had been fairly stripped of its wealth and the sled loaded down
with gold, when, as he drank his coffee, munched his hard biscuit, and
thought things through, he was startled by a growl from the dog. The next
instant there came the dull thud of falling snow-crust, followed by the
jarring thump of a heavy body. A startled expression uttered in Russian
brought Pant to his feet with his hand on his automatic.

Realizing that one of the Russians had blundered upon the snow above the
entrance, that it had caved in with him, and that the only chance of
safety was in "getting" that Russian before he made his escape, he dashed
down the mine. An unfortunate step threw him to the floor. This lost him
the race. On reaching the spot, he found the Russian had vanished.

"Well, old pal," he said, addressing the dog, "that means we gotta get
out, and mighty quick, too. That fellow's not coming back alone.
Bolsheviki'll be swarming up here like bees in less time than it takes to
tell it."

He stood silent for a moment. Then he sprang into action.

"I've got an idea!"

Seizing the long knife from a shelving rock at the side of the entrance,
he began cutting cubes of snow from the bank. Working along the edge of
the rocky cliff, where the bank was thickest, he soon had a side tunnel
well started. He worked with feverish haste. It was only a matter of
moments until the whole Bolshevik band would be upon him. To come out into
the open was to invite death. To hide away in the side cavity in the snow
with his gold, to wait until they had all entered the mine, then to burrow
his way out and make his escape, seemed his only hope.

When he had tunneled into the bank ten or twelve feet and hurriedly
arranged some blocks for closing the opening, he raced to the back of the
mine for his sled. He had just made a grab for the draw-strap, when there
came a sound from the entrance.

He was trapped. They had come. His heart skipped a few beats. How many
there were, he could not tell, but more than enough. He must act and act
quickly, and, even so, all seemed lost. On one thing he was determined; he
would not abandon the gold save as a last resort.

The dog, exercising an almost human sagacity, uttered not a single growl,
but hung close to his master's side.

Exerting all his strength, the boy threw the heavily laden sled upon his
back; then, in a crouching posture, he began making his way toward the
entrance. There was no light, yet he made h