He knew as well as Oscar did that Big Thompson was about to make an effort to reach the fort; and his first care must be to watch him, and see if he succeeded in getting through the gorge. If he did, so much the better for himself, for he would have a clear field for his operations.
Leaving Oscar to go where he pleased, until it suited his convenience to look after him, the wolfer ran along in the edge of the woods until he reached the gorge. A high hill arose on one side of it, and this the wolfer scaled, after considerable trouble, and sat down on the top of it to watch Big Thompson’s progress.
From his lofty perch he kept the guide in sight for more than an hour; and the ease with which the latter passed over the drifts would have satisfied a less crafty and suspicious person that there was no danger to be apprehended from his unexpected return.
But Lish was so very much afraid of Big Thompson that he dared not take any risks. He kept his position on the top of the hill until it was almost dark, and then scrambled down and ran back to his camp.
“I s’pose I might have turned that thar chap outen that thar cabin, an’ slept for onct with a tight roof over my head an’ plenty of blankets to keep me warm,” muttered the wolfer, as he searched about in the timber for some dry wood with which to start his fire. “But if Big Thompson should ’a’ happened to come back in the night—whooppee! Howsomever, who keers? I’ll go thar bright an’ arly in the mornin’, and take everything I kin lay my hands on to. I’ll larn that young chap that he’s barkin’ up the wrong tree when he tries to shet me into the guard-house!”
By the time daylight came, however, the wolfer had made a slight change in his programme. Before visiting the cabin, he thought it would be a good plan to hunt up Big Thompson’s traps, and thus make sure of something to repay him for his long journey. After that he would take a look at the camp, and, if the coast was clear, make a descent upon it; but, if he found that the guide had returned during the night, he would pick up the game he had stolen from the traps and make all haste to get back into his own valley.
This programme was duly carried out, and the result exceeded the wolfer’s most sanguine expectations. Both sides of the brook were lined with traps, and Lish robbed and stole so many that, by the time he found the last one, his load was as heavy as he could conveniently manage.
His first work was to lighten it, which he did by removing the skins of the stolen animals, which, with the traps, he placed among the evergreens, out of sight.
He was very proud of his morning’s work, and his success gave him courage.
The wolfer now crossed to the nearest bluffs; and, running along under cover of the timber, finally took up a position from which he could command a view of the cabin door.