g, so long as he did not tell how they had been knocked down
and tied up. But one of them had to pucker up his mouth for a sort of
silent whistle when he heard Captain Skinner praise them for their wisdom
in keeping the peace with the Apaches.

Perhaps all three of them, too, were thinking of what they should say if
the exact truth about that morning's work should ever leak out.

Danger behind them. They did not know exactly what, but their
consciences told them what it ought to be. That made it grow bigger and
bigger the longer they thought of it.

Danger before them in the shape of wandering Apaches; but they had
expected to meet that sort of thing, and were ready for it. Only they
hoped to dodge it in some way, and to get safely across the border into
Mexico with their stolen treasure.

They had at least made sure of their wonderful mine, and that was
something. Sooner or later they would all come back and claim it again,
and dig fortunes out of it. The two miners would not be able to prove
anything. There was no danger from them.

Perhaps not; and yet, as soon as they had fairly disappeared down the
pass, below the spot where Steve and Murray were hiding, the latter
exclaimed, "Now, Steve, we won't rest our horses till we get there."

They would be quite likely to need rest by that time, for the old man
seemed to be in a tremendous hurry.

Steve would hardly have believed anything could excite the veteran to
such a pitch, if it had not been that he felt so much of the "gold-fever"
in his own veins. It seemed to him as if he were really thirsty for
another look at that wonderful ledge.

They turned their horses out to feed on the sweet, fresh grass at last,
and pushed forward on foot to the mine.

"They've done it, Steve!"

"I see they have. Our title's all gone!"

He spoke mournfully and angrily; but Murray replied,

"Gone? Why, my boy, those rascals have only been doing our work for us."

"For us? How's that?"

"It was ours. They've set up our monuments, and dug our shafts, and put
in a blast for us. They haven't taken anything away from us. I'll show
you."

He had taken from a pocket of his buckskins a small, narrow chisel as he
spoke, and now he picked up a round stone to serve as a hammer.

"I'm going to make a record, Steve. I'll tell you what to do about it as
I go along."

Captain Skinner's miners had been hard workers, but Steve had never seen
anybody ply a chisel as Murra