looking down upon the still
form, a harsh laugh broke from him and echoed through the stillness of
the room.

He moved away and replenished the stove; and then, returning, he wrapped
his brother in the blankets on which he lay. Moving the blanket-wrapped
body aside, he exposed the floor where the treasure had been buried.
Suddenly he brushed his tangled hair aside from his forehead. A sigh,
which was almost a gasp, escaped him. His lips moved, and he muttered
audibly:

"Ay, she'll come to me agin, I guess, same as she's done before. Yes,
an' it's all hers, 'cause it's all mine now. By Gar! ther's a deal
ther'--a mighty deal. An' it's ours. Hers an' mine."

Again he passed a hand across his forehead, and his action was
uncertain, as of a man who finds it difficult to think, and having
thought fails to obtain reassurance. He passed out of the hut, and
presently returned with a shovel and pick.

Now the hut resounded with the dull thud of the pick as it was driven
deep into the hard-trodden earth. There was a feverish haste and
unnecessary energy in the manner of his work. At first what he intended
was not quite clear. He seemed to be digging at random. Then he laid his
pick aside and plied the shovel, and gradually his purpose became plain.
A long, narrow trench was cleared, and its outline was that of a grave.
Again the pick was set to work, and again the shovel cleared the debris.
The ground was hard with the years of tramping it had endured, and it
took a long time to dig to a sufficient depth. But at last the grave was
completed.

Nick seized the body in its blanket shroud and flung it into the hole.
There was neither pause nor hesitancy in anything he did, only his eyes
peered furtively about. As the first part of the burial was
accomplished, a panic seized him and he shovelled the soil back as
though his life depended on his speed. He packed the dry clay down with
his feet; nor did he rest till the grave was filled to the top.

Then he paused and wiped the sweat from his brow. The tension of his
nerves was slightly relaxed. He went outside the hut to drink in a deep
breath of the purer mountain air before he proceeded further. And while
he stood leaning against the doorway he listened as though expecting the
sound of some one approaching. He scanned the outlook carefully, but
there was no sign of living creature about. The wolves had gone as
surely as if their visit had been a ghostly hallucination which dayl