with a friendly farewell. He had brought them speedily a long distance
on their way, but they must now trust to the compass and their own
resources; while the loads they strapped on were unpleasantly heavy.
Before this task was finished, dogs and driver had vanished up the
white riband of the stream, and they felt lonely as they stood in the
bottom of the gorge with steep rocks and dark pines hemming them in.
Blake glanced at the high bank with a rueful smile.

"There are advantages in having a good guide," he said. "We haven't
had to face a climb like that all the way. But we'd better get up."

It cost them some labor, and when they reached the summit they stopped
to look for the easiest road. Ahead, as far as they could see, small,
ragged pines grew among the rocks, and breaks in the uneven surface
hinted at troublesome ravines.

"It looks rough," said Benson. "There's rather a high ridge yonder.
It might save trouble to work round its end. What do you think?"

"When I'm not sure," Harding replied, "I mean to go straight south."

Benson gave him an understanding nod.

"You have better reasons for getting back than the rest of us; though
I've no particular wish to loiter up here. Break the trail, Blake; due
south by compass!"

They plunged deeper into the broken belt, clambering down ravines,
crossing frozen lakes and snowy creeks. Indeed, they were thankful
when a strip of level surface indicated water, for the toil of getting
through the timber was heavy.

After two days of travel there was a yellow sunset, and the snow
gleamed in the lurid light with an ominous brilliance, while as they
made their fire a moaning wind got up. These things presaged a change
in the weather, and they were rather silent over the evening meal.
They missed the half-breed and the snarling dogs, and it looked as if
the good fortune that had so far attended them were coming to an end.

The next morning there was a low, brooding sky, and at noon snow began
to fall, but they kept on until evening over very rough ground, and
then they held a council round the fire.

"The situation requires some thought," Blake said. "First of all, our
provisions won't carry us through the timber belt. Now, the shortest
course to the prairie, where the going will be easier, is due south;
but after we get there we'll have a long march to the settlements. I'd
partly counted on our killing a caribou, or perhaps a moose, but so far
we've seen