ell, the
two made up their minds to go to Lion Head. Furner told Tom he was
sure they could pick up nuggets, if only they could hit the right spot.
Furner had some kind o' an outfit an' he got Tom to buy some more
things, and away they started. Rabig thought they was both crazy."

"And so they must be!" murmured Dick. "Poor Tom! I hope we catch him
before he gets too far into the mountains."

"Did this man Rabig say what name Tom was traveling under?" asked Sam.

"Yes. A mighty queer name, too. Brill Thomas. How do ye account fer
that?"

"Brill Thomas!" repeated Dick. "Oh, that's easy. Brill is the name of
the college he attends and Thomas is his first name in full. He is out
of his mind, but he still retains snatches of names and things, I
suppose, and that's how he hit on Brill Thomas for a name."

"He told Rabig he was from the land of Hope--the Valley Brook of Hope,"
went on Jack Wumble. "Rabig never heard tell o' the location."

"Valley Brook is the farm we live on, and Hope is a school near Brill,"
said Sam. "Poor, poor Tom! Who would have imagined such a thing as
this could happen to him!"

"How far is Lion Head from here?" asked Dick.

"As the crow flies, about five hundred miles."

"Five hundred miles!" exclaimed Sam.

"Yes, an' it's nearly six hundred by the way they'll have to travel,"
went on Jack Wumble.

This news almost stunned the Rover boys. Was it possible that Tom was
undertaking a trip of six hundred miles into the little-known portion
of Alaska?

"He'd never do such a thing if he was in his right mind," said Dick.
"We must catch him just as soon as we can!"

"That is why I hired passage on this boat," said the old miner. "I'm
calkerlatin' we can head him off. Thet is, if the weather stays good."

"It looks like rain and is getting colder."

"Right ye are, Dick. An' when it gits cold up here, it gits cold, I
kin tell ye thet. Last winter I 'most froze to death up in my shack,"
added Jack Wumble.

The trip on the boat to Lindy Falls was without special incident.
There were about a dozen passengers, all miners and prospectors, who
did not care to wait for any of the regular boats. They were a rather
good-natured set, and whiled away the time by swapping stories and
arguing about the best way to locate paying claims and getting out the
gold.

Lindy Falls was reached one afternoon about two o'clock. It was little
more than a boat and trading station and here the