CHAPTER XIII.
A DREADFUL CALAMITY.
Apparently, no one among the scouts was able to favor Jimmy with regardto telling what the smoke signals meant. Whoever might be responsiblefor the code used by all scouts, it had evidently not been founded onthat in use up here in the Far North, by these trappers andwoodsrangers.
"I've been trying to get the hang of it myself," Jack acknowledged; "butmust say, I'm like a man up a tree. When I begin to think I'm coming on,there's a slip, and it's all off again. How about you, Ned?"
They had stopped to talk it over. All of them were in need of abreathing spell, at any rate; and this might turn out to be a matterwell worth investigating.
The patrol leader shook his head in the negative.
"Just the same with me, Jack," he returned. "I'm mixed up enough not tobe able to say what it means, though I've got an idea they may betelling the parties at the mine what they expect to do. But we haven'tthought of one chance we've got to read the message."
"What might that be, Ned?" asked Frank.
"I don't reckon that you're carrying a lovely little code book alongwith you, now; that'll tell all about the different ways people have ofsignaling with smoke puffs?" Jimmy wanted to know.
"Perhaps Tamasjo might tell us," was all Ned said; and his simpleexplanation caused a general look of eager curiosity to be turned in thedirection of the Cree Indian.
Why, to be sure, Tamasjo had been born and raised in this Northerncountry, and very likely he had communicated with his own people many atime, when returning from a hunt, and by just such means as those menover on the Harricanaw were now using.
How silly that some one had not thought of the old Cree before. It wasas simple as turning one's hand over. Jack chuckled when he heard Teddymutter to that effect; because he remembered that when Columbusreturned, after discovering the Western Hemisphere, the envious Spanishcourtiers made remarks along the same lines. It is always easy to see athing _after_ it has been pointed out.
Frank was already turning toward Tamasjo. He found the Indian standingthere calmly watching the floating columns of smoke that wereinterrupted frequently, as those responsible for their existencemanipulated the blankets over the fires.
"What do they say, Tamasjo?" asked Frank.
The Cree guide talked fairly good English, though with something of aneffort. When indulging in any extended conversation with Francois, heinvariably resorted to his native tongue.
Turning to Francois now, he rattled off a lot of talk that soundedalmost like gibberish to the scouts, who waited for the voyageur totranslate it.
"He says zat ze smoke tell heem most of ze men haf already started overto ze mine. Eet also say zat zey will have us all in ze trap soon,"explained the French Canadian.
The boys looked at each other blankly.
"The dickens they do!" burst out Jimmy. "They'll have to get up rightearly in the morning to find us asleep. Say, he didn't tell what theyexpected to do when they sprung that fine trap, did he, Francois?"
"Nozzings, sare," responded the other, with a negative shake of hishead. "I myself haf also read ze signs pret well, but zey do not tellvat it ees zey haf do to cage us. Zere, you see ze smoke ett haf done. Izink zey must be put ze fires out."
"That leaves us nearly as much in the air as before, don't it, Ned?"Jack complained.
"Only that we've learned the men are on the way across somewhere," Frankobjected.
"And that they think they've got us up a tree, though we haven't theleast notion what kind of tree," added Teddy, thoughtfully.
Ned looked serious, but if he had ideas of his own, he did not mentionthem just then. Perhaps he thought his chums had troubles enough as itwas, without assuming any imaginary ones that might turn out to be falsealarms.
"We'd better be pushing on again, boys," he remarked, "if all of youhave swallowed what water you want from this fine spring here."
Apparently they had, for presently the column was in motion again.Somehow, even Jimmy had sobered more or less. Something about thepassing back and forth of the smoke communications must have put adamper on his spirits; though, a short time before, he had been fairlybubbling over with joy, because of the success that had recently cometheir way.
It would have been all very well for the scouts to have depended whollyon themselves had they been alone at this time; but having twoexperienced guides along, Ned was not conceited enough to think that heknew it all, and could utterly dispense with their advice.
Consequently, he did not hesitate to ask questions of Francois whenevera situation confronted them that seemed to offer two solutions. Amistake, at this stage of the game, was likely to cost them dear; andthey could really not afford to take chances of such a slip-up.
On this account, then, he kept Francois close by, and was frequentlyseen to be exchanging words with the voyageur.
It was apparent to all of them when the change of direction was made,for the sun began to loom up more to the rear, as they headed into thesoutheast.
This meant that the river must lie straight ahead now, and if theircalculation did not go amiss, they should strike it in the vicinity ofthe place where the growth of friendly reeds concealed their boats.
Habit was strong with the boys. They had for a long time now accustomedthemselves to noticing everything of interest around them on alloccasions. So it was that while they paid some attention to what lay infront much of the time, they kept pointing out objects of interest toone another as they walked along.
Now it might be a splendid chance to bag a feeding caribou, seen in aglade off to the right, and to windward, which accounted for his nothaving scented the presence of human enemies.
A little later some frisky squirrel, or it might be a sly Arctic fox,was pointed out. Birds were few in number, and consisted for the mostpart of the species of partridge that can be found up in this far-awayregion. Not a single song-bird did they see or hear, and a silence likeunto death lay upon the "bush," as the wilderness is always calledthroughout Canada.
Far up in some of the trees, noisy crows had sometimes been seen,holding a caucus; but just then even these seemed strangely absent.
These boys had known what it was to pass through a tropical jungle withits confusion of sounds that at times almost deafened one; so that thecontrast was very strong. They could understand what was meant whenexplorers talked of the "silent North;" and told how painfully quiet itwas at all times, save when some Arctic storm caused the ice floes togrind together, and portions of the bergs to crash down from their loftyheights.
"Seems to me we must be getting somewhere near that old stream," Jimmyfinally remarked, with a half-hidden groan, for he was undoubtedlybeginning to feel exceedingly tired.
Somehow, the boys turned inquiring eyes on Ned. They knew that he hadall the while been keeping a record of the distance covered, and could,therefore, give some sort of estimate as to how far away the river mightlie.
Seeing that he was expected to make an announcement, the patrol leaderappeared to do some mental calculating before giving his opinion.
"If you can keep going for about ten or fifteen minutes longer, Jimmy,"he finally remarked, cheerily, "I think, you'll find that we've arrived.Once or twice, I noticed something in the lay of things ahead, when anopening came, that seemed to tell of the river. The trees always growhigher along the course of such a stream, you know, and often you canfollow the direction of the river, without ever glimpsing the wateritself once."
"That's good news, Ned, and I'm going to get a new hustle on for thelast lap," Jimmy announced, heaving a sigh of relief that swelled fromthe very depths of his heart.
Their progress after that was not quite so rapid. This in itself wasconvincing proof to Ned that his prediction was going to be fulfilled,because, as they gradually reached the lowlands, vegetation increased,making it more difficult to push through.
"The ten minutes are up, Ned," announced Teddy, who had been taking slypeeps at his little nickel watch from time
to time.
"Well, what would you call that over there through the break in thetrees?" asked Jack, triumphantly, just as though it was his predictionthat was being fulfilled.
"The river, as sure as anything!" admitted Teddy.
"Thank goodness!" sighed Jimmy. "The only thing that's been helping mekeep up is the picture I've been drawing of a feller about my heft,squattin' amidships in that bully canoe, and bucking up against thecurrent of the old Harricanaw. How far do you think we ought to go,before making our first camp, Ned; and will we be able to cook anysupper, before turning in under our warm blankets?"
"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched!" said Frank.
"Now, what makes you try to throw cold water on a feller all the time?"complained Jimmy. "I like to see the silver linin' of the cloud, andthink of things going good. Besides, we've got to eat, haven't we; andwe left a pile of good grub along with the boats? If Ned says the word,I'm meanin' to dish up a supper that'll make us forget we're tired todeath. We c'n hide the fire, like Injuns do when in a hostile country,by makin' the same in a hole, so the light won't show any distance.How's that, Ned; am I on?"
"Wait and see," was the only comfort the other would give theenthusiastic one, and with this, Jimmy had to rest content.
With the river in plain sight, they hurried their steps. The presence ofthe water acted like an inspiration to every scout; so that no one wouldbelieve they had just been complaining of weariness.
Ned grew more wary the closer they came to the river. All he wanted tomake sure of was the location, so that he might be able to know whetherthey were above or below the place of the reeds.
Constant practice makes perfect, and Ned had so accustomed himself tofastening the prominent features of the landscape upon his memory thatonce he saw a place he never forgot it again.
In this case, if he failed to recognize anything along the bank of theriver it would prove conclusively that he had never set eyes on itbefore. In that event, they could take it for granted that this wasbelow the place where they had left the canoes.
Finally the others stopping, watched Ned scrutinizing the shore of thestream. Of course, they understood what his object must be, andnervously awaited his verdict, hoping, meanwhile, that it would befavorable, and that they were near the objects of their search.
He was only a fraction of a minute in deciding, for presently he turnedto his companions and nodded.
"We've struck the river just above the reeds," he went on to say. "Iremember noticing that tree leaning over the water. A kingfisher wassitting on it, when we came along, and flew off with a screech. And,according to my mind, the reeds will show up just around that bendthere."
"Oh! joy, bliss, and everything else that spells happiness!" declaredJimmy, waxing enthusiastic all of a sudden, when the suspense seemed tobe at an end.
They pushed on, full of hope, for after this long hike it would besomething worth while to find themselves once more seated in the canoesand gliding over the surface of the river, homeward bound, their greatmission completed.
"There they are!" exclaimed Frank, who had impetuously pushed alongahead of the rest, in his desire to be the first to glimpse the reeds.
There could be no mistake about it, for all of them recognized theconformation of the ground in the immediate neighborhood, since they hadtaken particular pains to impress the same on their minds before leavingthe spot.
Presently they had reached the border of the reed bed, with Frank stillleading, though the rest of the scouts pressed close on his heels.
Already was the first of the explorers commencing to separate the reeds,under the impression that he could take them straight to the spot wherethey had left the boats.
But Frank soon began to think he had started on the wrong tack, for hefailed to make the anticipated discovery. He stopped and looked blanklyaround him.
"Well, I declare!" he emitted, with a grunt. "I sure thought I knew thisold place, and could take you straight to the canoes; but seems likeI've got twisted around some. Things look different when you start toobserve them from the back."
"Perhaps it isn't just what you think," said Ned, quietly.
"Is there anything wrong?" demanded Jack, while poor Jimmy's lower jawfell, and he could only stand there and stare.
"The worst almost that could have happened to us," Ned replied sadly.
"The boats were here then, and have been stolen?" asked Frankbreathlessly, while he as well as the other boys turned pale withapprehension, for it was a genuine calamity that faced them now.
"Look there and there, and you'll see where they rested among thereeds," Ned told them. "Yes, and here's a piece of greasy paper Iremember seeing Jimmy toss overboard, when he was getting out of hisboat. We've struck our one bad streak, after all, boys, I'm sorry tosay. They ran on our boats, and we're left in the lurch up here, fivehundred miles from anywhere!"