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A hurried scramble down the hill brought him to the dwelling,–a rambling addition of sheds to the usual log cabin. But he was surprised to find that its exterior, and indeed the palings of the fence around it, were covered with the stretched and drying skins of animals. The pelts of bear, panther, wolf, and fox were intermingled with squirrel and wildcat skins, and the displayed wings of eagle, hawk, and kingfisher. There was no trail leading to or from the cabin; it seemed to have been lost in this opening of the encompassing woods and left alone and solitary.

The barking of a couple of tethered hounds at last brought a figure to the door of the nearest lean-to shed. It seemed to be that of a young girl, but it was clad in garments so ridiculously large and disproportionate that it was difficult to tell her precise age. A calico dress was pinned up at the skirt, and tightly girt at the waist by an apron–so long that one corner had to be tucked in at the apron string diagonally, to keep the wearer from treading on it. An enormous sunbonnet of yellow nankeen completely concealed her head and face, but allowed two knotted and twisted brown tails of hair to escape under its frilled cape behind. She was evidently engaged in some culinary work, and still held a large tin basin or pan she had been cleaning clasped to her breast.

Fleming’s eye glanced at it covetously, ignoring the figure behind it. But he was diplomatic.

“I have lost my way in the woods. Can you tell me in what direction the main road lies?”

She pointed a small red hand apparently in the direction he had come. “Straight over thar–across the hill.”

Fleming sighed. He had been making a circuit of the forest instead of going through it–and this open space containing the cabin was on a remote outskirt!

“How far is it to the road?” he asked.

“Jest a spell arter ye rise the hill, ef ye keep ‘longside the woods. But it’s a right smart chance beyond, ef ye go through it.”

This was quite plain to him. In the local dialect a “spell” was under a mile; “a right smart chance” might be three or four miles farther. Luckily the spring and outcrop were near the outskirts; he would pass near them again on his way. He looked longingly at the pan which she still held in her hands. “Would you mind lending me that pan for a little while?” he said half laughingly.

“Wot for?” demanded the girl quickly. Yet her tone was one of childish curiosity rather than suspicion. Fleming would have liked to avoid the question and the consequent exposure of his discovery which a direct answer implied. But he saw it was too late now.

“I want to wash a little dirt,” he said bluntly.

The girl turned her deep sunbonnet toward him. Somewhere in its depths he saw the flash of white teeth. “Go along with ye–ye’re funnin’!” she said.

“I want to wash out some dirt in that pan–I’m prospecting for gold,” he said; “don’t you understand?”

“Are ye a miner?”

“Well, yes–a sort of one,” he returned, with a laugh.

“Then ye’d better be scootin’ out o’ this mighty quick afore dad comes. He don’t cotton to miners, and won’t have ’em around. That’s why he lives out here.”

“Well, I don’t live out here,” responded the young man lightly. “I shouldn’t be here if I hadn’t lost my way, and in half an hour I’ll be off again. So I’m not likely to bother him. But,” he added, as the girl still hesitated, “I’ll leave a deposit for the pan, if you like.”

“Leave a which?”

“The money that the pan’s worth,” said Fleming impatiently.

The huge sunbonnet stiffly swung around like the wind-sail of a ship and stared at the horizon. “I don’t want no money. Ye kin git,” said the voice in its depths.