194 LEAVING THE LONE LAND 



one has plenty of opportunity to think, and 

 where one's thoughts are prone to probe one's 

 conscience, justify the continuance of a personal 

 ambition while I knew my country had need 

 for my service, and kinsfolk expected my home- 

 coming to rally to the Flag. 



Therefore, abandoning further-north travel as 

 I have said, I returned reluctantly to my base- 

 cabin north of Fort Du Brochet and stayed in 

 that neighbourhood until Christmas in the forlorn 

 hope that the yearly Christmas packet, due from 

 the south at that date, might contain some more 

 favourable news of the War ; hoping even that 

 the astonishing storm of arms which had so 

 quickly risen, had as quickly subsided — perhaps 

 even ceased. 



Vain, unnoticed hope ! — doomed to be utterly 

 wrecked as wave upon wave grew upon the 

 rising tide of warfare, and engulfed every other 

 thought or desire ; its vast upheaval searching 

 even to the far-distant doorstep of my log-cabin 

 to find therein a victim. 



Christmas came, but with it no packet ; strange, 

 unheard of delinquency that bore gravity to the 

 hearts of the trader and the mission priest at 

 the Fort. " There must be something seriously 

 wrong," they thought, and, most dreadful thought 

 of all, " Could war possibly be going ill with our 

 country ? " 



We gathered in grave consultation hour after 

 hour, and our one topic was war ; trapping, fur- 

 trading, religion, had ruthlessly gone by the 

 board. Hours were spent in conjecture ; ideas 

 constructed from our slim store of early war 



