Jack did not say a single word lest he start the other to worrying again. It might seem such a trifling matter to any outsider but to Perk it meant that he was growing old—that his memory, never any too good, had taken to going back on him worse than ever.
The further they worked into the north the more uninhabited did the wild region seem to become. Earlier in their flight they were able to occasionally discover an isolated log-cabin marking the lonely home of some venturesome white trapper and when these isolated shelters were still occupied by their owners there would be a column of wood smoke rising above the adjacent timber that made things seem a bit homelike, but for the last hour Perk had not picked up the slightest clue to human existence in all that vast wilderness, though he plied his glasses most industriously in hopes of breaking the spell.
“Must be drawing close to the fur-trading post, I’d reckon, eh partner?” Jack suddenly demanded at which the other nodded vigorously in the affirmative and followed this up by saying emphatically:
“Just what we are ol’ hoss. I’ve seen a number o’ things to tell me it’s close by here—f’r instance, take a peek at them three cones standin’ out there in a triangle off to the west—many a time I’ve sat an’ smoked an’ watched the clouds coverin’ the lowest peak while on a log in front o’ Old Jimmy McGregor’s log cabin store. Jest a trifle more to the east, partner, an’ chances are we’ll be settin’ eyes on Frazer’s Post inside ten minutes at the most.”
That was certainly cheery information for Jack to hear from his companion who was familiar with much of that country from having ridden over the mountain trails when spending several years in the service of the Northwest Mounted Police force.
Perk seemed to be more and more amazed by the fact of their striking the far distant point as though drawn by some magnet, for a minute later he broke loose again.
“There, I ’member that little canyon where the trail runs through—got my first caribou right on that spot—a herd was passin’ an’ I came on the bunch as they turned a corner. What makes me sit up an’ take notice is how we’ve come all the way up here, hundreds an’ hundreds o’ miles, straight as a die an’ inside o’ forty-eight hours, I guess I might call it, when in them days it’d taken me a month anyway to cover the same distance on hossback. They fetches the supplies to the post here by way o’ the river an’ then by carry. Huh! we’re livin’ in a great age, strikes me, partner. Now, get ready to take a look-in at the first fur-tradin’ station you ever did see ’cause it’s jest beyond that little rise with the timber hidin’ the fort. Hot ziggetty dog! I never did think I’d be up here in this country again.”
Jack also felt a little thrill of expectancy as they sped onward for in another minute or so they should be passing directly over the place Perk had pointed out with such assurance. The trip had thus far been as successful as any one could hope for and their success in finding the needle in a haystack, as Perk had once called their mission, was to be considered a feather in the cap of the pilot.
Then all of a sudden he heard Perk give utterance to a loud cry as of dismay, coupled with astonishment.
“Hey! what’s all this mean? Look at that outhouse smoulderin’ like it’s been burned down inside o’ last night! An’ that little bunch o’ fellers standin’ there like they meant to skedaddle at hearin’ us comin’ with sech a racket! Jack, I tell you somethin’s sure happened around these diggin’s! Been some sorter o’ deviltry afoot an’ ten to one that same crazy Hawk’s the guy that’s broke loose! Mebbe now we jest got here in time to break into the game.”