“Right away.”

“But it is rather late in the season for such an undertaking, isn’t it? Winter is almost upon us.”

“But doesn’t the assessment work have to be done on the opal mines immediately in order to hold them?”

“I’d forgotten about that,” said Shonto.

And then came Andy’s “Good morning,” as he stepped to the rail beside Charmian and caught his first glimpse of the stupendous scene below him.

“Lord!” he breathed. “Oh, Lord! Look at that!”

And Charmian Reemy smiled. Andy Jerome had shown himself to be a member of her clan.

[33]

CHAPTER V THE CONFERENCE AT JORNY SPRINGS

IT was seven o’clock in the morning when Andy Jerome set off on Charmian Reemy’s gray saddler for his camp. A trail led direct from El Trono de Tolerancia to the county road, and once upon it Andy could not possibly miss the way. He was to leave the horse at Lovejoy’s, a wilderness resort, and continue on afoot to camp. There he would get his big touring car and drive back to a point in the county road opposite Charmian’s home. She and the doctor were to travel after him afoot and meet him there. And Mary Temple had flatly refused to allow Charmian to “go traipsin’ off with a couple o’ strange men the Lord knew where,” so she had truculently constituted herself one of the party.

Andy met the trio about noon. Dr. Shonto took the seat in the tonneau with the stern-faced Mary Temple, and Charmian rode in front with Andy. The handsome big car purred along through the solemn redwoods, following the level valley which paralleled the coast, with a range of wooded mountains between. Gray squirrels scurried across the narrow road, to scamper up lofty trees and bark at them mockingly. The streams that they crossed were riotous and roared about the huge boulders in their courses. The sun[34] scarcely penetrated the dark avenues of the forest. Huckleberry bushes lined the road, the berries ripe and coloured like grapes.

[34]

They estimated that the prospectors would not make over twenty miles a day with their slow-moving burros, and maybe less. It was about fifty miles from the North Fork of the Lizard to the outskirts of the Catfish Country; so, as they were virtually 

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