OWL AND TIMBER WOLF.
When the two friends returned to the fire Stackpole was taking his ease
and smoking furiously, Eli having possibly supplied him with tobacco of
a brand far beyond any to which he may have been accustomed in his
wanderings.
Evidently, no matter what his suspicions may have been, the gaunt timber
nomad was resolved to seem quite at his ease; indeed, his was a nature
not easily disturbed by possible trouble--he found the vicinity of the
fire comfortable, and did not mean to forsake it in a hurry unless there
was urgent reason for decamping.
Eli, in his wild life among the lumberjacks, had met with too many
characters just like Stackpole, not to size the fellow up for just what
he must be; and while he carried on in a seemingly friendly way, he was
watching the other, with the idea of guessing his business in this
particular region; for he judged that Stackpole seldom made a move
without some suspicious object back of it.
When a lad is thrown upon his own resources at a very early age he soon
learns to analyze people and their motives in a manner equal to a
Sherlock Holmes, and Eli had always delighted in trying to read the
various types to be met with in the wilderness.
Cuthbert was uneasy.
The presence of this hulking rover took away from all the pleasure of
the camp, and he was provoked to think they should be compelled to
entertain one who was not only a stranger, but possessed of an unsavory
reputation.
Still, he had been in the woods enough to be aware that there is an
unwritten law governing hospitality around the campfire; and no matter
how unpleasant the presence of this timber-cruiser might be to him, he
did not wish to appear in the light of a boor.
They were three to one, and having been forewarned they could keep a
jealous eye on the said unwelcome guest so long as he remained; but
Cuthbert vowed to himself that with the break of day, and the morning
meal over, their paths must lie in opposite directions.
Stackpole was no fool, and it did not take him long to discover that
each of the three lads kept his gun within reach of his hand all the
time; which fact announced as plain as words could have done that they
entertained suspicions concerning him, and did not mean to be caught
napping in case he tried to make trouble of any sort.
Now, while Stackpole was a fellow equal to two if not three of the boys,
with regard to physical abilities, death and the possession of firearms
levels all such distinctions, and a bit of lead would sting just as much
from one of their guns as if it had come from the weapon of a
six-footer; hence, he made up his mind to walk a straight line while
among the possessors of all this hardware.
His avaricious eyes wandered frequently toward the splendid Marlin
repeater owned by Cuthbert, and the fact was very evident that he envied
him the possession of such a dandy gun, compared with which his battered
Winchester looked like "six cents," as Eli remarked to himself when he
correctly gauged the meaning of those sly glances.
"He'll steal if he can, the skunk," muttered the young logger, shaking
his head in his pet peculiar manner, which he always did when angered or
puzzled.
And then and there Eli determined that he would not allow himself a wink
of sleep that whole night; and that if Stackpole attempted any "funny
business" he would round him up with a sharp turn.
They talked of many things while sitting there around the campfire; and
the man managed to make himself fairly agreeable; for he certainly was
mighty well posted in everything connected with the country Cuthbert, in
his enthusiastic simplicity had come so far to explore; and had he been
built upon a different plan, Stackpole might have proven a valuable man
to tote along--he had penetrated further in the direction of Hudson Bay
and the Arctic shores beyond than any other man in the Northwest
Territory, and proved this by describing many of the things encountered
by a well known explorer with whose work Cuthbert was quite familiar,
and whose sole companion Stackpole claimed to have been.
There is something more than mere knowledge to be desired in a companion
on a long tramp, and this is reliance in his fidelity, cheerful
disposition, and readiness to shoulder at least half of the
labor--without these qualities in a campmate much of the pleasure is
missing.
Finally the boys began to find themselves yawning, for the day's toil
had been severe, with a strong current in the river to buck against, and
they had been up since peep of day.
So they started to make preparations for sleeping.
The giant timber-cruiser watched them get their sleeping-bags ready,
that is, Cuthbert and Eli, with more or less curiosity, for evidently he
knew little or nothing about such Arctic necessities, even though he had
accompanied an explorer for many hundred miles into the great unmapped
region beyond Hudson Bay--at least he claimed to have done so.
Perhaps there was also a bit of envy in the looks he bent upon these
evidences of comfort, for he could appreciate the value of such
contrivances during a Northern winter, especially to a man whose
business was apt to take him outdoors, regardless of the weather.
He had an apology for a blanket in his pack, and this he proceeded to
spread upon the ground, selecting a spot close to the fire, where he
could toast his feet while he slumbered, a favorite attitude with such
nomads, as our young friends all knew.
Owen, of course, had his third of the tent, but it had been already
arranged between the trio that all through the night one of them should
stand guard, not because there appeared to be impending danger from
without, but on account of the unwelcome guest they entertained at their
fire.
Not one of them grumbled, being built in a manner to meet such
emergencies cheerfully, and wrestle with difficulties in the same spirit
as they would accept favors, a splendid combination in woods chums.
No doubt Stackpole noticed that Owen, having made his bed ready, showed
no disposition to occupy the same; but if he understood just why, he at
least made no comment, in which he displayed his good sense.
He turned in "all standing," simply lying down, rolling himself up in
his faded blanket, and with his pack-bag for a pillow, losing himself to
the world, so far as the boys could tell; though they noticed that he
had pulled his slouch hat so far down over his face that it was utterly
impossible to see whether his keen eyes were closed or watching every
movement of his entertainers.
Inside the tent our friends found a chance to confer, and thus a plan of
campaign for the night was laid down.
Then Cuthbert and Eli crawled into their sleeping-bags, for the night
was inclined to be frosty, and there is a world of comfort in these
modern contrivances, under such conditions; while Owen walked down to
the canoes, and with an arm thrown caressingly across the keel of the
precious cedar craft began his long and lonely vigil.
He thought nothing of such a little hardship, having been accustomed to
the vicissitudes of the woods from childhood--to him the various sounds
of the wilderness, after nightfall had come, were as familiar as the
cackling of hens to a farmer's lad, and what was more to the point he
read these signs so well that they one and all possessed a significance
far beyond any surface indications.
But these forests of the Silent Land bear little comparison with the
depths of a tropical jungle, or the dense growth of an African
wilderness where a multitude of animals make the air vibrate with their
roaring during the entire period of darkness.
Sometimes in the daytime not a sound can be heard save the moaning of
the wind among the tops of the pines, or the gurgle of some meandering
stream, all around being absolute silence, deep and profound.
At night it? is not quite so bad, for then the hooting of a vagrant owl,
or it may be the distant howl of a prowling timber wolf, that gray
skulker of the pine lands, is apt to break the monotony; but even in the
midst of summer there is lacking the hum of insects and the bustle of
woods life--at best one hears the weird call of the whip-poor-will,
called by the Indians, the "wish-a-wish," or if near a marsh the
croaking of gigantic bullfrogs.
Owen apparently had many things to engage his thoughts as he kept watch
and ward over the camp of his new-found friends; and judging from his
repeated sighs his self-communion was hardly of a cheerful character,
for several times the boy gritted his teeth savagely, and clinched his
fist as though rebelling against some decree of fate that had
temporarily upset his calculations.
Once a name escaped his lips, and it was that of the old factor in
charge of the Hudson Bay trading post further up the river; and almost
in the same breath he murmured the word "mother," tenderly, as though
his thoughts had flown backward to happy scenes so greatly in contrast
with his present forlorn conditions.
Nevertheless, Owen did not forget why he was on guard, not for a minute.
He had so placed himself when leaning his back against that adored cedar
boat that he could keep watch over the camp, and particularly that
portion of it where Stackpole's elongated frame, rolled up like a mummy
in his blanket, was to be seen.
So often did the eyes of the lad fall upon the recumbent timber-cruiser
that the other could not have moved without attracting his notice.
Stackpole was apparently sleeping like a log, for ever and anon his
stentorian breathing arose into something approaching a snore, that
sounded tremulously, like a mysterious note from a harsh Eolian harp set
in the wind.
Possibly, upon noting that Owen was to have the first watch the shrewd
chap had made up his mind there would be nothing doing thus early in the
night, his chances being better later on when the "greenhorn," as he
erroneously denominated Cuthbert on account of his fine name and genteel
appearance, had charge.
Thus time crept along, midnight came and went, with young Dugdale still
holding the fort, as if he intended remaining there until dawn.
Once only did he detect a movement on the part of the suspicious party;
and then Stackpole twisted about as though desirous of assuming a new
position, and at the same time he raised his head and took a sweeping
glance around, just as any woodsman might during the night, a habit born
of eternal watchfulness; yet under the circumstances it was more or less
suspicious to see how the fellow completed his hasty survey by a quick
look in the direction of the boats, as if quite conscious of the fact
that Owen was still there on guard.
He immediately dropped back, and presently was heard the same pulsating
sound of asthmatic breathing, sometimes ending in a snort--if Stackpole
was still awake and pretending sleep he knew how to imitate the real
article right well, Owen thought, shaking his head dubiously.
If the Canadian lad thought to usurp the privilege of the others in
extending his watch, he counted without his host, for Cuthbert came
crawling out of the tent shortly after the time he had set.