Water on the ice at fifty below? More chance of it than at any warmer temperature, for at fifty the creeks freeze solid to the bottom in the shallows, and the water thus dammed beneath the ice bursts through and comes rushing down in a torrent on top of the ice, but under the snow, so that before he knows it the unwary trail musher may find himself ankle deep in water, which at fifty below spells death unless he can immediately reach shelter and a fire. Nor can the danger be averted by forsaking the creeks, for in the land of the strong cold the level surface of the rivers and the creeks are the only practicable highways. And these things the men of the Koyukuk knew, and knowing them, waited for the let-up. And as they waited the talk was of gold. Old Man Gordon discoursed at length upon the possibilities of a “b’iler.” Someone spread the report of rich strikes further up the Koyukuk on Nolan Creek, and on Wiseman. Many signified their intention of hitting out for the new district in the spring. But Gordon was not one of these. He swore he would stay where he was, and would bring in a “b’iler” and show them all that the real bonanza of the Koyukuk was Myrtle. A stand in which he was upheld by Crim, the trader, and some few of the miners. The morning of the fourth of January, with the thermometer at 30 below, saw a general exodus from Coldfoot. And as the sourdoughs mushed back to their claims, the Gordon sled was weighted with more than its freighting of grub, for when Lou had casually mentioned within hearing of some of the men in the trading store that she had read every scrap of paper in the cabin, there had been a general ferreting among the cabins of Coldfoot with the result that fifty pounds or more of well-thumbed books, and magazines were added to Gordon’s load. The coming of spring brought confirmation of the rumor of a strike on Nolan Creek. Coldfoot stampeded. The miners, all but a straggling few, hit the trail for the new diggings. The saloon followed the miners and the trading post followed the saloon. Coldfoot was dead. And Nolan became the metropolis of the Koyukuk. Among the few who remained were the Gordons. Disregarding the advice of friends, the stubborn Scot stayed on Myrtle, insisting that when he should bring his “b’iler” in and begin thawing the gravel with steam, they would all stampede back to Coldfoot. When he had finished sluicing his dump he weighed up dust enough to pay Crim, outfit himself for another year, and put aside a considerable sum toward the purchase and transportation of his beloved “b’iler.”