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Speaker 1: The Man with the Gash by Jack London. Jacob Kent

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had suffered from cupidity all the days of his life. This,

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in turn, had engendered a chronic distrustfulness, and his mind

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and character had become so warped that he was a

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very disagreeable man to deal with. He was also a

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victim to somnambulic propensities, and very set in his ideas.

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He had been a weaver of cloth from the cradle

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until the fever of Klondike had entered his blood and

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torn him away from his loom. His cabin stood midway

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between sixty mile Post and the Stuart River, and men

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who made it, accustomed to travel the trail. To Dawson,

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likened him to a robber baron perched in his fortress,

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an exacting toll from the caravans that used his ill

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kept roads. Since a certain amount of history was required

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in the construction of this figure, the less cultured wayfair

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from Stuart River were prone to describe him after a

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still more primordial fashion, in which command of strong adjectives

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was to be chiefly noted. This cabin was not his,

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by the way, having been built several years previously by

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a couple of miners who had got out a raft

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of logs at that point for a grub stake. They

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had been most hospitable lads, and after they abandoned it,

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travelers who knew the route made it an object to

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arrive there at nightfall. It was very handy, saving them

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all the time and toil of pitching camp, and it

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was an unwritten rule that the last man left a

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neat pile of firewood for the next comer. Rarely a

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night passed, but from half a dozen to a score

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of men crowded into its shelter. Jacob Kent noted these things,

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exercised squatter sovereignty, and moved in. Thenceforth the weary travelers

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were malted a dollar per head for the privilege of

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sleeping on the floor, Jacob Kent weighing the dust and

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never failing to steal the down weight. Besides, he so

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contrived that his transient guests chopped his wood for him

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and carried his water. This was rank piracy, but his

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victims were an easy going breed, and while they detested him,

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they yet permitted him to flourish in his sins. One

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afternoon in April, he sat by his door for all

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the world, like a predatory spider, marveling at the heat

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of the returning sun and keeping an eye on the

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trail for prospective flies. The Yukon lay at his feet

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a sea of ice, disappearing around two great bends to

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the north and south, and stretching an honest two miles

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from bank to bank. Over its rough breast ran the

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sledge trail, a slender, sunken line eighteen inches wide and

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two thousand miles in length, with more curses distributed to

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the linear foot than any other road in or out

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of all Christendom. Jacob Kent was feeling particularly good that afternoon.

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The record had been broken the previous night, and he

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had sold his hospitality to no less than twenty eight visitors.

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True it had been quite uncomfortable, and four had snored

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beneath his bunk all night, But then it had added

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appreciable weight to the sack in which he kept his

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gold dust. That sack, with its glittering yellow treasure, was

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at once the chief delight and the chief bane of

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his existence. Heaven and Hell lay within its slender mouth.

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In the nature of things, there being no privacy to

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his one roomed dwelling, he was tortured by a constant

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fear of theft. It would be very easy for these bearded,

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desperate looking strangers to make away with it. Often he

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dreamed that such was the case, and awoke in the

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grip of nightmare. A select number of these robbers haunted

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him through his dreams, and he came to know them

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quite well, especially the bronzed leader with the gash on

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his right cheek. This fellow was the most persistent of

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the lot, and because of him he had, in his

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waking moments, constructed several score of hiding places in and

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about the cabin. After a concealment, he would breathe freely again,

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perhaps for several nights, only to collar the man with

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the gash in the very act of unearthing the sack. Then,

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on awakening in the midst of the usual struggle, he

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would at once get up and transfer the bag to

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a new and more ingenious crypt. It was not that

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he was the direct victim of these phanfasms, but he

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believed in omens and thought transference, and he deemed these

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dream robbers to be the astrol projection of real personages

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who happened at those particular moments, no matter where there

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they were in the flesh, to be harboring designs in

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the spirit upon his wealth. So he continued to bleed

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the unfortunates who crossed his threshold, and at the same

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time to add to his trouble with every ounce that

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went into the sack. As he sat sunning himself, a

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thought came to Jacob Kent that brought him to his

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feet with a jerk. The pleasures of life had culminated

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in the continual weighing and re weighing of his dust.

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But a shadow had been thrown upon this pleasant avocation,

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which he had hitherto failed to brush aside. His gold

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scales were quite small, in fact, their maximum was a

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pound and a half eighteen ounces, while his hoard mounted

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up to something like three and a third times that.

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He had never been able to weigh it all at

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one operation, and hence considered himself to have been shut

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out from a new and most edifying coign of contemplation.

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Being denied this half the pleasure of possession had been lost. Nay,

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he felt that this miserable obstacle actually minimized the fact

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as it did the strength of possession. It was the

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solution of this problem, flashing across his mind that had

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just brought him to his feet. He searched the trail

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carefully in either direction. There was nothing in sight, so

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he went inside. In a few seconds, he had the

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table cleared away and the scales set up. On one side,

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he placed the stamped discs to the equivalent of fifteen

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ounces and balanced it with dust. On the other, replacing

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the weights with dust, he then had thirty ounces precisely balanced.

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These in turn he placed together on one side, and

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again balanced with more dust. By this time the gold

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was exhausted and he was sweating liberally. He trembled with ecstasy,

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ravished beyond measure. Nevertheless, he dusted the sack thoroughly to

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the last least grain, till the balance was overcome, and

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one side of the scales sank to the table. Equilibrium, however,

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was restored by the addition of a pennyweight and five

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grains to the opposite side. He stood head thrown back transfixed.

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The sack was empty, but the potentiality of the scales

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had become immeasurable. Upon them, he could weigh any amount

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from the tiniest grain to pounds. Upon pounds. Mammon laid

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hot fingers on his heart. The sun swung on its

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westering way till it flashed through the open doorway full

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upon the yellow burdened scales. The precious heaps, like the

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golden breasts of a bronze Cleopatra, flung back the light

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in a mellow glow. Time and space were not god blimey.

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But you have the making of several quid there, haven't you.

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Jacob Kent wheeled about at the same time, reaching for

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his double barreled shotgun, which stood hennah. But when his

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eyes lit on the intruder's face, he staggered back dizzily.

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It was the face of the man with the gash.

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The man looked at him curiously. Oh that's all right,

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he said, waving his hand deprecatingly. You needn't think as

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I'll arm you or your blasted dust. You're a rumn,

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you are, he added reflectively, as he watched the sweat

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pouring from off Kent's face and the quavering of his knees.

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Why don't you pipe up and say something, he went on,

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as the other struggled for breath. What's gone wrong? You guff?

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Anythink the matter where'd you get it? Can't at last

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managed to articulate, raising a shaking forefinger to the ghastly

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scar which seemed the other's cheek shipmate. Stove me down

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with a marlin spike from the main royal And now

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as you have your figure red and trim, what I

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wanta know is what's it to you? That's what I

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want to know. What's it to you? God blimey, do

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it hurt you? Ain't? It's smug enough for the likes

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of you. That's what I want to know. No, No,

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Kent answered, sinking upon a stool with a sickly grin.

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I was just wondering, did you ever see the like?

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The other went on truculently. No, ain't, did a butte? Yes?

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Kent nodded his head approvingly, intent on humoring this strange visitor,

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but wholly unprepared for the outburst which was to follow

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his effort to be agreeable. You blasted bloom in Burg,

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who eaten son of a sea swab? What do you

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mean a saying the most unsightly thing God Almighty ever

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put on the face of mine as a butte? What

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do you mean? You and thereat this fiery sun of

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a sea broke off into a string of oriental profanity,

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mingling gods and devils, lineages and men, metaphors and monsters

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with so savage a virility that Jacob Kent was paralyzed.

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He shrank back, his arms lifted as though to ward

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off physical violence. So utterly unnerved was he that the

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other paused in the mid swing of a gorgeous peroration

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and bust into thunderous laughter. The sun's knocked the bottom

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out of the trail, said the man with the gash

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between departing paroxysms of mirth. And I only ope as

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you'll appreciate the opportunity of consortin with a man of

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my mug get. Steam up in that fire box, O yurn,

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go and unrig the dogs and grub em and don't

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be shy O the wood, my lad. There's plenty more

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where that come from. And it's you've got the time

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to sling an axe and tow up a bucket o

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water while you're about it lively, or I'll run yo down,

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So help me. Such a thing was unheard of. Jacob

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Kent was making the fire, chopping wood, packing water, doing

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menial tasks for a guest. When Jim Cardegie left Dawson,

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it was with his head filled with the iniquities of

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this roadside Shylock, and all along the trail his numerous

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victims had added to the sum of his crimes. Now

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Jim Cardegie, with the sailor's love for a sailor's joke,

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had determined when he pulled into the cabin to bring

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its inmate down a peg or so, that he had

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succeeded beyond expectation. He could not help but remark though

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he was in the dark as to the part the

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gash on his cheek had played in it. But while

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he could not understand, he saw the terror it created

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and resolved to exploit it as remorselessly as would any

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modern trader. A choice bit of merchandise strike me blind,

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But you're asler, he said admiringly, his head cocked to

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one side as his host bustled about. You never ought

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to have gone klondiking. It's the keeper of a pub

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you was laid out for. And it's often as I

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have heard the lads up and down the river speak,

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O you. But I adn't no idea. You was so

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jolly nice Jacob kan't experience the tremendous yearning to try

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his shotgun on him, but the fascination of the gash

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was too potent. This was the real man with the gash,

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the man who had so often robbed him in the spirit.

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This then, was the embodied entity of the being whose

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astral form had been projected into his dreams, the man

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who had so frequently harbored designs against his hoard. Hence,

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there could be no other conclusion. This man with the

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gash had now come into the flesh to dispossess him,

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and that gash he could no more keep his eyes

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from it than stop the beating of his heart. Try

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as he would, they wandered back to that one point,

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as inevitably as the needle to the pole. Do it

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ert you, Jim Cardegie thundered, suddenly looking up from the

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spreading of his blankets and encountering the rapt gaze of

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the other. It strikes me as ow it'd be the

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proper thing for you to draw your jib dous the

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glim and turn in seein' as I it were. It's

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you just lay to that, you swab or so elp me.

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I'll take a pull on your peak purchases. Kent was

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so nervous that it took three puffs to blow out

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the slush lamp, and he crawled into his blankets without

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even removing his moccasins. The sailor was soon snoring lustily

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from his hard bed on the floor, but Kent lay

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staring up into the blackness, one hand on the shotgun,

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resolved not to close his eyes the whole night. He

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had not had an opportunity to secrete his five pounds

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of gold, and it lay in the ammunition box at

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the head of his bunk. But try as he would,

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he at last dozed off, with the weight of his

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dust heavy on his soul. Had he not inadvertently fallen

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asleep with his mind in such condition, the somnambulick demon

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would not have been invoked, nor would Jim Cardiggie have

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gone mining next day with a dish pen. The fire

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fought a losing battle and at last died away, while

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the frost penetrated the mossy chinks between the logs and

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chilled the inner atmosphere. The dogs outside ceased their howling

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and curled up in the snow dreamed of salmon. Stalked

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heavens where dog drivers and kindred taskmasters were not within

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a sailor lay like a log while his host tossed

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restlessly about the victim of strange phantasies. As midnight drew near,

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he suddenly threw off the blankets and got up. It

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was remarkable that he could do what he then did

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without ever striking a light. Perhaps it was because of

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the darkness that he kept his eyes shut, and perhaps

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it was for fear he would see the terrible gash

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on the cheek of his visitor. But be this as

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it may, it is a fact that, unseen, he opened

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his ammunition box, put a heavy charge into the muzzle

238
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of the shotgun without spilling a particle, rammed it down

239
00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:00,799
with double wads, and then put everything away and got

240
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back into bed. Just as daylight laid its steel gray

241
00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:08,720
fingers on the parchment window, Jacob Kent awoke. Turning on

242
00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,159
his elbow, he raised the lid and peered into the

243
00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:16,399
ammunition box. Whatever he saw, or whatever he did not see,

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exercised a very peculiar effect upon him. Considering his neurotic temperament,

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he glanced at the sleeping man on the floor, let

246
00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:28,159
the lid down gently and rolled over on his back.

247
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It was an unwonted calm that rested on his face,

248
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not a muscle quivered. There was not the least sign

249
00:15:35,759 --> 00:15:40,960
of excitement or perturbation. He lay there a long while thinking,

250
00:15:41,399 --> 00:15:43,399
and when he got up and began to move about,

251
00:15:43,799 --> 00:15:47,600
it was in a cool, collected manner, without noise and

252
00:15:47,679 --> 00:15:51,200
without hurry. It happened that a heavy wooden peg had

253
00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:54,679
been driven into the ridge pole just above Jim Cardegie's head.

254
00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:59,120
Jacob Kent, working softly, ran a piece of half inch

255
00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:03,240
manila over it, bringing both ends to the ground. One

256
00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:06,080
end he tied about his waist, and in the other

257
00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:10,360
he rove a running noose. Then he cocked his shotgun

258
00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,320
and laid it within reach by the side of numerous

259
00:16:13,399 --> 00:16:16,840
moose hide thongs. By an effort of will, he bore

260
00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,919
the sight of the scar, slipped the noose over the

261
00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,679
sleeper's head, and drew it taut by throwing back on

262
00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:27,000
his weight at the same time seizing the gun and

263
00:16:27,039 --> 00:16:32,120
bringing it to bear. Jim Cardigie awoke, choking, bewildered, staring

264
00:16:32,159 --> 00:16:36,039
down the twin wells of steel. Where is it? Kent

265
00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,639
asked at the same time, slacking on the rope. You've

266
00:16:39,759 --> 00:16:44,080
blasted ah, Kent merely threw back his weight, shutting off

267
00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:49,799
the other's wind. Brillumin' bur ar. Where is it? Kent

268
00:16:49,919 --> 00:16:53,879
repeated what Cardigie asked, as soon as he had caught

269
00:16:53,919 --> 00:16:59,320
his breath. The gold dust? What gold dust? The perplexed

270
00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:04,759
sailor Tom added, you know well enough, mine ain't seen

271
00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,920
nothing of it. What do you take me for a

272
00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:11,160
safe deposit? What have I got to do with it? Anyhow?

273
00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,720
Maybe you know and maybe you don't, But anyway, I'm

274
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going to stop your breath till you do know, And

275
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if you lift a hand, I'll blow your head off fast.

276
00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:27,559
Even Cardigie roared. As the rope tightened, Kent eased away

277
00:17:27,559 --> 00:17:30,480
a moment, and the sailor, wriggling his neck as though

278
00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,319
from the pressure, managed to loosen the noose a bit

279
00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:35,440
and work it up so the point of contact was

280
00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:40,200
just under the chin. Well. Kent questioned, expecting the disclosure,

281
00:17:40,559 --> 00:17:44,799
but Cardigie grinned, go ahead with your angin you bloom

282
00:17:44,799 --> 00:17:49,039
an old potwarabah. Then, as the sailor had anticipated, the

283
00:17:49,079 --> 00:17:53,240
tragedy became a farce. Cardigie being the heavier of the two, Kent,

284
00:17:53,519 --> 00:17:56,519
throwing his body backward and down, could not lift him

285
00:17:56,559 --> 00:17:59,759
clear of the ground strain and strive to the utter.

286
00:17:59,799 --> 00:18:02,920
Most the sailor's feet still stuck to the floor and

287
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:06,160
sustained a part of his weight. The remaining portion was

288
00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:09,440
supported by the point of contact just under his chin.

289
00:18:10,039 --> 00:18:14,200
Failing to swing him clear, kent't clung on. Resolved to

290
00:18:14,319 --> 00:18:17,599
slowly throttle him or force him to tell what he

291
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:20,599
had done with the horde, but the man with the

292
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:26,440
gash would not throttle. Five, ten, fifteen minutes passed, and

293
00:18:26,519 --> 00:18:29,960
at the end of that time, in despair, kent't let

294
00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:34,880
his prisoner down well, he remarked, wiping away the sweat.

295
00:18:35,319 --> 00:18:39,279
If you won't hang, you'll shoot some men. Wasn't born

296
00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:42,640
to be hanged anyway. And it's a pretty mess as

297
00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,599
you'll make all this irt cabin floor Cardegie was fighting

298
00:18:46,599 --> 00:18:50,200
for time. Now, look ere, I'll tell you what we do.

299
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,759
We'll lay our heads longside and reason together. You've lost

300
00:18:54,759 --> 00:18:57,960
some dust. You say, as ow I know, and I

301
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:01,640
say as ow I don't. Let's get a observation and

302
00:19:01,759 --> 00:19:06,519
shape a course vast heaven. Kent dashed in maliciously imitating

303
00:19:06,519 --> 00:19:09,960
the other's enunciation. I'm going to shape all the courses

304
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,519
of this shebang, and you observe, And if you do

305
00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:17,720
anything more, I'll bore you as sure as Moses, for

306
00:19:17,799 --> 00:19:21,359
the sake of my mother, whom God have mercy upon,

307
00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:25,359
if she loves you, Ah, would you? He frustrated a

308
00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:27,519
hostile move on the part of the other by pressing

309
00:19:27,599 --> 00:19:31,960
the cold muzzle against his forehead. Lay quiet, Now, if

310
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,359
you lift as much as a hair, you'll get it.

311
00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:38,240
It was rather an awkward task, with the trigger of

312
00:19:38,279 --> 00:19:41,160
the gun always within pulling distance of the finger. But

313
00:19:41,279 --> 00:19:43,680
Kent was a weaver and in a few minutes had

314
00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,039
the sailor tied hand and foot. Then he dragged him

315
00:19:47,079 --> 00:19:49,400
without and laid him by the side of the cabin,

316
00:19:49,599 --> 00:19:51,960
where he could overlook the river and watch the sun

317
00:19:52,039 --> 00:19:55,440
climb to the meridian. Now I'll give you till noon,

318
00:19:55,799 --> 00:20:00,240
and then what you'll be hitting the brimstone trail. But

319
00:20:00,319 --> 00:20:03,279
if you speak up, I'll keep you till the next

320
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,759
bunch of mounted police come by. Well, God BlimE me.

321
00:20:07,839 --> 00:20:11,359
If this ain't a go ere I be innocent as

322
00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:15,359
a lamb, and ere you be lostole o your top

323
00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:19,039
amper and out o your reckonin run me foul and

324
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:23,920
going to rake me into hell fire, you bloomin old pirate,

325
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,680
you Jim Cardegie loosed the strings of his profanity and

326
00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:31,559
fairly outdid himself. Jacob Kent brought out a stool that

327
00:20:31,599 --> 00:20:34,880
he might enjoy it in comfort. Having exhausted all the

328
00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:38,880
possible combinations of his vocabulary, the sailor quieted down to

329
00:20:39,039 --> 00:20:42,839
hard thinking, his eyes constantly gaging the progress of the sun,

330
00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,839
which tore up the eastern slope of the heavens with

331
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,960
unseemly haste. His dogs, surprised that they had not long

332
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,559
since been put to harness, crowded around him. His helplessness

333
00:20:53,559 --> 00:20:56,759
appealed to the brutes. They felt that something was wrong,

334
00:20:57,079 --> 00:20:59,880
though they knew not what, and they crowded about how

335
00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:04,960
their mournful sympathy chuck mush on ye swashes, he cried,

336
00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:08,079
attempting in a vermicular way to kick at them, and

337
00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,119
discovering himself to be tottering on the edge of a declivity.

338
00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,559
As soon as the animals had scattered, he devoted himself

339
00:21:14,599 --> 00:21:17,559
to the significance of that declivity, which he felt to

340
00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:20,799
be there, but could not see nor was he long

341
00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:24,559
in arriving at a correct conclusion In the nature of things?

342
00:21:24,599 --> 00:21:28,200
He figured, man is lazy. He does no more than

343
00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:30,920
he has to. When he builds a cabin, he must

344
00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:34,279
put dirt on the roof. From these premises, it was

345
00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:37,319
logical that he should carry that dirt no further than

346
00:21:37,559 --> 00:21:41,880
was absolutely necessary. Therefore he lay upon the edge of

347
00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,119
the hole from which the dirt had been taken to

348
00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:50,119
roof Jacob Kent's cabin. This knowledge, properly utilized, might prolong things,

349
00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:52,880
he thought, and he then turned his attention to the

350
00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:56,119
moose hide thongs which bound him. His hands were tied

351
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:59,480
behind him, and pressing against the snow, they were wet

352
00:21:59,519 --> 00:22:03,039
with the khan. This moistening of the raw hide, he knew,

353
00:22:03,079 --> 00:22:06,400
would tend to make it stretch, and without apparent effort,

354
00:22:06,559 --> 00:22:10,240
he endeavored to stretch it more and more. He watched

355
00:22:10,319 --> 00:22:13,079
the trail hungrily, and when in the direction of sixty

356
00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:16,200
mile a dark speck appeared for a moment against the

357
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:19,279
white background of an ice jam, he cast an anxious

358
00:22:19,279 --> 00:22:22,759
eye at the sun. It had climbed nearly to the zenith.

359
00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:26,000
Now and again he caught the black speck clearing the

360
00:22:26,079 --> 00:22:29,599
hills of ice and sinking into the intervening hollows. But

361
00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:33,200
he dared not permit himself more than the most cursory glances,

362
00:22:33,559 --> 00:22:38,200
for fear of rousing his enemy's suspicion. Once, when Jacob

363
00:22:38,279 --> 00:22:41,200
Kent rose to his feet and searched the trail with care,

364
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,640
Cardegie was frightened. But the dog sled had struck a

365
00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:48,000
piece of trail running parallel with a jam, and remained

366
00:22:48,079 --> 00:22:51,160
out of sight till the danger was past. I'll see

367
00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,960
you ung for this, Cardigie threatened, attempting to draw the

368
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,880
other's attention. And you're rot in l jess you see

369
00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:02,920
if you don't, I say, he cried, after another pause,

370
00:23:03,319 --> 00:23:07,240
d'ye believe in ghosts? Kent's sudden start made him sure

371
00:23:07,279 --> 00:23:10,599
of his ground, and he went on, Now a ghost

372
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,319
as the right to aunt a man? What don't do

373
00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,759
what he says? And you can't shuffle me off till

374
00:23:16,799 --> 00:23:20,880
eight bells? What I mean is twelve o'clock, can you

375
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,680
cause if you do, it'll happen as ow I'll aunt

376
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:29,599
you de ear a minute a second too quick, and

377
00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:33,720
I'll aunt you, so help me I will. Jacob Kent

378
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:39,200
looked dubious, but declined to talk. Ow's your chronometer? What's

379
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:43,480
your longitude? How do you know as your time's correct?

380
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:47,680
Cardegie persisted, vainly, hoping to beat his executioner out of

381
00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:51,559
a few minutes. Is it Barrack's time you have or

382
00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,559
is it the company time? Cause if you do it

383
00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:58,240
before the stroke of a bell, I'll not rest. I

384
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:02,160
give you fair warnin' I'll come back. And if you

385
00:24:02,279 --> 00:24:06,640
haven't the time, how will you know that's what I want?

386
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:10,640
How will you tell? I'll send you off? All right?

387
00:24:11,039 --> 00:24:15,920
Kent replied, got a sundial here? No good? Thirty two

388
00:24:16,079 --> 00:24:20,880
degrees variation of the needle? Steaks are all set? How

389
00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:24,519
did you get 'em? Compass? No? Line them up with

390
00:24:24,559 --> 00:24:30,079
the north star? Sure? Sure, Cardigie groaned, then stole a

391
00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:32,839
glance at the trail. The sled was just clearing a

392
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:35,960
rise barely a mile away, and the dogs were in

393
00:24:36,039 --> 00:24:40,640
full lope, running lightly. How close is the shadows to

394
00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:44,720
the line? Kent walked to the primitive timepiece and studied it.

395
00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:50,079
Three inches he announced, after a careful survey, say just

396
00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:53,920
sing out eight bells afore you pull the gun? Will you?

397
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,599
Kent agreed, and they lapsed into silence. The thongs about

398
00:24:58,599 --> 00:25:02,039
Cardegie's wrists were slowly stretching, and he had begun to

399
00:25:02,079 --> 00:25:06,720
work them over his hands. Say how close is the shadows?

400
00:25:07,559 --> 00:25:11,200
One inch? The sailor riggered slightly to assure himself that

401
00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:14,319
he would topple over at the right moment, and slipped

402
00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:18,880
the first turn over his hands. How close half an inch?

403
00:25:19,759 --> 00:25:22,839
Just then Kent heard the jarring churn of the runners

404
00:25:22,839 --> 00:25:25,839
and turned his eyes to the trail. The driver was

405
00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:29,079
lying flat on the sled, and the dogs swinging down

406
00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:32,640
the straight stretch to the cabin. Kent whirled back, bringing

407
00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:38,160
his rifle to shoulder. It ain't eight bells yet, Cardegie expostulated,

408
00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:43,079
I'll aunt you sure, Jacob Kent faltered. He was standing

409
00:25:43,079 --> 00:25:45,920
by the sun dial, perhaps ten paces from his victim.

410
00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:48,440
The man on the sled must have seen that something

411
00:25:48,519 --> 00:25:51,599
unusual was taking place, for he had risen to his knees,

412
00:25:51,799 --> 00:25:55,640
his whip singing viciously among the dogs. The shadows swept

413
00:25:55,640 --> 00:26:00,079
into line. Kent looked along the sights. Make ready, he

414
00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:04,240
commanded solemnly eight. But just a fraction of a second

415
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:08,480
too soon, Cardigie rolled backward into the hole. Kent held

416
00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:12,039
his fire and ran to the edge. Bang. The gun

417
00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:15,000
exploded full in the sailor's face as he rose to

418
00:26:15,039 --> 00:26:18,799
his feet, but no smoke came from the muzzle. Instead,

419
00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:21,960
a sheet of flame burst from the side of the

420
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,160
barrel near its butt, and Jacob Kent went down. The

421
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:30,279
dogs dashed up the bank, dragging the sled over his body,

422
00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:34,160
and the driver sprang off as Jim Cardigie freed his

423
00:26:34,319 --> 00:26:39,000
hands and drew himself from the hole. Jim the newcomer

424
00:26:39,039 --> 00:26:43,880
recognized him. What's the matter? What's the matter? Oh, nothing

425
00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,799
at all. It just happens as I do little things

426
00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:49,880
like this for my health. What's the matter, you bloom

427
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:53,440
an igy it? What's the matter? Eh? Cast me loose

428
00:26:53,519 --> 00:26:56,319
or I'll show you what Hurry up, or I'll only

429
00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:00,119
stone the decks with you. Huh, he added, as the

430
00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:03,599
went to work with his sheath knife. What's the matter?

431
00:27:04,279 --> 00:27:08,279
I wanna know? Just tell me that, willya? What's the matter? Hey?

432
00:27:09,079 --> 00:27:12,440
Kent was quite dead when they rolled him over the gun.

433
00:27:12,759 --> 00:27:16,920
An old fashioned, heavy weighted muzzle loader lay near him.

434
00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:21,119
Steel and wood had parted company near the butt of

435
00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:24,960
the right hand barrel, with lips pressed outward gaped a

436
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:29,319
fissure several inches in length. The sailor picked it up curiously.

437
00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:33,119
A glittering stream of yellow dust ran through the crack.

438
00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,680
The facts of the case dawned upon Jim Cardegie, strike

439
00:27:37,799 --> 00:27:43,480
me standin' he roared ears, you go, ears as bloomin' dust.

440
00:27:43,839 --> 00:27:47,400
God blimey, And you too, Charlie, if you don't run

441
00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:51,960
and get the dishpanen end of the man with the

442
00:27:52,039 --> 00:27:52,559
gash