Page:A Wild-Goose Chase - Balmer - 1915.djvu/290

276 truth. He was going to make sure of saving himself—then send back help to us afterward."

Hedon was looking down at the tracks in the snow. "What I don't see," he said, "is why he kept on going in this direction after he got that hurt. He must have known he couldn't go far; yet he went on with the dogs."

"He knew he'd killed the Eskimo. He couldn't go back," Geoff said.

"No, there's something else in this." Hedon said, unsatisfied. "See, the dogs went on beyond here after he died, or before. You'd expect them to stay near here or to have turned back toward the village. Come with me, Geoff."

They left the Eskimos to watch the body and followed on the trail of the unguided sledge. Soon they saw it ahead, overturned, the dogs tangled and snarled in the harness.

"Geoff!" Eric cried, as they came up and saw the snow where the sledge was overturned. "You see, Geoff? See! That's it!"

"What?"

"Look—those other sledge marks in the snow! See, two sledges, heavy and with strong