It almost felt as if school had started all over again, but in a good way this time. Robin, Wayne, and Timothy found something new to do or talk about each and every day. Even old Mr. Debark seemed easier to get along with.
The first day of school after Robin and Timothy had their encounter at the Hudson's Bay store, Robin invited Timothy to play catch with Wayne and Billy. He was quiet at first, but it didn't take long for the boys to start playing freely and the past was soon forgotten. The boys were amazed at how much fun Timothy really was, and he in turn couldn't believe he had been so rotten to them in the first place.
Timothy told the boys stories about life in Winnipeg — the buildings, restaurants, movies to see and the hockey games to play and watch. For their part Robin and Wayne tried to teach Timothy what life in a northern town was all about. Even though it had been months since Timothy had moved there, he really didn't know anything about the place and hadn't done anything other than go to school and work at the store. The weird thing was it seemed as if Timothy actually began to have fun and was becoming interested in what there was to do around Fort McPherson.
Wayne's grandfather made Timothy a pair of snowshoes and helped the boys set rabbit snares on some of the small trails in the bush near town. Timothy convinced his father to let him practise target shooting with the boys, and he learned how to handle a .22 rifle. Wayne was a fantastic marksman and was patient as Timothy got the hang of things. Timothy was quite athletic, and the boys soon learned there was no way they could catch him on foot or on snowshoes. He was a natural, and the boys plotted how their new friend would win the snowshoe race in the New Year's Festival.
Henry Parch was happy that his son seemed to be finally fitting in. He agreed to give Timothy more time off in the afternoons when school was over so the boy could visit with his new buddies. Most of the time the kids headed to the RCMP compound and fed the dogs, or hung out at Robin's or Wayne's houses just talking and laughing about the events of the day. It was a situation none of the boys would have guessed possible a few weeks earlier.
"Wayne, what are you up to this weekend?" Robin asked one Friday evening in Wayne's bedroom.
"I don't think we're doing much of anything," Wayne said. "Why?"
"I was just wondering. Dad said I could take the dogs out on Sunday if the weather was okay."
Wayne grinned at Robin, then glanced at Timothy.
"Sounds like fun," Timothy said gloomily. "Whatever you guys are up to I can't come. Dad said I have to help move stock on Sunday at the store."
Robin looked at Wayne questioningly, and Wayne shrugged.
"Timothy, if Wayne and I helped you move stock on Saturday, do you think your dad would let you come with us to Shildii Rock by dog team on Sunday?"
"Yeah, sure! As long as the work gets done, I think my dad would let me do anything."
"Now here's the best part," Robin whispered as he closed Wayne's bedroom door. He explained in detail what he had seen at Shildii Rock, and Wayne showed Timothy the precious book of matches.
Timothy listened to everything, nodding thoughtfully from time to time. "Wow, it does seem like something's going on. What's so special about Shildii Rock, anyway?"
"There's a legend that's been passed down by the Gwich'in people for years," Wayne said. "There once was an old man who lived with his wife, three sons, and a daughter. The daughter, Ts'eh'in, was said to possess magical powers. In summer they fished and camped at Scraper Hill, what we call Deeddhoo Goonli. One day the old man spoke to his boys. He said, ‘My children, I am hungry for meat. I want food. Go to the mountains.' The sons left and the daughter remained behind with the old man and her mother. The boys travelled to the Richardson Mountains west of Fort McPherson. They were gone for a long time.
"The mother knew about her daughter's powers and spoke to her. ‘My daughter, soon your brothers will be returning. When they do, you must not look at them and you must not say anything.' At that time around Shildii Rock there was nothing but barren land. There were no willows on the hill. From where the girl stood, if she looked downriver, it would be easy to see her brothers returning. Her mother knew this.
"Soon she became very lonesome for her brothers and was anxious for them to come back. Though her mother warned her, she forgot what she was told. One day she saw her brothers walking towards her.
"‘Mother, my brothers are coming home!' she cried. All at once the three brothers were turned to stone — three rock pillars in a row. The dog that was with them also turned to stone. That's what Shildii Rock is." Wayne paused before continuing. "Their mother was cooking bannock when this happened, and they say that it, too, was turned to stone. Today, if you look carefully at Scraper Hill, you'll see the stones used to bake her bannock."
"That's pretty neat," Timothy said. "I wonder if any of the legends up here are true."
"My dad sure believes in them," Wayne said. "He says that every time someone disrespects the beliefs of the Gwich'in, something will happen that proves the legends are true."
"Legends aren't the only neat things about Fort McPherson and the North," Robin added. "A lot of interesting stuff's happened here over the years. Have you ever heard about the Mad Trapper of Rat River?"
Timothy nodded. "You bet I have! We learned about him in school."
"He had his camp up near Rat River. In the end he was shot on the Eagle River in the Yukon. If you remember, he was a pretty crafty guy. He wounded one RCMP member and killed another. Then he led a posse of police and trappers on a pretty good chase. In the end they tracked him down and didn't have any choice but to shoot him. They never did figure out who he was. My dad built a cairn on the spot where the Mountie was shot and killed."
"That's neat," Timothy said. "Hey, is old Lucy Rat named after the Rat River?"
"No, actually, the river's named after Lucy Rat's husband, Charlie Rat, because he had his camp at the mouth of the Rat River."
"She's a great old lady," Timothy said, and the other boys nodded.
Robin smiled and folded his arms across his chest. "Another thing people don't know about the North is that this is where hockey was invented."
Timothy smirked. "It was not!"
Wayne nodded. "It really was, Timothy. Deline's a community south of here in the Mackenzie Valley. Sir John Franklin, the famous explorer, was there years ago, and they found the remains of Old Fort Franklin that were left behind. Some of the papers they found that dated back to 1825 talked about them playing a game called hockey on skates. That makes it the first recorded history of hockey being played anywhere!"
"Wow, I didn't know half this stuff!" Timothy said, shaking his head.
"Forget about all that," Robin said. "What I really want to know right now is what's going on at Shildii Rock."
The boys sat in silence on Wayne's bed. Even though no words were spoken, they all knew Sunday couldn't come soon enough.