er then I be, and your
shoulders are as broad as the sled."

"Yer p'ints be well taken, fur sartin," replied the Trapper; "fur it
be no more than reasonable that the man that steers should see where
he be goin', and I am as anxious as ye be that ye should. Yis, I
sartinly want ye to see where ye be goin' on this trip, anyhow, fur
the crew be a fresh un, and the channel be a leetle crooked. But be ye
sartin, Bill, that ye can fetch round that stump there as it orter be
did, with nothin' but yer toe out behind? It may be the best way, as
ye say, but it don't look like honest steerin' to a man of my years."

"I have used both ways," answered Bill, "and I give you my word, old
man, that this is the best one. You can get a big swing with your foot
stretched out in this fashion, and the sled feels the least pressure
of the toe. Yes, it's all right. John Norton, are you ready?"

"Yis, yis, as ready as I ever shall be," answered the Trapper, in a
voice in which doubt and resignation were equally mingled. "It may be
as ye say," he continued; "but the rudder be too fur behind to suit
me, and ef anything happens on this cruise, jest remember, Wild Bill,
that my jedgment--"

The sentence the Trapper was uttering was abruptly cut short at this
point; for Bill had started the sled with a sudden push, and leaped to
his seat behind the Trapper as it glided downward and away. In an
instant the sled was under full headway, for the dip was a sharp one,
and the crust smooth as ice. Scarce had it gone ten rods from the
point where it started before it was in full flight, and was gliding
downward with what would have been, to any but a man of the steadiest
nerve, a frightful velocity. But the Trapper was of too cool and
courageous temperament to be disturbed even by actual danger. Indeed,
the swiftness of their downward career, as the sled with a buzz and a
roar swept along over the resounding crust, stirred the old man's
blood with a tingle of excitement; while the splendid manner with
which Wild Bill was keeping it to the course settled upon filled him
with admiration, and was fast making him a convert to the new method
of steering.

Downward they flashed. The Trapper's cap had been blown from his head;
and as the old man sat bolt-upright on his sled, his feet bravely
planted on the round, his face flushed, and his white hair streaming,
he looked the very picture of hearty enjoyment. Above his head the
face of Wild Bill looked actual