"'"Curse you," cried Judson, "I'll kill you yet." Several times he threw stones at the animal, and twice he fell, bruising himself among the loose rocks. At last he sat down.
"'"What is the matter with you," shouted Stevens. "What are you running about and shouting in that way for?"
"'"That confounded dog of mine," answered Judson unthinkingly.
"'"Nonsense, man, there isn't any dog."
"'Judson walked slowly back to camp followed closely by the dog. The men looked at him strangely. That night when he went
to sleep the brute came and lay down beside him. A horrid fear took possession of him and he pushed the thing away, but it immediately crawled back again. At last he arose and spent the rest of the night walking up and down the desert, the dog following close at his heels.
"'When they arrived in Phœnix the doctor advised Judson to go to a quiet place and rest, and gave him an opiate.'
"'Why don't he go back and get the gold?' asked the Eastern man.
"'Because as I have told you whenever he starts to go back the dog meets him on the desert, and he is only free from it when he stays in Phœnix. He says the dog is his old partner, and will never let him go back there again. That is why he is willing to sell his secret.'
"'But how do you know if we pay him this money,' asked the Eastern man, 'that we can find the gold?'