immensity, but rather gazed at him.

"What is it you expect to see?" she inquired at last. "Goldite isn't
down there, is it?"

"I'm rather expecting--if I haven't miscalculated on the time----
There he is now," he answered, still staring afar off down upon the
valley. He raised his arm and extended a finger to point towards the
north-most limit of the level stretch of land. "Do you see that small,
dark object in the road? That's a road, that slender yellow streak
that you can follow."

Beth obeyed directions and thereby discerned, with remarkable
clearness, the moving object, far away below. She did not in the least
suspect its nature.

"Why, yes--what is it?" she asked with languid interest, having
expected something more significant. "Is it some small animal?"

"Yes," responded Van. "It's Searle."

Beth was instantly all attention.

"Not Mr. Bostwick, in his car?"

Van continued to study the gray of the world-wide map.

"I rather wonder----" he mused, and there he halted, presently adding,
"He's climbing a hill. You might not think so, looking down from here,
but it's steep and sandy, for a car."