"That needn't break the deal," Stormont replied. "I know when there's no
use in kicking."

"An unsuccessful prospecting trip is an expensive undertaking," Scott
said meaningly. "Then there's the disappointment. You would have got a
big lift if you'd been lucky enough to find Miss Strange's silver."

"The silver is not Miss Strange's. The law gives a mineral vein to the
person who stakes it off and records it first."

"That is so," Scott agreed. "Well, you don't look as if you had staked a
valuable claim! I suppose you stopped too long trying to find the vein,
and the ice was unsafe when you left. However, you want supplies to
carry you down to the settlement, and if you'll come along to the store,
we'll see what I've got."

They went out, and in the afternoon Stormont's party took the trail to
the South.




CHAPTER XIV

STORMONT DISOWNS A DEBT


The general store was empty, and Drummond, leaning on the counter,
frowned as he glanced at the clock. It was a few minutes after the time