Ti-ti-pu: a Boy of Red River
Copyright© 2024 by J. Macdonald Oxley
Chapter 6: Ordered Off
‘Come awa’, men,’ he said to his companions. ‘We’ll na give o’er till we’ve searched the place throughout. Lead awa’, Dour, gude dog.’
The clever collie needed no second bidding. He had been very impatiently awaiting the conclusion of the colloquy at the factor’s, and now bounded across the open space between the different buildings, making straight for the fur-house.
By this time, several of the inmates of the fort had gathered, curious as to what was up, and, had Mr. Macrae been alone, their sinister looks might well have made him anxious concerning his own safety.
But his only thought was for Hector, and the grave, sinewy men by his side, though few in numbers, were not the kind to invite hasty attack; so, paying no heed to threatening looks or menacing utterances, the little party reached the door of the fur-house.
Upon this, Mr. Macrae struck hard with his pistol-butt, calling out: ‘Hector, laddie, are ye there?’
Instantly there came back from the interior a muffled cry of joy, and the faint words: ‘Father! oh, father! is that you?’
There was a stout padlock fastening the door, but Mr. Macrae quickly prised this off, and tore the door open. Out of the interior darkness rushed Hector and flung himself, half-sobbing, into his father’s arms.
Andrew returned the embrace warmly, and then asked in a tone of surprise and concern: ‘Was no’ Dandy with you?’
‘Why no, father!’ replied Hector. ‘The man that shut me up took both Dour and Dandy away with him.’
‘Then we maun find the dog,’ was the resolute rejoinder. ‘Here, Dour, gude dog, call Dandy.’ Without a moment’s hesitation, the well-trained creature poured forth a volley of barks that meant as plainly as possible, ‘Dandy, where are you? Tell us.’
‘Now listen, friends, for the answer,’ said Mr. Macrae, with a grim smile.
There was no doubt about the response, for out of the surrounding gloom burst a chorus of canine music that fairly made the welkin ring, and how Dandy’s particular contribution could be distinguished seemed a hopeless problem.
But Mr. Macrae waited silently until the commotion had somewhat subsided, and then, pointing to the northern end of the enclosure, said confidently: ‘There’s whaur they’ve got Dandy.’
Dour evidently approved of their going thither, and presently, turning the corner of one of the most remote buildings, they found the object of their search, half-strangled in his frantic efforts to break the thong that held him fast.
‘God be thanked—we’ve found all three, and they’re nane the waur of it,’ said Mr. Macrae, in a tone of fervent gratitude; and then, his voice changing to righteous indignation, ‘by the morn we’ll find out why this was done to ma laddie, and who did it.’
With the morn, however, came strange and startling events, that caused Hector’s peculiar experience to be entirely forgotten. To understand these aright, a little explanation is necessary. Although the great Hudson’s Bay Company claimed full ownership of the North-West, their right to this vast wilderness was vigorously disputed by a company formed in Lower Canada and called the North-West Fur Company. The rivalry between the two companies for control of the fur-trade was intense and unscrupulous. They resorted to all sorts of stratagems to injure each other, and wherever one built a fort, the other soon established a second within sight. Often their employees, made wild with strong drink, broke out into open violence and many lives were lost, and a number of forts sacked and burned in the course of the bitter struggle.
Now, the Nor-Westers, as they were called for short, regarded the advent of the Scotch folk with lively animosity. They suspected it to be a shrewd device of their rivals to get a firmer grip upon the country. The new-comers would not be rovers like themselves, but settlers, who would build houses, and till the rich soil, and multiply in numbers until they became a power in the land.
This far-seeing scheme must be nipped in the bud, and forthwith they set themselves to do it.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.