officers, apparently returning from a late party of some
sort, a wide berth, and dodging down a narrow street, made his way
toward the railway yards where he would find the drowsy comforts of the
caboose of the "Reindeer Special."

* * * * *

"American, ain't y'?" A sergeant of the United States army addressed
this question to Johnny.

The latter was curled up half asleep in a corner of the caboose of the
"Reindeer Special" which had been bumping over the rails for some time.

"Ya-a," he yawned.

"Going north to trade, I s'pose?"

Johnny was tempted not to answer. Still, he was not yet out of the
woods.

"Yep," he replied cheerfully. "Red fox, white fox, mink, squirrel,
ermine, muskrat. Mighty good price."

"Where's your pack?" The sergeant half grinned.

Johnny sat up and stared. No, it was not that he had had a pack and lost
it. It was that he had never had a pack. And traders carried packs. Why
to be sure; things to trade for furs.

"Pack?" he said confusedly. "Ah-er, yes. Why, yes, my pack, of course,
why I left it; no--hang it! Come to think of it, I'm getting that at the
end of this line, Khabarask, you know."

Johnny studied the old sergeant through narrowing eyelids. He had given
him a ten spot before the train rattled from the yards. Was that enough?
Would any sum be enough? Johnny shivered a little. The man was an old
regular, a veteran of many battles not given in histories. Was he one
of those who took this motto: "Anything's all right that you can get
away with?" Johnny wondered. It might be, just might be, that Johnny
would go back on this same train to Vladivostok; and that, Johnny had no
desire to do.

The sergeant's eyes closed for a wink of sleep. Johnny looked furtively
about the car. The three other occupants were asleep. He drew a fat roll
of American bills from his pocket. From the very center he extracted a
well worn one dollar bill. Having replaced the roll, he smoothed out the
"one spot" and examined it closely. Across the face of it was a purple
stamp. In the circle of this stamp were the words, "Wales, Alaska." A
smile spread over Johnny's shrewd, young face.

"Yes sir, there you are, li'l ol' one-case note," he whispered. "You
come all the way from God's country, from Alaska to Vladivostok, all by
yourself. I don't know how many times you changed hands before you got
here, but here you are, and it took you only four months to come. Stay
with me,