ckon," he admitted. "Most o' 'em I
saw started that way."

Brown roughly jerked his gun from out its holster, holding the shining
weapon up into the starlight.

"No, he didn't; not that one," he growled fiercely, his glance falling
again upon the upturned features of the dead girl. "I saw him out thar
runnin' toward our shaft-hole; h-he's up t-ter more d-deviltry. Y-you
take k-keer o' her." His voice broke, then rang out strong. "By
G-God, I 'll git the murderer!"

He pushed past between the two, shouldering them aside as though
failing to see them, and, with the leap of a tiger, disappeared in the
night. Each man had caught a glimpse of his face, drawn, white, every
line picturing savagery, and shrank back from the memory. It was as if
they had looked upon something too horrible for thought. A moment they
stared after him, clutching their rifles as though in an agony of fear.
Hicks first found words of expression.

"He 's gone mad! God pity him, he 's gone mad!"

Winston drew himself together sharply, one hand grasping the other's
arm.

"Then leave it to him," he said, quickly. "Whoever did this deed
deserves his punishment. Let us do what he bade us--look to the body
of this poor girl."

They turned back, dreading their task, moving still as though half
dazed. As they advanced, a dark body just beyond suddenly rose to its
knees, and began crawling away. With a bound Hicks succeeded in laying
hands upon the fellow, and flung him over, face upward to the stars.
With gun at his head he held the man prostrate, staring down upon the
revealed features in manifest astonishment.

"Damn me!" he cried, a new note of surprise in his voice, "Winston,
look yere!"

"What is it?" and the younger man pressed forward, his rifle ready.

"Ain't that Burke? Ain't that the same feller they had you pinched fer
murderin'?"

The helpless man lying upon the ground frowned savagely up at them, a
dirty bandage bound about his head giving him a ghastly, unnatural
appearance. For a long moment the startled engineer gazed down at him
in incredulity, unable to distinguish the features clearly, his own
heart beating rapidly in suspense.

"I half believe it is. Are you Jack Burke?"

The man attempted a grin, but there was little of merriment in the
result.

"Oi think loikely ye 're as liable as any wan to know. Ye 're the lad
that put this head on me, but that other divil it was that broke me
arm. Let me up from