reed to be back by day-light.

After they were gone, and our travellers had disposed of their simple
but highly appreciated meal of goat meat and tea, they gathered about
the fire for the last of those "dream-bag talks," as Phil called them,
that had formed so pleasant a feature of their long journey. Without
saying a word, but with a happy twinkle in his eyes, Jalap Coombs
produced a pipe and a small square of tobacco, which he began with great
care to cut into shavings.

"Where on earth did you get them?" asked Phil.

"Found the pipe in yonder rubbish," replied the sailorman; "and Cap'n
Kid give me the 'baccy just now."

"Nel-te gave you the tobacco! Where did he get it?"

"Dunno. I were too glad to get it to ask questions."

"Well," said Phil, "the mysteries of this place are beyond finding out."

"This one isn't," laughed Serge; "though I suppose it would be if I
hadn't happened to see one of the Indians slip that bit of tobacco into
Nel-te's hand."

"What could have been his object in giving such a thing as that to a
child?"

"Oh, the Chilkat children use it as well as their elders; and I suppose
he wanted to gain Nel-te's good-will, seeing that he is the guardian of
the fur-seal's tooth. I shouldn't be surprised if he hoped in some way
to get it from the child before we reached the village."

"Which suggests an idea," said Phil, removing the trinket in question
from Nel-te's neck and handing it to Serge. "It is hard to say just who
the tooth does belong to now, it has changed hands so frequently, but it
will be safer for the next day or two with you than anywhere else.
Besides, it is only fair that, as it came directly from the Chilkats to
you, or, rather, to your father, you should have the satisfaction of
restoring it to them."

So Serge accepted from Phil the mysterious bit of ivory that he had
given the latter more than a year before in distant New London, and hung
it about his neck.

"Last night," said Phil, after this transfer had taken place, "Mr.
Coombs and I only needed a pipeful of tobacco and a knowledge of how we
were to escape from here to make us perfectly happy. Now we have both."

"The blamed pipe won't draw at all," growled Jalap Coombs.

"While I," continued Phil, "am bothered. I know we must go with those
fellows, but I don't trust them, and shall feel uneasy so long as we are
in their power."

"Do you think," asked Serge, "that these things go to prove that there
isn't any su