es of
gold-dust.

"That's your sort, gentlemen," cried the Cornishman, washing out his
pan, after tossing the contents away; "plenty of gold, and if you worked
hard you might get about half enough to starve on. Why, we could ha'
done better at home, down in Wales. You can get a hundred pounds' worth
of gold there if you spend a hundred and fifty in labour."

"Yes; but even this dust shows that we are getting into the gold
region," said Dallas.

"That's right, my son, so come along and let's get there. I s'pose
we're going right?"

"We must be," said Dallas. "I have studied the maps well, and we passed
the watershed--"

"Eh? We haven't passed no watershed. Not so much as a tent."

Dallas had to explain that they had crossed the mountains which shed the
water in different directions.

"Oh, that's it, is it, my son? I thought you meant something built up."

"So he did," said Abel, smiling, "by nature. When we were on the other
side of the mountains the streams ran towards the south."

"That's right, master."

"Now you see the direction in which the water runs is towards the north.
Here in the map is the great Yukon River, running right across from
east to west, and these lakes form the little rivers which must run into
the Yukon."

"And that's the great gold river, my sons."

"Yes; but we shall find what we want in the rivers and creeks that run
down from the mountains to form the Yukon."

"That's all right, my son; so if we keep to these waters we must come to
the right place at last."

"I hope so."

"So do I, my son; so, as they said at the 'Merican railway stations,
`All aboard, and let's get as far down to-day as we can.'"

They stepped on to the raft, cast off the rope, and each man picked up
one of the twelve-foot pine-sapling poles they had provided for their
navigation down the rapids, of which they had been warned at starting;
and the big Cornishman planted himself in front.

"Anybody else like to come here?" he said.

There was a chorus of "No's," and he nodded and smiled.

"Thought I was best here to fend the raft off the rocks when she begins
to race. I say, we're going to have it lower down. Hear it?"

All nodded assent.

"If we are capsized, my sons," continued the big fellow drily, "one of
you had better swim up to me and take me on his back. What do you say,
little un?" he added to Abel. "It'll be your turn to help me."

"I'll stand by you," cried Abel; "never fear."