Part 47 (2/2)

”Ay, there must be plenty of it up yonder, my son,” said Tregelly, stepping out to shade his eyes and gaze upward towards the wilderness of mountains to the north, probably never yet trodden by the foot of man.

”Then I say, as we have come so far, let's go on and find it,” cried Dallas; ”and if we fail--well, it is only lying down at last to sleep!

No one will know, for our bones will never be found. I feel as if I can't go back--and you, Bel?”

For answer Abel laid his hand upon his cousin's shoulder, and stood gazing with him into the dimly seen, mysterious land, just as, high up, one of the snowy summits suddenly grew bright and flashed in the feeble suns.h.i.+ne which played upon it for a few minutes before the snow-clouds closed in again.

And as if the one bright gleam had inspired him, Tregelly began to whistle softly.

”Look here!” he cried, ”never say pitch a thing up when there's a bit of hope left. 'To win or to die' is my motto!”

”And mine,” cried Dallas, enthusiastically.

”And mine,” said Abel, in a soft, low, dreamy voice.

”Then look here,” said Tregelly; ”we've got enough to give us all a small ration for seven days, so let's load up one sledge and leave the others. Then we can take it in turns and push right on up into the mountains with nothing to hinder us. Snow don't make a bad shelter when you've plenty of blankets, and there's nothing to fear now. Old Redbeard never could have come up here; he must have gone off by one of the side gulches, and got round and back to where he can rob some one else.”

”Yes; we must have pa.s.sed him days ago,” said Dallas.

”Very well, then, we can all sleep o' nights without keeping watch.”

”And we can push on and on, just trying the rocks with the hammer here and there wherever we find a place clear of ice.”

”That's the way, my son, and who knows but what we may shoot a bear or something else to keep us going for another week, eh?”

Abel nodded--he could not trust himself to speak; and then, with determination plainly marked in their haggard faces, they set to work in the shelter of the dwarfed pines around them, and packed one sledge with all they felt to be necessary to take on this forlorn hope expedition, and with it the last of their dwindling store of food.

”There,” cried Dallas, pointing up the narrow gully, as they finished their preparations, ”how could we despair with such a sign as that before us?”

His companions stood and looked up in the direction indicated, where the transformation that had taken place was wonderful.

An hour before they had gazed through drifting, dusty snow at forbidding crags and wintry desolation. For a few minutes that one peak had flashed out hopefully, but only to fade away again, while now their eyes literally ached with the dazzling splendour of what seemed to be a grotto-like palace of precious stones, set in frosted silver and burnished gold; for the mountains blazed in the last rays of the setting sun with the hues of the iris magnified into one gorgeous sheen.

”Yes, that looks as if we'd got to the golden land at last, my sons,”

said Tregelly. ”It's something like what one has dreamed of after reading the 'Arabian Nights'; only you see they aren't fast colours, and they won't wash.”

”Never mind,” said Dallas; ”we know that the gold must be there, and we'll find it yet. Ready?”

For answer Tregelly picked up the trace, and was about to pa.s.s it over his head, but he paused and looked round.

”Here,” he cried; ”where's that there dog?”

Abel went into the rough shelter they had made, to find Scruff curled-up fast asleep beneath one of the skins they were going to leave behind; but he sprang up at a touch, and trotted out to take his place by Tregelly, who slipped his slight harness over the st.u.r.dy animal's head.

”No shuffling now, my son,” he said merrily. ”You're stores, you know, and we shall want you to eat when the rest of the prog is done.

Forward! we're going to do it now.”

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