he, it would help to clear him, unless you can
vouch for the correctness of the list I made; but he may have some
further plan in his mind." He paused and raised his hand. "Listen! Isn't
that the river? We can't be far from the cache."

The day, like the two or three preceding it, had been hot and bright, and
now that evening was drawing on, the still air was heavy with the smell
of the cedars in a neighboring hollow. A high ridge stood out black
against a vivid green glow, and from beyond it there rose a faint, hoarse
murmur. Nasmyth welcomed it gladly as announcing the end of the march.

"The rest of the party can hardly be down until to-morrow; there's a
couple of portages," he said. "It looks as if we'll have to go without
our supper."

"I don't want to see them before morning," Lisle returned grimly.

They pushed on, the light growing dimmer as they went, until at length
the moon rose from behind the ridge; and when they had skirted the ridge
they saw the river glimmer beneath them in a flood of silvery radiance.
It filled the gorge with its deep murmur, for the hot sunshine for three
days had melted the snow, which had poured down to swell the flood by
every gully. Not far below the neck the broken surface was flecked with
white where the river swept angrily over a sharper slope of its bed, and
a black boulder or two stood out in the midst of the rushing foam.
Up-stream of this there was a strip of shingle which Nasmyth recognized
as the one where the cache had been made; he supposed that Lisle had
struck the spot by heading for the narrow rift of the neck, which was
conspicuous for some distance from both sides.

From end to end the sweep of pebbles was clearly distinct; but there was
no dark figure moving about it, and Nasmyth wondered if they had come too
late. They had marched fast, as his aching muscles testified, but they
had been delayed at the canon and Gladwyne had had a long start. If he
had arrived and had visited the cache, their efforts might prove to have
been thrown away. There must be no shadow of doubt when Lisle told his
startling story.

They descended with caution, moving through shadow, for the ridge above
them cut off the moonlight, though it was far from dark, and they were
near the bottom when Crestwick dislodged a bank of stones which went
rattling and crashing down to the beach. A moment later a black form
sprang out from among the rocks below and ran hurriedly along the
shingle. Th