"You might better be. I'm a dangerous man when I'm aroused."

"I guess you're dangerous for any one who has money," replied Jed. "But we haven't any fortune for you to steal, as you did that of Mr.

Harrison."

"Who says I stole his fortune?" demanded the gambler sharply.

"He does, and I believe him."

"Well, he wants to be careful what he says about me. Do you know these tenderfeet, Ned?" and Morton turned to Haverhill.

"Sure. That one there," indicating Jed, "refused to drink with me. I've a good notion to make him dance to the tune of my revolver," and he made a motion as if to draw his weapon.

"None of that, now," said Morton in a low tone. "It isn't safe. Leave me to deal with them. What are you two lads doing here?" he went on, turning back to Jed.

"I don't know that it's your affair."

"Well, I'll make it so. What have you got there? I saw you putting something in the pack."

"It's none of your business!"

"Be careful! Don't get me riled! I want to know what you're doing here."

"Well, we're prospecting; my brother and I."

"Where's your camp? You've just gotten here, for there are no signs of a camp."

"Back there!" replied Jed, with an indefinite wave of his hand. He would have been only too glad to point to where the camp was.

"Hum! Did you see any signs of gold?"

Now Jed had never told a lie, and he did not want to begin now, though the gambler asked a question he had no right to have answered.

Jed hesitated. He resolved he would not utter an untruth; yet to defy the man, and refuse to tell, would practically be to confess the truth.

And he knew what that meant. The reckless men would overpower him and Will, and rob them of their nuggets, and the other gold, which was hidden in the saddles. Worse than this, the bad men would become aware of the existence of a rich nugget mine, and they would claim it for their own.

Then, as he hesitated, a flash of inspiration came to the lad. He looked around, and saw that Will was ready with the guns. If his trick failed, and worst came to worst, the two farmer boys could defend themselves.

With a sudden start, Jed peered up the trail, as if he had caught sight of some one approaching. Then, placing his fingers to his lips, he gave vent to a shrill whistle.

"Come on, Gabe!" he yelled. "Right this way. Here we are! Right down the trail! Come on!"

"Who you yelling to?" asked Con Morton quickly.

"To Gabe," replied Jed, truthfully enough, though he knew Gabe was too far off to hear him.

"Gabe Harrison coming here!" murmured Haverhill. "We'd better light out, Morton. I don't want to meet him. Probably he's got his gang with him!

Come on!"

He spurred his horse forward. Con Morton, with a look of baffled hate at the two boys, did likewise, and their companion followed them. Jed's ruse had succeeded.

"I'll see you again!" shouted back the gambler in threatening tones, as he disappeared down the trail.

CHAPTER XX

PURSUED

Jed and Will could hardly believe their good luck. But the mention of the name of the man he had robbed was too much for Morton. He dared not stand and face him. Probably he imagined the United States marshal was with the st.u.r.dy old gold miner.

"Say, that was a good idea--a fine one, Jed!" cried Will. "How did you happen to think of it? You actually fooled me for a moment. I really thought you saw Gabe."

"I only wish I had."

"Do you s'pose they're gone for good?"

"I don't know. I think we'd better get out of here. But first let's cover up the places where we took out the nuggets. I was afraid those scoundrels would see the holes."

"Good thing they didn't. They'd have robbed us, sure pop. What shall we do next?" Will went on, as he carefully stamped with his feet on the places where the gold had been found.

"Both of us had better look at this location carefully, so we'll know how to find it again. It looks like a good place for gold, according to what Gabe told us. I'll bet there's a rich mine around here. Now we must find our way back to camp, and tell Gabe. Then we can come here and stake out three claims--one for each of us."

"It's easy enough to say 'go back to camp,'" remarked Will, "but how are we going to do it?"

"We've simply got to," responded his brother. "The horses may know their way back. We must trust to them. Let's see, I should say they must have come up that valley. They'd naturally travel the easiest way, when there was no one to drive 'em. Suppose we start down that valley a way, and see if the horses won't do the rest?"

There seemed nothing better to do, so they put this plan into operation.

Making sure that their precious nuggets were safe, and seeing that the packs were securely strapped on the backs of the steeds, the two boys started down the valley, that was near the trail on which they had found the gold. They walked a little way behind each horse, keeping hold of the tether ropes.

The animals went willingly enough, though they stopped every now and then for a mouthful of the sweet gra.s.s that grew quite luxuriantly on the slopes of the fertile valley.

They traveled several miles in a rather leisurely fashion, and, as it was beginning to get late in the afternoon, they decided to halt and have a meal before it got too dark. They wanted to go as far as possible before making camp, and they hoped they would come upon the one where Gabe had left them, ere nightfall.

"Here's a good place to camp," remarked Jed as he came to a halt. "This will do all right."

"Suits me," replied his brother.

They made a hasty meal, and looked about them for a good place to spend the night.

"That looks like a sheltered place over there," remarked Jed, pointing to an overhanging ledge, screened about with low bushes and fir trees.

"Suppose we take a look."

They walked over, and were just on the edge of the fringe of little trees when something happened. Jed, who was a little in advance, suddenly disappeared from his brother's sight. The thing happened so quickly that Will thought Jed had jumped down some little declivity, but an instant later he knew this was not so, for Jed's voice came back to him, sounding far off and m.u.f.fled:

"Keep back! Don't come down here. I'm in a hole. Keep away!"

Even with that warning Will pressed on. He was not going to desert his brother in the hour of need. He was almost at the place where Jed had vanished, when a slipping and sliding of the earth, a movement of several boulders, and a trembling of the surface of the ground, convinced him that to go farther would be dangerous, not only for himself, but perhaps for his brother. He leaped back, and just in time, for a yawning cavern opened at his very feet.