ound then
the stub of a pencil. Then he wrote.

Having written he unlaced his boot on the right foot, folded the paper,
and thrust it into the bootleg. Then, relacing the shoe, he arose and
journeyed blithely on.

IX

On arriving in Snowy Gulch, Ben's first efforts were to inquire in
regard to horses. Both pack and saddle animals, he learned, were to be
hired of Sandy McClurg, the owner of the general store and leading
citizen of the village; and at once he made his way to confer with him.

"Most of my mustangs are rented out," the merchant informed him when
they met in the rear of the general store, "but if you can get along
with three, I guess I can fix you up. You can pack two of 'em, and ride
the third."

"Good enough," Ben agreed. "And after I once get in, I'd like to turn
back two of them, and maybe all three--to save the hire and the bother
of taking care of them. I suppose, after the fashion of cayuses, they'll
leg it right home."

"Just a little faster than a dog. Horses don't much care to grub their
food out of them spruce forests. They're good plugs, so of course I
don't want to rent 'em to any one who'll abuse 'em, or take 'em on too
hard trips. Where are you heading, if the question's fair?"

"Through Spruce Pass and down into the Yuga River."

"Prospecting, eh? There's been quite a movement down that way lately,
considering it never was anything but a pocket country. By starting
early you can make it through in a day. And you said your name was--"

"Darby. Ben Darby."

The merchant opened his eyes. "Not the Ben Darby that took all the
prizes at the meet at Lodge Pole--"

Ben's rugged face lit with the brilliancy of his smile. "The same
Darby," he admitted.

"Well, well! I hope you'll excuse them remarks about abusing the horses.
If I had known who you was, 'Wolf' Darby, I'd have known you knew how to
take care of cayuses. Take 'em for as long as you want, or where you
want. And when did you say you was going?"

"First thing to-morrow."

"Well, you're pretty likely to have companionship on the road, too.
There is another party that is going up that way either to-morrow or the
day after. Pretty lucky for you."

"I'm glad of it, if he isn't a tenderfoot. That must be a pretty thickly
settled region--where I'm heading."

"On the contrary, there's only three human beings in the whole
district--and there's a thousand of square miles back of it without even
one. These three are some me