“That’llrunfivedollarstotheton。Rich，it’srich；it’stherichestkindofpay，pardner。We’remillionaires。Whydon’tyousaysomething？Whydon’tyougetexcited？Whydon’tyourunaroundan’dosomething？“
“Huh！“saidMcTeague，rollinghiseyes。“Huh！Iknow，I
know，we’vestruckitprettyrich。“
“Comeon，“exclaimedCribbens，jumpingupagain。“We’llstakeheroutan’putupthelocationnotice。Lord，supposeanyoneshouldhavecomeonherwhilewe’vebeenaway。“Hereloadedhisrevolverdeliberately。“We’lldropHIMallright，ifthere’sanyonefoolingroundthere；I’lltellyouthoserightnow。Bringtherifle，pardner，an’ifyouseeanyone，PLUGhim，an’askhimwhathewantsafterward。“
Theyhurriedbacktowheretheyhadmadetheirdiscovery。
“Tothink，“exclaimedCribbens，ashedrovethefirststake，“tothinkthoseothermushheadshadtheircampwithingunshotofherandneverlocatedher。Guesstheydidn’tknowthemeaningofa’contact。’Oh，IknewIwassolidon’contacts。’“
Theystakedouttheirclaim，andCribbensputupthenoticeoflocation。Itwasdarkbeforetheywerethrough。
Cribbensbrokeoffsomemorechunksofquartsinthevein。
“I’llspoonthistoo，justforthefunofit，whenIgethome，“heexplained，astheytrampedbacktothecamp。
“Well，“saidthedentist，“wegotthelaughonthosecowboys。“
“Havewe？“shoutedCribbens。“HAVEwe？Justwaitandseetherushforthisplacewhenwetell’emaboutitdowninKeeler。Say，what’llwecallher？“
“Idon’know，Idon’know。“
“Wemightcallherthe’LastChance。’’Twasourlastchance，wasn’tit？We’d’a’goneantelopeshootingtomorrow，andthenextdaywe’d’a’——say，whatyoustoppingfor？“headded，interruptinghimself。“What’sup？“
Thedentisthadpausedabruptlyonthecrestofacanyon。
Cribbens，lookingback，sawhimstandingmotionlessinhistracks。
“What’sup？“askedCribbensasecondtime。
McTeagueslowlyturnedhisheadandlookedoveroneshoulder，thenovertheother。Suddenlyhewheeledsharplyabout，cockingtheWinchesterandtossingittohisshoulder。Cribbensranbacktohisside，whippingouthisrevolver。
“Whatisit？“hecried。“Seeanybody？“Hepeeredonaheadthroughthegatheringtwilight。
“No，no。“
“Hearanything？“
“No，didn’thearanything。“
“Whatisitthen？What’sup？“
“Idon’know，Idon’know，“mutteredthedentist，loweringtherifle。“Therewassomething。“
“What？“
“Something——didn’tyounotice？“
“Noticewhat？“
“Idon’know。Something——somethingorother。“
“Who？What？Noticewhat？Whatdidyousee？“
Thedentistletdownthehammeroftherifle。
“Iguessitwasn’tanything，“hesaidratherfoolishly。
“Whatd’youthinkyousaw——anybodyontheclaim？“
“Ididn’tseeanything。Ididn’thearanythingeither。I
hadanidea，that’sall；cameallofasudden，likethat。
Something，Idon’knowwhat。“
“Iguessyoujustimaginedsomething。Thereain’tanybodywithintwentymilesofus，Iguess。“
“Yes，Iguessso，justimaginedit，that’stheword。“
Halfanhourlatertheyhadthefiregoing。McTeaguewasfryingstripsofbaconoverthecoals，andCribbenswasstillchatteringandexclaimingovertheirgreatstrike。
AllatonceMcTeagueputdownthefrying-pan。
“What’sthat？“hegrowled。
“Hey？What’swhat？“exclaimedCribbens，gettingup。
“Didn’tyounoticesomething？“
“Where？“
“Offthere。“Thedentistmadeavaguegesturetowardtheeasternhorizon。“Didn’tyouhearsomething——Imeanseesomething——Imean——“
“What’sthematterwithyou，pardner？“
“Nothing。IguessIjustimaginedit。“
Butitwasnotimagination。Untilmidnightthepartnerslaybroadawake，rolledintheirblanketsundertheopensky，talkinganddiscussingandmakingplans。AtlastCribbensrolledoveronhissideandslept。Thedentistcouldnotsleep。
What！Itwaswarninghimagain，thatstrangesixthsense，thatobscurebruteinstinct。Itwasarousedagainandclamoringtobeobeyed。Here，inthesedesolatebarrenhills，twentymilesfromthenearesthumanbeing，itstirredandwokeandrowelledhimtobemovingon。IthadgoadedhimtoflightfromtheBigDippermine，andhehadobeyed。
Butnowitwasdifferent；nowhehadsuddenlybecomerich；
hehadlightedonatreasure——atreasurefarmorevaluablethantheBigDippermineitself。Howwashetoleavethat？
Hecouldnotmoveonnow。Heturnedaboutinhisblankets。
No，hewouldnotmoveon。Perhapsitwashisfancy，afterall。Hesawnothing，heardnothing。Theemptinessofprimevaldesolationstretchedfromhimleaguesandleaguesuponeitherhand。Thegiganticsilenceofthenightlaycloseovereverything，likeamufflingTitanicpalm。Ofwhatwashesuspicious？Inthattreelesswasteanobjectcouldbeseenathalfaday’sjourneydistant。Inthatvastsilencetheclickofapebblewasasaudibleasapistol-shot。Andyettherewasnothing，nothing。
Thedentistsettledhimselfinhisblanketsandtriedtosleep。Infiveminuteshewassittingup，staringintotheblue-grayshimmerofthemoonlight，straininghisears，watchingandlisteningintently。Nothingwasinsight。ThebrownedandbrokenflanksofthePanaminthillslayquietandfamiliarunderthemoon。Theburromoveditsheadwithaclinkingofitsbell；andMcTeaguesmule，dozingonthreelegs，changeditsweighttoanotherfoot，withalongbreath。Everythingfellsilentagain。
“Whatisit？“mutteredthedentist。“IfIcouldonlyseesomething，hearsomething。“
Hethrewofftheblankets，and，rising，climbedtothesummitofthenearesthillandlookedbackinthedirectioninwhichheandCribbenshadtravelledafortnightbefore。
Forhalfanhourhewaited，watchingandlisteninginvain。
Butashereturnedtocamp，andpreparedtorollhisblanketsabouthim，thestrangeimpulseroseinhimagainabruptly，neversostrong，neversoinsistent。Itseemedasthoughhewerebittedandridden；asifsomeunseenhandwereturninghimtowardtheeast；someunseenheelspurringhimtoprecipitateandinstantflight。
Flightfromwhat？“No，“hemutteredunderhisbreath。“Gonowandleavetheclaim，andleaveafortune！WhatafoolI’dbe，whenIcan’tseeanythingorhearanything。Toleaveafortune！No，Iwon’t。No，byGod！“HedrewCribbens’sWinchestertowardhimandslippedacartridgeintothemagazine。
“No，“hegrowled。“Whateverhappens，I’mgoingtostay。Ifanybodycomes——“Hedepressedtheleveroftherifle，andsentthecartridgeclashingintothebreech。
“Iain’tgoingtosleep，“hemutteredunderhismustache。
“Ican’tsleep；I’llwatch。“Heroseasecondtime，clamberedtothenearesthilltopandsatdown，drawingtheblanketaroundhim，andlayingtheWinchesteracrosshisknees。Thehourspassed。Thedentistsatonthehilltopamotionless，crouchingfigure，inkyblackagainstthepaleblurofthesky。Byandbytheedgeoftheeasternhorizonbegantogrowblackerandmoredistinctinout-line。Thedawnwascoming。OncemoreMcTeaguefeltthemysteriousintuitionofapproachingdanger；anunseenhandseemedreininghisheadeastward；aspurwasinhisflanksthatseemedtourgehimtohurry，hurry，hurry。Theinfluencegrewstrongerwitheverymoment。Thedentistsethisgreatjawstogetherandheldhisground。
“No，“hegrowledbetweenhissetteeth。“No，I’llstay。“
Hemadealongcircuitaroundthecamp，evengoingasfarasthefirststakeofthenewclaim，hisWinchestercocked，hisearspricked，hiseyesalert。Therewasnothing；yetasplainlyasthoughitwereshoutedattheverynapeofhisneckhefeltanenemy。Itwasnotfear。McTeaguewasnotafraid。