"We've got a long hike and we thought we would make part of it before
sun-up. It's a good deal cooler travelin' at night, and especially when
there's a good moon, than it is to crawl across those tablelands when the
thermometer is about a hundred and ten in the shade; and there isn't any
shade."

"Better wait until mornin'," said Zeke abruptly.

"No, we're goin' now. Come on, Jim," the man added, as he turned to his
companion. "It's time for us to be movin'."

Without further words the two strange visitors departed from the camp and
soon disappeared along the winding way that lead to the summit.

"That's a nice thing you did, Jack!" exclaimed Fred angrily as soon as the
two men were gone.

"What's the harm?" retorted John. "I didn't tell them anything about any
lost mine."

"You didn't have to," retorted Fred, "after what they said. They had
heard about a man dying, though how they ever knew beats me. And they
believed that he was the man who was reported to have found a great lead."

"What of it?"

"A good deal of it," joined in Grant. "You have given them an idea and
they won't forget it."

"What good is an idea?" demanded John. "They haven't any paper and they
can't find the place without it."

"All the same," said Fred, "I'm sorry you said anything about Simon
Moultrie."

"But I didn't say anything about him," protested John. "They were the ones
that did most of the talking. I thought if I told them about the bones we
found this afternoon that perhaps they would talk some more and say
something that would help us."

"Great! Great!" laughed George scornfully. "You 'done noble,' Jack. If
those men don't find the place, you may rest easy that they will keep
track of us for a while."

"Why will they?"

"Because they'll want to see if we found anything in the pocket of Simon
Moultrie's coat that would give us any clue to the place where he had made
his great discovery. They'll watch us for a while anyway and if we don't
do anything, they may make up their minds that we haven't found anything;
but if we begin to do anything like making a search among the mountains,
you mark my words those two fellows will show up again just as sure as
you're born."

"We'll know about that later," said John.

For an hour the boys remained seated about their camp-fire, talking over
the unexpected visit of the two strangers and the marked interest they had
manifested in John's story. Conversation gradually ceased and fo