about ten
o'clock, they came to a nest of rocks which barred their way. By hard
efforts and by loosening a large stone there was a narrow rift made,
through which they crawled, with Juarez in the lead.

"Here's the entrance," he cried, his voice sounding hollow from the
interior.

"The Lost Mine!" yelled Tom, and in a second they were all together
in the entrance, and with a rousing cheer at what promised to be the
successful end of all their trials and dangers, then home again, and
after that their journey on the _Sea Eagle_ into foreign countries
and searching strange corners of the earth.

"Light up, boys," said Jim. "We will soon see what we have ahead of
us."

"We will have to be careful," warned Juarez, "there is no telling what
we will meet, we are always running into excitement of some sort."

"I guess not," replied Jeems, "we have had enough to last us for a
lifetime. Let's wind this business up quietly."

"Agreed," said Jim. "We will make up for it later. Forward, march!"

With pine torches they went forward through the gloom, the light
showing that the entrance to the mine had been buttressed with pine
timber, but this extended only a few feet, and then they came to a
narrow rift between dripping rocks.

"Low bridge, Jeems," cried Jo.

"This looks to me to be a cave," said Jim.

"It don't keep it from being a pocket mine, even if it is a cave,"
said Jeems wisely.

"You ought to know, Jeems," said Juarez, "as you were a prospector
before we were born."

"Oh, I'm not that old," protested Jeems. "Here we are getting to the
workings now."

"Sure enough," cried Jim, a thrill of interest in his voice.

"Here is where they have picked out some nuggets," said Jo.

"It won't be far to the find now," said Tom, shaking with excitement.

Jeems was looking closely with his trained eyes along the walls and
into every crevice and upon the shelves of stone, for the sides of
the cave-mine were not smooth, but singularly rugged.

"Struck it rich, boys!" Jeems cried suddenly, as he held the flame of
his torch near the wall. "Give me the pick, take the lamp, Tom." It
was the ultimate moment of triumph for the Frontier Boys. Carefully,
but with skillful precision, Jeems brought the pick down upon the
surface of the wall where it was roughened into little mounds.

"That don't look like gold," said Tom. "It's nothing but dingy rock."
Jeems only smiled at Tom's comment, as he swung his pick in the light
of th