He felt that it had been the
luckiest hour of his whole life when, in the midst of his bitter
dejection, left alone on that high and isolated rocky ledge, he had
discovered the strange movements of that fiery pencil, that seemed to
be making all sorts of extravagant figures and circles in the air,
which he knew stood for the means of communication between scouts.

"Let us work our way around this spur," he said, a while later, after
they had continued to advance further into the depths of the mountains.

"I can guess what you are thinking," Thad went on to remark; "you
believe that we must even now be in the neighborhood of that rock face."

"Well, I've tried to judge the distance, and how we got along; and it
seems to me we ought to be nearly there. What do you think, Thad?"
asked the other; and from his manner it was evident that he laid
considerable importance on the opinion of his companion.

"Just what you do, which is, that we must be getting close to where we
saw that great head outlined just as if some scupltor had chiseled it
from the solid rock. But even if we fail to find it, Aleck, that may
be because of the formation of the mountain. Besides, this moonlight
is awfully deceptive, you know."

"Wait, and we'll soon learn," was the confident answer. "I sat there,
and looked for nearly an hour. I guess I got every rock fixed on my
mind."

"Well, I've had a few of the same impressed on my knees and shins,"
chuckled the scoutmaster, drily. "But we've no need to complain,
because, considering all the things we've had to fight against, I
reckon we've escaped pretty slick. See anything yet, Aleck?"

"No, I own that I don't; but then, that may come from lots of causes,"
the other boy replied, trying not to let his disappointment show in
his manner or speech; for he knew that Thad did not believe in a
display of weakness in scouts. "Perhaps, when we've pushed on a
little further, we may be able to glimpse the face again."

"Wait right here," said Thad, suddenly.

"Oh! did you hear anything? Wouldn't it be too unbearably hard if we
learned that some one, perhaps that cruel prospector, Colonel Kracker,
had been ahead of us, and located the hidden mine? He could hurry to
enter his claim, and my poor mother would not stand a ghost of a show.
Was it a voice you heard, Thad?"

"I didn't hear anything to bother me," came the reply, accompanied
with a low chuckle. "I was only thinking how often we strain ourselves