THE FALSE CHART OF DUBOIS.
No more was said just then; but naturally enough both Cuthbert and Eli
could not get the matter out of their minds. The duties of the hour had
occupied their attention upon first landing--the pitching of the
waterproof tent, gathering of fuel, and kindred occupations incident to
getting things ready for the coming night, so that now they could take
things easy.
Cuthbert had some sort of rude map of the region, which he had purchased
from an old French-Canadian _voyageur_ during earlier stages of his
trip; he did not know how reliable it might prove to be, though thus far
the young explorers had not found it amiss to any very great extent.
When he found a chance he meant to drag this document out from its place
of hiding among the various charts of the Hudson Bay country which he
carried along, and get Owen's opinion as to its trustworthy character.
This would give him an opportunity to renew his acquaintance with the
lay of the land above, and in some way it might cause their strange new
friend to open his heart, and take them more fully into his confidence
with relation to his previous connections here.
Cuthbert was pretty positive that there was some sort of a Hudson Bay
trading post on this same stream, situated in an isolated quarter--most
of them went under the name of a fort, and indeed, they were built to
resist any attack that might be made upon them by Indians or disorderly
half breeds; for there were at times vast quantities of valuable plunder
held in these posts, in the shape of rare peltries, and the many things
the trappers took in part payment for their winter's catch, so that a
clean-out of a distant post would mean a serious loss to the great
company that for scores of years had carried on this business of
gathering the precious skins of silver foxes, lynx, badger, mink, otter,
fisher, marten, opossum, beaver, bear, wolves and muskrats.
The meal was, as we have seen, soon prepared, and partaken of with that
keen relish known only to those who live in the open.
As usual the boys had grouped themselves around the fire at the time the
question of the smoke signals arose, each bent upon doing some
individual task, that had been upon his mind; for it is the natural
habit after dining heartily to desire to rest from strenuous exertion,
and take up little matters that require possibly only the manipulation
of the hands, or the action of the brain.
Eli seemed deeply interested in some specimens he had picked up close to
their noon camp, and which held forth alluring promises of copper--it
was the chief fad of his life to run across a lode of the valuable metal
in this far-North country; and make his everlasting fortune that way;
for in secret the Michigan lad hugged certain plans for future worldwide
travel to his heart, all of which, while extremely visionary at present,
would be easily possible when his "ship came home," and that rich copper
deposit cropped up before his eager eyes.
Few boys there be who fail to have a hobby of some sort--with some it is
the pretty general craze for stamp collecting, others go in for coins,
autographs, birds' eggs, specimens of birds, weapons of worldwide
people, rabbits, pigeons--well, the list is almost inexhaustible, when
you come to think of it.
Cuthbert's weakness, as has already been seen, lay in the line of travel
and exploration, and the chances were that as he grew older he would
develop into a bona fide Livingstone or a Stanley, eager to see faraway
lands where the feet of a white man had probably never before wandered,
and the mystery of which he might be the very first to unearth.
With Eli it was copper, morning, noon and night; he asked a thousand
questions about the ore, where it had been found, what the character of
the rocks peculiar to the region, and all such things, making copious
notes the while, until as his comrade Cuthbert said, he should be about
one of the best posted fellows in that line in the country--still, up to
this day he had not met with such a measure of success as to turn his
head; though Eli was a most determined chap, and bound to hold on after
the manner of a bulldog, once he had taken a grip.
Perhaps Owen also had his particular hobby; but if so the others had as
yet been granted little opportunity of realizing what it was.
Given time and it would no doubt develop itself.
Cuthbert had a good deal of patience, and prided himself on his waiting
qualities, so that he made little effort to hasten matters.
As he had planned, however, while he sat by the glowing fire, which felt
very good on this cool night, he drew out the bunch of charts, and began
to absorb himself in the maze of lines and figures, anticipating that
when Owen saw what he had before him he must evince more or less
curiosity concerning the same, and offer to pass upon their genuine
value.
The Canadian lad sat for some time staring into the fire, as though lost
in self-communion; and Cuthbert could easily imagine that affairs
connected with his life in this country were engrossing his attention.
Many a sly look did Cuthbert flash over that way, for somehow there
seemed to be a wonderful fascination about Owen's personality that
appealed strongly to him, though he found it utterly impossible to
analyze this feeling, in order to make out whether it was pure sympathy
toward one who had evidently rubbed up against the hard places of life
while to him had been given the "snaps;" or on the other hand if it
might be the realization that in this waif of the Unknown Land his soul
had discovered the mate or chum for which he had looked so long and so
far--perhaps it might be a commingling of the two.
Twice had Owen risen, and the other imagined he was about to come around
to his side of the fire to glance over his shoulder at the charts; but
both times young Dugdale had simply stepped to the pile of wood and,
taking up an armful, tossed it upon the dying blaze.
Cuthbert was beginning to fancy he would have to make a move himself to
draw the other's attention to what he was doing, so wrapped up did Owen
seem in his own personal affairs; when suddenly he discovered that those
wonderfully keen gray eyes of the rover were glued upon the papers he
held upon his lap.
Then it was that Owen did come around to his side of the fire, and the
disturbed look upon his face gave way to a bright smile as he remarked:
"I didn't notice what you had there, before. I was so bound up in my own
affairs. I suppose those are maps of this country you have; perhaps I
could be useful in telling you whether they are accurate or not, for I
rather guess I've picked up considerable information during these years
of wandering in the woods here. If you don't mind me looking at them--"
"Why, to tell the truth that's just what I was wishing you would do, old
chap, but I hated to break in on your brown study. Here's a
supposed-to-be reliable chart of this region, which I paid a man a good
sum to get up for me; but already I've found it more or less crooked,
and have begun to lose confidence in its accuracy. Perhaps you could
show up the faults, and set me right, so that if the time ever comes
when I have to depend on the thing I won't get astray; for truth to tell
it would be no fun to find oneself lost on these upper reaches of the
great Saskatchewan. Sit right down here, and squint your optic over this
set of hen-tracks, made by the halfbreed, Dubois."
"Dubois, you say--why, I know the fellow well. He ought to be able to
make a decent map of this country, for he's spent many years roaming
over it, though I think he was more concerned about stealing some honest
trapper's pelts than anything else. Why, see here, he's made an awful
botch of this thing right around this quarter, where he certainly knows
every foot of ground. I suspect that the greasy old rascal had some
object in misleading you--I wouldn't put it past him to plan so that you
might be lost up here, when he and some companions just as unscrupulous
as himself, would come on the scene and demand a big sum to get you out
of the scrape. I know of several things he has done as bad as that,"
remarked Owen, with indignation in his voice.
So he began to point out the false lines in the map, and at Cuthbert's
suggestion he erased the pencil lines and made new ones as he went
along, so that at the end of an hour that particular chart was entirely
changed, presenting so new an aspect that the explorer was aroused to
declare that the miserable deceiver, Dubois, would hear something not to
his liking in case they ever met again.
"This Hudson Bay post which you have marked on the river above us--what
is the name it is known by--he did not identify it except as a station?"
asked Cuthbert, putting a finger on the cross.
"Fort Harmony," replied Owen, with a twitch about the corners of his
mouth that seemed to be along the sarcastic order, as if deep down in
his heart the lad thought the name might be a misnomer, according to his
own experience.
"I suppose it is something of a store, being so far up in the
wilderness; and is in charge of--a factor, I believe they call the
boss?" pursued Cuthbert.
"Oh, yes. He is a grizzled old Scotchman, Alexander Gregory by name, who
has been in the employ of the company most of his life, and is known as
their most trusted agent. He is believed to be very rich; but though he
is scrupulously honest and knows how to drive those under him to their
best abilities, he is a harsh, cold-blooded man, seeking no
companionship, making no warm friends, and apparently bent only on
accumulating wealth and doing his full duty to the company he has
served so long a time."
Cuthbert could easily read the strong tinge of bitterness in the other's
voice while he was thus talking, and he knew that whatever Owen's
troubles might be, they were connected in some way with this man of
iron, who for years had ruled after the manner of a despot in this
distant country along the upper branches of the Saskatchewan.
He was glad to know even so much about the man Gregory, whom he found
himself beginning to dislike most cordially, even though he had never as
yet set eye on his grim face, just because he believed the other had
abused Owen in some way.
Owen seemed to remember himself just there, and would say no more along
those lines, though quite willing to talk as long as his friend wished
in connection with the country, and the best route for them to follow.
Another half-hour passed thus in communion, and Cuthbert picked up
considerable information that was apt to prove of benefit to him in the
future--just how valuable he did not then suspect.
Eli had some time back given up his studies of the specimens he had
found, and joined in the general conversation; and his views were
usually as shrewd as they seemed quaint, for he possessed many of the
traits generally accredited to the Yankee from Down-East; and a natural
keenness had been further sharpened by his constant rubbing up against
all manner of men in the great logging camps of the Michigan peninsula.
It was getting near the time for them to fix the fire for the night, and
seek the shelter of their blankets, when Owen, whose hearing was
phenomenally keen, held up his hand, and remarked, with some show of
excitement:
"Somebody coming this way through the woods--not from the direction of
the post, but the other way. Perhaps it would be just as well to be
prepared, for you never know who to trust up here until he proves
himself to be a friend!"