of soldiers, well versed in the
knowledge of all the impending dangers, but none returned save a
corporal, and he a raving maniac, upon a thirst-crazed mule. Thus the
famous "Pegleg" mine became a legend fraught with mystery and weird,
blood-curdling memories.

It was to this mine, "The Blazing-Eye-by-the-Big-Water," that Yamanatz
was to conduct Jack. The Utes in years gone by made the trip from the
mountains to the desert land and returned laden with golden ornaments,
their trappings covered with gold nuggets beaten into fantastic shapes.
It took many moons in their comings and goings, and many fierce battles
were waged with other tribes in the latter's endeavors to wrest the
secret from the wily warriors, who knew of a safe but dangerous
underground river bed, which wound its tortuous way beneath the
sand-covered desert, cutting the wonderful deposit in half. But even
this passage to that mountain of wealth was beset by terrors as
frightful as those above the ground. Reptiles had ingress and egress
from fissures leading to the surface, and one was in constant danger at
every step, not from the trail alone, but from the roof and sides of
that slimy canon, the gloom of which added to the dark hideousness, as
the feeble, flickering torches awakened the lethargic inhabitants of
that abandoned inferno.

The trip from the White River Agency had been made by rail as far as
possible. Every provision had been made that could be devised for
protection against the evils surrounding the dangerous mission. The
nearest station which Jack could in any way "guess" would land them near
a point from whence Yamanatz could find his way was Mojave. The curious
of the little town watched the preparations of the trio as they made
ready to prospect toward the Telescope range. The party consisted of
Yamanatz, Jack and Chiquita, and an old "forty-niner" who was asked to
join them under the promise of good wages and the usual "interest" in
any claims which might be "staked." As they slowly made their way along
the edge of the great Mojave desert, Yamanatz was continually on the
lookout for some familiar sign that would indicate they were in the
locality leading to the mysterious river bed. Finally the fourth day
found them encamped at the edge of a low "bench," or hill, mountains
arising from one side and an undulating, dreary waste of billowy sands
stretching to the horizon on the other.

"It is good," said Yamanatz, continuing, "On the mo