lled, she would be obliged to remain in bed for the
remainder of the day at least.

Loll had already told the story of the mysterious animal tracks by the
lake, and the scattered flour at the cache. Boreland had taken his
rifle and gone down to the place as soon as the tide permitted. As
Harlan lay there thinking, he was filled with an intense relief--he
knew now that the spectre of the tundra that had so worried him was no
creature of his own disordered brain. Whatever it might be, it was of
flesh and blood. He could speak of it now.

Boreland returned about supper time.

"Did you see 'em, dad?" shouted Loll as his father came in the door.

"What was it, Shane?" Jean called from the other room.

Boreland replaced his rifle in the rack over the head of the bed.

"Bear tracks," he answered succinctly. "Hind foot measures fourteen
and a half inches!"

CHAPTER XIX

HOME-MAKING

"I figure that the Kodiak cub the Alaska Fur and Trading Company
brought over here as a pet, is now wandering about the Island a
full-grown grizzly, instead of being in bear heaven, as the people of
Katleean thought," said Boreland, as they all sat about the supper
table. "Confound it, it makes it mighty bad for us, with all that grub
down there at the West Camp! If the beast takes a notion he can go
there and raise the very devil."

"I'll take my blankets down there tomorrow and guard the cache until we
get the provisions transferred," announced Harlan, quickly. "I'd like
to get a shot at a Kodiak bear."

"Son, I ain't a-castin' any asparagus on yore shootin' ability, but I
claims the right to shoot that anamile myself!" spoke up Kayak Bill.

"Funny!" Boreland laughed. "I had the same idea myself."

After supper they discussed the problem of getting the remainder of the
provisions down to the cabin at once. It was decided that each man
should take a turn guarding the cache. Boreland finally left the
conversation to Kayak and Harlan while he sat at the table silent, one
hand clutching his hair, the other drawing queer-looking cart-wheels
and figures on a paper before him. Just before the others started to
leave for the night, he sprang up, with an exclamation.

"By thunder, I've got it!" he announced enthusiastically. "Fellows,
we're going to make a nautical cart and sail her on the beach of Kon
Klayu!"

The nautical cart, when completed, proved to be a hybrid contrivance
with two large wheels. The wheels had a