"I didn't expect her.

I thought she was dead." A low whistle escaped Stampede's lips.

He opened his mouth to speak and closed it again.

Alan observed him as he slipped the pack over his shoulders.

Evidently his companion did not know Mary Standish was the girl who had jumped overboard from the _Nome_, and if she had kept her secret, it was not his business just now to explain, even though he guessed that Stampede's quick wits would readily jump at the truth.