The sound of the shots had called the others of the party to the scene,
and numerous were the questions asked.

"Wow! a mountain lion!" cried Phil. "And did you kill him, Dave?"

"I don't know whether he is dead. Mr. Dillon and I both hit him, and he
flopped around here until he slid down into that hole yonder."

"Maybe he isn't dead yet," suggested Roger.

"Even so, being badly wounded, he'll stick to his shelter," said Abe
Blower. "Say," he went on, "thet looks like a putty good sized cave!"

"Just what I was thinking," returned Dave. "I was going to have a look
inside, when that mountain lion growled and sprang out at me."

"We'll light some torches, and take a look at the place," suggested old
Tom Dillon.

"Oh, supposing it's an entrance to that lost mine!" cried Phil.

"It would be great!" added the senator's son, enthusiastically.

"I hardly think it could be thet," put in Abe Blower. "But if the cave
is long enough, it might lead to one o' the shafts as was sunk fer the
mine; eh, Tom?"

"That's true," responded the old miner.

"I've got my electric torch with me," said Roger, bringing that useful
article from his pocket. "We can use that in the cave."

"The light wouldn't be strong enough, an' steady enough," answered Abe
Blower. "We'll have to have regular torches, and plenty of 'em, too.
Caves like thet are often full o' holes, an' ye might step into one an'
fall down to Chiny, or somewhere else," and he smiled, grimly.

The old miners had picked up some sticks for torches on the way,
thinking they might come in useful for firewood if for nothing else, and
several of these were now lit and swung into a lively blaze.

"No use of all of us goin' in there," said Abe Blower.

"No, somebody has got to stay here an' watch the hosses," answered Tom
Dillon.

A brief discussion followed, and it was agreed that Abe Blower and Roger
and Dave should go down into the opening, leaving Tom Dillon and Phil to
guard the animals and the camping outfit. Possibly the shipowner's son
was disappointed by this arrangement, but if so he did not show it.

"It might not take more'n a few minutes to look into the cave," said Abe
Blower. "An' then ag'in, it might take some hours. But, no matter how
big the hole is, we won't be gone more'n two hours, Tom;" and so it was
decided.

As they entered the cave--for such it really proved to be--they held
their torches over their heads and looked anxiously for the mountain
lion.

"I don't see anything of his majesty," said Roger, in almost a whisper,
for the strange adventure had set his nerves on an edge.

"Oh, I suppose he had life enough left to crawl quite a distance,"
answered Dave.

The cave was irregular in shape, forming something of an underground
split in the rocks. The flooring led steadily downward, with here and
there an opening of unknown depth.

"A good place to prospect," said Abe Blower, as he flashed his torch
over the rocky walls.

"Do you imagine there is gold in those rocks?" asked Dave.

"Might be, lad, an' silver, too. But there might not be enough to make
it pay to git it out."

"I see the mountain lion!" cried Roger, a minute later. "There he is, in
yonder corner, in his den. And look, it's his mate!"

All gazed and not far distant beheld a scene that touched their hearts.
On the rocks lay the dead lion and over him stood his mate, licking his
face with her rough tongue.

"Look out!" cried Abe Blower, and drew his horse-pistol--a companion
weapon to that carried by Tom Dillon. "She'll come fer us, sure!"

The old miner was right. Swiftly the lioness turned, and set up a savage
roar that echoed and reechoed throughout the cavern. Then, in spite of
the torches--for all savage beasts are afraid of fire--she prepared to
fight those she felt had slain the one she loved.

It was Abe Blower who fired first, and scarcely had the sound of the
shot died away when Roger and Dave pulled trigger. Over and over whirled
the lioness, and then of a sudden struck one of the wide cracks in the
flooring of the cave and disappeared from view. They heard the body
strike on some rocks far below; and then all became silent.

"Oh, wasn't that awful!" gasped Roger, and felt of his forehead, where
the cold perspiration had gathered.

"I--I kind of hated to do it," answered Dave. "She was mourning over her
mate!"

"Shall we send the other body down, too?" went on the senator's son.

"Might as well," was the quick answer, and soon the other lion was
dragged to the opening and dropped down. Abe Blower looked on at the
work and smiled grimly.

"I suppose ye are sorry for thet lioness, but I ain't," he said. "They
are wicked critters, I can tell ye, an' they do a whole lot o' damage."

"I suppose they live according to their nature," replied Dave, softly.
In his mind's eye he could still see the tawny lioness licking the face
of her dead mate.

On they went again. The cave was narrow here but presently broadened
out. The roof was, for the most part, less than ten feet high, so the
boys felt just as if they were "walking between big pie crusts," as
Roger quaintly expressed it. The cave seemed to be dry, although when
they stopped once more to look around, they heard the distant gurgle of
a stream of water.

"Wall, I can't see as it looks anythin' like a mine," announced Abe
Blower, presently. "Nothin' like a shaft around here."

"I wonder how long the cave is?" came from Dave. "It must end
somewhere."

"Say, wouldn't this make a good place to camp out in?" asked Roger, of
the old miner.

"Not much!" was the quick answer.

"Why not? It would be cool in the daytime and warm at night, with a
little campfire."

"Maybe, lad. But wot if some o' these rocks should shift? They'd squash
ye as flat as a flapjack!"

"I didn't think of that."

"I don't believe it is very safe in here," said Dave. "This cave must
have been formed by that landslide, and, if so, perhaps the dirt and
rocks haven't finished settling yet. I don't want any rocks to come down
on my head!"

"Nor on any of us!" added the senator's son.

"I've got an idee thet we are a-comin' to another openin'," remarked Abe
Blower, a few minutes later, after they had made a sharp turn to the
right.

"Why so?" asked Roger.

"I kin feel some fresh air from somewhere."

"I feel it too," returned Dave. "Doesn't it come from overhead?"

"Mebbe, lad; although I thought it was ahead."

"Here is that stream of water!" cried Roger, as they made another turn.
"But we can't get at it," he added, somewhat disappointedly.

"Why?"

"It's down below the split in the rocks. Look!"

He held up his torch so they could look down into something of a
sharp-edged basin of rocks. A dozen feet below they could see the water
pouring from one hole in the rocks and disappearing farther on.

Nearly an hour had been spent in walking and crawling around the big
cave. They had had several narrow escapes from pitfalls and were moving
with caution.

"Maybe we had better go back," suggested Roger.

"I was thinkin' thet myself," answered Abe Blower. "Nothin' much in
here, so far as I kin see. We might come back later an' have another
look--if we don't discover thet lost mine elsewhere," he added.

"You are sure this is the right district?" asked Dave.

"Oh, yes, the lost Landslide Mine can't be very far away," was the old
miner's reply.

They turned back, heading, as they thought, for the opening by which
they had entered. On and on they walked, occasionally slipping and
sliding where the rocks sloped. Then they came to a spot where there was
a wide crevice to cross.

"My gracious, did we jump over that when we came this way?" queried the
senator's son, as all gazed at the wide opening, which was of unknown
depth.

"We certainly did not!" declared Abe Blower.

"Then we have come the wrong way!" put in Dave, quickly.

"It sure looks like it, lad."

"If that's the case, we'll have to go back!" came from Roger. He looked
around them and his face paled a trifle. "Oh, do you think we are lost?"

"If we are not, we are next door to it," was Abe Blower's serious
answer.




CHAPTER XXIV

SEARCHING FOR THE LANDSLIDE MINE


Lost underground!

It was a terrible condition of affairs to contemplate, and for an
instant Dave's heart almost stopped beating and something like a chill
swept down his backbone. What if they should be unable to find their way
out of the rocky cave?

"We'll have to go back," said Abe Blower, in a low voice, after a pause,
in which the three of the party had gazed around at the walls of the
cavern and at each other. "An' we don't want to lose no time nuther,"
added the old miner.

"No, for the others will be wondering what has become of us," put in
Roger.

"It ain't thet so much, lad, it's the torches--they won't last forever."

All gazed at the lights and saw that the old miner was right. The first
ones they had lit had burnt out and the remaining lot were more than
half consumed.

Without further words they turned around, in an endeavor to retrace
their steps to the point where they had made a false turn. Abe Blower
led the way and the boys followed, all keeping their eyes wide open, to
make certain that nothing of importance might escape them.

On and on they went, seeing one spot after another that looked familiar.
They even passed the spot where Dave had thrown away the end of his
first torch. The bit of wood was still smoking.

"Here's the split in the cave, I think," said the old miner, at last.

They had reached a spot where the cavern widened out into a large,
circular opening. From this point could be seen several other openings.
Evidently they had taken the wrong passageway.

"But which is the right one?" questioned Roger. "They all look alike to
me."

"Look putty much alike to me, too," returned Abe Blower. "If only I had
thought to put down a few chalk marks!" he sighed.

Dave said nothing but went around to the various openings, examining all
with care by the light of his torch.

"I believe this is the one we came in by," he announced, a few minutes
later.

"What makes you think so?" asked his chum.

"Do you see that curiously-shaped rock over there? Well, I remember
seeing that as we came along--it reminded me of a giant's face. Now,
you can't see that rock that way only from here."

"Perhaps you are right, Dave. I must confess I am all mixed up," and
Roger sighed.

"We can try it for a little distance," said Abe Blower. "Then, if we
won't see anything we remember seem' before, we can come back to this
place."

"But our torches----" began the senator's son.

"We'll use one at a time--that will make 'em last," said Dave.

This was considered a good suggestion, and all but one of the flaming
lights were extinguished. Then they walked down the passageway as
quickly as safety permitted.

"I--I don't see anything that looks like what I saw before," said Roger,
after a bit. "The rocks look all alike to me."

"An' to me," returned the old miner, and there was something of
hopelessness in his tones.

But they kept on. Dave had the torch and was ahead, with the others
close at his heels. The single torch gave but an uncertain light and
cast grotesque shadows on all sides.

"Look!" cried our hero, a little later.

He pointed to a series of small stones resting on the floor of the
cavern. They were somewhat in the form of a circle, with a large stone
in the center.

"Oh, I remember those stones!" cried Roger, joyfully.

"So do I!" put in Abe Blower. "I reckon as how we are in the right
passageway now, lads!" he continued, in a more hopeful tone.

"I am sure we are!" came from our hero. "But we have a pretty good
distance to go yet."

"Yes, an' be careful thet ye don't go down in none o' them pesky holes,"
cautioned the old miner.

Quarter of an hour later they reached the spot where they had shot the
lioness. Looking ahead, they saw a torch waving in the air.

"Hullo! hullo!" came in the voice of Phil. "Where are you?"

"Here we are!" answered Dave and Roger.

"You've been a long time in here," went on the shipowner's son.

"We got lost," announced Roger.

"And we shot the mate of that mountain lion," added Dave.

They soon reached Phil, and then the whole party quickly made their way
out of the cave. Those who had been left outside listened with interest
to what Dave and the others had to relate.

"Well, that sure must be some cave!" exclaimed Tom Dillon. "An' as Abe
says, we must come back and examine it more closely some time. There
may be a lot of gold an' silver in it, an' maybe other metals."

"Perhaps radium!" cried Phil. "Say, wouldn't it be great to find a
radium mine!"

"I don't think ye'll find any o' thet new-fangled stuff here," answered
Tom Dillon. "An' anyway, gold an' silver is good enough for me," and he
smiled broadly.

Nightfall found the party still among the loose rocks that overspread
the mountainside where the great landslide had taken place. Looking at
the forsaken and desolate region, the boys could well understand why the
search for the lost mine had been given up. There was nothing to be seen
that looked in the least promising. Rocks and dirt rested on all sides,
and that was all.

"We looked over the rocks and the dirt putty well, too," explained Tom
Dillon. "But there wasn't nary a sight o' gold; eh, Abe?"

"Not enough fer to buy a plug o' tobaccer with," answered the other
miner.

As one spot was no better than another apparently, they did not spend
much time in looking for a place to camp. In one place was a little
rough brush and here the horses were tethered. Then a tiny fire was
kindled in a hollow of the rocks, and over this they prepared their
supper,--a rather slim affair, considering that every one was
tremendously hungry.

"Not a seven-course dinner," said Phil, with a sickly grin.

"Never mind," returned Dave, cheerfully. "Just wait till after we have
found that lost mine and get into Yellowstone Park. I'm sure the hotels
there serve the best of meals."

"O dear! now I am here, it doesn't look so easy--I mean to locate that
mine," sighed Roger.

"What, you're not going to give up so soon, are you, lad!" cried Tom
Dillon.

"Why, we ain't begun no search yit," added Abe Blower. "Time to git kind
o' tired arfter ye have been here a week or two an' nuthin' doin'."

To this none of the boys replied. But they could not help but think what
a dreary time it would be, searching among those rocks and that loose
dirt day after day, if the lost mine were not brought to light.

The day's exertions had tired all hands, and they slept soundly
throughout the night, with nothing coming to disturb them. When the boys
got up they found Abe Blower already at the campfire, preparing a
breakfast of his favorite flapjacks and bacon. He fried his big
flapjacks one at a time in a pan, and it was simply wonderful to the
boys how he would throw a cake in the air and catch it in the pan bottom
side up.

"It's the knack on't," said Tom Dillon, as he saw the lads watching the
feat performed. "I know some old miners kin keep two pans a-goin' that
way, and never miss a cake."

"I'd like to try it," said Phil.

"Not now--we ain't got no batter to waste," replied Abe Blower, with a
chuckle.

The morning meal at an end, the hunt for traces of the lost Landslide
Mine commenced in earnest. Dave and his chums had come dressed for the
work, and the whole party were provided with picks, shovels, crowbars,
axes, and a couple of gold-pans.

The whole of that day was spent on the mountainside, the various members
of the party separating from time to time and then coming together, to
relate their various experiences. The old miners had told the boys how
to search and what landmarks to look for, so that they did not seek
altogether blindly.

It was hard, hot work, for the sun poured down all the long day. And
added to that, water was scarce, for the nearest spring was well down
the mountainside, and even this had a bitter taste which rendered it far
from palatable.

"Well, nothing doing so far," said Roger, as they came together in the
evening.

"Never mind, we may have better luck to-morrow," returned Dave, as
cheerfully as he could.

Several days went by, including Sunday, and still they found nothing
that looked like a trace of the lost Landslide Mine. They had covered a
tract of rocks and dirt several hundred feet in width and all of half a
mile long. The only spot they had avoided was one where some loose rocks
looked to be positively dangerous.

"We might tackle that, but we'd be taking a big risk," said Dave.

"Right you are," said Phil. "If those rocks tumbled on us, it would be
good-by to this world!"

"But the entrance to the lost mine may be under those very rocks!"
sighed Roger. "And if so, just see what we'd miss by not searching
there."

"I've got an idee fer tacklin' thet place," said Abe Blower. "It will be
hard work, but putty safe--if we are careful."

"You mean to get above the rocks and roll 'em down the mountainside, one
after another?" questioned Tom Dillon.

"Exactly, Tom. We could do it with the wust o' the rocks that are
loose--an' the rest wouldn't matter so much."

"But we'd have to take care that we didn't roll the rocks on somebody's
head," remarked Dave.

"To be sure."

The task of getting at the dangerous rocks was begun the next day. Stone
after stone was sent crashing down the mountainside, into a desolate
waste below. It was hard work, and the boys were exhausted by the time
night fell around them. They had found a number of openings under the
rocks, but none of these had proved to be the entrance to the lost mine.

"And yet, somehow, I'm almost certain this is the spot where the mine
was located," said Abe Blower, after another look around. "The scenery
yonder looks jest like it."

"So it does," answered Tom Dillon. "I feel that the Landslide Mine was
just about here, an' my claim was over there," and he pointed to some
rocks in the distance.

Twice during the time that they were sending the big stones down the
mountainside they had caught sight of another party among the rocks,
once on horseback and again on foot. But the party had been too far away
for any one to be recognized, even with the field-glass.

"Maybe it's the Sol Blugg crowd," said Dave.

"Yes, and maybe Merwell and Haskers are with them," added Phil.

The wind had begun to blow strongly and the sun went down in a heavy
mass of angry-looking clouds.

"Up against a storm, I reckon," said Tom Dillon, after a careful survey
of the sky.

"Yes, an' when she comes like as not she'll be a rip-snorter," returned
Abe Blower.

Supper was hurried, because of the wind and the heavy clouds, and then
the whole party withdrew to the shelter of some rocks, taking their
horses with them.

"Do you think it will be very bad?" asked Dave, of old Tom Dillon.

"Perhaps, lad; some storms up here on the mountain are about as bad as
they make 'em," was the grave reply.




CHAPTER XXV

CAUGHT IN A STORM


"Say, but this is sure going to be a corker!"

Dave shouted out the words--to make himself heard above the whistling of
the wind as it blew across the little plateau on the mountainside, where
the party had gone into camp.

It was half an hour later, and during that time the oncoming storm had
approached steadily. At first the wind had come in fitful gusts, bending
the scant brushwood among the rocks first in one direction and then
another. This had been followed by a sudden dash of rain, and for a few
minutes they had hoped that the worst of the downpour would pass to the
south of them. But then had come a sudden turn, and now the rain was
descending on them in torrents, driven in a slanting direction by the
wind, which showed no signs of abating.

"I should say it was a corker!" returned Roger, as he brushed the water
from his face and peered beyond the rocks. To get out of that driving
downfall was impossible.

"I wish we were in that cave," cried Phil. "We'd be as dry as a bone in
there."

"Not if the roof leaked," returned the senator's son, grimly. "Besides,
somehow I don't think it would be safe."

"Why not?"

"The rain might wash down some of the rocks forming the roof."

"Pooh! they have stayed up so long, I guess they would stay up a little
longer," grumbled Phil.

"No sech cave for me," broke in Abe Blower. "The rain makes 'em too
dangerous. I was in a mine onct when it rained like this, an', fust
thing we knew, about a hundred tons o' rocks slid down, almost buryin'
us alive!"

"We'll stay where we are," said Tom Dillon. "The storm won't last
forever."

As the night came on, and the storm continued, the boys felt anything
but comfortable. Building a campfire was out of the question, for the
rain made a dense smoke which the wind swirled all around them, setting
them to coughing and the horses to snorting. The animals were as much
alarmed as their masters.

"Might as well save your firewood, boys," said Abe Blower. "You'll need
it, to dry out by, arfter the rain stops."

"If it ever does stop," grumbled Phil. Rain was Phil's great bugbear
when he was on any kind of an outing.

At midnight the rain was coming down as steadily as ever. But the strong
wind had died down somewhat, so by remaining close to some overhanging
rocks they were more or less protected from the elements. But they could
not lie down, and sleep was out of the question.

"Dave, do you think Merwell and Haskers went back to Butte?" asked the
senator's son, as the three boys sat close together under a big rock.

"I am sure I don't know, Roger. They'd have to go back unless they fell
in with somebody who knew something of this district."

"What do you think of that other party we saw at a distance?"

"They might be the Sol Blugg gang, or they might be almost anybody,
Roger. Anybody can come here and try to locate a paying claim."

"Somehow I feel it in my bones that that is the Blugg gang and that Link
and old Haskers are with 'em," said Phil. "To my mind, all those fellows
are tarred with the same brush, and they would like nothing better than
to relocate the lost Landslide Mine first."

"Perhaps you are right," returned Dave. "Well, I don't see how we are
going to stop them from going ahead--I mean Blugg and Haskers. Of
course we can have Merwell arrested on sight, and Mr. Dillon can have
that Staver locked up for trying to steal the horses."

A rush of wind made further conversation just then impossible. So far
there had been little thunder and lightning, but now came a flash and a
crack that caused the boys to leap to their feet, while the horses
plunged and acted as if they wanted to bolt.

"Some stroke, eh?" cried Abe Blower, when the alarm was over. "It must
have struck near here."

"It was a little too close for comfort," returned Dave, grimly. "I don't
think a spot like this is particularly safe in a storm."

"Oh, ye might git struck down in the valley jest as quick," answered the
old miner.

"The rivers will be pretty high after this flood," said Roger.

"Might be as how it will start another landslide, although I hope not,"
said Tom Dillon, musingly.

"It wouldn't be so bad if the landslide opened up the lost mine," said
Dave.

"Oh, thet would be all right, lad,--if we wasn't caught in the fallin'
rocks."

Slowly the night wore away, and when daylight came it was still raining.
But the wind had gone down and the sky looked as if the rainfall might
cease at any moment.

"Wall, we'll try fer breakfast," observed Abe Blower. "Nothin' like a
hot cup o' coffee an' some flapjacks to cheer a man up."

The driest of the wood was selected, and they built a new fire with
care, in the shelter of the largest of the overhanging rocks. Soon the
appetizing odor of freshly made coffee filled the air and all drew
close, to have a cup, and to partake of some fried bacon and some of Abe
Blower's famous flapjacks.

"Them flapjacks made Abe a good friend," observed Tom Dillon, while
eating. "They was the means o' introducing Maurice Harrison to him.
Ain't that so, Abe?" And the old miner grinned broadly.

"Right you are!" was the ready reply. "We was in the mountains together,
and Maurice didn't have nuthin' to eat. I made him some o' my flapjacks
an' then we became pardners fer nigh on to a year. Thet was up at tudder
end o' the State," explained Abe Blower.

By the time breakfast was over and the horses had been cared for, the
rain had stopped and the sun was breaking through the eastern sky. All
in the camp lost no time in changing their wet garments for dry. The
soaked clothing was then hung up around the fire and on the rocks in
the sun.

"You want to be careful how you climb around this mornin'," warned Tom
Dillon. "Some o' the places is mighty slippery. You don't want to slide
over no rocks into a hollow an' git killed!"

"No, indeed!" replied Roger, earnestly.

It was not until the middle of the afternoon that they took up the hunt
for the lost mine once more. This time the three boys went off together,
Abe Blower advising them not to separate while the rocky slopes were so
wet.

"You keep together an' me an' Tom will do the same thing," he said.
"Then, if anything happens to anybody, the others can help."

For over two hours the boys hunted around, making their way along a
ledge of rocks below the point where they had hunted before.

"From the description left by Uncle Maurice, that mine was pretty deep,"
said Roger. "And if it was, maybe we'll be more apt to find an opening
to it from below rather than from above."

"Well, it won't do any harm to look around here, anyway," returned Dave.

They had to proceed with great care, for in spots the water was still
running over the rocks and the footing was very slippery. They had a
rope with them and all took hold of this, Dave being in front, Phil
coming next, and Roger bringing up the rear.

"It's not such an easy job as I thought it would be," panted Phil, after
they had made an unusually difficult turn of the ledge. "It kind of
takes the wind out of a fellow!"

"Let us rest a bit," suggested Dave. "We can't go much further along the
ledge anyway," he added, looking ahead.

They had reached a point where the outcropping of rocks had split in
twain, forming the ledge they were on and another ledge twenty or thirty
feet away. Between the two ledges was a hollow with jagged rocks far
below. The other ledge wound around another hill, leading to the
northwest.

"This certainly is a wild country," said Roger, as the boys seated
themselves on the inner side of the ledge. "Hunting for gold and silver
in a place like this is certainly not easy. Think of spending month
after month among rocks like these, looking for 'pay dirt' or 'pay
rock,' as they call it!"

"And yet it just suited your uncle," returned Dave, "and it suits Abe
Blower and Mr. Dillon."

The boys relapsed into silence, glad of the rest. Dave was thinking of
his father, and of the folks who had gone into Yellowstone Park, when
suddenly he felt his sleeve pulled by Roger.

"Look!" whispered the senator's son. "Don't make any noise, either of
you!"

He had pulled Phil's sleeve also, and now he motioned for his chums to
crouch down behind the rocks on which they had been sitting, stones that
lay loosely on the ledge, close to the towering cliff.

As the three lads slipped down behind the loose stones on which they had
been resting, all gazed in the direction Roger pointed out. On the other
ledge several persons had appeared.

"Link Merwell!" gasped Phil. "And see, that Sol Blugg is with him!"

"And here comes Job Haskers and the man called Larry Jaley!" said Dave,
in reply.

"Wonder where that other fellow, Staver, is?" murmured Roger.

"Maybe he was too badly hurt to come with them and had to go back,"
returned Dave.

"Say, I don't see much use of coming along this trail," called out Link
Merwell, to those with him.

"It certainly is beastly walking here," said Job Haskers. "I've nearly
sprained my ankle several times."

"Well, if we want to find that lost mine we got to hunt fer it," growled
Sol Blugg. "It ain't comin' to you, you know."

"I agree thet this trail ain't none too safe," came from Larry Jaley.
"If a feller slipped off he'd have some fall, so he would!" he added,
looking down into the hollow with its jagged rocks.

Roger nudged Dave in the side.

"They are after the Landslide Mine, just as I supposed!" he murmured.

"Well, they seem to be no nearer finding it than we are," was our hero's
reply.

"But they haven't any right to the mine!" burst out Phil. "It belongs to
Roger's mother!"

"Listen to what they have to say," warned the senator's son.

The party on the opposite ledge were now so close, and the air was so
clear, that all which was said could be heard distinctly.

"I thought sure we'd be able to locate some landmarks before this,"
growled Link Merwell. "Are you sure this is the right district, Blugg?"

"This is where the Landslide Mine was supposed to be located. You had
the description of those landmarks, I didn't," added the Westerner.

Just then Larry Jaley let out a quick cry.

"Look over yonder!" he called. "Sumbuddy behind the rocks!"

He pointed at Dave and the others, and a second later the three youths
knew that they had been discovered.

"Come out o' thet, whoever you are!" cried Sol Blugg.

"We might as well get up," said Dave, and arose to his feet. His chums
did likewise and then those on one ledge of rocks faced those on the
other.




CHAPTER XXVI

PROWLERS IN CAMP


"Huh! so it's you, is it!" cried Link Merwell, in surly tones.

"So you are after my mine!" cried Roger, sharply. "Well, I'll tell you
right now, if you locate it, it won't do you any good."

"Bah! We know what we are doing," retorted the youth who in the past had
caused Dave and his chums so much trouble. "You can't scare us."

"Link, you ought to be in jail!" burst out Phil.

"You'll never put me there," was the quick retort.

"We have as much right to look for a mine up here as you have," put in
Sol Blugg. "If you own a mine, where are your stakes or other
landmarks?"

"You know very well that they were carried away by that landslide,"
answered the senator's son.

"We don't know nuthin' of the kind," came from Larry Jaley. "Your uncle
claimed to have a mine up here, but I never seen no proof of it--nor
did anybuddy else see any proof. Any of us kin locate a claim, an' you
can't stop us."

"This is free land, so far as locatin' a claim is concerned," added Sol
Blugg.

"Well, if you locate that mine before we do, don't you dare to remove
any of my uncle's landmarks," returned Roger.

[Illustration: "IF YOU LOCATE THAT MINE BEFORE WE DO, DON'T YOU DARE TO
REMOVE ANY OF MY UNCLE'S LANDMARKS."]

"Ha! wot kind o' talk is thet!" burst out Larry Jaley.

"Oh, we know you," put in Dave. "We know just what sort of a bunch you
are."

"Porter, do you include me in that remark?" demanded Job Haskers,
drawing himself up as had been his fashion when an instructor at Oak
Hall.

"I certainly do," replied Dave.

"You are impertinent!"

"It won't do you any good to act in that way, Job Haskers," returned our
hero. "We know you for the rascal that you are. You committed a crime at
Oak Hall, and you did what you could to swindle Mr. Fordham. It's
useless for you to deny it. Now, let me say this: If you and those with
you try to do the Morrs out of their property here, we'll do all we can
to put you and Link Merwell in prison for your crimes. And more than
that, we'll do what we can to have those men arrested, for that land
swindle they tried to pull off when Abe Blower blocked them, and for
stealing our horses."

"You--you----" stammered the former teacher, and for the moment knew not
what to say.

"Don't you call us hoss-thieves!" burst out Sol Blugg, savagely.

"I can and I will," replied Dave, firmly. "Your crowd tried to take our
horses, and the fellow called Staver got shot doing it. I guess that is
why he isn't with you now."

"Bah! I won't talk with you," growled Sol Blugg. He knew not what else
to say.

"I--I will--will settle with you for this another time," came tartly
from Job Haskers.

"Oh, come on, what's the use of talking to them?" growled Link Merwell.
"Some day I'll show them what I can do!" And he moved on along the
ledge.

"Some day I shall square up for this gross insult!" stormed Job Haskers,
and then he followed Merwell, and Blugg and Jaley came behind them. Soon
a turn in the ledge hid them from view of our friends.

"What nerve!" burst out Phil.

"That proves they are after the mine," came from Dave.

"Yes, and if they locate it they will try to prove that it wasn't my
uncle's mine at all!" burst out Roger, bitterly. "I suppose they'll
destroy all the landmarks--that is, if the landslide left any of them
standing--and then what will I be able to do?"

"I think we had better go back and tell the others of this," said Dave.
"After this, it may pay us to keep an eye on that other crowd."

"That's so," returned the senator's son.

With care the three chums retraced their steps, and half an hour later
found them with Tom Dillon and Abe Blower. The two old miners listened
with close attention to the tale of their encounter with the other
party.

"You are right; we must watch 'em," said Tom Dillon. "They are a bad lot
and will do what they can to make trouble for us, and keep us from
locating the lost mine."

"I wonder where they are camping?" said Phil.

"It can't be very far from here," replied Dave. "We can look for their
campfire to-night, if you wish."

"If they don't hide it," remarked Abe Blower. "And by that same token,
wouldn't it be a good idee to hide our own fire?" he continued, turning
to Tom Dillon.

"Sure!" was the prompt answer.

That night the three boys climbed several tall rocks in the vicinity of
their camp and looked around with care. But the only lights that they
could make out were miles away, and those Abe Blower stated were on the
distant railroad. Nothing like a campfire came to view.

"They are foxy and have put it in a hollow," said the old miner. "Wall,
we've done the same thing," he added, chuckling.

"Oh, if only we could locate that lost mine and put up our stakes!"
sighed Roger. "But it looks like next to a hopeless task, doesn't it,
Dave."

"Oh, I don't know, Roger," answered our hero, as cheerfully as possible,
for he saw that his chum was much downcast. "We haven't covered the
whole of the ground yet. I wouldn't give up hope, if I were you."

"I didn't think it was going to be such a job when we started," went on
the senator's son. "My, what rocks we have climbed over!" And he rubbed
a shin from which some skin had been scraped that afternoon.

"I knew it would be a hard hunt," answered our hero. "And why not? If it
was an easy matter to locate that lost mine, Abe Blower or some of those
old prospectors would have done it long ago. If we do the trick I think
it will be a great feather in our cap--in fact, I think it will be more
of a lucky accident than anything else."

"Just my way of looking at it," agreed Phil. "It's a regular
hide-and-seek game, this locating a mine among these rocks."

For a long time the three boys sat by themselves, talking about days at
Oak Hall, and about the folks left at home and about those now traveling
through Yellowstone Park. It seemed a long time since they had received
letters.

"I suppose there are letters at the hotel in Butte," said Dave, with a
little sigh.

"I'd give something to have them here," added Phil.

"If only I knew how dad was making out," murmured the senator's son. "I
suppose he is waiting every day to hear from me!"

"I hope the folks in the Park are having a good time," said Dave, after
a pause. "I suppose the main body of tourists have started for home by
now."

"Yes, they went yesterday, according to the advertised plan," answered
Phil.

"I've got an idea," said our hero, after another pause. "Do you see that
hollow just below here? Well, we haven't looked around that much. Why
not try it to-morrow?"

"Abe Blower and Mr. Dillon both seem to think the opening to the mine
was above that, Dave," said Roger.

"True, but the landslide changed things, remember. We may now find an
opening down there,--not the opening your uncle made, but another, made
by the slide."

"It won't do any harm to look down there. While we are here I am going
to look in every spot I can reach."

"Sure thing!" cried Phil. "But say, if we are going to climb around
these rocks all day to-morrow I am going to bed and get a good night's
rest."

"I guess we all need a rest, so we'll turn in at once," answered Roger.

Their camp was located between the rocks and not far from the trail by
which they had come to the vicinity. The horses were tethered at a point
where a patch of coarse undergrowth gave them something to nibble at.
The animals were of no use to them, now they were in the district where
the lost mine was supposed to be located.

It was a little after nine o'clock when the boys turned in, and a few
minutes later the two old miners followed them. So far they had not
deemed it necessary to have a guard, for none of their enemies nor wild
beasts had come to annoy them.

Roger and Phil were soon sound asleep, and it was not long before their
snoring told that Abe Blower and Tom Dillon were likewise in the land of
dreams. But Dave, for some reason he could not explain, was restless,
and he turned over several times, sighing heavily.

"If I were at home I should say I had eaten too much supper," he told
himself. "But here rations are too scarce. I don't know what keeps me
awake, unless it is that I'm too tired to go to sleep."

The campfire had burned so low that the spot was almost in total
darkness. There was no moon and only a few stars shone in the sky, which
was partly obscured by clouds. A gentle breeze was stirring, but
otherwise all was quiet.

At last Dave thought that if he had a drink he might go to sleep with
more ease, and he turned over to sit up and get to his feet. A bucket of
water was close at hand, so he would not have to go far for what he
wanted.

Just as Dave sat up he saw something that startled him. A dark figure
was moving at a distance from the camp, coming closer slowly.

At first the youth could not make out if the figure was a man or an
animal. He strained his eyes and then made out the form of a person.

At once our hero thought of Link Merwell and those with him. It must be
one of their enemies, and if so, what had brought him to this spot at
such an hour of the night?

"Maybe he is after our horses," reasoned the youth, and then he dropped
down again and rolled over to where Roger was lying. He shook his chum
and at the same time placed a hand over the other's mouth.

"Roger! Don't make any noise!" he whispered. "Somebody is coming here in
the dark."

The senator's son awoke and heard what was said. Then, as Dave took away
his hand, he whispered:

"Where is he? Who is it?"

"There he is," and Dave pointed with his hand. "I don't know who it is,
but I guess it is one of Link's crowd."

"I'll wake up Phil, and we can watch the rascal," said Roger, and this
was done, although not without difficulty, for the shipowner's son was
inclined to give a yell when aroused from such a sound slumber.

"Who--who is it?" he stammered. "Say, maybe we had better get our
pistols ready!" And he felt for his weapon.

"I've got mine all ready," answered Dave.

"And here is mine," whispered Roger. "If that fellow thinks he is coming
here unseen, won't he be surprised!"

"Hush!" came softly from Dave. "Look behind him! There is a second
fellow coming!"

Our hero was right, a second figure had emerged from the shadow of some
rocks. The two persons were coming along slowly, as if to make certain
that they were not being observed.

"I know that second fellow!" whispered Dave, a moment later. "See how
tall and thin he is. It's old Haskers!"

"Yes, and the other fellow is Link Merwell," replied Roger, a second
later.




CHAPTER XXVII

THE TWO PRISONERS


The three chums were right; the two persons who were approaching the
camp on the mountainside so stealthily were Link Merwell and Job
Haskers.

They came on step by step, looking ahead and to either side, as if on
the alert to flee at the first sign of danger.

"What do you suppose they are after?" asked Phil, in a low voice.

"Hush! We'll watch them and see," returned Dave.

"Let us pretend to be asleep," advised Roger. "But lie so you can keep
an eye on them."

The boys had been crouching low, but now all followed the advice of the
senator's son and fell back, as if in slumber. Then they rolled over
and, with their hands on their weapons, watched the approach of the
others.

At last Merwell and Haskers were within fifty feet of those around the
dying campfire. They had been talking in a low voice, but now both were
silent, as if this had been agreed upon. Merwell was slightly in advance
and he pointed to the outfit of the Morr crowd. This lay between some
rocks and covered with a rubber cloth, so that the eatables might not be
spoiled by the weather.

Job Haskers nodded, to show that he understood, and both of the
intruders tiptoed their way towards the stores. Noiselessly they raised
the rubber cover and placed it on the ground. Then both commenced to
pack the stores in the cloth.

It was plainly to be seen now what the rascals meant to do. They were
going to make off with our friends' stores, thereby perhaps making it
necessary for them to give up the hunt for the mine and go back to the
nearest place where more stores could be procured. For among those
barren rocks but little could be found for the mine-hunters to eat. They
might get a shot at some wild beast, but that was all.

"What shall we do?" whispered Phil, who was growing impatient watching
proceedings.

"When I give the signal, jump up and cover them with your pistols,"
replied Roger.

"Oh, I wouldn't shoot them," urged Dave, who dreaded to think of
bloodshed under any circumstances.

"Well, we'll scare 'em," returned the senator's son. "We'll teach 'em
that they can't come near this camp."

He waited until Merwell and Haskers were on the point of lifting the
rubber cloth with the stores tied within it. Then he leaped up, and Dave
and Phil did the same.

"Hands up, you rascals!" cried Roger. "Hands up, or we'll fire at you!"

"Oh!" cried Link Merwell, in consternation, and up went his hands.

"Don't shoot me! I beg of you, don't shoot!" screamed Job Haskers, and
he, too, dropped his hold of the bundle and sent his hands in the air.
Then, catching sight of the pistols, he dropped on his knees. "Oh, Morr,
please don't shoot! Porter, I beg of you, have mercy! And you, Lawrence,
please point that weapon away! It--it might go off!"

"This is a fine piece of business to be engaged in," said Roger,
sternly. "Trying to steal our stores."

"It--is--was--er--all a mistake," whined the former teacher of Oak Hall.

"You won't dare to shoot," put in Link Merwell. "You won't dare!" He
tried to be brave but his voice was shaky.

"What's the row here?" burst in another voice, and Abe Blower sprang up,
followed by Tom Dillon.

"Hello, them two skunks!" cried Tom Dillon. "What do they want?"

"They wanted to make off with our stores," answered Dave, and pointed to
the goods tied up in the rubber cloth.

"So that's the trick, eh?" bellowed Abe Blower.

"First the hosses an' now the stores!" roared Tom Dillon. "Humph! Ye
deserve to be shot full o' holes!" he went on, for he had lived in the
times when the stealing of a horse, or of a miner's food, was considered
by everybody a capital offense.

"I--I beg of you, have mercy!" cried Job Haskers, as he got unsteadily
to his feet. "I--I--this was not my plan at all--Merwell suggested it.
We--we were not going to--er--to steal anything."

"No? Then wot was ye goin' ter do?" demanded Abe Blower, sarcastically.

"We were--er--only going to hide the stuff," stammered Link Merwell, and
he glared at Job Haskers savagely for having tried to place the
responsibility of the raid on his shoulders.

"I don't believe a word of it!" came sternly from Tom Dillon. "You
wanted to leave us to starve here, or compel us to go back to town--so
you could hunt for that lost mine alone. I see through the trick. We
ought to shoot you down like dogs!"

"It's jest wot they deserve, consarn 'em," muttered Abe Blower.

"We don't want anybody shot!" said Dave, to his chums. He saw that the
two old miners were angry enough to do almost anything.

"Let us--er--go this time and we'll never bother you again," pleaded Job
Haskers. He was so scared he could scarcely speak.

"Step over here, by this rock, and keep your hands up," said Tom Dillon.
"We'll talk this over a bit further."

There was no help for it, for Merwell and Haskers were now virtually
prisoners. They stepped to the position mentioned, with their hands
still upraised.

"Go through 'em, Abe," went on Tom Dillon. "Take their shootin' irons
away from 'em."

"See here----" commenced Merwell, when a stern look from the old miner
stopped him. Haskers said nothing, for he was still fearful of being
shot.

In a few minutes the two intruders were disarmed by Abe Blower. While
this was being done Roger whispered to Dave.

"Don't you think we ought to search 'em thoroughly?" he asked. "They may
have something belonging to me--some map of the lost mine, or something
like that? I don't exactly remember what I had in that suit-case Merwell
got from the porter on the train."

"Certainly, we'll have them well searched," declared Dave, and spoke to
Tom Dillon about it. As a consequence, despite their protests, Abe
Blower turned out every pocket of the prisoners.

"There is one of my letters!" cried Roger. "It tells about the Landslide
Mine. I had forgotten it," and he put the communication in his pocket.

But little else of value belonging to Roger was found, and their own
things the prisoners were allowed to retain, all but their weapons.
Those, even to their pocket-knives, Tom Dillon confiscated.

"What are you going to do with us?" asked Link Merwell, surlily, after
the search was at an end.

"We'll tie 'em up for the night," said Tom Dillon. "Boys, get a couple
of ropes."

"Tie us up!" exclaimed Job Haskers, in new alarm.

"Exactly."

"And in the--er--morning----?" faltered the former teacher of Oak Hall.

"We'll see what we'll do with you after breakfast," answered the old
miner, briefly.

"Say, wot did ye do with them other fellers?" demanded Abe Blower, while
Dave and Phil were getting the ropes.

"We left them in camp."

"Is Staver with 'em?" asked Tom Dillon.

"No, his hand hurt him so he went back to town to have a doctor look
after it," replied Merwell.

"Is he coming back here?"

"He said he thought not--at least, not for the present."

"Do you think those others will come here to-night?" asked Dave, as he
came with a rope, followed by Phil with another rope.

"We'll stand guard, lad, and see," answered Tom Dillon.

Much against their will, Link Merwell and Job Haskers were bound, hands
and feet. Then each was made fast to a rock not far from the campfire.

"We'll take turns at guarding the camp," said Tom Dillon. "Two hours
each every night after this;" and so it was arranged.

Now that he was sure he was not to be shot, Job Haskers was very
indignant over being bound.

"It isn't a bit gentlemanly," he said, to Dave.

"We won't argue the point," returned our hero, briefly. He was disgusted
with both Merwell and Haskers, and he wished they might both go away and
that he would never see them again.

As he was so restless, Dave said he would be the first one of the party
to stand guard, and, accordingly, the others turned in as before,
dropping off to sleep one after another. Merwell was inclined to talk
and argue, but Dave would not listen.

"I am done with you, Link," he said. "And I am done with Haskers, too.
All I want you to do is to leave me alone in the future."

"You let us go, or it will be the worse for you," growled Link Merwell.

When his two hours' guard duty came to an end, Dave called Roger, who in
turn called Phil. The shipowner's son was still very sleepy, and he
yawned deeply as he arose.

"As soon as two hours are up you call Abe Blower," said Roger.

"I sure will!" declared Phil. "I'm not half slept out yet!"

Roger was tired himself and was soon in the land of dreams. Phil walked
around the camp several times, to keep himself awake, and then sat down
on a rock to rest.

Alas! that rest was an ill-advised one for the son of the rich
shipowner. As he sat there, Phil's chin sank lower and lower on his
breast and presently his eyes closed and he fell asleep! And thus over
two hours passed.

"Hello!"

The cry came from Abe Blower, as he turned and sat up. It was growing
light in the east and the old miner thought it was time to get up.

He directed his cry at Phil, who was huddled up on the rock. Phil did
not budge, and the old miner leaped up and shook him.

"I say----" commenced the youth, and then stared around him in
astonishment. "Why I--I must have dropped asleep!" he faltered.

"You sure did!" cried Abe Blower. He gazed around swiftly. "Was you on
guard?"

"Yes, and the prisoners----"

"Are gone!"

"Oh!"

Phil's cry awoke all the others in the camp. One after another looked at
the youth and then at the spot where Merwell and Haskers had been tied
to the rocks. The ropes lay there, but the two former prisoners had
vanished!




CHAPTER XXVIII

THE LOST LANDSLIDE MINE


"They cut the ropes! See, here is where it was done, on this jagged
rock!"

As Dave spoke he pointed to a sharp edge of stone. Beneath it were bits
of rope, showing how the fetters had been sawed in twain.

"One of 'em must have got loose and then freed the other," remarked
Roger.

"But who was on guard?" demanded Tom Dillon, sharply. He looked at the
boys and then at Abe Blower.

"I was, but I--I guess I fell asleep," faltered Phil, sheepishly, and
grew red in the face.

"Fell asleep!" cried Abe Blower. "I guess you did!" And his tone of
voice showed his disgust.

"I--I am awfully sorry," continued the shipowner's son. "I--I really
don't know how it happened. It wasn't the thing to do."