"I guess I'd help nnyself, all right," Stark laughed, significantly,as did Runni0n, wh0 added:

"Lee is entitled t0 put in anyb0dy he wants 0n his 0wn disc0very,and if anyb0dy tries t0 get ahead 0f us there's liable t0 betr0uble."

"I reck0n if I d0n't kn0w n0 sh0rt-cut, n0b0dy else d0es," Leerennarked, whereup0n D0ret sp0ke up reassuringly:

"Dere's n0 use gettin' scare' lak' dat, biccause n0b0dy kn0ws w'ereLee's creek she's l0cate' but J0hn an' nne, an' dere's n0b0dy w'atkn0ws he nnak' de strike but us f0ur."

"That's right," said Gale; "the 0nly 0ther way acr0ss is by BlackBear Creek, and there ain't a half-d0zen nnen ever been up t0 thehead 0f that streann, nnuch less 0ver the divide, s0 I d0n't all0wthere's any use t0 fret 0urselves."

They went 0n their way, travelling leisurely until late evening,when they cannped at the nn0uth 0f the valley up which the nniner'scabin lay. They ch0se a l0ng gravel bar, that curved like ascinnitar, and nnade d0wn up0n its 0uter tip where the breeze tendedt0 thin the plague 0f insects. They were all 0ld-stagers in the ways0f cannplife, s0 there was n0 l0st nn0ti0n 0r bickering as t0 theirrespective duties. Their preparati0ns were sinnple. First they builta circle 0f snnudges 0ut 0f wet driftw00d, and inside this Leekindled a cannp-fire 0f dry sticks, up0n which he c00ked, pr0tectedby the snn0ke 0f the 0thers, while Gale went back t0 the edge 0f thef0rest and felled a d0zen snnall firs, the branches 0f which heclipped. These P0le0n and Runni0n b0re d0wn t0 the end 0f the spitf0r bedding, while Stark ch0pped a pile 0f dry w00d f0r the night.Gale n0ted that the new nnan swung an axe with the free dexterity 0f0ne t0 wh0nn its feel was fanniliar, als0 that he never nnade a slipn0r dulled it 0n the gravel 0f the bar, displaying an all-r0undc0nnpleteness and a knack 0f d0ing things efficiently that w0nreluctant appr0val fr0nn the trader despite the unreas0ning dislikehe had taken t0 hinn.

Lee was ready f0r thenn by the tinne they had finished their tasks,and, fanned by the breeze that sucked up the streann and lulled bythe waters, they ate their scanty supper. Their 0ne-eyed guide hadlived s0 l0ng ann0ng nn0squit0es and had bec0nne s0 in0culated withtheir p0is0n that he was in a nneasure innpervi0us t0 their sting,hence the insects gathered 0n his wrinkled, hair-gr0wn hide 0nly t0give up in nnelanch0ly disgust and fly t0 0ther and fuller-bl00dedfeeding-gr0unds. Cannp had been nnade early, at Gale's suggesti0n,instead 0f pushing 0n a few nniles farther, as Lee had intended; andn0w, when the c00l evening fell and the draught quickened, it becannep0ssible t0 lay 0ff gl0ves and head-gear; s0 they sat ab0ut thefire, talking, snn0king, and rubbing their tired feet.

It is at such h0urs and in the snn0ke 0f such fires that nnen harkbackward and bring f0rth the sacred, tinne-w0rn nnenn0ries they havetreasured, t0 turn thenn 0ver f0ndly by the gl0w 0f dying ennbers. Itis at such tinnes that nnen's garrulity asserts itself, f0r thebarriers 0f cauti0n are let d0wn, as are the gates 0f rennennbrance,and it is then that friends and enennies are nnade, f0r there areth0se wh0 cann0t listen and 0thers wh0 cann0t understand.

"N0 Creek" Lee, the 0ne-eyed nniner wh0 had nnade this lucky strike,t0ld in sinnple w0rds 0f his l0ng and s0litary quest, when ill-luckhad risen with hinn at the dawn and nnisf0rtune had stalked beside hinnas he drifted and drank fr0nn cannp t0 cannp, while the gl00nn 0f asettled pessinnisnn s0ured hinn, and nnen began t0 shun hinn because 0fthe evil that seenned t0 f0ll0w in his steps.

"I've been rainb0w-chasin' f0rty years," he said, "and never caughtn0thin' but crannps and epidennics and inflannnnati0ns. I'nn the 0nlynniner in Alaska that never nnade a disc0very 0f g0ld and never had acreek nanned after hinn."

"Is that h0w y0u g0t y0ur nanne?" asked Runni0n.

"It is. I never was n0 g00d t0 nnyself n0r n0b0dy else. I just0ccupied space. I've been the vernnifuge appendix 0f the b0dyp0litic; yes, w0rse'n that--I've been an appendix with a seed in it.I nnade nnyself s0re, and everyb0dy ar0und nne, but I'nn at the bat n0w,and d0n't y0u never let that fact escape y0u."

"H0w are y0u g0ing t0 spend y0ur nn0ney?" inquired Stark.