He faced downhill without another word, while the Redskin fell in behind him. Indeed, the silent man seemed to have already guessed at Hank"s intentions, or was it that the cunning learned by all hunters is of such a cla.s.s that their minds move always on parallel lines, and difficulties are met in almost similar fashion? Whatever the reason, Beaver Jack seemed to have guessed intuitively what Hank"s plan was to be, and fell in behind him without uttering a syllable. Then came Joe, watching closely, wondering what new tricks he would see put into execution.
"It aer plain," began Hank, when at length he had reached the track along which the enemy had so recently pa.s.sed, "it aer clear as daylight that when them critters finds that we have moved, they will come dashing downhill as ef there was demons behind "em. They"ll come along in our tracks, and ef we was to cross their own here and cut a line of our own, why, in course there wouldn"t be any need for "em to wait to look about for the direction. So here we plays an old Injun game that ain"t so often practised in these days--now!"
He swung round, and moving a few paces beside the track which the half-breeds had followed, joined it at an acute angle, making it appear as if he and his comrades were going in the same direction. Then the wily little hunter stepped out of his snowshoes and, reversing his own direction, thrust his warmly-moccasined feet into them in the reverse order.
"Yer catch the idea?" he grinned. "Now I walks along the way they came, but to look at the marks I"ll leave you"d think I was jest going along with them. It aer said that a bear"ll walk backward to his winter lair so as to deceive his enemies. That"s what we"re doing."
With shoes reversed, the little fellow set off at once, halting for a few seconds, once he had pa.s.sed his comrades, so as to enable each in turn to step on to the track and face about. Then the three proceeded, the turning of their shoes making no great difference to their movement. As to the track they left, it was inextricably mixed up with the marks made by the enemy, and seeing that their snowshoes were reversed, it appeared that they were following the same direction.
"Not as a Redskin nor a half-breed wouldn"t spot the thing right off,"
whispered Hank, "that is, ef it war a fresh track we was making; for it aer natural for a man to put his heel down heavily, even when carrying a snowshoe, and a practised tracker, same as these half-breeds, would see that the front part of our shoes is pressed into the snow. But here there"s the marks of eight pairs of shoes already, and our three"ll mix up nicely with "em. Now, boys, let"s git along slick; every second"ll be of importance."
It was in silence after that that they thrust their way through the forest, and seeing that the direction the enemy had taken took the little party downhill, their pace was extremely rapid. Perhaps half an hour later Hank again came to a halt, pointing before him.
"Here we takes our own line," he said. "I guess those critters cut downhill amongst the trees yonder till they had got below a fold in the ground which would hide them. Then they swung straight across for our side, knowing that we couldn"t see "em. Wall, we"ll do the same; we"ll strike straight out into the open and, cutting away from their track, dive down the hill into the valley. After that we"ll make a bee-line for the camp, and there make ready for the ruction that"s bound to follow. Seems to me, Joe, as ef I"d already got an idea of a spot that would give us cover."
"Stop! Listen!" suddenly exclaimed our hero, raising one hand and standing in the position of keen attention. "I heard sounds from behind us. I feel sure that----"
"Yer ain"t got no need to tell us what it aer," said Hank curtly, in the abrupt way he had when something specially stirred him. "Them critters has got to the point where they hoped to spring upon us and wipe us out, and they aer fair bustin" with rage to find that we"ve given "em the slip. They"ll be tumblin" downhill now as fast as their legs will bring "em, and ef it warn"t that we"ve put up a fine start and have left something behind to worry "em a little, they"d be on our heels afore we could look round. Now, Beaver Jack, guess we"ve a long chase afore us; you kin take the lead and strike slick for the camp.
I"ll go behind and keep a weather eye open for them critters."
There was perfect order and coolness amongst the little party, though a glance at any one of the faces showed that all appreciated the danger of their position. No one, indeed, could have failed to gather that discovery of their escape would bring the whole pack of half-breeds chasing after them; the exchange of shots between the two parties, and the fact that the enemy had been the first to open fire proved, if proof were wanted, that a closer approach on their part would result in more shots, and in the slaying of Joe and his friends, if that were possible.
"But why? What is the attack made for?" Joe found himself saying under his breath again and again. "We don"t look to be rich, I"m sure.
We"re just ordinary trappers or prospectors, and from what I have gathered such people don"t carry much in the way of money with them.
The rich prospectors, also, don"t dream of setting out into the backwoods during the winter. They choose the spring and summer for two reasons, I guess. One, because then they can see the land, for there isn"t any snow, and so can search for the veins of metal which attract them; and secondly, because they haven"t severe weather to face. It beats me hollow; one would have thought that these men had been set upon us for some other purpose than that of robbery."
It was one of those questions, in fact, which would have taken a more worldly-wise fellow than Joe to answer; indeed, had he but known the true reason of this unlooked-for and undeserved attack, he would have been astounded. For the band then shrieking and shouting behind them, and at that moment dashing downhill on their snowshoes, had set out to search for our hero and his friends. They had hunted high and low for the trace of two prospectors, for the snowshoe marks left by Joe and Hank, and had fallen upon those marks prior to their joining hands with Beaver Jack. But the accession of one to the number of the little party made not the smallest difference. Why should it? There were nine in this gang, and only three in the other.
But Joe had other things to do than to worry his head as to reasons.
After all, what did it matter who this enemy was? What difference could knowing make to our hero and his friends? For enemies are much the same all the world through. Once it is demonstrated that they aim at the slaying of those they follow, all come under the same heading.
All are dangerous, and it behoves those who have to defend their lives to take the utmost precautions.
Beaver Jack therefore led the flight at a speed which suited Joe, who did not find it very hard to keep up, seeing that the way lay downhill.
As for the Redskin, he might have been out for a promenade only; his shoes slid over the now hard-frozen surface with a queer little rustling sound, seeming to carry the user"s legs rather than to require effort on his part. His head was sunk low down upon his breast, his hooked nose and upturned chin approximated. But nothing escaped this man of the woods, this child of nature, whose hearing and instincts were as developed as those of the wildest animal.
Hank made a pretty, if a rugged picture. The little man seemed almost to have his ears c.o.c.ked backwards. In any case, they lay flat against his head, the c.o.o.n-skin cap just dropping on to them. His head was erect, and even as he slid along over the snow there was little doubt that not a sound escaped him.
"Them critters ha" jest come to the spot whar we dropped in on their trace," he growled. "You kin tell as they"re finely bothered. Seems to me they"ll send a party forward and one along this way, and in a bit we shall hear a hullabaloo that"ll be loud enough to scare the moose this side of the big lakes. You ain"t tired, Joe?"
"Not I!" came the hearty answer. "Could go on for a while longer."
"Then you"ll have need. There won"t be so much between us by the time we reach camp; then it"ll be a case fer thinkin"."
As if the question of their further movements bothered him, as indeed it did, his fingers slid up beneath his cap, a habit the little fellow had, and played with a loose lock of his thick hair; for Hank"s hair was thick. Barbers do not live round the corner in the backwoods of Canada, and a long crop of hair is rather an advantage to a man when the temperature is below zero. It followed, therefore, that Hank"s head was well covered, and Joe"s also. Indeed, our hero showed a somewhat ungainly growth of fluff about chin and cheeks and upper lip, which, if it made promise of budding manhood, could not be said to be expressly elegant. But there again your backwoodsman shines. The man who carries all his belongings with him upon his back and sets off for a winter, meaning to spend it in the open air, subsisting on what his gun can procure for him, is not likely to be over-nervous as to his appearance. Hair will grow, and garments will become rent, even with the greatest care. Life also is too strenuous to make smaller things matter. Suffice it to say that Joe looked a gentleman in spite of his get-up, while already he had proved himself a jovial and boon companion, one ready to enjoy sport if it came, to take the rough with the smooth, and to face danger as if it were part of the day"s happenings.
"Ha! There they go, yelping like a pack o" dogs," cried Hank, a little later, when shouts and yelps came resounding from the forest and across the snow-clad face of the hillside. "Let "em yell! It don"t do us no harm, and don"t bring the critters any nearer.
"How far now to camp?" asked Joe, swinging his head round.
"Guess we"re more"n halfway; in half an hour we shall do it. Suppose these fellers has been there already and has cleared all that we left."
The suggestion was disconcerting, for supposing the enemy had taken all the worldly belongings of this little party, how could they face a prolonged journey? In the summer it would make but little difference, for a stew-pan and a kettle are not absolute necessaries. Compared with the needs of the Redskins, they are merely luxuries, though long acquaintance with those useful articles has made white men find them an important portion of camping equipment. The habit of tea-drinking throughout the settlements and townships of the Dominion requires a kettle, and Joe doubted whether even the resourceful Beaver Jack could supplement such an article, however many birch trees there might be, and whatever his skill in fashioning the bark.
"Never cry till you"re kicked," sang out Hank cheerfully, "and when you"re kicked jest kick back mighty hard, ef only to show as you"re still movin". Ef they"ve took our kit, it"s bad; ef they wipe us out clean, it"s wuss. Let"s put on steam a bit."
Beaver Jack seemed to understand the demand at once, for he broke into something resembling a jog trot, if there is such a thing when dealing with snowshoes. In any case, his feet slid over the snow at increased pace, and Joe found himself sweeping forward at a speed which set the freezing air buzzing against his ears, and brought a bright flush of colour to his face. It soon became evident, too, that the wily Redskin had noted every feature of the ground as he led his friends from the camp that morning; for suddenly, as the surface ceased to shelve and became almost level, he changed his direction. Nor did he join the wide track which presently crossed before him; he merely grunted and pointed.
"Half-breeds come along there," he said. "Go different way ourselves."
Joe looked closely at the trace they were crossing. There were the marks of the runners of two sleighs cutting through tracks evidently left by the dog teams, and on either hand, and mixed up with the former marks, were the impressions of many snowshoes.
"But--" he began, "if this is their line, and they followed us from the camp, as seems more than likely, why not take the same line back? They are sure to have come the quickest way."
"You bet; they jest followed our trace, and guess we came direct," said Hank. "Only you can"t see our marks, as they"ve trod all over "em.
But you leave this here matter to Beaver Jack. He aer a cunnin" boy, and "way back at the end of his head he"s got an idea that"ll knock fits out of them "ere critters. I"ve half guessed at it already; you"ll see. Seems to me we shall almost fly the last half of the distance."
"Eh?" Joe stared at the little hunter. He was quite willing to be led, and had implicit faith in his companions, but he was one of those inquisitive fellows who like to know the why and wherefore of everything. "But--fly!" he exclaimed.
"Ay--fly!" grinned Hank; "jest go along quicker nor a sleigh could take us. Ain"t that it, Jack?"
Beaver Jack could enjoy a joke with anyone, only he enjoyed it in a manner peculiarly his own, or, one might more correctly say, in a manner characteristic of his people. His eyes were twinkling as he faced about, while his hooked nose and upturned chin seemed to have approached even nearer.
"It is well that the young men should know what is happening," he said.
"They look to their elders for instruction, and in asking thus Joe shows that he is interested. It will also tell him the need there is always to watch the country he pa.s.ses through. Listen: the land beyond falls very steeply. Leaving the camp, we pa.s.sed to the right, so as to gain a track which was easy. To climb is hard; to descend is a different matter."
It was not all said in that fashion, for Beaver Jack"s English was not of an advanced order. But a man of intelligence could understand him with ease, and, hearing what he had to say, Joe quickly realized what was about to happen. Also he remembered that the ground did rise immediately in front of their camp, and at such an angle that to climb it would have been almost impossible; but to descend would be easy.
"Easy as fallin" off a house," grunted Hank. "Jest sit down on your snowshoes and slide; sleighing won"t be in it."
Speeding along now across a field of virgin snow through which an occasional tree cropped, the party were not long in gaining a belt of forest trees clinging to the hillside. Pa.s.sing through these, they again emerged on to a s.p.a.ce which was open, and over which the white winter mantle was spread, without so much as a footmark to mar its beauty. But the field seemed to end abruptly on that edge farthest from the summit of the hills, and striking out for the white line where sky and snow seemed to merge, the trio soon found themselves on the verge of a steep and smooth declivity. From it a splendid view was to be obtained, for the rays from the declining sun lit up a gorgeous landscape, swept with white from end to end, dotted here and there with darker patches, showing long shadows where the hollows lay, while patches of trees of larger and smaller extent cropped up everywhere.
There was their camp, too, nestling at the foot of a clump of pines, while at its back was one huge expanse of white, unbroken, unmarked, bearing not even a shadow.
"A lake, and a big "un, too," observed Hank. "Ef we"d looked that way this morning once we got on to the hill we might have seen it. But we was in the trees most of the time, and I expect that folds in the ground kept us elsewhere. Now fer a slide. Slip yer gun from yer shoulder and use it as a guiding stick. Yer see, it"s mighty steep here, and though, ef you rolled from top to bottom, it wouldn"t do no great harm--for there"s drifts that would catch you--still it"s nicer and better to go face forward. So put the b.u.t.t in on one side and a little behind, and guide and brake with it."
That was a glorious ride down the hill. It carried Joe back to days, now so far off they seemed, when there had been a heavy fall of snow in England, and he, with friends in the little town, had rigged up a toboggan and had carried it to the hills. The speed then had been great; it was terrific here. However, there was no time for pausing; besides, the Redskin made nothing of it. This form of progress seemed to him to be much the same as any other. Without a word, with hardly a look at his comrades, he strode to the very edge, sat down on his snowshoes, and, thrusting the b.u.t.t of his gun into the snow, pushed himself over the brink. He went whirling down before a mighty cloud of snowflakes kicked up by his shoes, and left behind him a track which a man standing in the valley below could have seen from a great distance.
Once he swerved, and looked as if he were about to turn over; but the guiding gun held him straight, and in an extraordinary short s.p.a.ce of time he was waiting for them at the bottom.
"Wall," grinned Hank, "you or me? Ef there was a chance of them critters coming along I"d say you."
"And I"d say you," laughed Joe. "I"d feel that I had to stay to protect you."
"Gee! Ef that don"t beat the hull band," gasped Hank. "Protect me, you said! As ef I war a baby. Now, see here, lad; we"ll make a race of it. You"re heavier nor me, and so will have an advantage. At the same time, I"m that light I"ll slide over the snow easier. We"ll see who makes the quickest job of it."
"Agreed!" cried Joe. "Ready?"
"Ready it aer."