"Honest, Bill, I'm sorry," a subdued voice answered. "I thought Jack was fooling, and I did want to show 'em I could kill something bigger than a rabbit. You aren't mad, are you, Bill? I hope Eth won't worry; we'll prob'ly have to stay here all night, won't we?"
"All night! Won't worry! Don't you know that this is a regular blizzard—the kind that kills men at their own doors—and that it may last for a week? And here we are with no fire-wood, and nothing to eat! The chances are mighty good that we'll never see camp again—and you pipe up and hope your sister won't worry!"
Charlie leaned over closer against Carmody's body.
"Why, we've got to get back, Bill!" he said, and his voice was very earnest now. "We're all Eth's got—you and me—and she needs us."
The boy felt a sudden tightening of the muscles beneath the heavy mackinaw, and the quick gasp of an indrawn breath. A big arm stole about his shoulders. The harshness was gone from Bill's voice, and when he spoke the sound fell softly upon the culprit's ears.
"Sure, kid, we'll get back. Buck up! We've got a fighting chance, and that's all we need—men like you and me. Life up here is a hard game, kid, but we're no quitters! This is just one of the rough places in the long, long trail.
"And, say, kid—just man to man—I want you always to remember that—she needs you—and some day she may need you bad. This St. Ledger may be all right, but——"
"St. Ledger!" The voice of the boy cut sharply upon the darkness. "Say, Bill, you aren't going to marry Blood River Jack's sister, are you?"
"What!"
"Why, Blood River Jack's sister, you know, that helped fish you out of the river."