PAGE 7
Two Christmases
by
“It do sound strange, Nancy, don’t it?” said her husband, after their guest had gone. “Roderick Norman can’t have any grudge against me. Why, sure, it should be all t’ other way.” And he got up, stretched his splendid muscular limbs, and, picking up his axe, took out any excess of feeling there might be in his heart by a good two hours’ work at the woodpile.
Meanwhile his mind had not been idle. Whoever it was that robbed his traps could not have come along the usual trail. The ice outside had not been safe for travelling. He certainly must have come out from the country. It had never occurred to Malcolm to spend time exploring the land which lay south of his fur-path. But now it seemed to him that he must at all costs set out the following morning and verify his suspicions if he were to retain his hope of a livelihood in that locality.
“I’m minded to try it right away, Nancy,” said Malcolm. “If I could only get a good view from one of t’ hilltops, I’d have no trouble, for there is still plenty of food in my tilts.”
“But, Malcolm, ‘t is only two days till Christmas and this is our first together. Surely no one ever goes on the fur-path Christmastime.”
“That’s just it, lass. No one is on t’ path as ought to be, and I reckon for that very reason there be more chance of seeing those as ought not.”
There was no escaping the logic of the Scotchman, and his wife acquiesced without further argument. He was well into the country before daylight next day.
It was a glorious morning, as away there in utter solitude the evergreen trees, the red-faced cliffs, the startling whiteness of the snow, and exquisite blue overhead fading into the purple distance of the winding valley met his keen view from a mountain-top. It was Labrador at its best–clear, dry, cold, and not a sound to break the absolute silence, even the trickling of the rapids and the splashing of distant falls being muffled by then-heavy cloaks of ice.
Suddenly Malcolm’s face grew rigid and his eyes unconsciously fixed themselves on a moving object–a tiny whiff of blue smoke was curling up from the woods on the other side of the valley. Gentle though he was, his big muscles set and his jaw tightened as the idea of revenge flashed across his mind.
A man does not learn to outwit successfully the keen senses of the denizens of the woods without finding it easy to solve a problem such as the one which Malcolm now faced. For all that, he decided not to approach too close till dark what he was now sure was a hut, for the way the smoke rose was quite unlike that from an open fire. Having, therefore, plenty of time, he made a long and cautious detour till he had at last completely encircled the spot. There were the marks of one pair of snow racquets only on the snow. The trail was possibly three days old. No snow had fallen for several days. “Reckon he is taking a good spell with that catch of his.”
This much he knew. He knew the stranger was in or close to the tilt. He was not trapping, though he had been inside the circle for several days, and he had no dogs.
As it fell dark, Malcolm fully expected to see a light in the hut, but not a twinkle showed through the single-pane window light, which he had located from his hiding-place.
Now he was crawling nearer. There was no chance of his being seen, as the moon had not yet risen and it was very dark among the trees. A light wind had risen, rustling the firs and spruces above his head. The fire worried him. Why had it almost died out? Heaven knows it was cold enough to need one, for with all his warm blood Malcolm himself was shivering. What could it mean?