America 1883: The Western Homeland

Chapter 92: Clues Discovered, Tracks Emerge

In the vast, white snowfield, I'm looking for someone who's been missing for days, especially a young person.

In theory, this is an impossible task.

Tom sat by the crackling fire, his gaze sweeping over the Crow tents.

The tents are made of bison hide, but their craftsmanship is unique.

Tom couldn't figure out the trick, but its amazing warmth made him give it a mental thumbs up.

"Where are we going?" Tom asked, looking at the "snow wolf" opposite him.

They trekked through the wind and snow for a while before stopping to set up camp.

Four tents were arranged in a circle, with the one containing the horses positioned in the center.

For Native Americans, horses were not only partners, but also comrades-in-arms.

However, Snow Wolf's gaze was fixed on the two wolves beside Tom, Hurricane and Wilderness.

As for "loach"? Tom wouldn't dare bring it out in this awful weather.

"The place where he last disappeared." "Snow Wolf" didn't even look up, his gaze still fixed on the two wolves.

"Rumor has it that wolves cannot be domesticated by humans and will eventually escape back to the deep mountains."

This wasn't the first time Tom had heard this.

"Is he that important to your tribe? Is he worth sacrificing a valley and a gold mine?" Tom pressed.

"Snow Wolf" fell silent, and the only sound in the tent was the crackling of burning firewood.

Just when Tom thought he wouldn't answer, a deep voice rang out: "He is the shaman's apprentice."

Tom understood.

A shaman's apprentice, no wonder.

"Rest now." "Snow Wolf" said no more and pulled a black rectangular bag out of the package.

The material feels exceptionally soft to the touch.

He deftly moved the fire away and spread the bag on the still-warm ground.

"Get inside."

"What is this?" Tom asked curiously.

"sleeping bag."

Tom did as he was told and crawled inside.

A strong herbal scent instantly enveloped him, and upon closer inspection, there seemed to be a faint, almost imperceptible, fishy smell mixed in.

"What is this made of?" he couldn't help but ask again.

The sleeping bag is filled with soft wool between two layers of fabric, and feels somewhat like a down comforter.

At this moment, "Snow Wolf" brought in another round ball from outside, along with two thick bison hides.

The ball was placed in Tom's arms, and as soon as it touched him, a faint but continuous warmth emanated from its center, soothing his cold body.

"What is this now?" Tom's question was ignored again.

Silently, "Snow Wolf" carefully covered "Hurricane" and "Wilderness" with the two cowhides, then picked up the dim kerosene lamp and turned to leave.

The tent was suddenly plunged into deep darkness.

"hiss……"

As time passed, the temperature of the round ball in her arms gradually increased.

That warm feeling was like an invisible embrace, dispelling the biting chill.

Tom's tense nerves gradually relaxed, and he finally drifted off to sleep.

As dawn broke, the team embarked on their journey once more.

Fortunately, there were no raging winds or blizzards.

Tom watched the actions of these Crow people and couldn't help but admire them inwardly.

The vast snowfield was a blinding white. With only a long wooden pole in their hands, they could accurately determine where they could go and where there were deadly traps by poking and probing the snow ahead.

Sometimes, Tom would look at a flat, snowy field and think there was no way to pass, but they would deliberately take a big detour.

Sometimes, when faced with seemingly treacherous and steep snow slopes, they can cross them without hesitation and remain unharmed.

This is the wisdom of the indigenous people who were born and raised here, a survival instinct forged through generations of struggle against the harsh cold.

But why did that young man disappear?

"Will this really work?" The convoy finally stopped again.

Tom placed "Hurricane" and "Wilderness" on the snow, took the clothes belonging to the missing young man from "Snow Wolf," and brought them close to the noses of the two wolves.

"What else can we do? We can only trust them now!" Tom's gaze had already swept around, but he found nothing.

"They are indeed skilled at finding prey," the "Snow Wolf" suddenly spoke, its tone calm yet tinged with inquiry.

This abrupt and unexpected compliment made Tom's heart skip a beat.

"You always spot your prey so quickly, is it because of them?" "Snow Wolf's" gaze sharpened as it stared intently at Tom. "They're really smart."

Every word was like a heavy hammer blow, striking Tom's heart hard.

He suppressed his surging emotions and calmly asked, "You've been following me?"

"No." The Snow Wolf slowly shook its head. "It's just that you find your prey incredibly fast. Sometimes I spot the tracks first, but you always manage to find them before I do."

He paused, then added, "And your marksmanship is astonishingly accurate."

As "Snow Wolf's" words rained down, Tom's heart began to pound uncontrollably.

He glanced instinctively at the two bewildered wolves at his feet, never expecting that they would inadvertently become the best "shield" for his secret.

Just when everyone thought the two wolves were just wandering around and playing aimlessly in the snow, "Hurricane" suddenly changed its behavior!

Instead of sniffing around, it frantically dug through a patch of snow with its front paws and buried its head in the ground!

"Found something!" Tom's eyes narrowed, and he immediately squatted down and helped "Hurricane" dig through the thick snow with his bare hands.

After digging about half an arm's length deep, "Hurricane" suddenly stopped and let out a short, powerful howl straight ahead!

Tom immediately started digging in the direction it indicated.

As he cleared a narrow path through the snow, "Hurricane" sniffed it deeply, then roared excitedly and charged forward with a clear goal in mind!

Everyone understood: they had found the direction the young man had gone!

Tom naturally didn't need to do the digging and clearing of the path himself.

Two strong tribal warriors immediately stepped forward, wielding tools, and, guided by "Hurricane," worked hard to clear a path forward.

The team sped up suddenly, following the newly discovered clue.

Occasionally, when clues are lost and directions are confused, everyone can only suppress their anxiety and, with the help of "Hurricane" and "Wilderness," reorient themselves and continue their search in this all-consuming white wasteland.

However, a terrifying gale still swept in without warning!

"Quick! Get down!" Snow Wolf shouted sharply, practically dragging his horse towards the leeward side of the nearest hillside.

He skillfully restrained the restless horse, making it lie low and close to the snow slope.

Tom and the others followed closely behind, moving with lightning speed.

"Snow Wolf" quickly unloaded the heavy tripod from the horse's back, forcefully plunging it deep into the snow slope as an anchor point. Then, it tore open the thick tent from its pack, draped it over the tripod with a whoosh, and used its body to firmly press down on the canvas edges of the tent.

"Get in!" he yelled, stuffing the sleeping bag and the mysterious metal sphere into the cramped space under the tripod.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tom quickly crawled into his sleeping bag.

Just then, "Snow Wolf" did something that made Tom's pupils shrink. He suddenly unscrewed the spherical top cover, quickly threw in a small, dark thing, and then tightened the cover with all his might!

The next second, he shoved the sphere radiating an eerie heat source into Tom's arms!