Before them, opening off from the trail, was the mouth of a large cavern. It looked inviting, after their night spent in the open, with the heavy dews soaking them through.

"That's the stuff!" exclaimed Will. "Now if we only had something to eat!"

"Maybe we will strike another stream around----" began Jed, when his words were suddenly interrupted by a whirr of wings.

"Partridges!" exclaimed Will, as a number of birds flew up from the bushes in front of them.

"I don't know whether they're partridges or not," said Jed, "but they look good to eat. Got any shot cartridges?"

Will had some, and Jed, inserting one in his rifle, which in an emergency would shoot those sh.e.l.ls, hurried forward. He was lucky enough to kill a couple of the birds, and in a short time the two hungry lads were roasting them over a fire they quickly kindled at the mouth of the cave.

As they intended to spend the night in the cavern they decided to explore it a bit, and, taking several torches, which they made from white birch bark, that is most excellent for that purpose, they set forward. They found the cave was a large one, and, having selected a secluded place, that was nice and dry, and far enough away from the entrance to insure of their being warm, they stretched out, and went to sleep, for they were utterly tired out with the day's fruitless tramp.

"h.e.l.lo, it's morning!" suddenly announced Jed, as he awoke and looked at his watch, by the light of a match. "It's seven o'clock. Get up, Will."

"Oh, I'm as stiff as a man with the rheumatism. How are you?"

"Well, I have felt better."

"Morning? Did you say it was morning?" asked Will. "Why, it's as black as midnight."

"I know it. We're quite a way into the cave. The light doesn't come this far. I'll light a torch, and we'll see if we can't get out and shoot some more of those birds. They were fine."

He ignited a roll of the birch bark, and leading the way started toward what he thought was the mouth of the cave. But he was soon convinced that he was mistaken.

"We didn't come in this far," said Will.

"I guess you're right," admitted his brother. "I must have taken a wrong turning. Come on back."

They retraced their steps. They came to the place where they had slept, and an investigation showed them several pa.s.sageways leading from it.

"I didn't imagine there was more than one," said Jed in bewilderment.

"Me either. Say, Jed, we're lost again!"

"Looks like it, and this is a big cave."

There was no doubt about it. Frantically the boys tried pa.s.sage after pa.s.sage. Some ended at blank walls, and others led so far into the blackness that they were afraid, and turned back. They could not find the pa.s.sage by which they had entered.

"Well, we certainly are up against it," sighed Will despondently, as he sat down on a rock, and watched his torch slowly burn. "What can we do?"

"Keep on hunting," replied Jed. "I wish we'd stayed in camp, then we wouldn't have had all this trouble. I wonder where Gabe is?"

"No telling. Maybe he's lost, too. I wish we'd stayed on the farm."

"Oh, don't say that. We'll be all right yet."

"I hope so. What's that?"

Will sprang to his feet. There came a noise from a dark corner of the cave. It sounded like some one shuffling along. Jed raised his torch and peered forward into the blackness. As he did so there came a menacing growl.

"It's a bear! A big bear!" he cried.

At the same moment the savage creature rushed at the two boys, who did not know which way to run.

CHAPTER XVIII

FINDING THE NUGGETS

"Quick with your gun, Will!" yelled Jed. "I laid mine down back there!"

"So did I," replied his brother. "What'll we do?"

The present position of the brothers was perilous in the extreme. They were some distance away from their weapons, which they had rested against the side of the cave, while they debated what they had better do. The bear was rushing straight at them, growling savagely.

"Get behind me, Will!" bravely cried Jed. "I'll try to stand him off with my knife," and at that he drew his knife, which had one big blade.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "Get behind me, Will!" bravely cried Ted]

"I'll get the guns!" cried Will, as he turned to run. But he slipped on a stone, and fell. Jed turned to see what had happened to his brother, and the bear, taking advantage of the lack of attention of the foremost of the lads, gave a lunge forward, placing himself close to Jed.

"Look out!" yelled Will, who, from his position on the floor of the cave, saw what was about to happen--that his brother was likely to be clawed by the s.h.a.ggy brute.

Jed turned, but only just in time. Then he did the only thing possible under the circ.u.mstances. He hurled his burning torch, which he had caught up, after opening his knife, right into the face of the bear.

With a growl of mingled terror and rage the brute halted. It dropped to all-fours. Then, as the blazing ma.s.s of bark was on the floor of the cave, right under its nose, bruin turned tail and fled back up the dark recesses of the cave.

"Quick!" cried Jed. "The guns, Will! We'll try a shot at him!"

Will leaped to his feet and managed to reach the rifles, which were loaded. He handed one to Jed, who took as good aim as he could at the black, s.h.a.ggy form, which was almost out of sight, the torch giving but a faint light now.

The report of the gun nearly deafened the boys, and Jed felt certain that he had missed. But a new plan came into his mind.

"Come on, Will!" he cried.

"Where?"

"Let's follow the brute! He came into the cave, and he must know the way out. That's where he's making for now. Come on, it's our only chance!"

Will comprehended. Grabbing up the other gun and lighting another torch, the two boys prepared to follow bruin. They could hear the beast scrambling over the floor of the cavern, though they could not see it, but Jed had watched in what direction it fled.

"Come on!" he called back to Will. "We'll get out of this place!"

The bear, which at first seemed likely to do them serious harm, proved a friend instead of an enemy, for the frightened creature took the shortest route out of the cave, to get away from those queer creatures, who, instead of allowing themselves to be eaten up, threw blazing chunks of fire in the face of peaceable bears.