n to
the ugly image whose evil eyes seemed to take on malevolent
expressions in the light of the dancing flames.

"It must be all true, then," he concluded. "The man by the fire,
the Little Brass God on the shelf, the pistol shots, and then a
blank."

He wondered where Thede had gone, and why he had deserted him.

"That's the strangest part of it all," the lad mused. "I had an
idea that the boy would stand by me if I got into trouble, and here
he runs away, leaving me lying unconscious in the freezing
atmosphere of this desolate old cavern. I didn't think it of him!"

It occurred to George as he studied over the puzzle that Thede
might not have been as innocent and loyal as he had pretended to
be. He might have been merely an instrument in the hands of a
cunning man.

"At any rate," the boy pondered, "we have found the Little Brass
God!"

He had not, of course, secured possession of it, but he had learned
definitely that it was in that part of the country. He wondered as
to the identity of the man who sat watching the fire. The light
had been dim, and it might have been Pierre for all he knew. Or it
might have been an accomplice of the tricky trapper.

"Now, I wonder how I'm going to get back to camp," the boy mused as
he piled on more wood and spread his hands to the cheerful warmth
of the fire. "Judging from the time it took us to get here, it
must be ten or twelve miles back to the camp."

"The boys will think I've deserted them, I guess," he added. "If
they knew how hungry I am just at this minute, they'd send out a
relief expedition!"

While the boy warmed himself before the fire a series of growls
came from the entrance to the cavern, and two black bears looked in
upon him.

"Now I wonder if you're the same disreputable citizens that tried
to make a free lunch counter of me last night?" George mused. "I
presume you're hungry, all right, but I'd rather not be the person
to do the feeding this morning. You look too fierce for me, both
of you."

The smell of blood evidently excited the bears to unusual feats of
courage, for they entered the mouth of the cavern and stood
growling and showing their teeth within a short distance of where
George stood.

Only for the great blaze which now leaped almost to the roof of the
cavern, the boy would have been attacked at once. He glanced at
the rapidly decreasing pile of wood, and wondered what would take
place as soon as the fire had died down. H