To Win or to Die: A Tale of the Klondike Gold Craze

by George Manville Fenn

“They’ll come to the window, I hope,” thought Dallas; “and if they do I won’t fire till I am sure of winging one of them.”

But though they waited, no such opportunity seemed likely to come, for there was not a sound at the front after they heard the soft crackling of the snow.

All at once, when the horrible suspense seemed greater than they could bear, and Dallas felt that he must spring to his feet, rush to the door, and begin firing at random, it seemed to both that an icy hand had grasped each of them by the throat.

It was another exemplification of the aphorism that it is the unexpected which always happens. For all at once, after a long period of perfect silence, there was a peculiar grating sound at the back of the hut instead of at the front, and for a few moments both the defenders of the place were puzzled.

Then, as the sound was repeated, they realised what it was. There were several pieces of thickish pine-trunk lying outside in the snow, pieces that had been cut to form uprights for the rough shedding over their shaft. These pieces were very rough and jagged with the remains of the boughs which had been lopped off, so that they would be as easy to climb—almost—as a ladder. Two of these had been softly placed so that they lay along the slope of the roof, and up them one of the enemy was cautiously climbing, while his companion was holding them at the foot.

“Bel must grasp this,” thought Dallas, who dared not whisper, for fear of giving the alarm to the enemy and putting them on their guard. For, cunning enough in the plans that had been devised, the enemy were about to ignore door and window, and make their approach by the opening in the roof through which the smoke passed.

There was a sort of lid of boards nailed a foot above to prevent the snow from falling straight through, but there was ample room for an active man to lower himself down through the hole; and, drawing a deep breath full of satisfaction, Dallas changed the direction of the muzzle of his gun, feeling quite sure that the one who was to attack would lower himself down feet first, so that the task of performing vengeance would be easy as far as one of the men was concerned, and at any rate they could make sure of him.

Dallas’s teeth gritted softly together as he waited, and Abel’s heart beat with heavy throbs, for he had been as quick to grasp the way of attack as his cousin. But they had not fully fathomed the enemy’s plans, and were completely taken by surprise.

It was only a matter of a few minutes, but it seemed like an hour as the young men strained their eyes in the black darkness, and mentally saw one of their foes climb slowly up till he reached the sloping roof, up which he progressed steadily, the two pieces of tree rasping and crunching the thick, icy snow which clung to the roof; and then fingers trembled about triggers as the defenders tried to guess at the opening exactly in the centre of where the ridge-pole ran.

And now the sounds came more plainly; a hand was evidently feeling about for the opening, for a bit or two of snow from the edge of the hole—pieces which had not melted away—fell down amongst the embers with a soft pat, and a low, hissing sound of steam arose from the hot fire-hole.