XXIII UNWELCOME VISITORS
The period of bright, calm weather seemed to be over. The next morningwas dark and cloudy, with a raw wind. In accordance with Louis' plan, heand Walter climbed Buffalo Head again. At the foot of the bare rockslope, they succeeded in picking up the trail from the painted skull. Twomen, Louis concluded, had come and gone that way. He traced the traileasily enough for a short distance, but in the woods it became confusedwith that of several wolves. Probably the beasts had followed the men ata safe distance. Where the snow lay deep the men had taken to snowshoes.
By the time the lads had reached a puzzling spot, where the tracks seemedto branch into two trails, the threat of the morning had been fulfilled.Snow was falling. Selecting the more distinct trail, Louis led on, butthe thick-falling flakes were rapidly obliterating the tracks. He grewmore and more doubtful of them, until at last he was sure that he hadlost the trail entirely. After circling about, attempting in vain to pickit up, he gave up the chase.
"It is of no use to go on," he said to his companion. "If this snow hadwaited a few hours,--but no, it comes at just the wrong time." With aresigned shrug of his shoulders, he turned back.
For a time the snow came thick and fast, but before the boys werehalf-way home, it had almost ceased. When they reached the cabin, thewind had changed and the sun was shining. The storm had lasted just longenough to defeat their purpose. Their hard tramp had been for nothing.The stay-at-home, however, had news; news he was impatient to tell.
"I have had a visitor," he burst out the moment Louis opened the door.
"A visitor!"
"A visitor?" echoed Walter, entering close behind his comrade.
"Yes, and I have found out about the new skull on Buffalo Head."
"That is more than we have done," Louis admitted, shaking the snow fromhis capote. "There have been Indians here?"
"No, a white man."
Louis and Walter were too amazed even to exclaim. They staredunbelievingly at Neil.
"A white man," the Scotch boy repeated. "He came a little while after youleft. I didn't know he was anywhere around till he knocked on the door. I_was_ surprised, I can tell you, when I heard that knock. An Indian wouldhave walked right in, so, even before I opened the door, I knew theremust be a white man there. And there was,--a broad-shouldered fellow witha shaggy beard. He said '_Bo jou_' and I said '_Bo jou_, come in.' Thenwe stood and looked at each other. Just as I opened my mouth to ask himwhere he came from, he began asking me questions."
"What kind of questions?" Louis interrupted.
"Who I was, and what I was doing here, if I was trapping or trading withthe Indians. He could see the pelts all around the room. He was so sharpabout it, I thought he might be a Hudson Bay man out on the track of freetraders. I told him we hadn't seen an Indian since we came and didn'texpect to see one. Then he wanted to know what we were going to do withour furs. Of course I said we were going to take them to the Company atPembina."
"Did that satisfy him?"
"It seemed to. He isn't a Company man, it appears."
"A free trader?" questioned Louis.
"He didn't say. He is on his way from _Portage la Prairie_ to Pembina."
"_Portage la Prairie_ is on the Assiniboine. Why did he come this way?"
"He said it was shorter and he wanted to make speed."
Louis shook his head doubtfully. "Shorter? No, I think not. He must beoff his course. How many are in his party?"
"No one but himself. He didn't even have a sled, only a pack and hissnowshoes."
"But that is strange. You are sure he had no comrades?"
"I asked him if he had come all the way alone," Neil explained, "and hesaid that at first he had traveled with two others. Yesterday or lastnight, he left them. He had quarreled with them I think. When he wentaway, he warned me to look out for them and not to trust them. I asked ifthey were coming this way. He didn't know where they were going, he said,but they were somewhere around here in the hills."
"What about the painted skull?" inquired Walter.
"I told him about our finding it and the tracks. He said the otherfellows put the skull there. One of them is an Assiniboin."
Walter was puzzled. "If that is true,--if those men really did that, theymust have reached the hills two or three days ago. We found the skullyesterday."
"That's so." Neil rubbed his red head thoughtfully. "That rather spoilshis story of making speed straight through from _Portage la Prairie_,doesn't it?"
"He lied," concluded Louis emphatically. "Somewhere he lied, either abouthimself or about the placing of the skull on the _Tete de Boeuf_. Whatwas he like, that fellow, and who is he? What is his name? Where does hebelong?"
"He didn't tell me his name, but he is a DeMeuron from St. Boniface. Heasked so many questions that I didn't think till afterwards that hehadn't mentioned his name. He asked mine and yours."
"He knew you were not here alone then?"
"Oh yes, I told him I expected you two back any moment. He kept lookingat our furs, and I thought he had better know we were three to one."
"Three to three perhaps," said Louis thoughtfully, "if the others arestill near here. They may not have parted at all."
"I'm sure they have quarreled. He was telling the truth about that. Youshould have seen his face when he spoke of those other fellows, and hewarned me against them, you know."
"That is true," Louis conceded, "but his stories do not agree and we hadbest not trust them too far."
One of the trap lines had not been visited for two days, so Neil went outto examine the nearer traps while daylight lasted. Doubt of the whitetraveler's story made Louis decide to remain at the cabin. The boys had afairly good catch of furs, and Louis knew that wandering trappers andfree traders were not always above robbing weaker parties. If thestranger returned or his former companions happened along, Louis wantedto be at home.
The sun was sinking behind the hills as Walter, accompanied by Askime,went down to the creek. He found the water hole frozen and was choppingit out when the dog began to growl uneasily. The boy paid littleattention, thinking Askime had scented some wild animal. Suddenly Askimethrew back his head and howled. His fellows replied from near the cabin.Then, as all three were silent for a moment, there came other answersfrom farther away; up the creek somewhere. In doubt whether the answeringvoices were those of dogs or wolves, Walter filled his kettle andhastened back to the cabin.
Outside the house, Louis was trying to quiet his beasts. "We shall havevisitors soon," he announced. "You heard?"
"Yes, but I wasn't sure whether they were dogs or wolves."
"Dogs," Louis asserted confidently. "Those men have heard ours. They willcome this way."
Louis and Walter tied their dogs at the rear of the cabin, and lingeredoutside, watching for the strangers. It was not long before a howl fromthe opposite direction, together with the voice of a man shouting, as hebelabored some unfortunate beast, announced the arrival of the visitors.
Through an opening in the woods, into the cleared space before the cabin,came a tall fellow in buckskin leggings and blue capote, the hood pulledlow over his face. He was followed by two lean, shaggy dogs drawing atoboggan. It flashed into Walter's mind that these were the very men andsled he had seen upside down against the sky during the mirage.
"_Bo jou_," called Louis in a friendly tone, as a second man appeared andthe sled came to a halt.
"_Bo jou_," returned the tall fellow in a deep voice.
At the sound of that voice Walter started with surprise. The newcomerpushed back his hood, and the boy found himself gazing into the face ofthe half-breed voyageur Murray. The sun was down behind the mountain, buteven in the waning light, there was no mistaking that face; that dark,aquiline, beardless, hard, cruel face, that he had seen day after dayduring the long journey from Fort York to Fort Douglas.
If Murray recognized the two lads, and he must recognize them Walterknew, he made
no sign. He merely stood impassive, looking at them, untilLouis recovered his wits sufficiently to act the host. Under thecircumstances he could do no less, even though the guest was an unwelcomeone. After all there had been no open breach between Murray and the boys,and what had happened at Pembina was not their business. It would bebetter to show no knowledge of that affair.
At Louis' invitation, the newcomers entered the cabin and were given thestools by the fire. They had unhitched their dogs from the sled and tiedthem to a tree to keep them from Louis' beasts, but Murray was hardlyseated when the noise of battle sounded from without. Louis ran out andMurray followed to find that one of his dogs had broken or gnawed off hisrawhide rope and was engaged in a fight with Askime who had broken hisrope also. The beasts were separated, Murray's dog, after being wellbeaten by his far from merciful master, was tied more securely, andAskime was taken into the cabin.
Walter was already getting the evening meal, which, as a matter ofcourse, the visitors would share. The second man, it was evident, was notthe one who had been with Murray at Pembina. This fellow was an Indian, ayoung man, slender, well built, but insignificant beside the BlackMurray. He understood scarcely a word of French or English, and spokeonly when addressed in his native Assiniboin. It seemed to Walter, as hecovertly watched the two, that the young Indian was completely underMurray's domination, and stood in fear or awe of him.
Before the meal was ready, Neil returned. He had heard unfamiliar dogvoices, as he approached the cabin, and had seen the loaded sled beforethe door, so he was not surprised to find strangers sitting by the fire.He it was who first mentioned the visitor that had come earlier in theday.
"I suppose," he said, "you two are the ones that fellow was travelingwith."
Murray grunted an assent. After a moment he asked, "How long ago hehere?" He grunted again at Neil's reply.
The warm meal, eaten for the most part in silence, seemed to thawMurray's sullenness somewhat. Suddenly he began to talk; his usualmixture of bad English, worse French, Cree, and Dakota. Like theDeMeuron, he asked questions about the boys' trapping, and inquired ifthey had seen any Indians and had done any trading. Questioned in return,his replies were brief and evasive. He and Kolbach had been to the west.They had come back to the hills expecting to meet a band of Assiniboins."We waited," he said, "but the Assiniboins not come."
Walter and Louis were not surprised to learn that Murray's formercompanion was Fritz Kolbach. They had guessed that already.
"It was here at the mountain you expected to meet the Assiniboins?" Louisinquired.
Murray shot a keen glance at him, and nodded.
"Then you camped near here for several days?" persisted Louis.
"To the north, other side _Tete de Boeuf_."
"You left the fresh buffalo skull on the mountain?" put in Neil.
Murray silently pointed to his Assiniboin companion, who apparentlyunderstood nothing of the conversation. Then the half-breed askedabruptly, "Who told you that? Kolbach?"
"We found the newly painted skull and your tracks," said Neil. "I spoketo him this morning about them and he said you put the skull there."
_Le Murrai Noir's_ face had darkened at every mention of the DeMeuron. Hedemanded savagely, "What else he tell you?" And, before Neil couldanswer, added a string of violent abuse of his former companion.
"Kolbach told me nothing," the boy hastened to reply, "nothing exceptthat he had been traveling with you, but had left you and was going onalone. He seemed to be in a hurry."
Murray's eyes were fastened on Neil's honest, freckled face. His onlyreply was an abrupt grunt, he turned to Louis. "You stay here long? Isell you bag pemmican, good pemmican, for furs."
Louis ignored the question. "We thank you for your offer," he said, "butwe have no need of pemmican. We have plenty of food." This was notstrictly true, but he wanted no dealings with Murray.
Murray cast a look about the cabin, dimly lighted by the fire on thehearth. "We go now," he said abruptly.
"You're not going on to-night?" Neil asked in surprise.
"You are welcome to spread your blankets here by the fire," Louis added,he would not break the rules of hospitality even though he felt the guestto be an enemy.
Murray did not even thank him. "The moon is bright. We go on."
The Indian had risen and moved towards the door. Murray pulled on hiscapote and looked up at the bark and pole roof. An evil smile showed hisstrong, yellow-white teeth. "It burn?" he inquired.
"You set it on fire," accused Louis.
Murray grinned mockingly. "Not me,--Kolbach."
"But why did he want to burn the roof off?" cried Walter.
"Why leave a cabin for other traders?" Murray spoke contemptuously.Undoubtedly he felt contempt for Walter's innocence. "Only the roof burnwell," he added. His left hand on the door latch, he turned and held outthe right to Walter.
The Swiss boy, surprised at this courtesy from the man he had believed anenemy, could not refuse his own hand. Murray's sinewy fingers clasped itfirmly for an instant. A scratch in the palm,--a deep scratch made by arough splinter of wood when Walter was renewing the fire beforesupper,--tingled sharply with the pressure.
"_Bo jou!_" said Murray, and opened the door and went out.
The Assiniboin repeated the words and followed. In a moment both werearousing and harnessing their dogs. The men's shouts, the whines andhowls of the tired beasts, lashed and beaten to force them to speed,could be heard long after men and sled had disappeared into the woods andthe night.