bout her slim waist.
MacDonald waited patiently until he returned. He motioned Aldous to seat
himself close at his side. Both men lighted their pipes before the
mountaineer spoke.

"We can't both sleep at once to-night, Johnny," he said. "We've got to take
turns keeping watch."

"You've discovered something to-day?"

"No. It's what I haven't discovered that counts. There weren't no tracks in
this valley, Johnny, from mount'in to mount'in. They haven't travelled
through this range, an' that leaves just two things for us to figger on.
They're behind us--or DeBar is hitting another trail into the north. There
isn't no danger ahead right now, because we're gettin' into the biggest
ranges between here an' the Yukon. If Quade and Rann are in the next valley
they can't get over the mount'ins to get at us. Quade, with all his flesh,
couldn't climb over that range to the west of us inside o' three days, if
he could get over it at all. They're hikin' straight for the gold over
another trail, or they're behind us, an' mebby both."

"How--both?" asked Aldous.

"Two parties," explained MacDonald, puffing hard at his pipe. "If there's
an outfit behind us they were hid in the timber on the other side of the
snow-ridge, and they're pretty close this minute. Culver Rann--or FitzHugh,
as you call him--is hustling straight on with DeBar. Mebby Quade is with
him, an' mebby he ain't. Anyway, there's a big chance of a bunch behind us
with special instructions from Quade to cut our throats and keep Joanne."

That day Aldous had been turning a question over in his own mind. He asked
it now.

"Mac, are you sure you can go to the valley of gold without DeBar?"

For a long half minute MacDonald looked at him, and then his voice rumbled
in a low, exultant laugh in his beard.

"Johnny," he said, with a strange quiver in his voice, "I can go to it now
straighter an' quicker than DeBar! I know why I never found it. DeBar
helped me that much. The trail is mapped right out in my brain now, Johnny.
Five years ago I was within ten miles of the cavern--an' didn't know it!"

"And we can get there ahead of them?"

"We could--if it wasn't for Joanne. We're makin' twenty miles a day. We
could make thirty."

"If we could beat them to it!" exclaimed Aldous, clenching his hands. "If
we only could, Donald--the rest would be easy!"

MacDonald laid a heavy hand on his knee.

"You remember what you told me, Johnny, that you'd play the game fair, and