Part 8 (2/2)
The first races were run by soirls The distance was only a few hundred yards and back These races caused a lot of fun and enjoys of beads, and other trifling things in which little Indian girls rejoice, and of course every little competitor must have a prize Then there were races for little boys It was great fun to see the sturdy little fellows so gallantly strive for victory Meanwhile arrange made for the more important races of the day The courses had been s, and so every class knew its course and ran accordingly The fleetness and endurance of soreat was the interest, and even intense at tialed on for victory In the races open to all coer Indian boys were disappointed that none of the whites had entered, as they were anxious to test their own speed against the across a continent to witness, and genuine and hearty was the applause that greeted the winners, who ca as heartily as the others, saise they had been in declining to put theainst such runners as White Antelope or Spotted Deer, the winners
When the skating matches were called, Frank promptly entered the lists
His appearance was received with applause Even the quiet Indian lads tried tothe handsoone to Kepastick, the one-ar clerks or fur traders also entered for the race, one of theht of his fearful race with the wolves The route marked out for the skaters covered in all about ten or twelvethe islands on the frozen lake, that ht nearly all of the tihly understand the route, it had been marked out a week or ten days before the race, and it had been thoroughly understood that any of the corounds and get fa places, s
Frank, with Alec as a companion and trainer, accompanied by one of Mr Ross's servants, as also a splendid skater, had gone over the route two or three times, and so was quite faan he was quite surprised to have this Indian skater call him aside and tell him to be careful and keep his eye on the correct route, and also to guard hi white man who had deserted Alec He then added:
”Watch the Indian with one arers to his lips as a sign of caution, the Indian quickly slipped away a the crowd This very much perplexed and bothered Frank, especially when Mr Ross said to his--the Indian lads are so familiar with the route that they will not bother to notice them; and look out for tricks from those whose faces, like your own, are white”
There were perhaps twenty co it was not very essential that they should get off at the same instant There would doubtless be those who depended on rapid bursts of speed to carry them to the front, and so a second or two un away they flew They had all sorts of skates and all kinds of styles With ten or twelve er lads, tried to do their very best at first Frank naturally wished to skate in company with his white companions, but they sullenly refused the offered society Insulted and annoyed at this conduct, and re words of Mr Ross, and also of his faithful servant, he just made up his mind to be on the alert, and if it were possible he would be in the first of the palefaces On and on they sped, until a couple of miles at least were covered Then they had reached a spot where the route lay between two rocky islands not a hundred feet apart The ice here was beautifully slass With a hoop the Indians dashed on across it, and at the same ti on a rapid burst of speed, dashed directly in front of him, in the centre of this narrow place Frank, with his suspicions all aroused, keenly watched him, and to his astonishment saw him deliberately but cautiously let slowly trickle from his hands fine streams of the white crystal quartz sand of that country To have skated over it would have so dulled his keen-edged skates that anything like victory would have been impossible There are times when the mind works rapidly, and so it did here with Frank The first thought was to shout out and expose the villainy The next was to evade the trap and for the present say nothing about it, and see what trick would next he tried So, quickly veering to the ard side sufficiently to make it sure that he would escape the sand, he rapidly sped along, hunant that a white man would try a trick that an Indian would scorn to do
On and on they flew The route turned and twisted, and in several of the windings it brought theroup on the ress, for now more than one half of the route was covered They were now entering a kind of a hly acquainted with the route required to keep a vigilant eye on the different flags In the front group was Frank, and closely edging beside him, he noticed with pleasure, was Kepastick, the one-arrandly and well
”Chist!” said the Indian lad quickly, and Frank knew by the way that this word, whichht the lish:
”Sos to bother Frank Frank keep near Kepastick He knows the trail”
These friendly words were uttered none too soon, for Frank saw at once that even sos, were perplexed and soone hopelessly astray With a rush and a jeer of triumph a white clerk made an attempt to fly by, for once out of that labyrinth of crooked icy channels the hoht as an arrow
Frank was for responding to his spurt with an effort equally desperate, when Kepastick checked hiood heart, ht yet”
Frank, now couidance of Kepastick, who htest attention to the flags
Look! Away beyond the islands, in the distance, shi+ning in the sunlight, is the steeple of the s in these tortuous channels, and then the two miles' dash for home Most of the Indians--for their skates were poor--have fallen in the rear The one white man whom Frank despises is perhaps a hundred yards ahead, and not far behind him are his co theain, and his dark eyes flashed with excitement; ”the trail is ours!”
It seems that there ran out from that place two channels that looked very ed several days before, but the previous evening the clerk had skated over and had flagged the wrong channel Sharp eyes had been on his had been replaced at their proper positions, while the others had been left as the villain had placed the channel The rocky shores were high and abrupt, and so Kepastick and Frank shot by the trap and into the correct channel, and were hundreds of yards out on the now open lake, with their faces toward home, ere the plotters discovered, to their dismay, how they had been completely foiled As rapidly as possible they turned, but the distance could not be rin they not only found that Frank and Kepastick had tied first, but that six or seven Indians, some with home-made skates, had wholly beaten them
As the miserable trickster passed Frank on the shore some time after, in the presence of the chief factor, Mr Ross, and several others, Frank sternly looked at him and uttered the one word ”Sand” None but the two then kneas uilty rascal paled, and so treround Very soon was he out of that company Next day he asked to be transferred to another post, which request was cheerfully granted It was a long time before Frank told of his conteth heard of it he communicated at once with the head officers of the Hudson Bay Company in reference to conduct so dishonourable, and the result was that the poor felloho had not inominiously expelled froressing finely The football teaaoals were set in the ice, about four or five times as distant from each other as is the case in civilisation Then two captains were named, and they selected their men and boys alternately, until all ished to play were chosen Then each side was lined up at their own goal The ball was placed away out in the centre between theun there was a wild rush, and the side that had the fleetest runners thus secured the first kick The ball was not to be thrown or carried It was to be kicked, and could be struck with the hand or head The garound, and there was no hold up until it went between the poles of one or the other side The cries of ”Foul” were never heard, and uoal on It was a jolly, lively, easily understood game of football, enjoyed by all Generally five wins in nine plays was the rule
The hockey games were like those played by men and boys in civilised lands, only here everybody ished to play was paired with somebody else, so as to keep the sides even Everybody not otherwise engaged enthusiastically took a hand in it, and the fun was very great Mr Hurlburt, Mr Ross, Hudson Bay officers, as well as all down to the smallest Indian lad who could handle a crooked stick, had a share in this gareat, that the vigorous exercise did everybody good
The tobogganing gairls to compete in, and skillfully and well did they acquit thereat satisfaction, and afforded any amount of amusement
We reserve for the next chapter the story of the great race of the rival dog-trains, which for long years after was talked about in wam and at erton R Young
CHAPTER TEN
THE GREAT RACE WITH THE DOG-TRAINS--CAREFUL PREPARATIONS BY ALEC--THE DIFFERENT BREATHING PLACES--THE TREACHEROUS HALF-BREEDS--THEIR SIGNAL FAILURE--ALEC'S TRIUMPH