e laugh of me this time. Did you ever see such
a coward before?"

"Come along down below there, and see about a fire and a meal," said the
doctor quietly. "Let it go now, Griggs. You didn't feel more nervous
than I did. I was worse, I believe, for I felt guilty as well for
letting you go down. There, I don't think we shall want to get our
water from that place again."

"Why not?" said Ned suddenly. "We could get some up with a bucket if
there was a heavy stone in the bottom. It would only mean
half-a-bucketful at a time, but there's no reason why we couldn't do
that."

Every one glared at the speaker as if wroth with him for proposing so
simple and self-evident a means of getting at the water at a time when
they had only succeeded at the risk of losing a valuable life.

But no one spoke, all preparing to descend the slope, at the bottom of
which the barrel was slung and carried between Wilton and Bourne to the
spot chosen for their camp. Here a good fire was soon made, dead wood
being plentiful, and over the evening meal, hastily prepared, the
incident of the afternoon was gravely discussed, Griggs joining in
calmly enough now, for he seemed to have quite recovered his nerve.

"You'll have a good examination made of this place in the morning, sir?"
he said.

"I was thinking of moving off," said the doctor quietly, "and getting to
somewhere better suited for a temporary camp."

"You couldn't get a better place than this, doctor," said Griggs
quietly. "I've been thinking over what young Ned here said about
dipping out water, and he's quite right. Don't think of going until the
place has been thoroughly searched. I'm quite right now."

"Very well," said the doctor; "we'll have another day, at all events;
but I do not anticipate making much of a find here."

"I don't know, sir," said Griggs gravely. "We're getting into the gold
country now, and such a place as this wouldn't have been made for
nothing, nor be the living camp of a few poor wandering Indians. I
shouldn't be a bit surprised to find traces of mining with furnaces and
crucibles for melting the gold somewhere through these openings. They
were evidently a big race of people who lived up here."

"We shall find that out to-morrow," said the doctor. "But what about
keeping watch? Do you think there is any danger of Indians tracing us
here?"

"Not a bit, sir," replied the American. "They don't care much for these
rocky parts; they like th