of smoked goose-breasts accumulate on their drying-rack, where some
of the bear meat still remained, as well as a goodly number of split
salmon.

The gulls' nests and the salmon stream afforded their best source of
supply, each practically exhaustless at that season. The salmon came
practically to their very door, and, provided as they were now with
salt, there was small excuse for any of them going hungry. So easy,
indeed, did life become, so far as food was concerned, that, as has been
stated above, a certain monotony, not to say anxiety, settled upon them
all. This, however, was one day broken by an event of most startling
interest.

They were following down the salmon creek, with the intention of taking
a few fish at the pool near the mouth, when all at once the young Aleut,
whose keen eyes were ever searching the country both far and near,
paused and gave a low exclamation as he pointed to the mud near the
banks.

"Bad mans come!" he said.

They peered where he pointed. Sure enough, there was the mark of a man's
foot, evidently that of a man wearing _mukluks_, or seal boots. The boys
looked at one another.

"Him come," said Skookie, making signs of catching salmon. He made other
signs of going to sleep, putting his hands against his cheek and closing
his eyes, and then pointing up the hills. He pointed from the hills to
the creek. Thus the boys knew what he meant, what they at once suspected
to be the truth--that their late prisoner Jimmy was hiding out in the
mountains, and coming down like a wild animal to make his living on the
salmon run.

This was a situation which at once seemed to them very grave.

"He has not left, after all," said Rob, moodily. "I wish we had him
under lock and key again. The question is, are we going to catch him
again, or is he going to catch us first? That's what I want to know."

"What do you mean?" asked John. "He's free, and we don't know where he
is. Surely you don't mean that we ought to go and hunt him up?"

"I feel just this way," answered Rob, "as I always have about anything
of the sort--if there's going to be trouble, let us have it over and
done with. For one, I don't relish lying awake night after night
wondering if our camp is going to be surprised; and neither do I like to
walk these shores wondering if this fellow is going to slip an arrow
into one of us from the grass."

"Wouldn't we be safe in the house?" asked Jesse.

"We can't stay in the house all the