Stonechild Volunteers: In mid-March 1939 Russell Stonechild a temporary attendee at the Fort QuAppelle Indian Industrial School is presented with a recruitment ad for a private Scots Battalion. He leaves for the recruitment office in Halifax, and, with no papers is assigned a birthplace and age of 20. During a slow trans-Atlantic crossing on a coal hauling transport he gains both friends and enemies. His next months are spent in frantic training as his regiment gears for war. He forms a special bond with the battalion chaplain, Fletcher McAlpin, son of the battalion's sponsor, the Earl of Gall. Russell's unique background in a trapping, fur-trading family fit him for special training as regimental scout. A Ghurka master sergeant hones his skills.