The clump of small trees was only a short distance away. There, shaded from the heat of midday, the boys slept, utterly relaxed, until the sun was far on its downward course. Duncan McNab kept watch. He had had no more sleep than they the night before, but he was more used to going without and needed less than growing boys required.
Neil’s first words, when he woke to find the sun low in the west, were, “How far have we got to go to Lake Traverse?”
“Ta the post thirty mile or mair,” was the reply.
Neil groaned and stretched. “And we’ve got to walk it,” he muttered.
“Weel, ye may be glad ye’ve got twa soond legs left ta walk it wi’,” McNab returned with his grim smile. There were no more complaints.
McNab, old campaigner that he was, carried cooking utensils, pemmican, and a packet of tea in his saddle bags. A hot meal put new courage into the lads. Before the sun was down they were on their way again. The night was clear and light, and they kept up a steady pace till midnight. Then they stopped for a brief rest and more tea.
Luckily for the boys they did not have to walk the whole distance to the trading post. Dawn had not yet come, when McNab made out a party of horsemen coming towards them. The foremost rider waved his arms and shouted. The boys knew that voice. Louis had come back to seek them.
Unashamed to display his feelings, Louis sprang from his pony to hug his brother and his friends. “Thank the good God,” he cried. “I felt like a coward and a traitor to leave you behind.”
“It was the only thing to do,” Walter and Neil exclaimed together. “Are the others safe?”
“All safe, but we did not reach the fort till after sunset. After we crossed the Bois des Sioux we had to rest our horses a little, and the children slept. We dared not stop long. The ponies did their best, but they could not carry double all the time. My mother and M’sieu Perier and I walked much of the way, and sometimes Marie and Elise walked also.”