Part 21 (1/2)

He turned to the girl, and his voice was alinia--into the light,” he advised

”Why? Is it--_danger?_”

”Not danger” His voice in the silence thrilled her andyou'd like to see”

The single match-flare had revealed him the truth For one little fraction of an instant he had thought that the white forainst the stone, revealed soed to a wild beast's lair But the shape of the cavern, the character of its walls, and a thousand other clews told the story plainly The thing he had seen was a naked skeleton, flesh and garrizzly had simply made his lair in the old shaft of his father's mine Bill had found his father's sepulcher at last!

For a loom He understood, nohy his previous search had never revealed thesoravel: it had never occurred to hi the richness of their content, they had burrowed into the hill and had found an old bed of the streae in buckets, and washed it out

He had never looked for tunnels and shafts: if he had done so, it was doubtful if he could have found the hidden cavern The snowslide of sons of their work, struck down the trees they had blazed, and covered the ashes of their own cairl's voice in the darkness called his

”I believe I understand,” she said ”You've found your mine--and your father's body”

”Yes Just a skeleton”

”I'm not afraid Do you want me to stay?”

”I'd love to have you, if you will Some way--it takes away a lot of my bitterness--to have you here”

It was true It see that she should be with hiedy of his father's death concerned her, too

”I can hold matches,” she told hi, closed on his,--a soft, dear pressure that spoke hted anotherdown at the skeleton But she wasn't quite prepared for what she saw A little cry of horror rang strangely in the dark shaft

This had been no natural death Undoubtedly the elder Bronson had been struck down from behind, as he worked, and he lay just as he fell

There was one wound in the skull, round and ghastly, and in a moment they saw the weapon that made it A rusted pick, such as miners use, lay beside the body

”I won't try to do much to-day,” the man told her, ”except to see up one of my cornerposts and erect a claim notice My father's notice has of course rotted away in the years and the monument that probably stood out there beyond the creek bed was covered in snowslide You see, a clai up four stone monuments--one at each corner of the area claiister the claiive these poor bones decent burial”

Fro another match It holly evident that thethe rear wall of the cave It was siuess that here lay an old bed of the creek

In the first handful of stone he scraped out he found a half-ounce nugget

”It's rich?” she asked

”Beyond what I ever drea more we can do now

I've made my find at least--but it doesn't seeht to Of course that ainst the wall--would naturally keep avery happy Of, if I could only find and kill the devil who did it!”

His voice in the gloo She had never seen this side of hieance, filial obligation, hate that knew no otten She understood, now, the savage feuds that soet a blow or an injury She had the first inkling of how deeply his father's murder had influenced hiht They walked over to the creek, and beneath its overhanging banks there were the snow had not swept, he found enough rocks for his athered them, carried them in armfuls to a place fifty yards beyond the creek and down it, level with such a turn in the hillside above, beyond which the old creek bed obviously could not lie; then heaped them into a moment Then he drew an old letter fro farther, found a stub of a pencil Virginia looked over his shoulders as he wrote

One hundred yards up the strea He saw Bill finish the writing, then place the larger on the e stone Then he ca toward them

So intent were they upon their work that they didn't notice him until he was almost up to them But both of them would have paused in wonder if they had observed the curiousloose, his eyes protruded, and soht have been jealousy or souessed emotion drew and harshened his features