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home. Once more I saw that flitting tiger-look appear
on his face and vanish immediately. He told me of his wild days.
    "I was always a fighter, an' I never knew what fear meant. I never saw the
man that could beat me in a rough-an'-tumble scrap. I was uncommon husky an' as
quick as a cat, but it was my fierceness that won out for me. Get a man down an'
give him the leather. I've kicked a man's face to a jelly. It was kick, bite an'
gouge in them daysanything went.
    "Yes, I never knew fear. I've gone up unarmed to a man I knew was heeled to
shoot me on sight, an' I've dared him to do it. Just by the power of the eye
I've made him take water. He thought I had a gun an' could draw quicker'n him.
Then, as the drink got hold of me, I got worse and worse. Time was when I would
have robbed a bank an' shot the man that tried to stop me. Glory to God! I've
seen the evil of my ways."
    "Are you sure you'll
never backslide?" I asked.
    "Never! I'm born again. I don't smoke, drink or gamble, an' I'm as happy as
the day's long. There was the drink. I would go on the water-wagon for three
months at a stretch, but day and night, wherever I went, the glass of whisky was
there right between my eyes. Sooner or later it got the better of me. Then one
night I went half-sober into a Gospel Hall. The glass was there, an' I was in
agony tryin' to resist it. The speaker was callin' sinners to come forward. I
thought I'd try the thing anyway, so I went to the penitents' bench. When I got
up the glass was gone. Of course it came back, but I got rid of it again in the
same way. Well, I had many a struggle an' many a defeat, but in the end I won.
It's a divine miracle."
    I wish I could paint or act the man for you. Words cannot express his curious
character. I came to have a great fondness for him, and certainly owed him a
huge debt of gratitude.
    One day I was paying my usual visit to the Post Office, when some one gripped
me by the arm.
    "Hullo, Scotty! By all that's wonderful. I was just going to mail you a
letter."
    It was the Prodigal, very well dressed and spruce-looking.
    "Say, I'm so tickled I got you; we're going to start in two days."
    "Start! Where?" I asked.
    "Why, for the Golden North, for the land of theMidnight Sun, for the treasure-troves of the Klondike
Valley."
    "You maybe," I said soberly; "but I can't."
    "Yes you can, and you are, old sport. I fixed all that. Come on, I want to
talk to you. I went home and did the returned prodigal stunt. The old man was
mighty decent when I told him it was no good, I couldn't go into the glue
factory yet awhile. Told him I had the gold-bug awful bad and nothing but a trip
up there would cure me. He was rather tickled with the idea. Staked me
handsomely, and gave me a year to make good. So here I am, and you're in with
me. I'm going to grubstake you. Mind, it's a business proposition. I've got to
have some one, and when you make the big strike you've got to divvy up."
    I said something about having secured employment as an under-gardener.
    "Pshaw! you'll soon be digging gold-nuggets instead of potatoes. Why, man,
it's the chance of a lifetime, and anybody else would jump at it. Of course, if
you're afraid of the hardships and so on"
    "No," I said quickly, "I'll go."
    "Ha!" he laughed, "you're too much of a coward to be afraid. Well, we're
going to be blighted Argonauts, but we've got to get busy over our outfits. We
haven't got any too much time."
    So we hustled around. It seemed as if half of San Francisco was
Klondike-crazy. On every hand was there speculation and excitement. All themerchants had their
outfitting departments, and wild and vague were their notions as to what was
required. We did not do so badly, though like every one else we bought much that
was worthless and foolish. Suddenly I bethought me of Salvation Jim, and I told
the Prodigal of my new friend.
    "He's an awfully good sort," I said; "white all through; all kinds of
experience, and he's