CHAPTER XXVII THE END OF THE TRAIL
Troops of conflicting hopes and fears waged battle in Marian's brain whenshe realized that the pack approaching them on the run up the trail inthe teeth of the storm were not wolves, but dogs. There are two types ofdogs in Alaska; one, more wolf than dog, is the native wolf dog. Thistype, once he is loosed, leaps at the throat of the first reindeer hesees. A pack of these dogs, in such a crisis as the girls were nowfacing, would not only destroy many of the feebly struggling, worn-outand helpless younger deer, but beyond doubt would drive the remainder ofthe herd into such a wild panic as would lose them to their ownersforever.
Were the dogs of this or the other type--white men's dogs, who treat thereindeer as they might cattle or sheep, and merely bark at them and drivethem forward? If they were white men's dogs they might save the day; forthe barking of such a pack, as fresh for the struggle they appeared tobe, would doubtless drive the exhausted deer to renewed efforts and carrythem on over the top.
With bated breath and trembling heart Marian watched their approach. Oncehope fell as she thought she caught the sharp ki-yi of a wolf dog. Inthis she must have been mistaken, for as they came closer she saw thatthey were magnificent shaggy-coated fellows, with an unmistakable colliestrain in their blood.
"Oh!" she cried, "'the chariots of the Lord, and the horsemen thereof.'"
It was a strange expression, but fitted the occasion so well that Patsyfelt her heart give a great leap of joy.
Indeed the steeds of the Arctic, if not the horsemen, had come to theiraid in a time of great need, and, passing them with a wild leap, the dogsburst upon the deer with a rush and roar that sent them forward by leapsand bounds.
Staggering forward, the girls followed as best they could. Now they werea thousand yards from the summit, now five hundred, now three, now two.And now the first deer were disappearing over the top. Enheartened bythis, the others crowded forward until with one final rush they allpassed over the top and started down on the other side.
Just as the girls reached the crest and were peering over the summit, ashrill whistle smote their ears. It sounded again, and yet again. Therewas a movement just before them. Then the snow-covered pack of dogsrushed pel-mel past them on the back trail down hill.
"Someone whistled to them. They are going back. How wonderfully they mustbe trained!" exclaimed Patsy.
"They were someone's team," Marian said slowly, as if for the first timerealizing they had not really been sent direct from Heaven to save them."They're somebody's team. He knew we were in trouble and turned the dogsloose to help us. I wonder who he could have been?"
For the present the question must remain unanswered. The herd had gone onbefore them. It was all important that they join them. So, havingstraightened out the draw-straps to their sleds, they began making theirway down the hard packed and uncertain descent.
It was not long before they came upon the herd feeding on a littlemountain plateau. Terogloona was already busy making camp, and Attatakthawing out food over a fire of tiny scrub fir trees.
"Isn't it wonderful to think that the great struggle is over?" whisperedMarian, contentedly, as they lounged on their sleeping bags an hourlater. "This is really the worst of it, I hope. Fort Jarvis can't be morethan four days away now, over a smoother down trail."
"If only we are in time!" sighed Patsy.
"We must be. Oh, we must!" exclaimed Marian passionately. "Surely itwould be too much to struggle as we have, and then lose!"
Before Marian fell asleep she set her mind to meet any outcome of theiradventure. She thought of the wonderful opportunities the sale of theherd would bring to her father and herself. Near some splendid schoolthey must rent a bungalow. There she would keep house for him and go toschool. In her mind she saw the wonderful roses that bloomed around theirdoor-step, and pictured the glorious sunsets they would view from theirback door.
"Perhaps, too," she told herself, "Patsy could live with us for a year ortwo and attend my school."
When she had pictured all this, she saw in her mind that the race hadbeen lost; that Scarberry had sold his herd to the Canadian officials;that she was to turn the heads of her leading reindeer toward the hometundra.
With great difficulty at first, but with ever increasing enthusiasm, inher imagination she drove the herd all the way back to enter once moreupon the wild, free, life of the herder.
"It really does not matter," she told herself; "it's really only forfather. He is so lonely down there all by himself."
In her heart of hearts she knew that it did matter, mattered a very greatdeal indeed. Brave girl that she was, she only prepared her mind for theshock that would come if the race were really lost.
Four days later the two girls found themselves approaching a smallvillage of log cabins and long, low-lying buildings. This was FortJarvis. They had made the remainder of the journey in safety. Leavingtheir herd some ten miles from the Fort, where the deer would be safe,they had tramped in on snowshoes.
Marian found her heart fluttering painfully as her feet fell in thehard-packed village path. Had Scarberry been there? Was the race lost?Had the man of the purple flame been there? Had he anything to do withthe deal?
Twice they asked directions of passing Indians. At last they knocked at adoor. The door swung open and they found themselves inside a long, lowroom. At a table close to an open fire sat a man in uniform. He rose andbowed as they came toward him.
"You--you are the agent for the Canadian Government?" Marian faltered,addressing the man in uniform.
The man nodded his head and smiled a little welcome.
"You wish to buy a reindeer herd?" Marian asked the question point-blank.
"I believe," the man answered quietly, "that I have already agreed topurchase one--"
"You--you--" Marian sank to a chair. The shock was too much.
"You see, the truth is," smiled the Major, as though there had been nointerruption, "I believe I have agreed to purchase your herd."
"My herd!" exclaimed Marian, unable to believe her ears. "But how did youknow of my herd--how did you know I was on the way? Who told you--"
"One question at a time, young lady," laughed the Major. "I think I havea number of surprises for you. As to your first question, I will say thatI have never heard of your herd until two days ago. That day, two daysafter the great storm, a half famished Indian reached Fort Jarvis,driving a splendid team of white men's dogs. They had been hard driven.
"After we had fed him, he jerkily told us the story of your race againsta man named Scarberry. He told us of the treatment you had given him; ofyour kindnesses to his people. Then he told of Scarberry. Told howScarberry's herd had been delayed and held up along the trail, and how hehad tried to be of help to you. Then he told of your battle against thestorm, and how, once you were safely over the pass, he had driven nightand day to reach here. His hope was to get here ahead of any other herdand intercede for you. Such loyalty is not to be denied. And I told himthat should your herd reach here in good shape, that I would give itpreference, even should Scarberry get here ahead of you. I believe thatanswers one of your questions."
"But how in the world did this Indian know that the Government had agreedto purchase a herd?" asked Marian.
"In the North," answered the Major, "rumor flies fast, even overseemingly uninhabited places. And you may depend upon it that the Indianwill know what is going on; even if he does have but little to say. Now,to business. I understand you have brought the herd with you?"
"Yes," answered Marian, "they are at our camp about ten miles out."
"Then we may consider the deal closed. There remains but to count thedeer; to weed out those that are too old or too weak for the final drive,then to make out your order on our Government. We have Lapland herderswho will assist in the work. You may rest here with us until the count iscompleted. After that I will see that you have guides and dog-teams forthe passage south to the rail head."
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"Oh! how wonderful!" exclaimed Patsy, impulsively leaping to her feet."But Bill Scarberry," she asked suddenly, "did he really win?"
"No," smiled the Major, "he has not yet been heard from. So you won therace after all."
"Good!" exclaimed Patsy, "I could never have been happy again if we hadlost, even if Marian did sell her herd."
After a night's rest at the post, Marian and Patsy felt like they hadcome into a new life. They had lain awake long into the night, exchangingexcited whispers over their good luck. The next morning, as Marian waspassing down the street, she noticed a dog team. There was somethingabout the leader that looked familiar. One glance at the driver broughtan exclamation of surprise to her lips. He was none other than the Indianshe had saved from starvation, and who in turn had served as her guardianangel.
"That is the dog team that came to our rescue in the blizzard," was hermental comment.
While she had been told the rest of the story by the Major, she preferredto have the story from the man's own lips. She found him very reluctantto talk, but after his heart had been warmed by a splendid meal of boiledreindeer meat and coffee, he told his story from the time she had givenhim three of her reindeer until the present moment. Shortly after leavingher, he had come in with some of his own people who were well fed andprosperous. Knowing that the girls were headed straight for trouble, andfeeling very grateful to them, he had persuaded one of these, hiskinsmen, to go with him and to follow the reindeer herd with his team ofwhite men's dogs. It had been they who had driven the wolf-pack away andhad left a rifle and ammunition for the girls. It was their dog team thathad been released from the sled and had assisted in driving the reindeerherd over the mountain.
"But why did you do all this?" Marian asked.
The man looked at her for a moment in silence, then he asked: "Why didyou give reindeer?"
"Because you were in need."
"And you," a faint smile played across his face, "you too were in need.Indian all same white man."
Then Marian understood, and her heart was filled with a new love for allthose strange people who inhabit the White Wilderness.
The next day, Marian and Patsy, together with the Major and his Laplandherders, went out to Marian's camp and there began the business ofsorting and counting the deer. This work continued for three days, and onthe evening of the third day, leaving the herd in charge of the Laplandherders, Marian, Patsy and the Major, together with Terogloona andAttatak, started for Fort Jarvis by way of deer sled.
Topping a hill some two miles from Fort Jarvis, they suddenly came upon atent. Just before they reached it, the interior became suddenly lightedwith a strange purple flame. Marian halted her deer with an exclamationof surprise.
"The purple flame!" she gasped, and turning to the Major said: "I canstand this mystery no longer. Do you know who is in that tent?"
"Why yes, I think so," said the Major. "I think it is Mr. Montgomery, anold prospector. He is well known throughout the North. Why do you ask?"
"I want to meet him," said Marian. "Will you please come with me to histent?"
A moment later a hearty old man came to the door of the tent in responseto their call, and with a cheery smile acknowledged the Major'sintroduction of Marian and Patsy, at once inviting them in.
Imagine Marian's surprise, when upon entering the tent she saw a younggirl of about her own age, seated at a radio sending set. And there,under the deft fingers of the girl operator, a crackling purple flashjumped back and forth across a wide spark gap.
"The girl of the purple flame," gasped Patsy.
At sound of her voice the girl turned around and smiled a welcome. Marianturned to Mr. Montgomery:
"So you are the people of the purple flame."
"Are we, indeed!" laughed the old Prospector.
"Yes," said Marian, "and I thought all the while, back there in Alaska,that you were dogging our footsteps, and, to speak honestly, we fearedyou."
"Well, well," laughed the old gentleman. "So that was your reindeer camp.We thought all the while that _you_ were dogging _our_ footsteps."
Then the old prospector launched into a long story that cleared up theentire mystery of the purple flame.
It appeared that in his youth he had been a prospector in Alaska and hadfound a very rich vein of gold. Ill health had overtaken him and he hadbeen forced to return to the States. Years passed, and fortune and wealthhad come to him, but the lure of searching for gold was still in hisveins, and in the end he had come again to Alaska, thinking to find hismine. The years had somewhat dimmed his memory, and he had searched invein for the lost mine. Moving from day to day, he had been just assurprised to note that Marian's camp moved with him as was Marian todiscover that his camp moved with hers. In time he had become suspicious,fearing that they were dogging his footsteps. He knew that he had beenwell known throughout the North in the past, and he feared that othersknew of his lost mine.
"And that," concluded Mr. Montgomery, "is the reason I never called atyour camp."
"And that radio set," said Marian, "with its flash of purple flame, isthe reason that I never called at your camp. There was something somysterious about it all."
The old prospector smiled. "I suppose," he said, "that my having asending and receiving radio set is a bit strange and perhaps a littlemysterious. Certainly the set is a bit strange, for to my knowledge thereis not another set like it in the country. It is very compact and yetmost powerful. You see, my interests in the outside are very extensive,and it is necessary for me to keep in touch with them. By the use of thisset, I can keep in touch with my agent in Nome, and he, in turn, can keepin touch with the States by use of the cable.
"It was the spark of my set, while sending, that made the purple coloredflash which kept you so mystified. You know, most mysterious thingsbecome quite simple when you find out all about them.
"This radio has made it possible for me to come back and look for my lostmine. It's the lure of the thing that draws me, not the desire for thegold."
And then it was that Marian, remembering the treasures that she had foundin the cave on the enchanted mountain, and feeling that she had somethingin common with this old prospector, told him her story.
As she told of the carved ivory, the old man's eyes glowed with delight,and in the end he insisted that he go into Fort Jarvis with them that hemight at least see the piece they had brought along and hear Terogloona'sstory.
At the post old Terogloona, in a halting way, read the picturedinscription on the four sides. Other bits of information furnished byTerogloona convinced the old prospector that Terogloona's great-uncle hadbeen his guide in the days when he was first prospecting and had foundthe mine. Mr. Montgomery wanted to set out at once with Terogloona andAttatak for the cave on the mountain.
"Why," he exclaimed, "that's very near my lost mine, for I remember thatmy old guide, Terogloona's great-uncle, spoke of the cave as a placewhere we might winter in safety, should winter come down upon us beforewe expected it."
"How wonderful!" said Marian. "We have just completed the count and saleof our deer. Patsy and I are going back to the States, and I am sureTerogloona and Attatak will go with you. And you will be in good hands,"she added, giving both of the faithful servants a glowing smile.
The sale of the deer was successfully completed. After a much neededrest, the girls began the long journey to the "Outside." So far were theyfrom the strange cabin of the recluse musician, they were unable toreturn for the treasure they had taken from the mountain cave.
Many months passed, and then one day as the two girls returned from anafternoon of shopping in Chicago, Marian found a registered packageawaiting her. From its bulk, and from the many post-marks upon it, sheknew at once that it contained the long awaited ancient treasure.
Her fingers trembled as she undid the many wrappings. When at last shecame to the treasure she found each piece separately wrapped. The copperinstruments and the old ivory pieces were just as she had found them,tarnished and
blackened with age.
"But what's this?" she held up before Patsy's astonished eyes a greenbowl which gleamed in the light like a crystal.
"Why!" exclaimed Patsy, as she saw her cousin unpack another and anotherand yet another, "he has thought your old dishes were useless and hassent you some of his exquisite glassware instead."
"How strange!" murmured Marian, ready to cry with disappointment. She hadso hoped to surprise Mr. Cole, the Curator of the Museum, with rarepieces of ancient pottery such as had never before been brought from theArctic; and here were only four pieces of glassware. How they had evercome to be here, she could not guess; but here they were.
"Look!" cried Patsy, "What a strange appearance they have when you holdthem to the light! And see, two of them are blue and two are a tawnygreen, like huge cat's eyes."
"Wait!" said Marian, "here is a note from our aged friend."
She unfolded it and read it aloud:
"Please pardon an old man's fancy. I could not resist the temptation ofpolishing these up a bit. The very sight of them makes me envious. Theyare indeed a rare find. I have a guess as to what they are made of, butyour friend the Curator will know."
"So," exclaimed Patsy, "they are the very dishes you found in the cave!"
"How very, very strange! We must have Mr. Cole come over at once," saidMarian, half beside herself with curiosity.
She raced to the telephone and a moment later had the Curator on thewire. If you have read our other book, "The Cruise of the O'Moo" you willremember that Marian, with her two friends, Lucile and Florence had oncemade a rare find for the Museum, so you will not wonder that so great aman should hurry right over in answer to their call.
When he arrived, Marian placed one of the bowls in his hand with thesingle comment: "From a cave in a mountain in Alaska."
For three minutes he turned the bowl about before the light.
"What do you want me to tell you about it?" There was a strange light inhis eye.
"Almost everything!" exclaimed Marian. "What it's made of, who made it,how long ago, how--"
"Wait a bit. Not so fast!" the Curator held up a hand for silence.
"You should know what it's made of," he smiled. "What was the Blue Godmade of?"
"Jade."
"And this."
"Is that jade, too?"
"Blue and green jade."
"Then--then the bowls should be valuable."
"Quite decidedly. As for your other questions, much more information isneeded before we can know who made them and when. So far as I know,nothing of this kind has ever before been discovered. Were there anyother pieces?"
Marian held out a handful of ivory pieces.
For ten minutes there was silence in the room, save for the click ofspecimens as the Curator turned them over. Then, turning suddenly, Mr.Cole put out his hands to the girls.
"I want to congratulate you," he said, his eyes gleaming, "upon your goodfortune in discovering the finest collection of specimens ever broughtfrom Alaska. From its discoloration this ivory should be at least fivehundred years old. The bowls are doubtless of the same period. That makesthem priceless."
On hearing these words Marian's joy knew no bounds. As for Patsy, herunselfish pleasure in the success of her cousin was quite as great as ifit had been she who had made the find.
It was arranged that Mr. Cole should take charge of the specimens, andshould advise Marian in regard to their disposal.
Marian's dream came true. She and her father secured the bungalow, rosebush and all, and owned it free from debt. There was money enough leftfor her education. As for Patsy, she was glad enough to hurry back torejoin her classmates in Louisville, Kentucky.
An unfortunate part of having plenty of money is that it is likely toshut out from one's life the thrills that come with a struggle for anexistence. For the time being Marian's life lost most of its thrills.
Not so, however, with her friend, Lucille Tucker. You will remember herfrom reading "The Blue Envelope," "The Cruise of the O'Moo" and "TheSecret Mark." Life for her continued to have thrills a-plenty. Our nextbook, "The Crimson Thread," will have to do with the adventures whichcame to her during a Christmas vacation. If you think that two weeks'time can contain but few adventures, this book will prove that you aremistaken.
Transcriber's Notes
--Copyright notice provided as in the original printed text--this e-text is public domain in the country of publication.
--Silently corrected palpable typos, leaving a few amusing ones unchanged.
Amusing Typo/Puns
--"searched in vein for the lost mine"--Shouldn't that be the other way around?
--"looking for some stray fauns"--a long way from Greece!
--"hours spent pouring over books"--a bit more drastic than throwing cold water on ideas...
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