Outside door--she locked. On bot' sides de bateau, all de
time, we watch. You try get away, an' we keel you. Zat ees all. We
shoot. We five mans on ze bateau, all ze day, TOUTE LA NUIT. You
unnerstan'?"
He turned sullenly, waiting for no reply, and the door opened and
closed after him--and again came the snap of the lock outside.
Steadily the bateau swept down the big river that day. There was
no let-up in the steady creaking of the long sweep. Even in the
swifter currents David could hear the working of it, and he knew
he had seen the last of the more slowly moving raft. Near one of
the partly open windows he heard two men talking just before the
bateau shot into the Brule Point rapids. They were strange voices.
He learned that Audemard's huge raft was made up of thirty-five
cribs, seven abreast, and that nine times between the Point Brule
and the Yellowknife the raft would be split up, so that each crib
could be run through dangerous rapids by itself.
That would be a big job, David assured himself. It would be slow
work as well as hazardous, and as his own life was in no immediate
jeopardy, he would have ample time in which to formulate some plan
of action for himself.
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