say that you should know at once," she
explained hurriedly, averting her gaze. She seemed very much upset.

He hastened away to post McCorquodale and Svenson to watch for further
demonstrations from the enemy. There was no sign of any intention on
the part of Red McIvor's men to assault the impregnable position. The
whole gang seemed to have drawn off, for the present at least, and it
would be impossible for any of them to creep up the hill without giving
ample warning of their approach. So, cautioning both to keep their
ears open and to call him at the first sign of further trouble, he
slipped back to hear what Stiles had to say.

The story of the bookkeeper's strange experience was so absorbing that
it was not long before both his auditors completely forgot their
surroundings. The gang of toughs in the camp below were running a
consignment of cheap whisky and rum into the north country for
distribution among the camps and various unscrupulous traders who would
supply it to lumberjacks, trappers, construction gangs and even Indians
in due season. This Red McIvor was a notorious character who was known
in many an out-of-the-way corner of the North for the boldness of his
operations and his defiance of the law.

But is [Transcriber's note: it?] was not just chance that had brought
him into this part of the country on his present expedition. It was
the money hidden in the stump. McIvor was open for any sideline in
dishonesty that gave promise of lucrative returns and his agent,
Weiler, had been very busy in Toronto recently. Somebody had tipped J.
C. Nickleby as to Podmore's underhand activities--Ferguson, the
lawyer, Stiles thought; but was not sure--and Podmore had been watched
closely and followed when he started West. Word had been passed to Red
McIvor, who had lost no time in getting on the trail of this
fifty-thousand-dollar pick-me-up, with the result that he had reached
out a hairy arm, twisted his fingers in Mr. Podmore's coat-collar and
calmly dispossessed him of the sealed envelope which he had recovered
from the stump. The chase which had ended thus had not been prolonged,
as the city man had been no match for the experienced woodsman in the
latter's own environment.

When McIvor found that all he had for his efforts was a package of
worthless stage money he was furious. He at once concluded that
Podmore had tricked him and had hidden the real money. He trusted his
eastern agent implicitly an