Zoss had once been a mining superintendent, and knew each
other quite well.

"All bound fer the Klondike!" exclaimed the captain. "Hooray! We're sure
to strike it, eh, Portney? I know you wouldn't be a-goin' thar unless
gold was to be picked up. Goin' over Chilkoot Pass, I take it." Foster
Portney nodded. "Then we might as well stick together, eh? It will be
better than pairing off with somebody as might be wuss nor a hoss thief,
eh? O' course it would!"

Again the captain shook hands. Then he asked the boys where they came
from and was pleased to learn they were used to a life in the open air.

"I was a lumberman myself onct--up in Michigan," he said. "But thar
wasn't enough excitement, so I gave it up to seek gold and silver.
Minin' and prospectin' just suit me--leas'wise so long as the grub holds
out. One thing is in our favor--scarcity o' men up in them new gold
fields. Now, down in Colorady it's different--all overrun with men, eh,
Portney?"

"Yes, we'll have rather an open field," answered Foster Portney. And
then followed a long discussion about the new gold fields and what might
be expected when Dyea was reached and the terrible climb over the
mountains began. The discussion lasted until ten o'clock, and the boys
listened with interest and picked up many stray bits of information.
Both concluded that the overland trip to the mines would prove every bit
as rough and dangerous as they had pictured it.

The distance from San Francisco to Juneau, Alaska, is, in round figures,
one thousand miles. The _Golden Hope_ was not as large as a regular
ocean liner, yet she was a fast boat, and it was expected that she would
cover the distance inside of four days. Much, of course, would depend
upon the weather encountered, for she was heavily loaded with both
passengers and freight. The freight had given even the owners concern,
for much of it was piled high on the outer decks.

On the second day out, and some time after Cape Blanco had been sighted
through the glass, the sky to the westward began to darken, and the
sailors announced an approaching storm. Soon the sun went under a heavy
bank of clouds and a stiff breeze sprung up which threw the long, heavy
swells of the ocean into millions of whitecaps, dancing and skipping on
every side as far as eye could reach.

"We are in for it now," was the announcement which went the rounds.
Presently it began to rain, and all endeavored to seek the shelter of
the cabin, which