"All right except that we're snow-blind!" replied Jerry.
"Oh, I feared you had been attacked by a pack of wolves, Jerry," said his father. "And, Fred, are you all right?"
"We're both blind!"
"Well, that will pass away. I should have warned you to wear snow goggles. I did not think you were going so far from camp, and I did not realize that the sun was so strong on the snow. We began to get worried about you a while ago, so Holfax and I started out after you. We heard your shots, and traced you by them. It's a good thing you had your guns. But come on, I'll lead you back to camp."
It did not take long to reach it, for the boys had been advancing in the right direction. They were warmed with many cups of hot tea, and after bathing their eyes in warm water their sight gradually came back, but they could not see well until the next morning.
"After this you must wear goggles; we all will," said Mr. Baxter. "Holfax has some, made from wood."
The goggles were queer affairs. They were merely pieces of wood, long enough to extend across the eyes, and wide enough to completely cover the optics. There was a narrow slit through which to look, an opening so narrow that only a little light penetrated through it. The goggles were fastened on with a piece of deer thong. Regular glasses, with metal rims, could not have been worn, as the great cold would have frozen them fast to the nose and face.
"We start through the great wilderness to-morrow," said Mr. Baxter to the boys in the tent that night. "I have been studying the map," he added, after listening to see that none of the Indians were walking too close outside the shelter. "I think we are on the right trail, though, of course, we are too far off to tell exactly. I have a plan, of which I have not told you yet."
"What is it?" asked Fred.
"I am going to get rid of all the Indian guides, save one, and he is Holfax. I know I can trust him. The others, especially Zank, I believe are thieves, and very dishonest."