Down in the town things were just beginning to wake up. No one worried about time in Dawson City. The nights were like the days, the only difference being that the nights were more noisy. Time was stretched and manipulated with as much ease as an elastic band. Men went to bed at eight in the morning, and woke up to take their breakfast at three or four in the afternoon. Thereafter came dancing, drinking, mirth, and boisterous song. The conditions of the northern summer aided and abetted this queer juggling with time, for it was never dark, and 3 A.M. was not much different to 3 P.M. And as a rule, the life of the saloons was too busy a thing to take notice of any changes in the position of the sun. The next morning Jim, armed with a pick and shovel and some stakes, left for Red Ruin. Angela watched him disappear over a bluff, and immediately prepared to put into operation her scheme for escape. She packed a small sack with the few things she would require, and wrote a short note which she pinned to the flap of the tent. "I warned you I should go. There is no other way but this.--ANGELA." She took the sack and descended to the crowded town. The river was still belching ice into the Bering Sea, but the last floes were leaving the upper reaches, and she knew that in a few hours navigation would be possible, up-stream. Whilst many parties were content to wait for the steamer's arrival, others, less patient, were preparing to "make out" up the river and lakes and over the Chilcoot. She began to put out a few furtive inquiries, and secured the names of several men who were preparing for immediate departure. She was wise enough to take a look at these worthies before committing herself to their charge, and most of them did not please her. Wandering in the back areas at noon, she noticed a rough shack bearing an obviously new announcement "For Sale." Already a queue of prospective purchasers was lining up. When the owner--a sallow man of about fifty--appeared, he was besieged. The shack was sold in a few minutes to the highest bidder. Angela, nervous but determined, interrogated the sallow man. "Excuse me, but are you leaving?" He ran his keen eyes over her, immediately impressed by her beauty and her bearing. "I am." "Soon?" "To-morrow morning if the river's clear." "Alone?" "No--two others." Angela breathed a sigh of relief. There was safety in numbers. "I want to go to England--or to New York. Will you take me? I've no money or food, but I'll pay you well when I get away." The man stared. "As soon as I can cable to my people they will send me money," she resumed. "Take me as far as the first cable station, and in forty-eight hours I will get money to recompense you," she added quickly. His brows contracted. "What's the hurry?" "I want to get away from someone." "Ah--I see." "Will you--will you take me? I'll work."