The Yukon Trail | Page 9

was all he said, but Gordon felt the blood creep into his face. This
annoyed him, so he added brusquely,--
"And not likely to be."
When the call for breakfast came Miss O'Neill took her retinue of
youngsters with her to the dining-room. Looking across from his seat at
an adjoining table, Elliot could see her waiting upon them with a fine
absorption in their needs. She prepared an orange for Billie and offered
to the little girls suggestions as to ordering that were accepted by them
as a matter of course. Unconsciously the children recognized in her the
eternal Mother.
Before they had been long in the dining-room Macdonald came in

carrying a sheaf of business papers. He glanced around, recognized
Elliot, and made instantly for the seat across the table from him. On his
face and head were many marks of the recent battle.
"Trade you a cauliflower ear for a pair of black eyes, Mr. Elliot," he
laughed as he shook hands with the man whose name he had just
learned from the purser.
The grip of his brown, muscular hand was strong. It was in character
with the steady, cool eyes set deep beneath the jutting forehead, with
the confident carriage of the deep, broad shoulders. He looked a
dynamic American, who trod the way of the forceful and fought for his
share of the spoils.
"You might throw in several other little souvenirs to boot and not miss
them," suggested Elliot with a smile.
Macdonald nodded indifferently. "I gave and I took, which was as it
should be. But it's different with you, Mr. Elliot. This wasn't your row."
"I hadn't been in a good mix-up since I left college. It did me a lot of
good."
"Much obliged, anyhow." He turned his attention to a lady entering the
dining-room. "'Mornin', Mrs. Selfridge. How's Wally?"
She threw up her hands in despair. "He's on his second bottle of
liniment already. I expect those ruffians have ruined his singing voice.
It's a mercy they didn't murder both him and you, Mr. Macdonald.
When I think of how close you both came to death last night--"
"I don't know about Wally, but I had no notion of dying, Mrs. Selfridge.
They mussed us up a bit. That was all."
"But they meant to kill you, the cowards. And they almost did it too.
Look at Wally--confined to his bed and speaking in a whisper. Look at
you--a wreck, horribly beaten up, almost drowned. We must drive the
villains out of the country or send them to prison."

Mrs. Selfridge always talked in superlatives. She had an enthusiasm for
the dramatics of conversation. Her supple hands, her shrill, eager voice,
the snapping black eyes, all had the effect of startling headlines to the
story she might be telling.
"Am I a wreck?" the big Scotchman wanted to know. "I feel as husky
as a well-fed malamute."
"Oh, you talk. But we all know you--how brave and strong you are.
That's why this outrage ought to be punished. What would Alaska do if
anything happened to you?"
"I hadn't thought of that," admitted Macdonald. "The North would have
to go out of business, I suppose. But you're right about one thing, Mrs.
Selfridge. I'm brave and strong enough at the breakfast table. Steward,
will you bring me a double order of these shirred eggs--and a small
steak?"
"Well, I'm glad you can still joke, Mr. Macdonald, after such a terrible
experience. All I can say is that I hope Wally isn't permanently injured.
He hasn't your fine constitution, and one never can tell about internal
injuries." Mrs. Selfridge sighed and passed to her place.
The eyes of the big man twinkled. "Our little fracas has been a godsend
to Mrs. Selfridge. Wally and I will both emerge as heroes of a desperate
struggle. You won't even get a mention. But it's a pity about Wally's
injuries--and his singing voice."
The younger man agreed with a gravity back of which his amusement
was apparent. The share of Selfridge in the battle had been limited to
leg work only, but this had not been good enough to keep him from
being overhauled and having his throat squeezed.
Elliot finished breakfast first and left Macdonald looking over a long
typewritten document. He had it propped against a water-bottle and was
reading as he ate. The paper was a report Selfridge had brought in to
him from a clerk in the General Land Office. The big Canadian and the
men he represented were dealing directly with the heads of the

Government departments, but they thought it the part of wisdom to
keep in their employ subordinates in the capacity of secret service
agents to spy upon the higher-ups.
CHAPTER IV
THE CREVASSE
For an hour before