cted point. That in itself would be sufficient
to arouse suspicion in the mind of any one hiding there. The first
thing then was to allay any such suspicion.

Deliberately he turned his glasses across the Hollow and studied the
opposite mountain for a greater length of time than he had watched the
point where he had seen the flash. Then he squatted down and leisurely
turned his glasses from point to point in the Hollow in the manner of
one having no interest in anything but the view. Not once did he glance
back along the ridge, although he was burning with curiosity and desire
to do so. He ignored it as if it held no further interest for him
whatever. For perhaps ten minutes he continued to act the part of a mere
sightseer. Then putting his glasses back in his rucksack he stretched
lazily and in a leisurely manner began to pick his way down into a
little draw which cut back into the ridge in the opposite direction from
the pass. Once down in this he would be out of sight of a possible
watcher at the spruce lookout.

As soon as he was sure that he was beyond observation Upton hurried. The
draw led back into a thick stand of young growth, and he hoped by
working up through this to be able to cross the ridge unobserved and
work back to a point which he had carefully noted and from which, owing
to the change of angle, he felt sure he would be able to see back of the
little spruce tree which had previously cut off his view. Getting up to
the top of the ridge was stiff work for an inexperienced snow-shoer in a
hurry and was productive of many tumbles, but it was accomplished at
last. After this it was comparatively easy to work along just below the
top on the back side to the point he had selected.

There he cautiously crept into a thicket of young spruce and, his heart
beating like a trip-hammer with excitement, carefully parted the
branches until he could get a clear view. His hands trembled as he drew
out the glasses. Would he discover anything, or had he been wrought up
to such a pitch over nothing? The little spruce leaped out clear and
distinct as he got the focus. "Ha!" The exclamation was wholly
involuntary and he experienced an absurd impulse to look around to make
sure that he had not been overheard, although he knew that he was
absolutely alone.

The cause was the figure of a man squatting behind the spruce and
peering intently into the valley. He wore a fur cup pulled low to shade
his eyes, and this, together