The Coolidge examiner., 1939-01-05

Fresh trail, made this morning!"
said Alan. But that can't be Nc
Queen. He's a day ahead Of us
yet, if he never moved in the blow.
Let's have a look at i'll"
They started the team and soon
reached the toboggan trail which
led down from the spruce through
the alders and over the heaped
shore snow to the river ice. Back
tracking to shore, the two men
stared in amazement at the bear
paw, snowshoe prints in the new
snow; then gazed into each others
startled eyes.
"Naskapi!"
by gar! Dat ees bad-veree
bad!"
If they're headed up river far,
they're going to strike his trail
where he started in the young snow
after the drifter! They'll follow him
and sneak on his campi' Cameron's
frost-burned face grayed.
'Mabee dey not hold to de riv-
iere."
They will and we've got to over
haul them, Noel-travel all night!
If the Naskapi get her, my God! It's
too horrible We've got to reach her,
Noel, if we kill ourselves and the
dogs!"
On went the stiff and foot-sore Un-
gavas at their masters urging. But,
when the early dusk fell, it was evil
dent that the Indians were travelling
fast with a light sled. Stopping for
an hour to rest the dogs and boil
the kettle, Alan pushed on under
the freezing moon that hung above
the tundra, tortured with the thought
Of the despairing girl who waited.
But the trail of the sled ahead did
not swing to the shore to a camp
ground but continued on over the
white shell of the river ice.
They're travelling too fast for
usl" Alan admitted, at midnight,
wiping the frost from his face and
the wolf-hair rim of his hood. They
had hours start this morning and
must have five or six dogs and a
light sled. Stiff as we are, we must
have come forty or fifty miles, to-
day."
The disheartened Noel nodded his
hood in agreement. 1t looked hope
less. They could never reach the
Naskapi in time. "Dey have run
dere dog all day. Dey mus know
Mcqueen ees ahead by de way dey
travel. Our dog got to have rest.
We all make beeg feed now and
sleep. Tomorrow we travel hard"
But we've got to reach them,
quick"
.'Dey are long piece from Nc
Queen, yet, were dey camp tonight.
We reach dere camp early tomor-
row. you see." urged the Montag
nais.
So, against his will, but knowing
he must rest his dogs. Alan agreed
to camp. Starting later, in the murk
of the bitterest part of the night,
the hour before dawn, they reached
the camp of the Naskapi. But they
had gone. The sleep-holes showed
they had six dogs and the trail in the
new snow of the shore proved that
their sled was light. But the tough
Ungavas with the heavier load had
gained.
Later white foxes on the ice faded
to the shore at the approach of the
team. There the bones and hair of
two huskies told the grim story.
'McQueen's down to three dogs,
now! He's licked, Noel! But the In
dians know, now, that dog-team's S
ahead of them"
Mcqueen was killing his dogs but
| that meant, also, that the trailing
Indians would soon overtake him.
The Ungavas were working out of
their stiffness. At noon they reached
McQueen's blizzard camp, for they
found his trail in the new snow lead
ing out from the shore. Desperate
for word from the girl who could
not now be more than thirty or forty
miles away, Alan searched the drift
ed camp-site. The ashes of the fire
lay in the large snow-hole bedded
with spruce boughs, over which had
! been spread a tent supported by
spruce logs. The marks of mocca-
sins were everywhere in the young
snow and after a careful inspec-
ton Noel said: ''Onlee tree wife
man, here! No Indian! De Naskapi
nevaire step out ov dere snowshoe
but jes' look and start hard up riv-
iere. Dey are affair McQueen!"
That means that Mcqueen
brought but one Montagnais to the
Koksoak and we left him on the
River of Skulls"
"Ah-hah! But look, Alan! Some
ting undair de snow ovair dere!"
Alan, who had been searching ev-
erywhere for message from
Heather, looked in the direction
Noel pointed. Near the camp in the
spruce was a suspicious looking
mound of snow. Cameron suddenly
sickened with dread. Could that
mound of snow hold all that life
held dear to him? Had Mcqueen left
her there while he made for the
coast with the goldP
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