ought them to the river tilt on the
following Friday, unless by chance they were delayed by storms.

This was the point of fortnightly rendezvous for the four
trappers--the junction point of all their trails. Dick Blake's and
Bill Campbell's trails took them in opposite directions, and during
their period of absence from the river tilt neither saw any of his
companions.

The fortnightly reunion at the river tilt was naturally an occasion
they all looked forward to. It gave an opportunity to compare notes
upon their success, to recount experiences, and to satisfy for a time
the human craving for companionship.

Shad made the first outward journey with Bob, and returned with Ed
Matheson. Then he made a round with Dick Blake, and finally a round
with Bill Campbell.

Every feature of the work was new and interesting to Shad Trowbridge,
and for a time he enjoyed it hugely. But presently it dropped into a
dreary, monotonous routine. The vast, unbroken solitude, the endless
tramping over endless snow, day after day, and the lack of adventure
to which he had looked forward, served presently to make him moody and
irritable.

Shad had hoped for sport with his rifle, but no big game had been
seen--not so much as the track of a caribou. Long before this the last
goose and duck had passed southward. Not a bird save the ever-present
jay had been encountered in upward of three weeks. Even the rabbits,
whose tracks had criss-crossed the early snow in every direction and
packed it down along the willow brush, had unaccountably disappeared.
The stock of fresh meat, save a pair of geese and three pairs of
ptarmigans reserved for a Christmas feast, was exhausted.

These were extraordinary conditions. The men declared that never
before in their experience had they observed so complete a
disappearance of game. Caribou were usually rather numerous in
November. In previous years ptarmigans and spruce grouse had been so
plentiful that they were easily killed when needed. One year in every
nine rabbits were said to vanish, but otherwise the total absence of
game was inexplicable.

It was a condition, too, that caused uneasiness. The flour and pork
brought into the country by the trappers was far from adequate to
supply their needs. Sufficient wild game to at least double their
provision supply was an absolute essential if they were to continue on
the trails. Thus far the early game had supplied their requirements,
but the prospects for