His big, honest eyes fairly shone in the semi-darkness of the hut as he questioned Will rapidly, and the latter briefly related the causes leading to their present dilemma.
In return, the musician informed them that they were in the vicinity of two isolated settlements, that he was a schoolmaster and musician, and that he was on his way to a place called “the Corners,” to play at a party at the tavern, when the storm belated him and the wolves drove him to the old cabin.
“It ain’t safe to venture out before daylight,” he said, “for the storm’s heavy and the wolves are as thick as bees. We’ll build a fire in the old fireplace yonder and keep warm, and I’ve got a little lunch in my pocket here.”
The bustling old musician, with the help of the boys, made a slanting cover of the loose logs in the cabin, and then, with his knife, cut some kindling from one of them.
A cheerful fire soon blazed in the fireplace, warming the chilled denizens of the hut. The stranger’s lunch was very welcome to the boys, and his merry stories of frontier life kept them entertained until nearly morning.
At daylight they started over a trackless waste of snow for the Corners. Here the boys found some kind-hearted friends of Brown, who welcomed them to a cozy home until they could decide as to their future course.
A discussion of the situation with Brown led to an abandonment of the hope of again joining Mr. Hunter.
The only settlement they could remember where a station had been made, they were informed, was many miles to the west, through a trackless wilderness.
“We will have to work our way back to Watertown,” decided Will, and the ensuing day an opportunity presented itself to begin their progress homewards.
The storekeeper intended driving to a town some fifty miles distant for goods, and offered to give them a free ride.