I was in prime condition, and well warmed up with ten miles of travel. My endurance was too much for the will-o'-the-wisp. As, for the second time, I neared the spot from which he had first called, he shattered the silence with lusty appeals, then broke cover within a hundred yards of where I followed, hot on his trail. He looked able-bodied and goodness knows he'd been active, so I withdrew into the shadows of a thicket to watch what he would do. After his outcry, he kept mumbling to himself--his words were inaudible--lost his voice--don't wonder! Some rooter he'd make at a football game while he lasted! After muttering a minute, he stopped and listened intently, as though expecting an answer. Good heavens! He thinks he can be heard! He moved on, staggering crazily, stumbling, stopping to look at the shining peaks; then going on aimlessly. "Loco," I decided. I circled ahead of him and concealed myself behind an old stump. I wanted to hear what he was saying. Twice he had crossed the road that ran down the valley, the only road in that vicinity. From Cabin Rock I had seen a tent beside it. As he came toward me, I stepped from behind the stump. "What in time ails you?" I roared. He stared at me and walked completely around me before saying a word. "Huh," he grunted then. "Where'd you come from?" I explained with considerable emphasis that I had come from almost every point of the compass. "Will you tell me why in Sam Hill you are yelling for help when it's as light as day?" I demanded hotly. "I'm lost," he said meekly. "Lost!" I yelled. He nodded shamefacedly. "Went fishing and couldn't find my camp again," he confessed. I recalled the tent beside the road, I'd seen from Cabin Rock. It was the only camp, on the only road in the vicinity. "Why in thunder didn't you follow the road?" "Didn't know which way to go," he defended. "There's the Peak!" I gibed, pointing upward; "plain as day. Your camp is straight east of it--didn't you know that?" He winced, but did not answer. "Couldn't you see the Peak?" I insisted. "You couldn't help but recognize it." "Yes," he admitted. "I saw the Peak, but I thought it was in the wrong place." CHAPTER TWELVE DREAMERS OF GOLDEN DREAMS