g from the ledge and rose jerkily in the air. She
laughed gayly down at her friend below.

"It's fun."

Gordon followed her a couple of minutes later. She was waiting to give
him a hand over the edge of the cliff.

"Miss O'Neill, this is Mr. Macdonald," he said, as soon as he had freed
himself from the rope. "You are fellow passengers on the Hannah."

Macdonald was looking at her straight and hard. "Your father's name--was
it Farrell O'Neill?" he asked bluntly.

"Yes."

"I knew him."

The girl's eyes lit. "I'm glad, Mr. Macdonald. That's one reason I
wanted to come to Alaska--to hear about my father's life here. Will you
tell me?"

"Sometime. We must be going now to catch the boat--after I've had a look
at the cliff this young man crawled across."

He turned away, abruptly it struck Elliot, and climbed down the natural
stairway up which the young man had come. Presently he rejoined those
above. Macdonald looked at Elliot with a new respect.

"You're in luck, my friend, that we're not carrying you from the foot
of the cliff," he said dryly. "I wouldn't cross that rock wall for a
hundred thousand dollars in cold cash."

"Nor I again," admitted Gordon with a laugh. "But we had either to
homestead that plateau or vacate it. I preferred the latter."

Miss O'Neill's deep eyes looked at him. She was about to speak, then
changed her mind.

CHAPTER VI

SHEBA SINGS--AND TWO MEN LISTEN

Elliot did not see Miss O'Neill next morning until she appeared in the
dining-room for breakfast. He timed himself to get through so as to join
her when she left. They strolled out to the deck together.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

"After I fell asleep. It took me a long time. I kept seeing you on the
traverse."

He came abruptly to what was on his mind. "I have an apology to make,
Miss O'Neill. If I made light of your danger yesterday, it was because I
was afraid you might break down. I had to seem unsympathetic rather than
risk that."

She smiled forgiveness. "All you said was that I might have sprained my
wrist. It was true too. I might have--and I did." Sheba showed a white
linen bandage tied tightly around her wrist.

"Does it pain much?"

"Not so much now. It throbbed a good deal last night."

"Your whole weight came on it with a wrench. No wonder it hurt."

Sheba noticed that the Hannah was drawing up to a wharf and the
passengers were lining up with their belongings. "Is this where we
change?"