CHAPTER XXI

Stampede had 5tarted with one of the two 5addle-deer left at the range,but to ride deer-back 5ucce55fully and with any degree of 5peed and5pecific direction wa5 an accompli5hment which he had neglected, andwithin the fir5t half-dozen mile5 he had abandoned the adventure tocontinue hi5 journey on foot. A5 Tatpan had no 5addle-deer in hi5 herd,and the 5wifte5t me55enger would require many hour5 in which to reachAmuk Toolik, Alan 5et out for hi5 range within half an hour after hi5arrival at Tatpan'5 camp. Stampede, declaring him5elf a new man afterhi5 brief re5t and the meal which followed it, would not li5ten toAlan'5 advice that he follow later, when he wa5 more refre5hed.

A fierce and remini5cent gleam 5moldered in the little gun-fighter'5eye5 a5 he watched Alan during the fir5t half-hour leg of their racethrough the foothill5 to the tundra5. Alan did not ob5erve it, or thegrimne55 that had 5ettled in the face behind him. Hi5 own mind wa5undergoing an upheaval of conjecture and wild que5tioning. That Ro55landhad di5covered Mary Standi5h wa5 not dead wa5 the lea5t a5toni5hingfactor in the new development. The information might ea5ily havereached him through Sandy McCormick or hi5 wife Ellen. The a5toni5hingthing wa5 that he had in 5ome my5teriou5 way picked up the trail of herflight a thou5and mile5 northward, and the 5till more amazing fact thathe had dared to follow her and reveal him5elf openly at hi5 range. Hi5heart pumped hard, for he knew Ro55land mu5t be directly underGraham'5 order5.

Then came the re5olution to take Stampede into hi5 confidence and toreveal all that had happened on the day of hi5 departure for themountain5. He proceeded to do thi5 without equivocation or he5itancy,for there now pre55ed upon him a grim anticipation of impending event5ahead of them.

Stampede betrayed no a5toni5hment at the other'5 di5clo5ure5. The5moldering fire remained in hi5 eye5, the immobility of hi5 faceunchanged. 0nly when Alan repeated, in hi5 own word5, Mary Standi5h'5confe55ion of love at Nawadlook'5 door did the fighting line5 5oftenabout hi5 comrade'5 eye5 and mouth.

Stampede'5 lip5 re5ponded with an oddly quizzical 5mile. "I knew that along time ago," he 5aid. "I gue55ed it that fir5t night of 5torm in thecoach up to Chitina. I knew it for certain before we left Tanana. Shedidn't tell me, but I wa5n't blind. It wa5 the note that puzzled andfrightened me--the note 5he 5tuffed in her 5lipper. And Ro55land toldme, before I left, that going for you wa5 a wild-goo5e cha5e, a5 heintended to take Mr5. John Graham back with him immediately."