Oh ae Recreate =e Subscruption prree, $2.50 per year. Entered as second class Matter at the N. Y. Post Office by STREET & SMITH, issued weelcly. No, 12 NEW YORK, AUGUST 13, 1898. Price Five Cents. veceeed KIT STRUCK RIGHT AND LEFT AND A PLINGIT FELL AT EVERY BLOW. _ Klondike Kit Weekly. eee Weekly—By Subscription $2.50 per year. Entered as Second Class Matter at the N. Y. Post Ofice. SvRwmr & SmivrH, 81 pie’ NN. Y. Intered Aceording to Act of pope? ess, in the Year 1898, in the Office of the Libs’ avian of Congress, Washington, D. C. No. 12 NEW YORK, August 13, 1898. Price, Five Cents, Rlondike Kits Lost Lead CHAPTER I. A BAD STICK—TROUBLOUS TIMES—-KIT TAKES THE TRAIL. _ Creak, zip, c-r-e-a-k. It was a peculiar sound, and very fe But Bottleneck Bill heard it. _.. Rising to a sitting posture in his bunk, he looked and listened. It was early in the afternoon and Bill was sleeping because he had worked on the ‘‘nigh shift,’ the night before, and was resting up to goon with the same gang again. Aside from himself, there was no one in the cabin. Looking toward one of the end win- dows, he saw an Indian working at it from the outside. The lifting of the sash caused the faint sound which had fallen upon Bill’s ears, and he could tell, from the Indian’s stealthy manner, that he was bent ona pilfering expedition. Slipping his hand under a pillow, ) A FRACAS AT FORT GET THERE. By the Author of ‘‘KLONDIKE KIT.”’ Bill drew out his revolver, held it on one knee and waited. The Indian lifted the sash- until the catch at the side caught it and then thrust his head and arms through the opening preparatory to crawling in. ‘* Hi, there, Injun!’’ shouted Bill. As the pulled the trigger. words left his mouth, he He had no intention of hitting the Indian, but simply desired to give hima scare, The bullet spatted into a log close to the Indian’s head and he pulled back with a frightened howl and made off across the open, toward the timber line. But he did not go empty handed. From a peg, close beside the window, a Winchester rifle had been suspended. This weapon was a favorite of Klon- dike Kit’s, and, as the Indian drew back, he took it with him. — He ran like a deer for the woods and DIAMOND DICK, JR. IS ISSUED EVERY WEEK. timber, 2 : KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY. Bottleneck Bill leaped up, plunged out of the cabin and started in hot pursuit. The thief would have gotten well away with his booty, in spite of Bill’s long legs and phenomenal burst of speed, but for ay accident that gave theaffair a tragic termination. The robber when he stumbled against a rock had almost reached the and fell headlong. . In the fall, the gun was discharged ane the Indian stiffened out and lay silent and still along the frozen ground. At first, Bill thought the fall had stunned the fellow, but when he drew nearer and examined him more closely, he saw that he was dead! The bullet from charged by accident, had entered the native’s breast in the vicinity of the heart, provirg instantaneously fatal. ‘‘Well,’’ exclaimed Bill, ‘‘if this don’t take the prize, Vim a Chink”? While he stood there, looking down at the prostrate form, at least a dozen In- dians defiled out of the woods, at a double-quick. These were all ‘‘Sticks,’? as the Plin- gits, or coast Indians, call those of the interior, . They were every one big fellows, and well-armed with knives, old-fashioned muskets and revolvers. All the are northwestern Indians _ superstitious and fanatical, but the Sticks “are especially so. Because of this, the accidental dis- charge of the Winchester was destined to plunge Bill-into one of the most des- perate episodes of his adventurous career. GE the Winchester dis- tickled to death to see you. Before Bill had a chance to say a word, or recover from the surprise occasioned by the unexpected appearance of this large force of Sticks, they had surrounded him completely, each one chattering like a magpie... Four brawny fellows posted themselves on each side and in front and behind the unfortunate William, menacing him with their primitive firearms and eyeing him in anything but a friendly way. : ‘‘What’s the matter with you yahoos?” growled Bill. | Just then, the leader of the gang caine forward with his little, coal-black eyes ablaze anda fierce frown on his low brow. ‘Me Tahkeeneh,’’ he remarked. : ‘‘Well, Takheenah,’’ replied Bill, look- ing anxiously around to see if there was any help insight, “‘bean’t say that i’m What’s your racket, anyhow??? : ‘*You ‘kill um Stick?’ asked Tahkee- nah, motioning toward the form on the oround. 2. : “Not on replied Bill, upon he explained, by words and signs, life, emphatically; and there- your. old Bear-face,’’ just how the shooting had occurred. _ When Bill had finished his explanation, the Sticks looked toward each other and nodded vigorously. It was plain they were convinced that the shooting was accidental. “If you’ve finally got the thing through your noodles,’’ remarked Bill, stooping down and picking up Kit’s rifle, ‘‘vou might as well break away and give mea chance to slide out.” - Instead of ordering his men to ‘‘break T A COLLECTION OF WAR BADGES AND BUTTONS. KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY. away,’’ Tahkeenah snatched the Winches- ter out of Bill’s hand and gavea sharp command. : Quicker than it takes to tell it, Biil was pounced upon by the four stalwart Sticks, and tied with buckskin thongs. Then, while one big fellow prevented an outcry by placing a hand over his mouth, he was picked up bodily and borne pell-mell into the timber. Perhaps the strangest thing connected ° with this brief but sanguinary incident was this, it had occurred without attract- ing the attention of any one at work about the claim. Down in the river, lazily breasting the tide, lay Klondike Kit’s steamer, the all Hand, with Kari Dutch engineer, and Spink, the boy sehnapps, the pilot, aboard. by the Kit’s eniployees were washing gravel and - Over gravel-dump, three of Sing Sing, the Chinese cook, was not more than a hundred yards away, trun- dling up a supply of firewood for use in his kitchen stove. Not one of these had heard the acci- dental discharge of Kit’s Winchester nor had seen the exciting episode that had taken place at the edge of the timber. When the Sticks fled, they had not only carried Bill, but their dead comrade, as well. No trace of the deplorable accident was, therefore, left to tell the tale, and Bill’s absence was- discovered only when Sing Sing went to call him. “Him skedaddled allee samee like one piece blue-streak,’’ muttered the bewild- ered Chinaman, and hardly had the words left his lips, when Nugget Nell, Klon- ° dike Kit’s girl-pard, hurried in. She had been over at Kit’s other claim, known as ‘‘No. 6,’’ directing the clean- up in progress there. ‘‘What’s the matter, Sing Sing??? she asked, standing her rifle in one corner of the room. Before the Chinaman could answer, Tahkeenah stepped unceremoniously into the room and confronted Nell. Well,” asked Nell, who was used to the ways of the Sticks, ‘‘what do you want??? ‘‘Injun steal um gun,’’ grunted Tah- keenah. At this, Nell’s eyes wandered quickly around the room. Kit was uppermost in her thoughts and, naturally, her first glance was toward the peg from which his weapon hung when not in use. To find_the rifle missing, surprised her and gave weight to the Indian’s state- ment. “Was the gun stolen from this house ?”’ she asked, sternly. ‘*VYes,’’? and Tahkeéah gave an awk- ward nod. **By one of your men ?”’ The chief nodded again. “If he does not instantly bring that rifle back,’’ said Nell, picking up the weapon she had just set down, ‘I will see that he is punished for the theft.”’ **Hiin stole gun, gun belong to tribe,’’ was the answer. ‘‘No can bring back— Injun dead.”’ : Nell was familiar with the peculiar phases of Stick philosophy, but she be- HURRAH FOR DIAMOND DICK, JR! ~ 4 KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY. lieved that she knew how to call the Indian’s game. Drawing a bead on him, she com- manded, sternly: ‘“Step to the door and call out to your men to send that rifle back. Be quick about it, or I will fire!” Nell knew that the Sticks must be close to the cabin and she thought a resolute’ manner would carry her purpose through with a rush. She was a little surprised, therefore, to see Tahkeenah stand passively in front of her and never flinch as he looked into the threateuing muzzle of her rifle. “You shoot chief, chief’s men kiil long-necked man.’’ ‘‘Long-necked man??’’ queried Nell, musingly; then she turned suddenly to the Chinaman. ‘‘Sing Sing,’’ she de- manded, ‘‘where is Bottleneck Bill?’ ‘‘He gone, allee samee! Quick—likee that,’’ and Sing Sing snapped his long yellow fingers. : ‘‘Gun go off, shoot Injun, and Injun carry off Gooseneck. You pay five hun- dred blankets, you git him back. No pay blankets, Gooseneck killed, sure.’’ This is the ordinary Stick idea of jus- tice. | When amurder has been committed, they demand a life for the life taken—or an equivalent in blankets. And nothing but blankets will answer an eqttivalent, as blankets are their units of value. Nell was astounded to learn that Bill was in the hands of the Sticks and in peril of his life on so trivial a charge. - OLD GLORY BADGES AS PREMIUMS—SEE PAGE 32. and tumbling off As for blankets, there were not more than a dozen, all told, about the place. Nell was at her wit’s end. What should she do? She might capture the chief and hold him as a hostage, but she feared that his fanatical tribe might kill their prisoner before they understood thie case. : While she stood irresolutely, thinking “the matter over, Tahkeenah, evidently thinking he was not to get his blankets, executed a leap through the open door and _ started across the claim at a run. It so happened that Karl Schnapps attempted to come into the house just as the Stick sprang out. The result was a collision and Karl was knocked off his feet and sent rolling across the frozen ground. ‘*Py shiminy!’ he panted, as he picked . “If dot feller would shtay here long enough, I’d gif him a one for dot.’? | ‘*Where’s Kit, Karl?’ asked Nell. ‘Vell, I dell you. I vas fishin’ der rifer himself up. in und I caught me someding. Vat you dink? It vasa satchel, by shinks! und it had, on der inside——”’ ‘The Dutch- man paused, with a shiver. Well queried Nell, impatiently, ‘Cwhat was in the satchel?” ‘CA man’s hand, cut off py der wrist! Ach, but it gifs me der greeps!”’ ‘CA human hand!’ echoed Nell. **Dot’s it, und Kit took dot satchel und | started for HE] Dorado Creek mit it. Dot’s & om KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY.’ 6 wae he told me to dell you, und dot’s vere he is.’?’* “Karl,” said Nell, quickly, ‘‘you intst follow Kit and bring him back.’” Vy is doth’ ‘Because Bottleneck Bill has been run off by the Sticks, and if something is not done to get him out of their hands soon, I fear his life will pay the forfeit.’’ She then explained the affair in detail as she understood it. “Vy not get togedder all der miners up and down der rifer und make der Sticks © gif Pottleneck Pill up?” ‘They would kill him the moment we attacked them,’? replied Nell. ‘‘They are fanatics and are not given to making idle threats. Go for Kit, Karl. He is the only one who can do anything for Bill.”’ In a few minutes Karl had made up a sinall pack of provender and had started for the El Dorado. A soon as he was gone, Nell took her rifle and started to make a reconuoissance in the direction of Happy-Go-Lucky Creek where the Sticks were known to be encamped. She proceeded cautiously, but had not gone more than a mile from camp when one of Tahkeenah’s Indians started up in her path as if by magic. : He did not speak a word but sprang at the girl like a tiger. Nell had no desire to take the man’s jife, so she caught her rifle firmly by the barrel and brought it down upon the * The strange and thrilling story connected with the finding of that missing hand, was told in Klon- dike Kit Weekly No. ri, entitled ‘‘Klondike Kit’s - Four-Footed Pard; or, Pay Dirt at El Dorado.’’ Indian’s head with all her strength, as he lurched toward her. The Indian staggered and fell, and Nell would have stepped over his pros- trate form and proceeded on her way had not two more natives sprang up and con- fronted her. aie had plucky girl unwittingly ‘walked into an ambush, and, although she fought desperately, the odds were too strong against her and she was finally overcome and made a prisoner. After being bound securely, she was catried for perhaps a hundred yards farther thatched hut which her captors seemed into the timber, to a small to be occupying. Into the hut Nell was carried and laid in one corner on a pile of caribou skins. She tried to talk with the Sticks, but they either could not, or would not answer her, merely shaking their heads inutely whenever she puta question. Night came on and the Indians began eating a supper of dried salon, which is the staple ‘article of diet among thie Alaska natives. Nell’s hands were released temporarily, so that she could also eat some of the fish; she was then rebound, once more, aud her captors made ready to pass the night. These Indians were evidently a detach- ment of Tahkeenah’s tribe, but where was Tahkeenah and the rest- of his peo- ple? And what had been done with Bot- tleneck Bill? These questions recurred again and again to Nell as she lay helplessly in the NO ONE KNOWS THE WEST BETTER THAN DIAMOND DICK, JR. 6 KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY. corner of the hut and listened to the re- sounding snotes of the Sticks. She could not answer the questions which she put to herself. An idea of escape presented itself to her mind, but a moment’s thought con- vinced her that escape was impossible. On every side of her lay a stalwart native and, could she have freed herself of her bonds, it would have been impossi- ble to pass over the forins of her captors and leave the hut. Tired out and exhaused, Nell finally fell to sleep in spite of her perilous posi-' tion. She was awakened by the sound of ex- ploding rifles and by wild yells. Opening her eyes with a, start, she found that is was broad daylight. and that she was alone in the hut. : From without came a furious uproar and noises indicative of a hand-to-hand conflict—fierce shouts, despairing groans, and now and then a sound of a heavy body falling. : What could it all mean? While Nell was listening and wonder- one of her captors rushed into the ing, hut. He was bleeding from a wound in the forehead. : Rushing to the girl’s side, he picked her up in his strong arms and dashed out of the door again, and on into the timber. He was suddenly intercepted by an- other Stick—the one who had first at-- tacked Nell and whom she had knocked down with her clubbed rifle. This second Indian carried a murder- ous looking knife. strike its The two Sticks had a brief but furious altercation which ended by the second native knocking down the first. | The man with the knife then dragged Nell roughly away froin the Indian who had-been carrying her, sank down on one knee at her side and raised his gleaming blade. He was vengeful and was burning to even matters up for that blew on the head which Nell had so cleverly dealt him. The Stick’s fierce purpose shone in his glittering black eyes, and Nell thought that it was all up with her. S eUhe knife quivered in the air and then began a swift descent; but before it could intended mark it was struck from the sinewy hand that held it. blow, rapidly delivered, the Stick Another stretched inert. along the ground. ‘On-déek, Nell,’ sane eut, a cldery voice as a lithe form, clad from head to heels in a suit of marmot, bent over the gitl and released her from her bonds. ‘‘Kiondike Kit!” exclaiined Nell, joy- fully. ‘‘How did you happen to come here??? ‘No time for explanations, now, Nell,’ replied Kit; ‘‘the Plingits have attacked this lay-out of Sticks, and we’ll have to push for the tall timber if we don’t want to get mixed wp im the melee? Catching her by the hand, Kit hurried his girl-pard off in the direction of the Discovery. ‘*Did Karl find you, Kit?’’ asked Nell. ‘Ves, and that is the reason I came back post haste. We heard the noise of that PATRIOTIC EMBLEMS GIVEN AWAY—SEE PAGE 32. KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY. 7 mix-up between the Indians from the ‘trail. After sending Karl on to the claim, I came over here to investigate.’ ‘‘It was a fortunate thing for me that “But it: the Plingits and the Sticks are having a set- to, what will become of Bottleneck Bill???’ ‘The Plingits are not fighting with the outfit that captured Bill,’ replied Kit; ‘‘they’re a good inany miles from here, over on Happy-Go-Lucky Creek. I'll take you back to the Discovery, Nell, i Were you out looking for him whien those you did,’’ remarked Nell. and then I?ll set out to rescue Bil Sticks captured you ?”’ Nell explained how she had happened to fall into the hands of the Sticks, and also gave Kit all the information she pos- “sessed regarding Bill. ‘its abad deal?) muttered Kit, - gravely, ‘‘and it will take some fine work to get Bill out of the clutches of those Indians, but I believe I can do it.’”™ “Of course you can do it,’? replied Nell, promptly ; - “but you must take several men with you.”’ ““That’s where you’ré mistaken, Nell,’ returned Kit, quietly. ‘‘I must follow this lead alone.’? ‘*Alone?’’ she echoed. ‘Ves. Strategy and not force is going to win this game.’ They soon reached the Discovery and Kit, before starting for Happy-Go-Lucky Creek, went over the work on his two. placer claims, gave final directions to Nell and then prepared himself for the trail. | He changed his clothing for a suit of tough catibou hide, with boots and parkie of thé same material; then he strapped a pack of provisions to his back, lashed a rifle over his shoulder, dropped a brace of forty-fours into the holsters that swung at his hips, drew on a-pair of mooseskin . mittens and was off for the Happy- Go-: Lucky. A full moon broke out of the clouds as Kit left camp, and he little surmised what anight of weird and unheard-of adven- ture the one before him was to be. CHAPTER I THE PHOSPHORENT FACE—TUSSLE WITH : A SHAMEN—OVER THE CLIFF IN. A BLANKET. For several miles, Kit’s journey led him through dense along the Yukon. The timber was of spruce and pine, tim ber through whose branches the night wind played mournfully—a fit accompaniment for the events about to happen. Kit had placed miles between himself and the Discov- neatly a half-dozen ery, when ared fire blazed out of the dusk ahead. : Surprised at such a sudden and unex- pected sight, Kit started hurriedly for- ward to investigate the crimson flame, but it was snuffed out as suddenly as it had appeared. While Kit stood wondering what could be the meaning of the strange light, a blue flame flashed into sight near the point where the red had appeared. Once more he hastened forward and, as before, the uncanny glare was extin- guished before he had taken a dozen steps. ee ele DIAMOND DICK, ee KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY. Then, in the same manner, a white gleam, quickly followed by one of an intense yellow color, illumined the dark recesses of the woods only to disappear as mysteriously as they had shown them- _ selves. é Greatly puzzled, Kit dashed forward until he had reached the point where he believed the fires to have been kindled.— He could hear nothing and see no one, but a peculiar sulphuric odor was appar- . ent. He was on the point of beating about the brush to see what he could discover, when a dazzling glare broke out abruptly on every side of him. For several moments he was almost blinded; and then, when he was again able to see, he found that the blue, red, yellow and white fires were blazing be- - fore, behind, and on either side. The mingling of the brilliant, vari- colored lights gave an unearthly look to the surroundings. Kit stood irresolute among the flames, awaiting developments. As the light began to die down, a sul- _phurous glow came from the midst of a clump of bushes, directly in front of Kit. At first, it seemed like a shapeless ball of light, but it gradually took a human shape. Beneath Kit’s eyes it assumed the aspect of a huge face, inany times the natural size, with dabs of crimson light for eyes and flecks of the same color — _ about the lips and mouth. In all of Kit’s Klondike experience, he had never met anything like this. * REMEMBER THE MAINE!” But he was not superstitious and did not believe in ghosts. — : “After gazing at the leering face fora moment, he dashed into the bushes with the intention of capturing it and solving the mystery. The face seemed to anticipate this for- ward movement and vanished in a twink- ling—but not before Kit had detected a dark form beneath it. The youth knew all along that he had to deal with some trickster, but who the fellow was, and what was his purpose, were points that Kit had determined to settle; so he started in pursuit of the fleeing form. Through the brush chased pursuer and pursued, down the trail in the direc- tion of the river and toward a small plain entirely denuded of timber. Kit proved the better runner of the two and gained rapidly. They were fairly our upon the moonht. space of cleared land when the youth overtook his man, caught him by the _ shoulder and deftly threw him from his - feet. ‘ Sinking down with one knee on the man’s breast, Kit turned him over so that his face would be visible in the moon- light. An exclamation of surprise fell from his lips as he gazed upon a countenance blackened with flood of understanding broke in soot and seal-oil anda upon him. He had to do with a Stick ‘‘shaman,”’ or medicineman. The shaman lives a solitary life in the woods, confining himself to a diet of the WEAR A “MAINE” BUTTON, — = heads and tongues of frogs which, the Plingits believe, contain a potent niedi- cine. The shaman is as full of tricks and illusions as an egg is of meat and Kit knew well, now, who was the author of the vari-colored fires. But there was one thing he did not know, and-that was, why had he been singled out as an object for the shaman’s deviltry ? Kit resolved to find this out, if possible. Exerting a stronger pressure on the shaman’s breast with his bended knee, he gripped him about the throat with one hand and hissed in his ear: “Vou talk English ?”? released his grip slightly to give the medicine man a The youth then chance to answer. “Me talk English,’’ gasped the Indian. “What do you hocus pocus me in this kind of style?” ‘‘Grand Tyhee he say do, so me do.”’ The Grand Tyhee was the head chief, and Kit knew that his word was law. But the Grand Tyhee was a. Plingit, and not a Stick. Was Bottleneck Bill in the hands of _ the Plingits, after all, and not of the Sticks? If so, how had he been changed from one set of captors to another? “Are you a Plingit >?’ demanded Kit. “Me Plingit shaman,’’ and the squirm- ing native followed his answer with a that through the woods. . Although Kit was not aware of it at the time, to raise a hand against a shaman demoniacal yell echoed~ weirdly mean by trying to DIAMOND DICK, JR. IS A DANDY. KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY; 9 is a» heinous crime among the Plingits and punishable with death in the most horrid form, that can be devised. Kit’s hand closed more tightly about the Indian's windpipe, and smothered the yell upon his lips. ‘None of that!’’ exclaimed Kit; ‘‘an- other break of that kind and I’ll choke the life out of you.”’ But the evil had already been done. ¢¢ Noiselessly as snakes, a half dozen swarthy, sinewy forms began writhing along the frozen ground toward Kit and the shaman. Blackened as they all were with soot and seal oil, the creeping forms were hardly to be distinguished from the flit- ting shadows of the night. Kit did not see them, and the first intimation he had of threatening danger was when a pair of dusky arms encircled his neck from behind. Springing to his feet, he threw the Indian off. : By this time the others had started up, as if out of the very earth, and the shaman was dancing around. them, shaking a rattle and chanting a song to fire the hearts of the Plingits with courage. Upon such an occasion, with the eye of their shaman upon them, the Plingits might be expected to fight with determi- nation—and they did. The six warriors were big, wiry fel- lows, and while there was little science in the way they used their fists, yet brute force enable them to carry the day. Kit’s rifle was still lashed to his back and his revolvers were in their leather - 10 sheaths at his hips, but the fight was at such close quarters he had no chance to bring his weapons into play. The Plingits threw themselves upon him, clung to him with their arms and sought in every way to hamper his move- nents and to throw him to the ground. As often as he could, Kit tore’ himself loose from the entwining arms, and dealt one effective blow after another. The number brought against him was too great, however. Two of the Indians had been knocked out of the fight, but ata favorable mo- ment the remaining four sprang upon Kit in a bunch. ~ : Their combined weight was too. great for him to stand up under, and he sank to the ground. At this point, the shaman ceased his rattling chant long enough to unwind from his body astout cord woven from the entrails of the walrus. This cord he handed to one of Kit’s antagonists, aud the youth was securely bound with it. A blanket was next procured, and in ‘this the captive was closely wrapped, and so laced about with the rope that, he re- sembled a mummy, when the tying operation was completed. The shaman then gave a harsh com- giand and danced toward the steep bank of the river, shaking his rattle at the moon and singing a song to commemo- rate the glorious victory of six over one. The watriors gathered up the form in the blanket, and* trotted along after their shaman. The medicine man had paused on the brink of a steep bluff that fell sheer away to the water’s edge. Underneath, in the shadow of the bluff, floated an oomiak, or boat covered over with the furless hide of the seal. The boat contained the form of a huge KLONDIKE KIT SHOW YOUR COLORS—GET ONE OF OUR FREE BADGES. WEEKLY, Indian, whose sharp eyes were turned up- ward through the shadow and fixed upon the moonlit bluff where the Plingits were darkly visible. A moment later the form in the blanket was hurled far out into the air, and fell spinning end over end down into the water. Then there came a how] from the waltiors, a- furious rattling from the shaman, and the dark forms faded from the top of the bluff. The Plingits believed they had avenged - themselves for the wrong done to their medicine man. But there was a misfit in their. calcula- tions. : CHAPTER Ti, KIT MEETS AN OLD FRIEND—SIWASH SAM IS HUNG UP—THE BOMB HAR- POON. Kit felt himself tossed from the brow of the cliff, and, although enveloped ina blanket, he imagined very accurately what was taking place. - Meutally he resigned himself to his fate, and his surprise was great when, after striking the surface of the river, sinking deep down and rising again, he experienced the sensation of being pulled out of the water and into the bottom of a rocking canoe. Then he felt some one pode: at the cords which bound the blanket, finally at those which bound his armé, and at last he sat up and looked at the man who had rescued him. ‘*Siwash Sain!’ he exclaimed.. “Klondike Kit! astounded rejoinder. Under these alinost tragical circum-— stances had two old friends met. Siwash Sain, the big, iron-muscled chief of the Chilkats, a familiar figure in the earlier issues of the series. and was the equally nails Se Kit had once saved his life, and he and the youth were firm friends. ‘You beat de debbil!’’ cried the Chil- kat, startled as well as surprised. ‘‘How you git in blanket, hey ?”? ‘‘Some of your people did it.” My people?’ ‘You're a Chilkat, aren’t you ?’* ‘‘Me Chilkat chief,’? and Siwash thrust out his massive breast and hammered it pompously. “The Chilkat tribe belongs to the Plingit nation ?”’ ‘We all Plingitse” “ ‘“Well, it was a Plingit shaman that had me wrapped up in that blanket and tossed over the bluff.”’ ‘“‘Me saw shaman’s~totem fires from tiber, so Chilkat knew somet’ing up. Theti me lay off shore an’ wait, an’ look. - What you do to shaman, Klondike Kit?” ‘Threw him down and choked hima Inttle, that’s all.’ ~ Siwash Sam groaned with horror. “Dey try to. kill you ‘for dat,’’ he gasped. ‘“‘Why you choke Kit?” ‘‘Because an outfit of Sticks carried off Bottleneck Bill and threaten to kill him unless I pay ¢ over enough Dae for the whole tribe.’ “What Bobbleneck Bill up to now?” Kit thereupon detailed the situation to Siwash Sam. As he talked, a strange glitter crept into the Chilkat’s eye, and, when his friend had finished, he brought his hand down with a thump on Kit’s knee. . “Chilkat know where Bobbleneck 1 is! » he exclaimed. ‘“Where?’’ demanded Kit; _ Sticks?” : “No, with Plingits, Haida Plingits. Um Haida Injuns up dere,’’ and he eee his hand toward the top of the “with the KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY. shaman, DIAMOND: DICK, = IS OFTEN IN DANGER. it bluff. ‘‘You lost lead, Kit; Siwasly Sam put um straight.”’ ‘‘How do you know Bill is with the Haidas?’? ‘‘Listen. Me pilot big gang over Paya trail, to Dawson. Den Chilkat borrow oomiak an’ paddle up river to see Kit. So, ou de way up, me sabe. Kit from Haida shainan. Jes’ dis side Dawson, me pass six big canoes, full Haidas. Dey say dey had fight wid Sticks an’ kill many an’ take away from dem a white prisoner.’’ ‘“That white prisoner must have been Bill.”? “oure ?? ‘Where were they going??? ‘‘Down riber to Haida village for big potlatch.”’ A ‘‘potlatch’’ is a rejoicing celebrated whenever a victory, or other event of im- portance, comes to the tribe. At every potlatch, huge quantities of ‘“hoochinoo’’ are imbibed. Hoochinoo earries more fight and frenzy in every drop than any other liquor, and is distilled in old oil cans from a mash composed of yeast and molasses, mixed with flour. Kit knew all about potlatches, and‘if Bottleneck Bill ever got mixed up in one of them, he feared he would never coine ‘out alive. ‘““What’s the name of. the village, Siwash ?? queried Kit. ‘‘Faida call um Ko-Klutz an’ Fort Get There, like post near St. Michaels. You know?”’ ‘‘Ves, How far away is the village?’’ . ‘We reach dere by mornin’, wid sail.”’ “Ts the village so close as that? I didn’t know the Haidas came’ so far from the coast.?? “Haida come to fight Stick,” replied — Siwash Sam, who was busily rigging a _ inast that lay in the bottom of the oomiak. | 15 KLONDIKE 12 A square sail of sewed skins was at- tached to the mast, and the Chilkat set it to catch the favoring night breeze, and threw himself in the stern with a steering paddle. “Going to help me out on this deal, Siwash ?’’ asked Kit. ‘“Klondike Kit always help Siwash,”’ replied the big Indian, steering the oomiak out into the centre of the broad, moonlit channel. ‘‘Me know Haida,’’ he went on. ‘‘Dey lost Grand Tyhee in fight wid Sticks. Dey elect anudder T'yhee, drink hoochinoo, raise blazes. Hwah! Big potlatch—heap big!” The bigger the potlatch the more danger to Bill, and Kit’s eagerness to reach him at the earliest possible moment was redoubled. There was a pile of warm caribou skins in the centre of the boat, and Kit dropped down among them and went to sleep. His work over on the El Dorado had tired him out before he took the trail after Bill, and his final experience with the shaman had fagged hiin almost.com- pletely. When he opened his* eyes he saw that dawn was just breaking in the east. Siwash Sam sat immovable in the stern, steering paddle in hand, and wel- comed Kit’s awakening with a grin that showed two long rows of gleaming teeth. ‘“‘Vou feel better, huh??? he asked. ‘‘Y should say,’’ replied Kit, reaching for his bag of provender, ‘‘and I think I’ll feel better yet when I get on the out- side of some of the contents of this haver-. sack.’? Kit helped himself to some of the food which Nell had prepared for him, and- _ passed the haversack on to the Chilkat. Then, for the first time, he noticed that the oomiak was running within two or three feet of the lee bank. _ This bank was precipitous and wooded, KIT WEEKLY. GET - COLLECTION OF WAR BADGES AND gue out arose only a half a dozen feet above the deck of the boat. So closely inshore were they running that the crossyards supporting the sail often struck against the earthy wall. All the time he was steering and eat- ing, Siwash Sain kept his eyes a ene fixed upon the bank. ‘‘Why don’t you keep farther out in the river, Siwash?’’ inquired Kit. ‘*Me look for somet’ing.’’ WV lat 2”: ‘‘We close to village; wait—you see.’? As they drew further along the bank, Siwash suddenly motioned to Kit to take the steering paddle, while he went for- ward and stood in the centre of the’ oomiak, still looking upward. Suddenly he turned to Kit with a de- lighted grin. ‘“We all right,’’ he began; ‘‘we betel um an’?——”? ‘ But the Chilkat got no farther. _ At that precise moment a raw-hide noose descended from above, encircled the chief about the waist, and was then rapidly hauled in. -The result of this operation was to hang up the Chilkat. Kicking, struggling and squirming, he was lifted above the boat and it passed on out froin under him. : Kit was astounded, but surprises of this kind never captured his wits. Springing forward, he lowered the sail and then whirled the oomiak quickly about with the steering paddle. An instant later the youth was directly _ -under the spot where the Chilkat had been so singularly suspended. To Kit’s surprise, the chief had van-_ ished, having, no doubt, been hauled to the top of the brush-covered bank by 2a those who ,had lassoed him and pulled= =| him off the boat. This explanation had bee flashed) through the youth’s mind, when he saw a flash of steel above him, and the head of a pronged dart shot toward the comiak. With a muttered exclamation, Kit sprang to the rear of the boat. The pronged dart was a harpoon. It was of the variety known as a bomb- harpoon and contained a charge near the head so arranged as to explode the in- stant the prongs entered the flesh of a whale or walrus. The harpoon *struck the oomiak just back of the mast. The concussion of the blow set off the bomb, and a fierce explosion followed. The boat was hurled in fragments in - every direction, and Kit was thrown into the air. i He felt himself tebe lifted oe and was then dashed against some hard substance with a-force that oS - tobbed him of his senses. ee et CHAPTER IV. ee BLOWN ASHORE—A SPRUCE TREE TRAP— THE GRAND TYHEE OF THE HAIDAS. When Kit got his wits back he found that a most remarkable thing had hap- pened. The explosion of the bomb-harpoon -had blown him ashore, and he was now lying high and dry on a shelf of rocks jutting out from the bank, midway of its height. Strange as it may seem, the explosion which had wrecked the oomiak had not injured him, but it was his contact with the stone shelf which had robbed him of his senses and bruised his limbs. As he sat up and rubbed his arms and legs, he saw before him the smooth face of a bowlder on which was painted a ~ gaudy design in red and yellow. The design resembled a demoniacal face, similar to the phosphorescent mask — MAKE THE ACQUAINTANCE OF DIAMOND DICK, JR. KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY, 13 worn by the shaman with whom he had had such a fierce struggle. On each side of the face were two long streainers representing wings. Kit recognized the symbol as that of Hahtla, the Thunder Bird, which is the totem of the Haida tribe. The village of Fort Get There must be close at hand; but why had the totem ‘been painted in that particular place? Kit allowed his eyes to wander about the spot, and not far from the painted bowlder he saw a steep path leading up- ward. This path was crossed with roots and trailing vines from which the bark had been worn by the hands of those who had helped themselves up the difficult path. The mystery of the painted totem was solved. To a voyager on the river it marked the point of debarkation for reaching the Haida village. “= Kit had now two men to look for— Bottleneck Bill and Siwash Sam. He arose to his feet, and, although his limbs were bruised and sore, he succeeded in reaching the top of the bank in safety. Before him, through the thick woods, stretched a narrow path. This, undoubtedly, led toward the Indian village, and Kit struck boldly into it. He had _ proceeded a dozen yards through the dense timber, when a sound of guttural voices, pitched in an excited and angry key, broke on his ear. Who could it be? ~ Perhaps he had stumbled upon. Spaeth Sam and his captors! Thrilled with this thought, Kit dropped down upon his knees, drew one of his re- volvers and pushed stealthily forward. A short distance ahead of him, he failed to notice a large spruce, overhang. ing the path. : 14 The lower limbs had been lopped from the trunk, and the trunk itself was sup- ported by a rope cunningly hidden among the bush. | This rope was connected with a small piece of wood that lay carelessly across the path. The whole was an ingenious Haida trap, and Kit was entirely oblivious of it. Reaching the piece of wood in the trail, Kit started to creep across it, but the instant it yielded to the pressure of his knee, the rope supporting the over- hanging spruce gave way and the tree fell upon him, flattening him out help- lessly along the ground. It was a fortunate thing for Kit that a small bowlder chanced to lie beside the path. The tree rested upon this, and it was all that saved the youth’s life. As it was, the breath was almost crushed out of his body. As he lay there, gasping and unable to move, two Indiaus rushed upon him, out of the tiinber. They seemed very much surprised to find that Kit was alive, and one of thei knelt down and raised a knife as though he would finish the work which the tree had failed to perform. . /The other, however, caught the de- scending arm, and a violent altercation ensued between the two. , Fortunately for Kit, the second Indian had his way and the prisoner’s hands and feet were bound while he still lay under . _ the tree. : : = - By means of heavy sticks, used as levers; the spruce was then pried from Kit’s body, and he was picked up by the head and heels and carried off through the timber at a dog-trot. In a short time; faint yells and Bots were borne to their ears from in front... KEONDIKE KIT IT’S EASY TO. GET A WAR BADGE—SEE PAGE 32. WEEKLY. As they continued to advance, the hubbub grew louder and louder. It was plain to Kit that they were rapidly nearing the village, and that the potlatch was in full swing. He alinost wished at that moment that the Indian had been allowed to finish him with the knife, for the warriors in the village, frenzied with hoochinoo, would no doubt have a worse fate in store for hii. A quarter of a mile more of traveling brought them to a small, dry ravine, bare of timber but planted with at least a dozen totem poles—one before each of the thatch-roofed log houses that made up the village. The twelve lodges ‘were arranged ina circle about an exceptionally large house, or council chamber. he totem pole before the large cabin was very elaborately carved and painted 4 to represent various faces, as gretesque as the heathen mind could conceive. — Ou top of the pole was the ie Bird. This pole was the tribal totem.. The other poles were merely symbols of individual, or family totems. There was not a soul to be seen in the streets of the village; but the pandemon- ium that reigned in the council chamber proved conclusively that hoochinoo was flowing like water, and that every one, excepting Kit’s two captors, were attend- ing upon the potlatch. While Kit was taking in the appear- ance of the place, and wondering whether Bottleneck Bill was still alive, and, if se, where he was confined, the two Haidas bore him quickly to an ill- smelling hut. and dumped him roughly upon the floor in one corner. -’Then;“before he could say a word, the Indians went away. : Kit felt that certain death was ae at him in the face, and that it was his duty to take any chances that offered, even a forlorn hope, of escape. For this reason, no sooner were his captors gone than he made a vigorous -attack upon ue cords that bound his wrists. As these were made of the twisted” intestines of some sea animal, they were as sharp and cutting as the big strings of a bass viol. They defied his efforts, but he was not the one to give up, and was hard at it when his labors were interrupted by the return of one of his captors. This Haida was the one who had pre- vented his companion from striking Kit with the knife. _ While gone, he had evidently imbibed several fingers of hoochinoo, for his black eyes sparkled, and he appeared to be ina talkative mood. This was something that Kit desired, and had hardly dared to hope for. ‘‘Haida talk English ?’’ he asked. The answer was direct and to the point. ‘Bet yer life! Blast your dead eyes, you lubber! Me mission Haida. Haida Jake my name. Shiver my timbers! What you want, hey?’’ That wasn’t all that Haida Jake said, by any means. He wound up his remarks with a -_ piratical flow of language that would have given any old whaler cards and spades. , It was évident ae he had picked up his knowledge among the sea-faring men of the coast. ‘Did you pull a7 companion out of the oomiak ?”’ Haida Jake shook his head. ‘“Why did you throw vee tree down ‘on me?’ ‘Him a trap;”’ chuckled the Indian. KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY. DIAMOND DICK, JR. IS A DEAD SHOT. 15 ‘‘T know, it was a trap, but why did you do it 2’ ‘“We try to ‘cil you,” ‘‘Did you throw that bomb-harpoon ?”’ ‘“*Odder Haida throw um.’ **If- you wanted to kill me, why did you prevent the other Haida from knifing nic 2”? ‘‘Me saw smoke signal from village.’’ ‘‘What did the smoke signal say ?”’ ‘‘Sional say, no kill.” Kit was surprised at this, and his curi- . osity considerably whetted. ‘What else did signal say ?’’ he asked. ‘‘Him say, we elected anudder Grand Tyhee, and new Grand Tyhee say, bring prisoner to village and no kill.?? Kit was beginning to fog} a new meas- “re.of weliel. “What is the new Grand Tyhee going to do with me?”’ ‘*Him want sacrifice for Thunder Bird, and want to kill you in council lodge.”’ “On, that’s it,’) muttered Kit, primly: ‘When is the affair going to come off?”’ “Listen, vow! You bear date Dey coming !’’., What Kit heard was a rattling of bullets in an empty gourd, and the furi- ous beating of a tom-toim. The sounds grew louder, anda shaman finally reeled up to:the front of the hut, beating his drum with one hand and shaking his gourd with the other. Behind him followed three half-tipsy bucks, who caught Kit up in their un- steady hands and bore him off toward the council lodge, preceded by the medicine man. The big lodge was packed to suffoca- tion with squaws and warriors, all squat- ted on the floor and drinking their fiery liquor out of huge earthen bowls with shell cups. In one end of the building was a a of rude platform, built of logs. 16 From one of the low rafters, well for- ward toward the front of the platform, was suspended a glossy curtain made of sewed sealskins. All eyes seemed to be rivited upon this curtain. Two or three yards in front of the plat- form was a large stone with a concave centre. As Kit was roughly dirows on the top of this stone, clamorous yells rent the air. The Haidas were in a hurry for the grand climax of the potlatch to occur. But where was the Grand Tyhee, on whom so much depended ? Kit had an abiding faith in his lucky star, and he was not prepa to give up even yet.” Of one thing he was positive, however, and that was that he had never been in quite so tight a place as he was at that moment. He wondered where Siwash Sam was. The Chilkat belonged to the Plingits, as did the Haidas, and he might have in- fluence enough with the Indians to save his friend’s life. While Kit was turning this matter over in his mind, the shaman advanced to the front of the log platform and walked back and forth for several mo- ments, emitting a guttural chant and toss- ing his arms wildly; then he dropped down on the logs and resumed business with the tom-tom and the gourd. - Kit was lying in such a position on the large stone that his view comprised the entire front of the platform. As soon as the shaman had ceased his chant and had began his orchestral over- ture, every native in the council chamber stopped his frenzied shouts and became perfectly still. Even the squaws ceased to rattle their shell cups against the earthen jars of hoochinoo. KLONDIKE : KIT WEEKLY. of seal, trimmed with DO YOU WANT A FLAG BUTTON OR PIN? Every glittering eye was riveted upon - the log stage for it was there that the — new Grand T'yhee was to appear. __ Just as the suspense was becoming almost unendurable, the sealskin curtain was yanked aside and the high chieftain of the Haidas stood revealed. Kit was thunderstruck. He could scarcely believe his eyes. Howl upon howl of frenzied joy went up from the Indians, and menacing de- monstrations were made in Kit’s direc- tion. But the youth paid no attention. He could see nothing and hear nothing except what was taking place on the stage. For the Grand ‘Tyhee was none other than Bottleneck Bill! ee CHAPTER -V. THE FIRE STICKS—A WHALEBOAT HOW- ITZER—A CLEAR BREAK-AWAY. Bill was dressed in a magnificent suit otter, which did anything but fit him as it should. Over it all he wore a narkeeta, or woven tobe, especially reserved for cere- mouial wear on the part of the Grand Tyhee. On his ragged mop of hair rested an ancient and tarry sailor’s hat, which “might have seen ocean service in the days of Vancouver. As the curtain was pulled aside, Bill was seen to be holding in his hands four sticks, each about a foot in length. The two ends of each stick had been wrapped in tow, saturated in seal oil. Fire had then been. applied, and Bill was juggling with the four blazing sticks. His juggling was really adinirable, too, and the Haidas looked on in open- mouthed wonder. Walking around and around the stage, Bill sent the sticks whirling about his head, now with one hand, now with the other, now with both, and he accom- panied his work with a sing-song chant which Kit imimediately discovered was meant for him. “Tm onto my job, Kit, don’t you for-— get that,’ sang Bill, occasionally chim- ing in with a whoop and a grunt for the purpose of deceiving the natives. *“T saved ny scalp,”’ he chanted, ‘‘and got to be high mucky muck by juggling these sticks and eating fire. But now they’ re tryin’ to make me inarry a dozen squaws—cross- -eyed, squint-eyed, wall- eyed and beauties I don’t think. Ym done. I’m ready to break away from this gang while they’re full up with hoochinoo. I think the job will be easy, but we’ll have to make a hot foot right over ’em an’ through the door. ‘“They brought a whaleboat howitzer up from the coast to use against the Sticks. She’s small, but she’s deadly. They were going to tie me to the mouth and set her off when they first brought me here, but I began eatin’ fire and that settled it. “Diablo used to be my museum name in the States, and I'll bet dollars to dimes I’ve played the Old Nick with them. ‘What I was goin’ to say is, we’ll have to look out for the howitzer. Its outside at the other end of this building. I think they’re too drunk to use it, but it’s just as well to keep our weather eye open. ‘‘Hdge over a little on your side so I can get at the ropes that bind your hands. “Don’t get scared and think I’m going ~ to eat you—I have to throw in a few trace frills fot effect, When 1 say ‘scoot,’ you ttn for the door as though ‘the fiends were after you. Knock over anybody that gets in your way. | ‘(And now hold your breath, for here, comes the climax.’’ “DIAMOND DICK, JR. STANDS BY HIS FRIENDS. = KLONDIKE” KIT’ WEEKLY, © 17 Bili ceased his chant with a long— drawn-out and quivering yell. When he stopped, he was directly at the front of the plaftorm. As the blazing sticks came down, for the last time, he caught them, one by one, and extinguished the fire by thrust- ing the ends i his mouth. On the fourth and last stick, however, he left one end burning. Throwing the other sticks away he caught this one in his hand and sprang from the platform to the rock where Kit was lying. : This move was greeted with yells of approval, for the Haidas thought that the prisoner’s time had come. Dropping down on all fours, Bill began creeping around the stone, snapping and snarling, to the immense edification of the heathen onlookers. When he reached Kit’s feet, he applied his blazing torch to a loop in the cord that bound his ankles, burning it in twain. , ‘‘Work your feet loose gradually,’’ chanted Bill. Then he crept around to Kit’s hands and succeeded in burning the rope that bound his wrists, without so much as scorching the skin. The Indians applauded vociferously the acts of their Grand Tyhee. Besotted with liquor, as they were, they had not the power to think or to reason.. ‘Even the shaman who, an hour before, had been Bill’s bitter rival and had nearly burned himself to death while attempting to eat live coals, could now only look on and palpitate with envy. But the time had come to undeceive the Haidas and make a dash for freedom. ‘*Ready, Kit?’’ cried Bill, springing - to his feet and casting aside the markeeta, which merely ments. encumbered his inove- F- 18 “All ready,’? replied Kit. ‘“Then kick yourself out of those ropes and follow me—quick !”’ - Before the astounded Haidas could realize what was happening, their Grand Tyhee was dashing toward the door, closely foHowed by their prisoner. At last the Indians caught a glimmer- ing idea that something was wrong, and Several leaped up to bar the~passage of the fleeing inen. Mihere’s a. sockdolover for you! shouted Bill, letting fly with his right and neatly toppling over a strapping buck; _‘‘and here’s a sample off the same piece for you,’’? he added, sweeping an- other tipsy native out of his path. ‘‘Hard atit, Kite. ‘‘P’m using both my fists and my feet, Bill,’? replied Kit, who was doing tre- ~ mendous execution. His knuckles were like iron and they fell with the force of a pile driver. Nothing could stand against the whirl- wind fight which the two friends put up, and they finally succeeded in reaching the door and plunging through it. Behind them came a struggling and howling mob shouting aloud for their Grand Tyhee to come back and go on with the show. Bill; ‘‘these fellows are Kit and Bill, however, seemed to have jumped out of the frying-pan into the fire. As they started to make off toward the timber, they ran plump into a small party of Haidas who were arriving a little late for the potlatch. “ Flere’s treubile s0w, 4or (slire.”’ cried not full of hoochigoo and they’ll give usa rub, or I’m no hand at guessing.”’ ‘ panted Bill. © lip? ‘‘No! Stand them off for ten minutes longer and we'll save our scalps.’’ ‘* Bow 22” **Listen !”? is it all Kit: suggested Kit, CHAPTER IX. THE UP-RIVER BOAT—SAVED IN THE NICK OF TEME—CONCLUSION. Above the roar that came from the interior of the island was heard the chough-chough-chough of a steamer in the river. : Turning their eyes off to the west- ward, the twinkling light of an up-river boat could be seen, en route from St. Michaels to Dawson City. ‘‘Luck is on our side!’’ shouted Bill. ‘‘In ten minutes that boat will be abreast of the island,’’ said Kit; ‘‘hold off the Haidas till then and we’re safe.”? Even as he spoke, he knocked an Indian off his pins, grabbed the torch out of his hand and threw it into a plie of dried brush almost at the end of the point of land. The brush blazed up like tinder, and made a signal which those aboard the boat could not fail to take note of. The Haidas evidently realized that the three friends were endeavoring to carry out some plan of escape in connection with the steamer, and they pushed the fighting hotter than ever. “For ten minutes Kit and his compan- ions had their hands a little more than frit, By that time, however, the steamer was. abreast of the island, working her engines just enough to hold her station- ary in the current. On the upper deck stood a man with a lantern which he was wildly waving for the purpose of attracting the attention of those on the island. ‘‘Ahoy there!’ shouted the man with . the lantern. /mnoy) tetirned iit. ‘‘Are you burning that signal for us??? eV aes 2 ‘“What do you want???’ ‘“There are three of us beset by a score © of Indians. We’re going to take to the water. Lay by and give us a hand.”’ ‘Aye, aye! Heave ahead!’’ ~ Then, one after another, three dark forms leaped into the river, and swan toward the steamer, while the baffled Indians above vented their disappoint- ment in demoniacal howls. . DID YOU EVER HEAR OF DIAMOND DICK, JR.? KLONDIKE KIT WEEKLY. ‘‘Klondike Kit!’ exclaimed the cap- tain of the boat as he pulled the youth aboard; ‘‘aren’t you a little off your Deatr “Slightly.” ‘What have you been 1 up to now: 2? “A little mix-up with the Haidas, that’s all. Nothing serious. ”’ ‘“Might have been serious, though, if we hadn’t happened along just as we did, eh? ‘It would have been an all day job _ with us, cap, if it hadn’t been for you.’’ ‘‘Drop into the engine-room there, with your. two friends, and dry your clothing. JTll rout out the cook and have -him make you some hot coffee. ‘Trot along, now; yORT teeth are chattering like castanets.’ With clothing warm and dry ane with some hot food in their stomachs, the three frieyds were improved a hundred per cent, and they turned into some empty bunks and slept like logs for the reiainder of the night. When they got up the next morning it was broad daylight and the steamer was tied up to her wharf at Dawson City. When Kit came on deck, he was sur- prised to see his own little stern-wheeler, the Full Hand, lying along the pier a short distance away Karl Schnapps was sweeping the deck and, when Kit called out to him, he dropped his broom and gt a backward a dozen feet. = Kit,’ he cried, -someding’else?”’ eit’s all right, Kart. doing here?” ~ “Nugget Nell sent us up to see if we could find oudt vot you vos doing mit yourself. Vere is Pottleneck Pill?” ‘*Here, Dutchy,’’ putin Bill, bobbing up beside Kit; how you vos?’ ‘I feel pedder dan I vos do-morrow. How you been yourself?’? — “Pine as silk!” It did not take the three friends long to stow themselves aboard the Full Hand, and, by noon, they had covered the thirty miles between Dawson and the mouth of the Indian River and were tied up safely at the Discovery. GIVE YOUR GIRL AN AMERICAN ‘‘vas dot you oder What are you -date. -of the Tip Top Weekly, ol Kit’s return was a joyful suprise to Nell. ‘‘Did you think he’d bring me back with him, Nell?’ asked Bill. ‘‘T knew he wouldn’t come back with- out you, Bill,’’ replied Nell, ‘‘and I was afraid he’d have trouble. Were you in any danger, Kit??? ‘‘Not much, little one,’’ he answered, ‘*but I expect to be as sick as a bear with a sore head, in about two or three days.’ Cow's thatr -Kit thereupon told her about the draught which Siwash Sam had given him. The Chilkat wasn’t joking, either. In two days Kit was down on his bunk, and for several hours was out of his head and babbling about MHaidas, Stieks, totems, shamans, and dozens of other things that were all Greek to Nell. But in a week or two Kit had entirely recovered and was his old self again. Then it was that Siwash Sam told him all about the lost totem and succeeded in starting him upon .another expedition, fully as perilous, and in some respects as novel as his adventures among the Haidas had been. The story will be told in the next issue of this. weekly, and will be entitled: ‘‘Klondike Kit Down To Bed-Rock; or, A Wonderful Find On the Happy-Go- Lucky. uy [THE END. | SPECIAL NOTICE! 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A complete guide to this fascinating art, entitled AMATEUR MANUAL OF PHOTOGRAI HY. will he sent on receipt of ten cents. STREET & SMITH, 25 Rose street, New York, Manual Library-Department). WRESTLING. _ History tells us that wrestling was the first form of athletic pastime. Without doubt, it gives strength and firmness, combined with quickness and pliability, to the limbs, vigor to the body., coolness and discrimination to the head and elasticity to the tem. per, the whole forming an energetic combination of the greatest power to be found in man. The book is entitled PRoressor MULDOON’S WRESTLING. It is fully illustrated, and will be sent postpaid on receipt of ten cents. Address : STBEET & SMITH, 25 Rose street, New York. (Manual Library Department). es : OUT-DOOR SPORTS. Complete instructions for playing many of the most popular out of-door games is found inthis book. The gamesare illustrated and very easily mastered. Price ten cents. Address : STREET & SMITH, 25 Rose street, New Vork, Manual Library Department). SE Show Your Colors! Every American boy should wear a patriotic emblem to show where his sympathies lie in these stirring times of war. Messrs, Street & Smith have made arrangements to present a patriotic badge or button to every reader of their popular publications for boys. The conditions are easy. Read them. We publish six 32-page, illuminated cover weeklies for boys, retailing for five cents each, as follows: The True Blue, The Starry Flag, The Tip Top Weekly, We wisi tiie readers of one series to become acquainted with the entire line. aftel coupon at the foot of this column will be printed in each one of the above-mentioned publications. The Klondike Kit Weekly, The Nick Carter Weekly, The Diamond Dick, Jr. On and after the present date the Three coupons, each clipped from a different publication, mailed to our office, will entitle you to one of the following, sent to your address; post-paid, free of all expense. 1, American Flag, embossed on gold ground, button or pin as preferred, 2. Aluminum Medal with Admiral Dewey’s portrait on front, and picture of the Maine on reverse, pendant, from Aluminum emblem. 3. The American Flag, in metal, embossed in red, white, blue and gold. Three styles—button, scarf pin and ladies’ hat pin. State your choice. 4. American Flag on white enamelled button with lever- hinge. (Two of these will make a neat pair of cuff buttons.) 5. Silk Bow, with American and Cuban flags ‘combined, or American flag alone, as preferred, : 6. Celluloid American Flag oh pin. 7. Button 1 1-4 inches in diameter in the following designs: . A—American Flag. B—Cuban Flag, C—Amer- ican and Cuban Flags together. D—American and English Flags together. E—Admiral Dewey. F— Admiral Sampson. | G—Battleship Maine. H—~ *‘Now, will you be.good.’? I—The lowa. J—The Oregon. K—The Massachusetts. L—The Indiana, M—The Brooklyn. N—The Columbia. O—The Texas. P—General Lee (order by letter and num- ber, as 7-B., 7-D., etc.) You can secure as many pins and badges as you desire, provided you send sufficient coupons. Three coupons secure any of the above. provided each of the set of three is from a different publication. ORDER BY NUMBER. Send in your coupon. Remember this is a purely gratuitous gift on our part, intended to cail your attention to others of our publica- tions besides the ones you are now purchasing. If you cannot procure what you desire from your newsdealer, send us ten cents and one coupon, and we will send you by return mail a copy of two other publicationsand the badge which you may select, Address your coupons to STREET & SMITH’S PREMIUM DEPT., 81 Fulton Street, New York, KLONDIKE KIT COUPON. One coupon from the Klondike Kit, accompanied by two others, each from a differentone of the following publications: Tip Top Weekly,. Starry Flag Weekly, rue Blue, Nick Carter. Weekly, or Diamond Dick, Jr. entitle the sender to a free badge or button as described above Ss TREET & SMITH. DIAMOND DICK, JR. IS A REAL HERO. LIS FEE AW! iS &R K SS a, A WES SSE FAETAG KS NS \ ( We NS Ke (Ks ¢ S FA ~ & KARNAGE SSG (CSIR TAA ER KLONDIKE KIT A Weekly of Adventure in the Alaskan Mines ty IW SESS SILESIA e o™e, - ee. ° a SS 2? Pages—Colored Pictorial PD) oR, YAH SH. e sss n2 SS over — 2 Pages HIS, the latest weekly of the Klondike gold fields, will contain each week, a thrilling story of adventure in that wonderful land toward which every eye is now turned. Never since the first discovery of gold in California in 1849, has so much absorbing interest been taken in gold finds. The northern region of Alaska is now the Mecca of every gold-seeker’s hope, and in no part of the whole world can there be found such a rich field for our talented author, Mr. Hugh P. Rodman, to work in. We can say, without a donee that no writer to-day, is better able to depict the Alaskan scenes than Mr. Rodman, who has.spent several years of his life in that country. 7 SEN The Klondike Kit Weekly will tell you all about it, make you familiar with the CX Si country, the way to reach it, and at the same time entertain you with the very best stories AS NS e of adventure ever written. YAW 4 (IWS 2 € a VIN S ZAG 2 FAW I X VY A LIST OF STORIES a7 TY, vee 1—Klondike Kit; or, A Freeze-Out in Chilkoot Pass. 2—Klondike Kit and His Girl Pard; or, Nug- get Nell’s Fight for a Fortune. 3—Klondike Kit’s Lucky Nugget; or, The Lone Prospector of Lake Tagish. 4—Klondike Kit’s Bonanza Strike; or, The - Claim-Jumpers of Hootalinqua. 5—Klondike Kit’s Pay Streak; or, Snowed In At Forty-Mile. 6—Klondike Kit’s Mooseskin Bag; or. The Clean-Up at No. 6. ‘—Klondike Kit at ‘‘The Black Hole;’’ or, The Convict Huns of Tananah. 8—Klondike Kit’s Chum; or, A Hot Strike on Vulture Hill. 9—Klondike Kit’s Quartz Ledge; or, Out With The Mounted Police. 10—Klondike Kit's Grub Stake: or, A Full Hand at Five-Finger Rapids. 11—Klondike Kit’s Four-Fouted Fard; or, Pay- Dirt At El Dorado 12—Klondike Kit’s Lost Lead; or, A Fracas at Fort Get There. 13—Klondike Kit Down To Bed-Rock; or, A Wonderful Find on the Happy-Go-Lucky. Price, FIVE Cents . For Sale By All Newsdealers STREET & SMITEFTH, Publishers