Project Gutenberg's The March Of The White Guard, by Gilbert Parker

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Title: The March Of The White Guard

Author: Gilbert Parker

Last Updated: March 13, 2009
Release Date: October 18, 2006 [EBook #6223]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MARCH OF THE WHITE GUARD ***

Produced by David Widger

THE MARCH OF THE WHITE GUARD

By Gilbert Parker

I

"Ask Mr. Hume to come here for a moment, Gosse," said Field, the chief
factor, as he turned from the frosty window of his office at Fort
Providence, one of the Hudson's Bay Company's posts. The servant,
or more properly, Orderly-Sergeant Gosse, late of the Scots Guards,
departed on his errand, glancing curiously at his master's face as he
did so. The chief factor, as he turned round, unclasped his hands from
behind him, took a few steps forward, then standing still in the centre
of the room, read carefully through a letter which he had held in the
fingers of his right hand for the last ten minutes as he scanned the
wastes of snow stretching away beyond Great Slave Lake to the arctic
circle. He meditated a moment, went back to the window, looked out
again, shook his head negatively, and with a sigh, walked over to the
huge fireplace. He stood thoughtfully considering the floor until the
door opened and sub-factor Jaspar Hume entered.

The factor looked up and said: "Hume, I've something here that's been
worrying me a bit. This letter came in the monthly batch this morning.
It is from a woman. The company sends another commending the cause of
the woman and urging us to do all that is possible to meet her wishes.
It seems that her husband is a civil engineer of considerable fame. He
had a commission to explore the Coppermine region and a portion of the
Barren Grounds. He was to be gone six months. He has been gone a
year. He left Fort Good Hope, skirted Great Bear Lake, and reached the
Coppermine River. Then he sent back all of the Indians who accompanied
him but two, they bearing the message that he would make the Great Fish
River and come down by Great Slave Lake to Fort Providence. That was
nine months ago. He has not come here, nor to a