A WILD-GOOSE CHASE.

The doctor carefully opened the roll of skin upon the table, while Chris turned the lamp up a little higher, keeping one eye upon his father's actions the while and then scanning eagerly the plainly-seen marks which pretty well covered the little guide.

For that it was evidently intended to be, so as to give future searchers an easy means of reaching the treasure that the unfortunate adventurer had discovered.

All gazed down at the skin, which had been smoothed out, and for some minutes not a word was spoken. But it did not take long for the whole of the party to come to the same conclusion, and it was this--

That the adventurer had taken great pains in the preparation of his map for another's benefit, in case he should not be able to seek for the treasure himself, but that to make his chart available it needed something more.

Griggs was the first to give his feelings words, which expressed the thoughts of the rest exactly.

"This is all very well," he said, as he wrinkled his brow and scratched his head viciously, "and it's very nicely done for a man who seems to have begun by making his own makeshift for paper, and then his own pen and ink. What do you make this skin to be, doctor?"

"The nearest guess I can give is that it is the skin of a jack-rabbit that has been pegged-out tightly and dried in the sun."

"Same here," said Griggs; "but what about the ink?"

"Ah, that looks like charcoal ground very fine, mixed with water and some kind of tree gum, and painted on with a pointed piece of wood."

"That's just what I thought it might be," cried Griggs, "and a deal of trouble the poor fellow has taken with it. Look here, neighbours, east and west and north and south plain enough. What does he say here?--'Des--' Yes, that's right enough, and means desert. Plenty of it too. And what's here?--'No water.' Of course, and over and over again, 'N.W.' That means no water, of course. Mountains under these stars.

Plenty of 'em too. More desert, and then three stars set triangle fashion about what looks like a square box with some one's name on it."

"No," cried both boys together; "it's 'temple.'"

"So it is, boys," cried Griggs, "and these dots all round it--I mean all square about it, must mean the city walls. Well, that's clear enough."

"Look there," cried Chris.

"Yes, I'm looking," said Griggs. "What is it?"

"That big W," said Chris. "That must mean water or well."

"Very likely, my boy," said the doctor.

"And these square bits must mean houses, I s'pose," continued Griggs.

"Well, it's a prettily-done, careful sort of map, made under difficulties. Mountains here and mountains there, and all the rest desert. But he means whoever uses the map to go straight for the place, by sticking in all these little arrows right away from the north-east corner across the desert to the temple."

"Yes, that's the way to go, plainly enough," cried Bourne.

"That's what I thought, neighbour."

"Well, then, what are you finding fault about?" cried Wilton sharply.

"You talk as if you despised it."

"Oh no, not I, squire. It's a very pretty little map, and took the poor chap a long time to do; but it seems to me that it's no good at all."

"I don't understand you," said Wilton sharply. "Look here, he gives a starting-place marked with a big dot, and the little arrows go right across to the three mountains and the temple."

"That is how he described it to me," said the doctor.

"Just so, sir. That's how I understand it, neighbours; but what then?"

"Why, of course!" came in chorus, as every one at the table grasped the hitch that the American had seen.

"Ah, you all hit it now," said Griggs, laughing.

"I think I understand what you mean," said the doctor thoughtfully.

"So do I," came in chorus, and then Bourne said quickly--

"Suppose you speak out and say what you mean, Lee."

"It seems to me," said the doctor gravely, "that though this chart has been prepared so carefully, and points out the trend of the deserts and mountains, and also where the gold-hills, the city, and the temple stand, while the points of the compa.s.s are shown as well, it might be a chart of any part of the country, a mere patch, or a territory of great extent."

"That's so, doctor," interposed Griggs; "but you haven't quite hit it yet."

"No, but I was coming to your point directly. You mean that the map gives us no hint of the direction in which the gold-hills lie."

"Now you've hit it right in the bull's-eye, doctor," cried Griggs.

"That's it. Say we made up our minds to go and look for it, starting from here, are we to begin north, south, or east? Couldn't go very far west, because that would mean going straight out to sea."

"Of course--of course!" was chorused.

"But we could find the place, after all," cried Chris excitedly.

"How?" said Wilton.

"Mr Griggs can tell us which direction the poor old fellow was coming from."

"No, he can't," said the personage spoken of. "He was zig-zagging about all sorts of ways, and more than once after a stumble I saw him get upon his legs and go back the same way he came, as if he was half blind."

"Oh!" cried Chris, in a disappointed tone.

"You meant, young squire, that if I could tell you the direction from which he had come, all we should have to do would be to go right along his track till we saw the three mountains?"

"Yes, that is something like what I thought," said Chris, who felt damped.

"Wouldn't work, youngster," cried Griggs. "Even if he had come on the last day in a straight line that wouldn't help us about how he came on the other days; and as to his trail--why, the poor old fellow had been on the tramp for years. Look here, all of you; I'll give you another chance for a spec. I'll take five cents for my share. Who'll buy?

Don't all speak at once. What, no one? Well, you are a poor lot! Only five cents. Well, never mind; if you won't make yourselves rich it's no fault of mine. I'll keep my share myself in a goose-quill stopped up at the end with wax--when I get it."

"I should very much have liked to go in search of that place," said Wilton, who hardly heard their American neighbour's words.

"And I too," said Bourne. "Setting aside the gold discovery, it would be most interesting to visit the relics of the ancient city."

"I could do without seeing the old place," said Griggs dryly. "Depend upon it, you'd find it terribly out of repair. I should be dead on the gold. How do you feel, doctor?"

"I should like to explore the old place," he replied, "but I certainly should make a point of getting all the gold I could."