"Can't have been gone long," he declared.
"Shout, Jake!" cried Andrew. "I'm out of breath."
Carnally called, and Andrew's heart throbbed2 when a faint cry rose in answer. His anxiety had not been groundless: a lonely man runs many risks in the frozen North. Following the sound, they hastened up the ravine, and as they rounded a projecting boulder3, a red glow flashed out a little distance ahead, died down, and rose more clearly.
Graham met them as they entered the firelight.
"Had any trouble?" Andrew asked anxiously.
"No; and the foot's feeling better. The rest has done it good. I've been pretty comfortable since you left, though the wolves got so friendly last night that I thought I'd better shift my camp a bit to-night. I didn't allow you could get back before to-morrow, and I knew I'd hear you shout if you did. I left the other fire burning as a beacon5."
Andrew breathed deeply.
"It's a wonderful relief!" he said.
Carnally looked hard at Graham's face.
"Guess you didn't sleep well, but we'll get a good rest to-night, now there are three of us. A timber wolf[Pg 168] is a cussed mean brute6. Government ought to supply the bush settlers with free arsenic7."
There was a brief silence, while Graham waited, intent and eager, until Carnally broke into a soft laugh.
"We struck it, partner! Guess your lode8's right there, but we couldn't do enough prospecting9 to tell you what it's worth."
Graham turned his head for a moment, and his eyes glittered when he looked around.
"That is my misfortune and Mappin's fault. But you must have your supper, and then we'll talk."
Carnally glanced at Andrew, who had thrown off his pack and sat down on it in an attitude of exhaustion10.
They laughed at this and began the meal which Graham soon had ready. Then, sitting close beside the fire, they filled their pipes and Graham carefully examined the bits of stone Carnally produced. He poised12 them in his hands, because the weight is a rough test, before he looked up.
"What do you think of them, Jake?" he asked.
"My idea is that they're pretty good, though they are not carrying a remarkable13 quantity of metal. Of course, we may have struck only the edge of the lode. There wasn't time to find how it ran."
Graham sat silent a while, and then turned to Andrew with a strained expression.
"I agree with Carnally. So far as I can judge, these specimens14 are not very rich, though the ore might pay for reduction. That I feel disappointed after waiting twenty years for this chance doesn't need saying; but I've brought you here at a big expense and risk and I can't blame you if you let the matter drop."
[Pg 169]"Nothing is farther from my mind," declared Andrew, smiling. "It's unpleasant to feel beaten; and I'm partly responsible for our failure by confiding15 in Mappin. If you and Carnally still think I'm to be trusted as a partner, we'll come back again, though I'd prefer waiting until the ice breaks up in the spring."
Graham's relief carried him away.
"I'd trust you with my life, Allinson! It's hard to express what I feel, but I've got to talk. If we had failed to find the lode, I'd have gone home, content, I think, to forget it; but to have struck it and got no farther would have been maddening! The thing would have haunted me for the rest of my days; but I hardly expect any one would have put up the money for another search. I can see myself hanging round mining men's offices, laughed and sneered16 at, neglecting my work until the sawmill people turned me out—they'll tell you at the Landing that I'm a crank. But the silver's there, Allinson! You have only to look for it!"
"We'll have a good try," Andrew promised cheerfully. "But the first thing we have to do is to get home, and I'm afraid it won't be easy. I wish the Hudson Bay factory weren't so far off."
They discussed their return, Graham declaring that his foot was much better and that he ought to have no difficulty in keeping up with them, and soon afterward17 they went to sleep.
At daybreak they set off in a haze18 of driving snow, and Andrew long remembered the march with a shudder19. There was only one thing in their favor—the raging wind which drove the loose snow in clouds along the frozen creeks20 blew behind them. The cold was intense; even when no snow fell the light was dim; but they[Pg 170] stumbled on, making the best progress they could. On the second day out Graham sat down among the willows22 on an island trying to alter the fastenings of his snow-shoe. Carnally, turning back with Andrew through a cloud of drifting flakes23 glanced sharply at the sitting man.
"Broken out again," said Graham, curtly25. "There's no use in talking about it. I can't nurse it now."
"Can you walk?" Andrew asked.
"I'll have to," Graham answered, getting up.
The truth of this was obvious, for the alternative was to freeze to death. He managed to keep up with the others, though Carnally slackened the pace all the afternoon. When they camped at nightfall, Graham would not let him examine his foot.
"If the moccasin comes off, I'll never get it on again," he declared.
After this, the distance traversed daily was reduced and rations26 were cut down to match. One day when the wind raged behind them, they made fourteen miles along a frozen creek21; but more often they made eight or nine; and part of the time Graham carried his snowshoes and limped in his moccasins. His companions helped him as much as they could over the roughest ground; but the only effectual way of assisting a crippled man is to carry him, which they could not do. Their faces grew sterner and gaunter, but with grim restraint they husbanded the rapidly running out provisions, and one blustering27 morning they came upon the sled they had left on their outward journey, half covered with snow.
The traces, though frozen hard, were still attached[Pg 171] to it, and Andrew slipped them over his shoulders when Graham, wrapped in all their blankets, sat down on the sled. It was a relief to get rid of their loads, and for a while Andrew made a moderate pace. The wind had hardened the surface of the snow, and the runners slid along easily, but he found it different when he came to the next ascent28. The trace hurt his chest, the weight he was hauling seemed to increase, his breathing got harder, his knees and shoulders ached.
"You had better let me have hold," Carnally suggested.
"I'll get off," said Graham. "I could hobble along if you fixed29 the back posts so I could lean on them."
"Stay where you are!" Carnally bade him curtly. "We have to make good time and we're going faster with you on the sled."
They altered the traces and plodded30 forward side by side, until the sled overturned on a steep slope and flung Graham off. For the next hour he had to walk while they struggled across rocky hummocks31 and through belts of small spruces, and his face was gray with pain when he resumed his place. Still, they made progress and felt more cheerful when they camped at night.
"I allow we're four miles to the good on this stage," Carnally said. "That's a quarter of a day knocked off. With luck and a smooth trail, we're going through."
Somehow they maintained the speed, though the struggle was almost unbearably32 hard, and one afternoon they nerved themselves to an extra effort as they toiled33 up a creek. It ran between rugged34 hills and the snow was good. They were badly worn out and Andrew had a distressing35 pain in his side, but he braced[Pg 172] himself against the drag of the trace, watching the white hill-shoulders change their shapes ahead. They were on the Whitefish Creek, and the first provision cache was not far off. When they reached it they would rest and feast luxuriously36.
"Keep her going," urged Carnally "We want to make the island where the cache is before dark."
For an hour they struggled on in a state of tension, the snow crunching37 beneath their shoes, large flakes blowing past them. A heavy gray sky hung over head, and the cold was biting. Then the hills in front grew dimmer, the scattered38 spruces lost their sharpness of form; dusk was falling when they came to a narrow lake. Here the snow was very firm and the pace grew faster. They broke into a run when a blurred39 mass of willows came into sight. The cruel aches in joints40 and muscles were no longer felt; the food they craved41 was close at hand. They drew near the willows rapidly, though Andrew was panting with exhaustion; the first of the bushes slipped behind, but more rose ahead, and he grew savage42 as he glanced at them. He knew that the island was small, but they seemed to be getting no nearer to its upstream tongue where he had arranged with Mappin that the cache should be made.
A few minutes later they dropped the traces, and the sled, driving in among the willows, stopped with a crash. Leaving Graham to hobble after them, Andrew and Carnally plunged44 through the branches and came out on a short level strip. It was nearly dark now, but the snow glimmered45 faintly and only a few clumps46 of brush broke its surface. Andrew stopped, breathing hard, and dismay seized him as he glanced about.
[Pg 173]"This is the place," he said hoarsely. "I can't see the cache."
"Search round here; I'll try farther on," Carnally said, and vanished among the willows.
Pulling himself together, Andrew spent a few anxious minutes hurrying up and down the open space, but found nothing to suggest that it had lately been visited by a transport party. When he stopped, Graham awkwardly hobbled toward him.
"Haven't you found it yet?" he asked.
"No," said Andrew, as calmly as he could. "There may have been a mistake about the spot. Carnally's gone back to look."
They stood still for a few moments while the willows rustled47 harshly in the bitter wind. A little snow blew about them and it was very cold. Then Andrew broke away from his companion and, plunging48 into the bushes that grew thickly up the middle of the island, savagely49 floundered through them. He could not see where he was going, snow-laden branches whipped him, and he stuck fast now and then; but he thought that nobody could have traversed those thickets50 without leaving traces of his passage, and, finding none, he presently returned to the clear space. Graham was still standing51 in the middle of it, but they waited in silence until Carnally appeared. He was walking heavily, and they knew he had been unsuccessful.
"Nothing; not a sign of a cache," he reported in a strained voice. "So far as I can see, this is the only place on the island where one could have been made. I found a few small spruces on a higher patch. We'll pack the truck along and camp there."
It took them some time and they had trouble in helping52 Graham through the brush, but scarcely a word was[Pg 174] spoken until they gathered about their fire. Then Carnally broke into a harsh laugh as he laid three morsels53 of pork in the frying-pan and took out a very small bannock baked the previous night.
"This isn't the kind of supper I looked forward to but we'll get less to-morrow," he said. "The blasted hog54 has played another trick on us!"
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1
prospectors
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| n.勘探者，探矿者( prospector的名词复数 ) | |
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throbbed
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| 抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动 | |
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boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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arsenic
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| n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的 | |
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lode
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| n.矿脉 | |
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prospecting
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| n.探矿 | |
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exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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hustled
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| 催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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15
confiding
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| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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16
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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creeks
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| n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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smear
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| v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑 | |
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curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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27
blustering
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| adj.狂风大作的，狂暴的v.外强中干的威吓( bluster的现在分词 )；咆哮；（风）呼啸；狂吹 | |
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28
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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30
plodded
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| v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的过去式和过去分词 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作） | |
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31
hummocks
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| n.小丘，岗( hummock的名词复数 ) | |
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unbearably
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| adv.不能忍受地，无法容忍地；慌 | |
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toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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luxuriously
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| adv.奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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crunching
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| v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄 | |
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38
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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39
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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40
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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41
craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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42
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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44
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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45
glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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47
rustled
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| v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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49
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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50
thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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51
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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52
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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53
morsels
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| n.一口( morsel的名词复数 )；（尤指食物）小块，碎屑 | |
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54
hog
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| n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占 | |
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