B.J. Bayle's Historical Fiction 4-Book Bundle by B.J. Bayle

Author:B.J. Bayle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Published: 2016-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Eight

When he reached the two boys Colonel French pulled his horse to a stop and stared down at them. “Yes, well, ah, well done, lads.” He paused, then went on. “I’ve a question. Are the horses you are searching for,” he gestured toward Sam and Chris, “of the same breed as these?”

“Yes, Sir,” Luke replied. “Our pack horse might be, too. It came from Fort Ellice, and our dad’s been selling them one or two every year.”

“This year was our big year,” Rob said, trying not to look as bad as he felt when he thought about the herd they lost. “But the wolfers took most of them.”

The officer dismounted and ran his hands along the withers and each of Chris’s legs. He said nothing, other than “Hmmm,” before he swung back on his horse and loped over to where Colonel Macleod and Denny were organizing the wagons and carts into a line for the journey onward. Rob and Luke followed him with their eyes for a few moments, and then turned to each other, both faces wearing a perplexed look. The trooper who had followed the colonel was still seated on his horse nearby, chuckling.

“He’s a hard one to understand, is our Commissioner French.” He swung off his horse and offered his hand to Luke then Rob. “Name’s Fred Bagley,” he said. “What’s yours?”

Rob eyed the trooper swiftly while he and Luke introduced themselves. He noticed a shiny instrument tied to the pommel of the trooper’s saddle. Jings! He must be the company bugler. But he doesn’t look a bit older’n me — maybe not as old. Realizing he might have been staring, Rob hastened to say, “You must be the bugler. We both like hearing it.”

Luke had no worries about tact. “How old are you?”

Bagley’s eyes twinkled. “No sense pretending I’m older’n I am when it’s plain I don’t shave yet, is it? I’m fifteen.”

“Didn’t you have trouble joining up?” Rob asked. “I heard you’re supposed to be at least eighteen.”

“That’s right, but I wanted to join up something fierce. My pa has some friends that were doing the recruiting and they figured out a way.”

Rob and Luke waited for Bagley to explain more, but instead he said, “I heard about why you’re here. You’re looking for your horses, right?” Rob nodded. “Well, the pair you’re riding are something special. I never saw a team that could pull a load uphill like that.”

“Our dad’s been breeding horses a long while,” he said. “He doesn’t sell them until they’re good at pulling and riding both.” Rob felt more comfortable with the young trooper all the time. It was the first time he had met someone his own age other than the friendly young Natives who lived near their cabin, but it was hard to talk with them. Some spoke a few words of English, but Rob and Luke spoke hardly any Assiniboine.

“Inspector Denny said the stallion is supposed to be grey with a silver mane and tail.”

Luke broke in. “He’s not just supposed to be.

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