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Byrne was silent for a few moments. He, too, had recently come to the conclusion

that possibly he was not entirely rotten either, and had in a vague and half-

formed sort of way wished for the opportunity to demonstrate the fact, so he was

willing to concede to another that which he craved for himself.

"Yeh listen all right, cul," he said at last; "an' I'm willin' to take yeh at yer own

say-so until I learn different."

Thanks," said Theriere tersely. "Now we can work together in the search for Miss

Harding; but where, in the name of all that's holy, are we to start?"

"Why, where we seen her last, of course," replied the mucker. "Right here on top

of dese bluffs."

"Then we can't do anything until daylight," said the Frenchman.

"Not a ting, and at daylight we'll most likely have a scrap on our hands from

below," and the mucker jerked his thumb in the direction of the cove.

"I think," said Theriere, "that we had better spend an hour arming ourselves with

sticks and stones. We've a mighty good position up here. One that we can defend

splendidly from an assault from below, and if we are prepared for them we can

stave 'em off for a while if we need the time to search about up here for clews to

Miss Harding's whereabouts."

And so the party set to work to cut stout bludgeons from the trees about them,

and pile loose fragments of rock in handy places near the cliff top. Theriere even

went so far as to throw up a low breastwork across the top of the trail up which

the enemy must climb to reach the summit of the cliff. When they had completed

their preparations three men could have held the place against ten times their

own number.

Then they lay down to sleep, leaving Blanco and Divine on guard, for it had been

decided that these two, with Bony Sawyer, should be left behind on the morrow to

hold the cliff top while the others were searching for clews to the whereabouts of

Barbara Harding. They were to relieve each other at guard duty during the

balance of the night.

Scarce had the first suggestion of dawn lightened the eastern sky than Divine,

who was again on guard, awakened Theriere. In a moment the others were

aroused, and a hasty raid on the cached provisions made. The lack of water was

keenly felt by all, but it was too far to the spring to chance taking the time

necessary to fetch the much-craved fluid and those who were to forge into the

jungle in search of Barbara Harding hoped to find water farther inland, while it

The Mucker