t Heart o' Dreams," said the Governor. "We've got
to make a clean sweep. But it's Carey we want, preferably alive!"

There was not a sound from the farther side of the stream. They crawled
across the bridge and Archie ran his hand over the frame of logs against
which stones had been heaped in a rough wall, as the Governor had
explained to him. Archie had determined to thwart his friend's purpose
to lead the assault, but while he was seeking a footing in the crevices
the Governor swung himself to the top. His foot struck a stone perched
on the edge and it rolled down into the camp with a great clatter.

As though it had touched a trigger a shotgun boomed upon the night,
indicating that Carey had not been caught napping. Orders given in a
shrill voice and answering shouts proclaimed the marshaling of his
forces. Archie and Leary reached the Governor as he was crawling over
the stones. Some one threw a shovelful of coals upon a heap of wood that
evidently had been soaked in inflammable oil, for the flames rose with a
roar.

It may have been that Carey had grown wary of murder as a means of
gaining his end after the escapade of the previous night, for the first
move of his men was to attempt to drive out the invaders with rifles
swung as clubs. Carey screamed at them hysterically, urging them to
greater efforts.

"Fight for the gold, boys! Fight for the gold!"

It seemed impossible that the men he had lured to his camp with the
promise of gold would not see that he was mad. He flung himself first
upon one and then another of the attacking party, a fanatical gleam in
his eyes. Once, with two of his supporters at his back, he directed his
fury against Archie. This invited a general scrimmage in which weapons
were cast aside and fists dealt hard blows. When it ended Archie lay
with friends and enemies piled upon him in a squirming mass. He got upon
his feet, his face aching from a blow from a brawny fist, and found the
two sides taking account of injuries and maneuvering for the next move.

The great bonfire kept the belligerents constantly in sight of each
other, skulking, dodging, engaging in individual encounters poorly
calculated to bring victory to either side. One of Carey's men lay near
the barricade, insensible from a crack over the head from a rifle butt.
His plight was causing uneasiness among his comrades, who began drawing
back toward the shadows. Carey, seeing that their pluck was ebbing,
cursed them. Only s