the recollection of the faint pounding he had distinctly heard
beneath the ground. And instantly the story the girls had related
assumed a human aspect. Without hesitation he told himself that they
had not seen spectres marching in procession through the mysterious
graveyard, but real, live, human beings. What, he asked himself, was
the meaning of it? What strange occupation was George Iredale's in
this lonely valley? Where was Iredale now? Where did he go to when he
moved out of the district on business, and what was the nature of the
business? To Hervey it was no great step from questions of this sort
to a general answer. And, when he reviewed the isolation, the secret
nightly doings, the unsuitability of the district to cattle-raising,
and the great wealth of the owner, all made since his sojourn in the
country, it was no difficult task for his thoughts to suggest some
felonious undertaking. But the one question for which he could find no
reasonable reply was that which asked the nature of the doings which
seemed to go on at night in the shadow of those dense forests.

He tramped on heedless of the passing time. His discovery had roused
him to a pitch of excitement which swayed his thoughts in the
direction they would naturally incline. In what manner could he turn
his discovery to account? His sense of proportion quickly balanced his
ideas. He must at all costs learn the secret of the graveyard, and if
it was, as he believed, some "crooked" dealings upon which Iredale was
engaged, the rest would be easy. All he wanted was money, and the
owner of Lonely Ranch had plenty and to spare.

The sun was quite low over the horizon when he at length turned his
steps again in the direction of the ranch. He was hungry; he had eaten
nothing since breakfast.

Hervey was not the man to be disturbed by any scruples with regard to
the hospitality of the owner of Lonely Ranch. He partook of the ample
supper which Chintz had prepared for him without the slightest
compunction. And when it was finished he idled the time away smoking
one of Iredale's best cigars with the utmost enjoyment. He watched the
shadows grow and deepen. He waited until the blue vault of the sky had
changed its hue to the indescribable shadow which follows in the wake
of the daylight, and the sparkling diamonds of night shone out upon
its surface; then he called for his horse and set out ostensibly for
Loon Dyke.

He rode away down the valley until he was cle