THE THREE MEN
They stood there together--the two moving picture girls--in the midst of
the sudden storm. They stood with their arms about each other, and the
frightened eyes of Alice gazed into the terror-stricken ones of Ruth.
"Alice," cried Ruth, "do you really think we are lost?"
"I'm afraid so. I didn't notice which way we were going; but, as you
say, we didn't pass that rock before. We must be lost!"
"But what are we to do?"
"We've got to do something, that's sure!" Alice exclaimed. "We can't
stay here and freeze."
"Of course not. But if we go on in the storm we may be snowed under."
"And I'm more afraid to stay here. We must keep on the move, Ruth."
"Yes, I suppose so. Oh, if we could only see our way! We can't be so
very far from Elk Lodge."
"We are not," agreed Alice. "We did not walk fast, and we have not been
gone very long. The Lodge can't be more than two miles away; but it
might just as well be two hundred for all the good that does us in this
storm."
Indeed the snow was so thick that it was impossible to see many feet
ahead. The white flakes swirled, seeming to come first from one
direction, and then from another. The wind blew from all points of the
compass, varying so quickly that the girls found it impossible to keep
it at their backs.
"Well, there is one thing we can do," said Alice, when they had advanced
a few steps and then retreated, not knowing whether it was better to
keep on or not.
"And what is it?" asked Ruth. "If there's any one thing to do in a case
like this I want to know it."
"We can go over behind that rock and get a little protection from the
wind and snow," Alice went on. "See, the snow has drifted on one side;
and the other is quite bare. That shows it affords some shelter. Let's
go over there."
"Come on," agreed Ruth. She caught her sister's arm in a firmer grasp,
and the two girls plowed their way through the snow. They had,
heretofore, been on a sort of path, that had been formed over the crust.
The girls had on their snowshoes or they would have scarcely been able
to progress. As it was the going was sufficiently difficult.
"Oh, wait a moment!" panted Ruth, half way to the sheltering rock.
"What's the matter?" asked Alice, quickly. "Are you ill?"
"No, don't worry about me, dear. I'm only--out of breath!"
"I positively believe you're getting stout!" laughed Alice, and Ruth was
glad that she could laugh, even in the face of impending danger. "You
must take more exercise," she went on.
"I'm getting plenty of it now," observed Ruth. "Oh, but it is hard going
in this snow!"
Together they struggled on, and finally reached the rock. As Alice had
surmised, the big boulder did give them shelter, and they were grateful
for it, as they were quite exhausted by their battle with the storm.
"What a relief!" sighed Alice, as she leaned back against the big stone.
"Oh, isn't it!" agreed Ruth. "But, Alice, if we are so played out by
that little trip, how are we ever going to get back to Elk Lodge?"
"I don't know, dear," was the hesitating answer. "But we must get back.
Maybe the snow will stop after a little, and we can see our way. That is
really all we need--to see the path. I'm sure I've been out in worse
storms than this."
"It is bad enough," responded Ruth, apprehensively. "See how it snows!"
Indeed the white flakes were coming down with increased violence, and
the wind swept and howled about the rock with a melancholy sound. The
girls huddled close together.
"Can you ever forgive me for bringing you out in such weather as this?"
begged Alice, self-reproachfully.
"It wasn't your fault at all, dear," Ruth reassured her and her arms
went about her sister in a loving embrace. "I wanted to come. Neither of
us knew this storm would make us get lost."
Alice said nothing for a moment. She was busy arranging a scarf more
tightly about her throat, for she felt the flakes blowing and sifting on
her, and did not want to take cold. The girls were warmly dressed, which
was in their favor.
For five or ten minutes they remained under the lee of the rock, not
knowing what to do. They realized, though neither wanted to mention it
to the other, that they could not remain there very long. Night would
settle down, sooner or later, and they could not remain out without
shelter. Yet where could they go?
"If it would only stop!" cried Ruth.
"Yes, or if someone from Elk Lodge would come after us!" added Alice.
"I'm sure they will!" cried Ruth, catching at this slender hope. "Oh,
Alice, I'm sure they'll come."
"And so am I, as far as that is concerned," agreed Alice. "The only
trouble is they will not know where to come. Don't you see?"
"But they know where we were going--you mentioned it to daddy."
"I know, but don't you understand, my dear, we're not where we said we
would go. We're lost--we're off the path. If it was only a question of
someone from the Lodge following the proper path it would be all right.
But we're far from it, and they will have no idea where to search for
us."
"Couldn't they trail us with--with bloodhounds?"
"Oh, I don't believe it will get as desperate as that. Not that there
are any bloodhounds at Elk Lodge. But there are some hunting dogs, and I
presume they might be able to follow our trail. Won't it seem odd to be
trailed by dogs? Just as if we were fugitive slaves!"
"I don't care how they trail us, as long as we get back to Elk Lodge!"
and there was a sob in Ruth's voice.
The next moment Alice, on whose shoulder Ruth had laid her head, uttered
a cry.
"Oh, what is it?" asked the elder girl. "Do you see someone? Are they
coming for us?"
"No, but the snow is stopping, and I can see a house--two of them, in
fact."
"A house! Good! Is it far off?"
"No, not far. Come on, I believe we can reach it."
As Alice had said, the snow had ceased falling almost as suddenly as it
had set in, and this gave the girls a clear view. They had made a little
turn from their original direction in getting to the rock, and they had
a view down in a little glade. There, as Alice had said, nestled two
houses; or, rather log cabins. One was of large size, and the other
smaller.
"Let's go there!" suggested Alice. "We can get shelter, and perhaps
there is someone in one of the cabins who will take us to Elk Lodge. We
can offer to pay him."
"They wouldn't want it," declared Ruth. "But come on. We mustn't lose
any time, for the snow may set in again at any moment. We must get there
while we can see."
The wind, too, had died out somewhat, so that it was comparatively easy
travelling now. Together the girls made their way over the snow toward
the smaller of the two cabins, that being the nearer.
They reached it, struggling, panting and out of breath, and after
waiting a moment, to allow their laboring hearts to quiet down, that
they might speak less brokenly, Alice knocked at the door. There was no
answer.
"Oh, suppose they should not be home?" cried Ruth.
"That seems to be the case," spoke Alice, as she knocked again, without
result.
"What shall we do--go to the other cabin?" asked Ruth.
"Let's see if this one is open," proposed Alice. "They may be hospitable
enough to have left the door unlocked."
As she spoke she tried the latch. Somewhat to her surprise the door did
open, and then to the astonishment of both girls they found themselves
in an unoccupied cabin.
"Oh dear!" cried Ruth. "What a disappointment!"
"Isn't it?" agreed Alice. "Well, we can try the other."
They stood for a moment in the main room of the small cabin, and looked
about. There was nothing in it save a few boxes.
"We could make a fire--I have matches, and we could break up the boxes
on the hearth," said Alice. "Shall we?"
"No, let's go to the other cabin. I'm sure someone will be there,"
suggested her sister.
"Come on!"
They stepped to the door, but at that instant the snow began again,
harder than before.
"No use!" cried Alice. "We're doomed to stay here, I guess."
"Well, it's a shelter, at any rate," sighed Ruth. She was not frightened
now.
"And there's another good thing," went on Alice. "These cabins are a
definite place. If a searching party starts out for us Mr. Macksey will
be sure to think about these, and look here for us. I think we are all
right now."
"We're better off, at any rate," observed Ruth. "I believe we might make
a fire, Alice."
"That's what I say."
They had taken off their snowshoes, and now, by stamping and kicking at
the boxes, they managed to break them up into kindling wood. Soon a
little blaze was crackling on the hearth. The warmth was grateful to the
chilled girls.
They stood before it toasting their cold hands, and then, when Ruth
went to the window to look out, she called:
"It's stopped snowing again. Don't you think we'd better run to the
other cabin while we have the chance?"
"I suppose it would be wise," agreed Alice. "We really ought to start
for Elk Lodge, and we could if we had a guide. Come on."
Together they started for the larger cabin, but when half way to it they
saw three men coming out. The men had guns over their shoulders, and
they headed down the trail, away from the girls.
Not before, however, the two sisters had a good view of the features of
the trio. And instantly the same thought came to both.
"Did you see who one of those men was?" gasped Ruth.
"Yes, it is he! And those are the same two men who were with him
before," answered Alice.
"Dan Merley--the man who is going to sue daddy for that five hundred
dollars!" went on Ruth, clasping her hands.
"And with him are the two men who were present when the street car
accident happened in New York--Fripp and Jagle. They are the hunters who
have been annoying Mr. Macksey."
"Oh, what shall we do?" asked Ruth. "We can't appeal to them for help,
not after the way Merley behaved to us."
"Of course not! Oh, isn't it provoking? Just as we see help we can't
avail ourselves of it. The men are getting farther and farther away,"
Alice went on. "If we are going to appeal to them we must be quick about
it."
"Don't call to them!" exclaimed Ruth. "It might be dangerous. They
haven't noticed us--let them go. But Alice, did you see how Merley seems
to have recovered from his accident? He walks as well as the others."
"Yes, so he does. I'm glad they didn't see us. But I have a plan. There
may be other persons in the cabin. When the three men are out of sight,
and they will be in the woods in a little while, we can go and ask help
of whoever is left in the cabin."
"Yes," agreed Ruth, and they waited, going back to the small cabin. "I
remember now," Ruth added after a pause, "that man who was in the bushes
the time of the coasting race was Fripp. I knew I had seen him somewhere
before, but I could not recall him then."