Chapter XVII: Tilly's Warning

November passed, and the first half of December. The shortest days of the year were approaching, and still the cold, crisp weather, ideal for logging, continued without a break. Hell Camp continued to hum with its abnormal activity. A thaw which would spoil the sleighing and ice-roads for the time being was long over-due. With the coming of the thaw would come a temporary lull in the work of the camp.

The men prayed for the thaw; Reivers asked that the cold weather continue. It had continued now longer than he had expected or hoped, and the output of the camp already was double that of what would have been successful logging at that season. But Reivers was not satisfied. The record that he was setting served only to spur his ambition to desperation.

The longer the cold spell hung on the harder he drove. Each day, as he looked at the low, grey sky and saw that there were no signs of a break-up, he turned to and set the pace a little faster than the day before. The madness of achievement, the passion to use his powers to accomplish the impossible, the characteristics which had won him the name of Snow-Burner, were in possession. He was doing the impossible; he was accomplishing what no other man could do, what all men said was impossible; and the feat only created a hunger to do more.

The men were past grumbling now, too tired of body and too crushed of mind to give expression to their feelings. So long as the rush of work continued they were as harmless as harnessed and driven cattle, incapable of anything more than keeping step in the mad march that the Snow-Burner was leading. But all men knew that with the coming of a thaw and the cessation of work would come an explosion of the murderous hatred which Reivers' tactics had driven into the hearts of the men. Now and then a man, driven to a state of desperation which excluded the possibility of fear, stopped and rebelled. One day a young swamper, a gangling lad of twenty, raging and weeping, threw himself upon Reivers like a cat upon a bear. Reivers, with a laugh, thrust him off and kicked him out of the way. Another time a huge Slav sprang at him with his razor-edged ax up-raised, and, quailing before Reivers' calm look, hurled the ax away with a scream and ran blindly away into the trackless woods. Three days later, starving and with frozen hands and feet, he came stumbling up to the stockade and fell in a lump.

"Feed him up," ordered Reivers, smiling. "I've got a little use for him when he's fixed up so he can feel. You see, Treplin," he continued to Toppy, who had been called to bring the man back to life, "I'm not all cruelty. When I want to save a man to amuse myself with I'm almost as much of a humanitarian as you are."

He hurried on his way, but before he was out of hearing he flung back----

"You remember how carefully I had Tilly nurse you, don't you--doctor?"

It was only the guards that Reivers did not make enemies of. He knew that he had need of their loyalty. At night the "white men" sat on the edges of their bunks and tried to concoct feasible schemes for securing possession of the shotguns of the guards.

On the morning of the shortest day of the year Toppy heard a scratching sound at the window near his bunk and sprang up. It was still pitch dark, long before any one should be stirring around camp save the cook and cookees.

"Who's there?" demanded Toppy.

"Me. Want talk um with you," came the low response from without. "You no come out. No make noise. Hear through window. You can hear um when I talk huh?"

"Tilly!" gasped Toppy. "What's up?"

"You hear um what I talk?" asked the squaw again.

"Yes, yes; I can hear you. What is it?"

"You like um li'l Miss Pearson, huh?" said Tilly bluntly.

"What?" Toppy's heart was pounding with sudden excitement. "What--what's up, Tilly? There hasn't anything happened to Miss Pearson, has there?"

"Uh! You like um Miss Pearson? Tell um Tilly straight or Tilly go 'way and no talk um more with you. You like her? Huh?"

"Yes," said Toppy breathlessly, after a long pause. "Yes, I like her. What is it?"

"You no like see um Miss Pearson get hurt?"

"No, no; of course not. Who's going to hurt her?"

"Snow-Burner," said Tilly. "Tilly tell you this before she go 'way. Tilly going 'way now. Tilly going 'way far off to father's tepee. Snow-Burner tell um me go. Snow-Burner tell um me go last night. Snow-Burner say he no want Tilly stay in camp longer. Tilly know why Snow-Burner no want her stay in camp. Snow-Burner through with Tilly. Snow-Burner now want um Miss Pearson. So."

"Tilly! Hold on!" She had already turned away, but she halted at his voice and came close to the window. "What is this? Are you going away at once--because the Snow-Burner says so?"

The squaw nodded, stoically submissive.

"Snow-Burner say 'go'; Tilly go," she said. "Snow-Burner say go before any one see um me this morning. I go now. Must go; Snow-Burner say so."

"And Miss Pearson?" whispered Toppy frantically. "Did he say anything about her?"

Tilly nodded heavily.

"Tell um me long 'go. Tell um me before Miss Pearson come. Tell um me he going marry Miss Pearson for um Christmas present. Christmas Day come soon now. Snow-Burner no want Tilly here then. Send Tilly 'way."

The breath seemed to leave Toppy's body for an instant. He swayed and caught at the window-frame.

"Marry her--Christmas Day?" he whispered, horrified.

"Yes. He no tell um Miss Pearson yet. He tell me no tell um her, no tell um anybody. I tell you. Now go."

Before Toppy had sufficiently recovered his wits to speak again he heard the crunch of her moccasins on the snow dying away in the darkness as the cast-off squaw stolidly started on her journey into the woods.

"Tilly!" called Toppy desperately, but there was no answer.

"What's matter?" murmured Campbell, disturbed in his deep slumber, and falling to sleep again before he received a reply.

Toppy stood for a long time with his face held close to the window through which he had heard Tilly's startling news. The shock had numbed him. Although he had been prepared to expect anything of Reivers, he now realised that this was something more than he had thought possible even from him. The Snow-Burner--marry Miss Pearson--for a Christmas present--Christmas Day! He seemed to hear Tilly repeating the words over and over again. And Reivers had not even so much as told Miss Pearson of what he intended to do. He had not even told her that he intended to marry her. So Tilly said, and Tilly knew. What did Reivers intend to do then? How did he know he was going to marry her? How did he know she would have him?

Toppy shivered a little as his wits began to work more clearly, and the full significance of the situation began to grow clear to him. He understood now. Reivers had good reason for making his plans so confidently. He had studied the girl until he had seen that his will had dominated hers; that though she might not love him, might even fear him, she had not the will-power against him to say nay to his wishes.

He knew that she was helplessly fascinated, that she was his for the taking. He had been too busy to take her until now; the serious duties of his position had allowed no time for dalliance. So the girl had been safe and unmolested--until now! And now Reivers was secretly preparing to make her his own!

A sudden thought struck Toppy, and he tiptoed to the door and looked out. Instead of the crisp coldness of recent mornings there was a warm mugginess in the air; and Toppy, bending down, placed his hand on the snow and felt that it had begun to soften. The thaw had come.

"I thought so," he said to himself. "The work will break up now, and he's going to amuse himself. Well, he made a mistake when he told Tilly. She's been civilised just enough to make her capable of jealousy."

He went back to his bunk and dressed.

"What are you stirring around so early for?" grumbled Campbell. "Dinna ye get work enough during the day, to be getting up in the dark?"

"The thaw's come," said Toppy, throwing on his cap. "There'll be something doing besides work now."

He went out into the dark morning, crossed the road and softly tried the door to the office. He felt much better when he had assured himself that the door was securely locked on the inside. Then he returned to the shop and waited for the daylight to appear.