"There, there, little one," and a smile such as Nance had never seen illumined his face. "I know you love me, and it makes me happy. It will be hard for you to leave, but——"
At that instant a hoarse, raucous sound fell upon their ears with a startling intensity. They looked at each other, and then hurried to the door, opened it, and stepped outside.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE ROYAL BOUNTY
The Northern Packet, the little flat-bottom, stern-wheel steamer, had made a notable trip up the Heena River. She was the first that had ever ploughed the waters of this crooked stream. Every foot of the way she had to contend with the swift current, and there was constant danger from sandbars, which, like long fingers, were thrust out below the surface. No pilot had hitherto navigated that river, and great care had to be exercised.
Thus for several days the steamer nosed her way into the wilderness. Her incessant wheezing and puffing startled the wary denizens of the region. Rabbits scurried away in affright; foxes hurried off under cover; moose, grazing in wild meadows, lifted their great heads, stared for an instant at the strange monster on the river, snorted, and with long, swinging strides sought refuge among the tall trees.
But the Northern Packet was well accustomed to startling the creatures of the wilderness. She had been doing it on her long, tedious run of over two thousand miles up the mighty Yukon River. It was not the first time that she had done so, either. Hers were the first blasts which had awakened the silence of the land for several years past. She had made it a point to be the first steamer to contend with running ice, and other dangers of that northern stream, to carry supplies to lone miners and prospectors encamped along the banks. No sound was so welcome to the weary watchers as her hoarse whistle, and no sight so dear to straining eyes as her scarred prow breasting the racing stream.
But never before had the Northern Packet started upon such an uncertain venture as the run up the Heena to the Klutana Lake. Neither had she ever carried such a throng of excited and anxious men as those which now crowded her almost to overflowing. Word of the new strike had drifted down the Yukon, and by the time the steamer reached Rapid City it looked as if she could carry no more. But in some mysterious manner room was made. There was no limit set by stern authority as to the number of passengers she should carry. It was simply climb on board and room would be made somehow. All the freight which had been consigned for points farther down river was still on board, and this took up considerable space on the lower deck. But wherever there was a nook some one was stowed, and at night those who could not curl themselves up on the floor were forced to stand and wait their turn. But notwithstanding the inconveniences a remarkable spirit of harmony prevailed. Those who had already staked their claims were looking eagerly forward to large cleanups, while those who had never been up the river before were greatly encouraged by the reports they heard of the richness of the land.
Dick Russell was as anxious as any of the men on the steamer to reach Lake Klutana. It was not the gold he craved to see, but the young woman whose face was enshrined in his heart. He was somewhat worried for her sake. He feared the crowd of men thronging the boat. Some of them, he knew, were Nature's gentlemen, but there were others who could not be trusted. He believed that it would be necessary to keep a strict watch upon "The Twins." That they had some mischief in their minds he was quite certain, and it was only natural that he should think of Nance. As for the newcomers, who came from the lower river, he knew very little about them. He had overheard some of them talking, however, and the stories they had told filled him with apprehension. He was determined, at any rate, to put Nance on her guard against such men, and to protect her from any injury.