CHAPTER TWENTY.
MORE SURPRISING DISCOVERIES.
While they were thus occupied, a cry was heard to ring through theforest. The Indian laid his hand on his gun, raised his head, which heturned to one side in a listening attitude, and sat as still as a darkstatue. The only motion that could be detected in the man was a slightaction in his distended nostrils as he breathed gently.
This attitude was but momentary, however, for the cry was repeated ("Hi!Nelly, hi!") in clear silvery tones, and Wapaw smiled as he recognisedRoy's voice, and quietly resumed his former occupation.
Nelly bounded up at once, and ran out to receive her brother, and tellhim of the arrival of their old friend.
She slipped on her snow-shoes, and went off in the direction of the cry.On rounding the foot of a cliff she discovered Roy, standing as if hehad been petrified, with his eyes glaring at the snow with a mingledlook of surprise and alarm.
Nelly's step roused him.
"Ho! Nell," he cried, giving vent to a deep sigh of relief, "I'mthankful to see you--but look here. What snow-shoe made _this_ track?I came on it just this moment, and it pulled me up slick, I can tellye."
Nelly at once removed Roy's alarm, and increased his surprise by tellinghim of the new arrival, who, she said, was friendly, but she did nottell him that he was an old friend.
"But come, now, what have you got for dinner, Roy?" said Nelly, with anarch smile, "for oh! I'm _so_ hungry."
Roy's countenance fell, and he looked like a convicted culprit.
"Nell, I haven't got nothin' at all."
"_What_ a pity! We must just go supperless to bed, I suppose."
"Come, lass, I see by the twinkle in your eye that you've got grubsomehow or other. Has the redskin brought some 'at with him?"
"Yes, he has brought a little; but the best fun is that I shot a birdmyself, and had it all ready beautifully cooked for your supper, whenWap--"
"Well, what d'ye mean by Wap?" inquired Roy, as Nelly stopped short.
"Nothing. I only meant to say that the Indian arrived suddenly, and ateit all up."
"The villain! Well, I'll pay him off by eatin' up some o' _his_ grub.Did he say what his name was, or where he came from?" inquired Roy.
"Never mind, you can ask him yourself," said Nelly, as they drew near tothe hut; "he seems to me to have been badly wounded by his enemies."
They stooped and entered the hut as Nelly spoke. The Indian looked upat her brother, and, uttering his wonted "Ho!" held out his hand.
"Good luck to ye!" cried Roy, grasping it and shaking it with a feelingof hearty hospitality. "It's good to see yer face, though it _is_ astrange un; but--hallo!--I say--yer face ain't so strange, after all!--what! Why, you're not Wap--Wap--Wapaw!"
The Indian displayed all his teeth, which were very numerous andremarkably white, and nodded his head gently.
"Well now, that beats everything!" cried Roy, seizing the Indian's handagain and shaking it violently; then, turning to Nelly, he said, "Come,Nell, stir yer stumps and pluck two o' them birds. I'll split 'em, an'wash 'em, an' roast 'em, an' we'll all eat 'em--Wapaw'll be ready formore before it's ready for him. Jump, now, and see if we don't have afeast to-night, if we should starve to-morrow. But I say, Wapaw, don'tye think the redskins may be after you yet?"
The first part of this speech was uttered in wild glee, but the lastsentence was spoken more earnestly, as the thought occurred to him thatWapaw might have been closely pursued, for Nelly had told him of theIndian having been wounded by enemies and obliged to fly.
Wapaw shook his head, and made his young friend understand as well as hecould that there was little chance of that, as he had travelled with theutmost speed in order to distance his pursuers, and induce them to giveup the chase.
"Well, it may be as you say, friend," observed Roy, as he sat downbefore the fire and pulled off his hunting mocassins and socks, which hereplaced by lighter foot-gear more suited to the hut; "but I don't muchlike the notion o' givin' them a chance to come up and cut all ourthroats at once. It's not likely, however, that they'll be hereto-night, considerin' the pace you say you came at, so we'll make ourminds easy, but with your leave we'll cut our sticks to-morrow, an' maketracks for Fort Enterprise. We han't got much in the way o' grub tostart wi', it is true, but we have enough at least for two days' eatin',and for the rest, we have our guns, and you to be our guide."
This plan was agreed to by Wapaw, who thereupon advised that they shouldall lie down to sleep without delay. Roy, who was fatigued with hisday's exertions, agreed, and in less than half an hour the three weresound asleep.
Next morning they arose with the sun, much refreshed; and while Wapawand Nelly collected together and packed on their new sledge the fewthings that they possessed, Roy went for the last time to cast his linein Silver Lake. He was more fortunate than usual, and returned in anhour with four fine fish of about six pounds' weight each.
With this acceptable, though small, addition to their slender stock ofprovisions, they left the hut about noon, and commenced their journey,making a considerable _detour_ in order to avoid meeting with any of theIndians who might chance to have continued the pursuit of Wapaw.
That same evening, towards sunset, a party of hunters marched out of thewoods, and stood upon the shores of Silver Lake, the tracks about whichthey began to examine with particular interest. There were six of theparty, five of them being white hunters, and one an Indian. We needscarcely add that they were our friend Robin and his companions.
"I tell 'ee what it is," cried Robin, in an excited tone, "that's myNelly's fut; I'd know the prints o't among a thousand, an' it's quiteplain Roy is with her, an' that Wapaw has come on 'em, for their tracksare clear."
"Sure it looks like it," observed Larry O'Dowd, scratching his head asif in perplexity, "but the tracks is so mixed up, it ain't aisy tofoller 'em."
"See, here's a well-beaten track goin' into the wood!" cried Walter, whohad, like his companions, been searching among the bushes.
Every one followed Walter, who led the way towards the hut, which wasfinally discovered with a thin, scarcely perceptible line of smoke stillissuing from the chimney. They all stopped at once, and held back toallow Robin to advance alone. The poor man went forward with a beatingheart, and stopped abruptly at the entrance, where he stood for a fewseconds as if he were unable to go in. At length he raised the curtainand looked in; then he entered quickly.
"Gone, Walter, they're gone!" he cried; "come in, lad, and see. Here'sevidence o' my dear children everywhere. It's plain, too, that theyhave left only a few hours agone."
"True for ye, the fire's hot," said Larry, lighting his pipe from theembers in testimony of the truth of his assertion.
"They can't be far off," said Slugs, who was examining every relic ofthe absent ones with the most minute care. "The less time we lose infollerin' of 'em the better--what think ye, lad?" The Black Swan noddedhis approval of the sentiment.
"What! without sleep or supper?" cried Stiff, whose enthusiasm in thechase had long ago evaporated.
"Ay," said Robin sternly, "_I_ start _now_. Let those stop here whowill."
To do Stiff justice, his objections were never pressed home, so hecomforted himself with a quid of tobacco, and accompanied Robin and hismen with dogged resolution when they left the hut. Plunging once moreinto the forest, they followed up the track all night, as they hadalready followed it up all day.