own. Suddenly he
swung about upon McCall.

"Andy," he said sharply, "you're going to do more than just look at Mr.
Drennen's find with us. You're going to act upon his offer as you see
fit. As a favour to me, Andy."

Both Drennen and McCall looked at him curiously. Sothern's stern face
told nothing.

"As a favour to me, Andy," he repeated. "You bring me word of my
promotion. Pigeonhole it until after this deal is made or rejected."

McCall, his hesitation brief, swung about upon Drennen.

"Where is this mine of yours?" he demanded curtly. "How long will it
take us to get to it?"

"It's less than forty miles from Lebarge," returned Drennen. "And we
can get there in five hours, if we keep on moving."

"You have filed your title, of course?"

"Yes."

"Come ahead then." McCall was upon his feet, his hat on his head and
his cigar lighted all in little more than an instant.

In ten minutes the party was formed and had clattered out of Lebarge,
back along the MacLeod trail. There were five men in the little group,
Drennen, Sothern, McCall and two mining experts in the pay of the
Northwestern. As they swept out of Lebarge, rounding into the canon
where the trail twisted ahead of them, Drennen saw two men looking
after them. One was Marc Lemarc who had accompanied him to Lebarge;
the other Lieutenant Max.

Once in the trail the five men strung out in a line, Drennen in the
lead. It was easy to see his impatience in the hot pace he set for
them, and they thought that it was no less easy to understand it. But
for once they followed a man who thought less of his gold mine than of
a girl.

Drennen's gold mine itself plays no part in this story. He was never
to see it again after this day, although it was to pour many thousands
of dollars into his pockets from a distance. In the _West Canadian
Mining and Milling News_, date of _August 9, 1912_, appears a
column-and-a-half article upon the subject, readily accessible to any
who are not already familiar with the matter which excited so wide an
Interest at the time and for many months afterwards. The article is
authoritative to the last detail. It explains how the Golden Girl
became a lost mine in 1799, and how it happened that while David
Drennen had discovered it in 1912 it had been hidden to other eyes than
his. A series of earthquakes of which we have record, occurring at the
beginning of the nineteenth century, bringing about heavy snowslides
and