Murder Point: A Tale of Keewatin

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by Coningsby Dawson


  CHAPTER XV

  MANITOUS AND SHADES OF THE DEPARTED

  "After I had left you, I journeyed three days to the northward, till Icame to the mouth of the Forbidden River. There I found the cachewhich you spoke to me about; but I did not break into it at that time,as I was still well provided with food and ammunition. Because you hadtold me that the Forbidden River was unexplored and never visited,being haunted by Manitous and shades of the dead, I turned into it andtravelled up it--I thought that I should find safety there.

  "On the second day, just as evening was falling, I saw the flare of acamp-fire, about two miles ahead. You'll remember that my nerves werebadly shaken when I came to you at Murder Point; and they hadn't beenmuch improved by those five days of flight through the winterloneliness. When I saw that light blaze up in the distance, I began tobe afraid--and it wasn't the fear of men that I was thinking about. Iwaited until it was utterly night and then, leaving my dogs behind,stole stealthily forward to prospect. As I drew nearer, I saw that ahut of boughs had been erected, and that a man was sitting, with hisrifle on his knees, before the fire. He was very old and tall. But Ihad no opportunity to get a closer view of him, for, at that moment,he must have heard me; he put his head on one side to listen, androse to his feet. Without the waste of any time, he fired in mydirection. Luckily I had thrown myself flat along the snow, for thebullet whizzed over my head. He advanced towards me a little way, andthen, thinking that he had been mistaken, went back to his fire,grumbling to himself, and sat down. The cold ate into my bones, yet Idared not stir until I was certain that he had gone to sleep.Presently he arose, looked suspiciously around, piled more wood on hisfire, and went into his hut.

  "I hurried back to where I had left my dogs, harnessed them in and,leaving the river-bank, travelled into the bush for a distance ofabout two miles; there I tied them up, and then returned to the riverby myself, coming out at a point somewhat nearer to the old man's hut.I lay down behind a clump of trees and waited. Before day had come, Icould hear that he was astir; but he seemed to be almighty busy for aKeewatin trapper, who was only changing camp. About midday he had madehis preparations, and, stamping out his fire, set out down-stream, inthe direction of the Last Chance River. I knew that in half-an-hour hemust come across my trail, and have his suspicions of the previousnight confirmed. Sure enough, after he had passed my place of hidingand had got below me about three hundred yards, he struck my tracks.He pulled up sharply, and wheeled round, as if he could feel that myeyes were watching him; he threw up his head like an old bull caribouscenting danger.

  "I had left two trails leading from that point, the one towards hishut and back again, the other into the bush to where my dogs weretethered. If he was determined to follow up the latter and to trace meto my hiding, I was ready for him, and would have the advantage ofknowing his whereabouts, whilst he was ignorant of mine. He must havebeen going through some such argument himself, for presently hewhipped up his dogs and, with one last glance across his shoulder,continued on his journey. When he had vanished, and I had made certainthat he did not intend to return, I went forward to inspect hisabandoned camp.

  "Inside the hut I found that the floor was of earth and below thesnow-level, making evident the fact that it had been erected beforethe winter had commenced. When I examined the walls, which wereconstructed of boughs and mud, I came to the conclusion that they hadbeen standing for many years, but had been renewed from time to time.All this made it clear to me that you had been mistaken in saying thatthe Forbidden River had never been travelled. The next thing todiscover was what had brought the old man up there. The earth of thefloor was not packed together, but looked loose and rough, as thoughit had been newly dug. This gave me my first clue to the secret. WhenI walked above it, it did not sound solid, so I commenced to scrapeaway the earth. Six inches down I came to branches of trees spreadcrosswise, as though to form a roof to a cellar. Pulling these aside,after another hour of labour, I looked down into a pit which had beenhollowed out. It was getting dark now, so I lit a fire.

  "I climbed into the pit, by some rudely fashioned stairs which hadbeen shaped in the side of the wall, and soon found myself on levelfooting. Groping about down there, I could feel that the sides weretunnelled, and had been roughly timbered with the stems of trees.Going above ground, I fetched a torch and then saw all that I hadcommenced to suspect--and a good deal more.

  "Piled up in one corner was an outfit of miner's implements, pans,axes, spades, picks, etc., and close beside them was a sack ofmoose-hide. Whipping out my knife, I cut through the thongs by whichthe sack was tied; it lurched over, letting fall a dozen ounces or soof gold dust. On searching round, I found in another corner a secondsack containing nuggets. When I went about the walls, and pushed myway into some of the tunnels, I was made certain that I was in one ofthe richest placer-mines that I had ever set eyes on. Then I went upto consider what all this meant.

  "Here was I, a man fleeing for his life, and here was this old man, apioneer in an unexplored region, who, for some reason of his own, waskeeping secret the knowledge of his bonanza, yet taking the gold outall the while. Couldn't I, by making the world a present of hisknowledge, buy back my life? Soon I recognised that that was folly;the world would accept the present, but it would also demand my life.There was nothing for it but to act by stealth. If I could once getout of Keewatin with all these riches, I would be able to purchase myescape; especially if I should remain in hiding for a year or so,until the search had been abandoned, and I had been given up for dead.Then I could sneak out and get to South America, where I was notknown, and commence life afresh. The thought of South America broughtEl Dorado to my mind, and then I remembered you, two hundred miles'distant at Murder Point. 'Why shouldn't I tell Granger?' I said. 'Thenwe could both escape, and go in search of El Dorado together, as wehave always planned.'"

  He paused and looked at his companion to see what effect his words hadhad. Granger was sitting with his head bent forward, his knees drawnup and his arms about them, all attention, with a strange look ofhunger in his eyes. "Well, for God's sake don't keep me waiting,Druce. Go on," he said.

  It was the second time that Granger had called him "Druce" in lessthan two hours; he was now certain of his ground.

  "If you are willing to help me, I think we can do as we have alwaysplanned. What do you think about it?"

  "I'm willing to the death. But after you'd discovered the mine, whatdid you do then? Did the old man come back?"

  "The next few days I kept a careful lookout, in case I should besurprised. When nothing happened, I commenced to prospect for myself.I could not do much as the ground was frozen; but I thawed out some ofthe dirt, and gathered a few nuggets of pretty fair size. Then theriver broke up, and I thought that I was safe for at least a time. Butsoon my provisions began to run low, so that it became necessary forme to turn back to the Last Chance River to break open the cache. Ipostponed the journey as long as I dared, and at last set out, withonly enough flour and bacon to keep me going for two days. It was hardtravelling, for my dogs were of no use to me, the snow being too moistfor the passage of a sled. I had to work my way along by theriver-bank, through melting drifts and tangled scrub. I dared notlight a fire when I camped at night, lest it should be seen by the oldman, and he should steal up and kill me while I slept.

  "I thought I began to see why he had gone away so meekly, though heknew that a stranger had found him out and was likely to stumble onhis treasure: so long as I was in hiding, I had had him at adisadvantage; but now, having gone away quietly without resistance, hewas able to await me under cover at the Forbidden River's mouth, and Iwould be the one who would run most risk when we came to an encounter.He had known that sooner or later I should run short of grub, and beforced to return to the Last Chance, and to pass by his ambush; allthat he had to do was to await me, for there is but one way out.

  "It took me three days to make the journey and when, as night wasfalling, I came in sight of the spit of land which divides the
tworivers, on which the cache had been made, I had exhausted my supply ofrations. I was faint with hunger and perished with cold; but I dareddo nothing to provide for myself until I had made certain that I wasnot spied upon.

  "The river-mouth looked deserted enough; on either bank it was bare oftrees--a bald and bleak expanse of withered scrub, affording littlecover. It would be difficult for any man to approach me, without beingseen before he had come within gun-range. I followed along theleft-hand bank, which I had been travelling, till I reached the pointwhere the Last Chance and Forbidden Rivers join. Gazing up and downthe Last Chance, the same scene of desolation met my eyes; there wasno flash of camp-fire or sign of rising smoke. In the north, fromwhich quarter the wind was blowing, I could detect no smell ofburning. I began to think that I was safe, and determined to makeshort work of breaking into the cache and getting back to the hutagain. Then I awoke to a fact which I had overlooked in my anxiety toavoid a surprise attack, that the cache was on the right-hand bank andthat I was on the left.

  "The river was flowing rapidly, carrying down tree-trunks and grindingblocks of ice, so that it seemed impassable. Every now and then thehurrying mass would jam and pile up, forming a pathway above thecurrent, but not for so long a time as would allow me to climb across.

  "I'd been going on half-rations for several days in order to make myfood eke out and, consequently, was miserably nourished. A death bydrowning is preferable any day to the slower tortures of starvation; Imade up my mind to cross the river at once, at whatever cost. I beganto forget my fear of the hidden enemy in my eagerness to satisfy myhunger.

  "Retracing my steps, I walked up-stream, searching for a tree-trunkwhich would be of sufficient weight to carry me. I planned to launchout a quarter of a mile above the point which I wished to make on theother side, and to trust to the current, and what little steering Icould manage, to get me across. I lost much time in my search, for thelarger logs which had been driven ashore had got wedged, and requiredmore than one man's strength to refloat them.

  "When I found a trunk of sufficient size, the wind had dropped and amist was settling down, which made it difficult for me to see anythingthat was not immediately before my eyes. A haunting sensation ofinsecurity began to pervade my mind. I hardly know how to describe it;it was not dread of a physical death, but fear lest my soul might getlost. Though I was now about to imperil my life, for the preservationof which, during the last half year, I had made every effort of whicha human being is capable, that seemed to me as nothing when comparedwith this new danger. If a man dies, he may live again; but if hissoul is snatched from him, what is there left that can survive? Thiswas the menace of which I was aware--a menace of spiritual death, tothe cause of which I was drawing nearer through the mist. My wholedesire now was to procure the provisions for which I had made thejourney, and to escape.

  "I got astride the trunk, steadying myself with a long birch-polewhich I had cut, and pushed off. The water was icy cold, causing mylegs to ache painfully, as if they were being torn from my body byheavy weights. Soon the log was caught in the central current andbegan to race. Like maddened horses, foaming at my side, before, andbehind, the drift-ice rushed. In the misty greyness of the night,these floating ruins of the winter's silence assumed curious andterrifying shapes. Sometimes they appeared to be polar bears, havinghuman hands and faces; sometimes they seemed to be huskies, with theeyes and ears of men; but more often they were creatures utterlycorrupt, who, swimming beside me, acclaimed me as their equal and asone of themselves.

  "I remembered the reason which you had stated why the Forbidden Riveris never travelled--and I knew the power of fear as never before. Icould not see where I was going; no land was in sight. I couldperceive nothing but mocking befouled faces, and they were on everyside. With my steering pole I pushed continually towards the right,dreading every moment that I would lose my balance, or would be sweptout into the Last Chance far below the cache. These thoughts made medesperate, and I renewed the struggle with something that was morethan physical strength; I knew that, should I die at that time, Iwould become one of those damned grey faces.

  "The crossing could not have occupied more than a few minutes, butthey seemed like ages. I felt as though, for so long as I couldremember, I had been sitting astride a log, hurrying through a mist ona rushing river.

  "Presently I heard the grating of ice against ice and the cannoning oflogs, and I knew that I was nearing the other side. There was a suddenshock; the tree which I rode swung round, and I found myselfscrambling wildly up the bank out of the reach of the hands which werethrust out after me. I rose to my feet and ran, tripping and fallingcontinually as my snowshoes plunged deep in the melting crust. Eachtime I fell, it seemed to me that I had not tripped, but had beenstruck down from behind by the river-creatures which pursued me. Thenthe sound of the water grew more faint, the mist closed in upon me,and I sank exhausted. I had no idea of my position as regards thecache, nor would I have any means of finding out until morning shouldcome and the fog should rise. But I knew that it would be fatal to sitstill in my sodden clothes, on the drenching snow, without a fire,till daylight; so I got upon my feet and commenced to tread slowlyabout.

  "Presently behind the mist I could hear something moving, which wasfollowing and keeping pace with me stride by stride. Its footsteps didnot seem to be those of a man, but more frequent and lighter. I wasin that state of mind when suspense is the worst part of danger; I didnot care particularly how much I had to suffer if only I might knowcompletely what death and by whose hands I was to die. Drawing myrevolver, I made a plunge forward in the direction from which thesound had come. I saw nothing; but, when I stopped and listened, Icould hear the footsteps going round about me at just the samedistance away. I determined to pursue them; at any rate such anoccupation would keep me in motion and prevent me from perishing fromcold and dampness. But it's difficult to hunt the thing by which youare hunted. Towards daybreak a slight breeze got up which, coming inlittle gusts, cleared alleys in the heavy atmosphere as it forced apassage. The footsteps had ceased by this time, but I could hear thecreature's panting breath; for some reason it had ceased to follow. Iwaited until I heard the breeze coming and then made a rush in thedirection from which the breathing came. There, straight before me,sitting on its haunches, I saw the shadow of what appeared to be agigantic timber-wolf; the only part of it which I could discernplainly was its eyes, which, to my terrified imagination, blazed outdazzling and huge through the gloom like carriage lamps.

  "And another thing I noticed, that it was sitting beside the cache forwhich I was searching. Then the breeze died down, the mist closed inagain, and I could detect nothing of the creature's presence but thesound of its breath.

  "With my revolver in my right hand and my knife in my left, I creptslowly forward. Just ahead of me I could see something stirring, andI fired. There was a scramble of hurrying feet, and then silence.

  "When I came to the cache, it was deserted. I should have delayed tilldaylight, but my hunger was so great that I could not wait. Breakingit open, I sat down to gorge myself on the first thing that camehandy--some raw fish which had been buried there. Something movedbehind me; before I had time to turn properly round, it had leapt onmy back. I could not draw my revolver, there was no time; my onlyweapon was my knife. I saw the great face and eyes peering over myleft shoulder and made a downward stab, gashing open a deep wound fromthe ear to the lower fangs. With a cry that was almost human, thebeast jumped back and vanished.

  "When day had come, I took as much of the provisions as I could carry,and made good my escape. I was surprised at the old man's absence, andfearful lest at any moment he might turn up. I did not cross the riverat the mouth, but worked my way along the right-hand bank, intendingto cross higher up and nearer the hut, where it was more narrow. Atnoon I made a halt and snatched a little sleep, for I had purposed totravel through the night. Some hours after darkness had fallen, Ibegan to be haunted with the old sense that something was following.At first I h
eard no sound, for I was travelling over open ground.Presently I had to enter a thicket, and there I was made certain; forI could distinctly hear the snapping of branches, as if bent andforced aside by the passage of some forest animal. I pushed rapidlyahead, for it was not the safest place in which to be attacked. As Iglanced across my shoulder and from side to side, I continuallycaught glimpses of a thing which was grey.

  "Sometimes I was certain that I saw a face peering out at me fromabove the brake; but whether it was that of the old man or of thetimber-wolf, I could not tell--strangely enough, their faces seemed tome to be one and the same. When the day came, I felt that I was freeagain, and making camp I slept. The same thing happened next night,and the night after that, for it took me more than three days to makethe homeward journey. But each night, as I moved farther away from theForbidden River's mouth, the creature which followed had to traverse alonger and longer trail to come up with me, as I approached nearer tomy destination.

  "After I had crossed the river and reached the hut, he rarely came;and then only when the dusk had fallen early because of clouds orrain. Yet there were times, just before the dawn, when I fancied thatI could see him watching me from the bank."

  "But what has this got to do with the half-breed?" Granger broke inimpatiently.

  "That's what I'd like to know myself. But I don't know, so I'm simplygiving you facts as they happened. The horror of that wolf's face,which I confused with my memory of the old man's, made a deepimpression on me; I suppose that's why I've said so much about it.

  "However mistaken you may have been about the Forbidden River neverhaving been travelled, you were correct enough when you told me thatit was haunted. . . . And it isn't pleasant to be living a five-days'journey from the nearest white man, in a place where the beasts looklike lost souls and have the eyes of the damned."

  Granger shrugged his shoulders, "And the half-breed?" he inquired.

  "The half-breed turned up five weeks after my return from the cache.I'd been out cutting cord-wood and, when I came back, he was sittingat the door of the hut. How long he'd been there, I could not tell; Ihad been absent for perhaps two hours. I tried to find out how he'dcome, but he pretended not to understand; so, as I know no Cree, ourconversation wasn't very lengthy. At first, however, in spite of thedanger of his discovering who I was and what I was doing there, I waspleased to see him, for I was getting moody and low-spirited withliving by myself. I tried to be content with supposing that he was atrapper, who had strayed out of his district and had lighted on me byaccident.

  "We sat by the fire outside the hut and smoked together, smiling andexchanging signs every now and then, to show that we were friendly.But I watched him closely, and soon perceived that he was far moreknowing than he was willing to admit; I began to believe that he hadvisited me with a purpose. I hadn't allowed him inside the hut forfear he should see the pit, which was uncovered, and should guess thesecret or get suspicious; but I noticed that, whenever he thought thatI was not watching, his eyes would slowly turn in that direction. Idetermined to put him to the test. Though it was as yet quite early, Ibuilt up the fire for the night and signed to him that I was sleepy.He nodded his head and went on smoking; so I lay down and feigned toclose my eyes. I must have fallen asleep, for when I woke the blazehad died down to a mound of charcoal and glowing ash, with here andthere a little spurt of flame. When I looked stealthily round, Idiscovered that my companion was missing, but by listening I couldhear a sound of moving within the hut. Just then I saw his figurecoming out, so I lay down as though I had never wakened. He stood inthe doorway smiling to himself, holding something which sparkled inhis hand. Then he returned to the fire and sat down quite near to me,so that he could watch my face.

  "I suppose I must have betrayed myself for, without any warning, heflung himself upon me, slipping a noose about my neck as I attemptedto rise, which he drew tight, so that I was nearly strangled. Standingbehind me, jerking at the noose, he commanded me to hold up my hands.I was too choked and dazed for struggle, so did as he bade me. When hehad bound me hand and foot, and gagged me, he threw me inside the hutand, without a word of explanation, departed down-stream on hisjourney.

  "I tried to burst the thongs, but they were too stout either to loosenor to break. I wormed my way out on to the river-bank and tried tochafe them against a rock, but only succeeded in bruising my flesh.The sun came out and shone down upon me till my thirst grew agonising.It seemed to me that at last I had run to the end of my tether. Then athought occurred to me; wriggling toward the fire, I found that itstill smouldered. By pushing and scraping with my bound hands andfeet, I managed to get some leaves and twigs together, which soonsprang into a blaze. I waited until it had died down into a narrowflame, over which I held my hands till the thongs were charred; then,with a quick twist of the wrists, which caused my scorched flesh toflake off in shreds, I wrenched my hands apart. This is all true thatI am telling you; you can see for yourself. Already you must havenoticed those marks." He held out his wrists for Granger's inspection;they were horribly mutilated.

  "And after that, when you got better, did the half-breed leave youundisturbed or did he come back?"

  "I did not see either the half-breed or the old man again until thatearly morning when I gazed in through the window at Murder Point . . .and, do you know, that scar on the old man's face is in the same placeas the wound which I gave the timber-wolf?"

  Granger laughed nervously. "And what d'you make of that?"

  "I hardly dare to say; but, somehow, that beast seemed to me to bemore than a wolf--it looked like a dead soul."

  "A dead what? You've said that once before to-night."

  Spurting stared at him, amazed at his agitation. "A dead soul," herepeated; "a soul which has gone out from a man, and left his bodystill alive."

  "Do you know what name the Indians have given to that old man?" askedGranger in an awe-struck voice.

  "How should I know? I think you called him Beorn."

  "Yes, but his other name is the _Man with the Dead Soul_."

 

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