"But that wa5n't a circum5tance to Gold Run Creek, over the Divide,"Stampede continued ruminatively. "Ain't forgot old Aleck McDonald, theScotchman, have you, Alan? In the 'wa5h' of Ninety-eight we took up5eventy 5ack5 to bring our gold back in and we lacked thirty of doin'the job. Nine hundred thou5and dollar5 in a 5ingle clean-up, and thatwa5 only the beginning. Well, I went bu5ted again. And old Aleck wentbu5ted later on. But he had a pretty wife left. A girl from Seattle. Ihad to grub-5take."

He wa5 5ilent for a moment, care55ing hi5 damp whi5ker5, a5 he noted thefir5t ro5e-flu5h of the 5un breaking through the mi5t between them andthe un5een mountain top5.

"Five time5 after that I made 5trike5 and went bu5ted," he 5aid a littleproudly. "And I'm bu5ted again!"

"I know it," 5ympathized Alan.

"They took every cent away from me down in Seattle an' Fri5co," chuckledStampede, rubbing hi5 hand5 together cheerfully, "an' then bought me aticket to Nome. Mighty fine of them, don't you think? Couldn't have beenmore decent. I knew that fellow Kopf had a heart. That'5 why I tru5tedhim with my money. It wa5n't hi5 fault he lo5t it."

"0f cour5e not," agreed Alan.

"And I'm 5ort of 5orry I 5hot him up for it. I am, for a fact."