the second speaker good-humoredly; "only," he added gravely, "we didn't
quarrel--God forbid!"

There was something in the speaker's tone which seemed to touch a common
chord in their natures, and this was voiced by Barker with sudden and
almost pathetic earnestness. "I tell you what, boys, we ought to swear
here to-night to always stand by each other--in luck and out of it! We
ought to hold ourselves always at each other's call. We ought to have
a kind of password or signal, you know, by which we could summon each
other at any time from any quarter of the globe!"

"Come off the roof, Barker," murmured Stacy, without lifting his eyes
from the fire. But Demorest smiled and glanced tolerantly at the younger
man.

"Yes, but look here, Stacy," continued Barker, "comrades like us, in
the old days, used to do that in times of trouble and adventures. Why
shouldn't we do it in our luck?"

"There's a good deal in that, Barker boy," said Demorest, "though, as
a general thing, passwords butter no parsnips, and the ordinary,
every-day, single yelp from a wolf brings the whole pack together for
business about as quick as a password. But you cling to that sentiment,
and put it away with your gold-dust in your belt."

"What I like about Barker is his commodiousness," said Stacy. "Here he
is, the only man among us that has his future fixed and his preemption
lines laid out and registered. He's already got a girl that he's going
to marry and settle down with on the strength of his luck. And I'd like
to know what Kitty Carter, when she's Mrs. Barker, would say to her