plenty; more than plenty. Something not much short of a
million, as prices for ambergris were quoted when we left San
Francisco. Not such a bad little treasure, eh?"

"We have paid a stiff price for it," answered Martin, soberly.

A shade crossed the captain's serene old face. "That we have," he
assented. "Too great a price. Gladly I'd give it all, and more, to
get my men back again. To have--Little Billy--" He heaved a deep
sigh, and smiled again. "Ah, and that is not all," he said, patting
Ruth's hand, which lay on his shoulder, "for it seems I must lose my
girl, as well. Even the thought of walking in on that doctor who told
me I would never see again hardly reconciles me to the thought of
losing my girl."

"What nonsense!" exclaimed Ruth. "Why, grand-daddy, you don't lose me.
You gain--a son."

Captain Dabney's bright, clear eyes searched Martin's face, and when he
replied to Ruth it was in a contented, satisfied voice:

"Yes, I do," he said. "And a worthy son, girl, tried and tempered, by
Fire Mountain."

THE END

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Fire Mountain, by Norman Springer

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FIRE MOUNTAIN ***

***** This file should be named 30496.txt or 30496.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/4/9/30496/

Produced by Al Haines

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the tra