s."

Knowing the thoughts that were in MacDonald's mind, and how full his heart
was with a great desire, Aldous went to him when they had dismounted.

"You go on alone if there is time to-night, Mac," he said, knowing that the
other would understand him. "I will make camp."

"There ain't no one in the valley," mused the old man, a little doubtfully
at first. "It would be safe--quite safe, Johnny."

"Yes, it will be safe."

"And I will stand guard while John is working," said Joanne, who had come
to them. "No one can approach us without being seen."

For another moment MacDonald hesitated. Then he said:

"Do you see that break over there across the plain? It's the open to a
gorge. Johnny, it do seem unreasonable--it do seem as though I must ha'
been dreamin'--when I think that it took us twenty hours! But the snow was
to my waist in this plain, an' it was slow work--turrible slow work! I
think the cavern--ain't on'y a little way up that gorge."

"You can make it before the sun is quite gone."

"An' I could hear you shout, or your gun. I could ride back in five
minutes--an' I wouldn't be gone an hour."

"There is no danger," urged Aldous.

A deep breath came from old Donald's breast.

"I guess--I'll go, Johnny, if you an' Joanne don't mind."

He looked about him, and then he pointed toward the face of a great rock.

"Put the tepee up near that," he said. "Pile the saddles, an' the blankets,
an' the panniers around it, so it'll look like a real camp, Johnny. But it
won't be a real camp. It'll be a dummy. See them thick spruce an' cedar
over there? Build Joanne a shelter of boughs in there, an' take in some
grub, an' blankets, an' the gold. See the point, Johnny? If anything should
happen----"

"They'd tackle the bogus camp!" cried Aldous with elation. "It's a splendid
idea!"

He set at once about unpacking the horses, and Joanne followed close at his
side to help him. MacDonald mounted his horse and rode at a trot in the
direction of the break in the mountain.

The sun had disappeared, but its reflection was still on the peaks; and
after he had stripped and hobbled the horses Aldous took advantage of the
last of day to scrutinize the plain and the mountain slopes through the
telescope. After that he found enough dry poles with which to set up the
tepee, and about this he scattered the saddles and panniers, as MacDonald
had suggested. Then he cleared a space in the thick spruce, and brought to
it what wa