XXIV A SORE HAND
"Now we know it was Murray and Kolbach who camped here the night beforewe came," said Louis, after the guests were gone. "Then they tried toburn this old cabin so no one else could use it. That is a trick of rivaltraders to make each other as much trouble as they can."
"The Northwest Company used to destroy Hudson Bay houses whenever theygot a chance," put in Neil.
"Yes, and the Hudson Bay men did the same to the Northwesters."
"That was a queer way to try to burn a house though," Neil remarked, "tobegin at the top. Kolbach must have had to clean off the snow before hecould set the fire."
"Perhaps it was Kolbach who cleaned away the snow, but I think the planto burn the cabin was as much _le Murrai's_ as Kolbach's," Louisasserted. "I believe they tried to start fire in other places as well asthe roof. At the back there is a place where a fire has burned close tothe wall. The logs are charred and black. They started several fires, Ithink, but they did not stay to watch them. As _le Murrai_ said, only theroof burned well. What do you think, Walter?"
Walter had scarcely been listening. He was examining his right hand,which still smarted. Raising his head at the question, he repliedcarelessly, "About the fire? They set it, of course. Lucky for us itdidn't burn better." He looked again at his stinging palm. "I wonder ifMurray ever washes his hands. The dirt came off on mine. It makes thisscratch sting."
"Let me see." Louis seized his friend's hand, turned the palm to thefirelight and bent over it. "That is no dirt," he exclaimed. "It issticky, a gum of some sort. You say it was not there before Murray shookhands with you? And now it hurts?"
"My hands were clean. I washed them before we began to get supper. Thatscratch certainly does hurt; much more than it did at first."
"Put some water on the fire, Neil, just a little, to heat quickly. Wemust do something for this hand." Louis spoke anxiously. "_Le Murrai_ hastried to poison you, Walter. Perhaps I can suck it out like snake venom."
Without hesitation he put his lips to the scratch and sucked. He spat inthe fire, and wiped his mouth with the end of his neck handkerchief. "Thegum is too sticky, and we have nothing to draw the poison out, no saltpork for a poultice."
"Make the scratch bleed," suggested Neil. "Open it with your knife."
"This black stuff must be cleaned off first," objected Walter.
Cold water made no impression on the sticky substance that smearedWalter's palm. Louis tried to scrape away the gum, then he sucked thescratch again. But he had to wait for hot water to really dissolve thegummy stuff and cleanse the hand. When every trace of black had beenwashed off, Louis drew the sharp point of his knife along the scratch,making a clean cut, deep enough to bleed freely.
In those days little was known about antiseptics. All three boys,however, were familiar enough with the treatment of snake bites tounderstand that poison must be drawn out as speedily as possible, eitherby sucking the wound or letting it bleed freely. They knew also that aclean wound was apt to heal more readily than a dirty one. Even theIndians recognized that fact, though their ideas of cleanliness were notmuch like ours. Louis would have torn a strip from his handkerchief tobandage the injury, but Walter felt that a colored and not too cleancloth was not the best dressing. He decided to leave his hand unbandaged,letting it bleed as much as it would and the blood clot naturally.
At first Walter could scarcely believe that Murray had deliberately triedto poison his hand, but Louis had no doubts. "I have heard of such thingsamong the Indians," he said, "and _le Murrai Noir_ is more Indian thanwhite. He would not be above revenging himself that way or any other. Ifhe is really friendly to us, why did he act as if he had never seen usbefore? He knew us certainly, though our names were not spoken. As hewent towards the door, he put his fingers in his fire bag. I saw him doit, but thought nothing of it. He had seen you get that scratch. You knowit is not like Murray to shake anyone by the hand."
"That surprised me, I admit," conceded Walter.
"Truly he had a reason. He hated you always after that affair of poorM'sieu Matthieu."
"Do you suppose he has learned that we reported the loss of the pemmicanand told about his bundle of trade goods?" Walter asked thoughtfully.
"That may be. He did not go up the Assiniboin, he was at Pembina toosoon. At Fort Douglas or at the Forks they may have asked him about thatpemmican. Even if they did not say we told them, he might lay it to us.He never was fond of either of us. The Black Murray is an evil man. Helikes to do evil I think. He takes pleasure in it."
In spite of the prompt treatment, Walter's hand pained him all night andkept him restless. He was not the only one of the three that was wakeful.Louis and Neil, too, were uneasy. They were uncertain of Murray'sintentions. He and his companion had gone away, with sled and dogs, buthow far had they gone? Had they really set out for Pembina, or had theymade camp as soon as they were out of sight and hearing? The BlackMurray's keen eyes had not failed to take note of every pelt in thecabin. He had even offered to trade pemmican for the furs. Louis haddeclined, but did that settle the matter? Would Murray try in some otherway to get possession of the catch? That he was not scrupulous in hismethods was proved by his assault and robbery of the Ojibwa at the RedRiver.
The boys were sure that Murray would not have hesitated to takeeverything, if they had been away from the cabin when he arrived. Theydid not doubt that he would have been ready to use violence against anyone of them. But he had found Louis and Walter quite prepared for him.Numbers had been equal and the boys' guns within reach. Before Murraycould discover an opening for strategy, Neil had arrived. With threealert lads watching him, the free trader had no chance. They were not atall sure, however, that he might not return and attempt a surprise. SoNeil and Walter slept little, and Louis scarcely at all. Many timesduring the night, the Canadian boy slipped out to look and listen. Thoughhe had turned the dogs loose, he did not dare to trust entirely to them.
The night passed without an alarm, but the boys were far from sure thatthey had seen the last of the Black Murray. Before they dared go abouttheir ordinary work, they had to be certain that he was not anywhere inthe vicinity. Louis decided to follow his trail, while the othersremained at the cabin, alert and prepared for a second visit.
Walter's hand worried both himself and his comrades. It was inflamed,swollen, and very sore. No one knew what to do for it, except to open upthe cut and make it bleed again, a painful operation which Walter borewithout flinching.
Louis was away early. He returned late in the day with the encouragingnews that Murray had left the hills. His track, distinct and easy tofollow, ran straight across the prairie in the direction of the RedRiver. "I followed several miles over the plain," said Louis, "and couldsee the trail going on in the distance. Yet I feared he might have turnedfarther on somewhere, so I went north a long way, looking for a returntrail. Then I came back, crossed his track, and went on to the south. Ifound nothing. Certainly _le Murrai_ has gone, unless he made a very widecircle to return. I think he would not give himself the trouble to dothat. He had no reason to think we would doubt his story. Yes, I am assure he is gone as I can be without following him clear to the RedRiver."
Reassured, the boys took up their daily tasks of visiting the traps anddeadfalls, fishing through the ice, and hunting. One of them, however,always remained at home, his gun loaded and within reach.
For several days Walter's hand was very sore and painful. He was morethan a little anxious about it. He feared serious blood poisoning thatmight mean the loss of hand, arm, and even life. But the inflammation didnot spread. The prompt sucking of the scratch, the cleansing and freebleeding, and the healthy condition of Walter's blood saved him. Within aweek the soreness was almost gone and the cut healing properly.
In the meantime another misfortune had befallen the boys. The dogs weretaken sick. Askime was the first one to show the disease. One morningLouis found the husky with a badly swollen neck. He
took the dog into thecabin and tended him anxiously, but the swelling increased until Askimecould no longer eat. He was scarcely able to swallow a little water.Walter proposed piercing the lumps, and performed the operation with anawl used in sewing skins. The swellings discharged freely, and Askime,able to swallow, began to improve.
The other dogs had already shown signs of the same trouble. Gray Wolf hadonly a slight attack, but the brown animal was very sick. Lancing thelumps on his neck did no lasting good, and in spite of the boys' effortsto save him, the poor beast died. Luckily Askime and Gray Wolf recoveredcompletely. How the dogs got the disease was a mystery. Murray had had noopportunity to poison them. Possibly the wolf-like animal that had brokenloose and attacked Askime had given the infection to him, or the huskyand his fellows might have caught it from some wild beast they had killedand eaten.
South from Hudson Bay: An Adventure and Mystery Story for Boys Page 25