Snowflakes and Sunbeams; Or, The Young Fur-traders: A Tale of the Far North. Robert Michael Ballantyne

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СКАЧАТЬ about three fathoms or so, and cutting half of it off, I went to the fire and twisted it round his neck by way of a joke, and he said he'd wear it as a necklace all night, and so he did, too, and forgot to take it off in the morning; and when we came near the rapids I couldn't get at my bag to stow it away, so says I, 'Francois, you'll have to run with it on, for I can't stop to stow it now.' 'All right,' says he, 'go ahead;' and just as he said it, we came in sight of the first run, foaming and boiling like a kettle of robbiboo. 'Take care, lads,' I cried, and the next moment we were dashing down towards the bend in the river. As we came near to the shoot, I saw Francois standing up on the gunwale to get a better view of the rocks ahead, and every now and then giving me a signal with his hand how to steer; suddenly he gave a shout, and plunged his long pole into the water, to fend off from a rock which a swirl in the stream had concealed. For a second or two his pole bent like a willow, and we could feel the heavy boat jerk off a little with the tremendous strain, but all at once the pole broke off short with a crack, Francois' heels made a flourish in the air, and then he disappeared head foremost into the foaming water, with my tobacco coiled round his neck! As we flew past the place, one of his arms appeared, and I made a grab at it, and caught him by the sleeve; but the effort upset myself and over I went too. Fortunately, however, one of my men caught me by the foot, and held on like a vice; but the force of the current tore Francois' sleeve out of my grasp, and I was dragged into the boat again just in time to see my comrade's legs and arms going like the sails of a windmill, as he rolled over several times and disappeared. Well, we put ashore the moment we got into still water, and then five or six of us started off on foot to look for Francois. After half-an-hour's search, we found him pitched upon a flat rock in the middle of the stream like a bit of driftwood, We immediately waded out to the rock and brought him ashore, where we lighted a fire, took off all his clothes, and rubbed him till he began to show signs of life again. But you may judge, mes garçons, of my misery when I found that the coil of tobacco was gone. It had come off his neck during his struggles, and there wasn't a vestige of it left, except a bright red mark on the throat, where it had nearly strangled him. When he began to recover, he put his hand up to his neck as if feeling for something, and muttered faintly, 'The tabac.' 'Ah, morbleu!' said I, 'you may say that! Where is it?' Well, we soon brought him round, but he had swallowed so much water that it damaged his lungs, and we had to leave him at the next post we came to; and so I lost my friend too."

      "Did Francois get better?" said Charley Kennedy, in a voice of great concern.

      Charley had entered the store by another door, just as the guide began his story, and had listened to it unobserved with breathless interest.

      "Recover! Oh oui, monsieur, he soon got well again.'

      "Oh, I'm so glad," cried Charley.

      "But I lost him for that voyage," added the guide; "and I lost my tabac for ever."

      "You must take better care of it this time, Louis," said Peter

      Mactavish, as he resumed his work.

      "That I shall, monsieur," replied Louis, shouldering his goods and quitting the store, while a short, slim, active little Canadian took his place.

      "Now, then, Baptiste," said Mactavish, "you want a—"

      "Blanket, monsieur,"

      "Good. And—"

      "A capote, monsieur."

      "And—"

      "An axe—"

      "Stop, stop!" shouted Harry Somerville from his desk. "Here's an entry in Louis's account that I can't make out—30 something or other; what can it have been?"

      "How often," said Mactavish, going up to him with a look of annoyance—"how often have I told you, Mr. Somerville, not to leave an entry half-finished on any account!"

      "I didn't know that I left it so," said Harry, twisting his features, and scratching his head in great perplexity. "What can it have been? 30—30—not blankets, eh?" (Harry was becoming banteringly bitter.) "He couldn't have got thirty guns, could he? or thirty knives, or thirty copper kettles?"

      "Perhaps it was thirty pounds of tea," suggested Charley.

      "No doubt it was thirty pipes," said Peter Mactavish.

      "Oh, that was it!" cried Harry, "that was it! thirty pipes, to be sure.

      What an ass I am!"

      "And pray what is that?" said Mactavish, pointing sarcastically to an entry in the previous account—"5 yards of superfine Annette. Really, Mr. Somerville, I wish you would pay more attention to your work and less to the conversation."

      "Oh dear!" cried Harry, becoming almost hysterical under the combined effects of chagrin at making so many mistakes, and suppressed merriment at the idea of selling Annettes by the yard. "Oh, dear me—"

      Harry could say no more, but stuffed his handkerchief into his mouth and turned away.

      "Well, sir," said the offended Peter, "when you have laughed to your entire satisfaction, we will go on with our work, if you please."

      "All right," cried Harry, suppressing his feelings with a strong effort; "what next?"

      Just then a tall, raw-boned man entered the store, and rudely thrusting

      Baptiste aside, asked if he could get his supplies now.

      "No," said Mactavish, sharply; "you'll take your turn like the rest."

      The new-comer was a native of Orkney, a country from which, and the neighbouring islands, the Fur Company almost exclusively recruits its staff of labourers. These men are steady, useful servants, although inclined to be slow and lazy at first; but they soon get used to the country, and rapidly improve under the example of the active Canadians and half-breeds with whom they associate; some of them are the best servants the Company possess. Hugh Mathison, however, was a very bad specimen of the race, being rough and coarse in his manners, and very lazy withal. Upon receiving the trader's answer, Hugh turned sulkily on his heel and strode towards the door. Now, it happened that Baptiste's bundle lay just behind him, and on turning to leave the place, he tripped over it and stumbled, whereat the voyageurs burst into an ironical laugh (for Hugh was not a favourite).

      "Confound your trash!" he cried, giving the little bundle a kick that scattered everything over the floor.

      "Crapaud!" said Baptiste, between his set teeth, while his eyes flashed angrily, and he stood up before Hugh with clinched fists, "what mean you by that, eh?"

      The big Scotchman held his little opponent in contempt; so that, instead of putting himself on the defensive, he leaned his back against the door, thrust his hands into his pockets, and requested to know "what that was to him."

      Baptiste was not a man of many words, and this reply, coupled with the insolent sneer with which it was uttered, caused him to plant a sudden and well-directed blow on the point of Hugh's nose, which flattened it on his face, and brought the back of his head into violent contact with the door.

      "Well done!" shouted the men; "bravo, Baptiste! Regardez le nez, mes enfants!"

      "Hold!" cried Mactavish, vaulting the counter, and intercepting Hugh, as he rushed upon his antagonist; "no fighting here, you blackguards! If you want to do that, go outside the fort;" and Peter, opening the door, thrust the Orkneyman out.

      In the meantime, Baptiste gathered up his goods and left the store, in company with several of his friends, vowing that he would СКАЧАТЬ