"Emily Meyer, I presume." "Wilhelm Laser." "I'm the leader of the group." "We've been expecting you." "Come along." "I have the honour to present Emily Meyer to you." "What a sight for sore eyes." "Gustav Muller." "I hung the flag from the wagon so you'd find us easily." "This is Joseph Rossmann." "It's a pleasure." "These are Maria and Otto Dietz." "Our cooks." "The man with the horses is our packer." "Let's put the formalities behind us." "And now, please, your payment into our gold prospecting concern... for the purchase of land plots in Dawson, as agreed." "We are here." "Our path leads us about 1500 kilometres to the north." "Via Quesnel," "Hazelton," "Telegraph Creek." "From Telegraph Creek it's not far to Teslin Lake." "There we will switch to boats, and travel downstream along the Yukon." "From there it's child's play to Dawson and the goldfields of the Klondike." "Now that we're all present" "I can only congratulate all members of our group on having answered my newspaper announcement." "You were right to choose the inland route through Canada." "Enough horror stories have been told about the other routes to the Klondike." "They are considerably more expensive and most arduous." "We, however, will have a pleasant trip." "I assume that in six weeks we will arrive at our destination of Dawson." "Well, ladies and gentlemen... this is that which awaits you." "Give me your horse." "I'll look after it." " All right." "Go ahead." "Are you a child of the city, too?" "May I ask where from?" "Chicago." "I am originally from Bremen." "I come from Hanover." "But I've lived in America since my childhood." "I work for a German newspaper in New York." "We Germans have to stick together abroad." "I'm reporting on our trip." "It is worth keeping a record of for posterity." "What do you make of her?" "Of whom?" " "Of whom?" Her, of course!" "Well?" " Well what?" "I asked you what you make of her." "A single woman joining a group of gold-prospecting strangers!" "Gold attracts all kinds of people." "Yes, but don't forget she's surrounded by men." "It'll upset the group." "Let's drink to a successful voyage." "Muller, we'd agreed on a bare minimum of provisions." "There's no need for pettiness, Laser." "No one could object to a good beer." "And the sooner we've drunk it, the lighter my load will be." "Here's to the gold that's waiting for us." "Fare ye well, beloved homeland mine" "Oh homeland mine, farewell!" "I take leave right now for foreign climes" "Oh homeland mine, farewell!" "We should stop." "The horses need to rest." "We're coming along well." "We should stick with it." "We won't get far on exhausted nags." "I hired you as a packer, Boehmer." "I'll let you know if I need your advice." "Have a look at that." "Didn't I tell you?" "Here." "Thanks." "You should take a break, too." "Later." "Do you need help with the horses?" "I'll handle it myself." "It's what I'm paid for." "I understand." "I didn't mean to intrude." "May I take a photograph of you?" "Save your film for better shots." "Photographing someone like you could never be a waste." "You're only travelling so as to report on the journey?" "You're not interested in gold at all?" " Of course I am." "I can certainly imagine another life beyond that of a poorly paid scribe." "My wife and I have four children." "We live in a hovel in New York." "We have one single room." "It is damp and so dark that a light burns in it all day long." "The children are always ill." "I have to offer my family a better life." "I didn't mean to be impolite last time." "I didn't introduce myself even." "Carl Boehmer." " Emily Meyer." "Does your offer still stand?" "What?" " Your offer, does it still stand?" "Which offer?" "Of helping me with the horses." "I thought you can manage on your own." "It's what you're paid for." "Well?" "You can take a blanket and rub down the horses." "Only leave that horse be." "He doesn't like strangers touching him." "I expect he's yours." " Yes." "We'll have to leave the wagon here." "I'm a carpenter." "I can try to fix the wheel." "There's no point." "The wagon is just holding us up." "Are you mad?" "How can we transport our cooking utensils without it?" "You said, Laser, we'd be travelling on well-kept roads." "Is there a problem?" "Everything is well." "Why don't we ride on, then?" "Mind your own business, Rossmann." "The river is not on the map." "I thought you knew the area." "And indeed I do." "Boehmer!" "What are we eating here?" "Pulverised potatoes, crystallised eggs, dried onions." "This new-fangled stuff is inedible." "You'll have to get used to it." "We've a long trip ahead and need food that keeps." "Where do you live when you're not travelling?" "Where work can be found." "And you?" "For the last five years, in Chicago." "I worked there as a maidservant." "A maidservant?" "That seems unlike you." "How's that?" " It just does." "It wasn't exactly my dream." "In Bremen there were offices hiring maidservants for America." "They hired me for a German family in Chicago." "I was with them for four years at one dollar a day." "Then I married." "That's about all there is to me." "And where is your husband now?" "We're divorced." "Oh, I'm sorry." " You needn't be." "It wasn't a good time." "Muller, get up at last!" "We're heading on." "We'll wait here." "Have you ever been around here?" "This is my first time so far north." "Laser's too, it seems..." "Where are these damn savages leading us?" "We take the route to the interior." "It'd be wiser to heed the Indians' advice." "They know the terrain best." " We take the other route." "Indians only know their own terrain." "And we've no time for diversions." " Laser's right." "We shouldn't trust the Indians." "They only want our money." "I bet there are more round the corner just holding out their hands." "The collarbone is probably broken." "I have to take care of the food." "No, you needn't." "I'll do it myself." "Rest up." "We'll only ride on tomorrow." "I must confess I thought this journey would be rather easier." "It's good to unhitch for a while, isn't it?" "Yes." "Allow me to give you a piece of personal advice." "I couldn't help but notice that our packer is making up to you." "Perhaps you misunderstand me, but you should be wary of him." "There's something wrong about him." "He's no company for you." "We travel all day as a group." "I would like to be alone for a while." "Of course." "We all need peace." "Are you going to plunk away all day, or will you come hunting?" "I can't stand our cooks' grub anymore." "What are you doing, Muller?" "We were wondering where you were." " I'm examining the river." "I thought we might find gold, you never know." "You're out of luck here." "What makes you so certain?" "The area." "The type of stones." "Believe me, you're wasting your time." "Pity." "It was worth a try." "It's balm for the soul, isn't it?" "What was it like to find them?" "It was overwhelming." "Come on, Muller, it's time to go." "The others are waiting." "The nuggets." "Oh yes." "Of course." "He wanted to steal all our money." "The money we entrusted him with." "It's a mistake to believe that." "Belief is irrelevant." "The matter is obvious." "Let me explain." "You were right, I have problems getting my bearings." "I just meant to ride ahead." "To find the best route." "So why did you take all the money?" "My equipment is in the bag:" "my compass, map and so on." "I'd forgotten about the money." " Save your breath!" "You've no idea about our route!" "You were after our money." "This is a terrible misunderstanding." "He was toying with our lives." "When we get to Hazelton... we'll turn him over to the police." "There are no police stations in this godforsaken wilderness." "Here you have to dispense justice yourself." "A pig like Laser should be hung on the spot." "Have you lost your mind?" "You're not the law." "The law is what you declare it to be." "Why don't we just let him go?" "Sorry?" "We let him go." "You want to let him get away?" "What good is there in dragging him around with us?" "I don't mean to drag him around with us." "I say we hang him." "Yes, the swine needs punishing." "I'm in favour." "And you, Rossmann?" "You can't shirk your responsibility." "Rossmann, speak up." "I'm in favour." "The majority is in favour." "It's decided." "Laser shall be hanged at dawn." "Why don't we do it now?" " Because we're not barbarians." "Condemned men are always hanged at dawn." "You're making a bad mistake." "Thank you." "I'll never forget this." "Shut up and get out of here." "How could this have happened?" "Laser can't have escaped on his own." "Let's not waste time." "We have to go." "I take no instructions from a packer, Boehmer!" "There's something to be cleared up first." "We need a new leader." "I nominate... myself for the post." "That was brave." "I saw you do it." "Why didn't you do it yourself?" "Do what?" "Free Laser." "Laser's fate is all the same to me." "Is anything not all the same to you?" "It's the Indians' hallowed ground." "They lay out their dead here before burying them." "We'll have trouble if we go through there." "Damn it, Boehmer!" "Shall heathen superstition be our guide?" "We'll get nowhere that way!" "We ride straight on!" "And how would he know?" "He says he works the woods and knows the land." "He says so." "People talk to pass the time." "Maybe he likes scaring strangers." "Maybe." "We'll go no further." "Maria!" "Let's not be hasty." "I'm going no further." "I'll discuss it with my wife first." "There's nothing to discuss." "Maria!" "Please." "We sold the restaurant." "Put all our money into this trip." "And now we're to abandon it?" "Just look at you." "It'll take weeks for your shoulder to heal." "We lost our wagon." "We shouldn't wait for worse to come." "And what would we do back in America?" "We'll start afresh... somewhere." "As we've done before." "Let's sleep on it." "We go no further." "We wait till you're healthy, then we turn back." "We've come far." "We'll manage the rest." "Giving up now would be a mistake." "We shouldn't forget what we came for." "The gold will compensate for everything." "I want to go on." "I want to go on, too." "As do I." "No wonder there are so few people on this damn route." "We lose our way here while the others rush onto the goldfields." "I hope there'll be gold left by the time we arrive." "Don't do anything stupid, Muller." "What cursed bad luck!" "Stepping on a bear trap in such a huge land!" "That's cursed bad luck!" "If we do nothing, he'll die." "But what can we do?" "You want to..." "Are you mad?" "We are not doctors." "None of us have ever done anything like that." "It's his only chance." "If he gets gangrene, he's done for." "Just quit it, Boehmer." "Leave me here and ride on." "We leave no one behind." "Not even a pain-in-the-neck like you." "I won't make it, you know it as well as I do." "Just quit it, Muller." "Of course you'll make it." "You have to do me a favour." "Take my camera and notebook and send them to my paper when you reach the next town." "Muller!" "What's wrong?" "Talk to me, Muller!" "Is everything all right with you?" "We killed him." " What?" "We killed Muller." " Of course we didn't." "He'd have died of blood-poisoning otherwise." "You mustn't reproach yourself." "Rossmann!" "We can look for him again tomorrow." "And what if we don't find him?" "Then we'll move on." "We can't just leave him behind." "What else is there for us to do?" "When we decided whether we would go on or not... speak up!" "If I'd turned back, would you have gone on, anyway?" "Is there a particular answer you expect?" "Would you have gone on, anyway?" "I may have done." "And you?" "Would you have gone on without me?" "I may have done." "Do you regret your decision?" "There's nothing for me to go back to." "There's something you should know about me." "I shot a man in America." "That was two years ago." "I was working on a farm in Virginia." "I had trouble with a couple of rustlers." "The dead man's brothers were after my hide." "That's why I went to New York for a short while, where I read Laser's announcement." "What do you think of me now?" "How far is it now to Telegraph Creek?" "One hundred... to a hundred-and-fifty kilometres." "Maybe more." "Stop handling me with kid gloves." "I'm worth no more than you, you hear me?" "Telegraph Creek?" "How long did I sleep?" "Long!" "You look like a new man." "I feel like one, too." "It's still along way to Dawson." "But the going is easier from here." "We should rest up a few days, then we'll see what's next." "Agreed?" "Wish me luck, Carl Boehmer." "BABELFISCH TRANSLATIONS Thomas Cooper"