They had a common interest in this affair. He continued to believe it would soon be settled and was now hoping the information from Dawson City would be of such a nature that there would be no need to follow it up. But what an idea, what a bad idea, it was for Uncle Josias to go seeking his fortune in the Klondike, where perhaps he had found nothing but misery and where he had certainly met his death.

That afternoon, Raddle went to the notary's office, where he read the documents sent from Dawson City.

These documents definitely established the location of Claim I29, property of Mr. Josias Lacoste, now deceased. This claim occupied a site on the right bank of the Fortymile River in the Klondike region. This stream runs eastward into the mighty Yukon, which flows all the way through Alaska after draining the western regions of the Dominion. Its water, which is English in its upper reaches, becomes American farther downstream since the vast territory of Alaska had now been sold to the United States by the Russians.

A map showed the exact location of Claim 129. It was located about twenty miles from Fort Cudahy,' a village founded by the Hudson's Bay Company.

During this conversation, it became very clear to Snubbin that the engineer took a totally different view of the affair than his coheir did. Raddle studied the deeds in great detail. He could not take his eyes off the rough map spread out in front of him, which included the Klondike and the adjacent part of Alaska. In his imagination, he traveled up the Fortymile, which crosses the one hundred and fortieth meridian,' the line agreed on as the boundary between the two countries. There he stopped, near the boundary, at the very spot where stakes marked out the claim of Josias Lacoste. He counted the other claims staked out on both sides of the stream, which had its source in one of the gold-bearing regions of Alaska. Why should they not be as well favored as those on the Klondike River, or its tributary, Bonanza Creek, or on Victoria, or Eldorado, or other streams flowing into Bonanza, so productive at that time and so eagerly sought after by miners? His eyes devoured the marvelous country whose network of streams carried the precious metal down in abundance, a metal which was worth, in Dawson City, $468,000 a long ton.

When Snubbin saw him so absorbed in his thoughts that he did not speak a word, he felt obliged to say something. "Mr. Raddle, may I ask whether it might be your intention to work the claim that belonged to the late Josias Lacoste?"

"Perhaps," was the reply.

"But what about Mr. Skim?"

"Summy doesn't have to make up his mind. As for me, I'll reserve judgment until I've confirmed that this information is accurate, and until I've seen for myself."

"You're thinking of undertaking the long journey to the Klondike, then?" asked Snubbin, shaking his head.

"Why not? No matter what Summy may think, in my opinion this business is worth the trip. Once we're in Dawson City we'll get the facts. Either to sell the claim, or simply to estimate its worth, Mr. Snubbin, you'll agree with me that it's better to have gone to see it."

"Is that really necessary?" asked the notary.

"It's essential," declared Raddle. "And besides, it isn't enough just to want to sell. You have to find a buyer."

"If that is your only concern, you can save yourself a long and tiring journey, Mr. Raddle."

"Why do you say that?"

"Look, here's a telegram that came just an hour ago. I was about to send it to you when you did me the honor of coming to my office."

With that, Snubbin handed Raddle a telegram dated a week earlier, which had been taken from Dawson City to Vancouver and then sent to Montreal by trans-Canada wire.

An American syndicate already owned eight claims in the Klondike, which were being mined by Captain Healy of the North American Trading and Transportation Company (Chicago and Dawson).` This syndicate was making a firm offer to purchase Claim 129 on the Fortymile River for five thousand dollars, to be sent to Montreal on receipt of a telegram of acceptance.

Raddle took the telegram and began to read it as intently as he had studied the title deeds.

"Now here, Mr. Raddle," remarked the notary, "is something that will save you the trouble of making the trip."

"I'm not so sure," replied the engineer. "Is the offer high enough? Five thousand dollars for a claim in the Klondike!"

"I can't answer that question for you."

"You see, Mr. Snubbin, if this syndicate is offering five thousand dol lars for 129, that means it's worth ten times as much on the market, and perhaps a hundred times as much for anyone who wants to continue mining it."

"Judging by the price, it seems that it was not a great success for your uncle, Mr. Raddle. It remains to be seen whether it might not have been better, instead of embarking on a risky affair of this kind, to save himself all that trouble and put the five thousand dollars in the bank."

"I don't agree with you, Mr.