irst,
sentimentally. "You'll be hanging on the Equator by morning."

"While we're left here in the drifts," said a third. "Oh, the lovely,
big, white drifts there'll be to-morrow!"

Toward one o'clock the first furious rush of the storm had passed and
it had settled into a fifty-mile-an-hour wind, bitterly cold, with
snow that drove against the building in fine particles. Freezing air
never ceased to enter the thin walls of boards and tar paper. It was
necessary to keep the cast-iron stove red-hot to secure anything like
comfort.

And to this dreadful cold and snow, thought Lee, Imogene would have
been left deliberately by Ruth Gardner and Gretzinger!

Carrigan bade the others roll up in their blankets and get what sleep
they could while he and Bryant tended the fire. Lee saw that Dave was
warm and well-wrapped. The men, worn out by prolonged exertions, made
themselves beds on the floor or stretched themselves out on their
seats, drew their coverings closer, closed their eyes, slept.

The contractor and the engineer, together before the fire, continued
to talk in low tones.

"Haven't told you yet," said Pat, presently, "but we picked up that
Mexican this evening who was trying to start a drunk Christmas Eve. It
was while you were at Sarita Creek. Saurez told me he had sneaked into
camp and meant mischief. Some of us caught him behind the commissary
tent with a can of oil, just ready to fire the camp."

"A fine night for us all to have been left without shelter," Lee
remarked. "Where is he?"

"In the hospital tied up, with a trusty man to watch him. Here's what
I found on him. Look inside." And Pat handed over a dirty leather bag
with a long string. "Found this around his neck."

Lee extracted four pieces of paper from the sack--all checks drawn to
the order of F. Alvarez. Besides these there were two twenty-dollar
gold pieces, three rings, and several unset turquoises.

"Well, we can make use of these checks," he said, after thought. "I'll
talk to the fellow to-morrow." He restored the miscellaneous
collection of property to the sack.

On the panes of the small windows the snow beat and the wind hammered.
Carrigan stuffed the stove with pine knots. Afterward he refilled his
pipe, cast a sharp glance about at the sleeping occupants of the room,
and said:

"You've got what you need now to mix medicine with the banker." He
confirmed his words with several satisfied nods.

"Yes," said Bryant.

Carrigan pr