-gently but diabolically
aggravated by the now general leakage through a sieve-like
roof,--eliminated from my mind any intention which I may have had of
placing my blankets and myself upon the floor. In fact, it was difficult
to locate one's self, sitting or standing, so as to avoid a trickle of
water down the neck. Here was a good time for a bottle of whisky to get
in its work, and Louis needed a stiff drink, for he was pretty ill. So,
round it went throughout the choice circle, and back it came to me,
empty enough.

Three of us decided to sit out the night about the fire; the rest in
grotesque fashion lay stretched upon the floor. As a David Harum sort of
miner once said to me, "The more you see of a certain class of people,
the better you love a dog"; and about that time I felt very kindly
disposed toward the unjustly-rated lower animals. It was generally
agreed, before the turning in began, to make a four-o'clock start in the
morning, and about the only thing which the three of us who sat together
had in common was the intention that such a start should be made. As we
poked and added to the fire, and dodged the drip, the would-be sleepers
showed their disapproval of the noise and heat by moving and muttering,
and the semiconscious, but unrivaled, Trundy rounded out a series of
epithets which left no doubt as to his exact sentiments. One of the
figures raised itself and basted the head of a snoring Yukoner. Louis,
in his dreamy wanderings, with unnecessary vigor, but through force of
habit, attacked the poor dogs by references to their maternal ancestry.
One of the two who kept me company, whom I despised more than the other,
of wizened physique and a mean eye, fearful lest his goods might spoil,
occasionally migrated out into the early morning light and wet; and,
slipping and sliding down the mucky incline, mushed over to the boat,
lifted the canvas, and investigated the quantity of water in the craft.
Then, perhaps having bailed a little, he would climb back again to enjoy
the hospitality of the cabin and to intimate that he was doing my work
as well as his own. Having seen his supplies go into the boat first, and
on the bottom, I could remark that I would take the chances of having my
goods damaged. The best we could do was to rouse the reluctant crowd at
five o'clock, and, after a delectable breakfast, served as you snatched
it, get under way shortly after six to complete the remaining six or
seven miles to Counc