XVII
INDIAN JAKE'S SURPRISE
David and Andy had agreed to sleep later on Christmas morning. Thiswas to be a day of rest and recreation. Sleeping late meant, to them,until break of day. But Indian Jake arose at the usual early hour, andhis movements aroused the boys, and through force of habit they sat upin their bunk.
"No need of you fellers gettin' up yet unless you want to," saidIndian Jake cheerfully. "I had some things I wanted t' do, so I got upt' get un done before breakfast. I'll call you when breakfast isready. This is Christmas, you know."
"Thank you, Jake," yawned David, snuggling back into his sleeping bag."I'm thinkin' I'll take another snooze, then. Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas to both of you!" broke in Andy, who, followingDavid's example, settled down again into his bag. "I'm thinkin' I'llsnooze some more, too."
"The same to you, lads! I'll call you when I'm through fussin'around." The half-breed spoke with unusual heartiness and good nature.It was evident that his mood of silence and sullen indifference ofthe previous evening had passed, and that he was in an excellent frameof mind.
Indian Jake proceeded at once to put flour into the mixing pan, and toknead a quantity of dough. Then, assuring himself by their heavybreathing that the boys were soundly sleeping, he cautiously drew frombeneath his bunk a two-quart covered pail that served him, when on thetrail, as a cooking kettle. Lifting the cover, he examined thecontents.
"They're all right," he said. "They'll do. They've been froze eversince I picked 'em in September."
He now lay down, side by side, two of the boards used for stretchingfox pelts, and cutting a piece of dough from the mass in the mixingpan, he placed it upon the boards, and proceeded to roll it thin withthe end of a round, dry stick. This done to his satisfaction, heturned up the edges of the dough on all sides, and poured upon it thecontents of the pail, which proved to be cranberries. These he spreadevenly over the dough, and rolling it up, placed it in a small bag ofcotton cloth which he produced from his kit bag. The bag containingdough and berries, was now deposited in the tin pail, the coverreplaced, and the pail set behind the stove.
"The lads'll never look into that," he observed, "and she'll be safeenough there, and won't get chilled till I wants her."
He again reached under his bunk and drew forth a package which he haddeposited there with the kettle and other personal belongings upon hisarrival the previous evening. Looking furtively, to make certain theboys were not awake and observing him, he undid this, and thereappeared a big fat goose, all picked and cleaned. He proceeded at onceto cut this into sections, which he dropped into the large cookingkettle which was one of the furnishings of the tilt.
"There," he said, after covering the goose with cold water, puttingthe lid on the kettle and placing it beside the other, behind thestove, "she's froze pretty hard, but that'll draw th' frost out, and Ican set her on when I'm ready, and cook her in the same water."
Turning then to the dough remaining in the pan, he began to mould itinto cakes, and fry it after the usual fashion.
"Plum duff!" he muttered to himself as he placed the frying pan on thestove. "If we're goin' t' keep Christmas we may's well keep her right,and surprisin' is a part of keepin' her. 'Twon't do any harm t'surprise 'em, and make 'em feel good. They'll like me better for it.They like me pretty well now. They brought the fur down, and I didn'thave t' show 'em what I had. I wonder how much they'd like me if theyknew what I'm plannin' t' do when we goes out in th' spring!"
When Indian Jake had finished bread baking it was broad daylight, andwhen presently he called the boys several loaves of the hot bread wereranged upon a board by the stove, tea was made and caribou steakswere frying, and the tilt was filled with the pleasant odor ofcooking.
"Oh, but it smells good!" exclaimed Andy, springing out of his bunk.
"I feel like I could eat a whole deer!" declared David.
"Well, get washed up, then!" grinned Indian Jake "Breakfast is readyand waitin'."
A storm had sprung up in the night. As they ate they could hear thewind howling around the tilt, and dashing snow in spiteful gustsagainst the door. But with the cheerful, crackling fire in the stovethey were as warm and cozy as any one could wish, and after breakfast,when Indian Jake lighted his pipe and the boys snuggled down in vastand luxurious contentment, Andy remarked:
"'Tis fine t' feel we can 'bide inside, and don't have t' go out inth' snow t' cut wood or anything. 'Tis a fine day for Christmas."
They discussed the furs they had accumulated, and what they werelikely to get before the season closed, and the price the furs wouldbring, and the boys were made vastly happy by Indian Jake'sreassurance that they already had, he was quite certain, enough to paythe expenses of Jamie's operation. Then it was quite natural theyshould be deeply concerned about their father's broken leg, andwhether it was healing, and whether or not the mist in Jamie's eyeswas continuing to thicken. Indian Jake was wholly optimistic.
"Your father's up and about before this," he cheered. "He's feedin'th' dogs and 'tendin' t' things, and like as not doin' some huntin'close by Th' Jug. There's no need worryin' about Jamie's eyes, either.Doctor Joe's lookin' out for them. He'll see to 'em and take care of'em. He'll never let th' lad go blind." Indian Jake's positive mannerlent this assurance the character of certainty. It seemed to removefrom the day the last cloud, and they fell to speculating upon whatthe folk were doing at The Jug, and how they were enjoying theChristmas day.
And thus they talked of this and that until at length Indian Jakeannounced that it was time to "think of dinner," and reaching behindthe stove brought forth the big kettle containing the goose, and setit upon the fire, after taking a surreptitious peek under the cover.
"What'll we have for dinner?" asked David. "I'm gettin' hungryalready."
"Meat and other things. They's no knowin' what all," answered IndianJake cautiously.
"What'll there be t' have besides meat?" asked Andy curiously.
"Whitefish, maybe--and other things. But I don't want any questionsasked," warned Indian Jake. "_I'm_ gettin' dinner. You'll see what wehave when th' time comes."
Indian Jake was most mysterious, and he was in great good humor withit all. The boys were keyed to a high state of expectancy. Somethingunusual was surely in store for them. The kettle boiled and in duetime sent forth a most delicious and appetizing odor. The boysspeculated and endeavored to identify the odor until suddenly David,with a happy thought, exclaimed:
"She smells like goose!"
"Where'd I be gettin' goose _this_ time o' year?" asked Indian Jake,as though it were a most preposterous suggestion. "Didn't we eat allthe geese we had frozen up after the bear's meat was gone?"
"Aye," admitted David regretfully, "we ate un all; but she _smells_wonderfully like goose, and I wish she _were_ goose!"
"She ain't deer's meat, _what_ever!" declared Andy.
"You'll see when the time comes," was all the satisfaction Indian Jakewould give them, as he partially lifted the lid and threw some saltinto the kettle as seasoning. Then, pouring boiling water into thekettle containing the pudding, he placed it also on the stove.
"What's in _that_, now?" asked Andy.
"They's no tellin'," Indian Jake grinned. "They might be 'mostanything. Davy, get a pan of whitefish ready to fry, whilst I mix somedumplings for th' big kettle. We'll start in with whitefish."
The boys could scarcely contain their curiosity. The mystery wasthickening, and the odor of goose was growing more appealing. Evenwhen Indian Jake dropped the dumplings into the kettle, and they tookbig whiffs when he lifted the lid, they could make nothing of it.
"Oh-h-!" breathed Andy ecstatically. "But that smells good! And I'mhungrier'n I ever was in my life!"
"So be I!" declared David, turning the fish.
Indian Jake brewed the tea, and at last dinner was ready.
"Don't eat too much of th' fish," he cautioned. "That's just astarter."
And so maintaining his air of myste
ry, and keeping the boys insuspense until the last moment, he lifted the cover from the kettle atthe proper time with the announcement:
"It's goose, lads, with dumplin's. You guessed right."
"Oh! Goose! Goose!" exploded Andy.
"I thought she smelled wonderfully like goose!" exclaimed David.
Indian Jake grinned broadly.
"This is just the best Christmas dinner we ever could have!" enthusedAndy, as Indian Jake dished him a liberal portion.
"Where'd you get un, Jake?" asked David, as Indian Jake filled hisplate. "After the bear's meat were gone I were thinkin' we ate th'last goose we had."
"I shot un just before th' freeze up," explained Indian Jake. "I washuntin' up near where my first tilt is, and I left un in th' tiltwhere she froze up and kept good, and I kept un for a Christmas feed.And now we're havin' th' feed!"
But it _was_ a dinner! And how they ate! They were sure the goose wasevery whit as good as though it had been fresh killed! It was fat andtender as ever a goose could be, and Indian Jake explained that whileit was a big goose, it was a young one! And the dumplings! They werelight and fluffy, and there was plenty of gravy to cover them!
"Don't eat too much, now!" warned Indian Jake. "Save room for what'scomin'!"
Something was surely coming! Whatever it was, it bobbed merrily in thekettle, making the cover dance and jingle a lively tune. At lastIndian Jake arose, and, taking the mixing pan, cleaned and dried itcarefully.
The boys were on tiptoes, with curiosity and expectation. Indian Jakehad never done anything with so much deliberation in his life!Satisfied, finally, that the pan was quite dry, he lifted the lid ofthe kettle and disclosed a cotton bag filled almost to bursting. Withthe point of his sheath knife he lifted the tied end of the bagcautiously, seized it quickly, and transferred the bag from theboiling water into the pan.
"Duff!" shouted Andy. "Plum duff!"
"Um-m-m! Plum duff!" echoed David.
Indian Jake ripped the bag its length, and with a dexterous movementlifted it, leaving the pudding naked, and disclosed in all its glory,announcing as he did so:
"Cranberry puddin'!"
Then he cut it into three big portions, and covering each withmolasses, in lieu of sauce, passed one to each of the boys.
"There 'tis," he said. "Go to un, and see how you like un!"
Like it! They were both quite sure they had never eaten _such_ apudding in all their life. Andy declared it "A wonderful lot betterthan plum duff!" It was a fit crown for the dinner.
Indian Jake explained that he had picked the berries one day when theywere making a portage along the Nascaupee River. He had put them inthe tea pail which he used on his trail, and there he found them whenhe opened the pail at his first tilt. They were frozen, and he stowedthem away with other things under his bunk, and quite forgot themuntil he heard Andy wishing for plum duff on the day they killed thecaribou.
"Then I makes up my mind if you wants plum duff so bad, we'll use t'berries and have some," he concluded.
"You've been thinkin' up a wonderful lot o' surprises for us," saidAndy appreciatively.
The wind continued to howl and the snow to drift outside, but ittroubled them not in the least. They were as snug and warm andsatisfied as ever mortals can be. They were as happy, too--only Davidand Andy complained that they had eaten too much. But that ischaracteristic of boys the world over, on such occasions. And as forIndian Jake, he had reason to be the happiest of the three, for thereis no happiness so complete as that which comes from giving otherspleasure.
And if it were to be measured by appreciation rather than by varietyor quality of cooking, or manner of service, I daresay nowhere in allthe world was a better dinner served that Christmas day than in thelittle Narrows tilt on Seal Lake, in the heart of the Labradorwilderness.