Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-19
CHAPTER XII
A New Crisis.

Ma road 10 the glacier crossing
Wv there came to it a certain
amount Of travel. consisting
mainly OF prospectors bound to and
from the interior The Cortez winter
rail was opcn, and over il passed most
NJ the traffic from the northward min
ine camps. but now and then a frost
-mmed stranger emerged from the
canyon above O'Neil's terminus with
tsles Of the gold country or venture
.ome sleiCe party snowshoed its wav
inland from the end of the track. Muir
rev made 4 point OF hauling these trail
ers on his construction trains and of
feeding them in his camps as freely as
he do bis own men. In time the wa
verinC line OF sled tracks became fairly
we'll broken. and scarcely a week pass
cd without bringing several ''mushers"
one day as O'Neil was picking his
Usv through the outskirts Of the camp
he encountered one Of his night fore
men and was surprised 70 see that the
fellow was leading n trail dog by a
chain. Now these malamutes are as
much a part OF the northland as the
winter SHOWS. and they are common
sight in every community. but the
mans patent mDarrassmenI cnaIIeng-
Ell Murrays attention: he acted as IL
he had been detected in a theft or
breach of duty
Hello. Walsh. Been buying some
live stock :" O'Neil inquired.
Yes sir. picked up this dog
cheap.
Harness. TOO. chg" Murray noted
that Walsh'S arms were fun Of gear
enough indeed. for full team. Know
inc that the foreman owned no dogs.
be asked half banteTingly:
You're not getting ready for a trip.
hope:"
NO. sir Not exactly. sir. The dog
vas cheap. so II just bought him"
n As matter Of fact, dogs were not
n heap. and Walsh should have been in
bed at this hour. Murray walked on
q wondering what the fellow could be
up 10.
Later he came upon a iabOrer dicker-
ing with q hvak Indian over the price
OF a fur robe. and in front Of a bunk
house he found other members of the
night crew talking earnestly with two
lately arrived strangers They fell ST
lent as he approached and responded
TO his greeting with n peculiar nervous
eacerness. staring after him curiously
as he passed on.
He expected DR.. Gray out from
Omar. but as he neared the track he
net Mellen. The bridge superinteud-
ent eneag ed him briefly upon some de-
TAIL then said
Il don't know what's the matter
with the men this morning. They're
loafng"
~Losfng? Nonsense. You expect
too much.
MpHen shook his head. The minute
nv back is turned they begin to gos-
sip I've had TO call them down"
Perhaps they want a holiday"
They're not that kind. There's
something in the air
While they were speaking the morn
ing train pulled in. and O'Neil was sur
prised to see at least dozen towns
people descending from it. They were
loafers. saloon frequenters. for the
most part. and. oddly enough. they
had with ther1 dogs and sleds and all
the equipment for travel He was pre-
vented from making inquiry. however.
! By shout from Or. Gray. who cried:
Hey. chief Look who's here"
O'Neil FASTENED forward with a
greeting upon his lips. for Stanley was
helping Eliza and Natalie down from
the cabooSe which served as a passen-
4 ger coach
The young women. heComincly clad
10 their warm winter furs, made a pic
ture good 10 look upon. Natalie had
ripened wonderfully since her mar
riage and added 10 her rich dark
beauty there was now an elusive
sweetness. warmth and wOmanliness
which had been lacking before. AS
for Eliza she had never appeared more
sparkling. more freshly wholesome and
saucy than on this morning.
We came To take pictures" she an
bounced We want to see II the
bridge suits us
Don't Won believe her. Ar. O,Neil.'
said Natalie Dan told MS you were
working too hard. so Eliza insisted on
taking you in hand I'm here merely
In the office Of chaperOn and common
sold. You have been overriding.
You're positively haggard.
GRAY nodded He won't mind me.