Canadian—born，city—bredScots，inafoolishmomenttheyhadresignedtheircounting—housedesks，drawnupontheirsavings，andgoneKlondiking。Andnowtheywerefeelingtheroughedgeofthecountry。Grubless，spiritless，withalustforhomeintheirhearts，theyhadbeenstakedbytheP。C。Companytocutwoodforitssteamers，withthepromiseattheendofapassagehome。
Disregardingthepossibilitiesoftheice—run，theyhadfittinglydemonstratedtheirinefficiencybytheirchoiceoftheislandonwhichtheylocated。MontanaKid，thoughpossessinglittleknowledgeofthebreak—upofagreatriver，lookedabouthimdubiously，andcastyearningglancesatthedistantbankwherethetoweringbluffspromisedimmunityfromalltheiceoftheNorthland。
Afterfeedinghimselfanddogs，helightedhispipeandstrolledouttogetabetterideaofthesituation。Theisland，likeallitsriverbrethren，stoodhigherattheupperend，anditwasherethatDonaldandDavyhadbuilttheircabinandpiledmanycordsofwood。Thefarshorewasafullmileaway，whilebetweentheislandandthenearshorelayaback—channelperhapsahundredyardsacross。Atfirstsightofthis，MontanaKidwastemptedtotakehisdogsandescapetothemainland，butoncloserinspectionhediscoveredarapidcurrentfloodingontop。Below，therivertwistedsharplytothewest，andinthisturnitsbreastwasstuddedbyamazeoftinyislands。
\"That’swhereshe’lljam，\"heremarkedtohimself。
Halfadozensleds，evidentlyboundup—streamtoDawson，weresplashingthroughthechillwatertothetailoftheisland。