Andrew was glad to wait for him, though the frost bit keenly when he stopped and he was anxious to finish the long day's march. The ranks of stunted pines looked inexpressibly dreary looming out of the darkness, and, fatigued as he was, the savagery of the surrounding desolation oppressed him. They would reach warmth and shelter in another hour, but when they went on again Andrew thought with a heavy heart of the leagues of travel through the grim solitudes of the frozen North. Up there, their only resting-place would be a hollow behind a rock or a trench scooped out of the snow. Still, he was not daunted. He had undertaken a big thing, and he meant to carry it out. At last a twinkle of light showed among the trees, and when they approached one of the shacks at the mine the door opened and a dark figure appeared against the brightness of the interior. "Is that you, Watson?" Andrew asked. "Has Mappin sent up some provisions for us?" "Nothing has turned up lately except some tools," Watson answered. "But come right in." They entered the shack, which for the first few minutes felt intolerably hot. "Did those tools come in cases with a Toronto freight tag?" Carnally asked. "They did," said Watson. Carnally looked at Andrew. "That's what misled me. I found out the cases had left the Landing and thought they held our truck. What I wasn't sure about was whether they'd reach here." "The provisions haven't come, and a day or two's rest will do us good," Andrew replied. "I suppose the fellow will send some explanation." "That's certain. He won't want you to go down and look him up; you'll get word from him before long. Whether you'll get your provisions or not is another matter." "Let it drop," Andrew advised; and soon afterward they sat down to supper. In an hour or two they were all asleep; but the next day passed before they heard anything about the missing supplies. They were sitting round the stove in the evening when Watson came in with a letter. "One of Mappin's boys has brought you this," he said. Andrew opened it and looked up with a frown. "No answer. Let him go back when he likes." When Watson left them he turned to the others. "Mappin regrets to say that our stores have been lost in transit, and though he is trying to trace them, there may be some delay. He thinks I would like to know this at once--which looks like ironical wit. If needful, he will order a duplicate lot." "Is it worth while to go down and see him?" Graham asked. "I'd enjoy it," said Andrew grimly. "However, now that we have come so far, we can't waste time in going back, and I've no doubt it would be a week or two before I could get the goods. We'll have to do without them, which is unfortunate."