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12 - Gold Hunters by James Oliver Curwood · Gold Hunters

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Chapter twelve, Wabi makes a strange discovery. Mukoki broke the
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: silence which followed the terrible cry with a choking sound,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: as if some unseen hand were clutching at his throat.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: He slipped from the rock upon which he was sitting
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: and crouched behind it, his rifle gleaming faintly as he
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: leveled it down the chasm. There came the warning click
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: of Wabigawan's gun, and the young Indian hunched himself forward
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: until he was no more than an indistinct shadow in
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: the fast deepening gloom of night. Only rod still sat
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: erect for a moment. His heart seemed to stand still.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Then something leaped into his brain and spread like fire
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  Speaker 1: through his veins, calling him to his feet, trembling with
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: the knowledge of what that cry had told him. It
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: was not a lesson from the wilderness that Roderic Drew
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: was learning now, as fast as the mind could travel,
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: he had gone far back into the strife and misery
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: and madness of civilization, and there he found the language
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: of that fearful cry floating up the chasm. He had
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: heard it once twice, yes, again and again, and the
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  Speaker 1: memory of it had burned deep down into his soul.
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  Speaker 1: He turned to his companions, trying to speak, but the
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  Speaker 1: horror that had first filled Mukoki now fastened itself on him,
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: and his tongue was lifeless. A madman, Wabi's fingers dug
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: into his arm like the claws of a bear. A
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: what a madman? Repeated Rod, trying to speak more calmly.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: The man who shot the bear and fired at Mukoki,
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  Speaker 1: and who uses gold bullets in his gun is mad
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  Speaker 1: raving mad. I have heard those screams before in the
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Eloise insane asylum near Detroit. He's The words were frozen
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: on his lips. Again, the cry echoed up the chasm.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: It was nearer this time, and with a sobbing, terrified sound,
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: something that Wabi had never heard fall from Mukoki's lips before.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: The old warrior clung to Roderick's arm. Darkness hid the
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: terror in his face, but the white boy could feel
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: it in the grip of his hands. Mad raving mad,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: he cried. Suddenly, he gripped Mukoki fiercely by the shoulders,
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: and as Wabigawan crouched forward, ready to fire at the
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: first movement in the gloom. He thrust the butt of
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: his rifle in his back. Don't shoot, he commanded, Mukoki,
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Don't be a fool. That's a man back there, a
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  Speaker 1: man who has suffered and starved, starved, mind you, until
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  Speaker 1: he's mad, stark mad. It would be worse than murder
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  Speaker 1: to kill him. He stopped, and Mukoki drew back a step,
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  Speaker 1: breathing deeply. Heim starve, no eat, gone bad dog, he
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: questioned softly. In an instant, Wabi was at his side.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: That's it, Muky, he's gone bad dog, just like that
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: husky of ours who went bad because he swallowed a
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: fish bone. White men sometimes go bad dog when they
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: are thirsty and starving. Our great spirit tells us that
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: we must never harm them, added Rod. We put them
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: in big houses, larger than all of the houses at
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: the post together, and feed them and clothe them and
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: care for them all their lives. Are you afraid of
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: a bad dog, Muky, or of a man who has
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: gone bad dog? Bad dog? Bite deep? Maybe so we'll
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: kill him. But we don't kill them until we have to,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: persisted the quick witted Wabigawan, who saw the way in
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: which Rod's efforts were being directed, didn't we save our
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: husky by taking the fishbone out of his throat. We
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: must save this bad dog because he is a white man.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Like Rod. He thinks all men are his enemies, just
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: as a bad dog thinks all other dogs are his enemies.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: So we must be careful and not give him a
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  Speaker 1: chance to shoot us. But we mustn't harm him. It
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: will be best if we don't let him know we're
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: in the chasm, said Rod, still speaking for Mukoki's benefit.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: He's probably going out on the plaine and must climb
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  Speaker 1: up this brake in the mountain. Let's move our stuff
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  Speaker 1: a little out of his path. As the two boys
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: went to the canoe, their hands touched, Wabi was startled
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: by the coldness of his friend's fingers. We've fixed Mukoki,
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: he whispered. He won't shoot, but we may have to,
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: replied Rod. That will be up to you and me, Wabi.
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  Speaker 1: We must use judgment, and unless it's a case of
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: life or death, oh, shouted the young Indian, if he
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  Speaker 1: doesn't discover our presence tonight, we will get out of
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  Speaker 1: his way tomorrow, continued Rod. No fire, no talking. We
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: must be as still as death. For some time. After
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  Speaker 1: their outfit was concealed among the rocks, Wabigawan sat with
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  Speaker 1: his mouth close to the old pathfinder's ear. Then he
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  Speaker 1: returned to Rod. Muki understands he has never seen or
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  Speaker 1: heard of a madman, and it is hard for him
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  Speaker 1: to comprehend. But he knows now and understands what he
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  Speaker 1: must do. Sh What is it? I thought I heard
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  Speaker 1: a sound, breathed Rod. Did you hear it? No? The
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: two listened. There was an awesome silence in the chasm,
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: now broken only by the distant murmur of running water,
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  Speaker 1: a strange, chilling stillness in which the young hunters could
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: hear the excited beating of their own hearts. To Roderick,
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: the minutes passed like so many hours. His ears were
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: keyed to the highest tension of expectancy. His eyes stared
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: into the gloom beyond them until they ached with his
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: efforts to see. At every instant, he expected to hear
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: again that terrible scream, this time very near, and he
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: prepared himself to meet it. But the seconds passed, and
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: then the minutes, and still there came no quick running
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: of mad footsteps, no repetition of the cry. Had the
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: madman turned the other way. Was he plunging deeper into
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  Speaker 1: the blackness of this mysterious world of his between the mountains.
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  Speaker 1: I guess I was mistaken, he whispered softly to Wabigawan.
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  Speaker 1: Shall we get out our blankets? We might as well
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: make ourselves comfortable, replied the young Indian. You sit here
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  Speaker 1: and listen while I undo the pack. He went noiselessly
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  Speaker 1: to Mukoki, who was leaning against the pack, and Rod
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: could hear them fumbling at the straps on the bundle.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: After a little Wabi returned, and the two boys spread
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: out their blankets beside the rock upon which they had
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: been sitting, But there was no thought of sleep in
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  Speaker 1: the mind of either. Though both were dead tired from
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: their long day's work. They sat closer together, shoulder touching shoulder,
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: and unknown to his companion, Roderick drew his revolver, cocked
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: it silently, and placed it where he could feel the
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  Speaker 1: cold touch of its steel between his fingers. He knew
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: that he was the only one of the three who
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: fully realized the horror of their situation. Mukoki's mind, simple
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: in its reasoning of things that did not belong to
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  Speaker 1: the wilderness, had accepted the assurances and explanations of Rod
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: and Wabigowan. Wabi, half bred in the wild, felt alarm
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  Speaker 1: only in the sense of physical peril. It was different
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  Speaker 1: with the white youth. What is there in civilization that
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: sends the chill of terror to one's heart more quickly
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  Speaker 1: than the presence of a human being who has gone mad?
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: And this madman was at large at that very instant,
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  Speaker 1: he might be listening to their breathing and their whispered words.
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  Speaker 1: Half a dozen feet away. Any moment might see the
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  Speaker 1: blackness take form, and the terrible thing hurl itself at
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  Speaker 1: their throats. Rod, unlike Wabigowan, knew that the powers of
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  Speaker 1: this strange creature of the chasm were greater than their own,
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  Speaker 1: That it could travel with the swiftness and silence of
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  Speaker 1: an animal through the darkness, That perhaps it could smell
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: them and feel their presence as it passed on its
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: way to the plain. He was anxious now to hear
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  Speaker 1: the cry again. What was the meaning of this silence?
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: Was the madman already conscious of their presence? Was he
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: creeping upon them at that moment, as still as the
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: black shadows that shut in their vision? His mind was
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: working in such vivid imaginings that he was startled when
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Wabi prodded him gently in the side. Look over there,
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: across the chasm, he whispered, See that glow on the
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: mountain wall the moon, replied Rod, Yes, I've been watching it,
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  Speaker 1: and it's creeping down and down. The moon is going
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  Speaker 1: to swing across this break in the mountains. In fifteen minutes,
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  Speaker 1: we shall be able to see. It won't swing across
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  Speaker 1: so much as it will come up in line with us,
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: replied Rod. Watch how that light is lengthening. We shall
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  Speaker 1: be able to see for several hours. He started to
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: rise to his feet, but fell back with an astonished cry.
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  Speaker 1: For a third time, there came the mad Hunter's scream,
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  Speaker 1: this time far above and beyond them, floating down from
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  Speaker 1: the distance of the moonlit plane. He passed us, exclaimed Wabi.
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  Speaker 1: He passed us and we didn't hear him. He leaped
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  Speaker 1: to his feet, and his voice rose excitedly until it
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  Speaker 1: rang in a hundred echoes between the chasm walls. He
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  Speaker 1: passed us and we didn't hear him. Mukoki's voice came
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  Speaker 1: strangely from out of the gloom. No man do that,
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  Speaker 1: No man, no man, Hush, commanded Rod. Now is our time, boys, quick,
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  Speaker 1: get everything to the creek. He's half a mile out
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  Speaker 1: on the plain, and we can get away before he
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  Speaker 1: comes back. I'd rather risk a few rocks than another
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  Speaker 1: one of his golden bullets, so had I, cried Wabi,
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  Speaker 1: as if their lives depended on their exertions. The three
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  Speaker 1: set to work. Mukoki staggered ahead over the rocks with
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  Speaker 1: his burden, while the boys followed with the light canoe
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  Speaker 1: and the remaining pack. Their previous experiences in the chasm
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  Speaker 1: had taught them where to approach the stream, and ten
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: minutes later they were at its side. Without a moment's hesitation.
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  Speaker 1: Mukoki dropped his pack and plunged in the edge of
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: the moon was just appearing over the southern mountain wall,
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  Speaker 1: and by its light, Rod and Wabigawan could see that
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  Speaker 1: the water of the creek was rushing with great swiftness,
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  Speaker 1: as high as the old warrior's knees. No very deep,
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  Speaker 1: said the Indian Rock. I followed this creek for half
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  Speaker 1: a dozen miles, and its bottom is as smooth as
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  Speaker 1: a floor, interrupted Rod. There's no danger of rocks for
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  Speaker 1: that distance. He made no effort now to suppress the
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: pleasure which he felt at the escape from their unpleasant situation.
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  Speaker 1: Mukoki steadied the canoe as it was placed in the water,
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  Speaker 1: and was the last to climb into it, taking his
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  Speaker 1: usual position in the stern, where he could use to
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  Speaker 1: best advantage the powerful sweeps of his paddle. In an instant,
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  Speaker 1: the swift current of the little stream caught the birch
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  Speaker 1: bark and carried it along with remarkable speed. After several
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: feudle strokes of his paddle, Wabi settled back upon his heels.
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  Speaker 1: It's all up to you, Muki, he called softly. I
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  Speaker 1: can't do a thing from the bow. The current is
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  Speaker 1: too swift. All you can do is keep her nose straight.
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  Speaker 1: The light of the moon was now filling the chasm,
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  Speaker 1: and the adventurers could see distinctly for a hundred yards
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  Speaker 1: or more ahead of them. Each minute seemed to add
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  Speaker 1: to the swiftness and size of the stream, and by
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  Speaker 1: the use of his paddle, Wabi found that it was
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: constantly deepening until he could no longer touch bottom. Rod's
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: eyes were ceaselessly on the alert for familiar signs along
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: the shore. He was sure that he knew when they
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: passed the spot where he killed the silver fox, and
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: he called Wabi's attention to it. Then the rocks sped
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: past with increasing swiftness, and as the moon rose higher,
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: the three could see where the overflowing torrent sent out
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: little streams that twisted and dashed themselves into leaping foam
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: in the wildness of the chasm beyond the main channel.
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: These increased in number and size as the journey continued,
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  Speaker 1: until Mukoki began to feel the influence of their currents
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: and called on Wabi and Rod for assistance. Suddenly, Rod
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: gave a muffled shout as they shot past a mass
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: of huge boulders on their right. That's where I camped
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: the night I dreamed of the skeletons, he cried. I
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: don't know what the stream is like from here on.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: Be careful. Wabi gave a terrific lunge with his paddle,
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  Speaker 1: and the cone of a black rock hissed past half
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: a canoe length away. It's as black as a dungeon ahead,
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: and I can hear rocks, he shouted, Bring her in
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: if you can, Muki, bring her in. There came the sudden, sharp,
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: crack of snapping wood, and a low exclamation of alarm
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: fell from Mukoki. His paddle had broken at the shaft.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: In a flash, Rod realized what had happened and passed
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: back his own, but that moment's loss of time proved
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: almost fatal. Freed of its guiding hand, the birch bark
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: swung broadside to the current, and at the same time,
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: Wabi's voice rose in a shrill cry of warning. It's
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: not rocks, it's a whirlpool, he yelled the other shore,
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: Swing her out, Swing her out. He dug his own
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: paddle deep down into the racing current, and from behind
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: Mukoki exerted his most powerful efforts, but it was too late.
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: One hundred feet ahead, the stream tore between two huge rocks,
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: as big as houses, and just beyond these Rod caught
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: a glimpse of frothing water churning itself milk white in
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: the moonlight. But it was only a glimpse with a
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: velocity that was startling. The canoe shot between the rocks,
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: and as a choking sea of spray leaped into their faces,
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: while Big Owan's voice came back again again in a
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: loud command for the others to hang to the gunwales
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: of their frail craft. For an instant in which his
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: thoughts seemed to have left him, a roaring din filled
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Rod's ears, A white, churning mist hid everything but his
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: own arms and clutching hands. And then the birch bark
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: darted with the sudden impetus of a freshly shot arrow,
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: around the jagged edge of the boulder, and he could
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: see again Here was the whirlpool. More than once Wabi
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: had told him of these treacherous traps made by the
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: mountain streams, and of the almost certain death that awaited
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: the unlucky canoe man drawn into their smothering embrace. There
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: was no angry raging of the flood here. At first.
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: It seemed to Rod that they were floating, almost without motion,
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: upon a black, lazy sea that made neither sound nor riffle.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: Scarce half a dozen canoe lengths away, he saw the
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: white center of the maelstrom, and there came to his ears,
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: above the dash of the stream between the two great rocks,
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: a faint hissing sound that curdled the blood in his veins,
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: the hissing of the treacherous undertow that would soon drag
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: them to their death. In the passing of a thought,
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: there flashed into the white youth's mind a story that
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: Mukoki had told him of an Indian who had been
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: lost in one of these whirlpools of the spring floods,
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: and whose body had been tossed and pitched about in
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: its center for more than a week. For the first time,
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: the power of speech came to him, Shall we jump,
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: He shouted, Hang to the canoe. Wabi fairly shrieked the words,
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: And yet as he spoke, he drew himself half erect,
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: as if about to leap into the flood. The momentum
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: gathered in its swift rush between the rocks, had carried
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: their frail craft almost to the outer edge of the
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: deadly trap. And as this momentum ceased and the canoe
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: yielded to the sucking forces of the maelstrom, the young
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: Indian shrieked out his warning again, hang to the canoe.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: The words were scarcely out of his mouth when he
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: stood erect and launched himself like an animal into the
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: black depths towards shore. With a terrified cry. Rod rose
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: to his knees. In another instant, He would have plunged
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: recklessly after Wabi, but Mukoki's voice, sounding behind him, snarling
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: in its fierceness, stopped him. Hang to canoe. There came
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: a jerk, The bow of the canoe swung inward, and
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: the stern whirled so quickly that Rod, half kneeling, nearly
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: lost his balance. In that instant, he turned his face
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: and saw the old warrior standing as Wabigawan had done
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: before him. And as Mukoki leaped, there came for a
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: third time that warn morning cry, hang to canoe, and
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: Rod hung. He knew that for some reason, those commands
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: were meant for him and him alone. He knew that
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: the desperate plunges of his comrades were not inspired by
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: cowardice or fear. But not until the birch bark ground
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: upon the shore and he tumbled out in safety did
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: he fully comprehend what had happened. Holding the rope with
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: which they tied their canoe, Wabigowan had taken a desperate chance.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: His quick mind had leaped like a flash of powder
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: to their last hope, and at the crucial moment, just
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: as the momentum of the birch bark gave way to
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: the whirling forces of the pool. He had jumped a
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: good seven feet toward shore and had found bottom. Another
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: twelve inches of water under him and all would have
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: been lost. Wabigouan stood panting and dripping wet, and in
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: the moonlight his face was as white as the tubblet
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: like spot of foam out in the center of the maelstrom.
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: That's what you call going to kingdom, come and getting
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: out again, he gasped, Muki, that was the closest shave
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: we've ever had. It. Has your avalanche beaten to a frazzle?
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: Mukoki was dragging the canoe upon the pebbly shore, and
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: still overcome by the suddenness of all that had happened,
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: Rod went to his assistance. The adventurers now discovered themselves
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: in a most interesting situation. The night had indeed been
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: one of curious and thrilling happenings for them, and here
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: was a pretty climax to it all. They had escaped
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: to the mad Hunter by running into the almost fatal
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: grip of the whirlpool, and now they had escaped the
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: perils of that seething death trap by plunging into a
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: tiny rock bound prison, which seemed destined to hold them
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: for all time, or at least until the floods of
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: spring subsided straight above them and shutting them in entirely
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: rose precipitous rock walls on the only open side was
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: the deadly Maelstrom. Even Mukoki, as he glanced about him,
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: was struck by the humor of their situation and chuckled softly.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: Wabi stood with his hands deep in his soaked pockets,
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: facing the moonlit walls. Then he turned to Rod and grinned.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: Then he faced the whirlpool, and after that his eyes
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: swept the space of sky above them. The situation was
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: funny at first, but when he looked at the white
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: youth again, the smile had died out of his face.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: Wouldn't that madman have fun if he found us now,
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: he whispered. Mukoki was traveling slowly around the rock walls.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: The space in which they were confined was not more
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: than fifty feet in diameter, and there was not even
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: a crack by means of which a squirrel might have
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: found exit. The prison was perfect. The old pathfinder came
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: back and sat down with a grunt. We might as
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: well have supper and a good sleep, suggested Rod, who
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: was hungry. Surely we need fear no attack from beast
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: or man tonight, at least there was this consolation, and
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: the gold hunters ate a hearty meal of cold bear
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: meat and prepared for slumber. The night was unusually warm,
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: and both Mukoki and Wabigowan hung out their wet clothes
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: to dry while they slept in their blankets. Rod did
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: not open his eyes again until Wabi awakened him in
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: the morning. Both Indians were dressed, and it was evident
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: that they had been up for some time. When Rod
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: went to the water to wash himself, he was surprised
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: to find all of their supplies repacked in the canoe,
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: as though their journey was about to be resumed. Immediately
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: after breakfast, and when he returned to where Mukoki and
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Wabigawan had placed their food on a flat stone in
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: the center of what he had regarded as their prison,
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: he observed that both of his companions were in an
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: unusually cheerful frame of mind. Looks as though you expected
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: to get out of here pretty soon, he said, nodding
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: toward the canoe. So we do, responded Wabi, We're going
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: to take a swim through the whirlpool, he laughed at
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: the incredulity in Rod's face. That is, we're going to
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: navigate along the edge of it, he amended. Muki and
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: I have tied together every bit of rope and strap
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: in our outfit, even to our gun slings, and we've
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: got a piece about eighty feet long. We'll show you
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: how to use it after breakfast. It took but a
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: few minutes to dispose of the rather unappetizing repast of
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: cold bear meat, biscuits, and water. Wabi then led the
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: way to the extreme edge of the great rock which
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: formed the eastern wall of their prison, waded in the
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: water to his knees, and directed Rod's gaze to a
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: point of land jutting out into the stream about sixty
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: feet beyond the rock. If we can reach that, explained Wabi,
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: we can portage around the rest of the whirlpool to
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: the main channel. The water is very deep along the
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: edge of this rock, but the undertow doesn't seem to
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: have any great force. I believe that we can make it.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: The experiment won't be a dangerous one at any rate.
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: The canoe was now dragged to the edge of the
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: rock and launched, Mukoki taking his place in the stern,
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: while Wabigowan placed Rod a little ahead of the midship rib.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: You must paddle on your left side every minute and
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: as fast as you can, advised the young Indian. I
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: am to remain behind, holding one end of this rope,
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: so that if you are drawn toward the maelstrom, I
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: can pull you back. Understand, yes, but you how oh,
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: I'll swim, said Wabi in rank bravado. I don't mind
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: a little whirlpool like that at all. Mukoki chuckled in
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: high humor, and Roderick asked no more questions, but at
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: Wabi's command, dug in his paddle and kept at it
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: until the birch bark safely made the point of land
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: beyond the rock. When he looked back, Wabi had tied
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: the rope around his body and was already waist deep
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: in the water. At a signal from Mukoki, the young
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: Indian plunged fearlessly into the edge of the whirlpool, and
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: like a great floundering fish, he was quickly pulled across
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: to safety. Most of his clothes had been brought over
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: in the canoe, and after Wabigawan had exchanged his wet
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: garments for these, the adventurers were ready to continue their
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: journey down the chasm. A short portage brought them to
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: the main channel of the stream, where they once more
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: launched their birch bark. If the whole trip is as
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: exciting as this, we'll never reach our gold, said Wabi,
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: as they slipped out into the swift current. A madman,
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: a whirlpool, and a prison all in one night is
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: almost more than we can stand. There is a good
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: deal of truth in the old saying that it never rains,
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: but it pours, replied Rod. Maybe we'll have smooth sailing
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: from now on, maybe, grunted the old pathfinder from behind.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Rod's optimism was vindicated for that day, at least until noon.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: The canoe sped swiftly down the chasm without mishap. The stream,
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: to which each mile added its contribution of flood water
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: from the mountaintops, increased constantly in width and depth, But
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: only now and then was there a rock to threaten
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: their progress, and no driftwood at all. When the gold
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: seekers landed for dinner, they were confident of two things
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: that they had passed far beyond the mad hunter's reach
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: and were very near to the first waterfall. Memory of
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: the thrilling experiences through which they had so recently run
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: the gauntlet was replaced by the most exciting anticipation of
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: the sound and sight of that first waterfall, which was
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: so vitally associated with their search for the lost treasure.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: This time, a hearty dinner was cooked, and it took
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: more than an hour to prepare and eat it. When
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: the journey was resumed, Mukoki placed himself in the bow,
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: his sharp eyes scanning the rocks and mountain walls ahead
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: of him. Two hours after the start, he gave an
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: exultant exclamation and raised a warning hand above his head.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: The three listened faintly above the rush of the swift current.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: There came to their ears the distant rumble of falling water.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: Forgetful now of the madman back in the chasm, oblivious
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: of everything but the fact that they had at last
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: reached the first of the three falls which were to
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: lead them to the gold. Wabi gave a whoop that
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: echoed and re echoed between the mountain walls, and Rod
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: joined him with all the power of his lungs. Mukoki grinned,
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: chuckled in his curious way, and a few moments later
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: signaled Wabi to guide the canoe ashore. We portage here,
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: he explained, current swift there maybe go over fall. A
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: short carry of two or three hundred yards brought them
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: to the cataract. It use, as Mukoki had said after
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: his long trip of exploration a few months before, a
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: very small fall, not more than a dozen feet in height.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: But over it there was now rushing, a thundering deluge
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: of water. An easy trail led to the stream below it,
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: and no time was lost in getting underway again. Although
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: they had traveled fully forty miles since morning, the day
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: had been an easy and most interesting one for the
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: three adventurers. On the swift current of the Chasm stream,
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: they had worked but little, and the ceaseless change of
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: scenery in this wonderful break between the mountain ridges held
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: an ever increasing fascination for them. Late in the afternoon,
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: the course changed from its northeasterly direction to due north,
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: and at this point there was an ideal spot for camping.
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: Over an extent of an acre or more, there was
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: a sweeping hollow of fine white sand, with great quantities
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: of dry wood cluttering the edge of the depression. That's
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: a curious spot, said Wabi, as they drew up their canoe.
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: Looks like a lake, grunted Mukoki. Long time ago a lake.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: The curve of the stream right here has swept up
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: so much sand that the water can't get into it,
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: added Rod, looking the place over, Wabi had gone a
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: few paces back. Suddenly he stopped, and with a half shout,
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: he gesticulated excitedly to his companions. Something in his manner
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: took Rod and Mukoki to him on the run. When
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: they came up, the Indian youth stood mutely pointing at
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: something in the sand. Clearly imprinted in that sand was
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: the shape of a human foot, a foot that had
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: worn neither boot nor moccasin when it left its trail
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: in the lake bed, but which was as naked as
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: the quivering hand which Wabigowan now held toward it. And
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: from that single footprint, the eyes of the astonished adventurers
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: traveled quickly to one hundred others, and it seemed to
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: them that a dozen naked savages must have been dancing
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: in these sands only a few hours before, and Rod,
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: glancing toward the driftwood, saw something else, something toward which
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: he pointed, speechless, white, with that same strange excitement that
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: had taken possession of wabigouan end of chapter twelve. Recording
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: by Roger Molin