asked anxiously.

Ham was the first to cry out:

"Bet your life we will, old boy, put it there!" He rose and they shook
hands.

"Sure thing!" cried Fat.

"Of course we will!" echoed Phil.

"Three cheers for Smith!" came from the others.

"Thanks," was all Smith said, then he sat down and Mr. Allen took the
floor. He had caught his cue from what Smith had said:

"Fellows, I think we, too, have made a mistake, and as long as Smith has
been man enough to square himself with us, let us be men enough to square
ourselves with him. We have always called him Sleepy, and he has been
true to the name; but I never knew a boy yet who didn't live up to what
his best friends expected of him. Smith always knew we didn't expect
much, didn't you, boy? Now, let's expect more, and we'll get more. Smith,
we, too, are sorry. Let's expect the best from every fellow and every
fellow will give his best, although it will take real manhood to do it
sometimes."

Ham and Willis went out to take a last look at the donkeys before going
to bed. As they stood on the step, talking things over, they were
startled to hear, somewhere in the night air, the long-drawn bark of a
dog. It came again and again. "Over in the next canyon," was Ham's
remark. "Up by the old mine," was Willis's thought, as he turned and went
into the cabin.

After breakfast Willis took the trail that led to his father's mine. He
went alone, for he had told no one of its discovery, not even Ham. He was
not at all surprised to find the footprints of three men and a dog on the
upper trail, and found no difficulty in following them to the mine. Once
there, the first thing that attracted his attention was a new sign,
nailed up in the place of the old tin one; on it, in bold, black letters,
was written, "Private property, keep off!" The snow had been shoveled
from one end of the dump, and it looked very much as if some of the rocks
had been carried away. Willis wondered, but his reflections gave him no
light. He noticed, however, that the tracks did not return down the
trail, but ran off over the hill and into the next canyon. He made some
careful observations, then returned to the cabin.

Upon Mr. Dean's suggestion, the morning was spent in tobogganing in wood
while the snow was good. It was great fun to see the great logs slide
down with a long swish and pile up in front of the cabin. The fellows
worked with a will, and by noon a large supply had been pulled in. The
next t