CHAPTER XIV.
BLINDING THE TRAIL.
For almost a full minute nobody said a word. Indeed, the tremendousnature of this discovery seemed to have very nearly paralyzed them, sothat one and all could only stand there and stare at the places wherethey could tell their prized canoes had recently rested.
Jimmy was the first one to arouse himself, and it was hot anger thatcaused him to show so much activity.
"P'raps they haven't gone far, Ned, and if we got a hustle on we mightmanage to ketch up with the measly skunks. If they try to pack our boatsthrough the woods, they'll have a time of it, let me tell you. Are weagoin' to give chase? Oh! I'm as fresh as a daisy right now. Seems likeI could run for hours, if I had an idea I'd overtake the canoe thieves."
Ned shook his head.
"No use, Jimmy," he told the furious scout; "because they haven'tcarried our boats ashore. If you look, you'll see where they paddled outon to the river. You remember, we hid all traces of our own passage, yethere you can see a wide swath among the reeds, bending them back."
They saw that he spoke the truth, even Jimmy admitting the sad factswith a groan that seemed to well up from his shoes, it was sodisconsolate.
"Five hundred miles--_five_ hundred of 'em! Gosh!" he was heard to tellhimself, as he stood there, rubbing the side of his head, as though hefelt like one in a stupor or a dream.
"And as we haven't a single boat, of course we can't pursue them,"remarked Jack between his clinched teeth, while his eyes glitteredangrily.
"Oh! what wouldn't I have given to have come on the rascals just in theact of getting away with our boats!" breathed Frank, as he shook hisrifle, after the manner of a scout who has thrown discretion to thewinds.
"Well, let's not whimper and cry over spilt milk, anyway," said Ned, whocould always be depended on to bring the boys to their proper senses.
"That's so," echoed Jack, quick to see the importance of keeping theirsenses about them in this dilemma. "We've got to do _something_, that'ssure, and so let's get to talking it over sensibly."
"But, what can we do?" pleaded Teddy, who was not apt to prove equal toa sudden strain like this, and must depend on others more vigorous ofmind.
"Oh! before we're done considering things," promised Ned, "you'll findthat we've got a choice of a whole lot of plans. I hope we're all madeof sterner stuff than to throw out the white flag of surrender, justbecause something has gone wrong."
"Well, I should say not," declared Frank, grinding his teeth together."We're like the Old Guard, we can die, but never surrender."
"That's the stuff!" cried Jimmy, suddenly beginning to brighten upagain, as the stunning effect of the first rude shock passed away."Remember what Phil Sheridan did at Cedar Creek, when he met his army,smashed and running away? What was it he told 'em as he galloped alongthe road, headed for the battlefield? 'Face the other way, boys; facethe other way! We'll lick 'em out of their boots! We'll get back thosecamps again!' All right, and it's me that says it; well get back ourboats again, by hook or crook!"
"I hope you turn out to be a true prophet, Jimmy," said Ned. "That's oneof the plans I spoke about. Another would be to make for the shore ofthe big bay, and try to get in touch with some vessel passing, thatmight carry us to Halifax, or some other northern port, where we couldsend a message to Jack's father not to put a dollar into these fakemines."
"Sounds good to me," Teddy remarked, sucking it all in eagerly.
"Then there's another thing we might manage to do if the worst came,"proceeded Ned. "Up here there are lonely trading posts run by the HudsonBay Company, at each of which you'll find a factor in charge. If wecould only run across one of these posts, I reckon, there would be someway found for getting us down to civilization inside of a month or so."
"That long?" observed Teddy.
"What would it matter, so that we didn't have to do the grand hike?"Jimmy asked, afflicted with dizzy visions of five hundred miles oftramping over rough country, supporting themselves, meanwhile, in themost primitive fashion by shooting game, and cooking the same over firesmade with flint and steel, or the bow and stick method known to scoutsgenerally.
"Of course," added Frank, somewhat satirically, "Teddy would like tohave one of those Zeppelin airships come along and give us a lift. Iguess all of us would be glad if that happened; but the chances are sosmall, we don't want to consider 'em, do we, Ned? So here we are, facinga puzzle that's going to give us no end of trouble and work. If it washard to get in, it's going to be a much bigger job to get out again."
"It's getting late, as it is," remarked Jack, as he looked toward thewest where the sun was hovering over the horizon, and ready to take thefinal plunge, though, of course, it would not be dark for a long timeafterwards, thanks to the length of the Northern twilight in midsummer.
"First, let's get where we can look up and down the river, principallydown," was Ned's advice, "though there's a mighty slim chance that we'llsee anything of our stolen canoes."
This proved to be the case, for when they had found an elevatedposition, where it was possible to see far down the stream, there wasnot a thing in sight, save a mother duck teaching her little brood toswim and find food.
"No use, seems like; they've gone a long time back," said Jimmy.
"I wonder if that was what they told the fellows over at the mine, whenthey mentioned a trap?" observed Frank, seriously, glancing hastilyaround him at the same time, as though half expecting to see a dozenugly-faced men appear from the bushes and rocks.
"Not while Tamasjo was reading the smoke signs," Ned assured him, "or hewould have learned enough to tell us what to expect when we got here.But, first of all, we ought to move off."
"You think they'll come here later on, when they learn how we got out ofthe old mine and headed across country--is that it, Ned?" Jack queried.
"I expect it is about like this," the patrol leader replied; "one or twomen must have found our boats. For the life of me, I don't understandhow it happened, except that they were paddling along on the river, andwanting to go ashore took exactly the same notion we did--that the reedswould make a good hiding place for their craft. And, as luck would haveit, they ran on our canoes."
"No signs here to tell Francois or the Cree about how long back thisthing happened, I reckon?" Frank put in just then.
"That's where we get a hard knock," Ned continued, with a tinge ofregret in his voice; "because, as you all know, water leaves no trace.When men are fleeing from enemies, the first thing they think of is toget into a creek, and throw their pursuers, dogs and all, off the scent.So, even as clever a trailer as Tamasjo couldn't tell any better thanJimmy here whether this robbery occurred an hour ago or three of thesame."
"We're sure enough up against it this time, boys," Teddy affirmed.
"And have been on other occasions, remember, when things came out allright, and we won in the end." Jack reminded the doubter.
"Let's make up our minds we're going to beat these chaps at their owngame, and that'll be half the battle," Frank told them.
"But I think Ned is all right when he says, 'we ought to cut stick andget away from here as soon as we can,'" Jack gave as his opinion.
In fact, the guides were manifesting more or less impatience. Theyapparently understood that the enemy would be apt to turn up here again,sooner or later; and could not comprehend why the scouts should alwayswant to compare notes, before doing anything like making a change ofbase. Francois and the Cree were accustomed to making most of theirmoves through instinct; while with the scouts those same things did notcome naturally, but had to be reasoned out, which made considerabledifference.
One last look did they give toward the reeds that had promised to be sofriendly, only to betray the confidence the boys had placed in them; andafter that the little party moved off.
"But say, won't they follow after us, Ned?" asked Jimmy, when he failedto see the guides getting busy with trying to destroy all evidences oftheir passage, as he had fully expected would be t
he case.
Some of the other scouts showed by their expectant manner that they werealso wondering what it all meant. Ned took it upon himself to enlightenthem.
"If I read their meaning right," he ventured, "that is just what theywant to do at first, make the men believe we've started to tramp backover all those hundreds of miles of ground. Before long, they'll dosomething to hide the trail so only a wolf's keen scent could find it;and then we'll turn around again, so as to face toward Hudson Bay. How,Francois?"
The old voyageur had listened to the explanation offered by Ned. Hegrinned and wagged his head, as though quite tickled at the idea of theboy understanding so well what the little game was.
"Zat ees so, sare," he said. "If Jimmy he be able hold out so long,mebbe we also eat supper far away from zis place."
Hearing his name mentioned, Jimmy was up in arms. He had a reserve stockof nerve for occasions like this, which could be summoned to the fore.
"Don't bother about Jimmy, please," he told them. "Sure, when it comesto a pinch, don't he always get there with the goods? My feet can acheall they want to; but, all the same, they'll do what I say. If it's amile or six of the same, I'm good for it. But I wish I had something tognaw on meanwhile, because I'm as hungry as a starved wolf, so I am."
Frank produced a handful of crackers from his little pack, which hewillingly turned over to the other. This seemed to satisfy Jimmy; atleast, he stopped groaning and telling of his aches and pains. When theycould get his jaws to working in this fashion, he seldom allowed himselfto enter any complaint. Jimmy could be bribed to do a good many thingsby the promise of a feast at the other end.
They continued on for some little time, and then it became apparent thatFrancois and the Cree had decided the blind trail had been carried farenough.
They were seen to confer, after which the leader stepped upon a long logthat lay conveniently near by. Walking part way along this, the Indiansuddenly leaped upon a bare rock, stepped its length, found another log,passed along it and so continued, leaving not the slightest trace of atrail that could be followed, unless dogs were placed upon the scent.
"You go next, Jack," urged Ned, who wished to satisfy himself that allof the scouts were able to qualify in this round of concealing thetrail; though they had practiced it many a time when in camp.
Jack had observed every move of the agile old Indian, so that once hestarted over the same course he made short work of it.
"Teddy, you're next!" the scout leader announced.
Possibly it was with more or less trepidation that the one singled outbegan to cover the ground. But then Teddy was not a tenderfoot, even ifhe did not know as much as some of the others about woodcraft. He walkedalong the log, made the jump successfully, though falling flat on hisface when he gained the rock; managed to gain the second tree trunk, andconducted himself so cleverly on the whole that Ned gave him a wave ofapproval after he had joined the others some distance away.
Frank and Jimmy copied the actions of those who had gone before, and sofar as could be seen they did not leave any trace of their passage,though, of course, the old voyageur would look out for all that when hecame to cross, and examine the ground carefully in so doing.
Ned found no difficulty in following the rest, and then they stood on astone foundation, watching with considerable interest, while Francoisscrutinized the track to make sure they had not left some sort offootprint, or disturbed any object, however small, that might catch atrained eye and betray their little game to the enemy.
As far as possible for some little time, they were instructed to takeadvantage of every opportunity that cropped up to advance, withoutleaving tell-tale imprints behind them. That is the measure of successin "blinding a trail," and if anybody ever had it down to a science,surely a Cree Indian might be expected to. Still there was no tellingwhat might happen. Discovery was always in the air, and they must beforever on their guard against it.
Jimmy did seem to revive under the influence of his little bite, for hekept resolutely on, with set jaws and a look of grim determinationwritten large upon his freckled and rosy face.
They were heading straight toward salt water now, all of them knew;because stars had crept into view, and these boys had long since learnedto tell direction, by means of the lights in the sky, by day or night.The Polar Star shone dimly, as always, nearly directly ahead of them.Other stars they could see, such as are never gazed upon by peopleliving in the temperate climes, constellations peculiar to the northernregion of ice and snow.
"Eet is here we rest and eat!" announced Francois, after a long andarduous siege of this tramping and stumbling had been endured.
Jimmy wanted very much to make out that it was a matter of smallimportance to him whether they stopped or continued right on; butnevertheless he could not keep back the happy sigh that would wellforth; and they could hear him champing his jaws, as though trying tolearn whether they were still in condition for service, because that oneword "eat" had told him they expected to break their fast. Shortlyafterwards they were making themselves as comfortable as possible,though destitute of blankets and many other things; while the two guidesstarted a little cooking fire in a depression where it could not be seenthirty feet away.