share!"

"Fifteen thousand dollars in gold!" repeated Mr. Stanley as if in a
dream. "Then we needn't be dispossessed, mother."

"Oh, Fred! Fred!" cried Mrs. Stanley. "Can it be true? How did it come
about? Did you really find the treasure? You're not sick, are you?"

"Sick? Why no, mother. What made you think that?"

"Because I can hardly believe what you say. I thought perhaps you might
have been frozen, and been very ill and--and that it had turned your
mind. I have read of persons in the far north going insane because of
the dreadful whiteness and the cold."

"No, mother; I'm all right. It was terrible cold, and we had a hard
time, with plenty of danger thrown in, but I'm all right, and I'm not
out of my head. In fact my health is better than ever."

"And you really have all that gold?" repeated Fred's father again.

"Sure. Here are some samples," and Fred pulled out a few gold nuggets
that he had taken from his share of the treasure, which had been left in
a safe place while he came on ahead.

At the sight of the gold the eyes of the mean landlord sparkled. He
looked greedily at the yellow particles.

"Yes, that's the genuine stuff," remarked Mr. Stanley. "Oh, Fred, my
son, how glad I am that you succeeded, for I feared you would not!"

"Ahem! I--er--I guess you'd better go back into the house, Mr. Stanley,"
said the landlord, a sudden change coming into his manner. "I'll have
your goods brought right back. I'll send in something for you to eat,
too. You need nourishing food, that's what you need. I'll attend to it
for you. And if your son wants to invest some of his money I will be
glad to offer my advice. Come back into the house and we'll talk it
over."

"Talk what over?" asked Fred sharply.

"Why--er--about investing your money. Of course you'll want to invest
it."

"Probably," replied the young treasure hunter coolly, "but I think I
know where to go for advice, too. I don't believe I'd trust any one who
would act as you have done to my relatives when they were in temporary
distress."

"Oh--er--I--I didn't mean anything by that," said the man, somewhat
confused. "You see I have so much property, and my agents attend to it
for me. One of them must have ordered Mr. Stanley dispossessed on his
own responsibility. I did not understand the case. I am always disposed
to be lenient to my tenants, especially----"

"Yes, especially when you discover they have money," finished Fred.

"You, personally,