d at the end--and heavy! With trembling
fingers he tore away the rotted string and out upon the table there
rattled a handful of greenish-black, pebbly looking objects.

Rod gave a sharp quick cry for the others.

Wabi and Mukoki had just come through the door after bearing out one of
their gruesome loads, and the young Indian hurried to his side. He
weighed one of the pieces in the palm of his hand.

"It's lead, or--"

"Gold!" breathed Rod.

He could hear his own heart thumping as Wabi jumped back to the light of
the door, his sheath-knife in his hand. For an instant the keen blade
sank into the age-discolored object, and before Rod could see into the
crease that it made Wabi's voice rose in an excited cry.

"It's a gold nugget!"

"And _that's_ why they fought!" exclaimed Rod exultantly.

He had hoped--and he had discovered the reason. For a few moments this
was of more importance to him than the fact that he had found gold. Wabi
and Mukoki were now in a panic of excitement. The buckskin bag was
turned inside out; the table was cleared of every other object; every
nook and cranny was searched with new enthusiasm. The searchers hardly
spoke. Each was intent upon finding--finding--finding. Thus does
gold--virgin gold--stir up the sparks of that latent, feverish fire
which is in every man's soul. Again Rod joined in the search. Every rag,
every pile of dust, every bit of unrecognizable debris was torn, sifted
and scattered. At the end of an hour the three paused, hopelessly
baffled, even keenly disappointed for the time.

"I guess that's all there is," said Wabi.

It was the longest sentence that he had spoken for half an hour.

"There is only one thing to do, boys. We'll clean out everything there
is in the cabin, and to-morrow we'll tear up the floor. You can't tell
what there might be under it, and we've got to have a new floor anyway.
It is getting dusk, and if we have this place fit to sleep in to-night
we have got to hustle."

No time was lost in getting the debris of the cabin outside, and by the
time darkness had fallen a mass of balsam boughs had been spread upon
the log floor just inside the door, blankets were out, packs and
supplies stowed away in one corner, and everything "comfortable and
shipshape," as Rod expressed it. A huge fire was built a few feet away
from the open door and the light and heat from this made the interior of
the cabin quite light and warm, and, with the assistance of a cou