His only assistant, a Mexican, who had been with him for some time, remained on guard at the bunk-house, and, so far as he knew, no serious effort had been made to explore the drift by any of Lacy's satellites.

Now, as he came up the darkening gulch, and crunched his way across the rock-pile before the tunnel entrance, he saw the cheerful blaze of a fire in the Mexican's quarters and stopped to question him.
"_Senor_--you!" "Yes, Jose," and Westcott dropped on to a bench.

"Anything wrong?
You seem nervous." "No, _senor_.

I expected you not to-night; there was a man there by the big tree at sunset." "You saw him ?" "Yes, but not his face, _senor_.

He think me gone at first, but when I walk out on the edge of the cliff then he go--quick, like that.