A JOURNEY THROUGH THE NIGHT
The lonely journey through the dark proved to be not nearly as difficult
as Dick had expected. An hour after their departure from Toma’s cabin,
the little party emerged from the shelter of spruce and pine, skirting
the river, and drove forth upon a comparatively open prairie, piled high
with drifts.
Here the snow had been packed down by the wind and the huskies were able
to trot across its surface without breaking through. They went forward
at such a brisk pace that Dick, running behind, was forced to admit,
breathlessly, to Toma:
“I can’t keep this up all night. Can’t you slow down once in a while,
and give me a chance to catch my breath?”
“We all ride now,” the guide answered, motioning Dick to a place on the
sled in front of Sandy, who, because of his weakened condition, had been
riding most of the time since they had left the cabin.
A moment later, sitting at his friend’s feet, Dick was conscious of a
new experience. He had never ridden behind a team of huskies before.
“This is wonderful,” he remarked as the dogs sprang forward at Toma’s
sharp word of command. “How easy they pull us, Sandy. If we keep on at
this rate, it won’t take us long to reach mounted police headquarters.”
Toma, who was standing behind, with one hand on the gee-pole, laughed
good-naturedly over Dick’s enthusiasm.
“They go fast tonight,” he admitted, “but mebbe tomorrow we come to soft
snow in woods. No go fast then.”
Somewhere, close at hand, there broke forth a weird, unearthly noise, a
sound that echoed across the stillness, causing both Dick and Sandy to
sit up very straight, hearts thumping excitedly.
“What was that?” they demanded in chorus.
“Wolves,” came the ready response. “We see plenty of wolves from now on.
Rabbits very few this year and wolves always hungry.”
“Well, I don’t want ’em to feed on me,” shivered Sandy. “What would we
do if they should happen along and suddenly decide to make a meal on
us?”
“Shoot,” answered Dick, one hand stealing back in the sled to make sure
that in the hurry of their departure they had not forgotten their
rifles.
“They not come yet,” Toma reassured them. “Bye ’n’ bye weather get more
cold, snow more deep, wolves more hungry. Then we watch out. No travel
like this at night then. Me ’fraid wolves too.”
Dick laughed. “I’m glad to hear that there’s something you’re really
afraid of, Toma. I’d begun to think that nothing could frighten you.”
Another howl from the wolf pack, and Sandy’s mittened hand was pawing at
Dick’s shoulder.
“Honestly, Dick, I don’t like this. Just listen to that! Isn’t it awful?
Toma, are you sure they won’t come over here and try to gobble us up?”
“Plenty sure,” answered the guide.
Sandy slouched back in his seat again, not entirely convinced in his own
mind that Toma was right.
“I hope so,” he grumbled, “but why in the dickens did the rabbits have
to get scarce this year. I suppose they heard we were coming along and
just to make our bad luck complete, hopped off to another part of the
country. I wonder why the wolves didn’t follow them, Toma?”
“Wolves no follow rabbits ’cause rabbits all dead,” patiently explained
the half-breed.
“Who killed ’em?” Sandy wanted to know.
Toma’s whip cracked forth over the boys’ heads, and the huskies sprang
forward with redoubled effort.
“Rabbits no get killed—they sick an’ die,” he answered. “When you live
in this country long time you find out queer thing. Ever’ six, seven
years see many rabbits—like mosquitos in spring. Wolves an’ coyotes all
very fat then. Almost step on rabbits when you walk through woods. When
rabbits many like that, one fellow him get sick, bye ’n’ bye another
rabbit him sick, too. Pretty soon no rabbits left—all dead. No tell you
why.”
Following this explanation, Sandy lapsed into silence for many moments.
There was no sound at all except that made by the pattering feet of the
huskies, and the crunching of the sled under them. A belated moon had
risen slowly from the distant horizon, and in its pure, white light, the
boys could now discern objects, which a few hours before had remained
hidden. Looking about him, Dick saw that the comparatively open space
around them extended southward for many miles, a vast, snow-covered
field, dotted here and there with small patches of poplar.
They were passing one of these tree clumps a short time later when,
plainly discernible, not more than fifty or a hundred yards to their
right, Dick perceived the huge body of a wolf gliding quickly along,
almost abreast of them. The boy’s startled exclamation drew the
attention of Sandy and Toma.
“Follow us like that all night, mebbe,” Toma stated indifferently, “he
no come any closer. He ’fraid us like we ’fraid him.”
“He doesn’t appear to be very frightened,” came Sandy’s dry comment,
“and if he comes one step nearer, I’m going to teach him a few manners.”
“No,” said Dick, “we’ve got to save our ammunition. We may need it badly
a little later on. Besides, I doubt very much whether one wolf would
dare to attack us. It’s a full pack that I’d be afraid of.”
“If there were more than one,” rejoined Sandy, peering fearfully across
at the subject of their conversation, “I think I’d be inclined to pull
this blanket over my head. I simply wouldn’t want to see ’em.”
Dick’s amused laugh was broken short by a sudden snarling from the
huskies. This continued until Toma cracked his whip and shouted out a
sharp word of command.
“No like ’em wolves either,” he explained. “You promise no be afraid if
I tell you something.”
“Certainly,” answered Dick. “What is it?”
“You look on other side.”
Sandy and Dick, following directions, drew in a quick breath of alarm.
Two more wolves, equally as large as the one on their right, trotted
along unconcernedly across the drifts, their furry forms plainly
distinguishable in the moonlight.
“Lord help us!” exclaimed Sandy, with no thought of irreverence.
“Can you beat that?” Dick wanted to know.
“No see wolves any more when morning comes,” Toma attempted to cheer
them. “You wait.”
After that the hours seemed interminable. Both Dick and Sandy had
forgotten about the novelty of their ride. Intermittently Toma’s whip
cracked; the huskies moved on; there was no sound except the slight
noise of their progress across the field of white. On either side
trotted the wolves, three dark shapes, moving like ghosts, never once
quickening or slackening pace. It was with a sigh of relief that Dick
finally perceived the first faint glow of morning across the eastern
sky.
“We stop pretty soon and have something to eat,” announced Toma,
breaking the long silence.
And a few minutes later, when they drew up before a small log cabin,
standing at the edge of a narrow sheltering woodland, their companions
of the night—the three wolves—were nowhere in sight.
“What I tell you,” their guide reminded them.
“Right, as usual,” grumblingly admitted Sandy. “But tell me, Toma, whose
place is this?”
“Another friend—him live here,” answered Toma. “We have breakfast, sleep
two, three hours, then go on some more. No like to travel night.”
It took but a few moments to unhitch and feed the huskies. Dick looked
on with interest as Toma threw each one of the dogs its ration of frozen
fish. Then the three boys strode forward toward the cabin, upon the door
of which the young half-breed knocked loudly. But no answer ensued.
“Guess him gone away,” Toma stated, and pushed open the door. “He no
care if we stay here for little while. Mebbe out on trap line.”
After a fire was started in the fireplace, Dick and Toma proceeded to
get breakfast, while Sandy carried in armloads of wood from the big pile
outside. They ate in front of a crackling flame, joking and laughing
amongst themselves.
“With the help of the huskies,” exulted Sandy, “we’ll soon leave Pierre
Govereau so far behind he’ll never catch up. Won’t he be wild when he
hears how we’ve outwitted him?”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that if I were you,” Dick cautioned.
“Govereau isn’t the only man we’ll have to fear either. You know
Henderson has accomplices all along the line.”
So it proved.
In spite of their good intentions, their determination to sleep only a
few hours, it was morning of the following day when Dick and Sandy awoke
to find their new team gone and Toma hunting around in the underbrush
some distance from camp.