At that moment Jamie heard the breaking of a twig. He paused and
listened. Presently he heard footsteps, and a moment later a man's
voice. Through the gathering darkness appeared the figures of two men,
and even at that distance Jamie knew they were not Bay folk. They
travelled less silently, and the tread of heavy boots is quite unlike
that of moccasined feet.

Jamie crouched close to the tree trunk. He scarcely breathed. The
approaching figures came directly toward the white birch.

"It's lucky we saw them fellers first," said a gruff voice. "They'd
sure suspicioned somethin' if they'd got a glim on us. They never seen
us comin' over, and they'll never find our boat where we hid her."

"If they found that there writin' you went and left in the tin can you
were tellin' about, they've like as not follered the directions you
give and found the swag," growled the other. "That won't be very
lucky for us."

"They'd never find her," assured the first speaker. "They'd have to
find the rock first, and she's a good two mile from shore. They'd
never find her in a dog's age. Here we be. Here's the white birch."

"Well, where's the tree you went and hid the stuff in?"

"Here she is." The man indicated a tree next to that in which Jamie
was perched. "Here, take my leg and gimme a boost. I'll go up and get
it."

Jamie scarcely dared breathe. He could see one of the men make a
stirrup of his hands, and the other man step into it and swing into
the tree. Up he climbed to a point directly opposite Jamie, and so
near Jamie could hear him breathe.

"Got her, Bill?" asked the man below.

"You bet I got her! She's here all right, just like I said she'd be,"
answered the man in the tree.

Jamie's heart sank. After all his hopes and efforts he became suddenly
aware that he could not return to camp triumphantly bearing Lem Horn's
silver fox pelt as he had pictured himself doing. Lem would never get
the pelt again. Every one in the Bay would go on believing that Indian
Jake had shot Lem and stolen the pelt. And he had been so near setting
all this right!

It never entered his head that the cache could contain anything else
than the pelt. Because he wished Indian Jake to be innocent of the
crime, he had come to believe that he _was_ innocent, even though
Indian Jake himself had not denied having the stolen property in his
possession, and everybody, save only himself and David and Andy,
believed Indian Jake had it.

"Here she