RANCHER WINSTON It was a bitter night, for the frost had bound the prairie in its iron grip, although as yet there was no snow.

Rancher Winston stood shivering in a little Canadian settlement in the great lonely land which runs north from the American frontier to Athabasca.

There was no blink of starlight in the murky sky, and out of the great waste of grass came a stinging wind that moaned about the frame houses clustering beside the trail that led south over the limited levels to the railroad and civilization.

It chilled Winston, and his furs, somewhat tattered, gave him little protection.

He strode up and down, glancing expectantly into the darkness, and then across the unpaved street, where the ruts were plowed a foot deep in the prairie sod, towards the warm red glow from the windows of the wooden hotel.