The Gold Hunters | Page 5

and
months together in school, and then of those joyous days and nights in
which they had planned a winter of thrilling adventure at Wabi's home
in the far North.
And what adventures there had been, when, as the Wolf Hunters, he
and Wabi and Mukoki had braved the perils of the frozen solitudes! As
Wabigoon's breath came more and more regularly he thought of that
wonderful canoe trip from the last bit of civilization up into the wilds;
of his first sight of moose, the first bear he had killed, and of his
meeting with Minnetaki.
His eyes became blurred and his heart grew cold as he thought of what
might have happened to her. A vision of the girl swept between him
and Wabi's face, in which the glow of life was growing warmer and
warmer, a vision of the little half-Indian maiden as he had first seen her,
when she came out to meet them in her canoe from Wabinosh House,
the sun shining on her dark hair, her cheeks flushed with excitement,
her eyes and teeth sparkling in glad welcome to her beloved brother
and the white youth of whom she had heard so much--the boy from
civilization--Roderick Drew. He remembered how his cap had blown
off into the water, how she had rescued it for him. In a flash all that
passed after that came before him like a picture; the days that he and

Minnetaki had rambled together in the forest, the furious battle in
which, single-handed, he had saved her from those fierce outlaw
Indians of the North, the Woongas; and after that he thought of the
weeks of thrilling adventure they three--Mukoki, Wabigoon and
himself--had spent in the wilderness far from the Hudson Bay Post, of
their months of trapping, their desperate war with the Woongas, the
discovery of the century-old cabin and its ancient skeletons, and their
finding of the birch-bark map between the bones of one of the
skeleton's fingers, on which, dimmed by age, was drawn the trail to a
land of gold.
Instinctively, as for an instant this map came into his mental picture, he
thrust a hand into one of his inside pockets to feel that his own copy of
that map was there, the map which was to have brought him back into
this wilderness a few weeks hence, when they three would set out on
the romantic quest for the gold to which the skeletons in the old cabin
had given them the key.
The vision left him as he saw a convulsive shudder pass through
Wabigoon. In another moment the Indian youth had opened his eyes,
and as he looked up into Rod's eager face he smiled feebly. He tried to
speak, but words failed him, and his eyes closed again. There was a
look of terror in Roderick's face as he turned to the courier, who came
to his side. Less than twenty-four hours before he had left Wabigoon in
the full strength of his splendid youth at Wabinosh House, a lithe
young giant, hardened by their months of adventure, quivering with
buoyant life, anxious for the spring that they might meet again to take
up another trail into the unexplored North.
And now what a change! The glimpse he had caught of Wabi's
bloodshot eyes, the terrible thinness of the Indian youth's face, the
chilling lifelessness of his hands, made him shiver with dread. Was it
possible that a few short hours could bring about that remarkable
transformation? And where was Mukoki, the faithful old warrior from
whose guardianship Wabigoon and Minnetaki were seldom allowed to
escape?
It seemed an hour before Wabi opened his eyes again, and yet it was

only a few minutes. This time Rod lifted him gently in his arms and the
courier placed a cup of the hot soup to his lips. The warmth of the
liquid put new life into the famished Indian youth. He drank slowly of
it at first, then eagerly, and when he had finished the cup he made an
effort to sit up.
"I'll take another," he said faintly. "It's mighty good!"
He drank the second cup with even greater relish. Then he sat bolt
upright, stretched out his arms, and with his companion's assistance
staggered to his feet. His bloodshot eyes burned with a strange
excitement as he looked at Rod.
"I was afraid--I wouldn't--catch you!"
"What is it, Wabi? What has happened? You say--Minnetaki--"
"Has been captured by the Woongas. Chief Woonga himself is her
captor, and they are taking her into the North. Rod, only you can save
her!"
"Only--I--can--save--her?" gasped Rod slowly. "What do you mean?"
"Listen!" cried the Indian boy, clutching him by the arm. "You
remember that after our fight with the Woongas and our escape from
the