The second man followed close at his heels, just as thoroughly demoralized. Kracker might have stood it out, for Kracker gripped a firearm in his fat hand; but when he found that he was being deserted by his companions, the big prospector also started to run clumsily away, breathing out all manner of threatenings against the other two for cowards. Thad no longer growled, but lying there on the rocky floor of the fissure, he shook all over with half-suppressed laughter. "That's the time we saved the day with our growls, Aleck!" he whispered, when he could control himself to some extent. The other lad felt even more exultant. The mine had been in danger, but thanks to the ready wit of the scoutmaster, the enemy had been frightened away before they learned anything. And so Aleck, feeling that he had plenty of cause for rejoicing, soon joined Thad in soft laughter. "No danger of those fellows coming back to investigate, do you think?" he asked. "Well, if you could judge from the hurried way they lit out, I guess we needn't dream that they'll ever want to see this cliff again," replied Thad. "And when we want to, we can crawl out ourselves, can't we?" Aleck went on. "Sure thing, right now is the time, because they're traveling for all they're worth, and never even looking back over their shoulders as they gallop along." "How about these wolves; shall we drag them out, and throw the carcases away in some hole?" asked Thad's companion, evidently only too glad to do just whatever the scoutmaster decided were best. Indeed, he had reason to feel the utmost confidence in Thad Brewster; from the very first this new friend had directed affairs in a way that Aleck looked on as simply wonderful. It was almost like a dream to him, the coming of these scouts, their championing his almost lost cause, and bringing success out of failure. No wonder then that Aleck felt so willing to trust this staunch friend through thick and thin. No wonder that he asked his opinion, knowing full well that whatever Thad decided would be best. "Might as well get rid of the things while we're about it," was what Thad said. "Sooner or later you'll be entering this passage again, I hope with capitalists along with you to look the mine over, and decide how much money they'll advance to begin its working; and you wouldn't find it nice here, if we left these bodies to cause a disagreeable odor. But we must be careful not to disarrange the vines. And I want to rub out any tracks we may leave, before quitting this place." Accordingly both the mother wolf and the cub were taken outside. It was not a difficult thing to find a deep hole into which all of the dead animals could be cast; and after this duty had been accomplished the two boys returned to the mouth of the hidden mine.