And what company had I found? A girl who had instantly affected me in a manner I had never before experienced.
Naturally, after long absence from female society, a man is easily attracted by almost any member of the fair sex. I quite understood this. But I had never been enthusiastic in my admiration of women. Indeed I had been, whether from diffidence or constitution I cannot say, rather averse to their society, and regarded those of my friends who devoted themselves to them as a bit weak.
I knew this, and yet I felt so elated at meeting this girl so unexpectedly that I forgot all my former notions, and was so joyful, in spite of recent occurrences and our terrible surroundings, that I went on my way gleefully. The awful cold and my loneliness were clean forgotten, the long tramp on snowshoes was as nothing, so, almost before I knew it, I was back at the hut.
Everything that could freeze was frozen, indoors and out. I built a huge fire, I cooked a meal for myself and my dog, and I felt so bright and so exhilarated that I ate as I had not eaten for a long time. I rejoiced in my appetite, my vigour, and health, and thanked Almighty God for His goodness, and not the least for His mercifully causing us—Meade and me—to economise our food as we had, for now I could appreciate the value of it, as, of course, I had not hesitated, nay, I was eager, to share it with the Bells.
To think of that sweet girl in want of food was so distressing, that I would fain have given her all that I possessed and starved myself, rather than that she should suffer.
Sitting by my fire resting, I smoked and dreamed—waking dreams—about my new friends. I thought lightly of Mr Bell's illness. I believed it was merely want of sustenance, as it was with his daughter May. I thought of her as May, which was a lovely name. I considered, I wondered who they were, what was their history, how they came to be up there in that awful predicament, in that dreadful country.
Mr Bell had spoken of gold as if they had plenty; I knew what I had, and this led me to dreaming of what might be. I pictured May in England, myself with such a woman as she appeared to be as my wife. I thought about all that we could enjoy in England, the comforts and luxuries that money would obtain there for us, and I fell asleep dreaming of such things, and slept until Patch roused me. He had become impatient at my long nap.
I had slept some hours. I was pleased, knowing the task I had before me of hauling a heavy load to the Bells', and then returning without sleep or rest. I was not complaining—far, very far from that—I was indeed rejoiced about it. But I was wise enough to remember that I must go sensibly to work—that as their very lives depended on me and what I had, I must run no risk of breaking down or failing.
There was a quantity of food, principally canned meats and vegetables, in the cache which Meade and I built up the trees. I packed the toboggan with a selection, and with a sack of flour, some sugar, coffee, a few bottles of bovril, our only bottle of whisky, and all I could think of suitable for an invalid. I heaped on joints of venison, bear meat, and a few frozen birds I had left. I covered this with the remnant of the tent, lashed all securely, harnessed Patch, and started up the creek.
This was really my first experience of hauling a laden sledge. Patch was out of practice too, so that for a while we did not get on pleasantly.