"Hullo, Portney!" suddenly cried a voice to Earl, as he was walking around among the tents. "I didn't know you had got this far."
Earl turned swiftly, and was nearly dumfounded to find himself confronted by Tom Roland, while Jasper Guardley stood but a few feet away.
CHAPTER XV.
ON TO LAKE BENNETT.
The face of Tom Roland wore a smile, but in his eyes was an anxious look which Earl did not fail to notice as he surveyed the two acquaintances from Basco. The young prospector was much taken aback by this sudden appearance, for he had not dreamed of meeting Roland and Guardley in this out-of-the-way spot.
"Ain't you glad to see a feller from Maine?" went on Roland, as Earl did not speak; and he held out his hand, which the youth took rather coldly. Guardley had come up to shake hands too, but now he did not risk making the offer.
"Are you two bound for the Klondike?" at length asked Earl.
"Of course," was Roland's sharp reply. "What else would we be doing up here?"