The second day found Jack and the Ute chief inside the well-concealed stone covered opening which led to the river bed. Armed with horsehair whips and gnarled piñon torches which blazed and smoked, they made their way, leading horses and pack mules along the subterranean passage. Occasionally the swashing of water smote their ears, and at intervals open fissures extending to the stream far below them were encountered, whereby cooling drink was obtained by means of a lariat and camp bucket. It was not difficult to replenish the leathern pouches provided for water. The middle of the fourth day they reached the crumbling, disintegrated mass of quartz, honeycombed with gold. It was necessary to crush the decayed ore and extract the huge nuggets by washing in a pan. Occasionally the breaking of some of the rock revealed solid masses of pure gold, while in pockets of rusty, discolored quartz great handfuls of gold sand were disclosed. All that day and night Jack worked with a frenzied fervor, loading saddlebag after saddlebag with the precious metal. Yamanatz assisted until all their receptacles were filled, then a couple of hours of rest--sleep was out of the question. The heat and excitement rendered it useless to attempt it. Packing the valuable pouches together with the few camp requirements which had been used on the trip, the return was commenced. The entrance was reached in less time than it required going; but now it became necessary to mark a trail by which Jack could find the way back to the cavern alone. Monuments of stone were erected in triangles, which gave the needed bearings for future use. More time had been consumed than had been allowed, and starvation rations for man and beast became necessary. When the last monument to complete the chain had been erected it was midnight, and it was decided to attempt the crossing of the desert strip at an angle. Hour after hour they traveled, yet at daybreak no blue haze, no lofty peak appeared in that simmering, sweltering, burning waste. The trail behind them was as water struck with a whip. The sand in front gave no alluring sign. The ponies labored--the mules were restive. Silently as a moonbeam falling across the earth the cavalcade moved. Another midnight, and Jack resorted to his knowledge of astronomy to guide them from that fearful death which another day would probably bring. The constellation of Cassiopea seemed to beckon him in her direction. Again the red copper-colored sun appeared above the horizon; a faint blue line in front gave hope of relief. The ponies were allowed free rein to choose their own way.