"Can't have been gone long," he declared. "Shout, Jake!" cried Andrew. "I'm out of breath." Carnally called, and Andrew's heart throbbed when a faint cry rose in answer. His anxiety had not been groundless: a lonely man runs many risks in the frozen North. Following the sound, they hastened up the ravine, and as they rounded a projecting boulder, a red glow flashed out a little distance ahead, died down, and rose more clearly. "That's mighty good to see!" Carnally exclaimed. Graham met them as they entered the firelight. "Had any trouble?" Andrew asked anxiously. "No; and the foot's feeling better. The rest has done it good. I've been pretty comfortable since you left, though the wolves got so friendly last night that I thought I'd better shift my camp a bit to-night. I didn't allow you could get back before to-morrow, and I knew I'd hear you shout if you did. I left the other fire burning as a beacon." Andrew breathed deeply. "It's a wonderful relief!" he said. Carnally looked hard at Graham's face. "Guess you didn't sleep well, but we'll get a good rest to-night, now there are three of us. A timber wolf is a cussed mean brute. Government ought to supply the bush settlers with free arsenic." There was a brief silence, while Graham waited, intent and eager, until Carnally broke into a soft laugh. "We struck it, partner! Guess your lode's right there, but we couldn't do enough prospecting to tell you what it's worth." Graham turned his head for a moment, and his eyes glittered when he looked around. "That is my misfortune and Mappin's fault. But you must have your supper, and then we'll talk." Carnally glanced at Andrew, who had thrown off his pack and sat down on it in an attitude of exhaustion. "Allinson allowed we'd be back to-night, and he hustled me along pretty lively for a tenderfoot." They laughed at this and began the meal which Graham soon had ready. Then, sitting close beside the fire, they filled their pipes and Graham carefully examined the bits of stone Carnally produced. He poised them in his hands, because the weight is a rough test, before he looked up. "What do you think of them, Jake?" he asked. "My idea is that they're pretty good, though they are not carrying a remarkable quantity of metal. Of course, we may have struck only the edge of the lode. There wasn't time to find how it ran." Graham sat silent a while, and then turned to Andrew with a strained expression. "I agree with Carnally. So far as I can judge, these specimens are not very rich, though the ore might pay for reduction. That I feel disappointed after waiting twenty years for this chance doesn't need saying; but I've brought you here at a big expense and risk and I can't blame you if you let the matter drop."