Part 36 (1/2)

”We certainly hustled,” he said with a deprecatory air. ”But I've been four years at the mill and never had trouble over charging my time.

Your pay-sheet was square.”

”That's so,” agreed his companion. ”They might have laid me off a while last summer when we ran out of logs, but Mr. Graham fixed it so I kept my job.”

Andrew smiled at Graham, who looked confused.

”If you do these things, you must take the consequences; but I've met people with shorter memories.”

”Anyhow, we've got here ahead of the logging crowd and I'm mighty glad,” said the first packer. ”Those fellows think n.o.body can break a trail unless he lives in the woods. Now you sit by quiet while we get supper.”

Before the meal was ready Carnally arrived with the man who had gone to look for him, and the party feasted royally. When they had finished, Carnally sighed with deep content.

”I just don't want to move,” he remarked. ”I feel most too good to talk; but if the rest of you have anything to say, I'll try to listen.”

”What's your program?” one of the men asked. ”We have food enough to take us down, going easy.”

”I want two days' rest,” said Andrew. ”Until they're up, we'll do nothing but eat and lie about the fire and smoke.”

Carnally looked up lazily.

”That sounds nice, but I'm going to locate Mappin's cache before we start.”

The others began to talk to Graham, but Andrew did not know how long they continued, for he was soon fast asleep.

They broke camp on the third morning and when they crossed the neck Carnally divided the party, which had been joined by the loggers. Some he told to follow down one or two ravines at a distance, which he had not searched, and then meet the others, who would work along the ridge. Toward evening a man hailed him and Andrew from a slope some way off, and when they joined him he led them into a deep hollow. In the middle of it a small, barked fir projected from a snowy mound.

”It's the kind of place you'd break a trail up if you were trying to make the neck,” the packer explained.

”It looks a good road from here,” Carnally a.s.sented. ”We didn't get so far along, but we'll climb up a piece.”

The hollow died out into a snow slope, and when they had walked on farther they lost sight of it. Then Carnally stopped and carefully looked about.

”We might have struck that gulch first shot, but the chances were against it; you can only see it from below. You want to remember that the line the fellows who made the cache would take would depend on where they left the big loop of the lower river. Mappin was smart enough to see that. Now we'll have a look at the provisions.”

They proved to be sufficient in quant.i.ty and in excellent order when the cache was opened; but Carnally had expected that.

”I wonder how Mappin will feel when he sees us come marching in?”

Andrew said lightly. They could laugh now.

”Not very comfortable, I'll promise you!” Carnally declared with a glint in his eyes.

CHAPTER XXI

A BUSHMAN'S SATISFACTION

Andrew reached the Landing physically exhausted and troubled by a heavy depression. The long-continued strain had left its mark on him, for, having proposed the expedition, he felt responsible for the safety of his friends; and his strength and endurance deserted him shortly after the arrival of the rescue party. Relief had been followed by a severe reaction, which left him limp and nerveless; and the homeward march proved long and toilsome. As they had food, there was no longer the same necessity for haste, but the rigor of the weather forced the men to push on as fast as possible, and Andrew found it difficult to emulate his rescuers' pace. Moreover, he was seriously troubled about Graham, whose foot appeared to be getting worse, and he was deeply disappointed with the result of his search.

He had found the lode, but, so far as he had been able to test it, the ore did not promise much.