A DREADFUL CALAMITY.
Apparently, no one among the scouts was able to favor Jimmy with regard
to telling what the smoke signals meant. Whoever might be responsible
for the code used by all scouts, it had evidently not been founded on
that in use up here in the Far North, by these trappers and
woodsrangers.
"I've been trying to get the hang of it myself," Jack acknowledged; "but
must say, I'm like a man up a tree. When I begin to think I'm coming on,
there's a slip, and it's all off again. How about you, Ned?"
They had stopped to talk it over. All of them were in need of a
breathing spell, at any rate; and this might turn out to be a matter
well worth investigating.
The patrol leader shook his head in the negative.
"Just the same with me, Jack," he returned. "I'm mixed up enough not to
be able to say what it means, though I've got an idea they may be
telling the parties at the mine what they expect to do. But we haven't
thought of one chance we've got to read the message."
"What might that be, Ned?" asked Frank.
"I don't reckon that you're carrying a lovely little code book along
with you, now; that'll tell all about the different ways people have of
signaling with smoke puffs?" Jimmy wanted to know.
"Perhaps Tamasjo might tell us," was all Ned said; and his simple
explanation caused a general look of eager curiosity to be turned in the
direction of the Cree Indian.
Why, to be sure, Tamasjo had been born and raised in this Northern
country, and very likely he had communicated with his own people many a
time, when returning from a hunt, and by just such means as those men
over on the Harricanaw were now using.
How silly that some one had not thought of the old Cree before. It was
as simple as turning one's hand over. Jack chuckled when he heard Teddy
mutter to that effect; because he remembered that when Columbus
returned, after discovering the Western Hemisphere, the envious Spanish
courtiers made remarks along the same lines. It is always easy to see a
thing _after_ it has been pointed out.
Frank was already turning toward Tamasjo. He found the Indian standing
there calmly watching the floating columns of smoke that were
interrupted frequently, as those responsible for their existence
manipulated the blankets over the fires.
"What do they say, Tamasjo?" asked Frank.
The Cree guide talked fairly good English, though with something of an
effort. When indulging in any extended conversation with Francois, he
invariably resorted to his native tongue.
Turning to Francois now, he rattled off a lot of talk that sounded
almost like gibberish to the scouts, who waited for the voyageur to
translate it.
"He says zat ze smoke tell heem most of ze men haf already started over
to ze mine. Eet also say zat zey will have us all in ze trap soon,"
explained the French Canadian.
The boys looked at each other blankly.
"The dickens they do!" burst out Jimmy. "They'll have to get up right
early in the morning to find us asleep. Say, he didn't tell what they
expected to do when they sprung that fine trap, did he, Francois?"
"Nozzings, sare," responded the other, with a negative shake of his
head. "I myself haf also read ze signs pret well, but zey do not tell
vat it ees zey haf do to cage us. Zere, you see ze smoke ett haf done. I
zink zey must be put ze fires out."
"That leaves us nearly as much in the air as before, don't it, Ned?"
Jack complained.
"Only that we've learned the men are on the way across somewhere," Frank
objected.
"And that they think they've got us up a tree, though we haven't the
least notion what kind of tree," added Teddy, thoughtfully.
Ned looked serious, but if he had ideas of his own, he did not mention
them just then. Perhaps he thought his chums had troubles enough as it
was, without assuming any imaginary ones that might turn out to be false
alarms.
"We'd better be pushing on again, boys," he remarked, "if all of you
have swallowed what water you want from this fine spring here."
Apparently they had, for presently the column was in motion again.
Somehow, even Jimmy had sobered more or less. Something about the
passing back and forth of the smoke communications must have put a
damper on his spirits; though, a short time before, he had been fairly
bubbling over with joy, because of the success that had recently come
their way.
It would have been all very well for the scouts to have depended wholly
on themselves had they been alone at this time; but having two
experienced guides along, Ned was not conceited enough to think that he
knew it all, and could utterly dispense with their advice.
Consequently, he did not hesitate to ask questions of Francois whenever
a situation confronted them that seemed to offer two solutions. A
mistake, at this stage of the game, was likely to cost them dear; and
they could really not afford to take chances of such a slip-up.
On this account, then, he kept Francois close by, and was frequently
seen to be exchanging words with the voyageur.
It was apparent to all of them when the change of direction was made,
for the sun began to loom up more to the rear, as they headed into the
southeast.
This meant that the river must lie straight ahead now, and if their
calculation did not go amiss, they should strike it in the vicinity of
the place where the growth of friendly reeds concealed their boats.
Habit was strong with the boys. They had for a long time now accustomed
themselves to noticing everything of interest around them on all
occasions. So it was that while they paid some attention to what lay in
front much of the time, they kept pointing out objects of interest to
one another as they walked along.
Now it might be a splendid chance to bag a feeding caribou, seen in a
glade off to the right, and to windward, which accounted for his not
having scented the presence of human enemies.
A little later some frisky squirrel, or it might be a sly Arctic fox,
was pointed out. Birds were few in number, and consisted for the most
part of the species of partridge that can be found up in this far-away
region. Not a single song-bird did they see or hear, and a silence like
unto death lay upon the "bush," as the wilderness is always called
throughout Canada.
Far up in some of the trees, noisy crows had sometimes been seen,
holding a caucus; but just then even these seemed strangely absent.
These boys had known what it was to pass through a tropical jungle with
its confusion of sounds that at times almost deafened one; so that the
contrast was very strong. They could understand what was meant when
explorers talked of the "silent North;" and told how painfully quiet it
was at all times, save when some Arctic storm caused the ice floes to
grind together, and portions of the bergs to crash down from their lofty
heights.
"Seems to me we must be getting somewhere near that old stream," Jimmy
finally remarked, with a half-hidden groan, for he was undoubtedly
beginning to feel exceedingly tired.
Somehow, the boys turned inquiring eyes on Ned. They knew that he had
all the while been keeping a record of the distance covered, and could,
therefore, give some sort of estimate as to how far away the river might
lie.
Seeing that he was expected to make an announcement, the patrol leader
appeared to do some mental calculating before giving his opinion.
"If you can keep going for about ten or fifteen minutes longer, Jimmy,"
he finally remarked, cheerily, "I think, you'll find that we've arrived.
Once or twice, I noticed something in the lay of things ahead, when an
opening came, that seemed to tell of the river. The trees always grow
higher along the course of such a stream, you know, and often you can
follow the direction of the river, without ever glimpsing the water
itself once."
"That's good news, Ned, and I'm going to get a new hustle on for the
last lap," Jimmy announced, heaving a sigh of relief that swelled from
the very depths of his heart.
Their progress after that was not quite so rapid. This in itself was
convincing proof to Ned that his prediction was going to be fulfilled,
because, as they gradually reached the lowlands, vegetation increased,
making it more difficult to push through.
"The ten minutes are up, Ned," announced Teddy, who had been taking sly
peeps at his little nickel watch from time to time.
"Well, what would you call that over there through the break in the
trees?" asked Jack, triumphantly, just as though it was his prediction
that was being fulfilled.
"The river, as sure as anything!" admitted Teddy.
"Thank goodness!" sighed Jimmy. "The only thing that's been helping me
keep up is the picture I've been drawing of a feller about my heft,
squattin' amidships in that bully canoe, and bucking up against the
current of the old Harricanaw. How far do you think we ought to go,
before making our first camp, Ned; and will we be able to cook any
supper, before turning in under our warm blankets?"
"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched!" said Frank.
"Now, what makes you try to throw cold water on a feller all the time?"
complained Jimmy. "I like to see the silver linin' of the cloud, and
think of things going good. Besides, we've got to eat, haven't we; and
we left a pile of good grub along with the boats? If Ned says the word,
I'm meanin' to dish up a supper that'll make us forget we're tired to
death. We c'n hide the fire, like Injuns do when in a hostile country,
by makin' the same in a hole, so the light won't show any distance.
How's that, Ned; am I on?"
"Wait and see," was the only comfort the other would give the
enthusiastic one, and with this, Jimmy had to rest content.
With the river in plain sight, they hurried their steps. The presence of
the water acted like an inspiration to every scout; so that no one would
believe they had just been complaining of weariness.
Ned grew more wary the closer they came to the river. All he wanted to
make sure of was the location, so that he might be able to know whether
they were above or below the place of the reeds.
Constant practice makes perfect, and Ned had so accustomed himself to
fastening the prominent features of the landscape upon his memory that
once he saw a place he never forgot it again.
In this case, if he failed to recognize anything along the bank of the
river it would prove conclusively that he had never set eyes on it
before. In that event, they could take it for granted that this was
below the place where they had left the canoes.
Finally the others stopping, watched Ned scrutinizing the shore of the
stream. Of course, they understood what his object must be, and
nervously awaited his verdict, hoping, meanwhile, that it would be
favorable, and that they were near the objects of their search.
He was only a fraction of a minute in deciding, for presently he turned
to his companions and nodded.
"We've struck the river just above the reeds," he went on to say. "I
remember noticing that tree leaning over the water. A kingfisher was
sitting on it, when we came along, and flew off with a screech. And,
according to my mind, the reeds will show up just around that bend
there."
"Oh! joy, bliss, and everything else that spells happiness!" declared
Jimmy, waxing enthusiastic all of a sudden, when the suspense seemed to
be at an end.
They pushed on, full of hope, for after this long hike it would be
something worth while to find themselves once more seated in the canoes
and gliding over the surface of the river, homeward bound, their great
mission completed.
"There they are!" exclaimed Frank, who had impetuously pushed along
ahead of the rest, in his desire to be the first to glimpse the reeds.
There could be no mistake about it, for all of them recognized the
conformation of the ground in the immediate neighborhood, since they had
taken particular pains to impress the same on their minds before leaving
the spot.
Presently they had reached the border of the reed bed, with Frank still
leading, though the rest of the scouts pressed close on his heels.
Already was the first of the explorers commencing to separate the reeds,
under the impression that he could take them straight to the spot where
they had left the boats.
But Frank soon began to think he had started on the wrong tack, for he
failed to make the anticipated discovery. He stopped and looked blankly
around him.
"Well, I declare!" he emitted, with a grunt. "I sure thought I knew this
old place, and could take you straight to the canoes; but seems like
I've got twisted around some. Things look different when you start to
observe them from the back."
"Perhaps it isn't just what you think," said Ned, quietly.
"Is there anything wrong?" demanded Jack, while poor Jimmy's lower jaw
fell, and he could only stand there and stare.
"The worst almost that could have happened to us," Ned replied sadly.
"The boats were here then, and have been stolen?" asked Frank
breathlessly, while he as well as the other boys turned pale with
apprehension, for it was a genuine calamity that faced them now.
"Look there and there, and you'll see where they rested among the
reeds," Ned told them. "Yes, and here's a piece of greasy paper I
remember seeing Jimmy toss overboard, when he was getting out of his
boat. We've struck our one bad streak, after all, boys, I'm sorry to
say. They ran on our boats, and we're left in the lurch up here, five
hundred miles from anywhere!"