valley, where it rises again and flows serenely across the valley—quite a large stream, it seems—and then vanishes once more. And for the remainder of its course to the sea, it may be any one of the known rivers in the Shinbone Country. It probably would not pop up out of the ground in the lowlands so abruptly as it plunges into the cave in the high altitudes. It may rise again as springs—seep up from the soil in a natural way. Or its waters may separate during their underground journey after leaving the unexplored valley, and they may form two or more streams in the lowlands.

“So that’s about all there is to be said about the undiscovered valley—or perhaps the unexplored valley[23] would be more proper—and the river that loses itself in the ground. Andy and I grew quite excited over it, but when we tried to pump Morley and Leach to find out the location of the Shinbone Country they refused to come across. Shinbone is a local name, it seems, and few besides the people who live there know it as such. We don’t even know what county it is in. Leach and Morley, however, promised to tell us all about it and to take us to it, provided we would interest ourselves in their opal claims. So, as we didn’t care to do that, we let the matter slide.”

[23]

Charmian Reemy had forgotten her dinner and was resting her bare elbows on the table, nesting her chin in her hands. Her dark eyes were fixed on Inman Shonto. And Andy’s eyes were fixed on her.

“Where,” she asked in a low voice, “are Morley and Leach now?”

“Still on their way to the Catfish Country, I suppose,” Shonto replied.

“When was it that they were in your camp?”

“Day before yesterday, about noon—wasn’t it, Andy?”

Andy Jerome nodded absently.

“Then they can’t have reached the Catfish Country yet,” said Charmian. “I’m going after them to-morrow morning. Now, for the first time in my life, I wish I had a car. I could travel in it as far as Jorny Springs, and there I could get a saddle horse and run them down before they get into the wilderness.”

“Do you really want to go after opals and the unexplored valley?” asked Andy suddenly.

[24]She turned her dark eyes on him. “I want to more than anything else I’ve ever wanted to do,” she told him.

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