“O, aye, they’ll sure have that much,” and Thomas brightened.
“The boys should be out the first of June, and Jamie and I will go on the first mail boat, the last of the month,” said Doctor Joe. “It all depends on our getting the furs. We must have the furs, and there’s no reason to doubt we’ll have them.”
Jamie had faith, and plenty o’ grit, too. He had no doubt that David and Andy would come home with a fine lot of furs.
And so they all waited and watched hopefully and expectantly for the return of the hunters, never once dreaming of disappointment or failure, or how strangely awry their plans were to go, as so often is the case with the best laid plans.
XXI
THE TRAIL OF THE DESERTER
Indian Jake took a straight course down the lake and through the Narrows. Crossing the lower expansion he turned upon the broad white bed of the river. This he followed until he reached a point where the ice, covering the swift flowing current, became unsafe. Here he entered the forest skirting the north bank, and under cover of the trees kept his rapid pace until mid-afternoon.
During the forenoon the storm had been steadily increasing in violence. Traveling had become uncomfortable and difficult, and, choosing a convenient place to pitch his tent, Indian Jake stretched it between two trees. A full ten feet of snow covered the forest floor and with no attempt to clear a camping place he proceeded to make himself comfortable on the surface of the snow.