Part 2 (2/2)
Katherine felt better when she had eaten her supper; the thought of as before her was less of an ordeal, and she was more than ever determined that Oily Dave and the other ht There was to be no night school that night, so, directly the door of the store was shut and barred, Miles and Katherine were able to set out The tere in bed, and fast asleep Mrs Burton was still busy in her father's roos
”Tell Nellie when she coot some work to do outside which est brother ”Meanwhile you must just make yourself as useful as possible-clear away supper, wash the cups and plates, take care of the fire, and look after things generally You will have a school holiday to-ht We shall have to do the store hile Father is ill, so you and Miles will have to be satisfied with night school with thelessons in the day”
”Hooray!” chirruped Phil, who had no love of learning, but always yearned for action Then he asked anxiously: ”Couldn't you stay in and look after things to-night, while I go and help Miles with the outside work?”
Katherine laughed and shook her head ”No, no, the outside ould be too heavy for you to-night; you et your nose frozen But you must stay up until we come back, because Nellie may need you to help her”
”I'll stay,” replied the boy, but he manifested so much curiosity about the nature of the outside work that had to be done that Katherine had finally to command him to stay inside the house
Neither she nor Miles wished anyone to knohat they were going to do: there were sotheir errand secret Mrs Burton would have wept and wailed at the ht, while Phil sis were tired and sleepy, very unwilling to be turned out and harnessed again, but directly they were fairly out of their shed the cold seereat pace Katherine and Miles were riding in the ee noith their snowshoes tucked in beside them The snow-storm had spent itself; the moon shone out of a cloudless sky, while ht Even the cold was less noticeable than in the afternoon, when the da so fast
”It orth while your being indiscreet for once, seeing that it has brought us out on a night like this,” Miles said, as he crouched low in the sledge, holding on with both thickly oing with leaps and bounds, which e bounce and sway in a very erratic fashi+on
”You won't say the indiscretion orth while if it turns out that we are the second arrivals and not the first,” Katherine answered But her tone was buoyant and hopeful; for she had little doubt about getting to the scene of her father's accident before Oily Dave and Stee Jenkin had succeeded in locating the spot
”Wolves! listen to the sounded across the snoaste
”They are a good way off though, and I brought a pair Of Father's revolvers in case of accident,” Katherine replied, her heart beating a little quicker, although in reality she would much rather have met two or three wolves just then than have encountered Oily Dave and the lad you thought to bring them,” said Miles ”Nick Jones told ry for so early in the year, and they are in great numbers too He trapped twenty last week”
”That reat co and howling see a landmark, she cried out joyfully: ”Oh, here is the place, and there hangs the broken snowshoe!”
”What is that?” cried Miles sharply, as a shadowy so that was so s as to be hardly distinct fros Mind what you are about, Miles, or they'll bolt!” she called quickly They were both on the ground now, and the boy was trying to hold in the dogs, which were barking, raging, howling, and whining, et free in order to rush at that so the trees a minute before
”We must tie them up I can't hold the brutes They pull as if they were led and fought, nearly dragging hi away in pursuit of what they dee a rope with a running noose over the head and shoulders of the leader, a huge white dog with a black patch on its back like a saddle
”There, my fine fello perhaps you will understand that this is not playtiht,” she said, as she patted the great beast in an affectionate manner to show that it was repression, not punish of the rope
The dog whined, licking her , as if it realized the uselessness of such a course The other dogs were fastened in like ht bolt at an unexpected s which were loaded upon it Then ca at the packages which Katherine had been obliged to cache a few hours before One package had been torn open, and its contents scattered, which showed that the wolf had already started thieving operations; so that even if Oily Dave and his companion had contemplated no raid on the cache, there would not have beenaway
”I don't like you having to draw that sledge Suppose it overruns you, and you get hurt, like Father did this afternoon,” Miles said in a troubled tone, as Katherine prepared to go forith the hand sledge, while he followed behind with the dogs
”I don't intend to let it overrun me, so there is no need to worry In fact there is s hear the wolves and try to bolt But let us get along as fast as we can, or Nellie will be in a fine state of anxiety about us,” Katherine replied Then, gathering the lines of the sledge round her arood pace, followed by Miles and the dogs
For a ti of the babi+che lacing of the snowshoes, for the dogs were running silently, and Miles, saving his breath for the work of getting along, was controlling the the whip to hold the when they showed signs of lagging They were less than awell, when suddenly a hideous uproar broke out near at hand-the long-draling of wolves, human shouts and cries, and the crack of a revolver
CHAPTER IV