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 "Mark the pledge well, Little Mink, my brother," he said; "Mark the pledge well. And choose the silver-hafted knife that he won from the Frenchman at Fort Prince George."

Again he fell to whistling, and for some minutes, for the joy of it, he let Almayne grumble and snort. Then, having had enough of foolery, he said in a tone of mock reproach:

"Old friend, if you had taken the trouble to inquire what happened in Lance Falcon's cabin, perhaps you would see some sunshine in this sad world."

Almayne grunted and was silent for a moment. Then: "What happened?" he asked grudgingly.

"Two things," Lachlan answered. "Captain Falcon got a knock on the head that put him into a sound sleep from which I think he has not yet awakened. But before he was put to sleep he told me something."

There was that in his tone which aroused Almayne's suspicions.

"What did he tell you?" the hunter asked with an eagerness which he could not conceal.

"That Gilbert Barradell is alive," Lachlan answered, "and that he is a prisoner in Chief Concha's town."