Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Rick Morris and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
AUTHOR OF “Dick Kent with the Mounted Police” “Dick Kent with the Eskimos” “Dick Kent, Fur Trader” “Dick Kent and the Malemute Mail”
THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY Akron, Ohio New York
Copyright MCMXXVII THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY _Made in the United States of America_
CHAPTER PAGE I The Map in the Cave 3 II A Messenger from Headquarters 15 III Scarlet and Gold 24 IV Dick Makes a Suggestion 33 V Dick is Indiscreet 40 VI In the House of the Messenger 50 VII Flight Through the Woods 58 VIII Tracks in the Snow 67 IX The Council of War 79 X Sandy Plays a Lone Hand 90 XI Off for the Mine 98 XII A Mysterious Ten Dollar Bill 110 XIII The Raiding Party 119 XIV A Fateful Crossing 128 XV Within the Barricade 139 XVI A Path Through the Rocks 148 XVII Sandy Explores the Mine 159 XVIII In the Toils of Henderson 167 XIX Hours of Torture 175 XX Henderson’s Plans Miscarry 183 XXI The Red Fury 190 XXII In the Indian Village 201 XXIII Guests of the Chief 209 XXIV The Caribou Herd 221 XXV Reunion 233 XXVI Debts of Gratitude 243
Three persons plodded along the snow-piled floor of a tiny canyon in the heart of the northern Canadian wilderness. The broad snow-shoes on their feet made their progress like that of so many huge crabs on a sea shore. In the fore was a tall, well-knit young man, whose weather-tanned face was that of Dick Kent, who for more than a year had sought and found adventure in the vast land where the sole guardians of the peace are the Royal North West Mounted Police.
“It can’t be very far from here,” he turned and spoke, his breath puffing out in white vapor.
Sandy MacClaren strained his eyes ahead. His stocky frame, no less hardened than that of his older chum, Dick Kent, seemed to bend forward with a little more eagerness as he replied:
The man in the rear laughed. He was Sandy’s uncle, Walter MacClaren, an old Scotchman, and factor at Fort Good Faith for the Hudson’s Bay Company.
“I hardly think I could miss the cave,” he spoke. “I spent too many unpleasant hours in there without anything to eat.”
Dick Kent was about to respond to this, when he caught sight of what they were seeking, the mouth of a large cave in the wall of the canyon.