ness and the storm opened at the command
of the Lord, and disclosed to me those who would save me."

There was nothing of the unctuously pious about his tone and manner,
instead it was sternly enthusiastic, full of courage and devotion. He
made to Will a mental picture of one of Cromwell's Ironsides, or of the
early New England Puritans, and his Biblical language and allusions
heightened the impression. The lad felt instinctively that he was a
strong man, great in the strength of body, mind and spirit.

"Take another slice o' the elk steak, Steve," said the hospitable Little
Giant, who was broiling them over coals. "You've et only six, an' a man
o' your build an' hunger ought to eat at least twelve. We've got plenty
of it, you won't exhaust the supply, never fear. An' take another cup o'
coffee; it will warm your insides right down to your toes. I'm mighty
glad to see you, an' young William's mighty glad to see you."

"You couldn't have been as glad to see me as I was to see you," said
Brady with a solemn smile. "Truly it seems that one may be saved when
apparently his last hour has come, if he will only hope and persist. It
may be that you will yet find your gold, Thomas Bent, that you, James
Boyd and William Clarke, will find whatever you seek, though I know not
what it is, nor ask to know, and that I, too, will find some day the
great beaver colony of which I have dreamed, a colony ten times as large
as any other ever seen even in these mountains."

Boyd and Bent exchanged glances, but said nothing. It was evident that
they had the same thought and Will's quick and active mind leaped up
too. In their great quest they needed at least another man, a man
honest, brave and resourceful, and such a man in the emergency was
beyond price. But for the present they said nothing.

"Thar's one thing I'd like fur you to explain to me, Steve," said the
Little Giant, who was enjoying the hospitality he gave, "why wuz you
callin' so much through the storm? Wuz it jest a faint hope, one chance
in a million that trappers might be here in the valley?"

"No, Thomas, it was not a hope. A sign was vouchsafed to me. When I knew
the storm was coming I started for this valley, which I visited once,
years ago, and, although the snow caught me before I could reach it, I
managed, owing to my former knowledge, to get down the slope without
losing any of my horses. Then in the valley I saw saplings cut freshly
by the axe, cut so recently in