d Harlan, loading the
second one, stopped in their work to watch them.

Tossing up and down on the long, green swells, the moving boat drew
nearer and nearer to the foaming lines of surf. Presently they were in
the welter of white. Once when the little craft went completely out of
sight behind a monster swell, Loll, watching from the cabin top,
shouted in alarm, but yelled again in delight as it rose high on the
same billow.

Silvertip and his mate bent to the long oars. In the stern Kayak Bill,
hatless and wind-blown, steered wisely over the rollers which
threatened to break on them any moment.

In profane admiration Boreland watched. "It's the ninth wave," he
shouted presently. "Kayak'll take her in on that one. . . . By
thunder!" he broke out as the boat rushed toward the shore in a smother
of foam, and landed well up on the beach, "if that old cuss could rope
a steer as well as he can land a boat in a surf, I wonder that they
ever let him out of Texas!"

The work of landing the outfit went steadily on and with each trip to
the beach Silvertip urged more haste. Tides, currents, quick-rising
fogs and gales, and the extreme danger of the anchorage--these were the
burden of his conversation. Since he was the only one in the party who
had been on Kon Klayu before they were obliged to accept his reasons
without argument.

Despite haste, however, it was late afternoon when the last boat-load
went ashore. Turning from his contemplation of it, Gregg Harlan looked
down ruefully at the water-blisters that decorated the palms of his
slim hands. He was spending the most arduous day of his life. He was
tired. Every muscle in his body ached from the heavy work of handling
the outfit and in his mind was a weariness slightly tinged with
bitterness.

It was not until he saw Ellen and Jean in the departing whale-boat that
he realized how much he had counted on the few hours of their
companionship aboard the _Hoonah_. With Loll he was on friendly,
almost brotherly terms, because of his sincere appreciation of Kobuk
and the boy's new pigeon. But as for anything else--he smiled now a
little bitterly as he recalled Ellen's polite but wary treatment of
him, and the seemingly casual way in which she managed to prevent any
interchange of thought between himself and her young sister. He
fancied Jean felt this also and resented it, for several times during
the day, across the confusion of the deck, her eyes had sought hi