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Show for her ears shot forward and she whinnied piteously. The old man looked up i n our direction, squinting, as i f the sun were rising right there on the cobblestones of the Embarcadero. "Hack," he called feebly. My pa had told me time and again: "James Erickson, Son, beggars c a n ' t be choosers." He may have told Rexy, too, for she t r o t t e d right over to the gangplank without my l i f t i n g the reins. Rexy was one smart horse. She knew I ' d give anyone a ride for twenty-five c e n t s - even a cannibal. Closer up, the old man looked even more forbidding. Under a grimy, wide-brimmed hat his gray hair stuck out l i k e wire, and his whiskers were matted around his white-scarred face. His eyes glowed with an unnatural light-like a man s l i g h t l y mad. And strangely enough, a l l the other passengers had the same peculiar look, as i f they had a l l experienced something horrible together. The old man grinned, and I saw he was toothless. "Just in from the Klondike," he slurred. "Can you give me a hand viith my suitcases?" I jumped down from rny hack. The poor old codger had not the strength to l i f t two suitcases. Nor had I ! I t took both of us grappling together to l i ft each suitcase into the hack. I didn't like i t . I didn't like |