Young Dan stared at him in amazement.
“I knew you’d have to give it up,” he said, “and I’m mighty glad you’ve found your way back. That’s more’n I could do, with the snow drifting like it has all day.”
The old Maliseet smiled and snorted and entered the camp. Young Dan followed a few minutes later depressed by the thought of Andy Mace’s disappointment and yet relieved to know that the old Indian was safe. By the fire-shine and the mild light of a candle on the table, he beheld his partner dosing himself with a large spoon from a large bottle and Pete Sabatis laying out tea and bacon and tobacco on the floor.
“So you got there!” exclaimed Young Dan. “You got to Andy’s place in that storm—and home again!”
Both old men turned to him. Pete’s one eye grew rounder and brighter for a second; and Mr. Mace gulped down his medicine, pulled a wry face and then chuckled.
“Pete Sabatis never yet started out for anywheres he didn’t git to,” said Andy. “Snow nor rain nor wind nor darkness can’t stop him. He travels as straight with one eye as ever he did with two.”
“I didn’t know the man was living, or had ever lived, who could hold a straight course through new country on such a day as yesterday,” said Young Dan. “And now I know I was mistaken,” he added.
Pete Sabatis had nothing to say about his journey. The trip had been unadventurous. He had not encountered any difficulties worth mentioning. Andy’s key had fitted Andy’s door and he had found the bottles of medicine on the very shelf in the pantry which Andy had described to him. And he had found the store at the Bend exactly where he had expected to find it and the storekeeper had not hesitated a moment in the matter of filling the order.
Young Dan cooked the best supper he knew how to with the materials at hand; and after supper, when the old men’s pipes were drawing to their entire satisfaction, Andy said, “Pete, I’d like fine to tell Young Dan Evans here about how ye happened to lose yer eye.”
The Maliseet fixed his remaining eye on the youth with a glance so searching that the other remembered something he had read in a book about a thing called an X-Ray.