Nex" night, me"be so we no mak". See de light in leetle cabin, an" den we com" Hesitation. Bot" of us, we pret" near die. An" Sam Morgan, she laugh." The old Indian paused and regarded the boy curiously: "Y"u know Sam Morgan?" he asked. The boy"s eyes were very bright, and he cleared his throat huskily.
"Sam Morgan was my father," he said, in a low, unsteady tone. The Indian stalked to the boy and, pausing directly before him, lifted the small chin and gazed long and searchingly into the upturned grey eyes.
"Uh-huh," he grunted, "y"u Sam Morgan boy. Me hear "bout y"u in Ten Bow."
"Where is Pete Mateese?" persisted Connie. The Indian no longer hesitated.
"Pete Mateese, she Ten Bow. Work hard for de money to buy grub an" tak"
back to Carlson--way back, pas" de divide, in de lan" of Niju Tah--de lan" of de bad man, dead. But, she don" git no money. Meestaire Squeeg, she cheat Pete Mateese."
"Who is Misteh Squigg?" asked Waseche Bill.
"Meestaire Squeeg she leetle man. Got de nose lak de fox, an" de bad eye lak" de snake. All tam he mak" Pete Mateese work ver" mooch. Tell heem, he mak" plent" money. But she no giv" heem no money--always Pete Mateese got it comin"--she got to wait. Som" day Meestaire Squeeg she pull out--den Pete Mateese got nut"in."
"Yo" say he"s a li"l slit-eyed runt--rat-faced--with a squeaky voice?"
Waseche mimicked Mr. Squigg"s tone. The Indian nodded emphatically, and for a long time Waseche was silent--thinking.
"An" yo" say these heah is Pete Mateese"s dawgs?" Again the Indian nodded, and Waseche Bill"s eyes narrowed: "An" yo" say they ah in Ten Bow--Pete Mateese an" this heah Misteh Squigg?"
"Ten Bow," repeated the Indian. "Meestaire Squeeg, she tak" de gol" an"
buy de claim." Waseche Bill turned to the others:
"Come on, we"ll hit the trail!" And then, to the Indian, "Yo" come, too, an" fetch them dawgs." Connie noticed that his big partner"s voice was very low, and once, turning quickly, he surprised the cold, hard gleam in the grey eyes.
"He must be the same man that tried to make me give up my claim, the time I beat out the Ten Bow stampede," confided the boy, as he mushed beside Waseche"s sled.
"Oh, he did--did he?" asked the man, in the same low, hard tone. "We"ll jest count that in, too."
"What do you mean? Do you know Mr. Squigg?"
"No. But I _will_," drawled Waseche. "Yo" see, kid, he"s the man I bought them dawgs off of last fall in Eagle. Come along, now, le"s mush.
I"m gettin" plumb anxious to meet up with this heah Misteh Squigg."
CHAPTER XXII
THE MAN WHO DIDN"T FIT
The return of Connie Morgan and Waseche Bill to Ten Bow, and the events that followed, are told to this day on the trails.
McDougall paused for a chat with Dutch Henry beside the long black dump of the German"s claim.
"It"s most time for the break-up, Mac," said the owner of the dump.
"We"ll sluice out big, this spring."
"Yes, mon, we will," agreed McDougall, as his eyes roved to the small snow-covered dump across the creek. "But, it"s sore I"ve hated to see yon claim idle the winter--an" the laddie gaen--an" Waseche Bill--heaven knaws wheer. D"ye mind what the mon fr" Eagle told, how the lad c"d na be stopped, but trailed on after Waseche--on to the Lillimuit?
They"ll na com" back." Dutch Henry nodded.
"Sure, Mac, but whad" ye "spect from the breed of Sam Morgan? "Member how he beat us all to these here diggin"s, with ondly them three old dogs. I"d give my claim to have "em safe back. An" I"m sorry you lost your ten-team, too, Mac."
"Losh! Mon! "Tis na"thing at a"--the dogs! The laddie tuk "em--an"
welcome. Ye sh"d o" seed the luk i" his e"e, the mornin" he com" bustin"
into my cabin wi" the news that Waseche was gaen! "I"ll fetch him back,"
he says, "if I have to beat him up"--an" him na bigger"n a pint o"
cider. They"ve gaen to the Lillimuit, Dutch, an" "taint in reason they"ll com" back. But, sometimes, when I think o" the luk i" the laddie"s e"e, d"ye knaw, it comes to me that, me"be--" The man"s voice trailed into silence as his gaze became fixed upon the moving black specks that appeared far down the Yukon trail. Dutch Henry"s gaze followed the big Scotchman"s.
"Look, Mac! Look!" he cried excitedly. "Them dogs!" And, almost at the same instant, with a roar like the bellow of a bull, McDougall sprang down the trail between the straggling cabins of Ten Bow, with Dutch Henry pounding along in his wake. Before the two had covered half the length of the camp other men joined them, running and yelling--though they knew not why they ran. Cabins and shafts were deserted and all Ten Bow strung out on the trail to meet the rapidly approaching dog teams.
And when they did meet, a half-mile beyond the camp, Connie was rushed from his feet by the wildly yelling crowd and carried triumphantly into Ten Bow upon the broad shoulders of the big men of the North. For, as McDougall had said, word had come down from Eagle, and now, not because he was Sam Morgan"s boy, but for his own grit and pluck and courage, Connie Morgan had won his place among the sourdoughs of the silent land.
"Know a man name of Misteh Squigg?" asked Waseche Bill of McDougall, as half a dozen men sat late that night about the stove in the little cabin that had lain deserted all through the winter.
"Yes, I ken the mon--an" na gude o" him, neither, wi" his leetle shifty e"en. I"ve mistrusted um fr" the time I furst seed um. D"ye ken, laddie, t"was him tried to drive ye fr" yer claim wi" his lawyer"s drivvle, whilst Waseche was down to Hesitation?" Connie nodded, and McDougall continued: "I sent him about his business i" jig time, an" na more was he seed i" Ten Bow till a matter o" three or four months agane up he pops wi" a half-breed that"s workin" f"r um. He bought Dave Crampton"s claim an" has be"n workin" ut since. Why d"ye ask?" For answer Waseche motioned to the Indian who sat upon his blanket spread upon the floor:
"Kobuk, go fetch Pete Mateese. An" don"t let Misteh Squigg know yo"
fetchin" him." The Indian arose and pa.s.sed noiselessly out into the night. A quarter of an hour later he returned, closely followed by a huge half-breed with mild, ox-like eyes, who smiled broadly upon the a.s.sembly.
"Heem Pete Mateese," grunted the Indian, and sank again to his blanket.
Waseche Bill regarded the big, simple-minded half-breed intently, and then flashed the question:
"Wheah is Carlson?" Instantly the smile faded from the man"s face and a look of deep sorrow darkened his eyes.
"Lillimuit," he answered, sadly. "On Ignatook he dig for de gol"." The half-breed looked about him upon the faces of the men who wondered what it was all about.
"Go on," encouraged Waseche, "tell more."
"De Ignatook, she don" freeze--she wa"m. De white Injun, she don" go dare--she "fraid. We go dare, me an" Carlson, she ma pardner, an" she say de gol" ees here. Bimby, de grub git low an" Carlson sen" me for more. Dat two winter ago. I tak" de gol" een one can an" I mak" eet t"rough to Eagle by Tatonduk divide. Den I see Meestaire Squeeg. He say he tak" de gol" an" buy de grub so I not git cheat. Den she los" de gol". She ver" sorry, an" she say y"u com" work for me, fi" dollaire a day an" grub, an" pret" soon y"u mak" "nough to go back to y"u pardner.
Meestaire Squeeg, she buy my dog--feefty dollaire apiece--four hunder"
dollaire--an" she say she keep de money so I no los"--I no git cheat.
An" she say de money she hav" eentrees", ten p"cent. So me, I go "long an" work for heem an" we clean oop good on Turtle Creek. Den we com" Ten Bow an" Meestaire Squeeg, she buy de claim, an" I say I lak de money now, I got "nough. I tak" de grub to Carlson. But Meestaire Squeeg she say, no, y"u ain"t got no money--de eentrees" she eat dat money all oop.
She count oop fas", ten p"cent, she say. So I work som" more, but all de tam de eentrees" she eat me oop. Eef eet ain"t for de eentrees" I mak"
"nough to tak" de grub to Carlson."
The big men and the one small boy in the little cabin listened intently to the half-breed"s simply told tale. When he finished Waseche Bill cleared his throat and glanced from one to the other of the silent listeners.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "Between them walked a little, rat-faced man. The man was Mr. Squigg."]
"Boys," he said, "Carlson is dead. He died alone--way out yondeh in the Lillimuit. He died huntin" fo" Pete Mateese, his pahdneh that didn"t come back. Befo" he died he found the gold he know"d was theah. We seen the gold, an" it"s _cached_ theah yet, jest wheah he done left it.
Carlson was a _man_. If Pete Mateese had went back, he"d of be"n livin"
now. An" Pete Mateese would of went back if he"d of be"n let alone." He ceased speaking and, without a word, Big McDougall and d.i.c.k Colton rose from their chairs and pa.s.sed out into the night. The little clock ticked monotonously while the others waited. Presently the two returned, and between them walked a little, rat-faced man. The man was Mr. Squigg, and as he entered, his slit-like eyes blinked rapidly in the lamp-light, and shot nervous, venomous glances upon the faces of the occupants of the cabin. At sight of Pete Mateese his face flushed, then paled, and his thin lips curled backward from his teeth.
"What you doin" here?" he rasped.
"He was sent fo", Misteh Squigg, same as yo" was," drawled Waseche Bill.
"This is an outrage!" squeaked the man. "Who are you? And what right have you got to bring folks here against their will?"