igue; but the young princess
appeared as fresh as when she started. Not once had she even taken a
draught from her canteen; and yet she was closely clad, from head to
foot, in the doublet and leggings of the Golden Fleece. One might have
thought it had some magic virtue to preserve its wearer's vitality; and
possibly, as is sometimes seen in trance, the energy and concentration
of the spirit reacted upon the body.

She turned the corner of the pyramid, but had not ridden far when an
object lying in her path caused her to halt and spring from the saddle.
Kamaiakan also dismounted and came forward.

The dead body of a mustang lay on the ground, crushed beneath the weight
of a fragment of rock, which had evidently fallen upon it from a height.
He had apparently been dead for some hours. He was without either saddle
or bridle.

"Do you know him?" demanded Semitzin.

"It is Diego," replied Kamaiakan. "I know him by the white star on his
muzzle. He was ridden by the Senor Freeman. They must have come here
before the earthquake. And there lie the saddle and the bridle. But
where is Senor Freeman?"

"He can be nowhere else than in this valley," said Semitzin,
confidently. "I knew that I should find him here. Through all the
centuries, and across all spaces, we were destined to meet. His horse
was killed, but he has escaped. I shall save him. Could Miriam have done
this? Is he not mine by right?"

"It is at least certain, princess," responded the old man rather dryly,
"that had it not been for Miriam you would never have met the Senor
Freeman at all."

"I thank her for so much; and some time, perhaps, I will reward her by
permitting her to have a glimpse of him for an hour,--or, at least,
a minute. But not now, Kamaiakan,--not till I am well assured that no
thought but of me can ever find its way into his heart. Come, let us go
forward. We will find the treasure, and I will give it to my lord and
lover."

"Shall we bring the pack-horse with us?" asked the Indian.

"Yes, if he can find his way among these rocks. The earthquake has made
changes here. See how the water pours from this spring! It has already
made a stream down the valley. It shall guide us whither we are going."

Leaving their own horses, they advanced with the mule. But the trail,
rough enough at best, was now well-nigh impassable. Masses of rock had
fallen from above; large fissures and crevasses had been formed in the
floor of the gorge, from some of