61

“Did you hear about the cabin on Rabbitkettle?” asked Jack as he appraised and counted the pelts. “Newton and Diamond were through here at the end of September. Faille went up in the summer and found it blown apart.”

Dalziel nodded. “I dropped in on Nazar a while ago, and he told me what Faille found, so I went to Rabbitkettle Lake. It’s true.”

“What the hell happened up there, do you think?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

Flying down the Liard, Dalziel noted that the river trail was getting steady use: three dog teams mushing to Simpson, two heading the other way, and a half-dozen lone packers. The routines of winter were well under way.

He put down in Simpson and began attaching the plane’s bonnet. Newton soon came clambering down the bluff toward him.

“Hello, Regis. Is there going to be good news for me at the wireless?”

“Transport radioed weeks ago and told us to release your plane.”

“I’ll be home for Christmas, then.”

“You were gone a long time. I was worried.”

“We did a proper search. I dropped in on Nazar, too, and he told me what you learned from Albert. So I went to Rabbitkettle Lake. What Albert told you is true. The cabin there is gone, blown up maybe.”

“Where’s Harry? I’ll want to talk to him too.”

“He decided to stay up there and trap.”

“He’s trapping your line below the Rabbitkettle hotsprings?”

Dalziel nodded.

“Dammit, Dal. He must’ve arranged all that before you flew him up there. You must’ve picked up supplies for him. Truesdell’s going to see that he’s been tricked and that you just spent two months training a new guy on the line. What are you going to tell him?”

“We were doing a thorough search. And since Harry was good enough to assist on the search, why not save him a long, hard canoe trip upriver to go trapping?”

“And how’s he going to come out, since you won’t be able to pick him up?”

“Either overland to Faille’s, or on a raft. He wants me to send in an assistant on MAS. If that happens, he’ll raft out. He knows the river.”

Newton said nothing, just turned sharply and walked away. Dalziel, smiling, returned to fixing the Robin’s bonnet.

He was betting that Truesdell would decline to come down to his tent and confront him, and he was correct. The next morning, after a good night’s sleep, he was on his way to Yellowknife to find a passenger or a pile of freight bound for Edmonton.