fore me, I'll promise you I will
bring it in justifiable homicide."

A couple of hours later they had parted from Tregelly and his
companions, with a hearty shake of the hand and a promise to keep to
their agreement about the gold.

"If we discover a good place."

CHAPTER TWENTY.

NORTON'S IDEA OF A GOOD SPOT.

It was a long, weary tramp up by the higher waters of the huge Yukon
River towards its sources in the neighbourhood of the Pelly Lakes, where
sharp rapids and torrents were succeeded by small, shallow lakes; and
wherever they halted, shovel and pan were set to work, and, as their
guide Norton termed it, the granite and sand were tasted, and gold in
exceedingly small quantities was found.

"It's so 'most everywhere," said Norton; "and I don't say but what you
might find a rich spot at any time; but if you take my advice you'll
come straight on with me to where a few of us are settled down. It's
regularly into the wilds. I don't suppose even an Indian has been there
before; but we chaps went up."

"But there are Indians about, I suppose?" said Abel.

"Mebbe, but I haven't seen any."

The end of their journey was reached at last, high up the creek they had
followed, and, save here and there in sheltered rifts, the snow was
gone; the brief summer was at hand, and clothing the stones with flowers
and verdure that were most refreshing after the wintry rigours through
which they had forced their way.

"Nice and free and open, eh?" said Norton, smiling. "I may as well
show you to the comrades up here, and then I'll help you pick out a
decent claim, and you can set to work. There's only about a dozen of us
here yet, and so you won't be mobbed."

"Very well," said Dallas; "but we'll try in that open space where the
trees are so young."

Norton nodded, and, armed with a shovel and pan, the young men stepped
to a spot about fifty feet from the edge of the rushing stream, cleared
away the green growth among the young pines, and Dallas tried to drive
down his shovel through the loose, gravelly soil; but the tool did not
penetrate four inches.

"Why, it's stone underneath."

"Ice," said Norton, smiling. "It hasn't had time to thaw down far yet;
but you skin off some of the gravelly top, and try it."

Dallas filled the pan, and they went together to a shallow place by the
side of the creek, bent down, and, with the pan just beneath the
surface, agitated and stirred it, the water washing away the thic