Part 20 (1/2)

”It is,” admitted Mr. Baxter, ”but there are so many chances for error, that we can never be sure. There are probably more caves and waterfalls than this in Alaska, and Stults was not an expert map-maker. He may have thought he was setting down very explicit directions, when, as a matter of fact, he may be miles and miles off. But we can tell better in the morning.”

None of the gold-seekers rested well. Though they were more sheltered than at any time since beginning their journey,--for the cave made a fine place to camp in,--their sleep was disturbed by a haunting vision of disappointment. Suppose there should be no gold after all?

They resumed the digging soon after breakfast. By noon they had covered nearly the entire floor of the cavern. Fred was using his pick in one corner of the cave. Of the third a.s.signed to him, not more than a square yard remained. The others had about the same still to explore, and, up to now, there had not been the slightest indication of the buried wealth. Fred's heart began to fail him.

He raised his pick high over his head, and brought it down with great force in the frozen dirt. Somehow it seemed to penetrate easier than it had before. It stuck in nearly up to the handle. The sharp point had entered something soft.

The boy's heart gave a convulsive throb. He pried up on the pick handle.

Something was giving way. Had he discovered the hole in which the gold was hidden?

An instant later, as the light from one of the lanterns gleamed on the spot where he was digging, Fred uttered a joyful cry.

”What is it?” shouted Mr. Baxter, as he and Jerry threw down their picks and hastened to the lad's side.

The boy was down on his knees, scooping at something with his hands. The others looked.

Then they saw what they had come so far to seek. Fred's pick had pierced through a canvas bag, buried a short distance below the frozen surface.

It was a bag of gold nuggets, and they lay scattered about in the dirt.

”The treasure!” cried Fred. ”Here it is! I have found it!”

And so he had. Almost on the verge of failure he had unearthed the gold buried so long before by the old German, Max Stults!

CHAPTER XVII

THE SPYING INDIAN

The adventurers could hardly believe their good luck. Fred, still on his knees, scooped out handful after handful of the dull yellow nuggets, which meant so much to him and to them all. His thoughts went back to the humble home he had left, to his crippled father, and his toiling mother. Now they could have peace, comfort and happiness. But, better than all, his father could now be a.s.sured of a cure. No wonder it seemed too good to be true.

But it was no dream. The gold was actually there. There were two score sacks of it, as they soon discovered, for it did not take the three of them long to get it from the hiding place. Only one had been broken by Fred's pick, and the nuggets were carefully gathered up.

”Good for you, Fred!” exclaimed Jerry, as he and his father helped pile the gold carefully to one side. ”You won out, but I had begun to think we were going to fail.”

”So did I,” added Mr. Baxter.

”I was beginning to get discouraged myself,” admitted Fred. ”How much do you suppose is there, Mr. Baxter?”

”There must be half a million,” said Jerry.

”Nonsense,” answered his father. ”No such good luck as that. Still, it is a tidy little fortune. Let me see if I can calculate it.”

He weighed in his hands the different bags, counted them and began to figure in his head.

”There are forty bags,” he said, ”and I calculate that each one weighs about eight pounds. That would give us about three hundred pounds of gold.”

”Three hundred pounds of gold!” repeated Fred, in an awe-struck voice.

”How much is that worth?”