They staked out their claim, and Cribbens put up the notice of location.  It was dark before they were through.  Cribbens broke off some more chunks of quarts in the vein.

“I’ll spoon this too, just for the fun of it, when I get home,” he explained, as they tramped back to the camp.

“Well,” said the dentist, “we got the laugh on those cowboys.”

“Have we?” shouted Cribbens.  “Have we?  Just wait and see the rush for this place when we tell ’em about it down in Keeler.  Say, what’ll we call her?”

“I don’ know, I don’ know.”

“We might call her the ‘Last Chance.’  ’Twas our last chance, wasn’t it?  We’d ‘a’ gone antelope shooting tomorrow, and the next day we’d ’a’—­say, what you stopping for?” he added, interrupting himself.  “What’s up?”

The dentist had paused abruptly on the crest of a canyon.  Cribbens, looking back, saw him standing motionless in his tracks.

“What’s up?” asked Cribbens a second time.

McTeague slowly turned his head and looked over one shoulder, then over the other.  Suddenly he wheeled sharply about, cocking the Winchester and tossing it to his shoulder.  Cribbens ran back to his side, whipping out his revolver.

“What is it?” he cried.  “See anybody?” He peered on ahead through the gathering twilight.

“No, no.”

“Hear anything?”

“No, didn’t hear anything.”

“What is it then?  What’s up?”

“I don’ know, I don’ know,” muttered the dentist, lowering the rifle. 
“There was something.”

“What?”

“Something—­didn’t you notice?”

“Notice what?”

“I don’ know.  Something—­something or other.”

“Who?  What?  Notice what?  What did you see?”

The dentist let down the hammer of the rifle.

“I guess it wasn’t anything,” he said rather foolishly.

“What d’you think you saw—­anybody on the claim?”

“I didn’t see anything.  I didn’t hear anything either.  I had an idea, that’s all; came all of a sudden, like that.  Something, I don’ know what.”

“I guess you just imagined something.  There ain’t anybody within twenty miles of us, I guess.”

“Yes, I guess so, just imagined it, that’s the word.”

Half an hour later they had the fire going.  McTeague was frying strips of bacon over the coals, and Cribbens was still chattering and exclaiming over their great strike.  All at once McTeague put down the frying-pan.

“What’s that?” he growled.

“Hey?  What’s what?” exclaimed Cribbens, getting up.

“Didn’t you notice something?”

“Where?”

“Off there.”  The dentist made a vague gesture toward the eastern horizon.  “Didn’t you hear something—­I mean see something—­I mean—­”

“What’s the matter with you, pardner?”

“Nothing.  I guess I just imagined it.”

But it was not imagination.  Until midnight the partners lay broad awake, rolled in their blankets under the open sky, talking and discussing and making plans.  At last Cribbens rolled over on his side and slept.  The dentist could not sleep.