into the oven to thaw out for the dogs, and
from the water-hole filled his coffee-pot and cooking-pail.

While waiting for the water to boil, he held his face over the stove. The
moisture from his breath had collected on his beard and frozen into a
great mass of ice, and this he proceeded to thaw out. As it melted and
dropped upon the stove it sizzled and rose about him in steam. He helped
the process with his fingers, working loose small ice-chunks that fell
rattling to the floor.

A wild outcry from the dogs without did not take him from his task. He
heard the wolfish snarling and yelping of strange dogs and the sound of
voices. A knock came on the door.

"Come in," Messner called, in a voice muffled because at the moment he
was sucking loose a fragment of ice from its anchorage on his upper lip.

The door opened, and, gazing out of his cloud of steam, he saw a man and
a woman pausing on the threshold.

"Come in," he said peremptorily, "and shut the door!"

Peering through the steam, he could make out but little of their personal
appearance. The nose and cheek strap worn by the woman and the trail-
wrappings about her head allowed only a pair of black eyes to be seen.
The man was dark-eyed and smooth-shaven all except his mustache, which
was so iced up as to hide his mouth.

"We just wanted to know if there is any other cabin around here," he
said, at the same time glancing over the unfurnished state of the room.
"We thought this cabin was empty."

"It isn't my cabin," Messner answered. "I just found it a few minutes
ago. Come right in and camp. Plenty of room, and you won't need your
stove. There's room for all."

At the sound of his voice the woman peered at him with quick curiousness.

"Get your things off," her companion said to her. "I'll unhitch and get
the water so we can start cooking."

Messner took the thawed salmon outside and fed his dogs. He had to guard
them against the second team of dogs, and when he had reentered the cabin
the other man had unpacked the sled and fetched water. Messner's pot was
boiling. He threw in the coffee, settled it with half a cup of cold
water, and took the pot from the stove. He thawed some sour-dough
biscuits in the oven, at the same time heating a pot of beans he had
boiled the night before and that had ridden frozen on the sled all
morning.

Removing his utensils from the stove, so as to give the newcomers a
chance to cook, he proceeded to take