here
the prospector was sitting.

"Frontier Samson!" he exclaimed, gripping him firmly by the hand. "Is
it really you?"

"Sure, it's me, all right, Curly. Who else did ye think it was; me
ghost?"

"Not when I heard that cat-call, an' the bow-wow."

"Heard 'em before, eh? Guess this isn't the first scrape I've got ye
out of, is it?"

"Should say not. But where in h---- did ye drop from, Sam? I didn't
know ye were on board."

"Oh, I'm jist on a visit from the outside. An' it's mighty lucky that
I'm here, or else I don't know what 'ud have happened. Better leave
cards alone, Curly, if ye can't play without fightin'. They make
people act like a bunch of kids."

"It was those d---- fools' fault, though, Sam."

"Thar, now, don't make excuses an' blame others, Curly. That's jist
what kids allus do. An' cut out them unholy words. There might be a
parson around."

Curly flung himself down upon a seat, and lighted a cigarette. He cast
a furtive glance at Reynolds, thinking that perhaps he might be the
"parson."

"What have ye been doin', Curly?" the old man asked. "An' why was ye
driftin' out under that fog-bank? Ye nearly got left, let me tell ye
that."

"I know we did, and I thought that d----, excuse me, Sam," he
apologized, as he again glanced toward Reynolds. "I mean, I thought
that the fog-bank would never lift. We've been doing some of the
islands for several months."

"Strike anything?"

"Nothing, an' nearly starved in the bargain. If it hadn't been fer an
Indian mission, we wouldn't be alive now."

"Then missionaries are of some use after all, Curly. You was allus
hard on 'em, if I remember right."

"Umph! They're all right when one's starving. If they'd only leave
the Gospel dope out, it wouldn't be so bad."

"Got a dose of it, eh?"

"Should say I did. Morning, noon an' night I had to go to church with
the Indians. I've had enough to last me the rest of me life. Say,
weren't we glad to get away!"

"Goin' north agin? I thought ye was through, up thar?"

"So did I. But we heard of the new strike at Big Draw, an' decided to
try our luck once more."

"Think ye'll hit it this time?"

"I hope so. But it isn't altogether the gold that's taking me back.
There's something more attractive."

"So I imagined."

"I thought you would understand." Curly's voice was eager now.
"She'll not escape me this time. Gad, she's a beaut! But as wild as a
hawk."

"An' so ye think