Fortunately the spring was a large one and the water held out; and, in a short time, a great shout went up from the house and rushed along the two lines of bucket men up to the spring and echoed and reechoed triumphantly up and down through the rocky gulches and canyons of Hangtown. The fire had been conquered; but not until the larger part of the roof had been burned and the greater part of the interior furnishings destroyed. The cause of the fire was a mystery. Mr. and Mrs. Dickson were positive that it did not come from the fireplace, that, in fact, it had started in almost the opposite end of the house and nearly directly under their bunk; for, when the heat and the smoke awoke them, the foot of the bunk and the lower end of the bed-clothes were already ablaze. Everything inside the house was too badly burnt to furnish any positive clues; but it was the opinion of nearly all the excited men that the house had been set on fire purposely; and, if they could have but laid their hands on the miscreant, there would have been as speedy a hanging as the one had been that had given the town its unsavory name. The moment the excitement of the fire was over, Thure and Bud hastened to their fathers and hurriedly told them what had happened on their return to the house and of the disappearance of the map. The two men at once quietly but quickly gathered the other members of the company and soon all were back again in the house, with the door tightly closed. "Now," and Mr. Conroyal turned to the two boys, "tell us exactly what happened." Thure quickly told all that he knew up to the moment the club had knocked him senseless and exhibited the bump, now as large as a goose egg, on the top of his head in proof of the story; and then Bud related his part in the adventure. Both boys were certain that the man they had seen in the house was Quinley, or Pockface as they continued to call him. "An' you say th' skunk got that thar skin map an' gold nugget!" and Ham sprang excitedly to his feet. "Yes. I--I left it under my pillow. We found both pillows on the floor; and the buckskin bag gone. The man was standing near my bunk when I rushed in, and must have just found it. Oh, if I only could have got hold of him before he hit me!" and tears of baffled rage filled Thure's eyes. "You're sart'in th' bag ain't thar?" and Ham glanced at the dismantled bunk and the disordered bed-clothes scattered about. "Look for yourself," and Thure sank down on one of the rude chairs and, throwing his arms disconsolately on the table, laid his aching head down on them. Ham seized a lighted candle and strode over to the bunk, followed by all the other men. He held the candle over the bunk and his eyes swiftly searched every inch of the surface of the bedtick. "Th' yunks are right! Th' bag's not here!" and, with an angry growl, he seized the offending mattress and hurled it out on the floor.