one cabin about here. Steer in the direction of
the smoke, Tom, and I'll follow in your tracks. My horse is getting
tired; he'll be glad to rest for the night."

"Will it be safe?" queried Hadley.

"Safe enough. The Chinaman is disposed of, and as for this broken-legged
Dewey, we'll bind him fast and set him outside of the cabin while we
make ourselves comfortable within. I shall be sorry to inconvenience
him, but when a man has company he must expect to be put out--eh, Tom?"

"I should say so, Bill."

The two worthy gentlemen kept on their way till, making a sudden turn,
the house, which had hitherto been concealed from them by a cliff, stood
plainly revealed.

"There it is, Tom!" cried Mosely, joyfully. "We've found it, in spite of
that lying heathen. It seems good to see a house after wandering about
for weeks without a chance to sleep under a roof--eh, Tom?"

"I should say so, Bill."

It will be observed that Mr. William Mosely was fond of designating Ki
Sing as a heathen, evidently appreciating his own superiority as a
Christian. Yet I am inclined to think that a heathen like the Chinaman
possessed more moral worth than a dozen Christians of the type of
Mosely. From youth he had preyed upon the community, and his aim had
been to get a living in any way that did not involve labor. Honesty was
an obsolete word in his vocabulary, and a successful theft yielded him a
satisfaction such as other men derive from the consciousness of
well-doing. In fact, Mosely's moral nature was warped, and there was
very little chance of his reformation.

Now that the cabin was near at hand, the two men did not quicken their
speed, for the ascent was somewhat steep and their animals were tired.

"Take it easy, Tom. The whole thing's in our hands. Wonder whether
Dewey's expectin' visitors?" he added, chuckling. "I say, Hadley, he'll
be glad to see us--don't you think so?"

"I should say so," returned Hadley, before the joke dawned upon him.

"You see, we are going to relieve him of the care of that gold-dust of
his. We're two bankers from 'Frisco, that's what we are, and we'll take
care of all the gold-dust we can take in."

"I shall want my half," said Tom Hadley, unexpectedly deviating from his
customary formula.

Mosely shrugged his shoulders. He did not quite like this new
disposition of Hadley's to look after his own interests, but at present
did not think it politic to say much about it. Though Tom Hadley had
genera