put their plans into action, if possible."

"That is the thing to do; they probably will take no action unless
they hear of his coming. We ought to get a dispatch off before
night."

"We will," Houston replied, with quiet decision.

"How will you manage it? It will look rather suspicious for you or me
to leave our work and go down to the Y with a message."

"Give Morton our dispatch and cipher book, and he will attend to it
better than you or I, for he is an expert operator."

"By George! that's so, I had forgotten it; he learned telegraphy there
at college just to amuse himself, and had a battery in his room; well,
that's fortunate, he will be just the one for us."

"It is nearly noon," said Houston, consulting his watch, "we will see
Morton at the house, and arrange the message between us, and he will
send it immediately."

After dinner, there was a brief consultation in Houston's room with
the result that the following dispatch was formulated, written in
cipher, and addressed to Mr. Whitney, at Chicago, the attorney from
New York, accompanying Mr. Cameron:

"Come at once, no delay; go to Arlington Hotel, Silver City; keep
dark, do not register. Van Dorn will meet you at hotel."

Houston realized that they were now rapidly approaching the final
denouement,--the closing act of the drama which might yet prove a
tragedy,--and as he placed the folded slip of paper in Morton
Rutherford's hand, he said with a sigh:

"This is the beginning of the end."

CHAPTER XLI.

As Morton Rutherford's fingers touched the key of the little
instrument that was to send forth that fateful message, it was the
unconscious touching of a secret spring which was to set in motion a
succession of events of which he little dreamed.

He remained at the station until the answer came back over the wires:

"Leave Chicago to-night; will follow instructions to the letter."

This was on Saturday. On Tuesday the expected party would reach Silver
City, where they were to be met by Van Dorn, who would furnish them
all details and accompany them on the evening train to the Y, from
which point Houston and Morton Rutherford would convey them by team to
the mining camp.

From Saturday until Tuesday only! but those intervening days were full
of a strange excitement for the little group of friends who were in
the secret, and there was that constant sense of expectancy, combined
with an alert watchfulness, which kept the nerves ten