He even found himself wondering whether he had actually caught
sight of the Little Brass God, leering down upon the watcher from
the wall.

Then he recollected that Thede had first called his attention to
the ugly image whose evil eyes seemed to take on malevolent
expressions in the light of the dancing flames.

"It must be all true, then," he concluded. "The man by the fire,
the Little Brass God on the shelf, the pistol shots, and then a
blank."

He wondered where Thede had gone, and why he had deserted him.

"That's the strangest part of it all," the lad mused. "I had an
idea that the boy would stand by me if I got into trouble, and here
he runs away, leaving me lying unconscious in the freezing
atmosphere of this desolate old cavern. I didn't think it of him!"

It occurred to George as he studied over the puzzle that Thede
might not have been as innocent and loyal as he had pretended to
be. He might have been merely an instrument in the hands of a
cunning man.

"At any rate," the boy pondered, "we have found the Little Brass
God!"

He had not, of course, secured possession of it, but he had learned
definitely that it was in that part of the country. He wondered as