ng,"
said Stevens. "Notice that figger there!" He pointed with a stubby
forefinger. "Pretty near a billion, ain't it?"

"Seven hundred and fifty thousand," said Aldous.

He was thinking of the "pound" sign. She had not looked like the
Englishwomen he had met. He folded the slip of paper and put it in his
pocket.

Stevens eyed him seriously.

"I was coming over to give you a bit of advice before I left for the
Maligne Lake country," he said. "You'd better move. Quade won't want you
around after this. Besides----"

"What?"

"My kid heard something," continued the packer, edging nearer. "You was
mighty good to the kid when I was down an' out, Aldous. I ought to tell
you. It wasn't an hour ago the kid was behind the tent an' he heard Quade
and Slim Barker talking. So far as I can find from the kid, Quade has gone
nutty over her. He's ravin'. He told Slim that he'd give ten thousand
dollars to get her in his hands. What sent the boy down to me was Quade
tellin' Slim that he'd get _you_ first. He told Slim to go on to Tete
Jaune--follow the girl!"

"The deuce you say!" cried Aldous, clutching the other's arm suddenly.
"He's done that?"

"That's what the kid says."

Aldous rose to his feet slowly. The careless smile was playing about his
mouth again. A few men had learned that in those moments John Aldous was
dangerous.

"The kid is undoubtedly right," he said, looking down at Stevens. "But I am
quite sure the young woman is capable of taking care of herself. Quade has
a tremendous amount of nerve, setting Slim to follow her, hasn't he? Slim
may run up against a husband or a brother."

Stevens haunched his shoulders.

"It's not the woman I'm thinking about. It's you. I'd sure change my
location."

"Why wouldn't it be just as well if I told the police of his threat?" asked
Aldous, looking across the river with a glimmer of humour in his eyes.

"Oh, hell!" was the packer's rejoinder.

Slowly he unwound his long legs and rose to his feet.

"Take my advice--move!" he said. "As for me, I'm going to cross that cussed
river this afternoon or know the reason why."

He stalked away in the direction of his outfit, chewing viciously at his
quid. For a few moments Aldous stood undecided. He would liked to have
joined the half-dozen men he saw lounging restfully a distance beyond the
grazing ponies. But Stevens had made him acutely aware of a new danger. He
was thinking of his cabin--and the priceless achievement of