he
swung the whip over the horses' heads with a crack that saved me from
his ire.

"We came to a bad grade then, and Old Hal had to keep a wary eye on the
trail, for the horses were not as sure-footed as the dogs and deer.

"It must have been four o'clock before we halted. The air was growing
colder as we advanced, and I was glad enough to open my pack for a chunk
of bread and a slice of bacon.

"'Hist, kid, stow that away!' whispered Hal, as he began to unhitch the
horses for the night.

"In a short time the two men from the sledge came up.

"'Hello, youngster! You did come, after all, didn't you?' said the older
man.

"As the supper was being cooked by an Indian guide, I was welcomed in
the circle sitting about a blazing fire and asked about myself. To each
question I replied truthfully, and wondered at the smiles and surprise
shown at my answers.

"One of the two men who owned the expedition turned to the old guide
after a time and said: 'Hal, what shall we do with the kid? Send him
back home?'

"'If 'twere me, I'd give him his fill. He'll be safe enough wid us, an'
we kin git heaps of work outen him; but he'll never 'mount to nothin' ef
yeh send him home, 'cause he'll allus think of the gold he might have
got,' said Hal astutely.

"'Guess you've hit the nail on the head, Hal,' laughed the younger man,
as he looked at me.

"So I became a member of the Yukon Gold Expedition, under the management
of John Herrick and Julius Dwight, engineers.

"We traveled over hundreds of miles of snow, for we were trying to reach
a certain trail that Old Hal knew, before the thaw set in.

"We did not quite get there, however, before the general thaw struck us.
Then the canoes were needed. I had wondered why we delayed our traveling
to cart those canoes with us, for there were no streams or lakes to
cross, but the moment the thaw set in it seemed that every piece of ice
and snow in the North was turning to water. Instead of trails, we had to
travel by green-blue rivers, or over deep, dark seas.

"Well, after losing one canoe and two of the Indians, Old Hal hit his
trail and led us up toward the mountains.

"All of that short summer was passed in the usual work of prospecting:
digging, panning, washing, or testing for gold. Permanent camp had been
built by the men, and a number of Indian servants took precaution that
every emergency should be provided for in case of a hard, long winter.
Every kind of edible bird or be