Not as a prisoner, however. He knew he would have no chance whatever for his life, or so, at any rate, he believed.
The night was dark, but there was enough light to see general outlines.
He pushed on, keeping to the trail as he remembered it, and he had taken good care to fix it well in his mind.
At length he came to the place where the duel was to have been fought but where he had been cut down by the bullet that had plowed the gash in his scalp.
Still on, and at last he came to the rough way that led to the top of the little peak on which the treasure had been cached, and here he had the hardest climb of all.
In daylight, it was not easy, but by night, and unfamiliar as he was with the ground, it was doubly difficult.
But it was at last accomplished, after an hour's work.
He stood on the plateau.
Sitting down on the edge of the table to rest, before proceeding further, a sound presently reached his ears.
It caused him a start, and he was on his feet instantly.