g pillow, carefully strapped.

"It's my blankets," explained Paul, opening the flap and exhibiting two
soft fleecy articles. "They're from London."

"Well," exclaimed Norman positively, "you give them to your sister for
her picnics. Then you go down to-morrow morning and get a four-point
Hudson's Bay blanket, fourteen feet long, pay your twelve dollars for it,
get a strap to hang it on your back, and I reckon you'll have about all
you need."

A little later, when Paul's father and Colonel Howell visited the room
and Paul good-naturedly explained what his friends had done, Mr. Zept
laughed.

"I told you all that," he exclaimed, "but I guess it was like the advice
of most fathers. These young men know what they're doing. Hill," he said,
turning to his guest, "I guess you haven't made any mistake in signing up
these kids. There's a lot they may have to find out about the wilderness,
but it looks to me as if they weren't going to have very much to
unlearn."

The next morning was a long one. The baggage car secured by Colonel
Howell for the aeroplane crates was soon loaded. Then nothing remained to
be done except, as Colonel Howell put it, "to line up my Injuns."

Moosetooth and La Biche were yet in camp at the Stampede Grounds. The
boys, including Count Zept, accompanied Colonel Howell to the Grounds
about noon. Here the oil prospector was able to change his program
somewhat, and much to his gratification.

Colonel Howell knew that his old steersmen were accompanied by quite a
group of relatives but he did not know the exact extent of the Martin and
La Biche families. They were all in charge of a man from Athabasca
Landing, who was of course under contract to return the Indians to that
place. Colonel Howell had thought it would be necessary to look after the
immediate relatives of Moosetooth and La Biche, but when he found that
the women and children belonging to these men would just as soon return
to the North with their friends, he was able to arrange that the two old
river men might precede the main party and accompany him alone.

The Indian makes very little ceremony of his farewells to the members of
their families and after Colonel Howell had talked a few moments with
them the dark-skinned boatmen announced themselves ready. The matter of
luncheon seemed to worry neither Moosetooth nor La Biche. Each man had an
old flour bag, into which he indiscriminately dumped a few bannock, some
indistinguishable articles