The Blue Birds' Winter Nest Part 28

"'S'pose yer pa an' ma was on'y too glad to git yeh out'en the way, eh?'

he continued.

"Again I had to gulp when I thought of my mother.

"'I see the hull fool thing. Yeh jus' went crazy readin' trashy papers, an' yeh run away widdout tellin' a soul, 'cause yeh knew they wouldn't let yeh come otherwise.'

"I marveled at how close he had come to the truth.

"'Well, yer here, kid, an' I s'pose Old Hal's got to see yeh through wit it, so thet worritin' mother of yourn'll see yeh agin, some day.' And he swung the whip over the horses' heads with a crack that saved me from his ire.

"We came to a bad grade then, and Old Hal had to keep a wary eye on the trail, for the horses were not as sure-footed as the dogs and deer.

"It must have been four o'clock before we halted. The air was growing colder as we advanced, and I was glad enough to open my pack for a chunk of bread and a slice of bacon.

"'Hist, kid, stow that away!' whispered Hal, as he began to unhitch the horses for the night.

"In a short time the two men from the sledge came up.

"'h.e.l.lo, youngster! You did come, after all, didn't you?' said the older man.

"As the supper was being cooked by an Indian guide, I was welcomed in the circle sitting about a blazing fire and asked about myself. To each question I replied truthfully, and wondered at the smiles and surprise shown at my answers.

"One of the two men who owned the expedition turned to the old guide after a time and said: 'Hal, what shall we do with the kid? Send him back home?'

"'If 'twere me, I'd give him his fill. He'll be safe enough wid us, an'

we kin git heaps of work outen him; but he'll never 'mount to nothin' ef yeh send him home, 'cause he'll allus think of the gold he might have got,' said Hal astutely.

"'Guess you've hit the nail on the head, Hal,' laughed the younger man, as he looked at me.

"So I became a member of the Yukon Gold Expedition, under the management of John Herrick and Julius Dwight, engineers.

"We traveled over hundreds of miles of snow, for we were trying to reach a certain trail that Old Hal knew, before the thaw set in.

"We did not quite get there, however, before the general thaw struck us.

Then the canoes were needed. I had wondered why we delayed our traveling to cart those canoes with us, for there were no streams or lakes to cross, but the moment the thaw set in it seemed that every piece of ice and snow in the North was turning to water. Instead of trails, we had to travel by green-blue rivers, or over deep, dark seas.

"Well, after losing one canoe and two of the Indians, Old Hal hit his trail and led us up toward the mountains.

"All of that short summer was pa.s.sed in the usual work of prospecting: digging, panning, was.h.i.+ng, or testing for gold. Permanent camp had been built by the men, and a number of Indian servants took precaution that every emergency should be provided for in case of a hard, long winter.

Every kind of edible bird or beast was trapped and prepared for food, while the skins and pelts of animals were cured and made into garments and covers.

"I was the youngest in camp, so I was known as the 'Kid,' and Old Hal took the office of guardian toward me from the first and ordered me about--always for my good, be it known--and kept a watchful eye over my doings and the men I happened to work with.

"Toward the end of the short summer we struck a rich vein of gold!

"I shall never forget the change in everyone's character the moment the gold was discovered in the s.h.i.+ning sand. Some became savages, others grew crafty and cunning, and Old Hal had his hands full to keep discipline in the camp. Dwight and Herrick saw the tendency of their hired men to mutiny against Hal and themselves, and perhaps jump the claim when the owners were out of the way, but they were farsighted men, and Hal was no greenhorn in handling Esquimo and half-breed Indians.

"A large tract of land on both sides of the creek was staked off and a diagram of the area carefully drawn by Herrick, to be filed in the office at Forty-Mile Station, where a legal land-office was maintained by the government.

"As it was most necessary to file this claim before winter came on, a conference was held between Hal and the two engineers. Hal said he could easily make the trip to Forty-Mile and back again before winter froze everything solid, so he was ordered to take a canoe, with two of the mutinous men, and start immediately. Two dogs were placed in the canoe, in case they would be needed for sledging, and a store of food and pelts were packed under the seats. At the last moment, Hal was led to take his own canoe, which he had made that summer, and ask for my company. I was delighted to know I could accompany my old friend, so one of the dogs and a sledge were placed in Hal's canoe, and but one of the men got in, while I was placed in the other canoe, with the other man.

"We started in good order and made quick time. We had no route, map, or survey, for there were none in those days, but Hal knew every foot of the way, unless unusual conditions prevailed. We made camp that night, and rested, all unmindful of the plot the two mutinous men were hatching against us to get possession of the claim papers.

"In the morning, after an early breakfast, we started, and had gone but a short distance before our canoes ran out of the stream into a broad expanse of water that was unfamiliar to Hal.

"He looked carefully around for some landmark to guide him, and saw, some miles further on, what he believed to be a blazed spot. So he directed his man to paddle for that place.

"When Hal was about ten feet in advance of us, and as I sat in the stern of our canoe, I saw the man paddling our canoe suddenly raise a rifle--where he got it no one knows--take aim, and shoot. It was all done so quickly that I could scarcely move. Hal always held his revolver ready to enforce obedience from his men, and the moment I heard the shot I saw his arm jerk spasmodically and his revolver fly out and fall in the bottom of the canoe. At the same time I tore my revolver out of my belt and covered the man who had shot.

"I was so occupied in this that I had no time to see what Hal was doing, but I heard him yell: 'Go overboard this second or I'll shoot you dead!'

"I immediately followed suit, and cried: 'Go overboard, and swim ash.o.r.e, or I'll shoot you!'

"The man sat and stared at me for a moment, as he never dreamed I had the spirit to do what I had. I was so nervous, and my heart seemed to bulge out in my throat so that I could hardly swallow. The man still sat and looked at his pal, who had jumped overboard and was swimming for sh.o.r.e. I never knew how it happened, for I had no idea of shooting him, but in that moment that he turned his look from me to his pal my fingers twitched with dread, and the revolver rang forth its shot, and the fellow fell into the water. I was so frightened that I clung to the neck of the dog and hid my eyes. Meantime, the fellow who was swimming saw what had occurred, and went under water to escape being shot.

"Soon Hal had his canoe alongside, and said: 'Step in here, Kid.'

"My canoe was fastened to the other one, and the transfer made without further mishap. I looked about for the swimmer, but could see nothing of him. He might have drowned or gone ash.o.r.e.

"We managed to travel pretty well until night, when we again camped on sh.o.r.e, but Hal seemed worried at the strangeness of the land.

"After a few days' futile seeking for the trail, we felt a sudden chill in the air. Hal was concerned, and sought in every direction for some familiar object.

"We made camp one night while the dogs sniffed ravenously about for food, for our stock had run so low that Hal had to economize to make it last another day. The next morning I awoke to find snow blowing in every direction. The change was so unlooked for that I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was awake.

"'Well, Kid, this settles our trip to Forty-Mile for some time,'

admitted Hal forlornly.

"'What do you mean, Hal?' I asked.

"'If we don't make camp quick, we'll be caught in the cold and frozen.

If I was alone, I'd try to make some Esquimo hut or die, but havin' you I can't take a chance.' Hal's manner of speech had improved a great deal during his intercourse with cultured men, and I took note of it as he spoke--such queer things will impress one when a sudden calamity presents itself.

"That morning Hal set me to cutting down some small trees. He said he would take the sledge and the dogs and try to find the trail. I begged him not to leave me alone, and he promised that this would be the last effort if he was unsuccessful.

"I felt the terrible fear of being alone in this wilderness all winter, but I kept busy chopping down trees. All day long I worked and prayed, and before dark settled down I rejoiced to see Hal coming back. I could tell in a moment that he had not found any trail, so I said nothing.

"That night Hal saw all the signs of winter breaking upon us, and he worked fast and furious to make camp so that we might survive the cold months.

"In his search the day before, he had found a stream whose banks were well covered with sheltering pines. Here he proposed to build a hut.

While, with the help of the dogs, he hauled the small logs I had cut to the stream, I was ordered to fish and hunt for all the supplies I could gather before the waters froze solid.

"I went to work with a forlorn hope of ever living to see another year, but the fish were plentiful, and the task of preparing them for winter use kept me from thinking too much.

"Hal set traps for animals, and this game we skinned; the meat we dried and the pelts we hoped to use in the winter. The fats I dried out and kept in a skin pouch Hal made. Some of the game could not be eaten, so we used that for bait.

"Hal built a rude log hut about eight feet wide, with a smoke hole at the top. The wide c.h.i.n.ks were plastered full of clay from the river-bank. A door was made of split logs and fastened together with rope and strips of skin. We had brought no nails or screws, and had to use whatever came to hand. The hinges of the door were made of tough strips of hide and fastened to the logs with some nails Hal took out of the sledge.