required to reconcile himself to his new
scheme of life, but of a sudden he burst into a roar of merriment.

"We'll do it, and without a shot. Say, Mr. Wilder, it will break
Gus' heart to think he was caught without any gun play."

"That's just it. Most of the power men like Megget have is because
of the fear the very mention of their names inspires.

"But I don't mean to preach a sermon. What I want to know is, How
do you propose to capture Megget without trouble?"

"Wait till they are asleep. They'll have a celebration when they
reach the mine and afterward we can hog-tie them and they will
never know it."

Without vouchsafing any comment, the owner of the Half-Moon reined
away from the strange guide, and, as Snider joined him, discussed
the situation thoroughly.

The questioning of Lawrence, however, did not cease when the
ranchmen left him. The four boys had listened eagerly, and when
the opportunity presented deluged him with inquiries.

"Are there really ghosts in the Lost Lode?" queried Horace.

"None but very live ones," grinned the former raider. "Vasquez
started that story to keep people from coming into the valley.
Many a time we've chased men in the night when they came near."

The chums, however were more interested in learning whether or not
there was rich ore in the mine.

"Probably there is," explained Lawrence, "but it would require a
lot of drilling and sinking of shafts. What silver could be got
out, Vasquez has taken. He was planning to use the money from the
cattle captured in the raid to buy machinery and begin work."

Disappointed to think they would not be able to pick up chunks of
the ore, the comrades lapsed into silence till Tom suddenly
bethought him of the men he had seen crossing the cliff on the
night of their hunting trip, and he lost no time in asking if they
were some of Megget's gang.

"Must have been Gus and the boys who were with him up in Oklahoma,"
declared the guide. "There's a trail from that direction to the
mine. Now you mention it, I remember he spoke of having seen a
party of horsemen. It's a good thing for you he didn't know who it
was. If he had, he was so angry at your outwitting him that he
would surely have made trouble."

Further questioning, however, was prevented by the arrival of the
troop at the trail.

"There are my marks," exclaimed the younger of the chums, pointing
to the branches he had broken. But no one paid him heed, for with