He was born a fighter.

It was by fighting that he had forced his way round by round up the ladder of success.

And now the fact that his life was in danger, that some mysterious peril awaited him in the depths of the wilderness, but added a new and thrilling fascination to the tremendous task which was ahead of him.

He wondered if this same peril had beset Gregson and Thorne, and if it was the cause of their failure, of their anxiety to return to civilization.

He assured himself that he would know when he met them at Le Pas.