“I believe you’re right at that, and the chances are that if he gets away with it, we’ll never see him or the deed again,” Bob said, adding after a moment’s thought: “I don’t know how much of a woodsman he is, nor how much he knows about the country up north; but, if he’s got a good supply of liquor, and he probably has, there’s no knowing what may happen to him. Jack, boy, we’ve got to go after him.”
“You said it,” Jack shouted, springing to his feet. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Don’t go off half cocked,” Bob cautioned laughing, as he too got up. “We’ve got to get things ready before we start on a trip of that kind. Don’t forget that it probably means sleeping out in the open for a number of nights. He’s got a day’s start of us and, although I don’t imagine he’ll travel very fast, it’s apt to take us several days to catch up with him.”
CHAPTER VIII.
ON THE TRAIL.
After some discussion it was decided that they would get everything ready and then drive back to the Carry with Ezra and spend the night there, getting an early start the next morning. Fortunately Tom had a number of sleeping bags at the camp and a toboggan about six feet long. On this they packed their food and other necessities, knowing that it would be easier to drag the load on the light toboggan than to carry it on their backs.
The stars were still shining brightly in the heavens when, the next morning, they waved goodbye to Ezra and turned their faces to the frozen North.
“Don’t get froze and don’t get lost, or all the gain’ll be less’n the cost,” was Ezra’s parting advice, and they assured him that they would be careful.
From North East Carry to the Canadian border is about fifty miles directly northwest, but at that point is the main road to Quebec and small towns are plentiful. Knowing this, the boys were not at all surprised to find that the man’s trail, which they picked up almost at once, led more to the north.
“Nip’s going to fight shy of the towns till he gets across,” Jack declared, pointing to the well-defined trail.
“Looks that way,” Bob agreed. “At any rate he won’t strike one the way he’s heading till he gets to the St. Lawrence River about a hundred miles north of here.”