d sadly. "You bequeathed us your imagination,
and sent us off on our quest for the phantom gold."

"Yes," said Bourne; "we'd better have left him his legacy and gone on
home to the old-country."

"Oh, I don't know," said Wilton. "We've had a grand time of travel and
adventure, eh, boys?"

"Splendid!" came in a breath. "I'm only sorry that we've come back."

"Yes," added Chris. "You'll think that over, father, about rigging up
another expedition and making a fresh trial?"

"We shall see," said the doctor thoughtfully; "we shall see. What do
you say, Griggs, about another search for the golden city?"

"Well, I dunno," said Griggs slowly. "Maybe I'll wait a year before I
decide one way or the other."

"Griggs!" cried the two lads together.

"Oh, you needn't shout," said the American. "I've been thinking over it
a deal, more'n you have, p'r'aps, and it seems to me that even if we had
found the old place marked down on that old Rip Van Winkle map we should
have had a deal of trouble to carry back enough gold to have made the
journey worth while."

"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the two young men uproariously. "There's an old
fox. He has just found out that the grapes are sour."

"Well, so they have been, boys," cried the American. "But talk about
grapes, it's just five years since I planted some fine young vines in my
patch and against the shanty. I wonder whether the blights have let
them grow. My word, I should like a few bunches now!"

"I'm afraid they'll be as sour as the gold, Griggs," said the doctor.
"There, let's ride on and leave the poor old fellow to sleep in peace.
He took his secret with him, for his map was too vague for us to find
his city of golden dreams. We have spent two years over the search, but
we have travelled well over an unknown land and come back, I hope, wiser
and more ready to do battle with the world."

"Oh, we shall try again, father," cried Chris, "and get real gold yet,
not phantom gold, as you call it. _Nil desperandum_, you know. Never
say die."

"Try again!" cried Ned.

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast," said Bourne gravely.

"Better luck next time," cried Wilton.

"Say, gentlemen," said Griggs dryly, "it don't seem to me a suitable
time for you to be firing off your copy-book maxims all over the place
when it's getting on for dinner-hour. I want to progress and ride on to
the old plantations to see which of our old friends is going to win in
the fight t