He was changed. He stood before
Alan an embodiment of fatalism, mumbling incoherent things in his
breath, a spirit of evil omen lurking in his sunken eyes, and his thin
hands gripping like bird-claws to his rifle. Alan threw off the
uncomfortable feeling that had gripped him for a moment, and set him to
an appointed task--the watching of the southward plain from the crest of
a tall ridge two miles back on the Tanana trail. He was to return when
the sun reached its horizon.
Alan was inspired now by a great caution, a growing premonition which
stirred him with uneasiness, and he began his own preparations as soon
as Sokwenna had started on his mission. The desire to leave at once,
without the delay of an hour, pulled strong in him, but he forced
himself to see the folly of such haste. He would be away many months,
possibly a year this time. There was much to do, a mass of detail to
attend to, a volume of instructions and advice to leave behind him. He
must at least see Stampede, and it was necessary to write down certain
laws for Tautuk and Amuk Toolik. As this work of preparation progressed,
and the premonition persisted in remaining with him, he fell into a
habit of repeating to himself the absurdity of fears and the
impossibility of danger. He tried to make himself feel uncomfortably
foolish at the thought of having ordered the herdsmen in.
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