addressing the boys. "Long before night we'll run out of this onto the
green prairies. Long before we get to Edmonton, we'll be in some of the
best farming land in the world. And it goes on and on, more or less," he
added with a faint smile, "a good deal farther than we know anything
about--maybe as far as Fort McMurray," he concluded.

"There isn't any reason why Fort McMurray can't be a Calgary some day,"
replied Colonel Howell; "that is, when the railroads start towards
Hudson's Bay."

"You'll have to have some land too," suggested Mr. Zept. "If you just had
a few good prairies and some grass lying loose around up there, that'd
help."

"How do you know we haven't?" answered the colonel.

"I don't," exclaimed Mr. Zept. "If you have, just send me word. We might
start a few horse ranches up there."

As the train sped on and all had adjusted themselves to the limits of
their little room, after a time Mr. Zept spoke again: "I wish I had the
time to go up there with you," he began, "but of course, that's
impossible. I'm going to see you away from Edmonton in good shape. By the
way," he remarked, "I've been wondering just how you're going to find
things up there, after a year's absence. You say you left three men
there. What are they doing?"

"Well," answered Colonel Howell, "they're all on the pay roll. One of
'em's an Englishman from Edmonton, and two of 'em I brought from the gas
fields of Kansas. The Kansas men have worked for me for several years."

"Must have had a pretty easy job, with nothing to do but punish your
provisions all winter," suggested Mr. Zept.

"Don't you think it," exclaimed his friend. "They had plenty of work cut
out for them. In the first place they had to build a cabin, and they had
the tools to make a decent one--tar paper for a roof too. I don't care
for bark shacks. Then I'm taking a boiler and engine up this time and we
can probably use a lot of firewood when we get to drilling. They can put
in a lot of time cutting dry cordwood."

"They doing any prospecting?" asked the ranchman.

"They couldn't do much except look for signs," answered Colonel Howell.
"And, of course, if they have any extra time, the Kansas men have been in
the business long enough to know how to do that. They might save me a lot
of work when I get up there, if they're on the job," concluded Colonel
Howell.

"A good deal like grub-staking a man, isn't it?" asked Mr. Zept.

"Not much," retorted the oil man with