urish on the "tramboon."

"The stage starts from your town this morning, Colonel! Runs express
through Egypt."

"Good idea! Nothing but scenery left there," agreed the colonel. "Take
good care of that gold, boys! The receiver of the Egypt Trust Company
will be able to cut _some_ melon!"

But Prof. Almon Waite, toddling behind the treasure, had a metaphor
of his own. "This gold will gloriously pave the streets of the New
Jerusalem, sir!"

They went on in the growing dawn, threading their way among the vehicles
and the folks on foot.

In all their progress they met only one party headed in the opposite
direction, coming back toward the town that had been deserted. Vaniman
beheld Bartley Wagg teaming along the two convicts. They were tied
together and he was threatening them with a club. They merely flashed
on the screen of the mist and were out of sight. It was evident that
Mr. Wagg had determined to grab a couple of straws, at any rate, in
a desperate attempt to buoy himself officially in the flood of his
misfortunes.

The sun was burning away the mists when Colonel Wincott's turnout topped
a hill; he waved his whip to invite the attention of his passengers.
"There she lies, folks! I've been calling it my town. From now on it's
our town. Some daisy on the breast of nature, eh?"

There was a lake on the facets of whose ripples the sunlight danced.
White water tumbled down cascades. Beside the lake there was a nest of
portable houses. "Homes till we build bigger ones," explained the master
of The Promised Land. "I'm giving building lots free. The class of
settlers warrants it!"

Then Colonel Wincott called their attention to something else--something
that was not visible. He wrinkled his nose, but his sniff indicated
gusto. "Smell it? It's food for the Children of Israel. Not manna. But
it will fit the occasion, I hope. It's a barbecue. A whole ox and all
the fixings."

Then they came to a high arch, fashioned from boughs of fir and spruce
trees. The wains were rolling under it.

Frank and Vona lifted up their eyes. At the top of the arch, in great
letters that were formed of pine tassels fastened to a stretch of
canvas, was the word, "LIBERTY."

"The name of our new town," said the colonel.

But for the two on the rear seat it was more than the name of a town.
Vaniman pressed the girl's trembling hand between his palms. They looked
at each other through the lenses of grateful tears.

Just inside the arch