y the veteran and the marshal had escaped personal loss,
though they, too, mourned deeply. None ventured to suggest leaving the
doomed spot. It seemed as if a sinister spell held them there, vaguely
expectant, though wistful to flee.

Rather, perhaps, it was their sadness that made seem sinister a spell
actually benignant. For, of a sudden, while they still stood mute,
Brant raised a hand to command attention, and pointed toward the verge
of the precipice.

"Hark!" he commanded.

They listened intently. Then, all heard a faint, tremulous, whimpering
note, long drawn-out, querulously appealing. Zeke started and stared
in the direction of the sound with an incredulous frown. Brant shook
his head sorrowfully: it was not the voice of Jack. The others were
merely bewildered by this unexpected development.

The whining continued, grew louder. Came a plaintive yelp. Out of the
abyss was thrust a clinging paw, another. The squat face of the
bull-terrier peered at them from over the top of the cliff. Next
instant, the dog had scrambled safely on the Slide. It raced to Zeke
with shrill cries of delight, leaped high to its master's breast,
where it was caught and held closely. The slavering tongue lavished
caresses. Zeke felt a warm glow of comfort in the creature's return.
Yet, it did but render more frightful the loss of that being so
infinitely more precious. He hardly heard Uncle Dick speaking.

"Hit's dum curi's," the old man said, lowering on Seth Jones. "I
thought as how ye said the pup was a-hangin' on to Tiny's dress."

"It was so," the veteran answered. "I 'low the dawg must 'a' let loose
when hit got in the air."

"Hit's dum curi's," Uncle Dick repeated, and turned to regard the
bull-terrier with bent brows.

Zeke himself put a term to the mystification that had gripped him as
well as the others. He raised a hand to the dog's throat, to restrain
the too eager demonstrations of affection. At the collar he felt
something unaccustomed. He looked, idly enough, and saw that a
leathern thong had been tied firmly in the ring. To the thong was
attached a little leather bag. The things were strange to him, yet
they moved him profoundly. He found himself trembling--why, he knew
not.

He fumbled at the draw-strings of the pouch, loosened them. He thrust
a finger within the opening, and touched something smooth and hard. It
seemed to him that he already knew what this thing must be. He turned
the bag upside down over hi