The Intrepid Canadian Expedition by Jeff Brown

Author:Jeff Brown [Brown, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Age 7 and up
ISBN: 9780061962844
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2009-12-29T08:00:00+00:00

5

Mountie Martin

The next morning Stanley and Nick said good-bye to their hosts and found the dogsled team in the village. There was only one seat, so Stanley gamely volunteered to ride flat, under everyone’s feet. The ride was bumpy, but every time he was tempted to complain, Stanley recalled the magical sky he and Nick had seen.

At last they arrived at the city of Calgary. The dogsled driver dropped them off at the address Tulugaq had provided. Stanley and Nick knocked.

When the door opened, Nick cried out, “This must be the wrong address! We’re looking for Tulugaq’s cousin.”

“Cousin Tulugaq sent you? Well, come on in, little pardners! This is the spot, all right!”

“But how come you’re not…How come you look like a cowboy?” Nick demanded—a little rudely, it must be said.

“And native people can’t be cowboys, is that it? Well, guess again, little pardner. This is Calgary, the Wild West of Canada. I’m Nauja and I’m Inuit…and I’m also a cowboy! Now come on in from the cold and meet my family!”

“I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that a cousin of Tulugaq would be a cowboy,” Stanley said thoughtfully after being introduced to Nauja’s wife and children. “A girl I met at Mount Rushmore—Calamity Jasper—taught me that anyone can be a cowboy. She was part Lakota Sioux.”

A smile came to Stanley’s face remembering her. “She taught me some other things, too,” he said. “Do you have a rope I could borrow?” Nauja brought a length of rope, and then Stanley entertained everyone with lariat tricks the cowgirl had shown him.

Nick sat in a corner, scowling. “Nobody likes a show-off, you know!” he muttered.

Just then a knock came at the door. There on the steps stood a man wearing a bright red coat, a big tan hat, and tall brown boots. He towered over everyone, so straight and powerful-looking, Stanley wondered for a minute if he was real.

Nauja gave the man a big bear hug. “Mountie Martin! What are you doing here, so far from Quebec?”

“Working. My partner and I chased a dangerous desperado out here. I figure…I’m so close to mon cher cousin I might as well stop by for a quick visit…non?”

“You’re Nauja’s cousin, too? And Tulugaq’s?” asked Nick.

“Oui. The French-Canadian side of the family, by marriage. Mountie Martin, at your service,” he saluted to the boys. “And who might you be?”

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