RICK RAIDER #1 
DANGER ON THE GOLD TRAIL 

(c) 1980, 1999 Mike DeBaptiste, all rights reserved. 


Chapter One: THE PROSPECTOR’S STORY 

	Rick Raider sat on his snowmobile and looked warily up at the threatening winter sky. 
	"Yo, we’d better head back home," he urged his friends who were with him up in the snowy hills. "Looks like a bad storm is blowing in." 
	"Does it ever," agreed Sally Anderson, a pretty blonde who was sitting snugly behind Rick. "Look at the dark clouds. I bet we’re in for a blizzard." 
	"That’s all right by me," chimed in Charlie Connors with a laugh. He was sitting on his own snowmobile, stopped right next to Rick’s. "The more snow the better! I hope the old Lake Erie snow machine really kicks up now that we have these Snowcats." 
	Charlie was referring to the lake-effect snow caused by cold Canadian air blowing over the warmer waters of Lake Erie that often buried the north coast of Ohio. It was late afternoon and the three friends had stopped in a clearing in the wooded hills behind the rural road they lived on. The boys had just gotten the snowmobiles the week before and had driven them far out into the hills today on a long excursion. 
	Sally pulled her hood up against the biting wind. "They’re awesome, aren’t they?" she said, patting the side of Rick’s machine affectionately. "It used to take forever to hike way up here on snowshoes. Now we can get here in just a few minutes." 
	Rick turned the ignition key and the engine of his snowmobile roared to life. "They sure are sweet, all right, and we’d better open them up all the way now. I don’t want to get stuck out here in a storm." 
	Charlie grinned as he fired up his machine. "No chance, Raider. We’ll fly back home on these babies!" 
	Rick shifted into gear and his snowmobile leaped ahead. Charlie followed right behind and the two vehicles sped across the clearing and into the woods. Following the same trail they had taken out, the boys flew down the hillside taking the hairpin curves expertly. Sally clung to Rick and looked ahead excitedly as they twisted and turned through the trees. 
	"Talk about fun," she shouted. "This is really the max!" 
	"Yo! Ditto on that," Charlie yelled from behind. "Like a roller coaster in the snow!" 
	Rick’s eyes were intent on the winding trail ahead. "Watch it, buster. We’re coming to another incline." 
	Another hill rose up ahead of them and the two snowmobiles attacked the grade almost effortlessly, engines whining. The trees whizzed by and the snow, having now begun to fall, stung the riders’ faces like thousands of tiny little pellets. Upon reaching the crest of the hill, they plummeted down the other side, the Snowcats dipping dangerously as they whizzed around curves and bends. 
	"Yahoo!" Charlie cried. "Here we come, Riders of the Purple Snows!" 
	"Oh, come on, Connors!" Sally turned to shout at him. "The snow isn’t purple. It was sage - purple sage! And they rode horses, not snowmobiles!" 
	"Sage, snow, purple, shmurple! This is just too cool for words!" Charlie was having the time of his life. He laughed tauntingly as he pulled up close to the rear of Rick’s machine. 
	Just then, as the grade leveled off, the figure of a man loomed in the trail directly ahead. Rick blinked, taken completely by surprise. The man, startled, turned to look at them, and Rick saw a terrified expression on a rugged bearded face. He downshifted with a slam, trying like crazy to slow down his machine. 
	"Whoa, man! Watch out!" Charlie shouted. But it was too late. His snowmobile banged right into the rear of Rick’s. 
	Sally gasped as Rick swerved to the side, Charlie right on top of them, and they all saw the man up ahead leap into the air. The next moment they were whizzing off-trail through the forest, crashing through the underbrush. Branches whipped at them, slapping at their faces, as Rick and Charlie wildly careened their snowmobiles in and out of the trees. Sally gaped ahead, open-mouthed, terrified that they might crash into one. 
	When they finally came to a stop, Charlie was right on their tail, having bumped into them a consecutive number of times. With a dazed look on his face, he shook his head. "Jeez! Talk about a close call!" 
	Sally glared at him. "You could’ve caused a wreck! Do you have to drive right on top of us?" 
	Charlie tried to hide his guilt with a laugh. "Hey, I like to be close to my friends." 
	"Close?" Rick had surveyed the damage and fortunately there were only a few scratches on both the machines. "You may as well leave your Snowcat at home and ride with us!" 
	"All right, dude, next time I will!" 
	Sally burst out laughing. "Yah, right. We won’t get very far with you on board too." 
	Charlie was just about to fling out another retort when Rick silenced him. "Knock it off. We’d better check on that man we almost hit. I hope he’s okay." 
	"He really took a flying leap," Charlie said as he switched off his engine. "Last I saw of him he was soaring through the air like Superman." 
	They jumped off the snowmobiles and began to trudge through the deep snow and underbrush back out to the trail. When they got there, no one was in sight. 
	"Look here." Rick pointed to the ground. "This is where he landed after he took that leap." 
	The snow was disturbed and packed down where the man had fallen at the side of the trail. Snowshoe tracks led off into the woods. 
	Charlie looked around, frowning. "I wonder why he took off? If he wasn’t hurt, you’d think he’d at least stick around to see if we’re okay." 
	Rick peered into the woods in the direction of the tracks, but there was no sign of the man in the heavily falling snow. He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Maybe he’s in a hurry to get home because of the storm. Probably somebody who lives in the neighborhood." 
	"We’d better get going too," Sally advised. "It’s snowing like crazy now." 
	Rick nodded. "I guess he’s okay. Wouldn’t have taken off like that if he was hurt." 
	As they turned to go, a bright object in the snow caught Rick’s eye. He stooped down to pick it up. 
	"What is it?" Sally asked, peering over his shoulder. 
	Rick turned the object over in his hand. It was a small buckle with about a half inch of leather attached to it. The leather was frayed at the end where it had torn away from the rest of the strap. Rick was just about to answer Sally’s question when his brow furrowed and a shocked look swept his face. 
	"Hey, what’s wrong?" Charlie asked. "What is that thing?" 
	Rick pushed himself up and shoved the buckle into his jacket pocket. "Just a buckle from somebody’s snowshoe bindings," he said hurriedly. "Probably tore off when that man fell." 
	Sally eyed him curiously. "Are you sure, Rick? You looked so startled." 
	Rick started back toward the snowmobiles. "It’s no biggie. We’ll look at it later. Let’s go home and get out of this storm!" 
	The heavy snow was being whipped into swirling gusts by the wind as the three friends hurried back through the woods. They were soon back on the trail again, traveling at a much slower pace now as they made their way down from the hills. By the time they arrived in Rick’s backyard, the blizzard had hit in all its fury. The winds shot the snow horizontally through the air, and the trio were covered with it as they pulled up behind the Raider home. 
	"Come on in," Rick invited. "Aunt Bea was brewing up some soup earlier. Should be ready by now." 
	"Sounds yummy," Sally said as they jumped off the Snowcats. "Homemade soup is the perfect treat on a cold winter day." 
	"Right," Charlie agreed. "And Aunt Bea’s is the best in town!" 
	Rick’s aunt was his dad’s sister. She’d been living with them since the death of Rick’s mother when he was a little boy. A spinster, she had devoted her life to taking care of her brother and Rick, and -as Charlie put it - ‘feeding them until it came out of their ears’. 
	They were brushing off the snow from their jackets and jeans as they hurried into the hall through the side door. 
	"Mmmmmm." Sally sniffed the air as she pulled off her boots. 
	Charlie grinned. "Do I smell chicken soup or what?" 
	"You sure do, bud." Rick hung his jacket and ski cap on the hall rack. He winked at Sally. "And you’d better eat some, Charlie. Aunt Bea’s feelings will be hurt if you don’t." 
	Charlie snorted. "When have I ever been known to refuse food in this or any other house?" 
	"Never!" It was Sally who answered. "At least not to our knowledge." 
	The three friends were chuckling as they walked up the stairs to the kitchen, but their laughter died instantly when they saw Aunt Bea. She was hanging up the receiver on the wall phone across the room, a frightened look on her usually smiling face. 
	A line creased Rick’s brow. "Aunt Bea, what’s wrong?" 
	The woman stared at them, her hands trembling. She opened her mouth but no words came out. She looked at Charlie and then at Sally, as if she couldn’t talk in front of them. But then she went ahead anyway and blurted, "Oh, Rick! There’s bad news. Your father is missing!" 
	"What? Dad’s missing?" 
	Aunt Bea fingered her apron nervously, her face tense with worry. She looked at Charlie and Sally again, but then shrugged her shoulders and went on. "I just had a call from InterTell. Your dad has not reported in the allotted time. He’s classified as missing-in-action." 
	Rick plopped down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table. His father, Randolph Raider, was an agent for InterTell, a government secret service organization. 
	"Missing-in-action?" he repeated, letting out a nervous groan. "Jeez! Guess I never thought anything could ever happen to Dad." 
	"None of us did," Charlie agreed, looking at Rick worriedly. He and Sally knew about Mr. Raider’s work, but only because of events in the very recent past that had made them part of the secret. 
	Aunt Bea shook her head, sighing wearily. "I always dreaded the worst would happen someday. Why does he have to have such a dangerous job? A secret agent! He could own a Burger King or something!" 
	Sally’s face was pale as she sat down on the stool by the phone. She feared the very worst. Her own father, Professor Anderson, a member of the faculty at Lake University where she, Rick and Charlie were students, had accompanied a scientific expedition to the Yukon Territory in northwestern Canada a few months ago. Some time later, when no word had been received from the expedition, InterTell had sent Mr. Raider in search of it. 
	She looked at the others, her pretty features drawn and tense. "I can’t believe this! First my father and the entire expedition disappear, and now Mr. Raider is gone too. What’s happened to them all?" 
	"That’s what I want to know!" Aunt Bea sat down at the table and drummed her fingertips on its shiny top. "But InterTell won’t tell you a thing. What are we going to do?" 
	Rick sighed, running his fingers through his dark wavy hair. "First thing is that we keep cool. Working up a panic won’t do us any good. And they’ve got to be sending more agents to check it out." 
	Aunt Bea nodded. "Yes, I was told the investigation would continue. Agents are most probably on their way right now." 
	Charlie wasn’t too confident about their success. "I hope they don’t vanish into thin air too!" 
	"It wouldn’t be much of a surprise at this point," Sally said. She made a hopeless gesture, looking close to tears. "It’s all so mysterious. We don’t know why my dad went to the Yukon in the first place. What’s going on up there? What was the purpose of the expedition? And what happened to them all?" 
	She shook her head and added, "And I’m so worried about Dad. He’s a college professor, not an adventurer. Oh, I know he’s in great shape but Yukon winters are treacherous. It probably gets down to a hundred below zero. I’m afraid something terrible has happened to him." 
	Charlie joined Rick and Aunt Bea at the table. "Yow! Talk about a frustrating situation. I wish there was something we could do." 
	Rick was watching Sally and he couldn’t bear to see her so upset. He looked thoughtfully at his aunt and Charlie and a determined look came to his face. He knew he could not just sit still and stay quiet any longer with his own dad and Sally’s dad in what could be mortal danger. 
	"There definitely is something we can do," he said to the others. "It’s semester break. Charlie and I have nothing of importance to do. We can go up to the Yukon ourselves and search for Dad and Professor Anderson." 
	Charlie shot him a surprised look. Then his eyes lit up. "Duuuuude! Now you’re talkin’!" 
	Aunt Bea was astounded. "You’ll do no such thing! The Yukon is thousands of miles away. What do you boys know about the far north and how to survive in it? Especially in winter!" 
	"I know quite a bit about the Yukon," Rick answered her patiently. "We studied the territory in high school and I wrote a paper about the Gold Rush of 1898. And Charlie and I love winter. We ski and snowshoe and have gone hunting and winter camping dozens of times. There’s no reason we can’t go to the Yukon." 
	Charlie pushed back his chair. "Tell her about it! I’m going home right now and let my folks know. We’ll make like Indiana Jones and find that lost expedition pronto!" 
	"Now just a minute!" Aunt Bea’s voice was such a screech that Charlie sat right back down. "What’ll you do when you get there? You don’t know anything about the expedition or to what part of that vast territory it was headed. It’s all classified information. Sally and her mother don’t even know." 
	"That’s right," Sally agreed. "Dad couldn’t tell us anything about it." 
	Rick sat back and folded his arms across his chest. The others were looking at him and he knew it was time to level with them. For a moment he wondered if he should’ve done it before. 
	"I know all about the expedition," he told them, "and all about my dad’s assignment to investigate its disappearance." 
	The others looked at him with opened mouths. 
	"You do?" Sally asked in disbelieving tones. 
	"What do you mean?" Aunt Bea asked. "That’s secret government information." 
	A muscle quivered at Rick's jaw. "I’ve worked with Dad as a research assistant on several of his recent assignments," he told them. "I’m a member of a work/study program InterTell is conducting with a few students throughout the country, grooming them for the agency. I got on the program because Dad’s a top gun there, and my academic record in high school and at the University helped. Plus, I have access to it’s library. Lake University’s library is one of the most extensive research collections in the world." 
	The others gaped at him for a moment. Then Charlie blurted, "Are you serious?" He looked angry enough to punch Rick. "You work for InterTell? That’s why you put in all that time at the library? And I thought you were studying." 
	Sally looked at Rick accusingly. "So did I. Why didn’t you tell us?" 
	Rick was exasperated. "I’m not supposed to! The only reason you found out about my dad, Sally, is because your father was missing. The agency knew our families were close friends and to help comfort your mom they allowed the information that my dad would be on the case." Rick glanced at Charlie. "And then we had to let Bozo here in on it too, he was so suspicious." 
	"Darn right I was!" Charlie was glaring at them. "Everybody being so secretive. Here, my best friend’s dad was James Bond and I didn’t even know about it. I believed that stupid story you tell everyone that he’s a traveling salesman." 
	Rick couldn't help laughing at that, and it helped to ease the tension amongst them. Once Sally knew that Rick’s dad was a secret agent, they knew they had to tell Charlie. He was suspicious and would not leave them alone until they leveled with him. They knew that the strong bonds of their friendship would keep the secret intact. 
	"It’s not funny," Charlie growled. "And now you tell me you’re James Bond Junior, and I didn’t know a thing about it!" 
	Aunt Bea sighed. "Goodness! I guess there goes the national security." 
	Charlie pounded a fist on the table. "I’ll never tell a soul!" 
	They all laughed now, and it was a much needed laugh. Aunt Bea looked to Rick. "I’m proud the agency has such confidence in you. But don’t you think you should go into a line of work that isn’t so dangerous?" 
	"No chance of that," Sally told her before Rick could reply. "Rick and Charlie are always talking about working for InterTell after college." 
	"Well, we’re not going to wait till then," Rick said. "We’ll start right now. I know where my dad went and why he went there, and I intend to find him and Professor Anderson." 
	"Tell me about the expedition," Sally asked. She got up off the stool and joined them at the table. "What was it all about? Why did they go to the Yukon?" 
	Rick looked at her as she sat down, then at Aunt Bea and Charlie. "This is classified information. We can’t let anyone else know about it unless they can help us find Dad and Professor Anderson." 
	There was a silent nod from the others. 
	Rick leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "This is the straight skinny on all of it. I won't hold anything back. I went over Dad’s directives with him and did additional research at the library and on the Internet. Ever since the Yukon Gold Rush in 1898, it’s been rumored that the motherlode, the largest vein of gold in the Klondike area, was never discovered. Prospectors have continued to look for it throughout the decades. Last year, an old prospector named Dan McGraw claimed he’d discovered a hidden valley in the mountains near the Klondike River. He called it ‘Bonanza Valley’ and said that within it lies the motherlode of the Klondike gold. He and his partner had sunk a shaft uphill from one of the creeks into what he believed to be the largest vein of gold ever discovered up there." 
	Charlie’s eyes widened. "That's awesome. What happened next?" 
	"One night, several men broke into McGraw’s cabin," Rick continued. "They abducted him and his partner, and took them into a series of caves in the mountains. The caves led to a small underground settlement." 
	"How weird," Sally breathed. "An underground city in the Yukon?" 
	Rick nodded. "Exactly. According to McGraw, about a couple hundred people were living there, and many of them had never been to the outside world. They were being held in a state of captivity by their leaders." 
	"But why?" Aunt Bea asked, frowning. 
	"Gold," was Rick’s quick reply. "It was being mined in the valley. McGraw thinks that the leaders of the town were hardened criminals who had come from the outside and were using the people of the settlement to work the mines. Then they sold the gold to foreign countries on the black market." 
	Charlie let out a low whistle. "Pretty radical, man. Gold is being mined in a Canadian territory and then secretly being sold to foreign countries? It’d make world-wide headlines if that news leaked out." 
	"I should say so," Aunt Bea agreed. "Who are these people, Rick? Does the underground settlement have a name?" 
	"The underground is known as ‘Ophir’, most probably named after an old gold rush town that used to be in the area. McGraw and his partner were imprisoned by the Ophirians and made to work in the mines, but he was later able to escape. But not before he learned the strangest secret of all." 
	Sally leaned forward, her green eyes curious. "And what was that?" 
	"Oil," Rick answered. "There’s oil in the caves and valley. Vast deposits of it. They use it to heat the underground during the long northern winters." 
	"Way cool," Charlie's eyes burned with excitement. "No wonder the Ophirians locked up McGraw and his partner. They don’t want anyone from the outside to know. With the demand for gold and oil today, that secret valley wouldn’t be a secret for long." 
	Rick nodded. "You got it, bud. But after McGraw escaped from Ophir and went to nearby Dawson, no one would believe his story." 
	"You can hardly blame them," Sally offered. "It does sound too fantastic to be true." 
	"You’re right. It sure does." Rick smiled. "They probably thought he was just a wacky old-timer. But he didn’t give up. His partner was still a prisoner in Ophir, and he wanted to be able to work their claim without the threat of violence." 
	"What’d he do?" Charlie asked. 
	"He went down to Calgary, a big oil town in the province of Alberta, south of the Yukon. He took his story to the executives at the North American Oil Company, figuring they’d be interested in the oil in Bonanza Valley. He was able to get through to them, too, and they listened. They researched his story and learned that ever since the gold rush days there actually had been rumors in the Yukon of a secret society of people who lived out in the wilds. Of course, most Yukoners believed it was just a legend, a scary story to tell around the fire on cold winter nights." 
	"But Dan McGraw knew better," Aunt Bea said, mesmerized by the strange story. "Those people really do exist." 
	"They sure do, Aunty," Rick replied. "Once they learned that McGraw’s story could be true, the executives at the oil company contacted their head office here in the States." 
	"And the U.S. office instructed them to send out a scientific expedition to see about the oil deposits in Bonanza Valley, right?" Charlie interjected. 
	"Check," Rick agreed. "And they also contacted the Canadian government who, in turn, brought InterTell in on the case. Two agents accompanied the expedition to check out the black market gold angle. McGraw went with the expedition, of course, and your father was asked to go, Sally, because he's one of the leading authorities on mineralogy in North America and has done a lot of work out in the field for the North American Oil Company in the past." 
	Sally shook her head slowly. "And he and the others must’ve all been captured by those people from Ophir!" 
	"That’s got to be what’s happened," Charlie agreed. "And when the expedition wasn’t heard from, InterTell sent Mr. Raider and his partner to find them. They must’ve been captured too!" 
	"I’m afraid so, Charlie." Rick’s hands clenched into tight fists. "The Ophirians are obviously desperate criminals, the kind who’ll stop at nothing." 
	"But they can’t hold all these people indefinitely," Aunt Bea reasoned. 
	"I think they intend to do that and more," Rick quickly replied. 
	"More?" Sally looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?" 
	"Hold on a minute." Rick got up from his chair and went out to the hallway. When he returned, he held in his hand the buckle and piece of strap he’d found up in the hills. 
	He tossed it on the table. "Look at this." 
	"What is it?" asked Aunt Bea. 
	"A piece of bindings from a snowshoe." He quickly told her how it had been found. 
	Puzzled, Sally picked up the buckle. It was of an old-fashioned design and looked like it had been handmade by a craftsman. She turned it over and her eyes suddenly widened in surprise. 
	"Oh my God!" she blurted. "I don’t believe it! Look at this, Charlie." 
	She handed him the buckle. A moment later he had the same startled reaction. "Holy smokes! Look at this, Miss Raider. It says ‘Ophir YT’ on the back." 
	Aunt Bea looked at the small engraving that Charlie’s finger was pointing to on the underside of the buckle. She looked at Rick, biting her bottom lip. "But…that must stand for ‘Ophir, Yukon Territory’. What does this mean, Rick?" 
	"It means," Rick said, "that the man we saw up in the hills is from Ophir!" 
	Charlie could barely suppress his excitement. "This is incredible, dude! No wonder you looked so shocked when you found it." 
	"But why would any of those people come here to Lake City?" Sally asked with a shaky voice. 
	But before Rick could answer, Aunt Bea pushed back her chair and shot to her feet. "Call the police!" she screeched. "Right now! If any of those people are out there it can only mean trouble. He might try to break into the house! He might be looking for papers about the investigation! He might…." A frightened expression contorted her face. "Rick, he might have come to kidnap you!" 
	"Now calm down, Aunty," Rick told her. "I intend to call the police. I don’t know what that fellow’s after, but if it’s me, he’s going to have to chase me all the way back to the Yukon where he came from. I’m heading there tonight!" 
	Aunt Bea started to protest but Rick silenced her. "No more objections. I’ve made up my mind. Charlie, go home and tell your folks our plan. Pack your duffel bag and snowshoes. Sally, you can call the airline while I pack. We have to get to Dawson, Yukon, as fast as possible." 
	Rick looked over to the wall clock to see what time it was. Suddenly his eyes, wide and startled, riveted to the window below it. 
	The others turned to look. Outside the window stood a man, a ski cap pulled low over his brow. There was an ugly scar under his left eye, and his bushy beard was white with snow. 
	Seeing that he’d been observed, the man flashed them a malicious, defiant look. 
	Then, without hesitation, he turned and fled into the swirling, blowing snow! 


Chapter Two: DESTINATION NORTH COUNTRY 

	For a few seconds, Rick and his friends stood there amazed and tongue-tied. Then Aunt Bea uttered a startled shrill cry. 
	This brought Charlie to life. He flung back his chair and jumped up, still gaping at the window. "That son-of-a-gun was listening to us! He may have heard everything we said!" 
	Sally had found her voice too. "Probably not, Charlie. It’s pretty noisy out there in the storm. But … who was he?" 
	"Oh, Rick!" Aunt Bea said worriedly. "Do you think it could be that man from Ophir?" 
	Rick was already crossing the room. "I don’t know, but I sure intend to find out! The man up in the hills had a beard too. Come one, Charlie!" 
	The two boys raced to the hall and pulled on their jackets and boots. Aunt Bea and Sally followed, watching them anxiously. 
	"Be careful, Rick," his aunt pleaded. "That man is sure to be dangerous!" 
	Sally nodded in agreement. "Don’t you think we should call the police?" 
	Rick pulled on his gloves. "Sure, but wait till we get back. I want to talk to them myself. And keep this door locked!" 
	He followed Charlie outside, locking the door behind him. Wild gusts of wind-whipped snow pelted them as they ran into the backyard. 
	"I can hardly see," Charlie shouted. "Where’d he go?" 
	Rick pointed to the woods behind his house. "There he is! Just going into the trees. Darn it! Let’s get after him." 
	The boys ran behind the house and leaped onto the snowmobiles. The engines roared to life and the sleek machines streaked off across the snow. 
	"Oh no," Charlie groaned. "Hey, we should’ve brought snowshoes!" 
	The snow was deep, and if they had to get off the snowmobiles to chase the man, their progress would be slow in just their boots. 
	"We’ll lose him for sure now," Rick muttered. "I wish we’d thought about those snowshoes!" 
	But he knew things had happened too fast to think of everything. Since finding the bindings buckle with the Ophir imprint, he’d been terribly worried that something had happened to his father. Why else would someone from Ophir be here in Lake City, right in his own neighborhood? Then finding out minutes later that his father was missing had scared him even more, interfering with his normal quick-thinking ability. 
	At nineteen, Rick Raider was a cut above the average guy. He was tall and good-looking, with wavy dark hair and dark eyes to match. He was athletic, intelligent, mature, and one of the top students in his class at nearby Lake University, the hub of the college town of Lake City which was located on the shore of Lake Erie in the Midwest. 
	Sally Anderson, along with her parents, Professor and Mrs. Anderson, lived next door to Rick. Charlie Connors, whose good looks and zany personality made him one of the most popular guys in town, lived on a farm at the end of the road. He was Rick’s best friend and constant companion. 
	Now, as the boys’ snowmobiles whizzed into the woods, Rick tried to get his mind off the danger his father might be in. The important thing now was to catch the prowler and find out if he was the man from Ophir who’d been up in the hills. And if he was, Rick sure wanted to know what he was doing here, spying on him. 
	The Snowcat engines whined as the machines crashed into the woods and through the underbrush, weaving their way in and out of the trees. The visibility was poor due to the heavily falling snow, and the thick woods were dangerous with hard-to-see deadfalls and other obstacles. Within a few minutes they had lost all trace of the man they were chasing. He could be anywhere, behind the nearest tree or the farthest, and there was no way to tell. 
	"Where is he?" Charlie yelled. 
	Rick switched off his machine’s engine and jumped off. "I don’t know. I can’t see his tracks. Wait, here they are! Come on, let’s follow him on foot." 
	Charlie joined Rick and they began to follow the snowshoe tracks in the blowing and drifting snow. The trees overhead swayed and creaked in the howling wind, and the boys had to lean forward to keep the wind-driven flakes from stinging their faces. 
	"That dude sure can move fast," Charlie said. "Especially when you consider the bindings are broken on one of his snowshoes." 
	Rick pushed through a tangle of branches. "If he’s the same man, you mean." 
	"He’s the same one, all right." Charlie pointed to the snowshoe tracks. "Look how the right shoe prints are misshapen compared to the left ones. He must’ve knotted the broken strap to keep the snowshoes on, but it’s still a little loose. It’s flapping all over the place." 
	Rick crouched down to look closer at the tracks. "Good deduction, Holmes. I guess there’s no doubt he’s the dude from Ophir. I wish we could find him!" 
	They trudged on, groping their way, blindly at times. Progress was slow without snowshoes, and the tracks of the scar-faced man soon became all but lost as the drifting snow obliterated them. A few minutes later there was no trace of the snowshoe prints at all, and the boys knew they had lost the man in the blizzard. 
	Rick punched a tree in frustration. "Damn! I hate to admit defeat, but it seems senseless to keep on going." 
	Charlie reluctantly agreed. "We’d better retrace our steps before we get lost. Humpph! Aunt Bea is worried we can’t handle the Yukon. It can’t be much worse than this." 
	"No doubt," Rick agreed, as they turned back. "Let’s get back home and get ready for our trip. That’s more important anyway." 
	"Right, but I’d still like to catch that guy. What does he want? Why did he come down here to Lake City? Unless …" 
	"Go on, Connors. Unless what?" 
	Charlie sighed. "Maybe Aunt Bea is right. He may have come down here to kidnap you." 
	Rick shook his head. "No way. How would he get me up to the Yukon against my will?" 
	"There may be others with him," Charlie suggested. "You, of all people, should know these Ophirians are big time operators. Selling illegally mined gold on the black market is pretty heavy stuff, man. They’ve got to be ruthless men. You’d go with them without a peep if they threatened to harm your dad." 
	"Okay," Rick conceded. "I’d have to go under those circumstances. But I sure would make a peep or two! And they’ll have to catch me first. I just can’t figure out why they’d want me." 
	"Something’s going on up there," Charlie said. "If they kidnapped all those people, and now your dad too, there are some kind of demands that may have to be met to release them. Maybe they figure your dad would give in if they had you too." 
	Rick laughed bitterly. "Dad would never agree to any demands made by such criminals, for any reason. Even my … life! That’s just part of being an intelligence agent. You can’t give in for anything. And what about all the others - the other agents, Professor Anderson, and the rest of them? Do the Ophirians think they can just release all those people if the demands are met, and they’ll forget about the whole thing?" 
	Charlie shuddered. "Either that, or kill them. These guys are totally radical. They’ll do anything!" 
	"I wonder," Rick mused. "They sure don’t want anyone to get their gold and oil. We know that. And it’s obvious they have some kind of plan to keep the operations going. I’d sure like to know what it is." 
	The boys arrived back at the snowmobiles. As they got aboard, Rick looked at Charlie. "Aunt Bea shouldn’t stay home alone at the house while we’re gone. She won’t be safe there." 
	"Why not have her stay at the farm with my folks?" Charlie suggested. "She and my mom can cook up a hurricane and feed the whole town." 
	"Good idea. You’d better go straight home right now and tell your mom and dad about our trip. Sure you want to come with me, bud? This is dangerous business." 
	"Hey dude, DANGER is my middle name! Just because you’re an official junior spy, don’t let it go to your head. I can do it too. This is our chance to show InterTell we’ve got what it takes." 
	The tensing of Rick’s jaw betrayed his frustration. "We’ve got what it takes for the agency, all right. But do we have what it takes to outsmart the Ophirians? Even InterTell’s best agents haven’t been able to do that!" 
	The Snowcats fired up and then buzzed through the woods, shooting out of the trees into Rick’s backyard. Charlie turned to the east and streaked off across the neighboring yards toward the farm at the end of the road. Rick parked his snowmobile behind the house, threw the fitted canvass cover over it, and then hurried inside. 
	Aunt Bea was waiting for him in the hall, trying her best to appear composed. "Well, what happened? Did you find him?" 
	Rick pulled off his boots. "He got away. He fled into the woods and we couldn’t find him because of the snowstorm." 
	"I’m worried, Rick. Was he the same man you saw up in the hills earlier?" 
	Rick nodded as he placed his jacket on a hook. "Yes, I’m positive that man is one of the Ophirians. I wonder what the heck he’s doing here." 
	"You’re not the only one. I’ll be afraid to stay here alone with him in the neighborhood." 
	Rick followed her into the kitchen. "Don’t worry about that. Charlie suggested you stay at the farm with his folks." 
	Aunt Bea’s face brightened. "Good! At least I’ll have someone to talk to. I’ll go batty if I stay here alone. Too many strange things have been happening lately." 
	"I’ll say," Rick agreed. He saw that Sally was busily engaged on the phone. "When Sally’s done, I’ll call the police and tell them there’s been a prowler around here. They’ll keep an eye on the house while we’re gone. Now you’d better get your bags packed." 
	Aunt Bea looked at the stove. "What about my soup? There’s a whole pot I just made. Do you want a bowl?" 
	Rick shook his head. "I couldn’t eat now if you paid me. All this excitement killed my appetite. I’ll put the soup in the fridge while you pack, and you can come back for it tomorrow with Mr. Connors. You guys can have it for lunch tomorrow." 
	Aunt Bea nodded and hurried upstairs. Rick was surprised that she didn’t insist he eat, like she usually did, but he knew she was really scared. He poured the soup into a plastic container, put it in the refrigerator, and washed and dried the pan as he waited for Sally to finish her conversation with the reservations clerk at the airport. 
	When she hung up the phone, she turned to Rick and said, "There’s a flight from Lake City to Calgary, Alberta, at ten o’clock tonight, weather permitting. I booked seats on it for you and Charlie. There is air service between Calgary and Dawson, but you can make those reservations yourself tomorrow. You’ll have to stay overnight in Calgary because the flights to Dawson are in the early afternoon. The airline booked a room for you at a downtown hotel, the Essex House." 
	Rick nodded. "Excellent. We’ll be in downtown Calgary. Charlie and I can visit the offices of North American Oil." 
	"What do you hope to accomplish there?" Sally asked. 
	"I’d like to get a copy of the map Dan McGraw made showing the route to Bonanza Valley. One was included in Dad’s InterTell directives, but I sure don’t remember any of it now." 
	"That’d be great," Sally said. "If you have a map, it’ll be easier to find the valley. I wish there was something I could do to help." 
	Rick looked at her fondly. "You can do your part by encouraging your mom and Aunt Bea to keep the faith. Charlie and I will do the dirty work." 
	He told her about their futile attempt to catch the scar-faced man. "We’re sure he’s the same man we almost ran down in the woods." 
	Sally shuddered. "Then he’s got to be from Ophir. Ooh! It gives me the creeps to know one of those weird people is around here." 
	"There may be more than just one, "Rick suggested. "Can you and your mom stay at a friend’s house until Charlie and I get back? It’s not safe around here." 
	"Sure, we can stay at my Aunt’s house in Cleveland. I’ll go home and tell my mom what’s going on and we can drive out there later tonight." 
	"Good," Rick said in a relieved voice. "It’s best if you’re someplace safe. After all, your dad is involved in this. Those people might try to mess with you too." 
	Rick followed Sally to the hall where she put on her jacket and boots. "I’ll be back at nine to go to the airport with you," she said. "I hope this blizzard’s over by then." 
	"Really," Rick agreed. "The last thing we need now is a delayed flight." 
	After Sally left the house, Rick called the police department. He told the officer on the other end that a prowler had been seen peering in their window, and that he had fled up into the hills behind the house. He also mentioned that his aunt would be staying with the Connors, and that their house and that of the Andersons would be unoccupied during the following days. Rick was promised that the prowler would be investigated, and that the force would keep an eye on the two houses. 
	He then called the Lake City InterTell headquarters and spoke to one of the agents on duty. "Your father was in Dawson the last time he reported," Rick was told. "That was a little over four weeks ago." 
	Rick told the agent about the prowler and his suspicions that the man was an Ophirian. "I’ll be out of town for a while," he added, "but I’ll give my aunt the bindings buckle, and you can get it from her at the Connors’ farm where she’ll be staying." 
	The agent thanked Rick for the information and said it’d be looked into immediately. When Rick hung up, the telephone rang and he again picked up the receiver. It was Charlie, calling him with the news that his parents had given him the okay to go to the Yukon, and that they were pleased Aunt Bea would be staying with them. 
	"My mom didn’t want me to go," Charlie added. "But I told her that’d mean you’d have to go alone. She changed her mind real fast. She knows you need me for protection." 
	"Yah, right," Rick laughed. "Like I need a hole in the head." 
	"Hey, one or two wouldn't hurt, man," Charlie returned. "Then you'd be more like me!" 
	When Sally returned at nine o’clock, Rick and Aunt Bea were packed and ready to go. They climbed into Rick’s sleek black pickup truck and he drove to the Connors’ farm. Sally had already brought her mother there so she wouldn’t have to be alone while Sally was at the airport. The storm had passed over, fortunately, and the road crews had already begun to clear the streets of the accumulated snow. 
	"Now you boys be careful! Don’t take any unnecessary chances," Aunt Bea instructed as she got out of the truck and Charlie climbed in. "And dress properly in the Yukon! It’s cold up there." 
	"Charlie, you listen to Rick," Mr. Connors warned his son. "None of your hare-brained schemes now, you hear? This is serious business." 
	Rick and Sally laughed at this reminder of Charlie’s tendency to act before he thinks. But Charlie wasn’t amused. 
	"Don’t worry, Dad," he shot back. "I won’t do any clowning on this trip. I’ll be just like Rick. Serious, mature, and … dull!" 
	His mother shook her head as the others all laughed. "You know very well that Rick isn’t dull," she said. "He’s the most popular young man in Lake City." 
	Charlie grinned. "That’s why I’m such a clown. I have to try harder. I’m only number two!" 
	The group laughed again and the congenial atmosphere helped to make the goodbyes easier. Soon the black truck was back on the road and Rick drove to the freeway. 
	By the time they arrived at the Lake City airport, the weather had cleared altogether and a bright moon was shining in the winter sky. 
	"Wow! Great night for flying," Charlie said as Rick pulled into a parking space. 
	The trio jumped out and the boys grabbed their duffel bags from the bed of the truck where they’d stashed them under the tonneau cover. They had packed their clothes and heavy parkas in the bags, and then strapped their snowshoes around them. As they walked across the parking lot to the terminal, a jet took off from one of the runways, its engines roaring. 
	Sally’s eyes followed it to the sky. "I wish I was going with you guys!" 
	"Oh, yah," Charlie gibed. "Like we’d ever get a thing accomplished with a girl along." 
	Sally kicked him in the shin. 
	"Ouch!" he cried, almost dropping his duffel bag. 
	Sally gave him a sidelong glance. "Charlie Connors! One of these days I’m going to prove to you that a girl can do anything a guy can do, and better!" 
	Charlie hooted. "Well, I won’t hold my breath waiting." 
	"You’re not capable of holding your breath," Sally retorted. "Total nonsense gushes out of you a mile a minute, twenty -four hours a day!" 
	Rick smiled as he listened to the friendly banter. The three of them had grown up together since they were tots. Rick couldn’t even remember his life before his two friends were in it. And Charlie and Sally had always teased each other mercilessly. He doubted that it would ever come to an end. 
	At the reservations desk, the boys picked up their tickets and checked their bags. The three friends then walked through the terminal along with the other travelers to the gate where the flight to Calgary would depart from. As they passed a row of public telephones, Rick suddenly stopped short, holding Charlie and Sally back with a fling of his arm. 
	"Look," he whispered, jerking his head toward a man using one of the phones. 
	The man was dressed in heavy outdoor clothes. His hair and beard were long and a ski cap was pulled down low over his forehead. On his upper left cheek was a long ugly scar. 
	"It’s the man from Ophir," Sally hissed, recognizing him. 
	"Yo! It’s him," Charlie muttered. "Let’s get that sucker!" 
	"Shhhh!" Rick warned, listening intently to what the man was saying. 
	Not knowing that he was being observed, the man shouted into the receiver. "Put my call through once again, operator! I must contact that number in Dawson tonight!" 
	He impatiently looked around, waiting for the connection to be put through. As he did, his eyes fell on Rick and Charlie and Sally. The man’s face registered shock, and for a brief moment he stared at them blankly. Then, he dropped the receiver, leaving it to dangle by the cord, and he spun around and shot off into the crowd like a lightning bolt. 


Chapter Three: STOLEN LUGGAGE 

	"After him!" Rick growled. "And this time, let’s get him!" 
	The scar-faced man ran down the concourse of the airport terminal and they took off in pursuit, weaving their way through the crowd. Rick, a track star and letterman in his high school days, sped ahead of Charlie and Sally. But the man from Ophir proved again to be a swift runner, and Rick couldn’t catch up to him. 
	The man darted around a corner and onto a ramp leading to another concourse. Rick followed, oblivious of the shocked expressions of the crowd as he streaked by. As he reached the connecting concourse, the Ophirian turned to look back at Rick and flung him an angry look. Rick clenched his fists and ran even harder. The distance between them was lessening, and he pushed himself to the limit. 
	Just then, from one of the departure areas along the concourse, a woman stepped out directly into Rick’s path. He was unable to avoid her and crashed right into her. With a grunt and a screech, they collided. A moment later they were both sprawled out on the floor. 
	Dazed, Rick pulled himself up to a sitting position as a crowd began to gather. Then realizing what had happened, he jumped to his feet and hurried to the woman’s side. 
	"I’m really sorry," he said anxiously, as he stooped to help her. "Are you hurt?" 
	Her voice was shaky as she looked up at Rick. "I don’t think so. I seem to be all right. Goodness! Where you were going in such a hurry?" 
	Rick picked up her ticket folder and purse from the floor and handed them to her. He felt like a complete fool as he helped her get to her feet. "I was chasing someone," he explained, embarrassed by all the attention he was getting from the onlookers. 
	Then his two friends pushed their way through the curious crowd. "Rick! What happened?" Sally asked breathlessly. 
	He quickly explained how he’d knocked the woman down. Then he pointed down the concourse. "Quick, Connors! He went that way. See if you can catch up to him!" 
	Charlie nodded and took off, pushing his way through the crowd. 
	Rick looked at the others milling around them with annoyance. "Let me help you to a seat," he said to the woman. 
	"Yes, that’s a good idea," she agreed, making an attempt to smile. "I’d really like to sit down." 
	She was still a bit unsteady, and Rick and Sally helped her into the nearby departure area. The crowd dispersed, but not without a number of them commenting on the reckless nature of today’s young people. 
	"The man we’re after was prowling around my house earlier this evening," Rick said, after the woman had been seated. "I was in such a hurry to catch him that I didn’t see you until it was too late." 
	The woman smiled ruefully. "I certainly don’t blame you for causing the accident. It was my fault. I walked right into you. I wasn’t paying a bit of attention to where I was going. I’ve just been so nervous tonight!" 
	"What’s troubling you?" Sally asked. "Is there something we can do?" 
	The woman looked embarrassed and she shook her head. "I hate to admit it, but I’m nervous about flying. It always bothers me." 
	Rick nodded understandingly. "You’ll feel better about it once you’re in the air. I bet you’re going to Hawaii or some other place where the weather is sunny and warm. Just keep thinking how great it’ll be once you get there." 
	The woman laughed, looking genuinely amused. "As a matter of fact, I’m going to a place where the weather is even colder than here. Dawson, Yukon." 
	Sally and Rick looked at each other in surprise. "This sure is a coincidence," Sally said. "The boys are going to Dawson too. They’re booked on the ten o’clock flight to Calgary." 
	"Well, this certainly is a surprise," the woman responded, looking quizzically at Rick. "I’m on that flight also. Why are you boys going to the Yukon in the middle of winter? Not many people from this area do." 
	Rick wanted to ask her the same question. But before he could reply, Charlie returned, breathing hard from his exertions. 
	"Whew! I wasn’t able to find any trace of that creep. Looks like we lost him again, darn it!" 
	Rick was disappointed, but he just shrugged his shoulders. "We’ll have to forget about him for now, I guess. We have a flight to catch." 
	He then introduced himself and his friends to the woman. "My name is Rick, and this is Charlie and Sally," he said. "Charlie, this nice lady is going to be traveling with us, all the way up to Dawson." 
	"Cool," Charlie said. "Are you visiting someone up north?" 
	The woman introduced herself as Mrs. Helen Ross, adding, "My brother lives in Dawson. I got a letter from him yesterday asking me to come up for a while. I’ve been trying to call him all day to let him know I’m on my way, but there was a severe blizzard in the Dawson area today and the phone service was out. I couldn’t get through to him." 
	Rick, Charlie, and Sally exchanged glances, remembering how the scar-faced man had demanded that the operator put through his call to Dawson once again. 
	"So tell me," Mrs. Ross urged, "why are you boys going to the Yukon?" 
	"It’s semester break," Rick replied. "Charlie and I really do like winter a lot, so we figured we’d go up north in search of it." 
	Mrs. Ross chuckled heartily. "If you like winter weather, you sure can’t find a better place than Dawson. Are you students at Lake University?" 
	"Yes," Sally answered. "We all three attend classes there." 
	"Then you might know my daughter. Her name is Debbie." 
	"Sure, we know Debbie Ross," Charlie said. "She was in some of our classes last year. But I don't recall seeing her around lately." 
	Mrs. Ross’ friendly smile faded and she looked very sad for a moment. Then, making an effort to smile again, she said, "Debbie accompanied Professor Anderson from the University on a scientific expedition to the Yukon last fall. She was to work as his assistant. A while ago I was notified by a government agency that Debbie and the others are missing. There’s been no news yet of any of them having been found." 
	The others could hardly believe what they were hearing. "We know about the missing expedition," Rick told her. "Professor Anderson is Sally’s father." 
	Mrs. Ross turned to her. "You poor child! You must be sick with worry about your father." 
	"I certainly am," Sally agreed. "I knew that Debbie was one of his favorite students, but I had no idea she accompanied him on the expedition. My father didn’t say much about it." 
	"Debbie told me it was a classified mission." Mrs. Ross said, "but I had no qualms about letting her go. Her father died when she was young and she’s become real close with my brother since then. She spends almost every summer with him in Dawson. He’s taken her out into the mountains plenty of times and she considers the Yukon her second home. That’s one of the reasons Professor Anderson asked her to accompany him. It was also going to count toward her college credits." 
	She was silent for a moment, then asked, " Are you boys sure you’re going to the Yukon for fun, or do you know something about the expedition that you intend to look into?" 
	Rick considered her shrewd question for a moment, then he responded, "My dad is a government agent who was sent in search of the lost expedition. Now he’s been reported missing too. Charlie and I are going to do some investigating of our own." 
	Mrs. Ross shook her head. "Your father is missing too? Good God! I’d like to know what’s going on up there. What do you boys intend to do?" 
	"We hope to find the missing people," Charlie said. "We’ll certainly give it our best shot." 
	Mrs. Ross looked hopeful. "Then you’ll have to meet my brother. His name is Ted Wilson, but everyone in Dawson calls him ‘Stampede’. He’s lived in the Yukon since he was a young man, and he knows the territory like the back of his hand. Stampede has a theory about what happened to Debbie and the others." 
	Rick was immediately interested. "Did he tell you about this theory?" 
	"Yes, in the letter I received from him yesterday. But I’m sure it will be as meaningless to you as it is to me. Stampede thinks the expedition might have been captured by some strange people he calls ‘Ophirians’." 
	"Whoa…" Charlie breathed. He looked at Rick, then Sally, then back to Mrs. Ross. "What did he have to say about them … these Ophirians?" 
	She shrugged. "He didn’t elaborate, which is his style. Tells me something to make me worry even more, and then just insists I get up there as soon as possible. He wants to go search for these people, whoever they are, and find out if Debbie’s with them. He wants me up there in case he does find her and brings her back to Dawson." 
	Rick gave Charlie and Sally knowing glances and wondered just how much Mrs. Ross’ brother knew about the people of Ophir. "We’ll most definitely have to meet Stampede," he said. "Maybe we can join forces." 
	Sally nodded excitedly. "That’d be excellent. You’d have to hire a guide anyway." 
	"And Stampede’s as good as any guide you could hire," Mrs. Ross claimed. "I’m sure he’ll be real pleased to have you boys join him." 
	She got up from her seat. "I feel much better now." She grinned at Rick. "I guess it turned out to be a good thing we bumped into each other! I wonder if the telephone service to Dawson has been restored? I’d like to try calling my brother again." 
	Sally checked her wrist watch. "There isn’t time, Mrs. Ross. Your flight will be leaving in a few minutes." 
	Charlie looked at his flight ticket. "Right. It leaves in ten minutes from gate twenty-five. We’d better get over there." 
	Gate 25 was only a short ways down the concourse. They hurried down to the area and, as Mrs. Ross was being assigned her seat, Rick drew Sally aside. 
	"Call the police when you get home," he told her. "Tell them we saw the prowler here at the airport. Then call InterTell and ask for agent Scully. He’ll be interested to know the scar-faced man was seen here too." 
	Sally nodded. "They may want to check the passenger lists to see if he flew out. You better watch out for him, Rick. He might be planning to follow you to Dawson." 
	Rick smiled grimly. "He better not be on the same flight. Charlie and I would sure take care of him pronto!" 
	Sally grinned. "Tell me about it. But be careful, tough guy. I have the feeling he’s a real dangerous character." 
	Rick and Charlie were then assigned seats on the flight and goodbyes were exchanged. Sally wished the boys good luck and gave them each a hug, adding a kiss on the cheek for Rick. 
	"I’ll call you tomorrow from Calgary," Rick told her. 
	Sally then shook Mrs. Ross’ hand. "Have a nice trip. And don’t worry, if anyone can find Debbie and the others, it’s Rick and Charlie." 
	After checking through Customs, they boarded the large Air Canada jet and the boys took their assigned seats. Mrs. Ross had been given a seat across the aisle from them, and sitting next to her was a studious-looking man whom Rick judged to be in his late thirties. 
	The passengers were prepared for take-off, and a few minutes later the airliner was taxiing down the runway, both boys eager for the long flight to the far north country. 
	Charlie grinned as the jet shot up into the dark winter sky. "Totally awesome, man. One of these days we have to learn to fly."" 
	The jet tilted as it turned to head north over the dark waters of Lake Erie, and Rick could see the lights of Lake City spread out below. 
	He pointed out the window. "Catch this view, Connors." 
	Charlie craned his neck to look. "Sweet! This is enough to give a guy an adrenaline binge. You can see all the way down the lake to Cleveland. Man, there won’t be lights like that where we’re going." 
	Rick laughed. "Dawson’s a small town, way up at the end of nowhere. The only lights we’ll see are the stars. And maybe the northern lights, too." 
	"Did I hear one of you boys mention Dawson?" the man sitting next to Mrs. Ross asked them. 
	"You sure did," Rick replied. 
	The man smiled in a friendly manner. He was wearing a pair of wire-rimmed glasses which, together with his neatly trimmed mustache and mild-mannered demeanor, gave him the look of someone who spends a great deal of time in the pursuit of knowledge. 
	"If you are bound for Dawson," he said, "then you have the same destination as I." 
	Mrs. Ross looked at him in surprise. "Well, it seems that everybody is going to Dawson tonight," she laughed, going on to tell him that she’d be visiting her brother who lives there. "Why are you heading up north?" she added. 
	"I’m writing an historical novel about the Yukon Territory," he replied. "I’m a professor of American History at Columbia University in New York City. The Yukon gold rush has always been one of my favorite periods in the history of our continent. This is a research trip. I want to see the Klondike regions in the dead of winter, and experience it the same way the stampeders did back in 1898 when they swarmed up there to seek out the gold." 
	"That’ll sure help with the book," Charlie said. "Nothing like firsthand experience." 
	"Do you plan to go out to the gold fields?" Rick asked. 
	The professor nodded. "I’ll have to hire a guide. I’m sure I’d get lost if I went out on my own." 
	"You’ll have no trouble finding an experienced guide in Dawson," Mrs. Ross told him. "People are always going off to explore the gold fields, although they usually do it in the summer." 
	Introductions were exchanged and the boys learned the man’s name was Professor Robert Dickens. As the jet roared on, he continued to talk about the colorful history of the Klondike area, and it was evident he was very excited about his trip to the region. 
	"Did you know that over one hundred thousand people left their homes and set out for the Yukon during the gold rush?" Professor Dickens asked them. 
	"Really? That many?" Charlie looked doubtful. "That’s an awful lot of people." 
	"It’s true," the professor said. "But, of course, not all of them made it to the Klondike. The trail leading to Dawson City, as the town was called then, was a very treacherous one, and only the strongest could follow it to the end. Many turned back and others died along the way, so severe were the conditions. But many of the stampeders did reach the gold fields, and at its peak Dawson City had a population of almost fifty thousand people. It was a big exciting town. They called it the ‘Paris of the North’." 
	He told them many other interesting facts about the gold rush as their conversation continued throughout the flight. Rick listened attentively, even though he was already familiar with the topic. Like most educators, Professor Dickens was a polished speaker with the ability to make even the most ordinary facts seem of the utmost interest. But Rick found himself wondering if a man of such mild temperament could withstand the rigorous conditions of the Yukon winter trail. 
	In the early morning hours, after both Rick and Charlie had napped comfortably on the smooth flight, the big jet landed at Calgary International Airport. They had checked through Customs back in Lake City so now, along with Mrs. Ross and the professor, the boys followed the other passengers through the terminal to the luggage pickup. Many of the suitcases and other baggage had already come down the conveyer belt, and the people were taking what belonged to them. 
	Mrs. Ross collected her luggage and Professor Dickens got his, two suitcases and a long slim leather case of the type that hold cue sticks. Rick was just about to whisper a remark to Charlie about the professor being a pool shark, when Charlie impatiently grunted, "Hey, what’s up, man? Where’s our bags? I want to get to the hotel and get more ZZZZ’s!" 
	As yet, there was no sign of their duffel bags coming down the conveyor belt. 
	"You and me both," Rick agreed. "We have a big day ahead of us." 
	Then, to their surprise, the conveyor belt stopped. 
	"Where are your bags?" asked Mrs. Ross, as she looked at the conveyor belt. All the luggage had been taken and it was empty. 
	Charlie groaned. "Don’t tell me they’re lost?" 
	Rick frowned impatiently. He called over one of the porters who was just returning with his cart from outside. 
	"Our luggage isn’t here," he told the man. "Is there some way you can check for it?" 
	The porter nodded. "Let me call and make sure everything from your flight has been sent down." 
	Rick gave him the flight number and the man called the baggage department on a utility wall phone. After a couple minutes of conversation with the person on the other end, he hung up the receiver and turned to the others. 
	"Everything has been sent down from your flight," he said. 
	"Our bags have to be somewhere," Charlie insisted. "We checked them in Lake City and they went through Customs." 
	The professor shook his head. "What a terrible inconvenience. The airline must have made a mistake and sent them elsewhere." 
	Mrs. Ross nodded. "Sometimes bags are loaded onto the wrong airplane. What a shame! What will you boys do for clothes?" 
	"And our snowshoes," Rick added angrily, not even trying to hide his annoyance. "We need them up north!" 
	"Snowshoes?" the porter asked, his eyebrows arched. 
	"Yes," Rick replied. "Our belongings were packed in duffel bags with our snowshoes strapped to them." 
	"The two duffel bags with the snowshoes were among the first items to come down the conveyor," the porter told them. "As soon as the bags came down, two men pulled them off the belt and hurried away. I’m afraid your bags have been stolen!" 


Chapter Four: CODE NAME: OPHIR 

	"Stolen?" Rick Raider groaned. 
	The porter nodded. "It’s the only explanation. I was standing right here when the two duffel bags came down the conveyer. Two men picked them up and hurried outside. I didn’t think anything odd about it at the time. People are always in a hurry around here." 
	"What did they look like?" Charlie demanded. 
	The porter’s brow furrowed. "Well, they were dressed like the kind of men who come north for the winter activities. Typical outdoors men." 
	Charlie looked at Rick. "They sound like friends of the scar-faced man." 
	"Obviously." Rick looked around the concourse, then asked the porter, "Which way did they go?" 
	"Out there." The man pointed to a bank of glass doors that led outside. 
	"We’ll be right back," Rick said to Mrs. Ross and the professor, and then he and Charlie raced down to the doors and out into the cold northern morning. 
	Floodlights lit up the pick-up area. Several cars were parked along the curb and people were putting their luggage into the trunks. The boys checked the cars and passengers but saw no one who fit the description of the thieves. 
	Charlie grumbled as he surveyed the area. "How do you like that? Whooda thought, eh? They got away real sweet." 
	"I don’t like it at all," Rick said with a disgusted expression. "It looks like we’ve been stripped clean." 
	"Yeah, and by guess who? More Ophirians. All our stuff is gone. What do we do now? Gotta have stuff." 
	Rick shrugged his shoulders. "Looks like we’ll have to go shopping, Charlie. We have credit cards. We’ll be able to get what we need." 
	Charlie growled. "This can’t just be a coincidence. The man with the scar found out what flight we were on and called his buddies up here to steal our bags." 
	"As if that would stop us." Rick let out a disgruntled laugh. "These Ophir-gofers must think we’re a couple of easily frightened kids." 
	"Good. Let them think that." Charlie swelled his chest in an aggressive manner. "They’ll find out soon enough what the real story is." 
	Rick grinned. "All right, Godzilla. We’ll get the chance to beat them at their own game, but we’ve got to be careful. We know we’re being tailed now." 
	As they turned back to the terminal, Charlie said, "Hey, the scar-faced dude was trying to call Dawson. He must have accomplices up there too." 
	"You’re right. We’ll have to keep our eyes open wherever we go. It’s almost like we need a bodyguard." 
	"How about the professor?" Charlie gibed. "He’s looking for adventure. Maybe he’d like the job?" 
	"No way," Rick laughed. "We’d end up having to take care of him. He’s up here to write a book, not deal with thieves and kidnappers." 
	The boys went back inside and rejoined Mrs. Ross and Professor Dickens, who were both sorry to hear that there’d been no sign of the thieves. Rick gave his name and the phone number of the downtown hotel to the porter, in case any news of the stolen duffel bags was received at the airport. 
	"The thieves might discard the bags after they take what they want," the porter said. "If your name tags and baggage checks are still on them when they’re found, we’re sure to be notified." 
	Mrs. Ross and the professor were also staying at the Essex House Hotel, and so they all went outside together where they climbed into an airport limousine which would take them downtown. The big van was soon speeding along the expressway and within a few minutes the giant towers of downtown Calgary came into view. 
	"Check out those skyscrapers," Charlie said. "I didn’t know Calgary was such a big city." 
	"It’s the fourth largest in Canada," Professor Dickens told them. "Calgary used to be a cow town, famous for its stock yards. But now it’s a large cosmopolitan city and the oil capital of the country, like Houston is down in the States. Most of those skyscrapers are oil company headquarters." 
	"One of them must be the Canadian headquarters of the North American Oil Company," Rick suggested. 
	"Yes, it’s the big one," said Mrs. Ross, pointing to the tallest of the skyscrapers. "I'm a stockholder in the North American Oil Company. Debbie and I visited the headquarters last summer while laying over here in Calgary on our way to Dawson." 
	"What’s that building?" Charlie pointed to tall tower-like structure hovering high above the city. 
	"That’s the Calgary Tower," answered Mrs. Ross. "It was built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. It’s over six hundred feet high and one of the tallest structures of its kind in the world." 
	"I’d like to check it out," Rick said. "I bet the view from up there is terrific." 
	Mrs. Ross nodded. "It’s splendid. You can see all the way across the prairies to the Rocky Mountains. Our hotel is right next door to the tower, so you may have time to visit it later today." 
	They soon arrived at the Essex House Hotel, a beautiful old hotel in the grand tradition. Having been built at the turn-of-the-century, its spacious lobby was a showcase of the lavish Victorian decor of that day. 
	The boys liked the fine old establishment and, after checking in at the desk, they made plans to meet Mrs. Ross and the professor for breakfast. They were then shown to their rooms, which were all close by on the same floor. 
	The boys immediately went to bed. Charlie was soon sleeping peacefully, but Rick was wide awake, staring at the dark ceiling as the events of the last few hours raced through his mind. After a while, he climbed out of bed and pulled his jeans and sweater back on. He knew he’d never get to sleep in this mood. Maybe a hot beverage would relax him. He decided to go down to the coffee shop on the first floor. 
	Rick left the room and took the elevator down. The lobby was empty at this late hour, but there were a few people in the all-night café. He seated himself at a table by the window where he had a view of the Calgary Tower next door as it soared up into the sky. 
	As he sipped at a cup of steaming decaffeinated café mocha, he watched the lightly falling snow outside and the odd car or two hurrying down the city street. His mind continued to be plagued by questions he could not answer. Would he and Charlie be able to find Bonanza Valley and the underground city of Ophir? If so, was there any way they could rescue the captives and lead them to safety? 
	Rick grunted a sigh. It seemed the mission he was on was not only dangerous, but also impossible. 
	But he clenched his fist and smiled determinedly. He told himself they’d do it, one way or another. He knew the going would get tougher and tougher, but they’d just have to overcome any and every obstacle that got in the way. His father's life might depend on it, and he knew he just could not fail! 
	The hot drink had already begun to relax him. He finished it off and went out to the elegant lobby. There was a determined expression on his face now as he passed a row of old-fashioned telephone booths near the elevators. He heard the jingle of a coin and looked to see that there was a man in one of the booths dialing for a call. Rick was surprised when he recognized the man to be Professor Dickens, and wondered why he’d be making a call down here in the lobby when he had a phone in his room upstairs. And who, Rick wondered, would he be calling in the middle of the night? 
	Rick was suddenly very suspicious, and he slipped into the next booth. Hardly daring to breathe, he pressed his ear against the partition separating him from the professor. 
	A moment later his heart thumped like thunder when he heard the professor say: 
	"Code name: Ophir." 
	His eyes wide with surprise, Rick pressed closer to the wall of the booth. There was silence for several seconds, and then Professor Dickens spoke again. 
	"I just arrived here in Calgary about an hour ago. Can we arrange for a meeting later today?" 
	Silence again. Then: 
	"Yes. I followed instructions perfectly. No one knows who I am. I’m staying at the Essex House. Where can we meet for further instructions?" 
	There was another long pause. Rick’s heart thumped in his throat. Finally the professor said: 
	"Fine. I will meet you there at two o'clock this afternoon." 
	Rick heard the click of the receiver and the door of the next booth open. He picked up the phone next to him and turned his face to the back of the booth as if he were making a call. He hoped Professor Dickens wouldn’t notice him. 
	So he was one of the Ophirians too! Rick couldn’t believe it. It was apparent that he was working together with the scar-faced man. And they had bought the ‘professor’ act hook, line, and sinker! 
	Rick felt his anger rising. The Ophirians had a man traveling right along with him and Charlie! They weren’t taking any chances of letting the boys out of their sight. Well, he was on to them now. He could play their sneaky game just as well as they could, and better! 
	He waited several minutes before leaving the phone booth. Then he took the stairs back up to the floor their rooms were on, hoping he wouldn’t run into the professor if the man was still out in the corridors. 
	Charlie was shocked when Rick told him the news later that morning after they had awakened and showered. "Are you kidding me? The professor is one of the Ophirians? He’s like a complete dork. Man, he sure had us fooled." 
	"Totally," Rick agreed. "And he’s meeting with an accomplice this afternoon." 
	"Probably to discuss what to do with us," Charlie muttered. "We’ll really have to keep on our toes today. Too bad you couldn't find out where they’re meeting." 
	"We can tail the professor," Rick suggested. "We have to shop for clothes and supplies, then stop by the North American Oil Company, but we should be back here in time to follow him to his rendevous." 
	Agreeing on that plan of action, the boys hurried downstairs to meet Mrs. Ross and the professor for breakfast. As they entered the hotel's elegant dining room, Rick warned Charlie, "Play it cool. We can't let Professor Dickens know we're on to him." 
	Charlie nodded. "Don't worry. I can put on just as good an act as he can." 
	The professor carried out his role smoothly during breakfast, telling the others several amusing stories about the gold rush days. Mrs. Ross was in much better spirits than the night before, and she laughed heartily at the professor's tales. 
	"You really must meet my brother," she told him. "He's a real character. I think he knows everything about the Klondike that there is to know. He can probably tell you some interesting stories for your book." 
	The professor nodded. "I'd love to meet him. I'd like to interview some of the local people and he sounds just like the person I want to talk to." 
	When they were finished eating, Mrs. Ross told the boys that she'd make the reservations for their afternoon flight to Dawson. "I know you have a lot of shopping to do, so I'll take care of it. There's a flight leaving at four and I'll reserve seats on it for all of us." 
	She gave them directions to the nearby Hudson Bay Company department store, and the boys excused themselves. Before leaving the hotel, Rick called the police department and reported the theft of their luggage from the airport. Next he called the airport to see if there had been any news about the missing bags. The clerk had nothing to report, and Rick hung up. Then they hurried out into the cold, bleak morning. 
	The streets of the ultra-modern metropolis were crowded with traffic, and the sidewalks swarmed with pedestrians. The boys gaped up at the tops of the glass and steel skyscrapers. Some of them were offices of the Canadian banks, and others housed oil companies such as Gulf, Shell, Exxon, and Texaco. Many of the people on the streets wore western-style clothing, and several of the men sported wide-brimmed cowboy hats. 
	Charlie laughed. "Bucking broncos! You'd think there was a rodeo in town." 
	"This city is the home of one of the world's largest rodeos," Rick told him. "The Calgary Stampede is an annual event each summer. People come from all over the world to see it." 
	The boys were impressed by the lively city, its air of prosperity and mixture of people, who seemed to represent every nationality. They soon arrived at the Hudson Bay store and spent the next hour and a half purchasing what they needed to replace their stolen belongings. 
	When they were finished, they arranged for the purchases to be delivered to the hotel, and then left the store and headed over to the North American Oil Company headquarters. 
	Rick checked his watch. "It's almost noon. I forgot about the time difference at home. It's a couple hours earlier here. Sally must be wondering why we haven't called yet." 
	"There should be a phone in this drugstore," Charlie said. Then he chuckled. "If you don't call Sally, she'll really be mad." 
	Rick grinned. "No kidding. I'm surprised she didn't stow away on the airplane and follow us here. She really wanted to come." 
	Charlie shrugged. "I hate to admit it, but I miss her." Then he quickly added, "But don't you tell her that!" 
	"Don't worry," Rick said, as they walked into the store. "She wouldn't believe me anyway." 
	He placed the long distance call to Sally's aunt's house in Cleveland where she and her mother were staying. After a few rings, the girl answered the phone. 
	"Hello, Sally. It's Rick." 
	"Rick!" she cried happily. "How are you? Did you have a good flight?" 
	"Everything went fine until we got to Calgary. Someone stole our gear at the airport." 
	Sally was dismayed by the news, and Rick told her the details of the theft. "But we just finished shopping," he concluded, "and everything's replaced. Did you notify the police that we saw the prowler at the airport?" 
	Sally's voice grew excited. "Rick, I saw the scar-faced man again when I was about to leave the terminal." 
	"You did? Did he see you?" 
	"No, I hid behind a pillar. He was going out to the parking lot and he was with a woman. She was wearing a heavy coat and had the hood pulled over her head, so I didn't get a good look at her face. They went outside and I followed. They climbed into a car and I got the license number and then called the police and InterTell." 
	"Good work," Rick praised. "It was probably a rental car, but maybe the police can track them down. He does have an accomplice with him then, and there may be others too." 
	He went on to tell Sally about Professor Dickens and the phone call the man had made from the hotel lobby. 
	Sally sounded worried. "You and Charlie better be careful. It sounds like that phony professor is part of some kind of scheme." 
	Rick agreed. "He's keeping his eye on us, that's for sure. But we can play the same game too. Charlie and I plan to follow him to his meeting this afternoon." 
	"Good," Sally said. "You might learn something important." Then she laughed. "And you'd better put a muzzle on Charlie to keep him quiet." 
	"I'll wire his jaw shut," Rick joked. "He has the worst habit of opening his mouth when he shouldn't." 
	After talking to Sally a little longer, Rick handed the phone to Charlie. He could tell by Charlie's half of the conversation that he and Sally were going at it as usual. When Charlie hung up the phone, he said, "So the scar-dude has a woman with him, huh? Seems like there's Ophirians all over the place. I wonder if any are left in Ophir!" 
	The boys left the drugstore and walked down the busy streets to the headquarters of the North American Oil Company. 
	"And just who are we going to visit here," Charlie asked, as they entered the lavish atrium-like lobby of the skyscraper. 
	"Let's start right at the top," Rick said, checking the roster that listed the offices and floor numbers. "We'll go directly to the president of the company." 
	Charlie found the listing. "Here it is. John J. Barringer, President and CEO. Room 6501. Yow! That must be up in the clouds." 
	"Pretty close, anyway," Rick agreed, as they walked over to a bank of express elevators. "I hope he's in. It's almost lunch time now." 
	"What you mean is, you hope we can get in to see him." Charlie shrugged his shoulders as they stepped into an empty elevator. He punched the button marked '65'. "The big man at the top doesn't normally see kids off the street, you know." 
	Rick grinned a confident smile. "This isn't the norm, bud. We're working for InterTell now." 
	Charlie considered that, and it really gave him a shot of confidence. After they got out at the 65th floor, they walked down the carpeted corridor until they reached the executive offices. 
	"Quiet way up here, eh?" Rick almost whispered, as he pushed open the door. 
	The boys walked into an outer office reception area. It was paneled in rich dark woods and furnished with luxurious contemporary pieces in strong bold colors. There were no visitors in the room nor was anyone at the reception desk. 
	Charlie looked around with a low whistle. "Not a bad pad. But where is everybody?" 
	A door, slightly ajar, led into the office beyond. A nameplate on the desk read 'Jane Withers', and next to it a small vase containing a yellow rosebud had fallen over. Water dripped from it onto the desk top. In a recessed work area behind the desk, a computer monitor showed a word processor document in progress, cursor blinking at the end of the text. 
	Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Someone seems to have left here in a hurry." 
	But he scarcely had gotten the words out when, from the inner office, they heard a stifled cry. 
	Rick tensed, motioning to Charlie to be quiet. He crept over to the door to the adjoining office and his eyes darkened intently as he peered through the crack. Suddenly, he flung up his foot and kicked open the door. 
	"What the blazes......" Charlie blurted, having crept up behind Rick. 
	The four people in the room before them had looked in amazement at the sound of the kicked-open door. 
	A distinquished-looking middle-aged man was seated behind a desk in front of a wall of windows overlooking the city of Calgary. Two armed men stood by his desk, guns leveled at him. One of them roughly held a young woman by her arm, and there was a look of terror in her eyes. 
	Both armed men were unshaven and wore heavy parkas, ski caps pulled low over their brows. 
	Suddenly, the tableau in front of the boys, which seemed frozen in time, sparked to life. The two armed men spun around, their guns aiming now at Rick and Charlie, and the young woman, struggling to get free, screamed. 
	"Watch out!" Rick cried. He flung himself at Charlie and both boys slammed to the floor. 
	The two guns flared orange fire and bullets screamed through the air! 


Chapter Five: THE BILLION DOLLAR RANSOM 

	Rick and Charlie pressed to the floor as the bullets roared overhead. 
	At the same moment, the man behind the desk lunged from his seat and leaped at the armed thug nearest him, knocking the man off his feet. The woman, struggling to free herself from the other man's grasp, kicked him hard behind the knees and clutched his chin, heaving backwards. With a startled cry, her abductor flipped into the air and crashed against the desk. His gun clattered to the floor. 
	Having jumped up, the boys charged into the room and pounced on the two men. Rick grappled with the one who still had his gun, and they fought for possession of it. He grabbed the man's hand that held the gun and banged it against the floor. His opponent growled angrily and squeezed the trigger. The gun fired with a roar and sent a bullet screaching into the wall of glass behind the desk and then ricocheting across the room. 
	Charlie was wrestling with the other man, who was bigger and more powerful. But he'd been stunned when his head whacked the desk, and Charlie soon had him pinned down. Mr. Barringer, who had knocked down the man fighting Rick, pressed the security alarm button under his desk and scrambled to pick up the fallen gun. He leveled it at Rick's opponent. 
	"Drop that gun! Right now!" 
	Rick felt the man's grasp loosen slightly. Wanting to make full use this opportunity, he smashed the guy's hand against the floor with all the force he could muster, and the man yelped, the gun rolling free onto the carpeting. Rick grabbed it, rolled over, and jumped to his feet. Just then, five security guards came bolting into the room, guns in hand. 
	"Don't harm the boys," the executive shouted. He pointed to the two men on the floor. "It's these fellows you want. They burst in here and threatened to abduct Miss Withers and me!" 
	Charlie loosened his hold on the man he'd been fighting and warily got to his feet. Two of the guards roughly pulled the man up. Muttering angrily, the thug who Rick had been fighting rose to his knees and was grabbed and hauled to his feet by two of the other guards. 
	"Don't get any fancy ideas," said the remaining guard, pointing his gun at the two men. "I won't hesitate to use this if I have to." 
	Charlie , hands on hips and fire in his eyes, glared at the two bearded men. "Are you dudes from Ophir?" he spat out. 
	The men glanced at each other, but said nothing. They looked back at the others with hard, cold eyes. 
	Rick watched them with a grim expression. "Did you steal our duffel bags from the airport?" he fired at them. 
	The men glared at him with stone faces. 
	"Not exactly chatterboxes, eh?" Charlie taunted them. "We know you did it. Your scar-faced friend called you from Lake City and put you up to it." 
	"Think you're smart, don't ya?" threw back the man Rick had fought with. "You're nothing but a couple of punk kids. Malone will get you. Don't think you're gonna outsmart him!" 
	"Chill out, you fool!" his partner snapped. "Can't you see they're trying to trick us?" 
	Rick grinned at Charlie. "Hey, Connors, you rule. I guess we learned our arch enemy's name is Malone." 
	Mr. Barringer looked from Rick to Charlie with a curious raise of his brow. "It seems that you boys know who these men are." 
	Rick nodded. "We sure do. These men are from Ophir, the secret underground city in the Yukon where your company sent that expedition last fall." 
	Mr. Barringer's brow arched even higher. He turned to the security guard who was covering the others with his gun and said, "Take these men to your office and call the police. When they arrive, send one up here so I can make a report." 
	"Yes, Sir." The guard motioned to the others to leave the room. Rick and Mr. Barringer handed them the guns, and the guards ushered the prisoners out of the office. 
	Mr. Barringer looked at his secretary with a wry smile. "Are you all right, Miss Withers? That was a frightful experience." 
	"I'm fine now, but I was scared to death a few minutes ago." She smiled gratefully at Rick and Charlie. "You guys certainly saved the day." 
	Mr. Barringer heartily agreed. "You can say that again." He looked at the glass wall behind the desk. "Good thing that glass is bullet-proof. A security measure. But it seems we need even more security here, doesn't it? Now, why don't you boys tell us who you are." 
	Rick and Charlie gladly introduced themselves, shaking hands with the executive and his secretary. 
	"That was a dynamite flip you gave that guy, Miss Withers," Charlie praised her. 
	"Thanks. I've been taking self-defense classes at my health spa, but I never dreamed I'd actually have to use it. Especially here at work!" 
	"And hopefully....never again!" Mr. Barringer chuckled softly as he checked his watch. "Miss Withers, I want to have a talk with Rick and Charlie. See to it that no one disturbs us except for the police. Afterwards, the four of us will go to the restaurant in the Calgary tower for lunch. We ought to have a little celebration after our recent ordeal. Does that fit into your schedule, boys?" 
	Rick would rather have gone back to the hotel to trail Professor Dickens to his rendevous, but he felt obliged to accept Mr. Barringer's invitation because he hoped to get further information from him about Ophir. 
	"That'll be fine," he replied. "Charlie and I had planned to visit the tower sometime today anyway." 
	Miss Withers then went back to the outer office and Mr. Barringer took his seat behind the desk. He motioned for the boys to be seated, and they made themselves comfortable in the leather chairs in front of the desk. 
	"You boys are apparently involved in some manner in the Ophir case," Mr. Barringer said. "What exactly do you know about it, and why have you come here to my office." 
	Rick spent the next few minutes relating the events that had brought him and Charlie to Calgary. He told Mr. Barringer about his father's mission to find the missing expedition, and everything else he knew about the case. He did not feel he was giving away any secrets, for he knew that Mr. Barringer himself was deeply involved. 
	The executive's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward. "It seems the Ophirians are out to stop you. But you still intend to continue your search for the underground city?" 
	"Yes," Rick quickly affirmed. "I intend to find my father and Professor Anderson. I just can't sit around when I know they're in danger." 
	Mr. Barringer sat back in his chair and looked thoughtfully at the boys. "Those two men intended to kidnap me. They rushed into the outer office, grabbed Miss Withers, and then barged in here. At the time, I had no idea who they were." 
	Charlie leaned forward. "What did they say?" 
	"That I was being taken as a hostage. I had no idea why. Then you boys showed up and there was no time for them to explain. Now that I know they're from Ophir, it makes sense." 
	Rick frowned. "But why do they want you as a hostage too? Just how many people do they intend to kidnap?" 
	The executive shrugged his shoulders. "They don't want us outsiders to get their gold and oil deposits, and it seems they are planning something to ensure that we don't." 
	"I'd like to know what," Charlie said. "This sure is mysterious." 
	Mr. Barringer nodded in agreement. "If the mineral deposits in Bonanza Valley are as extensive as Dan McGraw claims, tapping them would be vastly beneficial to both our countries. The way the Ophirians have been acting, I tend to believe McGraw's claims are accurate. We're up against some pretty hard-nosed criminals. Don't you think you should leave this case in the hands of InterTell?" 
	Charlie shook his head. "No way." 
	"Nothing could change our minds," Rick added. 
	Mr. Barringer drummed his fingers on his desk. Then he said, "Very well. I can see you are determined to go on with your search. To help you out, I can give you a copy of the map Dan McGraw made showing the route to Bonanza Valley and Ophir from Dawson." 
	Rick grinned with relief. "Excellent! I was hoping you'd say that. We should have no problem finding the valley with a map." 
	Charlie winked and made a thumbs-up sign at Rick as Mr. Barringer called Miss Withers on the intercom and instructed her to make a copy of the map. The secretary agreed and then announced that a policeman had arrived. Mr. Barringer told her to send the officer in. 
	A full report of the abduction attempt was given to the policeman by the executive, including the role Rick and Charlie had played in thwarting it. The boys were asked additional questions about the case, and they told the officer what they knew. He advised them to report to the RCMP headquarters in Dawson when they arrived, and inform the Mounties that they were going out to search for Ophir. 
	"They'll try to talk you out of it," the policeman said. He grinned knowingly at the boys. "I can tell they won't be successful. But at least they'll know where you're headed." 
	Rick agreed to check in with the Mounties and then the officer departed. Miss Withers came in and handed Mr. Barringer a folder containing a copy of the map. He, in turn, gave the folder to Rick. 
	Rick pulled the map out and looked at it. "Thanks a million. This is terrific." 
	His finger traced the route from Dawson, following along the Klondike River and through the mountains to Bonanza Valley. 
	"Looks like we're on our way," Charlie said, peering over Rick's shoulder. "This is just what we needed. Awesome!" 
	They were still discussing the Ophir case a half hour later when Mr. Barringer's private limousine dropped them off at the foot of the Calgary Tower. Miss Withers led the way through the lobby to the elevator and they rode up to the revolving restaurant at the top. A hostess led them through the elegant dining establishment to a table by the windows with a sweeping view of the city. As they dined in the air amidst the skyscapers, the boys learned many interesting facts about Calgary and its booming oil business. 
	"Our dynamic city is the home of over 400 oil and gas companies," Mr. Barringer told them. He smiled proudly. "Of course, the North American Oil Company is the largest and most influential corporation in town." 
	"And thanks to you boys," Miss Withers added, "its President is still with us today." 
	When they were finished eating, Rick excused himself. He went to the telephone and called Mrs. Ross to check on the airline reservations. She told him they were booked on the four o'clock flight to Dawson, and that the airport limousine would be leaving the hotel at three-fifteen. It was ten minutes after two. He and Charlie would have to get back to the hotel soon in order to pack their new gear in time to make the limousine trip. 
	He hurried back to the table. Halfway there, he had to step aside into an alcove leading to the rest rooms in order to make room for a waiter pushing the dessert cart. He grinned as he looked at the cart with all its delicious-looking cakes and pastries pass by, but his grin faded instantly when he heard a familiar voice talking in low tones at a corner table next to the alcove. 
	Rick couldn't see the speaker, but he was sure it was the man who called himself 'Professor Dickens'. He inched closer to the archway and listened intently. 
	"I see, " the professor was saying in such a low voice that Rick could barely hear. "All the mining operations in Ophir have been halted, and as soon as the ransom demands are met the prisoners will be released." 
	"That is correct," came a reply in soft tones. "The mining and sale of the gold can continue no longer now that the two governments are aware of it. Had we gotten the Raider boy as planned, it may have changed his father's mind about covering up the investigation. But the billion dollar ransom will make the break-up profitable for all of us." 
	"That's an extraordinary amount of money," Professor Dickens said. 
	"The two governments should have no problem raising it," his companion replied. "If they don't meet our demands, the prisoners will be executed and the Alaska pipeline will be blown up. Our men are headed there right now to the secret location." 
	Just then, several women who were returning from the rest room walked by Rick. They were chatting and laughing loudly, and he could not hear any more of the conversation between the professor and his companion. But he'd already heard enough. He walked along with the women out into the main part of the room, hoping they'd hide him from the professor's view. 
	Rick glanced quickly over his shoulder and saw that Professor Dickens was facing the windows. There was no chance he'd be seen except if the professor turned around. The man he was talking to was of a dark complexion, and he wore an expensive-looking suit and tie. 
	Rick couldn't believe his luck in stumbling upon the professor's rendezvous. At least something had gone in his favor! He hurried back to the table, glad he'd overheard the two men. Now he knew exactly what the Ophirians were up to. 
	When he told his friends the news, they were astounded. 
	"A billion dollar ransom!" Charlie exclaimed. "Gosh all Connecticut! They sure are asking for the max." 
	"At least we know the Ophirians' plan now," Mr. Barringer said, sitting back in his chair. "I can't tell you how glad I am that I wasn't kidnapped by the two men in the office." 
	Miss Withers looked at her boss. "You'd be part of the ransom demand. One of the prisoners. Me too! Do you think our governments will pay the money?" 
	"They'll have to," Rick answered. "Unless Charlie and I can free the prisoners first. If we can't, they'll be executed if the ransom isn't paid, and the pipeline will be blown up." 
	Charlie frowned with anger. "They'll never get away with it. That would be mass murder. And the pipeline cost millions of dollars to build!" 
	"Billions," Mr. Barringer corrected. "All the major oil companies invested in the building of the Alaska pipeline. The cost was over eight billion dollars." 
	Rick whistled. "Talk about mega bucks! But isn't the pipeline guarded by a security force?" 
	Mr. Barringer nodded. "It's protected by a very efficient one. But the pipeline is over 800 miles long, and every section of it can't be patrolled at all times." 
	"We've got to stop the Ophirians!" Charlie said emphatically. "Mr. Barringer, why don't you go take a look at the professor and his companion? They both probably have long criminal records, and you might be able to identify them from police mug shots." 
	"Good idea," the man said, and he rose from his seat. 
	Rick told him where the professor's table was, and the executive went in search of it. He returned a few minutes later, a grim expression clouding his handsome face. 
	"I've never seen that professor fellow before," he said, as he sat back down, "but I know who the other fellow is. His name is Abdul Landa. He's a very prominent businessman from Irapistan, a desert sheikdom on the Persian Gulf in the Middle East." 
	Rick found this bit of news very interesting. It helped to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit. "It all makes sense. He must be the contact who sells the black market gold to the Middle East countries for the Ophirians." 
	"And to think he's a respected businessman," Miss Withers said. "He's just using that as a cover to make his fortune in illegal gold." 
	Mr. Barrington checked his wrist watch. "I know you boys are in a hurry, so I'll notify InterTell about this myself when I get back to the office. And now we'd better get going so you'll have enough time to catch your flight to Dawson." 
	The executive's limousine was waiting at the entrance to the tower. After saying goodbye to him and Miss Withers, Rick and Charlie hurried next door to the Essex House Hotel. Several minutes later as they were packing their new belongings into the new duffel bags, there was knock on the door. 
	Mrs. Ross walked in after Rick opened it. 
	"The phone service has been restored," she said, "and I just talked to my brother. I told him about you boys. He's really excited that you want to join forces with him. And he insisted that you stay at his house while you're in Dawson." 
	"That's great," Rick said. "We won't have to bother with a motel. Sure there's enough room?" 
	Mrs. Ross readily nodded. "Stampede has a big house, one of the originals from the gold rush. There's plenty of room for all of us. Finish your packing now. We're to meet Professor Dickens in the lobby at three." 
	Rick looked away to hide his annoyance. The last person he wanted to see was the man who called himself 'Professor Dickens'. "He'll be on the same flight with us?" 
	"Yes, he asked me to make a reservation for him. He had to go to the public library to do some local research for his book. He says there was an overland route to the Klondike from here in Alberta during the gold rush, and he wanted to see what information they have about it." 
	"Yah right, research for his book, the dork," Charlie muttered, after Mrs. Ross had returned to her room. "Humphh! He was next door in the tower planning a mass murder! I guess the creep isn't going to let us out of his sight." 
	Rick strapped his new snowshoes around his duffel bag. "Either that or he's in a hurry himself to get back to Ophir. We'll just have to continue playing along with him. There's nothing else we can do. But let me tell you, I got the feeling we're in for some real excitement up there in the Yukon." 
	"Yes! I'm totally psyched!" Charlie beat his hands on his chest like a gorilla. "Let's make like King Kong heading for the Empire State Building. They think there was danger on the gold trail back in 1898? Man, they had it easy compared to what we're up against now!" 


Chapter Six: THE GIRL FROM OPHIR 

	"This is it," Rick said to Charlie, as the commuter jet shot up into the sky later that afternoon. "We're off for the Klondike!" 
	Charlie nodded. "Let's hope we strike gold," he whispered. "Ophirian gold!" 
	Rick glanced across the aisle at Professor Dickens. He was sitting next to Mrs. Ross and they were talking to each other as if they were old friends. 
	Charlie's eyes followed Rick's. "Mrs. Ross really seems to like him," he said in low tones. "She'd feel differently if she knew he's one of the people who kidnapped Debbie." 
	"You bet she would," Rick agreed. "But we can't tell her the truth now, not as long as he's traveling with us. I don't think she'd be able to play along with him. She'd want to strangle him. I know I do!" 
	"Ditto," Charlie muttered. "I'll be a real happy camper when that phony professor is behind bars." 
	Mrs. Ross turned to Rick and Charlie. "Are you boys excited?" she asked. 
	"You bet," Rick replied. "Now I know how the stampeders felt during the gold rush. I hope we find some serious adventure in the Yukon." 
	"I'm sure you will," the woman said, smiling conspiratorially. "Just be sure to dress properly outdoors. You may think you know what cold is, but the cold we have down in Ohio is nothing compared to what you're in store for." 
	"I understand the temperature sometimes drops to fifty degrees below zero at this time of year," Professor Dickens said. 
	Charlie shivered. "Man, that's what I call cold." 
	"It's sure going to be a shock when we get off the plane at Dawson into subzero temperatures," Rick agreed. 
	"Well, at least our trip there is any easy one," Professor Dickens said. "Not like during the gold rush when the stampeders came north. They had to climb over treacherous mountain passes on the Alaska-Yukon border and haul a ton of supplies each. The Canadian government wouldn't allow anyone to enter the Yukon unless they had enough supplies to last an entire year. When the spring thaw came, they had to build boats and sail 500 miles down the Yukon River until they reached Dawson City." 
	"Sounds like my kind of adventure," Charlie said. "Well, maybe a little too much work. But, jeez, all that gold just waiting to be discovered." 
	"But those who found the gold were few and far between," the professor went on. "Of the one hundred thousand adventurers who actually set out for the Yukon, only about twenty thousand panned for gold, and only four thousand actually found anything. The richest claims had already been staked by the time the great influx of stampeders reached the creekbeds along the Klondike River. And many of those who did make fortunes lost their money in the gambling halls of old Dawson City. There were several gold rush millionaires, but the number of those who left the Klondike with any riches is very low." 
	He went on to tell that a prospector named George Washington Carmack, along with two Indians named Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie, found the gold nugget that started it all while panning for gold at the junction of the Yukon and Klondike rivers on August 17, 1896. As the news of their strike spread, almost every prospector in Alaska and the Yukon hastened to the area and the settlement of Dawson City sprang up. 
	The news spread to the outside world, and by the winter of 1898 the gold-crazed hordes were crossing the Chilkoot and White passes from lower Alaska into the Yukon. They met on the shores of Lake Bennet, the headwaters of the Yukon River, to build their boats and await the spring thaw. When the ice broke up, they had a treacherous journey downriver to Dawson City, the fabled City of Gold. 
	"It was the last great adventure," concluded the professor. "The world has never again known anything like it." 
	"Shucks," Charlie laughed. "And we had to miss it!" 
	Rick was impressed with how well this man who called himself Professor Dickens knew the history of the gold rush. He wondered who the man really was. He seemed too intelligent to be involved in such illegal activities as the Ophirians were carrying out, but he knew that a lot of smart people were still dumb enough to resort to crime. 
	Rick looked out the window and frowned. The craziest part about it was that the professor was a very likeable man. Rick had to give him credit for putting on a good act. But he still wanted to strangle him! 
	Dusk came early as they flew into the northern climes, and soon the commuter jet landed in Whitehorse, Yukon, where some of the passengers got off. 
	"Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon," Mrs. Ross told the boys as they looked out the window at the snowbound city. "Its population is almost twenty thousand, and most of the people are employed by the mines in the area. It's also a popular tourist town because of its location on the Alaska highway. Thousands of people stop here each year on their way to and from the north country." 
	The jet soon took off again into the inky sky, and it was in the early evening when it landed at the small Dawson airport. Shocking cold hit the boys as they left the airplane, and they were glad they'd worn their new parkas instead of lighter jackets. 
	"Yow!" Charlie just had to grunt as they hurried across the airfield. "This cold beats it all to pieces, eh?" 
	"Totally," Rick agreed. "We'll really have to bundle up when we hit the trail." 
	Mrs. Ross was shivering. "This cold is just too much for me. But it sure keeps you on your toes!" 
	"If it doesn't freeze them first," Professor Dickens laughed. 
	"Hey there! Hello there!" cried a colorful-looking man who was hurrying up to them. 
	He was tall and wiry, dressed in boots and jeans, with a heavy parka covering almost all of him. Tufts of gray hair protruded from the hood of the parka. 
	"I knew that was you, Helen," he laughed as he reached them. "You're all bent over like that and hurrying to get out of the cold." 
	"Stampede! It's good to see you." Mrs. Ross hugged her brother eagerly, kissing him on the cheek. "I want you to meet my friends." 
	She introduced the boys and the professor to Stampede. The Yukoner was several years older than his sister, and he had the look about him of an aging mountain man. 
	"Always glad to meet folks from back Lake City way," he said, shaking hands with Rick and Charlie. "Welcome to the Yukon, boys." 
	"And you, too, professor," he added, shaking the man's hand. "What in tarnation brings a fellow like you up to this country in mid-winter?" 
	The professor told Stampede about his interest in the Yukon and that he was writing a book about the gold rush days. 
	Stampede chuckled. "So you've come up to see what it's really like, eh? Well, I'm the bugger who can tell you about it. Why don't you join us tonight? I'm planning to take Helen and the boys to a salmon bake at the town hall. There'll be slides of the gold rush days after the meal." 
	"Thanks, I'm sure I'll enjoy that very much," the professor agreed. 
	Charlie slipped an annoyed look at Rick as they entered the small terminal. "Seems we just can't get rid of the prof," he whispered. "Now he's going to be with us tonight, too." 
	Rick shrugged his broad shoulders. "At least we'll be able to keep an eye on him." 
	They collected their luggage and went back outside to Stampede's Jeep wagon. He'd left the motor running and, after they'd put the luggage in the back and climbed inside, Charlie asked, "Why'd you leave the motor running? Can't do that back in Lake City. Someone will steal the car." 
	"No car theft in these parts," Stampede said. "Everyone knows whose car is whose. And when the temperature is near thirty below like now, it's best to keep the motor running. It might not start up again if you turn it off." 
	"Goodness, look at all the snow," marveled Mrs. Ross, as Stampede pulled the wagon out onto the highway. 
	High banks of snow lined the road which ran alongside a river surrounded by towering mountains. 
	"We had a blizzard yesterday," Stampede told her. "It snowed so hard I thought it'd bury the whole town." 
	"The weather's clear now," Rick said, looking up at the black sky filled with bright stars and a moon that was almost full. "Is that the Klondike River, Stampede?" 
	"Sure is. She's all frozen up now, as you can see. Look at those mounds along the river. That's where the mining dredges dug it all up. Looks like a pack of snakes to me." 
	The large mounds did indeed look like slithering serpents as they twisted along the riverbank where some of the biggest gold strikes in history had been made. Soon the Klondike met the bigger Yukon River, frozen solid like the other, and the highway turned up along its bank. 
	"There she is," Stampede said proudly. "The City of Gold!" 
	Ahead of them, on the flats at the junction of the two rivers, lay a tiny town surrounded by the mountains. Lights twinkled from the buildings and smoke rose from the chimneys into the cold night air. 
	"This is really quite exciting," Professor Dickens said. "I've been wanting to come here for a long time." 
	"It's a totally different world up here," Charlie agreed. 
	"Awesome." Rick shook his head in disbelief. "This little town is so far away from the rest of civilization." 
	Mrs. Ross chuckled. "I can see you men are all experiencing 'The Call of the Wild'. As for me, the only exciting thing I can think of is a nice warm house!" 
	"We'll be home in a jiffy," Stampede told her. "And I'll get a fire going on the hearth as soon as we get inside." 
	He drove into town down the main street. There were several motels and restaurants among the government buildings and businesses, and a few buildings still standing from the old days. Rick saw the Palace Grand Theatre and a casino named Diamond-Toothed Gertie's, both buildings beautifully restored. People and dogs roamed up and down the wooden sidewalks in a leisurely manner, almost as if it was a sunny and warm summer afternoon. 
	Stampede stopped the wagon in front of the Golden Nugget Motel where Professor Dickens had booked a room. Arrangements were made to meet him later at the town hall, and then Rick and Charlie helped to carry his luggage into the motel. 
	"I'd like to know what he's carrying in that cue stick case," Charlie said on their way back out. 
	"So would I. You can bet your life it isn't a cue stick. Whoever that dude is, I'm sure he's not interested in playing pool." 
	"Maybe it's just part of his act," Charlie decided with a shrug of his shoulders. "A lot of intellectuals like to play that game." 
	The boys climbed back into the wagon and Stampede drove on. His house wasn't far from the center of town. It was an old-fashioned wood-frame dwelling that indeed looked like it had been built a hundred years ago during the gold rush days. 
	Rick asked him if that was so, and Stampede nodded. "Right, son. This old place belonged to Wildwater Bill, one of the first Klondike millionaires." 
	"Not bad," Charlie complimented as they got out of the wagon in the drive. The old Victorian house looked to be in perfect condition. "Did you restore it, Stampede?" 
	"Yep. From top to bottom. Keeps me busy since I retired from my job at the mines." 
	"And wait till you see the inside," Mrs. Ross teased, eagerly hurrying to the side door. 
	The boys carried the luggage inside while Stampede put the wagon in the garage. It seemed almost unbearably warm in the house after the subzero cold outside. 
	"You got a way cool pad," Charlie complimented Stampede when the oldtimer joined them inside. The interior was filled with antiques and almost everything looked at least a hundred years old. "All you need are price tags on all this stuff and you'd have a great antique shop." 
	The others all laughed and Rick added, "Looks like you did a lot of work to restore this house." He was impressed with the many fine furnishings the man had collected over the years. 
	Stampede grinned. "I got all the time in the world to do it. And an Indian woman comes in once a week to clean. That part I don't like much. She'll stay here with Helen while we're away looking for the lost expedition." 
	He showed the boys upstairs to their room, and Rick asked him what he knew about the Ophirians. 
	"I'm afraid I don't know a whole lot about them, boys. Only what I heard about them last year from Dan McGraw." 
	Stampede told them that he'd heard McGraw's story about being captured by the Ophirians in Bonanza Valley. But at the time, like everyone else in town, he hadn't believed it. 
	"Then Debbie stayed with me last fall before the expedition left," he went on. "She said she couldn't tell me what it was all about, but McGraw was back and he was going along with her and the others, so I figured the expedition had something to do with looking for Ophir. But I still thought they were crazy. The story about a secret society out there had been around since the gold rush days, and nobody ever really believed it." 
	"But when Helen told me that Debbie and the others were missing, I began to wonder if McGraw might have been right. So I decided to go look for this Bonanza Valley myself. If those Ophirians are really out there, and if they did kidnap Debbie, I intend to get her back!" 
	"They're out there, all right," Rick told him. He related what they knew about the Ophir case, omitting Professor Dickens' role in it. As long as they were going to be socializing with the professor, Rick thought it best that Stampede and his sister didn't know how the man was involved in the plot. 
	When Rick was finished, Stampede let out a low whistle. "So the motherlode is really out there, eh? And those Ophirians have been mining gold and smuggling it out of the country! Imagine that! And now they want a billion dollar ransom for the prisoners?" 
	"Right," Charlie nodded. "But don't tell Mrs. Ross about that. She'll be even more worried if she knows Debbie's life is being threatened if the ransom isn't paid." 
	"She won't hear about it from me," the oldtimer said. "No sense causing her more worry than she already has. You boys oughta be congratulated. You've done some fine detective work. Even got us a map right to Ophir. We'll have to look at it later tonight and make our plans for hittin' the trail." 
	Stampede went back downstairs and the boys unpacked and freshened up. When they joined him in the kitchen later, he took them outside to see his team of huskies who lived in a pen in the backyard. 
	"They're a great team," Rick complimented, as he and Charlie played with the yapping dogs. "Charlie and I often go dogsledding with a team of huskies owned by one of the farmers in our neighborhood." 
	"Good, you boys are experienced then," Stampede said. "I was thinking about using snowmobiles to look for Ophir, but there's places up in the mountains a machine can't go. Dogsled is still the best way to travel in this country in the winter." 
	A half hour later, the boys, along with Mrs. Ross and Stampede, walked down the road to the town hall to attend the evening social. Professor Dickens joined them as they entered the building. They sat down to a delicious meal of baked salmon and locally grown vegetables from last summer's gardens. Stampede told them that the salmon bake was a Dawson tradition, year round, and after the meal he introduced the boys and the professor to some of the local people. 
	The residents of the town were very friendly and Professor Dickens was soon telling them about the book he was writing. Rick and Charlie drifted off to a corner with a group of young people their own age who eagerly asked them dozens of questions about life on the 'outside'. 
	"Sure, we have teen rock n' roll clubs in Lake City," Rick said in response to one of the questions. "Charlie and I hang out at the Videodrome. There are screens on all the walls and the kids dance to the latest videos." 
	"That sounds totally cool," one of the girls enthused. 
	"Way cool," one of the guys agreed. "Don't have anything like that here. Just the soda shop next to the casino where there's a jukebox and some video games." 
	"Lake City is a big place compared to Dawson," Charlie told them. "And it's a college town, so the latest thing is always happening there." 
	Several times Rick had noticed a pretty girl who seemed to be all alone. She had been seated alone during the meal and now she stood by herself in a corner, watching the others as if she were not one of them. The clothes she wore were several years out of style and, by the way she was acting, it was apparent that she was very shy. 
	"Her name is Jenny," one of the guys told Rick, having noticed that he was eyeing the girl. "She sure is pretty, but she's not very friendly." 
	"You mean Jenny Malone?" one of the girls asked, looking her way. "She's new in town. Only been here a few weeks. She's pretty strange." 
	Rick was curious. "Why do you say that?" 
	The girl shrugged. "We've all been friendly to her, but she still keeps to herself. And no one knows where she came from." 
	One of the other girls giggled. "She probably came from somewhere out in the bush, she's so out-of-date. Maybe she's from the secret society in the mountains the old folks used to tell us about?" 
	"Aw, there isn't any lost city out there," one of the guys said. "That's just an old story they used to tell so they could scare us." 
	Rick and Charlie exchanged meaningful glances. They knew there really was a secret city out in the wild country, and it just could be that the strange girl had come from there. They were just about to walk over to her when it was announced that the slide show of the gold rush days was to begin. The lights were dimmed and the boys had no choice but to sit down with the other teens. 
	It was hard for Rick to pay attention to the slides. He couldn't get Jenny Malone off his mind. She might be related to the scar-faced thug Malone. The girl might really be from Ophir, and he sure wanted to talk to her! 
	The slides being shown were turn-of-the-century photographs from the gold rush era. The first few showed the stampeders climbing over the Chilkoot Pass from Alaska into the Yukon in the winter of 1898. The endless chain of men and women looked like a line of black ants against the white of the snow. There were slides showing the tent towns on the shores of Lake Bennet, the men whipsawing trees to build their boats, and the boats and rafts sailing down the wild Yukon River in the spring. Other slides showed old riverboats that traveled the Yukon in the old days, street scenes of Dawson City during its heyday, and some of the famous mines from which the precious gold had been taken. 
	When the show was finally over, Rick stood up and looked around for Jenny Malone. She was at the coat racks slipping into an old-fashioned fur parka. Rick hurried across the room. 
	Charlie was right behind him. "We've got to talk to that girl!" he said as they neared the coat racks. "Wouldn't it be something if she's from Ophir and related to that scar-faced dude Malone!" 
	Charlie realized too late that he had spoken too loudly. The girl had heard him and she gaped at him and Rick with a terrified expression. Then she spun around and ran to the door. 
	"Wait! Don't go!" Rick cried, as he and Charlie raced after her. 
	But Jenny Malone didn't look back. She pulled open the door and quickly slipped out into the subzero cold. 


Chapter Seven: A WARNING 

	"Rick!" Charlie cried. "You can't run outside like that, dude. You'll get frostbite." 
	"Oh...drat!" Rick muttered. His hand was on the door knob and he was just about to follow Jenny Malone outside. "I forgot we're almost at the North Pole. Come on, let's get our gear on and follow her." 
	They hurried back to the coat racks and pulled on their parkas, boots, and gloves. Then they were outside, running down the steps and looking in every direction for the fleeing girl. 
	"There she is!" Rick pointed down the road. Jenny Malone was hurrying to the business district in the center of town. 
	The boys ran after her. The temperature had dropped since their arrival in town and it was extremely cold. The snow creaked beneath their boots and there was an icy haze of frost particles suspended in the air. 
	"Talk about intense," Charlie said. "Holy Manitoba, I never knew it could be so cold!" 
	Rick shivered. "Cold isn't the word for it. There's got to be another. It's almost forty below zero! That's pretty extreme, but I guess we'll get used to it." 
	They were now close behind the Malone girl and Rick called out to her. She turned to look and then spun back around and began to run. When she reached the building next to Diamond-Toothed Gertie's casino, she jumped up onto the wooden sidewalk and pulled open the door and rushed inside. 
	"This must be the soda shop the kids at the salmon bake were talking about," Charlie said as he and Rick reached the building. 
	The sign above the door said NORTHERN DE-LIGHTS, and there were ice cream cones, sundaes, sodas, hot dogs, hamburgers, and steaming cups of coffee and espresso pictured around the lettering. 
	Rick pulled open the door. "Humphh! Ice cream! That's the last thing I'd want up here." 
	Charlie laughed. "You're telling me? But I sure could go for a burger and fries." 
	Rick shook his head. "You're unbelievable, Connors. We just got finished eating." 
	They walked into the shop, immediately feeling the warmth inside. There was a counter on one side where several customers were seated on stools, and empty tables spaced out on the floor. A hallway led to a back room. 
	"She must have gone back there," Rick said. "Let's go." 
	The boys walked past the counter to the hallway and into the back room. Along the walls were several of the latest video games, a ping pong table and a jukebox. A handful of young people were playing the video games and a top rock n' roll hit was loudly playing. Jenny Malone was standing by the back door talking animatedly to a tall rangy fellow who appeared to be in his early twenties. 
	She turned as Rick and Charlie crossed the room, and again a frightened look came to her face. She whispered something to her friend and then pushed open the door and ran outside. The young man bolted the door and then locked it with a key from a jangling key ring attached to his belt. He folded his arms across his chest and stood in front of the door, looking at Rick and Charlie with a grim expression. 
	"Uh oh," Charlie muttered. "Looks like trouble." 
	Rick frowned. It was apparent that the guy wasn't going to let them out the door to follow Jenny, and he felt an important clue might be lost if he couldn't talk to her. 
	"What do you guys want? Why are you chasing after Jenny?" 
	The fellow shifted his weight and leaned against the door frame. But there was only a slight indication of anger in his expression as he eyed Rick and Charlie curiously. 
	"We just want to talk to her," Rick said. "There's some questions I want to ask her." 
	The fellow's eyebrows arched. "Questions? About what? Jenny's my friend. I don't like strangers following her around." 
	Rick could see that Charlie was growing impatient. He grabbed Charlie's arm to restrain him from doing something he might later regret. 
	"Listen," Rick said, "we came up here from the States looking for friends of ours who are missing. We believe they're lost out in the mountains. We want to talk to Jenny about it." 
	The young man looked suspicious. "You're Americans?" 
	Rick nodded. "Yes, from Lake City." 
	"Come on into my office," the fellow said, motioning to a door across the room. "Let's talk about this in there." 
	Rick and Charlie followed him into a room that doubled as a storage room and office. He closed the doors and, moving a pile of papers aside, he sat down on top of the desk. 
	"My name's Brian Adams," he said, holding out his hand. 
	Rick and Charlie introduced themselves and shook hands with the young Yukoner. 
	"Have you been in town long?" Brian asked them. 
	"We just got here today," Charlie told him. "We're staying with Ted Wilson. You probably know him by the name of Stampede." 
	"Stampede? Well sure I know him. Everyone in Dawson does. How did you guys get to know Stampede? 
	"His niece is a friend of ours," Rick said. "She's one of the missing people we're looking for." 
	"You mean Debbie Ross?" Brian asked. "We all know Debbie. She hangs out around here in the summer when she's in town. The kids really like her. She keeps us up-to-date on what's happening 'outside'. In fact, she was around here this past fall for about a week, as I remember." 
	"Right," Rick affirmed. "She went out into the mountains with several other people, and they never returned. We're going to look for them with Stampede." 
	Brian nodded slowly. "Now I know you guys are on the level. But what makes you think Jenny can help you out?" 
	"We just talked to some kids at the salmon bake at town hall," Rick told him. "They said Jenny was new in town, and they seem to think she came from somewhere out in the mountains. If that's true, she might have seen or heard something about our missing friends." 
	"Could be," Brian said thoughtfully. "Jenny's pretty shy. The kids have all been nice to her but she doesn't socialize with them much. I know they've been kidding that she might've come from some secret city out in the wilds the oldtimers used to talk about." 
	"Do you know where she came from?" Charlie asked him. 
	Brian shook his head. "I haven't known her very long and she doesn't talk about her past. That story about the secret city is just an old legend, but there actually are people who live out in the bush, you know. Jenny could've been one of them." 
	"And if she is," Rick added, "she might be able to help us. Could you talk to her about it? It's really important that we get a chance to question her." 
	"Of course I will," Brian said, getting up from his desk. "And I'm sure Jenny will agree. You guys scared her, that's all. She asked me to tell you to leave her alone, but now that I know what's going on it's a different story. Those missing friends of yours have got to be found." 
	Brian said he would call Jenny and then get in touch with the boys later at Stampede's. Rick and Charlie thanked him for his help and then left the soda shop. 
	"Do you think Jenny will talk to us?" Charlie asked as they walked back to the town hall. 
	"I hope so. Did you see how frightened she got when she heard you mention Malone and Ophir?" 
	Charlie nodded. "Me and my big mouth!" 
	Rick laughed. "You said it, buster. One of these days I'm going to put a muzzle on you. Say, maybe Jenny ran away from Ophir and she's afraid they're looking for her." 
	Charlie grunted. "I don't blame her for being worried, if that's the case. Those Ophirians are rough customers, man." 
	"Right. Like having the devil himself every step behind you." 
	The boys arrived at the town hall and went back inside. Professor Dickens was standing right inside the door. 
	He eyed them curiously. "You boys certainly ran out of here in a hurry." 
	"Uh....it was getting stuffy in here," Charlie said quickly. "We wanted some fresh air." 
	The professor laughed. "I guess the air out there is the freshest you'll find anywhere, eh?" 
	Stampede and Mrs. Ross walked up to them. 
	"I see you boys have your coats on," Mrs. Ross said. "I'm ready to leave too. It's been a hectic day and I'd sure like to get home and relax." 
	She and her brother put on their coats and boots and rejoined them at the door. Much to the boys' chagrin, Stampede invited the professor over to dinner the following evening. It seemed to Rick and Charlie that they just couldn't get rid of the man! 
	"Thanks, I'd love to come," said the phony professor. "I think I'll stick around here a while longer and talk to more of the town folk. They really are an interesting group of people." 
	They bid him goodnight and left for home. A while later, they were all relaxing around the fire in Stampede's living room and looking over Dan McGraw's map of the route to Bonanza Valley. The boys had told Mrs. Ross that Mr. Barringer had given the map to them, but not about the attempt to kidnap him and add him to the list of hostages. 
	Stampede shook his head and grinned. "As I live and breathe! I've been out there near Bonanza Valley a dozen times or more. It's not far from the old ghost town of Ophir. I'd wondered if it'd be out that way." 
	"What's the skinny on this other Ophir?" Charlie asked. 
	"It was one of several small settlements here in the Klondike during the gold rush. Paris, Grand Forks, and Dominion were some of the others. But none of them ever grew to be as big as Dawson City was back in those days." Stampede frowned. "It's been a couple years since I've been out that way, but there still were a couple habitable cabins there, and the regular tumble-down shacks of a ghost town." 
	"I wonder if the present-day Ophirians in the hidden city are descendants of the ones from the gold rush days?" Mrs. Ross mused. 
	"Could be," said Stampede. "The location of the valley isn't too far from the old Ophir. Maybe some of the people moved into the caves after the gold rush. They may have been living there ever since." 
	Rick agreed. "That would explain the legend of the secret society." 
	"Well, good luck, fellows," said Mrs. Ross. "I hope you can find the underground city." 
	"That should be no problem." Rick traced the route with his finger for her to see. "The trail follows the Klondike River and then goes up into the mountains. Look here. McGraw calls this mountain pass 'The Devil's Horns'. You go through it and you're in Bonanza Valley. The entrance to the underground is on the western wall of the valley, hidden in a small box canyon." 
	Mrs. Ross shivered. "Oooh, this is all so spooky. Strange people living in a secret city hidden away from the rest of the world. And my daughter, and your father, Rick, and Sally's father and the others being held captive by them! It's uncanny. Gosh, I hope they're okay!" 
	"We'll find them, Mrs. Ross," Charlie tried to assure her. "Don't worry. We just have to!" 
	"I really do have confidence in you and Stampede," the woman went on. "It's just so scary. To think this could go on in today's world! The Yukon is such a mysterious land." 
	Stampede chuckled. "I could tell you some stories that make the one about the Ophirians seem like a nursery rhyme. The Klondike region is full of old superstitions and legends." 
	Charlie leaned forward. "Tell us one, Stampede. I like spooky stories. Especially around the fire on a cold winter night." 
	Stampede looked thoughtful. "Hmmmm. I guess I can tell you the old legend of the Snow Wolf." 
	"The Snow Wolf?" Rick repeated, settling back in his chair. "This sounds like it ought to be good." 
	"It's one of the best yarns I ever heard," Stampede said. He picked up his pipe and filled it. "And it's supposed to have happened right out there in the mountains by the old gold rush town of Ophir." 
	He lit his pipe and continued. "It was in the dead of winter, temperature near fifty below, when a young prospector was on his way back up to his cabin in the hills. He'd been at a saloon in Ophir and was following the trail along Ophir Creek when a savage blizzard blew in, covering the land. It was snowing so hard he couldn't see an arm's length in front of him. But he was determined to find his way back home, and he stumbled on for hours in the bitter cold and driving winds, trying to find his way along the ridges. He finally had to admit to himself that he was hopelessly lost." 
	"He must have been freezing to death," Charlie suggested. 
	Stampede nodded. "You bet your life he was. Some people have lost fingers and toes in that kind of cold, and others their lives. So this fellow did the only thing you can do to save yourself in a big snow. He dug himself into a snowdrift and settled down to wait out the storm. But the blizzard raged on and on and he was trapped there. Oh, he was warm enough, but he got the fever. And as he got worse and worse, he knew he was going to die." 
	"What happened to him?" Rick asked. 
	Stampede sucked on his pipe. "Suddenly, something was digging away at the drift he was buried in. It was a wolf, and a big one. It dug its way into the drift and, using its mighty jaws, pulled the young fellow out. The wolf dragged him along the ground until they reached a cave. There was a fire burning in the cave and the wolf left him laying next to it. Then the animal ran back out into the storm." 
	"The fellow was delirious with fever. The next thing he knew, a pretty girl was kneeling next to him, wiping his brow and feeding him some kind of hot drink. He kept losing consciousness, and then he'd come back to. Sometimes it was the girl he saw tending to him, and other times it was the wolf." 
	Charlie grinned. "Sweet! You can have the wolf, Rick. I'll take the girl." 
	Rick snorted with a laugh. "If you got saved like that, Connors, it wouldn't be by an animal as cool as a wolf. Most likely you'd get a baboon!" 
	The others all laughed and Rick went on, "Was it really a wolf? Or was it the girl all along, and he just thought it was a wolf?" 
	Stampede grinned. "Got you curious, eh? When the prospector finally came to in a normal state of mind, he found himself stretched out on a bed of furs next to the fire. The blizzard had ended and he could see the full mooon outside the caves's mouth. But there was no one at all there with him. No wolf. No girl. And there was no sign of anyone having been there. Not a trace." 
	"Did he ever find out who or what saved him?" Mrs. Ross asked. 
	Stampede shook his head. "Nope. The legend tells that it took him a couple days to find his way back down to Ophir. And afterwards, he tried several times to find that cave again, but he never did. Back in the old days it was said that every now and then someone would spot the Snow Wolf and the strange pretty girl up in those hills around Ophir. And it was always on a stormy winter night during the time of the full moon." 
	"Far out," Charlie said. "That's totally groovy. It must have been a girl, and in his fever the dude imagined she was a wolf." 
	Rick cast him a reproving look. "It's just an old legend, Charlie. It never really happened." 
	Charlie made a face at him. "Mr. Practical. You never want to believe anything unless you see it for yourself." 
	"Well, I agree with Rick," Mrs. Ross said, getting up from her chair. "It's just an old legend. Goodness, if just half the tales they tell about the Yukon were true, I'd be scared to death to come here." 
	She excused herself, saying she was tired and wanted to go to bed. Right after Mrs. Ross went to her room, the telephone rang. Stampede got up to answer it and, after talking with the caller for a minute, he called Rick to the phone. 
	"It's Brian Adams, the fellow from the soda shop." 
	Stampede looked curious as Rick took the phone. They hadn't told him yet about Jenny Malone and how they'd followed her to the soda shop. The oldtimer was wondering how the boys knew Brian. 
	"This is Rick. How are you, Brian?" 
	"Real good, buddy. I just finished talking with Jenny. She's still a bit leery about you guys, but I managed to convince her that you're on the level." 
	"Great. Is she willing to talk to us?" 
	"Sure thing. Jenny works at The Klondike Cafe. She said to stop by there tomorrow around ten o'clock. The place isn't too busy at that time and she'll be able to talk to you." 
	Rick looked relieved. "That's terrific, Brian. Thanks a lot. We owe you one." 
	After Rick hung up the phone, he told Charlie the news. 
	"All right!" Charlie whooped. "Brian's the man. He really came through." 
	Stampede had left the room to refill the mugs of hot chocolate they'd been drinking. He came back in and wanted to know what Charlie was so excited about. Accepting the fresh mug, Rick told him about Jenny Malone and that they suspected she might be from the secret city of Ophir. 
	"She is an odd one, all right," Stampede said. "A pretty girl, but not real friendly like most people in town. I've seen her at The Klondike Cafe. She's a waitress there. Maybe you'll get an important clue from her." 
	"I hope so," Rick said. "I have a strong feeling that Jenny Malone knows something about Ophir, and you can bet I'll........" 
	Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud splintering crash. A rock came hurtling through the front window directly at Rick. He ducked just in time and the rock whizzed overhead. It crashed into the wall with a booming thud and then clattered down to the floor. 
	"What the blazes!" cried Stampede. 
	Charlie jumped from his chair, but Rick had already rushed over and picked up the rock. Wrapped around it was a sheet of paper, fastened on by strong duct tape. 
	Charlie raced into the foyer to the front door and flung it open, but there was no one to be seen out on the street. Shivering from the rush of intense cold into the hall, he shut the door quickly and said, "Whoever threw that rock is history. There's no one to be seen out there." 
	Stampede was fuming. "By the time we got dressed to go out in that cold, the culprit would be clear across town anyway. Why in tarnation would anyone want to break my window?" 
	"Breaking the window wasn't the objective," Rick said. He had pulled the sheet of paper and tape off the rock. "It's a warning. Listen to this: 'Keep away from Ophir. This is the only warning you'll receive. Your lives are in grave danger if you continue your search'!" 


Chapter Eight: KIDNAPPED! 

	Rick didn't know if he should be angry or amused by the warning. "Somebody is threatening us with harm if we continue to search for Ophir," he said, handing the hastily scrawled note to Charlie. 
	"Dagnab it!" Stampede grunted. "But nobody knows we're planning on going there. Nobody but us and Helen." 
	"You're wrong. Malone and his gang know we're headed there," Rick told him. "He might be here in Dawson now, or one of his thugs could've sent this." 
	Charlie mouthed the words 'the professor' so that Stampede couldn't see it. Rick nodded. He'd been thinking the same thing. The man who called himself Professor Dickens could have sent the rock hurtling through the window. 
	Then Stampede began to chuckle in a menacing manner. "When I meet up with this Malone fellow, I'm going to wring his neck. If he and his lackeys think they can scare me away from getting Debbie back, well they're just dad-blamed fools!" 
	Charlie grinned. "Right on, Stampede. Now you're talkin'." 
	"Let's start getting our supplies together tomorrow," the oldtimer suggested, a fiery look in his eyes. "We should be able to get our outfit together and hit the trail in a couple days." 
	"That suits me to a tee," Rick agreed. "I can't get to Ophir fast enough, if you want to know the truth." 
	"Same goes for me," Charlie added. He crumbled up the note and threw it in the fire. "And that's what I think of threats! Those fruitcakes can all go boil their heads, for all I care." 
	Stampede frowned. "I hope none of them try to break in here while we're sleeping. I'd better bring in a couple of the dogs, just in case. Why don't you boys clean up that broken glass while I go get them? Then we can board up the window." 
	Rick and Charlie went to work, cleaning up the mess of shattered glass. A few minutes later, two of the huskies came bounding into the living room followed by Stampede. The dogs whined and howled excitedly, sniffed at everything, and jumped all over the boys. 
	"This is a real treat for them," Stampede said. "I seldom let the dogs in the house. If anyone tries to break in tonight, they'll sure get a surprise." 
	The huskies settled down in front of the fire and watched the dancing flames with cocked heads. Stampede and the boys boarded up the broken window with plywood fetched from the garage, and covered it snugly with a roll of insulation material. When done, they turned off the lights and went to their rooms. 
	"What a day!" Charlie exclaimed as they got into their beds. "All kinds of excitement going on." 
	"No foolin'," Rick agreed. "I bet it's the professor who sent that warning. I got a feeling he's out there right now watching the house." 
	"He or one of those other jerks," Charlie said. "Well, let them freeze their butts off. Not much they can do to us now. Don't you think we should tell Stampede about the phony professor?" 
	Rick shook his head. "Not yet. We'll tell him when we're out on the trail. It'd only cause more chaos if he knew about it now." 
	Charlie grunted in agreement. "I guess you're right. And now it's time for some serious sleep. I'm beat!" 
	The night passed without any further incident and at breakfast in the morning Rick told Mrs. Ross about Jenny Malone and their hopes that she might be able to tell them something about the missing expedition. 
	The woman looked hopeful. "If she's from Ophir, she might have seen Debbie there. Oh, I hope the girl is willing to talk to you about it, Rick." 
	"Don't worry," Charlie said dryly. "The girls always warm up to Rick. He's got that....uh....special touch." 
	"Why Charlie, I'd think the same to be true about you." Mrs. Ross winked at Rick and Stampede. "You're such a charming young man." 
	Charlie beamed. "Now you're talkin' serious, Mrs. Ross. In fact, maybe I'd better talk to Jenny, and Rick just listen!" 
	A half hour later the boys put on their outdoor clothes and left the house. Daylight had come, but it was a murky gray. The ice fog hung in the air as they walked through the town. 
	On the wooden sidewalk near the Northern De-Lights soda shop, they saw Professor Dickens walking toward them. He was carrying his slim leather case. 
	Charlie winced. "Oh brother! Here he comes again. And he's got that cue stick case. Don't tell me he's off to play pool?" 
	Rick snorted. "I seriously doubt that." 
	"Good morning, boys," the man said in cheery tones as he approached them. "Brisk weather, isn't it?" 
	"It sure is," Rick agreed. "I see you're heading to play some pool." 
	"Yes I am. I'm a great fan of the game. Do you boys play?" 
	Charlie nodded. "Rick has a table in his house, and we play a lot at the Student Union at school. We're pretty good too. But we didn't bring our cue sticks with us to Dawson. Can we see yours?" 
	"I'd rather not take it out of the case in this intense cold," the professor said. 
	"Where are you going to play?" Rick asked. 
	"I hope to find a table at Diamond-Toothed Gertie's. Did you know that until recently the casino was the only one in all of Canada where legalized gambling was permitted? Now they're sprouting up all over." 
	"Well, this isn't exactly Las Vegas," Rick said. "But the residents are lucky to have a casino right here in town." 
	"Dawson residents are a unique brand of people," the professor said. "It takes courage to live way up here, especially in the winter. The casino is an important part of their social life. We'll have to visit it some evening and see the show." 
	"Sounds like fun to me," Charlie said. 
	The man then excused himself, saying that he must hurry on. 
	Charlie's eyes followed him like daggers. "What do you make of that?" 
	Rick shrugged, pulling Charlie along with him. "Wouldn't we like to know? I don't have the slightest idea what he's up to, but you can bet it's not a game of pool. Let's see where he goes, but don't make yourself obvious." 
	The boys milled around the street as if they were looking in the shop windows, watching the professor surreptitiously. But he did go into the casino and the boys looked at each other with baffled expressions. 
	"The goon!" Charlie muttered. "He's probably the one who sent us the warning last night, and this morning he's got the nerve to ask us to go to the casino with him to see a floorshow!" 
	Rick started to laugh. "Don't have a cow over it. He sure is a strange one, though. And he puts on such a good act. Sometimes it's hard to believe he's really one of the Ophirians." 
	"But we know he is. And we're putting on a good act too. He doesn't know we're on to him." 
	The boys walked on to the RCMP station. They passed the modern motels, including the Golden Nugget where the professor was staying, the Klondike Cafe where Jenny Malone worked, some old buildings from the gold rush days, and a fast food restaurant. 
	"Hey, just like home," Charlie said, looking at the familiar arches. "Let's stop in for some burgers and fries." 
	"Later, man. We just ate breakfast. Your stomach must be a bottomless pit." 
	"I can't help it if I'm still hungry. It's all this fresh cold air." 
	"Yah, right," Rick gibed. "You're exactly the same in the middle of summer when there's a heat wave going on." 
	Charlie grinned. "Can't help it if hot air makes me hungry too!" 
	The boys entered the station of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The officer at the desk, dressed in the red and blue uniform of the Mounties, greeted them in a friendly manner and introduced himself as Sergeant Jennings. 
	"Americans, eh?" he said, after Rick and Charlie had introduced themselves. "What brings you boys up to Dawson?" 
	Rick briefly explained that they were looking for the missing expedition and asked if his father had come to the station when he was in Dawson. 
	"No, I'm sure Mr. Raider didn't stop by," Sergeant Jennings replied. "There's only Corporal Weston and I here, and neither of us talked to your dad. We're aware of the lost expedition but we haven't been able to find a trace of it. Don't you think you should leave this case up to InterTell? It's pretty dangerous going out to the mountains this time of the year." 
	Rick shook his head. "We're determined to go. Stampede's confident we can make it." 
	The Mountie shrugged. "Well, Stampede knows the Klondike, that's for sure. I'll file a report that the three of you will be out in the gold fields searching for the expedition. Just be careful, boys. That's dangerous country out there." 
	From the station the boys doubled back to the Klondike Cafe, a small diner next to the Palace Grand Theatre. It was exactly ten o'clock when they walked in and no one was in the place except for Jenny Malone. She was sitting at the cash register going over a pile of receipts. When she saw Rick and Charlie, she smiled shyly. They said hello and sat down at the counter. 
	Jenny got up from her stool and walked over to them. "Brian said you wanted to talk to me," she said in small voice. 
	Rick nodded and introduced himself and Charlie. "We're from Lake City down in the States," he added. "And we've come to the Yukon in search of the underground city of Ophir." 
	Jenny looked frightened. Her bottom lip began to quiver. "I heard you mention Ophir last night in the town hall. And the name 'Malone'. What do you know about.....about.....him? 
	Rick gave her a brief rundown about the lost expedition, his father's disappearance, and the prowler in Lake City. 
	"It's just a wild hunch," he concluded, "but when I learned your name was Malone, I thought you might be related to him." 
	Jenny shivered and looked out the windows to the street, as if she expected to see someone there. She looked back to the boys, her eyes welling up with tears. 
	Her voice trembled. "Jake Malone is my uncle. I lived with him and my Aunt Elvira in Calgary until a few years ago. Uncle Jake had been in prison for armed robbery, and one of the inmates knew about Ophir. He and some of the others were planning to escape from the prison and go to Ophir to start the illegal gold operations. Uncle Jake joined up with them and they managed to escape. Aunt Elvira and I went to Ophir a few months later to live there with him." 
	"You mean Malone and the others are all escaped convicts?" Charlie asked. 
	"Most of them. They probably fill every spot on Canada's 'Most Wanted' list." Jenny shivered again and went on: "When they first got to Ophir there were almost two hundred people living there. Some were descendants of the old gold rush stampeders who had lived in the old town of Ophir outside the valley down by the creek. Others were prospectors and dropouts from society who had been living out in the bush and happened upon the settlement." 
	"So your uncle and the others talked the Ophirians into going along with the gold operations?" Rick asked. 
	Jenny nodded. "Right. Those who didn't want any part of it were made prisoners and forced to do most of the labor in the mines. The convict whose idea the whole deal was had connections in one of the Middle East countries, and the gold was sold to them. It's smuggled out of the Yukon by runners and dogsled into Alaska, and then picked up by boat at locations on the Alaskan coast." 
	"Sheez!" Charlie shook his head. "Talk about international crime. Canada, the USA, the Middle East. That's pretty radical." 
	Rick nodded in agreement. "It's a heck of an operation. When did you come here to Dawson, Jenny?" 
	"Several weeks ago, before winter set in. I couldn't bear living in Ophir anymore. My aunt and uncle were impossible to live with. I was like a prisoner there. And almost always under ground!" 
	"How did you get away?" Charlie asked. 
	"I know a secret way out of the underground that even my uncle doesn't know about. My dog found it and we used to go out into the valley that way. The main entrance is always guarded. So I ran away and came to Dawson. It wasn't too bad a trip for me. I'm used to this land and the weather was warmer. I plan to stay here only long enough to earn money to return to Calgary. But I'm so afraid they'll find me! Others have escaped before, but they were always found and brought back." 
	"Do you know anything about the missing expedition?" Rick asked her. 
	Jenny nodded, wiping at the unshed tears in her eyes. "Yes, it was captured by a contingent of men who were leaving the valley with a shipment of gold. My uncle, who has become one of the leaders of the operations, said the expedition had come to find out about the gold and oil deposits. Ophir couldn't exist if the oil were taken away. There'd be no way to heat the underground during the long cold months." 
	Rick told her that the illegal gold operations had been discontinued and that a large ransom was being demanded for the release of the prisoners. 
	"We really need your help, Jenny," he added. "Can you tell us how to find the secret entrance into the underground?" 
	"But it's too dangerous for you to go to Ophir," the girl argued. "My uncle and his men will stop at nothing to get what they want. They won't have any mercy if you're captured." 
	"But we have to rescue our friends," Charlie insisted. "Nothing is going to stop us." 
	Rick leaned forward. "We have a map to guide us to Ophir," he said. "But it doesn't depict the passages of the underground. Do you know where the prisoners are being held?" 
	Jenny Malone sighed wearily. "I admire your courage and determination. But you really have no idea what you're getting yourselves into. I'll draw you a map of the entire underground, including the town, the secret passage out to the valley, and the prison area near the Caves of Fire where the captives are being held." 
	"The Caves of Fire?" Charlie repeated. "What in the world are they?" 
	"A labyrinth of caves surrounding the town that have pools of oil in them, like underground rivers. The oil is kept burning to heat Ophir." 
	"Sounds sort of like Dante's Inferno," Charlie mused. 
	"It sure was like living in Hell," Jenny said. "And I pray I never have to go back there!" 
	Rick gave her his best smile, hoping it might cheer her up some. "Your help will mean a lot to us, Jenny. Is there something we can do for you in return?' 
	Jenny shook her head. "No thanks. My only desire is to get to Calgary, far away from Ophir and the horrible life I led there." 
	Rick snapped his fingers. "I've got it! Jenny, I'm pretty sure there's a way we can help you out. Do you know a man by the name of Stampede?" 
	"Sure, he's a regular customer here at the cafe." 
	"We're staying at his house," Rick told her, and he wrote down the address for her on a paper napkin. "When you're finished making the map of Ophir, bring it over to Stampede's. In the meantime, I'm going to look into something. I've got a plan that might get you to Calgary tomorrow." 
	The girl was startled. "Tomorrow? But how? I haven't got enough money." 
	Rick smiled secretively. "I can't make any promises, but there's a good chance you'll be on your way." 
	Jenny looked at Charlie. "Is he on the level?" 
	Charlie shrugged. "He's James Bond Junior. What can I say? Who knows what he's got up his sleeve? But we do have some pretty hot connections in Calgary." 
	Jenny smiled, her eyes sparkling now. "Oh, that'd be wonderful. I'll keep my fingers crossed. And I'll be at Stampede's later this afternoon with the map." 
	"But please don't tell Brian about this," she added. "He doesn't know that I'm from Ophir, and I want to tell him about it myself. He's thinking about going down to Calgary after I move there. He has an uncle he can live with, and the company he works for will give him a store in the city to manage." 
	The boys got up to leave. "Don't worry," Rick assured her. "Mum's the word. Brian won't learn anything from us." 
	"Looks like a romance is brewing between Jenny and Brian," Charlie said, as he and Rick stepped outside. "What's your plan to get Jenny down to Calgary right away?" 
	"Just leave it to me. You'll find out soon enough." 
	"What's the big secret, dude? You can tell me." 
	"Right. And then everybody in town will know before I even get a chance to carry it off." 
	"Uh..., buddy. I don't know anybody in this town except just a few people." 
	Rick laughed. "Like that would stop you from spreading the news?" 
	"Oh, real cool." Charlie pretended to be insulted. "Now you've hurt my feelings." He eyed the fast food reataurant across the street. "Now I gotta have a burger and fries. It's the only thing that'll make me feel better." 
	Knowing that Charlie was bound to come up with some excuse to eat again, Rick led the way across the street to the familiar arches. He sipped on a cup of hot chocolate while Charlie ate his burger and fries and drank a thick shake. Before returning to Stampede's house, they stopped to see the log cabin where the famous author Jack London had lived during the gold rush. London had written several novels about the Yukon and both Rick and Charlie had read his calssic tale, THE CALL OF THE WILD. 
	Later that afternoon, as Charlie helped Stampede replace the broken living room window, Rick made a long distance phone call. When he was done, there was a big smile on his face. 
	"What are you grinning about?" Charlie wanted to know. 
	"I did it." Rick said. "My plan worked. Jenny Malone will be on a jet tomorrow to Calgary." 
	Mrs. Ross looked up from the magazine she was reading. "How did you manage to accomplish that?" 
	"I just talked to Mr. Barringer at the North American Oil Company in Calgary," Rick explained. "He's agreed to have the company pay for Jenny's fare to Calgary in exchange for the information she's going to give us about Ophir. The funds will be wired to the Bank of Commerce here in Dawson tomorrow morning. Jenny can leave on the afternoon flight. And Mr. Barringer is also going to see to it that Jenny gets a job in the employee's cafeteria - and a hefty advance so she can get settled in a nice place." 
	"Hey, that's all right," Charlie said. "Good work, Rick. I figured you had something like that in mind." 
	"It's a wonderful opportunity for the girl," Mrs. Ross agreed. "She'll be able to begin a new life." 
	"Far away from Ophir, too," Stampede added. "That's what counts." 
	The boys were anxious for Jenny to arrive so that they could tell her the good news. They finished fixing the broken window, and then sat down at the kitchen table with Stampede to make a list of supplies needed for the trail. 
	It was some time later when Rick looked at his watch. "It's getting late. Professor Dickens will be here soon. I wonder what happened to Jenny?" 
	Charlie looked worried. "I hope she didn't change her mind. We really need that map." 
	Just then, the telephone rang. Rick, being the closest to it, picked up the receiver and said hello. There was an excited voice at the other end. 
	"Rick, is that you?" 
	"Yes. Who is this? Brian?" 
	"Right. Listen, something terrible has happened. I just got here at Mrs. Grayson's house on North Street where Jenny rents a room. Mrs. Grayson is in a state of shock. And Jenny's gone! Two men broke in the house a few minutes ago and kidnapped her!" 


Chapter Nine: ON THE GOLD TRAIL 

	Rick Raider was dumbfounded. "What? Jenny's been kidnapped?" 
	"Yes," Brian affirmed. "I just called the Mounties. Sergeant Jennings should be here soon. Why don't you and Charlie come over here? You talked to Jenny this morning. Maybe she told you something that could give us a clue to what happened." 
	Rick knew exactly what happened, and the scenario raced through his mind as Brian gave him Mrs. Grayson's address. The Ophirians found Jenny and were now taking her back to Ophir! 
	Rick told Brian they'd be right over and he hung up the phone. "Bad news," he said to Charlie and Stampede. 
	"We heard." Charlie pushed back his chair and stood up. "Of all the rotten things to happen!" 
	Stampede made a growling sound. "It's got to be those Ophirians who did it." 
	Rick nodded gravely. "No doubt about that. Come on, Charlie. Let's get over there." 
	The boys arrived at Mrs. Grayson's house a few minutes later. The Mounties' wagon was parked outside, and when Brian let them in the house Sergeant Jennings was talking to Mrs. Grayson in the living room. 
	"It was awful," the elderly woman was saying. "Jenny had just put her coat on. She told me she was going down to Stampede's house. All of a sudden the front door flew open and two men came racing in here. They saw Jenny and grabbed her. She kept screaming, 'No, no, don't make me go back!' until one of them gagged her. Then they took her away." 
	"Do you have any idea who the men were?" Sergeant Jennings asked. 
	"No, none whatsoever," said Mrs. Grayson. "But Jenny seemed to know them and where they were going to take her. It was like a nightmare! And I was helpless to do anything about it." 
	"Did you see them get away?" Rick asked the woman. 
	"Yes, I hurried to the window after they went outside. They put Jenny into a beat-up old car and then took off. It wasn't more than a minute or two later that Brian stopped by, and he called the police." 
	Sergeant Jennings looked at Rick and Charlie. "Brian said you boys talked to Jenny this morning. Did she say anything that could shed some light on this situation?" 
	Rick nodded. He disliked giving the information because Jenny didn't want Brian to know about it yet, but he had no choice. The girl's life was in danger now. He told them that Jenny had escaped from a captive life in the secret city of Ophir, and that the men who had abducted her were undoubtedly members of the Ophirian community who had come to take her back. 
	Brian was outraged. "They can't keep her a prisoner. This is a free country!" 
	"Sure it is," Charlie agreed bitterly. "But tell that to the Ophirians!" 
	"You and Charlie are going to look for this place called Ophir?" Brian asked. 
	Rick nodded. "We're leaving the day after tomorrow with Stampede." 
	"Then I'm going with you," Brian said. Then he clenched his fists in frustration. "But I can't go. Damn it! I have to stay and run the shop. There's no one who could take it over and the company would fire me if I closed it up." 
	"Don't worry, Brian," Charlie said. "We'll find Jenny for you. I just wish we had the map she was going to make for us. It really would've been a big help." 
	"We'll just have to get along without it," Rick sighed. "She must have had it with her when those men abducted her. We'll never see it now." 
	The boys stayed a while longer, discussing the case with Sergeant Jennings as he filled out his report. The Mountie said that he would inform the headquarters in Whitehorse about the kidnapping, and that men would be sent to Dawson to investigate. 
	Brian left the house with Rick and Charlie. "Jeez, I wish there was a way I could go with you guys," he said. "I want to help find Jenny." 
	"But you can't chance losing your job," Rick told him. "Just stay here and keep your eyes open. Maybe they'll keep Jenny somewhere in town for a while before they take her back to Ophir." 
	"Right," Charlie agreed. "We don't know for sure if .........hey, what's this?" 
	They had just stepped out onto the road and Charlie stooped down. He picked something up from the snow. 
	"Look, an envelope. It's sealed but not addressed. Someone must've dropped it here accidentally." 
	"Let me see that." Rick said. 
	Charlie handed him the envelope. After looking at it for a moment, Rick pulled off his gloves and ripped it open. He unfolded the sheet of paper that had been inside. 
	"I was hoping it'd be this," he said, with a sigh of relief. "It's the map Jenny made of the Ophirian underground." 
	Charlie and Brian crowded around him to look at the map. It depicted the mountains and a maze of underground caverns and passages. 
	"Yo, Jenny!" Charlie couldn't help shouting. "She's the bomb! Look, it shows the secret passage out to the valley. That's the route we'll take into the underground." 
	"Jenny must have dropped it here when the kidnappers put her in the car," Brian suggested. "That was some quick thinking on her part." 
	"It sure was," Rick agreed. "She figured someone would find it here, and I'm sure glad it was us. Now we'll be able to sneak into Ophir." 
	Charlie grinned. "It's looking good, fellows. Jenny left us an important clue. We sure need it to rescue her and the others." 
	Brian , too, was hopeful. "If they took Jenny back to Ophir, I know you two guys will find her. In the meantime, I'm going to turn all of Dawson upside down looking for her here!" 
	Professor Dickens had just arrived when Rick and Charlie got back to Stampede's. Rick decided to wait until later to tell Mrs. Ross and her brother about the kidnapping, and by mutual understanding nothing was said about it while the professor was there. The boys were finding it harder and harder to be civil to the man. It was halfway through the delicious meal of caribou steaks, potatoes, and wild rice, when Charlie winked at Rick and addressed the professor. 
	"Say, how was your pool game this morning?" 
	"Quite enjoyable, Charlie. I found a table at the casino and a friendly fellow to play with." Professor Dickens grinned, adding, "Although, he did call me a cheechako." 
	Stampede chuckeled. "Well, you sure are one. It'll be some time before you're an old sourdough like me." 
	Charlie frowned, annoyed because he couldn't trip up the professor and because he didn't know what they were now talking about. "Cheechako? Sourdough? What's the story, man?" 
	Rick chuckled and then explained. "A cheechako is a newcomer to the North, a tenderfoot. Like you and me, Charlie. A sourdough is someone who's been here a while, like Stampede." 
	Charlie rolled his eyes. "Nothing uncool about being a cheechako then. I can't help it if I'm a newcomer. How long do you have to stick around to become a sourdough?" 
	"Until you've seen the seasons go round," Stampede told him. 
	"Right you are," agreed the professor. 
	"How long are you going to stay, Professor Dickens?" Mrs. Ross asked. 
	"I'm afraid not long enough to become a sourdough," he laughed. "But I'd certainly like to. I'll be staying in Dawson a few more days to do my research and absorb the local color. Then I plan to hire a guide and go out to the gold fields. Would you fellows like to join me?" 
	"Not me," Stampede shook his head, feeling it best not to let anyone know their intentions. "I'm getting too old for the winter trail. I plan to take the boys out on the dogsled for a bit, but that's enough." 
	"What about you boys?" the professor asked. 
	Rick didn't like the way he was fishing for information, and he followed Stampede's lead. "It sounds exciting, but we'll be satisfied with a few runs on the dogsled and the other local activities. This weather is pretty severe. I'm not keen on going too far in it." 
	The professor shrugged. "To tell the truth, neither am I. But I've got to see the gold fields firsthand, so I'm willing to take the chance." 
	Later, when Professor Dickens returned to his motel, Rick told Stampede and Mrs. Ross about Jenny Malone. They were both shocked to hear about the manner in which she'd been abducted. 
	"But we still got the map she made for us," Charlie added, telling how he had found it in front of Mrs. Grayson's house. 
	Rick showed the map to Stampede. 
	The oldtimer shook his head. "Look at all those caves! It isn't natural for people to be living underground. It's going to be some hootin' experience seeing Ophir." 
	"Hootin' tootin'," Charlie agreed. "And when we're finished there, they'll have to close the place down!" 
	In the morning the boys and Stampede began their preparations in earnest. They shopped at the outfitters for supplies, and at the grocer's for canned goods, freeze-dried foods, and dog food for the huskies. Rick called Mr. Barringer in Calgary and told him that Jenny had been kidnapped. The executive told him to pick up the funds at the bank anyway and keep the money for Jenny in hope that she'd soon be rescued. He said he had informed InterTell about the threat to the Alaska pipeline and that they'd look into it. He wished them good luck on their search. 
	Later, they packed the supplies and got the sled and harnesses ready for travel. When the work was all done, Rick placed a long distance call to Aunt Bea at Charlie's house in Lake City. 
	"Rick Raider! It's about time you called me!!" 
	Rick grinned at the familiar voice. "I've only been gone a couple days, Aunty. Do you miss me?" 
	"Of course I miss you! Tell me about your trip. What have you and Charlie been doing?" 
	Rick told her about the trip to Calgary and Dawson, and about meeting Mrs. Ross and Stampede. But he didn't tell her about the strange developments of the Ophir case since he and Charlie had left home. He didn't want her to worry any more than she already was. 
	"Tomorrow morning we're hitting the trail for Ophir," he said in conclusion. "Stampede knows the Klondike really well. He's lived up here most of his life. So we stand a good chance of finding the secret city and rescuing the captives." 
	"Oh, I hope so," Aunt Bea sighed. "Now, you and Charlie be careful. And dress right for that cold weather. Gosh, I can't believe it's forty below zero there!" 
	Rick shook his head at the constant parenting of his worrisome aunt. "Yes, Aunty dear. We'll be careful. And, believe me, you have no choice but to dress properly for this cold up here. Can you call Sally and tell her that everything is under control?" 
	"Sally went skiing for the weekend up in Michigan," Aunt Bea told him. "She drove up there yesterday to meet her sorority sisters at a lodge. She stopped here at the farm before she left to tell me you called her the day before. But I'll call her aunt's house and tell Mrs. Anderson you called again, in case Sally checks in with her." 
	Rick was glad Sally had gone away. "Maybe she'll be able to get this matter off her mind and have some fun," he told his aunt. "It hasn't been easy for her." 
	"Nor for any of us," Aunt Bea returned. "Good luck, Rick. I'm rooting for you and Charlie all the way." 
	After hanging up, Rick decided he and Charlie should check out the trail behind town that led up to Midnight Dome, where there was a spectacular view of the town and the two rivers. They got ready for outdoors and told Mrs. Ross and Stampede that they'd be back in time for dinner. 
	After fastening on their snowshoes, they hiked through town and passed the old shacks and cabins on the sloped outskirts in the early afternoon darkness. They found the trail easy enough and climbed up to the mountain top in the intense cold, warming up a bit in their heavy parkas from the exertions. They were breathing hard when they reached the summit, but the climb was well worth it. The little town lay below them, its lights twinkling. The two frozen rivers converged at its southern edge. 
	"Some view, isn't it?" Rick said admiringly, looking at the majestic mountains surrounding them. 
	"Ultra," Charlie agreed. "Totally ultra. Just look at those rivers. I bet it's really something to see them thaw out in the spring." 
	Rick nodded. "During the gold rush, people used to place bets in the gambling halls as to the exact time the ice would break and the rivers begin to flow again. When it came near the time, everyone would be out on Front Street waiting to see the break-up. And whoever picked the exact time would win the pot." 
	"It'd be cool to have been here back in those days." Charlie pointed up to the star-filled sky. "Look, the moon's almost full. That's when the Snow Wolf makes the scene. Maybe we'll see it out in the wilds." 
	Rick looked grim. "You can have the wolf. There's two pretty girls out there I'd rather see - Jenny Malone and Debbie Ross." 
	"We'll see them all right," Charlie said pointedly. Then he laughed. "Hey, maybe I'll tell Sally you said that. You get some miles between the two of you and already you're looking to see other girls." 
	Rick pushed at Charlie's arm in jest. "And what a sight for sore eyes they'd be, dude, after seeing you day in and day out! Besides, Sally will be snug in the ski lodge in Michigan having fun while we're up here in the Arctic freezing our butts off." 
	"And Stampede said it's supposed to get even colder overnight. Down to fifty below." Charlie grimaced. "Yikes! That's maxing it out bottom-style." 
	On their way back, the boys stopped to look at some of the tumble-down shacks and cabins on the sloping edge of town. Some were relics from the gold rush days. A few had been renovated and people were living in them. Oil lamps glowed inside the windows and smoke curled from the chimneys. 
	"Talk about roughing it," Charlie said as they passed one of the inhabited cabins. "Spending the winter in one of these pads would really be an experience." 
	"Tell me about it. But it's probably warm and cozy inside them. Hey....!" 
	Rick grabbed Charlie roughly and pulled him behind the cabin. 
	"Yow!" Charlie spluttered. "What's going on?" 
	"Look!" Rick pointed down the slope. 
	About sixty feet further down was another old log cabin.There was no light inside but smoke curled lazily up from the chimney. Behind the cabin was a pen filled with a team of huskies, and next to it two long dogsleds. Far below it, at the end of the road, an old car was parked. Climbing up the hill toward the cabin were four people dressed in parkas and boots. 
	"What are you so excited about?" Charlie wanted to know. "It's just some people returning to their cabin." 
	"Look at that man in front," Rick said. 
	Charlie peered down the slope that led to the flats along the river. A moment later he let out a low whistle. "I'll eat my shorts if that don't look like Jake Malone." 
	"It sure could be him." Rick peered ahead with squinting eyes. But he couldn't really make out the man's face in the darkness, just his shaggy beard. "Jeez! A lot of the guys up here look like that." 
	The people were talking, and as they got closer to the dark cabin the boys could hear what was being said. 
	"I'm so glad to be back in the Yukon," they heard the bearded man saying. His voice carried far and clear now in the stillness of the night. "Home sweet home! Eh, Elvira?" 
	"Elvira!" Charlie hissed. "That's Jenny's aunt's name. Malone's wife! That's gotta be him then." 
	"It sure is, hon," they heard a woman reply. It was the person next to him. Then suddenly she sneezed. "I hope I'm not getting a cold! Too many germs down there in the States." 
	"It's them, all right," Rick whispered, holding back Charlie who wanted to run right down there. "Just chill out, man. We can't go down there. They might be armed." 
	Charlie growled and tried to break free. "Let me go. I'll flatten those suckers!" 
	Rick snickered. "Yah, right. There's three guys down there, probably with guns. At least they look like guys from here. And that woman's probably tough as nails too. They'll destroy us and then we won't be able to go to Ophir." 
	Charlie let out a long breath. "Why are you always so sensible, dude? Look, there's smoke coming from that cabin's chimney. Maybe Jenny's in there. That old car down the road could be the one they took her away in. We gotta get her!" 
	Rick strengthened his grip on Charlie. "Shhh! There might be others inside. Let them go into the cabin. Then we'll hurry back to Stampede's and call the Mounties." 
	Charlie made angry noises to himself as Jake Malone and the others entered the log cabin. A lamp was lit inside. 
	"If only we could look through the windows," Charlie snapped. 
	"Not with those huskies down there." Rick pointed to the penned dogs. "They'll bark up a storm if they get wind of us." 
	"This is the pits!" Charlie seethed. "How come the Hardy Boys never have these problems? They can always look in windows and eavesdrop. Must not be any dogs around Bayport!" 
	Rick let go his hold on Charlie. "This ain't Bayport, bud. Frank and Joe usually had things a little too contrived in their favor. That's one of the benefits of fiction." 
	"Humphh! I like contrived," returned Charlie, as they stole behind the cabin, away from the one Malone had entered. "They got to slug out all those crooks and that's what I'm aiming to do to that scar-faced dude!" 
	The boys hurried down the slope, trying to stay as far away from the penned dogs as possible. Soon they were back on the flats hurrying to Stampede's house. As soon as they burst in the back door, Rick called the RCMP station and Corporal Weston answered the phone. Breathing hard from the run in the cold, Rick told him what they had seen out at the old log cabin. The Mountie said that he and Sergeant Jennings would check it out immediately. 
	The boys wanted to go back out and be on hand when the police arrived at the old cabin, but Rick decided against it at Stampede's urging. They shouldn't take any chances that might thwart in any way the start of their search in the morning. Mrs. Ross agreed that the Mounted Police did not need Rick and Charlie's help. 
	Later, just as they were finishing their dinner, the telephone rang. Rick jumped up to answer it, and it was Corporal Weston calling back. 
	"We went out to the old cabin," he told Rick. "The car was at the end of the road but the cabin was deserted. No one was there. The dogs and sleds were gone, fresh tracks in the snow leading away. Looks like they cut out for the hills. We'll have to wait for the contingent to arrive from Whitehorse to look into this further, since neither Sergeant Jennings nor I can leave town to follow them." 
	"So, Malone gave us the slip again," Charlie said, after Rick had told them the news. "Darn! He might have had Jenny with him. Sure didn't wait long to head out for Ophir." 
	"Well, we'll be on the way ourselves first thing in the morning," Stampede said. "And then the sparks'll fly when we meet up with those hoodlums!" 
	As soon as the dishes were done and the kitchen cleaned up, the boys and Stampede went to bed. When Rick woke Charlie up in the morning, the Connors boy groaned. 
	"Give me a break, dude! I need more sleep. It's the crack of dawn." 
	Rick threw a pillow at him. "Dawn won't crack for hours yet. It comes late up here. Come on, it's time to hit the trail." 
	Chakwanna, the Indian woman who was going to stay with Mrs. Ross and help watch the house, arrived after breakfast. Soon the supplies had been loaded on the sled, the dogs harnessed, and all was ready for the journey to begin. They said goodbye to Mrs. Ross and Chakwanna and, with Stampede in back of the sled, the boys ran alongside it through the dark streets of Dawson. 
	Charlie laughed as they reached the edge of town. "This is too cool. I feel like I could run forever." 
	Stampede grunted. "Good. You have to keep moving. It's fifty below and you could freeze up like stone if it gets much colder and you stop for too long." 
	The bitter cold was intense, and the frost particles hung in the air like fog. Every now and then Stampede would crack his long whip in the air above the dogs and shout 'mush!'. All three of them wore ski masks to protect their faces from frostbite, and warm sealskin mittens to keep their fingers from freezing. They reached the junction of the Yukon and Klondike rivers and turned east, following the highway that ran along the Klondike toward the airport. The serpentine dredging mounds were across from them as they stopped to put on their snowshoes, for the snow was deep in the fields. Then they soon passed the airport. 
	"Wahoo!" Charlie whooped. "We're on our way!" 
	Rick was excited too. "You bet. Gold trail, here we come!" 
	They soon approached more of the high snake-like mounds left by the mining dredges, these on their side of the river. The piles twisted and turned as far as could be seen, a giant maze of snowy corridors. 
	"Someone could get lost in those things," Charlie said. 
	"Could happen," Stampede agreed. "Those piles go on for about ten miles or so. But we've got nothing to worry about, boys. I know just where I'm goin'." 
	They reached the mounds and Stampede drove the dogs around them toward the mountains. The boys looked up at the twisting piles with fascination. They had never seen anything like them before. 
	"This is right where some of the biggest strikes were made," Stampede told them. "Millions of dollars in gold was taken right from these here....." 
	Just then, the morning stillness was shattered by a series of quick loud reports. 
	Rick flinched at the zing of bullets over his head. 
	"Freakin' Minnesota!" Charlie cried. "Somebody's shooting at us!" 
	His heart thudding, Rick flung himself around, pointing to the mounds. "Quick! Let's get in there for cover. We're being ambushed!" 


Chapter Ten: LOST IN THE SNOW MAZE 

	"Mush! Mush!" Stampede growled, cracking his whip at the dogs to guide them into one of the gullies formed by the serpentine mounds. "Confound it! Must be a dad-blamed fool to be shooting at us like that!" 
	The boys followed right on his heels, and Rick moved ahead grabbing the lead dog's harness and pulling the beast into the maze. 
	"Not again! What the heck is goin' on!" Charlie exploded , as another series of loud reports echoed in the air. Bullets screamed over their heads and thwoomped into the sides of the snowy mounds. 
	"Can you see who's shooting?" Stampede wanted to know, as they finally got the dogs into the gully. 
	Charlie craned his neck looking around at the crests of the high swirling mounds. "No! These piles are like a miniature mountain range. The culprit can be hiding anywhere in here." 
	"One of you boys take the sled," Stampede ordered. "I'll get my rifle!" 
	"I got it." Charlie took hold of the sled as Stampede pulled off his rifle from a pack of supplies he'd strapped it to. With the narrowness of the chasm, the frightened dogs tugging and pulling, and their snowshoes getting in the way, the trio was having a hard time just staying afoot. 
	"Slow the dogs down," Stampede snapped, as he swung the rifle in the air. "Darned narrow gully is treacherous!" 
	He trained the rifle's muzzle on the crests of the mounds surrounding them. "Where is that varmit?" he barked. 
	"I can't see anyone," Rick shouted back. "It's too dark and there's too many places to hide. But whoever it is sure can see us!" 
	Once again the loud reports of bullets ripped through the morning quiet. Rick and Stampede dropped down, and Charlie cried out as the terrified dogs sped off down the narrow chasm, the sled careening wildly. 
	"Whoa! Whoa!" boomed Charlie, flailing wildly as he tried to hold on, his cries echoing in the crevice. 
	Rick stooped in the deep drifted snow. "Fire a couple shots, Stampede. Let him know we're armed too." 
	Stampede aimed up high and fired. The rifle shots echoed wildly. Rick glanced down the gully after Charlie, but he and the sled and dogs had disappeared around a bend and couldn't be seen. Rick looked up to the crests, waiting for their unseen assailant to fire again. Not a sound could be heard other than his and Stampede's heavy breathing. 
	"Danged no good so-and-so," Stampede muttered a minute later. "Guess he stopped shootin'." 
	Rick nodded. "You scared him off. He must've thought we weren't armed." 
	"Gotta be one of those Ophir thugs," Stampede growled, as he and Rick stood up. "Nobody else would shoot at us. I've been roaming this land all my life and never had to use my rifle except to shoot game." 
	Rick started down the gully. "We'd better go after Charlie. I hope he got the dogs under control." 
	They hurried around the bend but Charlie and the dogs were nowhere in sight. Up ahead, the gully turned again, and all around them the twisting mounds reached up to the bleak gray sky. 
	Rick cupped his hands around his mouth. "Duuuude! Where are you?" 
	"Over here!" came the reply from the other side of the bend. 
	Rick and Stampede rushed on. Rounding the turn, they saw that the sled had flipped over and Charlie was struggling to right it. The dogs were yapping and pulling at their tangled harnesses. 
	"Whew! That was some ride," Charlie huffed. "These huskies went wild. Took that bend at a hundred miles an hour, dragging me most of the way. Then - splat! - we flipped right over. I'm surprised I didn't break an ankle in these snowshoes." 
	"No kidding," Rick said. "Stampede, why are the dogs so gun shy?" 
	"My hunting days were over years ago, Rick. This batch of dogs never went with me after game. Why gun train them? These are civilized times. No one gets shot at these days on the winter trail." 
	"Right. Except us." Rick's voice was hoarse with frustration. "Someone sure is trying to scare us off from going to Ophir." 
	Charlie punched one hand with the other. "Gotta be the professor, darn him! He was probably watching the house the last two days and saw us getting ready to leave. He...." 
	"What the hay are you talking about?" Stampede interrupted. "Why in tarnation would the professor follow us? And shoot at us?" 
	Charlie looked at Rick, and Rick shrugged. 
	"There goes that mouth of yours again," Rick said. "But I guess we'd better tell him." 
	Stampede looked from one boy to the other. "Tell me what? C'mon, spit it out, fellas." 
	"Professor Dickens is in with the Ophir gang," Rick told him. He went on to explain the role the phony professor had played in the case. 
	Stampede had stiffened as though he'd been struck. "And you boys didn't tell me until now?" 
	"We figured you'd be like to kill him," Charlie replied. "We couldn't let you know about it with him being on top of us all the time." 
	Stampede managed a tight-lipped smile. "You boys got me pegged right. I would've wrung that phony baloney's neck! It's best I didn't know. But I'm sure hankerin' to get my hands on him now." 
	"Good! And I want to see it when you do," Charlie spouted. 
	"Maybe he'll leave us alone now," Rick said hopefully, as he helped Charlie set the sled back on its runners. "Whoever it was now knows that we're armed too." 
	Charlie nodded. "Right. But we still have to be really careful. We can be ambushed again at any time." 
	They untangled the agitated dogs from the harnesses and refastened the bundles of supplies that had loosened in the spill. 
	"Should we go back out to the fields or stay here in the mounds?" Charlie asked when they were ready to move on again. 
	Stampede scratched his chin. "I reckon we ought to stay in the cover of the mounds for a while at least. What do you think, Rick?" 
	"Sounds like a good idea to me. Do you know the way through them?" 
	"I've never been through them before. Always go around. But they follow the river in the same direction we're going." 
	"Then we'll stay in them," Rick decided. "Come on, let's get going." 
	They pushed on down the snowy chasm. Stampede guided the sled once again, and Rick and Charlie led the way to break the trail by packing down the snow with their snowshoes. Stampede told the boys that the Klondike River valley, and those of many of its tributary creeks, were choked with the mountainous snake-like mounds. 
	"All the gravel was churned up by the big dredges that mined the creek beds after the days of the individual prospector with his mineshafts and sluiceboxes were over," he said. 
	"Is gold still mined around here?" Charlie wanted to know. 
	"Darn tootin' it is," Stampede replied. "Some of the creeks are still worked on a regular basis, and about two million in gold is taken from them each year." 
	The boys thought that to be a pretty impressive amount. Rick asked, "Have you any idea how much gold has been mined here from the beginning?" 
	Stampede nodded. "They claim that since the first strike in 1896 that over three hundred million dollars in gold has come out of the Klondike." 
	Charlie whistled. "I sure would like to have gotten my share of that!" 
	Stampede chuckled. "There's still time, son. Dan McGraw says that Bonanza Valley is full of gold. We can all stake out a claim there." 
	Charlie seemed to like that idea. "Sounds cool to me. We can come back here in the summer and dig for gold. How would you like that, Rick?" 
	"Let's see what happens first," was Rick's cautious reply. "Who knows, once we've actually been to Bonanza Valley, we may never want to set foot in there again." 
	The gully they were traveling in twisted and turned for miles as they plodded on. There was no wind within the protection of the mounds and it didn't seem quite as cold. At length, they came to a fork in the chasm and Stampede stopped to take out his compass. 
	"The right fork heads southeast," he said. "That's the way we want to go." 
	"To the right it is," said Rick, leading the way. 
	The gully soon began to narrow and they came to a series of sharp bends. There was another fork in the trail and, after checking the compass, they followed the left side. For about a half mile the narrow gorge twisted and turned like a coiled snake, and Rick began to worry that they'd made a mistake by traveling within the mounds. Some of the turns were so sharp that the sled had to be maneuvered around them by hand. 
	"Yo! I'm getting dizzy," Charlie complained, as they rounded yet another sharp turning. "We're walking in circles, man." 
	"I'm afraid that's exactly what we've been doing." Rick's vexation was evident. "Look!" 
	He pointed ahead. There were tracks coming from a fork in the chasm that had obviously just recently been made by a sled, dogs, and men in snowshoes. 
	Charlie groaned. "I don't believe it. Those can't be our tracks." 
	"They sure are," Rick said with heavy irony. "No one else is traveling through this snow maze." 
	Stampede shook his head with bafflement. "Don't I feel just like a fresh green cheechako! I never got lost on the trail before, boys." 
	"Don't worry about it," Rick laughed. "Any one would get lost in this labyrinth." 
	Charlie looked around. "Well, what do we do now?" 
	Rick looked to Stampede for advice. 
	"Let's go on a while more," was the oldtimer's opinion. "If the trail doesn't straighten out, we can climb over the mounds and get out of here. At least we haven't been shot at again." 
	They moved on, now following their own tracks around the curves and bends. When they reached the next fork in the trail, they followed the branch they hadn't taken the last time. 
	Charlie grinned behind his ski mask. "Maybe this way'll lead us out of this maze. I feel like we're trapped in an ice-cold video game." 
	Rick laughed. "I'll say. But now that we de-energized the enemy, it'd be nice if we could get out of here, find the hidden valley, and score!" 
	But the passage proved to lead nowhere. After they had followed it a few minutes, Charlie pointed ahead. "Yow! Would you look at that?" 
	Ahead, the chasm came to an abrupt end in a high bank where several of the mounds butted into each other. 
	Rick laughed, but he evidently was not amused. "Dead end! I was sort of expecting something like this sooner or later. This is one serious maze! Man, even Zork was never this frustrating! I guess we're going to have to climb up over the mounds." 
	"Let's eat first," Charlie suggested. He threw the words out like stones. "I'm mad now, wasting all this time. And when I'm mad, I need food!" 
	Rick rolled his eyes to the sky. "Mad, glad, happy, sad....you always have to eat, Connors. It doesn't matter how you feel." 
	Stampede chuckled as he checked his watch. "He's about the eatin'est fool I've ever known. But it is almost time for lunch. My appetite's goin' too. Why don't you start up a fire, Charlie? Rick and I will climb up this mound here and see where we're at." 
	"Sure thing, boss!" Charlie was already rummaging through the supplies for the bundle of dried twigs. "You guys go explore and I'll rustle up some grub and feed the dogs." 
	Rick and Stampede removed their snowshoes and climbed up the steeply sloped mound. The snow was deep and at times they sunk in almost up to their waists, but soon enough they reached the crest. A world of vast whiteness spread out all around them. 
	"This is really awesome." Rick gazed at the curves and swells of the dredging mounds and the wild mountains surrounding them, all under the heavy grayness of the pewter sky. 
	"There's no place like the far north country," Stampede agreed. "Look, we're only two mounds from the river." 
	Rick looked relieved. "Terrific. We're almost out of the maze." 
	Stampede pointed to the east. "And there's Caribou Creek. I'll be jiggered! We're right where we wanted to be. All we have to do is get on the river and follow it a half mile or so to the creek. Then we follow the creek to King Solomon's Dome. See that big mountain up ahead there?" 
	Rick followed the line of the frozen creek that forked off the Klondike River. Some miles in the distance was a high mountain which stood out amongst the others because of its impressive dome. 
	"I see it. We have to go around that mountain to Ophir Creek, right?" 
	"Yep, and we can stay right in the creek because it's frozen now. That ought to make the trip around the mountain a little easier. Then we get to Ophir Creek and follow it to the Caribou Hills and look for The Devil's Horns, the pass into Bonanza Valley." 
	Rick smiled confidently. He suddenly felt really good. He knew they were going to make it. "Well, pardner, we're almost there. It won't be long now." 
	As they turned to go back down, something on the frozen creek caught Rick's eye. In the distance he could see a lone figure moving in the direction of King Solomon's Dome. 
	"Stampede, look! I wonder who that is?" 
	The oldtimer peered ahead. "Hey, it's probably that fool who shot at us earlier. Maybe that professor fellow. No doubt about where he's going!" 
	Rick nodded. "Straight to Ophir, you can bet. I'm glad he's far ahead of us now. Won't be any more danger from him." 
	They climbed back down the mound and Rick told Charlie the news about their location and the lone figure on the creek. Charlie had fed the dogs and they helped him finish preparing lunch. Each of them ravenous from their exertions in the cold, they did justice to the hearty meal and the warming hot chocolate. 
	When they were finished eating and had packed everything away, the arduous task of leading the dogs and the sled over the mounds was begun. The huskies had to be coaxed and the sled pushed up the mounds, and on the way down the opposite was true; the dogs had to be restrained and the sled held back. 
	Finally, they made their way down the bank onto the Klondike and followed the river to Caribou Creek. The going was easier once on the narrow creek, which had frozen in a smoother pattern than the big river, and they followed the snowshoe tracks left behind by the mysterious lone figure. 
	They did little talking now, saving their breath for the exertion of walking in the intense cold. Time seemed to drag by as they moved on, but soon the impressive crest of King Solomon's Dome loomed high up before them. As the grade began to ascend to the mountain, they came to a fork in the creek and followed the left branch as indicated on Dan McGraw's map. The snowshoe tracks also turned that way. 
	"Hey, look at the reindeer." Charlie pointed to several of the large animals who were wandering the snowfield alongside them. 
	"Those are the caribou," Stampede told him. "Their meat is what we had for dinner the night that phony Professor Dickens was over." 
	"They're beautiful animals," Rick said. "Look at the size of their antlers!" 
	Charlie grunted. "I'd hate to have to carry a heavy load like that on my head all the time." 
	Rick started to laugh. "You sure don't have to worry about that, bud. Your head's so empty it can't weigh more than a few ounces!" 
	Charlie lunged at him, but Rick was quicker and jumped out of the way. 
	"You know, you're getting as bad as Sally," Charlie threw at him. 
	Rick was still laughing, amusement dancing in his dark eyes. "I just want to make sure you're getting treated the way you're used to." 
	Charle gave him a black threatening look. "Thanks a lot. I guess I owe you a few. Only trouble is, you never do anything stupid to give me a chance to pay you back!" 
	Stampede was snickering to himself, amused by the boys' antics. They neared the foot of the mountain and the creek ascended sharply, turning into a very narrow gorge that obviously would be a treacherous and impassable white water chute in the months the creek wasn't frozen. Once again they had to coax the dogs upward and haul the sled. The snow on the floor of the gorge was packed down by the hoofprints of the caribou, and the snowshoe tracks they'd been following were no longer discernible. 
	"The caribou use this chute in the winter to get around the mountain," Stampede told them. "A lot more room down in here than on that narrow trail up along ......" 
	Just then, from up ahead, came the loud echoing report of gunshots. 
	"Yo...!" Charlie blurted, startled. "Who the heck is shooting now?" 
	Rick looked up the steep snow-laden mountain. "I'll give you just one guess, dude. I sure hope he's not trying to start an avalanche!" 
	"We'd be buried alive in seconds if that mountain comes down," Stampede snapped. 
	The trio looked at each other worriedly and then, suddenly, there came a muffled roar from up ahead. 
	Charlie's eyes bulged. "Oh...no! What's that?" 
	Stampede's eyes were narrow slits as he stood stark still and listened. Then, he came to life in a flash and bellowed, "Tarnation! It ain't no avalanche, boys. There's a stampede coming!" 
	Not a second later, a teeming herd of caribou came thundering wildly toward them down the narrow gorge! 


Chapter Eleven: BONANZA VALLEY 

	Pointing swiftly to the side of the chasm, Stampede shouted, "Quick! Get the dogs and sled into that cleft in the cliff!" 
	Rick and Charlie sparked into action. About five feet away there was an indentation in the cliff. It looked barely large enough for their outfit and them to fit in, but they coaxed and pulled the yapping dogs into it while Stampede pushed the sled. It seemed that the thundering herd of caribou would be upon them at any moment! 
	"Hold the harnesses and don't let the dogs pull away," Stampede ordered. "And hug the cliff, boys! Those caribou will trample you to death if you don't!" 
	Grasping the harnesses securely, Rick and Charlie shrank against the cliff. Stampede swung the rear of the sled into the aperture and flung himself flush to the wall. The huskies squealed and whined, pulling at the harnesses in their fright, and the boys strained with all their might to hold them back. 
	Stampede grunted, and there was holy terror in his voice. "Hold on, boys. Here they come!" 
	The caribou swarmed past them like a tidal wave, the frightened animals bumping into each other, even trampling some of their own, as they plunged down the narrow gorge. Many of them came within inches of the dogs and sled, so close that Rick could see the sheer terror in their eyes. He could have reached out and touched them. The dogs howled and shrank back, and the roar of it all was deafening. 
	Charlie gritted his teeth, the back of his head pressing into the stone wall of the cliff. "Whoa! Jeez! Talk about a close shave!" 
	Rick, too, pressed closer to the cold rock behind him. "Right down to the bone," he shouted, his heart pounding incredulously. "If this hole wasn't here, we'd be history!" 
	"Danged truth," Stampede muttered angrily, his eyes wide and bug-like as he gaped at the rushing sea of fur and antlers and thudding hooves. 
	Rick's dark eyes flashed. "Professor Dickens must be behind this! I bet he purposely stampeded the caribou to get us out of the way." 
	"He's gonna be dead meat," Charlie promised. "As soon as I run into that sucker, it'll be all over for him!" 
	The last of the herd finally thundered by, but the boys and Stampede stayed pressed against the cliff because some of the animals had fallen and gotten trampled by the others. A few of them were moving, flailing their long limbs about and trying to get to their feet. 
	"Some of them will be okay," Stampede almost whispered. "But it looks like a few were killed. Ha! Too bad we don't have time to skin 'em and get their meat." 
	Charlie was looking up the chasm. "Do you think any more will come down?" 
	Rick peered up ahead. "The coast looks clear. What do you think, Stampede." 
	"Let's wait a few more minutes. There may some stragglers yet to show." 
	They watched as a few of the injured ones got to their feet, a couple of them bellowing in fear and pain. They limped away down the gorge, leaving the dead behind without a glance. A couple minutes later, Stampede stepped back out into the gorge, peering up the chasm cautiously. 
	"I guess it's okay now," he said in a weary voice. "Good gosh, boys, in all my years in the Yukon I've never faced anything like the dangers we've met up with today." 
	Even Charlie had to force a grin. "And it's only a little past lunchtime!" 
	Rick managed a laugh. "You would have to put it in a perspective with food! I'll be glad to be back on open ground again. The sooner we get around this mountain to Ophir Creek, the better." 
	They coaxed the frightened dogs back onto the trail and pulled the sled out behind them. Starting up again, they moved on ahead at a brisk pace, none of them having anything to say. The near brush with certain doom had left them strained and exhausted, and all they wanted to do was get out of the dangerous chute. Soon the trail widened and began to descend, easing their minds a little. A while later, they reached Ophir Creek on the other side of the mountain. But there were no snowshoe tracks on the creek, and they knew their assailant had gone another way. 
	Stampede pointed up the bank at the dredging mounds lining the creek. "The professor fellow must have gone behind those piles. Better keep an eye out for him!" 
	Charlie dumped that suggestion with a wave of the hand. "He's probably long gone by now. I bet he figures he finished us off with that stampede." 
	Just the same, they kept glancing warily up the mounds as they followed Ophir Creek. Stampede explained that dredging procedures had taken place here and in other isolated areas in the Klondike region in the decades after the gold rush. About ten minutes later, the mounds came to an end. A little ways on, up on the bank, was a grouping of old tumble-down shacks and cabins. The place had an eerie look to it, as if no one had been there in many years. 
	"Yo, it's a real live ghost town," Charlie said. "Or should I say a 'dead' one? Looks spooky, huh?" 
	"Sure does," Stampede agreed. "That's all that's left of the old mining town of Ophir. Some of the biggest strikes of the gold rush were made out here." 
	"It doesn't look like anyone's been around since those days," Rick said, as they helped the dogs haul the sled up the bank of the creek. 
	"You're wrong about that, Rick." Charlie pointed at the ground ahead. "There's tracks from a couple sleds. They come from behind the dredging piles and go to that cabin over there." 
	Rick and Stampede looked at the tracks. They led to an old cabin that was in good repair compared to the other ramshackle dwellings. 
	Rick nodded. "Someone's been here recently, all right. But there's no smoke coming from the chimney of that cabin. They must've pulled out already." 
	"It was probably Jake Malone and company," Stampede suggested. "They might have stopped here for the night on their way out from Dawson. They did leave pretty late in the day. They must've come by a different route, though. We didn't see these tracks by the river." 
	Rick hurried toward the cabin. "Good thinking, Stampede. We might as well check it out. Maybe they left a clue behind." 
	As they neared the cabin, they could see tracks leading away from it and going up toward the mountains behind the old town. 
	Stampede snorted. "It was Malone, all right. Those tracks lead right up to the Caribou Hills. Same way we have to go to get to Bonanza Valley." 
	They pulled the sled up to the cabin and all three stooped to take off their snowshoes. At that same moment, a loud crash came from inside. 
	Charlie jumped, almost falling down. "Yikes! What was that?" 
	Rick flung his snowshoes aside. "Some one must be in there!" 
	Then, a series of muffled cries came from within the cabin. Stampede pulled his rifle off the sled and they ran to the door. Rick and Charlie were right behind him. The door was slightly ajar and Charlie kicked it open with a boot. 
	"Tarnation!" was Stampede's startled reaction. He'd had the rifle aimed right inside, but lowered it quickly at what he saw. 
	A man lay on the floor, tied to a chair and blindfolded and gagged. He was squirming to loosen the ropes that bound him, apparently having just caused the chair to fall over. A woman was bound in the same manner on a bunk in the far end of the room. She was whimpering hysterically. 
	"They must be freezing to death," Rick cried, rushing into the room behind Stampede. "There's no fire in here! Start one, Charlie. Stampede and I will untie them." 
	Rick pulled off his ski mask as he ran across the room. He grabbed a knife from a shelf and hurried over to the woman. He cut the ropes, pulled off the blindfold, and untied the gag from her mouth. She was crying and her teeth were clattering, and he could tell she was numb from the cold. She gave him a grateful look as he helped her over to a chair by the hearth where Charlie had just lighted some kindling and logs. 
	"Oh, thank you!" she cried, her voice cracking. "The fire went out about an hour ago. I thought we were going to freeze to death!" 
	She looked over to the man Stampede had untied and was now helping to his feet. The big fellow stumbled over to the woman and wrapped her in his arms. They both trembled and shook as they embraced. 
	"I thought we were goners for sure, honey," the man said bitterly. "I tried my darndest to get loose, but those damn ropes just wouldn't budge. Lucky these fellows showed up in time." 
	"Who did this to you?" Rick demanded. 
	The man, tall and big, with long hair and a beard, moved closer to the fire to catch its warmth. "I don't know who they were. Two men busted in here last night with guns and tied up me and my wife. Then two others joined them here inside. Couldn't see the other two 'cause we were blindfolded, but they were women. One of them was sick with a bad cold. I heard her coughing and sneezing all night. They went into the other room to sleep." 
	His wife nodded, wiping away tears with the sleeve of her sweater. "The two men slept out here. I was up all night listening to them snore. Then they made breakfast this morning with our supplies and left after they finished eating. Didn't even untie us! I was sure we'd freeze to death after the fire went out. I never dreamed anyone else would come by!" 
	"Gall-danged if we didn't," Stampede muttered. "And just in time! I got a feeling we know who did this to you." 
	"Did one of the men have a scar on his left cheek?" Rick asked. 
	"He sure did," the man replied. "Miserable looking fellow, that one." 
	"Then it was Malone, no doubt," said Rick, anger firing up in his eyes. "What a rotten character he is, leaving these people here to freeze to death." 
	"And he's got two women with him, not just his wife, " Charlie put in. "The other one is probably Jenny!" 
	The man introduced himself as Timber Thompson, and his wife was named Jane. He'd been a lumberjack in the state of Washington until last summer when they had come up to the Klondike to look for gold. 
	"We needed a place to winter," he went on, "and this old cabin seemed as good a place as any. We never thought anything like this could happen in this old ghost town. What are you fellows doing out here?" 
	"Looking for some missing friends," Stampede told him. "They went up into the Caribou Hills a while ago and never came back." 
	Timber Thompson frowned. "There's some strange goings-on up there," he said. 
	"What do you mean?" Rick was quick to ask. 
	"Me and Jane were up that way in the early fall before the snows came," the prospector said. "One morning we heard some gunfire, and later we saw a long line of people scaling a mountain pass high on the divide. Sure seemed strange, all those folks going up into the high country." 
	Rick and Charlie looked at each other. 
	It ws the lost expedition, Rick knew. They must've been captured by the Ophirians that day and taken into Bonanza Valley. 
	"Do you think those were your friends?" Jane Thompson asked. 
	"You bet it was them," Stampede replied. "We've got to be gettin' on our way now. Will you folks be all right if we leave you?" 
	Timber nodded. "Thanks, we'll be fine. All we needed was to warm up." 
	His wife agreed. "Thank you so much for helping us. You saved our lives!" 
	The boys and Stampede felt embarrassed at this, but they knew the couple would've had little chance at survival if they hadn't come along. 
	"Timber, how far is it to the mountain pass where you saw those people?" Rick asked. 
	"Not too far. I'd say it's about an hour and a half climb from here on foot." 
	Rick's brow twisted in thought. He turned to Stampede. "Why don't we leave the sled and dogs here? They'll only be a hindrance once we get to the valley." 
	"Good idea," Charlie agreed. "That way we won't have to abandon the dogs in the valley when we go into the caves." 
	Stampede nodded quickly. He turned to Timber and his wife. "Would you mind having a team of dogs around here for a few days?" 
	Timber shook his head. "Not at all. In fact, it'll be nice. I'll give them some exercise too. Haven't driven a dog team in quite a while." 
	Jane liked the idea too. "It'll be great to have the dogs for company. Especially after what happened last night!" 
	"Okay, then let's get to it," Stampede said. "We've got to be on our way." 
	Jane protested, asking them to stay a while so she could cook a meal for them. But Rick shook his head firmly. "Thanks, but we really have to go. Those people who took over your cabin last night are holding our friends captive up in the mountains. We have to get there as quickly as possible." 
	The woman shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. "I hope they haven't hurt your friends! I've never seen such cruel people. Good luck!" 
	Timber threw on his outdoor clothes and followed them outside. He helped them free the dogs from the harnesses and push the sled up against the cabin. Then they filled three backpacks with the supplies they'd need and carried the rest into the cabin. After saying goodbye to the friendly couple, Stampede and the boys pulled on the backpacks and were soon following the Malone party's sled tracks up into the Caribou Hills. 
	Although it was only mid-afternoon, twilight descended. Soon it was dark as night. Billions and billions of stars glimmered in the sky, and the moon, full now, hung over the towering peaks ahead. High above them the northern lights splayed out in shimmering veils of color. 
	"Now that's really awesome," Charlie said, craning his neck to see the aurora. "Looks like some kind of totally cool fireworks display." 
	Stampede chuckled. "Don't see that back down in Lake City, do ya?" 
	"Only once," said Rick. "A few years ago. But it was only a little show, and all green. Never saw a display like this before. What a sight!" 
	Soon they were up in the high country. It was windy, and desperately cold. In every direction were grand vistas of the illimitable ageless peaks draped in their white mantle of winter snows. 
	"We ought to be nearing the pass that leads into Bonanza Valley," Stampede said. "You boys see anything up there that looks like The Devil's Horns?" 
	Rick and Charlie scrutinized the jumble of ridges and peaks above them. Suddenly, Rick pointed upwards. A thrill streaked up and down his back. 
	"Look! There they are. Twin peaks that look like horns!" 
	"All right!" Charlie cheered. "I see them too. Yo! We actually made it!" 
	A short distance up ahead, the trail forked in two directions. They followed the sled tracks onto the right branch. When they reached the twin pinnacles of snow-riven rock that led into the valley, they turned around to look back down the way they had come. 
	"Spectacular view, isn't it?" Rick's eyes swept the infinity of mighty mountains ahead of them. 
	Charlie nodded in awe. "Profound, man. Totally profound!" 
	Then they turned and traversed the pass into Bonanza Valley. Ahead stretched out a forested valley surrounded by the jagged peaks of the divide. 
	Rick let out a low whistle. "Would you believe this? No wonder this valley's been a secret so long, way up here at the top of the world." 
	"It won't be a secret any longer when our work is done," Stampede said with conviction. 
	"Tell us about it," Charlie agreed. "Now let's find that secret passage into the Ophir underground!" 
	"We'd better leave that for tomorrow, boys," Stampede advised. "It's near supper time now and we've been on the trail all day. Let's find that cabin Dan McGraw stayed in and camp there for the night. According to the map, it's across the valley." 
	The boys were anxious to go on, but they agreed. They were both beginning to feel fatigued from the subzero cold, and having a hearty meal and a good night's rest seemed the best plan to follow. They descended the sloping grade to the valley floor and trekked off through the age-old forest. The moon cast an eerie glow through the tall trees, and the sudden howl of a wolf added to the uncanny atmosphere of the hidden valley. 
	"Uh oh." Charlie looked carefully around. "I don't want to run into that fellow. Could be that Snow Wolf you told us about, Stampede." 
	The valley was little more than two miles across, mostly forest, but they passed through some open areas too that gave glimpses of the surrounding peaks. The mournful howls of wolves seemed to follow them as they hiked on, and at one point it sounded as if the beasts were actually singing in unison. It was about an hour later when they reached the far side of the valley by the creek where Dan McGraw claimed to have found the motherlode of the Klondike gold. They followed the creek up into low foothills where they came upon the mineshaft and sluiceboxes of the old prospector and his partner. 
	Charlie pointed up the slope. "There's the cabin!" 
	"Excellent!" Rick said eagerly. "A warm fire and some food is what I want now. I'm almost as hungry as you always are, Connors." 
	Charlie grinned. "Then together we'll have to eat that whole cabin, nails and all, 'cause I know I can easily scarf up half of it." 
	Stampede let out his usual hoot. "You boys are crazy. We have plenty of real food to eat." 
	They climbed up to the small log cabin and took off their snowshoes. Stampede pushed open the door and they entered, bringing their snowshoes inside with them. 
	"Hey, it's colder in here than outside," Charlie complained. "Let's start a fire." 
	There was a supply of wood next to the hearth, and the boys soon had a fire going. Stampede lit an oil lamp and a warm glow filled the cabin. Supper was prepared and eaten to the serenading of the wolves. Afterwards, it was decided that they'd go right to sleep. The small cabin was now warm and comfortable, and all three of the weary travelers were exhausted. 
	"We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow," Rick said. Then he laughed. "Yah, right. Talk about a big day. We have to sneak into a secret underground city here at the top of the world, a zillion miles away from civilization, and save a bunch of people being held captive by one of the dirtiest gangs on the continent! Yow, I need some ZZZ's!" 
	Charlie laughed. "Nothin' to it, Raider. You got me with you. It'll be a cinch. They'll soon be calling Ophir 'the underground of broken dreams'!" 
	Rick snorted. "That's 'The Boulevard of Broken Dreams', chum. And it's in Hollywood. This is the the far north country, a suburb of the Arctic Circle, the wilds!" 
	Charlie threw himself on one of the bunks. "And I got The Call of the Wild in my bones, bud!" 
	Stampede was already on one of the bunks in his sleeping bag. They heard him chuckle and then mutter, "Crazy as old coyotes! Nutty as fruitcakes! Silly bird-brained fools......" 
	But seconds later, all three of them, stretched out on the bunks, were fast asleep, oblivious of the chorus of wolves out in the valley, the howling winds, and the aurora which shimmered high above the cabin with its own barely audible symphony of sound. 
	It was sometime the following morning when Rick awoke with a start. He looked around the cabin warily. The oil lamp had gone out and it was dark. The fire had burned itself down to just a few sputtering sparks and the cabin was growing cold. But Rick's keen senses told him that something else was amiss too. He crawled out of his sleeping bag and cautiously placed a couple logs on the grate, trying not to make a sound. Then he crept across the room to the tiny window on the front wall. Outside, the full moon flooded the dark morning with a luminescent glow. 
	Standing about a hundred feet down the slope from the cabin was a dark figure, silhouetted by the moonlight. Rick stepped back from the window and watched the figure as it began to move stealthily toward the cabin. He felt his heart begin to thud as if it were in his throat. 
	"Charlie! Stampede!" he hissed. "Wake up!" 
	"Huh? What's up, man?" groaned Charlie, sitting up on his bunk. 
	"Someone's coming. Hurry, wake up Stampede. And be quiet!" 
	As Rick watched the mysterious hooded figure close in on the cabin, he could hear his two companions squirming out of their sleeping bags. 
	"I can't make out who it is," he whispered. "But it must be the professor. He just pulled off his snowshoes. I'll grab him if he tries to come in. Charlie, you help me. Stampede, turn up the wick on that oil lamp and get ready to light it so we can see what we're doing." 
	Rick pressed himself against the wall next to the door. Charlie took the same position on the other side, and Stampede stood by the table ready to strike a match to light the lamp. 
	They hardly dared to breathe when the door latch moved. Then, with a sudden rush, the door was pushed open and the dark figure bolted into the cabin. 
	Rick sprang forward, grabbing the intruder from behind. Charlie did the same on the other side. A yelp of fright came from the hooded figure as Stampede struck the match and the room was bathed in the light of the lamp. 
	"What in the world!" roared Charlie in incredulous tones. He let go his grip and stepped back in shock. "I... I...don't believe it!" 
	"Oh my God! Rick! Charlie!" the intruder fairly screamed. "I've never been so happy to see anyone in my life!" 
	Rink blinked, dropping his arms and stepping back. He could not believe his eyes. 
	The intruder was Sally Anderson! 


Chapter Twelve: THE UNDERGROUND CITY 

	"Duuudes!" Sally cried, barely able to control her astonishment. 
	In her utter excitement, she dropped the snowshoes she'd been holding and they clattered to the floor. Before the boys knew what was happening, she was jumping all over them, hugging and kissing them both, screeching and whining in a chaotic mixture of joy and fear. 
	"Oh my God! I've been out there with those howling wolves all night, in that ridiculous cold. I really thought it was all over for me! My only hope was that I knew you boys might be around somewhere." 
	Rick and Charlie were both holding onto Sally, who was dressed in ski pants and a dumpy looking old hooded parka. Tears of joy, fright, and bewilderment were streaming down her cheeks. The boys exchanged glances, but they were still so shocked that, for once, both of them were speechless. 
	Stampede broke the strange spell of the unexpected reunion. "You'd better shut that door, Rick, before we start freezing to death. And who in tarnation is this gal?" 
	Sally wiped at her tears and started to laugh as Rick, shaking his head in wonder, let go of her and shut the cabin door. Sally flung her hood back and walked up to Stampede. 
	"You must be Stampede," she said, "Mrs. Ross' brother. I'm Sally Anderson. I live next door to Rick back down in Lake City. My dad is Professor Anderson. Your niece Debbie went with him on the lost expedition." 
	Stampede, mystified at the girl's sudden appearance, shook her hand in greeting. "I met your father last fall when he was in Dawson. In fact, he came over for dinner one night. Debbie cooked caribou steaks for us. But what in the hay-hoo are you doing here in Bonanza Valley?" 
	"Right." Charlie was standing next to her again, gaping at her like she was an apparition. "You're supposed to be skiing in Michigan." 
	Rick had picked up the girl's snowshoes and stacked them against the wall by the others. He joined his three friends at the table in the soft glow of the oil lamp. "Like I'm really glad to see you, Sally. But...yah! What are you doing here?" 
	She looked at the three shocked male faces and started to laugh. "Guess I really surprised you, huh? Well, I'll tell you all about it, but first I need something warm to drink, I'm so frozen! Do you have coffee, or hot chocolate? Oh, all I could think of out there, besides hoping the wolves wouldn't get me, was a nice big cafe mocha from one of the Lake City coffee houses!" 
	"Coming right up." Charlie went to the counter and began banging things around. "We have both, coffee and hot chocolate. I'll make you a mocha even Starbucks would be jealous about." 
	Rick shook his head in wonder. "I can't believe you were out there all alone. Sheez! In Bonanza Valley with all those wolves." 
	Stampede looked at her curiously. "Don't tell me you followed the boys all the way up here to the Klondike?" 
	Sally shook her head vigorously. "No way. I was kidnapped." 
	"What!" Charlie almost dropped the kettle of bottled water he was hanging over the fire. 
	"Kidnapped," Sally repeated, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the table. She let out an exhausted sigh. "By the scar-faced man from Ophir and his wife." 
	"Jake Malone and Elvira?" Rick asked in astonishmet. 
	Sally nodded. "Right. I see you found out their names. They are the most despicable people I've ever known!" 
	"To say the least, I'm sure," Charlie put in. 
	Sally pulled her chair closer to the fire, and Stampede and the boys gathered round her. 
	"Tell us what happened," Rick urged. 
	"Before I left for Michigan, I stopped at the Connors' farm to talk to Aunt Bea," Sally told them. "Then I went home for a few minutes to check the house and pack some things. I pulled out of the drive and a car started following me. Right away I recognized it as the one I'd seen Malone and the woman get into at the airport. I remember being surprised that the police hadn't found them yet." 
	"They were probably staying far out of town," Rick suggested. "Maybe a motel out by Ashtabula or Kingsville. What happened? Did they follow you?" 
	"Yes. I tried to lose them by driving down the roads through the Kirtland Hills behind our houses. That was my mistake. A stupid one! I should've gone right to the freeway. Malone pulled up next to me and drove me off the road. His wife had a gun pointed at me! I was horrified. They told me I was being taken up to the Yukon, and that my father would be harmed if I didn't go along willingly." 
	"Then your mom must still think you're in Michigan," Charlie pointed out. 
	Sally shrugged. "She must know by now that something went wrong. Poor thing, she's probably out of her mind with worry. Malone drove my Cherokee into the woods behind one of those rock formations, but the police must've found it by now. Then he drove directly to the airport. They had this fantastic private jet. I was amazed because they are such sleazy characters. But it belongs to some rich foreigner who's in on the illegal mining deal with them." 
	"Probably Abdul Landa," Rick muttered, briefly filling Sally in on who the man was. 
	"The jet had a crew," Sally went on, "and two of the men looked like martial arts experts. Ninjas, like in the movies. It was pretty creepy. The Malones intended to kidnap you, Rick, and bring you back north with them, or at least hold you prisoner in your own house in hopes your dad would give in to their demands. They never expected you to go north yourself." 
	"And even worse," Charlie laughed, "take me along with him." 
	Sally nodded. "You're right. They weren't happy at all about you guys heading north and searching for Ophir. I had to act like I was having the time of my life for the Customs agents when they checked the plane, and then we flew off to Calgary. We spent the night at a motel near the airport, then flew to Dawson the next day. Elvira wouldn't let me out of her sight. I had to wear this dumpy old parka and keep the hood up so people couldn't get a look at me. Well, at least the thing is warm." 
	Charlie let out a low whistle and banged his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Jumpin' kangaroos! Then it was you we saw with the Malones by the old cabin on the outskirts of Dawson?" 
	Sally blinked. "You mean you were there?" 
	Rick had a quick intake of breath, stunned at this unpredictable development. "We'd been out hiking and were on our way back to Stampede's," he said. "We hid behind a nearby cabin when we saw Malone and his party coming up the slope. Darn, Sally, had I known that was you with them, I'd have stormed right down there!" 
	"See, dude!" Charlie growled at Rick. "I told you we should've jumped them." 
	Sally shook her head. "Charlie, they had guns. I would've been thrilled to see you guys, but it wouldn't have done any good. It would've just made things worse. The other man was Spike Crawford, another of the Ophir gang. He'd been waiting in that cabin for the Malones to return to Dawson. Crawford picked us up at the airport, but when we got back to the cabin we didn't stay. They packed the sleds and we took off for this valley." 
	Stampede rubbed his chin knowingly. "And you spent the night in the Thompsons' cabin down in old Ophir, eh?" 
	Sally gaped at him. "You know about that too?" 
	As Charlie passed around mugs of his cafe mocha mix, Rick told Sally how they had rescued the Thompsons the day before. 
	Sally sighed with relief. "Oh, thank goodness you happened to stop by there. I couldn't believe Malone left them tied up like that. I was so worried they'd freeze to death when the fire burned out." 
	She sipped the hot beverage. "Mmmmm. Good, Charlie. I could drink a quart of this stuff! Elvira had come down with a cold. That's why we stopped at those people's cabin. She was too sick to keep on going anymore and needed a rest. We'd been traveling behind those weird mounds along that creek, and when we came out into the opening by the little ghost town we could see a light glowing in the cabin window. Jake and Spike barged right in and tied the couple up. Then they tied and gagged me too. I had to sleep in the bedroom with Elvira and listen to her cough and sneeze all night!" 
	Sally took another sip of the steaming brew, then said, "They knew they didn't have to tie me up, the creeps. I was behaving for them. What was I going to do, run off alone in this strange frozen land?" She smiled. "And I did sort of want to come up here with you guys in the first place." 
	Charlie's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you sure you didn't follow the Malones? And ask them to take you along with them?" 
	Sally looked at him with mock contempt. "No way, Jose! Not even to join you and Rick in rescuing my dad would I join up with those crooks. But at least they told me Dad was alive and well. Gosh, that was such a relief to know." 
	'How did you get away from them?" Stampede was eager to learn. 
	"It was totally by accident," Sally replied, after taking another sip of the mocha coffee. "We had crossed the valley and gone into this narrow box-like canyon that must lead into the underground. Elvira was sitting on one sled and Jake was driving it behind her. Spike was driving the other one, but I was up, walking beside it. And it's a good thing! There was a pack of wolves ahead of us, and when the dogs and wolves spotted each other, all hell broke loose." 
	"The dogs went wild and leaped ahead, pulling the sleds along. Gosh, it all happened so fast, but the next thing I knew is that the wolves and dogs were fighting with each other. Elvira was screaming. She'd fallen off the sled into the snow. Jake and Spike were scrambling to get their rifles. It was such chaos there was no time for them to worry about me. I ran back out of the canyon and into the valley. I followed in the tracks we'd made for a while, then struck off into the woods. I hoped they wouldn't be able to find me." 
	"And you've been wandering around out there since then?" Charlie asked. 
	Sally shook her head. "No. I came across a cabin in the valley. The Ophirians must use it for hunting or for something to do with the gold operations, because it's stocked with supplies. I took a chance and made a fire and cooked something to eat, and then I fell asleep. When I awoke it was about the middle of the night and I didn't know what to do. I was afraid to stay there any longer, worried they might find me. So I left the cabin, not sure where I was going. Maybe try to sneak into the underground hoping I'd run into you guys somehow." 
	Sally shivered. "But once I got out there with those wolves howling, I really got scared. I just didn't know what to do." 
	"The wolves aren't likely to hurt you," Stampede said. "They just don't attack humans for no reason at all. But they sure can scare the hell out of you." 
	"How did you find this cabin?" Rick asked her. 
	"I saw your tracks, somewhere out in the valley," Sally answered. "They looked pretty fresh to me, and I could tell there were three of you. I just kept hoping it was you guys. Knowing you were somewhere around was my only hope. I followed the tracks to the cabin here, but it looked deserted." 
	Charlie grinned and shook his head. "After all those really awesome things you did, you mean you forgot to notice the smoke coming from the chimney?" 
	Sally wrinkled her nose at him. "Don't start, Connors. There wasn't any smoke. I looked. That's why I thought no one was in here." 
	"She's right," Rick affirmed. "When I woke up, the fire had gone out." 
	Still, Charlie couldn't resist teasing. "That's a girl for you. Our tracks lead only to this cabin, not away from it!" 
	Exasperated by his mocking tone, she let him have it. "Charlie Connors! One of these days......! I wasn't paying attention to that. I just wanted to get out of the cold. When was the last time you roamed around all alone in a wolf-infested valley with the temperature near fifty below, not knowing if you'd ever see anyone you knew again?" 
	Charlie knew he had pushed too far by the way Rick was eyeing him. "Okay, okay. Just kidding. I guess you beat out even Nancy Drew! She's never done anything that awesome. I promise never to tease you again about being a girl. You sure proved you can do anything a guy can." 
	Sally blinked. "I don't believe my ears! Rick, did he really say that?" 
	Rick nodded. "He sure did. But he'll probably forget all about it by tomorrow!" 
	They all had a good long laugh, with Stampede adding his usual hoot. "I see the craziness just gets more revved up when you're along with them, Miss," he added. 
	Sally grinned. "Well, there's never a dull moment. Let's just put it that way." 
	A few minutes later, Charlie and Stampede started to make breakfast. Sally had warmed up and taken off the parka, and Rick was filling her in on the developments in the case since he'd last talked to her. 
	"Jake Malone was furious when he learned that you and Charlie had thwarted the attempt to kidnap Mr. Barringer," Sally told him. "Somehow they found out those two men were arrested. A man came to see him about it at the motel in Calgary. I didn't see the man because I was in the connecting room with Elvira, but I heard him talking and he had an accent. I bet it was Abdul Landa, that man from Irapistan." 
	"Probably," Rick agreed. "I get the feeling he's the kingpin of this crime ring. Gosh, I'm really sorry you had to go through this, Sally. Guess I really didn't think they'd bother you." 
	"Because they didn't get you, they stuck around to get me," Sally said. "They figured if I was a prisoner they could use me as bait to lure you. Once they had you, they really figured your dad might agree to covering up the investigation. But then it was decided to abandon the mining operations and go for the ransom. So the more hostages they had, the better." 
	"Did they say anything about Jenny Malone being taken back to Ophir?" 
	"I heard all about that too," Sally told him. "Spike Crawford engineered that. He and another man kidnapped her, and then the other fellow took Jenny back to Ophir. I really feel sorry for that girl. I hope we can help her." 
	"Time for some chow!" Stampede called out. "We'd better eat up and be on our way before somebody finds us here." 
	After breakfast, they left their supplies behind in the cabin and set off to find the secret passage which led into the Ophirian underground. It was colder outside than the day before.Their breath turned into clouds of frost particles as they trudged along. A stiff biting wind was blowing and the dark morning sky was overcast with ominous rushing clouds. 
	"Looks like a blizzard's blowing in," Stampede observed, as they followed the creek bed down to the valley. "I'm mighty glad we're going underground. We sure wouldn't want to be caught out here in a storm." 
	By the time they reached the woods in the valley, the snow had begun to fall. Stampede checked his compass, and they moved on toward the western wall of the valley where the underground was located. They came upon snowshoe tracks and Sally recognized them as her own. 
	"We'd better watch out for Jake Malone and Spike Crawford," she said. "They might be out here looking for me." 
	Rick shook his head. "I doubt it. They probably figured you'd get lost and freeze to death." 
	They followed Sally's tracks until they came to a clearing. A cabin stood in the center of it. 
	"That's where I stayed yesterday," Sally whispered. "Doesn't look like anyone's inside. There's no smoke rising from the chimney." 
	But they skirted around the clearing just to be safe, and hurried on through the woods until they arrived at the valley wall. Rick pulled out Jenny Malone's map and looked it over. 
	He pointed to his right. "The box canyon leading to the underground's main entrance is down that way. The secret passage should be right around here somewhere. A small creek leads up to it through a narrow gorge under a cluster of jagged peaks." 
	Charlie was looking up at the mountain tops. He pointed to the left. "Down that way, Rick. There's about five or six ragged looking peaks. They must be the ones." 
	The others looked and Rick checked the map again. "Right," he said. "They correspond to the drawings on Jenny's map. Let's go. The secret entrance should be right down there." 
	The jagged peaks were further away than they'd appeared to be, and when they finally got there it took another fifteen minutes to find the creek. They were covered with snow now as they followed the creek up into the narrow gorge. 
	"This is the place, all right," Stampede said. "We should find that passage any minute now." 
	"I hope so," Sally whined. "I'm freezing!" 
	The gorge leveled off and its high walls dropped away, and the trail became a ledge rimming the mountainside. The snow was drifted and the going rough, but soon they came upon the mouth of a cave. 
	"All right!" Rick shouted. "Most excellent! This is it. Let's get inside." 
	The others followed him into the cave, stomping the snow from their boots and snowshoes and brushing off their coats and hoods. 
	"Whew!" Sally laughed. "I feel warmer already." 
	"It's nasty out there, all right," Rick agreed. "We'd better leave our snowshoes here. We won't be needing them any longer." 
	They took off their snowshoes and stacked them against the wall of the cave. Rick took out his flashlight and switched it on, as did Stampede and Charlie. They played the beams around the cave, which they could see led deep into the mountain. 
	"All we have to do now is follow this tunnel down to Ophir," Rick said excitedly. "Are you guys ready?" 
	"Ready as we'll ever be," Stampede answered, as Charlie and Sally grunted their agreement. "Let's get to it!" 
	With Rick in the lead, they crept down the cave. After a while it narrowed and began to descend. As they moved deeper into the mountain, the air grew warmer. 
	"This feels good after being out in that cold," Sally whispered. 
	"Sure does," Charlie agreed. "The warmer air must be coming from the burning oil down in the Caves of Fire." 
	The passage narrowed to the extent that they had to squeeze through it single file. After a few minutes of this, the tunnel ended. Rick stepped out onto a ledge hidden from the cavern below it by long dripping stalactites growing down from the ceiling above. An extremely narrow path led down into the large cavern. 
	"Check this place out," Charlie said, as he and the others joined Rick on the ledge. 
	Sally looked around as the guys played the flashlight beams. "It's beautiful. Look at all the different colors of stone in the walls and ceiling." 
	The cavern glittered with a rainbow of colors, and they would have stopped to admire its beauty were they not on such an important mission. Rick led the way down the path and then stopped to check the map again. 
	"Follow me," he said a moment later, and he struck off across the underground chamber. It led into a low-ceilinged tunnel, and at the end of that was another large cavern. 
	Rick looked back over his shoulder. "Across this one is the tunnel leading to the underground city." 
	Sally smiled at him. "Lead on, Raider! 
	They crossed the cavern and entered the connecting cave. They hurried through it and when they arrived at its end, Rick halted. He peered cautiously ahead. 
	"Awesome!" Sally whispered from behind him. "I can hardly believe I'm seeing this." 
	Before them spread out a giant cavern, its ceiling so high that it was lost from sight in the shadows. Within the subterranean chamber was the underground city of Ophir, a collection of cabins, shacks, small houses, and barn-like structures that looked like a town from the days of The Wild West. Fires burning in barrels lit up the town, and people could be seen moving about like dark shadows. The barking of dogs pierced the quiet, and the whinnying of horses could be heard. 
	"This is totally the weirdest," Charlie breathed. "Like going back in time." 
	Stampede grunted in agreement. "Sure is. But we've got to keep out of sight, kids. If anyone sees us, they'll know we're outsiders." 
	"We don't have to go into the town," Rick said. "The entrance to the Caves of Fire is directly across the cavern from here. That's where the prison area is. We can just skirt around the perimeter." 
	"Then greenlight it, man," Charlie said impatiently. "Let's get going." 
	Rick slipped his flashlight into his pocket and stepped out into the cavern. The others followed, Stampede holding his rifle in readiness. Staying well within the gloomy shadows, they crept along the edge of the secret city of Ophir. Soon they came upon a small log home and a barn that were set farther back than the others, almost upon the cavern wall. 
	"I hope no one's around," Rick whispered. "It's going to be tricky sneaking past here." 
	As they crept past the barn, they could hear the shuffling and snorting of horses from within. On the ground next to the building was a pile of dog harnesses with a pair of snowshoes laying on top. As they passed by, Rick suddenly stopped. 
	"Look," he hissed. "The right foot snowshoe. The strap is broken off the bindings where the buckle should be." 
	Charlie nodded. "It's Jake Malone's. That's the snowshoe you found the buckle for. He must live in that house." 
	"He complained about that darn snowshoe all along the trail," Sally told them. "I don't know why he didn't just get a new pair. Ugh! Poor Jenny. No wonder she ran away. Who'd want to live in this place?" 
	"Not me," Stampede muttered. "You can bet your life on that! I wonder where Malone's dogs are?" 
	"They must have a central area by the entrance where they keep the sleds and dogs," Charlie suggested. "I haven't seen any pens by any of these dwellings, and it'd be rough getting a sled way in here on this dirt floor." 
	Rick had noticed a figure slinking along behind one of the barns, and was barely paying any attention to what the others were saying. It was a man, and he pointed him out to the others. They pressed back into the shadows so they wouldn't be seen. 
	Sally peered ahead. "I wonder who it is. Look, he's armed with a rifle. And he's being as sneaky as we are." 
	Just then, the man stepped into a pool of light coming from a back window of one of the homes, and he was clearly visible for a moment. 
	Charlie groaned. "I'll tell you who it is. It's Professor Dickens." 
	Rick tensed as he watched the man move on. "You're right. I see he made it here to Ophir." 
	"And won't he be surprised when he finds out we did too?" Stampede said in a low tone. "I wonder where he's sneaking off to?" 
	"That's what I want to know," Rick said. He took the map from his pocket and handed it to Charlie. "I'm going to follow him. You guys go on to the Caves of Fire and see if you can find the prisons." 
	Sally protested. "But Rick, we shouldn't split up." 
	Stampede disagreed. "Might be better if we do. If we get caught, at least Rick will be free. And vice-versa." 
	"Right." Rick stepped out of the shadows. "Don't worry about me. Just scout out the prison area. If you can't get close to it, come back to this spot. We can meet up back here. Otherwise I'll see you later in the Caves of Fire." 
	"Later, dude," Charlie said, as Rick took stealthily off after the professor, who was moving in the direction from which they'd just come. 
	Rick retraced his steps, creeping along behind Jake Malone's barn and following the man along the edge of the town. The professor seemed to be looking for something, and when he came to the tunnel leading back toward the secret passage, he pulled a flashlight from his coat pocket and slipped into the dark cave. 
	Rick followed, stepping lightly and hardly daring to breathe. He could barely see, except for the glow of the professor's flashlight up ahead. As he reached the large cavern, he saw the man darting into the tunnel on the other side. 
	As he crossed the cavern, Rick wondered why the professor was going that way. What was he up to? He crept through the low-ceilinged tunnel, stopping at the entrance to the large cavern at its end. He peered out but could see nothing but shadowy darkness. But he didn't dare turn on his flashlight. 
	Rick wondered if the man had gone up the path to the secret pasaage. Maybe Jenny wasn't the only one who knew about it after all. He crept slowly across the dark chamber, barely able to see enough to make his way. But he managed to find the narrow path which led up to the ledge. He felt his way up along the cold rock wall. Then, when he reached the ledge a beam of light was suddenly flashed upon him. 
	Startled, Rick spun around and looked down into the cavern. 
	The man who called himself Professor Dickens stepped out from behind a cluster of stalagmites, his flashlight and rifle aimed up at Rick. 
	"Rick Raider!" he boomed. "What the heck are you doing here?" 
	But Rick didn't wait around to answer. In a flash he had slipped into the narrow entrance to the secret passage. He pulled out his flashlight and switched it on, running up the tunnel as fast as he could. All he knew is that he wasn't going to become yet another one of the hostages in the dungeon cells of Ophir. 
	"Rick! Hey, Rick!" he heard from far behind him. "Wait!" 
	But Rick hurried on. At length, the tunnel widened and he ran out into the cave at its end. Outside a raging blizzard was ravaging the valley. 
	He growled in exasperation, pocketing the flashlight. He could hear the professor calling him, and Rick knew he had no choice but to go outside. He'd lose the professor real fast in that storm! 
	He pulled on his ski mask, grabbed his snowshoes, and ran out of the mouth of the cave. The howling winds and driving snow hit him full force as he turned and made his way down the wind-whipped ledge. He kept slipping and sliding but he plodded on, hardly able to see more than two or three feet ahead. 
	Rick stopped to strap on the snowshoes. He'd thought the storm was bad earlier, but this was a total white nightmare! He knew he had to go a little farther. He'd hide down past the gorge until the coast was clear. Then he'd wait a while and go back into the underground. 
	Rick felt his way through the narrow gorge until he reached the bottom where the creek widened. Then he clambered up the bank and hunkered down behind a boulder, shivering from the incredibly savage cold. 
	His teeth were clattereing. "Jeez!" he groaned aloud. "It must be sixty below zero!" 
	Then suddenly, it seemed to Rick that he had awakened from a daze. He opened his eyes with a start and looked around. He could see nothing but swirling whiteness. He had no idea how long he'd been there, wherever he was. His entire body was numb and a feeling of panic began to wave over him. 
	He tried to stand up, but he couldn't move. 
	He called himself a fool. He realized he should have never stopped moving! 
	The next thing he knew, his eyes were closed again. He felt warm and so very happy, as if he were just floating away...... 
	Rick forced his eyes open in terror. He knew he had to move. He had to get up. Or else he'd freeze to death! 
	With supreme effort, he pulled himself up to the top of the boulder, hearing himself cry out in grief. Leaning heavily against the snow-covered rock, he fought the gripping desire to close his eyes. 
	"You can do it, dude!" he heard his voice crying out. "To the max now! The max......" 
	He straighted up and stepped forward. But then the next thing he knew, he was tumbling down the bank, over and over in the whirling swirling snows. It seemed like he'd never stop falling. And then he was floating away again, to somewhere warm, quiet, peaceful, and he could not tear himself away to bring himself back to the cold savage reality. 
	Suddenly, he felt a stinging blow across his face. 
	Rick opened his eyes. He saw the Snow Wolf. The huge beast was pulling at his arm, dragging him upward. But....no, it wasn't a wolf. It was a girl. And she kept slapping him hard on the face. 
	"Keep your eyes open!" he heard her shout. "Don't let them close! Fight it! Don't give in to that warm feeling. Do you understand?" 
	Rick tried to answer, but he couldn't speak. And suddenly the girl was gone. Instead he saw the wolf again, growling and whining as it dragged him along. 
	It was the Snow Wolf, he thought, trying to save him from freezing to death in the blizzard. 
	And that was the last thing he remembered. 


Chapter Thirteen: THE LAIR OF THE SNOW WOLF 

	Rick Raider felt uncomfortably hot. He was on a desert island tied to the trunk of a palm tree, the sun beating down upon him mercilessly. He twisted and squirmed, trying to loosen his bonds so he could free himself, but they had been tied securely and wouldn't budge. So total was his frustration that he let out an anguished cry. 
	The cry awoke him. 
	Rick opened his eyes, startled. He sat up and looked around warily. He was in a cave, laying on a bed of fur pelts next to a crackling fire of twigs and boughs. 
	The Snow Wolf! The Girl! 
	He remembered now, but there was no one else there in the cave with him. 
	Rick looked out the mouth of the cave and saw that the blizzard had ended. The sky was dark and clear, and a full moon hung suspended over the mountain peaks. 
	He shook his head in confusion. Was this the lair of the Snow Wolf? Or had he just imagined the wolf and the girl? But....then who built the fire? And how did he get here? 
	He tested his arms and legs to see if they were all right. When everything checked out okay, he stood up, feeling only a little bit sore from his near brush with death. He stepped back away from the fire a little, knowing he'd been lucky. He could have frozen to death in that blizzard! 
	Then Rick noticed the snowshoes stacked against the wall, and he laughed. He was in the cave leading to the secret passage down to Ophir. He sure wanted to know how he'd gotten back up there from the gorge. 
	Just then, he heard footsteps approaching from deep within the cave. His snowshoes were on the ground next to the furs, and he grabbed one to use as a weapon and shrank back against the wall into the shadows. 
	Suddenly, a girl emerged into the pool of light thrown by the fire. She was carrying a basket, and a large husky followed right behind her. Rick dropped the snowshoe and stepped forward. 
	"Jenny Malone!" he cried. "Don't tell me it was you who dragged me up here?" 
	The girl smiled, a look of relief on her pretty face. She nodded. "Yes, me and the dog. I see you're okay now. I was so worried you'd be sick with a fever." 
	The big dog had run up to Rick and was sniffing at him excitedly. Rick patted the furry animal's head. 
	"I'm fine Jenny. Just a little sore from that tumble I took. So this big husky is the Snow Wolf, eh?" 
	Jenny laughed. "Don't tell me you've heard that old legend." 
	Rick nodded. "I sure did. Stampede told me and Charlie about it. When you and this dog came to my rescue, I thought it was the legend come to life." 
	Jenny sat down on the furs, placing the basket next to her. "That's Buck. I named him after the dog in Jack London's THE CALL OF THE WILD. I raised Buck from a puppy, and he actually is almost as big as a wolf. He's probably got wolf blood in him from somewhere down the line. He's the one who found this secret passage. I really missed him when I ran away to Dawson." 
	"I bet you did. He's sure a beauty." 
	Buck had jumped up onto Rick, his paws on Rick's shoulders. The dog's head came up to Rick's chin. Buck's tongue lapped at Rick's face. 
	"Oops! That's enough now, buddy dog," Rick laughed. "I'm still a little weak and you're a pretty heavy brute to have leaning on me." 
	"Sit down," Jenny told Rick, moving the furs back from the fire a bit. "I brought you some food. You'd better eat something." 
	"That sounds great. I'm as hungry as a bear." 
	Rick joined her on the furs and Buck curled up next to him, eyeing the basket of food longingly. 
	Jenny opened the basket and took out sandwiches and a thermos bottle. "There's soup in the thermos," she said. "I made it earlier today for my Aunt Elvira. She has a bad cold and a fever." 
	"I heard about it," Rick said. He poured himself a cup of the soup and told Jenny about Sally's experiences with Jake and Elvira Malone. 
	"My aunt and uncle told me about it." Jenny shook her head. "They actually bragged about how they kidnapped her from Lake City and brought her up across the border. They think they're so cool because they can do these terrible things. But they didn't think Sally would survive out in the valley alone. I'm glad she was able to get away from them and hook up with you and Charlie." 
	Rick bit into a sandwich. "How did you ever find me out there in the blizzard?" 
	"I was here in the cave," Jenny told him. "I had just come through the secret passage with Buck. I was going to take him out into the valley for a while, but when I saw the blizzard I turned to go back down to town. Then I heard someone running up the tunnel and saw the flashlight beam. I got scared and pulled Buck into the shadows to hide. I thought someone from town had followed me up here." 
	"It was you, Rick, but I didn't realize it until you started muttering that you had to get away. I was just about to call out to you when I heard someone else coming up the tunnel. As soon as you ran outside, a man with a rifle came out of the tunnel. I couldn't get a good look at him because I was so busy keeping Buck quiet. He was so excited because of you and the other guy, it was all I could do to keep him down." 
	Rick told her briefly about Professor Dickens, how he had followed the man down in Ophir and then been tricked by him in the cavern. 
	"I wonder who he is?" Jenny said. "He doesn't sound like anyone in the gang that I know. But then I don't know everybody. Whoever he is, he wasn't about to go out in the blizzard after you. He mumbled something about you being 'a foolish kid', and then he turned and went back down the tunnel again. As soon as the coast was clear, Buck and I went out after you." 
	Rick sighed with exhaustion. "I'm sure glad you were around, Jenny. It would have been curtains for me out there if you and Buck hadn't showed up. I stopped to hide behind a boulder and before I knew it I was drifting off in some kind of daze." 
	Jenny shuddered. "You have to keep on moving. It could be seventy to eighty below in a blizzard like that. The only way to protect yourself from freezing is by burrowing into a snowdrift." 
	Rick grinned sheepishly. "Well, I guess I should've known better. You're looking at a real cheechako." 
	Jenny laughed. "But you've done so well for a tenderfoot. Just getting to this valley in deep winter is more than most people could handle. Where are your friends?" 
	"I don't know. I left them down in Ophir when I started following the professor. They were going to the Caves of Fire to look for the prisoners. Charlie had your map. We found it outside Mrs. Grayson's house." 
	"Great! I sure hoped you would. It's a good thing I was able to squirm around enough to get it out and drop it, the way those two creeps were holding me." Jenny's eyes clouded. "Oh, I hope your friends don't get caught. Uncle Jake is furious because you and Charlie have been messing up all his plans. If he finds your friends down there, they'll be thrown right into the dungeon cells with the other prisoners." 
	Rick's jaw clenched, and his eyes slightly narrowed. "Prisoners. Dungeons. Caves of Fire and eighty degrees below zero blizzards! Sheez, this place is like some kind of nightmare." 
	Jenny smirked. "Tell me about it. Few people would believe this place is for real if you described it to them. This underground was originally inhabited by Indians. They often warred with other tribes and used to keep prisoners in the old dungeons." 
	"I'm surprised your uncle didn't lock you up in them," said Rick. "Doesn't he know you'll just run away again?" 
	Jenny frowned at the sandwich she was eating. "He doesn't have to lock me up. He has a better idea. He told me if I ever run away again, he'll send some men to Dawson to hurt Brian." 
	Rick shook his head slowly. "He'd do it, too, that scumbag! But don't worry, Jenny. We'll get out of this mess somehow. And then you can go down to Calgary and start a new life." 
	He told her about the money Mr. Barringer had sent for her, and about the job waiting for her at the North American Oil Company. 
	"Oh, Rick!" Jenny's eyes sparkled. "That's fantastic. Now I want to get away from Ophir more than ever." 
	Buck looked up to her and his tail began to thump in excitement. 
	Rick laughed. "See, even Buck's happy for you. You can take him to Calgary with you." 
	Jenny shook her head. "I'll sure miss him, but Buck belongs up here in the Klondike. He wouldn't like the city. Maybe I could find a good home for him in Dawson." 
	Rick snapped his fingers. "Sure! Stampede would take him. Couldn't find a better home than that." 
	Jenny looked hopeful. "But first we have to free the prisoners and escape. How in the world are we going to do it?" 
	Rick frowned. "I just don't know. We have to find a way. And now it's time to get down to business!" 
	He helped Jenny pack the basket and they both got to their feet. Just then, Buck jumped up and growled. His fur stood on end as he took a step toward the tunnel. Rick tensed as he and Jenny looked in that direction. Then they heard a sardonic laugh, and Jake Malone and two other men stepped into the light thrown by the fire. 
	The scar-faced man held a gun, and it was aimed right at them. He scowled angrily at his niece. 
	"So you haven't learned your lesson, eh?" he snapped at her. "Still trying to get away! Well I'm gonna make sure you don't get another chance." 
	Jenny shrank back, terrified. Rick gaped at the three men and he felt his heart sink. Buck was stiff as a rock, growling in a low rumble, poised as if to attack at any second. 
	Jake Malone flashed Rick a wicked grin. "So, we meet at last, Rick Raider. You've caused me nothing but trouble the last few days, you meddling punk, and now I'm going to put an end to it!" 
	He turned to his companions. "Tie their hands behind their backs, boys." 
	Buck growled as the two men approached, and Malone lowered his gun at the dog. Rick thought Buck was going to lunge at the man but, suddenly, Jenny pointed toward the mouth of the cave. 
	"Buck!" she commanded. "Outside! Go!" 
	The big dog looked at her, whining, as if he didn't want to obey. 
	"Go!" Jenny repeated. 
	The dog moved in a flash. He turned and ran out of the cave into the cold northern night. 
	Jake Malone laughed as the two men grabbed Rick and began to bind his hands. "That dog did always listen to you. I guess he never liked me much, eh? Well, you won't be seeing him anymore. That's for sure." 
	Jenny shrank back but there was no way for her to get away. When the two men were done with Rick, one roughly grabbed her and the other trussed her up. 
	Rick glared at the men, a muscle twitching at his jaw. "You'll never get away with this, Malone." 
	The bearded man laughed again. "And what do you propose to do now, Rick Raider? There's no one left to help you out. Your three friends were captured earlier trying to sneak into the prison area. They're locked up with those expedition people and your meddling father. Won't he be surprised to find out you're here, and a prisoner just like him." 
	"And it's a good thing I saw Jenny leave the cabin with that basket," he went on, obviously enjoying himself and the fact that he'd captured Rick. "I knew she was up to no good when she started sneaking through the caves down there. Took us some time to find the entrance to the secret tunnel down in the cavern, but we did, thanks to the fact that you two were having such a nice long converstaion. All we had to do was follow your voices. And now your little jig is up, sonny." 
	He looked at the other two men and added, "Imagine a bunch of kids trying to beat grown men at a man's game!" 
	The three of them had a hearty laugh over that while Rick looked at Jenny with an expression that told her he'd like to strangle each one of them. Then Malone gestured down the cave with his gun. Rick and Jenny were shoved ahead, and one of the men turned on a powerful flashlight. Rick's mind was racing faster and faster as they made their way back down to Ophir. It seemed there was absolutely no way to accomplish his mission now. 
	But he just couldn't admit defeat. 
	No chance of that, he told himself. There had to be a way to get out of this jam, and he intended to find it! 
	When they reached the town, Malone's thugs helped Rick and Jenny up onto the back of a horse-drawn buckboard wagon. One of the men jumped up front to drive and the scar-faced man joined him on the seat. 
	"Let the others know we got the Raider boy," Malone told the man who remained on the ground. "Tell them the coast is clear. All we have to do is wait for word from Abdul Landa on the ransom money, and then we're outta here!" 
	The town was eerily quiet as the horse pulled the wagon along. Only a few people were out in the roadway and they all hurried along, mindless of the others. Rick could sense the reign of terror that loomed over Ophir. He felt sorry for the people trapped there by Jake Malone and the other convicts and outcasts who had taken over the old underground settlement. 
	The wagon entered the tunnel leading to the Caves of Fire, and soon they were riding through large caverns where great pools of burning oil flamed and smoked. It was hot in the caves and Rick wished his hands were free so he could take off his parka. 
	"This is really incredible," he whispered to Jenny, watching the flames dance up to the shadowy ceilings. "Where does all the smoke go?" 
	"There's some kind of natural ventilation," she answered. "No one's allowed in these caves except the leaders and those who keep the fires going, so I've never been able to find out exactly how it works. But I've heard there are fissures and rifts in the mountains that suck the smoke around the whole town and then pull it up outside." 
	Rick nodded, looking back to the leaping flames. He knew that was their way out of the underground, through the ventilation shafts. But first they had to get free! 
	The wagon pulled into a tunnel lit by torches hung on the walls. At its end they emerged into another large cavern from which led several smaller caves. There was a small log cabin near the far wall and, as the wagon approached, its door opened and a man stepped out. 
	"That's Spike Crawford," Jenny whispered. "He often oversees the prison cells. He's one of the men who kidnapped me in Dawson." 
	Rick nodded. "Sally told me about him. I guess they're going to lock us up, huh?" 
	"Looks that way. But I haven't given up yet, Rick. Something's got to give!" 
	The wagon stopped next to the cabin. Jake Malone jumped off to greet Spike Crawford, and the driver helped Rick and Jenny to the ground. 
	"Got Rick Raider here for you, Spike," Jake Malone said. "Now we got them all, even little Jenny. She was planning to cut out on us again." 
	Spike Crawford looked Rick over. "He looks like his dad. And I hear he's just as stubborn. Well, this'll put an end to his interfering. Put him away with the men, Jake. I'll take Jenny down by the women. This time she won't be able to get away!" 
	Jake Malone pulled out his gun. He motioned toward one of the caves. "This way, Raider." 
	Rick nodded to Jenny and she smiled back gamely, letting him know she wasn't giving up hope.Then he turned and walked to the cave. It was lit up by burning wall torches, and as he stepped inside it he could feel his anger rising. 
	He looked over his shoulder at his captor. "I can't believe you've been keeping civilized people imprisoned in these awful caves." 
	Jake Malone shoved him on. "Nobody told them to come poking around into our business!" 
	They passed several old wooden doors that apparently led into the cells. There were small barred windows on them, and Rick could see the soft glow of oil lamps inside. He wondered if his father or Professor Anderson were in one of them. 
	"All right, Raider, I'll put you in here." Jake Malone grabbed Rick and pulled him over to the door they were approaching. Then, "Hold it, and don't try any tricks. I'll cut those cords on your wrists." 
	Rick groaned angrily. "All right." 
	He stood still while Malone pulled out a knife and severed the cords that bound his hands. Then the man slid aside the long bar that locked the door, and pulled the door open. He motioned Rick inside with his gun. 
	"Go on, your buddy's in there. Hah! You two probably have a lot to talk about." 
	Rick stepped into the cell and the door was shut behind him. He pulled the tight cords from around his wrists and began to rub them to restore the circulation as he looked around the cell. There were two beds of fur and straw along the earthen wall to his left. Between them was an old crate on which an oil lamp softly glowed. Stalactites and stalagmites grew along the walls in front of him and to his right. Timbers had been wedged between them on the right side wall to fully separate the cell from the one next to it. Rick peered through the timbers and calcified rocky growths, but there was no one in the other cell, nor in the one he stood in. 
	He shook his head. "What was Malone talking about?" he said aloud. "There's nobody in here." 
	"He was talking about me, hose-head." 
	His nerves already taut, Rick jumped at the unexpected voice. Charlie suddenly appeared from behind a cluster of stalagmites in the corner of the cell. His coat and jeans were covered with dirt and it was streaked on his hands and face. 
	"Connors! You scared the hell out of me!" 
	Charlie rushed over to him. "Dude! Am I ever glad to see you. They got me and Sally and Stampede right when we tried to sneak into these Caves of Fire. They put me in here, and I don't know where Sally and Stampede are. Is this place weird or what? How'd they get you, man?" 
	"Don't worry about that now," Rick said. "Why are you all covered with dirt? What have you been up to?" 
	"Getting us out of here. Did you know that Indians used to live in this underground and keep their prisoners in these caves? One of the dudes who captured us told that to Sally. She was flirting with him, trying to get information. Good thing, too, 'cause after Malone put me in here I got to thinking. Indians are really clever people. What would I do if I were an Indian imprisoned in this crummy cave?" 
	Rick nodded. "Yeah, I get it. You wouldn't just sit here and rot. You'd do something to try and get out. Even if it was pretty hopeless." 
	Charlie grinned. "Exactly. And then I noticed all the soft dirt on the floor. Look at this." 
	He twisted his boot into the dirt floor and it went down almost up to his calf. "The floor in the next cell is as hard as rock, but this one has inches of dirt over it." 
	Rick caught on immediately. "Someone was locked up in here once and he tried to dig himself out." 
	"You got it. I looked around for a tunnel and found it back there behind those stalag-whatever-you-call-ems. Whoever dug it carried the dirt out here and scattered it all over the floor. And these jerkballs who are running Ophir now never even noticed." 
	"All right, Charlie! This is just what we needed. Does the tunnel lead out of here?" 
	"I'm hoping it does. It caved in some through the years and I've been cleaning it out. I crawled back in here when I heard the door slam." 
	Rick moved toward the corner. "Let's see if we can get out of here. If we can, I know another way to get out of the underground." 
	Charlie blinked. "Great! How?" 
	"I'll tell you about it later. Let's..." 
	Just then, they heard a voice in the cave outside the cell. 
	"You'd better be the last of all these interfering outsiders!" 
	Rick looked at Charlie. "That's Jake Malone. I wonder who he's yelling at?" 
	The door of the next cell was pulled open and a man shoved into it with such force that he fell onto the floor. Then the door was banged shut and the bar slid into place. They heard Jake Malone muttering imprecations to a companion as he walked back down the cave. 
	The boys peered through the timbers and the stalagmites and stalactites at the prisoner. It was a man, and he got to his feet, brushing the dirt from his arms and legs. 
	Rick Raider groaned. "Oh, come on now. This I don't believe!" 
	"Tell me about it," Charlie muttered. "What the heck is going on here?" 
	They were staring at the man who had called himself Professor Dickens! 


Chapter Fourteen: IN THE CAVES OF FIRE 

	"Well, boys," the prisoner in the next cell said. "It looks like we meet again." 
	He walked up to the timbers that separated them and grinned sheepishly. 
	Rick looked at him suspiciously. "It sure does. Why are you locked up in here? Aren't you one of the Ophirians?" 
	The man looked surprised. "You thought I was one of them?" 
	"Of course we did," Charlie said indignantly. "We know you were plotting with them. Don't try to deny it." 
	The prisoner shook his head and started to laugh. "I thought I had you boys fooled. I figured you believed I was Professor Dickens from Columbia University in New York City." 
	"Not for long," Rick told him. "Who in blazes are you?" 
	Charlie smirked. "You mean, who in the 'dickens' is he!" 
	The man smiled for a moment, then sighed wearily. "Well, it looks like we may never get out of here. My name is Jonas Cord, and I'm an agent with the InterTell Agency." 
	"Huh?" Rick was dumbfounded. 
	Charlie's eyes widened. "I don't believe it!" 
	"But I heard you talking to Abdul Landa on the phone in the hotel lobby," Rick said. "And I saw you with him in the restaurant in the Calgary Tower the next day. I overheard part of your conversation." 
	Jonas Cord looked speculatively at the boys. "So, you've been spying on me. Good work too. I had no idea you suspected me. I guess you were the ones who had me fooled. When I met you on the jet from Lake City, Rick, I knew immediately that you were Randolph Raider's son. I was at InterTell Headquarters earlier in the day when you called about the Ophirian prowling around your house. I figured you and Charlie were coming up here to look for your dad, but I didn't know how much you knew about the case." 
	"Just about everything," Rick said. "I helped my dad research the case. The agency said the investigation was being intensified, but we sort of forgot about that in the rush of events. We never dreamed you were an agent!" 
	Jonas Cord laughed. "The professor act is one of my best covers. It works every time." 
	"And it would have worked on us too," Rick said, "if I hadn't overheard that phone call with Landa. I thought you were in cahoots with him!" 
	The InterTell agent shook his head. "Abdul Landa called headquarters in Lake City, requesting an agent be sent to Calgary to meet him. He wanted to discuss the hostages. I was on my way to Dawson to look for Ophir, so I was given the job. I was supposed to call on a public phone to make it harder to intercept , and I identified myself with the password 'Code Name: Ophir'. We made plans to meet later in the day at the Calgary Tower restuarant." 
	Rick told him about the kidnap attempt at Mr. Barringer's office and that they had gone to the restaurant afterwards for lunch. 
	"I heard you and Landa discussing the ransom," he added. "But I didn't hear the entire conversation. I guess I was too quick in thinking you were one of them." 
	Jonas Cord shook his head. "From what you saw and overheard , it seems to me it was the only conclusion you could make. I notified InterTell about the Ophirians' demands and then continued on my way to Dawson, my main objective being to find Ophir." 
	"And we thought you were keeping an eye on us for the enemy," Charlie said. 
	"In a way I was," the man admitted. "But not for them. I felt it was my duty to get you to go back home. I know you're on the student program, Rick, but I figured you were just too young to be up against this gang and biting off more than you can chew. But you didn't pay any attention to my warning." 
	"Then it was you who sent the warning note wrapped around the rock!" Charlie exclaimed. 
	"Right. I really hated to break Stampede's window, but I wanted to frighten you, hoping you'd change your mind about going on." 
	Charlie laughed. "Yah, right. You don't know us very well. Nothing would've stopped us." 
	"I realize that now," the agent said. "I kept watch on Stampede's house and saw you getting the sled ready for travel. I figured the warning note hadn't scared you and that you'd be leaving for Ophir the next morning. I left earlier than you did, planning to waylay you on the trail and scare you back to town." 
	"And you ambushed us!" Rick accused. 
	Jonas Cord nodded solemnly. "Right. I hid in the dredging mounds and waited. When you came by, I shot several times. But it didn't scare you off like I expected." 
	"No chance!" Rick said emphatically. "We were determined to come to Ophir. Hey....no, it couldn't have been you who stampeded the caribou in that gorge." 
	"Yes it was, and I'm real sorry about that, boys. I was some distance ahead of you and I'd climbed up onto a ridge. I fired back at the mountainside, hoping to start an avalanche between us to fill up the gorge and make it impassable. I figured if I couldn't stop you from going to Ophir, I could at least delay your getting there." 
	"But my attempts to start the avalanche didn't work. Oh, I've done it before, once on a mission in Austria. But it's not quite an exact science, you know. And I hadn't seen the herd of caribou coming around the mountain. The rifle shots frightened them and they stampeded." 
	"And almost trampled us to death!" Charlie added. 
	"Talk about a close call," Rick agreed. 
	"Do I detect a little animosity here," Jonas Cord teased them. "If you boys are going to play at being InterTell agents, you have to be ready for anything." 
	Charlie grinned. "Ready and willing, Sir!" 
	Cord laughed at him. "I doubled back along the ridges to make sure you boys and Stampede were all right. I was pretty scared for a while there. But once I saw you'd escaped harm, I decided to try a shortcut through the mountains to Bonanza Valley, hoping I'd get here a long time before you did. I was lucky. The shortcut worked. But I kept hoping you wouldn't find Ophir." 
	"We have a copy of Dan McGraw's map," Rick told him. "Mr. Barringer gave it to us. There was never any doubt we'd get here." 
	The next few minutes were spent discussing all the other aspects of the case. Rick told the agent about the stolen luggage in Calgary, how Jake Malone and his wife had kidnapped Sally in Lake City, and how Spike Crawford had abducted Jenny Malone from Mrs. Grayson's house in Dawson. 
	"Jenny drew us a map of the underground," Rick added. "We came in through a secret passage, the one I saw you in earlier today. What were you doing there, Mr. Cord?" 
	"I was looking for the prisoners. I don't have a map of the underground and spent a whole night wandering around looking for these prison cells. I heard someone following me in those caves and hid behind the stalagmites. It was you, Rick. Why didn't you stop? You were crazy to run out into that blizzard." 
	Rick grunted. "Don't I know it! But at the time I thought you were the enemy." 
	Rick told Charlie how he had followed Jonas Cord through the tunnels leading to the secret passage. "And when he surprised me, I ran up the passage and out into the blizzard. I almost froze to death out there, but Jenny and her dog came to my rescue and dragged be back up to the cave. I thought they were the Snow Wolf and the Girl! Then Jake Malone caught us there later and brought me and Jenny down here. How did they capture you, Mr. Cord?" 
	"I had come back into this area to look through the burning caves for the prisoners. A couple of men who attend to the fires saw me, just as I was creeping into a small cave to avoid them. They came after me. I guess no one's allowed in these caves except the workers and the leaders. The cave was a dead end and they had me trapped. There was no point in trying to shoot it out. That would have only brought more men down to the area. They took my rifle and brought me here." 
	Rick studied the agent curiously. "How did you get into the underground, Mr. Cord? Isn't the main entrance guarded?" 
	The man smiled. "Yes, it is. But remember, part of an InterTell agent's training is to get into guarded areas. It wasn't difficult, though. They use a series of passwords here, and it was matter of judgement to pick the right one." 
	Rick frowned. "I don't remember passwords being included on my dad's directives." 
	"There is often information withheld from directives, given only in private briefing sessions." 
	"What I'd like to know," Charlie chimed in, "is how Dan McGraw escaped from Ophir." 
	"He was taken out of his cell one day," Jonas Cord said. "Jake Malone took him to a cave where the gold dust and nuggets are stored before being smuggled out of the country. I guess he wanted to impress the old prospector, give him a site he'd never forget. But McGraw isn't a fuzzy old codger like Malone thought. On the way back to these cells, McGraw jumped off the buckboard and ran into the Caves of Fire. He managed to elude those who chased after him and escaped through some kind of natural air ventilation shaft." 
	Hearing that gave Rick a spark of hope. "I figured one of those shafts might be large enough for a man to get through. If only we could find the right one!" 
	Jonas Cord laughed ruefully. "First you'd have to get out of that cell, Rick. No, I think were going to be down in this hell-hole for some time to come." 
	"But we might have a way out of this cell." Rick told him about the tunnel Charlie had discovered. 
	"Then what are we waiting for, boys?" 
	Jonas Cord reached into an inner pocket and withdrew a leather case about the size of a small cellular phone. 
	"Okay, fellows," he said as he unsnapped the case. "If that tunnel gets you out of here, you are the official agents whose job it is to wrap up this Ophir mission." 
	He pulled a small radio-like device from the case and showed it to them. "This is a new communications device recently developed for InterTell. It transmits the spoken message to repeater antennas that have micro-processor encoding devices in them. These break down the message into a secret code so that if anyone else should pick it up, by any means, they won't be able to understand it. Then the repeaters send the message on to be picked up by another hand held unit like this , or a base station unit, that has a decoder in it to reconstruct the garbled message. Using these transceivers, InterTell can relay messages without anyone being able to decipher them." 
	Charlie whistled. "Hey, that's cool. A pretty awesome device." 
	"But how far can it transmit?" Rick asked. "We're far from civilization out here." 
	"Nothing to worry about," Jonas Cord told him. "To use the transceiver effectively, you've got to climb to a mountain top. I had a repeater antenna installed on the communications tower of the Dawson RCMP station." 
	He grinned and started to laugh. "I was carrying the repeater antenna in the cue stick case." 
	Rick and Charlie looked at each other and groaned. Then they burst out laughing. 
	"Pretty clever, Mr. Cord," Charlie said. "We were wondering all along what you had in that case." 
	"And we were sure it wasn't a cue stick," Rick added. 
	"I was going to the station to have it installed when I saw you boys on the street the other morning," he told them. "Something told me that you might be going there to ask about your dad, Rick, so I walked your way and came up with that story about playing pool at the casino. I did go in, but left after a while and went to the outfitters to buy a rifle. I saw that you'd gone into the RCMP station, so I waited till later in the day to go myself." 
	Charlie looked at him with admiration. "We were suspicious of you, but you still had us fooled. I can see why you're an InterTell agent, Mr. Cord. You know how to accomplish your mission." 
	"Well, this one isn't accomplished yet, boys. It's up to you to finish it off." 
	He showed them how to use the transceiver, and then handed it to Rick through the timbers. Then he took a small notebook from his pocket and ripped out a page. He wrote some figures down on it and gave it to Rick. 
	"That's my agent number," he said, pointing to the top figure. "Those others are the geodetic co-ordinates of Bonanza Valley. That means the geographical location according to latitude and longitude. If you escape the underground, you are to contact the InterTell headquarters in Fairbanks, Alaska. There is a base station in the office and the repeater in Dawson will transmit your message to it." 
	"Inform the agent there about the situation here in Ophir. Give him the geodetic co-ordinates of the valley and instruct him to contact the Canadian Forces station in Whitehorse, relay the information to them, and request that they send a contingent of Land Forces to the valley as soon as possible." 
	"There is a group from the Ophir gang camped out by now at some point along the Alaska pipeline, ready to sabotage it if the ransom demands are not met. I wasn't able to find out the location. Landa wouldn't tell me. If you can find that out somehow after leaving here, instruct the agent in Fairbanks to contact the nearby Eilson Airforce base and have them send troops to the location. Is that all clear?" 
	"You bet it is," Rick said, his eyes blazing with excitement. 
	"Great. After you've contacted InterTell, go down into the valley. Not far from the western wall is a cabin in a clearing in the woods." 
	Charlie nodded eagerly. "We know where it is." 
	"Terrific. I want you to set it on fire. The Canadian Forces helicopter pilots will see the flames and know where to land. Do you have matches?" 
	Rick shook his head. "No, but there are sure to be some in the cabin. Our friend Sally stayed in it for a few hours and she made a fire." 
	Jonas Cord nodded. "Then you're all set. When the troops land, lead them to Ophir." 
	Charlie punched one hand with the other. "Yo, I'm looking forward to that. And I hope to see the surprise on Jake Malone's face when we do." 
	"If we do," Rick reminded him. "We have to get out of this cell first and escape the underground." 
	"We'll do it." Charlie was confident. "We're officially working for InterTell now!" 
	The boys squeezed their arms through the timbers and shook hands with Jonas Cord. 
	"Good luck," he encouraged him. "And now get your butts out of here!" 
	The boys hurried to the corner of the cell. Charlie took the flashlight from his pocket and switched it on. He aimed the beam behind the cluster of sparkling stalagmites and stalactites. There was a hole in the wall, one that no one would see unless they were back there looking for it. 
	"Here." Charlie handed Rick his hunting knife. "You go first. You'll probably have to do some digging." 
	Rick took the knife and squeezed behind the rocky growths. Charlie handed him the flashlight and Rick got down on his hands and knees. He aimed the beam up the tiny passageway and crawled in. 
	"Not bad," he said to Charlie, who was right behind him. "Whoever dug this out did a pretty good job." 
	Charlie snorted. "The credit goes to me, bud. I just spent all afternoon cleaning it out. Wait till you see it up ahead." 
	Rick crawled forward about twenty feet, and then he knew what Charlie meant. Ahead of him the passage was blocked by dirt and stone that had caved in through the years. 
	He moaned. "Time to get to work, I guess. I hope the mountain doesn't fall in on us." 
	"Really," Charlie agreed. "Just pass the rubble back to me and we'll make our way out of here." 
	Using the knife and his hands, rick loosened the earth clogging the tunnel. He shoved it back to Charlie and Charlie threw it back behind. They progressed slowly, and it grew unbearably hot in the narrow tunnel. Sweat streamed down Rick's face as he hacked away. 
	He started to laugh. "I'm going to wind up with pneumonia! Earlier today I was literally freezing to death, and now I'm sweating to death. It's a good thing Jenny brought me that food. I would've been weak from hunger by now. Did they bring you anything to eat, Connors?" 
	"Yep. But I still haven't figured out what it was. Bummer food. But I ate it." 
	"I never doubted that," Rick laughed. "You'd eat ... hey, I broke through! The tunnel's clear up ahead." 
	Charlie grunted. "Beautiful! Lead on, man. I'm starting to get claustrophobia in here." 
	Rick shoved back the remaining dirt and crawled ahead. The passage turned to the right a little and again was blocked by fallen rubble. 
	Rick groaned. "Here we go again. Another block up!" 
	But as soon as he started hacking at it with the knife, he knew it was only a minor cave-in blocking the tunnel's end. 
	"We're outta here!" he said excitedly, shoving the dirt behind him. "I can feel cooler air. We'll be on our feet in a minute." 
	When the hole was large enough, Rick squirmed through. He played the flashlight beam around, finding himself in another cave. Charlie squirmed out and they stood up, brushing the dirt from their clothes. Rick handed the knife back to Charlie. 
	"I guess we're forever indebted to the Indian who dug his way out of there," he said. 
	"We sure are," Charlie agreed. "I wonder if he took one of those ventilation shafts out of the underground?" 
	"He might have. There's probably all kinds of secret ways to get back outside. Let's see where this tunnel leads." 
	They crept along and within a couple minutes the cave ended, leading out into a large cavern where a pool of oil flamed and smoked. 
	"Weird, isn't it," Charlie said, as they looked at the burning reservoir. "Like somthing you'd see on Star Trek." 
	"Totally. Notice how all the smoke rises up, straight as could be. None of it pours out into the cavern. It couldn't be better if engineers had designed it. The mountains have got to riddled with fissures and rifts that suck it out." 
	"All we have to do is find one we can fit through," Charlie said. "And it's going to be a smoky place when we do!" 
	Rick nodded in agreement. "We'll just have to hold our breath." He motioned for Charlie to follow. "Let's see if we can get to the other side of that pool." 
	They stepped out into the cavern, hugging the wall as they crept down to the far end of the pool where a ledge ran around behind it. Next to the ledge was the mouth of a cave and, as they approached it, they heard a door slam shut from within. Footsteps echoed in the cave, coming in their direction. 
	Rick pulled Charlie back and they shrank against the wall. They had no time to run. The next moment, Jake Malone stepped out of the cave bearing a rifle and holding a jangling key ring. 
	Charlie grunted. "Sheez! Never a dull moment around here!" 
	Rick wanted to punch him. Had Charlie kept quiet, Jake Malone might not have seen them. But the startled man turned in their direction, his rifle leveled directly at them. 
	"Who's there? I can see you. Step out into the light!" 
	Rick's heart sank as he and Charlie stepped forward. 
	The gang leader's mouth dropped open. "Hey! How did you boys get loose?" 
	Rick heard Charlie muttering under his breath about 'me and my big mouth!', but he was paying no attention to him. His eyes had riveted upon the ledge alongside the flaming pool, where a furry shape was creeping up behind Jake Malone. 
	Then there was a loud vicious growl, and a blur of black and white streaked through the air and knocked Jake Malone down to the ground, his rifle clattering as it bounced away from him! 


Chapter Fifteen: THE CAVE OF GOLD 

	Rick Raider leaped ahead. 
	"Yo, Buck! Good going!" he cried, swooping down to pick up the rifle Jake Malone had dropped in his fall. 
	The big dog was snarling viciously as he attacked the frightened man. 
	"Call him off! Get him off me!" Jake Malone boomed. "He'll kill me!" 
	It was evident that Buck hated the man, even moreso now that he knew Malone had taken Jenny away. Rick aimed the rifle at the man and was just about to command the dog to stop when Charlie said: 
	"Cool it, Rick. Wait a minute." 
	He walked closer to the squirming man and snarling dog. "Hey, Malone. You want that dog off you?" 
	"Yes! Get him off me. Damn it! Don't just stand there!" 
	Charlie put his hands on his hips as if he had all the time in the world. Rick watched him curiously, wondering what he was up to. 
	"You know what, dude?" Charlie drawled to Malone. "We need some important information. Like....uh....where the Helsinki are your men planning to blow up the Alaska pipeline? Maybe if you tell us, we'll call the dog off." 
	Rick grinned. Charlie was doing some quick thinking to make up for his darned big mouth! 
	"Atigun Pass!" Jake Malone cried, as Buck bit him on the ear, causing the man to yell. "Oh! Get him off me! I swear it's Atigun Pass. I swear!" 
	Charlie circled around the man and dog. He was getting grossed out. Malone was bleeding! But he felt he had to carry on in the interest of international security. "How do I know you're telling the truth? Maybe we ought to let this dog just chew you up, eh?" 
	"I'm telling the truth!" Buck was now biting Malone's neck. The man was shouting, his arms and legs flailing. "Abdul Landa has a big chopper they'll fly out to the pass if we need to take action. Now get this animal off me!" 
	"All right, Buck," Rick said, stepping forward, rifle aimed right at Malone. "That's enough, Buck! Stop it!" 
	The dog obeyed, edging back, his fur on end as Jake Malone scrambled away and huddled against the wall. Blood dripped down his cheek and beard, and he looked at the dog with angry, terrified eyes. 
	Charlie edged over to Rick's side. "Where'd you meet that wolf at?" 
	"That's Buck, Jenny's dog. He won't hurt us. He just doesn't like Malone." Rick turned to the terrified gold smuggler. "Are you sure you told us the truth?" 
	The man hung his head, unable to look Rick and Charlie in the eyes. "I told you the truth. What do you think? There's some way you can stop them?" 
	"We'll stop them, all right," Charlie taunted, picking up the key ring Malone had dropped. He grinned at the dog who was still hunched down and growling, looking ready to attack the man again at any second. "What are we going to do with this dude, Rick?" 
	Rick motioned with his head down the cave Malone had stepped out of. "He just came out of a room down this cave. We can lock him up in there." 
	He gave Charlie the rifle and went over to the dog, patting it on the head in a friendly manner. "Stay cool, Buck. We're going to lock this sucker up and you won't ever have to worry about him hurting Jenny again." 
	Charlie pointed the rifle at Malone. "All right, get up. The tables are turned now. Get going!" 
	Muttering under his breath, the Ophirian got to his feet. He looked at the rifle in Charlie's hands and then at the snarling dog, and he hung his head in defeat. He walked shiftlessly into the cave. 
	The boys and Buck followed, Rick keeping the dog at bay behind him. About ten feet down the narrow cave was a big iron door set in a frame of timbers. Rick took the key ring from Charlie and turned on the flashlight, shining it on the lock. He tried several of the keys to open the door and finally the right one clicked. He pulled open the heavy door and stepped aside, holding back the dog as Malone and Charlie entered the room. Then Rick and Buck followed. 
	Rick played the flashlight beam around the room. "Wow, check this out." 
	"Beyondo," Charlie breathed, almost a whisper. "Totally beyondo." 
	Shelves lined the walls of the cave room, each one laden with crates and baskets brimming with nuggets of gold. Sacks of gold dust were piled on the floor and many of the nuggets, having fallen from the shelves, lay on the dirt floor glittering and sparkling in the flashlight beam. 
	Rick let out a low whistle. "It looks like the U.S. Mint." 
	Charlie nodded. "It sure is one pretty sight." 
	Jake Malone leered at the boys. "Take whatever you want. A handful of those nuggets could see you through college. A basket would take care of you for life. Just let me go. Take what you want and get out of here. You can get outside through the ventilation shaft behind that oil pool out there. Nobody will come after you." 
	Charlie flashed angry eyes at him. "The only thing I'll do with these nuggets is make you eat them!" 
	"Right, Malone," Rick told the man. "We don't want gold that doesn't belong to us. We're not your kind. Go on, get back against that wall." 
	Charlie gestured with the rifle and the scar-faced man edged across the room to the back wall. 
	"You can stay here and count your gold till the troops come," Rick told him. 
	"Yeah, play with it while you can," Charlie added. "You won't be seeing any gold where you're going next." 
	They edged out of the cave of gold, Buck following along, growling at Malone until Rick slammed the door shut and locked it with the key. 
	"Now to get out of this underground," he muttered. "Malone said there's a way out behind the oil pool." 
	He looked at the dog. "Buck must know the way out. He came from behind the pool of fire out there, and the last time I saw him he was running outside into the blizzard from the secret passage cave." 
	"Right," Charlie agreed. "He must've circled around and come in through one of the ventilation shafts." He looked at the dog. "Okay, Buck, it's up to you to get us out of here." 
	The big dog barked at him. 
	"Outside!" Rick shouted. "Take us outside, Buck!" 
	The dog leaped ahead. Rick and Charlie hurried after him out into the cavern. Buck ran onto the narrow ledge rimming the cavern wall and the boys followed, the heat of the burning oil engulfing them. 
	"Whoa!" Charlie grunted. "Here we go with 'hot' again!" 
	Rick coughed from the acrid smoke. "Just keep thinking about how cold it'll be outside!" 
	"You're right. I forgot it's the dead of winter out there." 
	Buck ran on, stopping at times to turn and bark at the boys. 
	"It's a good thing we ran into him," Charlie said. 
	"Tell me about it," Rick agreed. "We'd be back in the dungeon cells again if it weren't for Buck." 
	The ledge turned along the back wall of the cavern. The smoke was heavy and the heat of the flames intense. The boys had to step around stalagmites that were hot to the touch. Buck pranced on gingerly, and Rick and Charlie knew that the pads of his feet must be burning from the hot rock of the ledge. 
	Rick's eyes began to water, and they were burning so badly he was having difficulty seeing. 
	"Come on, Buck," he urged. "Lead us outta here!" 
	The ledge came to a sudden end at several large boulders. Buck jumped onto the first one and then barked back at the boys. 
	"We're right behind you!" Charlie coughed. 
	The dog jumped from boulder to boulder, and then he suddenly disappeared. The boys had clambered onto the boulders and, when they had crawled to the last one, they saw a hole in the wall above it. 
	Rick pointed. "Buck went in there. What a bummer! I guess we have to crawl through a tiny tunnel again." 
	Charlie coughed. "And one filled with smoke too! Sheez!" 
	Rick pulled himself up into the hole and Charlie handed him the rifle. He heard Buck barking up ahead. He crawled forward in the hot smoky darkness and turned on the flashlight as Charlie climbed in behind him. 
	"I don't care if it's a hundred below zero out there," Charlie groaned. "I can't wait to get out in the cold!" 
	They didn't have to crawl for long. The small passage widened into a larger tunnel and they were able to get to their feet. They hurried after Buck, who they could see ahead in the flashlight beam. 
	"Strange dog, isn't he?" Charlie said. "Dogs usually won't go near smoke and fire. He goes right into the thick of it." 
	"Courageous dog, you mean," Rick corrected. "He knows Jenny's in trouble and that we're out to help her." 
	"Right. Hey......Rick, I feel cold air!" 
	The tunnel ascended sharply and they almost had to climb hand and foot up the incline. But the further they went, the more the heat diminished and the air grew cooler. Buck was up ahead, barking excitedly. 
	"We're almost outside," Rick shouted over his shoulder. "Won't be long now!" 
	The incline leveled off and the boys hurried on through the overpowering smoke. All of a sudden, the air became intensely cold and the cave ended. They ran out onto the mountain side. 
	"Wahoo! Snow! Cold beautiful snow!" Charlie whooped away, diving into a deep drift. 
	Rick fell to his knees and put the rifle down. He filled his hands with snow and pressed it to his burning eyes. The icy frost particles worked their soothing effect and he wiped them from his face, pulling on his ski mask and gloves. Grabbing the rifle, he got to his feet. 
	Charlie had stood up and was brushing the snow from his clothes. Buck was rolling around in the snow groaning with pleasure. When Rick whistled at him, the dog jumped to his feet. 
	"Good going, Buck," Rick praised him. "You saved the day, buddy!" 
	The excited dog jumped all over them as the boys looked around. They were high up on a mountain side that was riddled with a score of small caves. The black smoke from the underground was pouring out of them. 
	Charlie pulled on his ski mask and gloves. He slapped Rick on the back. "Looks like we made it, Raider." 
	"We sure did. And now to call InterTell." Rick pointed up to the top of the mountain. "Let's go for it!" 
	They climbed upwards, slipping and sliding in the deep drifted snow. Buck followed alongside, making his way in rabbit-like hops. The boys could see the tracks he had made on his way down from the top of the mountain. 
	"We're on the outside of the valley," Rick said. "The secret passage must be on the other side of this peak. That's where Buck came from." 
	Charlie pointed to the surrounding mountain tops. "Those are the jagged peaks that mark the gorge leading to the passage. The cabin in the valley is up a ways north on the other side. I hope we can find it after all the snow down now from the blizzard." 
	"We'll find it, Charlie. I'm sure Buck knows the way if we can't figure it out." 
	Breathing hard, they passed several of the smoking caves as they made their way to the divide in the cold Yukon night. Reaching the summit, the boys stood there a moment looking at the beautiful wild land of upflung snow-riven peaks surrounding them. Then, Rick took out the small leather case and withdrew the encryptive transceiver. He pulled out the antenna and pressed the button to key the radio for transmission. 
	"Rick Raider calling InterTell for Jonas Cord, agent KG009. Do you copy, InterTell?" 
	He depressed the button and looked at Charlie. They waited anxiously. 
	Suddenly, the reply came. 
	"Agent KG027, speaking from Fairbanks InterTell. I copy loud and clear, Rick Raider. Who are you and where is agent KG009?" 
	Charlie grinned. "That thing's the bomb. It works!" 
	Rick identified himself as Randolph Raider's son. He gave the agent specifics on the present situation in Ophir, and gave him Jonas Cord's instructions, including the geodetic co-ordinates of Bonanza Valley. 
	"I have a copy on that," the agent responded. "The U.S. Air Force is to send troops to Atigun Pass here in Alaska, and the Canadian Armed Forces will be requested to send troops to Bonanza Valley in the Yukon Territory. Over." 
	"Just one more thing," Rick said. He gave the agent a telephone number. "Call the Connors' home in Lake City. Tell Mr. Connors that the lost expedition has been found and that everyone is soon to be rescued. Also tell him that Sally Anderson is here in the Yukon and that she is well and unharmed. Over." 
	"I have a copy on that also," returned the agent. "Will call Lake City with the good news. Over." 
	"That's all, Fairbanks. Over and out." 
	"Roger and out, Rick Raider," came the reply. 
	"Hey man, how does it feel to have your name broadcast all over Alaska and the Yukon?" Charlie asked. 
	"Way cool, bud." Rick slipped the transceiver back into its case and pocketed it. "But it'll be a lot better when I have my own agent number to use instead of my name." 
	Charlie nodded. "You and me both. After this, InterTell ought to put us on the payroll." 
	"Don't you wish. But we're not done with this case yet. We have to set fire to the cabin down there to light up the skies for the Land Forces." 
	"Then let's do it," Charlie said. He patted the dog's head. "Maybe we'll find some food for you down in that cabin, Buck. A nice big ham bone for you to chew on." 
	Rick started to laugh. "And if we do, Charlie, you'll probably want to fight him for it. You gotta be starving after all this exertion." 
	Charlie lunged at him, but Rick jumped aside and began to make his way down the mountain. 
	Charlie shook a fist at him. "I'll get you one of these days, dude. I really owe you some!" 
	Halfway down the mountain side, the boys came upon a trail almost completely buried by the heavy snow of the blizzard. They trudged along it, slipping and sliding at times down the steep incline. At length, they reached the valley floor and Buck looked up at them, barking expectantly. 
	"This way, Snow Wolf," Rick said to him, grinning behind his ski mask. He began to walk north. "Here's hoping we find that cabin without any problem." 
	"Everything looks different after that blizzard," Charlie said. "It must have dumped three feet of snow. I wish we had snowshoes. This is really difficult!" 
	Rick looked up at the mountain side. "It's too far away to go up to the secret passage to get our snowshoes. Maybe there's some in the cabin. We can use them on our way back to Ophir." 
	They walked north until they reached the area where they'd come out of the woods after leaving the log cabin earlier in the day. As they entered the forest, Buck began to run ahead, leading them on once again. 
	"He must know we're going to the cabin," Rick said. 
	Charlie nodded. "Right. He's one smart dog. Hey, look at the trees!" 
	The tall fir trees were laden with snow, their lower branches drooping to the ground. Some of the smaller ones were bent over, forming arches that the boys and dog walked under. The moonlight filtered through the branches casting weird shadows all around them. 
	From somewhere nearby came the mournful howling of wolves. Buck's fur stood on end and he began to growl. 
	Charlie looked around. "I hope we don't run into those suckers." 
	Rick shook his head. "Wolves don't attack men unless they're provoked." 
	"Buck would provoke them all right. I doubt if he'd stand idly by if a pack of wolves came out of the shadows." 
	Rick realized that Charlie was right, and he kept the rifle ready in case any wolves crossed their path. The howling seemed to get closer and closer and, as it did, Buck grew more restless and he snarled angrily. 
	Rick tried to soothe the dog. "We should get to the cabin soon," he told Charlie. "Then we won't have to worry about wolves. The fire will keep them away." 
	Charlie wasn't so confident. He looked behind warily when a mournful howl came from that direction. He tensed when he saw a shadow moving through the trees some distance back. 
	"Someone's back there," he hissed. "Following us!" 
	Rick whirled around, but he could see nothing. 
	"A person? Or the wolves?" 
	"It was a man. I'm sure of it! I saw him in the moonlight, way back there." 
	"Who could it be?" Rick asked. "One of the Ophirians?" 
	"Maybe. Jake Malone might have gotten loose. Someone could've found him in the gold cave and let him out." 
	Rick nodded. "Could be. I was hoping we'd seen the last of him. Let's hide behind that deadfall. Whoever it is, he's not going to get us!" 
	"Right," Charlie agreed. "Come on, Buck. And you'd better be quiet." 
	They hurried around to the other side of the deadfall, two large fir trees that had fallen down one on top of the other. They stooped down, Rick readying the rifle and Charlie holding the dog so he wouldn't be able to dart out. 
	For a couple of minutes there was nothing to be heard but the sighing of the wind and the howling of the wolves. Then, slowly, there came the sound of someone trudging through the snow. 
	Rick and Charlie peered anxiously through the branches. Another minute passed and the sound grew louder. Buck began to squirm, sensing that a stranger was approaching. Charlie had to use all his strength to keep the dog at his side. 
	Then a man stepped out from behind a tree. He was wearing a ski mask and parka, and the boys couldn't see his face. He'd been walking without snowshoes, just like them. And it was obvious he'd been following their tracks because when he moved on again it was in the direction of the deadfall. 
	Buck began to growl. Charlie tried to smother the sound by pushing the dog's face into his parka, but he couldn't control the excited animal. Buck broke loose from his grip and, in a flash, he rounded the deadfall. With a vicious snarl, he leaped through the air at the man. 
	"AAAAEEEEIIII!" 
	The man's cries echoed throughout the forest. Rick and Charlie jumped up and ran around the deadfall. 
	"Buck! Stop it!" Rick commanded, leveling the rifle at the man and dog as they tumbled in the snow. "Buck! Get off him! Now!" 
	The dog hesitantly edged back, snarling, his wolf-like fangs gleaming in the moonlight. The man sat up, looking from the dog to Charlie to Rick. He let out a long sigh of relief. 
	"All right, Mister, get up!" Rick said gruffly. "And don't try any funny stuff. I'll use this rifle if I have to." 
	The man got to his feet and, to the boys' surprise, he began to laugh. In a quick movement, he pushed back the hood of his parka and pulled off his ski mask. 
	"You'd better not use that rifle on me, Rick Raider," he said in a stern voice. "If you do, you'll regret it the rest of your life!" 
	Rick's jaw dropped. His eyes widened and a sensation of shock swept over him. He still didn't believe his eyes when, a moment later, he heard himself cry out: 
	"DAD!" 


Chapter Sixteen: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED 

	"Yo! Mr. Raider!" Charlie Connors shouted. "Now this is what I call a surprise!" 
	Rick had run up to his father and they were hugging, laughing, and shaking hands excitedly. Charlie joined them, clapping both of them on the back. 
	He laughed, shaking his head slowly. "That was a real smart move, Rick. Threatening to shoot your own father." 
	Rick looked at him. "What do you mean? I didn't know it was him!" 
	"Oh, real good excuse," Charlie went on. "You're ten feet away from your own dad, and you don't even know him. And you talk about me being goofy." 
	"Hey, give me a break, Connors!" 
	"Oh sure, just like you always give me one. I can't wait to spread this story around Lake University!" 
	Randolph Raider was chuckling. "I see that you boys haven't changed a bit since I saw you last." 
	"Not a bit," Charlie affirmed. "And I owe Rick for some. This'll take care of them all!" 
	Rick smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I guess I have it coming." 
	"I'll say," Charlie heartily agreed. "Hey, what are you doing out here in the valley, Mr. Raider? You're supposed to be locked up in the Ophir dungeons." 
	"I was until just a little while ago. Jake Malone came to my cell, bragging that he had caught you boys and Sally. I didn't believe him and I told him so. I never would've dreamed you kids would come up here looking for me and Professor Anderson. So he said he'd prove it, and he took me to your cell. He shoved me in it and slammed the door, saying he'd come back for me later. He was going to the cave where he stores all the gold. He'd taken me there once and tried to bribe me, tempting me with the gold." 
	"He did the same to us," Rick said. He told his dad how they had caught Malone and put him into the gold cave. "We just missed you, Dad. He must have brought you to our cell right after we escaped." 
	Randolph Raider nodded. "He didn't even bother to look inside. Just laughed and said the joke was on me. Ha! The joke was on him. You'd escaped. Well, I was really surprised to fine Jonas Cord in the next cell. He told me about your adventures in coming to Ophir and that you had escaped through a tunnel in the corner." 
	"And so you followed us, right?" Charlie asked. 
	"Right. Cord gave me his parka, gloves, ski mask, and flashlight and told me you planned to escape from the underground through one of the ventilation shafts. I crawled through the escape tunnel and out into the cavern by the pool of burning oil. I figured you must have followed the ledge around to the back of the pool. I was right. I found the hole on top of the boulders and took the shaft out to the mountain side. There I found your tracks and I've been following them since." 
	"Good work, Dad," Rick chided him. "No wonder you have a job with InterTell." 
	"What I want to know," Randolph Raider said, "is where you got that dog. I knew you had one with you from the tracks. But when he came charging at me, I thought he was one of the Bonanza Valley wolves." 
	"His name is Buck," Rick told his father. "He belongs to Jenny Malone, Jake Malone's niece." 
	The dog barked excitedly, sensing that they were talking about him. 
	"But that's a long story, Dad," Rick said. "And we don't have time for it now. We have to get to the log cabin out in the valley and set it on fire." 
	"Then you contacted Fairbanks InterTell?" 
	"Yes, the U.S. Airforce is on its way to Atigun Pass in Alaska. Malone told us his men were there, awaiting word to blow up the pipeline. And the Canadian Armed Forces are on their way here." 
	"Excellent!" Rick's father was obviously very proud of their accomplishments. "Then let's move on, boys. We'll set that cabin on fire and light up these dark Yukon skies for the whole world to see." 
	They arrived at the log cabin in the clearing a few minutes later. They piled the firewood and furniture in the center of the main room, dousing it with a can of oil used for the oil lamps. 
	There were several pair of snowshoes in the cabin and Charlie took three outside for them to use on their way back to Ophir. Rick and his dad found matches in the cabin's supplies and each of them lit one ceremoniously, throwing them onto the pile of wood and furniture. As the flames flared and spread, they hurried outside to join Charlie and Buck. 
	"It's too bad we have to destroy such a nice cabin," Rick said, as the flames spread to the walls and roof. 
	Mr. Raider nodded. "The Ophirians won't have any use for it now. The leaders will soon be in jail where they belong. And after what the rest of them have been through lately, I'm sure most of the others will leave for the outside world." 
	"Ophir will become a ghost town, "Charlie added. "Just like the old one down by the creek." 
	"But not for long," Rick told him. "There's gold and oil in this valley. People will be stampeding up here just like they did in 1898." 
	Charlie shrugged. "Ophir might turn out to be a happening place in the future. But believe me, I think I've had enough. I won't come back to see it." 
	"Nor I," said Mr. Raider. "I've been in that underground for weeks, and it feels so good to be out here again that I don't ever want to go back." 
	They backed further away from the cabin as the heat from the fire grew more intense. While they awaited the troops, the boys told Mr. Raider all about their adventures on the trail to the secret city of Ophir. 
	Rick's father was impressed, and he told them so. 
	"You boys showed a lot of courage, and Sally and Stampede too. If it weren't for you, the USA and Canada would have had to pay that billion dollar ransom, and Malone and his gang might have gotten away free. You deserve a dinner at the White House and one at the Prime Minister's residence in Ottawa, at the very least." 
	"You know me, "Charlie said. "I'll eat anywhere. But what we really should get are official agent numbers from InterTell." 
	Randolph Raider laughed. "Let's not get funny ideas now about doing the impossible." 
	Rick looked at his dad. "And why shouldn't we? We just did the impossible right here today. You think we're going to stop now?" 
	"Right on!" Charlie nodded vigorously. "You tell him, Rick. This is just the beginning." 
	The minutes dragged by, and the waiting seemed to go on forever. The flames leaped high into the air and the fire crackled and roared, echoing at times like gunshots across the clearing. Rick was just going to suggest that they look for branches and boughs to add to the fire when they became aware of a whirring noise high above them. Three pair of anxious eyes looked up at the star-filled sky. 
	"There they are!" Rick pointed above the peaks of the valley wall. 
	Three double-rotor helicopters swooped down into the valley a moment later. 
	Buck began to bark excitedly as the whirring machines descended, and Charlie let out a whoop. 
	"Hey, this is just like in the movies," he shouted. "Here comes the Army to the rescue!" 

						* * * * * * * * 

	Later that night, a very happy group of people were assembled in the Malone cabin in the underground city of Ophir. 
	Around the fireplace in the large living room sat Sally Anderson and her father, the distinquished Professor Anderson, and Stampede and his niece, Debbie Ross. They were animatedly discussing their various adventures centering around Bonanza Valley. 
	"Well, this sure is one story for the books," Stampede said, slapping his knee. "Tomorrow it'll be front page news all over North America." 
	Debbie gave Sally a grateful look. "And I hope you, Rick, and Charlie get the credit you deserve," she said. "You three and my uncle accomplished some pretty awesome deeds." 
	Professor Anderson nodded in agreement. He winked at Debbie. "Next time we go away on an expedition, we're taking Sally and the boys along too. Then we'll know we're in good hands!" 
	"But I missed the best part," Sally groaned. "I'd love to have been there with the boys and Mr. Raider when they led Lieutenant MacPherson and his troops into Ophir. Just to have seen the looks on the faces of Jake and Elvira Malone would've made my day." 
	"It sure made Rick's and Charlie's," Stampede told them. "When they came here to get Elvira, she couldn't have been more surprised. Sniveled and cried all the way to the dungeons! And when they took Malone out of the gold cave and he saw the troops, the man just plain hung his head in shame." 
	Rick and Charlie were in the center of a group who were avidly listening to the full account of their thrilling escape from the Caves of Fire. Among the listeners were the old prospector Dan McGraw, Lieutenant MacPherson of the Canadian Armed Forces, and several members of the ill-fated expedition. 
	Standing in the back of the room were Randolph Raider, his partner, a young man by the name of Jerry Thomas, Jonas Cord, and the two InterTell agents who had come to Ophir with the expedition. They were discussing the future of Bonanza Valley with Jenny Malone, who had stopped to talk with them while passing around a tray of refreshments. 
	The front door opened suddenly and one of the Canadian soldiers burst into the room. All eyes were riveted on him as he requested everyone's attention. 
	"A messenger has just come down from the helicopters in the valley with this news," he announced. "A U.S. Airforce jet flying the Alaska-Yukon border radioed us the message that the U.S. Airforce has captured the Ophirian contingent camped out near the Alaska Pipeline at Atigun Pass. All the men in the sabotage troop have been arrested." 
	A cheer went up throughout the room. 
	Rick Raider raised a clenched fist in the air. "Way to go, Air Force!" 
	"Yes!" Charlie agreed. "The oil companies will be glad to know the pipeline is safe." 
	"One more item," the soldier went on. "Abdul Landa, the ringleader of this operation, has been arrested at the Calgary International Airport. His private jet was just about to taxi down the runway to take off for Irapistan when intelligence agents stopped it and stormed aboard." 
	Sally cheered loudly at that announcement. "All right! I was kidnapped on that jet. I hope it never flies again!" 
	"Everything has worked out perfectly," Jenny said, tears of happiness welling in her eyes. 
	Rick nodded. "I'll say it has. Mission accomplished!" 
	Charlie grinned. "At long last, everything is O and likewise K!" 
	Jenny motioned to the three friends and they followed her into the kitchen. She placed her tray on the counter and withdrew a leather pouch from the pocket of her jeans. 
	"I have something for you," she said. "It's not much, but I want to repay you somehow for all you've done for me. I'm going to have a wonderful new life in Calgary and I owe it all to you." 
	From the pouch she took three gold nuggets, each the size of a small egg. She handed one each to Rick, Charlie and Sally. 
	"What do you mean 'not much'?" blurted Charlie. "These have to be worth a small fortune." 
	Rick agreed. "That's right, Jenny. You keep them." 
	The girl shook her head. "When I ran away from Ophir I could have taken all the gold I wanted. Uncle Jake always had nuggets stashed away here in the cabin. But I could never live on the fortune gotten from Ophirian gold." 
	"Jenny's right," Sally said. "An honest person has to make his or her living in an honest way." 
	Jenny smiled at her. "Right. I know you guys would never use these for money. I just want you each to have a memento of your adventure. Souvenirs. " She chuckled. "I found them earlier in a drawer in Uncle Jake's desk. I'd really be happy if you keep them." 
	Rick looked at the nugget in his hand and his mouth twisted wryly. "We sure will, Jenny. Nothing like having a hunk of Ophirian gold around to remind you to keep on the straight and narrow." 
	Just then, there was a scratching at the kitchen door. Jenny hurried across the room and opened it. Buck came charging in, barking excitedly and sniffing at everyone. 
	"Well, there's my new husky," said Stampede, coming into the room with Debbie. "He's a beauty. Big fella, too. I hope he likes it back in Dawson." 
	"We'll take him back out this way in the summer," Debbie said. "How about it? You guys want to come back north with me this summer? We can stake claims along the motherlode out in the valley and dig for gold with Uncle Stampede?" 
	Rick looked noncommital. "I don't know. The three of us are still a bunch of cheechakos." 
	Jenny shook her head. "No way! In my book you're official sourdoughs." 
	"Say, where does that word come from?" Charlie wanted to know. 
	"Ever hear of sourdough bread?" Stampede asked him. 
	"Sure I have. I like it, too." 
	"Well, the oldtimers in the old days always used to make sourdough biscuits. So people started using the term 'sourdough' to describe a seasoned northerner." 
	Charlie grinned. "Then the term's okay by me. You can call me anything that has to do with food!" 
	Sally smirked. "Except 'full'. That's one thing you'll never be, Charlie Connors." 
	The others all laughed, but Charlie just shook his head. 
	"I'll tell you what I will be," he said. "And that's bored. B-O-R-E-D! After all this excitement we've had, life back in Lake City is going to be mass quantities of dull." 
	Rick couldn't have agreed more. "A real snore-fest," he said. " Mondo dullsville!" 
	"Ugh," Sally nodded in disgust. "We have to go back home. And back to school! We might as well just fall asleep right now and ZZZZZ our way through it!" 
	Stampede exchanged amused glances with Debbie and Jenny , and then he hooted. "I never knew such crazy coots as these three! You nutty critters will never be bored. Who knows, now that you've proved you can outdo InterTell, maybe another exciting case'll come your way." 
	Little did Stampede know how true his words were. It wouldn't be long before Rick and his friends would become involved in a fantastic adventure when THE SEARCH FOR THE ETERNAL FLAME would take them to a land beyond the realm of their wildest dreams............... 


						THE END