The revengeful guide was now sitting up. He seemed to be intently listening, as though to either discover whether all of the others were sound asleep, or else trying to catch some signal from without.
A dreadful thought flashed into Elmer's mind, though he quickly dismissed it as unreasonable. It was of course possible that Zack may have coaxed others to accompany him on his mission of revenge; but if he had company why should he appeal to his bitter enemy when in desperate need of succor? That alone stamped the idea as next door to absurd; and so Elmer put it out of his mind as impossible.
At the same time the actions of the guide were certainly queer, to say the very least of it. He was now getting slowly and painfully to his feet, repressing a groan while so doing; because with one arm tied up and useless it is not always the easiest thing in the world to get up off the floor, and out from a mess of clinging blankets.
Once he was on his feet the actions of the man became even more suspicious. He crept toward the door, turning his head several times as though to make sure that no one was watching him. Here he fumbled for a brief time, managing presently to take aside the bar. Then he gently opened the door, and as the wind was from the north, and the opening faced the south, the cold air did not enter when he had done this.
Elmer, still watching, half expected to see the guide step out and depart. He was even debating with himself as to whether his duty might not compel him to raise his voice in protest against such an act, since the chances were the man would not be able to survive the exposure in his present weakened condition, without his rifle, and with no food to sustain him.
He saw that Lil Artha had that long neck of his "rubbering," as he himself would have termed it; doubtless his gun was alongside him in the bunk, and even then he had hold of it.
To the astonishment of Elmer, however, the man did not pass beyond the doorsill. He seemed to have drawn some object from a hidden receptacle about his person, where it must have escaped observation when his benefactors were helping him. And giving this a swift toss Zack Arnold hurled it far out amidst the snow drifts; after which he backed into the cabin, softly closed the door, glanced hurriedly around to see if he had been observed, but seeing nothing, because Lil Artha had hastily drawn his head back as might a cautious old tortoise when threatened with peril; after which the guide replaced the bar.
Five minutes after all this queer happening had taken place Zack was once more bundled up in his blankets, and apparently bound to go to sleep, this time in real earnest.
After that Elmer seemed to find no difficulty whatever in getting asleep himself. Why, it really seemed as though a great load had been removed from his mind; and the first thing he knew George was calling him to get up, because breakfast was almost ready.
It was a most unusual thing for the scout master to over-sleep. Some of the others, notably Toby and George, joked him about it; but Elmer noticed that Lil Artha did not say a word.