The Gaunt Gray Wolf: A Tale of Adventure With Ungava Bob

een miles to the westward, where it took a sharp turn to the northward, in which direction it continued for nearly thirty miles, then agai

ring the winter. For the season at hand it had been transferred to Dick Blake, while Dick's own trail, farther down the river, was to remai

g a stream flowing into the river a short distance above the river tilt of the Big Hill trail, and taking a west-northwesterly dir

because of its proximity to the falls, which were supposed to be the abode of evil spirits, a superstition doubtless arising from the fact that Indian canoes may have been caught in the current abov

s within the considerable territory which it embraced had therefore been permitted to increase undisturbed by man, Bob argued that it must of necess

a limited supply of provisions, and Shad's light tent, the two young adventurers set forward in the

the series of lakes, where Bob's trained eye soon discovered unquestionable signs of an abundance of f

orest, before them spread the shimmering lake, and to the westward a h

of the fire was renewed, and, weary with their day's work, they reclined before

were well-nigh faded, and the fi

ever beheld," remarked Shad

t' be like--'A veil o' blue an' purple an' scarlet.' I'm wonderin', now, if th' Lard weren't makin' these sunsets just t' show what th' holy place be l

n't remember it. I must confess

from my Bible when da

g fingers of light rising from the northern horizon to the zenith and flashing from east to west in a maze of ever

ed them for some time, "that they's flashes o' light from heaven. I'm thinkin'

l thought, at leas

ays, they always cheers me

emember your suggestion--that they are the reflected gl

lderness was startled by the uncanny cry of a loon. Bob stood fo

hen a loon laughs a

way?" a

a warnin' o' da

he next day through six lakes of varying size, caching

when they reached the sixth lake, later in the afternoon, their curiosity got the better of them and they climbed a barren eminence to investigat

alls o' th' Injun

l spirits dwel

l lakes similar to those through which they had been travelling, while to the northward a much larger lake appeared. The shores of these lakes supported

ll be makin' our trails along th' s'uth'ard lakes an' up t

suggested Shad. "Can't we take

t down where th' canoe is, an' another on th' first l

ard upon an exploring expedition. Their tramp carried them across a series of ridges and bogs and finally into a fo

make its leap into the depths at their feet where it was presently to be swallowed up in a bank of mist, which shimmered beneath the two adventurers like a giant opal lighted by all the colours of the rainbow. Below the rainbow-coloured mist the river again

Labrador. The river falls three hundre

led by the scene, then they turned

d Bob. "I'm not wonderin', now, th' Injun

" declared Shad. "One glimpse of it is worth

ive miles above the falls it expanded into a large island-dotted lake. At the extreme lower end of this lake t

lake expansion above the falls, another upon the shores of the lake from which they had made their excursion to the falls, and still another upon the first lak

were on an average about eight by ten feet in size, with a sligh

ad first a blanket of moss and then a coating of six inches of earth. Each was provided with a doorway about four feet

to accommodate the sheet-iron stove, with a sto

he tilt opposite the stove. These were later to be covered with spruce boughs, and would s

ther an' winter comes th' snow soon banks un up an' co

t air enough to br

h' bad air out, an' we mostly has a snow tunnel leadin' t' th' door so th

riends they began at once the distribution of supplies among the tilts, for September was nearly spen

st canoe-load of provisions to the farthest tilt, built

tilt. The supplies were quickly stowed beneath the bunks, the tent stove erected,

n' we'll finish by moonlight, an' to-morrow we'll be gettin' out with th' next

, and as previously stated, at the lower end of the lake, where the curre

ess as they turned the canoe toward the portage landing, when suddenly they were startled by a burst

!" excla

r heads to emphasise the fact that the savages were in earnest, and with no alternative, and taken wholly by surp

ream! Turn abou

neffectual manoeuvres, and when the canoe was finally turned about they were far out into the stream, and it was found that

If th' rapid gets us, 'twi

eady the powerful current had them in its grip. Slowly--slowly--but

e portage trail, and extending to the white water of the heavy rapids the river bank rose in a perp

the full import of their position dawned upon them--that they

kening numbness came into their hearts, and as in a dream they h