you go back, take all the gold we have, and enter into trade; you are
bright and energetic and may succeed."

"And what will you do?"

"I shall continue my search for a mine, and some day I may strike it."

Brooks was a college graduate, a civil engineer, and a mineralogist, and
believed he had great advantages in searching for a mine, but, as has
been indicated, thus far their tramp and search had been a dead failure.

"I'll stick with you," said Desmond.

"No, lad, you must go back."

"I swear I will not; I like this life, and remember, we have gathered
some wash dust and we may gather more. I don't know the value of what we
have gathered from the bottom of that stream we struck, but I do know
that it would take a long time to accumulate as much money in trade.
Remember, we have been in the mountains only six weeks."

"That is all right, but we might stay here six years and not make a
find."

At that instant there came a sound which caused Brooks and Desmond to
bend their ears and listen. Some of the Indians were on the warpath; a
band of bucks had been making a raid and had been pursued by the United
States cavalry into the mountains. Indians, as a rule, do not take to
the mountains, but sometimes when pursued hotly they will separate into
small bands and scatter through the hills; these fellows are dangerous.