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by jack London AuiHOf? Of "The Call OfTheV/lck "kW/r/r Fang, "MAPT/N^omtK. Illustrations By DwRBORNMnyrtt (Copyright. 1910. by the New York Herald Company.) ? copyright. 1110. by the MacMlllan Company. PART I. ' CHAPTER I. II in a quiet night In the Tivoli. At the bur, which runged along one aide of Che Urge chinked log room, leaned he If a doson men. two of whom wem dleenealng the relative merits of spnoe ten and lime Juice aa renter dlee for scurvy They argued with an air of ggpnejggnj and with intervals of morone sUenoe. The other men eenroely heeded them In a row, ?garnet the opposite wall, were the gambling gnmee. The crap table waa deserted One lone man was playing at the faro table. The roulette waa not even spinning and the gamekeep? er stood by tha roaring, red-hot stove, talking with a young, dark-eyed wom? en, ootnaly of face and figure, who waa known from Jenem to fort Yukon aa tha Virgin Three men sat In at stud poker, hut the.r played with small china and without enthusiasm, while there warn no oalookers. On the floor of tha dancing room, which open*! out at tha rear, three couples were waits tag drearily to tha strains of a violin and a piano. Circle City waa not deeerted, nor waa money tight. The miners were in from Moooohcad c:?el and the other diggings to the west, the summer washing had been good, and the men's pouches were heavy with dust and nug? gets The Klondike had not yet been discovered, nor had tha miners of the Yukon learned the poeeiblllUee of deep digging and wood-firing. Mo work was done In the winter, and they made a practice of hibernating in the large camps lfha Circle City during tha long dfrctic night. Time waa heavy on their hands, their pouches were well filled and tha only social diversion to be found waa la the saloone. Yet the Ti? rol! waa pru^. -ally deeerted. and the Virgin, stand rag by the stove, yawned with uncovered mouth and said to Charley Bs tee: "If something don't happen soon, I'm goln to bad. What's the matter with tha camp, anyway? Everybody dead?** Be tee did not even trouble to reply, hut went on mcodfly roiling a ciga? rette. Dan M'icDonald. pioneer aa monman and gambler on the upper Yu/on. owner and proprietor of the Tivoli and all Its gatnea. wandered for? lornly across the great vacant space of door and Joined the two a*, the stove. "Anybody dead"' the Virgin asked "Looks dke it." waa the answer. "Thau It roust be the whole camp." ate said with an air of finality and with another yawn. hfacDonsld grinaed and nodded, and eg sued his mouth to speak, when the front door swung open and a man ap? peared la the light He would have eppeared a large msn had not s huge wrench Canadian stepped mi to him from the bar and gripped his hand. "Hello. Daylight*" was his greeting "By Oar. you good for sore eyes!" "Hello. Louis, when did you all blow gaf* returned the newcomer. "Come up and have a drink and tell us all about Bone creek Why. doggono poo-all. shake again. Where's Ciat pardner of yours * I'm looking for htm " Another huge man detached himself gfosn the bar to shake hands. Olaf Henderson and French Ix>uls. partners together on Hone creek, were the two largest men in the country, and though they were but half a head taller than tha newcomer between them he was dwarfed completed "Hello. Olsf." ssid the one called Daylight "Tomorrow's my birthday. And you. too. Louis. Come up and drtuk. end I'll tell iou-all about it" The arrival of the newcomer seemed to send a flood of warmth through the place "It's Burning Daylight." the Virgin cried, the first to recognize him aa he came into the light Charley Hates' tight features relaxed at the night, and MacDonald went over and joined the three at the bar With the advent of Burning Daylight the whole place suddenly became brighter and cheerier The bsrkcepers were actlvo. Voices were raised Homebody laughed. And when the fiddler, peer Ing Into the front room, remarked to the pianist- "It's Horning Daylight." th? waits time perceptih'y otitckened. and the dancers, catching the conta? gion, began to whirl about as If they really enjoy gf It it wns known to them of old-time that nothing lan gulsbed when Burning Davllght wa* around He turned frcm the bar and saw the woman by tha* stove and the eacer look of gjejgggeg ?he eitended htm "Hello. Virgin. >!d girl." he Bailed "Hello. Charley What's the gegtief with von all I Whv wear fmtH I that when ? ffln? only cost Ihren ounces* Come up. yon-all and drink Come up. you unbui le ' dead, an nni ? your poison Come up. evgrvb ? ' This Is my night. ggd fnj pgfj ride It. To-morrow I'm thirty, then I'll bo an old man. h's ?h< rl'ng of youth \r#? ?. on i..1 \ Aarge along then BnPgd *l I The waits In the back rooa Tho4?? wlm do not ni.iko tax ro flnlthed. the three couples, followed by the- fiddler and the pianist and heading for the bar, caught Daylight'* eye. "Surge along, you-all!" he oricd. "Surge along and name It. Thts Is niy night, and It ain't a night that comer frequent Surge up. you Slwsehes end Salmon-eaters. It's my night, 1 tf!l you-all- ??" "A blipned mangy night," CharlG" Bstes Interpolated. "You'ri right, my son," Burning Day? light went on. gayly. "A mangy night, but it'e my night, you see. I'm the mangy old he-wolf. Listen to mo howl." j And howl he did, like a lone gray ; timber wolf, till the Virgin thniet her ! pretty fingers In her ears snd ihlv- ' ered. A minute later she was whirled | away In hla arms to the dancing floor. 1 where, along with three other women I and their partners, a rollicking Vir . glnta reel was aoon in progress. Few men knew El am Harnish by any other name than Burning Daylight, the name which had been giren him In the early daya in the land because of his habit of routing his comradea out of ' their blaoketa with the complaint that ' daylight was burning. Of the pioneers . In that far Arctic wilderness, where all men were pioneers, he was reck? oned among the oldest. Men like AI Mayo and Jack McQuestlon antedated , him; but they had entered the land by crossing the Rockies from the Hudson ; ' Bay country to the east. He. however, had been the pioneer over the Chilcoot and Chllcat peases. In the spring of . 1?8I, twelve years before, a stripling of eighteen, he had crossed over the . Chilcoot with five comrades. In the fall he had crossed back with one. Four had perished by mischance In the Meak, uncharted vastness. And for twelve years EH am Harnish had con? tinued to grope for gold smong the shadows of the Circle. Heroes are seldom given to hero-worship, but among those of that land, young aa he . wrs. he waa accounted an elder hero. In point rrf time he was before them. In point of deed he was beyond them. He was a striking figure of a man, of all the men In the Tivoli. Boft tanned moccasins of moose-hide, bead? ed In Indian designs, covered his feet. His trousers were ordinary overalls, his coat was made from a blanket. Long gauntletted leather mittens, lined with wool, hung by his side. They were connected, In the Yukon fashion by a leather thong passed around the V_J "Surge Along, You-AII!" He Cried. "Surge Along and Name It." neck and across the shoulders. On his heud was a fur cap. the ear-flaps raised and the tylng-eords dangling. His face, lean and slightly long, with the sugges? tion of hollows under the cheek bones, seemed almost Indian. The burnt skin and keen dark eyes contributed to this effect, though Iba bronze of the tilTh and the eyes themselves were essen? tially those of a white man. He looked oiler than thirty, and yet, smooth shaven and Without crinkles, he was almost boyish. The Impression of Ige was \ ed on no tangible evidence, It Sagas from the gbstrsctsr facts of the man, from what he had endured and Survived, Which WAS fnr beyond thai of ordinary men He had lived naked and tensely, and something of all this amoldsred in his eyeg, vibrated In his und seemed forever a whlspei on his Hps. It was two in th?' morning when the dancers, bent on u?tting something to eat. adjourned the dancing for hall an hour. And it was at this moment that Jack Kearns suggested poker, jack Kenrns aas a big. bluff featured man. who. along with Hetties, had mad< the disastrous attempt to found a post on the head reaches of the Koyokuk. Ill insUle the An tic circle. After that Kearns nod fall? a bsch on bis posts gl Fortv Mile utd Bist] Mile atul changed the directing of his rentures by send? ing OUl to the st;ii? ; tor a sin ill * a" mill and a ilver steamer, Jack K' arns inggesleil poker ftench Louis, Dan MacDonuld and Hal C mpbell (Who i turns by February loth, when the had mado a strike on Moosehlde), nil I three of whom were not dancing be- ' cause there were not girls enough to j go around, Inclined to the suggestion. ' They were looking for a fifth man ! when Burning Daylight emerged from | the rear room, the Virgin on his arm, ?M train of dancers in his wake. In ! response to the hall of the poker-play- I era, he cam? over to their table In the j corner. j "Want to sit In," said Campbell. 1 "llow'i your luck?" "I sure cot It tonight," Burning Day* light answered with enthusiasm, and at the same time folt the Virgin press his arm wsrr.lngly. She wanted hlra for the dancing. "I sure got my luck with me. but I'd sooner danoe. I ain't hankerin* to take the money away from you-a!l." / Nobody urged. They took his re? fusal as final, and the Virgin waa pressing his arm to turn him away i in pursuit of the supper-seekers, when he experienced a change of heart. It was not that he did not want to dense, nor that he wanted to hurt her; but that Insistent pressure oat hie arm put his free man-nature in rwvolt Tne thought in his mind was that he aid not want any woman running krau Himself a favorite with women, never? theless they did not bulk big with him. They were toys, playthings, part of the relaxation from tho bigger game of life. He met women along with Ifta whisky and gambling, and from obser? vation he had found that It was far easier to break away from the drink and the cards than from a woman once the man was properly entangled. He j resisted the pull on his arm by the | mere negative mass of him, and said: "I sort of feel a hankering to give you-all a flutter." Tact and sympathy strove with him, and he smiled with his syne Into the Virgin's eyes as be said: "You-all go and get some grub. I ain't hungry. And we'll dance eonse more by and by. The night's young yet. Go it, old girl." He released his arm and thrust her playfully on the shoulder, at the same time turning to the poker players. "Take off the limit and 111 go yon all." "Limit's the roof," said Jack Keaxas Once started, it was a quiet gams, ; with little or no conversation, though j all about the players the place was i a-roar. Elam Harnish had ignited tho 1 spark. More and more miners dropped ! In to the Tivoli and remained. When j Burning Daylight went on the tear, no , man cared to miss It The dancing j floor was full. The luck at tho table rafted monotonously, no big hands be lag out. As a result, high play went! on with small hands, though no play > lasted long. But at three in the morn-j ing the big combination of hands ar- , rived. It was the moment of moments ( that men wait weeks for in a poker ; game. Tho news of It tingled over the I Tivoli. The onlookers became quiet ? The men farther a* ay ceassd talking and moved over to the table. The \ players deserted the other games, and j the dancing-floor was forsaken, so that j all stood at last, fivescore and more in ' a compact and silent group, around the poker table. The high betting went on, with tho draw not In sight. - Kearns had dealt, and French Louis had opened the pot v/tth one marker j ?in hll CMS one hundred dollars. j Campbell had merely "seen" It, but Elam Harnish, coming next, had tossed in five hundred dollars, with the remark to MacDonald that he was letting him in easy. MacDonald glancing again at his hand, put in a ; thousand In markers. Kearns, de- ? bating a long time over his hand, j finally "saw." It then cost French Louis nine hundred to remain in the game, which he contributed after a similar debate. It cost Campbell like- | wise nine hundred to remain and draw j cards, but to the Furprlse of all he MW the nine hundred and raised an- ' other thousand. "You-all are on the grade at last," Harnish remarked, as he saw the fif- ' teen hundred and raised a thousand i in turn. "Helen Breakfast's sure on ton this divide, anu >ou-all "hall lbe"st ' look out for bustin' harness." I "Me for that same lady," accom pgnlad MacDonald'l markers for two thousand and for an additional thou-, sand-dollar raise. I "I ain't pot no more markers," ? Kearns remarked r-laintively. "We'd ! boat begin 1. o. u.'s." | "Glad you're going to stay," was 1 MacDonald'l cordial response. "I ain't stayed yet. I've got a thou- j sand in already. How's it fctand : now?" "It'll cost you three thousand for a look in, but nobody will stop you from raising." "liaise?h?1. You must think I got a pat like yourself." Kearns looked at his hand. "But I'll tell you what I'll do, Mae. I've got a hunch, and I'll jusl see that three thousand." lie wrote the sum on a slip of i><n per, signed his name, and consigned it to th< center of the taile. French Louli became the focus of all eyes, lie lingered his cards nerv? ously for a pace. Then, with a "By Qarl Ah got not one leetle beet bunch." he regretfully tossed his hand Into the discards. The next moment the hundred and odd paii. of eyes shifted to Camp I* 11. ' i won't hump you. Jack," be Bald, contenting himself with calling the requisite I wo thousand, The eyes shifted to llarnllh, who scribbled on a piece of paper end shoved it forward. ? I'll jusl lei von nil know ibis ain't no Sunday school society ol phtlan* thropy," he said. "I see you, Jack, and I rali v i > u t t housand, i lere's where >?'? II get action on your pat. Mac." "Action fa on, and I lift ant h ? id," was MacDon* Auditor's books arc closed for t nid ? rejoinder. "Still got that hunch. 1 Jack?" "I aUll got that hunch." Kearaa Angered his cards a long time. "And HI play It, but you've got to know how I stand. There's my steamer, the Bella?worth twenty thousand If she's worth an ounce. Them's Sixty-Mile with five thousand in stock on the | ?helves. And you know I got a saw- I mill coming In. It's at Llnderman j now, and tho scow Is building. Am I 1 good?" "Dig in; you're sure good.'' was Daylight's answer. "And while we're about it, I may mention casual that I got twenty thousand in Mac's safe, i there, and there's twenty thousand j more in the ground on Moosehide. You know the ground, Campbell. I? they that-all in the dirt?" "There eure is, Dayllgnt" "How much does it cent ncwT i Kearna ashed. ' "Two thousand to see." , "Wall eure hump you if yen-eU oome In," Daylight warned him. "It's an almighty good honah," | Kearna said, adding his slip to the growing heap. "I can feel bar erawl- \ in' up and aewa my back." "I ain't got a hunch, but I got a tol? erable good hand," Campbell an- j nounced, as he slid in his slip; "hat; Itw not a raising hand." j "Mine is," Daylight paused sad j wrote. "I see that thoueand and raiee > her the same old thousand." The Virgin, standing behind Mat, then did what a mac's beet friend waa not privileged to do. Reaching ewer I Daylight's shoulder, she picked up hat hand and read It. at the same ttsae i shielding the faces of the oarde efeaa , to his cheat. What she saw ware ? three queens and a pair of eights, hat DObObdy guessed what she saw. Every player's eyee were on her face as she scanned the cards, but no etgn did she give. She laid the baud faee j down again on the table and slowly the lingering eyes withdrew from her, having learned nothing. MacDonald smiled benevolently. "I : see you, Daylight, and I hump thia | time for two thousand. How's that hunch, Jack?" ; "Still a crawling, Mac. You got me j now, but that hunch is a rip-snorter I persua?in' gort of a critter, and lt'a ! my pluln duty to riete lt. 1 call foT three thousand. And I got another hunch; Daylight's going to call, too," ; "He sure Is," Daylight agreed, after Campbell had thrown up his hand. | "He knows when he's up against It, nud he plays aocordin'. I see that | two thousand, and then 1*11 see the draw." In a dead silence, save for the low voices of the three players, the draw was made. Thirty-four thousand dol? lars were already la ihe pot, and the i play possibly not half over. To the J Virgin's amazement. Daylight held up I his three queens, discarding his eights | and calling for two cards. And this time not even sho dared look at what he had drawn. She knew her limit of conlrol. Nor did he look. The two new cards lay face down on the table where they had been dealt to him. "Got enough," was the reply. "You can draw if you want to, you know," Kearns warned him. "Nope; this'll do me." Kearns himself drew two cards, but did not look at them. Still Harnish let his cards lie. "I never bet in the teeth of a pat hand." he said slowly, looking at the saloon keeper. "Ycu-all start her roll? ing, Mac." MacDonald counted his cards care? fully, to make doubly sure it was not a foul hand, wrote a sum on a paper slip, and slid it into the pot, with the simple utterance: "Five thousand." Kearns, with every eye upon him, lock< I ai his two-card draw, counted the other three to dispel any doubt, of holding more than live cards. and v> rote ' n a bot tin;. Blip. "I sei' you, Mac,'' he said, "and I raise her a thousand just so as to | keep Daylight out." The concentrated gage shifted to Daylight. He likewise examined his draw and counted bis live cards. ? I a thai s;\ thousand, and r raise her live thousand . . . just to try and keep you out, Jack." "And i raise you tlvo thousand just to lend a band ;it keeping .lack out." MacDonald sai1 in turn. His voice was slightly husky and stralnod, and <?- nervous twitch in 11 i? ? cornei of bis mouth followed speech. Kesri \n as pale, ;* nd i hose a bo lool ?! on noted thai his hand trem? bb .1 as h< ?rote hi; slip. Bui his voice v.nnchnti '? d. ? l Ii! t he tloi g for five thou* sand," be - \ I. Day Iii hi ?ras i ow In the center. returns, will suffer for i'. as there i Tbe kerosene lamps above flung high Light? from the rash of sweat on bis forehead. The bronte of his cheeks was darkened by the accession of blood. His black eyes glittered and his nostrils were distended and enger. They were large nostrils, tokening hl6 deroert from ravage ancestors who hod survived by virtue of deep lungs and generous air-passages. Yet. unlike MacDonald, his voice v.?as firm and c.rtomary, ard, unlike Kearns hia baud did not tremble when he wrote. "I call, for ten thousand," he said. "Not that I'm afraid of you-all, Mac. It's that hunch of Jack's." "I burar> his hunch for five thousand Jost the same," ssid MacDonald. "I had the be?t hand before the draw. and I r*.n\ guess I got It." "Mebbe this is a case where a buDoh after the draw hi batter's the hunch before," Kearne rsiaarked; wherefore dirty savn, lift her. Jaok, lift her/ and eo I Tift her anoth? er free thousaltl" Deyfttfrt leaned back in has ehalr and gaoed up st the kerosene lnsinfl wbOe be computed aloud: "1 was In ntas thousand before the draw, and I saw and raised efteroai! thousand?that makes thirty. I'm only good for tea mere." He leaned for* ward end toosss at Kearua. *te I csal j er five thoossnd." j "You can raise If you wes*V* sTsssna answered. "Your dcgs are gned for | five fhoussld in this game.* "Nary dawg. Yoa-aTl onn wan ngf dust and dirt, but nary one of my j dawgs. I Jirert sell" ! The saloon keener finally spates: | j "If anybody else wins, they'll knew to take a mortgage on the *A*oll." The two other plsjywss nodded. "So I call, too." MaoBorrald added hie sttn her five thousand. Not one of then clsssned the pot, aad not one of them ceiled the else of his hand, fllnrakaaaously and in sftsucs they "aoed their oards Qg fbe table, while a gcracral tiptoe? ing and craning of necks took place among the onlookers. Daylight showed foerr Queens and an ase; Mac Donald four Jecks and an aoe, and; Kearns four kings and a trey. Kearaa reached forward with an encircling movement of his arm sad drew the pot in to Mm, his arm shaking ss he did so. Daylight picked the see from his hand and tossed H over eiccsfslae Mac Don aid** ace, saying: "That's what cheered me along. Mac. I knowed H was only kings that could beat me, and he had them. "What did yon-all haver ho seensd, all interest, trrrnlng to OamphaM. j "Straight fresh of four, opan st both ends?a good drawing hand." "You bet! You could a' made a, straight, a etratght flush or a fluah oat. of it" "That's whst I thought," Oesanbctl said, sadly. It cost me sis thousand before I qurt" "I wiskt yWMU'd drawn," Daylight laughed. "Then I wouldn't a' caught that fourth qusen. Now Pve got to take Billy Rawllns' mail contract and mush for Dyes. What's the else of the killing, Jack?" Kearns attempted to count the pot, but was too excited. Daylight drew it across lo him, with firm fingers sep arating and stacking the markers and I. O. TJ.'s and with clear brain adding the sum. "One hundred and twenty seven thousand," he announoed. "You-all can | sell out now. Jack, and head for; home." The winner smiled and nodded, but seemed incapable of speech. "Name your snake-Juloe. you-all? the winner pays!" Daylight called out | loudly to all about him, at the same | time ricicg from his chair and catch Ing the Virgin by the arm. "Come on j for a reel, you-all dancers. The night's young yet, and it's Helen Breakfast and the "mail contract Tor me in tne morning. Here, you-all Rawlins, you ?I hereby do take over that same contract, and I start for salt water at | nine a. m.?savvee? Come on, you-all! j Where's that fiddler?" CHAPTER II. ? I It was Daylight's night. He was the center and the head of the revel, un- ! quenchably joyous, a contagion of \ fun. In between dances he paid over to Kearns the twenty thousand In dust and transferred to him his Moosehlde claim. Likewise he arranged the tak? ing over of Billy Rawlins' mall con? tract, and made his preparations for the start. He dispatched a messenger to rout out Kama, his dog-driver?a Tananaw Indian, far-wandered from 1 his tribal home in the service of the invading whites. Kama entered the Tivoli, tall, lean, muscular, and fur clad, the pick of his barbaric race and barbaric still, unshaken and una? bashed by the revelers that rlot< d about him while Daylight gave hia orders. "Urn," said Kama, tabbing his in Btrt lions on his fingers. "Get urn lettf-'B from Rawlins. Load urn on, s!ed. Grub for Selkirk?you think urn plenty dog jrub stop Selkirk?" "Plenty dog-grub, Kama." "Um. Bring sled this place nine um clock. Bring um snowshoes. No bring um tent Mebbo bring um fljr? urn little fly?" "No fly." DayUshl answered de? cisively. We travel light?ggrnee? i We carry plenty letters out, plenty Ml era bock. You are Btrong man. j PI* nty cold, plenty travel, all 1 M." ? ?ure all right," Kama muttered, with resignation. "Much cold, no care. I m rettil? nine urn * lock " Ho t'tvrt '. on his moccaslned heel u! ? il out. Imperturbable, sphinx-j iie "?Ither givii : nor receiving i lings " n* lool ing to right or le*\ V vir led Daj i h away Into a b? Bald in a a lifty per cent It) on unreturn* "TT^her'n a fctfc?.* "I've right tiiov.eand in Mac's safe ?" cbt i ? tin. But 11 gat interrupted. The nT? r' string Icouied n?ar and he shied UK- an unbroken colt. "It iont matter," he said. "Busted [ ca! into the vorld, buated 1 go out, and I've b<?en busted mo*?t of the time I eine* 1 arrived. Come on; let's wa!lz." "But, listen," sho urged. "My I money'g doing nothing. I could lend it to you?a grub-stake." she added, hnrritdly, at sight of the alarm in his faCC:. "Noboby grub-stakes me," waa the : answer. "I stako myself, and when II make a killir.s it's sure all mice. No ! thank ycu, old girl. Much obliKod. LH 1 get my stake by miming the mail out I ar.d in." Wiih a sudden wellaaaumeji ebullition of Fplrits he drew her to? ward the dancing-floor, and as they swung around and around in a waits Ehe pondered on the Iron heart of the man who held her in his arms and re? sisted all her wiles. I At six the neat morning, scorching I with whisky, yet ever himself, he j ctood at the bar putting every man's hand down. The way of it waa that two men faced each other across a I oorner, their right elbows resting on the bar, their right hands gripped to? gether, while each store to preee the other's hand down. Man after man came against him, but no man put his hand down, eren Olaf Henderson acd French Louis failing despite their hugeness. "The winner pays!" Daylight cried. "Surge a'ong you-all! Thia way to the I snake-room!" j *Tm busted higher'n a kite, and I'm j hlttin' the trail for Dyea?" "Goin' out?" some one cailod. A spasm of anger wrought on his face for a flashing inetnat, but In the next good humor waa back again. "I konw you-all are only rxtkin' fun asking such a question," he said with a smile. "Of course I ain't go; ng out." "Take the oath again, Daylight," the same voice cried. I "I sure will. I first come orer Chil I coot In '83. I went out over viie Pass ! In a fall blizzard, with a rag of a shirt and a cup of raw flour. I got my grub? stake In Juneau that winter, and In the spring I went out over the Pass once more. And once more the fam? ine drew me out. Next spring I went In again, and I swore then that I'd iiever come out till 1 made my stake. Well, I ain't made It. and here I am. And I ain't going out now. I get the mail aad I come right back. I won't stop the night at Dyea. I'll hit up I Chilcoot soon as I change the dogs j and get the mail and grub. And so I ! swear once more. ITi never hit for the Outside till I make my pile. And I tell you-all. here and now, lfs got to be an almighty big pile. I'll be real ; conservative, and put the bottom notch at a million. And for not an ounce less'n '.hat will I go out of the coun? try. I tell you-all I got a hunch, j There'u a big strike coming on the i Yukon, and it's just about due. I don't mean no ornery Moosehide, Birch creek kind of a strike. I mean a real rip-snorter hair-raiser. Nothing can stop her, and she'll come up river.l There's where you-all'11 track my moc? casins in the near future if you-all want to find me?somewhere in the I country around Stewart river, Indian I river and Klondike river. When I get I back with the mail, 111 head that way j so fast you-all won't see my trail for smoke. She's a-coming, fellows, gold "She's a ComirT, Fellows. Gold From the Grass Roots Down, a Hundred Dollars to the Pan." from the grass roots down, a hun? dred dollars to the pan, and a stam? ped.- in from the Outside fifty thou-. sand strong." "If i was you. Daylight, I wouldn't mush today," Joe 1 lines counseled, coming in from consulting the spirit thermometer outside the door. "We're ia lor a good cold snap, it's sixty-two b< low now, and still goin' down. Bet ter wait till she breaks." Dnyllght laughed, and the old sour? doughs around him laughed. "it's a thousand miles to Dyea." Bot? tles announced, climbing on tha chair and supporting his swaying body hp an arm passed around Daylight's neck "K s a thousand miles. I'm saying, an* mos*, of the train unbroke, but l bet any chechaquo?-anything lie wants? thai Daylight makes Dyea in thirty days." "That' : ?i average <*t ? vor thirty M miles a day," Doe Watson earned, "and I've traveled somci m; self. \ ? izard on Chilcoot would tie hin : I<>. a \\t?ok." "Yep," Rettlea retorted, "an* Da? Ught'll do the reoond thousr.i i] back