heard nothing to their advantage. Half an hour later Jack
Wumble came in, his face showing his excitement.

"I've got on the trail!" he cried. "Come on, we're goin' to git after
Tom right away!"

CHAPTER XIX

FROM ONE CLUE TO ANOTHER

"What have you learned, Jack?"

"When did he leave here?"

"Is he all right?"

"I'm ready to go after him right now."

Such were the words that came from the Rover boys after Jack Wumble had
announced that he had located their missing brother.

"We ain't got no time to spare," cried the old miner. "Let us pay our
bill here an' git out, an' I'll tell ye all I know while we are on the
way."

The lads lost no time in packing up as directed, and Dick settled at
the hotel desk. Jack Wumble led the way down to the docks and ordered
them into a small river boat.

"This here ain't no regular boat," he explained. "But I've hired
passage on her, so it's all right. We'll save fourteen hours by not
waitin' fer the regular boat."

"But where are we going, Jack?" questioned Dick.

"To a jumpin'-off place called Lindy Falls. That is whar the party Tom
was with was goin' to start from."

Soon the boat, a large craft of its kind, was on the way up the river.
As they sped along, the boys and the old miner drew into a corner of
the cabin and Jack Wumble told his story.

"By the merest accident I fell in with a man named Rabig I used to know
in 'Frisco," said the old miner. "He's interested in the Golden Sunset
mine an' the Beggar's Chance. Well, I told Rabig about you an' Tom an'
he got interested an' asked me how Tom looked an' I told him. Then he
told about how he fell in with Tom on board thet steamer an' how Tom
had told him he was bound fer the Lion Head gold fields. He had it in
his head, so Rabig said, that he could pick up nuggets at the Lion
Head."

"The Lion Head?" repeated Dick. "Where is that?"

"It's a good distance from here, Dick, I can tell ye that. It's to the
northwest o' the Klondyke. A wild place. It's called the Lion Head
acause thar's a mountain thar thet looks like a lion's head. I was
thar onct, prospectin' around. But I didn't find any gold thar. But
some have found gold," added the old miner.

"How will Tom get there?" questioned Sam.

"Thet's the strangest part o' it," resumed Jack Wumble. "It appears as
how he fell in with a miner named Furner--Ike Furner. Rabig says
Furner is a bit touched here." Wumble tapped his forehead. "W