examining the rock with minute care. As he
walked across the waterworn shelf at the foot of the sheer cliff, his
eye was caught by a wide seam of quartz in the side wall of the
gulch.

Going on over to the vein, he looked at it in several places through
his magnifying glass. Everywhere little yellow specks showed in the
semi-translucent quartz. He drew back across the gorge to examine the
trend of the vein. It ran far outward and upward, and in no place was
it narrower than where it disappeared under the bed of the gorge.

His lips pursed in a prolonged, soundless whistle. But he did not
linger. Immediately after he had estimated the visible length and dip
of the seam, he began his descent. Arriving at the foot without
accident, he picked up the level rod and swung away down the gulch.

He saw nothing of Ashton until he had come all the distance down
across the valley to the dike above the pool. His assistant was in the
grove below, assiduously helping Miss Knowles to erect a tent that the
girl had improvised from a tarpaulin. Genevieve and Thomas Herbert
were interesting themselves in the contents of the kit-box. The two
ladies had ridden up to the camp on horseback, Isobel carrying the
baby.

When Blake came striding down to them, the girl left Ashton and ran
to meet him, her eyes beaming with affectionate welcome.

"What has kept you so long?" she called. "Lafe says the gulch is
absolutely unclimbable. I could have told you so, beforehand."

"You are right. I tried it, but had to quit," replied Blake, engulfing
her outstretched hand in his big palm.

When he would have released her, she caught his fingers and held fast,
so that they came down to his wife hand in hand. Oblivious of Ashton's
frown, the girl dimpled at Mrs. Blake.

"Here he is, Genevieve," she said. "We have him corralled for the rest
of the morning."

"Sorry," replied Blake, stooping to pick up his chuckling son. "We
can't knock off now."

"But if you cannot continue your levels?" asked his wife. "From what
Lafayette told us, we thought you would not start in again until after
lunch."

"No more levels until tomorrow," said Blake. "But I must settle one of
my big 'ifs' by night. To do it, Ashton and I will have to go up on
High Mesa and measure a line. There's still two hours till noon. We'll
borrow your saddle ponies, Miss Chuckie, and start at once, if Jenny
will put us up a bite of lunch."

"Immediately, Tom," assented Mrs. Blake, de