CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
THE JOURNEY HOME RESUMED AND INTERRUPTED.
Three days more and our young friends bade farewell to Silver Lake.
Short though their stay had been, it had proved very pleasant, for itwas full of energetic labour and active preparation, besides a greatdeal of amusement, so that quite a home feeling had been aroused intheir minds, and their regret at leaving was considerable.
But after the first few miles of their journey had been accomplished,the feeling of sadness with which they set out wore away, and hopefulanticipations of being home again in a few weeks rendered them cheerful,and enabled them to proceed with vigour. The weather at starting wasfine, too, so that the night encampments in the snow were comparativelyagreeable, and the progress made during the first few days wassatisfactory.
After this, however, the good fortune of our adventurers seemed todesert them. First of all one of Nelly's snow-shoes broke down. Thisnecessitated a halt of half a day, in order to have it repaired. Thenone of Roy's snow-shoes gave way, which caused another halt. After thisa heavy snow-storm set in, rendering the walking very difficult, as theysank, snow-shoes and all, nearly to the knees at each step. A storm ofwind which arose about the same time, effectually stopped their fartheradvance, and obliged them to take to the shelter of a dense part of thewoods and encamp.
During three days and three nights the hurricane raged, and the snow wasblown up in the air and whirled about like the foam of the roaring sea;but our wanderers did not feel its effects much, for they had chosen avery sheltered spot at the foot of a large pine, which grew in a hollow,where a cliff on one side and a bluff of wood on the other rendered theblast powerless. Its fierce howling could be heard, however, if notfelt; and as the brother and sister lay at the bottom of their hole inthe snow, with their toes to the comfortable fire, they chatted muchmore cheerily than might have been expected in the midst of such ascene, and gazed upward from time to time with comparative indifferenceat the dark clouds and snow-drifts that were rushing madly overhead.
On the fourth day the gale subsided almost as quickly as it had arisen,and Roy announced that it was his intention to start. In a few minuteseverything was packed up and ready.
"I say, Nell," said Roy, just as they were about to leave the camp,"don't the sled look smaller than it used to?"
"So it does, Roy; but I suppose it's because we have eaten so muchduring the last three days."
Roy shook his head, and looked carefully round the hole they were aboutto quit.
"Don't know, lass; it seems to me as if somethin' was a-wantin'. Did yepack your own bundle very tight?"
"Yes; I think I did it tighter than usual, but I'm not very sure."
"Hum--that's it, no doubt--we've packed the sled tighter, and eaten itdown. Well, let's off now."
So saying, Roy threw the lines of the sledge over his shoulder and ledthe way, followed by his sister, whose only burden was a light blanket,fastened as a bundle to her shoulders, and a small tin can, which hungat her belt.
The country through which they passed that day was almost destitute ofwood, being a series of undulating plains, with clumps of willows andstunted trees scattered over it like islets in the sea. The land lay ina succession of ridges, or steppes, which descended from the elevatedregion they were leaving, and many parts of these ridges terminatedabruptly in sheer precipices from forty to sixty feet high.
The sun shone with dazzling brilliancy, insomuch that the travellers'eyes became slightly affected by snow-blindness. This temporaryblindness is very common in these regions, and ranges from the point ofslight dazzlement to that of total blindness; fortunately it is curableby the removal of the cause--the bright light of the sun on pure snow.Esquimaux use "goggles" or spectacles made of wood, with a narrow slitin them as a preventive of snow-blindness.
At first neither Roy nor Nelly felt much inconvenience, but towardsevening they could not see as distinctly as usual. One consequence ofthis was, that they approached a precipice without seeing it. The snowon its crest was so like to the plain of snow extending far below, thatit might have deceived one whose eyesight was not in any degreeimpaired.
The first intimation they had of their danger was the giving way of thesnow that projected over the edge of the precipice. Roy fell overheadlong, dragging the sledge with him. Nelly, who was a few feetbehind him, stood on the extreme edge of the precipice, with the pointsof her snow-shoes projecting over it. Roy uttered a cry as he fell, andhis sister stopped short. A shock of terror blanched her cheek andcaused her heart to stand still. She could not move or cry for a fewseconds, then she uttered a loud shriek and shrank backwards.
There chanced to be a stout bush or tree growing on the face of thecliff, not ten feet below the spot where the snow-wreath had broken off.Roy caught at this convulsively, and held on. Fortunately the line onhis shoulder broke, and the sledge fell into the abyss below. Had thisnot happened, it is probable that he would have been dragged from hishold of the bush. As it was, he maintained his hold, and hung for a fewseconds suspended in the air. Nelly's shriek revived him from the gushof deadly terror that seized him when he fell. He grasped the boughsabove him, and was quickly in a position of comparative security amongthe branches of the bush.
"All right, Nell," he gasped, on hearing her repeat her cry of despair."I'm holdin' on quite safe. Keep back from the edge, lass--there's nofear o' me."
"Are you sure, Roy?" cried Nelly, trembling very much, as she stretchedforward to try to catch sight of her brother.
"Ay, quite sure; but I can't get up, for there's six feet o' smooth rockabove me, an' nothin' to climb up by."
"Oh! what _shall_ I do!" cried Nelly.
"Don't get flurried--that's the main thing, lass. Let me think--ay,that's it--you've got your belt?"
"Yes."
"Well, take it off and drop the end over to me; but lie down on yourbreast, and be careful."
Nelly obeyed, and in a few seconds the end of the worsted belt thatusually encircled her waist was dangling almost within reach of herbrother. This belt was above five feet long. Roy wore one of similarmaterial and length. He untied it, and then sought to lay hold of theother. With some difficulty, and much risk of falling, he succeeded,and fastened his own belt to it firmly.
"Now, Nell, haul up a little bit--hold! enough."
"What am I to do now?" asked Nell, piteously; "I cannot pull you up, youknow."
"Of course not; but take your snow-shoe and dig down to the rocks--you'll find somethin', I dare say, to tie the belts to. Cheer up, lass,and go at it."
Thus encouraged, the active little girl soon cleared away the snow untilshe reached the ground, where she found several roots of shrubs thatseemed quite strong enough for her purpose. To one of these she tiedthe end of her belt, and Roy, being an athletic lad, hauled himself up,hand over hand, until he gained a place of safety.
"But the sledge is gone," cried Nelly, pausing suddenly in the midst ofher congratulations.
"Ay, and the grub," said Roy, with a blank look.
This was indeed too true, and on examination it was found that thingswere even worse than had been anticipated, for the sledge had fallen ona ledge, half way down the precipice, that was absolutely inaccessibleeither from above or below. An hour was spent in ascertaining this,beyond all doubt, and then Roy determined to return at once to theirlast encampment to gather the scraps they had thrown away or left behindas useless.
That night they went supperless to rest. Next morning, they set outwith heavy hearts for the encampment of the previous day. On reachingit, and searching carefully, they found that one of the bundles of drymeat had been forgotten. This accounted for the lightness of thesledge, and, at the same time, revived their drooping spirits.
"What is to be done now?" inquired Nelly.
"Return to Silver Lake," said Roy, promptly. "We must go back, fish andhunt again until we have another supply o' grub, and then begin ourjourney once more."
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Sadly and slowly they retraced their steps. Do what he would Roy couldnot cheer up his sister's spirits. She felt that her back was turnedtowards her father's house--her mother's home--and every step took herfarther from it.
It was a lovely evening, about sunset, when they reached Silver Lake,and found the hut as they had left it, and enough of old scraps ofprovisions to afford a sufficient meal.
That night they ate their supper in a more cheerful frame of mind. Nextday they breakfasted almost with a feeling of heartiness, and when theywent out to resume their fishing, and to set snares and make traps, theold feeling of hopefulness returned. Ere long, hope became again sostrong in their ardent young hearts, that they laughed and talked andsported as they had done during the period of their first residencethere.
At first they were so anxious to make up the lost quantity of food thatthey did little else but fish, hunt, and dry their provisions whenobtained; but after a few days they had procured such an ample supplythat they took to shoosking again--having succeeded in making a newsledge. But a thaw came suddenly and spoiled all their fish. A wolfcarried off the greater part of their dried meat one day while they wereabsent from the hut. After this the frost set in with extreme violence,game became more scarce, and fish did not take the bait so readily, sothat, although they procured more than enough for present consumption,they were slow in accumulating a travelling store; and thus it came topass that November found Roy and Nelly still toiling wearily, yethopefully, on the shores of Silver Lake.