ar of the woods; then,
leaving the prairie trail, he turned away to the right, and,
describing a wide semi-circle, doubled back into the woods again,
taking a course which lay to the eastwards, parallel to the valley of
the ranch. Now he quickened his pace, and the hound, limping
laboriously at his horse's heels, had difficulty in keeping up with
him. Nor did he draw rein until he reached the wide hollow which
backed the graveyard hill. Here, however, he dismounted, and secured
his horse to a tree. Then he removed the reins from his horse's
bridle, and proceeded to secure the hound in an adjacent position. The
night had quite closed in and the darkness of the woods was profound
when he started to make his way up the side of the hill in the
direction of the graveyard.

Hervey paused for nothing. His mind was clearly made up. Whatever
weakness may have been his there was none to be traced in his actions
now. He saw ahead of him the possibilities of furthering his own
interests, and he revelled in the thought of George Iredale's wealth.
The despicable methods he was adopting troubled him not in the least.
Iredale should pay dearly if his work partook of the nature of crime.

Hervey entertained no friendship for any one. The greed of gold was
his ruling passion. He cared nothing from whom it was obtained, or by
what means. If things were as he believed them to be, then was this a
truly golden opportunity. And he would bleed Iredale to the very
limits of his resources.

He reached the outskirts of the clearing, but he did not leave the
obscurity of the forest. The black recesses served him for a
hiding-place from which he could obtain a perfect view of the ghostly
enclosure. The tumbled hut and the weirdly-outlined graves with their
crowning monuments showed up distinctly in the starlight. And he
settled himself for a long vigil.

An hour passed without result. It was weary work, this waiting. He
dared not move about, for at every movement of his feet upon the
ground the rotting vegetation crunched and crackled loudly in the
profundity of silence. The man's patience, however, was long-enduring
under such circumstances. He told himself that the result would more
than recompense him for the trouble. He had everything to gain, and
the task appealed to him. Two hours passed and still not a sound broke
the awful stillness. Then came the first sign. Suddenly a bright light
shone out down in the valley in the direction where I