Andy chuckled. He liked this droll, gaunt Mary Temple who was so devoted to the girl he loved. “And do you never expect to find more than one bite of pork in a can of pork and beans?” he asked. “I’d as soon think of finding the Valley of Arcana,” Mary replied. With a brief “Good mornin’, ma’am” Shirttail Henry passed Mary Temple at the campfire and went to his tumble-down stable. When Andy had awakened Dr. Shonto and had received a feeble response to his call from Charmian, he returned to Mary, to find Henry there with a slim sledge that he had found among his belongings. “Thought she might come in handy,” he grinned. “If we c’n pack her on one o’ th’ burros, she’ll carry all our truck when we leave the critters and keep on afoot. Can’t use her, though, lessen it snows. But I thought we’d better take her along.” “Good idea,” said Andy lightly, and turned to Mary, who was pointing to a small die of fat pork, a tiny monument in the pan of sizzling beans. “I found it,” she announced grimly. A great deal of time was consumed after breakfast in packing the twelve burros, for among the party only Shirttail Henry was an expert at the art. He was careful in his preparations, and when all was ready for the start nobody could think of anything necessary that he had omitted from the pack. He hazed the little animals into the trail and followed them on foot, the remainder of the party bringing up the rear on their saddle horses. The morning was crisp, the air tingling with frost. The thud of the animals’ hoofs came clear and distinct, for the ground was frozen and an uncanny hush dwelt in the heavy forest through which they passed. The saddle horses frisked about, shying at this and that familiar object, and their nostrils shot forth white steam, even as the nostrils of fearsome dragons shoot forth smoke and fire and brimstone. Squirrels scurried rattlingly over dead leaves from their interrupted breakfasts, to twitch their grey plumes and wrinkle their muzzles at the travellers from the security of lofty branches. “Great morning to start our adventure,” commented Andy Jerome, as they came upon a wide stretch of trail and he urged his horse to the side of Charmian’s. “Absolutely perfect,” Charmian agreed. “My, but my feet are cold! Andy, I wonder if we _are_ absolute idiots, after all. Sometimes I think that, if Doctor Shonto weren’t with us to lend the expedition an air of dignity and--well, consequence--I’d lose my nerve. You and I are mere kids, and don’t really know whether we have any business to undertake this thing or not. But Doctor Shonto is a man of brains and experience--a somebody--and it bolsters up my courage a lot to know that he is with us and seems to approve. Were you surprised at his coming along?” “Yes,” said Andy shortly. “I wonder why he did come,” mused the girl. “That’s a simple question to answer,” Andy told her with boyish sulkiness. “He came because of you.”