set you free."

"I don't know anything about your gold," whimpered the fellow, who now
proved himself a coward. "I was only joking with you."

"You and he took it. I shall hold you a prisoner until my friend comes
up, and then turn you over to the mounted police."

"All right; if it is a square deal, follow me."

He turned and darted behind the rock. The youth made after him, but
when he came in sight of the fugitive again he was fifty feet distant,
and running like a deer. Perhaps Roswell might have winged him, but he
did not try to do so. He felt a natural repugnance to doing a thing of
that nature, and the fact was self-evident that it would do no good.
The man would sturdily insist that he knew nothing of the missing gold,
and there could be no actual proof that he did. Had he been held a
prisoner he might have been forced to terms, but it was too late now to
think of that, and the youth stood motionless and saw him disappear
among the rocks.

"I wonder how Frank has made out," was his thought. "He can't have done
worse than I."

Meanwhile, young Mansley had no idle time on his hands. He had hurried
up the fork of the trail, after parting with his companion, until he
had passed about the same distance. The two paths, although diverging,
did not do so to the extent the boys thought, and thus it came about
that they were considerably nearer each other than they supposed.

It need not be said that Frank was on the alert. Suspecting he was in
the vicinity of the men for whom they were searching, he paid no
attention to the ground, but glanced keenly to the right and left, and
even behind him. He was thus engaged when something moved beside a
craggy mass of rocks a little way ahead and slightly to the right of
the path he was following. A second look showed the object to be a man,
and though his back was toward the lad, his dress and general
appearance left little doubt that he was Hardman.

His attitude was that of listening. His shoulders were thrown slightly
forward, and he gave a quick flirt of his head, which brought his
profile for the moment into view. This removed all doubt as to his
identity. It was Ike Hardman.

Frank's first thought was that he was standing near the spot where the
gold had been secreted, and was looking around to make sure no one saw
him, but it may have been he heard something of the movements of his
confederate that had escaped Roswell Palmer.

Afraid of being detected, Frank cro