toward the fatal creek, and found that my lips would not
frame words to answer when Harry said:

"It was horrible, Ralph. I'd give all our hopes and prospects to have the
poor fellow safe again. But there's no help for it, and somehow I fancy it
was a release. You remember how he looked when he said that this was his
last march?"

We lighted a fire, dried our garments and the blankets that were left us,
then Harry flung aside the battered camp spider, and drew out a flask.

"Ten pounds of flour, five of reistit pork--and that's what he gave his
life for. No, I don't think I could eat anything to-night. Here, empty
half of this, Ralph, you're shaking all over," and Harry lifted his hat as
he touched the metal cup with his lips: "Good rest to you, comrade," he
said.

I choked over the mouthful of spirits, which I needed badly enough, and
then sat shivering wide awake beside the fire through the long bitter
night, while when at daybreak I called the others, they both rose with a
suspicious readiness. For hours we wandered along the river bank, but
found nothing whatever beyond conclusive evidence that even the best
swimmer could hardly have come out of that icy flood alive. Then
dejectedly we strapped up our traps, and turned our backs on the dismal
camp. We halted and looked back a moment on the crest of the divide.

"The beast was badly played out," the guide said, "the man was loaded.
Thirty pounds and a rifle--and he couldn't hardly swim. He's gone out on
the lonely trail, but whether there's gold at the end of it no living man
can say. Maybe you'll find out some day when you follow him."

Then in mournful silence we turned away, and that night we ate our last
mouthful in another valley, and forgot the gnawing hunger in broken sleep,
through which a wet face persistently haunted me. When we arose there was
not even a handful of caked flour in the damp bag, and during a discussion
the miner, in reply to Harry's statement, said it did not follow that
there were no deer or bear in the country because we had not seen them.
Men tramping noisily behind shod horses do not generally chance upon the
shy deer, he pointed out; while if two previous hunts had proved
unsuccessful, we might do better on the third. It was at least four days'
march to the nearest dwelling, and I agreed with his observation that no
starving men could march for four days through such a country. So, to
enhance our chances, the company divided, agree