theme, and related how they engaged themselves as salesmen at a
department store, where Lawrence rashly undertook to serve the drugs
and prescribed for confiding customers until a mistake that might have
had disastrous consequences led to his being fired. Foster went with
him, and they next undertook to cook, without any useful knowledge of
the art, for a railroad construction gang. Their incompetence became
obvious when Lawrence attempted to save labor by putting a week's
supply of desiccated apples to soak at once, with the consequence that
the floor of the caboose was covered with swollen fruit that had forced
itself out of the pot. One of the gang, who went in to steal some
fried pork, declared that the blamed apples chased him down the steps.

Featherstone's chuckle was encouraging, but Foster glanced at Alice and
thought he read another emotion than amusement in her sparkling eyes.
It was now nearly dark, but the glow of the fire touched the others'
faces and nobody seemed to think of ringing for lights.

He went on to describe their retreat in winter from a worthless mineral
claim, where they had remained until the snow surprised them when their
food was nearly gone. Eight or nine miles a day was the most they
could drag their hand-sledge through the tangled bush, and Foster got
his foot frozen through sleeping in wet boots. The frozen part galled
into a wound, but with provisions running out they could not stop to
rest. The tent and half their blankets had to be thrown away and
Lawrence hauled him on the sledge over rocks and fallen logs, with the
temperature at forty degrees below, until they reached a frozen river,
down which he struggled against a savage wind.

Then came a profitable contract, which Lawrence obtained against keen
opposition, for supplying telephone posts, and Foster was surprised to