Jarvis, as the man went out. "Next 'e'll
offer strawberries for dessert."

Imagine their utter astonishment when the man returned presently with a
wooden tray heavily laden with food, and on it, not only two heaping
wooden bowls of head lettuce, but two smaller bowls of luscious red
strawberries, and beside each of these, a little wooden pitcher of rich
cream.

"Sorry we have to offer our food in such plain dishes," smiled the host.
"We have experimented with pottery but have had no success as yet." He
bowed himself out of the room.

"Dave, old pal," said Jarvis, "don't move, don't speak to me. Don't wake
me up. I'm 'aving such a beautiful dream."

CHAPTER XV

TRAPPED

The day following his locating of the mother-lode, Pant worked feverishly.
Hardly four hours had passed when he found himself digging away the heart
of the snowbank that blocked the entrance to his cave and melting it that
he might wash the pans of rich gold that were now being thawed from the
cavity beneath the one-time river falls.

"Going to be a rich haul," he whispered to his dog, "richer than Mine No.
2, not so rich as No. 1, but rich enough all right. And if we can make our
getaway, Oh, boy!"

Only one thing troubled him as he worked. Not having been outside at the
time the blizzard was piling snow about the entrance to the cave, he could
not tell the exact depth of the snowbank; could not be sure that he was
not removing too much of the snow and leaving too thin a crust above.

This did not worry him greatly, however. The hard-packed snow would not
crumble in easily. So he cut away at it until there was a hollow space at
the mine's entrance twenty feet long and half as wide.

Meanwhile, he was panning the pay dirt and putting it away in carefully
sewed, split walrus-skin sacks. At times, he paused to rub his hands
together like Midas, as he stowed away another sack on the top of a small
sled which was hidden in a corner. On this sled were a sleeping-bag and a
little food. When their work was completed and the gold all loaded on, he
and the dog would harness themselves to this sled and steal out into the
night. If they were successful in evading the Bolsheviki, the natives, and
the little yellow men, they would hurry on to the south where there was a
reindeer station. There he would barter his watch and other valuables for
two sled deer. He would hate parting with the dog, but he could not take
him with the reindeer.

The mine