, and also that he might find
greater safety elsewhere, his first act in the morning was to order his
Indian drivers to harness the dogs, and be prepared for a start within
an hour.

Kurilla, who was with them under instructions not to lose sight of them,
grinned when he heard this, for he had picked up an inkling of what was
going on, and felt pretty certain that the order need not be obeyed.

When Mr. Riley's reluctant guest entered the store of the Yukon Trading
Company, in which, on account of its size, the meeting was to be held,
he fully intended to take a back seat, and slip out as soon as he could
do so unnoticed. The place was so filled with miners, however, that
there were no back seats, and, to his surprise, the crowd pressed aside
as he and Mr. Riley entered, so as to leave a passage to the farther end
of the room. A moment later, without knowing just how it had been done,
he found himself seated beside Jalap Coombs's friend, Skiff Bettens, who
obligingly made a place for him. He noticed with some curiosity that
twelve men were seated on benches directly opposite to him, while all
the rest of the crowd were standing. Between him and these men was an
open space, at the upper end of which were a table and a chair raised on
a rude platform.

To this platform Mr. Platt Riley made his way, and seating himself in
the chair, rapped on the table for silence. Then, rising, he said:

"Gentlemen of the jury and fellow-citizens, this court is now open for
business, and I as its Judge, elected by your votes, am prepared to
administer justice in accordance with your laws, and such verdicts as
may be rendered by your jury."

"It is a court," thought Strengel, with a shiver.

"The case to be tried this morning," continued the Judge, "is one that
touches the pocket, the life, and the honor of every miner in the Yukon
Valley; for the prisoner at the bar is indicted on three separate counts
as a thief, a murderer, and an unmitigated scoundrel. He has come into
our camp under a false name and with a false story, after having
attempted the destruction of a steamer that is bringing goods and
machinery, of which we are greatly in need.

"He is charged with robbing and leaving helpless in the wilderness a man
whom we all know and respect, and also with robbing and deserting while
seriously ill his own companion who was on his way to visit us in behalf
of our old-established trading company."

Strengel listened to these ter