Chapter 20

"There was a risky little path going down, and we kept right on. Across the river, there was a break in the wall where a creek came down a steep, wild-looking ravine. At the bottom of it we could see a tepee and a tent; but no people. Some said they saw a body in the ravine, but you couldn't rightly make out."

Charley paused and shuddered. "Say, it was horrible!" he whispered. "Glad I don't have dreams! When we got down near the water suddenly we saw old Mary Co-que-wasa come climbing over a heap of stones that was piled on the flat; and she was bent almost double, half lifting, half dragging a man by a rope under his arms. It was Nick Grylls. He looked dead.

"We shouted at her; and she looked up just once. I saw her face plain. It wasn't surprised or glad or anything--just stupid like a breed. She never stopped walking. She stepped right off the flat rock into the deep water with the man on her back; and they went out of sight; and some bubbles came up."

He stopped, staring into the fire. His mother caught him to her breast. "Oh, my son! what sights were these!" she murmured.

"Mary was a deep one!" Charley said slowly. "You couldn't tell about her! I never heard her open her mouth!

"We hustled down to the edge of the water," he resumed presently. "Jim Plaskett threw off his coat; and went in after them. But it was no use; the current carried them down; and it was too cold to stay in more than a minute or two. We never saw them again.

"Jim landed on the other side; and brought us back the raft that was there; and we all crossed. There was nobody in the tents--blankets in a heap, as if they'd sprung out of bed suddenly. We started to climb the ravine. It _was_ a body lying there on the rocks; it was Mabyn. Rina was halfway to it, before any of us saw. He wasn't dead; but had a bullet through both legs.

"Say that place was full of horrors! It stunk of gunpowder; and there was little thin layers of smoke hanging quiet between the walls. I was near out of my head, thinking what had become of them. We shouted all the time; and by and by we got a faint kind of an answer back. By Jolly! I went up those rocks like a cat! I found them behind a whopping big rock. Garth was stretched out all bloody and she was trying to get his coat off; and she couldn't. She looked up at me with a face like chalk; and when she saw who it was, she just gave a little cry like a baby, and keeled over. Oh, it was pitiful! I carried her down to the river. I wouldn't let anybody else touch her.

"Well, to make a long story short, we decided to raft it down the river to Fort Ochre, instead of trying to win overland to the Crossing. Garth had a ball through his shoulder and a gashed hand; and Mabyn was pretty low. It was longer that way, but we could carry them comfortable.

"We built another raft and started next morning. Jim Plaskett, Mabyn and Rina went on the first; and Sandy Arkess, Garth, Natalie and I followed on the other. The other two fellows were to drive all the horses back over the prairie. Say, that was quite a journey! Garth was getting better; and we all felt pretty good, sitting round and swapping yarns, and looking at the scenery, while the current carried us down. When we got out of the gorge, coming down so quietly as we were, we saw any amount of game. Got a moose right on the bank! Gee! that was good meat! And at night, say it was out o' sight! sitting there talking about going home, and watching the trees march past, and a bang-up show of Northern lights up above! It was pretty cold.

"There was the Dickens of a pow-pow at the Fort, when we got there at last! It's great sport being a hero! The Bishop and his party were there, just ready to start for home, and you never saw such a surprised man, when he saw Garth coming in from the other direction. And the old woman--I mean Mrs. Bishop--took to Natalie like her long-lost mother.

"Their party was obliged to start at once for fear of the river's closing on them; and Garth insisted on sending Natalie out with the old lady. She kicked like anything at leaving him there wounded; and I braced him, too, to let her stay; but he told me it was for the sake of her good name. I didn't quite see that--why any one who _knew_ Natalie!--but I suppose he knew best.

"Garth and I stayed at Fort Ochre. The Inspector came down the river; and there was an official investigation. I was right in the thick of it. Gee! but it was sport! Colonel Whinyates is a great little chap--cheeks as red as church cushions, and eyes that pop like gooseberries! It was great to hear him bawl at the witnesses. But he's all right. Him and I were good friends!

"Garth told his story and I told mine, and Rina and Plaskett. And Natalie had left what they call a disposition behind her. Everything was all straight, but Garth clinched the matter by calling Mabyn to testify. He was carried in on a stretcher. And blamed if he didn't tell the truth! He'd had a close call, you see, and had what Garth called a change of heart. It was Rina did it; day and night she never left him!

"The investigation ended in a love feast--that's what Garth called it. Old Colonel shook hands with Garth and me, and said we were heroes, by Gad! He's a bird. Garth wouldn't prosecute Mabyn; and he was let out from under arrest.

"The winter had set in by that time; and Garth and I couldn't get out till the ice formed. It was pretty slow up there, you bet! and, as Garth said, our hearts were outside. We talked about Natalie all the time. Mabyn got well, and he and Rina set off for their place with a dog-train. Garth gave them a bang-up outfit! Mabyn was a decent head, after he got well; and Rina certainly was happy about it. I forgot to tell you that Mabyn's mother had died in the fall; and there was no need for him to go out.

"The first mail got through in January, and we heard from Natalie at last. Bully news! Garth had sent her another one of those dispositions--Mabyn swore to it--in the November mail; and it seems that was all she needed in order to have the courts annul the old marriage they had gone through together. Natalie has been a free woman since Christmas!

"We came out with the mail man next day, you bet! That was six weeks ago, and here we are! Garth is waiting for me down at the station. I wanted him to come up; but he said he guessed you would want me to yourself for a while. Gee! I must be hustling! Train goes at six-thirty!"

"But where are you going?" she asked in dismay.

Charley kissed her. "East to Millerton, to the wedding, of course! Back in two weeks! Oh, what larks! What do you think! I'm going to be best man. Garth is getting me a silk tile and a frock coat! Oh, Crikey! Good-bye!"

The door slammed.

THE END

Transcriber's Notes:

The following typographical corrections have been made:

(page 41) "et'em" to "et 'em" (page 73) "immeately" to "immediately" (page 85) "dug-out" to "dugout" (page 89) comma added after "into the light" (page 119) added missing quotes after "came North" (page 152) "heartbreaking" to "heart-breaking" (page 163) added missing quotes after "Lillywhite" (page 180) "Erbe't" to "'Erbe't" (page 197) added missing quotes before "I haven't" (page 200) "dug-out" to "dugout" (page 216) "possesssed" to "possessed" (page 227) "half-way" to "halfway" (page 238) "," to "--" on 253 after canvas (page 240) added a comma after "promise" (page 269) quotation marks removed before "As if" (page 278) "beleaguered" to "beleaguered" (page 285) "!" to "?" after "hands" (page 317) "downstream" to "down-stream"

The word "manoeuvre" on pages 34 and 102 was printed with an oe-ligature in the original.