be the first one
in the Cave of Gold," and he started up the gulch as fast as he could
go, jumping and climbing over the rocks that nearly covered its bottom.

"Same here!" and, with a yell, Bud started after him.

In a moment all, even the gray-haired men, had joined madly in the race.
Evidently Thure was not the only one who wished to be the first in the
Cave of Gold.

The gulch was narrow, only about a couple of rods wide at the place
where our friends had reached the bottom, and, some three hundred yards
from here, it made a turn, like the crook in a man's bent arm. This was
evidently the Golden Elbow, and the point for which all were racing.

Thure, owing to his start and his long legs, was the first to reach this
spot, but Bud was not six feet behind him. Then came Rex and Dill and
the others, with Dickson and his wife pantingly bringing up the rear.
All had stopped directly in front of the point of the turn, and now
stood staring excitedly around them, looking for the entrance to the
Cave of Gold and looking in vain.

In front of them the wall of the gulch had been hollowed out into a
great overhanging arch, seventy-five or more feet in height and some
fifteen feet deep.

Could this be the miner's Cave of Gold?

Surely not; for there was no need of torch here, and the bottom
certainly was not covered with gold nuggets, but with hundreds of pieces
of broken rock, some of them as large as two strong men could lift.

"Wal, I swun, if it don't look as if we was up ag'in it ag'in," and Ham
stared excitedly around. "But, if thar is any cave here, it must be
right in thar. Come, git busy," and he began clambering over the rocks
toward the back wall of the arch. "I'll bet a coonskin that I can find
it first."

"Take you!" shouted Thure and Bud, both clambering swiftly after him.

In a minute more all were searching excitedly for the hidden entrance to
the cave, along the entire back wall of the arch; but the rocks of the
bottom seemed to meet a solid wall of rock at the back.

"Say, but isn't it enough to make even a Job swear to be held up like
this, right at the most exciting moment!" and Thure stopped in front of
a large flat rock, that had fallen so that it stood nearly on edge,
leaning against the back wall of the arch. "Come, give me a hand; and
let's see what is behind this rock," and he turned to Bud, who stood
near him. "It looks almost as if it might have been stood up there on
purpose."

In a m