d Tom, bitterly.

"But, bless my penholder!" cried Mr. Damon. "Can't we do something,
Abe? Won't the law--?"

"There ain't any law out here, except what you make yourself," said
the miner. "I guess they've got us for th' time bein'."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Tom, detecting a gleam of hope in
Abe's tone.

"Well, I mean that I think we kin git ahead of 'em. Come on back to
th' ship, an' we'll talk it over."

They walked away, leaving Andy and his father in possession of the
rich deposits of gold, and that it was much richer even then than
the hole Abe had first discovered was very evident. The two Fogers
were soon at work, digging out the yellow metal with the pick and
shovels Tom and Ned had so thoughtlessly dropped.

"What little law there is out here they've got on their side," went
on Abe, "an' they've got possession, too, which is more. Of course
we could go at 'em in a pitched battle, but I take it you don't want
any bloodshed?" and he looked at Tom.

"Of course not," replied the lad quickly, "but I'd like to meet Andy
alone, with nothing but my fists for a little while," and Tom's eyes
snapped.

"So would I," added Ned.

"Perhaps we can find another pocket of gold better than that one,"
suggested Mr. Damon.

"We might," admitted Abe, "but that one was ours an' we're entitled
to it. This valley is rich in gold deposits, but you can't allers
put your hand on 'em. We may have t' hunt around for a week until we
strike another. An', meanwhile, them Fogers will be takin' our gold!
It's not to be borne! I'll find some way of drivin' 'em out. An'
we've got t' do it soon, too."

"You mean if we don't that they'll get all the gold?" asked Mr.
Damon.

"No, I mean that soon it will be th' long night up here, an' we
can't work. We'll have t' go back, an' I don't want t' go back until
I've made my pile."

"Neither do any of us, I guess," spoke Tom, "but there doesn't seem
to be any help for it."

They discussed several plans on reaching the ship, but none seemed
feasible without resorting to force, and this they did not want to
do, as they feared there might be bloodshed. When night closed in
they could see the gleam of a campfire, kindled by the Foger party,
at the gold-pocket, from bits of the scrubby trees that grew in that
frigid clime.

"They're going to stay on guard," announced Tom. "We can't get it
away from them to-night."

Though Abe had spoken of some plan to regain the advantage th