The Red Cloud chief., 1918-01-31
CHAPTER I.
Going an"

CHAPTER 4.
Il
Going an"
The midnight sun had set, but In a
crotch between two snow peaks II had
ktndled q vast caldron from which rose
q mist Of Jewels, garnet and turquoise,
topaz and amethyst and opal. all
swimming In q lei Of molten gold. The
glow Of It still chung to the face Of the
broad Yukon, as a flush does to the
soft, wrinkled cheek Of a girl Just
reused from deep sleep.
Except for q faint murkiness In the
cir It was still day. There was light
enough for the four men playing pi-
pochle on the upper deck, though the
women Of their party, gosslplng In
chairs grouped lear ut hand, had at
last put aside their embroidery. The
girl who sat by herself at a little dis
lance held O magazine still open In
her lap.
Gordon Elliot had taken the boat at
Pierre's Portage. fifty miles farther
down the river. He had come direct
from the creeks, and his Impressions
Of the motley pioneer life Mt the gold
diggings were 30 vivid that he had
found an isolated corner Of the deck
where he could scribble them In a note
book while still fresh.
But he had not been too busy to see
that the girl In the wicker chair was
% much Of an outsider as he was.
p1oSOlv xhSo rr,oo hos Qrc< <rln In nnr-
don was q stranger In the Yukon our
~. one not likely to be overwelcome
when II became known what his mis-
n1on .
From where he was leaning against
the deckhouse Elliot could see only a
1ane. chiseled profile shading into a
mass Of crisp, black hair. but some
quality In the detachment of her per-
sonality stimulated gently his imagina-
tton. He wondered who she could be.
A short. thickset man who had ridden
down on the stage with Elliot to
Pterre's Portage drifted along the deck
toward him. He wore the careless
garb Of q mining man in q country
which looks first to comfort.
"Bound for Kusiak2" he asked, by
way Of opening conversation.
"Yes." answered Gordon.
The miner nodded toward the group
under the awning. "That bunch lives
at kusiak. They've got on ut different
places the last two or three days
except Selfridge and his wife; they've
been out. Guess you can tell that from
hearing her talk-the little woman In
red with the snappy black eyes. She's
spillin' rel with talk about the styles
in New York and the cabarets and the
new shows. That pot-bellied little fell
low In the checked suit Is Selfridge.
He is Colby Macdonald's nan Friday"
Elliot took In with a Quickened in.
terest the group bound for Kusiak. He
had noticed that they monopolized us
Q matter of curse the best places on
the deck and In the dining room. They
were civil enough to outsiders, but
their manner had the unconscious self
ishness that often regulates social &c.
idvities. 1t excluded from their gay.
ety everybody that did not belong to
the proper set.
THAT sort OF thing gets my goat" thu
miner went on sourly. 'Those women
over there have elected themselves
Society with a capital 8. They put or
lall the airs the Four Hundred do IL
New York. And who are they any
hOwf1wives to q bunch Of grating
politicians mostly"
~Thats the way Of the world, ISM
1T Our civilization Is built on tn,
group system" suggested Elliot.
"Maybe So" grumbled the miner
but I hate to ZEE Alaska come to II
Ne. I saw this country first In ninety
seveu-packed an outfit In over tn
pass. Every man stood on his owl
hind legs then. He got there II h
was strong-mebbe; he begged dow
ON the trail good and plenty II he wa
weak. W. didn't have any Of the al
tifcial stun then. A man had to hav
the CUTS to stand the gaff."
II suppose It was a wild countr,
Mr.. Strong"
The little miners eyes CLEANED
"Best country In the world. We didn
stand for anything that wasn't on tn
level. It was a poor mans country
wages fifteen dollars a day and plent
Of work. Everybody had a chancv
Anybody could stake a claim an
gamble on his luck. Now the big co
porations have slipped In and grabbe
the best. It amt a prospector's prop,
sition any more. Instead Of faro banl
we've got savings banks. The wild
open dance hall has quit business
favor Of moving pictures. And, as
said before, we've got Society"
~All frontier countries have to con
to It"
"Hmpi In the days Tn telling "
about that crowd there couldn't ;
hustled meat to I'LL their bellies thr,
meals. Parasites, that's what tn,
are. They're living off that bunch
roughnecks down there and folks III