oys looked over the stores in the cabin with interest.

"What about touching these?" said Dick to the old miner. "Have we any
right to do it? Of course we'd pay for the things."

"We won't touch 'em unless we have to, Dick. It ain't a question o'
pay in sech a spot as this. The owner may be comin' back 'and
dependin' on 'em. A man as wants grub won't part with it fer no amount
o' gold. Why, I've seen the time, in camp in winter, when a feller
wouldn't sell a quart o' plain beans fer a hundred dollars o' dust!"

"Yes, I know that. All right, we'll leave the things alone." And Dick
sighed. How good an old fashion home dinner would have tasted to all
of them just then!

The wind continued to howl, occasionally rocking the hut in a fashion
that alarmed them. Sam asked the old miner if there was any danger of
it being tipped over.

"There is allers danger when the wind gits too high," was the reply.

Presently the sparks commenced to blow out into the room and the wind
outside grew wilder and wilder. They stamped out the fire and sat
huddled together in the darkness, Tom with the rest, for he was now a
little stronger and did not want to remain alone.

And then came a shock as paralyzing as it was appalling. The hut
seemed to be lifted into the air and whirled around. Then came a
crash, and the structure fell over on the ice and snow of the river, or
lake, below. The boys tumbled in a heap, with Jack Wumble on top of
them. Before they could get up, all felt themselves moving swiftly
along in a wind that was blowing little short of a tornado. All was
pitch black around them and to get up, or to do anything, was totally
out of the question. Sam started to ask Dick a question, when
something hit him on the head, and he fell back unconscious.

CHAPTER XXVII

LOST IN THE FIELDS OF ICE

"Where in the world are we, Jack?"

"Don't ask me, Dick! I reckon the wind must 'a' swept us up to the
North Pole!"

"Tom, are you all right?"

"Well, I'm here," came back faintly from the suffering one. "What did
we do, sail through the air?"

"We sailed through something, Tom--and I guess we went about a mile a
minute, too. Where is Sam?"

"I don't know," answered the old miner. "It's so snowy I can't see a
thing."

"Sam! Sam!" yelled Dick, with as much force as he could command.

There was no reply. If the youngest Rover was nearby he was in no
condition to answer the call.

A full hour had el