ite woman he has ever seen, and I guess the
case is hopeless. Mrs. Keith may have him."

He turned to her. "Are you ready?"

She nodded and pointed to the dunnage sack. Then she put on her fur
coat and hood and helped Peter sit up on the edge of the bed while
Blake opened the door again and made a low signal. Instantly Uppy and
another Eskimo came in. Blake led with the sack, and the two Eskimos
carried Peter. Dolores followed last, with the fingers of one little
hand gripped about the revolver in her pocket. Wapi hugged so close to
her that she could feel his body.

On the ice was a sledge without dogs. Peter was bundled on this, and
the Eskimos pulled him. Blake was still in the lead. Twenty minutes
after leaving the ship they pulled up beside his cabin.

There were two teams ready for the trail, one of six dogs, and another
of five, each watched over by an Eskimo. The visor of Dolores' hood
kept Blake from seeing how sharply she took in the situation. Under it
her eyes were ablaze. Her bare hand gripped her revolver, and if Peter
could have heard the beating of her heart, he would have gasped. But
she was cool, for all that. Swiftly and accurately she appraised
Blake's preparations. She observed that in the six-dog team, in spite
of its numerical superiority, the animals were more powerful than those
in the five-dog team. The Eskimos placed Peter on the six-dog sledge,
and Dolores helped to wrap him up warmly in the bearskins. Their
dunnage sack was tied on at Peter's feet. Not until then did she seem
to notice the five-dog sledge. She smiled at Blake. "We must be sure
that in our excitement we haven't forgotten something," she said, going
over what was on the sledge. "This is a tent, and here are plenty of
warm bearskins--and--and--" She looked up at Blake, who was watching
her silently. "If there is no timber for so long, Mr. Blake, shouldn't
we have a big bundle of kindling? And surely we should have meat for
the dogs!"

Blake stared at her and then turned sharply on Uppy with a rattle of
Eskimo. Uppy and one of the companions made their exit instantly and in
great haste.

"The fools!" he apologized. "One has to watch them like children, Mrs.
Keith. Pardon me while I help them."

She waited until he followed Uppy into the cabin. Then, with the
remaining Eskimo staring at her in wonderment, she carried an extra
bearskin, the small tent, and a narwhal grub-sack to Peter's sledge. It
was another five minutes