ye'll corner her, eh?" There was a peculiar note in
Samson's voice which Reynolds was quick to detect, but which Curly
missed.

"Just you wait an' see," the latter reminded. "That old cuss thinks
he's got a regular Gibraltar behind those hills with his lousy Indians.
But I'll show him a thing or two."

"Ye've never been thar, have ye?" Samson queried.

"Never. But the bird comes out of her nest sometimes, ye know, an'
then----"

"You'll be the hawk, is that it?" Samson asked as the other paused.

"Oh, I'll be around," Curly laughed. "One doesn't run across the likes
of her every day, an' she's the gold I'm really after."

"Wall, all I kin say is this," the prospector replied, as he rose
slowly to his feet, "that ye'd better be mighty keerful, young man.
That Giberalter, as ye call it, is guarded by a lion that ain't to be
fooled with. He's got claws that reach from sun-up to sun-down as
several smarter ones than you have found out to their sorrow. Leave
him alone, an' he'll bother nobody. But interfere with that lass of
his, an' the hull north won't be big enough to hide ye. That's my
warnin', an' if yer not a fool ye'll heed it."

Reynolds had a good long sleep that afternoon. He had been much
disturbed the night before by several men in the next room, who shouted
and sang until early morning. During the evening he went out upon
deck, well forward, as he wished to be alone, and away from the men who
were drinking and gambling in other parts of the steamer. It was a
beautiful evening, with scarcely a ripple disturbing the surface of the
water. The air was mild, and when the sun went down, the moon rose big
and cheery above the dense dark forest away to the right. Reynolds
thought over the conversation he had heard between Frontier Samson and
the man known as "Curly." That the latter was a scoundrel he had not
the slightest doubt. His face alone would have betrayed him even if he
had not spoken a word. He was curious concerning the reference to
"Gibraltar," the "lion," and the "lass."

As he thus sat and mused, listening to the zip-zip of the vessel as it
cut through the water, his mind naturally drifted off to her of the
street crossing incident. He wondered what had become of her. Why had
she left the railing in such a hurry, and what was the cause of the
sudden pallor that had come upon her face? Had Curly anything to do
with her agitation, and was it possible that she was the girl to whom