"That's so. He has been gone longer than he said he would be," answered Jed. "But he'll come back. Let's try digging over here," and he went to a new spot.

He was encouraged by finding a few grains of gold, and then he and Will set feverishly to work, but they had no great success.

"My! But I'm hungry!" exclaimed Jed, several hours later. "Why!" he exclaimed, as he looked at his watch, "it's three o'clock, and Gabe isn't back yet!"

"Let's get grub," proposed Will. "Maybe he's struck good pay dirt, and he hates to leave."

They ate their meal, and again went back to their gold pans, but they found no yellow metal. The sun sank lower and lower. It was getting dark, and there were no signs of the old miner. The boys looked anxiously at each other.

"Maybe he's hurt," suggested Will.

"Maybe," admitted Jed, accepting his brother's rather gloomy view, which was something new for him.

"Had we better go look for him?"

"I don't know. He told us to stay here until he came back."

"But if he's fallen, and can't move, he'd want us to go for him."

"That's so. Let's go. Get your gun, Will, and put plenty of matches in your pockets. We may want to light a torch. Tie the horses so they won't stray."

The two boys were soon walking up the mountain path that Gabe had taken earlier in the day. It was fast getting dusk, and they were very anxious. The trail was a winding one, and twisted and turned in every direction. At first they could see the marks made by Gabe's horse, but the hoof-prints soon disappeared.

"Guess we'd better go back," suggested Will, after they had tramped for an hour. "There's no sign of him. Maybe he went on another trail, and is back at camp now. Anyhow, we can't see any more," for it was now quite dark.

"All right," agreed Jed. "Back to camp it is."

They turned, and thought they were taking the same path they had used in coming up. But they had not traveled far before they were made aware that it was not the right one.

"I don't remember that we pa.s.sed this big rock before," said Jed, pausing near one, which, even in the darkness, they could see was perched on the edge of a deep gully.

"Me either. I wonder if we're on the right trail?"

They paused and, lighting matches, looked about them. They were observing lads, and it did not take them long to arrive at the conclusion that they were on a totally different path.

"Will," said Jed solemnly, "we're lost on the mountain, that's all there is to it."

"Lost! What are we going to do?"

"Stay here until morning, I guess. See if you can find some wood, and we'll build a fire. This rock will make a good shelter."

CHAPTER XVII

CORNERED BY A BEAR

The boys pa.s.sed a dreary, miserable night. There was a heavy dew, and they were wet, almost as if by a rain. Their fire went out, for in the darkness they could not find wood enough to keep it going.

How glad they were when morning came! The sun warmed them, and took the stiffness from their limbs.

"Oh, for something to eat!" cried Will.

"Same here," replied Jed. "But, listen! What's that?"

"Sounds like water running. Queer we didn't hear it before."

"We were too excited, I guess. There must be a stream around here, and maybe there are fish in it."

They found just below where they had spent the night a swift mountain stream foaming along over a rocky bed. Jed and Will had not gotten over the habit, formed while on the farm, of carrying hooks and lines in their pockets. It was short work to cut poles, adjust their tackle, and, with bait of worms, dug with their pocket knives, they were soon casting in. The fish of that stream must have been very hungry, for they took the bait at once, and soon the lads had several beauties. These they cleaned, and broiled by holding them in front of the fire on sharp sticks.

"They'd be better if we had salt," said Will.

"Use gunpowder," suggested Jed, and they did not find it a bad subst.i.tute, when they had taken some of the black grains from a cartridge, for salt-peter is the princ.i.p.al ingredient of some powders, and it is very salty.

"Now suppose we get back to camp," suggested Will, after their simple breakfast. "I suppose Gabe is back by this time, thinking how foolish we were to disobey him."

"Well, we did it for the best," said Jed. "He can't blame us."

"Of course not. Do you think we can find the way back?"

Jed did not answer. He was looking about him. They were on a totally unfamiliar trail, and he did not know which way to go. He admitted as much to his brother.

"But we came up the mountain," said Will, "and naturally, to get to camp we ought to go down. That's easy."

"Yes, it's easy enough to go down the slope, but where will we come out?

I'm in favor of going up."

"What for?"

"Well, the higher we go the better view we'll have. Then we can size up the country, and decide which way we'd better travel. No use simply going down, for we may come out miles and miles from our camp."

Will agreed in this view, and the boys started up the trail again. But luck was against them. They did not know it, but they were on one of the wildest mountain ranges in that section of the country. Many travelers had been lost on it, for the trails, made by wild animals, were confusing, and there were a number of them.

"We don't seem to be getting anywhere," said Will, at length.

"That's so," admitted Jed. "I'm hungry; aren't you? Those fish weren't very filling."

"No, indeed, but I don't see how we're going to get anything to eat."

For several hours more the boys wandered on. They were tired, and their stomachs craved more food. They saw no game, or they might have provided themselves with food, and they came across no more streams from whence they could take fish. They were in a sad plight, for night was coming on, and they were farther than ever from camp--lost in the mountains.

As Jed, who was in the lead, was turning around a big rock, that marked a shift in the trail, he uttered an exclamation of surprise.

"What's the matter?" asked Will eagerly. "See anything to eat?"

"No; but I see a good place to stay to-night. Here's a big cave."