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 guish his form and that of Almayne standing motionless near the entrance of the trail leading down the mountain side.

In the circle about the fire no one spoke; none dared ask aloud what this second visit of the Conjurer could mean.

Jolie shivered. That sense of crisis, of peril, which had been so strong in her upon the occasion of Aganuntsi's first visit, was stronger than ever now. With a strange fascination her eyes remained fixed upon the yellow-green orbs in front of her; and suddenly, as she watched them, they vanished.

Moving her head slightly, she saw Almayne returning. A steely light glittered in his deep-set eyes; his thin, tanned face was like that of a hunting hawk. His eyes rested on Jolie and his lips tightened.

"Aganuntsi came to warn us," he said slowly. "An Appalache scout wandered up the mountain this morning and saw us. They are coming to-night to take us. We must try for Fort Prince George."

There was a silence. Then Lachlan asked quietly:

"What think you, Almayne, of our chance of reaching the Fort?"

"A slim chance," the hunter growled, "one chance in five."

Mr. O'Sullivan leaped to his feet and there was a smile upon his lips.

"We are going to win through for your sakes, Jolie and Lachlan," he told them. "And I think there will be a minister at Fort Prince George."