ully considered
items,--bacon, condensed milk, powdered eggs, beans, dehydrated
vegetables, meal, tea, bread,--and he was astonished.

"Surely we won't need all this for a week or ten days?"

"That's a man-killing country in the winter," responded the Scotchman
grimly. "I know it. You have to go well prepared, and you never can
depend on getting game after snow falls. Besides, we'll have no time
for hunting. Yes, we'll need every ounce of that, and it'll all have
to be bought to-morrow. And now I suppose we'd better improve the last
chance of sleeping in a bed that we'll have for some time."

He went to the window and again observed the sky, which remained clear
and starry, snapping with frost.

"No sign of snow, certainly. We can count on you, then, Osborne? Of
course it's understood that we share expenses equally--they won't be
heavy--and share anything that we may get out of it."

"Count on me? I should rather think so!" cried Fred fervently. "Why,
I'd never have forgiven you if you hadn't let me in on this. But we'll
have to do a lot of quick shopping to-morrow, won't we? Where do we
meet?"

"At my rooms, as soon after breakfast as possible," replied Mac. "And
breakfast early, and make all the preparations you can before that."

At this they went away, leaving Fred alone, but far too full of
excitement to sleep. He sorted out his warmest clothing, carefully
examined and oiled his hockey skates and boots, wrote a necessary
letter or two, and did such other things as occurred to him. It was
long past one o'clock when he did go to bed, and even then he could not
sleep. His mind was full of the dangerous expedition that he had
plunged into within the last hours. His imagination saw vividly the
picture of the long ice road through the wilderness, a hundred and
fifty miles to the lonely trappers' shack, where a white man lay sick
with a bag of diamonds on his breast--or perhaps by this time lay dead
with the secret of immense riches lost with him. And the ice road
might close to-morrow. Fred tossed and turned in bed, and more than
once got up to look out the window for signs of a snowstorm.

But he went to sleep at last, and slept soundly till awakened by the
rattle of his alarm-clock, set for half-past six. He had an early
breakfast and packed his clothes. At nine o'clock he telephoned the
real estate office where he was employed, and had no difficulty in
getting his holidays extended another