son shot a swift glance at him, answering quietly, "There are
other things up north besides furs."

"Do you mean desperadoes?" questioned Jack.

"Well," hesitated his uncle, "perhaps I do; perhaps I mean other things,
too." And that was all Jack could get him to say on the subject. But the
boy was very proud of his "gun," and a little curious as to just why his
uncle had given it to him, so that night, when they were alone a moment,
he said: "Larry, that shooter is--bully! It's great to have it. I'd
rather have it at my hip than be in a position sometime to wish I had
it."

"I was there once, and not so very long ago, my boy," said Matt Larson,
with a quick frown. Then, half to himself, "But the man in the mackinaw*
will never catch me unarmed again."

[*A mackinaw is a short, rough coat of material much like a grey
horse blanket. It is worn by most lumberjacks, explorers, miners
and woodsmen in the regions north of the great Canadian lakes.]

"The man in the mackinaw, eh?" echoed Jack, lifting his eyebrows
meaningly.

"Oh, ho, youngster! You're the boy for me!" grinned his uncle. "You're
sharp! You've caught on, all right. Yes; he's the man you've got to keep
your eyes in the back of your head to watch for. He's a bad lot. He may
bother us. Now, are you afraid to tackle the wilderness, since you know
there is menace--perhaps danger?"

"I'm not afraid of anything with you, Matt Larson," said the boy,
gravely, looking the other directly in the eyes.

"But suppose we should get separated, by some unlucky chance, what
then?" asked the man.

"I don't think I would be afraid--I _shall not_ be afraid, even then,"
Jack answered.

"That's the way to talk! Now I know you are game," said Larson, seizing
the boy by the shoulders and peering into his eyes. Then they shook
hands silently, but it was an unspoken pledge nevertheless.

"The man in the mackinaw," repeated Jack, slowly, as their hands
gripped. Then his eyes narrowed down to little slits of light. "I think,
Larry, I should know him by instinct."

"You're a wolf on two legs, boy!" replied Larry, with delight. "You have
the intuition of the wiser animals. Why have I never really known you
before? Why have I not had you?"

"You've got me now, anyway, and you are going to keep me, Larry," said
the boy. Then they said good-night with a bond of manly friendship
between them that was destined to last throughout their lives.

* * * * * * * *

They