“Wa’al, ye come mighty near losin’ me,” the patient answered, and then continued. “I come on board just as ye were castin’ off last night.”
“How d’ye come to get into the water? That hasn’t been a very popular element with you in the past; eh, Jim,” said the Captain with a grin. “Colonel Snow, let me introduce Swiftwater Jim, an ancient Alaskan that I believe we took over with the territory under the Seward treaty with Russia in 1867, and the oldest ‘Sourdough’ in any one of the six districts. He’s made at least a dozen trips with me. He usually owns the boat going ‘out,’ but is satisfied with the steerage going ‘in’.”
Colonel Snow grasped the miner’s hand, saying:
“Swiftwater Jim is no stranger to anyone who knows the history of the Alaskan country. Let me introduce some young fellows who are making their first trip.”
The miner, whose drying garb was made up of a mixture of the costume of the frontier pioneer and garments of the latest cut, shook hands with the boys as he said:
“I’ll pay ye captain, for puttin’ me back in the mammoth class, but what I’m lookin’ for is the feller that went into the dew after me. That certainly was a few damp moments. I was rattled, but I knew somebody grabbed me just before the light went out.”
“Here’s the chap,” said Captain Huxley, as he shoved the reluctant Rand to the front.
The miner grasped Rand’s hand and gazed into his face with a solemn stare.
“Wa’al, wa’al, such a young feller, too. How’d ye do it?” he inquired.
“It’s part of our training as Scouts,” replied Rand, modestly.