to see me!" Then turning to Mr. Ryder, and
embracing that bewildered gentleman in his furry arms, the excited boy
exclaimed: "And pop! You dear old pop! If you only knew how distressed I
have been about you. If you hadn't turned up, just as you have, I should
have dropped everything and gone in search of you."

"Oh, Phil! How could you?" gasped Aunt Ruth. "You frightened me almost
to death, and have crushed me all out of shape. You are a regular
polar-bear in all those furs and things. What do you mean, sir? Oh you
dear, dear boy!" At this point Miss Ruth's feelings so completely
overcame her that she sank down on a convenient log and burst into
hysterical weeping.

"There, you young scamp!" cried Mr. Ryder, whose own eyes were full of
joyful tears at that moment. "See what you have done! Aren't you ashamed
of yourself, sir?"

"Yes, pop, awfully. But I've got something that will cheer her up and
amuse her. And here's Serge and-- No he isn't, either. What has become
of Serge? Oh, I suppose he has gone home. Don't see why he needs to be
in such a hurry, though. No matter; here's Jalap Coombs. You remember
Jalap, father? And here, Aunt Ruth, is the curio I promised to bring
you. Look out; it's alive!"

With this the crazy lad snatched Nel-te from the arms of Jalap Coombs,
who had just brought him up the steps, and laid him in Miss Ruth's lap,
saying, "He's a little orphan kid I found in the wilderness, and adopted
for you to love."

Miss Ruth gave such a start as the small bundle of fur was so
unexpectedly thrust at her that poor Nel-te rolled to the ground. From
there he lifted such a pitifully frightened little face, with such
tear-filled eyes and quivering lip, that Miss Ruth snatched him up and
hugged him. Then she kissed and petted him to such an extent that by the
time he was again smiling he had won a place in her loving heart second
only to that occupied by Phil himself.

With this journey's end also came the partings that always form so sad a
feature of all journeys' ends. Even the three dogs that had travelled
together for so long were separated, Musky being given to Serge, Luvtuk
to May Matthews, to become the pet of the _Phoca_'s crew, and big Amook
going with Phil, Aunt Ruth, Nel-te, the sledge, the snow-shoes, and the
beautiful white thick-furred skin of a mountain goat to distant New
London.

Mr. Ryder and Jalap Coombs accompanied them as far as San Francisco.
Dear old Serge was reluctantly left beh