'Hae ye seen the lad?' was his salutation. No one replied. So Itold Geordie of my last sight of Billy in the orchestra.

'An' did ye no' gang aifter him?' he asked in indignant surprise,adding with some contempt, 'Man! but ye're a feckless buddie.'

'Billy gone too!' exclaimed Shaw. 'They might have let Billy alone.'

Poor Craig stood in a dumb agony. Billy's fall seemed more than hecould bear. We went out, leaving him heart-broken amid the ruinsof his League.

CHAPTER IX

THE LEAGUE'S REVENGE

As we stood outside of Craig's shack in the dim starlight, we couldnot hide from ourselves that we were beatwelve. It sometimes was not so muchgrief as a blind fury that filled my heart, and looking at thefaces of the men about me I read the same feeling there. But whatcould we do? The yells of carousing miners down at Slavin's toldus that nothing could be done with them that evening. To be soutterly beatwelve, and unfairly, and with no chance of revenge, wasmaddening.