THE'BUrrALO'RUNNERS 
 
 BAUANTYNE. 
 
m 
 
 HUDDERSFIELD g 
 
 EDUCATION ^ COMMITTEE. 
 
 PRESENTSD TO B 
 
 ^,:^.:^4}:^..^. <^.^^iec-?tyT:r:ft | 
 
 i^ur Regularity and Punctuality of Attendance S 
 for the year ended J:^A,.-.d..L..:z. lOOV 
 
 I 
 
 SECRETARY OF EDUCATION. S 
 
Digitized by {he Internet Arciiive 
 
 • in 2007 witli funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 littp://www.arcliive.org/cletails/buffalorunnerstaOOballiala 
 
THE BUFFALO RUNNERS 
 
THE CHASE.— Page 180. 
 
THE BUFFALO RUNNERS 
 
 A TALE OF THE EED EIVER PLAINS 
 
 BY R M. BALLANTYNE 
 
 Wiith iXiuatrations ijg the Jlttthcr 
 
 FOURTEENTH THOUSAND 
 
 LONDON 
 
 JAMES NISBET AND CO., LIMITED 
 
 21 BERNERS STREET 
 
 [All rights reserved] 
 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 Nearly all the incidents in this tale are either 
 facts, or founded on fact. The region in which 
 the scenes were enacted, although now within the 
 fringe of civilisation with the large and populous 
 city of Winnipeg as its centre, formed — at the time 
 I write of and still later when I sojourned there — 
 part of the almost unknown wilderness of Kupert's 
 Land- 
 
 R M. B. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAP. I. — HELP ! 1 
 
 II.— A LAZY COUPLE DESCRIBED — AND BOUSED, . . 8 
 
 III.— TO THE RESCUE, 19 
 
 IV.— TELLS OF LOVE, DUTY, STARVATION, AND MURDER, . 28 
 
 v.— SAVED, 43 
 
 VI.— DISCORD AND DECEIT, ETC., 48 
 
 Vn. — VIXEN DELIVERED AND WOLVES DEFEATED, . . 68 
 
 Vin.— STIRRING EVENTS DESCRIBED, 71 
 
 IX.— OLD PEG, 86 
 
 X.— ARCHIE AND LITTLE BILL DO WONDERS, ... 93 
 
 XI. — SHOWS SOME OP THE TROUBLES OP PIONEER COLONISTS, 109 
 
 Xn. — ROUND THE CAMP FIRES, 117 
 
 XIII.— DIFFICULTIES OF VARIOUS BINDS OVERCOME, . 129 
 
 XIV.— TREACHERY IN THE AIR, 187 
 
 XV. — A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED, . . 154 
 
 XVI. — AN EVENING IN THE CAMP, 165 
 
 XVn. — THE BUFFALO HUNT. 179 
 
 XVin.— ADVENTURES OF ARCHIE AND THE SEAMAN, . . 188 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. — BRIGHT HOPES TERMINATE IN FURIOUS WAR, . 204 
 
 XX.— LITTLE BILL BECOMES A DIFFICULTY, . . . 218 
 
 XXI. — AN AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING AND SUSPICIOUS ENDING, 230 
 
 XXn. — CIRCUMVENTING THE RED-SKINS, .... 243 
 
 XXin.— A MIDNIGHT CHASE, AND DAN IN EXTREMITT, . 251 
 
 XXIV. — A DESPERATE SITUATION, 264 
 
 XXV.— ADVENTURES OF FERGUS AND HIS FRIENDS, . 270 
 
 XXVI.— HOME-COMING AND BARGAINING, .... 283 
 
 XXVn. — VISIT FROM SIOUX BROUGHT TO A DISASTROUS CLOSE, 297 
 
 XXVllL —VERY PERPLEXING INTERVIEWS WITH LITTLE BILL, 312 
 
 XXIX.— THE FISHERY DISASTERS, 326 
 
 XXX.— THE TRIAL FOR MURDER, 888 
 
 XXXI.— RBTMBDTION, 846 
 
 XXXn. — SUFFERING AND ITS RESULTS, .... 858 
 
 XXXIIL — MATRIMONIAL PLANS AND PROSPECTS, . . 878 
 
 XXXIV.— A NEW DISASTER, 379 
 
 XXXV. — THE LAST, 389 
 
& 
 
 THE BUFFALO RUNNEES 
 
 A TALE OF THE EED KIVEK PLAINS 
 
 CHAPTEK L 
 
 A BLIZZARD was blowing wildly over the American 
 prairies one winter day in the earlier part of the 
 present century. 
 
 Fresh, free and straight, it came from the realms 
 of Jack Frost, and cold — bitterly cold — like the 
 bergs on the Arctic seas, to which it had but 
 recently said farewell 
 
 Snow, fine as dust and sharp as needles, was 
 caught up bodily by the wind in great masses — 
 here in snaky coils, there in whirling eddies, else- 
 where in rolling clouds; but these had barely 
 time to assume indefinite forms when they were 
 furiously scattered and swept away as by the besom 
 of destruction, while earth and sky commingled in 
 a smother of whity-grey. 
 
 All the demons of the Far North seemed to have 
 taken an outside passage on that blizzard, so 
 
 A 
 
2 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 tremendous was the roaring and shrieking, while 
 the writhing of tormented snow-drifts suggested 
 powerfully the madness of agony. 
 
 Two white and ghostly pillars moved slowly but 
 steadily through all this hurly-burly in a straight 
 line. One of the pillars was short and broad; 
 the other was tall and stately. Both were very 
 solid — agreeably so, when contrasted with sur- 
 rounding chaos. Suddenly the two pillars stopped 
 — though the gale did not. 
 
 Said the short pillar to the tall one — 
 
 " Taniel Tavidson, if we will not get to the Settle- 
 ment this night ; it iss my belief that every one o' 
 them will perish." 
 
 "Fergus," replied the tall pillar, sternly, "they 
 shall not perish if I can help it. At all events, if 
 they do, I shall die in the attempt to save them. 
 Come on." 
 
 Daniel Davidson became less like a white pillar 
 as he spoke, and more like a man, by reason of his 
 shaking a good deal of the snow off his stalwart 
 person. Fergus M'Kay followed his comrade's 
 example, and revealed the fact — for a few minutes 
 — that beneath the snow-mask there stood a young 
 man with a beaming countenance of fiery red, the 
 flaming character of which, however, was relieved 
 by an expression of ineffable good-humour. 
 
 The two men resumed their march over the 
 dreary plain in silence. Indeed, conversation in 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 3 
 
 the circumstances was out of the question. The 
 brief remarks that had been made when they paused 
 to recover breath were howled at each other while 
 they stood face to face. 
 
 The nature of the storm was such that the gale 
 seemed to rush at the travellers from all quarters 
 at once — including above and below. Men of less 
 vigour and resolution would have been choked by 
 it ; but men who don't believe in choking, and have 
 thick necks, powerful frames, vast experience, and 
 indomitable wills are not easily choked ! 
 
 "It blows hard — whatever" muttered Fergus to 
 himself, with that prolonged emphasis on the last 
 syllable of the last word which is eminently sug- 
 gestive of the Scottish Highlander. 
 
 Davidson may have heard the remark, but he 
 made no reply. 
 
 Day declined, but its exit was not marked by 
 much difference in the very feeble light, and the 
 two men held steadily on. The moon came out. 
 As far as appearances went she might almost as 
 well have stayed in, for nobody saw her that night. 
 Her mere existence somewhere in the sky, however, 
 rendered the indescribable chaos visible. Hours 
 passed by, but still the two men held on their way 
 persistently. 
 
 They wore live-feet-long snow-shoes. Progress 
 over the deep snow without these would have been 
 impossible. One traveller walked behind the other 
 
4 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 to get the benefit of his beaten track, but the bene- 
 fit was scarcely appreciable, for the whirling snow 
 filled each footstep up almost as soon as it was 
 made. Two days and a night had these men 
 travelled with but an hour or two of rest in the 
 shelter of a copse, without fire, and almost without 
 food, yet they pushed on with the energy of fresh 
 and well-fed men. 
 
 Nothing but some overpowering necessity could 
 have stimulated them to such prolonged and severe 
 exertion. Even self-preservation might have failed 
 to nerve them to it, for both had well-nigh reached 
 the limit of their exceptional powers, but each was 
 animated by a stronger motive than self. Fergus 
 had left his old father in an almost dying state 
 on the snow-clad plains, and Davidson had left his 
 afiianced bride. 
 
 The buffalo hunt had failed that year; winter 
 had set in with unwonted severity and earlier than 
 usual. The hunters, with the women and children 
 who followed them in carts to help and to reap the 
 benefit of the hunt, were starving. Their horses 
 died or were frozen to death; carts were snowed 
 up ; and the starving hunters had been scattered in 
 making the best of their way back to the Settlement 
 of Red River from which they had started. 
 
 When old M'Kay broke down, and his only 
 daughter Elspie had firmly asserted her determina- 
 tion to remain and die with him, Fergus M'Kay 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 5 
 
 and Daniel Davidson felt themselves to lie put 
 upon their mettle — called on to face a difficulty 
 of the most appalling nature. To remain on the 
 snow-clad prairie without food or shelter would he 
 death to all, for there was no living creature there 
 to be shot or trapped. On the other hand, to travel 
 a hundred miles or so on foot — and without food, 
 seemed an impossibility. Love, however, ignores 
 the impossible ! The two young men resolved on 
 the attempt, Thcv were pretty well aware of the 
 extent of their physical powers. They would put 
 them fairly to the test for once — even though for 
 the last time ! They prepared for the old man and 
 his daughter a shelter in the heart of a clump of 
 willows, near to which spot they had found a group 
 of the hapless hunters already dead and frozen. 
 
 Here, as far from the frozen group as possible, 
 they made an encampment by digging down through 
 the snow till the ground was reached. As much 
 dried wood as could be found was collected, and a 
 fire made. The young men left their blankets be- 
 hind, and, of the small quantity of provisions that 
 remained, they took just sufficient to sustain lifa 
 Then, with cheery words of encouragement, they 
 said good-bye, and set out on their journey to the 
 Settlement for help. 
 
 The object at which they aimed was almost 
 gained at the point when we introduce them to the 
 reader. 
 
6 THE BUFFALO KTJNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " Taniel ! " said Fergus, coining to a sudden halt. 
 
 " Well ? " exclaimed the other. 
 
 " It iss sleepy that I am. Maybe if I wass to lie 
 down " 
 
 He ceased to speak. Davidson looked anxiously 
 into his face, and saw that he had already begun 
 to give way to irresistible drowsiness. Without a 
 moment's hesitation he seized the Highlander by 
 the throat, and shook him as if he had been a 
 mere baby. 
 
 " Iss it for fightin' ye are ? " said Fergus, whose 
 good-nature was not proof against such rough and 
 unexpected treatment. 
 
 " Yes, my boy, that 's just what I am for, and I 
 think you '11 get the worst of it too." 
 
 " What iss that you say ? Ay, ay ! You will 
 hev to bend your back then, Taniel, for it iss not 
 every wan that can give Fergus M'Kay the worst 
 of it!" 
 
 Davidson made no reply, but gave his comrade a 
 shake so violent that it put to flight the last vestige 
 of his good-humour and induced him to struggle so 
 fiercely that in a few minutes the drowsiness was 
 also, and effectually, driven away. 
 
 "You'll do now," said Davidson, relaxing his 
 grip and panting somewhat. 
 
 " Ay, Taniel, I will be doin' now. An' you 're a 
 frund in need whatever," returned the restored High- 
 lander with a smile of appreciation. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 7 
 
 About an hour later the travellers again stopped. 
 This time it was Davidson who called a halt. 
 
 " Fergus," he said, " we have been successful so 
 far, thank God. But we must part here. Half-an- 
 hour will take me to my father's house, and I want 
 you to go down to the hut of Francois La Certe ; it 
 is nearer than our house, you know — and get him 
 to help you." 
 
 " Surely, Tan, that will be wasted time," objected 
 the Highlander. " Of all the lazy useless scamps 
 in Eud Ruver, Francois La Certe iss the laziest an' 
 most useless." 
 
 " Useful enough for our purpose, however," re- 
 turned Davidson. " Send him up to Fort Garry with 
 a message, while you lie down and rest. If you 
 don't rest, you will yourself be useless in a short 
 time. La Certe is not such a bad fellow as people 
 think him, specially when his feelings are touched." 
 
 "That may be as you say. Tan. I will try — 
 whatever." 
 
 So saying, the two men parted and hurried on 
 their several ways. 
 
THE BUFFALO EUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A LAZY COUPLE DESCRIBED— AITD BOUSED. 
 
 Franqois La Certe was seated on the floor of his 
 hut smoking a long clay pipe beside an open wood 
 fire when Fergus M'Kay approached. His wife was 
 seated beside him calmly smoking a shorter pipe 
 with obvious enjoyment. 
 
 The man was a Canadian half-breed. His wife 
 was an Indian woman. They were both moderately 
 young and well matched, for they thoroughly agreed 
 in everything conceivable — or otherwise. In the 
 length and breadth of the Settlement there could 
 not have been found a lazier or more good-natured 
 or good-for-nothing couple than La Certe and his 
 spouse. Love was, if we may venture to say so, the 
 chief element in the character of each. Love of 
 self was the foundation. Then, happily, love of 
 each other came next. Rising gracefully, the super- 
 structure may be described as, love of tobacco, love 
 of tea, love of ease, and love of general comfort, 
 finishing off with a top-dressing, or capital, of pro- 
 nounced, decided, and apparently incurable love of 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. ^ 
 
 indolence. They had only one clear and unmis- 
 takable hatred about them, and that was the hatred 
 of work. They had a child about four years of age 
 which was like-minded — and not unlike-bodied. 
 
 In the wilderness, as in the city, such individuals 
 are well known by the similarity of their character- 
 istics. It is not that they can't work, but they 
 won't work — though, of course, if taxed with this 
 disposition they would disclaim it with mild indig- 
 nation, or an expression of hurt remonstrance, for 
 they are almost too lazy to become enraged. " Take 
 life easy, or, if we can't take it easy, let us take it as 
 easy as we can," is, or ought to be, their motto. In 
 low life at home they slouch and smile. In high 
 life they saunter and affect easy-going urbanity — 
 slightly mingled with mild superiority to things in 
 general. Whatever rank of life they belong to they 
 lay themselves out with persistent resolution to do 
 as little work as they can ; to make other people do 
 as much work for them as possible ; to get out of 
 life as much of enjoyment as may be attainable — 
 consistently, of course, with the incurable indolence 
 — and, to put off as long as may be the evil day 
 which, they perceive or suspect, must inevitably 
 be coming. 
 
 The curious thing about this race of beings is, 
 that, whether in high or low station, they are never 
 ashamed of themselves — or of their position as 
 drones in the world's hive. They seem rather to 
 
10 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 apologise for their degradation as a thing inevitable, 
 for which they are not accountable — and sometimes, 
 in the case of the rich, as a thing justifiable. 
 
 " I 'm glad I did not go to the plains this fall," 
 said La Certe, stirring the logs on the fire with his 
 toe and emitting a prolonged sigh of mingled smoke 
 and contentment, while a blast from the bleak nor'- 
 west shook every blackened rafter in his little hut. 
 
 " Hee ! hee ! " responded his wife, whose Indian 
 name — translated — was Slowfoot, and might have 
 been Slowtongue with equal propriety, for she was 
 quite an adept at the art of silence. She frequently 
 caused a giggle to do duty for speech. This suited 
 her husband admirably, for he was fond of talking — 
 could tell a good story, sing a good song, and express 
 his feelings in a good hearty laugh. 
 
 " Yes, it will be hard for the poor boys who have 
 gone to the plains, the weather is so awful, to say 
 nothing of the women." 
 
 " Ho," replied Slowfoot — though what she meant 
 to express by this no mortal knows — nor, perhaps, 
 cares. It meant nothing bad, however, for she 
 smiled seraphically and sent forth a stream of 
 smoke, which, mingling with that just emitted by 
 her husband, rose in a curling harmony to the roof. 
 
 Slowfoot was not a bad-looking woman as North 
 American Indians go. She was brown unquestion- 
 ably, and dirty without doubt, but she had a pleasant 
 expression, suggestive of general good- will, and in 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 11 
 
 the budding period of life must have been even 
 pretty. She was evidently older than her husband, 
 who might, perhaps, have been a little over thirty. 
 
 " I should not wonder," continued La Certe, " if 
 the buffalo was drove away, and the people starved 
 this year. But the buffalo, perhaps, will return in 
 time to save them." 
 
 "Hm!" responded the wife, helping herself to 
 some very strong tea, which she poured out of a 
 tin kettle into a tin mug and sweetened with maple 
 sugar. 
 
 " Do you know if Cloudbrow went with them ? " 
 asked the half-breed, pushing forward his mug for a 
 supply of the cheering beverage. 
 
 " No, he stopped in his house," replied the woman, 
 rousing herself for a moment to the conversational 
 point, but relapsing immediately. 
 
 The man spoke in patois French, the woman in 
 her native Cree language. For convenience we 
 translate their conversation as near as may be into 
 the English in which they were wont to converse 
 with the Scotch settlers who, some time before, had 
 been sent out by the Earl of Selkirk to colonise that 
 remote part of the northern wilderness. 
 
 La Certe's father was a French Canadian, his 
 mother an Indian woman, but both having died 
 while he was yet a boy he had been brought or 
 left to grow up under the care of an English 
 woman who had followed the fortunes of the La Certe 
 
12 THE BUBTALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 family. His early companions had been half -breeds 
 and Indians. Hence he could speak the English, 
 French, and Indian languages with equal incorrect- 
 ness and facility. 
 
 " You don't like Cloudbrow," remarked the man 
 with an inquiring glance over the rim of his mug. 
 " Why you not like him ? " 
 
 " Hee ! hee ! " was Slowfoot's lucid reply. Then, 
 with an unwonted frown on her mild visage, she 
 added with emphasis — " No ! I 7wt like him." 
 
 " I know that," returned the husband, setting down 
 his mug and resuming his pipe, " but why ? " 
 
 To this the lady answered with a sound too brief 
 to spell, and the gentleman, being accustomed to 
 his wife's little eccentricities, broke into a hilarious 
 laugh, and assured her that Cloudbrow was not a 
 bad fellow — a capital hunter and worthy of more 
 regard than she was aware of. 
 
 "For," said he, "Cloudbrow is willing to wait 
 till spring for payment of the horse an' cart I 
 hired from him last year. You know that I could 
 not pay him till I go to the plains an' get another 
 load of meat an' leather. You will go with me, 
 Slowfoot, an' we will have grand times of it with 
 buffalo-humps an' marrow bones, an' tea an' tobacco. 
 Ah 1 it makes my mouth water. Give me more tea. 
 So. That will do. "What a noise the wind makes ! 
 I hopes it won't blow over the shed an' kill the 
 horse. But if it do I cannot help that. Cloudbrow 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 13 
 
 could not ask me to pay for what the wind 
 does." 
 
 There came another gust of such violence, as he 
 spoke, that even Slowfoot's benignant expression 
 changed to a momentary glance of anxiety, for the 
 shingles on the roof rattled, and the rafters creaked 
 as if the hut were groaning under the strain. It 
 passed, however, and the pair went on smoking 
 with placid contentment, for they had but recently 
 had a " square " meal of pemmican and flour. 
 
 This compost when cooked in a frying-pan is 
 exceedingly rich and satisfying — not to say heavy 
 — food, but it does not incommode such as La 
 Certe and his wife. It even made the latter feel 
 amiably disposed to Cloudbrow. 
 
 This sobriquet had been given by the half-breeds 
 to a young Scotch settler named Duncan M'Kay, 
 in consequence of the dark frown which had settled 
 habitually on his brow — the result of bad temper 
 and unbridled passion. He was younger brother to 
 that Fergus who has already been introduced to 
 the reader. Having been partially trained, while 
 in Scotland, away from the small farm-house of 
 his father, and having received a better education, 
 Duncan conceived himself to stand on a higher 
 level than the sedate and uneducated Fergus. Thus 
 pride was added to his bad temper. But he was 
 not altogether destitute of good points. "What man 
 is ? One of these was a certain reckless open- 
 
14 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 handedness, so that he was easily imposed on by 
 the protestations and assurances of the sly, plausible, 
 and lazy La Certe. 
 
 The couple were still engaged in smoking, quaffing 
 tea, and other intellectual pursuits, when they heard 
 sounds outside as of some one approaching. An- 
 other moment, and the door burst open, and a 
 man in white stepped in. He saluted them with a 
 familiar and hasty " toujour ," as he stamped and 
 beat the snow vigorously from his garments. 
 
 " Wliat ? Antoine Dechamp ! " exclaimed La 
 Certe, rising slowly to welcome his friend; "you 
 seem in hurry ? " 
 
 " Ay — in great hurry ! They are starving on the 
 plains ! Many are dead ! Davidson has come in ! 
 He is more than half- dead ! Can hardly tell the 
 news ! Drops asleep when he is speaking ! Luckily 
 I met him when going home in my cariole ! Ok^- 
 matan, the Indian, was with me. So he got out, and 
 said he would pilot Davidson safe home ! He said 
 something about Fergus M'Kay, which I could not 
 understand, so I have come on, and will drive to 
 Fort Garry with the news ! But my horse has 
 broke down ! Is yours in the stable ? " 
 
 Dechamp was a sturdy young half-breed and an 
 old playmate of La Certe. He spoke with obvious 
 impatience at the delay caused by having so much 
 to tell. 
 
 "Is your horse in the stable?" he demanded 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 15 
 
 sharply a second time, while his friend began, with 
 exasperating composure, to assure him that it was, 
 but that the horse was not his. 
 
 "Cloudbrow is its owner," he said, "and you 
 
 know if anything happens to it he will . 
 
 Stay, I will get you lantern " 
 
 He stopped, for Dechamp, observing a large key 
 hanging on the wall, had seized it and rushed out 
 of the hut without waiting for a lantern. 
 
 " Strange, how easy some men get into a fuss ! ' 
 remarked La Certe to his surprised, but quiet, spouse 
 as he lighted a large tin lantern, and went to 
 the door. Looking out with an expression of dis- 
 comfort, he put on his cap, and prepared to face 
 the storm in the cause of humanity. He held the 
 lantern high up first, however, and peered under it 
 as if to observe the full extent of the discomfort 
 before braving it. Just then a furious gust blew 
 out the light. 
 
 " Ha ! I expected that," he said, with a sigh that 
 was strongly suggestive of relief, as he returned to 
 the fire to relight the lantern. 
 
 On going the second time to the door he observed 
 the form of his friend leading the horse past — both 
 of them looking dim and spectral through the 
 driving snow. 
 
 " Dechamp have good eyes ! " he remarked, 
 halting on the threshold. " There is light enough 
 without the lantern ; besides — ha ! there, it is out 
 
16 TUB BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 agaiu ! What a trouble it is ! Impossible to keep 
 it in — such a night ! " 
 
 " Hee ! hee ! " giggled Slowfoot, who was busy- 
 refilling her pipe. 
 
 La Cerfce was still standing in a state of hesitancy, 
 troubled by a strong desire to help his friend, and 
 a stronger desire to spare himself, when he was 
 thrown somewhat off his wonted balance by the 
 sudden reappearance of Dechamp, leading, or 
 rather supporting, a man. 
 
 Need we say that it was Fergus M'Kay, almost 
 blind and dumb from exhaustion, for the parting 
 from Dan Davidson which we have mentioned had 
 proved to be the last straw which broke them both 
 down, and it is probable that the frozen corpse 
 of poor Dan would have been found next day 
 on the snow, had he not been accidentally met 
 by Dechamp, and taken in charge by the Indian 
 Ok^matan. Fergus, having a shorter way to go, 
 and, perhaps, possessing a little more vitality or 
 endurance, had just managed to stagger to La 
 Certe's hut when he encountered the same man 
 who, an hour previously, had met and saved his 
 companion further down the Settlement. 
 
 The moment Fergus entered the hut, he looked 
 wildly round, and opened his mouth as if to speak. 
 Then he suddenly collapsed, and fell in a heap 
 upon the floor, scattering flakes of snow from his 
 person in all directions. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 17 
 
 La Certe and his wife, though steeped in selfish- 
 ness, were by no means insensible to the sufferings of 
 humanity when these were actually made visible to 
 their naked eyes. Like many — too many — people, 
 they were incapable of being impressed very deeply 
 through their ears, but could be keenly touched 
 through the eyes. No sooner did they behold the 
 condition of Fergus — who was well known to them 
 — than they dropped their apathetic characters as 
 though they had been garments. 
 
 In her haste Slowfoot let fall her pipe, which 
 broke to atoms ou the floor — but she heeded it not 
 La Certe capsized his mug of tea — but regarded it 
 not ; and while the former proceeded to remove the 
 shawl from Fergus's neck and chafe his cold hands, 
 the latter assisted Dechamp to drag the exhausted 
 man a little nearer to the fire, and poured a cup of 
 warm tea down his throat. 
 
 Their efforts, though perchance not as wisely 
 directed as they might have been, were so vigor- 
 ously conducted that success rewarded them. 
 Fergus soon began to show signs of returning 
 animation. A hunter of the western wilderness is 
 not easily overcome, neither is he long of reviving, 
 as a rule, if not killed outright. 
 
 They set him up in a sitting posture with his 
 back against a box, and his feet towards the fire. 
 Heaving a deep sigh, Fergus looked round with 
 a bewildered, anxious expression. In a moment 
 
 B 
 
18 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 intelligence returned to his eyes, and he made a 
 violent attempt to rise, but Dechamp held him 
 down. 
 
 " Let me up ! " he gasped, " life and death are in 
 the matter — if it iss not death already " 
 
 "Be still, Fergus M'Kay," said Dechamp, with 
 that firmness of manner and tone which somehow 
 command respect ; " I know all about it. Take one 
 bit of bread, one swig more of tea, and you go with 
 me to Fort Garry, to tell the Gov'nor what you 
 know. He will send help at once." 
 
 Great was the relief of Fergus when he heard 
 this. Submitting to treatment like an obedient 
 child, he was soon fit to stagger to the sleigh or 
 cariole, into which he was carefully stuffed and 
 packed like a bale of goods by La Certe and his 
 wife, who, to their credit be it recorded, utterly 
 ignored, for once, the discomforts of the situation. 
 
 Fergus was asleep before the packing was quite 
 done. Then Dechamp jumped in beside him, and 
 drove off in the direction of the Hudson's Bay 
 Company's establishment. Fort Garry, while our 
 worthy couple returned to their hut to indulge in 
 a final and well-earned pipe and a mug of the 
 strongest possible tea. 
 
Of THE KKI) KIVEK I'LAliSt). 1& 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 Winnipeg city, with its thousands of inhabitants, 
 now covers the spot to which Antoine Dechamp 
 drove his friend Fergus M'Kay. 
 
 At the time we write of, the only habitation 
 there was Fort Garry, a solitary stone building of 
 some strength, but without regular troops of any 
 kind, and held only by a few employes of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company, who were there only in 
 the capacity of fur-traders. 
 
 Here the Governor of the colony received the 
 unexpected guests with hospitality ; heard the tale 
 of Fergus with a sympathetic ear, and at once or- 
 ganised a rescue-expedition with dog-sledges and 
 provisions. 
 
 While this was being done at the fort, Dan 
 Davidson was similarly employed at Prairie Cottage, 
 the residence of his mother, who, since the death of 
 her husband — a farmer from the Scottish Lowlands 
 — had managed her farm with the aid of her two 
 sons, Dan and Peter; the latter being a youth of 
 
26 tHE BUFFAtO BUNNERS : A TAti! 
 
 seventeen. She was also assisted by her only 
 daughter, Jessie, who was over thirteen years of age, 
 and already esteemed an authority on the subjects 
 of poultry, cookery, and dairy produce. A small 
 servant — a French half-breed named Louise — com- 
 pleted the household of the widow Davidson. 
 
 On reaching home, Dan, like Fergus M'Kay, ex- 
 perienced difficulties that he had not counted on, 
 for his overtaxed strength fairly broke down, and 
 he found himself almost incapable at first of telling 
 his tale of disaster. Then, when he tried to go 
 about the needful preparations for rescue, he found 
 himself unable to resist drowsiness, and if he 
 ventured to sit down for a moment he fell sound 
 asleep at once. 
 
 Those who have experienced this condition know 
 how overwhelming and intensely disagreeable it is, 
 especially if resistance to it is rendered imperative 
 by a matter of life or death. Davidson struggled 
 bravely against it of course, but the struggle had 
 already been so long continued that his efforts were 
 now in vain. 
 
 Starting up from the supper which Jessie had 
 spread before him, and which he was languidly 
 attempting to eat, he said, almost fiercely, " Where 
 is the wash-tub, Louise ? " 
 
 The surprised little domestic pointed to the article 
 in question. 
 
 " Here ; fetch some cold water." 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 21 
 
 "It is full," said Louise with a strong French 
 accent and a pretty lisp. 
 
 Without the ceremony even of throwing back his 
 collar Dan plunged his head into the water, and, 
 after steeping it for a few seconds, drew it out 
 refreshed. 
 
 His younger brother entered the room at that 
 moment, 
 
 " Peter," he said, drying his head violently with 
 a jack-towel, " have you got the sledge ready, and 
 the provisions packed, and the empty sledge wi' the 
 buffalo-robes ? " 
 
 " Ay — all ready," answered the other, for he was 
 a sprightly, willing youth, who rejoiced in any un- 
 expected demand on his superabundant energies. 
 "But I say, Dan, you are quite unfit to start off 
 again without rest." 
 
 He looked in his brother's face anxiously, for 
 Dan had seated himself once more to his food, but 
 seemed unable to deal with it properly. "Why, 
 you 've got the knife and fork in the wrong hands, 
 Dan ! You Tmist have an hour's rest before we 
 start." 
 
 " Impossible," returned the other with a dazed 
 look, as he seized a mug of water and drank it off. 
 " An hour's delay may mean death to Elspie and 
 old Duncan M'Kay." 
 
 "But let me start off at once." returned Peter, 
 eagerly. " I 've a pretty good guess, from your 
 
22 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 description, where you left them. Besides, the gale 
 is not so bad now. After an hour's sleep you will 
 be able to start fresh, maybe overtake me. Jess 
 will be sure to waken you in " 
 
 He stopped, for his brother's head had bent slowly 
 forward while he was speaking, and now rested on 
 his arms on the table. The worn-out man was 
 sound asleep. 
 
 " Just leave him, Peter, and be off wi' the dogs," 
 said Mrs. Davidson. " Okematan will keep you in 
 the right track. I '11 be sure to wake him in 
 time to catch you up." 
 
 "No, mother, not without his leave," said the 
 youth, firmly. " Dan ! Dan ! rouse up, old boy ! 
 Shall we start without you ? " 
 
 "Yes, yes — I'm ready," said the poor fellow, 
 starting up and swaying to and fro like a drunken 
 man; "but — I say, Peter, I'm done for. I depend 
 on you, lad, to keep me up to the scratch. Lay the 
 dog- whip across my shoulders if I try to lie down. 
 Promise me that. D'ee hear ! " 
 
 "Yes, I understand," returned the youth with 
 intense earnestness. "Now look here, Dan, you 
 know me : will you trust me ? " 
 
 " Of course I will," answered Dan with a languid 
 smile. 
 
 " Well, then; come along, we'll rescue Elspie — you 
 may depend on that. Ok(5matan and I will look 
 after you and see tliat all goes right. Come." 
 
OF THE EED RIVEK PLAINS. 23 
 
 He took his brother by the arm, and led him 
 unresistingly away, followed by the dark-skinned 
 Indian, who, with the usual reticence of his race, 
 had stood like a brown statue, silently observing 
 events. 
 
 Jessie Davidson, who was a fair and comely 
 maiden, touched him on the arm as he was passing 
 out — 
 
 " Oh ! take care of him, Ok^matan," she said, 
 anxiously. 
 
 Ok^matan replied " Ho ! " in a sort of grunt. It 
 was an expressively uttered though not very com- 
 prehensible reply ; but Jessie was satisfied, for she 
 knew the man well, as he had for a considerable 
 time been, not exactly a servant of the house, but 
 a sort of self-appointed hanger-on, or unpaid retainer. 
 For an Indian, he was of a cheerful disposition and 
 made himself generally usefuL 
 
 When they were outside, it was found that the 
 gale had abated considerably, and that the moon 
 was occasionally visible among the clouds which 
 were driving wildly athwart the heavens, as though 
 the elemental war which had ceased to trouble the 
 earth were still raging in the sky. 
 
 "Peter," said the brother, as they stood for a 
 moment beside two Indian sledges, one of which 
 was laden with provisions, the other empty — " Peter, 
 don't forget your promise. Lay the whip on heavy. 
 Nothing else will keep me awake ! " 
 
24 THE BUFFALO RTJNNEKS : A TALE 
 
 "All right! Sit down there for a moment. 
 We 're not quite ready yet." 
 
 " I 'd better not. No ! I will stand till it 's time 
 to start," returned Dan with a dubious shake of his 
 head. 
 
 " Didn't you say you would trust me ? " 
 
 " Yes, I did, old boy." 
 
 "Does it look like trusting me to refuse the 
 very first order I give you ? What an example to 
 Ok^matan ! I am in command, Dan. Do as you 're 
 bid, sir, and sit down." 
 
 With a faint smile, and a still more dubious 
 shake of the head, Dan obeyed. He sat down on 
 the empty sledge and the expected result followed. 
 In a few seconds he was asleep. 
 
 "Now we'll pack him in tight," observed his 
 brother, as he and the Indian stretched the sleeper 
 at full length on the sledge, wrapped him com- 
 pletely up in the warm buffalo robes, and lashed 
 him down in such a way that he resembled a 
 mummy, with nothing visible of him except his 
 mouth and nose. 
 
 Four strong large dogs were attached to each 
 sledge in tandem fashion, each dog having a little 
 collar and harness of its own. No reins were ne- 
 cessary. A track ])eaten in the soft snow with his 
 snow-shoes by the Indian, who stepped out in front, 
 was guide enough for Uieiii ; and a tail-line at- 
 tached to the rear of each sledge, and held by the 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 25 
 
 drivers, sufficed to restrain them when a stretch of 
 hard snow or ice tempted them to have a scamper. 
 
 The road thus beaten over the prairie by Ok^ 
 matan, though a comparatively soft one, was by 
 no means smooth, and the rough motion would, in 
 ordinary circumstances, have rendered sleep im- 
 possible to our hero ; but it need hardly be said 
 that it failed to disturb him on the present occasion. 
 He slept like an infant throughout the whole night; 
 cared nothing for the many plunges down the 
 prairie waves, and recked not of the frequent jerks 
 out of the hollows. 
 
 Hour after hour did Peter Davidson with his 
 silent companion trudge over the monotonous 
 plains — hope in the ascendant, and vigour, ap- 
 parently, inexhaustible. The dogs, too, were good 
 and strong. A brief halt now and then of a few 
 minutes sufficed to freshen them for every new start. 
 Night passed away, and daylight came in with 
 its ghostly revelations of bushes that looked like 
 bears or buffaloes, and snow-wreaths that suggested 
 the buried forms of frozen men. 
 
 Then the sun arose and scattered these sombre 
 visions of early morning with its gladdening, soul- 
 reviving rays. 
 
 At this point the rescue party chanced to have 
 reached one of those blufl's of woodland which at 
 tliat time speckled the plains — though they were 
 few indeed and far between. 
 
26 THE BUFFALO RUNNEES : A TALE 
 
 " Breakfast," said Peter, heaving a profound sigh 
 as he turned about and checked the teams, for at 
 that point he happened to be in advance beating 
 the track. 
 
 Ok^matan expressed his entire concurrence with 
 an emphatic " Ho ! " The wearied dogs lay down 
 in their tracks, shot out their tongues, panted, and 
 looked amiable, for well they knew the meaning of 
 the word " breakfast " and the relative halt. 
 
 The sudden stoppage awoke the sleeper, and he 
 struggled to rise. 
 
 " Hallo ! What 's wrong ? Where am I ? Have 
 the Eedskins got hold o' me at last ? " 
 
 "Ay, that they have. At least one Eedskin 
 has got you," said Peter. "Have a care, man, 
 don't struggle so violently. Ok^matan won't scalp 
 you." 
 
 The sound of his brother's voice quieted David- 
 son, and at once restored his memory. 
 
 " Cast me loose, Peter," he said ; " you 're a good 
 fellow. I see you have brought me along wi' you, 
 and I feel like a giant refreshed now, tho' some- 
 what stiff. Have we come far ? " 
 
 " I don 't know how far we've come, but I know 
 that we 've been pegging along the whole night, and 
 that we must have breakfast before we take another 
 step. It 's all very well for you, Dan, to lie there 
 all night like a mere bag o' pemmican enjoying 
 yourself, but you must remember that your brother 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 27 
 
 is mortal, and so are the dogs, to say nothing o' the 
 Eedskin." 
 
 While he was speaking, the youth undid the 
 fastenings, and set his brother free, but Dan was 
 far too anxious to indulge in pleasantries just then. 
 After surveying the landscape, and coming to a 
 conclusion as to where they were, he took a hur- 
 ried breakfast of dried meat — cold. The dogs were 
 also treated to a hearty feed, and then, resuming 
 the march, the rescuers pushed on with renewed 
 vigour — Dan Davidson now beating the track, and 
 thus rendering it more easy for those who came 
 behind him. 
 
 All that day they pushed on almost without halt, 
 and spent the next night in a clump of willows; 
 but Dan was too anxious to take much rest. They 
 rose at the first sign of daybreak, and pushed on at 
 their utmost speed, until the poor dogs began to 
 show signs of breaking down ; but an extra hour 
 of rest, and a full allowance of food kept them up 
 to the mark, while calm weather and clear skies 
 served to cheer them on their way. 
 
28 THE BUFFALO RUNNEES : A TALE 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 TBLLS OF LOVE, DUTT, STARVATION, AKD MUBDBR. 
 
 Pushing on ahead of them, with that sometimes 
 fatal facility peculiar to writers and readers, we will 
 now visit the couple whom Dan and his party were 
 so anxious to rescue. 
 
 A single glance at Elspie M'Kay would have been 
 sufficient to account to most people for the de- 
 sperate anxiety of Daniel Davidson to rescue her 
 from death, for her pretty sparkling face and ever- 
 varying expression were irresistibly suggestive of 
 a soul full of sympathy and tender regard for the 
 feelings of others. 
 
 Nut-brown hair, dark eyes, brilliant teeth, and 
 many more charms that it would take too much 
 time and room to record still further accounted 
 for the desperate determination with which Dan 
 liad wooed and won her. 
 
 But to see this creature at her best, you had 
 to see her doing the dutiful to her old father. If 
 ever there was a peevish, cross-grained, crabbed, 
 
of THE REl) KIVER PLAINS. 8d 
 
 unreasonable old sinner in this world, that sinner 
 was Duncan M'Kay, senior. He was a widower. 
 Perhaps that accounted to some extent for his 
 condition. That he should have a younger son — 
 also named Duncan — a cross ne'er-do-weel like 
 himself — was natural, but how he came to have 
 such a sweet daughter as Elspie, and such a good 
 elder son as Fergus, are mysteries which we do not 
 attempt to unravel or explain. Perhaps these two 
 took after their departed mother. We know not, 
 for we never met her. Certain it is that they did 
 not in the least resemble their undeparted father 
 — except in looks, for M'Kay senior had been a 
 handsome man, though at the time we introduce 
 him his good looks, like his temper, had nearly fled, 
 and he was considerably shrivelled up by age, hard 
 work, and exposure. The poor man was too old 
 to emigrate to a wilderness home when he had set 
 out for the Eed Eiver Colony, and the unusual 
 sufferings, disappointments, and hardships to which 
 the first settlers were exposed had told heavily on 
 even younger men than he. 
 
 Elspie's love for her father was intense; her 
 pity for him in his misfortunes was very tender; 
 and, now that he was brought face to face with, 
 perhaps, the greatest danger that had ever befallen 
 him, her anxiety to relieve and comfort him was 
 very touching. She seemed quite to forget herself, 
 and the fact that she might perish on the bleak 
 
30 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 plains along with her father did not seem even to 
 occur to her. 
 
 " It wass madness to come here, wha,tever," said 
 the poor old man, as he cowered over the small jfire, 
 which his son Fergus had kindled before leaving, and 
 which Elspie had kept up with infinite labour and 
 difficulty ever since. 
 
 The remark was made testily to himself, for Elspie 
 had gone into the surrounding bush, axe in hand, to 
 find, if possible, and cut down some more small 
 pieces of firewood. When she returned with an 
 armful of dry sticks, he repeated the sentiment still 
 more testily, and added — 
 
 " If it wass not for Tuncan, I would have been at 
 home this night in my warm bed, wi' a goot supper 
 inside o' me, instead o' freezin' an' starvin' oot here 
 on the plain among the snow. It 's mischief that 
 boy wass always after from the tay he wass born." 
 
 " But you know that poor Duncan could not guess 
 we were to have such awful weather, or that the 
 buffalo would be so scarce. Come now, dear daddy," 
 said the cheery girl, as she heaped on wood and 
 made a blaze that revived the old man, " I '11 warm 
 up some more of the tea. There 's a very little left 
 — and — and — it surely won't be long till God sends 
 Daniel and Fergus back to us with food." 
 
 Old M'Kay was somewhat mollified by her man- 
 ner, or by the fire, or by the prospect of relief held 
 out, for his tone improved decidedly. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 31 
 
 " Try the bag again, lass," he said, " maybe you '11 
 find a crumb or two in the corners yet. It will do 
 no harm to try." 
 
 Obediently poor Elspie tried, but shook her head 
 as she did so. 
 
 " There 's nothing there, daddy. I turned it 
 inside out last time.' 
 
 " Wow ! but it 's ill to bear ! " exclaimed old 
 Duncan, with a half-suppressed groan 
 
 Meanwhile his daughter put the tin kettle on the 
 fire and prepared their last cup of tea. When it 
 was ready she looked up with a peculiar expression 
 on her face, as she drew something from her pocket. 
 
 " Look here, daddy," she said, holding up a bit of 
 pemmican about the size of a hen's egg. 
 
 The old man snatched it from her, and, biting 
 off a piece, began to chew with a sort of wolfish 
 voracity. 
 
 " I reserved it till now," said the girl, " for I 
 knew that this being the second niglit, you would 
 find it impossible to get to sleep at all without 
 something in you, however small If you manage 
 to sleep on this and the cup of hot tea, you'll may- 
 be rest well till morning and then " 
 
 " God forgive me ! " exclaimed the old man, 
 suddenly pausing, as he was about to thrust the 
 last morsel into his mouth; "hunger makes me 
 selfish. I wass forgettin' that you are starvin' too, 
 my tear. Open your mouth." 
 
82 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " No, father, I don't want it. I really don't feel 
 hungry." 
 
 " Elspie, my shild," said old Duncan, in a tone of 
 stern remonstrance, " when wass it that you began 
 to tell lies ? " 
 
 " I 'm telling the truth, daddy, I did feel hungry 
 yesterday, but that has passed away, and to-day I 
 feel only a little faint." 
 
 " Open your mouth, I 'm tellin' you," repeated old 
 Duncan in a tone of command which long experience 
 had taught Elspie promptly to obey. She received 
 the morsel, ate it with much relish, and wished 
 earnestly for more. 
 
 •' Now, you '11 lie down and go to sleep," she said, 
 after her father had washed down the last morsel of 
 food with tlie last cup of hot tea, " and I '11 gather a 
 few more sticks to keep the fire going till morning. 
 I think it is not so cold as it was, and the wind is 
 quite gone. They have been away five days now, 
 or more. I think that God, in His mercy, will send 
 us relief in the morning." 
 
 " You are a goot lass, my tear," said the old man, 
 allowing himself to be made as comfortable as it 
 was in his daughter's power to accomplish ; " what 
 you say is ferry true. The weather feels warmer, 
 and the wind is down. Perhaps they will find us 
 in the mornin'. Goot-night, my tear." 
 
 It was one of the characteristics of this testy old 
 man, that he beUeved it quite possible for a human 
 
OF THE RED KIVER PLAINS. 33 
 
 being to get on quite well enough in this world 
 without any distinct recognition of his Maker. 
 
 Once, in conversation with his youngest son and 
 namesake Duncan junior, he had somehow got 
 upon this subject, not by any means in a reverential, 
 but in an argumentative, controversial spirit, and 
 had expressed the opinion that as man knew 
 nothing whatever about God, and had no means ot 
 finding out anything about Him, there was no need 
 to trouble one's head about Him at aU. 
 
 " I just go about my work, Tuncan," he said, " an 
 leave preachin' an' prayin' an' psalm-singin' to them 
 that likes it. There 's Elspie, now. She believes in 
 God, an' likes goin' to churches an' meetin's, an' 
 that seems to make her happy. Ferry goot — I don't 
 pelieve in these things, an' I think I 'm as happy as 
 hersel'." 
 
 " Humph ! " grunted the son in a tone of un- 
 concealed contempt ; " if ye are as happy as hersel', 
 faither, yer looks give the lie to your condeetion, 
 whatewr. An' there 's this great dufference between 
 you an' her, that she 's not only happy hersel', but 
 she does her best to mak other folk happy — but you, 
 wi' your girnin' an' snappin', are always doin' the 
 best ye can to mak everybody aboot ye meeser- 
 able." 
 
 *' Tuncan," retorted the sire, with solemn candour, 
 ** it iss the same compliment I can return to yoursel' 
 with interest, my boy — whateiJer." 
 
 
 
34 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 With such sentiments, then, it is not remarkable 
 that Duncan M'Kay senior turned over to sleep as 
 he best could without looking to a higher source 
 than earth afforded for help in his extremity. 
 Happily his daughter was actuated by a better 
 spirit, and when she at last lay down on her pile 
 of brushwood, with her feet towards the fire, and 
 her head on a buffalo robe, the fact of her having 
 previously committed herself and her father to God 
 made her sleep all the sounder. 
 
 In another clump of wood not many miles distant 
 from the spot where the father and daughter lay, 
 two hunters were encamped. One was Duncan 
 M'Kay, to whom we have just referred as being 
 in discord with his father. The other was a 
 Canadian named Henri Perrin. 
 
 Both men were gaunt and weakened by famine. 
 They had just returned to camp from an unsuc- 
 cessful hunt, and the latter, being first to return, 
 had kindled the fire, and was about to put on the 
 kettle when M'Kay came in. 
 
 " I 've seen nothing," remarked M'Kay as he flung 
 down his gun and then flung himself beside it. 
 " Did you see anything ? " 
 
 "No, nothing," answered Perrin, breaking off a 
 piece of pemmican and putting it into the pot. 
 
 " How much is left ? " asked M'Kay. 
 
 " Hardly enough for two days — for the two of us ; 
 four days perhaps for one ! " answered the other. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 35 
 
 M'Kay looked up quickly, but the Canadian was 
 gazing abstractedly into the pot. Apparently his 
 remark had no significance. But M'Kay did not 
 think so. Since arriving in the colony he had 
 seen and heard much about deception and crime 
 among both Indians and half-breeds. Being sus- 
 picious by nature, he became alarmed, for it was 
 evident enough, as Perrin had said, that food to last 
 two men for three days would last one man for six, 
 and the one who should possess six days' provi- 
 sions might hope to reach the Settlement alive, even 
 though weakened by previous starvation. 
 
 The dark expression which had procured for 
 Duncan M'Kay junior the sobriquet of Cloudbrow 
 from La Certe and his wife, deepened visibly as 
 these thoughts troubled his. brain, and for some 
 time he sat gazing at the fire in profound abs- 
 traction. 
 
 Young M'Kay was not by any means one of the 
 most depraved of men, but when a man is devoid 
 of principle it only requires temptation strong 
 enough, and opportunity convenient, to sink him 
 suddenly to the lowest depths. Starvation had so 
 far weakened the physique of the hunters that it 
 was obviously impossible for both of them to reach 
 the Settlement on two days' short allowance of 
 food. The buffalo had been driven away from that 
 neighbourhood by the recent storm, and the hope 
 of again falling in xriih. them was now gone. The 
 
36 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 starving hunters, as we have said, had broken up 
 camp, and were scattered over the plains no one 
 could tell where. To find them might take days, if 
 not weeks ; and, even if successful, of what avail 
 would it be to discover groups of men who were in 
 the same predicament with themselves ? To remain 
 where they were was certain and not far-distant 
 death ! The situation was desperate, and each knew 
 it to be so. Yet each did not take it in the same 
 way. M'Kay, as we have said, became abstracted 
 and slightly nervous. The Canadian, whatever his 
 thoughts, was calm and collected, and went about 
 his culinary operations as if he were quite at ease. 
 He was about to lift the pot off the hook that sus- 
 pended it over the fire, when his companion quietly, 
 and as if without any definite purpose, took up his gun. 
 
 Perrin observed the action, and quickly reached 
 out his hand towards his own weapon, which lay on 
 the ground beside him. 
 
 Quick as lightning M'Kay raised his gun and fired. 
 Next moment his comrade lay dead upon the ground 
 — shot through the heart ! 
 
 Honor-struck at what he had done, the murderer 
 could scarcely believe his eyes, and he stood up 
 glaring at the corpse as if he had been frozen to 
 death in that position. After standing a long time, 
 he sat down and tried to think of his act and the 
 probable consequences. 
 
 Self-defence was the first idea that was suggested 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 87 
 
 clearly to him ; and he clung to it as a drowning 
 man is said to cling to a straw. " Was it not clear," 
 he thought, " that Perrin intended to murder me ? 
 If not, why so quick to grip his gun? If I had 
 waited it would have heen me, not Perrin, that 
 would be lying there now ! " 
 
 His memory reminded him faithfully, however, 
 that when he first thought of taking up his gun. 
 Conscience had sternly said, " Don 't." Why should 
 Conscience have spoken thus, or at all, if his motive 
 had been innocent ? 
 
 There are two ways in which a wicked man gets 
 rid of conscientious troubles — at least for a time. 
 One way is by stout-hearted defiance of God, and 
 ignoring of Conscience altogether. The other is by 
 sophistical reasoning, and a more or less successful 
 effort to throw dust in his own eyes. 
 
 Duncan M'Kay took the latter method. It is an 
 easy enough method — especially with the illogical — 
 but it works indifferently, and it does not last long. 
 Conscience may be seared ; may be ignored ; may 
 be trampled on, but it cannot be killed ; it cannot 
 even be weakened and is ever ready at the most 
 unseasonable and unexpected times to start up, 
 vigorous and faithful to the very end, with its 
 emphatic " Don't ! " and " No ! " 
 
 Dragging the body out of the camp, M'Kay re- 
 turned to take his supper and reason the matter out 
 with himself. 
 
S8 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " I could not help myself," he thought ; " when I 
 took up my gun I did not intend to kill the man." 
 
 Conscience again reminded him of its " Don't ! " 
 
 " And would not every man in Eud Euver justify 
 me for firing first in self-defence ? " 
 
 Conscience again said " No ! " 
 
 Here the hunter uttered a savage oath, to which 
 Conscience made no reply, for Conscience never 
 speaks back or engages in disputation. 
 
 "We need not attempt further to analyse the 
 workings of sophistry in the brain of a murderer. 
 Suffice it to say that when the man had finished 
 his supper he had completely, though not satis- 
 factorily, justified himself in his own eyes. There 
 was, he felt, a disagreeable undercurrent of un- 
 easiness ; but this might have been the result of fear 
 as to how the Canadian half-breeds and friends of 
 the slain man would regard the matter in the event 
 of its being found out. 
 
 There was reason for anxiety on this head, for 
 poor Perrin was a great favourite among his 
 comrades, while Cloudbrow was very much the 
 reverse. 
 
 Having finished the supper which he had 
 purchased at such a terrible price, the young man 
 gathered his things together, packed the provisions 
 on his back, put on his snow-shoes and left the scene 
 of the murder. 
 
 Although a dark night, there was sufficient moon- 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 39 
 
 light to enable him to pick his steps, but he had not 
 advanced more than two miles when he came upon 
 the track of a party that had preceded him. This 
 rendered the walking more easy, and as he plodded 
 along he reflected that the wolves would soon find 
 Perrin's body, and, by tearing it to pieces render 
 recognition of the victim impossible. 
 
 Suddenly it occurred to him that if any of the 
 scattered band of hunters should come on the camp 
 before the wolves had time to do their work, the 
 print of his snow-shoes might tell a tale — for snow- 
 shoes were of various shapes and sizes, and most of 
 his companions in the Settlement might be pretty 
 well acquainted with the shape of his. The danger 
 of such a contretemps was not great, but, to make 
 quite sure that it should not occur, he turned round 
 and walked straight back on his track to the camp he 
 had just left — thus obliterating, or, rather, confus- 
 ing the track, so as to render recognition improbable. 
 As he walked over it a third time, in resuming his 
 march to the Settlement, all danger on this ground, 
 he considered, was efifectually counteracted. Of 
 course, when he reached the tracks of the party 
 before mentioned, all trace of his own track was 
 necessarily lost among these. 
 
 That "murder will out" is supposed to be an 
 unquestionable truism. We nevertheless question 
 it very much ; for, while the thousands of cases of 
 murder that have been discovered are obvious, the 
 
40 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 vast number, it may be, that have never been found 
 out are not obvious, however probable. 
 
 The case we are now describing seemed likely to 
 belong to the class which remains a mystery till 
 altogether forgotten. Nevertheless Nemesis was on 
 the wing. 
 
 While Duncan M'Kay junior was thus pushing 
 his way over the plains in the direction of Eed 
 Eiver Settlement, two poor half-breed women were 
 toiling slowly over the same plains behind him, 
 bound for the same haven of hoped-for and much- 
 needed rest and refreshment. The poor creatures 
 had been recently made widows. The husband of 
 one, Louis Blanc, had been killed by Indians dur- 
 ing this hunt ; that of the other, Antoine Pierre, had 
 met his death by being thrown from his horse 
 when running the buffalo. Both women were in 
 better condition than many of the other hunters' 
 wives, for they had started on the homcM'ard jour- 
 ney with a better supply of meat, which had not 
 yet been exhausted. 
 
 It happened that Marie Blanc and Annette Pierre 
 came upon M'Kay's camp soon after he left it the 
 second time. Here they prepared to spend the 
 night, but, on discovering marks of fresh blood about, 
 they made a search, and soon came on the unburied 
 corpse of the murdered man, lying behind a bush. 
 They recognised it at once, for Perrin had been well 
 known, as well as much liked, in the Settlement. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 41 
 
 Neither of the women was demonstrative. They 
 did not express much feeliug, though they were 
 undoubtedly shocked ; but they dug a hole in the 
 snow with their snow-shoes, and buried the body 
 of the hunter therein — having first carefully ex- 
 amined the wound in his breast, and removed the 
 poor man's coat, which exhibited a burnt hole in 
 front, as well as a hole in the back, for the bullet 
 had gone quite through him. 
 
 Then they returned to the camp, and made a 
 careful examination of it ; but nothing was found 
 there which could throw light on the subject of 
 wlio was the murderer. Whether a comrade or 
 an Indian had done the deed there was nothing 
 to show ; but that a murder had been committed 
 they could not doubt, for it was physically almost 
 impossible that a man could have shot himself in 
 the chest, either by accident or intention, with one 
 of the long-barrelled trading guns in use among the 
 buffalo hunters. 
 
 Another point, justifying the supposition of foul 
 play, was the significant fact that Perrin's gun, with 
 his name rudely carved on the stock, still lay in 
 the camp undischarged. 
 
 " See — here is something," said one woman to the 
 other in the Cree tongue, as they were about to quit 
 the camp. 
 
 She held up a knife which she had found half- 
 buried near the fire. 
 
42 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 "It is not a common scalping-knife," said the 
 other woman. " It is the knife of a settler." 
 
 The weapon in question was one of the large 
 sheath-knives which many of the recently arrived 
 settlers had brought with them from their native 
 land. Most of these differed a little in size and 
 form from each other, but all of them were very 
 different from the ordinary scalping-knives supplied 
 by the fur-traders to the half-breeds and Indians. 
 
 "I see no name on it — no mark," said the 
 woman who found it, after a critical inspection. 
 Her companion examined it with equal care and 
 similar result. 
 
 The two women had at first intended to encamp 
 at this spot, but now they determined to push 
 forward to the Settlement as fast as their exhausted 
 condition permitted, carrying the knife, with the 
 coat and gun of the murdered man, along with 
 them. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 43 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SAVED. 
 
 Duncan M'Kay senior was dreaming of, and 
 gloating over, the flesh-pots of Eed Eiver, and his 
 amiable daughter was rambling over the green 
 carpet of the summer prairies, when the sun arose 
 and shone upon the bushes which surrounded their 
 winter camp — Starvation Camp, as the old man had 
 styled it. 
 
 There is no saying how long Duncan would have 
 gloated, and the fair Elspie wandered, if a hair of 
 the buffalo robe on which the former lay had not 
 entered his nostril, and caused him to sneeze. 
 
 Old M'Kay's sneeze was something to be re- 
 membered when once heard. Indeed it was some- 
 thing that could not be forgotten ! From the pro- 
 foundest depths of his person it seemed to burst, and 
 how his nose sustained the strain without splitting 
 has remained one of the mysteries of the Nor' -West 
 unto this day. It acted like an electric shock on 
 Elspie, who sat bolt upright at once with a scared 
 look that was ^uite in keeping with her toozled hair. 
 
44 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " Oh ! daddy, what a fright you gave me ! " 
 said, remonstratively. 
 
 " It iss goot seventeen years an' more that yoti 
 hev had to get used to it, whatever," growled the old 
 man. " I suppose we 've got nothin' for breakfast," 
 
 He raised himself slowly, and gazed at Elspie 
 with a disconsolate expression. 
 
 " Nothing," returned the girl with a look of pro- 
 found woe. 
 
 It is said that when things are at the worst 
 they are sure to mend. It may be so : the sayings 
 of man are sometimes true. Whether or not the 
 circumstances of Elspie and old M'Kay were at the 
 worst is an open question; but there can be no 
 doubt that they began to mend just about that 
 time, for the girl had not quite got rid of her dis- 
 consolate feelings when the faint but merry tinkle 
 of sleigh-bells was heard in the frosty air. 
 
 The startled look of sudden surprise and pro- 
 found attention is interesting to behold, whether in 
 old or young. It is a condition of being that 
 utterly blots out self for a brief moment in the 
 person affected, and allows the mind and frame for 
 once to have free unconscious play. 
 
 Elspie said, " Sh — ! " and gazed aside with wide 
 and lustrous eyes, head a little on one side, a hand 
 and forefinger slightly raised, as if to enforce 
 silence, and her graceful figure bent forward — a 
 petrifaction of intensely attentive loveliness. 
 
ELSPIE SAID, "SH 1 —Page 44 
 
OF THE KED IlIVER PLAINS. 45 
 
 Old M'Kay said "Ho!" and, with both hands 
 resting on the ground to prop him up, eyes and 
 mouth wide open, and breath restrained, presented 
 the very personification of petrified stupidity. 
 
 Another moment, and the sound became too dis- 
 tinct to admit of a doubt. 
 
 " Here they are at long last ! " exclaimed the old 
 man, rising with unwonted alacrity for his years. 
 
 " Thank God ! " ejaculated Elspie, springing up 
 and drawing a shawl round her shoulders, at the 
 same time making some hasty and futile attempts 
 to reduce the confusion of her hair. 
 
 It need scarcely be said that this was the arrival 
 of the rescue-party of which Daniel Davidson was 
 in command. Before the starving pair had time to 
 get fairly on their legs, Daniel strode into the camp 
 and seized Elspie in his arms. 
 
 We need not repeat what he said, for it was not 
 meant to be made public, but no such reticence need 
 trouble us in regard to old Duncan. 
 
 "Hoot! Taniel," said he, somewhat peevishly, 
 " keep your coortin' till efter breakfast, man ! It iss 
 a wolf that wiU be livin' inside o' me for the last 
 few tays — a hungry wolf too — an' nothin' for him 
 to eat. That 's right, Okematan, on wi' the kettle ; 
 it iss yourself that knows what it iss to sterve. 
 Blow up the fire, Peter Tavidson. You 're a cliver 
 boy for your age, an' lies goot lungs, I make no 
 doubt." 
 
46 THE BUFFALO EUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " That I have, Mr. M'Kay, else I should not be 
 here," said the lad, laughing, as he knelt before the 
 embers of the fire, and blew them into a blaze. 
 
 " Wow ! Dan, hev ye not a pit pemmican handy ? " 
 asked M'Kay. " It iss little I care for cookin' just 
 now." 
 
 "Here you are," said Dan, taking a lump of 
 the desired article from his wallet and handing it 
 to the impatient man ; at the same time giving a 
 morsel to Elspie. " I knew you would want it in 
 a hurry, and kept it handy. Where is Duncan ? I 
 thought he was with you." 
 
 " So he wass, Taniel, when you left us to go to 
 Rud Euver, but my son Tuncan was never fond o' 
 stickin to his father. He left us, an' no wan knows 
 where he iss now. Stervin, maybe, like the rest 
 of us." 
 
 " I hope not," said Elspie, while her sire continued 
 his breakfast with manifest satisfaction. " He went 
 off to search for buffalo with Perrin and several 
 others. They said they would return to us if they 
 found anything. But, as they have not come back, 
 we suppose they must have been unsuccessful. Did 
 you meet any of the poor people on the way out, 
 Dan ? " 
 
 "Ay, we met some of them," replied the hunter, 
 in a sad tone. " All struggling to make their way 
 back to the Settlement, and all more or less starving. 
 We helped them what we could, but some were 
 
OF THE RED EIVER PLAINS. 47 
 
 past help ; and we came upon two or three that had 
 fallen in their tracks and died in the snow. But 
 we have roused the Settlement, and there are many 
 rescue-parties out in all directions now, scouring 
 the plains." 
 
 " You hev stirred it enough, Ok^matan," said old 
 M'Kay, referring to the kettle of food which was 
 being prepared. " Here, fill my pannikin : I can 
 wait no longer." 
 
 " Whenever you have finished breakfast we must 
 start off home," said Davidson, helping Elspie to 
 some of the much-needed and not yet warmed soup, 
 which was quickly made by mixing pemmican with 
 flour and water. " I have brought two sleds, so that 
 you and your father may ride, and we will cai'.iy the 
 provisions. "We never know when the gale may 
 break out again." 
 
 "Or when heavy snow may come on," added 
 Peter, who was by that time busy with his own 
 breakfast. 
 
 Okematan occupied himself in stirring the con- 
 tents of the large kettle, and occasionally devouring 
 a mouthful of pemmican uncooked. 
 
 An hour later, and they were making for home 
 almost as fast as the rescue-party had travelled 
 out — the provisions transferred to the strong backs 
 of their rescuers — old M'Kay and Elspie carefully 
 wrapped up in furs, reposing on the two sledges. 
 
49 THE BUi<'lt"AL,0 RUJSNERS : A TALK 
 
 CHAPTEE VL 
 
 DI8C0BD AKD DECEIT, ETC. 
 
 It was found, on their arrival at the home of 
 Duncan M'Kay senior, that Duncan junior had 
 got there before them, he having been met and 
 brought in by one of the settlers who had gone out 
 with his cariole to do what he could for the hunters. 
 The two women who discovered the body of Perrin, 
 however, had not yet arrived, and nothing was 
 known of the murder in the Settlement. 
 
 " It iss little troubled you wass, what came over 
 us," remarked old Duncan angrily, on entering his 
 house, and finding his younger son engaged with a 
 pipe beside the kitchen fire. 
 
 " An' how could I know where you wass ; ef ter I 
 had been huntin' for nothin' for two days ? " retorted 
 his son. " Wass I to think you would be stoppin' 
 in the same camp till you died ? Wass it not more 
 likely that some wan would find you an' bring you 
 in — as they did ? " 
 
 " No thanks to you that they did, Tuncan, what- 
 «rer. Where did you leave the other boys ? " 
 
OF THE KED river PLAINS. 40 
 
 " How should T know ? " returned the son sharply ; 
 *' they dropped off — wan here an' wan there — sayin' 
 they would try for a buffalo in wan place or another, 
 or, that they would rest awhile ; an' so I wass left 
 by myself. I found it quite enough to look efter 
 number wan." 
 
 " It hes always been as much, that, as ye could 
 manitch, Tuncan, even when things wass goin' easy," 
 said the old man with a sarcastic laugh, that induced 
 the young man to rise and quit the room. 
 
 He went towards a small shop, or store, as such 
 places were styled in the Nor'-AVest. It fell to his 
 lot in the family arrangements to look after and 
 manage this store. Indeed the youth's anxiety 
 for the ease and comfort of "number van" had 
 induced him to select the post as being a part of 
 the family duties that was peculiarly suited to 
 himself. 
 
 On reaching the store he went straight to a large 
 roll of Canadian twist tobacco, cut off a piece, 
 refilled his pipe, and, sitting down on a bale began 
 or, rather, continued to smoke. He had not been 
 seated long when the door opened, and the head 
 of a half-breed peeped cautiously in with an un- 
 commonly sly look. 
 
 "That you, Francois La Certe?" said M'Kay 
 rather sternly, for he knew the man well. " What 
 iss it you will be wantin' now ? " 
 
 i'ran^ois wanted many things — things almost too 
 
 D 
 
50 THE BUFFALO RtJNNfiRS : A tALg 
 
 numerous to mention ; but, first, he would pay his 
 debts to Cloud brow. 
 
 " Come, that 's something new," said M'Kay with 
 a cynical laugh. "You must have come by a 
 fortune, or committed a robbery before ye would 
 be so honest. How much are you goin' to pay ? " 
 
 "The sledge that you lent me, I have brought 
 back," said the half-breed with a deprecatory air. 
 
 " So, you call returning a loan paying your debts ? " 
 said Duncan. 
 
 La Certe did not quite say that, but he thought 
 it bore some resemblance to a payment to account, 
 and at all events was proof of his good intentions. 
 
 " And on the strength of that you '11 want plenty 
 more credit, I hev no doubt." 
 
 " No — not plenty," said La Certe, with the earnest 
 air of a man who is exposing his whole soul to 
 inspection, and who means to act this time with 
 the strictest sincerity, to say nothing of honesty. 
 " It is only a little that I want. Not much. Just 
 enough to keep body and soul from sayin' good-bye." 
 
 " But you have not paid a fraction of your old 
 debt. How will you be expectin' to meet the new 
 one?" 
 
 Oh ! La Certe could easily explain that. He was 
 going off immediately to hunt and trap, and would 
 soon return with a heavy load, for there were plent} 
 of animals about. Then in the spring, which was 
 near at hand, he meant to fish, or go to the plains 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 51 
 
 with the hunters, and return laden with bags of 
 pemmican, bales of dried meat, and buffalo robes 
 enough to pay off all his debts, and leave something 
 over to enable him to spend the winter in luxurious 
 idleness. 
 
 "And you expect me to believe all that non- 
 sense 1 " said M'Kay, sternly. 
 
 La Certe was hurt. Of course he expected to be 
 believed ! His feelings were injured, but he was of 
 a forgiving disposition and would say no more about 
 it. He had expected better treatment, however, 
 from one who had known him so long. 
 
 "A trip to the plains requires more than powder 
 and shot," said the store-keeper ; " where wiU you be 
 goin' to get a horse an' cart ? for you can hev mine 
 no longer." 
 
 " Dechamp, he promise to sole me a horse, an' 
 Mrs. Davis'n will loan me a cart," returned the 
 half-breed, with lofty independence. 
 
 " Hm ! an' you will be returnin' the cart an' 
 payin' for the horse when the hunt is over, I 
 suppose ? " 
 
 Yes, that was exactly the idea that was in La 
 Certe's brain, and which, he hoped and fully ex- 
 pected, to reduce to practice in course of time — if 
 Duncan M'Kay would only assist him by making 
 him a few advances at that present time. 
 
 " Well, what do you want ? " asked M'Kay, getting 
 off the bale. 
 
52 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 The half-breed wanted a good many tilings. As 
 he was going off in the course of a few days, and 
 might not be able to return for a long time, he 
 might as well take with him even a few things that 
 he did not absolutely need at the moment. Of 
 course he wanted a good supply of powder, shot, and 
 ball. "Without that little or nothing could be done. 
 Then a new axe, as his old one was much worn — 
 the steel almost gone — and it was well known 
 that a trapper without an axe was a very helpless 
 creature. A tin kettle was, of course, an absolute 
 necessity ; and the only one he possessed had a 
 small hole in it. A few awls to enable him to 
 mend his bark canoe when open water came, and a 
 couple of steel traps, some gnn-jflints, and, yes, he 
 had almost forgotten a most essential thing — twine 
 to make a net, and some fish-hooks. 
 
 "It iss a regular outfit you will be wanting," 
 remarked the store-keeper, as he handed over the 
 various articles. 
 
 no — not a regular one — only a very little one, 
 considering the length of time he should be away, 
 and the wealth with which he would return. But 
 again he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten 
 something else. 
 
 " Well, what iss it ? " 
 
 Some glover's needles and sinews for making 
 leather coats and moccasins. Needles and thread 
 and scissors, for it was quite clear that people could 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 53 
 
 not live without suitable clothing. A new capote, 
 
 also, and and a yard or two of scarlet cloth 
 
 with a few beads. 
 
 As he made the last request, La Certe attempted 
 to speak insinuatingly, and to look humble. 
 
 " Come, that iss pure extravagance," said M'Kay, 
 remonstrating. 
 
 La Certe could not, dare not, face his wife without 
 these articles. He pleaded earnestly. " Slowfoot is 
 so clever wi' the needle," he said. " See ! she send 
 you a pair of moccasins." 
 
 The wily man here drew from the breast of his 
 capote a pair of beautifully made moccasins, soft as 
 chamois leather, and richly ornamented with dyed 
 quills of the porcupine. 
 
 M'Kay laughed; nevertheless he swallowed the 
 bait and was pleased. He finally handed the goods 
 to La Certe, who, when he had obtained all that 
 he could possibly squeeze out of the store-keeper, 
 bundled up the whole, made many solemn protesta- 
 tions of gratitude and honest intentions, and went 
 off to cheer Slowfoot with the news of his suc- 
 cess. 
 
 It chanced that Antoine Dechamp, the very man 
 about whom he had been talking to Duncan M'Kay, 
 had dropped in to see him and his spouse, and was 
 sitting beside the fire smoking when he entered. 
 Displaying his possessions with much pride, he 
 assured Dechamp that he had paid for the whole 
 
54 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 outfit, and meant to return in the spring a rich man 
 with means enough to buy a horse and cart, and 
 start with the buflFalo hunters for the plains. 
 
 " You have a horse to sell — they say ? " he remarked 
 to his friend in a careless way. 
 
 " Yes — and a good one too," answered Dechamp. 
 
 " Well, if you will loan him to me in the spring, 
 I will pay for him when I come back. It takes all 
 I have to fit me out to start, you see." 
 
 Dechamp did not quite see his way to that — but 
 there was plenty of time to think over it ! 
 
 "Have you heard," said Dechamp, willing to 
 change the subject, " there is some talk that Perrin 
 has been killed ? George M'Dermid was out, like 
 many others, huntin' about for the starvin' people, 
 an' he came across the wives of Blanc and Pierre — 
 poor things ! they 're widows now, for Blanc and 
 Pierre are both dead. Well, the women had well- 
 nigh given in, T had dropped down, they were so 
 tired, and were crawlin' on their hands and knees 
 when M'Dermid found them. I didn't hear all the 
 outs and ins of it, but there is no doubt that poor 
 Perrin has been murdered, for he was shot right 
 through the breast." 
 
 " Perhaps he shot hisself," suggested La Certe. 
 
 "No — that could not be, for the women have 
 brought his coat, which shows that the ball went 
 in at the breast and came straight out at the back. 
 If he had shot himself he must have pulled the 
 
OF THE RED KIVER PLAINS. 66 
 
 trigger with his toe, an' then the ball would have 
 slanted up from his breast to somewhere about his 
 shoulders." 
 
 " It was a Saulteaux, may be," said Slowfoot, who 
 had been listening with all the eagerness of a 
 gossip. 
 
 " There were no marks of Eedskins' snow-shoes 
 about," returned Dechamp, " an' the tracks were too 
 confused to make them out. A knife was found, 
 but there were no marks about it to tell who owned 
 it — only it was a settler's knife, but there are lots 
 of them about, an' many have changed hands since 
 the settlers came." 
 
 At the time we write of, the colony of Eed 
 River of the north was in a very unhappy and 
 disorganised condition. There were laws indeed, 
 but there was no authority or force sufficiently 
 strong to apply the laws, and discord reigned be- 
 cause of the two great fur companies — the Hud- 
 son's Bay, and the Nor'- West — which opposed each 
 other with extreme bitterness, carrying fire-water, 
 dissension, and disaster all over the wilderness 
 of Rupert's Land. Happily the two companies 
 coalesced in the year 1821, and from that date, 
 onward, comparative peace has reigned under the 
 mild sway of the Hudson's Bay Company. 
 
 But at the period which we describe the coalition 
 had not taken place, and many of the functionaries 
 of the Hudson's Bay Company in Eed River, from 
 
66 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 the Governor downward, seem to have been entirely 
 demoralised — if we are to believe the reports of 
 contemporary historians. 
 
 Some time previous to this, the Earl of Selkirk — 
 chiefly from philanthropic views, it is said — re- 
 solved to send a colony to Eed Eiver. At different 
 times bands of Scotch, Swiss, Danes, and others, 
 made their appearance in the Settlement. They 
 had been sent out by the agents of the Earl, but 
 there was a great deal of mismanagement and 
 misunderstanding, both as to the motives and inten- 
 tions of the Earl. The result was that the half- 
 breeds of Eed Eiver — influenced, it is said, by the 
 Nor'-West Company — received the new-comers with 
 suspicion and ill-will. The Indians followed the 
 lead of the half-breeds, to whom they were allied. 
 Not only was every sort of obstruction thrown in 
 the way of the unfortunate immigrants, but more 
 than once during those first years they were driven 
 from the colony, and their homesteads were burned 
 to the ground. 
 
 There must have been more than the usual spirit 
 of indomitable resolution in those people, however, 
 for notwithstanding all the opposition and hardship 
 they had to endure, they returned again and again 
 to their farms, rebuilt their dwellings, cultivated 
 their fields, and, so to speak, compelled prosperity 
 to smile on them — and that, too, although several 
 times the powers of Nature, in the shape of grass- 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 67 
 
 hoppers and disastrous floods, seemed to league 
 with men in seeking their destruction. 
 
 Perhaps the Scottish element among the immi- 
 grants had much to do with this resolute perse- 
 verance. Possibly the religious element in the 
 Scotch had more to do with it stilL 
 
 The disastrous winter which we have slightly 
 sketched was one of the many troubles with which 
 not only the new comers, but all parties in the 
 colony, were at this time afllicted. 
 
68 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 CHAPTEK VII. 
 
 VIXKN DEUVERKD AND WOLVES DEFEATED. 
 
 With much labour and skill had the Davidsons 
 and M'Kays erected two timber cottages side by 
 side in the land of their adoption. 
 
 These two families were among the first band of 
 settlers. They were very different in character — ■ 
 one being Highland, the other Lowland Scotch, 
 but they were more or less united by sympathy, 
 intermarriage, and long residence beside each other 
 on the slopes of the Grampian Hills, so that, on the 
 voyage out, they made a compact that they should 
 stick by each other, and strive, and work, and fight 
 the battle of life together in the new land. 
 
 All the members of the Davidson family were 
 sterling, sedate, hearty, and thorough-going. Daniel 
 and Peter were what men style "dependable" fellows, 
 and bore strong resemblance to their father, who 
 died almost immediately after their arrival in the 
 new country. Little Jessie was like her mother, a 
 sort of bottomless well of sympathy, into which 
 oceans of joy or sorrow might be poured without 
 causing an overflow — except, perchance, at the 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 59 
 
 eyelids — and out of which the waters of consolation 
 might be pumped for evermore without pumping 
 dry. The idea of self never suggested itself in the 
 presence of these two. The consequence was 
 that everybody adored them. It was rather a 
 selfish adoration, we fear, nevertheless it was ex- 
 tremely delightful — to the adorers, we mean — and 
 doubtless not unpleasant to the adored. 
 
 The love of God, in Christ, was the foundation 
 of their characters. 
 
 Of the M'Kay family we cannot speak so con- 
 fidently. Elspie, indeed, was all that could be 
 desired, and Fergus was in all respects a sterling 
 man ; but the head of the family was, as we have 
 seen, open to improvement in many respects, and 
 Duncan junior was of that heart-breaking char- 
 acter which is known as ne'er-do-weel. Possibly, 
 if differently treated by his father, he might have 
 been a better man. As it was, he was unprincipled 
 and hasty of temper. 
 
 Little wonder that, when thrown together during 
 a long voyage — to an almost unknown land — Elspie 
 M'Kay and Daniel Davidson should fall into that 
 condition which is common to all mankind, and 
 less wonder that, being a daring youth with a 
 resolute will, Daniel should manage to induce the 
 pliant, loving Elspie, to plight her troth while they 
 were gazing over the ship's side at the first iceberg 
 they met. We may as well hark back here a little. 
 
no THE BUFFALO RUNNEKS : A TALE 
 
 and very briefly sketch the incident. It may serve 
 as a guide to others. 
 
 The two were standing — according to the report 
 of the boVn, who witnessed the whole affair — 
 " abaft the main shrouds squintin' over the weather 
 gangway." We are not quite sure of the exact 
 words used by that discreditable bo's'n, but these 
 are something like them. It was moonlight and 
 dead calm ; therefore propitious, so far, to Daniel's 
 design — for Daniel undoubtedly had a design that 
 night, obvious to his own mind, and clearly defined 
 like the great iceberg, though, like it too, some- 
 what hazy in detail. 
 
 "What a glorious, magnificent object!" ex- 
 claimed Elspie, gazing in wonder at the berg, the 
 pinnacles of which rose considerably above the 
 mast-head. 
 
 " Yes, very glorious, very magnificent ! " said 
 Daniel, gazing into the maiden's eyes, and utterly 
 regardless of the berg. 
 
 " I wonder how such a huge mass ever manages 
 to melt," said Elspie — for the human mind, even in 
 pretty girls, is discursive. 
 
 " I wonder it does not melt at once," said Dan, 
 with pointed emphasis. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " she asked, turning her 
 eyes in considerable astonishment from the berg to 
 the man. 
 
 " I mean," said he, " that under the influence of 
 
OF THE EED RIVER PLAINS. 61 
 
 your eyes the iceberg ought to melt straight away. 
 They have melted my heart, Elspie, aud that has 
 been an iceberg, I find, till now." 
 
 He seized her hand. It had all come on so sud- 
 denly that poor Elspie was quite unprepaied for it. 
 She turned as if to fly, but Daniel put his arm 
 round her waist and detained her, 
 
 " Elspie, dearest Elspie, it must be settled now — 
 or ." He would not — could not — say " never." 
 
 " Daniel, don't ! " entreated Elspie. 
 
 But Daniel did. 
 
 "Bray-vo!" exclaimed the bo's'n with enthu- 
 siasm, for he was a sympathetic man, though un- 
 principled in the matter of eavesdropping. 
 
 That cut it short. They retired precipitately 
 from the weather gangway abaft the main shrouds, 
 and sought refuge in a sequestered nook near the 
 companion-hatch, which was, in name as well as 
 in every other way, much more suited to their 
 circumstances. The steersman had his eye on 
 them there, but they fortunately did not know it. 
 
 Apologising for this reminiscence, we return to 
 the thread of our story. 
 
 Mrs, Davidson was seated at breakfast one 
 morning, with all her family around her in 
 Prairie Cottage, She had named it thus because, 
 from one of the windows, there was to be had a 
 peep of the prairies lying beyond the bushes by 
 which it was surrounded. 
 
62 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 Old M'Kay had named his cottage Ben Nevis, 
 either because the country around was as flat as a 
 pancake, or out of sheer contradictiousness. 
 
 " Have they found out anything more about the 
 murder of that poor fellow Perrin ? " asked Mrs. 
 Davidson. " More than four months have passed 
 since it happened." 
 
 " Nothing more, mother," said Dan, who now filled 
 his father's chair. " As you say, four months have 
 passed, and one would think that was time enough 
 to discover the murderer, but, you see, it is nobody's 
 business in particular, and we 've no regular police, 
 and everybody is far too busy just now to think about 
 it. In fact, not many people in these parts care 
 much about a murder, I fear." 
 
 " Ah ! if they went to see Perrin's old mother," 
 said Jessie, "it would oblige them to care a great 
 deal, for he was her only son." 
 
 " Ay, her only child ! " added Mrs. Davidson. 
 
 While she was yet speaking, it so happened that 
 Duncan M'Kay junior himself entered the room, 
 with that over-done free-and-easiness which some- 
 times characterises a man who is ill at ease. 
 
 " Whose only child are you speaking about, Mrs. 
 Davidson ? " he asked carelessly. 
 
 " Mrs. Perrin's," she replied, with a familiar 
 nod to the visitor, who often dropped in on them 
 casually in this way. 
 
 The reply was so unexpected and sudden, that 
 
Ot tHE RfiD riVee PtAlitS. 63 
 
 M'Kay could not avoid a slight start and a peculiar 
 expression, in spite of his usual self-command. He 
 glanced quickly at Dan and Peter, but they were 
 busy with their food, and had apparently not noticed 
 the guilty signs. 
 
 " Ah ! poor thing," returned the youth, in his 
 cynical and somewhat nasal tone, " it iss hard on her. 
 By the way, Dan, hev ye heard that the wolves 
 hev killed two or three of M'Dermid's horses that 
 had strayed out on the plains, and Elspie's mare 
 Vixen iss out too. Some of us will be going to seek 
 for her. The day bein' warm an' the snow soft, we 
 hev a good chance of killin' some o' the wolves. I 
 thought Peter might like to go too." 
 
 " So Peter does," said the youth, rising and brush- 
 ing the crumbs off his knees : " there's nothing I 
 like better than to hunt down these sneaking, mur- 
 derous brutes that are so ready to spring suddenly 
 unawares on friend or foe." 
 
 Again Duncan M'Kay cast a quick inquiring 
 glance at Peter, but the lad was evidently innocent 
 of any double meaning. It was only a movement, 
 within the manslayer, of that conscience which 
 " makes cowards of us all" 
 
 " Louise ! " shouted Dan, as he also rose from the 
 table. 
 
 " Oui, monsieur " came, in polite deferential tones, 
 from the culinary department, and the little half- 
 breed maiden appeared at the door. 
 
64 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " Did you mend that shot-bag last night ? " 
 
 " Oui, monsieur." 
 
 " Fetch it here, then, please ; and, Jessie, stir youi 
 stumps like a good girl, and get some food ready to 
 take with us." 
 
 " WiU you tell me the precise way in which good 
 girls stir their stumps?" asked Jessie; "for I'm 
 not quite sure." 
 
 Dan answered with a laugh, and went out to 
 saddle his horse, followed by his brother and Duncan 
 M'Kay. 
 
 " Kescuing seems to be the order of the day this 
 year," remarked Peter, as they walked towards the 
 stable behind the cottage. " We 've had a good deal 
 of rescuing men in the winter, and now we are goin' 
 to rescue horses." 
 
 " Rescuing is the grandest work that a fellow can 
 undertake," said Dan, " whether it be the body from 
 death or the soul from sin." 
 
 "What you say iss true — whatever," remarked 
 M'Kay, whose speech, although not so broad as that 
 of his lather, was tinged with similar characteristics. 
 " It will be better to rescue than to kill." 
 
 This was so obvious a truism that his companions 
 laughed, but Duncan had uttered it almost as a 
 soliloquy, for he was thinking at the moment of 
 poor Perrin, whose body had long since been brought 
 to the Settlement and buried. Indeed thoughts of 
 the murdered man were seldom out of his mind. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 65 
 
 Meanwhile, far out on the lonesome and still snow- 
 covered prairie the steed which they were going to 
 rescue stood on a low mound or undulation of the 
 plain surrounded by wolves. It was a pitiful sight 
 to see the noble mare, almost worn out with watching 
 and defending herself, while the pack of those sneak- 
 ing hounds of the wilderness sat or stood around her 
 licking their chops and patiently biding their time. 
 
 They formed a lean, gaunt, savage-looking crew, 
 as they sat there, calculating, apparently, how long 
 their victim's strength would hold out, and when it 
 would be safe to make a united and cowardly rush. 
 
 One wolf, more gaunt and rugged and grey than 
 the others, with black lips and red tongue and blood- 
 shot eyes, moved about the circle uneasily as if 
 trying to screw up its craven spirit to the sticking 
 point. The others evidently regarded this one as 
 their leader, for they hung back from him a little, 
 and kept a watchful eye on his movements. So did 
 Vixen, the mare. She kept her tail always turned 
 towards him, looking savagely back at him with her 
 great eyes glittering, her ears laid flat, and her heels 
 ready. 
 
 Poor Vixen ! Elspie had given her the name when 
 in a facetious frame of mind, as being descriptive 
 of the very opposite of her character, for she was 
 gentle as a lamb, tender in the mouth, playful in her 
 moods, and sensitive to a degree both in body and 
 spirit. No curb was ever needed to restrain Vixen, 
 
66 THE BUFFALO EUNNEllS : A TALK 
 
 nor spur to urge her on. A chirp sent an electric 
 thrill through her handsome frame ; a " Quiet, Vic ! " 
 sufficed to calm her to absolute docility. Any 
 child could have reined her in, and she went with 
 springy elasticity as though her limbs were made of 
 vivified steel and indiarubber. But she was getting 
 old, and somehow the wolves seemed to be aware 
 of that melancholy fact. They would not have 
 troubled her in the heyday of her youth ! 
 
 An impatient howl from one of the pack seemed 
 to insinuate that the grey old leader was a coward. 
 So he was, but evidently he did not relish being told 
 so, for he uncovered his glittering fangs and made 
 a sudden dash at the mare. 
 
 With a whisk of the tail worthy of her best days, 
 she lashed out behind and planted both her pretty 
 little feet on the ribs of the grey chief with such 
 a portentous whack that he succumbed at once. 
 With a gasp, and a long-drawn wail, he sank dead 
 upon the snow; whereupon his amiable friends — 
 when quite sure of his demise — tore him limb from 
 limb and devoured him. 
 
 This was a fortunate respite for Vixen, most 
 of whose remaining strength and pluck had been 
 thrown into that magnificent fling. Old Duncan, 
 had he seen it, would probably have styled it a 
 "goot Highland fling." 
 
 But the respite was not of long duration. Their 
 leader formed but a mouthful to each of the pack. 
 
OF THE KED KIVER PLAINS. 67 
 
 When done, they returned to encircle their victim 
 again, lick their chops, and wait. 
 
 Evening was drawing on, and a sort of grey 
 desolation seemed to be creeping over the plains. 
 A decided thaw had been operating all that day, 
 rendering the snow soft. If the mare had only 
 known the advantage thus given to her, a successful 
 effort at escape might have been made. When snow 
 on the prairie is frozen with a hard crust on the 
 surface, the light wolf can run easily on the top of 
 it, while the heavy horse breaks through at every 
 stride and is soon knocked up. The case is reversed 
 when a thaw softens the surface, for then the short- 
 legged wolf flounders helplessly in its depths, while 
 the long-limbed and powerful horse can gallop 
 through it with comparative ease. But the good 
 mare, intelligent though she was, did not consider 
 this fact, and the wolves, you may be sure, did not 
 enlighten her. Besides, by that time she was well- 
 nigh worn out, and could not have made a vigorous 
 run for life even over a good course. 
 
 Gradually, a worthy lieutenant of the old grey 
 chief began to show symptoms of impatience, and 
 the hungry circle closed in. Vixen looked up and 
 whinnied slightly. It seemed a pitiful appeal for 
 help from the human friends who had cared for her 
 so well and so long. Perchance it was the last wail 
 of despair — a final farewell to the green fields and 
 the flowering plains of memory. 
 
68 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 Whatever it was, an answer came in the form of 
 several dark specks on the horizon. Vixen saw them, 
 and whinnied again in a decidedly different tone. 
 The wolves also saw them, and moved about uneasily. 
 
 On came the black specks, increasing in size as 
 they drew near. The wolves looked at each other 
 inquiringly, moved still more uneasily, appeared to 
 hold a consultation, and finally drew off to a neigh- 
 bouring knoll, as if to await the result of this un- 
 looked-for interruption, and return to business when 
 it was past. 
 
 The intelligence of the lower animals is great — 
 in some cases very great — but it does not amount to 
 reason. If it did, those wolves would not have sat 
 there, in the pride of physical strength and personal 
 freedom, calmly awaiting their doom, while .Daniel 
 and Peter Davidson, Duncan M'Kay junior, Okema- 
 tan the Cree Indian, another Indian named Katee- 
 goose, and Jacques Bourassin, a half-breed, came 
 thundering down towards them like infuriated cen- 
 taurs. 
 
 At last they seemed to realise the truth that 
 " discretion is the better part of valour," and began 
 to retire from the scene — slowly at first. 
 
 Vixen, recognising friends, trotted off with re- 
 viving strength, and a high head and tail to meet 
 them. Seeing this, Dan, who led the party, drew 
 rein so as to allow the steeds to recover breath 
 before the final burst. 
 
OF THE BED RIVER PLAINS. 69 
 
 The wolves, with that presumption which is 
 usually found to be the handmaid of ignorance, 
 halted, and sat down again to watch the progress 
 of events. Fatal self-confidence ! They little knew 
 the deep duplicity of man ! 
 
 " you stupid brutes ! " murmured Dan to him- 
 self, advancing in a somewhat sidling manner as 
 if he meant to pass them. They evidently believed 
 this to be his intention imtil they saw the six 
 horsemen turn their steeds straight in their direc- 
 tion and charge them at full gallop with a yell 
 that drove rapid conviction to their brains. 
 
 Then, with tails between legs and ears flat they 
 fled. But it was too late. The horses scattered 
 the soft snow with comparative ease. The wolves 
 plunged through it with difficulty. First to over- 
 take them was Peter Davidson. He put the muzzle 
 of his gun to the side of the grey lieutenant, and 
 shot him through the heart. His brother Dan, 
 selecting another of the pack, pointed at the ear 
 and blew out its brains. Ok^matan, partial to the 
 weapons of his forefathers, sent an arrow through 
 the ribs of a third, while Kateegoose transfixed a 
 fourth. Duncan M'Kay shot a fifth, and Bourassin 
 linocked over a sixth at comparatively long range, 
 his horse being too poor or too tired to come fairly 
 up with the pack. 
 
 There was no wasting of powder, shot, or shaft 
 in this affair. Each man was an expert with his 
 
70 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 weapon, and cool as the proverbial cucumber, 
 though considerably excited. Loading as they ran, 
 they fired and shot again, stretching six more of 
 the enemy on the plain. Then they pulled up and 
 suffered the rest to escape, being afraid to leave 
 Vixen out of sight behind them, for that happy 
 creature, following and enjoying the sport as long 
 as she could, found that her powers were too much 
 exhausted to permit of her keeping up with the 
 chase. 
 
 " She 's not fit to travel another mile," said Dan, 
 stroking her glossy neck and allowing her to rub 
 her nose affectionately on his shoulder. 
 
 " That iss true, whatever," assented Duncan. " I 
 think we could not do better than camp on the 
 nearest bluff." 
 
 This was agreed to by all. Provision for one 
 meal, it will be remembered, had been prepared at 
 Prairie Cottage in the morning. A hunter's meal, 
 when properly divided, makes two or three average 
 meals, and a hunter's powers of endurance are pro- 
 verbial. Each man had his blanket strapped to his 
 gaddle. Branches of various kinds of trees make a 
 good mattress, and the air of the prairie is well 
 known to conduce to appetite and slumber. 
 
 With such environment it is scarcely necessary 
 to add that the hunters enjoyed themselves, and 
 that Vixen had a restful night, probably without 
 even a dream about hungry wolves. 
 
OF THE RED BIVER PLAINS. 71 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 STIRHINa EVENTS DESCRIBED. 
 
 The proverbial slip 'twixt the cup and the lip, 
 and the well-known uncertainty of all human affairs, 
 received striking illustration in the person and 
 prospects of our hero, Daniel Davidson, not long 
 after the events narrated in the last chapter. 
 
 Up to this period the unfortunate colonists of the 
 Eed Eiver Settlement had led a life chiefly of dis- 
 appointment and disaster. Although everything had 
 been done for them by their patron the Earl of 
 Selkirk with the best intentions, the carrying out 
 of his plans had been frustrated by the feuds of the 
 rival fur companies, the misunderstandings and the 
 jealousies of Indians and half-breeds, and, to some 
 extent, by the severity of the climate. An open 
 rupture took place between them and the North- 
 Westers. Encounters between the contending parties 
 occurred, in which several on both sides were killed, 
 and at last the North-Westers, attacking the settlers 
 in force, drove them from the colony and burnt their 
 dwellings and homesteads. 
 
72 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 Eetreating to the north end of Lake Winnipeg, 
 the colonists found refuge at Jack Eiver — three 
 hundred miles distant. From this place they were 
 ultimately recalled by the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 which took them under its protection. Returning 
 to Eed River, the unfortunate but persevering people 
 proceeded to resume their farming operations. But 
 the prospect before them was gloomy enough. The 
 lawless proceedings of the rival companies had 
 convulsed the whole Indian country, and the evil 
 seemed to culminate in the Red River Colony, to 
 which retired servants of the fur-traders, voyageurs, 
 adventurers, and idlers gravitated as to a centre; 
 so that there was little prospect of their being 
 allowed to prosecute their agricultural operations 
 in peace. 
 
 The dissensions at last became so great that 
 a large proportion of the new settlers, including 
 many of the Scotch Highlanders, dispersed to seek 
 a precarious livelihood among the Indians, on the 
 prairies bordering the waters of the Missouri, or to 
 sustain themselves and their families by fishing in 
 the distant lakes, and hunting on their shores. 
 
 On the advent of spring, however, most of these 
 returned to the colony, with renewed hope in agri- 
 culture, and set to work — every man, woman, and 
 child — to get some seed into the ground. 
 
 But at this point an event occurred which threw 
 the colony into great consternation, and induced 
 
OF THE BED RIVER PLAINS. 73 
 
 vigorous actiou on the part of Lord Selkirk, which 
 was the first step towards more peaceful times. 
 
 The North- West party, consisting chiefly of half- 
 breeds, had augmented to upwards of three hundred 
 warriors. It would be more correct, perhaps, to 
 style them banditti ; for they had penetrated through 
 every part of Eupert's Land, set law at defiance, 
 pillaged and destroyed many of the establishments 
 of their rivals, and kept the whole country in a state 
 of ferment and alarm. 
 
 One band of these men, numbering between sixty 
 and seventy, advanced upon Eed Eiver Colony. They 
 were a motley crew, all mounted on horseback and 
 armed with guns, spears, tomahawks, bows, and 
 scalping-knives, besides which they were painted 
 and plumed d la sauvage, and were in the habit 
 when rushing to battle, of yelling like the Eed-men 
 whose blood mingled with that of the White-man 
 in their veins. 
 
 What was the precise intention of these men at 
 this time it is difficult to say, but it was not difficult 
 to see that peace was not their object. 
 
 Governor Semple, of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 a mild, just, and much respected man, was in charge 
 of the colony at the time. 
 
 Daniel Davidson was engaged in a very important 
 conversation with old Dancau M'Kay at the time the 
 formidable troop of North- Westers swept through the 
 settlements. The old man was seated in the hall, 
 
74 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 parlour, drawing-room — or whatever you choose to 
 call it — of Ben Nevis House. It was an un carpeted, 
 unpainted, unadorned room with pine plank flooring, 
 plank walls, a plank ceiling, a plank table, and a set 
 of plank chairs. Ornament was dispensed with in the 
 hall of Ben Nevis House ; for although Elspie would 
 fain have clothed it with a little feminine grace, its 
 proprietor would not hear of such proposals. 
 
 "Stick as many gimcracks as you like about 
 your own room, Elspie," he had remarked when the 
 first attempt was made, " but leave me my hall in 
 peace. It iss quite pleasc^l with it I am as it iss." 
 
 Opposite the door of the hall there was a large 
 open fireplace without a grate. Doors all round 
 the walls of the hall opened into the other rooms of 
 the establishment. Above what would have been 
 the mantelpiece, had one existed, there was a row of 
 tobacco pipes. Old Duncan was a great smoker. 
 Indeed he would have been almost unrecognisable 
 without his pipe. He was smoking when Daniel 
 Davidson visited him, in order to hold the very 
 important conversation to which we have referred. 
 
 "It iss as you say, Taniel," remarked the old 
 man, frowning at his pipe, which was not drawing 
 properly. " Marrit life iss more to be desired than 
 single blessedness, whatever, an' it iss my opeenion 
 that you will do more work with Elspie helpin' you, 
 than by yourself. When iss it you will be wantin' 
 to call me your father ? " 
 
OF THE EED RIVER PLAINS. 75 
 
 The old man asked the question with a somewhat 
 humorous smile, for he was, to say truth, not a 
 little proud of the staid, sensible, and strong young 
 fellow who aspired to his daughter's hand — besides, 
 the pipe was drawing well by that time. 
 
 "As soon as you like," answered Dan, "or, rather, 
 as soon as Elspie likes. You see, things are begin- 
 ning to look a little more hopeful now. People who 
 seem to know best — or seem to think they do — 
 tell us that the Nor'-Westei's are beginning to see 
 that a colony here won't interfere in any way 
 with their business ; a good deal of seed has been 
 sown, and, if all goes well, we may look for a 
 better year than we have yet had ; therefore I don't 
 see why we should wait any longer." 
 
 " Your observations are ferry true. There iss just 
 wan little word you mention that requires considera- 
 tion," returned the old man with a brow wrinkled 
 so as to suggest profound sagacity of thought " You 
 said 'if all goes well.' But supposin', for the 
 sake of argument, that all does not go well — 
 what then ? " 
 
 "Why, then," answered the young man with a 
 laugh, " we shall be no worse off than other people, 
 who have to make the best of things as they find 
 them." 
 
 "No doubt — no doubt — that iss the true an' 
 pheelosophical way to look at the matter. But 
 don't you think, Taniel, that it would be as well to 
 
76 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 putt off till our munister arrives ? I would not he 
 havin' my daughter marrit without a munister if I 
 can help it. An* you know his Lordship has pro- 
 mised more than wance to send us wan. He will 
 not be long o' coming now." 
 
 "Yes, a minister has been promised again an' 
 again," returned Dan, somewhat bitterly, " an' I 
 suppose he will go on promising again and over 
 again, but I have not much faith in these promises. 
 The Earl has too many agents who are not as true 
 as himself. I would rather not delay my marriage 
 on that account. What ails you at Mr. Suther- 
 land?" 
 
 "Well, Taniel, I hev nothing to say against 
 Muster Sutherland. He iss a ferry goot man — I 
 will not be denyin' that, but — he iss not an 
 ordained munister." 
 
 "What of that?" retorted Dan. "He is an or- 
 dained elder of the Church of Scotland, and that 
 is much the same thing. And he is a good, 
 Christian man, respected by every one in the Settle- 
 ment." 
 
 " Well, well, Taniel ; hev it your own way," 
 returned old Duncan with a resigned look. "Of 
 course, it would have been pleesanter if he had been 
 a regular munister, whatever ; but, as you say, my 
 boy, ' what of that ? ' So, as things look a little 
 more peaceable than they wass — though not ferry 
 much — I will be " 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 77 
 
 He was interrupted at this point by the sudden 
 entrance of Jacques Bourassin with the astounding 
 intelligence that a band of North-Westers had gone 
 up the Settlement to attack Fort Garry." 
 
 " Hoot ! nonsense, man ! " exclaimed old Mackay, 
 starting up and flinging his pipe away in the excite- 
 ment of the moment. 
 
 " No — not nonesense ! " said Bourassin in broken 
 English ; " it be true. I knows it. I come to say 
 that we go to the fort to help them." 
 
 " Eight, boy, right ! " exclaimed the old man, 
 hastily belting on his capote. " Fergus ! Tuncan ! 
 — Elspie ! where are these boys ? " 
 
 " In the stable, father. I saw them just " 
 
 " Let them saddle all the nags — quick," cried the 
 old man. " Taniel, you better " 
 
 He stopped ; for Daniel had already run out to 
 saddle and mount his own horse. 
 
 In a few minutes a cavalcade of a dozen powerful 
 young fellows, headed by old Duncan M'Kay, and 
 armed with guns, were galloping at full speed in 
 the direction of Fort Garry. 
 
 But before this cavalcade had set out, the ren- 
 contre at the fort had already taken place, and been 
 fatally decided. 
 
 The approach of the enemy had been announced 
 to those nearest the scene of action by the women 
 and children of that part of the Settlement, who 
 were seen running about in frantic alarm trying to 
 
78 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 hide themselves, and some of them seeking refuge 
 in the fort. 
 
 Among these were two brothers named Sinclair. 
 One of them, Archie by name, was a stout healthy 
 fellow of twelve or thereabouts, the other was a 
 thin delicate boy of ten, whose illness, whatever it 
 was, had reduced him to skin and bone, taken all 
 the colour out of his cheeks, and rendered him quite 
 unable to run or play like other boys. They had 
 recently become orphans, their father and mother, 
 who were among the most recent arrivals, having 
 died suddenly within a few weeks of each other. 
 When the alarm of the threatened attack was given, 
 the brothers were amusing themselves on the sunny 
 side of the cottage which had been for only one 
 year their happy home. 
 
 In a moment Archie took his brother on his back 
 and scampered away with him to a place near the 
 river, and hid him in a hollow under the bank, 
 where they had been wont to play at grizzly bears 
 and hunters. 
 
 Meanwhile Governor Semple, with several gentle- 
 men and attendants, walked out to meet the party 
 of half-breeds and Indians, not to offer battle, but 
 for the purpose of parlance and conciliation. It is 
 admitted, however, that Governor Semple committed 
 a grave error of judgment in allowing his small 
 party to carry arms. They numbered only twenty- 
 eight in all, and, being untrained, could have had no 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 79 
 
 chance in an open fight with such opponents. If 
 the Governor had gone out unarmed with only one 
 or two attendants, he would, it was thought, have 
 appealed irresistibly to the honour of the party. 
 
 As it was, when the Hudson's Bay party drew 
 near they thought the look of their opponents so 
 suspicious that the Governor halted his men, and 
 they stood in a group as if in consultation. Seeing 
 this, the half-breeds divided themselves into two 
 bodies, and commenced firing from behind some 
 willows — at first a shot or two, and then a merciless 
 volley. No fewer than twenty-one of the twenty- 
 eight fell to rise no more, among whom were the 
 Governor himself ; Mr. Wilkinson, his secretary ; 
 Captain Eogers, a mineralogist ; Mr. White, the 
 surgeon ; Mr. Holt, of the Swedish navy, and Mr. 
 M'Lean, a principal settler. 
 
 Indeed the whole party would have probably 
 been killed and the settlers massacred at that time, 
 but for the courageous interposition of the chief of 
 the half-breeds, Cuthbert Grant, who, at the risk of 
 his life, stood between the settlers and their foes, 
 only one of which last was killed. 
 
 When old M'Kay and his party drew near to the 
 scene, the massacre was completed, and most of his 
 little band — which had been slightly augmented on 
 the way up — turned right about, and rode away to 
 defend their respective homes. 
 
 But the warrior spirit of old M'Kay and his sons 
 
80 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 had been roused. They refused to turn tail, and, in 
 company with Dan and Peter Davidson, made a 
 furious charge into a detached party of the half- 
 breeds which they chanced to encounter. They 
 scattered them like sheep, though they did not 
 succeed in killing any. Then they also wheeled 
 round and galloped back to their respective homes. 
 
 "Come, Elspie, tear," said the old man as he 
 dismounted, "putt what ye value most in your 
 pocket an' come away. The duvles are down on 
 us, and we are not able to hold out in Ben Nevis. 
 The settlers must choin altogether, an' do the best 
 we can to defend ourselves." 
 
 While he was speaking, the Highlander was busy 
 stuffing some of the smaller of his household goods 
 into his pockets — amongst them a large quantity of 
 tobacco. 
 
 Meanwhile Fergus hastened to the stable to 
 saddle Vixen for Elspie, while the poor girl ran to 
 her room and secured some small objects which she 
 valued — among them a miniature portrait of her 
 mother, and a Bible which the good lady had given 
 to her a short time before her death. There was 
 no money, and no valuable documents had to be 
 looked after, so that preparations for flight were 
 soon completed. 
 
 Now there was a member of old Duncan M'Kay's 
 household who has not yet been introduced to the 
 reader, but whose character and influence in the 
 
OF THE BED RIVEK PLAINS. 81 
 
 household were such as to demand special notice. 
 This member was an old woman named Peg. Pro- 
 bably this was an abbreviation of Peggy, but we 
 cannot tell. Neither can we say what her surname 
 was, for we never heard it, and no one spoke of 
 the old creature by any other name than that of 
 " Old Peg." 
 
 Although Old Peg was by no means feeble — 
 indeed, judged by her capacities, she might have 
 been pronounced middle-aged, for she could walk 
 about the house all day, actively engaged in miscel- 
 laneous self-imposed duties, and could also eat like 
 a man and sleep like a dormouse — she was, never- 
 theless, withered, and wrinkled, and grey, and 
 small. Her exact age nobody knew — and, for the 
 matter of that, nobody seemed to care. 
 
 Extreme amiability and self-obliteration were the 
 chief characteristics of Old Peg. She was silent by 
 nature, and deaf as a post — whether by art or nature 
 we know not ; probably both. Well, no — on second 
 thoughts, not quite as deaf as a post, for by means 
 of severe shouting she could be made to hear. 
 
 Smiles and nods, however, were her chief means 
 of communication with the outer world. When 
 these failed, a yell might be tried with advantage. 
 
 No one of the M'Kay household ever thought of 
 giving Old Peg anything in the shape of work to do, 
 for the very good reason that, being an extremely 
 willing horse, she was always working; and she 
 
82 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 possessed a peculiar faculty of observation, which 
 enabled her to perceive, long before any one else, 
 what ought to be done, and the right time to do it, 
 so that, when any one bounced round with the 
 sudden intention of telling her to do anything, Old 
 Peg was found to have done it already, or to be in 
 the act of doing it. It is almost superfluous to say 
 that she patched and mended the household gar- 
 ments, washed the most of things washable, sewed 
 the sewable, darned the sock, and, generally, did-up 
 the whole M'Kay family. When not engaged in 
 definite or specific work, she had a chronic sock- 
 knitting which helped to fill up and round ofif the 
 corners of her leisure hours. 
 
 Old Peg had been the nurse, consecutively, of 
 Fergus, Elspie, and Duncan junior. She was now 
 equivalent to their second mother, having nursed 
 their first mother to the end with faithful untiring 
 affection, and received from the dying woman a 
 solemn commission never to forsake Duncan senior 
 or his progeny. 
 
 No sentiment of a religious nature ever escaped 
 Old Peg, but it was observed that she read her Bible 
 regularly, and was occasionally found asleep on her 
 knees — greatly to the amusement of that irritable 
 old rascal, Duncan senior, and to the gratification 
 of Elspie, who came to the conclusion that the old 
 woman must have learned well off by heart such 
 words as — " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 83 
 
 it with thy might." " Do good to all men as thy 
 hand findeth opportunity." "Be clothed with 
 humility." "Trust in the Lord at all times." 
 Probably Elspie was right, for she judged of people 
 in the old-fashioned way, namely, " by their fruits." 
 Her judgment of the two Duncans on this principle, 
 by the way, could not have been very exalted, but 
 we cannot tell. She was much too loyal and loving 
 a daughter and sister to give any sign or opinion. 
 
 At the time of the sudden call to flight just de- 
 scribed, the M'Kay family had totally forgotten Old 
 Peg in their hurry. Elspie was the first to miss her. 
 
 "Old Peg!" she exclaimed — almost screamed — 
 while Fergus was assisting her to mount Vixen, 
 " where is she ? " 
 
 " I '11 find her," said Fergus, " and bring her on 
 in the cart. You be off after father. We 've no 
 time to lose." 
 
 " Be sure you bring her, Fergus," said Elspie. 
 
 " All right ; no fear ! " 
 
 Thus assured, Elspie was about to gallop away 
 after her father — who had started in advance, to 
 overtake and stop the Prairie Cottage family, so 
 that they might travel in one band — when the 
 clatter of hoofs was heard, and next moment Dan 
 Davidson galloped round the corner of the house. 
 
 " I came back for you, Elspie," he said, pulling up. 
 " Why did you not come on with your father ? " 
 
 " I expected to overtake him, Dan. You know 
 
84 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 Vixen is swift. Besides, I missed Old Peg, and 
 delayed a few minutes on her account. Is she with 
 your party ? " 
 
 " No — at least I did not see her. But she may 
 have been in the cart with Louise. Shall I look for 
 her while you gallop on ? " 
 
 " No ; Fergus has promised to find and bring 
 her after us. Come, I am ready." 
 
 The two galloped away. As they did so young 
 Duncan issued from the stable behind the house, 
 leading out his horse. He was in no hurry, having 
 a good mount. At the same time Fergus came out 
 at the back-door of the house shouting " Old Peg ! 
 Hallo ! old woman, where are ye ? " 
 
 " Hev ye seen her, Duncan ? " he asked impa- 
 tiently. 
 
 " It iss seekin' high an' low I hev been, an' it iss 
 of no use shoutin', for she hears nothiu'." 
 
 " I 'm sure I saw her in the cart wi' the David- 
 sons," said Duncan. 
 
 " Are you sure ? " asked Fergus. 
 
 " Weel, I did not pass quite close to them, as I 
 ran up here for my horse on hearin' the news," 
 replied Duncan ; " but I am pretty sure that I saw 
 her sittin' beside Louise." 
 
 " Hm ! that accoonts for her not being here," 
 said Fergus, running into the stable. " Hold on a 
 bit, Duncan. I '11 go with ye in a meenit." 
 
 In the circumstances he was not long about 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 86 
 
 saddling his horse. A few minutes more, and the 
 brothers were galloping after their friends, who had 
 got a considerable distance in advance of them by 
 that time, and they did not overtake them till a part 
 of the Settlement was reached where a strong muster 
 of the settlers was taking place, and where it was 
 resolved to make a stand and face the foe. 
 
 Here it was discovered, to the consternation of 
 the M'Kay family, that Old Peg was not with the 
 Davidson party, and that therefore she must have 
 been left behind ! 
 
 "She must be found and rescued," exclaimed 
 Elspie, on making the discovery, 
 
 " She must ! " echoed Dan Davidson : " who will 
 go back with me ? " 
 
 A dozen stout young fellows at once rode to the 
 front, and old M'Kay offered to take command of 
 them, but was overruled and left behind. 
 
86 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 Meanwhile, accustomed to think and act for 
 herself, Old Peg, on the first alarm, had made up 
 her mind to do her fair share of work quietly. 
 
 She did not require to be told that danger 
 threatened the family and that flight had been re- 
 solved on. A shout from some one that Nor'- Westers 
 were coming, coupled with the hasty preparations, 
 might have enlightened a mind much less intelligent 
 than that of the old woman. She knew that she could 
 do nothing to help where smart bodily exercise was 
 needed, but, down by the creek close by, there was 
 a small stable in which a sedate, lumbering old cart- 
 horse dwelt. The horse, she felt sure, would be 
 wanted. She could not harness it, but she could put 
 a bridle on it and lead it up to the house. 
 
 This animal, which was named Elephant on ac- 
 count of its size, had been totally forgotten by the 
 family in the hurry of departure. 
 
 Old Peg found the putting of a bridle on the 
 huge creature more difficult work than she had ex- 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 87 
 
 pected, and only succeeded at last by dint of per- 
 severance, standing on three or four bundles of hay, 
 and much coaxing — for the creature had evidently 
 taken it into its head that the old woman had come 
 there to fondle it — perhaps to feed it with sugar 
 after the manner of Elspie. 
 
 She managed the thing at last, however, and led 
 the horse up towards the house. 
 
 Now, while she had been thus engaged the family 
 had left, and the half-breeds — having combined their 
 forces — had arrived. 
 
 Ben Nevis was the first house the scoundrels came 
 to. Dismounting, and finding the place deserted, 
 they helped themselves to whatever was attrac- 
 tive and portable — especially to a large quantity 
 of Canada twist tobacco, which old Duncan had 
 found it impossible to carry away. Then they 
 applied fire to the mansion, and, in a wonderfully 
 short time Ben Nevis was reduced to a level with 
 the plain. Another party treated Prairie Cottage in 
 a similar manner. 
 
 It was when the first volume of black smoke rose 
 into the sky that Old Peg came to the edge of the 
 bushes that fringed the creek and discovered that 
 Ben Nevis had suddenly become volcanic ! She 
 instantly became fuUy aware of the state of mat- 
 ters, and rightly judged that the family must have 
 escaped, else there would have been some evidence 
 of resistanc& 
 
88 THE BUFFALO EUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 Fortunately the old woman had not yet passed 
 quite from the shelter of the bushes. She drew back 
 with a degree of caution worthy of a Eedskin, lead- 
 ing the horse with her. When well out of bight 
 she paused for the purpose of meditation. What 
 was now to be done ! As we have said, she pos- 
 sessed decision of character in an eminent degree. 
 She never at any time had taken long to make up 
 her mind ; she was not going to begin now, though 
 the position was probably the most perplexing that 
 she had ever experienced. Suddenly she raised her 
 head and laughed. 
 
 In the circumstances it would not have been 
 surprising had hysteria seized Old Peg, but there 
 was nothing hysterical in her nature. Calm, cool, 
 calculating courage dominated her every thought 
 and feeling, but the idea of what she was driven 
 to in her old age had tickled her fancy. Leading 
 the big cart-horse close up to a bank, she prepared 
 to mount him — having previously broken off a good 
 strong switch from a neighbouring bush. 
 
 Never before in her life had Peg mounted a steed 
 of any kind whatever. She knew the lady's position 
 on horseback by sight, of course, but not by prac- 
 tice. To attempt it even with a side-saddle would 
 have been impossible ; but Elephant was barebacked. 
 Fortunately he was fat and broad, and without a 
 visible back-bone. Old Peg at once made up her 
 mind, and, climbing the bank, scrambled on his 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 89 
 
 back in gentleman's position. It was more com- 
 fortable than she had dared to hope. 
 
 But now an unexpected difficulty met her. 
 Elephant declined to move! She pulled at his 
 bridle, and he turned sluggishly, but he would 
 not advance. Peg administered a sounding whack 
 with the switch. She might as well have hit a 
 neighbouring tree. Elephant's hide was like that 
 of his namesake, and he had no feelings to speak 
 of that could be touched, or hurt, or worked upon. 
 
 In this dilemna the old woman had recourse to 
 a weapon with which her broad bosom was at all 
 times furnished. She drew a large pin, and drove 
 the point into Elephant's flank. The result was 
 instantaneous. Up went his hindquarters, and Peg 
 found herself sprawling on his bushy mane. She 
 held on to that, however, and, gradually working 
 her way back, regained her old position — thankful 
 that she had not been thrown to the ground. 
 
 Another result was that Elephant condescended 
 to walk. But this was not enough. Escape at such 
 a pace was impossible. Old Peg prodded him again 
 — this time on the shoulder, for she rightly con- 
 jectured that he could not well kick up with his 
 fore-legs. But he might rear ! The thought caused 
 her to grasp the bushy mane with both hands and 
 hold on. He did not rear, but he trotted, and poor 
 Old Peg came to the conclusion that there were 
 disagreeable novelties in life, even for her. 
 
90 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 When Elephant at length burst out of the fringe 
 of wood and gained the track that followed the 
 course of the river, she was immediately seen by the 
 plunderers, who laughed at the strange rider but 
 did not follow her, with the exception of one man 
 — an Indian, painted and feathered, — who started in 
 pursuit, hoping, possibly, for an easy scalp. 
 
 He soon came close up, and, being armed with a 
 bow, sent an arrow in advance of him. The shaft 
 was well aimed. It grazed the flank of Elephant, 
 inflicting a painful wound. This woke up the old 
 horse surprisingly, so that it not only broke into a 
 gallop, but set off at racing speed as it used to do 
 when young. The Indian was badly mounted, and 
 gradually lost ground, whereupon he sent after the 
 fugitives several more arrows which all fell wide of 
 the mark. 
 
 The change to Old Peg was as a reprieve from 
 death ! The trot had almost dislocated her bones, 
 and shaken her up like an addled egg, and the 
 change to racing speed afforded infinite relief. She 
 could scarcely credit her senses, and she felt a 
 tendency to laugh again as she glanced over her 
 shoulder. But that glance removed the tendency, 
 for it revealed the Indian warrior, in all his paint 
 and feathers and streaming scalp-locks, in hot 
 pursuit, while the whiz of another arrow close past 
 her ear convinced our heroine that it was not a 
 dream. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 91 
 
 The jolting to which the poor old creature was 
 subjected had disturbed her costume not a little. 
 Her shawl came nearly off, and, holding on by one 
 pin, fluttered like a flag of defiance. Her slippers, 
 which were of the carpet pattern, were left behind 
 on the prairie to perplex the wolves, and her volu- 
 minous hair — once a rich auburn, but now a pearly 
 grey — having escaped its cap and fastenings, was 
 streaming out gaily in the breeze, as if to tempt the 
 fingers and knife of the pursuer. 
 
 A stern-chase is a long one, whether ashore or 
 afloat. Pursuer and pursued went rapidly down 
 the Settlement until they came in sight of the band 
 which had come to rescue Peg. They received her 
 with a wild cheer of surprise and joy, which turned 
 the Eedskin to the right-about, and sent him back 
 to his friends much faster than he had come. 
 
 On receiving his report, the half-breeds at once 
 dashed off in pursuit of the settlers, and did not 
 draw rein until they reached the place where the 
 Scotchmen had made a stand. The latter were 
 greatly outnumbered, at least in fighting men, but 
 they showed such a resolute front, that Cuthbert 
 Grant, the half-breed leader, again interfered to 
 prevent bloodshed if possible. After calming his 
 men, and advising forbearance, he turned to Duncan 
 M'Kay senior, who was the settlers' spokesman, and 
 said — 
 
 " If you will go peaceably away out of the colony. 
 
92 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 we will spare you, but if you show fight your blood 
 be on your own heads, for I cannot restrain my men 
 much longer." 
 
 "Iss it sparin' us you will be talldn' of, Cuth- 
 bert Grant ? " answered the Highlander, with scorn. 
 " Wow ! but if it wass not for the weemen an' 
 children that's with us, you would hev a goot 
 chance o' bein' in need o' sparin' yoursels ; an' it iss 
 not much o' the blood o' the Grants, either, that 's 
 in your veins, or ye would scorn to consort wi' such 
 fire-raisin' cut-throats. It iss the fortune of war — 
 whatever, and we can't affoord to leave our weemen 
 an' bairns defenceless. So we accept your terms, if 
 we are not hindered from carry in' away our arms." 
 
 "Carry away whatever you like, replied Grant, 
 quietly, " only be off at once, or I '11 not answer for 
 the consequences." 
 
 Thus the angry Highlander was dismissed, and 
 in the end the unfortunate settlers, being a SGcond 
 time driven into exile, took refuge, as before, at 
 Jack Eiver. 
 
OF THE RED EIVER PLAINS. 93 
 
 CHAPTEE X 
 
 ARCHIE AMD LITTLB BUX DO WONDERS. 
 
 We change the scene now to the margin of a 
 small lake embosomed like a gem iu the great 
 wilderness of the Far North. 
 
 It is autumn. The sun is bright, the air is calm 
 and clear. There is a species of warm haze which, 
 paradoxically, does not seem to interfere with the 
 clearness, and a faint zephyr which appears rather 
 to emphasise than break the calm. It sends a soft 
 cat's-paw now and then across parts of the lake, 
 and thus, by contrast, brings into greater pro- 
 minence the bright reflection of trees and cloudland 
 mirrored in its depths. Instead of being the pro- 
 verbial " dead " calm, it is, if we may so put it, 
 rather a lively, cheerful calm. 
 
 The liveliness of it is vastly increased by 
 hundreds of water-fowl, which disport themselves 
 on the surface of the lake, as if coquetting with 
 their own reflections, or whistle round its margin 
 while busy on the feeding-grounds. 
 
 Myriads of mosquitoes were wont there to 
 
94 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 murmur their maddening career in search of 
 blood, but, happily, at the period we write of, 
 an incidental and premonitory night-frost had 
 relegated these to the graves of their forefathers, 
 or to the mansions of Hiberna — we know not, and 
 care not, which. 
 
 We have styled the lake a " little " one, but we 
 must remind the reader that we use the expression 
 in an American sense, and that where lakes are two 
 and three hundred miles long, a little one can well 
 afiford to be twenty or thirty miles in diameter, 
 with, perchance, a boundless horizon. The lake in 
 question, however, was really a little one — not 
 more than two miles in length or breadth, with the 
 opposite shore quite visible, and a number of islets 
 of various sizes on its bosom — all more or less 
 wooded, and all, more rather than less, the tem- 
 porary homes of innumerable wild fowl, among 
 which were noisy little gulls with pure white 
 bodies and bright red legs and bills. 
 
 On the morning in question — for the sun was 
 not yet much above the horizon — a little birch 
 bark canoe might have been seen to glide 
 noiselessly from a bed of rushes, and proceed 
 quietly, yet swiftly, along the outer margin of the 
 bed. 
 
 The bow-paddle was wielded by a stout boy with 
 fair curly hair. Another boy, of gentle mien and 
 sickly aspect, sat in the stern and steered. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 96 
 
 '* Little Bill," said the stout boy in a low voice, 
 " you 're too light. This will never do." 
 
 " Archie," returned the other with a languid 
 smile, " I can't help it, you know — at least not 
 in a hurry. In course of time, if I eat frightfully, 
 I may grow heavier, but just now there 's no remedy 
 except the old one of a stone." 
 
 " That 's true, Little Bill," responded Archie with 
 a perplexed look, as he glanced inquiringly along 
 the shore; "nevertheless, if thought could make 
 you heavier, you'd soon be all right, for you 're a 
 powerful thinker. The old remedy, you see, is not 
 available, for this side of the lake is low and 
 swampy. I don't see a single stone anywhere." 
 
 *' Never mind, get along ; we'll come to one soon, 
 I dare say," said the other, dipping his paddle more 
 briskly over the side. 
 
 The point which troubled Archie Sinclair was 
 the difference in weight between himself and his 
 invalid brother, which, as he occupied the bow, 
 resulted in the stern of the light craft being raised 
 much too high out of the water. Of course this 
 could have been remedied by their changing places, 
 but that would have thrown the heavier work of 
 the bow-paddle on the invalid, who happened also 
 to be the better steersman of the two. A large 
 stone placed in the stern would have been a simple 
 and effective remedy, but, as we have seen, no 
 large stone was procurable just then. 
 
96 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 "It didn't much matter in the clumsy wooden 
 things at Eed Eiver," said Archie, "but this egg- 
 shell of Ok^matan's is very different. Ho ! there 's 
 one at last," he continued with animation as they 
 rounded a point of land, and opened up a small 
 bay, on the margin of which there were plenty of 
 pebbles, and some large water- worn stones. 
 
 One of these having been placed in the stern of 
 the canoe, and the balance thus rectified, the voyage 
 was continued. 
 
 " Don't you think that breakfast on one of these 
 islets would be nice ? " said Billie. 
 
 "Just the very thing that was in my mind. 
 Little Bill," answered bis brother. 
 
 It was a curious peculiarity in this sturdy youth, 
 that whatever his invalid brother wished, he im- 
 mediately wished also. Similarly, when Billie didn't 
 desire anything, Archie did not desire it. In short 
 Billie's opinion was Archie's opinion, and Billie's 
 will was Archie's law. Not that Archie had no will 
 or opinion of his own. On the contrary, he was 
 quite sufficiently gifted in that way, but his love 
 and profound pity for the poor and almost helpless 
 invalid were such that in regard to him he had 
 sunk his own will entirely. As to opinions — well, 
 he did differ from him occasionally, but he did it 
 mildly, and with an openness to conviction which 
 was almost enviable. He called him Bill, Billie, 
 or Little Bill, according to fancy at the moment. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 97 
 
 Poor boys ! The sudden death of both parents 
 had been a terrible blow to them, and had inten- 
 sified the tenderness with which the elder had con- 
 stituted himself the guardian of the younger. 
 
 When the Scotch settlers were banished from 
 the colony, pity, as well as friendship for their 
 deceased parents, induced the Davidson family to 
 adopt the boys, and now, in exile, they were out 
 hunting by themselves to aid in replenishing the 
 general store of provisions. 
 
 It need scarcely be said that at this period of the 
 year the exiled colonists were not subjected to 
 severe hardships, for the air was alive with wild 
 fowl returning south from their breeding-grounds, 
 and the rivers and lakes were swarming with fish, 
 many of them of excellent quality. 
 
 " This will do — won't it ? " said Archie, pointing 
 with his paddle to an islet about a hundred yards 
 in diameter. 
 
 "Yes, famously," responded Little Bill, as he 
 steered towards a shelving rock which formed a 
 convenient landing-place. 
 
 The trees and shrubs covered the islet to the 
 water's edge with dense foliage, that glowed with all 
 the gorgeous colouring for which North American 
 woods in autumn are celebrated. An open grassy 
 space just beyond the landing-place seemed to have 
 been formed by nature for the express purpose of 
 accommodating picnic parties. 
 
 o 
 
98 THE BUFFALO EUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 "Nothing could have been better," said Archie, 
 drawing up the bow of the canoe, and stooping to 
 lift his brother out. 
 
 " I tliiuk I '11 try to walk — it 's such a short bit," 
 said Billie. 
 
 " D'ye think so ? well, I 've no doubt you can do 
 it. Little Bill, for you 've got a brave spirit of your 
 own, but there 's a wet bit o* moss you '11 have to 
 cross which you mayn't have noticed. Would you 
 like to be lifted over that, and so keep your moc- 
 casins dry ? " 
 
 " Archie, you 're a humbug. You 're always try- 
 ing to make me give you needless trouble." 
 
 " Well, have it your own way. Little Bill. I '11 
 help you to walk up." 
 
 "No, carry me," said Billie, stretching out his 
 arms ; " I 've changed my mind." 
 
 " I will, if you prefer it, Little Bill," said Archie, 
 lifting his brother in his strong arms and setting 
 him down on the convenient spot before referred to. 
 
 Billie was not altogether helpless. He . could 
 stand on his weak legs and even walk a little with- 
 out support, but to tramp through the woods, or 
 clamber up a hill, was to him an absolute impos- 
 sibility. He had to content himself with enjoy- 
 ments of a milder type. And, to do him justice, he 
 seemed to have no difficulty in doing so. Perhaps 
 he owed it to his mother, who had been a singularly 
 contented woman and had taught Billie from his 
 
OF THE BED EIVER PLAINS. 99 
 
 earliest years the truth that "contentment, with 
 godliness, is great gain." Billie did not announce 
 his belief in this truth, but he proclaimed it un- 
 wittingly by the more powerful force of example. 
 
 Breakfast is a pleasant meal at any time if the 
 operator be hungry, but who shall describe the 
 delights of breakfast when eaten in company with 
 several thousand wild-fowl, in a romantic wilder- 
 ness with fresh air laden with the perfumes of 
 the vegetable kingdom encircling the person; the 
 glorious sunshine dazzling the eyes; the sweet 
 songs of animated nature thrilling the ears, and the 
 gentle solicitations of an expectant appetite craving 
 within ? Words are wasted in such an effort. We 
 feel constrained to leave it — as we have not seldom 
 left many a thing before now — to the reader's more 
 or less vivid imagination. 
 
 A blazing fire of pine-logs boiled two tin kettles 
 and roasted two fat wild-ducks. In one of the 
 kettles Archie compounded and stirred robbiboo — 
 of which, perhaps, the less said the better. In the 
 other, Billie infused a small quantity of tea. The 
 roasting ducks — split open, impaled on sticks and 
 set up before the fire — looked after themselves till 
 they began to burn, when they were turned by 
 Archie and again neglected for a few minutes. 
 
 It was a glorious meal in all respects, and even 
 Billie, whose appetite was moderately strong, en- 
 joyed it imminsely — none the less that he had 
 
100 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 asked a blessing on it before beginning, and all the 
 more that he sympathised fully with his brother in 
 his possession of an amazing — a shamelessly robust 
 — capacity for food. 
 
 " Now, we 11 go to work," remarked Archie, wiping 
 his mouth with a sigh of contentment (he had 
 nothing else to wipe it with!) after finishing the 
 last spoonful of robbiboo, the last limb of duck and 
 the last mug of tea. 
 
 Such a remark at such a period in the entertain- 
 ment caused Billie to laugh. 
 
 " Why, Archie, you 've been at work this half-hour, 
 and there 's nothing left to go to work upon now." 
 
 "You know quite well. Little Bill, that I refer 
 to the day's work. "What is it to be ? Provisions 
 must be got if the camp is not to starve, and you 
 and I are bound to do our share. Shall we go to 
 Willow Point and shoot ducks and geese, or cross 
 the lake and trawl for fish ? " 
 
 "Both," answered the invalid with decision. 
 "We'll do both. We wiU paddle to Willow Point, 
 and try for jack-fish on the way." 
 
 " Just so — the very thing, Little Bill. Are you 
 ready to start ? " 
 
 Billie professed himself quite ready. Archie took 
 him on his back, replaced him in the stern of the 
 canoe in company with the big stone, and then 
 stepped gently into his own place at the bow, where 
 a common trading gun, with the old-fashioned flint 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 101 
 
 lock and single barrel, rested against the gunwale. 
 Pushing off, they soon left Breakfast-isle far behind 
 them, and crept swiftly along by the margin of the 
 reeds. 
 
 On the way Billie cast out his fishing-line. It was 
 a strong cod-line, with a great cod-hook attached and 
 a lump of fat pork on it ; for Archie, in the fervour 
 of hope coupled with piscatorial ignorance and a 
 sanguine disposition, had strongly advised his brother 
 to err, if err he must, on the safe side, and be pre- 
 pared for anything, from a great lake-serpent to a 
 freshwater whale. 
 
 No civilised fish would have deigned to give a 
 second thought to the obvious deception which a 
 mass of indigestible pork presented, but fish of the 
 backwoods — especially in the early years of this 
 century — were not suspicious. An enormous pike, 
 or " jack-fish," coveted that bait and took it. Not 
 only so, but it took the great cod-hook and ten 
 inches of the line besides. 
 
 A shout such as Billie had not uttered for many 
 months announced the fact. 
 
 " Hi ! hold on, Archie ! Back water ! I say, I 'd 
 believe I had hanked the bottom if it didn't tug 
 in such a lively way ! " 
 
 " Pay out line, Little Bill ! " cried the other, look- 
 ing over his shoulder with blazing eyes, but unable 
 to render any assistance owing to the small size and 
 crank nature of the canoe. " Stay, I '11 turn about 
 
102 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 and become steersman, while you play the — whew! 
 It 's a whale ! I say — ease off! " 
 
 " Ease off ! " cried Billie in desperation ; " how 
 can I ease off, with only a few yards o' the line 
 left?" 
 
 "Pitch the reel back to me then. I'll manage 
 it ! " cried Archie, who had converted the bow of 
 the canoe into the stern — both ends being alike — 
 by the simple process of turning himself round and 
 sitting with his face towards his brother. 
 
 What Archie had styled the reel was simply a 
 piece of stick with the line wound round it. His 
 brother pitched it to him with one hand while the 
 desperate jerking of the other — indeed of his whole 
 body — told at once of the size and the impatience 
 of the fish. 
 
 Unwinding the line in haste, Archie fastened the 
 extreme end of it to two spare paddles and flung 
 them overboard, 
 
 " Now, Little Bill," he said ; " you may let him 
 have his head, and if you can't hold on without 
 risking the line just let it go." 
 
 As he spoke the captive made another rush — 
 not very frantic indeed, for the pike is a sluggish 
 creature in all waters — but with a steady persis- 
 tency that meant resolution of purpose. In a few 
 seconds our invalid was compelled to let go, and, 
 the line tightening, the paddles disappeared with 
 a jerk. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 103 
 
 Soon after they reappeared, and the boys paddled 
 towards them with a cheer, picked them up and the 
 battle was renewed. 
 
 It would be tedious to recount all the incidents 
 of that fight. We can only say that after a struggle 
 that lasted an hour — according to the younger 
 brother; two hours and a half, according to the 
 elder — a pike of about four feet in length was 
 hauled into the canoe. 
 
 " That 's enough of fishing for one day," remarked 
 Billie, wiping his heated brow. 
 
 "Quite enough," assented the other; "shall we 
 make for Willow Point now. Little Bill ? " 
 
 " Yes. We will try the shooting now." 
 
 In accordance with this plan, the direction of the 
 canoe was changed, and, early in the afternoon, the 
 young hunters found themselves alongside of a low 
 point of rocks which stretched well out into the 
 lake, leaving a deep bay on either side. The ex- 
 treme end of the point consisted of naked rock, 
 but the greater part of it was covered with a dense 
 under-growth of low willow bushes. 
 
 Here they disembarked, and Archie, as before, 
 carried his brother to the highest part of the low 
 point, where a piece of green sward, free from bushes, 
 formed an attractive resting-place. 
 
 " Sit there now, Billie, till I get some brush, an' 
 make yourself useful by cutting out goose heads. 
 See, here are some branches o' the right sort ready 
 
104 THE BUFFALO EUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 to hand. No doubt some Eedskins have been at 
 ■work here before us." 
 
 He picked up some pieces of wood which Nature 
 had formed more or less to resemble the heads 
 and necks of geese. By a very slight use of the 
 knife Billie converted these into excellent portraits. 
 When he had finished half-a-dozen of them, his 
 brother had cut and brought to the spot a number 
 of bushy branches about two or three feet high. 
 These were soon stuck into the ground in a small 
 circle so as to resemble a growing bush, behind, or, 
 rather, in the midst of which, they could effectually 
 conceal themselves by crouching. 
 
 While this was being constructed the elder brother 
 went down to the edge of the water and made 
 half-a-dozen mud-heaps well within gunshot, which 
 when the artificial heads and necks were attached 
 to them, formed such exact counterparts of geese 
 that the wild birds might well be excused for mis- 
 taking them for friends. Indeed tyros at this work 
 have been known to fire at such decoys believing 
 them to be genuine birds. 
 
 Even while they were thus engaged one and 
 another flock of ducks and geese passed them on 
 their way to warmer climes ; of course sheering off 
 as they passed. But when the arrangement was 
 completed, and the two boys, crouching low, gazed 
 at the horizon with eager looks, the wild birds no 
 longer avoided the spot. On the contrary, seeing 
 
OF THE EED RIVER PLAINS. 106 
 
 the decoys, they rather inclined to pass close to the 
 place. 
 
 In flying down a river, or along the margin of a 
 lake, wild birds may diverge a little to follow the 
 sinuosities of bank or shore, but they will not get 
 out of the way of a projecting promontory; they 
 rather make a short cut by crossing over it. 
 
 The young hunters had not to wait long. 
 
 " There 's a flock of geese coming," said Archie in 
 a whisper, though the birds were at the moment 
 some miles away. " Take the first shot, little Bill" 
 
 They had only one gun between them. 
 
 " I don't like to," said Billie, " that thing gave me 
 such an awful kick last time, and I can't stand it 
 now." 
 
 " ! there 's no fear, I put in only a small charge 
 of powder-and-shot, on purpose. It won't kick hard 
 this time. Try." 
 
 " Well, I '11 try," said Billie, taking the gun. 
 
 " Aim well in advance. Bill. They fly fast, and 
 primin' gets damp sometimes." 
 
 A flock of small geese was approaching. The 
 boys became dumb, but they had remarkably speak- 
 ing eyes. 
 
 Animated by curiosity, the flock descended to 
 observe the decoys. How often that feeling of 
 curiosity has proved fatal — not only to feathered 
 geese ! 
 
 Little Bill raised his gnn. Puff! went the 
 
106 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 priming. Bang ! went the charge. One of the 
 birds, describing a beautiful curve, fell with bursting 
 violence on the ground. 
 
 " Well done, Billie," cried his brother enthusiasti- 
 cally as he leaped over the sheltering brush and ran 
 to secure the prize. " A few like that will give a 
 supper to the whole camp. Now, then," he added on 
 returning, " you '11 try again." 
 
 " No, Archie. It 's your turn now — and the thing 
 did give me a tremendous kick." 
 
 " But I will put in still less powder this time. 
 Little Bill, and less shot too, so you '11 have to be 
 careful of your aim. See, there's another flock 
 coming — there, take it, and down with you. I do 
 believe they are big fellows." 
 
 Thus encouraged, Billie took the gun and crouched 
 low. His brother was right. It was a flock of the 
 great grey geese of Canada which now approached. 
 The hearts of both boys beat high, for they were not 
 only actuated by what is termed the sporting tend- 
 ency, but by the desire to contribute their fair share 
 to the general larder of their friends, who were 
 encamped a considerable distance off at the other 
 end of the lake. 
 
 " Ok^matan will open his eyes if we take back a 
 goose or two like these ; why, they are swans 
 almost !" whispered Archie, as the birds approached 
 in the form of an angle. " Take the big fat one on 
 the left — the one now squintin' down at the decoys." 
 
OF THE BED RIVER PLAINS. 107 
 
 BUlie obeyed, and fired. The result was, in a 
 manner, threefold. First, the boy's aim was so good 
 that the big fat fellow dropped like a stone not three 
 yards from their position. Second, the hitherto silent 
 and symmetrically arranged flock went into dire con- 
 fusion and sheered off in trumpeting convulsions ; 
 and, third, a scattering shot, having found its billet 
 in the head of another goose immediately behind 
 the first one, caused it to plunge right into the camp, 
 straight for the head of Little Bill. Archie, ignorant 
 of this, was in the very act of leaping over the brush 
 to secure the first goose, and had fortunately got 
 in front of his brother at the right moment when 
 the second goose caught him on the shoulder and 
 knocked him into the poor invalid's arms. 
 
 He was stunned at first, and rose in a few 
 moments in some degree of mental confusion ; but 
 he was not much the worse for the accident and 
 greatly rejoiced at his fortunate escape, as well as 
 the splendid shooting, of Little Bill. 
 
 It must not be supposed that the brothers con- 
 tinued to shoot at this rate. Comparatively few 
 flocks of geese passed over Willow Point that day, 
 but numerous flocks of wild-ducks did, and before 
 evening had put an end to their work, they had 
 secured a fair canoe-load of game. 
 
 That night they lighted their camp-fire among the 
 neighbouring willows; feasted luxuriously on part 
 of the day's hunt ; lay down side by side under 
 
108 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 one blanket, with the upturned canoe partially 
 covering them ; dreamed at first of Ok^matan, 
 gazing in wonder at their load, and, afterwards, of 
 being knocked head over heels by an enormous 
 grey goose whose persistent pugnacity was only 
 equalled by its strange incapacity to achieve its 
 murderous ends. 
 
 Ultimately Oblivion came to their rescue, and the 
 young hunters fell into a dreamless slumber, with 
 the smoking camp-fire sending an occasional gleam 
 of ruddy light on their recumbent forms, and the 
 dark sky with its hosts of twinkling stars serving 
 I'or a gorgeous canopy. 
 
OF TUE llED lUVEll TLAIKS. 109 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 SHOWS SOME OF THE TROUBLES OF PIONEER COLONISTS. 
 
 Okj^matan was not the only person who opened 
 his eyes on the return of the Sinclair boys to camp 
 next day with their heavily laden canoe. The 
 Davidson and M'Kay families were much more 
 emphatic in their astonishment, for the boys, they 
 knew, had not hitherto performed any exploits in 
 shooting. They had not supposed them gifted with 
 even ordinary powers as sportsmen, and had imagined 
 that the poor invalid little Bill was utterly helpless. 
 On the other hand, Ok^matan was not unacquainted 
 with the sudden rise to unexpected celebrity of 
 Indian boys in his tribe, and knew something about 
 the capacity of even cripples to overcome difficulties 
 when driven by that stern taskmaster, Necessity. 
 
 The abundant supply of provisions thus un- 
 expectedly received was very acceptable, because 
 during the day on which the boys were absent, a 
 fresh band of immigrants had arrived on their way 
 to Eed Eiver, and one party of these, hailing from 
 Switzerland, had come on to the little lake where 
 
110 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 our Scotch friends were encamped, for the purpose 
 of consulting as to their future movements — for it 
 was evident that it would be dangerous as well as 
 useless for them to proceed to Eed Eiver in the 
 existing state of affairs. The leader of the party 
 was a fair-haired youth, who could speak English 
 very well. 
 
 The Scotch families were having their mid-day 
 meal around the camp-fires, when the Switzers 
 arrived and introduced themselves. Of course they 
 were made heartily welcome by Mr. Sutherland, 
 who acted as spokesman for his countrymen. 
 
 "We are unfortunate," said the leader of the 
 new arrivals, whose name was Andr^ MoreL 
 " We hoped that the severe climate would be our 
 only foe to fight with — especially in a land where 
 the people are so few." 
 
 Sutherland — whose sedate and quiet manner was 
 consistent with his position as an elder and spiri- 
 tual guide of his countrymen at that time — smiled 
 gravely, shook his head, and stroked his chin. 
 
 " You will find," he said, " that whatever part 
 of this world you go to, the passions of man are 
 always more deadly in their consequences than 
 surroundings, or climates, or anything else " 
 
 " H'm ! what you say iss ferry true," remarked 
 old M'Kay, who was busy picking the drumstick 
 of a wild-goose at the moment. "If it wass not 
 for the jealousy an' ill-will o' the North-Westers we 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. Ill 
 
 should hev been at this goot hour in our comfortable 
 houses amang the green fields of Rud Ruver." 
 
 "Wheesht! faither!" interposed Duncan junior, 
 "Mr. Sutherland wass speakin', an' ye've stoppit 
 him." 
 
 " An' what if I hev, Tuncan ? Can he not con- 
 tinoo to speak vrhen I hev done ? " retorted the old 
 man, resuming his drumstick. 
 
 "You are right, Mr. M'Kay," said the elder. 
 " But for the unfortunate jealousies of the two 
 Companies, we might have been in very different 
 circumstances to-day. If the North-Westers could 
 only see that the establishment of a colony in Red 
 River would in no way hinder the fur-trade, we 
 could all get along peaceably enough together. But 
 it seems to have been ordained that man shall 
 reach every good thing through much tribulation." 
 
 " I do not agree wi' you at all. Muster Suther- 
 land," said old M'Kay. "There iss many of rich 
 people in this world, who hev all that hert can 
 wush, an' are born to it without hevin' any treebu- 
 lation at all." 
 
 " But I did not say * all that heart could wish,' 
 Mr. M'Kay. I said ' every good thing '." 
 
 "Well, an' iss not wealth a goot thing, Muster 
 Sutherland ? " 
 
 "Only if God's blessing goes along with it,*' 
 returned the elder. "If it does not, wealth is a 
 curse." 
 
112 THE BUFFALO KUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 '* H'm ! I wush I had a little more o' that curse — 
 whatever," answered the irreverent old man. 
 
 " Besides," continued Sutherland, not noticing the 
 remark, " the rich are by no means exempt from 
 tribulation. They are sometimes afflicted with bad 
 children ; not infrequently with bad health, which 
 doctors, at two or three guineas a visit, cannot cure, 
 and many of them are much troubled with poverty! " 
 
 " You are talking in ruddles now, Muster Suther- 
 land," said old Duncan, who, having finished the 
 drumstick and its duplicate, was preparing his pipe 
 for action. 
 
 "It is not much of a riddle, Mr. M'Kay. I 
 suppose you consider a man with ten thousand a 
 vear rich, and a man with two hundred poor." 
 
 ' Well, yes ; I wull not be denyin' that" 
 
 "Well — if the rich man spends ten thousand 
 and fifty pounds a year and never has anything to 
 spare or to lay by, is he not miserably poor — poor 
 in spirit as well as in purse ? For, at the end of the 
 year his purse is empty, and he is in debt. On the 
 other hand, if the man with two hundred a year 
 spends one hundred and fifty, gives away twenty, 
 and lays by thirty every year, is he not rich ? " 
 
 "Ferry true. Muster Sutherland," said M'Kay, 
 with a peculiar smile, as he emitted his first whiff. 
 " I wull not be arguin' wi' you, for you always get 
 the best of it. Nevertheless, it is my opeenion that 
 we 've had treebulation enough in Kud Euver since 
 
OF TUE RED EIVER PLAINS. 113 
 
 we came oot, an' I would be ferry gled of a luttle 
 prosperity now — if only by way of a pleesant change." 
 
 Eecurring to this subject a few days later, young 
 Morel asked Dan Davidson, while they were 
 paddling back to camp together one evening with 
 the proceeds of a day's hunt : " Has your life in the 
 colony, since the beginning, been as bad as old 
 M'Kay made it out the other day ? " 
 
 " Well, making due allowance for the old man's 
 use of strong language, his account of matters has 
 not been much overdrawn," answered Dan, who, in 
 virtue of his superior canoe-craft, acted the part of 
 steersman. " You see, when we came out here we 
 expected, like you, that all would be plain sailing, 
 except as regarded climate and ordinary difi&culties, 
 but our eyes were soon opened to the true state of 
 things. Instead of the wilderness, with a few peace- 
 ful inhabitants living under the mild sway of the 
 Hudson Bay Company, we found another company, 
 apparently as strong as the Hudson's Bay one, in vio- 
 lent opposition. They regarded our coming as likely 
 to ruin their trade, for Lord Selkirk was a share- 
 holder in the Hudson's Bay Company, and it was 
 supposed his object in planting the colony was to 
 advance his scheme of monopolising the whole fur- 
 trade of the Far West. I cannot myself see how this 
 colony could injure the fur-trade; but, anyhow, I 
 know that the opposition has affected the colonists 
 very severely, for we have been deceived by the 
 
 H 
 
11 4 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 contending parties, and misled, and delayed or 
 thwarted in all our operations. 
 
 " At the very outset, on our arrival, a band of the 
 Nor'-Westers, composed of half-breeds and Indians, 
 warned us that our presence was unwelcome, and 
 tried to frighten us away by their accounts of the 
 savage nature of the natives. Then the fear of per- 
 ishing for want of food induced a lot of us to take 
 their advice, leave the farms allotted to us, and go to 
 a place called Pembina, about seventy miles distant 
 from the colony, there to spend the long and hard 
 winter in tents, according to the Indian fashion, and 
 live on the produce of the chase." 
 
 "I should have thought that was a pleasant 
 way of spending the first winter," remarked Andr^ 
 Morel, who, besides being young, was strong and 
 enthusiastic. 
 
 " So thought some of us at first," returned Dan, 
 " but when we found that the thermometer fell to 
 somewhere between 40 and 50 degrees below zero; 
 that walking in snow-shoes, trapping, hunting buffalo, 
 and shooting, were not to be learned in a few days ; 
 and when we saw our women and children dependent 
 sometimes on the charity of Indians, and reduced 
 almost to starvation, we changed our minds as to 
 the pleasure of the thing. However, if the school 
 was rough, it made the scholars all the quicker, and 
 now I think that most of us are equal to the Eed- 
 skius themselves at their own work. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 115 
 
 " When that winter came to an end," continued 
 Dan, " we returned to Eed Eiver, in the month of 
 May, wiser men, thoroughly determined to plant 
 and sow, and make ourselves independent of the 
 savages. But hunger followed us, for fish were 
 scarce that season ; so were roots and herries ; and, 
 if it had not been for a kind of parsnip which grows 
 wild in the plains, and a species of eatable nettle, 
 I do believe some of us would have gone under 
 altogether." 
 
 "And did your first sowing turn out well?" asked 
 the young Swiss, who having been bred a watch- 
 maker, had only hazy notions as to farming. 
 
 " Ay, there was a gleam of prosperity there that 
 led us to hope great things for the future," answered 
 Dan ; " but the gleam did not continue. Why, one 
 fellow, not far from our place, sowed four quarts of 
 wheat, and reaped twelve and a half bushels ; but 
 we had terrible trouble to save our crops from the 
 birds. In the Spring and Fall, blackbirds and wild 
 pigeons pass over the prairies on their way north 
 or south, in immense numbers. They pass in such 
 numbers that they could, I do believe, swallow our 
 whole harvest, if they got only a grain a-piece. 
 The berries failed them that year, an' men, women, 
 and children had to work hard wi' guns, bird-nets, 
 and rattles, from morning to night, to say nothing 
 o' scarecrows. We had resolved never to go near 
 Pembina again, but what we saved of the harvest 
 
116 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 was little more than enough for seed, so we were 
 forced to try it for another winter. Troubles again 
 awaited us there. The half-breeds and Indians — 
 who had been kind at first — became jealous. A 
 plot was discovered to murder two of our party 
 who had undertaken to hunt, so we were obliged 
 to buy our provisions at a high price, and even to 
 barter away our clothing to avoid starvation, and 
 we returned half-naked to the Settlement the fol- 
 lowing spring. Then, coming upon us in armed 
 bands and superior numbers, they drove us out of 
 the Settlement altogether at last, and we came here 
 to Jack Eiver to spend the winter as we best could. 
 After that we went back and struggled on for some 
 time, but now, here have they a second time 
 banished us! What the end is to be, who can 
 tell?" 
 
 " Truly, if such be the country I have come to, I 
 will go back to my native land and make watches," 
 remarked the Swiss in a tone from which the san- 
 guine element had almost entirely disappeared. 
 
OF THE RED RIVEE PLAINS. 117 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 SOUND THS OAUP FIBES. 
 
 Had any one been watching the camp-fires of the 
 banished colonists that night, the last idea that 
 ■would have entered the observer's mind would have 
 been that of suffering or distress. 
 
 The night was brilliantly fine, and just cold 
 enough to make the blazing fires agreeable without 
 being necessary — except, indeed, as a means of cook- 
 ing food. The light of these fires, shining through 
 the green, yellow, and golden foliage, and illuminat- 
 ing the sunburnt faces of men, women, and children, 
 gave to the scene a strain of the free, the wild, and 
 the romantic, which harmonised well with the gypsy- 
 like appearance of the people, and formed a ruddy 
 contrast to the pure cold light of the innumerable 
 stars overhead, which, with their blue-black setting, 
 were reflected in the neighbouring lake. 
 
 Over every fire pots and kettles were suspended 
 from tripods, or rested on the half-burned logs, 
 while impaled wild-fowl roasted in front of it 
 Food being in great abundance, hearts were light 
 
118 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 in spite of other adverse cirumstances, and men and 
 women, forgetting to some extent the sufferings of 
 the past and the dark prospects of the future, 
 appeared to abandon themselves to the enjoyment 
 of the present. 
 
 The children, of course, were full of glee, and not 
 altogether empty of mischief ; and there were fortu- 
 nately no infants of age so tender as to induce 
 a squalling protest against the discomforts of a 
 situation which could be neither understood nor 
 appreciated. 
 
 " It iss a pleesant night, whatever," remarked old 
 M'Kay, lighting his pipe with a brand plucked from 
 the fire which his family and the Davidsons shared 
 in common ; " an' if it wass always like this, it iss 
 myself that would not object to be a rud savitch." 
 
 " I don't know that a rud savitch is much worse 
 than a white wan," growled Duncan junior, in an 
 under-tone. 
 
 " What iss that you say ? " demanded the old 
 man with a look of suspicion, for his hearing was 
 imperfect. 
 
 " Surely the water must be boiling now, daddy ? " 
 said Elspie, by way of checking the conversation, 
 
 " I don't know whuther it iss boilin' or not," 
 answered Duncan senior, applying another brand 
 to his pipe. 
 
 "Archie, boy!" exclaimed Dan Davidson, "you're 
 letting that goose roast to a cinder." 
 
OF THE RED KIVER PLAINS. lid 
 
 " No, Dan, I 'm not — but Billy can't a-bear meat 
 underdone, so it's better to blacken the outside 
 than have the inside raw." 
 
 "Who iss that singing? Wheesht, boys," said 
 Fergus M'Kay, turning his head a little on one side 
 as if to listen. 
 
 There was profound silence for a few moments as 
 a rich manly voice was heard to swell forth from 
 the neighbourhood of one of the camp-fires. 
 
 "It comes from the camp of the Switzers, I 
 think," said Elspie M'Kay. 
 
 " I know it," said Jessie Davidson, who was seated 
 on a log beside her friend. "It is rran9ois La 
 Certe. He came to our meeting- place in Eed River, 
 you know, just after Cuthbert Grant and his men 
 left us, and, hearing that we were starting off to 
 Jack River again, he resolved to follow. I heard 
 him tell Slowfoot to get ready to go along with us." 
 
 " I wonder why he came ? " said Mrs. Davidson, 
 coming out of her tent at the moment, and joining 
 the party round the fire. 
 
 " He did not say," answered Jessie. 
 
 "He did not require to say," remarked Duncan 
 M'Kay, with a sarcastic laugh. " Every wan knows 
 that wherever there iss a chance of gettin' ammuni- 
 tion and plenty of victuals for nothing, there La Certe 
 iss certain to be found. He knew that we would be 
 sure to hev plenty at this season o' the year, an' 
 that we would not see him an' his wife sterve when 
 
120 THE BUFFALO RUNNEKS : A TALE 
 
 our kettles wass full. Iss not that so, Ok^matan? 
 You know him best." 
 
 Thus appealed to, the Indian, whose usual expres- 
 sion was one of intense gravity, shut his eyes, 
 opened his mouth, displayed his superb teeth, and 
 uttered a low chuckle, but made no further reply. 
 
 It was enough. Those who understood Ok^matan 
 and his ways were well aware that he thought La 
 Certe uncommonly sly. 
 
 The half-breed had indeed followed the expelled 
 colonists in the belief that they would certainly 
 possess plenty of powder and shot — which he had 
 not the means of purchasing. He also knew that 
 the whole of Eupert's Land swarmed with game in 
 autumn and spring, and that the Scotch were an 
 open-handed race when approached in the right 
 way. Putting these things together, he carefully 
 gummed his canoe, put his wife and child into 
 it — also some of the provision which had been 
 supplied to him by Duncan M'Kay junior — and 
 followed the settlers over Lake Winnipeg to Jack 
 Eiver. 
 
 Here, finding that a new party of immigrants had 
 arrived, who were necessarily unacquainted with his 
 little peculiarities. La Certe attached himself to them 
 and made himself agreeable. This he could do very 
 well, for the Switzers understood his bad French, as 
 well as his good tuneful voice, and appreciated his 
 capacity for telling a story. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 121 
 
 ** Did you never," he said to Andr^ Morel, after 
 his song was finished, " hear of how my old mother 
 saved her whole tribe from death one time in the 
 Rocky Mountains ? " 
 
 " Never," Morel replied with a somewhat sceptical 
 but good-natured smile. 
 
 " No ! I wonder much, for every one in this land 
 heard about it, an' I thought the news must have 
 spread over Europe and — and, perhaps Africa Well, 
 I will tell you. Where is my baccy-bag ? " 
 
 "Never mind, fill your pipe from mine," said 
 Morel, tossing him a little bag of the coveted weed. 
 
 "Thank you. Well, you must know that my 
 mother had a beautiful voice — O ! much more beau- 
 tiful than mine. Indeed, I do not joke, so you 
 need not laugh. It was so sweet that men were 
 always forced to listen till she was done. They 
 could not help it." 
 
 " Did they ever want to help it ? " asked Morel 
 quietly. 
 
 " O yes — as you shall hear. Well, one day my 
 mother was living with all our tribe — I say our 
 tribe because my mother was an Indian — with all 
 our tribe, in a great dark gorge of the Eocky 
 Mountains. The braves had gone out to hunt that 
 day, but my mother stayed behind with the women 
 and children, I was a little foolish child at that 
 time — too young to hunt or fight. My father — a 
 French Canadian — he was dead. 
 
122 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " We knew — my mother and I — that the braves 
 would be home soon. We expected them every 
 minute. While we were waiting for them, my 
 mother went into the bush to pick berries. There 
 she discovered a war-party of our enemies. They 
 were preparing to attack our village, for they knew 
 the men were away, and they wanted the scalps of 
 the women and children. But they did not know 
 the exact spot where our wigwams were pitched, 
 and were just going, after a feed, to look for it. 
 
 " My mother ran home with the news, and im- 
 mediately roused the camp, and made them get 
 ready to fly to meet the returning men. 
 
 " ' But, my daughter,' said an old chief, who had 
 stayed in camp, ' our enemies are young and active ; 
 they will quickly overtake us before we meet our men.' 
 
 " ' No,' said my mother, ' I will stop them. Get 
 ready, and set off quickly.' 
 
 " She then ran back on her trail — my mother was 
 a tremendous runner — superb ! She came to a nar- 
 row place where our enemies would have to pass. 
 A very thick tree grew there. She climbed it, and 
 hid among the branches. It projected beyond a 
 precipice and overhung a stream. Soon after that 
 she saw the enemy advancing, step by step, slowly, 
 cautiously, like men who dread an ambush, and with 
 glances quick and solemn from side to side, like men 
 who see a foe in every stump and stone." 
 
 La Certe paused at this point. He was an adept 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 128 
 
 at story-telling. His voice had slowed by degrees 
 and become increasingly deep and solemn as he pro- 
 ceeded. 
 
 "Now," continued he, in a higher tone, "my 
 mother did not fear that they would see her if they 
 looked up when they passed the tree. She was too 
 well hidden for that; but she was not sure what 
 the effect of her voice would be, for she had never 
 tried it in that way before. However, she was full 
 of courage. She resembled me in that — bold as 
 a lion ! She began to sing. Low and soft at the 
 beginning, like a dream of song. 
 
 " At the first note the Indians halted — every man ; 
 each in the position in which he was fixed. If a 
 foot was up he kept it up. If both feet were down he 
 left them down. The feet that were up came slowly 
 to the ground when the Indians got tired, but no one 
 took another step. My mother's voice was a weird 
 voice. It sounded as if the place from which it 
 came was nowhere — or anywhere — or everywhere ! 
 Slowly the painted heads turned from side to 
 side as far as they could go, and the glaring eyes 
 turned a little further. A creeping fear came over 
 them. They trembled. They turned pale. That 
 could be easily seen through the paint. My mother 
 saw it ! She became more courageous and sang out 
 in her most pathetic strain. The Indians wept. That 
 was quite visible. My mother saw it. Her great 
 object was to delay the attack until our jnen had time 
 
124 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 to arrive. She tried a war-song, but that was not so 
 successful. It was too commonplace. Besides, in her 
 energy she shook the branches, and that drew atten- 
 tion to the tree. My mother thought that she was in 
 danger then ; but fortune favoured her. It always 
 favours the brave. I know this from experience. 
 
 " She had just come to a terrific whoop in the 
 war-song when she slipped off her branch and the 
 whoop increased to a death-yell as she went crash- 
 ing headlong through the branches and down into 
 the stream at the foot of the precipice." 
 
 " Water ! water ! " exclaimed La Certe at this 
 point, holding out both hands. " I can never pass 
 this part of my story without burning thirst ! " 
 
 A mug of water was handed him. 
 
 "Poor fellow — have some brandy in it," said a 
 sympathetic hearer, hastily getting out his bottle. 
 
 La Certe held out his mug impatiently for the 
 brandy, drained the mug, and cleared his voice. 
 
 " Was — was your mother killed ? " asked the 
 sympathiser, earnestly. 
 
 " Killed ? No. Impossible ! My mother could 
 not be killed because her destiny was not yet ful- 
 filled. No : there was a deep pool right under the 
 tree. She fell into that with a plunge that echoed 
 from cliff to cliff. The Indians were profoundly 
 superstitious. All Indians are not so, but these 
 Indians were. They waited not for more. They 
 turned and jfled as if all the evil spirits in the Ilucky 
 
OF THE RED RITER PLAINS. 126 
 
 Mountains were chasing them. They reached their 
 wigwams breathless, and told their squaws that one 
 of the spirits of a mountain stream had sat among 
 the branches of a tree and sung to them. It had 
 told them that the right time for attacking their 
 foes had not yet come. Then it sang them a war- 
 song descriptive of their final victory, and, just after 
 uttering a tremendous war-whoop, it had dived back 
 into its native stream." 
 
 "Well done!" exclaimed an enthusiastic Cana- 
 dian. 
 
 " But what became of your mother 1 " asked 
 Morel. 
 
 " Oh ! she swam ashore. My mother was a 
 splendid swimmer. I know it, for she taught 
 me." 
 
 " Was it a long swim ? " asked a sceptical sailor, 
 who was one of the emigrants. 
 
 " How ? — what mean you ? " demanded La Certe, 
 sternly. 
 
 " I only want to know if she took long to swim 
 ashore out o' that pool," said the sceptic, simply. 
 
 La Certe cast on him a glance of suspicion, and 
 replied that his mother had found no difficulty in 
 getting out of the pool. 
 
 " Is the old lady alive yet ? " asked the pertina- 
 cious sceptic. 
 
 " Of course not. She died long long ago — thirty 
 years ago." 
 
126 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 "What! before you was born? That's strange, 
 isn't it ? " 
 
 "No, but you not understand. I suppose my 
 speech is not plain to you. I said three years 
 ago." 
 
 " Ah ! that 's more like it. I only missed 
 what you said," returned the sceptic, whose name 
 was Fred Jenkins, " for I 've lived a while in 
 France, and understand your lingo pretty well. 
 Pass that goose, Morel, if you have left anything 
 on it. This air o' the wilderness beats the air o' 
 the sea itself for givin' a fellow a twist." 
 
 The remarks of Jenkins, while they did not 
 absolutely destroy the confidence of the Swiss 
 party, shook it enough to show the wily half- 
 breed that he must do something if possible to 
 re-establish his credit. He therefore volunteered 
 another song, which was gladly accepted and highly 
 appreciated ; for, as we have said. La Certe pos- 
 sessed a really good and tuneful voice, and these 
 immigrants were a musical people. 
 
 While this was going on at the Swiss camp-fire, 
 an incident occurred at the fire round which the 
 M'Kay-Davidson party was assembled, which de- 
 serves particular notice. 
 
 Old M'Kay was giving some directions to Fergus; 
 Duncan junior was seated opposite Dan Davidson, 
 smoking his pipe, and Elspie had gone into her tent, 
 when Slowfoot, the spouse of La Certe, drew near. 
 
Oif THE EEt) EIVER PLAINS. 127 
 
 " Come along, old girl," exclaimed M'Kay senior. 
 "It iss some baccy you will be wantin', I'll 
 wager." 
 
 Slowfoot did not reply in words, but the smile 
 upon her face was eloquent. 
 
 "Come away, then," continued the hospitable 
 Highlander. "You shall hev a pipe of it, what- 
 ever." 
 
 He handed her a large plug of tobacco, and 
 the woman, sitting down close to young Duncan, 
 produced her pipe, and drew out a knife for the 
 purpose of cutting up the tobacco. 
 
 " Hallo ! " exclaimed Duncan, " where did you 
 get hold o' my knife ? " 
 
 He stopped abruptly — a little confused in spite 
 of himself For the moment he had quite forgotten 
 that the knife had been left in the camp where he 
 had slain Perrin, and the sudden sight of it had 
 thrown him off his guard. It was now too late to 
 unsay the words, but not too late to mislead his 
 hearers. 
 
 " I got it from Marie Blanc," said Slowfoot with 
 a look of surprise. "Does the knife belong to 
 Cloudbrow ? " 
 
 " I think it does. I 'm almost sure it iss mine. 
 Let me see it," returned Duncan, taking the knife 
 from the woman's hand, and examining it with cool 
 and critical deliberation. 
 
 "No," continued he, "it iss not mine, but very 
 
12S THE BUFFALO EQKNERS : A TALft 
 
 like one that I lost — so like that I felt sure at first 
 it wass mine." 
 
 Men who lie, usually overact their part. Duncan 
 glanced suspiciously at Dan to see how he took the 
 explanation as he returned the knife to Slowfoot, 
 and Dan observed the glance, as being uncalled for 
 — unnatural — in the circumstances. 
 
 Dan was by no means of a suspicious nature, 
 nevertheless the glance haunted him for many a 
 day after that. Suspicion once aroused is a ghost 
 which is not easily laid. He tried to shake it off, 
 and he carefully, loyally, kept it confined in his 
 own breast ; but, do what he would, he could not 
 banish entirely from his mind that Duncan M'Kay 
 — the brother of his Elspie — had some sort of guilty 
 knowled<je of the murder of poor Henri Perrin. 
 
OF THE EED RlVEl: PLAINS. 129 
 
 CHAPTEK XIIL 
 
 DIFFIOULTIKS OF VABI0TJ8 KIWDS OVERCOMB. 
 
 When the bright warm days and cool starry 
 nights of the Indian summer gave place to the sharp 
 days and frosty nights of early winter — when young 
 ice formed on the lakes and rendered canoeing 
 impossible, and the ducks and geese had fled to 
 warmer climes, and the Frost King had sent his first 
 messengers of snow to cover the wilderness with a 
 winding-sheet and herald his return to the Winter 
 Palace — then it was that the banished Eed Eiver 
 settlers began to feel the pinch of poverty and to 
 understand the full extent of the calamity that had 
 befallen them. 
 
 We have not space to follow them through all the 
 details of that winter at Jack Eiver. Some died, all 
 suffered more or less ; but they had to endure it, for 
 escape from the country to the civilised world was 
 even more difficult and hopeless than escape from 
 the dreaded wilds of Siberia. The men hunted, fished 
 under the ice, trapped, and sustained themselves 
 and their families in life during the long, dreary 
 
 I 
 
130 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 winter ; the only gain being that they became more 
 or less expert at the Red-man's work and ways of 
 life. 
 
 Only two of the Indians remained with them to 
 help them over their difficulties — namely, Ok^matan 
 and Kateegoose, with their respective squaws. These 
 last were invaluable as the makers of moccasins 
 and duffle socks and leathern coats, without which 
 existence in such a climate would have been im- 
 possible. They also imparted their knowledge in 
 such matters to the squaws of the white men. 
 
 There was one friend, however, who did not re- 
 main with the settlers when things began to look 
 dismal around them. This was the amiable, musi- 
 cal story-telling La Certe. That tender-hearted man 
 could not endure the sight of human distress. If 
 he could not relieve it, he felt constrained to shut 
 his eyes to it and to flee from it. At the first in- 
 dication of the approach of winter he had come 
 to old M'Kay with that peculiarly mild, humble, 
 deprecatory expression of countenance with which 
 he was wont to preface an appeal for assistance of 
 some sort. 
 
 " What iss it you will be wantin' now ?" demanded, 
 the old man, rather testily, for he had an aversion to 
 the half-breed's sneaking ways. " Surely you will 
 not be wantin' more powder an' shot efter the supply 
 I gave you last week ? " 
 
 O uo! nothing could be further from the mind. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 131 
 
 of La Certe. He had plenty of ammunition and 
 provisions. He had only come to say that he was 
 going back to — to — Eed Eiver." 
 
 "Weel, weel," returned the Highlander, "there 
 is no call for hesitation, man, in tellin* me that, I 
 will not be breakin' my heart when ye are gone. I 
 suppose that now ye hev got the best the season can 
 supply, ye think the comforts o' the Settlement 
 will be more to your taste." 
 
 The remonstrative expression on La Certe's face 
 deepened. The idea of his own taste or comfort had 
 not once entered his head : but he had a wife and 
 child whom he was bound to consider, and he had 
 a hut — a home — in Eed Eiver which he felt con- 
 strained to look after. Besides, he had social duties 
 of many kinds which claimed attention. 
 
 " I 've no doubt ye hev," said M'Kay, with a shore 
 sarcastic laugh, " an' ye will attend to them too — 
 I '11 be bound. But ye did not come here, I sup- 
 pose, to take a tender farewell o' me. What iss it 
 you will be wantin ? Oot wi' it, man ! " 
 
 " There is a canoe " said La Certe, with some 
 
 hesitation. 
 
 " There iss many a canoe ! " returned M'Kay with 
 a peculiar grin. 
 
 " True, but there is one on the shore now, close to 
 the flat rock which " 
 
 " My own canoe ! " interrupted the other, " what 
 will ye be wantin' wi' that ? " 
 
132 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 La Certe did not wish to appear greedy, but the 
 season was late, and his own canoe was not in a very 
 fit condition to carry a family round the shores of a 
 lake so large as Lake Winnipeg. Would the white 
 father lend his canoe to him ? It could not be wanted 
 much longer that Fall, and the one he would leave 
 behind him was an excellent canoe for ordinary fish- 
 ing and hunting purposes. He would be quite will- 
 ing to hire the canoe or to pay the full price for it 
 if any accident should happen to it. 
 
 " No," said M'Kay, firmly. " No, La Certe ; your 
 hiring means borrowing, and your payin' means 
 owin' a debt for the remainder o' your natural life. 
 I will see you at the bottom o' Lake Winnipeg before 
 I will be lending you my canoe." 
 
 La Certe smiled sadly, and gazed at the cap with 
 which his hands played, as if appealing to it for 
 sympathy. 
 
 With an aspect of the profoundest resignation he 
 made his bow and left the Presence. 
 
 But La Certe was not in the least put out by this 
 failure. He went to his tent, and recounted the in- 
 terview to his squaw, who, when he entered, was in 
 the act of giving her child, a creature of about four 
 years of age, one or two draws of her pipe, to let it 
 taste how nice it was. 
 
 Smoking in calm placidity, the amiable pair dis- 
 cussed the subject. The conclusion they came to 
 was, as usual, harmonious. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 183 
 
 ** I think he will agree to lend it next time I go 
 to him," said La Certe, hopefully. 
 
 " He will give in," replied Slowfoot, decidedly. 
 
 The four-year-old could not understand the subject, 
 and made no comment ; but it howled for another 
 smoke, and got it. 
 
 La Certe was wrong, and his wife was right — as 
 usual. Old M'Kay did not agree to "lend" his 
 canoe the " next time," or the next again, but he did 
 " give in " at last, more, perhaps, to get rid of the 
 half-breed's importunity than because of good-will, 
 and sold the canoe to him — on credit. 
 
 When that winter was over, the Hudson's Bay 
 Company again encouraged the settlers to return, 
 under promise of protection, and the spring found 
 the persevering people, in spite of all difficulties and 
 previous failures, busy putting into the ground what 
 little seed they possessed, and otherwise cultivating 
 the soil. 
 
 Some of them there were, however, who, after 
 lending a hand in this work, determined to provide 
 second strings to their bows by following the bufl'alo 
 hunters to the plains. These were chiefly the young 
 and strong men, such as Dan Davidson and his 
 brother Peter, Fergus M'Kay, Antoine Dechamp, 
 and Jacques Bourassin, among many others. 
 
 La Certe also went, as well as his squaw and the 
 four-year-old. He managed the thing characteris- 
 tically thus. 
 
134 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 When the half-breeds were making preparations 
 for their spring hunt, he paid a visit to Duncan 
 M'Kay, who was busy at the time helping his fatlier 
 and brother to rebuild their house. Indeed the 
 edifice was almost rebuilt, for the erection of small 
 wooden houses does not usually take long. 
 
 " You 've come to beg, borrow, or steal, no doubt," 
 said Cloudbrow, who was worthy of his nickname* 
 for he was as short of temper as Duncan senior. 
 
 No, La Certe had come to do none of these things, 
 he said, with a conciliatory smile. 
 
 " Well, then, you can't have come to buy or to ask 
 advances," growled Duncan ; " for you see that our 
 store and all we possessed has been burnt by your 
 precious countrymen." 
 
 La Certe knew this, and professed himself pro- 
 foundly grieved as well as indignant with his 
 countrymen. No, he did not come to buy or to 
 borrow, but to hire. The M'Kays had still some 
 horses left, and carts. Could they not spare a horse 
 and cart to him on hire ? 
 
 " No, we can do nothing of the sort," said Duncan 
 shortly, resuming his axe and work. " You can go 
 to the Company. Perhaps they will trust you — 
 though they are fools if they do." 
 
 La Certe was regretful, but not cast down. He 
 changed the subject, commented on the building 
 that was going on, the prospects of a good harvest, 
 and finally took refuge in that stale old subject, the 
 
OP THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 136 
 
 weather. Then he said in a casual way — as if it 
 had just occurred to him — " By the way — that knife 
 that my wife got from Marie Blanc " 
 
 Young M'Kay stopped, and looked quickly up for 
 a moment, with a slight flush, but instantly resumed 
 work. 
 
 " Well," he said, quietly, " what about the knife ?" 
 
 "Would you like to have it — my wife bade me 
 inquire ? " 
 
 " Why should I like to have it ? " he asked care- 
 lessly. 
 
 " Oh ! I thought it was yours," said La Certe. 
 
 "You are mistaken. I said it was very like 
 mine. But it is not mine — and I have no wish for 
 what does not belong to me." 
 
 " Of course not. Well, I must be going," said the 
 half-breed, preparing to leave. " I wished much to 
 have your horse and cart, for they are both good, 
 and I would offer you £4 for the trip, which, you 
 know, is double the usual charge, for I never grudge 
 a good price for a good thing." 
 
 "Yes, all the more when you hev no intention 
 to pay it," said M'Kay with a laugh. " However, 
 since you seem so anxious, and offer so good a price, 
 I am willing to oblige you this time, in the hope 
 that you are really becoming an honest man ! " 
 
 The half-breed was profuse in his thanks, and 
 in his assurance that Cloudbrow's hopes would cer- 
 tainly not be disappointed. 
 
136 THE BUFFALO BUNNEES : A TALE 
 
 Having thus attained his chief object, our arch- 
 beggar went off to obtain provisions. Those which 
 had been supplied him the previous autumn by 
 young M'Kay had been quite consumed by him- 
 self and his friends — for the man, you see, had a 
 liberal heart and hand. 
 
 But his first attempts were unsuccessful. He 
 wanted ammunition. To go to the plains without 
 ammunition was obviously useless. He wanted food 
 — sugar, tea, flour, pork. To go to the pLiiiis with- 
 out these would be dreary work. Bat men knew 
 La Certe's character, and refused him. One after 
 another he tried his friends. Then he tried them 
 again. Then he tried comparative strangers. He 
 could not try his enemies, for, strange to say, he had 
 none. Then he went over them all again. 
 
 At last, by indomitable perseverance, ho managed 
 to wear out the patience of one of his friends, who 
 believed in the restoration of the incorrigible, and 
 he found himself fully equipped to take the field 
 with his hard-working comrades. 
 
 It may be remarked here that the buffalo runners 
 generally went on the credit system, trusting to a 
 successful hunt to pay off their debts, and leave 
 them supplied with food for the winter. But, then, 
 most of these men were in earnest, and meant 
 to pay off their debts loyally. Whereas La Certe 
 — good, humorous, easy-going man — had not the 
 slightest intention of paying his debts at all ! 
 
OF THE BED RIVER PLAINS. 137 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 TBBACHERY IN TEB AIB. 
 
 At this time the half-breeds of the colony of Eed 
 liiver formed a small party compared with the 
 numbers to which they multiplied in after years, 
 and the band of hunters who annually went to the 
 plains to chase the buffalo was proportionally smalL 
 Nevertheless, they were numerous enough to con- 
 stitute a formidable band, capable of holding their 
 own, when united, against any band of wandering 
 Indians who might feel disposed to attack them. 
 They were a brave, hardy race of men, but of 
 course there were some black sheep among them 
 like La Certe. 
 
 About sixty or a hundred miles from the Settle- 
 ment, the party, under command of Antoine De- 
 champ, found the buffalo, and preparations were 
 at once made to attack them. It was dusk, how- 
 ever, when the herds were discovered, so that the 
 hunt had to be postponed to the following day. 
 
 A small clump of bushes afforded wood enough 
 for camp-fires. The carts were ranged in a circle 
 with the trams outward. Sentries were posted ; the 
 
138 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 liorses were secured; the kettles put on; pipes 
 lighted ; and noise, laughter, song and story, mingled 
 mth. the shrill voices of children, were heard far on 
 into the night. 
 
 Among the children, if we may venture so to 
 class them, were Archie and Billie Sinclair — though 
 we suspect that Archie would have claimed, and 
 with some reason, to be classed with the men. 
 They belonged to the camp-fire, which formed a 
 centre to the party composed of Dan and Peter, 
 Fergus, Dechamp, and Fred Jenkins the sailor. 
 The latter, who it was thought had come out to the 
 country by way of a skylark rather than as a 
 settler, had followed the hunters, bent, he said, on 
 firing a broadside into a buffalo. He had brought 
 with him a blunderbuss, which he averred had 
 been used by his great-grandfather at the battle of 
 CuUoden. It was a formidable old weapon, capable 
 of swallowing, at one gulp, several of the bullets 
 which fitted the trading guns of the country. Its 
 powers of scattering ordinary shot in large quan- 
 tity had proved to be very effective, and had done 
 such execution among flocks of wild-fowl, that the 
 Indians and half-breeds, although at first inclined to 
 laugh at it, were ultimately filled with respect. 
 
 "I doubt its capacity for sending ball straight, 
 however," remarked Dan to Jenkins, who was care- 
 fully cleaning out the piece, " especially if charged 
 with more than one ball." 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 139 
 
 " No fear of it," returned the sailor, with a confi- 
 dent air. "Of course it scattered the balls about 
 six yards apart the only time I tried it with a lot 
 of 'em, but that was at fifty yards off, an' they tell 
 me that you a'most ram the muzzle against the 
 brutes' sides when chasin' buffalo. So there 's no 
 room to scatter, dee see, till they get inside their 
 bodies, and when there it don't matter how much 
 they scatter." 
 
 " It 's well named a young cannon by La Carte," 
 said Peter Davidson, who, like the seaman, was out 
 on his first buffalo hunt. " I never heard such a 
 roar as it gave that time you brought down ten out 
 of one flock of ducks on the way up here." 
 
 " Ay, Peter, she barked well that time," remarked 
 the sailor, with a grin, "but, then there was a 
 reason. I had double-shotted her by mistake." 
 
 'An' ye did it too without an aim, for you had 
 both eyes tight shut at the time," remarked Fergus. 
 " Iss that the way they teach ye to shoot at sea ? " 
 
 "In course it is," replied Jenkins, gravely. 
 " That 's the beauty o' the blunderbuss. There 's no 
 chance o' missin', so what 'ud be the use o' keepin' 
 yer eyes open, excep' to get 'em filled Wi' smoke. 
 You 've on'y got to point straight, an' blaze away." 
 
 "I did not know that you use the blunderbuss 
 in your ships at all," said Dechamp, with a look of 
 assumed simplicity. 
 
 " Ho yes, they do," said Jenkins, squinting down 
 
140 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALK 
 
 the bell-mouthed barrel, as if to see that the touch- 
 hole was clear. " Aboard o' one man-o'-war that I 
 sailed in after pirates in the China seas, we had a 
 blunderbuss company. The first-lef tenant, who was 
 thought to be queer in his head, he got it up. 
 
 " The first time the company was ranged along the 
 deck he gave the order to load with ball cartridges. 
 There was twenty-six of us, all told. 
 
 " ' We 've got no cartridges for 'em, sir,' whispered 
 the man nearest him. 
 
 " ' If you don't obey orders,' growled the leftenant 
 'tween his teeth, ' I '11 have ye strung up for mutiny 
 every man Jack of you — load/' he repeated in a 
 kind of a yell. 
 
 " We had our or'nary belts and pouches on, so we 
 out wi' the or'nary cartridges — some three, some 
 four, — an', biting off the ends, poured in the powder 
 somehow, shoved in the balls anyhow, an' rammed 
 the whole consarn down. 
 
 " ' Present — fire ! ' roared the leftenant. 
 
 "Bang! went the six an' twenty blunderbusses, 
 an' when the smoke cleared away there was four- 
 teen out o' the twenty-six men flat on their backs. 
 The rest o' us was raither stunned, but hearty. 
 
 " ' Take these men below,' cried the leftenant, ' an* 
 send fourteen strong men here. We don't want 
 weaklings for this company.' 
 
 " After that we loaded in moderation, an' got on 
 better." 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 141 
 
 "And the pirates — what did they think o' the 
 new weapon ? " asked Peter Davidson, with an 
 amused expression. 
 
 " ! they couldn't stand it at all," answered the 
 sailor, looking up from his work, with a solemnity 
 that was quite impressive. " They stood fire only 
 once. After that they sheered off like wild-cats. I 
 say, Mistress La Certe, how long is that lobscouse 
 — or whatever you call it, — goin' to be in cookin' ? " 
 
 Slowfoot gave vent to a sweet, low giggle, as she 
 lifted the kettle off the hook, and thus gave a prac- 
 tical answer to the question. She placed before 
 him the robbiboo, or pemmican-soup, which the 
 seaman had so grievously misnamed. 
 
 During the time that the hunters were appeasing 
 their appetites, it was observed that Antoine De- 
 champ, the leader of the expedition, was unusually 
 silent and thoughtful, and that he betrayed a slight 
 look of anxiety. It therefore did not surprise Dan 
 Davidson, when the supper was nearly ended, that 
 Dechamp should rise and leave the fire after giving 
 him a look which was a silent but obvious invitation 
 to follow. 
 
 Dan obeyed at once, and his leader, conducting 
 him between the various camp-fires, led him outside 
 the circle of carts. 
 
 A clear moon lit up the prairie all round, so that 
 they could see its undulating sweep in every 
 direction. 
 
142 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " Anything wrong, Antoine ? " asked Dan in a 
 low voice, when they were out of earshot of the 
 camp. 
 
 " Nothing wrong, Dan." 
 
 "Surely," continued the other, while Dechamp 
 paused as if in perplexity, " surely tliere can be no 
 chance of Eed-skins troubling us on a clear night 
 like this. I can distinguish every bush for miles 
 around." 
 
 "There is no fear o' Ked-skius. No, I am not 
 troubled about them. It is matters concerning 
 yourself that trouble me." 
 
 " How 's that ? "What do you mean, Antoine ? " 
 
 "Is your brother-in-law-to-be, Duncan M'Kay, 
 coming to join us this spring ? " asked Dechamp. 
 
 " I believe he is — after he has helped his father a 
 bit longer wi' the farm. Why do you ask ? " 
 
 " Well, to say truth, I can't give you a very good 
 reason for my bein' anxious. Only I can't help 
 havin' my ears open, and I 've heard some talk 
 among the lads that makes me fear for the young 
 man. They say, or hint, that he knows more about 
 the murder o' poor Perrin than he chooses to tell. 
 I've not been quite able to find out what makes 
 them suspect him, but they do suspect him, an' it 
 would be well to warn him not to come here, for 
 you know there are many opportunities to commit 
 murder on a buffalo hunt ! " 
 
 The incident of the knife, and of Duncan M'Kay's 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 143 
 
 significant glance, at once flashed across Davidson's 
 mind, and he felt a terrible sinking of the heart 
 when the suspicion, once before roused within him, 
 seemed now to be confirmed. He resolved, however, 
 to reveal his thoughts to no one — specially not to 
 Elspie. 
 
 " I think it a shame," he said, " that men should 
 allow such rumours to circulate, when nothing cer- 
 tain has arisen to rouse suspicion. That affair of 
 the knife was clearly explained when young M'Kay 
 declared that it was not his, though it looked like 
 it. If he knew anything about the murder, would 
 he not have been certain to have told us long ago ? 
 And, surely, you cannot suppose that Duncan killed 
 Perrin with his own hand ? Speak, Dechamp ! Why 
 do you shake your head ? " 
 
 " I know nothing," returned the leader. " What 
 right have I to suppose anything ? I only know that 
 men's deeds are often mysterious and unaccountable, 
 and that our men have strong suspicion. For myself, 
 I have no opinion. Duncan M'Kay is probably in- 
 nocent, for he and Perrin were not enemies. I hope 
 he is so, but I advise you to stop his coming to the 
 camp just now if you can. His life may depend 
 on it." 
 
 " I cannot stop him," returned Dan, with a per- 
 plexed look. " He is headstrong, as you know, and 
 if he has made up his mind to come, nothing will 
 stop him." 
 
14% THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 " Perhaps if he knew his life would be in danger 
 — that might stop him." 
 
 " I doubt it ; but I will give him the chance. I 
 will ride back to Eed Eiver without delay, and warn 
 him." 
 
 " Good. When will you start ? " 
 
 " To-night. The moon is clear and will not set 
 till morning. I shall be well on my way by that 
 time." 
 
 " Will you ride alone ? " 
 
 •*No, there may be bad Indians about. I wiU 
 ask Okdmatan or Fergus M'Kay to ride with me. 
 Why did you not speak to Fergus instead of to 
 me?" 
 
 " Because he has not been spoken to by any one," 
 answered Dechamp ; " and I would not be the first 
 to put suspicion into his head about his own brother. 
 Besides, your head is clearer ; and your interest in 
 Duncan, for Elspie's sake, is greater than his, no 
 doubt." 
 
 " Well, you may be right, Antoine. At all events 
 if I take Fergus with me I shall send him back 
 before reaching the Settlement, and say nothing 
 whatever about my reason for going there. ' Press- 
 ing business,' you know, will be sufficient." 
 
 " I 'm not so sure of that," returned Dechamp 
 with a laugh. " Men are apt to want to know the 
 nature of ' pressing business.' However, it may be 
 as well to take Fergus. At any rate you cannot) 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 145 
 
 h^ve Ok6matan, for he is not in camp. He left 
 soon after we pitched, and I know has not yet 
 returned." 
 
 " It matters not. Fergus will do better. He is 
 more companionable." 
 
 Eeturning to camp, Dan Davidson made the 
 proposal to Fergus M'Kay. That worthy was, as 
 he said, ready for anything, and the two were soon 
 mounted. They were also well armed, for the risk 
 of meeting a party of hostile Indians was not 
 altogether out of the question, though improbable. 
 Each horseman carried his blanket and provision 
 wallet, his gun, a long knife almost equal to an 
 ancient Eoman sword, and a cavalry pistol — re- 
 volvers not having been invented at that time: 
 at least they had not come into general use. Thus 
 provided for all contingencies, they set forth. 
 
 As we have said, the night was clear and fine, so 
 that the plains were open to view in all directions, 
 save where a few scattered clumps of willows and 
 small trees grew like islets in the ocean. 
 
 " It iss this that I like better than farming," said 
 Fergus, as the fresh horses carried them swiftly and 
 lightly over the prairie waves, and down into the 
 grassy hollows, now swerving to avoid a badger- 
 hole, or clearing a small shrub with a little bound. 
 " I do think that man wass intended to live in the 
 wilderness, an' not to coop himself up in the cities 
 Like rabbits in their holes." 
 
 K 
 
146 THE BUFFALO liUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 "Why, Fergus, you should have been born a 
 savage," said Dan. 
 
 "Ay, it iss savitch I am that I wass not born 
 a savitch," returned Fergus with a grim smile. 
 " What in all the world iss the use of ceevilisation 
 if it will not make people happy ? A man wants 
 nothing more than a goot supper an' a goot bed, an' 
 a goot shelter over him, an' it iss not five hunderd 
 pound a year that we will want to buy that — what- 
 ever." 
 
 " But surely man wants a little more than that, 
 Fergus. He wants breakfast and dinner usually, as 
 well as supper, and a few comforts besides, such 
 as tea and sugar — at least the women do — besides 
 pipes an' baccy — to say nothing of books." 
 
 " Oo ay, I will not be deny in' that. But we 've 
 no need for wan half the luxuries o' ceevilisation. 
 An' ye know ferry weel, Tan, that my sister Elspie 
 would be content to live wi' you in a ferry small 
 hoose, and the bare necessaries of life, but here you 
 are forced to put off the merritch because our hooses 
 wass burnt, and you are obleeged to wait till you 
 get a sort o' palace built, I suppose, and a grand 
 farm set agoin'." 
 
 " Indeed, Fergus, you touch me on a sore point 
 there, but with all your scorn of luxury, I 'm sure 
 you'd be the last man to let his sister marry a 
 fellow who could take her only to a hut or a wig- 
 wam." 
 
OP THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 147 
 
 " You are right, Tan. Yet I hev spent many a 
 comfortable night in a hut an' a wigwam since I 
 came to Red Eiver. I wish the place wass more 
 peaceable." 
 
 " It will never be more peaceable as long as there 
 are two rival companies fighting for the furs," 
 said Davidson ; " but there 's worse than that goin' 
 on, for some of the Indians, it seems, are mad at 
 the agreement made between them and Lord Sel- 
 kirk." 
 
 "Wow! that iss a peety. Where heard ye 
 that?" 
 
 " I heard it from La Certe, whose wife Slowfoot, 
 you know, is a Cree Indian. It seems that the 
 Crees have always claimed Eed Eiver as their 
 lauds ; but when Lord Selkirk came to make a 
 treaty with the natives he found some Saulteaux 
 livin' on the soil, an' his lordship, in ignorance, 
 gave them an interest in the treaty, though they 
 were mere visitors — an' indeed don't even claim to 
 be owners of the soil — their lands lying far to the 
 east of Eed Eiver." 
 
 " Well," continued Dan, guiding his horse care- 
 fully down the next hollow, for the moon had gone 
 behind a cloud just then, " when the Crees found 
 out what had been done, they were naturally very 
 angry — an' I don't wonder — an' they threaten now 
 to expel the Saulteaux from Eed Eiver altogether, 
 an' the white men along wi' them, unless the 
 
148 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 names of the Saulteaux chiefs are wiped out o* 
 the contract, an' the annual payment made to the 
 Grees alone." 
 
 " That iss bad, Taniel, ferry bad," said Fergus, as 
 they reached the bottom of the hollow and began 
 to ascend the succeeding undulation, " an' I am all 
 the more sorry to hear it because our goot frund 
 Ok^matan is a Cree." 
 
 " Ay, Fergus, he is a great chief of the Crees, and 
 a man of considerable influence among his people. 
 I should not like to have him for an enemy." 
 
 " Stop ! " said Fergus in a whisper at that mo- 
 ment, laying his hand on Davidson's arm. 
 
 Dan drew rein at once and looked at his friend, 
 but could not clearly see his face, for the moon was 
 still behind thick drifting clouds. 
 
 They had just risen high enough on the prairie 
 wave, which they had been ascending, to be able 
 to see over it, and Dan could perceive by the out- 
 stretched neck of his companion that he was gazing 
 intently at something directly in front. 
 
 " What do you see, Fergus ? " he asked in a low 
 voice. 
 
 " Do you see nothin', Taniel ? " was the High- 
 lander's reply. 
 
 " Why, yes. I see the plains stretching away to 
 the horizon — an' dark enough they are, too, at this 
 moment. I also see a few small clumps that look 
 like bushes here an' there." 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 149 
 
 ** Don't you see the clump that 's nearest to you 
 — right foment your nose ? " said the other. 
 
 " Of course I do, and ." 
 
 He stopped abruptly, for at that moment he saw 
 a spark in the clump referred to — a spark so small 
 that it might have been taken for a glow-worm, had 
 such a creature existed there. 
 
 " Savitches ! " whispered the Highlander. " Let 's 
 get into the hollow as fast as we can." 
 
 This retrograde movement was soon effected, and 
 the friends dismounted. 
 
 "Now, Fergus, what's the best thing to be 
 done ? " 
 
 " I will be leavin' that to you, Taniel, for you 've 
 a clearer head than mine." 
 
 "We dare not ride forward," said Dan, as if 
 communing with himself, " an' it would be foolish 
 to make a long detour to escape from something 
 until we know there is something worth escaping 
 from. My notion is that we hobble or picket our 
 horses here, and go cautiously forward on foot to 
 see what it is." 
 
 "You'll be doin' what ye think best, Captain 
 Taniel, an' you will find that private Fergus will 
 back you up — whatever." 
 
 This being settled, the two men picketed their 
 steeds in the hollow, fastened their guns to the 
 saddles, as being too cumbrous for a creeping 
 advance, and, armed only with their long knives 
 
150 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 and pistols, reascended the prairie wave. With 
 feet clothed in soft moccasin, and practised by that 
 time in the art of stealthy tread, they moved towards 
 the summit noiseless as ghosts. 
 
 On gaining the ridge they sank slowly down into 
 the tall grass and disappeared. 
 
 After a prolonged and somewhat painful creep 
 on hands and knees the two men reached the edge 
 of the clump of bushes already referred to. 
 
 Before reaching it they discovered, from the sound 
 of voices, that a party of some kind was encamped 
 there; but, of course, as they knew not who, it 
 became needful to proceed with extreme caution. 
 When they gained the edge of the clump, and 
 raised their heads over a low bush-covered bank, they 
 beheld a sight which was not calculated to cheer 
 them, for there, in the centre of the bush, en- 
 circling a very small fire, sat a war-party of about 
 fifty painted and befeathered braves of the Cree 
 Indians. They were engaged in council at the 
 moment. 
 
 A creeping sensation about their scalps was ex- 
 perienced by the two eavesdroppers on observing 
 that they had passed not a hundred yards from 
 a sentinel who occupied a low knoll on their 
 left. 
 
 Neither Dan nor Fergus dared to speak — not 
 even to whisper. Still less did they dare to move ; 
 for a few moments after they reached the bank just 
 
EAVESDROPPERS.— Page 150 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 161 
 
 referred to, the moon came out from behind the 
 clouds and flooded the whole scene as with the 
 light of day. 
 
 There was nothing left for it, therefore, except 
 to lie still and listen. But this gave them small 
 comfort; for, although quite within earshot of the 
 war-party, the language spoken was utterly un- 
 intelligible to either of them. 
 
 Their eyes, however, were not so useless as their 
 ears, for they could clearly see each warrior as he 
 rose to harangue his comrades, and, from the vin- 
 dictive expression of their faces as well as their 
 frequent pointing in the direction of the bufialo 
 hunters it was abundantly evident that an attack 
 upon them was being discussed. 
 
 At last, after many braves had spoken, a chief of 
 tall and noble mien arose. His back was towards 
 the two spies, but the moment they heard his voice 
 they turned their heads and gazed at each other in 
 speechless amazement, for the voice was quite 
 familiar. 
 
 No word did they dare to utter, but Fergus made 
 formations with his lips of a most extravagant 
 nature, which, however, clearly spelt " Ok^matan." 
 When he had finished, he nodded and turned his 
 gaze again on the Crees. 
 
 Both men now understood that treachery was in 
 the wind, and that a night attack was highly pro- 
 bable ; and, of course, they felt desperately anxious 
 
152 THE BUFFALO EUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 to jump up and fly back to the camp to warn their 
 comrades — for their only fear was a surprise. The 
 half-breeds being far more numerous than the 
 Indians, and well entrenched, there could be no 
 fear for them if prepared. 
 
 Just then, as if to favour them, the moon retired 
 behind a huge black cloud- 
 Without a moment's hesitation Dan began to 
 creep away back, closely followed by Fergus. They 
 gave a wide berth of course to the sentinel, and 
 soon regained the hollow where the horses had been 
 left. Here they breathed more freely. 
 
 " Who would have thought this of Ok^matan ? " 
 muttered Dan, as he hastily tightened his saddle- 
 girths. 
 
 " The rascal ! " exclaimed Fergus, in deep tones ol 
 indignation. 
 
 " You must gallop back to camp at once, Fergus," 
 said Dan, as they mounted. " I will go on to Red 
 Eiver alone." 
 
 "What! will you not be coming with me?" asked 
 the Highlander, in some surprise. 
 
 " There is no need, for there will be no fighting," 
 returned the other. " Our fellows far outnumber 
 the Ked-skins, and when the latter find that we 
 have been warned, and are on our guard, they 
 won't attack us, depend on it. But you'll have 
 to ride fast, for when such fellows make up their 
 minds to strike they don't usually waste time in 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 16h 
 
 delivering the blow. My business presses, I rrncst 
 go on." 
 
 A minute later, and Dan Davidson was galloping 
 towards the Settlement alone, while Fergus made 
 the best of his way back to the camp of the buffalo 
 ruuuera. 
 
164 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A FRIKND IN NEED 18 A FRIEND INDEED. 
 
 Whether or not Ok^matan was as thorough a 
 rascal as Fergus M'Kay thought him will be best 
 shown by harking back, and setting down a little 
 of what was said by some of the Cree braves at the 
 time that Fergus and Dan were eavesdropping. 
 
 Standing in a dignified attitude worthy of an 
 ancient Roman, with his blanket thrown toga-fashion 
 over one shoulder, one of the braves looked round 
 on the warrior band with a dark scowl before he 
 began. His comrades were evidently impressed by 
 his looks. Whether owing to a freak of fancy, a 
 spice of eccentricity, or simple vanity, we know 
 not, but this brave had, among other ornamental 
 touches to his visage, painted his nose bright red. 
 The effect on his brother braves was solemnising. 
 It was not so impressive to his white observers, as 
 it suggested to them the civilised toper. 
 
 " The great white chief," began Rednose, with a 
 slow deliberation that was meant to convey a settled 
 and unalterable conviction, " is a fool 1 " 
 
OF THE KED RIVER PLAINS. 156 
 
 " Waugh !" exclaimed the audience with emphasis, 
 for the language was strong, and uttered with intense 
 vigour, and that quite accorded with their tastes, so 
 they agreed with the sentiment without regard to 
 its signification. This species of rhetoric, and its 
 effects, are sometimes observed in connection with 
 civilised gatherings. 
 
 The great white chief thus irreverently referred 
 to, we regret to say, was Lord Selkirk. 
 
 "The great white chief," continued Kednose, 
 availing himself of the force of emphatic repetition, 
 " is a fool ! He is a child ! He knows nothing ! He 
 comes across the great salt lake from the rising sun, 
 with the air and aspect of an owl, thinking to teach 
 us — the great Cree nation — wisdom ! " 
 
 " Waugh ! " from the audience, one of whom, 
 having a cold in his head, sneezed inadvertently, 
 and was scowled at by the orator for full two 
 minutes in absolute silence. If that Cree warrior 
 — he was on his first war-path — possessed anything 
 akin to the feelings of the Paleface he must have 
 suffered martyrdom. 
 
 " Every one knows," continued the orator, resum- 
 ing, " that the Crees are wise. They can tell a fox 
 from a buffalo. They understand the difference be- 
 tween fire and water. No Paleface sage needs to 
 come from the rising sun to tell them to eat when 
 they are hungry — to drink when they are dry. But 
 this Paleface chief comes with the eyes of the great 
 
156 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 northern owl, and says he comes to do us good. 
 And how does he begin to do us good ? " 
 
 Here there was a very decided " Waugh ! " as 
 though to say, " Ay, that 's the question," and then 
 a solemn pause for more — during which the man 
 with the cold drew the reins very tight. 
 
 " How does he begin to do us good ? " proceeded 
 the orator. " By entering into an agreement with 
 us for the use of our lands — and asking our enemies 
 the Saulteaux to take part in that agreement I " 
 
 The sounds of indignation and ferocity that 
 followed this statement are not translatable. After 
 a gaze of unutterable meaning round the circle 
 Eednose went on — 
 
 "This, this is the way in which the owl-eyed 
 chief of the Palefaces begins to do us good ! If 
 this is the way he begins, in what way will he 
 continue, and" — here his voice deepened to a 
 whisper — " h/no will he end f '* 
 
 The ideas suggested by his question were so 
 appalling that for some minutes the orator appeared 
 unable to find words to go on, and his audience 
 glared at him in dread anticipation as though they 
 expected him to explode like a bomb-shell, but were 
 prepared to sit it out and take the consequences. 
 And he did explode, after a fashion, for he suddenly 
 raised his voice to a shout that startled even the 
 sentinel on the distant knoll, and said — 
 
 "Warl I counsel war to the knife! The great 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 157 
 
 white chief — the owl-eyed fool ! — will not blot from 
 our agreement the names of the Saulteaux chiefs — 
 chiefs! there are no Saulteaux chiefs. All their 
 braves are cowards, on the same dead level of 
 stupidity, and their women are — are nothing, fit 
 for nothing, can do nothing, and must soon come 
 to nothing ! What then ? The duty of Cree war- 
 riors lies before us. We will drive the Saulteaux 
 into Lake Winnipeg and the Palefaces off the face 
 of the earth altogether ! Waugh ! " 
 
 Having thus given vent to the opinions and 
 feelings that consumed him, Eednose sat down, 
 his audience breathed freely, the distant sentinel 
 recovered his composure, and the young novitiate 
 brave with the cold in his head sneezed with 
 impunity. 
 
 It would be tedious to recount all that was said 
 at that council of war. The next brave that rose to 
 " address the house " very much resembled the first 
 speaker, both in sentiment and personal appearance, 
 except that he had chosen sky-blue for his nose 
 instead of red. The only additional matter that he 
 contributed worth noting was the advice that they 
 should begin their bloody work by an immediate 
 attack, in the dead of night, on the camp of the 
 buffalo runners. 
 
 This advice was hailed with a good many 
 " Waughs," as well as approving nods and looks, and 
 it seemed as if the plan were about to be carried 
 
158 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 into action without delay, when, as we have seen, 
 Okdmatan arose to address the assemblage. 
 
 Ok6matan was a great chief — much greater in 
 the estimation of his tribe than the whites with 
 whom he had been associating in Red Eiver were 
 aware of. He had purposely reserved his address 
 till near the conclusion. 
 
 " The Cree warriors," he said, with an air of quiet 
 dignity that was far more effective than the more 
 energetic tones and gestures of the previous speakers, 
 " know very well that the Cree nation considers itself 
 the wisest in creation. Far be it from Okdmatan to 
 say otherwise, for he does not know. Ok^matan is 
 a child ! His eyes are only beginning to open ! " 
 
 He paused at this point, and looked round with 
 solemn dignity ; and the braves, unaccustomed to 
 such self-depreciative modes of address, gazed at 
 him with equal solemnity, not unmingled with 
 surprise, though the latter feeling was carefully 
 concealed, 
 
 " When the last great palaver of the Cree braves 
 was held on the Blue-Pine Eidge," continued 
 Ok^matan, " the chiefs chose me to go to Eed Eiver, 
 and learn all that I could find out about the Pale- 
 faces and their intentions, I went, as you know. 
 I attached myself to a family named Daa-veed-sin, 
 and I have found out — found out much about tlie 
 Palefaces — much more that I did not know before, 
 though I am a chief of the Cree nation." 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 159 
 
 Okematan looked pointedly at Eednose as he 
 said this. After a brief pause he continued — 
 
 " The great white chief " (meaning Lord Selkirk) 
 " is not a fool. It is true that he is not a god ; he 
 is a man and a Paleface, subject to the follies and 
 weaknesses of the Palefaces, and not quite so wise 
 as it is possible to be, but he is a good man, and 
 wishes well to the Indian. I have found weaknesses 
 among the Palefaces. One of them is that their 
 chiefs plan — sometimes wisely, sometimes foolishly 
 — ^but they leave the carrying out of their plans 
 to other men, and sometimes these other men care 
 for nobody but themselves. They tell lies, they 
 mislead the great white chief, and tell him to do 
 what is wrong. 
 
 " So it was when our agreement came to be 
 made. The great white chief found, when he came 
 to Eed Eiver, a few families of Saulteaux whom we 
 had permitted to hunt on our lands. He thought 
 the land belonged to the Saulteaux as well as to 
 the Crees. He was mistaken, ignorant ; he knew no 
 better, and the Palefaces who did know, did not put 
 light into him ; so the names of Saulteaux chiefs were 
 put in the writing. Then the great white chief 
 went away across the great salt lake to the lands of 
 the rising sun, leaving his small chiefs to carry out 
 his plans. Some of these are very small chiefs, 
 unfit to carry out any plans. Others are bad small 
 chiefs, that will carry out only such plans as are 
 
160 THE BUFFALO RUNNEKS : A TALE 
 
 sure to benefit themselves. It is these men with 
 whom we have to deal. It is these who deserve 
 to be swept off the face of the earth." 
 
 A number of emphatic nods and " waughs " at this 
 point showed that Ok^matan had at last touched 
 a key-note with which his braves could shout in 
 harmony. 
 
 " But," resumed the chief impressively, " we can- 
 not sweep them off the earth ; we cannot even sweep 
 them off the banks of Eed Eiver. We might easily 
 sweep the Saulteaux into Lake Winnipeg if we 
 thought it worth while to try, but the Palefaces — 
 never! Ok^matan has travelled far to the south 
 and seen the Palefaces there. They cannot be 
 counted. They swarm like our locusts ; they darken 
 the earth as our buffaloes darken the plains. They 
 live in stone wigwams. I have seen one of their 
 wigwams that was big enough to hold all the Crees' 
 wigwams bundled together. If we killed or scalped 
 all the Palefaces in Ked Eiver the great white chief 
 would come over the great salt lake with an army 
 that would swallow us up as the buffalo swallows 
 up a tuft of grass. 
 
 "Besides," continued Ok^matan, with a slight 
 touch of pathos in his tone, " there are good and bad 
 men among the Palefaces, just as there are good and 
 bad among ourselves. I have dwelt for many moons 
 with a tribe called Scosh-rain. Ok^matan loves 
 the Scosh-min. They speak a wonderful language, 
 
OF THE RED lUVER PLAINS. 161 
 
 and some of them are too fond of fire-water ; but 
 their braves fear nothing, and their squaws are pretty 
 and work hard — almost as hard as our squaws — 
 though they are not quite as good-looking as ours. 
 They are too white — their faces are like buffalo fat ! " 
 
 A " Waugh " which might be translated " Hear, 
 hear," greeted this statement of opinion. 
 
 " Now," continued our chief, " if we swept away 
 all the people of Eed Eiver, we would sweep away 
 the good Scosh-min, which would be foolish, and we 
 would gain nothing in the end, but would bring 
 worse trouble on our heads. My counsel, there- 
 fore, is for peace. I advise that we should let the 
 buffalo runners and the people of Red River alone ; 
 send a message with our grievances to the great 
 white chief; ask him to come back over the great 
 salt lake to put things right, and, in the meantime, 
 wait with patience; attend to our own business; 
 hunt, fish, eat, drink, sleep, and be happy." 
 
 Having delivered his harangue, Ok^matan sat 
 down amid murmurs of mingled applause and dis- 
 approbation. It was evident that he had created a 
 serious division of opinion in the camp, and it 
 seemed as if on the impression made by the next 
 speaker would depend the great question of peace 
 or war. 
 
 Presently an old warrior arose, and a profound 
 silence followed, for they held him in great 
 respect. 
 
 L 
 
162 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 " My braves," said the old man sententiously, 
 " I have lived long, and my fighting days are nearly 
 over. If wisdom has not accumulated on my head 
 it must be my own fault, for I have had great 
 experience both of war and peace — more of war, 
 perhaps, than of peace. And the opinion that I 
 have come to after long and very deep consideration 
 is this : if there is something to fight for, fight — 
 fight well ; if there is nothing to fight for, don't fight 
 —don't fight at all." 
 
 The old man paused, and there were some 
 " Waughs " of approval, for the truth contained in 
 his profound conclusion was obvious even to the 
 stupidest Eed-skin of the band — supposing that a 
 stupid brave among Crees were possible ! 
 
 ** I have also lived to see," continued the old man, 
 " that revenge is nothing — nothing at all, and there- 
 fore not worth fighting for." 
 
 As this was flying straight in the face of the 
 most cherished of Eed-skins' beliefs, it was received 
 in dead though respectful silence. 
 
 " My young braves do not believe this. I know 
 it. I have been young myself, and I remember well 
 how pleasant revenge was to me, but I soon found 
 that the pleasure of revenge did not last. It soon 
 passed away, yet the deed of revenge did not pass 
 away, and sometimes the deed became to my memory 
 very bitter — insomuch that the pleasantness was 
 entirely swallowed up and forgotten in the bitter- 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 163 
 
 ness. My young braves will not believe this, I 
 know. They go on feeling ; they think on feeling ; 
 they reason on feeling ; they trust to feeling. It is 
 foolish, for the brain was given to enable man to 
 think and judge and plan. You are as foolish as if 
 you were to try to smell with your mouth and eat 
 with your nose. But it is the way of youth. When 
 experience teaches, then you wiU come to know that 
 revenge is not worth fighting for — its pleasantness 
 will pass away, but the bitter it leaves behind will 
 never pass away. 
 
 " What is the meaning of revenge ? " continued 
 this analytical old savage, " What is the use of it ? 
 Does it not mean that we give up all hope of getting 
 what we want, and wildly determine to get what 
 pleasure is still possible to us by killing those who 
 have thwarted us ? And when you have killed and 
 got all the pleasure there is, what does it come to ? 
 Your enemy is dead, and scalped. What then 1 He 
 does not know that he is dead. He does not care 
 that he is dead and scalped. You cannot keep him 
 alive for ever killing and scalping him. But you 
 have made his wife and children miserable. What 
 of that? It was not his wife and children who 
 opposed you, therefore you have revenged yourself 
 on the wrong persons. He does not know that you 
 have rendered his wife and children miserable, and 
 does not care ; therefore, I ask, why are you pleased ? 
 If your enemy was a good man, your revenge has only 
 
164 THE BUFFALO RtJNNERS : A TALE 
 
 done him a kindness^ for it has sent him to the 
 happy hunting grounds before his time, where you 
 will probably never meet him to have the pleasure 
 of being revenged on him there. If he was a bad 
 man, you have sent him to the world of Desolation, 
 where he will be waiting to receive you when you 
 get there, and where revenge will be impossible, for 
 men are not allowed to kill or scalp there. At least 
 if they are I never heard of it — and I am an old 
 man now. 
 
 "There is nothing, then, to fight for with the 
 Palefaces of Eed River, and my counsel is, like that 
 of Ok^matan, that we should decide on peace — not 
 war." 
 
 Whatever may have been the private opinion of 
 the braves as to this new and very unexpected style 
 of address, the effect of it was pacific ; for, after a 
 little more palaver, the peace-party carried the day — 
 or, rather the night — and, next morning, the Cree 
 warriors went back to their tents and hunting avo- 
 cations, leaving Okematan to return to the camp 
 of his friends the buffalo rimners. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 166 
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 AH KTENINa m THX CAMP. 
 
 It was daybreak when Fergus M'Kay galloped 
 into camp with the startling news that an attack by 
 hostile Indians might be expected that day or the 
 following night. He was, of course, unaware of the 
 fact that the peace-making Ok^matan had been un- 
 wittingly following his tracks at a more leisurely 
 pace. 
 
 Some readers may think that the Indian, with his 
 traditional power of following a trail, should have 
 observed and suspected the fresh track of the hunter, 
 but it must be remembered that some hundreds of 
 buffalo runners had passed over the same track a 
 day or two previously, and that Hawkeye, or Path- 
 finder himself, would have become helpless in the 
 midst of such trampled confusion. Besides, Ok6- 
 matan had no reason to suspect that he had been 
 followed ; still less that the camp of the war-party 
 had been accidentally discovered. 
 
 " Now, boys," said Fergus, after detailing his ad- 
 ventures during the night, " we will hev to give up 
 
166 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 all notion o' buffalo runnin* this day an' putt the 
 camp in a state o' defence." 
 
 There was a good deal of grumbling at this, es- 
 pecially among some of the younger men ; for they 
 were very keen to commence the sport, and had not 
 much belief in the power of a small band of savages 
 to do them harm. Some of them even suggested 
 that half of their number should remain behind to 
 guard the camp while the other half should go after 
 the buffalo. This proposal, however, was not re- 
 ceived with favour, as it would certainly be a matter 
 of disagreement which half was to go out, and which 
 to remain behind ! 
 
 " "Where is Kateegoose ? " asked Dechamp at this 
 crisis. 
 
 " Stuf&n' 'imself, of course ! " said Fred Jenkins, 
 amid a general laugh. " I 've noticed, since we set 
 sail on this trip, that Kateegoose always turns out 
 at daybreak, lights the galley fire, an' begins the 
 dooties o' the day by stuffin' 'imself." 
 
 " Ay, and I 've noticed," observed one of the young 
 hunters, " that it takes a deal o' stuffin' to fill him out 
 properly, for he keeps on at it most part o' the day." 
 
 " Except," remarked another, " when he stops to 
 smoke what o' the stufiin' has been already shoved 
 down." 
 
 " Moreover," added the seaman, " I 've noticed 
 that Fraufjois La Certe always keeps 'im company. 
 He 's a sympathetic sort o' man is Francois, fond o' 
 
OP THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 167 
 
 helpin' his mates — specially when they 're eatin' an' 
 smokin'." 
 
 At this moment Kateegoose, having been called, 
 came forward. He was an ill-favoured savage, with 
 various expressions on his ugly visage which were 
 not so much Nature's gifts as the result of his own 
 evil passions. Jealousy was one of them, and he 
 had often turned a green eye on Ok^matan. There 
 were indications about his mouth and fingers, as 
 he came forward, that justified the commentaries on 
 his habits, and betrayed recent acquaintance with 
 fat pork. 
 
 "You hear the reports that have just been 
 brought in ? " said Dechamp. 
 
 " Kateegoose hears," was the laconic answer. 
 
 " Kateegoose is a Cree," continued Dechamp ; " he 
 knows the spirit that dwells in the hearts of his 
 tribe. What does he think ? " 
 
 " The thoughts of the Indian are many and deep. 
 He has for many moons watched the behaviour of 
 Ok(^matan, and he has long suspected that the heart 
 of the serpent dwells in the breast of that chief. 
 Now he is sure." 
 
 "But what about your people?" demanded the 
 camp-chie£ " They are not at war with us. Are 
 they all villains because one among them turns out 
 to be bad ? " 
 
 Kateegoose drew himself up with a look of dignity, 
 and pouted his greasy lips as he replied — 
 
168 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " The Crees have always been a brave and true 
 and upright people. They never attack friends 
 until, by their conduct, these friends have become 
 enemies. But the Crees are human. They are not 
 perfect — neither are the Palefaces. There are bad 
 men among them — a few ; not many — as well as 
 young men and foolish. Sometimes, when on the 
 war-path, a clever bad man can reason with them 
 till he blinds them, and they are ready to do wrong. 
 It may be so now. Ok^matan is clever. Kateegoose 
 does not know what to advise." 
 
 " Kateegoose was not asked to advise ? " returned 
 Dechamp sternly. " He may return to his tent." 
 
 Thus summarily dismissed, this hanger-on or camp- 
 follower returned to his pork and pipe with a feel- 
 ing that somehow he had failed to make the exact 
 impression on the leader that he desired. La Certe, 
 however, consoled him, aad helped him to continue 
 the duties of the day. 
 
 "Come with me, M'Kay," said Dechamp, after 
 giving all needful directions regarding the safety 
 of the camp. " I don't believe that rascal Katee- 
 goose. He's a greedy idler, something like La 
 Certe, but by no means so harmless or good-natured. 
 Moreover, I find it hard to believe that Ok^matan 
 has turned traitor." 
 
 "I agree with you," said Fergus, "It iss ferry 
 hard to believe that a man who has been so long 
 among us, and got such a good character, should 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 169 
 
 suddenly turn against us — an' that, too, without 
 provocation. But what will you be sayin' to what 
 Taniel and myself has seen with our two eyes ?" 
 
 " It looks bad, I confess," answered Dechamp, as 
 they paced to and fro in a retired part of the camp ; 
 "but you must remember that your two eyes are 
 not your two ears, and that you heard nothing that 
 you could understand." 
 
 " Fery true, Dechamp. But the language of the 
 eye is sometimes as clear and understandable as the 
 language of the ear. No wan could mistake the 
 meanin' o' some o' the warriors when they scowled 
 an' pointed in the direction of our camp here, an' 
 gripped the handles o' their scalpin' knives and 
 tomahawks. Moreover, Ok^matan also pointed in 
 the same direction, though I am bound to say he 
 did not grip his knife. Whether he scowled or not I 
 do not know, for he was stan'in wi' his back to us." 
 
 " Well, I cannot tell. I 'm not willin' to believe 
 Ok^matan a traitor; but what you have seen is 
 enough to make me put the camp in defence instead 
 of startin' out to hunt " 
 
 At that moment the sharp click of a gun was 
 heard as a neighbouring sentry put his piece on 
 full cock. 
 
 Dechamp and Fergus hastened towards him. 
 
 "Have a care, Andr^; don't be too quick with 
 your gun," said the former. " I see only one man 
 coming. He can do us no harm." 
 
170 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 As the approaching figure drew near, it was seen 
 to be that of an Indian on horseback. He rode 
 carelessly at a jog-trot. 
 
 " It looks like Ok^matan!" said Dechamp, glancing 
 at his companion in surprise. 
 
 " It iss Okematan," returned Fergus. 
 
 Before another word could be spoken, a shot was 
 heard in the camp, and horse and man were seen to 
 roll upon the ground. The latter rose immediately, 
 but the horse lay still — evidently shot dead. For 
 a few seconds profound silence followed the incident, 
 as if men were too much taken by surprise to think 
 and act. Then, when the dismounted Indian was 
 seen to walk leisurely, as if unhurt, towards them, 
 there was a hubbub in the camp, while men, women, 
 and boys ran towards the spot whence the shot 
 seemed to have been fired, but no one was to be 
 found there. Only a very faint puff of smoke over- 
 head told where the marksman had stood. It had 
 been a well-chosen spot, where a low bush or two 
 mingled with several carts that had been rather 
 carelessly drawn up, and several horses had been 
 picketed together. These had afforded concealment 
 enough for at least a few moments. 
 
 The tent of La Certe was not far from this corner. 
 At the time the shot was heard, the self-indulgent 
 half-breed was inside, recumbent on his back in the 
 enjoyment of a pipe. 
 
 " That 's odd," he said to Slowfoot, who was seated 
 
OF THE RED EIVKR PLAINS. 171 
 
 opposite to her lord scraping the remnants of some- 
 thing out of a tin kettle with the point of a scalping 
 knife. " Somebody's gun gone ojBf by accident, I 
 suppose. I hear some one at our fire. Look out, 
 Slowfoot, and ask what has happened." 
 
 Slowfoot finished the scraping of the kettle before 
 obeying; then Hfted the curtain that closed the 
 opening of their tent, and peeped out. 
 
 " It is Kateegoose — loading his gun, I think." 
 
 La Certe got up, with a sigh of regret at the 
 necessity for exertion, and, lifting the curtain-door, 
 stepped out. 
 
 " What are they firing at, Kateegoose ? " 
 
 The Indian did not know. Some one, he thought, 
 might have let ofif his gun by accident. He thought 
 it wise, however, to be ready, and had just sent the 
 ramrod down the barrel of his gun to make sure 
 that it was loaded with balL To make still surer 
 that all was ready, the Indian shook the priming 
 out of the pan of his gun, wiped it, and re-primed. 
 Then he laid the weapon down by his side, and 
 resumed the pipe which he had apparently laid 
 down to enable him to perform these operations more 
 conveniently, and, at the same time, with more safety. 
 
 At that moment Dechamp walked smartly to- 
 wards the fire in front of La Certe's tent. 
 
 " Does Kateegoose know who fired that shot ? " he 
 asked with a keen glance, for his suspicions had 
 been aroused. 
 
172 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 "Some one over there," answered the Indian 
 languidly, as he pointed in the right direction. 
 
 "It does not need a medicine-man to tell me 
 that," said Dechamp, sternly. "I heard the shot, 
 and saw the smoke. Have you any idea who fired 
 it, LaCerte?" 
 
 "I have not," replied the half-breed. "I was 
 l)dng in my tent when I heard it. Kateegoose was 
 smoidng beside the fire. We both thought it was 
 an accident, or some one trying his gun, till we 
 heard the shouting £ind running. Then I jumped 
 up, seized my gun, and sprang out to see what it 
 was all about. I found Kateegoose equally on the 
 qui vive. He was shoving his ramrod down to 
 make sure his gun was loaded when you came up. 
 What is it all about ? " 
 
 " Only that the horse of Ok^matan has been shot 
 under him by some one, and that there is a would- 
 be murderer in the cam p." 
 
 " Ok^matan! Has the traitor ventured to return ?" 
 exclaimed Kateegoose, with an expression of surprise 
 that was very unusual in an Indian. 
 
 "Ay, he has ventured," responded Dechamp, " and 
 some one has ventured to fire at him with intent to 
 kill. By good luck he was a bad shot. He missed 
 the man, though he hit and killed the horse. But I 
 shall find the rascal out before long — he may depend 
 on that ! " 
 
 So saying, the commandant left the spot. 
 
OF THE KED RIVEE PLAINS. 173 
 
 "Do you know any thing about this?" asked La 
 Certe, turning full on the Indian. 
 
 " Kateegoose is not a medicine-man. He cannot 
 be in two places at once. He knows nothing." 
 
 For a sly man La Certe was wonderfully credulous. 
 He believed the Indian, and, returning to his tent, 
 lay down again to finish the interrupted pipe. 
 
 " Kateegoose was trying his gun to see if it was 
 loaded," he said to his better half. 
 
 " That 's a lie," returned Slowfoot, with that 
 straightforward simplicity of diction for which she 
 was famous. 
 
 " Indeed! What, then, was he doing, my Slowfoot?" 
 
 " He was loading his gun — not trying it." 
 
 ** Are you sure ? " 
 
 •* Am I sure that our little child loves tobacco ? '* 
 
 " Well, I suppose you are. At any rate, the child 
 often asks you for a pipe, and gets it too. Hm ! if 
 Kateegoose fired that shot he must be a bad man. 
 But our chief is sure to find it out — and — it is no 
 business of mine. Fetch me the tobacco, Slowfoot." 
 
 That same morning, Archie Sinclair was seated 
 beside his brother, Little Bill, in the tent that was 
 shared by Fred Jenkins and several young half- 
 breeds. He was alone with his brother, Jenkins 
 having gone out with the blunderbuss to assist, if 
 need be, in the defence of the camp. He was 
 manufacturing a small bow for his brother to amuse 
 himself with while he should be away " seein' the 
 
174 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 fun," as he said, with the hunters. The instant the 
 sailor left, however, he looked at Billie mysteriously 
 and said, in a low voice — 
 
 " Little Bill, although you 're not good for much 
 with your poor little body, you've got a splendid 
 headpiece, and are amazing at giving advice. I 
 want advice just now very bad. You've heard 
 what they 've all been saying about this shot that 
 was fired at Ok^matan, and some o' the men say 
 they think it must have been Kateegoose that 
 did it. Now, Billie, I am swre, that it was Katee- 
 goose that did it." 
 
 " Oh ! " exclaimed Little Bill, making his eyes 
 and mouth into three rounds 0-s. " How d' ye 
 know that ? Did you see him do it ? " 
 
 " No — it 's that that bothers me. If I had seen 
 him do it I would have gone straight and told 
 Dechamp, but I didn't quite see him, you see. I 
 was in Lamartine's cart at the time, rummagin' 
 about for a piece o' wood to make this very bow, an' 
 the moment I heard the shot I peeped out, an saw 
 — nothing ! " 
 
 " That wasn't much," remarked Little Bill, inno- 
 cently, 
 
 "Ay, but I soon saw something," continued 
 Archie, with increasing solemnity ; " I saw Katee- 
 goose coming slinking round among the cai-ts, as if 
 he wanted not to be seen. I saw him only for a 
 moment — gliding past like a ghost." 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 175 
 
 "It's a serious thing," said Little Bill, musing 
 gravely, " to charge a man with tryin' to kill another 
 man, if that 's all you 've got to tell, for you know 
 it 's a way the Eed-skins have of always glidin' about 
 as if they was for ever after mischief." 
 
 "But that's not all, Little Bill," returned his 
 brother, " for I 'm almost certain that I saw a 
 little smoke comin' out o' the muzzle of his gun as 
 he passed — though I couldn't exactly swear to 
 it." 
 
 Archie had overrated his brother's powers in 
 the way of advice, for, although they talked the 
 matter over for some time, they failed to arrive at 
 any satisfactory conclusion. 
 
 Meanwhile Ok^matan, having entered the camp, 
 was met by Dechamp, and led by him to a retired 
 part. 
 
 " You have an enemy here, Okematan," he said, 
 inquiringly. 
 
 " It would seem so," returned the Indian gravely, 
 " Friends do not shoot each other's horses ; and if 
 the poor horse had not tossed his head when the 
 shot was fired, his rider would have bit the dust." 
 
 "I fear it looks something Uke that," said 
 Dechamp; "but I hope Okematan believes that/ 
 know nothing of the matter — nor can I tell who 
 the cowardly villain is that did it." 
 
 "Okematan knows that," answered the Indian, 
 sternly. " No half-breed fired the shot." 
 
176 THE BUFFALO RUNNEBS : A TALK 
 
 " There is no Indian in the camp but Kateegoose," 
 rejoined the other, quickly ; " surely you don't think 
 that a man of your own tribe would try to kill 
 you ? " 
 
 " I know not. Kateegoose hates me. No other 
 man in tlie camp hates me." 
 
 "It is strange — unaccountable," returned Dechamp. 
 " If the Indian did it, he shall forfeit his horse and 
 leave the camp. But tell me" — here the half-breed 
 commandant turned a searching gaze on his com- 
 panion, "why did Okematan leave us, and spend 
 all night alone on the prairie 1 Did he spend the 
 night in conversation with the buffalo — or in the 
 company of his departed forefathers ? " 
 
 No sign of surprise, or of any other emotion, was 
 visible on the countenance of the Red-man as he 
 replied : " Okematan went out to meet a party of 
 his tribe on the war-path." 
 
 Dechamp was not so successful in concealing his 
 own surprise at this answer. 
 
 " Does the Cree cliief," he asked, with something 
 of doubt in his tone and look, " choose the hours of 
 night to consult with warriors about secret assaults 
 and surprises on friends ? " 
 
 " He does Twt ! " answered the Indian, decidedly 
 but calmly — though he was unquestionably as- 
 tonished at being questioned so pointedly and 
 correctly as to his recent proceedings, and felt that 
 he must have been followed. He was not the man. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 177 
 
 however, to betray Lis feelings, or to commit himself 
 in any way ; therefore he took refuge in silence. 
 
 " Come now, Ok<^matan," said his companion in 
 a confidential tone. " Don't let a misunderstanding 
 arise between you and me. What is this that I 
 have heard ? You spent last night, as you admit, 
 with a party of Crees on the war-path. You were 
 seen and heard, and the men of the camp think you 
 have turned traitor, and they are even now expect- 
 ing an attack from this war-party. Is it true that 
 we are to be attacked ? " 
 
 "You say I was heard" answered the Indian, 
 looking the half-breed straight in the face. " If so, 
 those who heard must know what I said." 
 
 "Nay, they did indeed hear, but they did not 
 understand, for they know not your language ; but 
 they know the language of signs, and, by the looks 
 and gestures of the warriors, they guessed what was 
 said and planned." 
 
 " Is it likely," asked the Indian in a low voice, 
 " that Ok^matan would return to your camp alone, 
 and put himself in your power, if an attack was 
 intended ? " 
 
 "True, true," returned Dechamp with a hearty 
 air ; " and, to say truth, I myself did not — do not — 
 believe you false. If you tell me the truth, Ok^- 
 matan, and give me your word that this report is a 
 mistaken one, I will believe you and trust you." 
 
 The Indian seemed pleased with the assurance 
 M 
 
178 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 thus heartily given, but still maintained his dignified 
 gravity, as he said — 
 
 "Ok^matan always tells the truth. He had 
 hoped that the folly of some young braves of his 
 tribe should never have been known to any one; 
 but since it has been found out, he will tell all he 
 knows to his pale-faced brother." 
 
 Hereupon he related all that had transpired at 
 the council of war, and the final success of his own 
 speech, with that of the old warrior, in producing a 
 peaceful solution. 
 
 " But are you sure they will follow your advice ? " 
 asked Dechamp. 
 
 " Yes, Ok^matan is quite sure." 
 
 " Well, then, as I said, I will trust you," returned 
 Dechamp, extending his hand, which the Indian 
 gravely grasped ; " and I will give you undeniable 
 proof, by giving my young men orders to start after 
 the buffalo at once — without further delay." 
 
OF THE BED KIVEK PLAINS. 179 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL 
 
 THB BUFFALO HUNT. 
 
 In accordance with the assurance given to Ok^- 
 matan Antoine Dechamp at once gave orders to 
 make preparation for an immediate start after the 
 buffalo — much to the satisfaction of the hunters, 
 especially the young ones. 
 
 Buffaloes — or, to speak more correctly, bisons 
 — roamed over the North American prairies at the 
 time we write of in countless thousands ; for the 
 Indians, although extiemely wasteful of animal 
 life, could not keep their numbers down, and the 
 aggressive white man, with his deadly gun and 
 rifle, had only just begun to depopulate the plains. 
 Therefore the hunters had not to travel far before 
 coming up with their quarry. 
 
 In a very brief space of time they were all drawn 
 up in line under command of their chosen leader, 
 who, at least up to the moment of giving the signal 
 for attack, kept his men in reasonably good order. 
 ITiey had not ridden long when the huge ungainly 
 bisons were seen like black specks on the horizon. 
 
180 THE BUPFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 Still the horsemen — each armed with the muzzle- 
 loading, single-barrelled, flint-lock gun of the period 
 — advanced cautiously, until so near that the ani- 
 mals began to look up as if in surprise at the 
 unwonted intrusion on their great solitudes. 
 
 Then the signal was given, the horses stretched 
 out at the gallop, the buffalo began to run — at first 
 heavily, as if great speed were impossible to them ; 
 but gradually the pace increased until it attained to 
 racing speed. Then the hunters gave the rein to 
 their eager steeds, and the long line rushed upon the 
 game like a tornado of centaurs. 
 
 From this point all discipline was at an end. 
 Each man fought for his own hand, killing as many 
 animals as he could, so that ere long the plain was 
 strewn with carcases, and the air filled with gun- 
 powder smoke. 
 
 We have said that all the hunters set out, but this 
 is not strictly correct, for three were left behind. 
 One of these had fallen sick ; one had sprained his 
 wrist, and another was lazy. It need scarcely be 
 told that the lazy one was Fran9ois La Certe. 
 
 " There is no hurry," he said, when the hunters 
 were assembling for the start ; " plenty of time. My 
 horse has not yet recovered from the fatigues of the 
 journey. And who knows but the report of the 
 buffalo being so near may be false ? I will wait and 
 see the result. To-morrow will be time enough to 
 begin. Then, Slowfoot, you will see what I can do. 
 
OF THE RED RIVBB PLAINS. 181 
 
 Your hands shall be busy. We will load our cart 
 with meat and pemmican, pay off all our debts, and 
 spend a happy winter in Eed Eiver. What have 
 you got there in the kettle ? " 
 
 " Pork," answered Slowfoot with characteristic 
 brevity. 
 
 " Will it soon be ready i " 
 
 " Soon." 
 
 " Have you got the tea unpacked ? ** 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Send me your pipe." 
 
 This latter speech was more in the tone of a re- 
 quest than a command, and the implied messenger 
 from the opposite side of the fire was the baby — 
 Baby La Certe. We never knew its name, if it had 
 one, and we have reason to believe that it was a 
 female baby. At the time, baby was quite able to 
 walk — at least to waddle or toddle. 
 
 A brief order from the maternal lips sent Baby 
 La Certe toddling round the fire towards its father, 
 pipe in hand ; but, short though the road was, it had 
 time to pause and consider. Evidently the idea of 
 justice was strongly developed in that child. Fair 
 wage for fair work had clearly got hold of it, for it 
 put the pipe which was still alight, in its mouth and 
 began to draw ! 
 
 At this the father smiled benignly, but Slow- 
 foot made a demonstration which induced a rather 
 prompt completion of the walk without a reasonable 
 
182 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 wage. It sucked vigorously all the time, however, 
 being evidently well aware that FranQois was not to 
 be feared. 
 
 At that moment the curtain of the tent lifted, and 
 little Bill Sinclair limped in. He was a favourite 
 with La Certe, who made room for him, and at once 
 offered him the pipe, but Billy declined. 
 
 " No, thank you, La Certe. I have not learned to 
 smoke yet." 
 
 " Ha ! you did not begin young enough," said 
 the half-breed, glancing proudly at his own off- 
 spring. 
 
 We may explain here once for all that, although 
 he had lived long enough in the colony to under- 
 stand French, Billie spoke to his friend in English, 
 and that, although La Certe understood English, he 
 preferred to speak in French. 
 
 " What have you been doing ? " he asked, when 
 the boy had seated himselt 
 
 " I 've been shooting at a mark with my bow and 
 arrow — brother Archie made it for me." 
 
 *' Let me see — yes, it is very well made. Where 
 is brother Archie ? " 
 
 « Gone after the buffalo." 
 
 " What !— on a horse ? " 
 
 *' He could not go very well after them on foot — 
 could he ?" replied the boy quietly. " Dan Davidson 
 lent him a horse, but not a gun. He said that 
 Archie was too young to use a gun on horseback, 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 18S 
 
 and that he might shoot some of the people instead 
 of the buffalo, or burst his gun, or fall off. But / 
 don't think so. Archie can do anything. I know, 
 for I 've seen him do it." 
 
 " And so he has left you in camp all by yourself. 
 What a shame, Billie!" 
 
 "No, Fran9ois, it is not a shame. Would you 
 have me keep him from the fun just because I can't 
 go ? That would indeed be a shame, wouldn't it ? " 
 
 " Well, perhaps you 're right, Billie." 
 
 " I know I 'm right," returned the boy, with a de- 
 cision of tone that would have been offensive if it 
 had not been accompanied with a look of straight- 
 forward gentleness that disarmed resentment. " But, 
 I say, Fran9ois, why are you not out with the 
 rest ?" 
 
 "Oh, because — because — Well, you know, my 
 horse is tired, and — and, I 'm not quite sure that 
 the buffalo really have been seen as near as they 
 say. And I can go to-morrow just as well You 
 see, Billie, there is no need to hurry oneself." 
 
 "No, I don't see that. I think there's always 
 need for hurry, specially with men like you. I know 
 the reason you don't go out better than yourself, 
 Francois." 
 
 " Yes — what is it ? " asked the half-breed with a 
 slight laugh. 
 
 " It 's laziness. That 's what it is, and you should 
 be ashamed of yourself." 
 
184 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 The large mild eyes and low voice, and pale 
 earnest face of the plain-spoken invalid were such 
 that it would have been impossible for any one to be 
 offended with him, much less La Certe, whose spirit 
 of indignation it was almost impossible to arouse. 
 He winced a little at the home-thrust, however, 
 because he knew it to be true. 
 
 " You 're hard on me. Little Bill," he said with a 
 benignant look, as he picked a stick from the fire 
 and inserted its glowing end in his pipa 
 
 * No, I 'm not hard," returned the boy gravely. 
 Indeed he was always grave, and seldom laughed 
 though he sometimes smiled faintly at the jokes and 
 quips of his volatile brother and Fred Jenkins the 
 seaman : " I 'm not half hard enough," he continued ; 
 " I like you, rran9ois, and that 's the reason why I 
 scold you and try to get you to mend. I don't think 
 there 's such a lazy man in the whole Settlement as 
 you. You would rather sit and smoke and stuff 
 yourself with pork all day than take the trouble to 
 saddle your horse and get your gun and go out with 
 the rest. Why are you so lazy, Francois ? " 
 
 " I 'm sure I don't know. Little Bill, unless it be 
 that I 'm born to be lazy. Other people are born, 
 I suppose, to be active and energetic. They like 
 activity and energy, and so they do it. I like repose 
 and quiet, and — so I do that Not much difference 
 alter all ! We both do what we like best ! " 
 
 " Little Bill was perplexed. Although philo- 
 
OF THE RED EIVER PLAINS. 186 
 
 Bophical in tendency he had not had sufficient ex- 
 perience in sophistical reasoning to enable him to 
 disentangle the sinuosities of bad logic. But he 
 was a resolute little fellow, and not easily quelled. 
 
 " What would happen," he asked, " if everybody 
 in the world did as you do ? " 
 
 " Well, I suppose everybody would enjoy them- 
 selves. There would be no more fightings or wars, 
 or any trouble of that sort, if everybody would 
 only take things easy and smoke the pipe of 
 peace." 
 
 "Hm! I don't know about that," returned the 
 boy, doubtfully ; " but I 'm quite sure there would 
 not be much pemmican in Red River this winter if 
 all the hunters were like you. I wonder you're 
 not ashamed, rran9ois. Sometimes I think that 
 you 're not woi-th caring about ; but I can't help it, 
 you know — we can't force our likings one way or 
 other." 
 
 La Certe was a good deal taken aback. He was 
 not indeed unaccustomed to plain speaking, and to 
 the receipt of gratuitous abuse ; but his experience 
 invariably was to associate both with more or less 
 of a stern voice and a frowning brow. To receive 
 both in a soft voice from a delicate meek-faced 
 child, who at the same time professed to like him, 
 was a complete novelty which puzzled him not a 
 little. 
 
 After a few minutes' profound consideration, he 
 
186 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 put out his pipe and arose quickly with something 
 like an appearance of firmness in his look and 
 bearing. 
 
 Slowfoot, whose utter ignorance of both French 
 and English prevented her understanding the drift 
 of the recent conversation, was almost startled by 
 the unfamiliar action of her lord. 
 
 " Wliere go you ? " she asked. 
 
 " To follow the buffalo," answered La Certe, with 
 all the dignity of a man bursting with good re- 
 solutions. 
 
 " Are you ill ? " asked his wife, anxiously. 
 
 To this he vouchsafed no reply, as he raised the 
 curtain and went out. 
 
 Little Bill also went out, and, sitting down on a 
 package, watched him with his large solemn eyes, 
 but said never a word until the half-breed had 
 loaded his gun and mounted his horse. Then he 
 said : " Good luck to you, Francois ! " 
 
 La Certe did not speak, but with a grave nod of 
 his head rode slowly out of the camp. Little Bill 
 regarded him for a moment. He had his bow and a 
 blunt-headed arrow in his hand at the time. Fitting 
 the latter hastily to the bow he took a rapid shot 
 at the retreating horseman. The arrow sped well. 
 It descended on the flank of the horse with con- 
 siderable force, and, bounding off, fell to the ground. 
 The result was that the horse, to La Certe's un- 
 utterable surprise, made a sudden demivolt into the 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 187 
 
 air — without the usual persuasion — almost unseated 
 its rider, and fled over the prairie like a thing 
 possessed ! 
 
 A faint smile ruffled the solemnity of Little Bill 
 at this, but it vanished when he heard a low 
 chuckle behind him. Wheeling round, he stood 
 face to face with Slowfoot, whose mouth was ex- 
 panded from ear to ear. 
 
 " Clever boy ! " she said, patting him on the back, 
 '' come into the tent and have some grub." 
 
 She said this in the Cree language, which the boy 
 did not understand, but he understood well enough 
 the signs with which the invitation was accom- 
 panied. Thanking her with an eloquent look, he 
 re-entered the tent along with her. 
 
188 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALB 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 ADVENTURES OF ABOHIB AND THE 8BAKAK. 
 
 Meanwhile the buffalo hunt progressed favour- 
 ably, and the slaughter of animals was considerable. 
 
 But there were two members of that hunt whose 
 proceedings were not in exact accord with the habits 
 and laws of the chase, as usually conducted on the 
 Red Eiver plains. These were the seaman Jenkins 
 and Archie Sinclair. 
 
 A mutual attachment having sprung up between 
 these two, they had arranged to keep together 
 during the chase ; and when the signal for attack 
 was given by Dechamp, as before related, they had 
 " set sail," according to Jenkins, fairly well with the 
 rest. But they had not gone more than a few 
 hundred yards when tlie boy observed that his 
 nautical friend was hauling at both reins furiously, 
 as if desirous of stopping his horse. Having a gun 
 in one hand he found the operation difficult. 
 
 Archie therefore reined in a Little. 
 
 " Bad luck to it ! " growled Jenkins, as his young 
 friend drew near, "the jaws o' this craft seem to 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 189 
 
 be made o* cast-iron, but I'll bring him to if I 
 should haul my arms out o' the sockets. Heave-to, 
 my lad ! Maybe he '11 be willin' to follow a good 
 example." 
 
 Archie pulled up, and, as the seaman had hoped, 
 the hard-mouthed steed stopped, while the mad- 
 dened buffalo and the almost as much maddened 
 hunters went thundering on, and were soon far ahead 
 of them. 
 
 "What's wrong, Jenkins?" asked Archie, on 
 seeing the sailor dismount. 
 
 " Not much, lad ; only I want to take a haul at 
 the main brace. Here, hold my gun a bit, like a 
 good chap ; the saddle, you see, ain't all right, an' if 
 it was to slew round, you know, I 'd be overboard in 
 a jiffy. There, that's all right. Now, we'U up 
 anchor, an' off again. I know now that the right way 
 to git on board is by the port side. When I started 
 from Ked Eiver I was goin' to climb up on the 
 starboard side, but Dan Davidson kep' me right — 
 though he had a good laugh at me. All right now. 
 Hand me the gun." 
 
 " Do you mean to say, Jenkins, that you never 
 got on a horse till you came to Eed Kiver ? " asked 
 Archie, with a laugh, as they galloped off in pursuit 
 of the hunters, who were almost out of sight by 
 that time. 
 
 " Well, you 've no occasion to laugh, lad," returned 
 the seaman. " I 've bin at sea ever since I was a 
 
190 THE BUFFALO RTJNNERS : A TALE 
 
 small shaver, scarce half as long as a handspike, so I 
 ain't had many opportunities, dee see, for we don't 
 have cavalry at sea, as a rule — always exceptin' the 
 horse marines." 
 
 " Then I 'm afraid you '11 find runnin' the buffalo 
 somewhat difficult," returned the hoy. " Not that I 
 know anything about it myself, for this is the first 
 time I 've been out ; an' even now Dan won't let me 
 use a gun; but I've often heard the men talkin' 
 about it ! an' some o' them have complained that 
 they have found it uncommon difficult to load when 
 at full gallop — specially when the horse is hard in 
 the mouth." 
 
 " I make no manner o' doubt you 're right, lad, 
 but I 've got my sea-legs on now, so to speak ; least- 
 wise I 've got used to ridin' in the trip out here, as 
 well as used to steerin' wi' the tiller-ropes in front, 
 which seems to me right in the teeth o' natur', 
 though I couldn't see how it could well be otherwise. 
 But I confess that my chief difficulty is the ord- 
 nance, for it interferes a good deal wi' the steer- 
 in'. Hows'ever — 'never ventur' never win,' you 
 know. I never expected to take up a noo pur- 
 fession without some trouble." 
 
 As he spoke, the seaman's horse — a large brown 
 chestnut — put its foot in a hole, and plunged 
 forward with great violence, barely escaping a 
 fall. 
 
 " Hold on ! " shouted Archie in alarm. 
 
OF THE RED KIVER PLAINS. 191 
 
 " Hold on it is ! " sang out the sailor in reply. 
 
 And hold on it was, for he had the chestnut 
 round the neck with both arms. Indeed he was 
 sitting, or lying, on its neck altogether. 
 
 " It ain't an easy job," he gasped, while he strug- 
 gled to regain the saddle, "when a fellow gets hove 
 on to the bowsprit this way, to git fairly back on 
 the main-deck again. But a Jenkins never was 
 beaten in fair fight. That 's all right. Now then, 
 Archie, you 're an obleegin* cove. Do git down an' 
 pick up the gun for me. You see, if I git down 
 it's a tryin' job to get up again — the side o' this 
 here craft bein' so steep an' so high out o' the water. 
 Thank'ee ; why, boy, you jump down an' up like a 
 powder-monkey. It ain't broke, is it ? " 
 
 " No. It seems all right," answered the boy, as 
 he handed the gun to its owner. " But if you let 
 it go like that often, it won't be much worth when 
 the run 's over." 
 
 " Let it go, boy ? " repeated the sailor. " It was 
 either let it or myself go, an' when it comes to a 
 toss up o' that sort, Fred Jenkins knows how to 
 look arter number one." 
 
 It will be seen from all this that our seaman was 
 not quite so much at home on the prairie as on the 
 sea. Indeed, if the expression be permissible, he 
 was very much at sea on that undulating plain, and 
 did not take so kindly to the green waves of the 
 rolling praiiie as to the heaving billows of the 
 
192 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 restless ocean ; but, as Archie remarked, he was 
 fast getting broke in. 
 
 The incidents which we have mentioned, however, 
 were but the commencement of a series of disasters 
 to poor Jenkins, which went far to cure him of a 
 desire to excel in the " noo purfession," and to in- 
 duce a somewhat violent longiDg for a return to his 
 first love, the ocean. 
 
 " I can't think what ever could have made you 
 want to come out here," said Archie, as they con- 
 tinued to follow up the still distant hunters. 
 
 " What was it made yourself want to come out, 
 lad ? " asked the sailor. 
 
 "It wasn't me that wanted to come. It was 
 father, you know, an* of course I had to follow," 
 said the boy in a tone which induced his friend to 
 say hastily, and in a tone of sympathy — 
 
 " Ah, poor lad, I forgot you was a orphing. Well, 
 you see, I think it must ha' bin a love o' change 
 or a love o' discontent, or suthin' o' that sort, as 
 brought me cruising in these here waters, for I 
 can't say what else it was. You see I was born a 
 sort o' ro — o " 
 
 " Look out ! a badger hole ! " shouted the boy. 
 
 His warning would have been too late, but the 
 chestnut fortunately leaped over the danger instead 
 of stumbling into it, and its rider was only partially 
 shaken out of his seat. 
 
 "It's well," he said, when fairly settled down 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 193 
 
 again to an easy gallop, " that the tiller-ropes are 
 stout else I'd ha' bin over the starn this time instead 
 of out on the bowsprit Let me see, what was I 
 sayin'of?" 
 
 " Somethin' about your bein' born a sort of * ro — 
 
 — o ,' though what that may be I haven't a 
 
 notion." 
 
 " Ah ! jist so — I was born a sort o' rover (when 
 this long-legged brute took the badger-hole), an' 
 I 've bin to every quarter o' the globe a'most, but 
 if I 'd lived to the age o' Methooslum I 'd never ha' 
 thought o' comin' here, — for the good reason that I 
 knowed nothin' o' its existence, — if I hadn't by 
 chance in a furrin port fallen in wi' Andr(5 Morel, 
 an' took an uncommon fancy to him. You see, at 
 the time, I was — well, I was no better nor I should 
 be ; p'ra'ps a deal wuss, an' Morel he meets me, an' 
 says — ' Hallo, my lad,' says he, ' where away ? ' 
 
 " I looked at him gruff-like a moment or two, for 
 it seemed to me he was raither too familiar for a 
 stranger, but he 's got such a pleasant, hearty look 
 with him — as you know — that I couldn't feel riled 
 with 'im, so * I 'm goin' on the spree,' says I. 
 
 "'All right,' says he, 'I'm with ee, lad. D'ye 
 know the town ? ' 
 
 " ' No more than a Mother Carey's chicken,* says I. 
 
 " * Come along, then,' says he ; * I '11 tak' ee to a 
 fust-rate shop.' 
 
 "So otf we went arm in arm as thick as two 
 N 
 
194 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 peas, an' after passin' through two or three streets 
 he turns into a shop that smelt strong o' coffee. 
 
 " ' Hallo ! mate,' says I, ' you 've made some sort 
 o' mistake. This here ain't the right sort o' 
 shop.' 
 
 " ' yes, it is,' says he, smilin', quite afifable-like. 
 * The best o' tipple here, an' cheap too. Come along. 
 I've got somethin' very partikler to say to you. 
 Look here, waiter — two cups o' coffee, hot an' strong, 
 some buttered toast, an' no end o' buns, etceterer.' 
 
 " Wi' that he led me to a seat, an' we sat down. 
 I was so took aback an' amused that I waited to 
 see what would foller an' what he 'd got to say that 
 was so partikler — but, I say, Archie, them buffalo 
 runners has got the wind o' us, an' are showin' us 
 their heels, I fear." 
 
 "Never fear," returned the boy, rising in his 
 stirrups and shading his eyes to look ahead. They 
 do seem to be leavin' us a bit, but you see by the 
 dust that the buffalo are holdin' away to the right, 
 so if we keep still more to the right an' cut round 
 that knoll, I think we '11 be safe to catch them up. 
 They're doin' good work, as the carcases we've 
 passed and the rattle o' shots clearly show. But 
 get on wi' your story, Jenkins." 
 
 " Well, it ain't much of a story, lad. What Morel 
 had to say was that he 'd arranged wi' an agent o' 
 Lord Selkirk to 3ome out to this country; an' he 
 was goin' cut wi' a lot o his relations, an' was 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 195 
 
 beatin' up for a few good hands, an' he liked the 
 look o' me, an' would I agree to go wi' him ? 
 
 " Well, as you may believe, this was a poser, an' 
 I said I 'd think over it, an' let him know next day. 
 You see, I didn't want to seem to jump at it too 
 eager-like, though I liked the notion, an* I had 
 neither wife, nor sweetheart, nor father or mother, 
 to think about, for I'm a orphing, you see, like 
 yourself, Archie — only a somewhat bigger one. 
 
 " Well, when we 'd finished all the coffee, an' all 
 the buns, an' aU the etceterers, he began to advise 
 me not to ha' nothin' more to do wi' grog-shops. I 
 couldn't tell ee the half o' what he said — no, nor 
 the quarter — but he made such a impression on me 
 that I was more than half-convinced. To say truth, 
 I was so choke-full o' coffee an' buns, an' etceterers, 
 that I don't believe I could ha' swallowed another 
 drop o' liquor. 
 
 " ' Where are ye goin' now ? ' says he, when we 'd 
 done. 
 
 " * Back to my ship,' says I. 
 
 "'Come an' ha' tea to-morrow wi' me an' my 
 sister,' says he, ' an' we '11 have another talk about 
 Eupert's Land.' 
 
 " ' I will,' says I. 
 
 " * Six o'clock, sharp,' says he. 
 
 " ' Sharp 's the word,' says I. 
 
 " An', sure enough, I went to his house sharp to 
 time next day, an' there I found him an' his sister. 
 
196 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 She was as pretty a craft as I ever set eyes on, wi' 
 a modest look an' long fair ringlets — ^just borderin' 
 on nineteen or thereaway — but you know her, 
 Archie, so I needn't say no more." 
 
 " What ! is that the same woman that 's keeping 
 house for him now in Ked Eiver ? " 
 
 " Woman!" repeated the sailor, vehemently; " she's 
 not a woman — she 's a angel is Elise MoreL Don't 
 speak disrespectful of her, lad." 
 
 " I won't," returned Archie with a laugh ; " but 
 what was the upshot of it all ? " 
 
 " The upshot of it," answered the seaman, " was 
 that I 've never touched a drop o' strong drink from 
 that day to this, an* that I 'm now blown entirely 
 out o' my old courses, an' am cruisin' arter the 
 buffalo on the plains o' Kupert's Land." 
 
 At this point, their minds being set free from the 
 consideration of past history, they made the dis- 
 covery that the buffalo runners were nowhere to 
 be seen on the horizon, and that they themselves 
 were lost on the grassy sea. 
 
 "What shall we do?" said the boy, when they 
 had pulled up to consider their situation. "You 
 see, although I came out here a good while be- 
 fore you did," he added, half apologetically, " I 've 
 never been out on the plains without a guide, and 
 don't know a bit how to find the way back to 
 camp. The prairie is almost as bad as the sea 
 you 're so fond of, with a clear horizon all round, 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 197 
 
 and nothing worth speaking of to guide us. An' as 
 you have never been in the plains before, of course 
 you know nothing. In short, Jenkins, I greatly 
 fear that we are lost ! Why, what are you grinning 
 at?" 
 
 The terminal question was induced by the fact 
 that the tall seaman was looking down at his 
 anxious companion with a broad smile on his hand- 
 some sunburnt countenance. 
 
 " So we 're lost, are we, Archie ? " he said, " like 
 two sweet babes on the prairie instead of in the 
 woods. An' you think I knows nothin'. "WeU, 
 pVaps I don't know much, but you should re- 
 member, lad, that an old salt wi' a compass in his 
 wes'kit-pocket is not the man to lose his reck'nin'. 
 I've got one here as '11 put us all right on that 
 score, for I was careful to take my bearin's when 
 we set sail, an' I 've been keepin' an eye on our 
 course all the way. Make your mind easy, my 
 boy." 
 
 So saying, the sailor pulled out the compass re- 
 ferred to, and consulted it. Then he pulled out a 
 watch of the warming-pan type, which he styled a 
 chronometer, and consulted that also ; after which 
 he looked up at the clouds — seamanlike — and 
 round the horizon, especially to windward, if we 
 may speak of such a quarter in reference to a day 
 that was almost quite calm. 
 
 " Now, Archie, boy, the upshot o' my cogitations 
 
198 THE BUFFALO RUNNEKS : A TALE 
 
 is that with a light breeze on our starboard quarter, 
 a clear sky overhead, an' a clear conscience within, 
 you and I had better hold on our course for a 
 little longer, and see whether we can't overhaul 
 the runners. If we succeed, good and welL If 
 not, why 'bout ship, and homeward-bound is the 
 sailin' orders. What say 'ee, lad ? " 
 
 "I say whatever you say, Jenkins. If you're 
 sure o' the way back, as I've no doubt you are, 
 why, there couldn't be greater fun than to go after 
 the buffalo on our own account. And — I say, look 
 there ! Isn't that somethin' like them on the top o' 
 the far bluff yonder ? A fellow like you, wi' sharp 
 sailor- eyes, ought to be able to make them out." 
 
 "You forget, lad, that I ain't a buffalo runner, 
 an' don't know the cut o' the brutes' jibs yet. It 
 does look like somethin'. Come, we '11 go an' see.' 
 Putting their horses to the gallop, the two curiously 
 matched friends, taking advantage of every knoll 
 and hollow, succeeded in getting sufficiently near 
 to perceive that a small herd was grazing quietly in 
 a grassy bottom between two prairie waves. They 
 halted at once for consultation, 
 
 " Now, then, Archie," said the sailor, examining 
 the priming of his gun, " here we are at last, agoin' 
 to begin a pitched battle. There 's this to be said 
 for us, that neither you nor me knows rightly how 
 to go to work, both on us havin' up to this time bin 
 trained, so to speak, on hearsay. But what o' that ? 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 199 
 
 In the language o' the immortial Nelson, ' England 
 expec's every man to do his dooty.' Now it seems 
 to me my dooty on the present occasion is to lay 
 myself alongside of a buffalo an' blaze away ! Isn't 
 that the order o' battle i 
 
 " Yes. But don't go for a bull, and don't go too 
 close for fear he turns sharp round an' catches you 
 on his horns. You know the bulls are apt to do 
 that sometimes." 
 
 " Trust me, lad, I '11 keep clear o' the bulls." 
 
 " And you understand how to re-load ? " asked 
 the boy. 
 
 "O yes, ail right. Dan put me thro' the gun- 
 nery practice on the way out, an' I went through 
 it creditably. Only a slight hitch now and then. 
 Two or three balls in the mouth ready to spit 
 into the gun " 
 
 " Not all at once, though, Jenkins." 
 
 " In course not, lad : one at a time : no ramming ; 
 hit the butt on the saddle ; blaze away ; one down, 
 another come on — eh ? " 
 
 "That's it," said Archie, eager for the fray. 
 " How I wish Dan had let me have a gun ! " 
 
 " Safer not, lad. An' keep weU in rear, for I may 
 be apt to fire wide in the heat of action." 
 
 With this final caution, the mariner put his gun 
 on full cock, shook the reins, and trotted quietly 
 forward until he saw that the buffalo had observed 
 him. Then, as he afterwards expressed it, he 
 
200 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " clapped on all sail — stu'n's'ls alow and aloft, and 
 sky-scrapers — and went into action like a true blue 
 British tar, with little Archie Sinclair full sail 
 astern," 
 
 He did not, however, come out of action with as 
 much ^lat as he went into it, but justice obliges us 
 to admit that he came out victorious. 
 
 We cannot do better than give his own description 
 of that action as related beside the camp-fire that 
 night, to a circle of admiring friends. 
 
 " Well, you must know," he began, after finishing 
 his supper and lighting his pipe, " that long-legged 
 frigate o' mine that Dan calls a chestnut — though a 
 cocoanut would be more like the thing, if you take 
 size into account — he 's as keen for the chase as a 
 small boy arter a butterfly, an' before I could say 
 ' Jack Robinson,' a'most, he had me into the middle 
 o' the herd an' alongside o' the big bull. Any one 
 could tell it was him, in spite o' the dust we kicked 
 up, by reason o' the side-glance o' his wicked little 
 eye, his big hairy fore'id, an' his tail stickin' out 
 stiff like a crook'd spankerboom. 
 
 " In course I was not agoin' to fire into him, so I 
 gave the frigate a dig wi' my heels — tho' I 'd got no 
 irons on 'em — an' tried to shove up alongside of a 
 fat young cow as was skylarkin' on ahead. As we 
 went past the bull he made a vicious dab wi' his 
 horn, and caught the frigate on her flank — right 
 abaft the mizzen chains, like. Whew ! vou should ha' 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 201 
 
 seen what a sheer she made right away to star- 
 board ! If it hadn't bin that I was on the look-out, 
 I 'd ha' bin slap overboard that time, but I see'd the 
 squall comin', an', seizin' my brute's mane, held on 
 like a monkey wi' hand an' leg. 
 
 " Well, before I knew where I was, the cocoan — 
 I mean the chestnut, had me alongside the cow. I 
 stuck the muzzle a'most into her ribs, and let drive. 
 Down she went by the head, fairly scuttled, an' I 
 could hear young Archie givin' a wild cheer astern." 
 
 " ' That 's the way to go it, Jenkins ! ' he yelled. 
 ' Load again.' 
 
 " But it was easier said than done, I can tell you. 
 You see, I 've bin brought up to cartridges all my 
 life, an' the change to pullin' a stopper out o' a 
 horn wi' your teeth, pourin' the powder into your 
 left hand, wi' the gun under your left arm, an' the 
 pitchin' o' the frigate, like as if it was in a cross sea, 
 was raither perplex in'. Hows'ever, it had to be 
 done, for I was alongside of another cow in a jiffy. 
 I nigh knocked out two o' my front teeth in tryin' 
 to shove the stopper in my mouth. Then, when I 
 was pourin' the powder into my hand, I as near as 
 could be let fall the gun, which caused me to give 
 a sort of gasp of anxiety, when two o' the three 
 bullets dropped out o' my mouth, but I held on to 
 the third wi' my teeth. Just then a puff o' wind 
 blew the powder out o' ray hand into the buffalo's 
 eyes, causin' her to bellow like a fog-horn, an' 
 
202 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 obleegin' me to pour out another charge. I did it 
 hastily, as you may well believe, an' about three 
 times what I wanted came out. Hows'ever, I lost 
 a deal of it in pourin' it into the gun ; then I spat 
 the ball in, gettin' another nasty rap on the teeth 
 as I did so, but I'd bit the ball so that it stuck 
 half-way down. 
 
 " It was no time to think o' trifles. I gave the 
 butt an extra bang on the pommel to send the ball 
 home, shoved the muzzle right in among the hair 
 an' pulled the trigger. There was a bang that 
 sounded to me as if the ship's magazine had blown 
 up. It was followed by a constellation o' fireworks 
 and — Archie Sinclair must tell you what happened 
 arter that, for I misremember the whole on it. The 
 fireworks closed the scene to me." 
 
 Archie, nothing loath, and with glistening eyes, 
 took up the narrative at this point, while the hero 
 of the hour rekindled his pipe. 
 
 " The fact is," he said, " the gun had burst — was 
 blown to atoms ; not a bit o' the barrel left, and a 
 great lump o' the stock struck Jenkins on the head, 
 stunned him, and tumbled him off his horse." 
 
 ("That was the magazine explosion and fire- 
 works," explained Jenkins.) 
 
 "But the queer thing was," continued Archie, 
 "that the buffalo fell dead, and, on examining it, 
 we found that a bit o' the barrel had been driven 
 right into its brain." 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 203 
 
 " Ay, boy, but it was queerer still that none o' the 
 pieces struck me or my horse 'cept that bit o' the 
 stock. An' I 'm none the worse, barriu' this lump 
 on the head, that only serves to cock my hat a 
 little more to one side than seems becomin' to a 
 sober-minded man." 
 
 " We were sorry to be able to bring away so little 
 o' the meat," said Archie, with the gravity of an old 
 hunter ; " but, you see, it was too late to send a cart 
 for it after we got back." 
 
 "Never mind," said Dan Davidson, when the 
 narrative was brought to a close, "you have done 
 very well for a beginning." 
 
 " Moreowr," added Fergus, " it iss a goot feast the 
 wolves will be havin' on the plains this night, an' 
 so, Archie, I '11 be wishin' ye better luck next time." 
 
204 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 BRIQHT HOPES TERIONATK IN FCBI0U8 WAB. 
 
 Turning once again to the colony at Eed River, 
 we introduce the reader to the Scotch settlers in 
 the autumn of the year — at a time when there was 
 some appearance of the commencement of a season 
 of prosperity, after all the troubles that had befallen 
 and surrounded, and well-nigh overwhelmed them 
 in time past. 
 
 The Davidson and M'Kay families had re-estab- 
 lished themselves on their farms, rebuilt their houses 
 and planted their fields, and splendid crops of all 
 kinds were now flourishing, ready for spade and 
 sickle. 
 
 The soil was found to be excellent. In after years, 
 forty-fold was no uncommon return. In one case, 
 for a bushel of barley sown, fifty-six bushels were 
 reaped; and from a bushel of seed potatoes were 
 obtained one hundred and forty-five bushels ! In- 
 dustry, however, had not at that time been rewarded 
 with such encouraging results, but there was 
 sufficient to indicate cheering prospects in the near 
 
OF THE RED RIVEK PLAINS. 205 
 
 future, and to gladden the hearts of the pioneer 
 settlers. 
 
 As a good number of these had, under the de- 
 pressing influence of disappointment and failure 
 in the past, neglected to sow extensively, not a few 
 families were forced again to winter at Pembina, 
 and draw their supplies from the chase to avoid 
 consuming all the seed which alone ensured them 
 against famine. Among these were the Swiss 
 families, most of whom, being watch and clock 
 makers, pastry-cooks, mechanics and musicians, 
 were not well adapted for agricultural pursuits. 
 Perhaps they were as ill adapted for the chase, bub 
 seed takes time to sow and grow, whereas animals 
 need no prolonged nursing — at least from man — 
 and are quickly killed if one can shoot. 
 
 The young leader of the Switzers, however, 
 Andr6 Morel, soon left his party at Pembina under 
 the care of his lieutenant, and returned to Red 
 Eiver Settlement, bent on mastering the details of 
 husbandry, so as to be able afterwards to direct the 
 energies of his compatriots into a more profitable 
 occupation than the chase. 
 
 For this purpose, he sought and obtained employ- 
 ment with the Davidsons in the new and enlarged 
 edition of Prairie Cottage. His sister, Elise, was 
 engaged by old M'Kay to act as companion and 
 assistant to his daughter Elspie. Loth the curly- 
 haired Andr^ and the fair, blue-eyed Elise, proved 
 
206 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 to be invaluable acquisitions in the households in 
 which they had found a home, for both were lively, 
 intelligent companions, hard workers at whatever 
 they undertook, and were possessed of sweet melo- 
 dious voices. Andr^ also performed on the violin, 
 an instrument which has played a prominent part 
 in the wild Nor'-West ever since the white man 
 set down his foot there. 
 
 "What do you think, Elspie, of my brother's 
 plan, of taking the farm just below this one, after 
 he has had enough experience to be able to work it 
 himself ? " asked Elise. 
 
 " It will be very nice to have him settled so near 
 us. Do you think he will take the whole of it ? " 
 
 " I think so. You see, the terms on which the 
 Earl has granted the land are so easy, and the 
 supplies of goods, oatmeal, clothing, and farm im- 
 plements sent us so generous, that Andr^ finds he 
 will have money enough to enable him to start. 
 Then, that strong, good-natured seaman, Fred 
 Jenkins, has actually agreed to serve as a man 
 on the farm for a whole year for nothing, except, 
 of course, his food and lodging. Isn't it generous 
 of him ? " 
 
 " Do you know why he is going to serve him for 
 nothing?" asked Elspie, with a quick look and smile. 
 
 " No — I do not," returned fair little Elise with an 
 innocent look. " Do you ? " 
 
 "O no— of couise I don't; I can only guess," 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 207 
 
 replied her companion with a light laugh. " Perhaps 
 it is because he knows his services as a farm servant 
 can't be worth much at first." 
 
 "There you are wrong," returned Elise, stoutly. 
 " No doubt he is ignorant, as yet, about sowing and 
 reaping and the like, but he is wonderfully strong — 
 just like a giant at lifting and carrying — and he has 
 become quite knowing about horses, and carting, 
 and such things. All that he stipulates for is that 
 he shall board in our house. He says he '11 manage, 
 somehow, to make enough money to buy all the 
 clothes he wants." 
 
 " What a delightful kind of servant," said Elspie, 
 with an arch look, which was quite thrown away 
 on Elise, " and so disinterested to do it without any 
 reason." 
 
 " ! but he must have some reason, you know," 
 rejoined Elise. " I shouldn't wonder if it was out 
 of gratitude to my brother who was very kind to 
 him — so he says — the first time they met." 
 
 " Did he say that was his reason ? " asked Elspie 
 quickly. 
 
 " No, he did not say so, but he has said more than 
 once that he feels very grateful to my brother, and 
 it has just occurred to me that that may be his 
 reason. It would be very natural — wouldn't it ? " 
 
 " Oh, very natural ! — very ! " returned the other. 
 " But d' you know, Elise, I don't like your brother's 
 plan at all." 
 
208 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALB 
 
 "No! why?" 
 
 " Because, don't you see, foolish girl, that it will 
 take you away from me ? You will, of course, want 
 to keep house for your brother, and I have become 
 so used to you, short though our intercourse has 
 been, that I don't see how I can get on at all 
 without you ? " 
 
 "Never mind, Elspie, dear. It will be a long 
 while before Andr^ is ready to take the farm. 
 Besides, by that time, you know, you and Dan will 
 be married, so you won't miss me much — though I 
 confess I should like you to miss me a little." 
 
 Elspie sighed at this point. " I suspect that our 
 marriage will not be so soon as you think, Elise," 
 she said. " Dan has tried to arrange it more than 
 once, but there seems to be a fate against it, for 
 something always comes in the way ! " 
 
 " Surely nothing will happen this time," said the 
 sympathetic Elise. " Everything begins to prosper 
 now. The crops are beautiful ; the weather is 
 splendid ; the house is ready to begin to — all the 
 logs are cut and squared. Your father is quite 
 willing, and Dan wishing for the day — what more 
 could you desire, Elspie ? " 
 
 " Nothing ; all seems well, but " She finished 
 
 the sentence with another sigh. 
 
 While the two friends were thus conversing in 
 the dairy, old M'Kay and Dan Davidson were talking 
 on the same subject in the hall of Ben Nevis. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 209 
 
 " It iss a curious fact, Taniel," said the old man, 
 with a pleased look, " that it wass in this fery room 
 in the old hoose that wass burnt, and about the same 
 time of the year, too, that you would be speakin' to 
 me about this fery thing. An' I do not think that 
 we will be troubled this time wi' the Nor'-Westers, 
 whatever — though wan never knows what a tay 
 may bring furth." 
 
 "That is the very reason, sir," said Davidson, 
 " that I want to get married at once, so that if any- 
 thing does happen again I may claim the right to 
 be Elspie's protector." 
 
 " Quite right, my boy, quite right ; though I must 
 say I would like to wait till a real munister comes 
 out; for although Mr. Sutherland iss a fery goot 
 man, an' an elder too, he iss not chust exactly a 
 munister, you know, as I have said before. But 
 have it your own way. Tan. If my little lass is 
 willin', old Tuncan M'Kay won't stand in your 
 way." 
 
 That night the inhabitants of Eed Eiver lay down 
 to sleep in comfort and to dream, perchance, of the 
 coming, though long delayed, prosperity that had 
 hitherto so often eluded their grasp. 
 
 Next day an event occurred which gave the poor 
 settlers new cause for grief amounting almost to 
 despair. 
 
 Dan Davidson and Elspie were walking on the 
 verandah in front of Ben Nevis at the time. It was 
 
 
 
210 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 a warm sunny afternoon. All around looked the 
 picture of peace and prosperity. 
 
 " Does it not seem, Dan, as if all the troubles we 
 have gone through were a dark dream — as if there 
 never had been any reality in them ? " said Elspie. 
 
 " It does indeed seem so," responded Dan, " and I 
 hope and trust that we shall henceforth be able to 
 think of them as nothing more than a troubled 
 dream." 
 
 " What iss that you will be sayin' about troubled 
 dreams ? " asked old M'Kay, coming out of the house 
 at the moment. 
 
 " We were just saying, daddy, that all our troubles 
 seem " 
 
 "Look yonder, Tan," interrupted the old man, 
 pointing with his pipe-stem to a certain part of the 
 heavens. " What iss it that I see 1 A queer cloud, 
 whatever ! I don't remember seein' such a solid 
 cloud as that in all my experience." 
 
 " It is indeed queer. I hope it 's not what Fred 
 Jenkins would call a ' squall brewin* up,' for that 
 wouldn't improve the crops." 
 
 " A squall ! " exclaimed Jenkins, who chanced 
 to come round the corner of the house at the 
 moment, with a spade on his shoulder. " That *s 
 never a squall — no, nor a gale, nor a simoon, nor 
 anything else o' the sort that I ever heard of. Why, 
 it 's growin' bigger an* bigger ! " 
 
 He shaded his eyes with his hand, and looked 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PIJVIN& 211 
 
 earnestly at the object in question, which did in- 
 deed resemble a very dense, yet not a black, cloud. 
 For some moments the four spectators gazed in 
 silence. Then old M'Kay suddenly dropped his 
 pipe, and looked at Dan with an expression of 
 intense solemnity. 
 
 " It iss my belief," he said in a hoarse whisper, 
 " that it is them wee deevils the grasshoppers ! " 
 
 A very few minutes proved old M'Kay's surmise 
 to be correct. Once before, the colony had been 
 devastated by this plague, and the memory of the 
 result was enough to alarm the most courageous 
 among the settlers who had experienced the 
 calamity, though the new arrivals, being ignorant, 
 were disposed to regard the visitation lightly at 
 first. M'Kay himself became greatly excited 
 when the air became darkened by the cloud, 
 which, ever increasing in size, rapidly approached. 
 
 " Haste ye, lads," he cried to some of the farm- 
 servants who had joined the group on the verandah, 
 " get your spades, picks, an' shovels. Be smart now : 
 it is not possible to save all the crops, but we may 
 try to save the garden, whatever. Follow me ! " 
 
 The garden referred to was not large or of great 
 importance, but it was a favourite hobby of the 
 Highlander, and, at the time, was in full bloom, 
 luxuriant with fruit, flower, and vegetable. To 
 save it from destruction at such a time, M'Kay 
 would have given almost anything, and have gone 
 
212 THE BUFFALO RUNNEKS : A TALK 
 
 almost any lengths. On this occasion, not knowing 
 what to do, yet impelled by his eagerness to do 
 something, he adopted measures that he had heard 
 of as being used in other lands. He ordered a 
 trench to be cut and filled with water on the side 
 of his garden nearest the approaching plague, which 
 might — if thoroughly carried out — have been of 
 some use against wingless grasshoppers but could 
 be of no use whatever against a flying foe. It 
 would have taken an army of men to carry out such 
 an order promptly, and his men perceived this ; but 
 the master was so energetic, so violent in throwing 
 off his coat and working with his own hand at pick 
 and shovel, that they were irresistibly infected with 
 his enthusiasm, and set to work. 
 
 Old Duncan, did not, however, wield pick or 
 shovel long. He was too excited for that. He 
 changed from one thing to another rapidly. Fires 
 were to be kindled along the line of defence, and he 
 set the example in this also. Then he remembered 
 that blankets and other drapery had been used 
 somewhere with great effect in beating back the 
 foe; therefore he shouted wildly for his daughter 
 and Elise Morel. 
 
 " Here we are, father : what can we do ? " 
 "Go, fetch out all the blankets, sheets, table- 
 cloths, an' towels in the house, girls. It iss neck 
 or nothin' this tay. Be smart, now ! Take men to 
 help ye." 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 213 
 
 Two men were very busy there piling up little 
 heaps of firewood, namely, Dan Davidson and Fred 
 Jenkins. What more natural than that these two, 
 on hearing the order given about blankets and 
 table-cloths, etc., should quit the fires and follow 
 Elspie and Elise into the house ! 
 
 In the first bedroom into which they entered they 
 found Archie and Billie Sinclair, the latter seated 
 comfortably in an arm-chair close to a window, the 
 former wild with delight at the sudden demand on 
 all his energies. For Archie had been one of the 
 first to leap to the work when old M'Kay gave the 
 order. Then he had suddenly recollected his little 
 helpless brother, and had dashed round to Prairie 
 Cottage, got him on his back, run with him to Ben 
 Nevis Hall, placed him as we have seen in a position 
 to view the field of battle, and then, advising him 
 to sit quietly tliere and enjoy the fun, had dashed 
 down-stairs to resume his place in the forefront of 
 battle ! 
 
 He had run up again for a moment to inquire 
 how Little Bill was getting on, when the blanket 
 and sheet searchers found them. 
 
 " All right," he exclaimed, on learning what they 
 came for ; " here you are. Look alive ! Don't stir. 
 Little Bill." 
 
 He hurled the bedding from a neighbouring bed- 
 stead as he spoke, tore several blankets from the 
 heap, and tumbled rather than ran down-stairs with 
 
214 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 them, while the friends he had left behind followed 
 his example. 
 
 By that time all the inmates and farm-servants 
 of Prairie Cottage had assembled at Ben Nevis Hall, 
 attracted either by sympathy or curiosity as to the 
 amazing fracas which old M'Kay was creating. Of 
 course they entered into the spirit of the prepara- 
 tions, so that when the enemy at last descended on 
 them they found the garrison ready. But the 
 defenders might as well have remained quiet and 
 gone to their beds. 
 
 Night was drawing near at the time, and was, 
 as it were, precipitated by the grasshoppers, which 
 darkened the whole sky with what appeared to be 
 a heavy shower of snow. 
 
 The fires were lighted, water was poured into the 
 trench, and the two households fought with blanket, 
 sheet, counterpane, and towel, in a manner that 
 proved the courage of the ancient heroes to be still 
 slumbering in men and women of modern days. 
 
 But what could courage do against such over- 
 whelming odds ? Thousands were slaughtered. ^Mil- 
 lions pressed on behind. 
 
 " Don't give in, lads," cried the heroic and despe- 
 rate Highlander, wielding a great green blanket in a 
 way that might have roused the admiration if not 
 the envy of Ajax himself. " Keep it up, Jenkins ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ! " responded the nautical warrior, as 
 he laid about him with an enormous buffalo robe, 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 215 
 
 which was the only weapon that seemed sufficiently 
 suited to his gigantic frame ; " never say die as long 
 as there 's a shot in the locker." 
 
 Elise stood behind him, lost in admiration, and 
 giving an imbecile flap now and then with a towel 
 to anything that happened to come in front of 
 her. 
 
 Elspie was more self-possessed. She tried to 
 wield a jack-towel with some effect, while Dan, 
 Fergus, Duncan junior, Bourassin, Andr^ Morel, 
 and others ably, but uselessly, supported their heroic 
 leader. La Certe, who chanced to be there at the 
 time, went actively about encouraging others to do 
 their very best. Old Peg made a feeble effort to do 
 what she conceived to be her duty, and Ok^matan 
 stood by, calmly looking on — his grave countenance 
 exhibiting no symptom of emotion, but his mind 
 filled with intense surprise, not unmingled with 
 pity, for the Palefaces who displayed such an amount 
 of energy in attempting the impossible. 
 
 That self-defence, in the circumstances, was in- 
 deed impossible soon became apparent, for tlwj 
 enemy descended in such clouds that they filled 
 up the half-formed ditch, extinguished the fires 
 with their dead bodies, defied the blanket-warriors, 
 and swarmed not only into the garden of old Duncan 
 M'Kay but overwhelmed the whole land. 
 
 Darkness and exhaustion from the figlit prevented 
 the people of Ben Nevis liall and Prairie Cottage 
 
216 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 from at first comprehending the extent of the 
 calamity with which they had thus been visited, 
 hut enough had been seen to convince M'Kay that 
 his garden was doomed. When he at last allowed 
 the sad truth to force itself into his mind he suffered 
 Elspie to lead him into the house. 
 
 "Don't grieve, daddy," she said, in a low comfort- 
 ing tone ; " perhaps it won't be as bad as it seems." 
 
 " Fetch me my pipe, lass," he said on reaching 
 his bedroom. 
 
 "Goot night to you, my tear," he added, on 
 receiving the implement of consolation. 
 
 "Won't you eat — or drink — something, daddy 
 dear ? " 
 
 "Nothing — nothing. Leave me now. We hev 
 had a goot fight, whatever, an' it iss to bed I will 
 be goin' now." 
 
 Left alone the old man lay down in his warrior- 
 harness, so to speak, lighted his pipe, smoked him- 
 self into a sort of philosophical contempt for every- 
 thing under the sun, moon, and stars, and finally 
 dropped his sufferings, as well as his pipe, by falling 
 into a profound slumber. 
 
 Next morning when the people of Eed Eiver 
 arose, they became fully aware of the disaster that 
 had befallen them. The grasshoppers had made 
 what Jenkins styled a clean sweep from stem to 
 stern. Crops, gardens, and every green herb in the 
 settlement had perished ; and all the sanguine hopes 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 217 
 
 of the long-suffering settlers were blighted once 
 more. 
 
 Before passing from this subject it may be as 
 well to mention that the devastating hosts which 
 visited the colony at this time left behind them 
 that which turned out to be a worse affliction than 
 themselves. They had depasited their larvse in the 
 ground, and, about the end of the June following, 
 countless myriads of young grasshoppers issued 
 forth to overrun the fields. They swarmed in 
 such masses as to be two, three, and — in some 
 places near water — even four inches deep. Along 
 the rivers they were found in heaps like sea-weed, 
 and the water was almost poisoned by them. Every 
 vegetable substance was devoured — the leaves and 
 even bark of trees were eaten up, the grain vanished 
 as fast as it appeared above ground, everything was 
 stripped to the bare stalk, and ultimately, when 
 they died in myriads, the decomposition of their 
 dead bodies was more offensive than their living 
 presence. 
 
 Thus the settlers were driven by stress of mis- 
 fortune once again to the plains of Pembina, and 
 obliged to consort with the Eed-meu and the half- 
 breeds, in obtaining sustenance for their families by 
 means of the gun, line, trap, and snare. 
 
218 THE BUFFALO RUNNEKS : A. TALK 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 inTLE Bn.L BECOMES A DIFFICDLTT. 
 
 We must now pass over another winter, during 
 which the Red River settlers had to sustain life as 
 they best might — acquiring, however, in doing so, 
 an expertness in the use of gun and trap and 
 fishing-line, and in all the arts of the savages, which 
 enabled them to act with more independence, and 
 to sustain themselves and their families in greatei 
 comfort than before. 
 
 Spring, with all its brightness, warmth, and sug- 
 gestiveness had returned to cheer the hearts of 
 men ; and, really, those who have never experienced 
 the long six-or-eight-months' winter of Rupert's 
 Land can form no conception of the feelings with 
 which the body — to say nothing of the soul — opens 
 up and expands itself, so to speak, in order to 
 receive and fully appreciate the sweet influences of 
 spring. 
 
 For one thiug, seven or eight months of cold, 
 biting, steely frost causes one almost to forget that 
 there ever was such a thing as summer heat, 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 219 
 
 summer scents, summer sounds, or summer skies. 
 The first thaw is therefore like the glad, unexpected 
 meeting of a dear old friend ; and the trumpet voice 
 of the first goose, the whirring wing of the first 
 duck, and the whistle of the first plover, sounds like 
 the music of the spheres to one's long unaccustomed 
 ears. Then the trickle of water gives one something 
 like a new sensation. It may be but a thread of 
 liquid no thicker than a pipe-stem faintly heard by 
 an attentive ear tinkling in the cold depths far 
 under the ice or snow, but it is liquid, not solid, 
 water. It is suggestive of motion. It had almost 
 been forgotten as a sound of the long past which 
 had forsaken the terrestrial ball for ever. 
 
 It does not take a powerful imagination to swell 
 a tiny stream to a rivulet, a river, a lake, a mighty 
 ocean. Shut your eyes for a moment, and, in 
 memory, the ice and snow vanish ; the streams flow 
 as in the days of old ; flowers come again to gladden 
 the eyes and — but why trouble you, good reader, 
 with all this ? We feel, sadly, that unless you have 
 tasted the northern winter no description, however 
 graphic, will enable you to drink in the spirit of the 
 northern spring. 
 
 About this time Ok^matan, the Cree chief, took it 
 into his head that he would go a-hunting. 
 
 This last word does not suggest to a dweller in the 
 wilderness that crossing of ploughed lands on horse- 
 back, and leaping of hedges, etc., which it conveys 
 
220 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 to the mind of an Englishman. The Cree chiefs 
 notion of spring-hunting was, getting into a birch- 
 bark canoe, with or without a comrade, and going 
 forth on the lakes and rivers of the wilderness with 
 plenty of powder and shot, to visit the native home 
 of the wild-goose, the wild-duck, the pelican, the 
 plover, and the swan. 
 
 For such a trip not much is essential. Besides 
 the gun and ammunition referred to, Okematan 
 carried a blanket, a hatchet, several extra pairs of 
 moccasins, a tin kettle in which to boil food, a fire- 
 bag for steel, flint, and tinder, with a small supply 
 of tobacco. 
 
 On hearing of his intention, Dan Davidson re- 
 solved to accompany him. Dan had by that time 
 associated so much with the chief that he had 
 learned to speak his language with facility. Indeed 
 nearly all the settlers who had a turn for languages 
 had by that time acquired a smattering more or less 
 of Indian and French. 
 
 " You see," said Dan to the chief, " there is not 
 much doing on the farm just now, and I want to 
 see a little of the country round about, so, if you 
 don't object to my company, I 'd like to go." 
 
 " The Cree chief will be proud to have the com- 
 pany of the Paleface chief," replied the Indian, with 
 grave courtesy. 
 
 Dan wanted to say " All rijj;ht," but was ignorant 
 of the Cree equivalent for that familiar phrase ; he 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 221 
 
 therefore substituted the more sober and correct, 
 " It is well." 
 
 " But," said he, " you must not call me a Pale- 
 face chief, for I am only an ordinary man in my 
 own land — what you would call one of the braves." 
 
 " Ok^matan is thought to have a good judgment 
 among his people," returned the Indian, " though he 
 has not the snows of many winters on his head, and 
 he thinks that if Dan'el had stayed in the wig- 
 wams of his people beyond the Great Salt Lake, he 
 would have been a chief." 
 
 "It may be so, Ok^matan, though I doubt it," 
 replied Dan, "but that is a point which cannot 
 now be proved. Meanwhile, my ambition at present 
 is to become a great hunter, and I want you to 
 teach me." 
 
 The chief, who was gratified by the way in 
 which this u-as put, gladly agreed to the proposal. 
 
 " There is another man who would like to go with 
 us," said Davidson. " My friend, Fergus M'Kay, is 
 anxious, I know, to see more of the lands of the 
 Indian, You have no objection to his going, I 
 suppose? — in another canoe of course, for three 
 would be too many in your small canoe." 
 
 Okematan had no objection. 
 
 " Three would not be too many in the canoe," he 
 said, " but two are better for hunting." 
 
 "Very good. But we will want a fourth to 
 make two in each canoe. Whom shall we invite ? 
 
222 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 " Ok^matan's counsel is," answered the chief, "to 
 take a brave who is young and strong and active ; 
 whose eye is quick and his hand steady ; whose 
 heart never comes into his throat when danger 
 faces him ; whose face does not grow pale at the 
 sight of approaching death ; whose heart is as the 
 heart of the grisly bear for courage, and yet tender 
 as the heart of a Paleface squaw; whose hand 
 can accomplish whatever his head plans, and whose 
 tongue is able to make a sick man smile." 
 
 Davidson smiled to himself at this description, 
 which the chief uttered with the sententious gravity 
 that would have characterised his speech and bear- 
 ing in a council of war. 
 
 " A most notable comrade, good Okematan ; but 
 where are we to find him, for I know nobody who 
 comes near to that description." 
 
 '* He dwells in your own wigwam," returned the 
 chief. 
 
 " In Prairie Cottage ? " exclaimed the other with 
 a puzzled air, " You can't mean my brother Peter, 
 surely, for he is about as grave as yourself." 
 
 " Okematan means the young brave who loves his 
 little brother." 
 
 " "What ! Archie Sinclair ? " exclaimed Dan, with 
 a surprised look. " I had no idea you had so high 
 an opinion of him." 
 
 "Okematan has seen much of Arch-ee: has 
 watched him. He sees that he thinks nothing of 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 223 
 
 himself ; that he thinks always for the sick brother, 
 Leetl Beel, and that he will yet be a great chief 
 among the Palefaces." 
 
 "Well, now you come to mention it, there is 
 something about Archie that puts him high above 
 other boys; and I suppose his unselfishness has 
 much to do with it ; but don't you think he 's too 
 young, and hardly strong enough ? " 
 
 " He is not young. He is fifty years old in 
 wisdom. He is very strong for his size, and he is 
 willing, which makes his strength double." 
 
 " But he will never consent to leave Little Bill," 
 said Dan. 
 
 "Okematan had fears of that," returned the 
 Indian, with, for the first time, a look of per- 
 plexity on his face. " If Arch-ee will not go with- 
 out Leetl Beel, Leetl Beel must go too." 
 
 It was found, on inquiry, that they were right 
 in their surmise. When the proposal was made to 
 Archie that afternoon by Dan, the boy's eyes 
 seemed to light up and dance in his head at the 
 prospect. Then the light suddenly went out, and 
 the dancing ceased. 
 
 " Why, what 's the matter, Archie ? " asked his 
 friend. 
 
 " Can't go. Impossible ! " said Archia 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Who 's to look after Little Bill, I should like to 
 know, if I leave him ? " 
 
224 THE BUFFALO EUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " Elspie, of course," said Dan, " and Elise, to say 
 nothing of Jessie, mother, and brother Peter." 
 
 Archie shook his head. 
 
 " No," he said, " no ! I can't go. Elspie is all 
 very well in her way, and so is Elise, but they can't 
 carry Little Bill about the fields and through the 
 bush on their backs ; and Peter wouldn't ; he 's too 
 busy about the farm. No — ever since mother died, 
 I've stuck to Little Bill through thick and thin. 
 So I won't go." 
 
 It was so evident that Archie Sinclair's mind was 
 made up and fixed, and also so obvious that a deli- 
 cate little boy would be a great encumbrance on a 
 hunting expedition that Dan thought of attempting 
 the expedient of winning Little Bill himself over to 
 his side. He had no difficulty in doing that, for 
 Billie was to the full as amiable and unselfish as 
 his brother. After a short conversation, he made 
 Billie promise to do his very best to induce Archie 
 to go with the hunters and leave him behind. 
 
 "For you know, Little Bill," said Dan in con- 
 clusion, and by way of consoling him, "although 
 nobody could take such good care of you as Archie, 
 or make up to you for him, Elspie would take his 
 place very well for a time ." 
 
 " yes, I know that well enough," said the poor boy 
 with sOme enthusiasm ; "Elspie is always very good 
 to me. You 've no notion how nice she is, Dan." 
 
 " Hm ! well, I have got a sort of a half notion. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 225 
 
 maybe," returned Dan with a peculiar look. " But 
 that 's all right, then. You '11 do what you can to 
 persuade Archie, and — there he is, evidently coming 
 to see you, so I '11 go and leave you to talk it over 
 with him." 
 
 Billie did not give his brother time to begin, but 
 accosted him on his entrance with — " I 'm so glad, 
 Archie, that you 've been asked to go on this hunt- 
 ing expe " 
 
 " ! you 've heard of it, then ? " 
 
 " Yes, and I want you to go, very very much, be- 
 cause because " 
 
 " Don't trouble yourself with becauses, Little Bill, 
 for I won't go. So there 's an end of it — unless," 
 he added, as if a thought had suddenly occurred 
 to him, " unless they agree to take you with theuL 
 They might do worse. I '11 see about that." 
 
 So saying, Archie turned about, left the room 
 as abruptly as he had entered it, and sought out 
 Okematan. He found that chief sitting in La 
 Certe's wigwam, involved in the mists of meditation 
 and tobacco smoke, gazing at Slowfoot. 
 
 That worthy woman — who, with her lord and 
 little child, was wont to forsake her hut in 
 spring, and go into the summer-quarters of a wig- 
 wam — was seated on the opposite side of a small 
 fire, enduring Ok^matan's meditative gaze, either 
 unconsciously or with supreme indifference. 
 
 "Hallo! Ok^" — thus irreverently did Archie 
 P 
 
226 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 address the chief — had any one else ventured to do 
 so, he might possibly have been scalped — " Hallo ! 
 Ok6, I 've been huntin' for you all round. You 're 
 worse to find than an arrow in the grass." 
 
 It may be said, here, that Archie had learned, 
 like some of the other settlers, a smattering of the 
 Cree language. How he expressed the above we 
 know not. We can only give the sense as he 
 would probably have given it in his own tongue. 
 
 "Ok^matan's friends can always find him," an- 
 swered the Indian with a grave but pleased look. 
 
 " So it seems. But I say, Ok4, I want to ask a 
 favour of you. Dan Davidson tells me you want 
 me to go a-hunting with you. Well, I 'm your man 
 if you'll let me take Little Bill with me. Will 
 you?" 
 
 " Leetl Beel is not strong," objected the Indian. 
 
 " True, but a trip o' this sort will make him strong 
 perhaps. Anyhow, it will make him stronger." 
 
 ** But for a sick boy there is danger," said the 
 chief. "If Arch-ee upsets his canoe in a rapid, 
 Arch-ee swims on shore, but Leetl Beel goes to 
 the bottom." 
 
 "Not as long as Arch-ee is there to hold him 
 up," returned the boy. 
 
 " Waugh ! " exclaimed the Indian. 
 
 " Humph ! " remarked the boy. " What d' ye mean 
 by 'Waugh,' Ok6?" 
 
 "Ok^matan means much that it is not in the 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 227 
 
 power of the tongue to tell," replied the Indian 
 with increasing gravity ; and as the gravity in- 
 creased the cloudlets from his lips became more 
 voluminous. 
 
 "Arch-ee hopes, nevertheless, that the tongue 
 of Ok^ may find power to tell him a little of what 
 he tliinks." 
 
 This being in some degree indefinite, the chief 
 smoked in silence for a minute or xwo, and gazed 
 at Slowfoot with that dreamy air which one as- 
 sumes when gazing into the depths of a suggestive 
 fire. Apparently inspiration came at last — whether 
 from Slowfoot or not we cannot tell — for he turned 
 solemnly to the boy. 
 
 " Eain comes," he said, " and when sick men get 
 wet they grow sicker. Carrying-places come, and 
 when sick men come to them they stagger and fall. 
 Frost often comes in spring, and when sick men get 
 cold they die. Waugh ! " 
 
 "Humph!" repeated the boy again, with a 
 solemnity quite equal to that of the Eed-man. 
 •'When rain comes I can put up an umbrella — 
 an umbrella. D' you know what that is ? " 
 
 The Indian shook his head. 
 
 "Well it's a — a thing — a sort of little tent — a 
 wigwam, you know, with a stick in the middle to 
 hold on to and put it up. D' you understand ? " 
 
 An expression of blank bewilderment, so to speak, 
 settled on tlie chief's visage, and the lights of 
 
228 THE BUFFALO RUNNEES : A TALE 
 
 intelligence went out one by one until he presented 
 an appearance which all but put the boy's gravity 
 to flight. 
 
 " Well, well, it *s of no use my tryin' to explain 
 it," he continued. " 1 11 show it to you soon, and 
 then you '11 understand." 
 
 Intelligence began to return, and the chief looked 
 gratified. 
 
 " What you call it ? " he asked — for he was of an 
 inquiring disposition — " a bum-rella ? " 
 
 "No, no," replied the other, seriously, "an um- 
 hrella. It 's a clever contrivance, as you shall see. 
 So, you see, I can keep the rain off Little Bill when 
 he 's in the canoe, and on shore there are the trees, 
 and the canoe itseK turned bottom up. Then, at 
 carryin' places, I can carry Little Bill as well as 
 other things. He 's not heavy and doesn't struggle, 
 so we won't leave him to stagger and fall. As to 
 frost — ^have we not hatchets, and are there not dead 
 trees in the forest ? Frost and fire never walk in 
 company, so that Little Bill won't get cold and die, 
 for we '11 keep him warm — waugh ! " 
 
 When human beings are fond of each other dis- 
 agreement seldom lasts long. Ok^matan had taken 
 so strong a fancy to Archie that he felt it impossible 
 to hold out ; therefore, being a man of strong common 
 sense, he did not attempt the impossible. 
 
 Thus it came to pass that, two days later, a couple 
 of birch-bark canoes were launched on the waters 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 229 
 
 of Eed Eiver, with Dan Davidson in the stern of 
 one and Fergus M'Kay acting as his bowman. 
 Ok^matan took the stern of the other, while 
 Archie Sinclair wielded the bow-paddle, and Little 
 Bill was placed in the middle on a comfortable green 
 blanket with the celebrated "bum-rella" erected 
 over him to keep off, not the rain, but, the too 
 glorious sunshina 
 
230 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 AM AnSFIOIOUS BEGINNINa AND SUSFICIOTTB TSSWHa. 
 
 Let loose in the wilderness! How romantic, 
 how inexpressibly delightful, that idea seems to some 
 minds ! Ay, even when the weight of years begins 
 to stiffen the joints and slack the cords of life the 
 memory of God's great, wild, untrammelled, beauti- 
 ful wilderness comes over the spirit like a refresh- 
 ing dream and restores for a time something like 
 the pulse of youth. 
 
 We sometimes think what a joy it would be if 
 youth could pass through its blessings with the 
 intelligent experience of age. And it may be that 
 this is to be one of the joys of the future, when 
 man, redeemed and delivered from sin by Jesus 
 Christ, shall find that the memory of the sorrows, 
 sufferings, weaknesses of the past shall add incon- 
 ceivably to the joys of the present. It may be so. 
 Judging from analogy it does not seem presumptuous 
 to suppose and hope that it will be so. 
 
 "Sufficient unto the day," however, is the joy 
 tbereot 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 23l 
 
 When the two canoes pushed off and swept 
 rapidly over the fair bosom of Red Eiver, the heart 
 of Archie Sinclair bounded with a feeling of exult- 
 ant joy which it would have been very hard indeed 
 to convince him was capable of increase, while the 
 bosom of his invalid brother was filled with a sort 
 of calm serenity which constituted, in his opinion 
 at the time being, a quite sufficient amount of 
 felicity. 
 
 "When we add that the other hunters were, in their 
 several ways, pretty much in the same condition as 
 the boys, we have said enough to justify the remark 
 that their circumstances were inexpressibly delight- 
 ful 
 
 Proceeding some distance up stream they finally 
 diverged into a minor tributary which led to 
 waters that were swarming with water-fowl and 
 other game. 
 
 " This is a grand burst. Little Bill," said Archie, 
 as he plied his paddle vigorously, and glanced over 
 his shoulder at the invalid behind him. 
 
 " Prime ! " answered Billie. " Isn't it ? " he added, 
 with a backward glance at Ok^matan. 
 
 "Waugh!" replied the reticent savage. 
 
 "Ay 'Waugh!' that's all you'll get out of him 
 when he's puzzled," said Archie; "though what 
 he means by it is more than I know. You must 
 speak respectable English to a Red-skin if you want 
 to convince him. Why, if he had understood you 
 
232 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 literally, you know — and obeyed you — he 'd have had 
 something to do immediately with the lock of his 
 gun." 
 
 "1 have often wondered, Archie," returned his 
 brother with a languid smile, " what a lot you 
 manage to say sometimes with nothing in it." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! — ho ! ho ! what a wag you 're becom- 
 ing, Little Bill. But I thank ee for the compliment, 
 for you know it's only philosophers that can say a 
 an awful lot without a'most sayin* anything at alL 
 Look at Ok^ there, now, what a depth of stu- 
 pidity lies behind his brown visage ; what buckets- 
 ful of ignorance swell out his black pate, but he 
 expresses it all in the single word ' Waugh ! ' because 
 he 's a philosopher. If he was like La Certe, he 'd 
 jabber away to us by the hour of things he knows 
 nothin* about, and tell us long stories that are 
 nothin' less than big lies. I 'm glad you think me 
 a philosopher, Little Bill, for it takes all the philo- 
 sophy I 've got to keep me up to the scratch of goin' 
 about the world wi' you on my back. Why, I 'm a 
 regular Sindbad the Sailor, only I 'm saddled with 
 a young man o' the plains instead of an old man 
 of the sea. D'ee understand what I'm saying, 
 Ok^?" 
 
 The chief, who understood little more than that 
 his own name and that of La Certe were mentioned, 
 nodded his head gravely and allowed the corners 
 of his mouth to droop, which was his peculiar way 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 233 
 
 of smiling — a smile that might have been unintel- 
 ligible to his friends had it not been relieved and 
 interpreted by a decided twinkle in his eyes. 
 
 While they were conversing, the two canoes had 
 rounded a rocky point and swept out upon a 
 lake-like expanse in the river which was perfectly 
 smooth and apparently currentless. Several islets 
 studded its calm breast and were reflected m the 
 clear water. These were wooded to the water's 
 edge, and from among the sedges near their margin 
 several flocks of wild-fowl sprang up in alarm and 
 went off in fluttering confusion. 
 
 It chanced that just then a trumpet-like note was 
 heard overhead, as a flock of wild geese passed the 
 spot and came suddenly close within range of the 
 canoes which had been concealed from them by the 
 bushes that fringed the river. 
 
 Guns were seized at once by the bowmen in each 
 canoe, but Archie was smarter than Fergus. Before 
 the Highlander had got the weapon well into his 
 hands the boy fired and one of the flock fell into 
 the river with a heavy plunge. 
 
 Little Bill signalised the successful shot with a 
 high-toned cheer, and the Indian with a low-toned 
 " Waugh," while Fergus made a hurried and, there- 
 fore, bad shot at the scared flock. 
 
 " That wass a fery good shot, Archie," remarked 
 Fergus, as the canoes ranged up alongside of the 
 dead bird. 
 
234 THE BUFFALO EUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 "Yours was a very good one, too, Fergus," re- 
 turned the boy ; " only not quite straight." 
 
 The smile on the face of Ok^matan proved that 
 he understood the drift of the reply, and that this 
 was the style of humour he appreciated so highly 
 in his young friend. We civilised people may 
 wonder a little at the simplicity of the savage, but 
 when we reflect that the chief had been born 
 and bred among the solemnities of the wilderness, 
 and had been up to that time wholly unacquainted 
 with the humours and pleasantries that sometimes 
 accompany juvenile " cheek," our wonder may 
 perhaps be subdued. 
 
 " This would be a splendid place to camp for the 
 rest of the day," suggested Davidson, while they 
 rested on their paddles after the goose had been 
 secured. " We must lay in a small stock of fresh 
 provisions, you know, if we are to push on to-morrow 
 or next day to our hunting ground. What say you, 
 Ok^matan?" he added in Cree, turning to their 
 guide. 
 
 "The will of the Paleface chief is the wish of 
 Ok^matan. Let him speak." 
 
 " Well, then, I vote for encamping on the small 
 island over there, in the middle o' the lake — for it 's 
 far more like a lake than a river hereabouts — that 
 one over which the hawk is hovering." 
 
 " I vote for it too," said Archie. 
 
 « So do I," chimed in Little Bill 
 
OP THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 235 
 
 " I will be sayin' ditto to that," put in Fergus. 
 
 " Moreover," suggested Dan, " I vote for roasting 
 the goose at once." 
 
 "Ay, and eating him right away," said Archie. 
 As the invalid followed this up with a feeble cheer, 
 the proposal was carried into effect without delay. 
 
 The islet was low and flat, and so thickly covered 
 with bush that it afforded a most enticing spot for 
 a night-encampment. There was also plenty of 
 dead wood on it, with which to replenish the fire, 
 and various peeps through sundry openings afforded 
 exquisite views of woodland and river with which 
 to charm the eyes. Over all, the sun was pouring 
 his noontide rays in a glorious flood. 
 
 We need not waste time in going into the details 
 of the feast that followed : how the goose was delight- 
 fully plump and tender — especially tender to teeth 
 that would have scarcely observed the difference if 
 it had been tough — how, in addition to the goose, 
 they had wild-ducks enough — shot earlier in the 
 day — to afford each one a duck to himself, leaving 
 a brace over, of which Ok^matan ate one, as well 
 as his share of the goose, and seemed to wish that 
 he might eat the other, but he didn't, for he restrained 
 himself; how they drank tea with as much gusto 
 and intemperance as if it had been a modern " after- 
 noon " ; and how, after all was over, the Eed-man 
 filled the pipe-head on the back of his iron tomahawk 
 and began to smoke with the air of a man who 
 
236 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 meant business and regarded all that had gone before 
 as mere child's-play. 
 
 The afternoon was well advanced when the feast 
 was concluded, for appetites in the wilderness are 
 not easily or soon satisfied. 
 
 " I feel tight," said Billie with a sigh and some- 
 thing of pathos in his tone, when he at last laid 
 down his'knife — we cannot add fork, for they scorned 
 such implements at that time. 
 
 "That's right, Little Bill," said Archie, "try 
 another leg or wing — now, don't shake your head. 
 We *ve come on this trip a-purpose to make you fat 
 an' strong. So you must — here, try this drum-stick. 
 It 's only a little one, like yourself, Billie." 
 
 "True, Archie, but I'm too little to hold it. I 
 feel like an egg now." 
 
 " Hallo ! Okd, are you overcome already ? " asked 
 Archie. 
 
 "The sun sinks to rest at night and the birds 
 go to sleep. If we intend to hunt we must begin 
 now." 
 
 "It's always the way," returned the boy with an 
 air of discontent; "whenever a fellow gets into a 
 state of extreme jollity there 's sure to be something 
 bothersome to come and interrupt us, Obfusticate 
 your faculties with some more smoke, Ok^, till 
 Billie and I finish our tea. We can't shoot with 
 half-empty stomachs, you know." 
 
 " They must be three-quarters full by this time — 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 237 
 
 whatever," remarked Fergus, wiping his clasp-knife 
 on the grass. 
 
 Just then, Dan Davidson, who had gone to explore 
 the islet, returned with the information that some 
 hunters must have recently visited the same place, 
 for he had discovered the remains of an encampment 
 at the extreme eastern side, which looked as if it 
 had been recently occupied, for bones of wild-fowl 
 were scattered about, the meat on which was neither 
 dried nor decayed. 
 
 On hearing this, Ok^matan rose quickly, put out 
 his pipe, and stuck the tomahawk in his belt. The 
 sluggish good-natured air of contentment with which 
 he had been smoking vanished ; the half-sleepy eyes 
 opened, and a frown rested on his brow as he said, 
 shortly — 
 
 " Ok^matan goes to look." 
 
 " May I go with you ? " asked Dan. 
 
 " No. Ok^matan goes alone. It is known that a 
 band of Saulteaux have been seen. They are roused 
 just now by the actions of the great white chief and 
 the words of my Nation. Eest here till I come. 
 Go on eating. If they are here they may be watch- 
 ing us now." 
 
 " D' ee hear that. Little Bill ? You 've got to go 
 on eating," said Archie. " Our guide commands it. 
 If you disobey, the rascally Saulteaux will come 
 down upon us somehow." 
 
 But Archie's light-hearteduess was not shared by 
 
238 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 his older companions. They knew too well that 
 the disturbed state of the country at the time, and 
 especially the ill-will engendered between the Crees 
 and Saulteaux by the ill-advised action of Lord 
 Selkirk's agents, rendered an explosion not impro- 
 bable at any time, and a certain feeling of disappoints 
 ment came over them when they reflected that the 
 hunting expedition, which they had entered on with 
 so much enthusiastic hope, might perhaps be brought 
 to an abrupt close. 
 
 " If there 's to be any fighting I shall only be in 
 your way," said the invalid in a tone in which there 
 was much of sadness, though none of fear. 
 
 " Not a bit of it, Little Bill," returned Dan, quickly. 
 " You '11 be in nobody's way in the canoes. You 're 
 as light as a feather. If we had even to take to the 
 bush, Archie could run with you ; an' when he gets 
 tired, Fergus and I would think no more o' you than 
 a grasshopper." 
 
 "Iss it carryin' him you will be taalkin' of?" 
 said Fergus. " Ay, ay ! I would be forgettin' that 
 he wass on my back if I had him there." 
 
 As he spoke, the Indian returned to the camp 
 with the cat-like tread so characteristic of the 
 Red-man. 
 
 "A big band has been liere," he said. "They 
 slept on the island last night, and the signs show 
 that they do not come as friends." 
 
 " Are you sure of that ? " asked Dan. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 239 
 
 "Ok^matan is sure of nothing. Even the sun 
 may not rise to-morrow." 
 
 " Had we not better, then, return at once to the 
 Settlement, and tell what we have seen 1 " said Dan. 
 
 " If we did, the Saulteaux would see us and give 
 chase. Their canoes are big and have strong men 
 in them. They would overtake us soon and our 
 scalps would be swinging at their belts to-morrow." 
 
 " Not pleesant to think of — whatever," said Fergus. 
 
 " What, then, do you advise ? " asked Dan. " You 
 understand the ways of the wilderness, and we will 
 follow your lead." 
 
 The chief appeared to think for a few moments. 
 
 " We will remain where we are," he said ; " only 
 we will send the boys off in one of the canoes, as if 
 to shoot some ducks for us. The Saulteaux will 
 think that we are lazy, idle men, who like to lie in 
 camp and sleep or smoke while the boys hunt for us. 
 When night comes we will escape in the dark and 
 go down the river to warn the settlers." 
 
 " But what if they attack us before night comes 
 on ? " asked Dan. 
 
 "They will not do that," answered the Indian, 
 gravely. "They know that we are well supplied 
 with powder and shot. They know that some one 
 must lead in every attack, and that such leaders 
 would be doomed to death. Saulteaux do not love 
 death. They prefer life. They will not come till it 
 is daiL" 
 
240 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " Ha ! ha 1 " laughed Fergus, who seemed greatly 
 tickled with the latter part of the chiefs observation, 
 " f ery goot ! ho ! fery goot ! — they do not love death, 
 an' it iss life they will be preferrin'. Ay, ay ! It 
 iss the Heelandman that will be of much the same 
 opeenion, only, when fightin' hes got to be done, 
 he 's not afraid to do it in daylight." 
 
 " He may not be afraid, Fergus," said Dan, " yet 
 I suspect that the Ked-man's tactics are often the 
 wisest, for what would be the use of making an 
 attack in daylight, at the cost of several lives, when 
 the attack might be made quite as well, if not better, 
 at night, without the loss, perhaps, of any life at 
 all?" 
 
 " I will not be sayin'," returned Fergus, who was 
 of an argumentative disposition, "anything at all 
 about attackin' by day or by night I will only be 
 remarkin' that the Heelandman iss like the savitch 
 in that he prefers life to death." 
 
 " Come along to the fire, Fergus," said Dan, laugh- 
 ing ; " I will argue that out with you." 
 
 " It will be difi&cult to argue, then, for there iss 
 no argument in it at all. It is only a statement of 
 opeenion." 
 
 "Well, but surely it is possible to controvert 
 your opinion ! Besides, we are somewhat exposed 
 where we stand. Even an arrow might reach us 
 from the near bank." 
 
 "Never you fear. Tan. They will not be so 
 
OF THE RED MVER PLAINS. 241 
 
 foolish as to fire now, instead of attack at night. 
 They are sly — whatever." 
 
 While the two friends were thus conversing, the 
 Cree chief was arranging the smaller of the canoes 
 for the use of the young hunters — that is, he took 
 out all the lading, making it so light that it would 
 skim over the water like an egg-shell with the 
 slightest impulse of the paddla 
 
 "You'll have to put a big stone in the stern, 
 Ok^," said Archie, "to make up for Little Bill's 
 lightness " 
 
 " For your heaviness, you mean," interrupted the 
 invalid. 
 
 " No ; I mean what I say, Billie, for you are light- 
 headed as well as light-hearted — a sort o' human 
 balloon, ready to go up like a rocket at any time — 
 so that even an or'nary man like me weighs you 
 down. Besides, Ok^, he steers better than me and 
 I shoot better than him. Also, I like the hardest 
 work, so I always take the bow." 
 
 Arranging things according to directions, the 
 Indian held the canoe steady while the brothers 
 stepped carefully in — for they had learned from ex- 
 perience that the birch-bark canoe, besides being 
 easily broken, is apt to overturn on small provo- 
 cation. 
 
 "Let not Arch-ee go near the river-bank on 
 either side," said the chief in a warning voice, as he 
 was about to shove the frail bark out upon the 
 
 
 
242 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 glassy water. "The Saulteaux might catch him. 
 And let him not go far up or down stream. Let 
 him keep among the reeds round the island. There 
 are many ducks there. Shoot plenty, as if Arch-ee 
 had no suspicion — no fear of Indians." 
 
 " I say, Ok6," demanded the lad, with what was 
 meant for an overwhelming frown, " do you meaw 
 to hint that I have any fear of the Indians ? " 
 
 "Ok^matan has the belief that Arch-ee nevGk 
 knew fear at all," returned the chief, earnestly ; 
 "that he has the courage of the young buffalo- 
 bull." 
 
 " Well, I 'm not quite so sure o' that," returned 
 the boy, with a modest look. " I would not myself 
 put it quite so strong, you know. But you 're a 
 wise chief, and I hope you've got a lot of brothers 
 as wise as yourself. Good-bye, Ok^ — shove off. 
 Now, then, mind how you steer, Little Bill." 
 
Olf THE RKD BIVEK PLAI^'S. 243 
 
 CHAPTEK XXIL 
 
 dRCUMVBNTINa THB BED-SEIKS. 
 
 For some time the brothers paddled about the 
 sedgy shore of the small islet on which the camp 
 had been pitched, now setting np a flock of ducks 
 and then slipping into the heart of some reeds and 
 concealing themselves until a good chance was ob- 
 tained at a passing flock of geese. 
 
 Archie Sinclair soon laid in enough provision to 
 serve the party for a few meals, for his hand was 
 steady and his eye true. 
 
 " Little Bill," he said, looking back after one of 
 his successful shots, " you must take a shot now. 
 We will go right-about-face, and convert the bow 
 into the stern in the usual way. See, catch hold of 
 the gun." 
 
 " No, Arch-ee, as Ok^ calls you, I won't ; I 'm 
 quite content to look on, for your gun kicks like a 
 JVIexican mule. Besides, it 's easy work to steer, 
 and seeing you panting and toiling in the bow 
 makes it seem all the easier. Just you keep 
 blazin' away, old man. But, I say, where shall I 
 
244 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 steer to now ? I 'm tired o' steering among the 
 reeds. Let us push out into the clear water." 
 
 " You heard what Ok^ said," objected Archie ; 
 " we must keep well clear o' both shores." 
 
 " I know that," returned Billie, " but he did not 
 forbid us to try the reeds round the other islands ; 
 there 's a much bigger one, not a quarter of a mile 
 up stream. I think there are some beautiful sedges 
 there where geese are likely to live. I 'm sure I 
 would choose to live in such a place if I was a 
 goose." 
 
 " ! then, we must go, Little Bill, for I think it 
 would be hard to keep any one out of his native 
 home." 
 
 So saying, he dipped his paddle with vigour, and 
 the light bark shot swiftly over the glancing 
 water. 
 
 The sun was beginning to descend towards the 
 western horizon when they drew near to the island, 
 and several flocks of water-fowl had already sprung 
 alarmed from the reeds, when Archie caught sight 
 of a black-and-red-painted visage peering at him 
 from among the bushes. 
 
 The boy's heart seemed to bound into his throat 
 and his first impulse was to turn the canoe and fly, 
 but Archie's mind was quicker even than his hand 
 or eye. All he had ever heard or read of the cool 
 stoicism of the Eed-man seemed to flash across his 
 memory, and, with a violent effort, he crushed back 
 
ARCHIE OUTWITS THE REDSKIN.-Page 244. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 245 
 
 the shout that rose to his lips. He could not 
 indeed suppress the look of sudden surprise that 
 swept across his expressive face, but he cleverly 
 adapted it to circumstances. 
 
 " Look, look ! Little Bill," he exclaimed, eagerly, 
 pointing right over the Indian's head at a flock of 
 geese that opportunely appeared at the moment in 
 the far distance. " Crouch, Bill, lie low, 1 11 call 
 them. Steer a little more to the left and keep 
 her so." 
 
 Thereupon he began a vociferous imitation of 
 the sounds with which Indians are wont to call 
 to geese that may chance to be flying past at a 
 distance. The obedient Billie steered as directed, 
 and thus the canoe was slowly sheered off a little 
 from the shore. It was cleverly done. Whether 
 the savage was deceived or not we cannot tell, but 
 he showed no sign of intention to move or act, 
 though he was within easy range of the boys. 
 
 "Little Bill," said Archie, in a low voice, such 
 as one might use when anxious not to alarm 
 game, "can you do what you're bid cU once and 
 exactly ? " 
 
 " I can try," was the quiet answer. 
 
 "Well, then, try your best, Little Bill; for our 
 lives may depend on our action now. Keep your 
 eyes fixed on that flock o' geese as long as they 're 
 in sight. Don't look at the shore, whatever I do 
 or say. Look at anything you like, but not at the 
 
246 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 shore. There's a Eed-skin there. I've seen him 
 though he thiuks I haven't. Now, steer right 
 round and go back the way we have just come, only 
 keep always edging a little off-shore." 
 
 As he said this Archie raised himself from his 
 crouching attitude, laid down his gun and resumed 
 his paddle, and in his ordinary free-and-easy tones 
 exclaimed — 
 
 " We 've lost that chance, Little Bill — more 's the 
 pity." 
 
 " Never mind," answered Billie in the same tone, 
 being resolved to act his part well, " there 's lot 's 
 more where these came from. Better luck next 
 time. Where away now ? " 
 
 " Keep her just as you go, you 're far enough out 
 now. We should start some ducks here." 
 
 Thus speaking, and with the air of a leisurely 
 man enjoying himself — with infinite contentment 
 on his ruddy countenance, and with much concern 
 in his agitated soul — Archie took the canoe straight 
 past the very spot where the Indian lay concealed. 
 He felt that audacity was the safest line of action, 
 for he knew that if the savage meant mischief, to 
 pretend absolute ignorance of his existence would 
 be less likely to draw a shot than sudden flight — 
 which, however swiftly carried out, could by no 
 means equal the flight of a bullet. Besides, it was 
 of the utmost importance that he should reach the 
 encampment and report what he had seen without 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 247 
 
 the Indian becoming aware that he had been 
 discovered. 
 
 In order to effect his purpose, he not only re- 
 passed the hiding-place of the savage but actually- 
 shot and picked up another duck while still within 
 range of the enemy's gun. Then he directed his 
 brother to steer still more off the island, but very 
 slowly. 
 
 "We're in no hurry, you see, Little Bill; you 
 haven't looked at the shore, I hope ? " 
 
 " Never once." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! " laughed Archie in high glee at the 
 success of this his first experiment in backwoods 
 warfare ; " you 're a trump, Little Bill ! " 
 
 " I 'd rather be a trump than a trumpet, Archie. 
 If there are more Ked-skins about, laughing like 
 that will be sure to rouse them." 
 
 " Never fear, BiUie, my boy. You do as I tell ee. 
 We must keep up the game a bit longer yet. It 
 won't do to hurry back till the sun is lower, so we '11 
 go over to that small island there an* have a try for 
 another duck. There 's sure to be nobody on such 
 a small island as that. Afterwards we '11 drop down 
 in an off-hand, idle-like way to the encampment. 
 It '11 be natural to do this when the evenin's begin- 
 ning to set in, an' so we '11 stump them Ked-skins 
 at their own game. D' ee understand ? " 
 
 " Yes. You 're a clever chap, Archie." 
 
 In pursuance of this deeply laid plan, the brothers 
 
248 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALI 
 
 crossed over to the small islet referred to, and, after 
 apparently amusing themselves there for a short 
 time, dropped down stream iu a leisurely way, 
 reaching the encampment before the evening had 
 fairly set in. 
 
 A council of war was immediately held. 
 
 " You were right in your guess, Ok^matan," said 
 Davidson. "The reptiles will be down on us to- 
 night no doubt. What course does the Cree chief 
 advise ? " 
 
 " Ok^matan advises that the kettle be boiled, the 
 duck roasted, and a good big supper eaten." 
 
 "It iss fery pleasant advice, no doubt," said 
 Fergus with a broad and rather sarcastic grin, " but 
 it iss not warlike ! " 
 
 "It seems not a bad preparation for war, any- 
 how," said Dan ; " and what after that ? " 
 
 " The two boys will sleep and rest while food is 
 preparing," continued the chie£ " The moon will 
 set before we have done eating, and it will be very 
 dark. The Saulteaux will not attack while the light 
 lasts. When it is quite dark we will go." 
 
 "If we fix to leave and they chance to attack 
 at the same time, it iss meetin' them we will be, 
 Ok^raatan," said Fergus. 
 
 To this remark the Indian vouchsafed no reply. 
 
 " Well, well. Muster Okematan, it iss your own 
 business ; you will know best yourself. I will see 
 to stowin' away my supper — whatever." 
 
OF THE RED EIVER PLAINS. 249 
 
 By the time supper was over, the moou had 
 descended into a bank of black clouds on the 
 horizon, and profound darkness brooded over land 
 and water. It was a night such as an attacking 
 party would hail as being most suitable for its work, 
 and of course was proportionately unsuitable for 
 the attacked. The Indian chief displayed no more 
 concern about it than if nothing unusual were 
 pending. After supper, however, he directed that 
 the canoes should be launched and loaded. At the 
 same time he gathered together as much wood as he 
 could, and heaped it on the fire. 
 
 "You seem determined to give them plenty of 
 light to do their work," remarked Davidson. 
 
 " They will wait till our fire burns low," said the 
 chief, "By that time they will think we are 
 asleep, A sleeping foe is not dangerous. They will 
 come — slowly; step by step; with wide eyes 
 glancing from side to side, and no noise, sly as 
 foxes ; timid as squaws ! But by that time we 
 will be far on our way back to Eed Eiver ! " 
 
 " Ay — if we do not meet them comin' to attack 
 us," said Fergus. 
 
 " And how shaU we proceed ! " asked Dan. 
 
 " As we came," answered the chief, " Okematan, 
 with the two boys, will lead. Dan-ell au' Fergus 
 will follow. Come." 
 
 Led by their guide, the party passed out of the 
 firelight into the dense thicket by which the spot 
 
250 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 was encompassed almost completelji so that the 
 only visible sign of the encampment from outside 
 was the forks of flame and sparks which rose high 
 above the bushes. 
 
 On reaching the shore they found the two boys 
 holding the canoes, close to the laud. So intense 
 was the darkness that they could not see the boys 
 or canoes at all till close beside them. Without 
 uttering a word, or making a sound with their 
 moccasined feet, they stepped into the canoes, 
 pushed gently off, and glided, ghost-like, into the 
 vast obscurity. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 251 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 A MIDNIGHT OHASB, AND DAN IN EXTBEHITT. 
 
 For some time they advanced in absolute silence, 
 dipping their paddles so as to make no noise what- 
 ever; Dan following as close as possible in the 
 wake of the chief, for it was one of those nights 
 which people describe as being so dark that one 
 cannot see one's hand before one's face. 
 
 On reaching the lower end of the lake-like 
 expansion where the river narrowed suddenly and 
 the stream began to be felt, it was discovered that 
 the enemy was in advance of them — that, antici- 
 pating some such attempt at escape, they had sta- 
 tioned an ambush at the narrows to cut off their 
 retreat. 
 
 Archie was naturally the first to make this 
 discovery, being in the bow of the canoe. He 
 heard no sound, but suddenly there loomed out 
 of the darkness another canoe close to them — so 
 close that they were on the point of running into 
 it when the sharp-witted boy saw it, and, with an 
 adroit turn of his paddle prevented a collision. 
 
252 THE BUFFALO BUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 Then he ceased to paddle, and held his breath. 
 Not knowing what to do next he wisely did nothing, 
 but left matters to Ok^ and fate ! 
 
 As they passed, the steersman in the strange 
 canoe uttered something in a low tone. Evidently 
 he mistook them for his friends. 
 
 "Sh!" was Ok^matan's prompt reply — or the 
 Indian equivalent for that caution. 
 
 They glided silently and slowly past, but the 
 suspicion of the strange Indian had obviously been 
 aroused, for the paddles of his canoe were heard to 
 gurgle powerfully. Hearing this, Okematan made 
 a stroke that sent his canoe ahead like an arrow, 
 and Archie, who appreciated the situation, seconded 
 the movement. 
 
 " Stop ! " exclaimed the strange Indian, in the 
 Saulteaux tongue, but the Cree chief did not feel 
 the duty of obedience strongly upon him just then. 
 On the contrary, he put forth all his strength, but 
 quietly, for he remembered that Dan Davidson was 
 behind. 
 
 As there was now no need for concealment, the 
 pursuer uttered a shrill war-whoop which was im- 
 mediately answered and repeated until the woods 
 rang with the fiendish sound, while half-a-dozen 
 canoes dashed out from the banks on either side, 
 and sought to bar the river. 
 
 "Now, Arch-ee," said the Cree chief in a low 
 voice, " paddle for your Life and be a man 1 " 
 
OF THE RED KIVER PLAINS. 263 
 
 "I'll be two men, if you like, Ok^," answered 
 the boy, whose courage was of that type which 
 experiences something almost like desperate glee in 
 the presence of imminent danger. 
 
 The canoe, obedient to the double impulse and 
 the power of the current, was soon out of hearing 
 of the pursuers. 
 
 " ! if I only had a paddle I might help you," 
 said Little Bill eagerly. 
 
 " Yes, an' bu'st your biler, or explode your lungs, 
 or something o' that sort," said his brother. " No, 
 no, Little Bill; you sit there like a lord or an 
 admiral, an' leave men like Ok^ an' me to do all 
 the dirty work." 
 
 While he spoke thus flippantly it is but justice 
 to say that Archie was never more anxiously in 
 earnest in his life, and that he strained at his 
 paddle with a degree of energy that made him, 
 perhaps, more than equal to many an average man. 
 So that the canoe forged well ahead of the pursuers 
 and finally got to a part of the river where three 
 islets divided it into several channels, rendering 
 further pursuit in the dark useless if not impossible. 
 
 Their comrades, however, were not so fortunate. 
 Left behind by the sudden spurt of his leader, 
 Davidson and his companion exerted themselves to 
 overtake him, but the canoes of the enemy, which 
 were just too late to cut off the retreat of Ok^matan, 
 were in time to intercept the second canoe. In this 
 
i554 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 emergency Dan swerved aside, hoping to get to the 
 bank before the Saulteaux could discover his exact 
 whereabouts. His intentions were thwarted by the 
 want of caution in his companion, 
 
 " Iss it to the land ye are going ? " asked Fergus. 
 
 " Yes — it 's our only chance," whispered Dan. 
 
 " It iss my opeenion " murmured the High- 
 lander. 
 
 " Hush ! " ejaculated Dan. 
 
 But the caution came too late. A listening Eed- 
 skin overheard the sounds, and, with a sudden dash 
 was alongside of them. He did not, however, know 
 the vigour of the men with whom he had to deal 
 While he was in the very midst of a triumphant 
 war-whoop, Dan cut him over the head with the 
 paddle so violently that the instrument became 
 splinters, and the whoop ceased abruptly. At the 
 same time Fergus caught hold of the bow of the 
 enemy's canoe with an iron grasp, and, giving it a 
 heave that might have put Samson to shame, fairly 
 overturned it. 
 
 " Ye can wet your whustle now — whatever," he 
 mutt-ered. 
 
 As he spoke, the canoe ran with extreme violence 
 against the invisible bank. At the same moment 
 a random volley was fired from the canoes in rear. 
 Fear lest they should wound or kill a comrade 
 probably caused them to send the whizzing bullets 
 rather high, but for one instant the flame revealed 
 
6i THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 266 
 
 the position of the fugitives, and those who had 
 reserved their fire took better aim. 
 
 " Take to the bush, Fergus ! " cried Dan, as he 
 grasped his gun and leaped into the shallow water. 
 
 The Highlander stooped to lay hold of his weapon, 
 which lay in the bow of the canoe, just as another 
 volley was fired. The act was the means of saving 
 his life, for at least half-a-dozen bullets whizzed 
 close over his head. Before he could recover him- 
 self a strong hand grasped his neck and flung him 
 backwards. Probably a desperate hand-to-hand 
 fight would have ensued, for Fergus M'Kay had 
 much of the bone, muscle, and sinew, that is charac- 
 teristic of his race, but a blow from an unseen 
 weapon stunned him, and when his senses returned 
 he found himself bound hand and foot lying in the 
 bottom of a canoe. He could tell from its motion, 
 that it was descending the river. 
 
 Meanwhile Dan Davidson, under the impression 
 that his comrade was also seeking safety in the 
 bush, did his best to advance in circumstances of 
 which he had never yet had experience, for, if the 
 night was dark on the open bosom of the river, it 
 presented the blackness of Erebus in the forest 
 Dan literally could not see an inch in advance of 
 his own nose. If he held up his hand before his 
 face it was absolutely invisible. 
 
 In the haste of the first rush he had crashed 
 through a mass of small shrubbery with which the 
 
266 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 bank of the stream was lined. Then on passing 
 through that he tumbled head over heels into a 
 hollow, and narrowly missed breaking his gun. 
 Beyond that he was arrested by a tree with such 
 violence that he fell and lay for a minute or two 
 half-stunned. While lying thus, experience began 
 to teach him, and common sense to have fair play. 
 
 " A little more of this," he thought, " and I 'm a 
 dead man. Besides, if it is difficult for me to 
 traverse the forest in the dark, it is equally difficult 
 for the savages. My plan is to feel my way step 
 by step, with caution. That will be the quietest 
 way, too, as well as the quickest. You 're an excited 
 fool, Dan!" 
 
 When a man begins to think, and call himself a 
 fool, there is some hope of him. Gathering himself 
 up, and feeling his gun all over carefully, to make 
 sure that it had not been broken, he continued to 
 advance with excessive caution, and, in consequence, 
 was ere long a considerable distance from the banks 
 of the river, though, of course, he had but a hazy 
 idea as to what part of the country he had attained, 
 or whither he was tending. 
 
 As the first excitement of flight passed away, 
 Dan began to feel uneasy prickings of conscience 
 at having so hastily sought safety for himself, 
 though, upon reflection, he could not accuse him- 
 self of having deserted his comrades. Okematan 
 and the boys, he had good reason to believe — at 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 257 
 
 least to hope — had succeeded in evading the foe, 
 and Fergus he supposed had landed with himself, 
 and was even at that moment making good his 
 escape into the forest. To find him, in the circum- 
 stances, he knew to be impossible, and to shout by 
 way of ascertaining his whereabouts he also knew 
 to be useless as well as dangerous, as by doing so he 
 would make his own position known to the enemy. 
 
 He also began to feel certain pricking sensations 
 in his right leg as well as in his conscience. The 
 leg grew more painful as he advanced, and, on exa- 
 mination of the limb by feeling, he found, to his 
 surprise, that he had received a bullet-wound in the 
 thigh. Moreover he discovered that his trousers 
 were wet with blood, and that there was a con- 
 tinuous flow of the vital fluid from the wound. 
 This at once accounted to him for some very un- 
 usual feelings of faintness which had come over 
 him, and which he had at first attributed to his 
 frequent and violent falls. 
 
 The importance of checking the haemorrhage was 
 so obvious, that he at once sat down and did his 
 best to bind up the wound with the red cotton 
 kerchief that encircled his neck. Having ac- 
 complished this as well as he could in the dark, 
 he resumed his journey, and, after several hours of 
 laborious scrambling, at last came to a halt with a 
 feeling of very considerable, and to him unusual, 
 exhaustion. 
 
 B 
 
258 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 Again he sat down on what seemed to be a bed of 
 moss, and began to meditate. 
 
 " Impossible to go further ! " he thought. " I feel 
 quite knocked up. Strange ! I never felt like this 
 before. It must have been the tumbles that did it, 
 or it may be that I 've lost more blood than I sup- 
 pose. I '11 rest a bit now, and begin a search for 
 Fergus by the first streak of dawn." 
 
 In pursuance of this intention, the wearied man 
 lay down, and putting his head on a mossy pillow, 
 fell into a profound sleep, which was not broken till 
 the sun was high in the heavens on the following 
 day. 
 
 "When at last he did awake, and attempted to sit 
 up, Dan felt, to his surprise and no small alarm, 
 that he was as weak as a child, that his leg lay in a 
 pool of coagulated gore, and that blood was still 
 slowly trickling from the wound in his thigh. 
 
 Although disposed to lie down and give way to 
 an almost irresistible tendency to slumber, Dan 
 was too well aware that death stared him in the face 
 to succumb to the feeling without a struggle. He 
 therefore made a mighty effort of will ; sat up ; 
 undid the soaking bandage, and proceeded to ex- 
 temporise a sort of tourniquet with it and a short 
 piece of stick. 
 
 The contrivance, rude as it was, proved effectual, 
 for it stopped the bleeding, but Dan could not help 
 feeling that he had already lost so much blood that 
 
OF THE uiCD RIVER PLAINS. 259 
 
 he was reduced almost to the last stage of exhaus- 
 tion, and that another hour or two would probably 
 see the close of his earthly career. Nothing, per- 
 haps, could have impressed this truth upon him so 
 forcibly as his inability to shout when he tried to 
 do so. 
 
 In the faint hope that Fergus might be within 
 call, he raised his voice with the full knowledge 
 that he ran the risk of attracting a foe instead of a 
 comrade. The sound that complied with the im- 
 pulse of his will would have made him laugh if he 
 had not felt an amazing and unaccountable dis- 
 position to cry. Up to that period of his life — 
 almost from his earliest babyhood — Dan Davidson's 
 capacious chest had always contained the machinery, 
 and the power, to make the nursery or the welkin 
 ring with almost unparalleled violence. Now, the 
 chest, though still capacious, and still full of the 
 machinery, seemed to have totally lost the power, 
 for the intended shout came forth in a gasp and 
 ended in a sigh. 
 
 It was much the same when he essayed to rise. 
 His legs almost refused to support him ; everything 
 appeared to swim before his eyes, and he sank 
 down again listlessly on the ground. For the first 
 time, perhaps, in his life, the strong man had the 
 conviction effectually carried home to him that he 
 was mortal, and could become helpless. The ad- 
 vantage of early training by a godly mother became 
 
260 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 apparent in this hour of weakness, for his first im- 
 pulse was to pray for help, and the resulting efTect 
 — whether men choose to call it natural or super- 
 natural — was at least partial relief from anxiety, 
 and that degree of comfort which almost invariably 
 arises from a state of resignation. 
 
 After a brief rest, the power of active thought 
 revived a little, and Dan, again raising himself on 
 one elbow, tried to rouse himself to the necessity of 
 immediate action of some sort if his life was to be 
 saved. 
 
 The spot on which he had lain, or rather fallen 
 down, on the preceding night happened to be the 
 fringe of the forest where it bordered on an ex- 
 tensive plain or stretch of prairie land. It was 
 surrounded by a dense growth of trees and bushes, 
 except on the side next the plain, where an opening 
 permitted of an extensive view over the undulating 
 country. No better spot could have been chosen, 
 even in broad daylight, for an encampment, than 
 had been thus fallen upon by the hunter in the 
 darkness of night. 
 
 But the poor man felt at once that this advantage 
 could be of no avail to him, for in the haste of 
 landing he had thought only of his gun, and had 
 left his axe, with the bag containing materials for 
 making fire, in the canoe. Fortunately he had not 
 divested himself of his powder-horn or shot-pouch, 
 so he was noc without the means ot procuring food, 
 
OF THE EED RIVER PLAINS. 261 
 
 but of what use could these be, he reflected, if he 
 had not strength to use them ? 
 
 Once again, in the energy of determination, he 
 rose up and shouldered his gun with the intention 
 of making his way across the plain in the hope that 
 he might at all events reach the wigwam of some 
 wandering Indian, but he trembled so from ex- 
 cessive weakness that he was obliged to give up 
 the attempt, and again sank down with feelings 
 akin to despair. 
 
 To add to his distress, hunger now assailed him 
 so violently that he would have roasted and eaten 
 his moccasins — as many a starving man had done 
 before him, though without much benefit — but even 
 this resource was denied him for the want of fire, 
 and raw moccasin was not only indigestible but 
 uneatable ! 
 
 Still, as it seemed his only hope, he gathered a 
 few dry twigs and sticks together, drew the charge 
 from his gun and sought to kindle some mossy 
 lichen into flame by flashing the priming in the pan 
 of the lock. Eecent rains had damped everything, 
 however, and his attempts proved abortive. Fortu- 
 nately the weather was warm, so that he did not 
 sufier from cold. 
 
 While he was yet labouring assiduously to ac- 
 complish his purpose, the whir of wings was heard 
 overhead. Glancing quickly up, he perceived that 
 a small flock of willow-grouse had settled on the 
 
262 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 bushes close to him. He was not surprised, though 
 very thankful, for these birds were numerous 
 enough and he had heard them flying about from 
 time to time, but that they should settle down so 
 near was exceedingly opportune and unexpected. 
 
 With eager haste and caution he rammed home 
 the charge he had so recently withdrawn — keeping 
 his eyes fixed longingly on the game all the time. 
 That the birds saw him was obvious, for they kept 
 turning their heads from side to side and looking 
 down at him with curiosity. By good fortune 
 grouse of this kind are sometimes very stupid as 
 well as tame. They did not take alarm at Dan's 
 motions, but craned their necks and seemed to eye 
 him with considerable curiosity. Even when he 
 tried to take aim at them their general aspect 
 suggested that they were asking, mentally, " What 
 next?" 
 
 But Dan found that he could not aim. The point 
 of the gun wavered around as it might have done in 
 the hands of a child. 
 
 With a short — almost contemptuous — laugh at 
 his ridiculous incapacity, Dan lowered the gun. 
 
 Stupid as they were, the laugh was too much for 
 the birds. They spread their wings. 
 
 "Now or never!" exclaimed Dan aloud. He 
 pointed his gun straight at the flock ; took no aim, 
 and fired ! 
 
 The result was that a plump specimen dropped 
 
OF THE RED EIVER PLAINS. 263 
 
 almost at his feet. If he had been able to cheer he 
 would have done so. But he was not, so he thanked 
 God, fervently, instead. 
 
 Again the poor man essayed to kindle a fire, but 
 in trying to do this with gunpowder he made the 
 startling discovery that he had only one more 
 charge in his powder-horn. He therefore re-loaded 
 his gun, wiped out the pan and primed with care, 
 feeling that this might be the last thing that would 
 stand between him and starvation. It might have 
 stood between him and something worse — but of 
 that, more hereafter. 
 
 Starving men are not particular. That day Dan 
 did what he would have believed to have been, in 
 him, an impossibility — he drank the blood of the 
 bird and ate its flesh raw ! 
 
 " After all," thought he, while engaged in this 
 half-cannibalistic deed, " what 's the difference be- 
 tween raw grouse and raw oyster ? " 
 
 It is but right to add that he did not philosophise 
 much on the subject. Having consumed his meal, 
 he lay down beside his gun and slept the sleep of 
 the weary. 
 
264 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALK 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A DESFEBATB SITUATION'. 
 
 Awaking next morning much refreshed, but with 
 a keen appetite for more grouse, Dan Davidson sat 
 up and reflected. He feU that, although refreshed, 
 the great weakness resulting from excessive loss of 
 blood still rendered him almost helpless, and he 
 knew that making new blood was a process that 
 required good feeding and considerable time. What, 
 then, was to be done ? 
 
 He had scarcely asked himself the question when 
 a rustle in the bushes near him caused him to look 
 quickly round and seize his gun. But the noise 
 was not repeated, and nothing could be seen to 
 justify alarm. Still Dan felt that the sound jus- 
 tified caution; he therefore kept his gun handy, 
 and loosened in its sheath the scalping-knife which 
 he always carried in his belt — for eating purposes, 
 not for scalping. 
 
 Thus he sat for nearly an hour with an uncom- 
 fortable sensation that danger of some sort lurked 
 near him, until he almost fell asleep. Then, rousing 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 265 
 
 himself he proceeded to breakfast on the bones and 
 scraps of the previous night's supper. 
 
 While thus engaged he tried to make up his mind 
 what course he ought to pursue — whether to remain 
 where he was until his friends should have time to 
 find him — for he felt sure that Ok^matan would 
 escape and reach the Settlement, in which case a 
 search for him would certainly be set on foot — or 
 whether he should make a desperate effort to stagger 
 on, and ultimately, if need be, creep towards home. 
 The pain of his wound was now so great as to render 
 the latter course almost impossible. He therefore 
 resolved to wait and give his friends time to in- 
 stitute a search, trusting to another shot at willow- 
 grouse for a supply of food. 
 
 He had scarcely made up his mind to this plan 
 when the rustling in the bushes was repeated again. 
 Seizing his gun, which he had laid down, Dan faced 
 round just in time to see the hindquarters and tail 
 of a large grey wolf disappearing in the bushes. 
 
 To say that he felt considerable alarm when he 
 saw this is not to stamp him with undue timidity, 
 for he would have rejoiced to have had the wolf in 
 his clutches, then and there, and to engage in single 
 combat with it, weak though he was. What troubled 
 him was his knowledge of the fact that the mean-- 
 spirited and sly brute was noted for its apparent 
 sagacity in finding out when an intended victim 
 was growing too feeble to show fight — either from 
 
266 THE BUFFALO KUNNEKS : A TALE 
 
 wounds or old age — and its pertinacity and patience 
 in biding the time when an attack could be made 
 with safety. 
 
 Had this horrible creature discerned, by some 
 occult knowledge, that the sands in his glass were 
 running low ? Was it to be his fate to face his 
 glaring murderer until he had not vital power left 
 to grapple with it, or to guard his throat from its 
 hideous fangs 1 These were questions which forced 
 themselves upon him, and which might well have 
 caused the stoutest heart to shrink from the threat- 
 ened and terrible doom. 
 
 In the strength of his emotion he had almost fired 
 at a venture at the spot where the brute had dis- 
 appeared ; but luckily the remembrance that it was 
 his last charge of ammunition came to him in time, 
 and he had the resolution to restrain himself even 
 when his finger was on the trigger. 
 
 Dan now perceived that he must not venture to 
 remain on the spot where he had passed the night, 
 because, being surrounded on three sides by shrub- 
 bery, it afforded his grisly foe an opportunity to 
 approach from any quarter and spring on him 
 tlie moment he should find him off his guard. 
 
 There was a natural bank of earth out on the 
 plain about three or four hundred yards off, with 
 neither trees nor bushes near it. The bank was not 
 more than four feet high, and the top slightly over- 
 hung its base, so that it afforded some slight protec- 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 267 
 
 tion from the sun. To this spot Dan resolved to 
 betake himself, and immediately began the journey — 
 for a journey it surely was, seeing that the hunter 
 had to do it on hands and knees, lifting his gun and 
 pushing it before him, each yard or so, as he went 
 along. The inflammation of his wound rendered 
 the process all the slower and more painful, and a 
 burning thirst, which he had no means of slaking, 
 added to his misery. 
 
 By the time he had passed over the short distance, 
 he was so much exhausted that he fell at the foot 
 of the bank almost in a swoon. 
 
 Evidently the wolf imagined that its time had 
 now come, for it sneaked out of the wood when the 
 hunter fell, and began cautiously to advance. But 
 Dan saw this, and, making a desperate effort, arose 
 to a sitting posture ; leaned his back against the 
 bank, and placed his gun across his knees. 
 
 Seeing this, the wolf sat down on its haunches, 
 and coolly began to bide its time. 
 
 " Ha ! you brute ! " muttered Dan, " I could easily 
 stop your mischief if my strength wasn't all gone. 
 As it is, I dare not give you my last shot till you 
 are so close that you can look down the barrel o' 
 my gun." 
 
 From this point a watch of endurance began on 
 both sides — the brute, of course, unaware of the 
 deadly weapon which its intended victim held, and 
 the man fully aware of the fact that if he should 
 
268 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 venture to lie down and sleep, his doom would be 
 sealed. 
 
 It is impossible for any one who has not had 
 trial of similar experiences to imagine the rush of 
 thought and feeling that passed through the brain 
 and breast of Dan Davidson during the long dreary 
 hours of that terrible day. Sometimes he fell into 
 a half -dreamy condition, in which his mind leaped 
 over forests and ocean to bonnie Scotland, where his 
 days of childhood were spent in glorious revelry on 
 her sunny banks and braes. At other times the 
 memory of school-days came strong upon him, when 
 play and lessons, and palmies were all the cares he 
 had ; or, thoughts of Sabbaths spent with his mother 
 —now in the church, now in the fields, or at the 
 cottage door learning Bible stories and hearing 
 words of wisdom and the story of the crucified One 
 from her lips. Then the scene would change, and 
 he was crossing the stormy ocean, or fighting with 
 Eed-skins, or thundering after the buffalo on the 
 wide prairies. But through all the varied fabric of 
 his thoughts there ran two distinct threads, one 
 golden, the other black. The first we need hardly 
 say was Elspie M'Kay ; the second was that awful 
 wolf which sat there glaring at him with a hang- 
 dog expression, with the red tongue hanging out of 
 its mouth, and from which he never for a moment 
 allowed his eyes to wander. 
 
 As evening began to draw on, the situation 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. ^69 
 
 became terrible, for Dan felt that the little strength 
 he had left was fast sinking. The efforts by which 
 he had succeeded in rousing himself in the earlier 
 parts of the day were failing of their effect. Then 
 a strange and sudden change occurred, for, while 
 he knew that the end of the trial was rapidly 
 approaching, he began to experience a feeling of 
 indifference — the result, no doubt, of excessive 
 weariness — and almost a wish that all was over. 
 Nevertheless, whenever that wolf moved, or changed 
 its position ever so little, the instinct of self- 
 preservation returned in full force, and Dan, pull- 
 ing himself together, nrepared to defend himself 
 desperately to the last gasp. 
 
 While the two were thus glaring at each other, 
 Dan was startled and thoroughly aroused from his 
 irresistible lethargy by a loud report. 
 
 Next moment he saw the wolf extended dead 
 upon the plain. 
 
270 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 CHAPTEE XXV. 
 
 ADVE^•TURES OP FEBQITS AND HIS FRIENDS. 
 
 In order to account for the sudden death recorded 
 in the last chapter, we must turn aside to follow for 
 a little the fortunes of Fergus M'Kay. 
 
 It will be remembered that the vigorous High- 
 lander, after overturning the Indian canoe and 
 running his own canoe on shore, was seized by 
 the neck, while in the act of reaching forward to 
 grasp his gun, and captured. 
 
 Now, Fergus was of an unusually knowing and 
 wily nature. He possessed what some would call 
 more than his share of readiness in action and 
 sagacity in counsel, though his ordinary reticence 
 and sluggishness of manner concealed those qualities 
 to some extent. 
 
 Being endued, also, with more than the average 
 allowance of that bodily strength for which his 
 countrymen are famous, his first impulse was to 
 exert his powers and show fight, but he had beftu 
 taken suddenly at a disadvantage and thrown on 
 his back into the bottom of the canoe, and at least 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 271 
 
 three pair of very muscular hands grasped his throat 
 and other parts of his person. That they were 
 strong hands he felt; that they belonged to big 
 strong savages he had every reason to believe — 
 though it was too dark to see — and that scalping- 
 knives and tomahawks were handy to them he knew 
 to be highly probable. He therefore promptly made 
 up his mind as to his course of action, and at once 
 began to play his part. Making a very feeble 
 resistance — just enough, in short, to deceive — he 
 begged for mercy in soft, rather tremulous and 
 very abject tones. True, his language was English 
 — at least that sort of English to which the moun- 
 taineers of Scotland are addicted — but he trusted 
 to the tone and manner of his speech, not to the 
 sense, which Saulteaux, he knew, could not be 
 expected to understand. 
 
 " Oh ! then, don't be hard on me. Don't kill me, 
 goot shentlemen," he whined. " It iss a poor worth- 
 less thing I am — whatever ! " 
 
 These remarks, and a few similar appeals for 
 mercy, were accompanied with many dismal groans, 
 as his captors were dragging him up the bank of 
 the stream. Pausing for a moment, one of them 
 produced a cord, with which they proceeded to 
 bind their cowardly and unresisting prisoner. 
 
 Whether the Indians were deceived by their 
 victim's tones and manner, and the soft condition 
 of his carefully relaxed muscles, we cannot tell, 
 
272 THE BUFFALO RtJNNERS : A TALA 
 
 but it seemed as if such were the case, for some of 
 the brief remarks made by his captors had in them 
 a smack of undisguised contempt, and when the 
 cord was being put round his arms he felt that the 
 grip of his captors was slightly relaxed. 
 
 Now or never was his chance ! Hurling the men 
 on either side of him right and left, he delivered 
 two random blows in front, one of which happily 
 took effect on a savage chest, the other on a savage 
 nose, and cleared the way in that direction. With 
 a bound like that of one of his own mountain deer, 
 he cleared the bank, and plunged into the river. 
 
 In ordinary circumstances an attempt of this kind 
 would have been worse than useless, for the Indians 
 would not only have jumped into their canoes 
 and overtaken the fugitive, but some of them would 
 have run down the bank of the stream to prevent a 
 landing. Some such attempt was indeed made on 
 the present occasion, but the intense darkness was 
 in favour of Fergus, and the searching canoes only 
 ran into each other, while the searchers on land 
 were still more at a disadvantage. 
 
 Now, Fergus M'Kay was as much at home in 
 water as an otter or a musk-rat. Indeed he had 
 been known among his playmates in the old country 
 as the " Water-rat." When, therefore, he plunged 
 into the river, as described, he took care to hold his 
 breath as if for a long dive, and drifted with the 
 current a considerable distance as motionless as a 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 273 
 
 dead man. The Indians listened intently, of course ; 
 for his coming to the surface ; for the breathing, 
 and, it might be, for the splashing that would be 
 natural after such a leap, but no breathing or 
 splashing met their ears, for when Fergus put up 
 his head, far down the stream, he only let out his 
 nose and mouth for a gentle inspiration, and sank 
 again. 
 
 " It iss circumventin' you at your own trade, 
 fightin' you wi' your own claymore, that I will be 
 doin'," he thought, as he rose a second time, and 
 swam softly with the stream. 
 
 Fergus had the advantage of being well acquainted 
 with the river in which he was swimming, as well 
 as with the lands in its neighbourhood, and he 
 knew that there was a certain bend in the stream 
 which it would take the canoe of Ok^matan a con- 
 siderable time to traverse. By cutting across a 
 narrow neck of land there was, therefore, a possi- 
 bility of his intercepting the canoe. 
 
 The Saulteaux, of course, might have also taken 
 advantage of this circumstance, but they could have 
 done so only on foot, and they knew that without 
 canoes they could not arrest the progress of the 
 fugitives. 
 
 Eeaching the spot where lie wished to land, by 
 intuition almost, the Highlander soon found him- 
 self on the bank, squeezed the water out of his 
 garments, and set off as quickly as he dared in such 
 
 s 
 
274 THK BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 darkness. By good fortune he liappened tx) cross 
 a hunter's track or path — like a sheep-run — with 
 which he was familiar, and, by following it, was able 
 to advance much more rapidly. In a short time he 
 again came out on the left bank of the river. There 
 he sat down on a boulder to listen. Profound was 
 his attention to every sound — as profound, almost, 
 as his anxiety, for he knew that if the canoe should 
 have already passed he would be obliged to make 
 his way back to the Settlement on foot by a straight 
 course, which meant a slow, toilsome march, scram- 
 bling through pathless woods, wading morasses, and 
 swimming across rivers. 
 
 He had been seated thus for about half-an-hour, 
 and in his impatience was giving way to despon- 
 dency, when the plash of water smote upon his ear. 
 Cocking the said ear attentively, he was rewarded 
 with another smite, and, in a few minutes, distinctly 
 heard the sound of paddles. 
 
 He put his hands to his mouth forthwith, and 
 uttered a peculiar cry. 
 
 Instantly the sound of the paddles ceased as 
 Archie Sinclair, looking over his shoulder, said — 
 
 " Did you hear that, Ok^ ? " 
 
 Before Ok^ could reply, the cry was repeated. 
 
 " It is Fer-gus," said the Indian, answering to the 
 cry, and steering in the direction whence it came. 
 
 •' Are you sure, Oke ? " 
 
 "Okematan never speaks till he is sure — waugh!" 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 275 
 
 " H'm ! I 'm not so sure o' tliat^' muttered the 
 boy to himself. 
 
 A few seconds put the matter at rest, for the 
 voice of the Highlander was heard, as they cautiously 
 drew near, saying — 
 
 " Iss it you ? " 
 
 " I think it is !" replied Archie; " why, man, where 
 are you ? I can see nothing." 
 
 " Wow ! man, but I am gled," said Fergus ; "just 
 follow your nose, Archie, an' you '11 be all right." 
 
 Another moment, and the canoe was checked by 
 Fergus, who had stepped into the water to prevent 
 its being injured against the stones. 
 
 " You better gie me the paddle, Archie, an' sit 
 beside Little Bill It iss tired o' paddlin' you will 
 be by now." 
 
 " But where is Dan ? " asked Arcliie as he com- 
 plied with this request. 
 
 " That iss more tlian 1 can tell you, boy, but he 's 
 safe enough I doubt not, for I heard him gie a cheer 
 as he jamp into the wuds, an' it 's beyont the power 
 o' a mortal Red-skin to chase an active man on a 
 night like this." 
 
 Thereupon Fergus gave a brief account of all that 
 had happened after the canoes were parted — as far 
 as he knew it — and then an earnest council of war 
 was held as to what was the best course to pursue 
 in the circumstances. Being the youngest brave 
 (for Little Bill was ignored in this matter), Archie 
 
276 THE BUFFALO BUNKERS : A TALE 
 
 was invited to give his opinion first. This was 
 well, because, being enthusiastic and irrepressible, 
 he would probably have given his opinion first at 
 any rate. 
 
 "My opinion is," he said, promptly, "that we 
 turn right about, and go back to find Dan, even 
 though we should have to fight the whole Saulteaux 
 nation ! " 
 
 " That iss well spoken," said Fergus with some- 
 thing of sarcasm in his tone; "but as we hev 
 only two guns amang us, a tomahawk, an' a knife 
 or two, without any claymores at all, I would like 
 to know what we are to fecht with ? Moreover, 
 what is to become o' Little Bill when we are 
 fechtin' ? It iss my opeenion that we put the com- 
 mand 0* our expeedition in the hands of Ok^matan, 
 an' leave him to do what he thinks best." 
 
 " Arch-ee is a true brave," said the Indian, " but 
 he is young. When the wrinkles of age are on his 
 brow he will be a great chief. Ok^matan's heart 
 is with him to turn back and fight, but wisdom says, 
 go to the Settlement, get men, and return as fast as 
 you can." 
 
 " Then the sooner we set about it the better, for 
 when wan's mind is made up, talk iss only lost time." 
 
 With that he shoved the canoe off into the stream, 
 and paddling was resumed with redoubled vigour. 
 
 They proceeded in silence till the blusli of rosy 
 day in the east dispelled the intense darkness. 
 
OF THE RED EIVER PLAINS. 277 
 
 Then, pulling ashore, they kindled a small fire, and, 
 while the chief re-gummed the seams of the canoe, 
 which leaked a little, the others prepared and ate a 
 hasty breakfast. 
 
 They were still engaged with this meal, and dis- 
 cussing, not very hopefully, the possibility of reach- 
 ing Eed River Settlement and returning in time to 
 render relief to Dan — supposing that he should 
 require relief — when the sound of fast-dipping 
 paddles was heard beyond the bend of the river 
 just below them. 
 
 Another moment, and four large canoes, each 
 manned by eight men, swept into view, their red 
 sides glowing in the morning sun, and their oc- 
 cupants driving the water behind them in foam 
 by the vigour of their strokes. 
 
 At first it was supposed that this was another 
 band of Indians proceeding, possibly, to join that 
 from which they had just escaped ; but the fugitives 
 were speedily undeceived by the appearance of the 
 men as they drew nearer. 
 
 " I would be thinkin' that the man in the bow o' 
 the first canoe is Antoine Dechamp," said Fergus, 
 as he stood peering over the bushes at the ad- 
 vancing brigade. 
 
 " I 'm sure it 's Dechamp. I 'd know him a mile 
 off," said Archie. 
 
 " Ay, an' they hev got sight o' the smoke of our 
 fire, too," added Fergus. 
 
278 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " It is Dechamp," said Ok^matan, decisively ,as 
 he stepped into the open and held up his hand to 
 the new arrivals. 
 
 A cheer was raised by those in the canoes when 
 the Cree chief was recognised, and the flotilla, 
 coming on at full speed, soon reached the bank. 
 
 Explanations were speedily exchanged, and our 
 fugitives learned that news had been carried to the 
 Settlement of the approach of the very band of 
 Saulteaux whom they had encountered, and a band 
 of fiery young men, led by Dechamp, had come out 
 to meet them for the purpose of asking them 
 whether they meant their visit to be friendly, or 
 whether they wished to measure their strength with 
 the men of Eed Kiver ; as, if so, a sample had come 
 out for the express purpose of accommodating them ! 
 
 On hearing the news that Ok^matan and Fergus 
 had to give, the men — most of whom were half- 
 breeds connected with Cree families — gave a cheer 
 and voted for an immediate advance against the 
 Saulteaux. This, after very brief palaver, was 
 unanimously agreed to. 
 
 " You '11 not object to return with us, I suppose ? " 
 asked Dechamp of Fergus. 
 
 " Iss it objectiu' to a fecht you will mean ? " 
 
 "Well — it's not unlikely that there may be 
 something of the sort going if we meet." 
 
 "Did you ever hear of a M'Kay objectin' to a 
 fecht, Antoine ? " 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 279 
 
 Dechamp laughed, 
 
 " Well," he said, " I know Ok^matan won't object 
 to turn back, and show us the way to the place 
 where he met the reptiles." 
 
 " Ok^matan was on his way to seek for help," 
 said the Indian quietly. 
 
 Every one being agreed on this point, the 
 whole band re-embarked, and proceeded on their 
 way up the river. They advanced rapidly, for 
 although the stream was against them it was so 
 sluggish as to be scarcely appreciable, and by 
 keeping near to the banks they were not delayed 
 by it at alL 
 
 Towards the afternoon the place where the 
 struggle had taken place was reached, but no 
 Saulteaux were to be seen. They had taken their 
 departure, and, from the fact that several small 
 things belonging to them had been left behind, it 
 seemed not unlikely that they had obtained im- 
 formation of the expedition sent out against them, 
 and had departed in haste. 
 
 " It iss of no use," said Fergus, when this became 
 evident, " for us to keep up a stem-chase after them. 
 They have got too much of a start, so it seems to 
 me, boys, we could not do better than follow up 
 the tracks of Daniel Davidson an' make sure that 
 he has got clear away from them." 
 
 To this proposal there was much objection at first, 
 for it involved some of the narty quitting the canoea 
 
280 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 and journeying no one could tell how far through 
 the woods on foot. 
 
 " Besides," said one, " Dan is quite able to take 
 care of himself, and if he got off in the dark, as you 
 tell us he did, there 's not a man in the Saulteaux 
 nation could come up with him either in dark or 
 light." 
 
 " That may be all fery true, my frund," returned 
 Fergus, " nevertheless I 'm goin' to follow up his 
 track, for it is sure that he took no proveesious wi' 
 him, an' it was too dark for me to see if he escaped 
 wi' his gun. Dan is a strong man, but the strongest 
 man will be findin' himself in diffeeculties without 
 grub. It iss followin' up his trail I will be doin', 
 wi' some proveesions on my back, if wan or two 
 o' you will go wuth me." 
 
 "I will go," said Archie Sinclair, promptly, "if 
 some o' you will promise to take care o' Little Bill." 
 
 A laugh greeted this offer, and half-a-dozen of the 
 men at once agreed to take good care of the invalid. 
 
 " Moreover," said Dechamp, " whoever goes need 
 not go further than the Pine Portage. The party 
 on foot will have found out, before the canoes reach 
 that, whether Dan has got clear off, and they can 
 rejoin the canoes at the Portage. So, Fergus, I '11 
 join your party too. Who else will go ? " 
 
 Ok^matan and Jacques Bourassin here stepped 
 forward, but none of the others seemed disposed to 
 undertake the tramp. 
 
OF THE RED RIVEK PLAINS. 261 
 
 "There iss enough of us — whatever," remarked 
 the Highlander as he and the others put some 
 provisions into their wallets and shouldered their 
 guns. " You will be our leader, Antoine Dechamp. 
 It iss yourself that knows the outs an' ins o' the 
 land better than any of us — except Ok^matan, may 
 be — but I dar' say he 's not as weel acquaint wi' 
 the Red Eiver woods as wi' the plains." 
 
 The chief bowed a dignified assent to this pro- 
 position, which, however, he hardly understood. 
 
 Dechamp, being accustomed to lead, accepted the 
 position at once, stepped off on the trail of Dan, 
 which had been made distinctly visible when he 
 went crashing through the underwood the day be- 
 fore. Eergus followed, and Bourassin came third. 
 
 " Now, then," said Archie, looking into the chiefs 
 face, " come along, Ok^. You and T will form the 
 rearguard, which is the position of danger and 
 honour in warfare o' this sort — at least if it isn't, 
 it ought to be. Take care o' yourself, Little Bill. 
 We '11 soon find Dan. Good-bye." 
 
 So saying, the rearguard of the colimin vanished 
 into the forest, and the others, returning to their 
 canoes, began to descend the river. 
 
 Archie was nearer the mark than he imagined 
 when he said they would soon find Dan. The 
 distance which it had taken our hero so long to 
 traverse in the dark was comparatively short, and 
 the light was only beginning to fade when they 
 
282 ' THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 came to the edge of the wood where Dan had spent 
 the night 
 
 Dechamp, of course, was first to come upon his 
 encampment, and the instant he entered it he ob- 
 served the open space giving a view of the plain 
 beyond. He also saw the wolf sitting on his 
 haunches about two hundred yards off. 
 
 Quick as the lightning flash his gun flew to his 
 shoulder. Dechamp was a first-rate shot. He fired, 
 and, as we have seen, the woK stretched himself in 
 death upon the plain. 
 
 Thus was Dan Davidson rescued at almost the 
 eleventh hour. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 283 
 
 CHAPTEK XXVL 
 
 HOME-COMING AND BARQAININa. 
 
 The return of the hunting party to Ked River 
 Settlement was an illustration of the uncertainty 
 of all human affairs. They went forth rejoicing 
 in all the strength of youth and manhood; they 
 returned in sorrow, with one at least of the strong 
 men reduced to the last stage of weakness. 
 
 We would not be understood to refer to this in a 
 pessimistic spirit. On the contrary, the optimistic 
 view suggests the very same idea of uncertainty, 
 though in a pleasant aspect; for does not many 
 a day that dawns in cloud and rain progress to 
 brilliant sunshine ? while equally true it is that many 
 a life which begins in sorrow culminates in joy. 
 
 Ok^matan, who was intensely philosophical and 
 inquisitive, had been carrying on a semi-speculative 
 conversation with Billie on this very subject while 
 descending the Eed Eiver towards Prairie Cottage — 
 much to the perplexity of the invalid, who scarce 
 knew how to answer the chiefs queries, and greatly 
 to the interest of Archie, who wondered at Little 
 Bill's powers of reply. 
 
284 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " By the way," said Archie, " when you two have 
 settled that knotty point, will you tell me who is to 
 take the news of Dan's accident to Mrs. Davidson ? 
 We '11 have to carry him up to the house, you know, 
 on a blanket 'tween two poles, an' she '11 be sure to 
 think that he 's dead, or has been killed, an' that '11 
 half-kill her, it '11 give her such a fright. Somebody 
 will have to go on ahead and tell her," 
 
 " I will, if you like," said Billie ; " if you '11 only 
 carry me up to the garden gate and set me down, I 
 can easily walk up the path." 
 
 This proposal had just been agreed to when the 
 whole flotilla of canoes paddled up alongside of the 
 bank close under Prairie Cottage. 
 
 It was evening at the time. The Davidson family 
 was at supper, and as the canoes had approached 
 very quietly, with Dan in the leading one, no person 
 stood on the bank to welcome them. 
 
 "It's as well they don't know," said Archie, 
 jumping on shore. " Now, Little Bill, come along, 
 and I '11 carry you to the gate while they 're arrang- 
 ing matters for Dan." 
 
 Seated at the foot of the family table was Peter 
 Davidson. He could see the garden path through 
 the window. 
 
 "Hallo! mother," he exclaimed, dropping his 
 knife and fork, " there is Little Bill or his ghost 
 coming up the track." 
 
 "Impossible, Peter," said the good lady, with, 
 
OF THE RED EIVER PLAINS. 286 
 
 however, a look of anxiety wliich showed she be- 
 lieved that, or something else, to be quite possible. 
 
 " Look for youself , mother," cried Peter, springing 
 up and running out. 
 
 " It is Billie," said Jessie, reflecting her mother's 
 anxiety ; " what can have brought them back so 
 soon ? " 
 
 Peter re-entered at the moment with Little Bill in 
 his arms. He set the boy down and again ran out. 
 
 Taking the widow's trembling hand in both of 
 his, Billie addressed her as " mother," like the rest 
 of the family. 
 
 "Dan has been hurt," he said, in his soft way, 
 " and he 's come home to get well. They will bring 
 him up directly." 
 
 " Is he too ill to walk ? " asked the widow. 
 
 "No, not too ill — but too weak," answered the 
 matter-of-fact Billie. " Indeed he is not ill at all, 
 but he has lost a heap of blood, for they shot him." 
 
 Jessie waited to hear no more, but immediately 
 followed Peter, and the small servant Louise followed 
 suit; leaving the widow in a half- fainting condition 
 with the boy. But she did not remain long thus, 
 for just then old Duncan M'Kay entered by the 
 back door. 
 
 " It will be bad news you 've been hearin', Mrs. 
 Davidson," he said, in some surprise, pouring out a 
 glass of water as he spoke, and considerately handing 
 it to the widow. 
 
286 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 "Yes — yes! I've just heard that Dan has 
 been shot." 
 
 " Bless my soul ! " exclaimed the horrified old 
 man, almost falling into a chair, " Tss — iss he tead ? " 
 
 " No, thank God — only weak from loss of blood. 
 He '11 be here directly." 
 
 " That iss goot news — whatever ; for as long as 
 there 's life there 's hope." 
 
 Trying to comfort himself, as well as his friend, 
 with this truism, the old man staggered out of the 
 house in search of those who had gone before. 
 
 Soon a sad procession was seen coming up the 
 path, led by Archie. Four men carried Dan on a 
 rudely-extemporised litter. His bloodless face and 
 lips gave him the appearance of death, but the glow 
 in his eyes told of still unexhausted life. 
 
 " I '11 be all right, mother," he said feebly, as they 
 laid him on his bed. " I only want food and rest. 
 Thank God — home at last ! " 
 
 As he spoke, a quiet step was heard, and Elspie, 
 with a face as pale as his own, knelt by his bed- 
 side and took his hand. 
 
 That touch was the first impulse the youth 
 received towards decided recovery. Old M'Kay 
 perceived the change in his countenance. 
 
 " Yes, yes ! ay, ay ! " he exclaimed, pacing vio- 
 lently up and down the room, "he wants nothin* 
 but victuals an' rest — steaks an' shops, and plenty 
 o' whusky an' water — hot Don't be croodin' about 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 287 
 
 him an' botherin' him. Come away, and leave him 
 to his mother, an' send for the doctor. Has no vran 
 gone for him yet ? " 
 
 " Yes ; Peter has just started. I heard the clatter 
 of his horse's feet," said Jessie. 
 
 " It iss not the doctor that will put him right, 
 whatever," muttered the old man, as he left the 
 room, followed by most of the family. 
 
 And the doctor himself held the same opinion ; 
 for he said, on returning to the reception hall after 
 seeing his patient, " It will be a considerable time 
 before he recovers, for the fountain of life had 
 been well-nigh drained when he fortunately extem- 
 porised that tourniquet. But there 's no fear of him : 
 all that he wants is food, rest, and peace of mind." 
 
 " An whusky, doctor," added old M'Kay. " Don't 
 forget the best pheesic ; an' I hev goot store of it, 
 too, in my cellar at Ben Nevis." 
 
 " I 'm not so sure about the whisky, Mr. M'Kay," 
 returned the doctor with a laugh. "I think we 
 shall manage to pull him through without that." 
 
 The other requisites for recovery were applied 
 without stint at Prairie Cottage ; for, despite the 
 misfortune which had attended the cultivation of 
 the soil, the Davidsons had a little money, which 
 enabled them to buy provisions and other necessaries, 
 obtainable from the Hudson Bay Company, and thus 
 tide over the disastrous year in greater comfort than 
 fell to the lot of many of the other settlers. 
 
288 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 Thus Dan was well looked after. His brother 
 Peter found the food — at least much of it — on the 
 prairie and in the woods ; his sister Jessie cooked 
 it ; Louise helped, looked on, and learned ; home 
 afforded rest ; Elspie supplied the peace of mind — at 
 least as much of it as it was possible for a fellow- 
 mortal to supply ; and his mother superintended all. 
 Add to this that Archie Sinclair cheered him with 
 miscellaneous gossip ; that Little Bill read to him, 
 or entertained him with serious talk and grave 
 speculation ; that Andr^ Morel and his sister often 
 entertained him with song ; that on such occasions 
 Jenkins, the sailor, frequently amused him with 
 nautical tales ; that old Peg sometimes came from 
 Ben Nevis to gaze at him tenderly ; and that Ok^- 
 matan came to glare at him more or less affection- 
 ately — and we have said enough to warrant the 
 conclusion that Dan Davidson had a pretty good 
 time of it in spite of his weak condition. 
 
 Nevertheless Dan was not quite happy. He could 
 not get rid of the memory of Henri Perrin's murder, 
 and the terrible thought that Elspie's brother Duncan 
 had some sort of guilty knowledge of it. These 
 thoughts he buried deep, however, in his own breast, 
 and even tried to forget them. Vain effort ! for does 
 it not stand to reason that the thing we strive most 
 earnestly to forget is the very thing which, by 
 that effort, we are fixing with a deeper stamp on 
 memory ? 
 
OP THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 289 
 
 Frangois La Certe was somewhat exercised about 
 the same question, about the same time. 
 
 That estimable member of the colony was 
 seated one fine day on the banks of the river 
 fishing for goldeyes — a small fish about the size of 
 a plump herring. His amiable spouse was help- 
 ing, or rather fishing with him. It was a fine 
 healthy, contemplative occupation ; one that ad- 
 mirably suited their tendency to repose, and at the 
 same time filled them with that virtuous sensation 
 which awaits those who know that they are engaged 
 in useful occupation — for were not goldeyes the best 
 of eating ? 
 
 Branches of trees were their primitive rods, twine 
 their simple lines, grasshoppers their bait, and a 
 violent jerk their method. 
 
 " Slowfoot ! " said La Certe. 
 
 " My husband ! " or some such Indian phrase, 
 answered the woman. 
 
 '* I have been wondering for a long time now why 
 — hi ! — no ! I thought there was something at my 
 bait — but it was deception. Nothing is so unreal 
 as the bite of the goldeye — when it is not there. 
 It brings to mind the lights in the sky of winter, 
 which dance and shoot — and yet they are not. 
 Hi ! ho ! — I have him. I was mistaken. I thought 
 tlie fish was not — but it was." 
 
 While speaking La Certe sent a small fish with 
 bursting violence on the grass behind him. Almost 
 
 T 
 
290 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 at the same moment Slowfoot landed another, with 
 less violence and more coolness. 
 
 "What was I saying, Slowfoot?" asked the half- 
 breed, when the hooks had been re-baited, and 
 their eyes were riveted on their respective floats. 
 
 "Nothing that any one could remember," 
 answered his truthful spouse. 
 
 " Now I remember — ho ! was that another ? " 
 
 " No, it was not," answered his matter-of-fact 
 helpmate. 
 
 " Where is our child ? " asked the father, with 
 that wayward wandering of mind which is a not 
 uncommon characteristic of genius. 
 
 " Smoking in the tent," answered the mother. 
 
 " And with ray pipe, no doubt," said the father, 
 laying down his rod and searching in the bag in 
 which he was wont to carry, among other things, 
 his pipe and tobacco. 
 
 A cry of pain from the tent in question — which 
 was close behind the pair — apprised the parents that 
 something was wrong. Immediately their first and 
 only one issued with a tobacco pipe in one hand and 
 a burnt finger on the other. It came to the father 
 for sympathy, and got it. That is to say. La Certe 
 put the burnt finger in his mouth for a moment, 
 and uttered some guttural expressions of sympathy. 
 Having thus fulfilled duty and relieved conscience, 
 he exchanged the finger for the pipe-stem, and began 
 to smoke. The spoiled, as well as despoiled, child 
 
OF THE EEC RIVER PLAINS. 29 1 
 
 uttered a howl of indiguation, and staggered off to 
 its mother; but she received it with a smile of 
 affectionate indifference, whereupon the injured 
 creature went back to the tent, howling, and, 
 apparently, howled itself to sleep. 
 
 Again La Certe broke the piscatorial spell that 
 had settled down on them, and, taking up the thread 
 of discourse where he had dropped it, repeated his 
 statement that he had been wondering for a long 
 time why Cloudbrow, alias young Duncan M'Kay, 
 was so sharp and fierce in denying that he knew 
 anything about the murder of Henri Perrin. 
 
 " Hee ! hee ! " was Slowfoot's significant reply. 
 
 " Can Slowfoot not guess ? " he asked, after 
 attending to a hopeful nibble, which came to 
 nothing. 
 
 " Slowfoot need not guess ; she knows" said the 
 woman with an air of great mystery. 
 
 " What does Slowfoot know ? " 
 
 The woman's answer to this was a look of exceed- 
 ing slyness. But this did not content her lord, 
 who, after repeated questions, and a threat to resort 
 to extreme measures in case of continued refusal, 
 drew from her a distinct answer. 
 
 " Slowfoot knows that Cloudbrow killed Perriu." 
 
 " Sh ! " exclaimed La Certe, with a look of real 
 concern, " I am not yet tired of you, Slowfoot ; and 
 if old M'Kay hears you sav that he will shoot 
 vou." 
 
292 THE BUFlfALO KUNNEKS : A TALE 
 
 "Slowfoot is not a fool," retorted the woman: 
 " the old man will never hear her say that. What 
 has Slowfoot got to do with it ? She can hold her 
 tongue ! " 
 
 "She can do that, for certain," returned her 
 husband with good-natured sarcasm. " In that, as 
 in many things, she excels other women. I would 
 never have married her had it not been so. But 
 how do you come to be so sure ? " 
 
 " I know the knife," returned the woman, becom- 
 ing more literal as she went on, " and Marie Blanc 
 knows it. Her husband once got the loan of it 
 from Cloudbrow, and she looked at it with care, 
 because she had never seen such a knife before. 
 She knew all its marks. Why does Cloudbrow 
 deny that it is his ? Because it was Cloudbrow 
 who killed Perrin. If it had been anybody else 
 he would have known it, and he would have said 
 so — for he was there." 
 
 " How know you that he was there ? " 
 
 "Marie Blanc knows. She netted the snow- 
 shoes that Cloudbrow wore, and she saw the foot- 
 prints." 
 
 " But pairs of snowshoes are very like each other," 
 objected La Certe. 
 
 " Very like. Yes ; but did ever two shoes have 
 the same mends in the same places of the netting, 
 where it had been broken, and the same marks on 
 the frames ? " 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 293 
 
 " Never. It will go hard with Cloudbrow if this 
 is true." 
 
 " It will go hard with him whether it is true or 
 not," returned the woman ; " for some of the friends 
 of Perrin believe it to be true, and swear " 
 
 The disappearance of Slowfoot's float at this 
 moment stopped her swearing, and brought the 
 conversation to an abrupt end. The landing of 
 another goldeye prevented its resumption. 
 
 Having caught more than enough for a good 
 supper, this easygoing pair leaned their rods against 
 a tree, and ascended the bank towards their tent, 
 which was an ordinary conical Indian wigwam, 
 composed partly of leather and partly of birch-bark, 
 with a curtain for a door and a hole in the top 
 for a window ; it also served for a chimney. 
 
 On the way they encountered one of the poor 
 Swiss immigrants, who, having a wife and family, 
 and having been unsuccessful in buffalo hunting, 
 and indeed in all other hunting, was in a state 
 which bordered on starvation. 
 
 " You have been lucky," said the Switzer, eyeing 
 La Certe's fish greedily. 
 
 "Sometimes luck comes to us — not often," 
 answered the half-breed. " Have you caught any ? " 
 
 "Yes, two small ones. Here they are. But 
 what are these among three children and a wife ? 
 I know not how to fish," said the mountaineer dis- 
 consolately. 
 
294 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 The fact was not surprising, for the poor man was 
 a watchmaker by trade, and had never handled 
 rod or gun till he was, as it were, cast adrift in 
 Eupert's Land. 
 
 " I will sell you some of my fish," said La Certe, 
 who on all occasions had a keen eye for a bar- 
 gain. 
 
 " Good ! I am ready to buy," said the poor fellow, 
 " but I have not much to spend. Only last week 
 I gave my silver watch for eight gallons of wheat. 
 I meant it for seed, but my wife and children were 
 starving, so we were forced to eat it. And now I 
 have no seed and only five shillings to spare." 
 
 " "Well, my friend," said La Certe, " fish is very 
 scarce just now, but you may have five goldeyes 
 for your five shillings." 
 
 " ! that is too much," remonstrated the 
 Switzer. 
 
 " No, no," interrupted the half-breed, amiably, " by 
 no means — but if you really think it too much fish 
 for the money I will give you four goldeyes ! " 
 
 " Come, you know I don't mean that," returned 
 the other, with a cynical smile. " Make it six, and 
 I will agree. And here is a pinch of snuff in to 
 the bargain." 
 
 He pulled out a box as he spoke, and opened it. 
 
 " Ha ! " said La Certe, helping himself. " I love 
 snuff, and so does my wife. Do you not ? " 
 
 Slowfoot answered " Hee ! bee ! " and helped her- 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 296 
 
 self to as much as a good broad finger and thumb 
 could grasp, after which she sneezed with violence. 
 
 " Now, behold ! my friend — a-wheesht ! " said La 
 Certe, sneezing a bass accompaniment to Slow- 
 foot's treble. " I will give you a catfish — a wholt, 
 catfish for — a-wheesht ! — for that box and snuff." 
 
 The Switzer shook his head. 
 
 " Nay," he said. " The snuff you may have, but 
 the box was the gift of a friend, and I am loath to 
 part with it. Besides, the box is of little real 
 value." 
 
 " You may have the head of the catfish for the 
 snuff, and the whole catfish for the box," said La 
 Certe, with the firmness of a man who has irrevoc- 
 ably made up his mind — for there are none so firm 
 of purpose as the weak and vacillating when they 
 know they have got the whip-hand of any one! 
 "And, behold! I will be liberal," he added. "You 
 shall have another goldeye into the bargain — six 
 goldeyes for the five shillings and a whole catfish 
 for the box and snuff — voilk ! " 
 
 The poor Switzer still hesitated. 
 
 " It is a great deal to give for so little," he said. 
 
 " That may be true," said the other, " but I would 
 not see my family starve for the satisfaction of carry- 
 ing a snuff-box and five shillings in my pocket." 
 
 This politic reference to the starving family 
 decided the matter ; the poor Switzer emptied his 
 pockets with a sigh, received the fish, and went on 
 
296 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 his way, leaving La Certe and Slowfoot to return to 
 their wigwam highly pleased with their bargain. 
 As must have been noted by the reader long ere 
 now, this like-minded couple did not possess a con- 
 science between them — at least, if they did, it must 
 at that time have been a singularly shrunken and 
 mummified one, which they had managed to keep 
 hidden away in some dark and exceedingly unget- 
 at-able chamber of the soul. 
 
 Commercially speaking, however, they had some 
 ground for satisfaction ; for at that time the ordinary 
 price of a catfish, which is a little larger than a 
 haddock, was threepence. 
 
 Awakening the juvenile La Certe to the blissful 
 realisation that a good " square " meal was pending, 
 Slowfoot ordered it to fill and light the pipe for its 
 father, while she set about preparing the fish for 
 supper. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 297 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIL 
 
 VISIT FROM SIOUX BROUGHT TO A DISASTROUS CLOSB. 
 
 Happening to hear of the bargain which we have 
 just described, and being under the impression that 
 it might be good for La Certe's spirit to receive a 
 mild reproof, Mr. Sutherland paid him a visit. 
 
 The Scotch Elder was, for a long time, the only 
 man fitted to perform the duties of a minister to his 
 countrymen in that out-of-the-world colony, and, 
 being a true man of God, he could not hear of gross 
 injustice, or heartless conduct, without some slight 
 attempt to open the sinner's eyes to his sin. 
 
 It may well be understood that, in the nature of 
 things, and the state of the country, the solitary 
 Elder's duties were by no means light or agreeable. 
 Indeed he would have had no heart to cope with 
 them and with the difficulties they entailed, had he 
 not remembered that the battle was not his, but the 
 Lord's, and that he was only an instrument in the 
 all-powerful hand of the Spirit of God. His own 
 weapons were the Word, Prayer, and the name of 
 Jesus. 
 
298 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 But it was not given to him to see much fruit of 
 his visit to La Certe at that time. The half-breed, 
 besides asserting himself to be a "Catholic" (by 
 which he meant a Eoman Catholic), and, therefore, 
 in no way amenable to Sutherland's jurisdiction, 
 received his remonstrances with philosophical argu- 
 ments tending to prove that men were meant 
 to make the best of circumstances as they found 
 them, without any regard to principles — wliich, 
 after all, were not very seriously held or practised 
 by any one, he thought — especially in Red River. 
 
 As for Slowfoot, she listened with evident interest 
 and curiosity to the strange teaching and exhorta- 
 tions of the Elder, but when appealed to for some 
 sort of opinion on the various points touched, she 
 replied with an imbecile " Hee ! hee ! " which was 
 not encouraging. 
 
 However, the good man had sown the seed faith- 
 fully and kindly. The watering thereof and the 
 sprouting were, he knew, in the hands of the 
 Master. 
 
 Rising to take leave, the Elder put his hand in 
 his pocket and pulled out a large clasp-knife. 
 
 " Why, that 's my knife that I lost ! " exclaimed 
 La Certe in surprise ; " where did you find it ? " 
 
 " I found it on my table at home, where you left 
 it that time you came to ask for some tobacco. 
 Now, observe, if I did not seriously hold and practise 
 the principle of honesty, I would have made the 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLA.INS. 299 
 
 best of circumstances as 1 tound them, and would 
 have put the knife in my pocket instead of return- 
 ing it to you." 
 
 La Certe laughed, and Slowfoot said " Hee ! hee ! " 
 while the juvenile La Certe availed itself of the 
 opportunity to draw the pipe gently from its father's 
 hand and have a whiff. 
 
 ** I have a message to you from the Governor," 
 continued the Elder, taking a piece of paper out of 
 his pocket. 
 
 " For me ! " exclaimed La Certe, in surprise. 
 
 " Yes. He heard that you are hard up just now, 
 and that you are going up the river a considerable 
 distance to hunt — is not that so ? " 
 
 " Yes, that is true. We start off to-morrow." 
 
 "Well, then, he gave me this order for some 
 supplies of powder and shot, twine and hooks, with 
 some cloth, beads, and such like for Slowfoot." 
 
 " That is very good of the Governor — very con- 
 siderate," said La Certe with a pleased look. 
 
 " Very good," said Sutherland. " Now, La Certe, 
 suppose it true that men are meant to make the best 
 of circumstances as they find them, and that I was 
 a man without any regard to principle, I might have 
 drawn these supplies from the store for you, and 
 used them myself, and you would not have been 
 a bit the wiser." 
 
 Again the half-breed laughed, and admitted the 
 truth of the proposition, while Slowfoot expressed 
 
300 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 her belief (whatever it was) in a more than usually 
 emphatic " Hee ! hee ! " 
 
 Eeturning home from his apparently useless 
 errand, Sutherland met Fred Jenkins with a gun 
 on his shoulder. The seaman was accompanied by 
 Archie Sinclair. 
 
 " Well, Jenkins," he said, heartily, " you must be 
 like a fish out o' water in these regions. Don't you 
 feel a longing, sometimes, for the roar of the gale 
 and the smell o' the salt sea ? " 
 
 " Can't say as I does, Mr. Sutherland. I 've bin 
 used to accommodate myself to circumstances, dee 
 see, ever since I was a small shaver; so, nothin' 
 comes exactly amiss to me " 
 
 " Fred ! how can you tell thumpers like 
 that?" interrupted the forward Archie. "Isn't 
 Elise Morel a miss to you ? and Elspie, and Jessie 
 Davidson ? " 
 
 " Clap a stopper on your mug, you young scape- 
 grace ! " retorted the seaman, who had some doubt as 
 to whether the boy's putting Elise Morel's name 
 first was intentional or an accident "As I was 
 a-going to say, sir, I was always fond o' changes, an' 
 the rollin' plains come to me as pleasant, though 
 not quite so familiar, as the rollin' sea." 
 
 "That's a satisfactory state o' mind, anyhow," 
 returned the Elder. " But where away now ? — to 
 cater for the pot, I dare say." 
 
 " Well, no, not exactly — though I 've no objection 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 301 
 
 to do that too in the by-goin'. But we 've heard a 
 report that a band o' Sioux are goin' to visit the 
 Settlement, and as there 's a lot o' their enemies, the 
 Saulteaux, knocking about, I 've bin sent to the fort 
 by old M'Kay to see if they 've heard about the 
 Sioux comin', an' if there 's likely to be a scrimmage, 
 so as we may clear for action, d'ee see ? " 
 
 " I see ; and I hope there will be no need to clear 
 for action. I 'm glad to see Archie with you too," 
 said Sutherland, "but surprised; for I don't re- 
 member when I saw him without Little Bill on his 
 back or at his side." 
 
 " 0, as to that, Little Bill has forsaken me," said 
 Archie, "or I have forsaken him — I'm not sure 
 which — since Dan Davidson's accident, for he does 
 little else but sit at Dan's bedside, readin' to him or 
 talking with him." 
 
 " The dear little fellow could not be better em- 
 ployed," remarked the Elder. 
 
 "The dear little fellow could be mibch better 
 employed," retorted the boy, with unexpected de- 
 cision. "He could be rambling about the plains 
 or in the bush with me, getting strength to his 
 muscles and fresh air to his lungs, an' health to 
 his body — to say nothing of his soul." 
 
 " Why, you are becoming jealous, lad," said 
 Sutherland, with a laugh. 
 
 " No, I 'm not lecoming jealous ; I 'm jealous 
 already," returned the boy, with an air that was 
 
302 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 half jocular, half serious. " However, I '11 exercise 
 patience a little longer, but I 'm determined not to 
 let Little Bill be sacrificed for the sake of sick- 
 nursing." 
 
 With this announcement of his unalterable re- 
 solve to stand to his guns, and a " Brayvo, young- 
 ster ! " from Jenkins, they parted and went on their 
 several ways. 
 
 It was found, when Fort-Garry was reached, that 
 the rumour of a visit from the Sioux Indians was 
 correct, and that some preparation was being made 
 for their reception, as well as precautions against 
 any mischief that might be contemplated, though 
 there was not much to be apprehended on that 
 score, for the Sioux were believed to be among the 
 bravest as well as the most powerful of the nations 
 east of the Eocky Mountains, and less addicted to 
 treachery or cruelty than most other tribes. 
 
 Two days later the Sioux made their appearance. 
 They formed only a small band of warriors, but 
 were a wild-looking though fine set of men ; erect, 
 muscular, tall fellows, with the free bearing of 
 practised warriors, and in all the paint, charcoal, 
 feathers, and leather-costume, bear-claw collars, etc., 
 peculiar to the western wilderness. 
 
 Their object, they said, was to smoke the pipe of 
 peace with their enemies the Saulteaux, and to see 
 with their own eyes the wonderful things that by 
 report the Palefaces were doing in Red Eiver. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 303 
 
 "The Sioux have heard," said their principal 
 chief, at a palaver with the Governor, "that the 
 Palefaces are building wooden wigwams in number 
 like the stones on the shores of Lake Winnipeg ; 
 that they are growing much grain ; that they have 
 set up many strange things which they compel the 
 wind to work for them, and so grind their grain ; 
 that they have great heaps of powder and ball, and 
 big wigwams that are bursting with things that the 
 Sioux love to exchange for the meat and skins of 
 the buffalo and other beasts great and small. We 
 have come to see all this with our own eyes, for 
 most of us are young men who have only heard of 
 such things from our fathers. Waugh ! " 
 
 Of course everything was said to encourage this 
 laudable desire for knowledge. The visitors were 
 shown over the fort. Food was given to them, and 
 tobacco ; then the pipe of peace was smoked with 
 a band of Saulteaux, which chanced to be on a 
 friendly visit to the settlement at the time, after 
 which, as was customary on such occasions, both 
 parties mixed together and strolled about to see the 
 settlers. 
 
 One party of them found their way to Prairie 
 Cottage. At some of the houses nearer the fort 
 they had learned the method of lifting the latch of 
 a door so as to obtain entrance. Finding no one 
 outside at the cottage, they entered the central hall 
 with the soft, quiet tread of the panther. As no 
 
304 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 one chanced to be there, they continued their 
 explorations with chikllike simplicity, and thus most 
 unexpectedly found themselves in the bedroom of 
 Dan Davidson, where Little Bill had just read 
 himself and his brother- in valid into a sound sleep. 
 Both wakened up at once, and the boy sat bolt 
 upright in blazing astonishment, but Dan, who had 
 heard of their arrival in the Settlement, received 
 them with a few words of welcome. 
 
 Fortunately for all parties, Okc^matan presented 
 himself just then, having, while at work in the 
 garden, seen the party of Sioux arrive. He did 
 his best to act the host, explaining to the visitors 
 the cause of Dan's weakness, and, by Dan's direc- 
 tions, offering them tobacco and pipes. 
 
 While they were thus engaged, old M'Kay 
 entered. 
 
 " I saw you comin', lads," he said, heartily. " What 
 cheer ? what cheer ? " he added, shaking hands with 
 them all round. 
 
 The Sioux were obviously much pleased with 
 their reception, especially when Mrs. Davidson, 
 Jessie, and Elspie, who had been out walking, re- 
 turned and joined the party. 
 
 After showing the Indians everything in the 
 house, old M'Kay — who constituted himself their 
 guide, — took them out to see the live stock and the 
 farm. He led them first into the garden. 
 
 It chanced at this time that there was a " snake 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 306 
 
 in the grass " not far off. This was no other than 
 the bad Indian Kateegoose. 
 
 Why some people are what we call naturally bad, 
 like Kateegoose, while others are what we call 
 naturally good, like Ok^matan, is a mystery the 
 investigation of which we propose postponing to a 
 more convenient season. Of course no sane person 
 will maintain that this mystery frees fallen man 
 from responsibility. If it did, we could no longer 
 hang for murder. It would be the bounden duty of 
 every judge, in that case, to acquit every murderer 
 with " Poor fellow, it was his fate ; he could not help 
 it ! " and send him away with a, pat on the shoulder, 
 and an order for coffee and buns, perhaps, in his 
 pocket. As none but sane persons, however, will 
 read my book, it is not necessary to enlarge further 
 on this head. 
 
 Certain it is that Kateegoose was "bad" — ob- 
 durately bad — had been so from his very cradle, 
 if he ever had one, which is doubtful, and bade fair 
 to continue so to his grave. Sutherland had button- 
 holed him more than once, but apparently in vain, 
 It is only fair to the savage to say that he listened 
 patiently to the Elder's remonstrances, and atten- 
 tively to his exhortations, and assumed an aspect 
 of mild contrition that might or might not have 
 been sincere — as far as appearance went. 
 
 Now, it unfortunately happened that among the 
 Sioux braves there was a man who had done Katee- 
 
 u 
 
306 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 goose a deadly injury of some sort, which nothing 
 short of blood could wipe out. Kateegoose, in 
 familiar parlance, spotted him at once, and dogged 
 his steps through the Settlement, watching his op- 
 portunity for revenge. In savage life this dogging 
 process would not have been possible, but in a 
 comparatively crowded settlement, and in the midst 
 of all the surprising novelties that surrounded the 
 Palefaces, it was all too easy ; for Kateegoose took 
 care to keep as much as possible in the background, 
 and weU under cover of houses, cottages, carts, 
 stacks, and wigwams ; besides which he had painted 
 his face in such a manner, and so modified his 
 costume, that his own acquaintances among the 
 settlers — he had no friends — failed to recognise him. 
 They, in their comparative ignorance of savage life, 
 set him down as one of the visitors, while the visitors, 
 if they noticed him at all, esteemed him one of the 
 cross-breeds of the Settlement. 
 
 The only man who saw through the disguise of 
 Kateegoose was Ok^matan, who could not under- 
 stand why he had adopted it, and who resolved to 
 keep a sharp eye on him. 
 
 The enemy of Kateegoose was one of the younger 
 Sioux chiefs. He led the party which visited Prairie 
 Cottage. 
 
 The garden of the Cottage, at its lower end to- 
 wards the river, approached close to the confines 
 of a thick coppice. It formed the extremity of a 
 
OF THE RED EIVER PLAINS. 307 
 
 belt of woodland which at that time bordered the 
 river. There a small summer-house had been erected 
 by Dan and Peter Davidson for the benefit of their 
 mother and their sister Jessie. 
 
 Kateegoose, while dogging his foe, recognised this 
 as a spot very suitable for his fell purpose, as the 
 contiguous wood afforded a ready means of escape 
 after the deed should be done. 
 
 While old M'Kay was conducting the Sioux 
 slowly through the garden, Kateegoose glided swiftly 
 through the thicket to the spot where the summer- 
 house stood, and took up a position behind it, so 
 that the party in making the round of the garden 
 would necessarily pass close to him. 
 
 From the window of Dan's room, Little Bill ob- 
 served part of these mysterious movements and 
 suspected mischief. Without uttering a word he 
 left the room, opened the front door, and gave a low 
 whistle, which had been set up as a private signal 
 between him and Ok^matan. In a few seconds the 
 Cree chief was by his side. 
 
 " Ok^, there 's mischief intended. You '11 have to 
 be quick," he said, quickly explaining what he had 
 seen. 
 
 " Rejoin the party at once," he added, " and look 
 out — sharp." 
 
 The chief nodded and walked away. So swift, 
 yet so quiet, had been his movements that none of 
 the whites of the party had observed his departure 
 
308 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 from them. The Sioux, however, had noticed it, 
 and their suspicions were aroused, especially when 
 they saw him rejoin the party, and observed that 
 he walked rather closer to them than before. But 
 they were proud warriors and refused by word, look, 
 or movement, to indicate their suspicions. They 
 carried bows in their hands, arrows in their quivers, 
 tomahawks and scalping-knives in their belts, but 
 they scorned to make any visible demonstration of 
 being on guard in the midst of Paleface friends, 
 though they gave intense and undivided attention 
 to the movements of Ok(5matan, 
 
 This concentration of attention on the wrong man 
 was, of course, rather favourable to the designs of 
 Kateegoose, so that, when the party passed the 
 summer-house, he was enabled to spring upon his 
 enemy, unobserved for the first moment, with knife 
 upraised. But the stab from which the Sioux chief 
 could not have escaped was rendered harmless by 
 the prompt action of Ok^matan, who threw up his 
 left arm, turned the blow aside, and received a slight 
 wound in doing so. 
 
 There was no time to repeat the blow. With a 
 yell of mingled defiance and disappointment the 
 would-be assassin leaped the garden fence, bounded 
 into the thicket, and disappeared. A flight of Sioux 
 arrows entered the bush almost the moment after. 
 The young chief and his friends also leaped the 
 fence, and followed in pursuit. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 309 
 
 The Sioux were swift and agile undoubtedly, but 
 so was Kateegoose, and he had the advantage of 
 knowing the ground, while the trail — by which, 
 in ordinary circumstances, the Red-man can track 
 his enemy through the forest — was not available 
 there in consequence of its being so mingled up 
 with the crossing and re-crossing of the innumerable 
 tracks of settlers. The result was that Kateegoose 
 made his escape. 
 
 The Colonists were very indignant at the per- 
 petration of this cowardly act, for it compromised 
 their character for hospitahty; and, if they could 
 have laid hands on the savage at the time, it is not 
 impossible that Lynch-law might have been applied 
 to him. The Governor also was greatly annoyed, 
 and in the afternoon of the following day made the 
 visitors a number of presents, besides providing for 
 them a feast ; but all his good intentions were spoiled 
 by Kateegoose, who had the audacity to come for- 
 ward and deliberately shoot his foe while the Sioux 
 were at meat. The ball passed quite through the 
 Sioux chief's body, and wounded the man who was 
 next to him. After this dastardly act the villain 
 fled, and again got safe away. 
 
 The enraged Sioux, seizing their weapons, would 
 have wreaked their vengeance on the Saulteaux, if 
 they could have discovered any; but these wily 
 savages had cleared away at the first note of alarm, 
 and not one was to be found. To have attacked the 
 
310 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 whites with so small a party would have been 
 useless as well as unjust. They therefore left the 
 colony in fierce anger. 
 
 It chanced that La Certe had pitched his tent 
 the day before on a stream not far distant from the 
 colony. The Sioux had to pass that way, and, 
 espying the wigwam, turned aside to wreak their 
 vengeance on whomsoever it might contain. For- 
 tunately the owner of the mansion and his wife had 
 gone out fishing in a canoe, and taken the child 
 with them. AU that the Sioux could do, there- 
 fore, was to appropriate the poor man's goods and 
 chattels ; but as the half-breed had taken his gun, 
 ammunition, and fishing-tackle with him, there was 
 not much left to appropriate. Having despoiled 
 the mansion, they set fire to it and went their way. 
 
 Returning in the evening, La Certe found his 
 house a heap of ashes, and himself reduced tx) a 
 state of destitution. This being his normal state, 
 however, he was not profoundly affected. Neither 
 was his wife ; still less was his child. 
 
 He said no word, but carried the contents of the 
 canoe on shore. His wife, equally reticent, helped 
 him. His child, lighting its father's pipe, sat down 
 to smoke and look on. 
 
 They turned the canoe bottom up to serve as a 
 partial shelter ; they kindled a huge fire before it ; 
 they set up three large fat ducks to roast in front 
 of it, and were soon busy with a simple but satisfy- 
 
<jf the red river plains. 311 
 
 ing supper. After washing this down with an un- 
 stimulating draught of pure water, they put the 
 baby to bed under the bow of the canoe, filled 
 their pipes, and sat down before the ruddy blaze to 
 mingle their hopes, joys, prospects, and sorrows in 
 a halo of smoke — the very personification of primi- 
 tive contentment and felicity. 
 
312 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVIIL 
 
 VBBT PKRPLEXINO INTBBVIBWS WITH LITTLE BILL. 
 
 Things in the colony had at this time come to 
 what may be styled a complicated pass, for distress 
 and starvation were rampant on the one hand, while 
 on the other hand the weather was superb, giving 
 prospect at last of a successful harvest. 
 
 The spring buffalo-hunt had been but partially 
 successful, so that a number of tlie buffalo runners 
 had to make arrangements to support themselves 
 by fishing during the autumn in lakes Winnipeg 
 and Manitoba, 
 
 In these great fresh-water seas there is an un- 
 limited quantity of rich and finely flavoured white- 
 fish, or Titanieg, besides other fish. But Titameg are 
 only to be caught in large quantities during autumn, 
 and of course much of the success of fishing de- 
 pends on weather — one gale sometimes visiting the 
 fishermen with ruin — ruin all the more complete 
 that the nets which may be carried away have in 
 many cases to be paid for out of the produce of 
 the season's fishing. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 313 
 
 In addition to the buffalo hunters, who were 
 obliged to support themselves by fishing, there was 
 a large number of idle half-breeds, of a much lower 
 type than these plain hunters, who had to betake 
 themselves to the same pursuit. These were the 
 " ne'er-do-weels " of the colony ; men who, like La 
 Certe, with more or less — usually less — of hip good 
 nature, seemed to hold that all the industrious 
 people in the world were created to help or to 
 support them and their families. Of course when 
 the industrious people were unsuccessful, these 
 idlers were obliged to work for their living, which, 
 being unaccustomed to do anything energetic, they 
 found it hard and difficult to do, and generally 
 regarded themselves as the harshly used victims of 
 a tyrannous fate. 
 
 There was one thing, however, at which these 
 idlers were very expert and diligent — they begged 
 well, and with persistency. No wonder ; for their 
 lives often depended on their persistent and success- 
 ful begging. The Company and the private store- 
 keepers were always more or less willing to risk 
 their goods by advancing them on credit. Before 
 the summer was over, most of these people had got 
 their supplies and were off to the fishing grounds, 
 regardless of the future, with large quantities of tea 
 and tobacco, and happy as kings are said to be — but 
 never are, if history be true ! 
 
 Among these, of course, was La Certe. That 
 
314 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 typical idler had made the most of his misfortnnes. 
 Everybody had heard what the Sioux had done to 
 him, and everybody had pitied him. Pity opens 
 the heart, and that opens the hand ; and, when the 
 poor man entered a store with the polite manner of 
 a French Canadian and the humble aspect of a ruined 
 man, he scarcely required to beg. One man lent 
 him a tent. Another lent him a canoe. From the 
 Company's store at Fort Garry he received a fair 
 outfit of nearly all that he could require. Further 
 down the Settlement there was a private storekeeper 
 with a jovial countenance. 
 
 " it was a sad, sad sight ! " he said to this man 
 on entering the store — " so very sad to see my tent 
 in ashes, and nothing left — nothing — absolutely ! " 
 
 The jovial man was moved. He gave La Certe 
 what he asked for — even pressed things on him, and 
 also bestowed on him a considerable " gratuity." 
 
 Still further down the Settlement the unfortu- 
 nate man found the store, or shop, of another friend. 
 This man was saturnine of countenance, but mode- 
 rately liberal of heart. La Certe approached him 
 with an air so pitiful that the saturnine man melted 
 like snow in the sunshine or wax under heat. 
 
 " I have heard of your loss," he said, " and I will 
 give you credit this time, La Certe, though you are 
 so bad at paying your debts. But I won't give you 
 much." 
 
 " I do not want much," returned the afflicted man 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 316 
 
 in tones of deep humility — "only a little — a very 
 little." 
 
 By asking much more than he required, La Certe 
 obtained as much as he wanted from the saturnine 
 man, and thus he finally started for Lake "Winnipeg 
 with a canoe laden, almost to sinking, with the 
 good things of this life. 
 
 The fineness of that summer brought forth the 
 fruits of the earth in great luxuriance, and it really 
 seemed as if at last the Scotch settlers were going 
 to reap some reward for all their prolonged perse- 
 verance and industry. The long rest, the good 
 feeding, the sunshine of nature, and the starlight of 
 Elspie's eyes had a powerful effect on Dan David- 
 son's health, so that, by the time autumn arrived 
 and the prospects of a splendid harvest became 
 more certain every day, he had recovered much of 
 his usual strength of body and vigour of mind. 
 
 Little Bill also felt the genial influences around 
 him, and, to the intense joy of Archie, became 
 visibly fatter and stronger, while his large blue 
 eyes lost some of that wistfully solemn appearance 
 with which they had been wont to gaze inquiringly 
 into people's faces. 
 
 One afternoon Billie, having walked to the sum- 
 mer house in the Prairie Cottage garden, along with 
 Archie, was left alone there at his own request, for, 
 unlike other boys, he was fond of occasional solitary 
 meditation. 
 
316 THE BUITALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " Now mind, Little Bill — you whistle if you want 
 me," said Archie, when about to leave him. " 1 11 
 hear you, for I'm only going to the carpenter's 
 shed." 
 
 " I will, Archie, if I want you ; but I don't think 
 I shall, for I can walk by myself now, quite easily, 
 as far as the house." 
 
 But Little Bill was not destined to be left to 
 solitary meditations that day, for his brother had 
 not left him more than a few minutes when a foot- 
 step was heard on the path outside, and next moment 
 Fred Jenkins presented himself at the opening of 
 the summer-house. The face of the mariner be- 
 trayed him, for he was too honest by nature to 
 dissemble effectively. 
 
 " Well, Fred, how are you ? You seem a little 
 disappointed, I think." 
 
 " Not exactly disappointed. Little Bill, but sort o' 
 ways scumbusticated, so to speak — perplexed, if I 
 may say so. Kind o' ways puzzled, d'ee see ?" 
 
 There was something very amusing in the manner 
 of the strapping seaman as he sat down beside the 
 puny little boy, with a bashful expression on his 
 handsome face, as if he were about to make a 
 humiliating confession. 
 
 " What troubles you, Jenkins ? " asked Billie, with 
 the air of a man who is ready to give any amount 
 of advice, or, if need be, consolation. 
 
 The seaman twisted his eyebrows into a complex 
 
OF THE RED KIVER PLAINS. 317 
 
 form, and seemed uncertain how to proceed. 
 Suddenly he made up his mind. 
 
 " Was you ever in love, Little Bill ? " he asked 
 abruptly, and with a smile that seemed to indicate 
 a feeling that the question was absurd. 
 
 " yes," answered the boy quite coolly. " I 've 
 been in love with brother Archie ever since I can 
 remember." 
 
 Jenkins looked at his little friend with a still 
 more complicated knot of puzzlement in his eye- 
 brows, for he felt that Billie was scarcely fitted by 
 years or experience to be a useful confidant. After 
 resting his hands on his knees, and his eyes on the 
 ground, for some time, he again made up his mind 
 and turned to Billie, who sat with his large eyes 
 fixed earnestly on the countenance of his tall friend, 
 wondering what perplexed him so much, and wait- 
 ing for further communications. 
 
 " Little Bill," said Jenkins, laying a large hand on 
 his small knee, " in course you can't be expected to 
 understand what I wants to talk about, but there 's 
 nobody else I 'd like to speak to, and you 're such a 
 knowin' little shaver that somehow I felt a kind of — 
 of notion that I 'd like to ask your advice — d'ee see?" 
 
 " I see — all right," returned Billie ; " though I 
 wonder at such a man as you wanting advice from 
 the like of me. But I '11 do what I can for you, 
 Jenkins, and perhaps I know more about the thing 
 that troubles you than you think." 
 
318 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALB 
 
 "I'm afraid not," returned the seaman, with a 
 humorous twinkle in his eye. "You see, Billie, 
 you never wanted to get spliced, did you ? " 
 
 " Spliced ! What 's that ? " 
 
 " Well, I should have said married." 
 
 " no ! I don't think the thought of that ever 
 did occur to me. I 'm sorry, Jenkins, but I really 
 cannot give you advice on that subject." 
 
 "H'm! I'm not so sure o' that, Little Bill 
 You're such a practical little chap that I do be- 
 lieve if you was put to it you 'd be able to — see, 
 now. If you happened to want to marry a nice 
 little gal, what would you do ? " 
 
 " I would ask her," said Little Bill, promptly. 
 
 " Jus' so ; but that is what I have not got courage 
 to do." 
 
 Jenkins laughed at the expression of blazing sur- 
 prise with which the boy received this statement 
 
 " Have not got courage ! " he repeated ; and then, 
 after a pause — " Have all the stories you have told 
 me, then, been nothing but lies 1 " 
 
 " What stories, Billie ? " 
 
 " Why, such as that one about the pirates in the 
 Java seas, when ten of them .attacked you and 
 you were obliged to kill four, and all the rest ran 
 away ? " 
 
 "No, Billie — that was no lie: it was quite true. 
 But, then, these blackguards were cowards at bot- 
 tom, and they saw that I 'd got a brace o' double- 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 319 
 
 barrelled pistols in my belt, and was pretty well up 
 in the cutlass exercise." 
 
 " And that time when you led a storming party 
 against the fort in South America, and was the only 
 one left o' the party, and fouglit your way all alone 
 in through the breach till the troops came up and 
 carried you on with a rush, and — and — was all about 
 that untrue ? " 
 
 " Not a bit of it, Billie, though I wouldn't have 
 you think I was boastin' about it, I only gave you 
 the bare facts, which, like bare poles, is as much as 
 a ship can stand sometimes." 
 
 " An' that time you jumped overboard in Port- 
 Eoyal among the sharks to save the little girl ? " 
 
 " That 's a fact, if ever there was one," said the 
 seaman quickly, "for the dear child is alive this 
 good day to swear to it if need be." 
 
 "Yet you tell me," continued Little Bill, "that 
 you have not the courage to ask a nice little girl 
 to marry you ? " 
 
 "That's exactly how the matter stands, Billie." 
 
 It was now Billie's turn to look perplexed. 
 
 " Who is this nice little girl ? " he asked abruptly, 
 as if the answer to that question might help to 
 explain the enigma. 
 
 " Well — it 's Elise Morel ; an', mind, not a soul 
 knows about that but you an' me. Little Bill." 
 
 " But — but Elise is not a little girL She 's a big 
 woman ! " 
 
320 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 Jenkins laughed as he explained that seamen 
 sometimes had a habit — mistaken, it might be — of 
 calling even big women "nice little gals" when 
 they chanced to be fond of them. 
 
 " And are you really afraid to ask Elise to marry 
 you ? " asked the boy, earnestly. 
 
 "I suspect that's what's the matter wi' me," 
 replied the sailor, with a modest look. 
 
 " I always thought that nothing could frighten 
 you," said Billie, in a somewhat disappointed tone, 
 for it seemed to him as if one of his idols were 
 shaking on its pedestal. " I can't understand it, for 
 /would not be afraid to ask her — if I wanted her." 
 
 At this Jenkins again laughed, and said that he 
 believed him, and that Billie would understand 
 these things better when he was older. 
 
 " In the meantime. Little Bill," he continued, " I 
 haven't got the heart of a Mother Carey's chicken. 
 I could stand afore a broadside without winkin', I 
 believe; I think I could blow up a magazine, or 
 fight the French, as easy as I could eat my break- 
 fast a'most, but to ask a pure, beautiful angel like 
 Elise to marry rm, a common seaman — why, I hasn't 
 got it in me. Yet I 'm so fond o' that little gal 
 that I 'd strike my colours to her without firin' a 
 single shot " 
 
 " Does Elise want to marry you ? " asked Billie. 
 
 " Oh, that 's the very pint ! " said the seaman 
 with decision. " If I could only make siire o' thas 
 
OF THE RED EIYER PLAINS. 321 
 
 pint, I 'd maybe manage to come np to the scratch. 
 Now, that 's what I wants you to find out for me. 
 Little Bill, an' I know you 're a good little shaver, 
 as '11 do a friend a good turn when you can. But 
 you must on no account mention " 
 
 He was going to have said, " You must on no 
 account mention that I was blabbing to you about 
 this, or that I wanted to find out such a thing," 
 when the sudden appearance of Elise's lap-dog an- 
 nounced the fact that its mistress was approaching. 
 
 With a flushed face the bold seaman sprang up 
 and darted out, as if to attack one of those pirates 
 of the Java seas who had made so powerful an 
 impression on Little Bill's mind. But his object 
 was escape — not attack. Lightly vaulting the 
 garden fence, he disappeared into the same thicket 
 which, on another occasion, had afforded opportune 
 refuge to Kateegoose. A few moments later Elise 
 turned into the walk, and stood before the summer- 
 house. 
 
 " You here, Little Bill ! " she exclaimed on enter- 
 ing. " I am very glad to find you, for I have been 
 alone all the morning. Everybody is away — in the 
 fields, I suppose — and I don't like being alone." 
 
 " Was you ever in love, Elise ? " asked the boy 
 with a solemn countenance. 
 
 The girl laughed heartily, and blushed a little. 
 
 " What a strange question, Billie," she said ; " why 
 do you ask 1 " 
 
 X 
 
322 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 " Well, it 's not easy to. explain all at once ; but — 
 but I want to know if you want to be married ? " 
 
 Elise laughed again, and, then, becoming sud- 
 denly grave, asked seriously why Billie put such 
 foolish questions. 
 
 " Because," said Little Bill, slowly, and with an 
 earnest look, " Jenkins is very anxious to know if 
 you are fond of him, and he actually says that he 's 
 afraid to ask you to marry him ! Isn't that funny ? 
 I said that ever I would not be afraid to ask you, 
 if I wanted you — How red you are, Elise ! Have 
 you been running ? " 
 
 " O no," replied the girl, sheltering herself under 
 another laugh ; " and what did he say to that ? " 
 
 "He said a great many things. I will try to 
 remember them. Let me see — he said : ' I haven't 
 got the heart of a Mother Carey's chicken' — (he 
 didn't tell me who Mother Carey is, but that 's no 
 matter, for it was only one of her chickens he was 
 speaking of) ; — 'I could stand afore a broadside with- 
 out winkin" — (I give you his very words, Elise, 
 for I don't quite understand them myself) ; — ' I could 
 blow up a magazine,' he went on, 'or fight the French, 
 as easy as I could eat my breakfast, a'most, but to 
 ask a pure an* beautiful angel like Elise ' — yes, in- 
 deed, you needn't shake your head ; he said these 
 very words exactly — ' a pure an' beautiful angel like 
 Elise to marry me, a common seaman, why, I hasn't 
 got it in me. Yet I'm so fond o' that little gal 
 
OF THE RED EIVER PLAINS. 323 
 
 that I 'd strike my colours to her without firin' a 
 single shot.' Now, do you understand all that, 
 Elise ? for I don't understand the half of it." 
 
 " yes, I understand a good deal of it, though 
 some of it is indeed puzzling, as you say. But 
 how did you come to recollect it all so well. Little 
 Bill?" 
 
 " Because he said he wanted me to help him, and 
 to find out if you wanted to marry him, so I paid 
 particular attention to what he said, and " 
 
 "Did he tell you to tell me all this?" asked 
 Elise abruptly, and with sudden gravity. 
 
 " dear, no ; but as he wanted me to find it out 
 for him, and said that not a soul knew about the 
 matter but me, I thought the simplest way would 
 be to tell you all he said, and then ask you straight. 
 He was going to tell me something more very par- 
 ticularly, for he was just saying, in a very solemn 
 
 tone, ' You must on no account mention ' when 
 
 your little dog bounced in and Jenkins bounced out, 
 leaving the rest of it unsaid." 
 
 "Then he has just left you ? " said Elise. 
 
 " Just a moment or two before you came up. i 
 think he must have seen some sort of beast in the 
 wood, and gone in chase of it, he bolted in such 
 a hurry, so I don't know yet what I was not to 
 mention." 
 
 " Now, Little Bill," said Elise with great serious- 
 ness of tone and manner, " you must not tell Mr. 
 
324 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 Jenkins one word of the conversation that you and 
 I have had just now." 
 
 " What ! not a single word ? " 
 
 " Not one. You understand ? " 
 
 " Yes, but, if he asks me, I must answer some- 
 thing, you know, and I must not tell lies." 
 
 "Quite true, Billie. You must not tell lies on 
 any account whatever. Now, listen. If he asks you 
 about our conversation this morning, you must say 
 that I told you you were never to open your lips 
 about the subject again either to me or to him or to 
 anybody. Mr. Jenkins is an honourable man, and 
 will not ask you a single question after that." 
 
 " Then I 'm not to tell him whether you want to 
 marry him ? " 
 
 " How can you tell him what you don't know ? " 
 
 " Well, but, I mean that you 're not going to tell 
 me, so that I might tell him ? " 
 
 " Certainly not." 
 
 " Not a word to him and not a word to you — nor 
 to anybody ! Not even to Archie ! " 
 
 " Yes. That is exactly what you must promise 
 me. 
 
 " This is a very unpleasant state of things," said 
 Little Bill, with a sad and puzzled countenance, 
 " but of course I promise, for it is your affair, you 
 know." 
 
 It was a notable fact, which Little Bill did not 
 fail to note — but did not dare to mention — that 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 325 
 
 after that date there was a distinct change of de- 
 meanour in Elise Morel towards the handsome 
 sailor — whether in his favour or otherwise it was 
 impossible to tell. 
 
 Meanwhile, events were pending which were des- 
 tined to exercise a very powerful influence over 
 the fortunes of the Red River Colony, and, indeed, 
 over the condition of the whole of Rupert's Land. 
 
326 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THB FISHEBT DISASTERS. 
 
 One fine day, when summer had merged into 
 autumn, and things in Red River appeared to be 
 advancing favourably, and Dan Davidson had re- 
 covered his strength, and Little Bill was fairly well, 
 it occurred to Okematan that he would like to go to 
 Lake Winnipeg and see how the settlers who had 
 gone to the fishery there were getting on. 
 
 You see, the Cree chief was an observant savage, 
 and, before returning to his tribe, had made up his 
 mind to see all the phases in the life of the new 
 Palefaces who had thus come to take possession of 
 the land. 
 
 He was a remarkably independent fellow, and as 
 he served the Davidsons for nothing except his food 
 — which he did not count, as he could easily have 
 supplied himself with victuals by means of his line, 
 bow, and gun — he did not deem it necessary to ask 
 leave of absence. He merely went to the house one 
 morning, and announced his intention of going to 
 Lake Winnipeg to fish 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 327 
 
 "I will go with you," said Dan, to whom the 
 announcement was made. 
 
 " An' so will I," said Fred Jenkins, who chanced 
 to be conversing with Dan at the time — " that is, if 
 they can spare me just now." 
 
 " The canoe of Ok^matan," said the chief, " holds 
 no more than three. He wishes to take with him 
 Arch-ee and Leetil Bill." 
 
 " Very well," returned Dan, " there 's no objection 
 to that, for there is not much doing on the farm at 
 this moment, and Archie has worked hard all the 
 summer, so he deserves a holiday. We will just 
 make up the same party that started last time, only 
 that Fergus and I will take a somewhat bigger canoe 
 so as to accommodate you, Jenkins." 
 
 " Thankee. Though I am big — unfort'nitly — I 
 can stow myself away in small compass, an' I've 
 lamed how, when there ain't overmuch grub, to git 
 along fairly well on short allowance. When d'ee 
 trip your anchor ? — I mean, when do ye start ? " 
 
 " When to-morrow's sun touches the tree-tops in 
 the east," said the Indian chief. 
 
 " All right, Ok^matan, I 'm your man — after layin' 
 in a breakfast-cargo." 
 
 According to this arrangement the two canoes 
 pushed off at daybreak the following morning, from 
 the wharf at the foot of the garden of Prairie 
 Cottage, and began the descent of the Red Eiver, 
 which, after flowing between twenty and thirty 
 
3a8 tHE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 miles northward, enters the mighty bosom of Lake 
 "Winnipeg. Ok^matan and Archie occupied their 
 old places in the stern and bow of the chiefs canoe, 
 with Little Bill in the middle — this time using a 
 paddle, for his strength had greatly increased. The 
 other canoe was steered by Dan ; Fergus acted bow- 
 man, and Jenkins sat between them, also wielding 
 a paddle. 
 
 That night they encamped on the banks of the 
 river, for their progress had been slow, owing to 
 sundry visits which had to be paid to settlers on 
 the way down. 
 
 " Well, now," observed the sailor, as he stood by 
 the camp-fire smoking his pipe contemplatively, " I 
 find that as circumstances change about in this 
 world men's minds are apt to go 'bout-ship along 
 wi' them." 
 
 " That sounds a terribly profound speech, Fred," 
 said Archie, who was busy at his very usual occu- 
 pation of whittling an arrow for his brother. " Did 
 your father teach it you, or did you crib it from a 
 copy-book ? " 
 
 " No, I raither think," retorted the seaman quietly, 
 "that I got it from your grandmother by the 
 father's side." 
 
 " What may be the circumstance that has caused 
 your mind to go about-ship just now ? " asked Dan, 
 stirring the fire under the robbiboo-kettle. 
 
 " Well, it 's in regard to them there canoe-paddles. 
 
OF THE RED RIVEK PLAINS. 329 
 
 Although they do seem small, compared with 
 oars, I find they're quite big enough to do the 
 work, and although I 've bin trained from a young- 
 ster to handle the oar an' go like a crab with 
 my back the way I'm pullin', it do seem more 
 sensible-like to sit wi' one's face to the front and 
 drive ahead; — anyhow, it's more comfortable and 
 satisfactory." 
 
 "Look out, Jenkins!" exclaimed Little Bill, 
 " else your duck won't be satisfactory — it 's burnin' 
 now." 
 
 " 0, never mind," remarked Fergus, lighting his 
 pipe. "It iss havin' it well done he would be 
 fond of." 
 
 " Ay, but not overdone," cried the seaman, snatch- 
 ing the duck in question from before the blaze and 
 turning its other side — for they used no spits in the 
 Nor'-West in those days, but cooked one side at 
 a time — nay, even carved off and ate part of the 
 cooked side while the other side was roasting. 
 
 Next day they came out on the ocean-like 
 expanse of the great lake, and steered along its 
 western shores until they reached the fishery, where 
 numbers of rudely-constructed wigwams and a few 
 tents sheltered the fishing community. 
 
 They had just returned from a successful visit 
 to the nets when the visitors arrived, and all was 
 animation and rejoicing at the successful take. 
 Jacques Bourassin was the first man they met on 
 
i30 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALB 
 
 landing, and he was enthusiastic about the pro- 
 spects before them. Slowfoot was the first woman, 
 and she was quite satisfied — in that amiable state 
 of mental and physical felicity in which it is so 
 easy to believe that "all is for the best." Her 
 husband soon after appeared. He, of course, was 
 also greatly pleased. He had joined the fishers 
 because he believed that plenty of food, tea, and 
 tobacco would be going amongst them. He was 
 not mistaken. 
 
 " You will come to my tent," he said, in the 
 wealth of his hospitality ; " we have plenty of good 
 fish, a very little meat, some tobacco, and oceans 
 of tea ! " 
 
 The six visitors accepted the invitation, and were 
 soon made acquainted with all the gossip of the 
 community. 
 
 " Does it always smoke ? " whispered Little Bill 
 to his brother. 
 
 The " it " referred to was Baby La Certe, which 
 had, as usual, possessed itself of its father's pipe 
 when the mother was not watching. 
 
 " I 'm not sure. Little Bill, but I think that it 
 does its best." 
 
 It was observed, especially by Fred Jenkins, that 
 the tea-drinking which went on at this place was 
 something marvellous. 
 
 "There's that squaw sittin' there," he said, 
 " she 's bin an' swigged three pannikins o' toa while 
 
OF THE EED RIVER PLAINS. 331 
 
 I 've bin looking at her — an' it 's as black as ink. 
 What 's that brown stuff they put into it, does any 
 one know ? " 
 
 " That ? Why, it is maple sugar," answered Archie, 
 " an' capital stuff it is to eat too." 
 
 " Ah, I know that, for I 've ate it in lump, but it 
 can't be so good in tea, I fancy, as or'nary brown or 
 white sugar ; but it 's better than fat, anyhow." 
 
 " Fat ! " exclaimed Little Bill, " surely you never 
 heard of any one taking fat in tea, did you 1 " 
 
 "Ay, that I did. Men that move about the 
 world see strange things. Far stranger things than 
 people invent out o' their own brains. Why, there 
 was one tribe that I saw in the East who putt fat 
 in the tea, an' another putt salt, and after they 'd 
 swallowed this queer kind of tea-soup, they divided 
 the leaves among themselves an' chawed 'em up 
 like baccy." 
 
 The evident delight with which these half-breeds 
 and more than half-Indians swallowed cup after 
 cup of the blackest and bitterest tea, proved be- 
 yond question their appreciation of the article, and 
 afforded presumptive evidence at least that tea is 
 not in their case as poisonous as we are taught to 
 believe. 
 
 But it was not, as Jenkins remarked, all fair 
 weather, fun, and tea at the fishery. After the six 
 visitors had been there for a week, shooting and 
 assisting in the canoes, and at the nets, there came 
 
332 THE BUFFALO EUNNEES : A TALE 
 
 a night when the forces of Nature declared war 
 against the half-breeds and those settlers who had 
 cast in their lot with them at that time, 
 
 Jenkins, Ok^matan, and Archie had been out 
 with their guns that day — the last having been 
 promoted to the use of the dangerous weapon — 
 and in their wanderings had about nightfall come 
 upon a family of half-breeds named Dobelle, a good- 
 natured set, who lived, like La Certe, on the laissez- 
 faire principle ; who dwelt in a little log-hut of 
 their own construction within the margin of the 
 forest, not far from the shore of the great lake. 
 
 This family, though claiming to be Christian and 
 civilised, was little better than vagrant and savage. 
 They were to some extent as independent as the 
 brute creation around them — though of course 
 they betrayed the inherent weakness of mankind in 
 being unable to exist happily without tea, sugar, and 
 tobacco. For the rest, their wants were few and 
 easily satisfied. Snares provided willow-grouse and 
 rabbits ; traps gave them furs and the means of 
 purchasing guns and powder. Their log-hut was 
 only an occasional residence. Wherever night over- 
 took them they were at home. They camped on the 
 open plains, in the woods, among the rocks, and on 
 the margins of rivers and lakes. Healthy, happy, 
 and heedless, the Dobelle family cared for nothing 
 apparently, but the comfort of the passing hour; 
 regarded the past as a convenient magazine from 
 
OF THE RED KIVER PLAINS. 33S 
 
 which to draw subjects for gossip and amusement, 
 and left the future to look after itself. 
 
 There were in] the hut, when the three visitors 
 entered, old Dobelle, his wife, a daughter of eighteen, 
 another of four, and two sons of twenty and twenty- 
 two respectively. 
 
 "It looks like dirty weather," said Jenkins on 
 entering ; " will you let us come to an anchor here 
 for a bit?" 
 
 "Give us shelter?" explained Archie, who 
 doubted old Dobelle's ability to understand nautical 
 language. 
 
 " You are welcome," said the half-breed, making 
 way politely, and pointing to places on the floor 
 where the visitors were expected to squat. For 
 there was no furniture in that mansion; the fire 
 was kindled in the middle of its one room; the 
 family sat around it on deer and buffalo skins, and 
 the smoke alike of pipe and fire found egress at the 
 crevices in the roof. 
 
 With kind hospitality Madame Dobelle poured 
 some black tea into cups of birch bark, and, on 
 plates of the same material, spread before them 
 the remains of a feast of roasted fish. 
 
 While eating this, various questions were put as 
 to the success of the fishery. 
 
 "Yes — we have been very successful," said old 
 Dobelle. " No bad weather to speak of, and plenty 
 of fish. Our good fortune is great." 
 
334 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " But it won't last long," said the eldest son, who 
 seemed to be the only growler in the family. 
 
 ** ITimporte — we will enjoy it while it lasts," said 
 the younger son. 
 
 " Yes, truly we will," remarked Madame Dobelle. 
 
 Whereupon the daughter of eighteen smiled, and 
 the daughter of four giggled. 
 
 " "What does Okematan think ? " asked the host. 
 
 Thus appealed to, the chief gave it as his opinion 
 that something was going to happen, for the sky 
 in the nor'- west looked uncommonly black. Having 
 given utterance to this cautious remark he relapsed 
 into silence. 
 
 As if to justify his opinion, a tremendous clap 
 of thunder seemed to rend the heavens at that 
 moment, and, a few minutes later, a heavy shower 
 of rain fell. 
 
 " Well that we got inside before that came on," 
 said Archie. " I hope it won't come on to blow, 
 else we shall be storm-stayed here." 
 
 The weather seemed to be in a lively mood that 
 night, for as the thunder had promptly answered 
 to Ok^matan's observation, so now the wind re- 
 plied to Archie's remark, by rushing up the natural 
 avenue which extended from the hut to the lake 
 and almost bursting in the door. 
 
 " See to the ropes, boys," said old Dobelle, glancing 
 uneasily at the roof. 
 
 The young men arose, went out, regardless of 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 335 
 
 weather, and secured with additional care a couple 
 of stout ropes with which the tendency of the roof 
 to fly away was restrained. 
 
 " Did it ever come off? " asked Archie with some 
 curiosity, as the young men returned and resumed 
 their pipes. 
 
 "Yes — twice, and both times it was night," 
 answered Madame Dobelle, "and we were flooded 
 out and had to camp under the trees." 
 
 " Which was not comfortable," added the old man. 
 
 Another clap of thunder seemed to corroborate 
 what he said, and a blast of wind followed, which 
 caused the whole fabric of the hut to shudder. 
 Jenkins looked inquiringly at the roof. 
 
 " No fear of it," said old Dobelle ; " the ropes are 
 strong." 
 
 Thus assured, the visitors continued their meal 
 with equanimity, regardless of the storm that soon 
 began to rage with great fury, insomuch that the 
 door required a prop to keep it up and rain began 
 to trickle in through crevices in the roof and drop 
 here and there upon the party. When one such 
 drop chanced to fall on old Dobelle's nose, his 
 younger son arose, and, fastening a piece of birch 
 bark to the rafters, caught the drop and trained it 
 with its followers to flow towards an unoccupied 
 place in one corner, which, being accidentally lower 
 than the rest of the floor, formed a convenient 
 receptacle for superfluous water. 
 
336 THE BUFFALO KUNNEKS : A TALE 
 
 At the same time Madame Dobelle made a shake- 
 down of pine branches in another corner for her 
 visitors, for it was obvious that they would have 
 to spend the night there, even although their own 
 tent was not far distant. 
 
 By that time the storm was raging with unwonted 
 violence. Nevertheless the Dobelle family smoked 
 on in placid contentment. When the time for 
 repose arrived, Madame Dobelle and her eldest 
 girl retired to a box-bed in a comer of the hut 
 which was screened off — not very effectually — by 
 a curtain of birch-bark. The two brothers lay down 
 in another corner. The three visitors disposed 
 themselves in the third, and, as the fourth was 
 monopolised by the rain-rivulet, old Dobelle lay 
 down on one side of the fire in the centre of the 
 room, while the four-year-old girl reposed on the 
 other. 
 
 During the night the accumulation of tobacco- 
 smoke with fire-smoke produced a suffocating effect, 
 but no one was capable of suffocation apparently, 
 for they all smoked on — except Archie, who, as we 
 have said, had not acquired the habit. Even the 
 four-year-old girl, like Baby La Certe, had a pull 
 now and then at its father's pipe, and, from sundry 
 white emanations from the crevices in the bark 
 curtains, it was evident that the ladies behind these 
 were enjoying themselves in the same way during 
 the intervals of repose. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 337 
 
 Next morning was fine, and the three sportsmen 
 returned to the fishery to find that the storm had 
 made an almost clean sweep of the nets. It had 
 carried most of them away ; torn others to pieces, 
 and almost ruined the whole colony of fishermen ; 
 the ruin being all the more complete that most of 
 the nets had been received on credit, and were to 
 be paid for chiefly by the results of the autumn 
 fishery. 
 
 La Certe was one of the chief sufferers; never- 
 theless, to judge from his looks, La Certe did not 
 suffer muchl He had brought a considerable 
 amount of provision with him, as we have said, 
 and, finding that one of his nets had been washed 
 ashore, he proceeded very leisurely to mend it, 
 while he smoked and assisted Slowfoot to consume 
 pemmican and tea. 
 
 About this time a mysterious message was sent 
 to Dan Davidson from Ked Eiver by an Indian, 
 requiring his immediate return. The sender of the 
 message was Elspie M'Kay; the summons was 
 therefore obeyed at once. 
 
 As nothing further could be done at the fishery 
 that autumn, the other members of the expedition, 
 and most of the fishers, returned with Dan to the 
 colony. 
 
338 THE BUFFALO liUi^^■i;HS : A TALE 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 TUE TRIAL FOB MCTRDEB. 
 
 "Dan," said Elspie, as, seated in the summer- 
 house after the arrival of the sportsmen, these two 
 held a meeting, " I have called you back to tell you 
 of a very terrible thing which has been said of my 
 dear brother Duncan, and which you must con- 
 tradict at once, and then find out how it was that 
 the false report arose, and have the matter cleared 
 up." 
 
 " Dear Elspie," returned Dan, " I think I know 
 what you are going to tell me." 
 
 " Have you heard the report, then ? " said Elspie, 
 turning pale, " and — and do you believe it ? " 
 
 "I have suspected — I have — but let me hear 
 first what the report is, and who it came from." 
 
 "I got it from Annette Pierre, and I am sure 
 she would not have told it me if she did not think 
 it true ; but, then, poor Annette is not very in- 
 telligent, and she may be — must be — mistaken. 
 She says that it was Duncan who killed poor Henri 
 Perrin, and that some of the half-breeds are deter- 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 339 
 
 mined to avenge the death of their comrade. Now, 
 it cannot be true ; and I want you at once to go 
 and ferret out the truth, so as to prove the report 
 false." 
 
 " Have you spoken to Duncan on the subject ? " 
 asked Dan. 
 
 " No, I cannot bear to let him imagine even for 
 a moment that I could believe him guilty of murder 
 — that I even suspected him of it. But you say 
 you have heard something, Dan — that you suspect 
 something. What is it ? " 
 
 " It is difficult to say, Elspie dear. I, too, have 
 heard the rumour that has come to your ears, and 
 I have seen — but it is useless talking of our mere 
 conjectures. I will go at once and ferret out all 
 about it if possible. My first business will be to 
 see Annette and get from her all that she knows. 
 Where is Duncan ? " 
 
 *' In the wheat-field. They have begun to shear 
 to-day, and, as the crop is heavy, they wiU be glad 
 of your help." 
 
 Dan went to the field, after visiting Annette 
 Pierre, and lent good assistance to the shearers, 
 but, like Elspie, he found that he had not courage 
 to say anything to Duncan that would indicate 
 his suspicion. He longed to put the question 
 straight to him, but could not prevail on himself 
 to do so. 
 
 Next morning, however, he and Elspie were both 
 
340 THE BUFFALO RUiS^NERS : A tALfi 
 
 saved the necessity of doing such violence to their 
 feelings, by the arrival of two men from Fort 
 Garry. They were members of a sort of police force 
 that the Company had enrolled, and had come to 
 arrest Duncan M'Kay junior, on the charge of 
 murder ! 
 
 There was not much of law in the colony at that 
 time, but it was felt that something had to be done 
 in the way of governing a settlement which was 
 rapidly increasing, and in which Lynch and mob 
 law would certainly be applied if regularly con- 
 stituted authority did not step in. As the murder 
 of Perrin had created great indignation among the 
 half-breeds, and the feeling about it was increasing, 
 the Company resolved to clear the matter up by 
 having the supposed murderer tried. Duncan was 
 accordingly lodged in one of the bastions of Fort 
 Garry, where, when visited by the Governor, he 
 firmly denied his guilt. 
 
 The arrest of his younger son on such a charge 
 fell very heavily on poor Duncan M'Kay senior — 
 more heavily than those who knew him would have 
 expected. It touched not only his feelings but his 
 pride; for was he not a lineal descendant of that 
 Fergus M'Kay who had been a chief in one of the 
 Western Isles of Scotland — he could not tell which, 
 but no matter — at that celebrated period of Scottish 
 history when the great Norse king, Harold Fair- 
 hair, had made a descent on the Scottish coast and 
 
OF THE RED RIVEE PLAINS. 341 
 
 received one of the few thorough thrashings that 
 darkened his otherwise successful career ? 
 
 " ! Tuncan, Tuncan, my boy ! " cried the old 
 man, shoving his hands deeper into his breeches 
 pockets, and apostrophising his imprisoned son as 
 he walked up and down in the privacy of his own 
 bed-room. " that wan o' the name should come 
 to such disgrace ! An' it 's denyin' it you will be, 
 whether you are guilty or innocent. Tuncan, 
 Tuncan ! you wass ever notorious for tellin' lies — 
 an' a troublesome boy all round — whatever." 
 
 But when the old man went to Fort Garry and 
 visited his son, he stifled his pathetic feelings, and 
 appeared before him with all the offended dignity 
 of an injured member of the great clan M'Kay. 
 
 " Are you guilty, Tuncan ? " he asked, sternly. 
 
 " No, I 'm innocent," answered the youthful High- 
 lander, with a brow quite as stern and a manner as 
 dignified as the old one. 
 
 " You will hev to prove that — whatever." 
 
 "No — they will hev to prove me guilty," retorted 
 the son. 
 
 " I wish I could believe ye, Tuncan." 
 
 "It iss not of much consequence whether ye 
 believe me or not, father. You are not to be my 
 chudge — whatever." 
 
 " That is goot luck for you, Tuncan, for if I wass 
 your chudge I would be bound to condemn you — 
 you wass always so fond o' tellin' lies." 
 
342 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " It iss true what you say, father. It iss a chip 
 o' the old block that I am — more's the peety." 
 
 At this point the door of the prison opened, and 
 Elspie was ushered in. 
 
 "You here, father?" she exclaimed in evident 
 surprise. " I had hoped to see Duncan alone." 
 
 " It iss alone with him you '11 soon be," replied 
 the Highlander, putting on his hat. "Goot tay, 
 Tuncan, my boy, an' see that you'll be tellin' the 
 truth, if ye can, when ye come to be tried." 
 
 To this the youth made no reply. 
 
 " Duncan ! " said the girl, when her father had 
 retired, " how came they to invent such lies about 
 you?" 
 
 The tender way in which this was said, and the 
 gentle touch on his arm, almost overcame the stub- 
 born man, but he steeled himself against such in- 
 fluences. 
 
 " What can I say, Elspie?" he replied. " How can 
 I tell what iss the reason that people tell lies ? " 
 
 " But it is lies, isn't it, Duncan ? " asked the poor 
 girl, almost entreatingly. 
 
 " You say that it iss lies — whatever, an' I will not 
 be contradictin' you. But when the trial comes on 
 you will see that it cannot be proved against me, 
 Elspie — so keep your mind easy." 
 
 With this rather unsatisfactory assurance, Elspie 
 was fain to rest content, and she returned home a 
 little, though not much, easier in her mind. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 343 
 
 To make the trial quite fair and regular, a' jury 
 of twelve men, chosen by lot from a large number, 
 was empanelled, and as many witnesses as possible 
 were examined. These last were not numerous, and 
 it is needless to say that Annette Pierre and Marie 
 Blanc were the chief. But despite their evidence 
 and the strong feeling that existed against the 
 prisoner, it was found impossible to convict him, so 
 that in the end he was acquitted and set free. But 
 there were men in the colony who registered a vow 
 that Cloudbrow should not escape. They believed 
 him to be guilty, in spite of the trial, and made up 
 their minds patiently to bide their time. 
 
 It now seemed as if at last a measure of prosperity 
 were about to dawn upon the farmers in that distant 
 land, and, as usual on such occasions of approaching 
 prosperity, Dan Davidson and Duncan M'Kay senior 
 began to talk of the wedding which had been so 
 long delayed. 
 
 " I wass thinkin'. Tan," remarked the old man one 
 morning, while walking in the verandah with his 
 after-breakfast pipe, " that I will be getting in the 
 crops pretty soon this year, an' they 're heavy crops 
 too, so that we may look forward to a comfortable 
 winter — whatever." 
 
 " True, and as our crops are also very good, thank 
 God, I begin now to hope that Elspie may see her 
 way to " 
 
 "See her way!" exclaimed M'Kay with some 
 
344 THE BUFFALO Rl/NNERS : A TALE 
 
 asperity : " she will hev to see her way when I tell 
 her to open her eyes an' look ! " 
 
 "Nay, but there are two to this bargain," said 
 Dan, good-humouredly. "I would not consent to 
 have her on such terms. She must fix and arrange 
 everything without constraint from any one — not 
 even from you, Duncan M'Kay." 
 
 "Oh! fery goot!" retorted the old man with a 
 touch of sarcasm ; " you know fery well what Elspie 
 will be sayin' to that, or you would not be so ready 
 to let it rest with her. Yes, yes, she is safe to see 
 her way to go the way that you want her to go." 
 
 It was a strange coincidence that at the very time 
 these two were conversing on this subject in the 
 verandah of Ben Nevis Hall, Mrs. Davidson and 
 Elspie were discussing the very same subject in an 
 upper room of Prairie Cottage. We refrain from 
 giving the details, however, as it would be unpar- 
 donable to reveal such matters. We will merely 
 state that the conclusions to which the ladies came 
 were very similar to those arrived at by the gentle- 
 men. 
 
 But delay was still destined to be an element in 
 the cup of this unfortunate couple. 
 
 When the harvest had been gathered in that year, 
 there came what old M'Kay called a visitation which, 
 with its consequences, recalls irresistibly the words 
 of our great Scottish poet — " the best-laid schemes o' 
 mice and men gang aft a-gley." This visitation was 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 345 
 
 a plague of mice. The whole colony was infested 
 with them. Like the grasshoppers, the mice devoured 
 everything. The grain after being stacked was 
 almost totally destroyed by them. The straw, the 
 very stubble itself, was cut to atoms. The fields, the 
 woods, the plains, seemed literally alive with this 
 new visitor, and the result would have been that 
 most of the settlers would again have been driven 
 to spend another dreary winter in trapping and 
 hunting with the Indians at Pembina, if it had not 
 been for the fortunate circumstance that the buffalo 
 runners had been unusually successful that year. 
 They returned from the plains rejoicing, — their carts 
 heavily laden with buffalo robes and innumerable 
 bags of pemmican. 
 
346 THE BUFFALO KUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 CHAPTEK XXXT. 
 
 RKTHIBUnOK. 
 
 Owing to the success of the buffalo runners, 
 the winter passed away in comparative comfort. 
 But, as we have said, some of the settlers who had 
 been ruined by the failure of the fisheries and the 
 depredations of the mice, and who did not share 
 much in the profits of the autumn hunt, were 
 obliged once again to seek their old port of refuge 
 at Pembina. 
 
 Among these was the Swiss family Morel. Andr^ 
 went, because he did not wish to remain compara- 
 tively idle in the colony during the long months 
 of winter. Elise went for the purpose of keeping 
 house — perhaps we should say keeping hut — for 
 Andr6. Fred Jenkins went because he wanted to 
 learn more about Indian ways and customs, as well 
 as to perfect himself in the art of hunting the 
 buffalo — that was all ! 
 
 There were some who did not believe what the 
 bold seaman said. Elise Llorel was one of these 
 — perhaps the most unbelieving amongst them. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 347 
 
 Indeed, she laughed quite hilariously when his 
 motive was reported to her by Billie Sinclair the 
 day before they started. 
 
 "Why do you laugh so?" inquired Little Bill, 
 who was always more or less in a state of surprise 
 when he got upon this subject with Elise. 
 
 " It is not easy to say, Billie," answered the girl, 
 with another pleasant little laugh, " but it is so 
 funny that a sailor should take such a fancy to 
 come out here, so far away from his native element, 
 and find so much interest in snow-shoe walking and 
 Indian customs." 
 
 " Yes, isn't it ? " responded the boy, " and him 
 such a fine big man, too, who has gone through so 
 much, and seen so many lands, and been in such a 
 lot o' fights with pirates, and all that kind of thing. 
 I can't understand him at alL I wish I understood 
 him better, for I like him very much. Don't you ? " 
 
 Elise was so much taken up with what she was 
 doing at the time that she could not answer the 
 question, and Billie was in such a wandering state 
 of mind that he neglected to press it ! 
 
 Daniel Davidson also went to Pembina that 
 winter, because he could not bear to press the sub- 
 ject of his marriage just after the destruction of his 
 and old M'Kay's crops by mice — a disaster which 
 told rather heavily on both families. When winter 
 had passed away, he, along with many others, 
 returned to the colony and made preparations for 
 
348 THE BUFFALO RUNNEES : A TALE 
 
 going out to the plains for the spring hunt with the 
 buffalo runners. 
 
 "You will better not be goin' wi' them," said 
 Duncan M'Kay senior to his younger son, sonje 
 days before the hunters had arranged to set out 
 " It will not be safe after your trial, for the half- 
 breeds are mad at you, Tuncan." 
 
 If the old man had been wise enough to have 
 left his son alone, Duncan junior would probably 
 have remained where he was ; but the mere offer of 
 advice roused in him the spirit of opposition, and 
 that reference to the half-breeds decided him. 
 
 " If all the half-breeds in Kud Eiver wass to go 
 as mad as buffalo bulls wi' their tails cut off, I would 
 go," said Duncan junior, with quiet decision of tone 
 and manner, as he lighted his pipe. 
 
 " Ay, it iss that same you would do if you wass 
 to be hanged to-morrow for doin' it, Tuncan," returned 
 the old man testily, as he fired cloudlets in rapid 
 succession from his compressed lips. 
 
 Duncan junior was equally firm in replying to 
 his sister's remonstrances later in the day. 
 
 "You know.dear Duncan," she said, "that, although 
 I believe you to be quite innocent, most of the 
 half-breeds are of the opposite opinion, and some of 
 them are very revengeful, especially when they think 
 they have been deceived or unjustly treated." 
 
 " I do not fear the half-breeds," replied the youth 
 gruffly. 
 
Oi THE RED RIVER PLAINS. S4d 
 
 " Of course you don't, Duncan, but you know 
 that, though most of them are good, trusty men, 
 some are mean fellows, who would not hesitate to 
 shoot you in the smoke and confusion of the hunt* 
 Do give up the idea, for my sake, dear." 
 
 " I would do much for your sake, Elspie, but not 
 this, for it iss showin' the white feather I am, they 
 will be sayin', and, as father often says, that iss 
 what must never be true of a M'Kay," 
 
 Accordingly, Duncan junior mounted his horse, 
 and accompanied Dan, Peter, Fergus, Okematan, 
 Morel, Jenkins, and others to the plains, where 
 they found that the main body of the hunters, under 
 Antoine Dechamp, had arrived just before them. 
 Kateegoose was also there, and La Certe, who once 
 more tried his fortune at the chase under all the 
 advantages of a new cart and horse, a new gun, and 
 a new outfit — all received on credit — to be paid for 
 by the proceeds of the chase, as the creditors, hoping 
 against hope, tried to believe ; never to be paid for 
 at all, as the easy-going La Certe more than half 
 suspected — though he was far too honest a man 
 to admit that even to himself. 
 
 Of course, Slowfoot was with him — amiable, 
 meek, and silent as ever. And so was Baby La 
 Certe, a five-year-old by that time, and obviously 
 a girl with a stronger penchant than ever for 
 tobacco ! 
 
 " The^ buffalo have been found already," said 
 
350 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 Decliamp to Dan Davidson, as the latter rode into 
 camp at the head of his party. " Bourassin has 
 just come in with the report that they are in great 
 numbers away to the nor'-west, so we will make a 
 fair start first thing in the morning." 
 
 As he spoke, Dechamp glanced with evident sur- 
 prise at Duncan M'Kay. 
 
 " Why did you let him come ? " he said in an 
 undertone to Dan, as they were tying up the horses. 
 
 " How could I prevent him ? " replied Dan. 
 
 Next morning all was bustle, eager expectation, 
 and lively conversation in the camp. Archie was 
 there again, promoted to the condition of a full- 
 fledged hunter by the possession of a gun. Little 
 Bill was there also. He had improved so much in 
 health and strength that he was permitted to ride 
 with the runners on a pony ; but was to content 
 himself with viewing the battle from afar — that is, 
 well in rear. 
 
 " Now, Little Bill," said Archie, with the serious- 
 ness of a grandfather, as they galloped with the 
 hunters over the rolling plains, across which were 
 streaming the first beams of the rising sun, "you 
 must promise me to keep well in rear, and on no 
 account to join in the chase. It's of no use to go 
 in without a gun, you know, and there is great risk 
 when in the thick of it, that you may come across a 
 bullet or two. You '11 have all the fun without the 
 danger, Little Bill." 
 
OF THE RED MVER PLAINS. 361 
 
 " All right, old boy ; 1 11 do my best." 
 
 " Hallo, Archie ! " cried Jenkins, galloping up 
 alongside, with the blunderbuss in his left hand, 
 " I 've bin lookin' for you, lad. It 's not easy to spy 
 out a friend in such a shoal o' queer craft. Are 'ee 
 goin' to sail alongside o' me this bout ? " 
 
 " Of course I am, Fred. A man that can steer his 
 way by compass over such a sea o' grass is worth 
 holding on to." 
 
 "Well, then, heave ahead. We '11 hunt in couples. 
 I see they 're gettin' into line o' battle, which means 
 that the enemy 's in view." 
 
 The sailor was right. Buffalo were seen grazing 
 in the far distance, and the cavalcade was getting 
 into line so as to advance in good order. 
 
 As on a former occasion, they approached at a 
 slow pace until the animals began to lift their 
 heads and throw inquiring glances in the direction 
 from which the mounted host came. Then the 
 word was given to trot, and, finally, to charge. 
 
 The rush on this occasion was even more tremen- 
 dous than on the former, for there were considerably 
 more men, and a larger herd of buffalo. 
 
 The lumbering heavy gait of the latter at the 
 first start did not suggest the racing speed to which 
 the clumsy creatures attained when they were hard 
 pressed. Soon the dropping shots of the fast riders 
 swelled into the rattling musketry of the real fight, 
 and ere long the plain became strewed with dead 
 
352 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 and \rounded aniraals, while smoke and dust 
 obscured the air. 
 
 There was no order maintained after the first 
 onset. Every man seemed to fight for his own 
 hand. Crossing and re-crossing and firing reck- 
 lessly in all directions, it seemed a very miracle 
 that no fatal accidents occurred. Minor ones there 
 were. Archie and his nautical comrade witnessed 
 a few of these. 
 
 " I say, look at Bourassin ! " exclaimed the former, 
 pointing to the left with his nose — both hands being 
 fully engaged with gun and bridle. 
 
 The seaman's eye turned in the direction indi- 
 cated, and he beheld Bourassin's horse stopped by 
 the hairy forehead of a buffalo bull, while Bourassin 
 himself was in the act of describing a magnificent 
 parabolic curve over the buffalo's back. He alighted 
 on his back, fortunately on a low bush, a yard or 
 two beyond the buffalo's tail. 
 
 " Killed ! " exclaimed Jenkins, anxiously, as he 
 turned his horse in the direction of the fallen man. 
 
 But the seaman was wrong. The hunter did 
 indeed lie flat and motionless for a few seconds — 
 which was just as well, for it gave the bull time 
 to toss off the horse, turn, and leap over the 
 prostrate man in continuing its flight; but in 
 another moment Bourassin was on his feet, soon 
 caught his trembling horse, remounted, and con- 
 tinued the chase. 
 
OF THE RED KIVER PLAINS. 353 
 
 A little further on they saw Peter Davidson's 
 horse put his foot in a badger-hole, the result of 
 which was that the horse rolled over in one direc- 
 tion, while the expert Peter, tumbling cleverly to 
 one side, rolled away in another direction like a 
 Catherine-wheel. '^ Both horse and man arose un- 
 hurt, and, like Bourassin, continued the chase. 
 
 "Necks ain't easy broke in this here country," 
 remarked the seaman, as Archie pushed past him 
 in pursuit of a fat young cow. 
 
 "Not often. Necks are tough, you see, and 
 ground is mostly soft," cried Archie, as he fired 
 and dropped the cow. 
 
 " Who 's that away to the right, ridin' like a 
 madman after a calf?" asked Jenkins, overtaking 
 Archie, who was recharging his gun at the gallop. 
 
 "Who — where?" cried the boy, looking impa- 
 tiently round. 
 
 " Keep cool, lad ! Whatever condition you chance 
 to be in, whether of danger or safety, always keep 
 cool. For why ? — it makes you comfortable, or 
 more fit for action, as the case may be. See, the 
 fellow over there half-hidden by smoke." 
 
 " Why, that 's Duncan M'Kay. You might know 
 him by his hat." 
 
 " I ain't a good judge o' hats," remarked the sea- 
 man, as he fired at a bull and missed it. "Ha! 
 that comes o' firin' at long range," he said. "It 
 was at least six yards off, an' I can't count on the 
 
 
 
354 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 old blunderbuss beyond five. Better luck next 
 time ! " 
 
 " Hallo ! Jenkins, did you hear that ?" 
 
 " What ? " 
 
 " That shriek ? I'm sure some one has been hurt." 
 
 "Very likely, lad. There's many a cropper a- 
 goin' on just now, an' we can't all expect to come 
 off scot-free." 
 
 "The voice sounded like that of Fergus," said 
 Archie, "but I can see nothing for smoke now. Is 
 that a man on the ground over there ? " 
 
 "Don't know, Archie. Out o' the way, lad; 
 there 's another chance. Must get closer this time." 
 
 The tide of the chase swept on with irresistible 
 fury, and not one of all the band saw that the man 
 who had fallen did not rise. 
 
 Following close in rear, and profoundly excited 
 with this new and wild experience of life, came 
 Little Bill, galloping along on his pony. 
 
 The poor boy had either greatly benefited by his 
 recent adventures, or a change had taken place in 
 his constitution, for he rode with ease, and found 
 that he could walk considerable distances without 
 the old weary feeling of exhaustion. 
 
 As Little Bill passed over the prairie, which 
 resembled a field of battle where, not men, but 
 buffaloes had been the combatants, he came sud- 
 denly upon the dismounted hunter, who lay prone 
 upon his face. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 355 
 
 " Poor man ! " thought Little Bill, pulling up and 
 dismounting, "he seems to have been badly stunned." 
 
 Stooping down he turned the fallen man over on 
 his back with some difficulty, and then discovered, 
 to his consternation, that it was young Duncan 
 M'Kay, and that blood was flowing from a wound 
 in his side. 
 
 The shock at first deprived Billie of the power 
 to do anything, but in a very few minutes his strong 
 common sense returned, and his first act was to open 
 Duncan's coat and stanch the wound. This he 
 accomplished by means of a strip torn off the poor 
 man's cotton shirt, and the long red worsted belt 
 with which the hunter's capote was bound. Then 
 he took from his pocket a small bottle of water, 
 with which he had provided himself in case of 
 need, and poured a little into Duncan's mouth. 
 
 The result of these operations was that the fallen 
 man opened his eyes after a while, raised himself 
 on one elbow, and looked round in a dazed manner. 
 
 " What iss it that has come over me ? " he asked, 
 faintly. 
 
 "You have fallen off your horse, I think," answered 
 the boy, " and I — I 'm afraid a bullet has wounded 
 you in the side." 
 
 " Bullet ! Side ! " exclaimed Duncan, looking 
 quickly down at the bandage, and attempting to 
 rise. "Littl* Bill, you muat " 
 
 He stopped ; seemed to grow faint, and fell down; 
 
356 THE BUFFALO RUNNEKS : A TALE 
 
 but quickly raised himself again on one elbow and 
 looked round. 
 
 " Shot ! — dying ! " he muttered ; then turning to 
 the boy — " Stay by me, Little Bill. Don't leave me 
 here all alone." 
 
 "No, I won't leave you, unless — perhaps it would 
 be better if I rode back to camp for help." 
 
 " True, true. It 's my only chance," said the poor 
 man, faintly. " Go, Billie, and go quick. Put some- 
 thing under my head. And — stay — leave your gun 
 with me." 
 
 " I 'm so sorry I haven't got one, but here is my 
 bottle of water ; you may want that, and " 
 
 He stopped, for Duncan had evidently fainted 
 again. 
 
 The poor boy was terribly alarmed at this. He 
 had wit enough to perceive that prompt action was 
 needed, for his friend was in very great danger, 
 while the buffalo runners were by that time out of 
 sight in front, and the camp was far behind. In 
 this crisis Billie acted with decision. First making 
 the bandage over the wound more secure, and pour- 
 ing a little more water into the mouth of the 
 wounded man, he went to a clump of willows, and 
 cut a stout switch, then, remounting, he turned on 
 his track and made straight for the camp as fast as 
 his willing pony could be made to lay hoof to the 
 ground. 
 
 Arrived there, to his great relief he found the 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 357 
 
 Cree chief Ok(5matan, for that eccentric individual 
 had, owing to some unknown reason, refrained from 
 joining in the hunt that day. La Certe was also 
 there. 
 
 In a few minutes, mounted on a fresh horse, 
 Little Bill was galloping over the prairie, acting as 
 guide to Ok^matan, while La Certe followed them, 
 driving a cart with a couple of buffalo robes in 
 it. 
 
 That night, instead of rejoicing in the camp of 
 the buffalo runners after their successful hunt, there 
 was uneasiness and gloom, for Duncan M'Kay lay 
 in his tent dangerously wounded, and it was gene- 
 rally believed that the shot which laid him low 
 had been fired not by accident, but with deliberate 
 intent to kill. 
 
358 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 BUFFBEING AND ITS RESULTS. 
 
 When the news that young Duncan had been 
 shot was brought to Ben Nevis, the efifect on his 
 father was much more severe than might have 
 been expected, considering their respective feelings 
 towards each other. 
 
 It was late in the evening when the news came, 
 and the old man was seated in what he styled his 
 smoking-room, taking his evening glass of whisky 
 and water. 
 
 " Elspie," he said, in a subdued voice, on being 
 told, " help me up to my bed." 
 
 This was so very unusual a request that Elspie 
 was somewhat alarmed by it, as well as surprised — 
 all the more so that the old man left the room 
 without finishing either his pipe or glass. Still, 
 she did not suppose that anything serious would 
 come of it. A night's rest, she thought, would do 
 away with the evils of the shock. 
 
 " Dear father," she said, as she kissed him at part- 
 ing, " do believe that God is waiting to be gracious : 
 
OF THE BED RIVER PLAINS. 359 
 
 that He really means it when He says, ' Come unto 
 me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I 
 will give you rest.' And, consider — we have no 
 reason to suppose that dear Duncan's wound is very 
 dangerous." 
 
 " Goot-night, Elspie," was all the reply. 
 
 Next morning M'Kay did not make his appear- 
 ance at the usual breakfast-hour, and, on going to 
 his room, they found him lying speechless in his 
 bed, suffering under a stroke of paralysis. 
 
 He soon recovered the power of speech, but not 
 the use of his limbs, and it became evident ere long 
 that the poor man had received a shock which would 
 probably cripple him for life. Whatever may 
 have been his secret thoughts, however, he carefully 
 concealed them from every one, and always referred 
 to his complaint as " this nasty stifif feeling about 
 the legs which iss a long time of goin' away — what- 
 ever." 
 
 In a few days, Fergus returned from the plains, 
 bringing his brother in a cart, which had been made 
 tolerably easy by means of a springy couch of pine 
 branches. They did not tell him at first of his 
 father's illness, lest it should interfere with his own 
 recovery from the very critical condition in which 
 he lay. At first he took no notice of his father's 
 non-appearance, attributing it to indifference; but 
 when he began slowly to mend, he expressed some 
 surprise. Then they told him. 
 
360 THE BUFFALO RWNNERS : A TALE 
 
 Whatever may have been his thoughts on the 
 subject, he gave no sign, but received the inform- 
 ation — as, indeed, he received nearly all information 
 at that time — in absolute silence. 
 
 Fortunately, the bullet which struck him had 
 passed right through his side, so that he was spared 
 the pain, as well as the danger, of its extraction. 
 But, from his total loss of appetite and continued 
 weakness, it was evident that he had received some 
 very severe, if not fatal, internal injury. At last, 
 very slowly, he began to grow a little stronger, but 
 he was a very shadow or wreck of his former self. 
 Nevertheless, the more sanguine members of the 
 family began to entertain some faint hope of his 
 recovery. 
 
 Of course, during these first days of his weakness 
 his sister Elspie nursed him. She would, if permitted, 
 have done so night and day, but in this matter she 
 had to contend with one who was more than a match 
 for her. This was Old Peg, the faithful domestic. 
 
 " No, no, dearie," said that resolute old woman, 
 when Elspie first promulgated to her the idea of 
 sitting up all night with Duncan, "you will do 
 nothiu' of the sort. Your sainted mother left your 
 father an' Fergus an' yourself to my care, an' I said 
 I would never fail you, so I can't break my promise 
 by letting you break your health. I will sit up 
 wi' him, as I 've done many a time when he was a 
 bairn." 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 361 
 
 It thus came to pass that Elspie nursed her 
 brother by day, and Old Peg sat up with him at 
 night. Of course the duties of the former were 
 considerably lightened by the assistance rendered 
 by various members of the family, as well as friends, 
 who were ever ready to sit by the bedside of the 
 wounded man and read to or chat with him. At 
 such times he was moderately cheerful, but when 
 the night watches came, and Old Peg took her 
 place beside him, and memory had time to commence 
 with him undisturbed, the deed of which he had 
 had been guilty was forced upon him ; Conscience 
 was awakened, and self-condemnation was the 
 result. Yet, so inconsistent is poor humanity that 
 self-exculpation warred with self-condemnation in 
 the same brain! The miserable man would have 
 given all he possessed to have been able to persuade 
 himself that his act was purely one of self-defence 
 — as no doubt to some extent it was, for if he 
 had not fired first Perrin's action showed that he 
 would certainly have been the man-slayer. But, 
 then, young M'Kay could not shut his eyes to the 
 fact that premeditation had, in the first instance, 
 induced him to extend his hand towards his gun, 
 and this first act it was which had caused all the rest. 
 
 Often during the wakeful hours of the night 
 would the invalid glance at his nurse with a long- 
 ing desire to unburden his soul to her, but whenever 
 his eye rested on her calm, wrinkled old visage, 
 
362 THE BUFFALO KUNNEES : A TALE 
 
 and he thought of her deafness, and the difficulty of 
 making her understand, he abandoned his half- 
 formed intention with a sigh. He did not, indeed, 
 doubt her sympathy, for many a time during his 
 life, especially when a child, had he experienced the 
 strength and tenderness of that. 
 
 After attending to his wants, it was the habit of 
 Old Peg to put on a pair of tortoise-shell spectacles 
 and read. Her only book was the Bible. She read 
 nothing else — to say truth, at that time there was 
 little else to read in Eed Eiver. The first night of 
 her watch she had asked the invalid if he would like 
 her to read a few verses to him. 
 
 "You may if you like, Peg," he had replied. 
 " You know it iss little I care for releegion, for I 
 don't believe in it, but you may read if you like — 
 it may amuse me, an' will help to make the time 
 pass — whatever." 
 
 Thus the custom was established. It was plain 
 that the old woman counted much on the influence 
 of the simple Word of God, without comment, for 
 every time she opened the Bible she shut her eyes 
 and her lips moved in silent prayer before she began 
 to read. 
 
 The invalid was greatly tickled with this little 
 preliminary prayer, and would have laughed aloud 
 if he had not been too weak to do so. As time 
 went on, however, he became interested in the 
 Gospel narratives in spite of himself, and he began 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 363 
 
 to experience some sort of relish for the evening 
 reading — chiefly because, as he carefully explained 
 to Elspie, "the droning o' the old wumman's voice" 
 sent him to sleep. 
 
 Meanwhile the other invalid — Duncan senior — 
 progressed as slowly as did his son. The nursing 
 of him was undertaken chiefly by Jessie Davidson 
 — the sympathetic Jessie — who was established as 
 an inmate of Ben Nevis -pro tem. for that very 
 purpose. She was ably seconded — during part of 
 each day — by Billie Sinclair, between whom and the 
 old Highlander there grew up at that time a strong 
 friendship. For many weeks poor old M'Kay was 
 confined to his bed, and then, when allowed to rise, 
 he could only walk across his room with the aid of 
 the strong arm of his stalwart son Fergus. To sit 
 at his open window and look out at his garden was 
 his principal amusement, and smoking a long clay 
 pipe his chief solace. Like Duncan junior, old 
 Duncan was quite willing to hear the Bible read 
 to him now and then, by Jessie Davidson and 
 more especially by Little Bill; but the idea of 
 deriving any real comfort from that book never 
 for a moment entered his head. 
 
 One day Elspie came to him and said: "Daddy, 
 Dan wants to see you to-day, if you feel well 
 enough." 
 
 " Surely, my tear. It iss not the first time he 
 will be seein' me since I got the stroke." 
 
364 THE BUFFALO RUNNEBS : A TALE 
 
 " He has brought you a present — something that 
 he has made — which he hopes will be useful to 
 you." 
 
 "Whatisit, Elspie?" 
 
 " You shall see. May I tell him to come in and 
 bring it with him ?" 
 
 "Surely, my tear. Let him come in. It iss 
 always goot for sore eyes to see himself — whatever." 
 
 Elspie went out. A few minutes later there was 
 heard in the passage a strange rumbling sound. 
 
 " What in all the world iss that ? " said the old 
 man to Little Bill, who happened to be his companion 
 at the time. 
 
 " It sounds like wheels, I think," said Billie. 
 
 The door opened as he spoke, and Dan Davidson 
 entered, pushing before him an invalid chair of a 
 kind that is familiar enough in the civilised world, 
 but which was utterly unknown at that time in 
 those regions. 
 
 " Goot-mornin', Tan ; what hev you got there ? 
 Iss it a surprise you will be givin' me ?" 
 
 " It is a chair, sir, which will, I hope, add a good 
 deal to your comfort," said Dan. " I made it my- 
 self, from the memory-model of one which I once 
 saw in the old country. See, I will show you how 
 it acts. Push me along, Jessie." 
 
 Dan sat down in the chair as he spoke, and his 
 sister Jessie, who entered at the moment, pushed 
 him all about the room with the greatest ease. 
 
OF THE RED KIVER PLAINS. 365 
 
 " Well, well ! " said the amused invalid. " Ye are 
 a clever man, Taniel. It iss a goot contrivance, an' 
 seems to me fery well made. Could Little Bill 
 push it, think ye ? Go an' try, boy." 
 
 Little Bill found that he could push Dan in 
 the chair as easily as Jessie had done it. 
 
 " But that is not all," said Dan. " See — now I 
 will work the chair myself." 
 
 So saying he laid his hands on the two large 
 wheels at either side — which, with a little wheel 
 behind, supported the machine — and moved it about 
 the room, turned it round, and, in short, acted in a 
 very independent manner as to self-locomotion. 
 
 " Well, now, that iss goot," exclaimed the pleased 
 invalid. " Let me try it, Tan." 
 
 In his eagerness the poor man, forgetting for a 
 moment his helpless condition, made an effort to 
 rise, and would certainly have fallen off the chair 
 on which he was seated if Elspie had not sprung to 
 his assistance. 
 
 " Come, there 's life in you yet ! " said Dan as he 
 assisted the old man into the wheel-chair. "Put 
 your hands — so. And when you want to turn 
 sharp round you 've only to pull with one hand and 
 push with " 
 
 " Get along with you," interrupted the old man, 
 facetiously giving the chair a swing that caused all 
 who stood around him to leap out of his way : "will 
 you hev the presumption to teach a man that knew 
 
366 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALK 
 
 how tx) scull a boat before you wass born ? But, 
 Taniel," he added, in a more serious tone, " we 
 must hev one like this made for poor Tuncan." 
 
 As this was the first reference which M'Kay had 
 made to his younger son since his illness — with the 
 exception of the daily inquiry as to his health — it 
 was hailed as an evidence that a change for the 
 better was taking place in the old man's mind. 
 For up to that period no one had received any 
 encouragement to speak of or enter into conversa- 
 tion about Duncan junior. 
 
 "You are right," returned Dan. "I have been 
 thinking of that, and have even laid in the wood to 
 make a similar chair for him. But I fear he won't 
 be able to use it for some time to come. Elspie was 
 thinking, if you don't object, to have your bedroom 
 changed to one of the rooms on the ground floor. 
 so that you could be wheeled into the garden when 
 so inclined." 
 
 " Yes, daddy," said Elspie, taking up the discourse; 
 " we can put you into the room that corresponds 
 with Duncan's room at the other end of the house, 
 so that you and he will be able to meet after your 
 long illness. But there is another contrivance 
 which Dan has been making for us — not for you, 
 but for Old Peg. Tell daddy about it, Dan." 
 
 "Like the chair," said Dan, "it is no novelty, 
 except in this out-o'-the-way place. You see, I 
 have noticed that Old Peg is rather deaf——" 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 367 
 
 "Well, Tan," interrupted old M'Kay with a be- 
 nignant smile, "it iss not much observation that 
 you will be requiriu' to see that ! " 
 
 " Just so. Well, I also observed that it gives 
 Duncan some trouble to speak loud enough to her. 
 So I have invented a sort of ear-trumpet — a tin pipe 
 with an ear-piece at one end and a mouth-piece at 
 the other, which I hope may make things easier." 
 
 " Hev ye not tried it yet ? " asked M'Kay. 
 
 " Not yet. I 've only just brought it" 
 
 " Go down, lad, an* try it at wanse, an' let me 
 know what the upshot iss." 
 
 Down they all went accordingly, leaving Duncan 
 senior alona 
 
 They found Old Peg in the act of administering 
 beef-tea refreshment — or something of that sort — 
 to the invalid. Peter Davidson and Archie Sinclair 
 were there also, paying him a visit. 
 
 " Hallo, Little Bill ! " said Archie as his brother 
 entered. " You here ! I guessed as much. Your 
 passion for nursing since you attended Dan is out- 
 rageous. You do more nursing in this house, I 
 do believe, than Elspie and Jessie and Old Peg put 
 together. What d'ee mean by it. Bill? I get no 
 good of you at all now ! " 
 
 " I like it, Archie, and I 'm training myself to 
 nurse you when you get ill or old ! " 
 
 "Thank 'ee for nothin'. Little Bill, for I don't 
 mean to become either ill or old for some time to 
 
368 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 come; but, I say, are they goin' to perform an 
 operation on Old Peg's head ? " 
 
 This was said in consequence of Elspie shouting 
 to the old woman to let her put something into her 
 ear to cure deafness. 
 
 " Cure deafness ! " she exclaimed, with a faint 
 laugh, " nothin' will ever cure my deafness. But I 
 can trust you, dearie, so do what you please." 
 
 " Shut your eyes, then." 
 
 (" And open your mouth ! ") said Archie to Little 
 Bill in a low voice. 
 
 Old Peg did as she was bid. Dan, approaching 
 behind her, put the small end of the tube into her 
 right ear — which was the best one — and Elspie, 
 putting her mouth to the other end, spoke to her 
 in her soft, natural voice. 
 
 The effect was amusing. Old Peg dropped into 
 her chair as if paralysed, and gazed from one to 
 another in mute amazement. 
 
 "Eh! dearie. Did I ever think to hear the 
 sweet low voice o' Elspie like as it was when she 
 was a bairn ! Most amazin* ! " she said. " Let me 
 hear 't again." 
 
 The operation was repeated, and it was finally 
 found that, by means of this extemporised ear- 
 trumpet, the poor creature once more became a 
 conversable member of society. She went about the 
 house the remainder of that day in a quite excited 
 state, asking questions of everybody, and putting 
 
OF THE KED IIVER PLAINS. 86d 
 
 the end of the instrumeut to their mouths for an 
 answer. Archie even declared that he had caught 
 her alone in the back-kitchen shoving the cat's head 
 into the mouthpiece of the instrument and pinching 
 its tail to make it mew. 
 
 It was two days after the occurrence of these 
 incidents that the old woman was seated by- 
 Duncan's bedside, gazing through her tortoise-shell 
 glasses at the well-thumbed Bible, when her patient, 
 who had been very restless, looked up and spoke. 
 
 " Can I do anything for ye, dearie ? " said Old Peg, 
 putting the trumpet-end into her ear, and handing 
 the mouthpiece to Duncan. 
 
 " You — you hear much better now. Old Peg ? " 
 said the sick man, in his natural voice. 
 
 " Ay, much, much better ; thanks to the Lord — 
 and to Mr. Daniel." 
 
 " If Daniel had not thought of it," said the in- 
 valid, quite gravely, " do you think that the Lord 
 would hev sent the machine to you 1 " 
 
 *' He might or He might not," returned the old 
 woman, promptly. " It 's not for me to say, nor yet 
 to guess on that point. But this I do know for 
 certain — if the Lord hadna' thought upon Mr. Daniel, 
 then Mr. Daniel wouldua' have been here to think 
 upon me" 
 
 Duncan made no reply, and for some time re- 
 mained quite silent. Then he spoke again. 
 
 " Peg, what wass it that you would be reading to 
 2a 
 
370 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS: A TALE 
 
 me last night — something about a malefactor, I 'm 
 thinkiug." 
 
 " Ay, it was about the robbers that was crucified 
 on each side o' the Lord. One o' them reviled the 
 Lord as he was hangin' there, the other found for- 
 giveness, for he was led to see what a lost sinner he 
 was, and repented and confessed his sins." 
 
 " That is fery strange," said Duncan, after a few 
 moments' thought. "Do you think. Peg, that the 
 robber that was forgiven wass a — a murderer ? " 
 
 " I have little doubt o't," answered Peg, " for I 've 
 heard say that they think very little o' human life 
 in them Eastern countries. But whatever he was, 
 the blood of Jesus Christ was able to cleanse him." 
 
 " Ay, but if he was a murderer, Peg, he did not 
 deserve to be forgiven." 
 
 " My bairn," said the old woman, with something 
 of motherly tenderness in her tone, " it 's not them 
 that deserve to be forgiven that are forgiven, but 
 them that see that they don't deserve it. Didna' 
 this robber say that he was sufferin' for his sins 
 justly ? That, surely, meant that he deserved what 
 he was getting, an' how is it possible to deserve both 
 condemnation an' forgiveness at the same time ? 
 But he believed that Jesus was a king — able and 
 willing to save him though he did not deserve it, so 
 he asked to be remembered, and he was remembered. 
 But lie down now, bairn, an' rest. Ye are excitin' 
 yoursel', au' that 's bad for ye." 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 371 
 
 A week or so after the conversation above re- 
 corded, Dan brought a wheel-chair for Duncan, 
 similar to the one he had made for his father. As 
 Duncan had been getting out of bed for several 
 days before, Dan found him dressed and sitting 
 up. He therefore lifted him into the chair at once, 
 and wheeled him out into the garden, where a blaze 
 of warm sunshine seemed to put new life into the 
 poor invalid. 
 
 It had been pre-arranged that old M'Kay should 
 be brought down that same day to his new room, 
 and that he should also be wheeled into the garden, 
 so as to meet his son Duncan, without either of 
 them being prepared for the meeting. 
 
 " I don't feel at all sure that we are right in this 
 arrangement," Elspie had said ; but Dan and Fergus, 
 and Mrs. Davidson and Jessie had thought other- 
 wise, so she was overruled. 
 
 Archie was deputed to attend upon Duncan 
 junior, and Little Bill obtained leave to push the 
 chair of old M'Kay. The younger man was wheeled 
 under the shade of a tree with his back to the house, 
 and left there. Then the family retired out of the 
 way, leaving Archie to attend the invalid. 
 
 A few minutes after young Duncan had been 
 placed, Little Bill pushed his charge under the 
 same tree, and, wheeling the chair quickly round, 
 brought father and son suddenly face to face. 
 
 The surprise was great on both sides, for each. 
 
372 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 recollecting only the man that had been, could 
 hardly believe in the reality of the ghost that sat 
 before him. 
 
 " Father ! " exclaimed Duncan at last. 
 
 But the old man answered not. Some strong 
 feeling was evidently surging within him, for his 
 mouth was tightly pursed and his features worked 
 strangely. Suddenly he burst into tears, but the 
 weakness was momentary. With an efifort that 
 seemed to concentrate the accimiulated energy of 
 all the M'Kays from Adam downwards, he again 
 pursed his mouth and looked at his younger son 
 with a stern persistent frown, worthy of the most 
 rugged of Highlanders in his fiercest mood. 
 
 Duncan was inexpressibly touched. 
 
 " Father," said he again, " I 've been a baad, baad 
 son to you." 
 
 " Tuncan," retorted the old man, in a husky but 
 firm voice, " I 've been a baad, baad father to you." 
 
 " Let us shake hands — whatever," said the son. 
 
 The two silently grasped each other's hands with 
 all the little strength that remained to them. Then 
 old M'Kay turned suddenly to his henchman. 
 
 " Little Bill," said he, in a tone that was not for 
 an instant to be disregarded, "shove me down to 
 the f utt of the garden — you rascal ! " 
 
 With a promptitude little short of miraculous 
 the Highlander was wheeled away, and thus the 
 momentous meeting was abruptly brought to a close. 
 
OP THE RED RIVER PLAINa 373 
 
 CHAPTEK XXXIIL 
 
 HATRDIOmAI. FLANS AIID FBOSFECTS. 
 
 Time passed by, as time is rather apt to do, and 
 still the feud between the rival fur companies con- 
 tinued, to the detriment of the Indians and the fur 
 trade, the unsettling of Eed Eiver Settlement, and 
 the demoralisation more or less of all concerned. 
 
 Men who would gladly have devoted all their 
 energies to the arts of peace, became more or less 
 belligerent in spirit, if not in act, and many were 
 forced to take sides in the controversy — some siding 
 with the Nor'-Westers and others with the Hudson's 
 Bay Company. 
 
 With the merits of their contentions we do not 
 propose to meddle. We confine ourselves to facts. 
 
 One important fact was that our hero Daniel 
 Davidson took the side of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany. Being a stout fellow, with a good brain, a 
 strong will, an independent spirit, and a capable 
 tongue, he was highly appreciated by the one side 
 and considerably hated by the other, insomuch that 
 some of the violent spirits made dark suggestions as 
 
374 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 to the propriety of putting him out of the way. It 
 is not easy, however, or safe, to attempt to put a 
 strong, resolute man out of the way, and his enemies 
 plotted for a considerable time in vain. 
 
 The unsettled state of the colony, and the frequent 
 failure of the crops had, as we have seen, exerted an 
 evil influence for a long time on poor Dan's matri- 
 monial prospects, and at last, feeling that more 
 settled times might yet be in the remote future, and 
 that, as regarded defence and maintenance, it would 
 be on the whole better both for Elspie and himself 
 that they should get married without delay, he 
 resolved to take the important step, and, as old 
 M'Kay remarked, have it over. 
 
 " You see, Taniel," said the old man, when the 
 subject was again broached, " it iss of no use hangin' 
 off an' on in this fashion. Moreover, this nasty stiff 
 leg o' mine is so long of getting well that it may 
 walk me off the face o' the earth altogether, an' I 
 would not like to leave Elspie till this matter iss 
 settled. Tuncan also iss a little better just now, so 
 what say you to have the weddin' the month after 
 next ? Mr. Sutherland will be back from the 
 Whitehorse Plains by then, an' he can tie the knot 
 tight enough — whatever. Anyway, it iss clear that 
 if we wait for a munister o' the Auld Kirk, we will 
 hev to wait till doomsday. What say you, Taniel?" 
 
 It need hardly be said that Dan had nothing 
 whatever to say in objection to this scheme. It was 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 375 
 
 therefore settled — under the proviso, of course, that 
 Elspie had no objection. Dan went off at once to 
 see Elspie, and found that she had no objection, 
 whereupon, after some conversation, etc., with which 
 we will not weary the reader, he sought out his 
 friend Fred Jenkins, to whom he communicated 
 the good news, and treated him to a good many 
 unanswerable reasons why young people should not 
 delay marriage when there was any reasonable 
 prospect of their getting on comfortably in life 
 together. 
 
 The sailor agreed with effusive heartiness to all 
 that he said, and Dan thought while he was speaking 
 — orating — as one of the American settlers would 
 have expressed it — that Jenkins wore a peculiar 
 expression on his manly countenance. Attributing 
 it to unusual interest in the event, he continued — 
 
 " Now, Fred, I want you to be my best-man " 
 
 " Unpossible — quite unpossible," interrupted the 
 seaman with a grave shake of the head. 
 " How — impossible ! " 
 " Ab — so — lutely unpossible." 
 " But why ? Explain yourself, Fred." 
 " 'Cause it 's only a bachelor as can be a best-man 
 to a bachelor — ain't it ? " 
 
 " I believe so, though I 'm no authority in such 
 matters; but surely that is a matter of no import 
 ance, for you are a bachelor, you know," 
 
 *' True, that 's what I am to-day, but T won't be 
 
376 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 that long, for I am goin' to be married next month, 
 so I won't be available, d'ee see, the month after." 
 
 " You — married ! — to whom ? " exclaimed Dan in 
 amazement. 
 
 " Well, that 's a point blank shot right between 
 wind an' water. Hows'ever, I suppose I can't go 
 wrong in tellin' you, Dan, for it 'a all settled, though 
 not a soul knows about it except Little Bill, an' 
 yourself, an' her brother." 
 
 " But I don't know about it yet," returned Dan. 
 "Who is it?" 
 
 "A angel — pure an' unmixed — come straight 
 down from heaven apurpus to marry poor, unedi- 
 cated, sea-farin' Fred Jenkins, an' her terrestrial 
 name is Elise Morel ! " 
 
 Dan laughed while he congratulated the modest 
 seaman, and admitted the strength of his difficulty, 
 
 " D' you know, Fred, I 've had a suspicion for some 
 time past that you had a leaning in that direction ? " 
 
 " So have I, Dan ; had an uncommon strong sus- 
 picion for a very long time past, not only that I had 
 a leanin' that way, but a regular list to port, an' now 
 I 'm. fairly over on my beam-ends ! " 
 
 " But, surely, it must have come upon you very 
 sudden at last," said Dan. " How was it ? " 
 
 " Sudden ! I should just think it did — like a white 
 squall in the Mediterranean, or a hurricane iu the 
 China seas. This is how it was. I 'd bin cruisin' 
 about her — off an' on- -for a considerable time, tryin' 
 
OP THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 377 
 
 to make up my mind to go into action, an' screwin' 
 my courage up to the stickin' pint by recallin' all 
 the fine sentiments that has carried Jack-tars 
 through fire an' smoke, shot and shell since the 
 world began — 'England expects every man to do 
 his dooty' — 'Never say die' — 'Hookey Bunkum,' 
 an' such like. But it warn't no manner o' use, for 
 I 'm an' outrageous coward wi' the gals, Dan. So, 
 in a sort o' despair, I sailed away this very momin' 
 into the plantation at the futt o' your garden, in- 
 tendin' to cool myself an' think over it, when, who 
 should I see almost hull down on my lee bow but 
 the enemy — Elise herself ! 
 
 " Well, I changed my course at once ; bore straight 
 down on her, an' soon overhauled her, but the nearer 
 I came the more did my courage run out, so I gra- 
 dooally begun to take in sail an drop astarn. At 
 last I got savage, ' You 're a fool, Jenkins ! ' says I to 
 myself. ' That's a fact ! ' says su'thin' inside o' me. 
 
 " Now, if that su'thin' had kep' quiet, I do be- 
 lieve that I 'd have gone about-ship an' showed her 
 my heels, but that su'thin', whatever it was, set up 
 my dander. ' Now then,' says I, ' haul taut the 
 main brace ! Up wi' the t' gall'n'-s'ls an' sky- 
 scrapers ! " England expects," ' etceterer ! 
 
 " Afore you could say Jack Eobinson, I was along- 
 side — grapplin'-irons hove into her riggin', and a 
 broadside fired. The way I gave it her astonished 
 even myself. Nelson himself could scarce ha' done 
 
378 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 it. better ! "Well, she struck her colours at the first 
 broadside, an' somehow — I never could make out 
 exactly how — we was sittin' on the stump of a tree 
 with her head on my rough unworthy buzzum. 
 Think o' that ! Dan, her head — the head of a Angel ! 
 Give us your flipper, mate," 
 
 " I congratulate you, Jenkins, with all my heart," 
 said Dan, grasping the seaman's "flipper," and giving 
 it a hearty shake. " So now, I must look out for 
 another best-man. Morel will do for me, I think, 
 and you can have my brother Peter, no doubt. But 
 could we not manage to have both weddings on the 
 same day ? " 
 
 " Unpossible," answered the seaman, promptly. 
 " Couldn't wait." 
 
 " But we might compromise the matter. I might 
 have mine a little sooner and you could have 
 yours a little later." 
 
 Still Jenkins shook his head. " Not fair-play," he 
 said. " All the advantage on your side. However, we 
 might consider it. Hold a sort o' drum-head court- 
 martial over it, with Elise and Elspie as judges." 
 
 When the said court-marital — as Dan called it 
 — was held, the compromise was agreed to, and it 
 was finally fixed that six weeks thereafter the two 
 couples should be united in Ben Nevis Hall. 
 
 But the current of these parallel streams of true 
 love was not yet destined to run smooth — as the 
 next chapter will show. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 379 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIV. 
 
 A NEW DISASTER. 
 
 "I MEAN to go ofif to-morrow on a shooting 
 trip to the lake," said Dan Davidson to Archie 
 Sinclair. " I 've had a long spell at farming opera- 
 tions of late, and am tired of it. The double 
 wedding, you know, comes off in six weeks. So I 
 want to have one more run in the wilderness in all 
 the freedom of bachelorhood. Will you go with 
 me?" 
 
 " ' Unpossible,* as Jenkins would say," answered 
 Archie. "Nothing would please me better, but, 
 duty before pleasure ! I 've promised to spend a 
 week along wi' Little Bill at the Whitehorse Plains. 
 Billie has taken a great fancy to that chief o' the 
 halfbreeds, Cuthbert Grant, and we are goin' to 
 visit him. I 've no doubt that Little Bill would let 
 me off, but I won't be let off." 
 
 "Then I must ask Ok^matan to go with me," 
 said Dan, 
 
 "You needn't trouble yourself, for I heard him 
 say that he was goin' off to see some o' his relations 
 
380 THE BTJFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 on important business — a great palaver o' some sort 
 — and Elise told me this morning that she saw him 
 start yesterday." 
 
 " H'm ! Morel is too busy with his new farm to 
 go," rejoined Dan, " and Jenkins is too busy helping 
 MoreL Perhaps Dechamp or Bourassin may be 
 more at leisure. I will go see." 
 
 But on search being made, neither Dechamp nor 
 Bourassin was to be found, and our hero was re- 
 turning home with the intention of taking a small 
 hunting canoe and going off by himself, when he 
 chanced to meet with La Certe. 
 
 That worthy seemed unusually depressed, and 
 returned Dan's greeting with veiy little of his 
 habitual cheerfulness. 
 
 " What 's wrong with you, Frantjois ? " asked Dan, 
 anxiously. 
 
 "Domestic infelicity," answered La Certe, with 
 a sorrowful shake of the head. 
 
 " "What ! surely Slowfoot has not taken to being 
 unkind to you ? " 
 
 " O no ! Slowfoot could not be unkind, but she 
 is unhappy ; she has lost her cheerful looks ; she 
 does not take everything as she once did ; she does 
 not now let everything go anyhow with that cheer- 
 ful resignation which was once her delightful 
 characteristic. She no longer hands the pipe of 
 peace to our little one — indeed she reluses to let it 
 have the pipe at all, though the poor child cries for 
 
OF THE RED EIVEB PLAINS. 381 
 
 it, and comes to me secretly, when Slowfoot is out 
 of the way, to beg for a draw. Then, she scolds 
 me — no, she does not scold. Slowfoot cannot scold. 
 She is too amiable — but she remonstrates, and that 
 is worse than scolding, for it enlists myself against 
 myself. ! I am now miserable. My days of 
 peace are gone ! " 
 
 " This is all very sad, La Certe," said Dan, in a 
 tone of sympathy. "What does she remonstrate 
 about ? " 
 
 " About my laziness ! She does it very kindly, 
 very gently — so like her old self ! — but she does it 
 She says, * Husband, we have gone on this way too 
 long. We must change. You must change. You 
 are lazy ! ' " 
 
 "Well, La Certe," said Dan, "I'm afraid that 
 Slowfoot is right." 
 
 "I know she is right!" retorted the halfbreed, 
 with more of exasperation in his manner than his 
 friend had ever before seen in him. " When that 
 which is said of one is false, one can afford to smile, 
 but when it is true what can one say ? Yet it is 
 hard — very hard. You are full of energy; you 
 love to expend it, and you search for work. It is 
 natural — and what is natural must be right So, 
 I am full of laziness. I love to indulge it, and I 
 search for repose. That is also natural, and what 
 is natural must be right. Voilk ! " 
 
 " Then I suppose your love for repose," returned 
 
382 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 Dan, " will oblige you to decline an offer which I 
 thought of making to you." 
 
 " What is that ? " 
 
 " To go with me on a shooting expedition to Lake 
 Winnipeg for a week or two." 
 
 "O no! I will not decline that," returned La 
 Certe, brightening up. " Shooting is not labour. It 
 is amusement, with labour sufficient to make after- 
 repose delightful. And I wiU be glad to leave my 
 home for a time, for it is no longer the abode of 
 feUcity." 
 
 This having been satisfactorily arranged, prepara- 
 tions made, and Slowfoot advised of her husband's 
 intention, Dan went to Ben Nevis Hall next morn- 
 ing to bid farewell to Elspie for a brief period. 
 He found only old M'Kay in the Hall, Elspie having 
 gone up the Settlement, or down the Settlement — 
 the man did not know which — to call on a friend. 
 
 "See that ye will not be long o* comin' back, 
 Tan," he said. " There wiU be a good many arranch- 
 ments to make, you see." 
 
 " I hope to be back in three weeks at latest," said 
 Dan, " if all goes well." 
 
 "Ay, if all goes weU," repeated the old man, 
 thoughtfully. " As Elspie says sometimes, ' We 
 never know what a day may bring furth.' Well, 
 well, see that you will not be upsetting your canoe, 
 for canoes are cranky things — whatever." 
 
 In a short time our hero and La Certe found 
 
OF THE EED KIVER PLAINS. 383 
 
 themselves floating once more on the calm breast 
 of the mighty inland sea. 
 
 It was afternoon. The circumstances were emi- 
 nently conducive to the felicity which is derivable 
 from repose, and thus admirably suited to the tastes 
 of La Certe. An unruffled sheet of glassy water 
 lay spread out to the north-western horizon, which 
 not only doubled the canoe and its occupants, but 
 reflected the golden glory of the sun, and mirrored 
 every fleecy cloudlet in the bright blue sky. A 
 mere dip of the paddles now and then served to 
 give impulse to the light, and literal, bark. Genial 
 warmth pervaded the atmosphere, and little white 
 gulls floated almost motionless on outspread wings, 
 or sloped hither and thither with lazy flap, while 
 ever and anon the whistling wings of passing wild- 
 fowl gave promise of occupation to their guns, to 
 say nothing of their kettles. 
 
 On their third day out, towards evening, they 
 went ashore on the lee-side of a rocky point where 
 some bushes and trees seemed to offer firewood and 
 shelter. 
 
 " This will do," said Dan, as he stepped lightly 
 out on a shelving rock and held the canoe while his 
 companion took out the lading. " Plenty dry sticks 
 and lots of moss for bedding." 
 
 " Truly, tliat is so," returned La Certe. " It is a 
 place in which Slowfoot would rejoice to repose, and 
 the little one to smoke its pipe." 
 
384 THE BUFFALO EUNNEKS : A TALE 
 
 "You forget," said Dan. "The little one is no 
 longer allowed that luxury." 
 
 " No, I forgot not. But I reflect that it is possible 
 to give her many a draw on the sly." 
 
 The fire was soon kindled, ducks were roasting in 
 front of it, and the kettle boiling above it. The 
 tea had been infused, and La Certe, while filling his 
 pipe, was blinking goodwill at all around, when the 
 notes of a voyageur-song were heard like an echo in 
 the far distance. 
 
 Gradually the song grew louder, and soon a canoe 
 rounded the point, and came in sight of the camp- 
 fire. It was what used to be called a north-canoe, 
 of the largest size, made of birch-bark, and con- 
 tained a crew of ten men. 
 
 The song and the paddling stopped simultaneously 
 when the camp was observed, and the men appeared 
 to hold a consultation. Their hesitation, however, 
 was very brief. Suddenly, breaking again into song, 
 they ran the canoe to shore, and landed. 
 
 " We are bound for Red River," said their chief 
 to Dan. "Just come from Canada. We suppose 
 you don't object to our camping beside you. It 
 is a convenient spot." 
 
 Of course the two hunters had no objection 
 whatever to fraternise with the strangers from 
 Canada, and in a short time another large fire 
 was sending its myriad sparks up into the dai'ken- 
 ing sky like a gigantic roman-candle. 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 385 
 
 During supper the strangers made themselves 
 very agreeable. After supper, two of the stoutest 
 of them arose, as if to go into the bush for more 
 firewood. Suddenly these threw themselves upon 
 and seized Dan and his comrade, who were reclining 
 quietly on the ground. Before either could make 
 even an attempt at self-defence they were over- 
 powered by the Canadians, and held forcibly down, 
 ■while their arms were securely bound to their sides 
 with strips of deerskin. 
 
 "It is useless to struggle, Dan Davidson," said 
 the chief, when this was being accomplished. " We 
 know you as a bitter opponent of the Nor'-westers, 
 and we intend to carry you where your power to do 
 mischief will be ended." 
 
 "Who are you? and under whose authority do 
 you act ? " demanded Dan, angrily. 
 
 "Who I am is a matter of no interest to you, 
 Dan. I act under my own authority, and I may 
 just as well tell you, at the beginning, that if you 
 and your comrade choose to submit peaceably, we 
 will treat you reasonably well ; — if not, we will find 
 means to quiet you, even though we should be 
 driven to do it wi' that." 
 
 The man pointed significantly to a gun which 
 leant against a neighbouring tree. His meaning 
 could not be misunderstood. 
 
 That night, Dan and La Certe were fastened to a 
 tree by cords which allowed of their moving about 
 2b 
 
386 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 freely within a small space, but their arms were 
 not unbound. Here they were allowed to make 
 themselves as comfortable as possible in the cir- 
 cumstances. Their bed, being mossy, was well 
 enough, but the distracted state of their minds — 
 especially Dan's — may be imagined. 
 
 "La Certe," said Dan, when the camp-fire had 
 burned low, and the stars were shining on them 
 through the leaves, and all was still save an oc- 
 casional snore from the Nor'-westers. 
 
 La Certe groaned in reply. 
 
 Poor Dan was not in a mood to comfort him or 
 anybody else at that moment, and did not follow 
 up his remark. 
 
 " La Certe," he said again, after a quarter of an 
 hour. 
 
 "WeU?" 
 
 " Do you remember John Bourke ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes, I remember him, but I care not for 
 him. My own sorrows are too great." 
 
 "Do you recollect," continued Dan, regardless 
 of this despairing remark, " that a good while ago 
 the Nor'-westers took him prisoner, when he was 
 wounded after a skirmish with them, and carried 
 him to Canada — treating him with great barbarity 
 on the way. There he was put in jail, but, as 
 nothing could be proved against him, he was 
 liberated, and then tried to return to his family 
 in Ked lUver, but the Nor'-westers caught him 
 
OF THE RED KIVER PLAINS. 887 
 
 again, imprisoned him, sent him a second time to 
 Canada, and had him tried at the. Court of the 
 King's Bench, although his only crime was that of 
 resisting the North-West Company. He was ac- 
 quitted, and, after terrible sufferings from which he 
 never quite recovered and a three years' absence, 
 he rejoined his family in Eed Eiver." 
 
 " Yes, yes ! I know it all," groaned La Certe. 
 
 " Well," continued Dan, bitterly, " his fate is not 
 unlikely to be ours." 
 
 The poor halfbreed made no reply to this. For 
 some time he lay quite still, and his comrade had 
 almost fallen into an uneasy slumber, when he was 
 awakened by La Certe breaking out into a soliloquy 
 in which he apostrophised his absent wife. 
 
 " my Slowfoot!" he murmured. " Shall we never 
 meet again on earth ? Yes, you are right. I have 
 been lazy ! I am lazy. I suppose that this is punish- 
 ment for my sin. But it is hard to bear, and very 
 heavy — is it not ? — for only following one's nature 
 in longing for repose. ! why was I born ? Why 
 was our little one born, to enjoy for so brief a time 
 the delights of smoke, and then have it denied her — 
 except on the sly, when with her miserable father, 
 who will never see her more — per-haps." 
 
 He paused for a few minutes, and then broke out 
 again. 
 
 "Yes, my Slowfoot — you are right. I must re- 
 form. I will cast off my sloth as a garment — even 
 
388 THE BUFFALO BUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 ^-even though I should go naked all the rest of my 
 days ! I will work — energise ! I will " 
 
 "Hold your tongue. La Certe, and listen," said 
 Dan in a low, stern voice. 
 
 " I am all attention," returned the poor man in a 
 similarly low tone. 
 
 " Are you game to fight, if you get the chance ? " 
 
 " Game to fight !" echoed the other — " to fight for 
 my Slowfoot, my little one, my smoke, and my re- 
 po — I mean my — my — new " 
 
 "Speak lower, man, and listen to a plan I have 
 in my head." 
 
 Here Dan spoke so low that he could not be 
 heard at all, save only by his companion ; but that 
 is of little consequence, for the plan, whatever it 
 might have been, was never carried out. 
 
 Next day the Nor'-west party with their two 
 prisoners paddled away towards the mouth of the 
 grand turbulent Winnipeg Eiver, and began to 
 traverse the weary wilderness-route of rivers and 
 lakes, which at that time formed the only direct 
 means of communication between the frontiers of 
 Canada and " Kupert's Land." 
 
OF THB RED KIVER PLAINS. 389 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Eagerly, earnestly, doggedly, did Daniel David- 
 son and Frangois La Certe watch for a favourable 
 opportunity to escape from their captors, but they 
 waited and watched in vain, for their captors were 
 cruel, suspected them of the intention to escape, 
 and were consequently careful to prevent even an 
 attempt being made. They never freed their wrists 
 from strong cords ; kept knives and axes out of 
 their way ; tethered them to a tree each night, and 
 watched them continually. 
 
 Can it be wondered at that, in the circumstances, 
 cur unfortunate hero became almost insane ? The 
 ^wedding-day had been fixed before he left Red 
 River ; preparations were being made for the great 
 event, and it was pretty well understood that Dan 
 had gone off hunting with the view, chiefly, to be 
 out of people's way till the day should arrive. 
 They would scarcely begin to notice his prolonged 
 absence till the day approached. Then, no doubt, 
 when too late, and he should be far on the way to 
 
390 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 Canada, they would in some alarm send out parties 
 to search for him. 
 
 Dan became desperate, but he was gifted with an 
 unusual power of self-control, so that, beyond a very 
 stem expression, his countenance betrayed no sign 
 of the terrible conflict that was raging within — a 
 conflict in which mortal hatred of mankind in 
 general and an overwhelming desire to kill or be 
 knied formed elements. Ah ! reader, poor human 
 beings have many and many a time in the past 
 been brought to this terrible condition. God grant 
 that we and ours may never know what it is to 
 tremble on the brink of madness because of the 
 combined influence of gross injustice and horrible 
 cruelty. To do tlie Nor'-westers justice, they were 
 unaware of the intensity of the pain they were 
 inflicting. They had only captured a powerful 
 enemy, and meant, by keeping a tight hold of 
 him, to render him powerless in the future — that 
 was all ! 
 
 As for La Certe, they had no intention of taking 
 him to Canada. They only meant to carry him so 
 far on the road, that, when set free, it would be 
 impossible for him to get back to the colony in 
 time to give effective warning to Dan's friends. 
 
 One afternoon the voyagers put ashore at one of 
 the numerous portages which obstruct the naviga- 
 tion of that route to Canada, and, after unloading 
 the canoe and lifting her out of the water, they pro- 
 
OF THE RED KIVER PLAINS. 391 
 
 ceeded to carry the lading across to the still water 
 above the rapids which rendered this portage neces- 
 sary. 
 
 Although bound, the prisoners were by no means 
 freed from labour. The cords had been so arranged 
 that they could use the paddle while in the canoe ; 
 while, on the portages, although unable to load them- 
 selves, they were quite able to carry a load which 
 others placed on their shoulders. On this oocasion 
 Dan was first sent off with a load, and then La 
 Certe and some of the others followed. When he 
 reached the upper end of the portage, Dan flung 
 down his load, and, from his elevated position, gazed 
 wistfully down the valley through which the waters 
 of the Winnipeg Eiver roared and seethed among 
 jagged rocks as far as the eye could reach. It was 
 a wild majestic scene, but no thought of its gran- 
 deur touched the mind of the poor prisoner. He 
 thought only of escape. His intimate knowledge, 
 however, of the terrific power of rushing water 
 told him that there could be no escape in that 
 direction. 
 
 " Oh ! if my arms were only free, I would risk 
 it ! " he murmured, as he raised his hands and looked 
 at the powerful thongs of hide with which they 
 were bound — thongs which were always drawn 
 tighter when he landed, to render an attempt at 
 escape more hopeless. Then he glanced at the 
 rushing river beside him. A sheer precipice of 
 
392 THE BUFFALO KUNNEES : A TALE 
 
 full thirty feet descended from the spot on which 
 he stood to the edge of the flood. Just below there 
 was a whirlpool, and beyond that began the first 
 of the series of falls and rapids which were avoided 
 by means of the portage. Half-mad though he was, 
 he did not dream of attempting such a leap with 
 bound hands. He would wait, and continue to hope 
 for a more favourable opportunity, but the possi- 
 bility of such an opportunity was now growing 
 very faint indeed, for even if he did escape, and 
 had a canoe to use, it was by that time barely pos- 
 sible to accomplish the journey in time for the 
 wedding-day. But although the hope of being in 
 time had pretty well died out, his whole heart was 
 still concentrated on the simple desire to escape. 
 
 A rush of despair came upon the poor youth just 
 then, and the idea of ending his misery by taking 
 his own life occurred to him for a fleeting moment, 
 as he gazed wistfully around on water, wood, and 
 sky, and observed the laden and toiling men who 
 were slowly clambering up the steep towards him 
 — La Certe being in front. 
 
 Just then an object among the grass at his feet 
 attracted his attention. Stooping, he picked it up 
 and found it to be a scalping-knife ! — dropped, pro- 
 bably, long before by some passing Indians or 
 voyageurs, for it was very rusty. 
 
 With a bounding heart and a wild rush of blood 
 to his temples, he sprang towards a tree : stuck the 
 
OF THE KED KIVER PLAINS. 393 
 
 point of the knife into it ; held the handle with his 
 teeth; sawed the thongs across its edge once or 
 twice — and was free ! 
 
 His first impulse was to bound into the woods, 
 but the thought of his comrade arrested him. La 
 Certe was already close at hand. Eunning towards 
 him he said, quickly, "Drop your load! Now or 
 never ! " and cut his bonds at once. Then, turning, 
 he sprang towards the woods. But from the very 
 opening through which he meant to plunge into 
 the tangled thicket, there issued the leader of the 
 Nor'-westers and two of his men. The chief was 
 armed with a gun, which he immediately presented. 
 With the instinct of bush-warriors the two pri- 
 soners dodged behind rocks, and made for the higher 
 ground which Dan had recently quitted. Here a 
 sheer precipice barred further progress. There 
 was no way of escape but the river. They ran to 
 the edge and looked down. La Certe shrank back, 
 appalled. Dan glanced quickly round to see if 
 there was any other opening. Then there came 
 over his spirit that old, old resolve which has, in 
 the moment of their extremity, nerved so many 
 men to face danger and death from the days of 
 Adam downward. 
 
 " Now, La Certe," he said, grasping his comrade's 
 hand : " Farewell ! Death or Freedom! Tell Elspie 
 my last thoughts were of her I " 
 
 Almost before the halfbreed could realise what 
 
394 TUE BUFFALO RUNXERS : A TALE 
 
 was said, Dan had leaped over the cliff and disap- 
 peared in the raging torrent. A few seconds later 
 he was seen to rise in the whirlpool below the first 
 cataract, and to buffet the stream vigorously, then he 
 disappeared a second time. Before La Certe could 
 make out whether his friend rose again, he was 
 seized from behind, and dragged from the brink of 
 the precipice. 
 
 Swift as the hunted stag springs from his covert, 
 and bounds over every obstacle with speed and 
 apparent ease, so sprang the chief of the Nor'- 
 westers down the rugged path which led to the foot 
 of the series of rapids and the lower end of the 
 portage. There was good grit in the man, morally 
 and physically, for he was bent on a rescue which 
 involved considerable danger. 
 
 Throwing off his capote, and tightening his belt, 
 he stood on a ledge just below the last fall, intently 
 watching the water. 
 
 The fall was not high, but it was deep, and 
 rushed into a large dark basin with terrible velocity, 
 causing the tormented foam-speckled water to cir- 
 culate round its edges. In a few moments the 
 form of Dan was seen to shoot down the fall and 
 disappear in the basin. The chief stooped, but did 
 not spring until, not far from him, the apparently in- 
 animate form reappeared on the surface and began 
 to circle slowly round among the flecks of foam. 
 Then he plunged, swam out with powerful strokes, 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 395 
 
 and quickly returned to the shore with Dan in his 
 grasp. 
 
 Soon they were surrounded by the other voya- 
 geurs, who had left La Certe to look after himself, — 
 not caring much, in the excitement of the moment, 
 whether he escaped or not. 
 
 " He is dead," said one ; " he breathes not ; and 
 see how his face is bruised and cut." 
 
 "And his chest, too," said another. "I think his 
 ribs have been broken. Poor fellow! It was a 
 wild, a reckless jump !" 
 
 "Keep back, and let hira have air," said the chief, 
 who was doing his best, according to his knowledge, 
 to resuscitate Dan. 
 
 Presently La Certe arrived, panting. 
 
 " ! he is gone ! My comrade, my friend, is 
 dead!" he exclaimed, clenching his hands, and gazing 
 at the pale, bruised face. 
 
 "You are wrong," exclaimed the chief, testily. 
 " Out of the way, man ! See ! his eyelids quiver." 
 
 And so they did; and so also quivered his lips, 
 and then a sigh came — faint and feeble — then 
 stronger, and at last Dan opened his eyes and 
 thanked God that his life had been spared. But 
 when he recovered sufficiently to realise his true 
 position as being again a captive, the feeling of 
 despair returned. 
 
 That night they encamped a mile above the 
 upper end of the portage. At supper the two 
 
396 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 prisoners were allowed to sit by the camp-fire and 
 eat with their hands free. 
 
 " Monsieur," said the guide to Dan, respectfully, 
 " you see it is impossible to escape. Why compel 
 us to bind you? Give me your word of honour 
 that you will not try, and your limbs may then 
 remain as free as mine." 
 
 " I give you my word of honour," answered Dan, 
 with a sardonic smile, "that till after breakfast 
 to-morrow I will not try, for I need rest and food ; 
 but after that, I give you my word that I will never 
 cease to try." 
 
 With this promise the guide was fain to rest 
 content, and that night Dan and his friend were 
 allowed to sleep untethered, which they did soundly. 
 
 Next morning they were roused in gentler tones 
 than usual, and not required to work — as had been 
 the case hitherto — before breakfast. In short, there 
 was an evident change in the feelings of their captors 
 towards them, founded largely, no doubt, on admira- 
 tion of Dan's reckless courage; but that did not 
 induce them in the least degree to relax their vigi- 
 lance, for the moment the hour of truce had passed, 
 the chief advanced towards Dan with the thongs to 
 bind him. 
 
 For one moment Dan felt an impulse to knock 
 the man down, and then fight the whole party until 
 death should end the matter ; but the good-humoured 
 look on his jailer's face, the fact that the man had 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 397 
 
 saved his life the day before, and the certainty of 
 defeat with such odds against him, induced him to 
 quell the evil spirit and to hold out his hands. 
 
 "Pardon, Monsieur," said the chief, with the 
 politeness of a French half breed. "I am sorry 
 you refuse to give me your parole. I would rather 
 see you like the rest of us ; but my orders are strict, 
 and I must obey." 
 
 Before Dan could reply, a sound struck on their 
 ears, which caused the whole party to listen, im- 
 movable and in perfect silence. 
 
 It was the wild, plaintive, beautiful song of the 
 voyageur which had floated to them on the morning 
 air, softened by distance to a mere echo of sweet 
 sound. After listening intently for a few moments, 
 the guide said gently : " Voyageurs." 
 
 Again they listened to the familiar sound, which 
 increased in volume and strength as it approached, 
 proving that the voyageurs were descending the 
 river towards them. As yet nothing could be seen, 
 for a thickly-wooded point intervened. Presently 
 the song burst on them in full resonant chorus; 
 at the same moment two large north-canoes — in 
 all the brilliancy of orange-coloured bark, painted 
 bows and sterns, red-bladed paddles, with crews of 
 scarlet-capped or bare-headed men — swept round 
 the point with quick stroke, in time to the rapid 
 measure. 
 
 A cheer was the irrepressible impulse of the 
 
398 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALB 
 
 men on shore, causing the new-comers to stop and 
 listen. 
 
 " Perhaps," said Dan, " they may be your foes of 
 the Hudson's Bay Company." 
 
 " That may be so," returned the Nor'west Chief, 
 gravely. 
 
 The unfurling of an " H. B. C." (Hudson's Bay 
 Company) flag proved that it was so, to a certainty, 
 and the depressed Nor'-westers did not cheer again ; 
 but the H. B. C. men came on, paddling with wild 
 vigour and cheering hilariously. 
 
 " They seem in great spirits," growled the Nor'- 
 west leader. "We are almost as strong as they, 
 boys, and have the advantage of woods and cliffs 
 Shall we fight and keep our prisoners ? " 
 
 " What is that white thing in the bow of the first 
 canoe ? " said one of the men. 
 
 " It looks like a flag," said another. 
 
 " If so, it is a flag of truce," observed Dan. " They 
 have something to say, and do not want to fight." 
 
 " That may be true, but we won't let you be at the 
 conference," returned the leader, sternly. "Come, 
 four of you, lead them out of eaishot. Take your 
 guns, and use them if need be." 
 
 Four powerful fellows at once obeyed the order, 
 and led the prisoners, who had been once more bound, 
 into the woods. Once again Dan was tempted to offer 
 fierce resistance, but he knew that the Hudson's Bay 
 men were yet too far off to be able to hear shouts 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 899 
 
 — at least to understand the meaning of them — and 
 that it would be useless to resist such a guard. He 
 therefore submitted to be led a mile or so into the 
 woods, and finally was permitted to sit down with 
 La Certe under a tree to await the result of the 
 conference. 
 
 They had not to wait long. In less than half-an- 
 hour one of the younger among the ]!5"or'-westers 
 came bounding towards them, waving his cap and 
 shouting. 
 
 "You are free, Messieurs — free !" he cried, seizing 
 both prisoners by the hands. "We are no longer 
 enemies ! " 
 
 " Free ! What do you mean ? " demanded Dan, 
 who fancied that the young man must have gone mad^ 
 
 " The companies have joined !" he cried, excitedly. 
 " They are one ! We are all friends now ; but come 
 and see and hear for yourself." 
 
 Filled with wonder, and some small degree of hope, 
 Dan and La Certe followed the young man, accom- 
 panied by their guards, who were not less mystified 
 than themselves. Arrived at their camping-place, 
 they found that the canoes had brought a Chief 
 Trader — or officer of the Hudson's Bay Company — 
 who was conveying to Eed Eiver, and the interior 
 of Eupert's Land generally, the good news of a 
 momentous historical event, namely, the union of 
 the two companies. 
 
 The important event here referred to, namely, the 
 
400 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 coalition between the two great rival companies, 
 which took place in 1821, was the death-blow to 
 party strife over the whole of Kupert's Land, and 
 also inaugurated the dawn of lasting prosperity in 
 the Eed Kiver Colony. 
 
 " Cut their bonds," said the Chief Trader, as the 
 prisoners approached. 
 
 No touch of the surgeon's knife ever effected a 
 cure more speedily. 
 
 " I congratulate you, young sir," said the Trader, 
 grasping Dan's hand : " you are now free, for I 
 understand that your loss of liberty had nothing 
 to do with crime, and the rival companies are no 
 longer opponents ; they are friends. Indeed, we 
 have been married, so to speak, and are now one. 
 I am on my way to Eed Eiver with the good 
 news," 
 
 " When do you start ? " asked Dan, abruptly. 
 
 " Well, if you mean from this spot," answered 
 the Trader, somewhat surprised as well as amused 
 at the eagerness of the question, " I start at once. 
 Indeed, I would not have landed here had I not 
 seen your party. You appear to be anxious. Why 
 do you ask ? " 
 
 " Because it is of the utmost importance^'to me 
 that I should be in Eed Eiver on a certain date, 
 and I fear that that is all but impossible now." 
 
 Dan then explained, as briefly as possible, his 
 circumstances. Fortunately, the Trader was a 
 
OF THE RED FdVER PLAINS. 401 
 
 sympathetic man. He ordered his crews to embark 
 at once and bade the two captives take a brief, 
 if not an affectionate, farewell of their late captors. 
 
 " I cannot promise you to push on," he said, " at 
 a rate which will satisfy you — or even accomplish 
 the end you have in view — but I will do the best 
 I can, without overworking my men. I fear, how- 
 ever, that you will have to make up your mind to 
 a delayed wedding!" 
 
 " If you will only do your best for a day or two," 
 said Dan, " until we reach the mouth of this river, 
 that will do, for there my own hunting canoe was 
 left ; and, once in that, La Certe and I can go ahead 
 and tell them you are coming." 
 
 " Nay, that would be requiting me ill — returning 
 evil for good — to take the wind out of my sails and 
 make my news stale," returned the Trader, with a 
 good-natured laugh. 
 
 " True, I did not think of that," said Dan. " Then 
 we will say not a word about it until you arrive." 
 
 " Yes, we will be dumb," added La Certe. " Even 
 Slowfoot shall fail to drag it out of me ! " 
 
 And thus it was arranged. The (late) Nor'-westers 
 continued their voyage to Canada, and the Hudson's 
 Bay men resumed their descent of the Winnipeg 
 Eiver. 
 
 Arrived at the great lake, the anxious pair did 
 not wait even to rest, but at once embarked in their 
 little hunting canoe. 
 
 2c 
 
402 THE BUFFALO EtNNE&S : A TALfi 
 
 " I 'm sorry you are such an unpresentable bride- 
 groom." said the Trader, when they were about to 
 separate. He referred to the cuts and bruises with 
 which poor Dan's countenance was temporarily dis- 
 figured. 
 
 " Never mind," returned our hero, with a laugh, 
 " wait till you see the bride ; she will more than 
 make up for the shortcomings of the gi-oom. Adieu ! 
 — au revoir / " 
 
 They pushed off, and now began a race against 
 time, which, in the matters at least of perseverance, 
 persistency, hard labour, and determination, beat all 
 the records of bicyclists and horsemen from the be- 
 ginning of time. Cyclists have frequent down-hills 
 to help and rest them ; Dan and his friend had no 
 such aids. It was all either dead level or upstream, 
 Dick Turpin and the rider to Ghent (we forget his 
 name) only killed their horsQS. Dan and Framjois 
 nearly killed themselves — not only with hard work 
 and no rest, but with profound anxiety, for the wed- 
 ding hour was rapidly approaching and they were 
 still far from home ! 
 
 While these events were transpiring in the 
 wilderness, things were going smoothly enough in 
 the Colony. 
 
 "I will be thinkin'," said old Duncan M'Kay, 
 one fine evening as he sat in his invalid chair, be- 
 side Duncan junior, who was wofully reduced and 
 careworn, despite the attentions of the sympathetic 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 403 
 
 Jessie Davidson, who was seated near him on a 
 rustic seat beside Elspie — " I will be thinkin' that 
 Tan an* La Certe are stoppin' longer away than iss 
 altogither seemly. Tan should have been here two 
 or three days before the weddin'." 
 
 " He will likely be time enough for his own wed- 
 din' — whatever," remarked Duncan junior. " Don't 
 you think so, Miss Jessie ? " 
 
 " I think it likely," answered the girl with a 
 smile. 
 
 "He is sure to be in time," said Elspie, with 
 emphasis. 
 
 "We niver can be sure of anything in this 
 world, my tear," remarked old Duncan, becoming 
 oracular in tone. "How do you know he iss so 
 sure ? " 
 
 " Because Dan never breaks his word," returned 
 Elspie, with an air of decision that would have 
 gratified Dan immensely had he been there to see it. 
 
 "Eery true, my tear," rejoined the Highlander, 
 "but there are many other things that interfere 
 with one's word besides the will. He might tie, 
 you know, or be trowned, or his gun might burst 
 and render him helpless for life, if it did not kill 
 him altogither. It iss an uncertain world at the 
 best — whatever." 
 
 Archie Sinclair, who joined them — with his 
 brother Little Bill by his side, not on his back — 
 was of the same opinion as Elspie, but Billie shook 
 
404 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 his head, looked anxious, and said nothing — for he 
 felt that his friend was running things much too 
 close. 
 
 At a later hour that same evening, the other 
 members of the two families — who dropped in to 
 make inquiries — began to express anxiety, and 
 Ok^matan, who called just to see how things were 
 getting on, shook his head and looked owlish. Old 
 Peg said nothing, but she evidently thought much, 
 to judge from the deepening wrinkles on her fore- 
 head. 
 
 As for Fred Jenkins, he was too much taken up 
 with Elise Morel to think much about anything, 
 but even he at last grew anxious, and when the 
 wedding morning finally dawned, and no Dan made 
 his appearance, something like consternation filled 
 the hearts of all within the walls of Ben Nevis Hall 
 and Prairie Cottage. Elspie appeared to feel less 
 than the others, but the truth was that she only 
 controlled herself better. 
 
 "He only wants to take us by surprise," she 
 said, and, under the strength of that opinion, she 
 robed herself for the wedding. Only her gravity 
 and the pallor of her cheeks told of uneasiness in 
 her mind. 
 
 " Muster Sutherland said he would come soon 
 after breakfast," observed old Duncan, uneasily. 
 " He should hev been here now, — for we need his 
 advice sorely." 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 405 
 
 " Here he iss," exclaimed Fergus, starting up and 
 hurrying forward to welcome the good old Elder. 
 
 Mr. Sutherland's advice was decided, and promptly 
 given. Both weddings should be deferred and all 
 the young men must turn out in an organised search 
 without a moment's delay ! 
 
 It was amazing to find that every one had been 
 of exactly the same opinion for some time past, but 
 no one had dared to suggest a course of action which 
 implied a belief that Dan might be in imminent 
 danger, if not worse. 
 
 Now that the ice had been broken, however, 
 all the youth of the neighbourhood volunteered for 
 service, and a plan of search was being hastily 
 formed under the direction of the Elder, when two 
 men in a canoe were seen to paddle very slowly 
 to the landing-place at the foot of the garden. 
 After hauling the end of their canoe on shore, they 
 walked, or rather staggered, up towards the house. 
 
 One of them tripped and fell, and seemed from 
 his motions as if he thought it was not worth while 
 to rise again. The other, paying no attention to 
 his companion, came on. 
 
 " Pless my soul ! " exclaimed old M'Kay, " it iss 
 Tan — or his ghost — whatever ! " 
 
 And so it was! Dirty, bruised, scratched, bat- 
 tered, and soaking wet, Daniel Davidson appeared 
 to claim his beautiful bride. And he did not come 
 in vain, for, regardless of propriety and everything 
 
406 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 else, Elspie ran forward with a little shriek and 
 flung herself into his arms. 
 
 " I have kept my promise, Elspie." 
 
 " I knew you would, Dan ! I said you would." 
 
 " Tan, you rascal ! come here." 
 
 The youth obeyed, languidly, for it was evident 
 that he was thoroughly exhausted. 
 
 " My poy," said the Highlander, touched by Dan's 
 appearance, " you hev been in the watter ! " 
 
 " Not exactly, father, but last night's thunderstorm 
 caught us, and we had no time to seek shelter." 
 
 " An' it iss fightin' you hev been ? 
 
 " With water and rocks only," said Dan. 
 
 " Well, well, go into the house now, and change 
 your clo'es. Dry yourself, an' get somethin' to eat, 
 for you are used up altogither." 
 
 Elspie took his hand, and led him away. Mean- 
 while La Certe, having gathered himself up and 
 staggered to the front, was seized upon and ques- 
 tioned unmercifully. Then he also was taken into 
 the house and fed; after which both men were 
 made to lie down and rest. 
 
 Having slept for six hours Dan awakened, and 
 rose up to be married! Fred Jenkins and Elise 
 were — as the jovial tar expressed it — turned off at 
 the same time. 
 
 It was customary in Eupert's Land at that time, 
 as it is customary in many remote lands, no doubt, 
 at the present day, to celebrate every wedding with 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 407 
 
 a feast and a dance. Feasts are very much alike 
 in substance, if not in detail, everywhere. We 
 refrain from describing that which took place in 
 Ben Nevis Hall at that time, further than to say 
 that it was superb. The dancing was simple. It 
 consisted chiefly of the Highland Fling danced by 
 the performer according to taste or imagination. 
 
 But that it was eminently satisfactory to all con- 
 cerned was clearly evinced by the appearance of 
 the whole party — the elegant ease with which 
 Fergus M'Kay did it ; the tremendous energy with 
 which Jacques Bourassin tried it; the persistent 
 vigour with which Andr6 Morel studied it; the 
 facility with which Elise acquired it — under Elspie's 
 tuition; the untiring perseverance with which 
 Archie and Little Bill did something like it — for 
 the latter had quite recovered, and was iit to hold 
 his own, almost, with any one ; the charming con- 
 fusion of mind with which Fred Jenkins inter- 
 mingled the sailor's hornpipe with it ; the inimitable 
 languor with which La Certe condescended to go 
 through it ; the new-born energy with which Slow- 
 foot footed it ; the side-splitting shrieks with which 
 Old Peg regarded it ; the uproarious guffaws with 
 which the delighted old Duncan hailed it ; the sad 
 smile with which that weak and worn invalid 
 Duncan junior beheld it ; and, last, but not least, 
 the earnest mental power and conspicuous physical 
 ability with which Dau Davidson attempted some- 
 
408 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 thing which Charity personified might have supposed 
 to bear a distant resemblance to it. 
 
 The music was worthy of the dancing, for the 
 appointed performer had, owing to some occult 
 cause, failed to turn up, and a volunteer had taken 
 his place with another fiddle, which was home- 
 made, and which he did not quite understand. A 
 small pig with feeble intellect and disordered nerves 
 might have equalled — even sm-passed — ^the tones of 
 that violin, but it could not hope to have beaten 
 the volunteer's time. That, performed on a board 
 by the volunteer's foot, automatically, beat every- 
 thing that we have ever heard of in the musical 
 way from the days of Eden till now. 
 
 Only four members of the two households failed to 
 take a violently active part in that festive gather- 
 ing. Jessie Davidson had conveniently sprained her 
 ankle for the occasion, and thus was set free to sit 
 between the wheeled chairs of the two Duncans, and 
 act as a sympathetic receptacle of their varied com- 
 mentaries. Her mother, being too stout for active 
 service, sat beside them and smiled universal be- 
 nignity. Her little maid, Louise, chanced to be ilL 
 Peter Davidson's case, however, was the worst. 
 He had gone off in company with Okematan to 
 visit a camji of Cree Indians, intending to be back 
 in time, but his horse had gone lame while yet far 
 from home, and as it was impossible to procure 
 another at the time, he was fain to grin and bear 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 409 
 
 it. Meanwhile Antoiue Dechamp had been pressed 
 into the service, and took his place as best-man to 
 Fred Jenkins — a position which he filled to ad- 
 miration, chiefly owing to the fact that he had 
 never served in such a capacity before. 
 
 Late on the following evening La Certe sat by 
 his own fireside, somewhat exhausted by the festi- 
 vities of the day before, and glaring affectionately 
 at Slowfoot, who was stirring something in a pot 
 over the fire. The little one — rapidly becoming a 
 big one, and unquestionably by that time a girl 
 — crouched at her father's side, sound asleep, with 
 her head resting on his leg. She no longer cried 
 for a pull at her father's pipe. 
 
 " Have you heard that Kateegoose is dead ? " 
 asked Slowfoot. 
 
 " No— how did he die ? " 
 
 "He was met on the plains by enemies, killed, 
 and scalped." 
 
 " That is sad — very sad," said La Certe. 
 
 " The world is well rid of him," observed Slow- 
 foot ; " he was a bad man." 
 
 "Yes," responded her lord; "it is necessary to 
 get rid of a bad man somehow — but — but it is sad 
 — very sad — to kill and scalp him." 
 
 La Certe passed his fingers softly among the locks 
 of his sleeping child as if the fate of Kateegoose 
 were suggestive ! Then, turning as from a painful 
 subject, he asked — 
 
410 THE BUFFALO RUNNEES : A TALE 
 
 " Does our little one never smoke now ? " 
 
 " No — never." 
 
 " Does she never wish for it ? " 
 
 " Slowfoot cannot tell what our little one wishes," 
 was the reply, " but she never gets it." 
 
 La Certe pondered for some time, and then 
 asked — 
 
 " Does my Slowfoot still like work ? " 
 
 " She likes it still— likes it better." 
 
 " And she does it — sometimes ? " 
 
 " Yes, often — always." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Because Mr. Sutherland advises me — and I 
 like Mr. Sutherland." 
 
 "Does my Slowfoot expect me to like work too, 
 and to do it?" asked La Certe with a peculiar 
 glance. 
 
 " We cannot like what we don't like, though we 
 may do it," answered the wife, drawing perilously 
 near to the metaphysical, "but Slowfoot expects 
 nothing. She waits. My rran9ois is not a child. 
 He can judge of all things for himself." 
 
 " That is true, my Slowfoot ; and, do you know," 
 he added, earnestly, "I have had hard work — 
 awfully hard work — killing work — since I have been 
 away, yet it has not killed me. Perhaps you 
 will doubt me when I tell you that I, too, rather 
 like it!" 
 
 "That is strange," said Slowfoot, with more of 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 411 
 
 interest in her air than she had shown for many a 
 day. " Why do you like it ? " 
 
 "I think," returned the husband, slowly, "it is 
 because I like Dan Davidson. I like him very 
 much, and it was to please him that I began to 
 work hard, for, you know, he was very anxious to 
 get home in time to be at his own wedding. So 
 that made me work hard, and now I find that hard 
 work is not hard when we like people. Is it not 
 strange, my Slowfoot ? " 
 
 "Yes. Your words are very like the words of 
 Mr. Sutlierland to-day. It is very strange ! " 
 
 Yet, after all, it was not so very strange, for this 
 worthy couple had only been led to the discovery 
 of the old, well-known fact that — "Love is the 
 fulfilling of the law." 
 
 There was yet another of those whose fortunes we 
 have followed thus far who learned the same lesson. 
 
 About the same time that the events just de- 
 scribed took place in lied River, there assembled 
 a large band of feathered and painted warriors in a 
 secluded coppice far out on the prairie. They had 
 met for a grave palaver. The subject they had 
 been discussing was not war, but peace. Several of 
 the chiefs and braves had given their opinions, and 
 now all eyes were turned towards the spot where 
 the great chief of all was seated, with a white man 
 beside him. That great cliief was Okematan. The 
 Paleface was Peter Davidson. 
 
412 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS : A TALK 
 
 Kising with the dignity that befitted his rank, 
 Okdmatan, in a low but telling voice, delivered 
 himself, as follows : — 
 
 "When Ok^matan left his people and went to 
 live for a time in the wigwams of the Palefaces, he 
 wished to find out for himself what they wanted in 
 our land, and why they were not content to remain 
 in their own land. The answer that was at first 
 given to my questions seemed to me good — a reply 
 that might have even come from the wise heads of 
 the Cree Nation ; but, after much palaver, I found 
 that there was contradiction in what the Palefaces 
 said, so that I began to think they were fools and 
 knew not how to talk wisely. A Cree never reasons 
 foolishly — as you all know well — or, if he does, we 
 regard him as nobody — fit only to fight and to die 
 without any one caring much. But as I lived 
 longer with the Palefaces I found that they were 
 not all fools. Some things they knew and did well 
 Other things they did ill and foolishly. Then I was 
 puzzled, for I found that they did not all think 
 alike, as we do, and that some have good hearts as 
 well as good heads. Others have the heads without 
 the hearts, and some have the hearts without the 
 heads — Waugh ! " 
 
 " Waugh ! " repeated the listening braves, to fill 
 up the pause here, as it were, with a note of approval. 
 
 "The Palefaces told me," continued Okdmatan 
 with great deliberation, as if about to make some 
 
OF THE RED RIVER PLAINS. 413 
 
 astounding revelations, "that their land was too 
 small to hold them, and so they came away. I told 
 them that that was wise ; that Cree Indians would 
 have done the same. But then came the puzzle, for 
 they told me that there were vast tracts of land 
 where they lived with plenty of lakes, rivers, and 
 mountains, in which there was nobody — only fish 
 and birds and deer. Then I said, You told me that 
 your land was too small to hold you ; why did you 
 not go and live on these mountains, and fish and 
 shoot and be happy ? To this they answered that 
 those fine lands were claimed by a few great chiefs, 
 who kept them for their own shooting and fishing, 
 and drove out all the braves with their wives and 
 families and little ones to crowd upon the shores of 
 the great salt-water lake, and live there on a few 
 fish and shells — for even there the great chiefs 
 would not allow them to have all the fishing, but 
 kept the best of it for themselves ! Or, if they did 
 not like that, the poor braves were told to go and 
 live in what they called cities — where there are 
 thousands of wigwams crowded together, and even 
 piled on the top of each other, — but I think the 
 Palefaces were telling lies when they said that — 
 Waugh!" 
 
 Again there were many " Waughie " responses, 
 mingled with numerous " Ho's ! " of astonishment, 
 and a few other sounds that seemed to indicate 
 disbelief in Ok^matan's veracity. 
 
4l4 THE BUFFAL,0 RUNNERS : A TALE 
 
 " What," continued Ok^matan, with considerable 
 vehemence, " what would my braves do if Okematan 
 and a few of the Cree chiefs were to take all the 
 lands of Eed Eiver, and all the buffalo, and all the 
 birds and beasts to themselves, and drive the braves 
 with their families to the shores of Lake Winnipeg, 
 to live there on fish, or die, or leave the country if 
 they did not like it ! What would they do ? " 
 
 Ok^matan's voice increased in fervour, and he put 
 the finishing question with an intensity that called 
 forth a chorus of " Waughs ! " and " Ho's ! " with a 
 glittering of eyes, and a significant grasping of 
 scalping-knives and tomahawks that rendered fur- 
 ther reply needless, 
 
 " Would you not scorn us," he continued, " scalp 
 us, tear out our eyes, roast us alive ? — but no — the 
 Cree Nation loves not cruelty. You would merely 
 pat us on the head, and tell us to go and make 
 moccasins, and boil the kettle with the squaws ! 
 
 "Then, when I began to know them better, I 
 found that all the Paleface chiefs over the great 
 salt lake are not greedy and foolish. Some are 
 open-handed and wise. I also found that there is a 
 tribe among them, who lived chiefly in the mountain 
 lands. These are very kind, very brave, very wise, 
 and very grave. They do not laugh so loud as the 
 others, but when they are amused their eyes twinkle 
 and their sides shake more. This tribe is called 
 Scos-mins. I love the Scos-mins ! I lived in the 
 
OF THE RED lllVER tLAlNS. 415 
 
 wigwam of one. He is old and fierce, but he is not 
 bad, and his heart is large. In his house were some 
 other Scos-mins — braves and squaws. They were 
 very kind to me. This is one of them." 
 
 The flashing eyes of the entire party were turned 
 upon Peter Davidson, who, however, had presence of 
 mind enough to gaze at the cloudless heavens with 
 immovable solemnity and abstraction. 
 
 " There are two others, whom I look upon as sons. 
 One is named Arch-ee; the other Leetil Beel. 
 Now," continued Okematan, after a pause, "my 
 sdvice is that we should teach the Paleface chiefs 
 over the great salt lake a lesson, by receiving the 
 poor braves who have been driven away from their 
 own lands and treating them as brothers. Our land 
 is large. There is room for all — and our chiefs will 
 never seize it. Our hearts are large ; there is plenty 
 of room there too. 
 
 " The Great Spirit who rules over all inclines my 
 heart to go and dwell with the Palefaces until I 
 understand them better, and teach them some of 
 the wisdom of the Eedman. I shall return to Red 
 Iiiver to-morrow, along with my Paleface brother 
 whose name is Pee-ter, and while I am away I 
 counsel my braves and brothers to dwell and hunt 
 and fish together in love and peace." 
 
 « « « « « 
 
 How it fared with Okematan on his self-imposed 
 
416 THE BUFFALO RUNNERS. 
 
 mission we cannot tell, but we do know that from 
 1821 — the date of the auspicious coalition before 
 mentioned — the sorely tried colony began steadily to 
 prosper, and, with the exception of the mishaps 
 incident to all new colonies, and a disastrous flood 
 or two, has continued to prosper ever since. 
 Civilisation has made rapid and giant strides, 
 especially during the later years of the century. 
 The wave has rushed far and deep over the old 
 boundaries, and now the flourishing city of 
 Winnipeg, with its thousands of inhabitants, 
 occupies the ground by the banks of the Eed 
 River, on which, not many years ago, the old 
 Fort Garry stood, a sort of sentinel-outpost, guard- 
 ing the solitudes of what was at that time considered 
 a remote part of the great wilderness of Rupert's 
 Land. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty 
 at the Edinburgh University Press 
 
Books for Young Readers. 
 
 By B. LIVINGSTON PRESOOTT. 
 
 Author of "Scarlet and Steel," dec. 
 
 THE MEASURE OF A MAN. Extra crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 "A good romance, full of illusiou, and with fine effect."— HaiZy Chronicle. 
 " A notable success." — Scotsman. 
 
 THE RIP'S REDEMPTION. A Trooper's Story. With Frontis- 
 piece. Extra crown 8vo. 28. 6d. Also demy 8vo, gilt edges. 5s. 
 
 " Heartily welcome . . . always interesting . . . will well pay perusal."— 
 &:otiiiiaii. 
 
 "Well written . . . brightly coloured . . . peculiarly attractive." — Dundet 
 Advertiser. 
 
 By L. T. MEADE. 
 
 IN THE FLOWER OF HER YOUTH. Extra crown Svo, Bs. 
 
 CASTLE POVERTY. Extra crown Svo. 28. 
 
 THE WITCH MAID. Extra crown Svo. 2s. 6d. ; and plain, 2s. 
 
 THE CLEVEREST WOMAN IN ENGLAND. Extra crown Svo. 
 28. 6d. 
 
 WHEELS OF IRON. Extra crown Svo. 2s. 
 
 WAGES. A Novel. Extra crown Svo. 2s. 
 
 GOOD LUCK. With Illustrations by W. Lance. Crown Svo. 
 Is. 6d. 
 
 A LONDON BABY : The Story of King Roy. With Illustrations. 
 Crown Svo. Is. 6d. 
 
 "Very touching and sad, though the end is happy." — Athenceum. 
 
 THE CHILDREN'S PILGRIMAGE. With Illustrations. Crown 
 Svo. Is. 6d. 
 
 "Displays vivid conception of character, and clear, graphic description. 
 The story is full of incident and adventure." — Literary Churchman. 
 
 19 
 
James Nisbet & Co.'s List. 
 
 By Mrs. SAXBY. 
 
 VIKING BOYS. With Illugtrations. Crown 8vo. Ig. 6d. 
 
 " Wholnsoms and manly intone, the book is thoroughly fresh and natural. 
 — Morning Post. 
 
 " We prophesy that the tale of the Viking boys and their wild deeds will 
 become as popular as 'The Lads of Lunda," and all the other stories with 
 which Mrs. Saxby has delighted ua." — Athenceum. 
 
 THE LADS OF LUNDA. Illustrated. Crown 8to. Is. 6d. 
 
 " A perfect book for boys — generous, wholesome, manly in tone, and withal 
 thoroughly young, fresh, and natural. We recommend the book heartily, 
 not only to all boys, but to everybody who knows and likes brave boys."— 
 Qvardian. 
 
 " A capital book. The tales are full of fun and pathos." — Atkenaium, 
 
 THE YARL'S YACHT. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Is. 6d. 
 '" The Yarl's Yacht ' is a delightful sequel to the ' Lads of Lunda. ' ' — IHmet. 
 
 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. By Jessie M. E. Saxby and 
 the Rev. BlOT Edmonston. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 
 38. 6d. 
 
 " We would fain linger long over the scenes which thia excellent volume 
 brings up before us. The author* have put together a very refreshing set of 
 memories." — Saturday Review. 
 
 By S. M. S. CLARKE (Mrs. Pereira). 
 
 THE KING'S RECRUITS; or, In the Days of Frederick the 
 Great. Illustrated. Extra crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 BARON AND SQUIRE. A Story of the Thirty Years' War. From 
 the German of N. Noeldbchkn. With Illustrations. Extra 
 crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 " It is a romance of the school of Sir Walter Scott, abounding in stirring 
 
 incidents, and not without a certain value as vividly calling up the scene.s 
 
 and events of real history." — Scottman. 
 
 THE DUKE'S PAGE; or, "In the Days of Luther." A Story for 
 Boys. From the German. Illustrated. Extra crown Svo. 
 2s. 6d. 
 
 " A capital story for boys." — Guardian. 
 
 " This is one of the most fascinating historical tales we have «v9r read." — 
 Britith Weekly. 
 
 20 
 
Boohs far Towag Readers. 
 
 By SUSAN WARNER. 
 Large crown 8vo, 2a. ; with gilt edges, 2s. 6d. 
 
 1. THE WIDE, "WIDE WORLD. 
 
 2. MY DESIRK 
 S. NOBODY. 
 
 4. THE END OF A COIL. 
 
 5. DLA.NA. 
 
 6. STEPHEN, M.D. 
 
 7. MELBOURNE HOUSE. 
 
 8. DAISY. 
 
 9. DAISY m THE FIELD. 
 
 10. QUEECHY. 
 
 11. WYCH HAZEL. By Sdsan and Anna Warner. 
 
 12. THE GOLD OF CHICKAREE. A Sequel to " Wyoh Hazel. 
 
 13. THE OLD HELMET. 
 
 14. A LETTER OF CREDIT. 
 
 15. THE GOLDEN LADDER. By Susan and Anna Warner. 
 
 16. A RED WALLFLOWER. 
 
 21 
 
Books for Young Readers. 
 
 By AGNES GIBERNE. 
 
 "Tales that bear Miss Gibeme'a name are ' the bestof the best.' No writer 
 excels her in this department of literature." — Fireside Newt. 
 
 "That the story is Miss Giberne's guarantees refinement and Chriitian 
 principle. " — Churchman. 
 
 With niustrationg. Crown 8vo. 28. 6d. each. 
 
 THE DALRYMPLES. With Illustrations. Crown 8to. 28. 6d. 
 Cheap Edition. Is. 6d. 
 "An interesting tale, exhibiting some striking situations." — Church Bellt. 
 
 "LEAST SAID, SOONEST MENDED." 2s. 6d. Cheap Edition. 
 Is. 6d. 
 "To say that it is by Hiss Gibeme is at once to recommend the itory 
 highly to girls. " — Quiver. 
 
 NUMBER THREE WINIFRED PLACE. 2s. 6d. Cheap Edition. 
 Is. 6d. 
 
 " A delightful story, and, we need hardly add — being Miss Giberne's — is 
 full of the highest and most profitable religious teaching." — Record. 
 
 " Miss Giberne's book is for gentler readers. It appeals very delicately 
 to their softer sympathies, and introduces tiiem to one young girl at least 
 who may serve as a model or ideal to them. It is written in a pleasing 
 sympathetic style." — Scotrman. 
 
 MISS CON ; or, All Those Girls. 2s. 6d. 
 
 "Constance Conway is a charming herome. Her diary is an admirable 
 collection of character sketches." — Athenceum. 
 
 ENID'S SILVER BOND. 23. 6d, 
 
 "Enid's nature is essentially heroia . . . The other ohanicters are cleverly 
 sketched. " — Times. 
 
 ST, AUSTIN'S LODGE ; or, Mr. Berkeley and his Nieces. 2s. 6d. 
 
 "A very good example of the author's well-known style. It is carefully 
 written, and is in all respects a conscientious -perf omuaico." —Aeademp. 
 
 22 
 
Books for Young Readers. 
 
 THE HALF HOUR LIBRARY OF TRAVEL, 
 NATURE, AND SCIENCE. 
 
 In attractive binding, and containing nearly 100 Illustrations in 
 each volume. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d, each. Gilt edges, 3s. 
 
 1. HALF-HOURS ON THE QUARTER-DECK. The Spanish 
 
 Armada to Sir Cloudesley ShoTcl, 1670. 
 
 2. HALF-HOURS IN AIR AND SKY. The Marvels of the 
 
 Universe. 
 
 3. HALF-HOURS IN FIELD AND FOREST. By Rev. J. G. 
 
 Wood, M.A. 
 
 4. HALF-HOURS IN THE DEEP. The Nature and Wealth of 
 
 the Sea. 
 
 5. HALF-HOURS IN THE TINY WORLD. The Wonders of 
 
 Insect Life. 
 
 6. HALF-HOURS IN THE HOLY LAND. By Nobman 
 
 MACLEOD, D.D. 
 
 7. HALF-HOURS IN MANY LANDS. Arctic, Torrid, and 
 
 Temperate. 
 
 8. HALF-HOURS WITH A NATURALIST. Rambles near the 
 
 Seashore. By the Rev. J. G. WooD. M.A. 
 
 9. HALF-HOURS IN THE FAR NORTH. Life amid Ice and Snow. 
 
 10. HALF-HOURS IN THE FAR SOUTH. The People and 
 
 Scenery of the Tropics. 
 
 11. HALF-HOURS IN THE FAR EAST. Among the People and 
 
 Wonders of India. 
 
 12. HALF-HOURS IN WOODS AND WILDS. Adventures of 
 
 Sport and Travel. 
 
 13. HALF-HOURS UNDERGROUND. Volcanoes, Mines, and Caves. 
 
 14. HALF-HOURS AT SEA. Stories of Voyage, Adventure, and 
 
 Wreck. 
 
 15. HALF-HOURS IN THE WIDE WEST. Over Mountains. 
 
 16. HALF-HOURS IN EARLY NAVAL ADVENTURE. 
 
 27 
 
James Nisbet & Co.'s List. 
 
 THE SUNSHINE SERIES. 
 
 Crown Svo. Is. 6d. lU/ustrated. 
 
 2. OLIVER'S OLD PICTURES. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 5. HIDDEN HOMES. By M. A. Padll Ripley. 
 
 6. SIR VALENTINE'S VICTORY. By Mrs. Marshall, ' 
 
 7. GERALD AND DOLLY. By D'Estebbk. 
 
 8. STEPHEN, M.D. By Sdsan Warner. 
 
 10. THE LETTER OF CREDIT. By SusAN Warner, 
 
 11. DAINTREE. By the Author of " Expelled," &c. 
 
 12. ST. MARTIN'S SUMMER. By Rose Porter. 
 
 13. MRS. LESTER'S GIRLS. By the Author of " Miss Marston's 
 
 Girls." 
 
 17, THE OLDER BROTHER. By Pansy. 
 
 19. A VANISHED HAND. By Sarah Doudnky. 
 
 20. STEPPING HEAVENWARD. By Mrs. Prentiss. 
 
 21. RUBY AND PEARL. By Mrs. Marshall, 
 
 22. TIME TRIES. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 24 IN THE DAYS OF BRUCE. By Grace Aguilak. 
 
 25. IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO MEND. By Charles Readk. 
 
 26. THE PINK OF PERFECTION. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 27 THROUGH SHADOW TO SUNSHINE. By Mrs. Hornibrook. 
 
 28. STELLAFONT ABBEY. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 29. BESSIE ON HER TRAVELS. By Joanna H. Mathews. 
 
 30. BESSIE AND HER FRIENDS. By Joanna H. Mathews. 
 
 31. MAGGIE AND BESSIE. By Joanna H. Mathews. 
 
 32. THREE LITTLE SPADES. By Anna B. Warner. 
 
 33. MORAG: A Tale of Highland Life. By Mrs. Milne Rab, 
 
 34. THE STORY OF OUR ENGLISH BIBLE. By Mrs. Bayly. 
 
 35. LITTLE BRICKS. By "Darley Dale." 
 
 36. BESSIE AT SCHOOL. By Joanna H, Mathews. 
 38, BESSIE AT THE SEASIDE. By J. H. Mathews. 
 
 S9. BESSIE AMONG THE MOUNTAINS. By J. H. Mathews. 
 28 
 
Books for Young Readers. 
 
 THE STANDARD SERIES. 
 
 A Series of Popular Books in handy size, square 16mo, with dear 
 type, and neatly hound in cloth, with full gilt back. 16mo, 
 Is. net ; 2s. net in leather. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF HENRY ESMOND. By W. M. Thaokbrat. 
 
 rVANHOE. By Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 HYPATIA. By Chakles Kingslet, 
 
 THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD. By Oliver Goldsmith. 
 
 SARTOR RESARTUS. By Thomas Caelyle. 
 
 CRANFORD. By Mrs. Gaseell. 
 
 THE BRIDE OF LAMMERMOOR. By Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 THE PIRATE. By Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 OLD MORTALITY. By Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 ROB ROY. By Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 THE LADY OF THE LAKE. By Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 THE SCARLET LETTER. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. 
 
 THE GOLDEN SILENCE SERIES. 
 
 Stories for Children, by Miss Oiberne, Mrs. Marshall, J. Jackson 
 Wray, and others. With Illustrations. Small Croiim 8vo. 
 Attractively bound in cloth. Is. each. 
 
 2. AUNT JANE'S HERO. By Mrs. Phentiss. 
 
 3. MICHAEL'S TREASURES. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 7. MR. RUTHERFORD'S CHILDREN. By Susan Warner. 
 9. EFFIE'S FRIENDS ; or, Chronicles of the Woods and Shore. 
 
 10. MATTHEW FROST. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 11. MY LADY BOUNTIFUL. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 12. THREE PATHS IN LIFE. By E. Bablkb. 
 
 13. GRAN. By E. A. B. D. 
 
 14. THREE TIMES THREE. By Panst. 
 
 29 
 
James Nisbet & Co.'s List. 
 
 THE GOLDEN SILENCE SERIES-eontinued. 
 
 15. PAT'S INHERITANCE. By Mrs. Mabshall. 
 
 16. NATURE'S GENTLEMAN. By Mrs. Marshali,. 
 
 17. THE BRIDE'S HOME. By Mrs. Makshalu 
 
 18. MILES MURCHISON. By Miss Giberne. 
 
 19. SOME COMMON INSECTS. By Emily Dibdin. 
 
 20. FOOTSTEPS OF FORTUNE. By Esme Stuart. 
 
 22. THE STORY OF JOHN MARBECK. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 23. MY GRANDMOTHER'S PICTURES. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 24. HIGH AND LOWLY. By Ellen L. Davis. 
 
 25. PETER PENGELLY; or, True as the Clock. By Rev. J. 
 
 Jackson Wray. 
 
 27. JACK HORNER THE SECOND. By Rev. J. Jackson Wray, 
 
 28. A SUNBEAM'S INFLUENCE. By Lady Donboyne. 
 
 29. A BOY'S WILL. By Ellen Davis. 
 
 30. THREE LITTLE SISTERS. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 31. THREE LITTLE BROTHERS. By Mrs. Marshall, 
 
 32. THE CHRISTMAS STOCKING OF KARL KRINKEN. By 
 
 S. Warner. 
 
 33. WHEN I WAS YOUNG. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 34. GOLDEN SILENCE. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 3.5. LETTICE LAW SON'S LEGACY. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 36. SIR BENJAMIN'S BOUNTY. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 37. MASTER MARTIN. By Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 38. KITTEN PILGRIMS. By R. M. Ballantyne. 
 
 39. GEOFFREY HALLAM; or, The Clerk of the Parish. By 
 
 J. Jackson Wray. 
 
 40. "A SONG OF SIXPENCE" FOR THE BAIRNS. By 
 
 J. Jackson Wray. 
 
 41. DAISY OF OLD MEADOW. By Agnes Gibeknk. 
 
 42. OLD UMBRELLAS. By Agnes Giberne. 
 
 3° 
 
DEC d 1985 
 
 3 1970 00848 4252 
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed. 
 
 llgBttJWAKt LOAN I 
 
 SEP 3 1991 
 
A 000 560 796 5