ed French-Canadian husky. He asked for you first, then took me to
the side and jabbed me straight to the heart. It was our cornerin' eggs
that got him started. He knowed about them three thousan' at Forty Mile
an' just went an' got 'em. 'Show 'em to me,' I says. An' he did. There
was his dog-teams, an' a couple of Indian drivers, restin' down the
bank where they'd just pulled in from Forty Mile. An' on the sleds was
soap-boxes--teeny wooden soap-boxes.

"We took one out behind a ice-jam in the middle of the river an' busted
it open. Eggs!--full of 'em, all packed in sawdust. Smoke, you an' me
lose. We've been gamblin'. D'ye know what he had the gall to say to
me?--that they was all ourn at ten dollars a egg. D'ye know what he was
doin' when I left his cabin?--drawin' a sign of eggs for sale. Said he'd
give us first choice, at ten a throw, till 2 P. M., an' after that, if
we didn't come across, he'd bust the market higher'n a kite. Said he
wasn't no business man, but that he knowed a good thing when he seen
it--meanin' you an' me, as I took it."

"It's all right," Smoke said cheerfully. "Keep your shirt on an' let me
think a moment. Quick action and team play is all that's needed. I'll
get Wild Water here at two o'clock to take delivery of eggs. You buy
that Gautereaux's eggs. Try and make a bargain. Even if you pay ten
dollars apiece for them, Wild Water will take them off our hands at the
same price. If you can get them cheaper, why, we make a profit as well.
Now go to it. Have them here by not later than two o'clock. Borrow
Colonel Bowie's dogs and take our team. Have them here by two sharp."

"Say, Smoke," Shorty called, as his partner started down the hill.
"Better take an umbrella. I wouldn't be none surprised to see the
weather rainin' eggs before you get back."

Smoke found Wild Water at the M. & M., and a stormy half-hour ensued.

"I warn you we've picked up some more eggs," Smoke said, after Wild
Water had agreed to bring his dust to the cabin at two o'clock and pay
on delivery.

"You're luckier at finding eggs than me," Wild Water admitted. "Now, how
many eggs have you got now?--an' how much dust do I tote up the hill?"

Smoke consulted his notebook. "As it stands now, according to Shorty's
figures, we've three thousand nine hundred and sixty-two eggs. Multiply
by ten--"

"Forty thousand dollars!" Wild Water bellowed. "You said there was only
something like nine hundred eggs. It's a stickup! I won't st