We must have crossed this valley an' come in from the east forty years ago, Johnny----" He turned now, and what Joanne and Aldous saw in his face was not grief; it was not the sorrow of one drawing near to his beloved dead, but a joy that had transfigured him.

The fire and strength of the youth in which he had first looked upon this valley with Jane at his side burned again in the sunken eyes of Donald MacDonald.

After forty years he had come into his own.

Somewhere very near was the cavern with the soft white floor of sand, and for a moment Aldous fancied that he could hear the beating of MacDonald's heart, while from Joanne's tender bosom there rose a deep, sobbing breath of understanding.
And MacDonald, facing the mountain again, pointed with a long, gaunt arm, and said: "We're almost there, Johnny.

God ha' mercy on them if they've beat us out!".