ake camp. I think we had all better sleep in the tent,"
for it was not uncommon for white men and their negro, or Indian,
helpers to occupy the same shelter in that cold country. The more
persons in a tent the warmer it would be.

But the Indian had his own ideas about this. He did not like to change
his way of life, and he had been so long used to burrowing under the
snow, in a warm fur robe, that he preferred that method still. So he
declined the shelter of the tent.

It was not as easy work as Mr. Baxter had thought it would be, to resume
the journey the next day. The three dog teams, that were without
drivers, seemed to know it, and got all tangled up in the harness,
fighting among themselves, so it was some time before they could be
separated, and fastened by long thongs to the sled in charge of Holfax.
On this Mr. Baxter rode, in order to converse with the guide as to the
best road to take.

The two boys, and Johnson, were entrusted with the long whips the
Indians had formerly used. They tried to handle them as had the natives,
in guiding the teams, but they did not have much success.

However, Holfax kept a watchful eye over the wolfish canines, and
whenever one of the brutes was inclined to turn tail, and attempted to
haul the sled backwards, the angry voice of the Alaskan would, with a
sharp reminder from the whip, send the rebel back in line with its
fellows.

On and on they went, making slow progress because the trail was very
poor. The second day after dismissing the three Indians they were
enveloped in a blinding snowstorm, and they had to halt and make camp.
It was terribly cold, so cold that a hot cup of tea would have a skim of
ice over it in a minute after it was poured out. It seemed as if their
very bones were frozen.

But the next day the storm ceased, and they toiled on and on, the hope
of the hidden gold luring them. Once a sled overturned, and the load was
spilled off, necessitating an hour's halt.

Again, one of the sled runners broke, going around a dangerous curve,
and only the quickness of Fred, who leaped off and held on to the load
by the thongs binding it, prevented it from toppling over into a deep
ravine.

It took some time to mend the sled runner, but Holfax was equal to the
emergency, and, after a day's halt, they were able to proceed. But
their troubles were not at an end. The dogs grew worse and worse, and
were continually fighting among themselves. They did it so often that