of the poor land
of Westmoreland. It--it--will make me rich."

"You haven't seen all," said Travis--"look!" He turned and walked to
another part of the small cave, where the bank had broken, and there
gleamed, not the black, but the red--the earth full of rich ore.

Clay picked up one eagerly.

"The finest iron ore!--who--who--ever heard of such a freak of
nature?"

"And the lime rock is all over the valley," said Travis, "and that
means, coal, iron and lime--"

"Furnaces--why, of course--furnaces and wealth. Helen, I--I--it will
make Westmoreland rich. Now, in all earnestness--in all sincerity I
can tell you--"

"Do not tell me anything, Clay--please do not. You do not
understand. You can never understand." Her eyes were following
Travis, who had walked off pretending to be examining the cave. Then
she gave a shriek which sounded frightfully intense as it echoed
around.

Travis turned quickly and saw standing between him and them a gaunt,
savage thing, with froth in its mouth and saliva-dripping lips. At
first he thought it was a panther, so low it crouched to spring; but
almost instantly he recognized Jud Carpenter's dog. Then it began to
creep uncertainly, staggeringly forward, toward Clay and Helen, its
neck drawn and contracted in the paroxysms of rabies; its deadly
eyes, staring, unearthly yellow in the lantern light. Within two
yards of Clay, who stood helpless with fear and uncertainty, it
crouched to spring, growling and snapping at its own sides, and Helen
screamed again as she saw Travis's quick, lithe figure spring forward
and, grasping the dog by the throat from behind, fling himself with
crushing force on the brute, choking it as he fell.

Total darkness--for in his rush Travis threw aside his lantern--and
it seemed an age to Helen as she heard the terrible fight for life
going on at her feet, the struggles and howls of the dog, the
snapping of the huge teeth, the stinging sand thrown up into her
face. Then after a while all was still, and then very quietly from
Travis:

"A match, Clay--light the lantern! I have choked him to death."

Under the light he arose, his clothes torn with tooth and fang of the
gaunt dog, which lay silent. He stood up hot and flushed, and then
turned pallid, and for a moment staggered as he saw the blood
trickling from his left arm.

Helen stood by him terror-eyed, trembling, crushed,--with a terrible
sickening fear.

"He was mad," said Travis gently, "and I fea