It was while counting the men that Smoke caught sight of a familiar face.  It was Breck, the man whose boat Smoke had run through the rapids.  He wondered why the other did not come and speak to him, but himself gave no sign of recognition.  Later, when with shielded face Breck passed him a significant wink, Smoke understood.

Blackbeard, whom Smoke heard called Eli Harding, ended the discussion as to whether or not the prisoner should be immediately lynched.

“Hold on,” Harding roared.  “Keep your shirts on.  That man belongs to me.  I caught him an’ I brought him here.  D’ye think I brought him all the way here to be lynched?  Not on your life.  I could ‘a’ done that myself when I found him.  I brought him here for a fair an’ impartial trial, an’ by God, a fair an’ impartial trial he’s goin’ to get.  He’s tied up safe an’ sound.  Chuck him in a bunk till morning, an’ we’ll hold the trial right here.”

Smoke woke up.  A draught that possessed all the rigidity of an icicle was boring into the front of his shoulders as he lay on his side facing the wall.  When he had been tied into the bunk there had been no such draught, and now the outside air, driving into the heated atmosphere of the cabin with the pressure of fifty below zero, was sufficient advertizement that some one from without had pulled away the moss-chinking between the logs.  He squirmed as far as his bonds would permit, then craned his neck forward until his lips just managed to reach the crack.

“Who is it?” he whispered.

“Breck,” came the almost inaudible answer.  “Be careful you don’t make a noise.  I’m going to pass a knife in to you.”

“No good,” Smoke said.  “I couldn’t use it.  My hands are tied behind me and made fast to the leg of the bunk.  Besides, you couldn’t get a knife through that crack.  But something must be done.  Those fellows are of a temper to hang me, and, of course, you know I didn’t kill that man.”

“It wasn’t necessary to mention it, Smoke.  And if you did you had your reasons.  Which isn’t the point at all.  I want to get you out of this.  It’s a tough bunch of men here.  You’ve seen them.  They’re shut off from the world, and they make and enforce their own law—­by miner’s meeting, you know.  They handled two men already—­both grub-thieves.  One they hiked from camp without an ounce of grub and no matches.  He made about forty miles and lasted a couple of days before he froze stiff.  Two weeks ago they hiked the second man.  They gave him his choice:  no grub, or ten lashes for each day’s ration.  He stood for forty lashes before he fainted.  And now they’ve got you, and every last one is convinced you killed Kinade.”

“The man who killed Kinade shot at me, too.  His bullet broke the skin on my shoulder.  Get them to delay the trial till some one goes up and searches the bank where the murderer hid.”