Though Johnny Longbow had seen the light of his good friend’s fire, and she in turn had heard the noise of his battle with the bears, morning was destined to find them once more far apart. To Johnny’s great surprise the hunchback, after replenishing their larder, did not lead the way back to the cabin where they had last slept.
Instead he struck away across the hills. When they had traveled for the greater part of an hour and had come to a barren and rocky dry ravine, he piled a heap of large stones in the form of a rude oven. Beneath this he kindled a fire and roasted meat.
After giving Johnny a liberal supply of bear meat and devouring great quantities himself, he again took up his burden and led away over other hills.
“How is this all to end?” Johnny asked himself. “It doesn’t much matter where we go. I haven’t the slightest notion which direction would lead me to my friends.”
That the hunchback was pleased with him was shown by his actions as they paused now and then to rest. At such times he went through the motions of a charging bear. Opening his mouth wide he acted a pantomime of receiving a mortal wound in the mouth, and falling backward dead. These actions were followed by loud laughter.
“This,” Johnny told himself, “probably indicates approval.”
He was not the least bit displeased that the hunchback held a friendly feeling for him; yet he was led to wonder many times and how long he was to wander and how the affair was to end.
Faye’s escape from her island was less dramatic than that of the Indians she had saved. As she waited, a surprisingly large cake of ice drifted by. Seizing the opportunity, she sprang once more into the chilling waters, swam a few strokes, clambered aboard, drifted close to shore, was caught and dragged to land by the husky natives. Then, followed by the dripping Tico, she raced away to camp.
For a second time that night her garments were hung by a fire to dry. This time, however, she did not dance away the chill, but creeping deep down among the blankets and deerskins, fell asleep to dream of towering icebergs and racing floods.
As he tramped on and on, mile after mile over low ridges, down narrow valleys, through sparse growth of fir and tangled masses of willows, following his strange guide through the night, Johnny wondered over and over what their destination might be.