--who played the accordian,--where he got tools to work
with, and many other things; above all, where he bought certain
accessories to his cabin which they had never seen in Dawson.

Flinging, as they did, all these questions at the poor fellow in a
breath, MacDougall feared he would be stalled for replies, and finally
halted for him to make a beginning; but Pete only remarked quietly,
twitching his thumb toward the southeast:

"Fort by big lake. White man,--mission,--teach um Indian,"
unconcernedly, as though it was of every day occurrence, and there was
no further explanation necessary.

"Do they talk as we do?" asked MacDougall.

"No."

"What do you call them?"

"Father Petroff,--teach um. Indian sick,--fix um. Heap good man," and
Pete turned away, thinking this sufficient.

"Ask him how far it is to the Fort, Mac," said one of the men.

"Not now. He has had enough quizzing for this time. It is evidently a
Russian Mission on one of the big lakes,--which mission, and what lake,
I don't know. But we must pitch our tents, cook our supper, and feed the
dogs. Poor fellows! They shall have a good long rest soon for they've
well earned it," and George MacDougall patted the snow white head of the
nearest malamute looking up into his face for sympathy.

Next day the men had eaten, slept and rested. They had listened the
evening before to the old accordian in the hands of Pete's wife; they
had trotted the infant of the family on their knees; they had propounded
another hundred questions to their uncommunicative host and gotten
monosyllabic answers; but they had heard only that which was good to
hear, and that which confirmed the leader in his mind that he had made
a capital move in coming into this country with the Indians.

Pete had exhibited nuggets and gold dust of astonishing richness.
Kicking a bear skin from the center of the room, he disclosed a box
embedded in the earth, the sight of which, when uncovered, caused the
white men to feel repaid for coming. There were chunks and hunks of the
precious yellow metal larger than the thumbs of the brawny handed
miners; besides gold dust in moose-hide sacks tied tightly and placed
systematically side by side in rows.

The surprise of the white men was great. They did not imagine that Pete
mined gold to any extent, but thought he had secured enough in a
desultory way for his present use. The trusting native had no fear of
the men, having unreservedly laid bare his tr