he had
curiously followed to see the line put to use, he watched the traveler
secure two pliable branches of hemlock, of the same size, which he brought
to the station platform, and, having stripped them of needles, bent into
ovals. Then, laying aside one, he commenced to weave half of the rope
net-wise, filling the space in the frame he held. A sudden intelligence
leaped in the agent's face. "That's simple enough," he exclaimed. "And
they'll carry you as far as you want to go."

Tisdale smiled, nodding, and picked up the remaining frame.

"Strange I never saw any one try the scheme before," the operator
commented. "I've weathered a good many blockades up here; seen lots of
fellows, men whose time was money, bucking it out to open track. But I bet
the first time this idea struck you you were up against it. I bet it's a
yarn worth listening to."

Tisdale glanced up; the genial lines deepened. "It was a situation to
clear a man's head. There was snow from three to seven feet deep ahead of
me and going soft. My snowshoes, lost with the outfit at a hole in a Yukon
crossing, were swinging down-stream under the ice. I had two sea biscuit
in my pocket and a few inches of dried venison, with the nearest
road-house over fifty miles away."

"Well, that was hard luck," the agent shook his head gravely.

"It was the best kind of luck," responded Tisdale quickly, "to find myself
with that rope in my hands and a nice little spruce on the bank to supply
frames enough for a regiment. I was rigging a kind of derrick to ease my
sled up the sharp pitch from the crossing."

"I see," said the operator thoughtfully, "and the sled broke through. Lost
it and the outfit. But your dogs--saved them, didn't you?"

"All but two." Tisdale's brows contracted. "They were dragged under the
ice before I could cut the traces. There was leather enough on the leaders
to bind those shoes on, but"--and the humorous lines deepened again--"a
couple of straps, from an old suitcase, if you happen to have one, would
be an improvement."

The operator hurried into the office and, after a vigorous search among
the miscellaneous articles stored under his desk, found an old valise,
from which he detached the desired straps. Tisdale adjusted the improvised
shoes. "I will send them back by a brakeman from Scenic Springs," he said,
rising from his seat on the edge of the platform. "You can keep them for a
pattern."

"All right," the operator laughed. "If you d