ger's within a mile. I'm afraid
we haven't seen the last of him."

"He'd better not come around here ag'in," declared Abe. "Queer, how
he should turn up, jest when I made a big strike."

"They must have come on all the way from where their airship was
wrecked, by means of dog sleds," observed Ned, and the others agreed
with him. Later they learned that this was so; that after the
accident to the ANTHONY, the crew had refused to proceed farther
north, and had gone back. But Mr. Foger had hired the natives with
the dog teams, and, by means of the copy of the map and with what
knowledge his Eskimos had, had reached the valley of gold.

"We have certainly struck it rich," went on Abe, as he went back to
where he had dug the hole. "Now we'd better all begin prospectin'
here, for it looks like a big deposit. We'll stake out a large
enough claim to take it all in. I guess Mr. Parker can do that,
seein' as how he knows about such things."

The scientist agreed to do this part of the work, it being
understood that all the gold discovered would be shared equally
after the expenses of the trip had been paid.

Feverishly Abe and the others began to dig. They did not come upon
such a rich deposit as the miner had found, but there were enough
nuggets picked up to prove that the expedition would be very
successful.

No more attention was paid to the Fogers, but through the telescope
Tom could see that the bully and his father had made a camp in one
of the ice caves, and that both were eagerly digging in the frozen
surface of the valley.

Before night several thousand dollars' worth of gold had been taken
out by our friends. It was stored in the airship, and then, after
suppers the craft's searchlight was taken off, and placed in such a
position in front of the cave of ice so that the beams would
illuminate the claim staked out by Tom and the others.

"We'll stand watch an' watch," suggested Abe, "but I don't think
them Fogers will come around here ag'in."

They did not, and the night passed peacefully. The next day our
friends were again at work digging for gold. So were the Fogers, as
could be observed through the glass, but it was impossible to see
whether they got any nuggets.

The gold seemed to be in "pockets," and that day the ones in the
vicinity of the strike first made by Abe were cleaned out.

"We'll have to locate some new 'pockets,'" said the miner, and the
adventurers scattered over the frozen plain to look