“Oh, Snow-Burner!” said the oldest man at last. “What is it you want with us? Our furs? Speak. We obey your will.” “Furs are good,” replied Reivers, “when a man has nothing else, but gold is better, and the gold that another man has is best of all.” The old man cackled respectfully. “Oh, Snow-Burner! Do you come to us for gold? Do you think we would sit here without meat if we had gold? No, Snow-Burner. What we have you can have. Your will with the tribe from the oldest to the youngest is our law. We owe you our lives. The strength of our young men is yours; the wisdom of our old heads is yours. But gold we have not. Do not turn your frown upon us, Snow-Burner; you must know it is the truth.” “Since when,” said Reivers sternly, “has my friend, old Little Bear, dared say that the Snow-Burner has the foolishness of a woman in his head? Do you think I come seeking gold from you? No. It is the strength of your young men and the wisdom of your old heads that I want. I seek gold. You shall help me find it.” Little Bear raised his arms and let them fall in the eloquent Indian gesture of helplessness. “White men have been here often to seek for gold. The great Snow-Burner once was one of them. They have digged holes in the ground. They have taken the sand from creek bottoms. Did the Snow-Burner, who finds caribou where there are none, find any gold here? No. It is an old story. There is no gold here.” Reivers leaned forward and spoke harshly. “Listen, Little Bear; listen all you people. There is gold within three days’ march from here. Much gold. Another man digs it. You will find it for me. I have spoken.” Silence fell on the tepee. The Indians looked at one another. Little Bear finally spoke with bowed head. “We do the Snow-Burner’s will.” Nawa, the youngest and strongest of the hunters, turned to Reivers respectfully. “Oh, Snow-Burner, Nawa serves you with the strength of his leg and the keenness of his eyes. Nawa knows that the Snow-Burner sees things that are hidden to us. Our oldest men say there is no gold here. Other white men say there is no gold here. The Snow-Burner says there is gold near here. “The Snow-Burner sees what is hidden to others. Nawa does not doubt. Nawa waits only the Snow-Burner’s commands. But Nawa has been to the settlements at Fifty Mile and Dumont’s Camp. He has heard the white men talk. They talk there of a man who carries gold like gunpowder and gold like bullets, instead of the white man’s money. “Nawa has talked with Indians who have seen this man. They call him ‘Iron Hair,’ because his hair is black and stiff like the quills of a porcupine. Oh, Snow-Burner, Nawa knows nothing. He merely tells what he has heard. Is this the man the Snow-Burner, too, has heard of!” Reivers looked around the circle of smoke-blackened faces about the fire. No expression betrayed what was going on behind those wood-like masks, but Reivers knew Indians and sensed that they were all waiting excitedly for his answer.