clear; they could see the
ragged pines across the lake, but the trees on the point behind them cut
off their view to the north.

Presently Drummond came back, running fast, and stopped in front of
Agatha. His eyes sparkled and the sweat ran down his face.

"What's the matter?" Thirlwell asked. "Have the timber wolves got after
you?"

"The _broken range_!" Drummond gasped. "Get up, Miss Strange, and come
right along!"

Agatha looked at Thirlwell, who smiled. "I don't know what he means, but
perhaps we had better go."

They followed the lad for some distance, though the shingle was large
and rough. Now and then he turned and looked back impatiently, as if
they were not coming fast enough; but at length he stopped and indicated
the high ground to the north. Its bold line, colored a soft blue, stood
out against the yellow sky, and in one place there was a sharply defined
gap.

"There!" he exclaimed breathlessly. "I guess that's the _broken range_!"

"I see the break," said Thirlwell. "What about it?"

"Don't embarrass him," Agatha interrupted. "It's something he remembers.
Perhaps his father talked about the gap."

"He did," said Drummond. "The thing's been kind of floating in my mind
all day, but I couldn't get it fixed. Then I saw that gap and knew I'd
got what I'd been feeling for."

"What did your father say?"

"The Indian camp he sent Strange to was in thin bush, close under the
broken range, on the north side."

Thirlwell turned to Agatha. "Then we oughtn't to have much trouble in
locating the ore. We know where the factory stood, and if we can find
the thin bush, I can follow the line your father took."

Agatha's eyes shone and her color came and went, but with an effort she
preserved her calm.

"After all, the bush may have grown."

"I think not," said Thirlwell. "It's probably rocky ground where the
trees are small."

"But how was it my father did not see the gap?"

"That is easily accounted for. The gap's not large, and I expect you can
only see it when you're directly opposite, at a right angle to the line
of the high ground. If you moved back a mile or two, the rocks and trees
would shut it in. Drummond didn't see it as we came up the lake."

"I suppose we must wait until to-morrow?"

"Yes," said Thirlwell. "We must leave the water, and can't get through
the bush in the dark."

Agatha made a sign of agreement. "Very well; I am glad the nights are
very short. But I would like to start a