"
"An' Emily, too," spoke up Bill. "They were thinkin' so much o' each
other."
Then the journey was begun, full of danger and excitement as they shot
through rushing rapids and on down the river towards Eskimo Bay, where
great and unexpected tidings awaited them.
XXVI
BACK AT WOLF BIGHT
Bob's apparent death was a sore shock to Richard Gray. When Douglas
found him on the trail and broke the news to him as gently as
possible, he seemed at first hardly to comprehend it. He was stunned.
He said little, but followed Douglas back to the cabin like one in a
mesmeric sleep. A few days before he had gone away happy and buoyant,
now he shuffled back like an old man.
Mechanically he looked at the remains and examined the gun and the
axe--Ed had brought out but one of the axes found by the rock with the
remains--and said, "Th' gun's not Bob's. Th' axe were his."
"Th' gun's not Bob's!" exclaimed Mrs. Gray "Th' clothes is not Bob's!
Now I knows 'tis not my boy we've found."
"Yes, Mary," said he broken-heartedly. "Tis Bob th' wolves got. Our
poor lad is gone. No one else could ha' had his things."
He and Douglas made a coffin into which the remains were tenderly
placed, and it was put upon a high platform near the house, out of
reach of animals, there to rest until the spring, when the snow would
be gone and it could be buried.
Pages:
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262