ark."

"No," she said. "Leave it where it is. We must hurry back to the other
cave."

But he grew stubborn over it. The storm might end at any time; the sun
might melt all this fluffy snow; the bag then would be for any one to
see. Heedless of her expostulations, he left her extinguishing the fire
and went back for the gold. He was gone several minutes, digging after
it. She had finished her task when he reappeared, dragging the heavy
sack after him. He disappeared swiftly, going into the deeper dark of
the further end of the cave; she heard him moving with shuffling feet.
What a treacherous, thieving, petty animal he was----

She started and whirled about. There was a new sound in the air, a low
mumble, a vague murmur. Men's voices. Outside, coming nearer swiftly,
were men. Her first thought was of King; then she knew that it was too
soon for him to have gotten out of the mountains, found assistance, and
returned. A deep, heavy bass voice drowned out the others; it was like a
low-throated growl, ominous, sinister.

Gloria whirled again, this time toward the dark into which Gratton had
gone. Blindly she hurried after him; she stumbled but kept on. She could
hear him at work, hiding his gold. At last she was at his side; she
clutched at his sleeve.

"Listen!" she whispered. "They are outside. They have followed you!"

She felt his arm stiffen as from head to foot he grew rigid. She heard
his breath whistling through his nostrils. She could hear the beating of
his heart--or was it her own? The voices came nearer, rose higher.
Gratton began to shake as with a terrible chill.

"If they find me--oh, my God, if they find me--Benny killed a man he
thought had the bacon--I had it all the time! My God, Gloria, if they
find me----"

"Sh!" she commanded. "Be still! Maybe they will go by----"

The voices came nearer--passed on. Two or three men out there were
speaking at once; then all were silent. The silence lasted so long that
Gloria began to breathe again. Surely, surely Brodie and his men had
gone----

Then again came Brodie's deep, sinister voice:

"Back this way, boys," he shouted. "He's gone in here. We've trapped the
dirty white rat."

Gloria and Gratton clung to each other, too terrified to move.

_Chapter XXVIII_

Gratton, had he been left to his own devices, would have stood
stock-still where he was, frozen to the ground in terror. Gloria tugged
at him, whispering over and over: "They are comin