s'pose the reason I niver felt much
+drawn to the red-skins is, that all the time I lived in the
+settlements I was used to hear them called and treated as thievin'
+dogs, an 'when I com'd among them I didn't see much to alter my
+opinion. Here an' there I have found one or two honest Injins, an'
+Redfeather is as true as steel; but the most o' them are no better
+than they should be. I s'pose I don' think much o' them just because
+they are red-skins."
+
+"Ah, Jacques, you will excuse me if I say that there is not much
+sense in _that_ reason. An Indian cannot help being a red man any
+more than you can help being a white one, so that he ought not to be
+despised on that account. Besides, God made him what he is, and to
+despise the _work_ of God, or to undervalue it, is to despise God
+Himself. You may indeed despise, or rather abhor, the sins that red
+men are guilty of; but if you despise _them_ on this ground, you must
+much more despise white men, for _they_ are guilty of greater
+iniquities than Indians are. They have more knowledge, and are
+therefore more inexcusable when they sin; and anyone who has
+travelled much must be aware that, in regard to general wickedness,
+white men are at least quite as bad as Indians. Depend upon it,
+Jacques, that there will be Indians found in heaven at the last day
+as well as white men. God is no respecter of persons."
+
+"I niver thought much on that subject afore, sir," returned the
+hunter; "what you say seems reasonable enough. I'm sure an' sartin,
+any way, that if there's a red-skin in heaven at all, Redfeather will
+be there, an' I only hope that I may be there too to keep him
+company."
+
+"I hope so, my friend,", said the pastor earnestly; "I hope so too,
+with all my heart. And if you will accept of this little book, it
+will show you how to get there."
+
+The missionary drew a small, plainly-bound copy of the Bible from his
+pocket as he spoke, and presented it to Jacques, who received it with
+a smile, and thanked him, saying, at the same time, that he "was not
+much up to book-larnin', but he would read it with pleasure."
+
+"Now, Jacques," said the pastor, after a little further conversation
+on the subject of the Bible, in which he endeavoured to impress upon
+him the absolute necessity of being acquainted with the blessed
+truths which it contains--"now, Jacques, about my visit to the
+Indians. I intend, if the Almighty spares me, to embark in yon tin
+canoe that you found me engaged with, and, with six men to work it,
+proceed to the country of the Knisteneux Indians, visit their chief
+camp, and preach to them there as long as the weather will permit.
+When the season is pretty well advanced, and winter threatens to cut
+off my retreat, I shall re-embark in my canoe and return home. By
+this means I hope to be able to sow the good seed of Christian truths
+in the hearts of men who, as they will not come to this settlement,
+have no chance of being brought under the power of the Gospel by any
+other means."
+
+Jacques gave one of his quiet smiles on hearing this. "Right sir--
+right," he said, with some energy; "I have always thought, although I
+niver made bold to say it before, that there was not enough o' this
+sort o' thing. It has always seemed to me a kind o' madness (excuse
+my plainness o' speech, sir) in you pastors, thinkin' to make the
+red-skins come and settle round you like so many squaws, and dig up
+an' grub at the ground, when it's quite clear that their natur' and
+the natur' o' things about them meant them to be hunters. An' surely,
+since the Almighty made them hunters, He intended them to _be_
+hunters, an' won't refuse to make them Christians on _that_ account.
+A red-skin's natur' is a huntin' natur', an' nothin' on arth 'll ever
+make it anything else.'
+
+"There is much truth in what you observe, friend," rejoined the
+pastor; "but you are not _altogether_ right. Their nature _may_ be
+changed, although certainly nothing on _earth_ will change it. Look
+at that frozen lake." He pointed to the wide field of thick snow-
+covered ice that stretched out for miles like a sheet of white marble
+before them. "Could anything on earth break up or sink or melt that?"
+
+"Nothin'," replied Jacques, laconically.
+
+"But the warm beams of yon glorious sun can do it," continued the
+pastor, pointing upwards as he spoke, "and do it effectually too; so
+that, although you can scarcely observe the process, it nevertheless
+turns the hard, thick, solid ice into limpid water at last. So is it
+in regard to man. Nothing on earth can change his heart, or alter his
+nature; but our Saviour, who is called the Sun of Righteousness, can.
+When He shines into a man's soul it melts. The old man becomes a
+little child, the wild savage a Christian. But I agree with you in
+thinking that we have not been sufficiently alive to the necessity of
+seeking to convert the Indians before trying to gather them round us.
+The one would follow as a natural consequence, I think, of the other,
+and it is owing to this conviction that I intend, as I have already
+said, to make a journey in spring to visit those who will not or
+cannot come to visit me. And now, what I want to ask is whether you
+will agree to accompany me as steersman and guide on my expedition."
+
+The hunter slowly shook his head. "I'm afeard not sir; I have already
+promised to take charge of a canoe for the Company. I would much
+rather go with you, but I must keep my word."
+
+"Certainly, Jacques, certainly; that settles the question You cannot
+go with me--unless--" the pastor paused as if in thought for a
+moment--"unless you can persuade them to let you off."
+
+"Well, sir, I can try," returned Jacques.
+
+"Do; and I need not say how happy I shall be if you succeed. Good-
+day, friend, good-bye." So saying, the missionary shook hands with
+the hunter and returned to his house, while Jacques wended his way to
+the village in search of Harry and Hamilton.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+Good news and romantic scenery--Bear-hunting and its results.
+
+
+Jaques failed in his attempt to break off his engagement with the
+fur-traders. The gentleman in charge of Norway House, albeit a good-
+natured, estimable man, was one who could not easily brook
+disappointment, especially in matters that involved the interests of
+the Hudson's Bay Company; so Jacques was obliged to hold to his
+compact, and the pastor had to search for another guide.
+
+Spring came, and with it the awakening (if we may use the expression)
+of the country from the long, lethargic sleep of winter. The sun
+burst forth with irresistible power, and melted all before it. Ice
+and snow quickly dissolved, and set free the waters of swamp and
+river, lake and sea, to leap and sparkle in their new-found liberty.
+Birds renewed their visits to the regions of the north; frogs, at
+last unfrozen, opened their leathern jaws to croak and whistle in the
+marshes; and men began their preparations for a summer campaign.
+
+At the commencement of the season an express arrived with letters
+from headquarters, which, among other matters of importance, directed
+that Messrs. Somerville and Hamilton should be despatched forthwith
+to the Saskatchewan district, where, on reaching Fort Pitt, they were
+to place themselves at the disposal of the gentleman in charge of the
+district. It need scarcely be added that the young men were overjoyed
+on receiving this almost unhoped-for intelligence, and that Harry
+expressed his satisfaction in his usual hilarious manner, asserting,
+somewhat profanely, in the excess of his glee, that the governor-in-
+chief of Rupert's Land was a "regular brick." Hamilton agreed to all
+his friend's remarks with a quiet smile, accompanied by a slight
+chuckle, and a somewhat desperate attempt at a caper, which attempt,
+bordering as it did on a region of buffoonery into which our quiet
+and gentlemanly friend had never dared hitherto to venture proved an
+awkward and utter failure. He felt this and blushed deeply.
+
+It was further arranged and agreed upon that the young men should
+accompany Jacques Caradoc in his canoe. Having become sufficiently
+expert canoemen to handle their paddles well, they scouted the idea
+of taking men with them, and resolved to launch boldly forth at once
+as _bona-fide_ voyageurs. To this arrangement Jacques, after one or
+two trials to test their skill, agreed; and very shortly after the
+arrival of the express, the trio set out on their voyage, amid the
+cheers and adieus of the entire population of Norway House, who were
+assembled on the end of the wooden wharf to witness their departure,
+and with whom they had managed during their short residence at that
+place, to become special favourites. A month later, the pastor of the
+Indian village, having procured a trusty guide, embarked in his tin
+canoe with a crew of six men, and followed in their track.
+
+In process of time spring merged into summer--a season mostly
+characterised in those climes by intense heat and innumerable clouds
+of musquitoes, whose vicious and incessant attacks render life, for
+the time being, a burden. Our three voyageurs, meanwhile, ascended
+the Saskatchewan, penetrating deeper each day into the heart of the
+North American continent. On arriving at Fort Pitt, they were
+graciously permitted to rest for three days, after which they were
+forwarded to another district, where fresh efforts were being made to
+extend the fur-trade into lands hitherto almost unvisited. This
+continuation of their travels was quite suited to the tastes and
+inclinations of Harry and Hamilton, and was hailed by them as an
+additional reason for self-gratulation. As for Jacques, he cared
+little to what part of the world he chanced to be sent. To hunt, to
+toil in rain and in sunshine, in heat and in cold, at the paddle or
+on the snow-shoe, was his vocation, and it mattered little to the
+bold hunter whether he plied it upon the plains of the Saskatchewan
+or among the woods of Athabasca. Besides, the companions of his
+travels were young, active, bold, adventurous, and therefore quite
+suited to his taste. Redfeather, too, his best and dearest friend,
+had been induced to return to his tribe for the purpose of mediating
+between some of the turbulent members of it and the white men who had
+gone to settle among them, so that the prospect of again associating
+with his red friend was an additional element in his satisfaction. As
+Charley Kennedy was also in this district, the hope of seeing him
+once more was a subject of such unbounded delight to Harry
+Somerville, and so, sympathetically, to young Hamilton, that it was
+with difficulty they could realize the full amount of their good
+fortune, or give adequate expression to their feelings. It is
+therefore probable that there never were three happier travellers
+than Jacques, Harry, and Hamilton, as they shouldered their guns and
+paddles, shook hands with the inmates of Fort Pitt, and with light
+steps and lighter hearts launched their canoe, turned their bronzed
+faces once more to the summer sun, and dipped their paddles again in
+the rippling waters of the Saskatchewan River.
+
+As their bark was exceedingly small, and burdened with but little
+lading, they resolved to abandon the usual route, and penetrate the
+wilderness through a maze of lakes and small rivers well known to
+their guide. By this arrangement they hoped to travel more speedily,
+and avoid navigating a long sweep of the river by making a number of
+portages; while, at the same time, the changeful nature of the route
+was likely to render it more interesting. From the fact of its being
+seldom traversed, it was also more likely that they should find a
+supply of game for the journey.
+
+Towards sunset, one fine day, about two weeks after their departure
+from Fort Pitt, our voyageurs paddled their canoe round a wooded
+point of land that jutted out from, and partly concealed, the mouth
+of a large river, down whose stream they had dropped leisurely during
+the last three days, and swept out upon the bosom of a large lake.
+This was one of those sheets of water which glitter in hundreds on
+the green bosom of America's forests, and are so numerous and
+comparatively insignificant as to be scarce distinguished by a name,
+unless when they lie directly in the accustomed route of the fur-
+traders. But although, in comparison with the freshwater oceans of
+the Far West, this lake was unnoticed and almost unknown, it would by
+no means have been regarded in such a light had it been transported
+to the plains of England. In regard to picturesque beauty, it was
+perhaps unsurpassed. It might be about six miles wide, and so long
+that the land at the farther end of it was faintly discernible on the
+horizon. Wooded hills, sloping gently down to the water's edge;
+jutting promontories, some rocky and barren, others more or less
+covered with trees; deep bays, retreating in some places into the
+dark recesses of a savage-looking gorge, in others into a distant
+meadow-like plain, bordered with a stripe of yellow sand; beautiful
+islands of various sizes, scattered along the shores as if nestling
+there for security, or standing barren and solitary in the centre of
+the lake, like bulwarks of the wilderness, some covered with
+luxuriant vegetation, others bald and grotesque in outline, and
+covered with gulls and other water-fowl,--this was the scene that
+broke upon the view of the travellers as they rounded the point, and,
+ceasing to paddle, gazed upon it long and in deep silence, their
+hands raised to shade their eyes from the sun's rays, which sparkled
+in the water, and fell, here in bright spots and broken patches, and
+there in yellow floods, upon the rocks, the trees, the forest glades
+and plains around them.
+
+"What a glorious scene!" murmured Hamilton, almost unconsciously.
+
+"A perfect paradise!" said Harry, with a long-drawn sigh of
+satisfaction.--"Why, Jacques, my friend, it's a matter of wonder to
+me that you, a free man, without relations or friends to curb you, or
+attract you to other parts of the world, should go boating and
+canoeing all over the country at the beck of the fur-traders, when
+you might come and pitch your tent here for ever!"
+
+"For ever!" echoed Jacques.
+
+"Well, I mean as long as you live in this world."
+
+"Ah, master," rejoined the guide, in a sad tone of voice, "it's just
+because I have neither kith nor kin nor friends to draw me to any
+partic'lar spot on arth, that I don't care to settle down in this
+one, beautiful though it be."
+
+"True, true," muttered Harry; "man's a gregarious animal, there's no
+doubt of that."
+
+"Anon?" exclaimed Jacques.
+
+"I meant to say that man naturally loves company," replied Harry,
+smiling.
+
+"An' yit I've seen some as didn't, master; though, to be sure, that
+was onnat'ral, and there's not many o' them, by good luck. Yes, man's
+fond o' seein' the face o' man."
+
+"And woman, too," interrupted Harry.--"Eh, Hamilton, what say you?--
+
+     'O woman, in our hours of ease,
+     Uncertain, coy, and hard to please,
+     When pain and anguish wring the brow,
+     A ministering angel thou.'
+
+Alas, Hammy! pain and anguish and every thing else may wring our
+unfortunate brows here long enough before woman, 'lovely woman,' will
+come to our aid. What a rare sight it would be, now, to see even an
+ordinary house-maid or cook out here! It would be good for sore eyes.
+It seems to me a sort of horrible untruth to say that I've not seen a
+woman since I left Red River; and yet its a frightful fact, for I
+don't count the copper-coloured nondescripts one meets with
+hereabouts to be women at all. I suppose they are, but they don't
+look like it."
+
+"Don't be a goose, Harry," said Hamilton.
+
+"Certainly not, my friend. If I were under the disagreeable necessity
+of being anything but what I am, I should rather be something that is
+not in the habit of being shot," replied the other, paddling with
+renewed vigour in order to get rid of some of the superabundant
+spirits that the beautiful scene and brilliant weather, acting on a
+young and ardent nature, had called forth.
+
+"Some of these same red-skins," remarked the guide, "are not such bad
+sort o' women, for all their ill looks. I've know'd more than one
+that was a first-rate wife an' a good mother, though it's true they
+had little edication beyond that o' the woods."
+
+"No doubt of it," replied Harry, laughing gaily. "How shall I keep
+the canoe's head, Jacques?"
+
+"Right away for the pint that lies jist between you an' the sun."
+
+"Yes; I give them all credit for being excellent wives and mothers,
+after a fashion," resumed Harry. "I've no wish to asperse the
+characters of the poor Indians; but you must know, Jacques, that
+they're very different from the women that I allude to and of whom
+Scott sung. His heroines were of a _very_ different stamp and
+colour!"
+
+"Did _he_ sing of niggers?" inquired Jacques, simply.
+
+"Of niggers!" shouted Harry, looking over his shoulder at Hamilton,
+with a broad grin; "no, Jacques, not exactly of niggers--"
+
+"Hist!" exclaimed the guide, with that peculiar subdued energy that
+at once indicates an unexpected discovery, and enjoins caution, while
+at the same moment, by a deep, powerful back-stroke of his paddle, he
+suddenly checked the rapid motion of the canoe.
+
+Harry and his friend glanced quickly over their shoulders with a look
+of surprise.
+
+"What's in the wind now?" whispered the former.
+
+"Stop paddling, masters, and look ahead at the rock yonder, jist
+under the tall cliff. There's a bear a-sittin' there, and if we can
+only get ashore afore he sees us, we're sartin sure of him."
+
+As the guide spoke, he slowly edged the canoe towards the shore,
+while the young men gazed with eager looks in the direction
+indicated, where they beheld what appeared to be the decayed stump of
+an old tree or a mass of brown rock. While they strained their eyes
+to see it more clearly, the object altered its form and position.
+
+"So it is," they exclaimed simultaneously, in a tone that was
+equivalent to the remark, "Now we believe, because we see it."
+
+In a few seconds the bow of the canoe touched the land, so lightly as
+to be quite inaudible, and Harry, stepping gently over the side, drew
+it forward a couple of feet, while his companions disembarked.
+
+"Now, Mister Harry," said the guide, as he slung a powder-horn and
+shot-belt over his shoulder, "we've no need to circumvent the beast,
+for he's circumvented himself."
+
+"How so?" inquired the other, drawing the shot from his fowling-
+piece, and substituting in its place a leaden bullet.
+
+Jacques led the way through the somewhat thinly scattered underwood
+as he replied, "You see, Mister Harry, the place where he's gone to
+sun hisself is just at the foot o' a sheer precipice, which runs
+round ahead of him and juts out into the water, so that he's got
+three ways to choose between. He must clamber up the precipice, which
+will take him some time, I guess, if he can do it at all; or he must
+take to the water, which he don't like, and won't do if he can help
+it; or he must run out the way he went in, but as we shall go to meet
+him by the same road, he'll have to break our ranks before he gains
+the woods, an' _that_'ll be no easy job."
+
+The party soon reached the narrow pass between the lake and the near
+end of the cliff, where they advanced with greater caution, and
+peeping over the low bushes, beheld Bruin, a large brown fellow,
+sitting on his haunches, and rocking himself slowly to and fro, as he
+gazed abstractedly at the water. He was scarcely within good shot,
+but the cover was sufficiently thick to admit of a nearer approach.
+
+"Now, Hamilton," said Harry, in a low whisper, "take the first shot.
+I killed the last one, so it's your turn this time."
+
+Hamilton hesitated, but could make no reasonable objection to this,
+although his unselfish nature prompted him to let his friend have the
+first chance. However, Jacques decided the matter by saying, in a
+tone that savoured strongly of command, although it was accompanied
+with a good-humoured smile,--
+
+"Go for'ard, young man; but you may as well put in the primin'
+first."
+
+Poor Hamilton hastily rectified this oversight with a deep blush, at
+the same time muttering that he never _would_ make a hunter; and then
+advanced cautiously through the bushes, slowly followed at a short
+distance by his companions.
+
+On reaching the bush within seventy yards of the bear, Hamilton
+pushed the twigs aside with the muzzle of his gun; his eye flashed
+and his courage mounted as he gazed at the truly formidable animal
+before him, and he felt more of the hunter's spirit within him at
+that moment than he would have believed possible a few minutes
+before. Unfortunately, a hunter's spirit does not necessarily imply a
+hunter's eye or hand. Having, with much care and long time, brought
+his piece to bear exactly where he supposed the brute's heart should
+be, he observed that the gun was on half-cock, by nearly breaking the
+trigger in his convulsive efforts to fire. By the time that this
+error was rectified, Bruin, who seemed to feel intuitively that some
+imminent danger threatened him, rose, and began to move about
+uneasily, which so alarmed the young hunter lest he should lose his
+shot that he took a hasty aim, fired, and _missed._ Harry asserted
+afterwards that he even missed the cliff! On hearing the loud report,
+which rolled in echoes along the precipice, Bruin started, and
+looking round with an undecided air, saw Harry step quietly from the
+bushes, and fire, sending a ball into his flank. This decided him.
+With a fierce growl of pain, he scampered towards the water; then
+changing his mind, he wheeled round, and dashed at the cliff, up
+which he scrambled with wonderful speed.
+
+"Come, Mister Hamilton, load again; quick, I'll have to do the job
+myself, I fear," said Jacques, as he leaned quietly on his long gun,
+and with a half-pitying smile watched the young man, who madly
+essayed to recharge his piece more rapidly than it was possible for
+mortal man to do. Meanwhile, Harry had reloaded and fired again; but
+owing to the perturbation of his young spirits, and the frantic
+efforts of the bear to escape, he missed. Another moment, and the
+animal would actually have reached the top, when Jacques hastily
+fired, and brought it tumbling down the precipice. Owing to the
+position of the animal at the time he fired, the wound was not
+mortal; and foreseeing that Bruin would now become the aggressor, the
+hunter began rapidly to reload, at the same time retreating with his
+companions, who in their excitement had forgotten to recharge their
+pieces. On reaching level ground, Bruin rose, shook himself, gave a
+yell of anger on beholding his enemies, and rushed at them.
+
+It was a fine sight to behold the bearing of Jacques at this critical
+juncture. Accustomed to bear-hunting from his youth, and utterly
+indifferent to consequences when danger became imminent, he saw at a
+glance the probabilities of the case. He knew exactly how long it
+would take him to load his gun, and regulated his pace so as not to
+interfere with that operation. His features wore their usual calm
+expression. Every motion of his hands was quick and sudden, yet not
+hurried, but performed in a way that led the beholder irresistibly to
+imagine that he would have done it even more rapidly if necessary. On
+reaching a ledge of rock that overhung the lake a few feet he paused
+and wheeled about; click went the dog-head, just as the bear rose to
+grapple with him; another moment, and a bullet passed through the
+brute's heart, while the bold hunter sprang lightly on one side, to
+avoid the dash of the falling animal. As he did so, young Hamilton,
+who had stood a little behind him with an uplifted axe, ready to
+finish the work should Jacques's fire prove ineffective, received
+Bruin in his arms, and tumbled along with him over the rock, headlong
+into the water, from which, however, he speedily arose unhurt,
+sputtering and coughing, and dragging the dead bear to the shore.
+
+"Well done, Hammy," shouted Harry, indulging in a prolonged peal of
+laughter when he ascertained that his friend's adventure had cost him
+nothing more than a ducking; "that was the most amicable, loving
+plunge I ever saw."
+
+"Better a cold bath in the arms of a dead bear than an embrace on dry
+land with a live one," retorted Hamilton, as he wrung the water out
+of his dripping garments.
+
+"Most true, O sagacious diver! But the sooner we get a fire made the
+better; so come along."
+
+While the two friends hastened up to the woods to kindle a fire,
+Jacques drew his hunting-knife, and, with doffed coat and upturned
+sleeves, was soon busily employed in divesting the bear of his
+natural garment. The carcass, being valueless in a country where game
+of a more palatable kind was plentiful, they left behind as a feast
+to the wolves. After this was accomplished and the clothes dried,
+they re-embarked, and resumed their journey, plying the paddles
+energetically in silence, as their adventure had occasioned a
+considerable loss of time.
+
+It was late, and the stars had looked down for a full hour into the
+profound depths of the now dark lake ere the party reached the ground
+at the other side of the point, on which Jacques had resolved to
+encamp. Being somewhat wearied, they spent but little time in
+discussing supper, and partook of that meal with a degree of energy
+that implied a sense of duty as well as of pleasure. Shortly after,
+they were buried in repose, under the scanty shelter of their canoe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+An unexpected meeting, and an unexpected deer-hunt--Arrival at the
+outpost--Disagreement with the natives--An enemy discovered, and a
+murder.
+
+
+Next morning they rose with the sun, and therefore also with the
+birds and beasts.
+
+A wide traverse of the lake now lay before them. This they crossed in
+about two hours, during which time they paddled unremittingly, as the
+sky looked rather lowering, and they were well aware of the danger of
+being caught in a storm in such an egg-shell craft as an Indian
+canoe.
+
+"We'll put in here now, Mister Harry," exclaimed Jacques, as the
+canoe entered the mouth of one of these small rivulets which are
+called in Scotland _burns_, and in America _creeks_; "it's like that
+your appetite is sharpened after a spell like that. Keep her head a
+little more to the left--straight for the p'int--so. It's likely
+we'll get some fish here if we set the net."
+
+"I say, Jacques, is yon a cloud or a wreath of smoke above the trees
+in the creek?" inquired Harry, pointing with his paddle towards the
+object referred to.
+
+"It's smoke, master; I've seed it for some time, and mayhap we'll
+find some Injins there who can give us news of the traders at Stoney
+Creek."
+
+"And pray, how far do you think we may now be from that place?"
+inquired Harry.
+
+"Forty miles, more or less."
+
+As he spoke the canoe entered the shallow water of the creek, and
+began to ascend the current of the stream, which at its mouth was so
+sluggish as to be scarcely perceptible to the eye. Not so, however,
+to the arms. The light bark, which while floating on the lake had
+glided buoyantly forward as if it were itself consenting to the
+motion, had now become apparently imbued with a spirit of
+contradiction, bounding convulsively forward at each stroke of the
+paddles, and perceptibly losing speed at each interval. Directing
+their course towards a flat rock on the left bank of the stream, they
+ran the prow out of the water and leaped ashore. As they did so the
+unexpected figure of a man issued from the bushes, and sauntered
+towards the spot. Harry and Hamilton advanced to meet him, while
+Jacques remained to unload the canoe. The stranger was habited in the
+usual dress of a hunter, and carried a fowling piece over his right
+shoulder. In general appearance he looked like an Indian; but though
+the face was burned by exposure to a hue that nearly equalled the red
+skins of the natives, a strong dash of pink in it, and the mass of
+fair hair that encircled it, proved that as Harry paradoxically
+expressed it, its owner was a _white_ man. He was young, considerably
+above the middle height, and apparently athletic. His address and
+language on approaching the young men put the question of his being a
+_white_ man beyond a doubt.
+
+"Good-morning, gentlemen," he began. "I presume that you are the
+party we have been expecting for some time past to reinforce our
+staff at Stoney Creek. Is it not so?"
+
+To this query young Somerville, who stood in advance of his friend,
+made no reply, but stepping hastily forward, laid a hand on each of
+the stranger's shoulders, and gazed earnestly into his face,
+exclaiming as he did so,--
+
+"Do my eyes deceive me? Is Charley Kennedy before me--or his ghost?"
+
+"What! eh," exclaimed the individual thus addressed, returning
+Harry's gripe and stare with interest, "is it possible? no--it
+cannot--Harry Somerville, my old, dear, unexpected friend!"--and
+pouring out broken sentences, abrupt ejaculations, and incoherent
+questions, to which neither vouchsafed replies, the two friends gazed
+at and walked round each other, shook hands, partially embraced, and
+committed sundry other extravagances, utterly unconscious of or
+indifferent to the fact that Hamilton was gazing at them, open-
+mouthed, in a species of stupor, and that Jacques was standing by,
+regarding them with a look of mingled amusement and satisfaction. The
+discovery of this latter personage was a source of renewed delight
+and astonishment to Charley, who was so much upset by the commotion
+of his spirits, in consequence of this, so to speak, double shot,
+that he became rambling and incoherent in his speech during the
+remainder of that day, and gave vent to frequent and sudden bursts of
+smothered enthusiasm, in which it would appear, from the occasional
+muttering of the names of Redfeather and Jacques, that he not only
+felicitated himself on his own good fortune, but also anticipated
+renewed pleasure in witnessing the joyful meeting of these two
+worthies ere long. In fact, this meeting did take place on the
+following day, when Redfeather, returning from a successful hunt,
+with part of a deer on his shoulders, entered Charley's tent, in
+which the travellers had spent the previous day and night, and
+discovered the guide gravely discussing a venison steak before the
+fire.
+
+It would be vain to attempt a description of all that the reunited
+friends said and did during the first twenty-four hours after their
+meeting: how they talked of old times, as they lay extended round the
+fire inside of Charley's tent, and recounted their adventures by
+flood and field since they last met; how they sometimes diverged into
+questions of speculative philosophy (as conversations _will_ often
+diverge, whether we wish it or not), and broke short off to make
+sudden inquiries after old friends; how this naturally led them to
+talk of new friends and new scenes, until they began to forecast
+their eyes a little into the future; and how, on feeling that this
+was an uncongenial theme under present circumstances, they reverted
+again to the past, and by a peculiar train of conversation--to
+retrace which were utterly impossible--they invariably arrived at
+_old_ times again. Having in course of the evening pretty well
+exhausted their powers, both mental and physical, they went to sleep
+on it, and resumed the colloquial _mélange_ in the morning.
+
+"And now tell me, Charley, what you are doing in this uninhabited
+part of the world, so far from Stoney Creek," said Harry Somerville,
+as they assembled round the fire to breakfast.
+
+"That is soon explained," replied Charley. "My good friend and
+superior, Mr. Whyte, having got himself comfortably housed at Stoney
+Creek, thought it advisable to establish a sort of half outpost, half
+fishing-station about twenty miles below the new fort, and believing
+(very justly) that my talents lay a good deal in the way of fishing
+and shooting, sent me to superintend it during the summer months. I
+am, therefore, at present monarch of that notable establishment,
+which is not yet dignified with a name. Hearing that there were
+plenty of deer about twenty miles below my palace, I resolved the
+other day to gratify my love of sport, and at the same time procure
+some venison for Stoney Creek; accordingly, I took Redfeather with
+me, and--here I am."
+
+"Very good," said Harry; "and can you give us the least idea of what
+they are going to do with my friend Hamilton and me when they get
+us?"
+
+"Can't say. One of you, at any rate, will be kept at the creek, to
+assist Mr. Whyte; the other may, perhaps, be appointed to relieve me
+at the fishing for a time, while _I_ am sent off to push the trade in
+other quarters. But I'm only guessing. I don't know anything
+definitely, for Mr. Whyte is by no means communicative."
+
+"An' please, master," put in Jacques, "when do you mean to let us off
+from this place? I guess the bourgeois won't be over pleased if we
+waste time here."
+
+"We'll start this forenoon, Jacques. I and Redfeather shall go along
+with you, as I intended to take a run up to the creek about this time
+at any rate.--Have you the skins and dried meat packed, Redfeather?"
+
+To this the Indian replied in the affirmative, and the others having
+finished breakfast, the whole party rose to prepare for departure,
+and set about loading their canoes forthwith. An hour later they were
+again cleaving the waters of the lake, with this difference in
+arrangement, that Jacques was transferred to Redfeather's canoe,
+while Charley Kennedy took his place in the stern of that occupied by
+Harry and Hamilton.
+
+The establishment of which our friend Charley pronounced himself
+absolute monarch, and at which they arrived in the course of the same
+afternoon, consisted of two small log houses or huts, constructed in
+the rudest fashion, and without any attempt whatever at architectural
+embellishment. It was pleasantly situated on a small bay, whose
+northern extremity was sheltered from the arctic blast by a gentle
+rising ground clothed with wood. A miscellaneous collection of
+fishing apparatus lay scattered about in front of the buildings, and
+two men and an Indian woman were the inhabitants of the place; the
+king himself, when present, and his prime minister, Redfeather, being
+the remainder of the population.
+
+"Pleasant little kingdom that of yours, Charley," remarked Harry
+Somerville, as they passed the station.
+
+"Very," was the laconic reply.
+
+They had scarcely passed the place above a mile, when a canoe,
+containing a solitary Indian, was observed to shoot out from the
+shore and paddle hastily towards them. From this man they learned
+that a herd of deer was passing down towards the lake, and would be
+on its banks in a few minutes. He had been waiting their arrival when
+the canoes came in sight, and induced him to hurry out so as to give
+them warning. Having no time to lose, the whole party now paddled
+swiftly for the shore, and reached it just a few minutes before the
+branching antlers of the deer came in sight above the low bushes that
+skirted the wood. Harry Somerville embarked in the bow of the strange
+Indian's canoe, so as to lighten the other and enable all parties to
+have a fair chance. After snuffing the breeze for a few seconds, the
+foremost animal took the water, and commenced swimming towards the
+opposite shore of the lake, which at this particular spot was narrow.
+It was followed by seven others. After sufficient time was permitted
+to elapse to render their being cut off, in an attempt to return,
+quite certain, the three canoes darted from the shelter of the
+overhanging bushes, and sprang lightly over the water in pursuit.
+
+"Don't hurry, and strike sure," cried Jacques to his young friends,
+as they came up with the terrified deer that now swam for their
+lives.
+
+"Ay, ay," was the reply.
+
+In another moment they shot in among the struggling group. Harry
+Somerville stood up, and seizing the Indian's spear, prepared to
+strike, while his companions directed their course towards others of
+the herd. A few seconds sufficed to bring him up with it. Leaning
+backwards a little, so as to give additional force to the blow, he
+struck the spear deep into the animal's back. With a convulsive
+struggle, it ceased to swim, its head slowly sank, and in another
+second it lay dead upon the water. "Without waiting a moment, the
+Indian immediately directed the canoe towards another deer; while the
+remainder of the party, now considerably separated from each other,
+despatched the whole herd by means of axes and knives.
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Jacques, as they towed their booty to the shore,
+"that's a good stock o' meat, Mister Charles. It will help to furnish
+the larder for the winter pretty well."
+
+"It was much wanted, Jacques: we've a good many mouths to feed,
+besides _treating_ the Indians now and then. And this fellow, I
+think, will claim the most of our hunt as his own. We should not have
+got the deer but for him."
+
+"True, true, Mister Charles. They belong to the red-skin by rights,
+that's sartin."
+
+After this exploit, another night was passed under the trees; and at
+noon on the day following they ran their canoe alongside the wooden
+wharf at Stoney Creek.
+
+"Good-day to you, gentlemen," said Mr. Whyte to Harry and Hamilton as
+they landed; "I've been looking out for you these two weeks past.
+Glad you've come at last, however. Plenty to do, and no time to lose.
+You have despatches, of course. Ah! that's right." (Harry drew a
+sealed packet from his bosom and presented it with a bow), "that's
+right. I must peruse these at once.--Mr. Kennedy, you will show these
+gentlemen their quarters. We dine in half-an-hour." So saying, Mr.
+Whyte thrust the packet into his pocket, and without further remark
+strode towards his dwelling; while Charley, as instructed, led his
+friends to their new residence--not forgetting, however, to charge
+Redfeather to see to the comfortable lodgment of Jacques Caradoc.
+
+"Now it strikes me," remarked Harry, as he sat down on the edge of
+Charley's bed and thrust his hands doggedly down into his pockets,
+while Hamilton tucked up his sleeves and assaulted a washhand-basin
+which stood on an unpainted wooden chair in a corner--"it strikes me
+that if _that's_ his usual style of behaviour, old Whyte is a
+pleasure that we didn't anticipate."
+
+"Don't judge from first impressions; they're often deceptive,"
+spluttered Hamilton, pausing in his ablutions to look at his friend
+through a mass of soap-suds--an act which afterwards caused him a
+good deal of pain and a copious flow of unbidden tears.
+
+"Right," exclaimed Charley, with an approving nod to Hamilton.--"You
+must not judge him prematurely, Harry. He's a good-hearted fellow at
+bottom; and if he once takes a liking for you, he'll go through fire
+and water to serve you, as I know from experience."
+
+"Which means to say _three_ things," replied the implacable Harry:
+"first, that for all his good-heartedness _at bottom,_ he never shows
+any of it _at top,_ and is therefore like unto truth, which is said
+to lie at the bottom of a well--so deep, in fact, that it is never
+got out, and so is of use to nobody; secondly, that he is possessed
+of that amount of affection which is common to all mankind (to a
+great extent even to brutes), which prompts a man to be reasonably
+attentive to his friends; and thirdly, that you, Master Kennedy,
+enjoy the peculiar privilege of being the friend of a two-legged
+polar bear!"
+
+"Were I not certain that you jest," retorted Kennedy, "I would compel
+you to apologize to me for insulting my friend, you rascal! But see,
+here's the cook coming to tell us that dinner waits. If you don't
+wish to see the teeth of the polar bear^ I'd advise you to be smart."
+
+Thus admonished, Harry sprang up, plunged his hands and face in the
+basin and dried them, broke Charley's comb in attempting to pass it
+hastily through his hair, used his fingers savagely as a substitute,
+and overtook his companions just as they entered the mess-room.
+
+The establishment of Stoney Creek was comprised within two acres of
+ground. It consisted of eight or nine houses--three of which,
+however, alone met the eye on approaching by the lake. The "great"
+house, as it was termed, on account of its relative proportion to the
+other buildings, was a small edifice, built substantially but roughly
+of unsquared logs, partially whitewashed, roofed with shingles, and
+boasting six small windows in front, with a large door between them.
+On its east side, and at right angles to it, was a similar edifice,
+but smaller, having two doors instead of one, and four windows
+instead of six. This was the trading-shop and provision-store.
+Opposite to this was a twin building which contained the furs and a
+variety of miscellaneous stores. Thus were formed three sides of a
+square, from the centre of which rose a tall flagstaff. The buildings
+behind those just described were smaller and insignificant--the
+principal one being the house appropriated to the men; the others
+were mere sheds and workshops. Luxuriant forests ascended the slopes
+that rose behind and encircled this oasis on all sides, excepting in
+front, where the clear waters of the lake sparkled like a blue
+mirror.
+
+On the margin of this lake the new arrivals, left to enjoy themselves
+as they best might for a day or two, sauntered about and chatted to
+their heart's content of things past, present, and future.
+
+During these wanderings, Harry confessed that his opinion of Mr.
+Whyte had somewhat changed; that he believed a good deal of the first
+bad impressions was attributable to his cool, not to say impolite,
+reception of them; and that he thought things would go on much better
+with the Indians if he would only try to let some of his good
+qualities be seen through his exterior.
+
+An expression of sadness passed over Charley's face as his friend
+said this.
+
+"You are right in the last particular," he said, with a sigh. "Mr.
+Whyte is so rough and overbearing that the Indians are beginning to
+dislike him. Some of the more clear-sighted among them see that a
+good deal of this lies in mere manner, and have penetration enough to
+observe that in all his dealings with them he is straightforward and
+liberal; but there are a set of them who either don't see this, or
+are so indignant at the rough speeches he often makes, and the rough
+treatment he sometimes threatens, that they won't forgive him, but
+seem to be nursing their wrath. I sometimes wish he was sent to a
+district where the Indians and traders are, from habitual
+intercourse, more accustomed to each other's ways, and so less likely
+to quarrel."
+
+"Have the Indians, then, used any open threats?" asked Harry.
+
+"No, not exactly; but through an old man of the tribe, who is well
+affected towards us, I have learned that there is a party among them
+who seem bent on mischief."
+
+"Then we may expect a row some day or other. That's pleasant!--What
+think you, Hammy?" said Harry, turning to his friend.
+
+"I think that it would be anything but pleasant," he replied; "and I
+sincerely hope that we shall not have occasion for a row."
+
+"You're not afraid of a fight, are you, Hamilton?" asked Charley.
+
+The peculiarly bland smile with which Hamilton usually received any
+remark that savoured of banter overspread his features as Charley
+spoke, but he merely replied--
+
+"No, Charley, I'm not afraid."
+
+"Do you know any of the Indians who are so anxious to vent their
+spleen on our worthy bourgeois?" asked Harry, as he seated himself on
+a rocky eminence commanding a view of the richly-wooded slopes,
+dotted with huge masses of rock that had fallen from the beetling
+cliffs behind the creek.
+
+"Yes, I do," replied Charley; "and, by the way, one of them--the
+ringleader--is a man with whom you are acquainted, at least by name.
+You've heard of an Indian called Misconna?"
+
+"What!" exclaimed Harry, with a look of surprise; "you don't mean the
+blackguard mentioned by Redfeather, long ago, when he told us his
+story on the shores of Lake Winnipeg--the man who killed poor
+Jacques's young wife?"
+
+"The same," replied Charley.
+
+"And does Jacques know he is here?"
+
+"He does; but Jacques is a strange, unaccountable mortal. You
+remember that in the struggle described by Redfeather, the trapper
+and Misconna had neither of them seen each other, Redfeather having
+felled the latter before the former reached the scene of action--a
+scene which, he has since told me, he witnessed at a distance, while
+rushing to the rescue of his wife-so that Misconna is utterly
+ignorant of the fact that the husband of his victim is now so near
+him; indeed, he does not know that she had a husband at all. On the
+other hand, although Jacques is aware that his bitterest enemy is
+within rifle-range of him at this moment, he does not know him by
+sight; and this morning he came to me, begging that I would send
+Misconna on some expedition or other, just to keep him out of his
+way."
+
+"And do you intend to do so?"
+
+"I shall do my best," replied Charley; "but I cannot get him out of
+the way till to-morrow, as there is to be a gathering of Indians in
+the hall this very day, to have a palaver with Mr. Whyte about their
+grievances, and Misconna wouldn't miss that for a trifle. But Jacques
+won't be likely to recognise him among so many; and if he does, I
+rely with confidence on his powers of restraint and forbearance. By
+the way," he continued, glancing upwards, "it is past noon, and the
+Indians will have begun to assemble, so we had better hasten back, as
+we shall be expected to help in keeping order."
+
+So saying, he rose, and the young men returned to the fort. On
+reaching it they found the hall crowded with natives, who sat cross-
+legged around the walls, or stood in groups conversing in low tones,
+and to judge from the expression of their dark eyes and lowering
+brows, they were in extremely bad humour. They became silent and more
+respectful, however, in their demeanour when the young men entered
+the apartment and walked up to the fireplace, in which a small fire
+of wood burned on the hearth, more as a convenient means of
+rekindling the pipes of the Indians when they went out than as a
+means of heating the place. Jacques and Redfeather stood leaning
+against the wall near to it, engaged in a whispered conversation.
+Glancing round as he entered, Charley observed Misconna sitting a
+little apart by himself, and apparently buried in deep thought. He
+had scarcely perceived him, and nodded to several of his particular
+friends among the crowd, when a side-door opened, and Mr. Whyte, with
+an angry expression on his countenance, strode up to the fireplace,
+planted himself before it, with his legs apart and his hands behind
+him, while he silently surveyed the group.
+
+"So," he began, "you have asked to speak with me; well, here I am.
+What have you to say?"
+
+Mr. Whyte addressed the Indians in their native tongue, having,
+during a long residence in the country, learned to speak it as
+fluently as English.
+
+For some moments there was silence. Then an old chief--the same who
+had officiated at the feast described in a former chapter--rose, and
+standing forth into the middle of the room, made a long and grave
+oration, in which, besides a great deal that was bombastic, much that
+was irrelevant, and more that was utterly fabulous and nonsensical,
+he recounted the sorrows of himself and his tribe, concluding with a
+request that the great chief would take these things into
+consideration--the principal _"things"_ being that they did not get
+anything in the shape of gratuities, while it was notorious that the
+Indians in other districts did, and that they did not get enough of
+goods in advance, on credit of their future hunts.
+
+Mr. Whyte heard the old man to the end in silence: then, without
+altering his position, he looked round on the assembly with a frown,
+and said, "Now listen to me; I am a man of few words. I have told you
+over and over again, and I now repeat it, that you shall get no
+gratuities until you prove yourselves worthy of them. I shall not
+increase your advances by so much as half an inch of tobacco till
+your last year's debts are scored off, and you begin to show more
+activity in hunting and less disposition to grumble. Hitherto you
+have not brought in anything like the quantity of furs that the
+capabilities of the country led me to expect. You are lazy. Until you
+become better hunters you shall have no redress from me."
+
+As he finished, Mr. Whyte made a step towards the door by which he
+had entered, but was arrested by another chief, who requested to be
+heard. Resuming his place and attitude, Mr. Whyte listened with an
+expression of dogged determination, while guttural grunts of
+unequivocal dissatisfaction issued from the throats of several of the
+malcontents. The Indian proceeded to repeat a few of the remarks made
+by his predecessor, but more concisely, and wound up by explaining
+that the failure in the hunts of the previous year was owing to the
+will of the Great Manito, and not by any means on account of the
+supposed laziness of himself or his tribe.
+
+"That is false," said Mr. Whyte; "you know it is not true."
+
+As this was said, a murmur of anger ran round the apartment, which
+was interrupted by Misconna, who, apparently unable to restrain his
+passion, sprang into the middle of the room, and confronting Mr.
+Whyte, made a short and pithy speech, accompanied by violent
+gesticulation, in which he insinuated that if redress was not granted
+the white men would bitterly repent it.
+
+During his speech the Indians had risen to their feet and drawn
+closer together, while Jacques and the three young men drew near
+their superior. Redfeather remained apart, motionless, and with his
+eyes fixed on the ground.
+
+"And, pray, what dog--what miserable thieving cur are you, who dare
+to address me thus?" cried Mr. Whyte, as he strode, with flashing
+eyes, up to the enraged Indian.
+
+Misconna clinched his teeth, and his fingers worked convulsively
+about the handle of his knife, as he exclaimed, "I am no dog. The
+pale-faces are dogs. I am a great chief. My name is known among the
+braves of my tribe. It is Misconna--"
+
+As the name fell from his lips, Mr. Wiryte and Charley were suddenly
+dashed aside, and Jacques sprang towards the Indian, his face livid,
+his eyeballs almost bursting from their sockets, and his muscles
+rigid with passion. For an instant he regarded the savage intently as
+he shrank appalled before him; then his colossal fist fell like
+lightning, with the weight of a sledge-hammer, on Misconna's
+forehead, and drove him against the outer door, which, giving way
+before the violent shock, burst from its fastenings and hinges, and
+fell, along with the savage, with a loud crash to the ground.
+
+For an instant everyone stood aghast at this precipitate termination
+to the discussion, and then, springing forward in a body, with drawn
+knives, the Indians rushed upon the white men, who in a close
+phalanx, with such weapons as came first to hand, stood to receive
+them. At this moment Redfeather stepped forward unarmed between the
+belligerents, and, turning to the Indians, said--
+
+"Listen: Redfeather does not take the part of his white friends
+against his comrades. You know that he never failed you in the war-
+path, and he would not fail you now if your cause were just. But the
+eyes of his comrades are shut. Redfeather knows what they do not
+know. The white hunter" (pointing to Jacques) "is a friend of
+Redfeather. He is a friend of the Knisteneux. He did not strike
+because you disputed with his bourgeois; he struck because Misconna
+_is his mortal foe_. But the story is long. Redfeather will tell it
+at the council fire."
+
+"He is right," exclaimed Jacques, who had recovered his usual grave
+expression of countenance; "Redfeather is right. I bear you no ill-
+will, Injins, and I shall explain the thing myself at your council
+fire."
+
+As Jacques spoke the Indians sheathed their knives, and stood with
+frowning brows, as if uncertain what to do. The unexpected
+interference of their comrade-in-arms, coupled with his address and
+that of Jacques, had excited their curiosity. Perhaps the undaunted
+deportment of their opponents, who stood ready for the encounter with
+a look of stern determination, contributed a little to allay their
+resentment.
+
+While the two parties stood thus confronting each other, as if
+uncertain how to act, a loud report was heard just outside the
+doorway. In another moment Mr. Whyte fell heavily to the ground, shot
+through the heart.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+The chase--The fight--Retribution--Low spirits and good news.
+
+
+The tragical end of the consultation related in the last chapter had
+the effect of immediately reconciling the disputants. With the
+exception of four or five of the most depraved and discontented among
+them, the Indians bore no particular ill-will to the unfortunate
+principal of Stoney Creek; and although a good deal disappointed to
+find that he was a stern, unyielding trader, they had, in reality, no
+intention of coming to a serious rupture with him, much less of
+laying violent hands either upon master or men of the establishment.
+
+When, therefore, they beheld Mr. Whyte weltering in his blood at
+their feet, a sacrifice to the ungovernable passion of Misconna, who
+was by no means a favourite among his brethren, their temporary anger
+was instantly dissipated, and a feeling of deepest indignation roused
+in their bosoms against the miserable assassin who had perpetrated
+the base and cowardly murder. It was, therefore, with a yell of rage
+that several of the band, immediately after the victim fell, sprang
+into the woods in hot pursuit of him, whom they now counted their
+enemy. They were joined by several men belonging to the fort, who had
+hastened to the scene of action on hearing that the people in the
+hall were likely to come to blows. Redfeather was the first who had
+bounded like a deer into the woods in pursuit of the fugitive. Those
+who remained assisted Charley and his friends to convey the body of
+Mr. Whyte into an adjoining room, where they placed him on a bed. He
+was quite dead, the murderer's aim having been terribly true.
+
+Finding that he was past all human aid, the young men returned to the
+hall, which they entered just as Redfeather glided quickly through
+the open doorway, and, approaching the group, stood in silence beside
+them, with his arms folded on his breast.
+
+"You have something to tell, Redfeather," said Jacques, in a subdued
+tone, after regarding him a few seconds. "Is the scoundrel caught?"
+
+"Misconna's foot is swift," replied the Indian, "and the wood is
+thick. It is wasting time to follow him through the bushes."
+
+"What would you advise then?" exclaimed Charley, in a hurried voice.
+"I see that you have some plan to propose."
+
+"The wood is thick," answered Redfeather, "but the lake and the river
+are open. Let one party go by the lake, and one party by the river."
+
+"That's it, that's it, Injin," interrupted Jacques, energetically;
+"your wits are always jumpin'. By crosin' over to Duck River, we can
+start at a point five or six miles above the lower fall, an' as it's
+thereabouts he must cross, we'll be time enough to catch him. If he
+tries the lake, the other party'll fix him there; and he'll be soon
+poked up if he tries to hide in the bush."
+
+"Come, then; we'll all give chase at once," cried Charley, feeling a
+temporary relief in the prospect of energetic action from the
+depressing effects of the calamity that had so suddenly befallen him
+in the loss of his chief and friend.
+
+Little time was needed for preparation. Jacques, Charley, and Harry
+proceeded by the river; while Redfeather and Hamilton, with a couple
+of men, launched their canoe on the lake and set off in pursuit.
+
+Crossing the country for about a mile, Jacques led his party to the
+point on the Duck River to which he had previously referred. Here
+they found two canoes, into one of which the guide stepped with one
+of the men, a Canadian, who had accompanied them, while Harry and
+Charley embarked in the other. In a few minutes they were rapidly
+descending the stream.
+
+"How do you mean to act, Jacques?" inquired Charley, as he paddled
+alongside of the guide's canoe. "Is it not likely that Misconna may
+have crossed the river already? in which case we shall have no chance
+of catching him."
+
+"Niver fear," returned Jacques. "He must have longer legs than most
+men if he gets to the flat-rock fall before us, an' as that's the
+spot where he'll nat'rally cross the river, being the only straight
+line for the hills that escapes the bend o' the bay to the south o'
+Stoney Creek, we're pretty sartin to stop him there."
+
+"True; but that being, as you say, the _natural_ route, don't you
+think it likely he'll expect that it will be guarded, and avoid it
+accordingly?"
+
+"He _would_ do so, Mister Charles, if he thought we were _here_; but
+there are two reasons agin this. He thinks that he's got the start o'
+us, an' won't need to double by way o' deceivin' us; and then he
+knows that the whole tribe is after him, and consekintly won't take a
+long road when there's a short one, if he can help it. But here's the
+rock. Look out, Mister Charles. We'll have to run the fall, which
+isn't very big just now, and then hide in the bushes at the foot of
+it till the blackguard shows himself. Keep well to the right an'
+don't mind the big rock; the rush o' water takes you clear o' that
+without trouble."
+
+With this concluding piece of advice, he pointed to the fall, which
+plunged over a ledge of rock about half-a-mile ahead of them, and
+which was distinguishable by a small column of white spray that rose
+out of it. As Charley beheld it his spirits rose, and forgetting for
+a moment the circumstances that called him there, he cried out--
+
+"I'll run it before you, Jacques. Hurrah! Give way, Harry!" and in
+spite of a remonstrance from the guide, he shot the canoe ahead, gave
+vent to another reckless shout, and flew, rather than glided, down
+the stream. On seeing this, the guide held back, so as to give him
+sufficient time to take the plunge ere he followed. A few strokes
+brought Charley's canoe to the brink of the fall, and Harry was just
+in the act of raising himself in the bow to observe the position of
+the rocks, when a shout was heard on the bank close beside them.
+Looking up they beheld an Indian emerge from the forest, fit an arrow
+to his bow, and discharge it at them. The winged messenger was truly
+aimed; it whizzed through the air and transfixed Harry Somerville's
+left shoulder just at the moment they swept over the fall. The arrow
+completely incapacitated Harry from using his arm, so that the canoe,
+instead of being directed into the broad current, took a sudden turn,
+dashed in among a mass of broken rocks, between which the water
+foamed with violence, and upset. Here the canoe stuck fast, while its
+owners stood up to their waists in the water, struggling to set it
+free--an object which they were the more anxious to accomplish that
+its stern lay directly in the spot where Jacques would infallibly
+descend. The next instant their fears were realised. The second canoe
+glided over the cataract, dashed violently against the first, and
+upset, leaving Jacques and his man in a similar predicament. By their
+aid, however, the canoes were more easily righted, and embarking
+quickly they shot forth again, just as the Indian, who had been
+obliged to make a detour in order to get within range of their
+position, reappeared on the banks above, and sent another shaft after
+them--fortunately, however, without effect.
+
+"This is unfortunate," muttered Jacques, as the party landed and
+endeavoured to wring some of the water from their dripping clothes;
+"an' the worst of it is that our guns are useless after sich a
+duckin', an' the varmint knows that, an' will be down on us in a
+twinklin'."
+
+"But we are four to one," exclaimed Harry. "Surely we don't need to
+fear much from a single enemy."
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the guide, as he examined the lock of his gun.
+"You've had little to do with Injins, that's plain, You may be sure
+he's not alone, an' the reptile has a bow with arrows enough to send
+us all on a pretty long journey. But we've the trees to dodge behind.
+If I only had _one_ dry charge!" and the disconcerted guide gave a
+look, half of perplexity, half of contempt, at the dripping gun.
+
+"Never mind," cried Charley; "we have our paddles. But I forgot,
+Harry, in all this confusion, that you are wounded, my poor fellow.
+We must have it examined before doing anything further."
+
+"Oh, it's nothing at all--a mere scratch, I think; at least I feel
+very little pain."
+
+As he spoke the twang of a bow was heard, and an arrow flew past
+Jacques's ear.
+
+"Ah, so soon!" exclaimed that worthy, with a look of surprise, as if
+he had unexpectedly met with an old friend. Stepping behind a tree,
+he motioned to his friends to do likewise; an example which they
+followed somewhat hastily on beholding the Indian who had wounded
+Harry step from the cover of the underwood and deliberately let fly
+another arrow, which passed through the hair of the Canadian they had
+brought with them.
+
+From the several trees behind which they had leaped for shelter they
+now perceived that the Indian with the bow was Misconna, and that he
+was accompanied by eight others, who appeared, however, to be totally
+unarmed; having, probably, been obliged to leave their weapons behind
+them, owing to the abruptness of their flight. Seeing that the white
+men were unable to use their guns, the Indians assembled in a group,
+and from the hasty and violent gesticulations of some of the party,
+especially of Misconna, it was evident that a speedy attack was
+intended.
+
+Observing this, Jacques coolly left the shelter of his tree, and
+going up to Charley, exclaimed, "Now, Mister Charles, I'm goin' to
+run away, so you'd better come along with me."
+
+"That I certainly will not. Why, what do you mean?" inquired the
+other, in astonishment.
+
+"I mean that these stupid red-skins can't make up their minds what to
+do, an' as I've no notion o' stoppin' here all day, I want to make
+them do what will suit us best. You see, if they scatter through the
+wood and attack us on all sides, they may give us a deal o' trouble,
+and git away after all; whereas, if we _run away_, they'll bolt after
+us in a body, and then we can take them in hand all at once, which'll
+be more comfortable-like, an' easier to manage."
+
+As Jacques spoke they were joined by Harry and the Canadian; and
+being observed by the Indians thus grouped together, another arrow
+was sent among them.
+
+"Now, follow me," said Jacques, turning round with a loud howl and
+running away. He was closely followed by the others. As the guide had
+predicted, the Indians no sooner observed this than they rushed after
+them in a body, uttering horrible yells.
+
+"Now, then; stop here; down with you."
+
+Jacques instantly crouched behind a bush, while each of the party did
+the same. In a moment the savages came shouting up, supposing the
+white men were still running on in advance. As the foremost, a tall,
+muscular fellow, with the agility of a panther, bounded over the bush
+behind which Jacques was concealed, he was met with a blow from the
+guide's fist, so powerfully delivered into the pit of his stomach
+that it sent him violently back into the bush, where he lay
+insensible. This event, of course, put a check upon the headlong
+pursuit of the others, who suddenly paused, like a group of
+infuriated tigers unexpectedly baulked of their prey. The hesitation,
+however, was but for a moment. Misconna, who was in advance, suddenly
+drew his bow again, and let fly an arrow at Jacques, which the latter
+dexterously avoided; and while his antagonist lowered his eyes for an
+instant to fit another arrow to the string, the guide, making use of
+his paddle as a sort of javelin, threw it with such force and
+precision that it struck Misconna directly between the eyes and
+felled him to the earth, In another instant the two parties rushed
+upon each other, and a general _mélée_ ensued, in which the white
+men, being greatly superior to their adversaries in the use of their
+fists, soon proved themselves more than a match for them all although
+inferior in numbers. Charley's first antagonist, making an abortive
+attempt to grapple with him, received two rapid blows, one on the
+chest and the other on the nose, which knocked him over the bank into
+the river, while his conqueror sprang upon another Indian. Harry,
+having unfortunately selected the biggest savage of the band as his
+special property, rushed upon him and dealt him a vigorous blow on
+the head with his paddle.
+
+The weapon, however, was made of light wood, and, instead of felling
+him to the ground, broke into shivers. Springing upon each other they
+immediately engaged in a fierce struggle, in which poor Harry
+learned, when too late, that his wounded shoulder was almost
+powerless. Meanwhile, the Canadian having been assaulted by three
+Indians at once, floored one at the outset, and immediately began an
+impromptu war-dance round the other two, dealing them occasionally a
+kick or a blow, which would speedily have rendered them _hors de
+combat_, had they not succeeded in closing upon him, when all three
+fell heavily to the ground. Jacques and Charley having succeeded in
+overcoming their respective opponents, immediately hastened to his
+rescue. In the meantime, Harry and his foe had struggled to a
+considerable distance from the others, gradually edging towards the
+river's bank. Feeling faint from his wound, the former at length sank
+under the weight of his powerful antagonist, who endeavoured to
+thrust him over a kind of cliff which they had approached. He was on
+the point of accomplishing his purpose, when Charley and his friends
+perceived Harry's imminent danger, and rushed to the rescue. Quickly
+though they ran, however, it seemed likely that they would be too
+late. Harry's head already overhung the bank, and the Indian was
+endeavouring to loosen the gripe of the young man's hand from his
+throat, preparatory to tossing him over, when a wild cry rang through
+the forest, followed by the reports of a double-barrelled gun, fired
+in quick succession. Immediately after, young Hamilton bounded like a
+deer down the slope, seized the Indian by the legs, and tossed him
+over the cliff, where he turned a complete somersault in his descent,
+and fell with a sounding splash into the water.
+
+"Well done, cleverly done, lad!" cried Jacques, as he and the rest of
+the party came up and crowded round Harry, who lay in a state of
+partial stupor on the bank.
+
+At this moment Redfeather hastily but silently approached; his broad
+chest was heaving heavily, and his expanded nostrils quivering with
+the exertions he had made to reach the scene of action in time to
+succour his friends.
+
+"Thank God!" said Hamilton softly, as he kneeled beside Harry and
+supported his head, while Charley bathed his temples--"thank God that
+I have been in time! Fortunately I was walking by the river
+considerably in advance of Redfeather, who was bringing up the canoe,
+when I heard the sounds of the fray, and hastened to your aid."
+
+At this moment Harry opened his eyes, and saying faintly that he felt
+better, allowed himself to be raised to a sitting posture, while his
+coat was removed and his wound examined. It was found to be a deep
+flesh-wound in the shoulder, from which a fragment of the broken
+arrow still protruded.
+
+"It's a wonder to me, Mr. Harry, how ye held on to that big thief so
+long," muttered Jacques, as he drew out the splinter and bandaged up
+the shoulder. Having completed the surgical operation after a rough
+fashion, they collected the defeated Indians. Those of them that were
+able to walk were bound together by the wrists and marched off to the
+fort, under a guard which was strengthened by the arrival of several
+of the fur-traders, who had been in pursuit of the fugitives, and
+were attracted to the spot by the shouts of the combatants. Harry,
+and such of the party as were more or less severely injured, were
+placed in canoes and conveyed to Stoney Creek by the lake, into which
+Duck River runs at the distance of about half-a-mile from the spot on
+which the skirmish had taken place. Misconna was among the latter.
+
+On arriving at Stoney Creek, the canoe party found a large assemblage
+of the natives awaiting them on the wharf, and no sooner did Misconna
+land than they advanced to seize him.
+
+"Keep back, friends," cried Jacques, who perceived their intentions,
+and stepped hastily between them.--"Come here, lads," he continued,
+turning to his companions; "surround Misconna. He is _our_ prisoner,
+and must ha' fair justice done him, accordin' to white law."
+
+They fell back in silence on observing the guide's determined manner;
+but as they hurried the wretched culprit towards the house, one of
+the Indians pressed close upon their rear, and before anyone could
+prevent him, dashed his tomahawk into Misconna's brain. Seeing that
+the blow was mortal, the traders ceased to offer any further
+opposition; and the Indians rushing upon his body, bore it away amid
+shouts and yells of execration to their canoes, to one of which the
+body was fastened by a rope, and dragged through the water to point
+of land which jutted out into the lake near at hand. Here they
+lighted a fire and burned it to ashes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There seems to be a period in the history of every one when the fair
+aspect of this world is darkened--when everything, whether past,
+present, or future, assumes a hue of the deepest gloom; a period
+when, for the first time, the sun, which has shone in the mental
+firmament with more or less brilliancy from childhood upwards,
+entirely disappears behind a cloud of thick darkness, and leaves the
+soul in a state of deep melancholy; a time when feelings somewhat
+akin to despair pervade us, as we begin gradually to look upon the
+past as a bright, happy vision, out of which we have at last awakened
+to view the sad realities of the present, and look forward with
+sinking hope to the future. Various are the causes which produce
+this, and diverse the effects of it on differently constituted minds;
+but there are few, we apprehend, who have not passed through the
+cloud in one or other of its phases, and who do not feel that this
+_first_ period of prolonged sorrow is darker, and heavier, and worse
+to bear, than many of the more truly grievous afflictions that sooner
+or later fall to the lot of most men.
+
+Into a state of mind somewhat similar to that which we have
+endeavoured to describe, our friend Charley Kennedy fell immediately
+after the events just narrated. The sudden and awful death of his
+friend Mr. Whyte fell upon his young spirit, unaccustomed as he was
+to scenes of bloodshed and violence, with overwhelming power. From
+the depression, however, which naturally followed he would probably
+soon have rallied had not Harry Somerville's wound in the shoulder
+taken an unfavourable turn, and obliged him to remain for many weeks
+in bed, under the influence of a slow fever; so that Charley felt a
+desolation creeping over his soul that no effort he was capable of
+making could shake off. It is true he found both occupation and
+pleasure in attending upon his sick friend; but as Harry's illness
+rendered great quiet necessary, and as Hamilton had been sent to take
+charge of the fishing-station mentioned in a former chapter, Charley
+was obliged to indulge his gloomy reveries in silence. To add to his
+wretchedness he received a letter from Kate about a week after Mr.
+Whyte's burial, telling him of the death of his mother.
+
+Meanwhile, Redfeather and Jacques--both of whom at their young
+master's earnest solicitation, agreed to winter at Stoney Creek--
+cultivated each other's acquaintance sedulously. There were no books
+of any kind at the outpost, excepting three Bibles--one belonging to
+Charley, and one to Harry, the third being that which had been
+presented to Jacques by Mr. Conway the missionary. This single
+volume, however, proved to be an ample library to Jacques and his
+Indian friend. Neither of these sons of the forest was much
+accustomed to reading, and neither of them would have for a moment
+entertained the idea of taking to literature as a pastime; but
+Redfeather loved the Bible for the sake of the great truths which he
+discovered in its inspired pages, though much of what he read was to
+him mysterious and utterly incomprehensible. Jacques, on the other
+hand, read it, or listened to his friend, with that philosophic
+gravity of countenance and earnestness of purpose which he displayed
+in regard to everything; and deep, serious, and protracted were the
+discussions they entered into, as night after night they sat on a
+log, with the Bible spread out before them, and read by the light of
+the blazing fire in the men's house at Stoney Creek. Their
+intercourse, however, was brought to an abrupt conclusion by the
+unexpected arrival, one day, of Mr. Conway the missionary in his tin
+canoe. This gentleman's appearance was most welcome to all parties.
+It was like a bright ray of sunshine to Charley to meet with one who
+could fully sympathise with him in his present sorrowful frame of
+mind. It was an event of some consequence to Harry Somerville,
+inasmuch as it provided him with an amateur doctor who really
+understood somewhat of his physical complaint, and was able to pour
+balm, at once literally and spiritually, into his wounds. It was an
+event productive of the liveliest satisfaction to Redfeather, who now
+felt assured that his tribe would have those mysteries explained
+which he only imperfectly understood himself; and it was an event of
+much rejoicing to the Indians themselves, because their curiosity had
+been not a little roused by what they heard of the doings and sayings
+of the white missionary, who lived on the borders of the great lake.
+The only person, perhaps, on whom Mr. Conway's arrival acted with
+other than a pleasing influence was Jacques Caradoc. This worthy,
+although glad to meet with a man whom he felt inclined both to love
+and respect, was by no means gratified to find that his friend
+Redfeather had agreed to go with the missionary on his visit to the
+Indian tribe, and thereafter to accompany him to the settlement on
+Playgreen Lake. But with the stoicism that was natural to him,
+Jacques submitted to circumstances which he could not alter, and
+contented himself with assuring Redfeather that if he lived till next
+spring he would most certainly "make tracks for the great lake," and
+settle down at the missionary's station along with him. This promise
+was made at the end of the wharf of Stoney Creek the morning on which
+Mr. Conway and his party embarked in their tin canoe--the same tin
+canoe at which Jacques had curled his nose contemptuously when he saw
+it in process of being constructed, and at which he did not by any
+means curl it the less contemptuously now that he saw it finished.
+The little craft answered its purpose marvellously well, however, and
+bounded lightly away under the vigorous strokes of its crew, leaving
+Charley and Jacques on the pier gazing wistfully after their friends,
+and listening sadly to the echoes of their parting song as it floated
+more and more faintly over the lake.
+
+Winter came, but no ray of sunshine broke through the dark cloud that
+hung over Stoney Creek. Harry Somerville, instead of becoming better,
+grew worse and worse every day, so that when Charley despatched the
+winter packet, he represented the illness of his friend to the powers
+at headquarters as being of a nature that required serious and
+immediate attention and change of scene. But the word _immediate_
+bears a slightly different signification in the backwoods to what it
+does in the lands of railroads and steamboats. The letter containing
+this hint took many weeks to traverse the waste wilderness to its
+destination; months passed before the reply was written, and many
+weeks more elapsed ere its contents were perused by Charley and his
+friend. When they did read it, however, the dark cloud that had hung
+over them so long burst at last; a ray of sunshine streamed down
+brightly upon their hearts, and never forsook them again, although it
+did lose a little of its brilliancy after the first flash. It was on
+a rich, dewy, cheerful morning in early spring when the packet
+arrived, and Charley led Harry, who was slowly recovering his wonted
+health and spirits, to their favourite rocky resting-place on the
+margin of the lake. Here he placed the letter in his friend's hand
+with a smile of genuine delight. It ran as follows:--
+
+MY DEAR SIR,--Your letter containing the account of Mr. Somerville's
+illness has been forwarded to me, and I am instructed to inform you
+that leave of absence for a short time has been granted to him. I
+have had a conversation with the doctor here, who advises me to
+recommend that, if your friend has no other summer residence in view,
+he should spend part of his time in Red River settlement. In the
+event of his agreeing to this, I would suggest that he should leave
+Stoney Creek with the first brigade in spring, or by express canoe if
+you think it advisable.--I am, etc.
+
+"Short but sweet--uncommonly sweet!" said Harry, as a deep flush of
+joy crimsoned his pale cheeks, while his own merry smile, that had
+been absent for many a weary day, returned once more to its old
+haunt, and danced round its accustomed dimples like a repentant
+wanderer who has been long absent from and has at last returned to
+his native home.
+
+"Sweet indeed!" echoed Charley. "But that's not all; here's another
+lump of sugar for you." So saying, he pulled a letter from his
+pocket, unfolded it slowly, spread it out on his knee, and, looking
+up at his expectant friend, winked.
+
+"Go on, Charley; pray don't tantalize me."
+
+"Tantalize you! My dear fellow, nothing is farther from my thoughts.
+Listen to this paragraph in my dear old father's letter:--
+
+"'So you see, my dear Charley, that we have managed to get you
+appointed to the charge of Lower Fort Garry, and as I hear that poor
+Harry Somerville is to get leave of absence, you had better bring him
+along with you. I need not add that my house is at his service as
+long as he may wish to remain in it.'
+
+"There! what think ye of that, my boy?" said Charley, as he folded
+the letter and returned it to his pocket.
+
+"I think," replied Harry, "that your father is a dear old gentleman,
+and I hope that you'll only be half as good when you come to his time
+of life; and I think I'm so happy to-day that I'll be able to walk
+without the assistance of your arm to-morrow; and I think we had
+better go back to the house now, for I feel, oddly enough, as tired
+as if I had had a long walk. Ah, Charley, my dear fellow, that letter
+will prove to be the best doctor I have had yet. But now tell me what
+you intend to do."
+
+Charley assisted his friend to rise, and led him slowly back to the
+house, as he replied,--
+
+"Do, my boy? that's soon said. I'll make things square and straight
+at Stoney Creek. I'll send for Hamilton and make him interim
+commander-in-chief. I'll write two letters--one to the gentleman in
+charge of the district, telling him of my movements; the other
+(containing a screed of formal instructions) to the miserable mortal
+who shall succeed me here. I'll take the best canoe in our store,
+load it with provisions, put you carefully in the middle of it, stick
+Jacques in the bow and myself in the stern, and start, two weeks
+hence, neck and crop, head over heels, through thick and thin, wet
+and dry, over portage, river, fall, and lake, for Red River
+settlement!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+Old friends and scenes--Coming events cast their shadows before.
+
+
+Mr. Kennedy, senior, was seated in his own comfortable arm-chair
+before the fire, in his own cheerful little parlour, in his own snug
+house, at Red River, with his own highly characteristic breakfast of
+buffalo steaks, tea, and pemmican before him, and his own beautiful,
+affectionate daughter Kate presiding over the tea-pot, and exercising
+unwarrantably despotic sway over a large gray cat, whose sole
+happiness seemed to consist in subjecting Mr. Kennedy to perpetual
+annoyance, and whose main object in life was to catch its master and
+mistress off their guard, that it might go quietly to the table, the
+meat-safe, or the pantry, and there--deliberately--steal!
+
+Kate had grown very much since we saw her last. She was quite a woman
+now, and well worthy of a minute description here; but we never could
+describe a woman to our own satisfaction. We have frequently tried
+and failed; so we substitute, in place, the remarks of Kate's friends
+and acquaintances about her--a criterion on which to form a judgment
+that is a pretty correct one, especially when the opinion pronounced
+happens to be favourable. Her father said she was an angel, and the
+only joy of his life. This latter expression, we may remark, was
+false; for Mr. Kennedy frequently said to Kate, confidentially, that
+Charley was a great happiness to him; and we are quite sure that the
+pipe had something to do with the felicity of his existence. But the
+old gentleman said that Kate was the _only_ joy of his life, and that
+is all we have to do with at present. Several ill-tempered old ladies
+in the settlement said that Miss Kennedy was really a quiet, modest
+girl--testimony this (considering the source whence it came) that was
+quite conclusive. Then old Mr. Grant remarked to old Mr. Kennedy,
+over a confidential pipe, that Kate was certainly, in his opinion,
+the most modest and the prettiest girl in Red River. Her old school
+companions called her a darling. Tom Whyte said "he never seed
+nothink like her nowhere." The clerks spoke of her in terms too
+glowing to remember; and the last arrival among them, the youngest,
+with the slang of the "old country" fresh on his lips, called her a
+_stunner!_ Even Mrs. Grant got up one of her half-expressed remarks
+about her, which everybody would have supposed to be quizzical in its
+nature, were it not for the frequent occurrence of the terms "good
+girl," "innocent creature," which seemed to contradict that idea.
+There were also one or two hapless swains who said nothings, but what
+they _did_ and _looked_ was in itself unequivocal. They went quietly
+into a state of slow, drivelling imbecility whenever they happened to
+meet with Kate; looked as if they had become shockingly unwell, and
+were rather pleased than otherwise that their friends should think so
+too; and upon all and every occasion in which Kate was concerned,
+conducted themselves with an amount of insane stupidity (although
+sane enough at other times) that nothing could account for, save the
+idea that their admiration of her was inexpressible, and that _that_
+was the most effective way in which they could express it.
+
+"Kate, my darling," said Mr. Kennedy, as he finished the last
+mouthful of tea, "wouldn't it be capital to get another letter from
+Charley?"
+
+"Yes, dear papa, it would indeed. But I am quite sure that the next
+time we shall hear from him will be when he arrives here, and makes
+the house ring with his own dear voice."
+
+"How so, girl?" said the old trader with a smile. It may as well be
+remarked here that the above opening of conversation was by no means
+new; it was stereotyped now. Ever since Charley had been appointed to
+the management of Lower Fort Garry, his father had been so engrossed
+by the idea, and spoke of it to Kate so frequently, that he had got
+into a way of feeling as if the event so much desired would happen in
+a few days, although he knew quite well that it could not, in the
+course of ordinary or extra-ordinary circumstances, occur in less
+than several months. However, as time rolled on he began regularly,
+every day or two, to ask Kate questions about Charley that she could
+not by any possibility answer, but which he knew from experience
+would lead her into a confabulation about his son, which helped a
+little to allay his impatience.
+
+"Why, you see, father," she replied, "it is three months since we got
+his last, and you know there has been no opportunity of forwarding
+letters from Stoney Creek since it was despatched. Now, the next
+opportunity that occurs-"
+
+"Mee-aow!" interrupted the cat, which had just finished two pats of
+fresh butter without being detected, and began, rather recklessly, to
+exult.
+
+"Hang that cat!" cried the old gentleman, angrily, "it'll be the
+death o' me yet;" and seizing the first thing that came to hand,
+which happened to be the loaf of bread, discharged it with such
+violence, and with so correct an aim, that it knocked, not only the
+cat, but the tea-pot and sugar-bowl also, off the table.
+
+"O dear papa!" exclaimed Kate.
+
+"Really, my dear," cried Mr. Kennedy, half angry and half ashamed,"
+we must get rid of that brute immediately. It has scarcely been a
+week here, and it has done more mischief already than a score of
+ordinary cats would have done in a twelvemonth."
+
+"But then the mice, papa--"
+
+"Well, but--but--oh, hang the mice!"
+
+"Yes; but how are we to catch them?" said Kate.
+
+At this moment the cook, who had heard the sound of breaking
+crockery, and judged it expedient that he should be present, opened
+the door.
+
+"How now, rascal!" exclaimed his master, striding up to him. "Did I
+ring for you, eh?"
+
+"No, sir; but--"
+
+"But! eh, but! no more 'buts,' you scoundrel, else I'll--"
+
+The motion of Mr. Kennedy's fist warned the cook to make a
+precipitate retreat, which he did at the same moment that the cat
+resolved to run for its life. This caused them to meet in the
+doorway, and making a compound entanglement with the mat, they both
+fell into the passage with a loud crash. Mr. Kennedy shut the door
+gently, and returned to his chair, patting Kate on the head as he
+passed.
+
+"Now, darling, go on with what you were saying; and don't mind the
+tea-pot--let it lie."
+
+"Well," resumed Kate, with a smile, "I was saying that the next
+opportunity Charley can have will be by the brigade in spring, which
+we expect to arrive here, you know, a month hence; but we won't get a
+letter by that, as I feel convinced that he and Harry will come by it
+themselves."
+
+"And the express canoe, Kate--the express canoe," said Mr. Kennedy,
+with a contortion of the left side of his head that was intended for
+a wink; "you know they got leave to come by express, Kate."
+
+"Oh, as to the express, father, I don't expect them to come by that,
+as poor Harry Somerville has been so ill that they would never think
+of venturing to subject him to all the discomforts, not to mention
+the dangers, of a canoe voyage."
+
+"I don't know that, lass--I don't know that," said Mr. Kennedy,
+giving another contortion with his left cheek. "In fact, I shouldn't
+wonder if they arrived this very day; and it's well to be on the
+look-out, so I'm off to the banks of the river, Kate. "Saying this,
+the old gentleman threw on an old fur cap with the peak all awry,
+thrust his left hand into his right glove, put on the other with the
+back to the front and the thumb in the middle finger, and bustled out
+of the house, muttering as he went, "Yes, it's well to be on the
+look-out for him."
+
+Mr. Kennedy, however, was disappointed: Charley did not arrive that
+day, nor the next, nor the day after that. Nevertheless the old
+gentleman's faith each day remained as firm as on the day previous
+that Charley would arrive on that day "for certain." About a week
+after this, Mr. Kennedy put on his hat and gloves as usual, and
+sauntered down to the banks of the river, where his perseverance was
+rewarded by the sight of a small canoe rapidly approaching the
+landing-place. From the costume of the three men who propelled it,
+the cut of the canoe itself, the precision and energy of its
+movements, and several other minute points about it only apparent to
+the accustomed eye of a nor'-wester, he judged at once that this was
+a new arrival, and not merely one of the canoes belonging to the
+settlers, many of which might be seen passing up and down the river.
+As they drew near he fixed his eyes eagerly upon them.
+
+"Very odd," he exclaimed, while a shade of disappointment passed over
+his brow: "it ought to be him, but it's not like him; too big--
+different nose altogether. Don't know any of the three. Humph!--well,
+he's _sure to come to-morrow, at all events." Having come to the
+conclusion that it was not Charley's canoe, he wheeled sulkily round
+and sauntered back towards his house, intending to solace himself
+with a pipe. At that moment he heard a shout behind him, and ere he
+could well turn round to see whence it came, a young man bounded up
+the bank and seized him in his arms with a hug that threatened to
+dislocate his ribs. The old gentleman's first impulse was to bestow
+on his antagonist (for he verily believed him to be such) one of
+those vigorous touches with his clinched fist which in days of yore
+used to bring some of his disputes to a summary and effectual close;
+but his intention changed when the youth spoke.
+
+"Father, dear, dear father!" said Charley, as he loosened his grasp,
+and, still holding him by both hands, looked earnestly into his face
+with swimming eyes.
+
+Old Mr. Kennedy seemed to have lost his powers of speech. He gazed at
+his son for a few seconds in silence--then suddenly threw his arms
+around him and engaged in a species of wrestle which he intended for
+an embrace.
+
+"O Charley, my boy! "you've come at last--God bless you! Let's look
+at you. Quite changed: six feet; no, not quite changed--the old nose;
+black as an Indian. O Charley, my dear boy! I've been waiting for you
+for months; why did you keep me so long, eh? Hang it, where's my
+handkerchief?" At tis last exclamation Mr. Kennedy's feelings quite
+overcame him; his full heart overflowed at his eyes, so that when he
+tried to look at his son, Charley appeared partly magnified and
+partly broken up into fragments. Fumbling in his pocket for the
+missing handkerchief, which he did not find, he suddenly seized his
+fur cap, in a burst of exasperation, and wiped his eyes with that.
+Immediately after, forgetting that it _was a cap he thrust it into
+his pocket.
+
+"Come, dear father," cried Charley, drawing the old man's arm through
+his, "let us go home. Is Kate there?"
+
+"Ay, ay," cried Mr. Kennedy, waving his hand as he was dragged away,
+and bestowing, quite unwittingly, a back-handed slap on the cheek to
+Harry Somerville--which nearly felled that youth to the ground. "Ay,
+ay! Kate, to be sure, darling. Yes, quite right, Charley; a pipe--
+that's it, my boy, let's have a pipe!" And thus, uttering coherent
+and broken sentences, he disappeared through the doorway with his
+long-lost and now recovered son.
+
+Meanwhile Harry and Jacques continued to pace quietly before the
+house, waiting patiently until the first ebullition of feeling, at
+the meeting of Charley with his father and sister, should be over. In
+a few minutes Charley ran out.
+
+"Hollo, Harry! come in, my boy; forgive my forgetfulness, but--"
+
+"My dear fellow," interrupted Harry, "what nonsense you are talking!
+Of course you forgot me, and everybody and everything on earth, just
+now; but have you seen Kate? is--"
+
+"Yes, yes," cried Charley, as he pushed his friend before him, and
+dragged Jacques after him into the parlour.--"Here's Harry, father,
+and Jacques.--You've heard of Jacques, Kate?"
+
+"Harry, my, dear boy;" cried Mr. Kennedy, seizing his young friend by
+the hand; "how are you, lad? Better, I hope."
+
+At that moment Mr. Kennedy's eye fell on Jacques, who stood in the
+doorway, cap in hand, with the usual quiet smile lighting up his
+countenance.
+
+"What! Jacques--Jacques Caradoc!" he cried, in astonishment.
+
+"The same, sir; you an' I have know'd each other afore now in the way
+o' trade," answered the hunter, as he grasped his old bourgeois by
+the hand and wrung it warmly. Mr. Kennedy, senior, was so overwhelmed
+by the combination of exciting influences to which he was now
+subjected, that he plunged his hand into his pocket for the
+handkerchief again, and pulled out the fur hat instead, which he
+flung angrily at the cat; then using the sleeve of his coat as a
+substitute, he proceeded to put a series of abrupt questions to
+Jacques and Charley simultaneously.
+
+In the meantime Harry went up to Kate and _stared_ at her. We do not
+mean to say that he was intentionally rude to her. No! He went
+towards her intending to shake hands, and renew acquaintance with his
+old companion; but the moment he caught sight of her he was struck
+not only dumb, but motionless. The odd part of it was that Kate, too,
+was affected in precisely the same way, and both of them exclaimed
+mentally, "Can it be possible?" Their lips, however, gave no
+utterance to the question. At length Kate recollected herself, and
+blushing deeply, held out her hand, as she said,--
+
+"Forgive me, Har--Mr. Somerville; I was so surprised at your altered
+appearance, I could scarcely believe that my old friend stood before
+me."
+
+Harry's cheeks crimsoned as he seized her hand and said: "Indeed,
+Ka--a--Miss--that is, in fact, I've been very ill, and doubtless have
+changed somewhat; but the very same thought struck me in regard to
+yourself, you are so--so--"
+
+Fortunately for Harry, who was gradually becoming more and more
+confused, to the amusement of Charley, who had closely observed the
+meeting of his friend and sister, Mr. Kennedy came up.
+
+"Eh! what's that? What did you say _struck_ you, Harry, my lad?"
+
+"_You_ did, father, on his arrival," replied Charley, with a broad
+grin, "and a very neat back-hander it was."
+
+"Nonsense, Charley," interrupted Harry, with a laugh.--"I was just
+saying, sir, that Miss Kennedy is so changed that I could hardly
+believe it to be herself."
+
+"And I had just paid Mr. Somerville the same compliment, papa," cried
+Kate, laughing and blushing simultaneously.
+
+Mr. Kennedy thrust his hands into his pockets, frowned portentously
+as he looked from one to the other, and said slowly, "_Miss_ Kennedy,
+_Mr._ Somerville!" then turning to his son, remarked, "That's
+something new, Charley, lad; that girl is _Miss_ Kennedy, and that
+youth there is _Mr._ Somerville!"
+
+Charley laughed loudly at this sally, especially when the old
+gentleman followed it up with a series of contortions of the left
+cheek, meant for violent winking.
+
+"Right, father, right; it won't do here. We don't know anybody but
+Kate and Harry in this house."
+
+Harry laughed in his own genuine style at this.
+
+"Well, Kate be it, with all my heart," said he; "but, really, at
+first she seemed so unlike the Kate of former days that I could not
+bring myself to call her so."
+
+"Humph!" said Mr. Kennedy. "But come, boys, with me to my smoking-
+room, and let's have a talk over a pipe, while Kate looks after
+dinner." Giving Charley another squeeze of the hand, and Harry a pat
+on the shoulder, the old gentleman put on his cap (with the peak
+behind), and led the way to his glass divan in the garden.
+
+It is perhaps unnecessary for us to say that Kate Kennedy and Harry
+Somerville had, within the last hour, fallen deeply, hopelessly,
+utterly, irrevocably, and totally in love with each other. They did
+not merely fall up to the ears in love. To say that they fell over
+head and ears in it would be, comparatively speaking, to say nothing.
+In fact, they did not fall into it at all. They went deliberately
+backwards, took a long race, sprang high into the air, turned
+completely round, and went down head first into the flood, descending
+to a depth utterly beyond the power of any deep-sea lead to fathom,
+or of any human mind adequately to appreciate. Up to that day Kate
+had thought of Harry as the hilarious youth who used to take every
+opportunity he could of escaping from the counting-room and hastening
+to spend the afternoon in rambling through the woods with her and
+Charley. But the instant she saw him a man, with a bright, cheerful
+countenance, on which rough living and exposure to frequent peril had
+stamped unmistakable lines of energy and decision, and to which
+recent illness had imparted a captivating touch of sadness--the
+moment she beheld this, and the undeniable scrap of whisker that
+graced his cheeks, and the slight _shade_ that rested on his upper
+lip, her heart leaped violently into her throat, where it stuck hard
+and fast, like a stranded ship on a lee-shore.
+
+In like manner, when Harry beheld his former friend a woman, with
+beaming eyes and clustering ringlets and--(there, we won't attempt
+it!)--in fact, surrounded by every nameless and namable grace that
+makes woman exasperatingly delightful, his heart performed the same
+eccentric movement, and he felt that his fate was sealed; that he had
+been sucked into a rapid which was too strong even for his expert and
+powerful arm to contend against, and that he must drift with the
+current now, _nolens volens, and run it as he best could.
+
+When Kate retired to her sleeping-apartment that night, she
+endeavoured to comport herself in her usual manner; but all her
+efforts failed. She sat down on her bed, and remained motionless for
+half-an-hour; then she started and sighed deeply; then she smiled and
+opened her Bible, but forgot to read it; then she rose hastily,
+sighed again, took off her gown, hung it up on a peg, and returning
+to the dressing-table sat down on her best bonnet; then she cried a
+little, at which point the candle suddenly went out; so she gave a
+slight scream, and at last went to bed in the dark.
+
+Three hours afterwards, Harry Somerville, who had been enjoying a
+cigar and a chat with Charley and his father, rose, and bidding his
+friends good-night, retired to his chamber, where he flung himself
+down on a chair, thrust his hands into his pockets, stretched out his
+legs, gazed abstractedly before him, and exclaimed--"O Kate, my
+exquisite girl, you've floored me quite that!"
+
+As he continued to sit in silence, the gaze of affection gradually
+and slowly changed into a look of intense astonishment as he beheld
+the gray cat sitting comfortably on the table, and regarding him with
+a look of complacent interest, as if it thought Harry's style of
+addressing it was highly satisfactory--though rather unusual.
+
+"Brute!" exclaimed Harry, springing from his seat and darting towards
+it. But the cat was too well accustomed to old Mr. Kennedy's sudden
+onsets to be easily taken by surprise. With a bound it reached the
+floor, and took shelter under the bed, whence it was not ejected
+until Harry, having first thrown his shoes, soap, clothes-brush, and
+razor-strop at it, besides two or three books and several
+miscellaneous articles of toilet, at last opened the door (a thing,
+by the way, that people would do well always to remember before
+endeavouring to expel a cat from an impregnable position), and drew
+the bed into the middle of the room. Then, but not till then, it
+fled, with its back, its tail, its hair, its eyes--in short, its
+entire body--bristling in rampant indignation. Having dislodged the
+enemy, Harry replaced the bed, threw off his coat and waistcoat,
+untied his neckcloth, sat down on his chair again, and fell into a
+reverie; from which, after half-an-hour, he started, clasped his
+hands, stamped his foot, glared up at the ceiling, slapped his thigh,
+and exclaimed, in the voice of a hero, "Yes, I'll do it, or die!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+The first day at home--A gallop in the prairie, and its consequences.
+
+
+Next morning, as the quartette were at breakfast, Mr. Kennedy,
+senior, took occasion to propound to his son the plans he had laid
+down for them during the next week.
+
+"In the first place, Charley, my boy," said he, as well as a large
+mouthful of buffalo steak and potato would permit, "you must drive up
+to the fort and report yourself. Harry and I will go with you; and
+after we have paid our respects to old Grant (another cup of tea,
+Kate, my darling)--you recollect him, Charley, don't you?"
+
+"Yes, perfectly."
+
+"Well, then, after we've been to see him, we'll drive down the river,
+and call on our friends at the mill. Then we'll look in on the
+Thomsons; and give a call, in passing, on old Neverin--he's always
+out, so he'll be pleased to hear we were there, and it won't detain
+us. Then---"
+
+"But, dear father--excuse my interrupting you--Harry and I are very
+anxious to spend our first day at home entirely with you and Kate.
+Don't you think it would be more pleasant? and then, to-morrow--"
+
+"Now, Charley, this is too bad of you," said Mr. Kennedy, with a look
+of affected indignation: "no sooner have you come back than you're at
+your old tricks, opposing and thwarting your father's wishes."
+
+"Indeed, I do not wish to do so, father," replied Charley, with a
+smile; "but I thought that you would like my plan better yourself,
+and that it would afford us an opportunity of having a good long,
+satisfactory talk about all that concerns us, past, present, and
+future."
+
+"What a daring mind you have, Charley," said Harry, "to speak of
+cramming a _satisfactory_ talk of the past, the present, and the
+future all into _one_ day!"
+
+"Harry will take another cup of tea, Kate," said Charley, with an
+arch smile, as he went on,--
+
+"Besides, father, Jacques tells me that he means to go off
+immediately, to visit a number of his old voyageur friends in the
+settlement, and I cannot part with him till we have had one more
+canter together over the prairies. I want to show him to Kate, for
+he's a great original."
+
+"Oh, that _will_ be charming!" cried Kate. "I should like of all
+things to be introduced to the bold hunter.--Another cup of tea, Mr.
+S-Harry, I mean?"
+
+Harry started on being thus unexpectedly addressed. "Yes, if you
+please--that is--thank you--no, my cup's full already, Kate!"
+
+"Well, well," broke in Mr. Kennedy, senior, "I see you're all leagued
+against me, so I give in. But I shall not accompany you on your ride,
+as my bones are a little stiffer than they used to be" (the old
+gentleman sighed heavily), "and riding far knocks me up; but I've got
+business to attend to in my glass house which will occupy me till
+dinner-time."
+
+"If the business you speak of," began Charley, "is not incompatible
+with a cigar, I shall be happy to--"
+
+"Why, as to that, the business itself has special reference to
+tobacco, and, in fact, to nothing else; so come along, you young
+dog," and the old gentleman's cheek went into violent convulsions as
+he rose, put on his cap, with the peak very much over one eye, and
+went out in company with the young men.
+
+An hour afterwards four horses stood saddled and bridled in front of
+the house. Three belonged to Mr. Kennedy; the fourth had been
+borrowed from a neighbour as a mount for Jacques Caradoc. In a few
+minutes more Harry lifted Kate into the saddle, and having arranged
+her dress with a deal of unnecessary care, mounted his nag. At the
+same moment Charley and Jacques vaulted into their saddles, and the
+whole cavalcade galloped down the avenue that led to the prairie,
+followed by the admiring gaze of Mr. Kennedy, senior, who stood in
+the doorway of his mansion, his hands in his vest pockets, his head
+uncovered, and his happy visage smiling through a cloud of smoke that
+issued from his lips. He seemed the very personification of jovial
+good-humour, and what one might suppose Cupid would become were he
+permitted to grow old, dress recklessly, and take to smoking!
+
+The prairies were bright that morning, and surpassingly beautiful.
+The grass looked greener than usual, the dew-drops more brilliant as
+they sparkled on leaf and blade and branch in the rays of an
+unclouded sun. The turf felt springy, and the horses, which were
+first-rate animals, seemed to dance over it, scarce crushing the
+wild-flowers beneath their hoofs, as they galloped lightly on, imbued
+with the same joyous feeling that filled the hearts of their riders.
+The plains at this place were more picturesque than in other parts,
+their uniformity being broken up by numerous clumps of small trees
+and wild shrubbery, intermingled with lakes and ponds of all sizes,
+which filled the hollows for miles round--temporary sheets of water
+these, formed by the melting snow, that told of winter now past and
+gone. Additional animation and life was given to the scene by flocks
+of water-fowl, whose busy cry and cackle in the water, or whirring
+motion in the air, gave such an idea of joyousness in the brute
+creation as could not but strike a chord of sympathy in the heart of
+a man, and create a feeling of gratitude to the Maker of man and
+beast. Although brilliant and warm, the sun, at least during the
+first part of their ride, was by no means oppressive; so that the
+equestrians stretched out at full gallop for many miles over the
+prairie, round the lakes and through the bushes, ere their steeds
+showed the smallest symptoms of warmth.
+
+During the ride Kate took the lead, with Jacques on her left and
+Harry on her right, while Charley brought up the rear, and conversed
+in a loud key with all three. At length Kate began to think it was
+just possible the horses might be growing wearied with the slapping
+pace, and checked her steed; but this was not an easy matter, as the
+horse seemed to hold quite a contrary opinion, and showed a desire
+not only to continue but to increase its gallop--a propensity that
+induced Harry to lend his aid by grasping the rein and compelling the
+animal to walk.
+
+"That's a spirited horse, Kate," said Charley, as they ambled along;
+"have you had him long?"
+
+"No," replied Kate; "our father purchased him just a week before your
+arrival, thinking that you would likely want a charger now and then.
+I have only been on him once before.--Would he make a good buffalo-
+runner, Jacques?"
+
+"Yes, miss; he would make an uncommon good runner," answered the
+hunter, as he regarded the animal with a critical glance--"at least
+if he don't shy at a gunshot."
+
+"I never tried his nerves in that way," said Kate, with a smile;
+"perhaps he would shy at _that_. He has a good deal of spirit--oh, I
+do dislike a lazy horse, and I do delight in a spirited one!" Kate
+gave her horse a smart cut with the whip, half involuntarily, as she
+spoke. In a moment it reared almost perpendicularly, and then bounded
+forward; not, however, before Jacques's quick eye had observed the
+danger, and his ever-ready hand arrested its course.
+
+"Have a care, Miss Kate," he said, in a warning voice, while he gazed
+in the face of the excited girl with a look of undisguised
+admiration. "It don't do to wallop a skittish beast like that."
+
+"Never fear, Jacques," she replied, bending forward to pat her
+charger's arching neck; "see, he is becoming quite gentle again."
+
+"If he runs away, Kate, we won't be able to catch you again, for he's
+the best of the four, I think," said Harry, with an uneasy glance at
+the animal's flashing eye and expanded nostrils.
+
+"Ay, it's as well to keep the whip off him," said Jacques. "I know'd
+a young chap once in St. Louis who lost his sweetheart by usin' his
+whip too freely."
+
+"Indeed," cried Kate, with a merry laugh, as they emerged from one of
+the numerous thickets and rode out upon the open plain at a foot
+pace; "how was that, Jacques? Pray tell us the story."
+
+"As to that, there's little story about it," replied the hunter. "You
+see, Tim Roughead took arter his name, an' was always doin' some
+mischief or other, which more than once nigh cost him his life; for
+the young trappers that frequent St. Louis are not fellows to stand
+too much jokin', I can tell ye. Well, Tim fell in love with a gal
+there who had jilted about a dozen lads afore; an' bein' an oncommon
+handsome, strappin' fellow, she encouraged him a good deal. But Tim
+had a suspicion that Louise was rayther sweet on a young
+storekeeper's clerk there; so, bein' an off-hand sort o' critter, he
+went right up to the gal, and says to her, says he, 'Come, Louise,
+it's o' no use humbuggin' with _me_ any longer. If you like me, you
+like me; and if you don't like me, you don't. There's only two ways
+about it. Now, jist say the word at once, an' let's have an end on't.
+If you agree, I'll squat with you in whativer bit o' the States you
+like to name; if not, I'll bid you good-bye this blessed mornin', an'
+make tracks right away for the Rocky Mountains afore sundown. Ay or
+no, lass: which is't to be?'
+
+"Poor Louise was taken all aback by this, but she knew well that Tim
+was a man who never threatened in jest, an' moreover she wasn't quite
+sure o' the young clerk; so she agreed, an' Tim went off to settle
+with her father about the weddin'. Well, the day came, an' Tim, with
+a lot o' his comrades, mounted their horses, and rode off to the
+bride's house, which was a mile or two up the river out of the town.
+Just as they were startin', Tim's horse gave a plunge that well-nigh
+pitched him over its head, an' Tim came down on him with a cut o' his
+heavy whip that sounded like a pistol-shot. The beast was so mad at
+this that it gave a kind o' squeal an' another plunge that burst the
+girths. Tim brought the whip down on its flank again, which made it
+shoot forward like an arrow out of a bow, leavin' poor Tim on the
+ground. So slick did it fly away that it didn't even throw him on his
+back, but let him fall sittin'-wise, saddle and all, plump on the
+spot where he sprang from. Tim scratched his head an' grinned like a
+half-worried rattlesnake as his comrades almost rolled off their
+saddles with laughin'. But it was no laughin' job, for poor Tim's leg
+was doubled under him, an' broken across at the thigh. It was long
+before he was able to go about again, and when he did recover he
+found that Louise and the young clerk were spliced an' away to
+Kentucky."
+
+"So you see what are the probable consequences, Kate, if you use your
+whip so obstreperously again," cried Charley, pressing his horse into
+a canter.
+
+Just at that moment a rabbit sprang from under a bush and darted away
+before them. In an instant Harry Somerville gave a wild shout, and
+set off in pursuit. Whether it was the cry or the sudden flight of
+Harry's horse, we cannot tell, but the next instant Kate's charger
+performed an indescribable flourish with its hind legs, laid back its
+ears, took the bit between its teeth, and ran away. Jacques was on
+its heels instantly, and a few seconds afterwards Charley and Harry
+joined in the pursuit, but their utmost efforts failed to do more
+than enable them to keep their ground. Kate's horse was making for a
+dense thicket, into which it became evident they must certainly
+plunge. Harry and her brother trembled when they looked at it and
+realised her danger; even Jacques's face showed some symptoms of
+perturbation for a moment as he glanced before him in indecision. The
+expression vanished, however, in a few seconds, and his cheerful,
+self-possessed look returned, as he cried out,--"Pull the left rein
+hard, Miss Kate; try to edge up the slope."
+
+Kate heard the advice, and exerting all her strength, succeeded in
+turning her horse a little to the left, which caused him to ascend a
+gentle slope, at the top of which part of the thicket lay. She was
+closely followed by Harry and her brother, who urged their steeds
+madly forward in the hope of catching her rein, while Jacques
+diverged a little to the right. By this manoeuvre the latter hoped to
+gain on the runaway, as the ground along which he rode was
+comparatively level, with a short but steep ascent at the end of it,
+while that along which Kate flew like the wind was a regular ascent,
+that would prove very trying to her horse. At the margin of the
+thicket grew a row of high bushes, towards which they now galloped
+with frightful speed. As Kate came up to this natural fence, she
+observed the trapper approaching on the other side of it. Springing
+from his jaded steed, without attempting to check its pace, he leaped
+over the underwood like a stag just as the young girl cleared the
+bushes at a bound. Grasping the reins and checking the horse
+violently with one hand, he extended the other to Kate, who leaped
+unhesitatingly into his arms. At the same instant Charley cleared the
+bushes, and pulled sharply up; while Harry's horse, unable, owing to
+its speed, to take the leap, came crashing through them, and dashed
+his rider with stunning violence to the ground.
+
+Fortunately no bones were broken, and a draught of clear water,
+brought by Jacques from a neighbouring pond, speedily restored
+Harry's shaken faculties.
+
+"Now, Kate," said Charley, leading forward the horse which he had
+ridden, "I have changed saddles, as you see; this horse will suit you
+better, and I'll take the shine out of your charger on the way home."
+
+"Thank you, Charley," said Kate, with a smile. "I've quite recovered
+from my fright--if, indeed, it is worth calling by that name; but I
+fear that Harry has--"
+
+"Oh, I'm all right," cried Harry, advancing as he spoke to assist
+Kate in mounting. "I am ashamed to think that my wild cry was the
+cause of all this."
+
+In another minute they were again in their saddles, and turning their
+faces homeward, they swept over the plain at a steady gallop, fearing
+lest their accident should be the means of making Mr. Kennedy wait
+dinner for them. On arriving, they found the old gentleman engaged in
+an animated discussion with the cook about laying the table-cloth,
+which duty he had imposed on himself in Kate's absence.
+
+"Ah, Kate, my love," he cried, as they entered, "come here, lass, and
+mount guard. I've almost broke my heart in trying to convince that
+thick-headed goose that he can't set the table properly. Take it off
+my hands, like a good girl.--Charley, my boy, you'll be pleased to
+hear that your old friend Redfeather is here."
+
+"Redfeather, father!" exclaimed Charley, in surprise.
+
+"Yes; he and the parson, from the other end of Lake Winnipeg, arrived
+an hour ago in a tin kettle, and are now on their way to the upper
+fort."
+
+"That is, indeed, pleasant news; but I suspect that it will give much
+greater pleasure to our friend Jacques, who, I believe, would be glad
+to lay down his life for him, simply to prove his affection."
+
+"Well, well," said the old gentleman, knocking the ashes out of his
+pipe, and refilling it so as to be ready for an after-dinner smoke,
+"Redfeather has come, and the parson's come too; and I look upon it
+as quite miraculous that they have come, considering the _thing_ they
+came in. What they've come for is more than I can tell, but I suppose
+it's connected with church affairs.--Now then, Kate, what's come o'
+the dinner, Kate? Stir up that grampus of a cook! I half expect that
+he has boiled the cat for dinner, in his wrath, for it has been
+badgering him and me the whole morning.--Hollo, Harry, what's wrong?"
+
+The last exclamation was in consequence of an expression of pain
+which crossed Harry's face for a moment.
+
+"Nothing, nothing," replied Harry. "I've had a fall from my horse,
+and bruised my arm a little. But I'll see to it after dinner."
+
+"That you shall not," cried Mr Kennedy energetically, dragging his
+young friend into his bedroom. "Off with your coat, lad. Let's see it
+at once. Ay, ay," he continued, examining Harry's left arm, which was
+very much discoloured, and swelled from the elbow to the shoulder,
+"that's a severe thump, my boy. But it's nothing to speak of; only
+you'll have to submit to a sling for a day or two,"
+
+"That's annoying, certainly, but I'm thankful it's no worse,"
+remarked Harry, as Mr. Kennedy dressed the arm after his own fashion,
+and then returned with him to the dining-room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+Love--Old Mr. Kennedy puts his foot in it.
+
+
+One morning, about two weeks after Charley's arrival at Red River,
+Harry Somerville found himself alone in Mr. Kennedy's parlour. The
+old gentleman himself had just galloped away in the direction of the
+lower fort, to visit Charley, who was now formally installed there;
+Kate was busy in the kitchen giving directions about dinner; and
+Jacques was away with Redfeather, visiting his numerous friends in
+the settlement: so that, for the first time since his arrival, Harry
+found himself at the hour of ten in the morning utterly lone, and
+with nothing very definite to do. Of course, the two weeks that had
+elapsed were not without their signs and symptoms, their minor
+accidents and incidents, in regard to the subject that filled his
+thoughts. Harry had fifty times been tossed alternately from the
+height of hope to the depth of despair, from the extreme of felicity
+to the uttermost verge of sorrow, and he began seriously to reflect,
+when he remembered his desperate resolution on the first night of his
+arrival, that if he did not "do" he certainly would "die." This was
+quite a mistake, however, on Harry's part. Nobody ever did _die_ of
+unrequited love. Doubtless many people have hanged, drowned, and shot
+themselves because of it; but, generally speaking, if the patient can
+be kept from maltreating himself long enough, time will prove to be
+an infallible remedy. O youthful reader, lay this to heart: but
+pshaw! why do I waste ink on so hopeless a task? _Every_ one, we
+suppose, resolves once in a way to _die_ of love; so--die away, my
+young friends, only make sure that you don't _kill_ yourselves, and
+I've no fear of the result.
+
+But to return. Kate, likewise, was similarly affected. She behaved
+like a perfect maniac--mentally, that is--and plunged herself,
+metaphorically, into such a succession of hot and cold baths, that it
+was quite a marvel how her spiritual constitution could stand it.
+
+But we were wrong in saying that Harry was _alone_ in the parlour.
+The gray cat was there. On a chair before the fire it sat, looking
+dishevelled and somewhat _blase,_ in consequence of the ill-treatment
+and worry to which it was continually subjected. After looking out of
+the window for a short time, Harry rose, and sitting down on a chair
+beside the cat, patted its head--a mark of attention it was evidently
+not averse to, but which it received, nevertheless, with marked
+suspicion, and some indications of being in a condition of armed
+neutrality. Just then the door opened, and Kate entered.
+
+"Excuse me, Harry, for leaving you alone," she said, "but I had to
+attend to several household matters. Do you feel inclined for a
+walk?"
+
+"I do indeed," replied Harry; "it is a charming day, and I am
+exceedingly anxious to see the bower that you have spoken to me about
+once or twice, and which Charley told me of long before I came here."
+
+"Oh, I shall take you to it with pleasure," replied Kate; "my dear
+father often goes there with me to smoke. If you will wait for two
+minutes I'll put on my bonnet," and she hastened to prepare herself
+for the walk, leaving Harry to caress the cat, which he did so
+energetically, when he thought of its young mistress, that it
+instantly declared war, and sprang from the chair with a
+remonstrative yell.
+
+On their way down to the bower, which was situated in a picturesque,
+retired spot on the river's bank about a mile below the house, Harry
+and Kate tried to converse on ordinary topics, but without success,
+and were at last almost reduced to silence. One subject alone filled
+their minds; all others were flat. Being sunk, as it were, in an
+ocean of love, they no sooner opened their lips to speak, than the
+waters rushed in, as a natural consequence, and nearly choked them.
+Had they but opened their mouths wide and boldly, they would have
+been pleasantly drowned together; but as it was, they lacked the
+requisite courage, and were fain to content themselves with an
+occasional frantic struggle to the surface, where they gasped a few
+words of uninteresting air, and sank again instantly.
+
+On arriving at the bower, however, and sitting down, Harry plucked up
+heart, and, heaving a deep sigh, said--
+
+"Kate, there is a subject about which I have long desired to speak to
+you-"
+
+Long as he had been desiring it, however, Kate thought it must have
+been nothing compared with the time that elapsed ere he said anything
+else; so she bent over a flower which she held in her hand, and said
+in a low voice, "Indeed, Harry, what is it?"
+
+Harry was desperate now. His usually flexible tongue was stiff as
+stone and dry as a bit of leather. He could no more give utterance to
+an intelligible idea than he could change himself into Mr. Kennedy's
+gray cat--a change that he would not have been unwilling to make at
+that moment. At last he seized his companion's hand, and exclaimed,
+with a burst of emotion that quite startled her,--
+
+"Kate, Kate! O dearest Kate, I love you! I _adore_ you! I--"
+
+At this point poor Harry's powers of speech again failed; so being
+utterly unable to express another idea, he suddenly threw his arms
+round her, and pressed her fervently to his bosom.
+
+Kate was taken quite aback by this summary method of coming to the
+point. Repulsing him energetically, she exclaimed, while she blushed
+crimson. "O Harry--Mr Somerville!" and burst into tears.
+
+Poor Harry stood before her for a moment, his head hanging down, and
+a deep blush of shame on his face.
+
+"O Kate," said he, in a deep tremulous voice, "forgive me; do--do
+forgive me! I knew not what I said. I scarce knew what I did" (here
+he seized her hand). "I know but one thing, Kate, and tell it you
+_will,_ if it should cost me my life. I love you, Kate, to
+distraction, and I wish you to be my wife. I have been rude, very
+rude. Can you forgive me, Kate?"
+
+Now, this latter part of Harry's speech was particularly comical,
+the comicality of it lying in this, that while he spoke, he drew Kate
+gradually towards him, and at the very time when he gave utterance to
+the penitential remorse for his rudeness, Kate was infolded in a much
+more vigorous embrace than at the first; and what is more remarkable
+still, she laid her little head quietly on his shoulder, as if she
+had quite changed her mind in regard to what was and what was not
+rude, and rather enjoyed it than otherwise.
+
+While the lovers stood in this interesting position, it became
+apparent to Harry's olfactory nerves that the atmosphere was
+impregnated with tobacco smoke. Looking hastily up, he beheld an
+apparition that tended somewhat to increase the confusion of his
+faculties.
+
+In the opening of the bower stood Mr. Kennedy, senior, in a state of
+inexpressible amazement. We say inexpressible advisedly, because the
+extreme pitch of feeling which Mr. Kennedy experienced at what he
+beheld before him cannot possibly be expressed by human visage. As
+far as the countenance of man could do it, however, we believe the
+old gentleman's came pretty near the mark on this occasion. His hands
+were in his coat pockets, his body bent a little forward, his head
+and neck outstretched a little beyond it, his eyes almost starting
+from the sockets, and certainly the most prominent feature in his
+face: his teeth firmly clinched on his beloved pipe, and his lips
+expelling a multitude of little clouds so vigorously that one might
+have taken him for a sort of self-acting intelligent steam-gun that
+had resolved utterly to annihilate Kate and Harry at short range in
+the course of two minutes.
+
+When Kate saw her father she uttered a slight scream, covered her
+face with her hands, rushed from the bower, and disappeared in the
+wood.
+
+"So, young gentleman," began Mr. Kennedy, in a slow, deliberate tone
+of voice, while he removed the pipe from his mouth, clinched his
+fist, and confronted Harry, "you've been invited to my house as a
+guest, sir, and you seize the opportunity basely to insult my
+daughter!"
+
+"Stay, stay, my dear sir," interrupted Harry, laying his hand on the
+old man's shoulder and gazing earnestly into his face. "Oh, do not,
+even for a moment, imagine that I could be so base as to trifle with
+the affections of your daughter. I may have been presumptuous, hasty,
+foolish, mad if you will, but not base. God forbid that I should
+treat her with disrespect, even in thought! I love her, Mr. Kennedy,
+as I never loved before. I have asked her to be my wife, and--she--"
+
+"Whew!" whistled old Mr. Kennedy, replacing his pipe between his
+teeth, gazing abstractedly at the ground, and emitting clouds
+innumerable. After standing thus a few seconds, he turned his back
+slowly upon Harry, and smiled outrageously once or twice, winking at
+the same time, after his own fashion, at the river. Turning abruptly
+round, he regarded Harry with a look of affected dignity, and said,
+"Pray, sir, what did my daughter say to your very peculiar proposal?"
+
+"She said ye--ah! that is--she didn't exactly _say_ anything, but
+she--indeed I--"
+
+"Humph!" ejaculated the old gentleman, deepening his frown as he
+regarded his young friend through the smoke. "In short, she said
+nothing, I suppose, but led you to infer, perhaps, that she would
+have said yes if I hadn't interrupted you."
+
+Harry blushed, and said nothing.
+
+"Now, sir," continued Mr, Kennedy, "don't you think that it would
+have been a polite piece of attention on your part to have asked _my_
+permission before you addressed my daughter on such a subject, eh?"
+
+"Indeed," said Harry, "I acknowledge that I have been hasty, but I
+must disclaim the charge of disrespect to you, sir. I had no
+intention whatever of broaching the subject to-day, but my feelings,
+unhappily, carried me away, and--and--in fact--"
+
+"Well, well, sir," interrupted Mr. Kennedy, with a look of offended
+dignity, "your feelings ought to be kept more under control. But
+come, sir, to my house. I must talk further with you on this subject.
+I must read you a lesson, sir--a lesson, humph! that you won't forget
+in a hurry."
+
+"But, my dear sir--" began Harry.
+
+"No more, sir--no more at present," cried the old gentleman, smoking
+violently as he pointed to the footpath that led to the house, "Lead
+the way, sir; I'll follow."
+
+The footpath, although wide enough to allow Kate and Harry to walk,
+beside each other, did not permit of two gentlemen doing so
+conveniently--a circumstance which proved a great relief to Mr.
+Kennedy, inasmuch as it enabled him, while walking behind his
+companion, to wink convulsively, smoke furiously, and punch his own
+ribs severely, by way of opening a few safety-valves to his glee,
+without which there is no saying what might have happened. He was
+nearly caught in these eccentricities more than once, however, as
+Harry turned half round with the intention of again attempting to
+exculpate himself--attempts which were as often met by a sudden
+start, a fierce frown, a burst of smoke, and a command to "go on." On
+approaching the house, the track became a broad road, affording Mr.
+Kennedy no excuse for walking in the rear, so that he was under the
+necessity of laying violent restraint on his feelings--a restraint
+which it was evident could not last long. At that moment, to his
+great relief, his eye suddenly fell on the gray cat, which happened
+to be reposing innocently on the doorstep.
+
+"_That's_ it! there's the whole cause of it at last!" cried Mr.
+Kennedy, in a perfect paroxysm of excitement, flinging his pipe
+violently at the unoffending victim as he rushed towards it. The pipe
+missed the cat, but went with a sharp crash through the parlour
+window, at which Charley was seated, while his father darted through
+the doorway, along the passage, and into the kitchen. Here the cat,
+having first capsized a pyramid of pans and kettles in its
+consternation, took refuge in an absolutely unassailable position.
+Seeing this, Mr. Kennedy violently discharged a pailful of water at
+the spot, strode rapidly to his own apartment, and locked himself in.
+
+"Dear me, Harry, what's wrong? my father seems unusually excited,"
+said Charley, in some astonishment, as Harry entered the room, and
+flung himself on a chair with a look of chagrin.
+
+"It's difficult to say, Charley; the fact is, I've asked your sister
+Kate to be my wife, and your father seems to have gone mad with
+indignation."
+
+"Asked Kate to be your wife!" cried Charley, starting up, and
+regarding his friend with a look of amazement.
+
+"Yes, I have," replied Harry, with an air of offended dignity. "I
+know very well that I am unworthy of her, but I see no reason why you
+and your father should take such pains to make me feel it."
+
+"Unworthy of her, my dear fellow!" exclaimed Charley, grasping his
+hand and wringing it violently; "no doubt you are, and so is
+everybody, but you shall have her for all that, my boy. But tell me,
+Harry, have you spoken to Kate herself?"
+
+"Yes, I have."
+
+"And does she agree?"
+
+"Well, I think I may say she does."
+
+"Have you told my father that she does?"
+
+"Why, as to that," said Harry, with a perplexed smile, "he didn't
+need to be told; he made _himself_ pretty well aware of the facts of
+the case."
+
+"Ah! I'll soon settle _him_," cried Charley. "Keep your mind easy,
+old fellow; I'll very soon bring him round." With this assurance,
+Charley gave his friend's hand another shake that nearly wrenched the
+arm from his shoulder, and hastened out of the room in search of his
+refractory father.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+The course of true love, curiously enough, runs smooth for once; and
+the curtain falls.
+
+
+Time rolled on, and with it the sunbeams of summer went--the
+snowflakes of winter came. Needles of ice began to shoot across the
+surface of Red River, and gradually narrowed its bed. Crystalline
+trees formed upon the window-panes. Icicles depended from the eaves
+of the houses. Snow fell in abundance on the plains; liquid nature
+began rapidly to solidify, and not many weeks after the first frost
+made its appearance everything was (as the settlers expressed it)
+"hard and fast."
+
+Mr. Kennedy, senior, was in his parlour, with his back to a blazing
+wood-fire that seemed large enough to roast an ox whole. He was
+standing, moreover, in a semi-picturesque attitude, with his right
+hand in his breeches pocket and his left arm round Kate's waist. Kate
+was dressed in a gown that rivalled the snow itself in whiteness. One
+little gold clasp shone in her bosom; it was the only ornament she
+wore. Mr. Kennedy, too, had somewhat altered his style of costume. He
+wore a sky-blue, swallow-tailed coat, whose maker had flourished in
+London half-a-century before. It had a velvet collar about five
+inches deep, fitted uncommonly tight to the figure, and had a pair of
+bright brass buttons, very close together, situated half-a-foot above
+the wearer's natural waist. Besides this, he had on a canary-coloured
+vest, and a pair of white duck trousers, in the fob of which
+_evidently_ reposed an immense gold watch of the olden time, with a
+bunch of seals that would have served very well as an anchor for a
+small boat. Although the dress was, on the whole, slightly comical,
+its owner, with his full, fat, broad figure, looked remarkably well
+in it, nevertheless.
+
+It was Kate's marriage-day, or rather marriage-evening; for the sun
+had set two hours ago, and the moon was now sailing in the frosty
+sky, its pale rays causing the whole country to shine with a clear,
+cold, silvery whiteness.
+
+The old gentleman had been for some time gazing in silent admiration
+on the fair brow and clustering ringlets of his daughter, when it
+suddenly occurred to him that the company would arrive in half-an-
+hour, and there were several things still to be attended to.
+
+"Hello, Kate!" he exclaimed, with a start, "we're forgetting
+ourselves. The candles are yet to light, and lots of other things to
+do." Saying this, he began to bustle about the room in a state of
+considerable agitation.
+
+"Oh, don't worry yourself, dear father!" cried Kate, running after
+him and catching him by the hand. "Miss Cookumwell and good Mrs.
+Taddipopple are arranging everything about tea and supper in the
+kitchen, and Tom Whyte has been kindly sent to us by Mr. Grant, with
+orders to make himself generally useful, so _he_ can light the
+candles in a few minutes, and you've nothing to do but to kiss me and
+receive the company." Kate pulled her father gently towards the fire
+again, and replaced his arm round her waist.
+
+"Receive company! Ah, Kate, my love, that's just what I know nothing
+about. If they'd let me receive them in my own way, I'd do it well
+enough; but that abominable Mrs. Taddi-what's her name-has quite
+addled my brains and driven me distracted with trying to get me to
+understand what she calls _etiquette_."
+
+Kate laughed, and said she didn't care _how_ he received them, as she
+was quite sure that, whichever way he did it, he would do it
+pleasantly and well.
+
+At that moment the door opened, and Tom Whyte entered. He was
+thinner, if possible, than he used to be, and considerably stiffer,
+and more upright.
+
+"Please, sir," said he, with a motion that made you expect to hear
+his back creak (it was intended for a bow)--"please, sir, can I do
+hanythink for yer?"
+
+"Yes, Tom, you can," replied Mr. Kennedy. "Light these candles, my
+man, and then go to the stable and see that everything there is
+arranged for putting up the horses. It will be pretty full to-night,
+Tom, and will require some management. Then, let me see--ah yes,
+bring me my pipe, Tom, my big meerschaum.--I'll sport that to-night
+in honour of you, Kate."
+
+"Please, sir," began Tom, with a slightly disconcerted air, "I'm
+afeared, sir, that--um--"
+
+"Well, Tom, what would you say? Go on."
+
+"The pipe, sir," said Tom, growing still more disconcerted--"says I
+to cook, says I, 'Cook, wot's been an' done it, d'ye think?' 'Dun
+know, Tom,' says he, 'but it's smashed, that's sartin. I think the
+gray cat--'"
+
+"What!" cried the old trader, in a voice of thunder, while a frown of
+the most portentous ferocity darkened his brow for an instant. It was
+only for an instant, however. Clearing his brow quickly, he said with
+a smile, "But it's your wedding-day, Kate, my darling. It won't do to
+blow up anybody to-day, not even the cat.--There, be off, Tom, and
+see to things. Look sharp! I hear sleigh-bells already."
+
+As he spoke Tom vanished perpendicularly, Kate hastened to her room,
+and the old gentleman himself went to the front door to receive his
+guests.
+
+The night was of that intensely calm and still character that
+invariably accompanies intense frost, so that the merry jingle of the
+sleigh-bells that struck on Mr. Kennedy's listening ear continued to
+sound, and grow louder as they drew near, for a considerable time ere
+the visitors arrived. Presently the dull, soft tramp of horses' hoofs
+was heard in the snow, and a well-known voice shouted out lustily,
+"Now then, Mactavish, keep to the left. Doesn't the road take a turn
+there? Mind the gap in the fence. That's old Kennedy's only fault.
+He'd rather risk breaking his friends' necks than mend his fences!"
+
+"All right, here we are," cried Mactavish, as the next instant two
+sleighs emerged out of the avenue into the moonlit space in front of
+the house, and dashed up to the door amid an immense noise and
+clatter of bells, harness, hoofs, snorting, and salutations.
+
+"Ah, Grant, my dear fellow!" cried Mr. Kennedy, springing to the
+sleigh and seizing his friend by the hand as he dragged him out.
+"This is kind of you to come early. And Mrs. Grant, too. Take care,
+my dear madam, step clear of the haps; now, then--cleverly done" (as
+Mrs. Grant tumbled into his arms in a confused heap). "Come along
+now; there's a capital fire in here.--Don't mind the horses,
+Mactavish--follow us, my lad; Tom Whyte will attend to them."
+
+Uttering such disjointed remarks, Mr. Kennedy led Mrs. Grant into the
+house, and made her over to Mrs. Taddipopple, who hurried her away to
+an inner apartment, while Mr. Kennedy conducted her spouse, along
+with Mactavish and our friend the head clerk at Fort Garry, into the
+parlour.
+
+"Harry, my dear fellow, I wish you joy," cried Mr. Grant, as the
+former grasped his hand. "Lucky dog you are. Where's Kate, eh? Not
+visible yet, I suppose."
+
+"No, not till the parson comes," interrupted Mr. Kennedy, convulsing
+his left cheek.--"Hollo, Charley, where are you? Ah! bring the
+cigars, Charley.--Sit down, gentlemen; make yourselves at home--I
+say, Mrs. Taddi--Taddi--oh, botheration--popple! that's it--your
+name, madam, is a puzzler-but-we'll need more chairs, I think. Fetch
+one or two, like a dear!"
+
+As he spoke the jingle of bells was heard outside, and Mr. Kennedy
+rushed to the door again.
+
+"Good-evening, Mr. Addison," said he, taking that gentleman warmly by
+the hand as he resigned the reins to Tom Whyte. "I am delighted to
+see you, sir (Look after the minister's mare, Tom), glad to see you,
+my dear sir. Some of my friends have come already. This way, Mr,
+Addison."
+
+The worthy clergyman responded to Mr. Kennedy's greeting in his own
+hearty manner, and followed him into the parlour, where the guests
+now began to assemble rapidly.
+
+"Father," cried Charley, catching his sire by the arm, "I've been
+looking for you everywhere, but you dance about like a will-o'-the-
+wisp. Do you know I've invited my friends Jacques and Redfeather to
+come to-night, and also Louis Peltier, the guide with whom I made my
+first trip. You recollect him, father?"
+
+"Ay, that do I, lad, and happy shall I be to see three such worthy
+men under my roof as guests on this night."
+
+"Yes, yes, I know that, father; but I don't see them here. Have they
+come yet?"
+
+"Can't say, boy. By the way, Pastor Conway is also coming, so we'll
+have a meeting between an Episcopalian and a Wesleyan. I sincerely
+trust that they won't fight!" As he said this the old gentleman
+grinned and threw his cheek into convulsions--an expression which was
+suddenly changed into one of confusion when he observed that Mr.
+Addison was standing close beside him, and had heard the remark.
+
+"Don't blush, my dear sir," said Mr. Addison, with a quiet smile, as
+he patted his friend on the shoulder. "You have too much reason, I am
+sorry to say, for expecting that clergymen of different denominations
+should look coldly on each other. There is far too much of this
+indifference and distrust among those who labour in different parts
+of the Lord's vineyard. But I trust you will find that my sympathies
+extend a little beyond the circle of my own particular body. Indeed,
+Mr. Conway is a particular friend of mine; so I assure you we won't
+fight."
+
+"Right, right" cried Mr. Kennedy, giving the clergy man an energetic
+grasp of the hand; "I like to hear you speak that way. I must confess
+that I've been a good deal surprised to observe, by what one reads in
+the old-country newspapers, as well as by what one sees even hereaway
+in the backwood settlements, how little interest clergymen show in
+the doings of those who don't happen to belong to their own
+particular sect; just as if a soul saved through the means of an
+Episcopalian was not of as much value as one saved by a Wesleyan, or
+a Presbyterian, or a Dissenter. Why, sir, it seems to me just as
+mean-spirited and selfish as if one of our chief factors was so
+entirely taken up with the doings and success of his own particular
+district that he didn't care a gun-flint for any other district in
+the Company's service."
+
+There was at least one man listening to these remarks whose naturally
+logical and liberal mind fully agreed with them. This was Jacques
+Caradoc, who had entered the room a few minutes before, in company
+with his friend Redfeather and Louis Peltier.
+
+"Right, sir! That's fact, straight up and down," said he, in an
+approving tone.
+
+"Ha! Jacques, my good fellow, is that you?--Redfeather, my friend,
+how are you?" said Mr. Kennedy, turning round and grasping a hand of
+each.--"Sit down there, Louis, beside Mrs. Taddi--eh?--ah!--popple.--
+Mr. Addison, this is Jacques Caradoc, the best and stoutest hunter
+between Hudson's Bay and Oregon."
+
+Jacques smiled and bowed modestly as Mr. Addison shook his hand. The
+worthy hunter did indeed at that moment look as if he fully merited
+Mr. Kennedy's eulogium. Instead of endeavouring to ape the gentleman,
+as many men in his rank of life would have been likely to do on an
+occasion like this, Jacques had not altered his costume a hair-
+breadth from what it usually was, excepting that some parts of it
+were quite new, and all of it faultlessly clean. He wore the usual
+capote, but it was his best one, and had been washed for the
+occasion. The scarlet belt and blue leggings were also as bright in
+colour as if they had been put on for the first time; and the
+moccasins, which fitted closely to his well-formed feet, were of the
+cleanest and brightest yellow leather, ornamented, as usual, in
+front. The collar of his blue-striped shirt was folded back a little
+more carefully than usual, exposing his sun-burned and muscular
+throat. In fact, he wanted nothing, save the hunting-knife, the
+rifle, and the powder-horn, to constitute him a perfect specimen of a
+thorough backwoodsman.
+
+Redfeather and Louis were similarly costumed, and a noble trio they
+looked as they sat modestly in a corner, talking to each other in
+whispers, and endeavouring, as much as possible, to curtail their
+colossal proportions.
+
+"Now, Harry," said Mr. Kennedy, in a hoarse whisper, at the same time
+winking vehemently, "we're about ready, lad. Where's Kate, eh? shall
+we send for her?"
+
+Harry blushed, and stammered out something that was wholly
+unintelligible, but which, nevertheless, seemed to afford infinite
+delight to the old gentleman, who chuckled and winked tremendously,
+gave his son-in-law a facetious poke in the ribs, and turning
+abruptly to Miss Cookumwell, said to that lady, "Now, Miss
+Cookumpopple, we're all ready. They seem to have had enough tea and
+trash; you'd better be looking after Kate, I think."
+
+Miss Cookumwell smiled, rose, and left the room to obey; Mrs.
+Taddipopple followed to help, and soon returned with Kate, whom they
+delivered up to her father at the door. Mr. Kennedy led her to the
+upper end of the room; Harry Somerville stood by her side, as if by
+magic; Mr. Addison dropped opportunely before them, as if from the
+clouds; there was an extraordinary and abrupt pause in the hum of
+conversation, and ere Kate was well aware of what was about to
+happen, she felt herself suddenly embraced by her husband, from whom
+she was thereafter violently torn and all but smothered by her
+sympathising friends.
+
+Poor Kate! she had gone through the ceremony almost mechanically--
+recklessly, we might be justified in saying; for not having raised
+her eyes off the floor from its commencement to its close, the man
+whom she accepted for better or for worse might have been Jacques or
+Redfeather for all that she knew.
+
+Immediately after this there was heard the sound of a fiddle, and an
+old Canadian was led to the upper end of the room, placed on a chair,
+and hoisted, by the powerful arms of Jacques and Louis, upon a table.
+In this conspicuous position the old man seemed to be quite at his
+ease. He spent a few minutes in bringing his instrument into perfect
+tune; then looking round with a mild, patronising glance to see that
+the dancers were ready, he suddenly struck up a Scotch reel with an
+amount of energy, precision, and spirit that might have shot a pang
+of jealousy through the heart of Neil Gow himself. The noise that
+instantly commenced, and was kept up from that moment, with but few
+intervals, during the whole evening, was of a kind that is never
+heard in fashionable drawing-rooms. Dancing in the backwood
+settlements _is_ dancing. It is not walking; it is not sailing; it is
+not undulating; it is not sliding; no, it is _bona-fide_ dancing! It
+is the performance of intricate evolutions with the feet and legs
+that make one wink to look at; performed in good time too, and by
+people who look upon _all_ their muscles as being useful machines,
+not merely things of which a select few, that cannot be dispensed
+with, are brought into daily operation. Consequently the thing was
+done with an amount of vigour that was conducive to the health of
+performers, and productive of satisfaction to the eyes of beholders.
+When the evening wore on apace, however, and Jacques's modesty was so
+far overcome as to induce him to engage in a reel, along with his
+friend Louis Peltier, and two bouncing young ladies whose father had
+driven them twenty miles over the plains that day in order to attend
+the wedding of their dear friend and former playmate, Kate--when
+these four stood up, we say, and the fiddler played more
+energetically than ever, and the stout backwoodsmen began to warm and
+grow vigorous, until, in the midst of their tremendous leaps and
+rapid but well-timed motions, they looked like very giants amid their
+brethren, then it was that Harry, as he felt Kate's little hand
+pressing his arm, and observed her sparkling eyes gazing at the
+dancers in genuine admiration, began at last firmly to believe that
+the whole thing was a dream; and then it was that old Mr. Kennedy
+rejoiced to think that the house had been built under his own special
+directions, and he knew that it could not by any possibility be
+shaken to pieces.
+
+And well might Harry imagine that he dreamed; for besides the
+bewildering tendency of the almost too-good-to-be-true fact that
+Kate was really Mrs. Harry Somerville, the scene before him was a
+particularly odd and perplexing mixture of widely different elements,
+suggestive of new and old associations. The company was
+miscellaneous. There were retired old traders, whose lives from
+boyhood had been spent in danger, solitude, wild scenes and
+adventures, to which those of Robinson Crusoe are mere child's play.
+There were young girls, the daughters of these men, who had received
+good educations in the Red River academy, and a certain degree of
+polish which education always gives; a very _different_ polish,
+indeed, from that which the conventionalities and refinements of the
+Old World bestow, but not the less agreeable on that account--nay, we
+might even venture to say, all the _more_ agreeable on that account.
+There were Red Indians and clergymen; there were one or two ladies of
+a doubtful age, who had come out from the old country to live there,
+having found it no easy matter, poor things, to live at home; there
+were matrons whose absolute silence on every subject save "yes" or
+"no" showed that they had not been subjected to the refining
+influences of the academy, but whose hearty smiles and laughs of
+genuine good-nature proved that the storing of the brain has, after
+all, _very_ little to do with the best and deepest feelings of the
+heart. There were the tones of Scotch reels sounding--tones that
+brought Scotland vividly before the very eyes; and there were
+Canadian hunters and half-breed voyageurs, whose moccasins were more
+accustomed to the turf of the woods than the boards of a drawing-
+room, and whose speech and accents made Scotland vanish away
+altogether from the memory. There were old people and young folk;
+there were fat and lean, short and long. There were songs too--
+ballads of England, pathetic songs of Scotland, alternating with the
+French ditties of Canada, and the sweet, inexpressibly plaintive
+canoe-songs of the voyageur. There were strong contrasts in dress
+also: some wore the home-spun trousers of the settlement, a few the
+ornamented leggings of the hunter. Capotes were there--loose,
+flowing, and picturesque; and broad-cloth tail-coats were there, of
+the last century, tight-fitting, angular--in a word, detestable;
+verifying the truth of the proverb that extremes meet, by showing
+that the _cut_ which all the wisdom of tailors and scientific fops,
+after centuries of study, had laboriously wrought out and foisted
+upon the poor civilised world as perfectly sublime, appeared in the
+eyes of backwoodsmen and Indians utterly ridiculous. No wonder that
+Harry, under the circumstances, became quietly insane, and went about
+committing _nothing_ but mistakes the whole evening. No wonder that
+he emulated his father-in-law in abusing the gray cat, when he found
+it surreptitiously devouring part of the supper in an adjoining room;
+and no wonder that, when he rushed about vainly in search of Mrs.
+Taddipopple, to acquaint her with the cat's wickedness, he, at last,
+in desperation, laid violent hands on Miss Cookumwell, and addressed
+that excellent lady by the name of Mrs. Poppletaddy.
+
+Were we courageous enough to make the attempt, we would endeavour to
+describe that joyful evening from beginning to end. We would tell you
+how the company's spirits rose higher and higher, as each individual
+became more and more anxious to lend his or her aid in adding to the
+general hilarity; how old Mr. Kennedy nearly killed himself in his
+fruitless efforts to be everywhere, speak to everybody, and do
+everything at once, how Charley danced till he could scarcely speak,
+and then talked till he could hardly dance; and how the fiddler,
+instead of growing wearied, became gradually and continuously more
+powerful, until it seemed as if fifty fiddles were playing at one and
+the same time. We would tell you how Mr. Addison drew more than ever
+to Mr. Conway, and how the latter gentleman agreed to correspond
+regularly with the former thenceforth, in order that their interest
+in the great work each had in hand for the _same_ Master might be
+increased and kept up; how, in a spirit of recklessness (afterwards
+deeply repented of), a bashful young man was induced to sing a song
+which in the present mirthful state of the company ought to have been
+a humorous song, or a patriotic song, or a good, loud, inspiriting
+song, or _anything_, in short, but what it was--a slow, dull,
+sentimental song, about wasting gradually away in a sort of
+melancholy decay, on account of disappointed love, or some such
+trash, which was a false sentiment in itself, and certainly did not
+derive any additional tinge of truthfulness from a thin, weak voice,
+that was afflicted with chronic flatness, and _edged_ all its notes.
+Were we courageous enough to go on, we would further relate to you
+how during supper Mr. Kennedy senior, tried to make a speech, and
+broke down amid uproarious applause; how Mr. Kennedy, junior, got up
+thereafter--being urged thereto by his father, who said, with a
+convulsion of the cheek, "Get me out of the scrape, Charley, my boy"
+--and delivered an oration which did not display much power of concise
+elucidation, but was replete, nevertheless, with consummate
+impudence; how during this point in the proceedings the gray cat made
+a last desperate effort to purloin a cold chicken, which it had
+watched anxiously the whole evening, and was caught in the very act,
+nearly strangled, and flung out of the window, where it alighted in
+safety on the snow, and fled, a wiser, and, we trust, a better cat.
+We would recount all this to you, reader, and a great deal more
+besides; but we fear to try your patience, and we tremble violently,
+much more so, indeed, than you will believe, at the bare idea of
+waxing prosy.
+
+Suffice it to say that the party separated at an early hour--a good,
+sober, reasonable hour for such an occasion--somewhere before
+midnight. The horses were harnessed; the ladies were packed in the
+sleighs with furs so thick and plentiful as to defy the cold; the
+gentlemen seized their reins and cracked their whips; the horses
+snorted, plunged, and dashed away over the white plains in different
+directions, while the merry sleigh-bells sounded fainter and fainter
+in the frosty air. In half-an-hour the stars twinkled down on the
+still, cold scene, and threw a pale light on the now silent dwelling
+of the old fur-trader.
+
+       *       *      *       *       *       *       *
+
+Ere dropping the curtain over a picture in which we have sought
+faithfully to portray the prominent features of those wild regions
+that lie to the north of the Canadas, and in which we have
+endeavoured to describe some of the peculiarities of a class of men
+whose histories seldom meet the public eye, we feel tempted to add a
+few more touches to the sketch; we would fain trace a little farther
+the fortunes of one or two of the chief factors in our book. But this
+is not to be.
+
+Snowflakes and sunbeams came and went as in days gone by. Time rolled
+on, working many changes in its course, and among others consigning
+Harry Somerville to an important post in Red River colony, to the
+unutterable joy of Mr. Kennedy, senior, and of Kate. After much
+consideration and frequent consultation with Mr. Addison, Mr. Conway
+resolved to make another journey to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ
+to those Indian tribes that inhabit the regions beyond Athabasca; and
+being a man of great energy, he determined not to await the opening
+of the river navigation, but to undertake the first part of his
+expedition on snow-shoes. Jacques agreed to go with him as guide and
+hunter, Redfeather as interpreter. It was a bright, cold morning when
+he set out, accompanied part of the way by Charley Kennedy and Harry
+Somerville, whose hearts were heavy at the prospect of parting with
+the two men who had guided and protected them during their earliest
+experience of a voyageur's life, when, with hearts full to
+overflowing with romantic anticipations, they first dashed joyously
+into the almost untrodden wilderness.
+
+During their career in the woods together, the young men and the two
+hunters had become warmly attached to each other; and now that they
+were about to part--it might be for years, perhaps for ever--a
+feeling of sadness crept over them which they could not shake off,
+and which the promise given by Mr. Conway to revisit Red River on the
+following spring served but slightly to dispel.
+
+On arriving at the spot where they intended to bid their friends a
+last farewell, the two young men held out their hands in silence.
+Jacques grasped them warmly.
+
+"Mister Charles, Mister Harry," said he, in a deep, earnest voice,
+"the Almighty has guided us in safety for many a day when we
+travelled the woods together; for which praised be His Holy Name! May
+He guide and bless you still, and bring us together in this world
+again, if in His wisdom He see fit."
+
+There was no answer save a deeply-murmured "Amen." In another moment
+the travellers resumed their march. On reaching the summit of a
+slight eminence, where the prairies terminated and the woods began,
+they paused to wave a last adieu; then Jacques, putting himself at
+the head of the little party, plunged into the forest, and led them
+away towards the snowy regions of the Far North.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Young Fur Traders, by R.M. Ballantyne
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG FUR TRADERS ***
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