There
is a terrible mystery here, but I am slowly letting light into it, and
if we succeed in reaching the top of the peak I have good hope that
the illumination will increase."
"Here now," he added a moment later, sitting down upon a rock and
thrusting the blade of his penknife into a crevice, "what do you think
of this?"
He held up a little nugget of pure artemisium, and then went on:
"You know that all this slope was swept as clean as a Dutch
housewife's kitchen floor by the thousands of miners and prospectors
who swarmed over it a year or two ago, and do you suppose they would
have missed such a tidbit if it had been here then?"
"Dr. Syx must have been salting the mountain again," I suggested.
"Well," replied Hall, with a significant smile, "if the doctor hasn't
salted it somebody else has, that's plain enough. But perhaps you
would like to know precisely what I expect to find out when we get on
the topknot of the Teton."
"I should certainly be delighted to learn the object of our journey,"
I said. "Of course, I'm only going along for company and for the fun
of the thing; but you know you can count on me for substantial aid
whenever you need it.
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