old prospector," he said. "We were
to meet in San Francisco, but when I arrived there I could not find my
man. He belongs somewhere in this neighborhood. His name is Barnaby
Winthrop. Perhaps you have heard of him?"

"Heard of him!" cried Chet.

"He is our uncle!" added Paul.

"Your uncle!" And now it was Noel Urner's turn to be surprised.

"Yes, our uncle, and he has been missing for several months," continued
Paul. "Oh, tell us what you know of him at once, for we are dying to
know!"

"The Barnaby Winthrop I mean had an undeveloped gold and silver mine he
wished to open up."

"It was our uncle, beyond the shadow of a doubt," said Chet. "Our name
is Winthrop, and Uncle Barnaby is our guardian. We can prove it to you
by the papers, if you wish."

"I am willing to take your word, boys. But, you understand, one must be
careful about speaking of mines in this section; at least I have been
told so."

"Yes, we know about that," returned Paul. "Many a man has lost the
chance of his life by advertising his knowledge too broadly. Others
would gain a clew of a mine, hunt it up, and put in a claim before the
original discoverer knew what was up."

"Exactly, and that is why I was slow in saying anything. But when you
ask me to tell you about your uncle, I am sorry to say I know but very
little, although I suspect much, now you say he has been missing so
long."

By this time the little party had reached the ranch house. They went
inside, and despite the fact that the boys were impatient to hear what
Noel Urner might have to say, they gave the young man time to wash up
and make himself otherwise presentable, Chet in the meanwhile frying
another fish and preparing a pot of coffee.

"This is just what I wished, and no mistake," said Noel Urner, as he set
to with a hearty good will. "But I am sure you are impatient to learn
something of your uncle, so I will not keep you waiting. To make my
story plain, I will have to tell you something of myself also.

"In the first place I am a broker and speculator from New York city. I
make a specialty of mining stocks, and own shares myself in half a dozen
mines.

"About ten weeks or so ago I heard through a friend in San Francisco
that Barnaby Winthrop was trying to form a company to develop a new
strike in this vicinity. I wrote to him and he sent word back that if I
would come on he would prove to me that he had a big thing, well worth
looking into.

"I had other business w