“We’ve decided to give you your choice of two courses. You can go on and take your chance. It’s only about eight or ten miles to the Canadian border, and there is a small town just over the line and you can get a gun there if you intend to go farther. Or you can go back with us. Now which will it be?”
“I’ll take a chance and go on,” the man said, after a moment’s thought. “But I’ll get you sometime for this and don’t ye forgit it.”
Without wasting any more words, the boys picked up the rope of the toboggan and started back, leaving Nip rolling up his pack.
“I hope the wolves don’t get him,” Jack said, as soon as they were out of hearing.
“I guess there’s not a whole lot of danger. He ought to reach the border in a little over two hours,” Bob replied, adding: “Anyhow, I don’t see how we could have done any different. He’d have shot us quick as a wink if he’d got a chance.”
It was just noon when they reached the old cabin on the lake. They had intended to get a hasty dinner and then travel until dark; but, after talking it over, they decided to wait and get an early start in the morning, and try to make the Carry in one day.
“It’s getting better going all the time as the snow settles, and if we get off by four o’clock I believe we can make it,” Bob declared. “And I’d rather do that than camp out again. I don’t much care for another set to with that pack of wolves.”
“Well, we’ve got to have some wood if we’re going to stay here all night. We used all there was in the shack getting breakfast this morning,” Jack said, as he began to untie the pack.
“I’ll see what I can find if you’ll get a couple of those trout ready;” and, taking the ax, Bob started for the woods back of the cabin.
He was obliged to hunt for some time before he found a dead tree, and it was all of an hour before he returned with his arms full of wood.