The Boy Fortune Hunters in Alaska

Terrified beyond measure by the awfulness of the storm, I gave little heed to the fact that the rocky hollow in which I lay with the two faithful blacks had filled with water, so that our bodies were nearly covered by the pool that had formed. My head still rested on the trousers packed with gold, and one arm was closely clasped around a leg containing the treasured metal grains. So I lay, half dazed and scarcely daring to move, while the rain pattered down upon us and the storm sobbed itself out by degrees.

I must have lost consciousness, after a time, for my first distinct recollection is of Bryonia drawing my body from the pool to lay it on a dryer portion of the rock, where the overhanging trees slightly sheltered me. The sky had grown lighter by now, and while black streaks of cloud still drifted swiftly across the face of the moon, there were times when the great disc was clear, and shed its light brilliantly over the bleak and desolate landscape.