picked their steps carefully
along the hillside trails. At last Gardiner drew up and pointed to a
heavy clump of trees. A faint glimmer of light shone through it.

"That's the shack," he whispered. "They have a lantern there. We
better get off the road and tether our horses in this coulee. Don't
go too close; their horses may call to ours, and they will come out
to meet us."

They turned down a narrow ravine with scarce room to walk single file
between the branching trees. The stream was almost dry, and the
horses' hoofs clanked alarmingly along the bed of the creek. They
tied them where the woods closed all about them, and there seemed no
chance of discovery.

"Quietly, now," said Gardiner, as they stole toward the old building.
"Things seem to be working out as we planned, but we must make sure
of every detail, so that we can change the attack if necessary."

The two men stole up the rough road leading to the hut. Riles felt
his heart thumping, and his lungs seemed half choked for air, but
Gardiner lost none of his composure, and would have lit a cigarette
had he not feared the light would betray them. The glow of the
lantern came from the building, shining in a long, fading wedge from
the sashless window, but seemed strangely obscure about the door. As
they approached this mystery was revealed; a blanket was seen to hang
over the doorway.

"That's a good sign," whispered Gardiner. "One, or both of them, are
sleeping. That's why they feel the cold. If they had stayed awake
they would have built a fire and perhaps walked about outside. This
mountain air gets a man that isn't used to it. I'll bet you could go
to sleep yourself this minute, Riles, if you weren't so scared."

"I ain't scared, damn you," said Riles, though the words trembled in
his teeth. "If it comes to a show-down we'll see who's scared."

"That's good," said Gardiner. "That's the way to talk. If you just
keep that up for a few minutes it'll all be over."

They paused for a moment to listen. The night was moonless and
starry, except where a bank of clouds came drifting up from the
south-west. A moist breeze, smelling of soft, mountain snow, gently
stirred the trees about them. But from the shanty no sound could be
discerned. They approached nearer, and still nearer.

"Now, you go to the door, and I'll take the window," Gardiner
ordered. "Shove the blanket aside a little and size up the situation
before you speak. We must make sure they're the