The Frontier Fort

  CHAPTER TWO.

  Burnett was duly impressed with a sense of his responsibilities. Hereally wished to send assistance to Fort Duncan, but felt the importanceof conveying his charge safely to Fort Edmonton, and he was too prudentto run any risk, by weakening his escort. He, therefore, determined tocommence the journey at an earlier hour than usual, and to push forwardas fast as possible. He recollected the half-breeds from whom they hadparted only three days before, and whom they had left encamped. If theycould be overtaken, some of them might be induced to go to Fort Duncanby the prospect of a brush with their sworn enemies, the Blackfeet."Perhaps this young Englishman will agree to go back and obtain theirassistance, and he will render far greater service to the captain thanif he were to go alone," thought Burnett. "I will propose the plan tohim to-morrow morning, and allow Allan Keith to accompany him. The twoseem to pull well together; and as soon as we get to Edmonton we willsend off as many men as can be spared."

  Satisfied with his plan, Burnett pulled his blanket round him, and wasjust dropping off to sleep, when he heard the distant neigh of a horse.

  "That was not one of our animals!" he exclaimed, starting to his feet.As he did so, he saw the old man and his Indian boy sitting up.

  "What sound was that, Sass?" he asked.

  "Blackfeet are not far off, I guess," was the answer.

  Loraine, who had been unable to sleep, hearing what was said, came outof his tent.

  "Is there a chance of the camp being attacked?" he asked.

  "They'll not attack the camp, but they'll steal our horses if they can,"answered Burnett.

  "Depend on that; if we don't keep a look-out they'll have half of themaway before morning," observed Sass; and turning to Loraine, he added,"You said just now that you caught sight of a figure on the top of thehill, and as that was not Greensnake or me, I have a notion that it wasone of the Blackfeet."

  "Why didn't you tell me of that before?" inquired Burnett.

  "Because I thought I was mistaken, and that it was not of sufficientconsequence to arouse you," answered Loraine.

  "It may be of the greatest importance; even now the rascals may haveenticed off some of our horses," exclaimed Burnett, taking his gun, andgoing up to where the men lay asleep.

  A light touch on the shoulder, and a whisper in the ear, were sufficientto arouse them. He having also called up the Doctor and the two clerks,hurried on to where the men were on watch outside. They also had heardthe sounds, and were on the alert. They were certain that as yet allthe horses were safe. They were joined by most of the other men; two orthree only, by Burnett's orders, having remained behind to extinguishthe fires.

  Just at this juncture several horses, feeding on the rich pasture not ahundred yards off, came galloping up, and would have passed the camp hadnot the men rushed out and stopped them. This proved without doubt thatenemies were in the neighbourhood. Accordingly, several men,well-armed, went out and brought up the remainder of the horses, whichthey at once tethered either to the carts or to stakes firmly fixed inthe ground; then each with his gun loaded with buck-shot, crawled outthrough the long grass, so that they could not be seen, even by thesharp eyes of the Blackfeet, and arranged themselves in a circle at thedistance of about eighty yards from the camp. The night was dark, andperfect silence was maintained, so that even the most watchful enemycould not have discovered what the travellers were about.

  Burnett having thus made all necessary arrangements for the security ofthe camp, directed Allan Keith and Maloney each to take his turn inwatching, and again lay down, his example being followed by the rest ofthe party who were not required on duty. The most sharp-eyed Redskinswould have found it difficult to discover what the travellers wereabout. Allan Keith was the only person who remained on foot. Havingvisited the horses, and ascertained that the men in charge of them wereawake, he went on, intending to make the circuit of the camp, to assurehimself that the men were on the alert. Thinking it unnecessary tocrawl along the ground, from supposing that in the darkness he could notbe seen at any distance, he walked upright, and had just got close tothe outer circle where he expected to find one of the men on watch, whenan arrow whistled close to his head. The scout, who must have beenclose in front of him, immediately began to crawl along, like a snakethrough the grass, in the direction whence the arrow had come.

  Allan was as courageous as most persons; but it would have been folly tohave exposed himself to the risk of another shot. He, therefore, wiselycrouched down in the spot which had been occupied by the man who hadgone forward in pursuit of the intruder. He listened with open ears,but not a sound could he hear, nor could his eyes pierce the darknessbeyond a few yards from where he lay. He waited and waited, until hebegan to fear that the scout must have been caught by the savages, andkilled before he had had time to cry out. That the other scouts were onthe watch, he had no doubt, and would take care that no Indiansapproached without being discovered. He had remained in his recumbentposition for some time, when he at length heard a rustling in the grass,and the scout rejoined him.

  "The coquin has escaped us, monsieur," whispered the Canadian. "I wishthat I had shot him, but by firing I should have discovered ourposition, and we should have had a score of arrows or bullets flyingabout our ears."

  After the warning he had received, Allan, imitating the example of thescout, crawled along the ground to the different posts, and finding allthe men on the alert, returned in the same fashion to the camp.

  Night went by, and no other alarm was raised. At early dawn Burnett,having aroused the whole camp, gave them the information Isaac Sass hadbrought.

  There was no lack of volunteers, among whom was Allan Keith, eager toaccompany Loraine to Fort Duncan. He was somewhat less disappointedthan would otherwise have been the case at being refused permission togo, when Burnett explained his plan of sending him in search of thehalf-breed hunters, to collect among them as many recruits as he couldobtain to increase the garrison at Fort Duncan.

  "I, at all events, will go with you!" exclaimed Hector, turning toLoraine. "We have a compass, and as I know the direction in which thefort lies, I shall not be afraid of missing my way."

  "You forget the Redskins, and that you must be on your guard at night,or you'll have your horses stolen," observed old Sass. "You will alsohave to look out for game to support yourselves. However, if you takeGreensnake with you, he'll help you to kill game, and will give duenotice if enemies are near you."

  "Yes, although I should have been glad to have had more companions, I amready to set out at once," said Loraine.

  "I am sorry I cannot spare any of my men," observed Burnett. "Two orthree, indeed, would make but little difference, and the smaller yourparty the better for safety's sake. However, you must let your horsesbreakfast, for they got but little feeding last night, thanks to theBlackfeet."

  While these and other arrangements were being made, the scouts came in.It was evident, they reported, from the tracks round the camp, that theyhad been surrounded by a large band, who would probably have stolen alltheir horses had they not been on their guard. The scouts, they added,had followed to a considerable distance the tracks which led away to thewestward, and it was their opinion that the Indians would keep ahead,and not make another attempt to steal the horses till they fancied thatthe party were off their guard. It was so far satisfactory to havediscovered the direction the Indians had taken, as Loraine might thusproceed southward and Allan Keith make his way eastward on the trail ofthe buffalo hunters, without the risk of encountering them.

  "I will spare no exertion to get as soon as possible to the fort with asmany men as I can induce to accompany me," said Allan, as he warmlyshook hands with Loraine. "I heartily wish that I could have gone withyou; but I must obey the orders of my chief. I am well acquainted withthe family of Captain Mackintosh; pray give them my respects, and sayhow deeply I regret not being able to proceed at once to the fort."

  Allan looked somewhat conscious as he said this
. Loraine promised todeliver his messages; and the horses having now had time to feed, thethree parties separated. Allan, accompanied by Pierre, rode off to theeastward; Mr Burnett and the train continued their journey to the west;while Loraine and his two companions took a southerly course.

  "Good-bye, good-bye, my young friends," cried Dr McCrab, after riding ashort distance with Loraine and Hector. "Whatever you do; don't let theRedskins take your scalps, my boys. Keep your powder dry, and yourlarder well stored, and you'll get through. I heartily wish that Icould go with you; but I ride too heavy a weight, and should certainlydelay you if we had to run for it with a pack of howling savages at ourtails: the chances are, I should come off second best," said thegood-natured medico, when, shaking hands, he turned his horse's head andgalloped off to overtake the train brought up by Isaac Sass and his packanimals. The country being level, the train could be seen for a longdistance, creeping on like a huge snake through the grass.

  As Loraine looked round, a uniform and well-defined horizon met his eye.So destitute was the country in general of all landmarks, that he wasthankful to have a good compass to guide his course, in addition to theassistance of the young hump-backed Indian, who depended on his instinctalone. Loraine and Hector had each a spare horse, which carried theirchanges of clothes, a store of powder and shot, and such provisions andcooking utensils as they were likely to require.

  The young Indian frequently raised himself in his stirrups, andsometimes even stood upon the back of his horse, to take a look round,but dropped quickly down again into his saddle, satisfied that no foeswere in the neighbourhood.

  "It was fortunate that the Blackfeet came about the camp last night, andthen took themselves off to the westward, as we are the less likely tohave them on our trail," observed Hector, who was highly delighted to beable to go home at once, instead of having to make a long circuit, as hehad expected, through Edmonton. Though he had heard the report of oldSass, he had not realised the danger in which his family might beplaced.

  He rattled on as was his wont, never failing to find subjects ofconversation. "I did not suppose that there would be much risk, or Ishould not have proposed your coming with me," observed Loraine. "Iwas, besides, unwilling to make my appearance at the fort without you,lest Captain Mackintosh should look upon me as an impostor."

  "I am very sure my father would not do that, or my mother or sistereither, or Sybil. They'll make a good deal of you, I can tell you; forit is not often they see a gentleman at the fort, except Allan Keith,who comes whenever he can. He is, I suspect, a great admirer of mysister; and I am not surprised, for she is a dear, good girl, and worthyof the best fellow in the country."

  "Which sister?" very naturally asked Loraine. "You showed me theportraits of two."

  "I have only one. Sybil is not really my sister, though I called herso, and she is like a sister to us all. My father and mother adoptedher before Effie or any of us were born; and as they were as fond of heras they could have been had she been their own child, she has lived onwith us ever since. She's as pretty as she looks in her portrait, andas good and bright as she is pretty, and we boys love her as much as wedo Effie."

  This account naturally increased Loraine's desire to see the original ofthe beautiful picture; but a sense of delicacy prevented him furtherquestioning his young companion about her, being well assured that hewould before long tell him all he knew. Hector, indeed, talked away forthe whole party, for Greensnake never uttered a word except fromabsolute necessity, and then it was in Cree. Hector, however,remembered enough to make out the meaning, having known the languagebefore he went to school, and he translated what was said to Loraine.They had got to some distance from the camp, when Hector, turning round,observed two animals following.

  "Holloa! What are these?" he exclaimed. "Can they be wolves?"

  "If they are," said Loraine, "and they come near enough, we must shootthem, or they may interfere with our horses at night, especially as theyare likely to pick up companions on the way."

  "Very well; then we will stop at once, and do you fire at one of thebrutes, and I will try to kill the other," said Hector. "What do yousay, Greensnake?" he asked in Cree.

  The hump-backed Indian grunted out an unintelligible reply, and pointedahead.

  "He doesn't think it worth while to stop," remarked Hector.

  "Nor do I," said Loraine; and they accordingly pushed on at the pacethey had before been going.

  After a while, Hector, looking back, exclaimed, "Why, they are notwolves at all, but a couple of dogs--Old Buster, who belongs to theDoctor, and Dan Maloney's Muskey! They took a great fancy to me, for Iused to play with them; but I had no idea of enticing them away fromtheir masters."

  "They must have found out that we are not with the train, and bolting,followed up our trail," remarked Loraine. "We cannot drive them backnow."

  The dogs were quickly up to the riders, and seemed highly delighted tofind Hector, jumping up on either side of him.

  The prairie which Loraine and his companions were traversing was almosttreeless; but not many years before it had been covered with a pineforest, destroyed by one of the ruthless prairie fires which so oftensweep over the north-west territory. Here and there, however, by thesides of streams, or pools, numerous aspens--the fastest growing treesin that region--had again sprung up, their stems being of considerablethickness, while their light foliage gave a cheerful aspect to theotherwise dreary scenery. When the ground allowed it, they occasionallyput their horses into a gallop--a pace well suited to their tempers. Atthe same time, they knew that they must not run the risk of knocking uptheir animals, or they would fail in their object of making a quickjourney.

  They had gone on for some time, when Hector's tough little horsesuddenly came down, and threw him over its head.

  "Don't care for me," he cried; "but I'm afraid my horse has broken itsleg."

  The animal had put its foot into a badger-hole. After making someviolent struggles, however, it recovered itself, and Hector, gettinghold of its bridle, remounted.

  "We must keep a better look-out for the badger-holes. It wouldn't bepleasant to have to continue our journey on foot," he said, laughing.

  Having stopped by the side of a pool to take a mid-day meal, give theirhorses water, and allow them to crop as much grass as they could duringthe time, the travellers pushed on until nightfall, when they encampedunder shelter of a grove of aspens, close to a stream, which flowed intothe South Saskatchewan. By Greensnake's advice, only a small fire waslighted, which was to be put out when they had cooked their supper.

  As soon as he had finished his meal, the Indian, taking his blanket,went and lay down close to where the horses which had been hobbled werefeeding; while Loraine and Hector rolled themselves in their buffalorobes, leaving the two dogs to keep watch by their sides.