As the hut was close to the lake the skates were buckled on in the
warmth, and together the whole party issued forth, D'Arcy promising to
come across the next day in a sleigh he had built.
During the brief period they had spent in the hut the wind had changed,
and with it the weather. Thick clouds floated overhead low down,
lightish in colour though dense; the air was sensibly warmer. Philip
looking at his younger brother said, "Charley, I have a great mind to
leave you behind; it will be harder work than coming." But Charley
considered that his manliness was disparaged, and insisted on starting.
"Well, we may reach home before the snow falls," said Philip, shaking
D'Arcy's hand, and adding, "We shall all be glad to see you."
Away they went; but not two minutes had passed before snow-flakes began
to fall, a few only settling on their faces. They were the forerunners
of others; thicker and thicker they fell; now they rushed down
hurriedly, covering the surface of the lake with a white sheet. Did the
brothers hear D'Arcy's voice joined with Terry's shouting to them to
come back? They had, however, got so far on their way that, even had
they been certain of the fact, they would not have liked to do so. On
they at all events went. Philip kept his eyes fixed on his own hill,
but the outline soon became very dim. Thicker and thicker fell the
snow; still they were in their proper course, Philip thought.
"Can you make out the hill, Harry?" he asked.
"No, Phil; cannot you?" answered Harry: "what's to be done?"
"Push on, of course; the snow may stop falling, and we may see our way
again," said Philip.
The snow, however, did not stop falling, but rather came down thicker
and faster. Charley held out bravely, working on his way through the
snow. Skating was far greater labour than before. This should not have
been: hard snow would have easily been pushed aside; a part of this
melted as it fell. Philip did not express his fears to his brothers,
though he became very anxious. "What can we do?" he kept saying to
himself. "We must keep on; we may hit our home or some parts of the
shore which we know, and from which we may reach it either walking over
land, or by coasting along on skates." His greatest fear was
approaching the commencement of the channel or river which communicated
with Lake Huron, where, as the stream was rapid, the ice probably was
not formed, and their destruction would be nearly inevitable. The
dangerous point was to the right of their course; he therefore naturally
inclined to the left. "I wish we were there," said Charley at length,
in a doleful tone. On they went; the pace became slower and slower; the
youngest brother kept very close to Philip. "Really I think we might do
better without our skates," observed Charley; but Philip judged rightly
that skates would still avail them most. They went on--on--on. Harry
declared that they ought to have reached home long before this. Philip
thought so likewise, but did not express his fears; it was important to
keep up his brothers' spirits. Had there been a strong wind he might
have continued to keep on a straight course; but there was not a breath,
and the snow came down from all directions, as Harry observed, "just as
if a flock of geese were being plucked overhead." The flakes were
almost as big as feathers. In vain Philip looked out for a break in the
thick woolly veil. Brave Charley kept up manfully; his legs were
getting very tired, though. He said nothing; but he could not help
uttering low sighs as he worked on, and wishing that he had a pair of
wings to lift up his body. No one could speak except about their hopes
or fears.
At last Charley felt that his knees were failing under him. "O, Phil, I
must stop," he cried out.
Philip took him by the hand and cheered him up. "Hold out a little
longer, dear Charley; we must be near the shore," he exclaimed. Charley
said he would try, and supported on each hand by his brothers went on.
He was again nearly giving in, when Philip cried out, "Land a-head!--
land a-head! High land with tall trees close down to the lake. It must
be near home."
They pushed on vigorously. In less than a minute they ran up against a
rock; the tall trees changed into low bushes, and the high land into a
clump of trees in the middle of a small island. Bitter was their
disappointment. A moment's consideration made Philip and Harry certain
that it was an island they had visited at the southern end of the lake,
and three or four miles distant both from their own and D'Arcy's
clearings. On examining the bark of the trees, and the direction in
which they bent, they were convinced that they had been making a circle,
as they had landed exactly on the opposite side to that which they might
have expected. From the time they had been moving on, they had probably
made more than one circle; if they started off again, how could they
expect to steer a straighter course. It was evidently growing darker,
and night would soon come on.
The responsibility resting on Philip's shoulders was very great; not
that he felt very uneasy about his brothers and himself, but he was sure
that the dear ones at home would be anxious about them. Had he been
alone he would have made another attempt to reach home; but Charley
could not go further, and Harry would very likely knock up. He
determined to remain on the island during the night, unless the weather
should clear up and they should be able to see their way across to the
main shore. No time, however, was to be lost to prepare for the night
before daylight should altogether depart. Philip was too good a
backwoodsman to have left home without his axe and match-box.
"D'Arcy little thought how useful his fish would prove to us," said
Philip, as he looked about for the best spot on which to put up a shed.
"We shall not starve; for that we should be thankful."
"And look here, we may have a plentiful dessert," cried Charley, coming
up with his hands full of brilliant scarlet berries of a long oval form.
"See, I know that these are good to eat; Sophy was preserving some of
them two days ago, and said so." The berries were the high bush
cranberries which grow on a shrub about the height of the guelder rose.
Charley had soon collected many more than he and his brothers could
possibly eat, especially as they had no sugar to eat them with.
"Come, Charley, as you are able to move about, set to work and collect
wood, for we shall have to keep up a blazing fire all night," said
Philip, as he began to chop away at some small trees to form the posts
of his proposed shed. Harry meantime was getting lighter poles and
branches to form a roof. The spot selected by Philip for the hut was in
a sheltered nook under some thickly matted cedars which would greatly
protect it from the snow. The materials were soon brought together; and
so expert had the brothers become in all handiwork, that they quickly
made it habitable. The roof they covered with birch-bark, picked up
under the trees from which it fell, as also the lower part of the sides,
banking them up with snow. Boughs of spruce-fir formed no contemptible
couches. In a very short time they had built a tolerably comfortable
hut. Their fire was the next thing to be attended to. There was plenty
of drift-wood just above the ice, and dead boughs sufficient to keep up
a blazing fire all night: it was soon lighted. Two of the fish were
held before it till they melted sufficiently to allow of being cleaned;
Philip then having cut some forked sticks, forced them into the ground
not yet frozen far down, and with a slender rod spitted the fish, which
he placed on the forked sticks before the fire. "I wish that we could
boil them Indian fashion," said Harry: "I saw an old squaw perform the
operation the other day, and yet she had only a wooden bucket. She got
a heap of stones heated, and then putting some cold water into her
bucket she dropped in her fish and began filling up the bucket with the
hot stones; the water bubbled and hissed, and the fish were soon
cooked."
Their own fish did not take long roasting. They were pronounced
excellent, especially seasoned with the cranberries.
"I say, this is no bad fun after all," exclaimed Charley, who soon
recovered from his fatigue. "If it wasn't for those at home I wouldn't
have missed it on any account."
"I begin to hope that they will not be breaking their hearts about us,"
said Harry; "they must have seen the snow-storm coming on, and will
think that we remained with D'Arcy."
Philip hoped the same, and enjoyed the adventure nearly as much as his
brothers. Supper over and the fire made up, he told them both to lie
down while he kept up the fire and watched for any change in the
weather. Still the snow continued to fall--not a break in the dense
mass of clouds overhead appeared. Philip sat with his feet close to the
fire, and his back resting against the side of the hut. It was
necessary to be very watchful, to prevent the flames catching the
branches on which his brothers lay. He had partially closed the
entrance with boughs, but an aperture was required to let out the smoke,
and he also had frequently to go out and get more fuel, and to watch for
the snow ceasing. Harry and Charley quickly fell asleep. Philip felt
very much inclined to do the same; he tried all sorts of expedients to
keep awake. The hut was not high enough or large enough to enable him
to walk about. He would have gone out, but the fire absolutely required
his attendance; he did get up, and stood on one leg, then on the other,
till he got tired, so he sat himself down again and raked and stirred
the fire as before. There was no want of warmth in the hut. At last
his hand stopped, and all was silent; if he was not asleep he was very
nearly so. Suddenly he was aware that there was something moving in or
near the hut. He looked up, and just at the entrance he saw a huge
brown monster, his eyes looking curiously in, while with its paws it had
abstracted one of the fish which had been hung up to the doorpost to
keep cool. The stick which Philip had used as a poker was in a flame,
so, springing up, he dashed it into the face of the intruder--a big
bear--grasping his axe ready for action should the bear retaliate.
Bruin gave a loud and angry growl at the unexpected attack, dropping his
booty and preparing for action. The noise awoke Harry and Charley, who
sprang to their feet. "Dash burning sticks in the fellow's face, while
I tackle him with my axe," cried Philip. It was fortunate that he was
not alone. He gave one cut at Bruin's paws, but the next instant the
monster would have seized the axe and hugged Philip, had not Harry
dashed a stick into his eyes, the pain of which made him spring on one
side and tumble over on his back. Charley followed up the attack with
another fire-brand, and Philip with his axe dealt him a blow on the side
of his head which almost stunned him. Another such blow would have
finished the career of Bruin, but as Philip was lifting his weapon Harry
cried out, "O dear, dear, the hut is on fire!" Philip, on this, for a
moment turned his head, and the bear rolling round got up on his feet,
and scrambled away over the snow as fast as he could move. Philip,
instead of pursuing him, had to attend to the burning hut; and, what was
of still greater importance, to rescue the fish, which would have been
not only cooked, but over-cooked before they were wanted. Charley had,
however, thoughtfully seized them, so that Philip and Harry could attend
to the hut. In vain did they pull out the part which was already
blazing, the wood of the larger portion was so dry that it also caught
fire, and it was soon evident that they had no chance of saving their
mansion. "What a misfortune," cried Harry. "I will not say that,"
observed Philip. "If the bear had not awoke me we might have been burnt
ourselves; besides, it has just struck me, that this blaze, which is
larger than we should have ventured to kindle, may be seen by those at
home, or by D'Arcy, and it will give them assurance of our safety.
However, let us set to work to repair damages while the flame lasts, for
if we once get chilled, it will not be so easy to warm up again."
The fire afforded light enough to enable the three brothers to cut down
a fresh supply of poles and boughs, and well accustomed to the sort of
work, they soon again had a hut raised of sufficient size to afford them
all shelter. The younger brothers were, however, not inclined to sleep,
and they intreated Philip to rest, which he promised to do if they would
undertake to keep awake. At present there seemed no chance of their
getting away. As soon as Philip had lain down, Harry and Charley armed
themselves with long burning sticks with which to receive the bear
should he return, taking care to hang their fish up inside, out of his
way. He was, however, not likely to come back again, after the warm
reception he had received.
"I thought bears always shut themselves up in winter, and lived by
sucking their paws," observed Charley. "As to sucking their paws, I
don't know," said Harry; "but I fancy that the brown bear of this part
of the world shuts himself up for the greater part of the winter, and
only occasionally comes out on a mild day to forage for food. I
conclude that our friend had his nest somewhere near and was disturbed
by the fire, and his olfactories excited by the smell of the broiled
fish. I wish that we had caught him, we might have taken home something
worth having."
"Do you think that he has left the island?" asked Charley. "Couldn't we
hunt him up?"
"Without consulting Philip! and I should not like to awake him," said
Harry. "But, I will tell you what, we will make some spears in the mean
time, and harden their points in the fire, and if we can find him we'll
take him, dead or alive."
There were some tough young saplings growing just outside of sufficient
length for the proposed object; three of these were quickly cut, and
being pointed were hardened in the fire, and then again scraped, till
they became rather formidable weapons.
"Don't you think Phil has slept long enough?" said Charley, who was
anxious to make trial of his spear. "I am afraid Master Bruin will be
sneaking off, and leaving us to whistle for him."
"Very uncivil not to stop and be killed," said Harry; "but we need be in
no hurry; if he didn't go off at first he is safe enough somewhere near
here, depend on it."
The snow continued to fall, but it could not have fallen so thickly as
at first, or it would have covered the ground with a thicker coat than
it appeared to have done. Daylight dawned at last, and Philip woke up.
He was amused by the preparations for a combat made by his brothers, for
he did not believe that the bear would be found. Before going out all
three knelt down and offered up their prayers and thanksgiving for the
protection afforded them. Under no circumstances did they ever omit
that duty. Philip then advised that they should take some breakfast,
that they might be ready for any emergency. Another fish was
accordingly cooked, of which Charley, in spite of his eagerness, was
ready enough to partake. He was hoping all the time that Bruin would
smell the savoury morsel, and would be tempted to return. Probably,
however, he had already had quite enough of their company and mode of
proceeding to wish again to encounter them.
It snowed still, but not the dry, hard snow of the previous evening, and
Philip felt more than ever anxious on account of the warmth of the
weather. Before the sun could have quite risen, rain came, mixed with
the snow, and gradually there was more rain and less snow, till the rain
came down so fast that they were glad to get into their hut for shelter.
They well knew that nothing so rapidly causes ice to become rotten as
does rain. They might be prisoners, therefore, till it had sufficiently
melted to allow of a boat being pushed through it. "But it cannot be
rotten yet," said Harry. "Let us look out for the shore, and, if we can
see it, push across to the nearest point; never mind the rain."
"Agreed."
They crept out of their hut, and worked their way to the shore of the
little island. The land round them across the water was very faint;
still, as they fancied that they could distinguish their own home, and
D'Arcy's clearing, and the settlement, they determined to try to reach
one or the other. The settlement was the nearest, and if they reached
that they might easily find their way home. There was a nominal road,
though scarcely passable, except when covered with snow in winter. They
were debating whether it would be better to attempt to skate or to walk
across the ice.
"We can but pull our skates off if we do not make good progress," said
Philip; so they were sitting down to put them on when Charley exclaimed
that he must have a look for the bear; if he was there he would find him
out. Off he ran with his spear. He had not been absent half a minute
when he came running back, crying out, "Here he is, sure enough, in
among the roots of an old tree under the bank. Come, Phil; come, Harry,
come; we shall have him, sure enough, for he does not seem inclined to
move. I suspect the tap you gave him, Phil, with your axe, hurt him
more than we fancied."
The latter remarks were uttered as the three brothers, with their spears
ready for action, hurried towards the spot Charley had indicated.
There, indeed, was a brown heap, from out of which a set of sharp teeth
and a pair of twinkling eyes appeared. "There, what do you think of
that?" asked Charley. The bear lay in a sort of root-formed cavern,
under the bank. Some snow had drifted into it, which had been protected
from the rain; on the snow were wide stains of blood. His wound would
certainly make the bear more savage, and might not have much weakened
him. Still, forgetting the risk they were running, they all three made
a rush at him with their spears. He attempted to get up, seizing
Charley's spear from his grasp, and biting furiously at it, but Philip's
and Harry's pinned him to the bank. Still his strength was great, and
it was not till Philip was able to get a blow at his head with his axe
that his struggles ceased.
"Hurrah, hurrah! now we may live here for a week, like Robinson Crusoe,"
shouted Charley, highly delighted with their success.
"And leave those at home to believe that we are lost," said Philip.
"No, no, I don't mean that; only if we were obliged to stop we might
contrive to be very jolly," said Charley.
They had no little trouble in dragging the bear up the bank, and it then
became a question what they should do with him. They could not carry
him away, that was very certain. Cutting him up was not a pleasant
operation, yet they could not hang him up whole.
"We will secure his tongue, and we must come back for him as soon as we
can," said Phil.
They had been so busy that they had not observed that the rain had
ceased, and that instead of it a thick fog had sprung up again,
completely obscuring the shores. It was so warm that there could be no
doubt that the ice must be rapidly melting. Had this happened at the
end of winter it would not have signified, as it would have required
many days then to weaken the ice materially. Still, if it had not been
for the fog they could have pushed across without fear at once.
"Why did we come without a compass?" cried Philip, not for the first
time. "Remember, you fellows, never to leave home without one. You do
not know when you may require it in this country." After sitting down
on the bank for some time, Philip started up, exclaiming, "They will be
breaking their hearts with anxiety about us. I must go. You two have
plenty of food, and if you will promise me that you will not stir from
the island till a boat comes for you, or till the weather clears and the
ice hardens thoroughly, I will go across to the settlement and send on
home overland. I know that I can hit it, as there is a breeze blowing,
and I took the bearings before the rain came on." Harry and Charley
were very unwilling to let their brother go, but at length, when he had
persuaded them that there was no danger to himself, they agreed to obey
his wishes.
Having disencumbered himself of his axe and an overcoat, as well as of
the remainder of D'Arcy's fish, which he left for his brothers, Philip
buckled on his skates, and taking one of the spears in his hand, away he
glided; his brothers, standing on the shore, watched him--his figure
growing less and less distinct, till he disappeared in the thick mist
which hung over the lake. "I wish that we had not let him go," cried
Charley. "Suppose any accident should happen to him, how dreadful.
Couldn't we call him back? He would hear us if we shouted."
"No, that would annoy him, as we have no reason for calling him back.
We must let him go," said Harry. "Well, at all events, we can pray for
him," exclaimed Charley, in a tone which showed that the thought was
consolatory. They did so immediately, and felt far greater confidence
than before. For themselves, they had no cause to fear. They had food
enough for a month or more, should the frost return, and they had the
means of building a hut, in which they could be perfectly sheltered from
the weather. They had abundance of fuel, and the bear's skin would keep
them warm at night. There were the cranberries, and probably some other
berries, and they knew of several roots which they thought they should
find. "Really, we are very well off," said Charley, after they had
reviewed their resources. "I don't think there is another part of the
world where, in a little island like this, we could find such ample
means of support. I shouldn't mind spending a month here at all."
"Ah! but we could not expect always to find a bear in such a place as
this; and as for the fish, we brought them with us," said Harry, by way
of argument.
"But I daresay, if we were to hunt about, we should find some racoons;
and if the ice melted we should catch plenty of fish--or we might make a
hole in the ice and fish through it," argued Charley. "By the by, I
have got some hooks and a line in my pocket; I vote we try."
No sooner was the proposal made than executed; two fishing lines were
fitted--with their spears a hole was made in the easily yielding ice--
the bear furnished bait. Scarcely was a line in than a tug was felt,
and a small fish was hauled up. They did not know the name, but as its
appearance was prepossessing, they had no doubt that it was fit for
food. Another and another followed; they were delighted with their
sport, and even Harry felt that he should be sorry to have to go away.
"If we had but some bread and some tea, with a pot to boil it in, we
should do capitally," he observed.
"We may dig dandelion roots for coffee, we can boil water with hot
stones in a wooden jug, which we can make, and there are roots which
will serve us for bread," said Charley. "If we could but get a few
heads of Indian corn, we might thrive just as we are."
"We might live, certainly," said Harry; "but I doubt if we could do
more."