On his way back to Fort Garry Robert ran into an experience which again showed his mettle. Following along the trail late one afternoon he was held up by a band of about two hundred Indians who, for some reason, had started on the war-path. The moment the white man was seen he was surrounded. At first he thought he would have no difficulty with these men, presuming that he could handle them as easily as he had done his own Indians in the Fort Garry district. In a moment or two, however, he saw that these natives had no respect for the white man. He knew from their faces and from the glare of their eyes that they meant anything but friendliness toward him. It was useless to try to escape. He laid down his pack and stood erect, facing the leader with a fearless and undismayed look, and as the painted red man approached Robert stepped forward with outstretched hand and smiled. The chief was nonplussed. He had expected a craven attitude, and was so surprised that he clasped Robert’s hand and was forced to return the straight look in the eye which the young man gave him. His surprise was more manifest when Robert addressed him in a language very similar to his own, explaining where he was going and why he was on the trail at that time. After a moment or two of conversation Robert was able to gather enough information to learn the name of the chief and know the nature of the band. It was part of a roving tribe which had made itself a terror in the northern districts and which had accounted for the fate of many a trapper. Robert knew well what he might expect if he was not able to get the situation in hand. His faith did not leave him, however. He sent up a prayer to his Heavenly Father for aid which he well knew was needed, and felt God was nearer him than ever before. For a moment, perhaps, he felt physical fear, but then he got himself together and knew that with God’s help he was master of the situation.
Robert did his best to convince the chief that his errand was peaceful and that he should be allowed to proceed without being disturbed. After a moment or two the chief left him, apparently to consult with some of the other savages. To keep hold of himself under the strain Robert untied the pack which was lying at his feet, ate some of the pemmican which largely made up his supply of food, and stepped toward a fire which was burning to one side, hoping to get the attention of the members of the band. Perhaps by reason of the novelty of the situation, or possibly because they were forced to respect the manner in which he carried himself, they listened while he told the fierce-looking warriors of the Great Spirit on high who had come down to be in the midst of them and who was close by his side. For a minute or two he went on with his story, trying as strongly as he knew how to change the hearts of the savages, and while he could see that an impression had been made on a few, most of them were still sullen and apparently anxious to carry out their earlier intentions.
While he had been talking to them he had been watching them carefully, as he had learned before he had to do with Indians, and finally he noticed one giant warrior gradually making his way to the rear of the band. Suspecting treachery, he suddenly shouted at the Indians in a voice like thunder telling them that the Great Spirit was by his side and that if they dared to injure him they would suffer. Then with a sudden turn he faced the red man who was at his back and who was ready with upraised knife to spring on him. As the Indian leaped Robert caught his wrist with one hand and with the other grabbed the savage by the throat in a vicelike grip and held him right over the blazing fire until he writhed with agony. It wasn’t easy for him to do this. While outwardly he was stern his heart was tender, and he felt toward the Indian as a father to a child. He realized, however, that if his life was to be saved a stern example must be set. After inflicting pain over the fire for a moment or two, while the rest of the tribe stood off, in awe that a white man could so control one of their mightiest warriors, he threw the savage on the ground to one side, from which the Indian leaped quickly to his feet, and without looking around ran off down the trail. Apparently he had been forced to believe Robert’s story that the Great Spirit was in league with him. With the disappearance of one of the number in this fashion the remainder of the band vanished quickly, and in a moment or two Robert fell on his knees and thanked his Heavenly Father for the help that had been given him in this time of stress.
THE BEGINNING OF A FIFTEEN-HUNDRED-MILE JOURNEY
WITH A TROUBLESOME PRISONER.
CHAPTER VI.
NEW DUTIES LEAD TO LARGER TESTS.
With Robert’s return to Fort Garry a new incident, one which was to lead him into unexpected and far-reaching new paths, developed. When he returned to Factor Donald he was informed that a dangerous criminal had been captured and brought to the fort, and that it was to be someone’s duty to deliver the offender to Little York, on the shore of Lake Ontario. It is perhaps easy to understand why Donald had selected Robert as the probable guide. He knew that the young man could be depended on in every way. He knew that the journey would be a long and trying one, and knowing something of the prisoner, understood just what would be demanded of the leader of the expedition. Had he known that his choice would mean the loss of his most helpful assistant he would probably have risked placing the prisoner in the charge of some other employee. However, he was responsible for the safe delivery of the criminal to the authorities at Little York, and he intended that, so far as possible, his duties in this regard should be fulfilled. The journey under these conditions, as could be anticipated, did not appeal to Robert. He had liked his work of the past winters, and he was anxious to go ahead with his Indians to carry forward the Company’s interests. When Donald told him, however, what would be expected of him and that he would be serving the Company just as directly in this way as in the other he made no protest, and while the outlook for the long trip with a companion who could not be congenial was anything but pleasant, he felt that he must be true to his duty, must obey the orders given by his superior, and agreed to assume the responsibility.
When he got a chance to look at the prisoner a little time later he appreciated more of what the situation meant. The criminal was over six feet and built accordingly. Apparently he had roamed in the wilds until the effects of civilization had been lost on him, and he was now more like an animal than a human being. However, Robert had undertaken to do the job and he intended to carry it through. Preparations were made for the long journey of more than fifteen hundred miles, and good-byes were said to the few trappers and Company employees who were not already in the forests for the winter season. A surprise came to Robert when he was invited to take dinner with Factor Donald the last night before his departure. While he knew that this man had appreciated his work he had never been able to get under the Factor’s cold attitude. This last night, however, proved that the young man’s character had won a place, for Donald spoke to him as he had never done before and said good-bye to him almost tenderly.
By this time Robert had become an expert dog driver, and he was not displeased when he was given a team of the finest huskies owned by the Company. His prisoner, with hands and feet securely fastened, was placed on the sled with the provisions and necessary supplies. The man had refused to walk, saying he would rather freeze first, so that there was nothing to do but transport him in this fashion. Everything went well the first day. The dogs, being fresh, travelled well, and the prisoner, although he had not been informed of the party’s destination, did not cause particular trouble. He was sullen and refused to talk, but, pinioned as he was and tied to the sled, was not in a position while the party was travelling to be the occasion of much disturbance.
The first night in camp with such a prisoner was not a particularly pleasing incident. Robert had made up his mind during the day, however, to try the same tactics on his prisoner as he had tried with the Indians the first winter of his experiences in the North-West. He prepared as good a meal as was possible under the circumstances, partially loosening him so that he could eat without difficulty, served him first, and gave him every consideration that was possible. The man’s nature, however, was very evident. He remained sullen and vicious, and when he did speak punctured his sentences with oaths, which told something of his thoughts and the kind of a life he had been living. Apparently, too, he had misread his man, thinking that because his guide was youthful in appearance that he could be browbeaten and made afraid.