They practically had all day before them and they set busily to work with pick and shovel, beginning at a point below where they had set the mark.

CHAPTER x.x.x

THE LOST MINE AGAIN

Fortunately it was not heavy going, as the dirt and gravel was comparatively loose, and in the morning of the next day about ten o'clock, they came to a nest of rocks which barred their way. By hard efforts and by loosening a large stone there was a narrow rift made, through which they crawled, with Juarez in the lead.

"Here's the entrance," he cried, his voice sounding hollow from the interior.

"The Lost Mine!" yelled Tom, and in a second they were all together in the entrance, and with a rousing cheer at what promised to be the successful end of all their trials and dangers, then home again, and after that their journey on the _Sea Eagle_ into foreign countries and searching strange corners of the earth.

"Light up, boys," said Jim. "We will soon see what we have ahead of us."

"We will have to be careful," warned Juarez, "there is no telling what we will meet, we are always running into excitement of some sort."

"I guess not," replied Jeems, "we have had enough to last us for a lifetime. Let's wind this business up quietly."

"Agreed," said Jim. "We will make up for it later. Forward, march!"

With pine torches they went forward through the gloom, the light showing that the entrance to the mine had been b.u.t.tressed with pine timber, but this extended only a few feet, and then they came to a narrow rift between dripping rocks.

"Low bridge, Jeems," cried Jo.

"This looks to me to be a cave," said Jim.

"It don't keep it from being a pocket mine, even if it is a cave,"

said Jeems wisely.

"You ought to know, Jeems," said Juarez, "as you were a prospector before we were born."

"Oh, I'm not that old," protested Jeems. "Here we are getting to the workings now."

"Sure enough," cried Jim, a thrill of interest in his voice.

"Here is where they have picked out some nuggets," said Jo.

"It won't be far to the find now," said Tom, shaking with excitement.

Jeems was looking closely with his trained eyes along the walls and into every crevice and upon the shelves of stone, for the sides of the cave-mine were not smooth, but singularly rugged.

"Struck it rich, boys!" Jeems cried suddenly, as he held the flame of his torch near the wall. "Give me the pick, take the lamp, Tom." It was the ultimate moment of triumph for the Frontier Boys. Carefully, but with skillful precision, Jeems brought the pick down upon the surface of the wall where it was roughened into little mounds.

"That don't look like gold," said Tom. "It's nothing but dingy rock."

Jeems only smiled at Tom's comment, as he swung his pick in the light of the flaming torches.

"That's stone-stain, Tom," he said, then a loosened nugget fell to the floor of the cave. Jo picked it up and there was the yellow gleam of gold under the wavering light of the torches.

"There's a whole nest of them," cried Tom.

"I wonder where the goose is that laid them?" questioned Jo.

"I'm going to find a nest for myself," said Juarez.

It was a most interesting search, and each of the boys made finds of their own. Jim discovered a square yard of nuggets, not close set, of course, but there must have been twenty of varying sizes, and Juarez made the biggest individual find of a nugget that was five inches tall and three thick. Every second the other boys expected to make a discovery that would discount Juarez.

After the first excitement was over, they settled down to systematic work. It was necessary to send someone back for the lanterns so that they could have steady light to work by; but who should go? That was the painful question. The work was so interesting that they all naturally wanted to stay on the job.

"Let Jeems go," said the generous Tom. "It's an old story to him anyway." The good-natured Jeems would probably have allowed himself to be imposed upon, but Jim put his foot down upon Tom's proposition.

"No you don't," he said. "We will draw lots to decide." As luck or fate would have it, Tom got the shortest straw, or, rather, sliver of pine, and had to go after the lanterns. Tom was a picture of the heart bowed down when the decision went against him, and the boys laughed at his woe-begone face.

"Maybe you will be able to find an honest man with your lantern, Tom,"

said Jim consolingly.

"I wouldn't come to this gang," he retorted bitterly, and to prove the sincerity of his belief, he took his little pile of nuggets to Jeems.

"Take care of these till I get back," he said. Then his two brothers went into convulsions of merriment at this token of Tom's regard.

"If you didn't steal them you would be sure to hide 'em," he said, and there was considerable truth in his last observation.

"If you are going to make a bank out of Jeems, you will have to pay him interest," remarked Jo derisively. Tom regarded Jeems doubtfully and then, rea.s.sured by his belief in the latter's generosity, he made off on his errand.

"There is one good thing about Tom's going," said Juarez, "he will hustle more than any of us."

"No doubt about that," laughed Jim. "He will scorch a trail down the mountain all right."

It was true that Tom made extraordinary time, for he was desperately afraid lest his comrades-in-arms would get all the nuggets, but he need not have been so worried, for the boys worked busily night and day for the greater part of a week before Jim gave the orders to break camp. There was bitter rebellion on the part of Tom, and he was backed by Jo.

"You can stay," Jim said finally. "We have enough, and more than enough. If we don't pull up stakes now, we will be snowed under. A storm will strike us at this alt.i.tude any time at this season. We did not come here to spend the winter and we are not prepared for it.

What's the use of the gold? It won't buy us anything if we are nothing but beautiful frozen corpses."

"You hit the nail on the head that time, Skipper," said Jeems Howell, the philosopher. "Gold is no good if you are dead. Men kill their souls getting it, too, pretty often in this world." Tom had to give in, but he kept growling under his breath, and Jim turned on him fiercely.

"Another growl out of you, Tom Darlington, and I'll give you a sound thrashing. I'm using my best judgment and I am not going to be pestered from here to the coast with your growling sulks. That's straight. You cheer up." Tom cheered.

They got an early start one morning and turned their horses' heads southward. The gold was evenly divided, and the burden imposed equally upon the three mules. The triumphant procession started, with Jim mounted jauntily on his white charger, Caliente, followed by Juarez and the rest in order.

It was certainly a happy crowd when they had finally started on their return trip to the coast. The talk was all of their plans for the future, about their home-going, all of which is related in the "Frontier Boys in the Saddle," for it was a longish journey and a thrilling one, and then home. Juarez did not say much, but it was evident that his mind was busy thinking of his people on the Kansas farm outside of River Bend.

"It will be too late in the season when we get to your place, Juarez, for a game of baseball," remarked Jo.

"It's too bad," replied Juarez. "It would be fine sport to beat those Hughsonville fellows again."

"I'm not so sure that I could pitch a baseball now," said Jo. "It's a long time since I have had one in my hand."