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18 - Gold Hunters by James Oliver Curwood · Gold Hunters

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: John Ball's story. That same morning, two big canoes set
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: out across Lake Nipigon for Wabigowan and John Ball. Mukoki
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: returned with the canoes, but Rod remained at the post,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: and not a moment's rest did he have during the
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: whole of that day from the eager questions of those
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: whom he had so completely surprised by his unexpected return,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Few stories could have been more thrilling than his, Though
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: he told it in the simplest manner possible, Rod's appearance,
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: more than his words, was evidence of the trials he
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: and his companions had passed through. His face was emaciated
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: to startling thinness by desperate exertion and lack of sleep,
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: and both his face and his hands were covered with
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: scratches and bruises. Not until late in the afternoon did
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: he go to bed, and it was noon the following
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: day when he awoke from his head heavy slumber. The
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: canoes had returned and John Ball was in the doctor's care.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: At dinner, Rod and Wabi were made to go over
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: their adventures again, and even Mukoki, who had joined them
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: in this reunion, was not allowed to escape the endless
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: questioning of Minnetaki, the Factor's wife and Rod's mother. Rod
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: was seated at the table between Missus Drew and Minnetaki.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Several times during the conversation, he felt the young girl's
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: hand touch his arm. Once, when the Factor spoke about
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: their return to the gold in the cavern. This mysterious
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: signaling of Minnetaki's took the form of a pinch that
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: made him squirm. Not until after dinner and the two
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: were alone did he begin to comprehend. I am ashamed
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: of you, Roderick Drew, said the girl standing before him,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: in mock displeasure. You and Wabi were the stupidest things
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: I ever saw at dinner. Have you all forgotten your
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: promise to me? Your promise that I should go with
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: you on your next trip. I wanted to speak about
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: it right there at dinner, but I I couldn't, stammered
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: Rod awkwardly. But I'm going, said Minnetaki decisively. I'm going
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: with you boys on this next trip. If I have
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: to run away, it's not fair for Wabi and Mukoki
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: and you to leave me alone all of the time.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: And besides, I've been making all the arrangements while you
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: were gone. I've won over Mama and your mother and Mabala,
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Mama's Indian woman will go with me. There's just one
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: who says no, and Minnetaki clasped her hands pathetically. And
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: that's Papa, completed Rod, laughing. Yes, well, if he is
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: the only one against us, we stand a good chance
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: of winning. I'm going to have Mama and Wabigawan get
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: him by themselves to night, said the girl. Papa will
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: do anything on earth for her, and he thinks Wabi
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: is the best boy on earth. Mama says she will
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: lock the door and won't let him out until he
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: has given his promise. Oh, what a glorious time we'll have.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Perhaps he would go with us, suggested Rod. No, he
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: couldn't leave the post. If he went, Wabi would have
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: to stay. Rod was counting on his fingers. That means
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: six in our next expedition. Wabi, Mukoki, John Ball and
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: myself and you and Mabala. Why it'll be a regular
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: picnic party. Minnetaki's eyes were brimming with fun. Do you
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: know she said that Mibala thinks Mukoki is just about
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: the nicest Indian that ever lived. Oh, I'd be so
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: glad if if she puckered her mouth into a round
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: red o and left Rod to guess the rest. It
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: was not difficult for him to understand, So would I,
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: he cried. Then he added, Muki is the best fellow
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: on earth, and Mibala is just as good, said the
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: girl loyally. The boy held out his hand. Let's shake
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: on that, Minnetaki. I'll handle Mukoki, you take care of Mibala.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: What a picnic this next trip will be. And there'll
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: be lots and lots of adventurers, won't there, asked the girl,
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: a little anxiously, plenty of them. Rod became immediately serious.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: This will be the most important of all our trips, Minnetaki.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: That is, if John Ball lives. I haven't told the others,
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: but I believe that Great Cavern holds something for us
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: besides gold. The smile left the girl's face. Her eyes
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: were soft and eager. You believe that, Dolores. I don't
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: know what to believe, but we'll find something. There. For
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: an hour, Rod and Minnetaki talked of John Ball and
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: of the strange things he said in his delirium. Then
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: the girl rejoined Missus Drew and the Princess's mother, while
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: Rod went in search of Mukoki and Wabigouan. That night,
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: the big event happened. George Newsom, the Factor, gave a
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: reluctant consent, which meant that Wabi's sister and Mabala would
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: acc company the adventurers on their next journey into the
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: untraveled solitudes of Hudson Bay. For a week, John Ball
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: hovered between life and death. After that, his improvement was
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: slow but sure, and each day added strength to his
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: emaciated body and a new light to his eyes. At
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: the end of the second week, there was no question
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: but that he was slowly returning to sanity. Gradually he
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: came to know those who sat beside his bed, and
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: whenever Rod visited him, he insisted on holding the youth's hand.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: At first, the sight of Minnetaki or her mother, or
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: of Missus Drew had a startling effect on him, and
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: in their presence he would moan ceaselessly the name Rod
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: first heard in the cavern. A little at a time,
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: the language of those about him came back to the
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: old man, and bit by bit, those who waited and
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: listened and watched learned the story of John Ball. Midsummer
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: came before he could gather the scattered threads of his
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: life in his memory. And even then there were breaks
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: in this story which seemed but trivial things to john Ball,
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: but which to the others meant the passing of forgotten years.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: In fact, years played but a small part in the
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: strange story that fell from the old man's lips. In time,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: said the post physician. He will remember everything now. Only
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: the most important happenings in his life have returned to him.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: John Ball could not remember the date when, as a
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: young boy, he left York Factory on Hudson Bay to
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: come a thousand miles down to civilization in company with
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: the two frenchmen who killed themselves in the old cabin.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: But the slip of paper which Rod had discovered filled
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: that gap. App he was the son of the factor
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: at York Factory and was to spend a year at
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: school in Montreal. On their trip down, it was the
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: boy who found gold in the chasm. John Ball could
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: remember none of the details. He only knew that they
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: remained to gather the treasure, and that he, as its
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: discoverer and the son of one of the lords of
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: the Hudson Bay company was to receive twice the share
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: of the others, and that in the autumn they were
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: to return to York Factory instead of going on to Montreal.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: He remembered indistinctly a quarrel over the gold, and after
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: that of writing some sort of agreement, And then early
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: one morning he awoke to find the two frenchmen standing
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: over him. And after that, for a long time everything
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: seemed to pass as in a dream. When he awoke
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: into life, he was no longer in the chasm, but
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: among a strange people who were so small that they
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: reached barely to his shoulders, and who dressed in fur
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: and carried spears. And though the sick man said no
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: more about these people, those who listened to him knew
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: that he had wandered far north among the Eskimos. They
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: treated him kindly, and he lived among them for a
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: long time, hunting and fishing with them, and sleeping in
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: houses built of ice and snow. The next that John
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: Ball remembered was of white people. In some way. He
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: returned to York Factory, and he knew that when this
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: happened many years had passed, for his father and mother
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: were dead, and there were strangers at the post. At
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: this time, john Ball must have returned fully to his
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: reason again. He remembered faintly leading several unsuccessful expeditions in
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: search of the gold which he and the Frenchman had discovered,
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: and that once he went to a great city which
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: must have been Montreal, and that he stayed there a
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: long time doing something for the Hudson Bay Company, and
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  Speaker 1: met a girl whom he married. When he spoke of
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: the girl, john Ball's eyes would glow feverishly, and her
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  Speaker 1: name would fall from him in a moaning sob, For
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: as yet returning Reason had not placed the hand of
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: age upon him. It was as if he was awakening
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: from a deep sleep, and Dolores, his young wife, had
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: been with him but a few hours before there came
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: another break in john Ball's life. After this, he could
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: not remember how long they lived in Montreal, but he
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: knew that after a time he returned with his wife
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  Speaker 1: into the far North, and that they were very happy,
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: and one summer set off in a canoe to search
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: for the lost Chasm. Together they found it, how or when,
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: he could not remember. After this, John Ball's story was
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: filled with wild visions of a great black world, where
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: there was neither sun nor moon nor stars. And they
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: found gold and dug it by the light of fires.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: And one day the woman went a little way back
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: in this world and never came back. It was then
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: that the old madness returned. In his search for his
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: lost wife, John Ball never found the end of the
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: great cavern. He saw strange people. He fought great beasts
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: in this black world that were larger than the biggest
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: moose in the forests. And he told of rushing torrents
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: and thundering cataracts in the bowels of the earth. Even
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: in his returning sanity, the old man told these things
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  Speaker 1: as true. George Newsome, the Factor, lost no time in
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: writing to the company at Montreal inquiring about John Ball,
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: and a month later he received word that a man
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: by that name had worked as an inspector of raw
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: furs during the years eighteen seventy seven and eighteen seventy eight.
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  Speaker 1: He had left Montreal for the North thirty years before.
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: In all probability, he soon after went in search of
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: the lost gold, and for more than a quarter of
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: a century had lived as a wild man in the Solitudes.
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: It was at this time in the convalescence of the
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: doctor's patient that Roderick's mother made a suggestion which took
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: the post by storm. It was that the Factor and
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: his family accompany her and Rod back to civilization for
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: a few weeks visit, to the astonishment of all, and
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: especially to Minnetaki and the princess mother. The Factor fell
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: in heartily with m the scheme, with the stipulation that
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: the drus returned with them. Early in the autumn. An
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: agent from the head office of the company had come
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: up for a month's fishing, and he cheerfully expressed his
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: willingness to take charge of affairs at the post during
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: their absence. The happiness of Rod and Wabie was complete
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: when Mukoki was compelled to give his promise to go
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: with them. For several days, the old warrior withstood their
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: combined assaults, but at last he surrendered when Minnetaki put
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: her arms around his neck and nestled her soft cheek
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: against his leathery face, with the avowal that she would
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: not move a step unless he went with her. So
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: it happened one beautiful summer morning that three big canoes
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: put out into the lake from Wabinash House and headed
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: into the south, and only Mukoki, of all the seven
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: who were going down into somevization, felt something that was
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: not joy as the forests slipped behind them. For Mukoki
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: was to get a glimpse of a new world, a
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: world far from the land of his father's, and the
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: loyal heart inside his caribou skin coat quickened its pulse
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: a little as he thought of the wonderful journey. Thus
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: began the journey to civilization. The end end of Chapter
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: eighteen recording by Roger Moline. End of The Gold Hunters
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: by James Oliver Kerwood