I laughed at Alick’s anxieties, for I had never seen him in such a humour before.
“I hope you are not exercising the gift of second-sight,” I said; “I didn’t know you possessed it.”
“I trust that I do not,” he answered. “Let us push forward, and we shall soon reach the fort, and know what has happened.”
Chapter Seven.
Return to the fort—Find it destroyed—Poor Sandy and honest Pat missing—A watchful night—The fish-hawks—Robin’s suspicions—No horses—“Up, boys, up!”—We begin our tramp—Turkey eggs very nice for hungry men—The Sunjegwun is reached—Bitter disappointment—The bear and its cub—I kill them—Robin’s soup-pot—Crees of the plain—Our new companions—Picheto—The young Cree kills a buffalo—The “pound”—The hunting party—The Chief is willing to trade—Offers us horses for our guns—The feast.
As we approached the fort towards the end of the day we looked out for the flag, which we expected to see floating over it, but it was not visible.
“Can Sandy have forgotten to hoist it?” observed Alick. “It is yet too early for him to have hauled it down. Expecting us, he would certainly have kept it flying till dark.”
“Perhaps your prognostications of evil may have come true,” I said, laughing, not at all thinking that such was the case.