the woods, gave a shout and began waving
his arms in the wildest manner. Then along the way that he picked in
coming to meet them, Norris with his glasses could just make out the
brown ribbon of the trail.

Fifteen minutes more and they were lined up ready for the homeward march,
cured once and for all of short-cuts, and divided only as to whether it
would be better to run, at the risk of a turned ankle, while there was
light to see their footing, or walk, and have to go the last half of the
way in darkness.

They finally did some of both, running where the trail lay free from
stones, and eventually having to make their way by the feel of the ground
under the feet, and the memory of the mountain meadows whose perfume they
passed, and the sound of the creek to their right. The stars were out,
giving a faint but welcome light that served as guide when finally they
stumbled into camp, bone-weary but safe, and nothing loth to set all
hands for a square meal before tumbling in.

Throwing some of their reserve supply of fuel on the fireplace, they
soon had the home fires burning cheerily, and Pedro was demonstrating his
can-opener cookery.

Next day a glitter from beneath the water of a rivulet high on the
mountainside, caught Ted's eye. Dipping with his tin cup, he brought up
a specimen of sand and water. Could it be only mica that glistened so?
Saying nothing to Ace, (for he remembered Long Lester's tale of salting a
mine once when "the boys" wanted some one of their number to stand treat
by way of celebration of his new-found riches), he slyly slipped an
aluminum plate from out the pack and began that primitive operation that
used to be known as pan and knife working. Falling a little behind, he
kept at it until he had separated out some heavy yellow grains that
proved malleable when he set his teeth on them. It was coarse gold!

It was now time to announce his find, which he did to the amazement of
all but the old prospector. A more careful inspection of the bend where
he had found it proved it to be only the tiniest of pockets, though under
their combined efforts that day it yielded what the old man pronounced to
be about a hundred and fifty dollars' worth of dust. Still, even that was
not to be sneezed at, as Long Lester put it, in terms of Ted's college
fund,--for they all insisted on contributing their labor to his find.
Ted, though, insisted equally that it be their stake for another camping
trip.

Later that