camwyn | Nov. Bargain, Part the Third, Subpart I. (Reply)

The ride out of town was easy enough. Here the trails were broad, well-used by hunters and trappers alike. The snow and ice had been tramped down by feet and sled runners alike until they were as good as any road. Even further out, as the paths started to split off and snake their lonely ways through the trees, the going was still easy. Louise’s dogs barked joyfully as they ran, scarcely needing her occasional ‘gee!’ or ‘haw!’ to send them in the right direction. If the truth were told, Louise felt much the same way. She’d been trapped in her sick-room for weeks; she’d had the care of her father a week more, and after that she’d been all but chained to the hotel. It wasn’t the worst part of winter just now, but the dark months always weighed heavy on her, especially when she couldn’t get out. Even with the low grey clouds covering most of the sky, she felt as if it were spring at last – she was outside, she was flying, she was free. . .

She’d never known the dogs to be so swift before. Then again, she’d never gone mushing with an unladen sled. All the sled carried just now was herself, her father’s gun, and a smallish medical bag. She’d reckoned they wouldn’t be out long, so there wasn’t really any need for supplies. Even if Sergeant Preston were still far away, she wouldn’t need much. She’d find a sheltered spot along the trail some ways out of town and wait there. She did have flint and tinder in her parka, and there were enough fallen branches about under the snow. That should hold her for a few hours.

The dogs slowed without warning; Louise grabbed at the sled’s frame, blinking in confusion. That’s funny, she thought. “Whoa, boys, whoa,” she called- not that they needed her encouragement to stop. Tossing the clawlike sled anchor into the snow, she stamped on it heavily until it bit into the ice. Moose looked up at her, whining softly; she crouched down next to him, running one mittened hand along his back, then reached for his nearest paw. Nothing wrong there, not that she could see, nor on any of the other paws either. It was the same for Campion and Bear. Shaking her head, Louise sat back on her heels. “What’s the matter with you three?” she asked. “Honestly, there’s-”

Moose whined again, trying to scrabble backwards. It didn’t work very well, as he was harnessed closest to the sled, but it struck Louise as an odd thing for the dog to do. She turned, looking over her shoulder; she saw nothing but the trees. “There, you see?” she said. “I. . . don’t. . .”

Maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed as if something had just slunk between two of the larger spruces. Something big.

Suppressing the urge to shiver, Louise reached slowly for her father’s rifle. Expecting to run into a wolf pack, Miss Delaney? Well. . . yes. She shouldered the weapon, waiting for the beast to show itself again, but it never came. The dogs still huddled nervously, but Bear, at least, no longer seemed quite as ill at ease. She shook her head a little. Somehow, she hadn’t expected to see a wolf quite this close to the city.

Then again. . . She realized with a jolt that she could barely make out the city’s chimney smoke over the tops of the trees. Come to think of it, she wasn’t really sure that was smoke at all. It had a certain look about it that left her thinking ‘clouds’ instead – the first faint traces of that southern storm, perhaps? She couldn’t say. How far had she come, exactly? She couldn’t say that, either. Her dogs were fast, and she wasn’t sure how long they’d been traveling. They could be anywhere.

No, she thought, not anywhere. They couldn’t be anywhere, because they were still on the trail. All she had to do was turn the sled around and they could be back in town just as easily as they’d come. It wouldn’t be that hard – easier, probably, since the dogs would be able to follow their own tracks homeward. Even if it started to snow, it couldn’t be that much of a problem. The wolf, if there was one, would give up soon enough. She could go back any time she wanted, really

That settled it, as far as she was concerned. So long as the road lay open behind her, the road ahead of her was fair game. Relaxing, Louise slung her father’s gun across her back and pulled the anchor out of the ice. “All right, you three,” she said sternly. “It’s just one wolf, and you’re faster than him. We’ve got a Mountie to find. Let’s get moving.”