One man who was going towards the town, stopped suddenly, as his quick ear caught the sound of an approaching footstep, and with the caution of one accustomed to frontier-life, drew himself up by the side of one of the very few trees which remained in the vicinity of Flume City, so that in the obscurity it was almost impossible for any passing eye to detect him. The next instant a single man hurried by, passing between the first comer and the starry sky, so that his figure was visible with tolerable distinctness to the concealed watcher. This second man did not look to the right or left—it would have been almost impossible for him to detect the spy, had he done so—but went quickly on in a direction which seemed to surprise the hidden observer. ‘What can he want there?’ exclaimed the latter, stepping from his hiding-place, when the other had fairly gone past. ‘There ain’t no shanties nor no living soul in that direction. It was surely Rube Steele; and without he has gone crazy, I can’t fix anyhow why he should be going towards the cañon after nightfall. I will see where he _is_ going; and if he has turned crazy, I may help him; and if not, I shall find out what he wants in the mountain pass. He was moving carefully but quickly in the direction the other had taken, while he was muttering these disinterested sentiments; and although he could only see the figure he followed, at intervals, when the man climbed a ledge and stood for an instant in relief against the sky, yet there was no difficulty in the pursuit. He could hear his steps as they disturbed the loose stones which strewed the way, and knew besides, that in the wild spot which they had reached, there was no means of turning to the right or left, so that he could not easily miss the chase. Presently the tread of the foremost man became slower, and the pursuer, as a matter of course, moved at a slower rate also—slower and slower still, until the former stopped, or only moved about the same spot of ground. ‘What on airth is he going to do?’ muttered the other man. ‘It’s so dark—for he is right under the shadow of Big Loaf Rock—that he can’t see to dig, nor hunt after any buried—— Wal! that means something!’ This exclamation was caused by a low whistle which Rube Steele—if indeed it were that person—suddenly gave. This was repeated, and then answered from a distance. ‘I feel like seeing the end of this,’ continued the spy; ‘and I mean to.’