egards carrion.

The days of labor were long and many. Hardship piled up on hardship,
as it ever does in the spring of the northland. There was no ease for
leader or man. Only labor, unceasing, terrific.

Kars moved aside from the Bell River Indian encampment. He passed to
the west of it, beyond all sight of the workings he had explored on the
memorable night of his discovery. And he took the gorge from the
north, seeking its heart for his camp, on the wide foreshore beyond the
dumps of pay dirt which had first yielded him their secret.

It was a movement which precluded all possibility of legitimate
protest. And since this territory was all unscheduled in the
government of the Yukon, it was his for just as long as he could hold
it. The whole situation was treated as though no other white influence
were at work. It was treated as a peaceful invasion of Indian
territory, and, as is usual in such circumstances, the Indian was
ignored. It was an illustration of white domination. In Bill
Brudenell's words "they were throwing a big bluff."

But for all their ignoring of the Indians, the outfit was under the
closest observation. There was not a moment, not a foot of its way,
that was not watched over by eyes that saw, and for the most part
remained unseen. But this invisibility was not always the rule.
Indians in twos and threes were frequently encountered. They were the
undersized northern Indian of low type, who had none of the splendid
manhood of the tribes further south. But each man was armed with a
more or less modern rifle, and garments of crudely manufactured furs
replaced the romantic buckskin of their southern brethren.

These men came round the camps at night. They foregathered silently,
and watched, with patient interest, the work going on. They offered no
friendship or welcome. They made no attempt to fraternize in any way.
Their unintelligent faces were a complete blank, in so far as they
displayed any understanding of what they beheld.

The men of the outfit were in nowise deceived. They knew the purpose
of these visits. These creatures were there to learn all that could
serve the purposes of their leaders. They were testing the strength of
these invaders. And they were permitted to prosecute their
investigations without hindrance. It was part of the policy Kars had
decided upon. The "bluff," as Bill had characterized it, was to be
carried through till the enemy "called."

Two wee