“Not if you can hire Cree Jim, who lives somewhere up on the Fox River, to go with you, for he is the best guide in the country.”
So the next morning Phil and his companions again set forth, this time up the Pelly River, with all their hopes for safety and a successful termination to their journey centred upon the finding and hiring of Cree Jim, the guide.
[CHAPTER XXVII]
LOST IN THE FOREST
It was not difficult to find the Fox River, for it was the first stream flowing into the Pelly on the right, and as the ice in the latter river was much smoother than it had been on the Yukon, our sledge travellers turned into it on the second day after leaving Harper’s.
“Now,” said Phil, “we must keep a sharp lookout for Cree Jim’s cabin; for as no one seems to know exactly where it is located, we may find it anywhere between here and the head of the stream. At any rate, we can’t afford to miss it.”
They did miss it though, and, after camping one night on the river, reached its head in a lake that they knew must be the Fox. Although the day was but half spent, Phil decided to camp at that point.
“You and I, Serge,” he said, “must go back down the river, one on each side, making long détours away from it, in hopes of finding either the cabin or some trail leading to it. At the same time we must keep a sharp lookout for game. Anything from a bear to a rabbit would be acceptable now, for if we don’t replenish our stock of meat pretty soon we shall lose our dogs.”
“All right,” replied Serge; “only, Phil, do be careful and not get lost.”