Rolf In The Woods by Ernest Thompson Seton (most popular ebook readers .txt) 📖

That He Would

Never See The Sunrise.  But They Were Wrong.

 

The Long Night Passed In A Struggle Between Heath And The Tough

Make-Up Of A Mountaineer.  The Waiting Light Of Dawn Saw Death

Defeated,  Retiring From The Scene. As The Sun Rose High,  The

Victim Seemed To Gain  Considerably In Strength.  There Was No

Immediate Danger Of An End.

 

Rolf Said To Quonab: "Where Shall We Take Him? Guess You Better

Go Home For The Toboggan,  And We'll Fetch Him To The Shanty."

 

But The Invalid Was Able To Take Part In The Conversation. "Say,

Don't Take Me There.  Ah -- Want To Go Home. 'Pears Like -- I'd

Be Better At Home.  My Folks Is Out Moose River Way.  I'd Never

Get Out If I Went In There," And By "There" He Seemed To Mean The

Indian's Lake,  And Glanced Furtively At The Unchanging

Countenance Of The Red Man.

 

"Have You A Toboggan At Your Shanty?" Asked Rolf.

 

"Yes -- Good Enough -- It's On The Roof -- Say," And He Beckoned

Feebly To Rolf,  "Let Him Go After It -- Don't Leave Me -- He'll

Kill Me," And He Wept Feebly In His Self Pity.

 

So Quonab Started Down The Mountain - A Sinewy Man -- A Striding

Form,  A Speck In The Melting Distance.

 

 

 

Chapter 46 (Nursing Hoag)

 

In Two Hours The Red Man Reached The Trapper's Shanty,  And At

Once,  Without Hesitation Or Delicacy,  Set About A Thorough

Examination Of Its Contents. Of Course There Was The Toboggan On

The Roof,  And In Fairly Good Condition For Such A Shiftless

Owner.

 

There Were Bunches Of Furs Hanging From The Rafters,  But Not

Many,  For Fur Taking Is Hard Work; And Quonab,  Looking

Suspiciously Over Them,  Was 'Not Surprised To See The Lynx Skin

He Had Lost,  Easily Known By The Absence Of Wound And The Fur

Still In Points As It Had Dried From The Wetting.  In Another

Bundle,  He Discovered The Beaver That Had Killed Itself,  For

There Was The Dark Band Across Its Back.

 

The Martens He Could Not Be Sure Of,  But He Had A Strong

Suspicion That Most Of This Fur Came Out Of His Own Traps.

 

He Tied Hoag's Blankets On The Toboggan,  And Hastened Back To

Where He Left The Two On The Mountain.

 

Skookum Met Him Long Before He Was Near.  Skookum Did Not Enjoy

Hoag's Company.

 

The Cripple Had Been Talking Freely To Rolf,  But The  Arrival Of

The Indian Seemed To Suppress Him.

 

With The Wounded Man On The Toboggan,  They Set Out,  The Ground

Was Bare In Many Places,  So That The Going Was Hard; But,

Fortunately,  It Was All Down Hill,  And Four Hours' Toil Brought

Them To The Cabin.

 

They Put The Sick Man In His Bunk,  Then Rolf Set About Preparing

A Meal,  While Quonab Cut Wood.

 

After The Usual Tea,  Bacon,  And Flour Cakes,  All Were Feeling

Refreshed.  Hoag Seemed Much More Like Himself. He Talked Freely,

Almost Cheerfully,  While Quonab,  With Skookum At His Feet,  Sat

Silently Smoking And Staring Into The Fire.

 

After A Long Silence,  The Indian Turned,  Looked Straight At The

Trapper,  And,  Pointing With His Pipestem To The Furs,  Said,  "How

Many Is Ours?"

 

Hoag Looked Scared,  Then Sulky,  And Said; "I Dunno What Ye Mean.

I'm A Awful Sick Man.  You Get Me Out To Lyons Falls All Right,

And Ye Can Have The Hull Lot," And He Wept.

 

Rolf Shook His Head At Quonab,  Then Turned To The Sufferer And

Said: "Don't You Worry; We'll Get You Out All Right.  Have You A

Good Canoe?"

 

"Pretty Fair; Needs A Little Fixing."

 

The Night Passed With One Or Two Breaks,  When The Invalid Asked

For A Drink Of Water.  In The Morning He Was Evidently

Recovering,  And They Began To Plan For The Future.

 

He Took The First Chance Of Wispering To Rolf,  "Can't You Send

Him Away?  I'll Be All Right With You."  Rolf Said Nothing.

 

"Say," He Continued,  "Say,  Young Feller,  What's Yer Name?"

 

"Rolf Kittering."

 

"Say,  Rolf,  You Wait A Week Or Ten Days,  And The Ice 'Ll Be Out;

Then I'll Be Fit To Travel.  There Ain't On'y A Few Carries

Between Here An' Lyons Falls."

 

After A Long Pause,  Due To Quonab's Entry,  He Continued Again:

"Moose River's Good Canoeing; Ye Can Get Me Out In Five Days; Me

Folks Is At Lyons Falls."  He Did Not Say That His Folks

Consisted Of A Wife And Boy That He Neglected,  But Whom He

Counted On To Nurse Him Now.

 

Rolf Was Puzzled By The Situation.

 

"Say!  I'll Give Ye All Them Furs If Ye Git Me Out." Rolf Gave

Him A Curious Look -- As Much As To Say,  "Ye Mean Our Furs."

 

Again The Conversation Was Ended By The Entry Of Quonab.

 

Rolf Stepped Out,  Taking The Indian With Him.  They Had A Long

Talk,  Then,  As Rolf Reentered,  The Sick Man Began:

 

"You Stay By Me,  And Git Me Out.  I'll Give Ye My Rifle" -- Then,

After A Short Silence -- "An' I'll Throw In All The Traps An' The

Canoe."

 

"I'll Stay By You," Said Rolf,  "And In About Two Weeks We'll Take

You Down To Lyons Falls.  I Guess You Can Guide Us."

 

"Ye Can Have All Them Pelts," And Again The Trapper Presented The

Spoils He Had Stolen,  "An' You Bet It's Your Rifle When Ye Get Me Out."

 

So It Was Arranged.  But It Was Necessary For Quonab To Go Back

To Their Own Cabin.  Now What Should He Do? Carry The New Lot Of

Fur There,  Or Bring The Old Lot Here To Dispose Of All At Lyons Falls?

 

Rolf Had Been Thinking Hard.  He Had Seen The Evil Side Of Many

Men,  Including Hoag.  To Go Among Hoag's People With A Lot Of

Stuff That Hoag Might Claim Was Running Risks,  So He Said:

 

"Quonab,  You Come Back In Not More Than Ten Days. We'll Take A

Few Furs To Lyons Falls So We Can Get Supplies. Leave The Rest Of

Them In Good Shape,  So We Can Go Out Later To Warren's.  We'll

Get A Square Deal There,  And We Don't Know What At Lyon's."

 

So They Picked Out The Lynx,  The Beaver,  And A Dozen Martens To

Leave,  And Making The Rest Into A Pack,  Quonab Shouldered Them,

And Followed By Skookum,  Trudged Up The Mountain And Was Lost To

View In The Woods.

 

The Ten Days Went By Very Slowly.  Hoag Was Alternately

Querulous,  Weeping,  Complaining,  Unpleasantly Fawning,  Or Trying

To Insure Good Attention By Presenting Again And Again The Furs,

The Gun,  And The Canoe.

 

Rolf Found It Pleasant To Get Away From The Cabin When The

Weather Was Fine.  One Day,  Taking Hoag's Gun,  He Travelled Up

The Nearest Stream For A Mile,  And Came On A Big Beaver Pond.

Round This He Scouted And Soon  Discovered A Drowned Beaver,  Held

In A Trap Which He Recog- Nized At Once,  For It Had The (" ' "')

Mark On The Frame. Then He Found An Empty Trap With A Beaver Leg

In It,  And Another,  Till Six Traps Were Found.  Then He Gathered

Up The Six And The Beaver,  And Returned To The Cabin To Be

Greeted With A String Of Complaints:

 

"Ye Didn't Ought To Leave Me Like This.  I'm Paying Ye Well

Enough.  I Don't Ax No Favours," Etc.

 

"See What I Got," And Rolf Showed The Beaver.  "An' See What I

Found;" Then He Showed The Traps.  "Queer,  Ain't It," He Went On,

"We Had Six Traps Just Like Them,  And I Marked The Face Just Like

These,  And They All  Disappeared,  And There Was A Snowshoe Trail

Pointing This Way.  You Haven't Got Any Crooked Neighbours About

Here,  Have You?"

 

The Trapper Looked Sulky And Puzzled,  And Grumbled,  "I Bet It Was

Bill Hawkins Done It"; Then Relapsed Into Silence.

 

 

Chapter 47 (Hoag's Home-Coming)

When It Comes To Personal Feelin's Better Let Yer Friends  Do The

Talkin' And Jedgin'.  A Man Can't Handle His Own  Case Any More

Than A Delirious Doctor Kin Give Hisself The  Right Physic --

Sayings Of Si Sylvanne.

 

The Coming Of Springtime In The Woods Is One Of The Gentlest,

Sweetest Advents In The World. Sometimes There Are Heavy Rains

Which Fill All The Little Rivers With An Overflood That Quickly

Eats Away The Ice And Snow,  But Usually The Woodland Streams

Open,  Slowly And Gradually.  Very Rarely Is There A Spate,  An

Upheaval,  And A Cataclysmal Sweep That Bursts The Ice And Ends

Its Reign In An Hour Or Two.  That Is The Way Of The Large

Rivers,  Whose Ice Is Free And Floating.  The Snow In The Forest

Melts Slowly,  And When The Ice Is  Attacked,  It Goes Gradually,

Gently,  Without Uproar.  The Spring Comes In The Woods With

Swelling Of Buds And A Lengthening Of Drooping Catkins,  With

Honking Of Wild Geese,  And Cawing Of Crows Coming Up From The

Lower Countries To Divide With Their Larger Cousins,  The Ravens,

The Spoils Of Winter's Killing.

 

The Small Birds From The South Appear With A Few Short Notes Of

Spring,  And The Pert Chicadees That Have Braved It All Winter,

Now Lead The Singing With Their Cheery "I Told You So" Notes,

Till Robins And Blackbirds Join In,  And With Their More Ambitious

Singing Make All The Lesser Roundelays Forgot.

 

Once The Winter Had Taken A Backward Step -- Spring Found It Easy

To Turn Retreat Into Panic And Rout; And The Ten Days Quonab Stayed

Away Were Days Of Revolutionary Change.  For In Them Semi-Winter

Gave Place To Smiling Spring,  With All The Snow-Drifts Gone,

Except Perhaps In The Shadiest Hollows Of The Woods.

 

It Was A Bright Morning,  And A Happy One For Rolf,  When He Heard

The Indian's Short "Ho," Outside,  And A Minute Later Had Skookum

Dancing And Leaping About Him.  On Hoag The Effect Was Quite

Different.  He Was Well Enough To Be Up,  To Hobble About Painfully

On A Stick; To Be Exceedingly Fault-Finding,  And To Eat Three

Hearty Meals A Day; But The Moment The Indian Appeared,  He Withdrew

Into Himself,  And Became Silent And Uneasy.   Before An Hour Passed,

He Again Presented The Furs,  The Gun,  The Canoe,  And The Traps To Rolf,

On Condition That He Should Get Him Out To His Folks.

 

All Three Were Glad To Set Out That Very Day On The Outward Trip

To Lyons Falls.

 

Down Little Moose River To Little Moose Lake And On To South

Branch Of Moose,  Then By The Main Moose,  Was Their Way.  The

Streams Were Flush; There Was Plenty Of Water,  And This

Fortunately Reduced The Number Of Carries; For Hoag Could Not

Walk And Would Not Hobble. They Sweat And Laboured To Carry Him

Over Every Portage; But They Covered The Fifty Miles In Three

Days,  And On The Evening Of The Third,  Arrived At The Little

Backwoods Village Of Lyons Falls.

 

The Change That Took Place Fn Hoag Now Was Marked And Unpleasant.

He Gave A Number Of Orders,  Where,  The Day Before,  He Would Have

Made Whining Petitions. He Told Them To "Land Easy,  And Don't

Bump My Canoe." He Hailed The Loungers About The Mill With An

Effusiveness That They Did Not Resdond To.  Their Cool,  "Hello,

Jack,  Are You Back?" Was Little But A Passing Recognition.  One

Of Them Was Persuaded To Take Rolf's Place In Carrying Hoag To

His Cabin.  Yes,  His Folks Were There,  But They Did Not Seem

Overjoyed At His Arrival.  He Whispered To The Boy,  Who Sullenly

Went Out