wers by awaking with all
his old-time strength of body and mind. He accepted the challenge of
the lake and mountains with all his former fearlessness. He thought no
more of the danger which lurked near him than he did of the possible
failure of his expedition. It was this magnificent domination of self,
this utter scorn of circumstance, which made such a situation as this
in which he now found himself with the girl possible. No ordinary man
would, with so weak a frame, have dared face such a venture.

To the girl he had been as thoughtful and as kind as a father. He
lavished upon her a care and affection that seemed to find relief for
whatever uneasiness of conscience he felt. Though Sorez realized that
the Priest must know of his presence here and would spare no effort to
get the image, he felt safe enough in this hut. With a few simple
defenses Flores had made secret approach to the hut practically
impossible. The cliff walls protected them from the rear, while
approach from the front could be made only by the lake, save for short
distances on either side. Across these spaces Flores had sprinkled dry
twigs and so sensitive had his hearing become by his constant
watchfulness that he would awake instantly upon the snapping of one of
these. As a further precaution he placed his sheep at night within
this enclosure, knowing that no one could approach without exciting
them to a panic.

Moreover, Sorez suspected that the Priest had kept secret from the
tribe his failure to recover the image after his long absence in
pursuit of it. Not only was such a loss a reflection on his power,
but it challenged the power of the Golden Man himself. Would the
Sun God allow such a thing? Could the image be gone with no divine
manifestations of its loss? Such questions were sure to be asked.
The Priest had no men he could trust with a secret so important. He
would work alone. The matter would end with a rifle bullet or a stab
in the dark--if it ended in favor of the Priest. With the vanishing of
the treasure and the return of the image--if in favor of Sorez.

During the three days they had spent at the lake Jo had grown very
serious and thoughtful. This seemed such a fairy world in which they
were living that things took on new values. The two were seated around
the fire with Flores and his wife in the shadows, when the girl spoke
of new fears which had possessed her lately. Led on as much by what
she herself saw and continued to see in