In the meanwhile Mrs. Olsen was helping Madge to resume her outlandish garb.
“Mebbe Mr. Ennis he not know you vhen you come so all wrapped up. Mebbe he tink it is a bear. Yes, put dis on too, you vants it all,” she declared. “It’s all of twelve mile out dere. If you not need de tings no longer, by and by you send ’em back. It’s all right. I no need ’em. Yoost keep ’em so long vhat you like. Didn’t Hugo Ennis tell you bring varm clothes vid you?”
“No,” said Madge. “I––I don’t think he spoke of them.”
“Mens is awful foolish some times,” asserted the good woman. “Dey pay no attention to tings everybotty knows all about. I tank Stefan he alretty now, so I say good-by and come again, ma’am. Alvays happy ter see you again vhen you comes, sure.”
The little girl came to Madge and rose upon her toes, for a kiss. More timidly the boy only proffered a hand. Mrs. Olsen kissed her pale cheek with a resounding smack.
“Mens is fonny sometimes,” she said. “If tings isn’t all right like you expect mebbe at Papineau’s you come back here soon as you finish vhat you haf to do at Roaring Rifer. I haf anodder bed I can fix up in de back room real easy. Good py, ma’am, and look out careful for your nose!”
With this incomprehensible bit of advice Mrs. Olsen opened the door, swiftly, and closed it just as fast. Madge saw her smiling at her through the window-pane. Stefan made her sit down on the pillow, over which he had laid the bearskin, which he then wrapped over her shoulders and body and limbs.
“Now ve starts right off,” he told her. “Look out careful for your nose, leddy,” he also advised before calling to his dogs, who strained away at the long traces and trotted away, pulling heartily.
Wearing a pair of huge snowshoes Stefan followed or kept at the side of the toboggan. They left the road and struck a sort of path that led them up a hill. To her right hand she could see a vast expanse of frozen lake stretching away to the north. In some places the snow appeared to be quite level while in others it was deeply wrinkled in ridges caused by the winds. Presently the trees grew more 90 abundant along the way. They were silvery birches and the yellow ones, and poplars with slender branches ending in tiny bare twigs. The conifers still wore thick coats of dark green, excepting the tamaracks, that only carried a few long golden needles. These big trees were dotted over with great lumps of snow and ice which occasionally clattered down through the branches.